ericcoleman: (Default)
We will be playing the Best Classic Filk Song and Best Filk Song nominees. You can find all of the info at this link, oh, and you can vote, especially now that you've heard them all!

https://www.ovff.org/pegasus/2025finalballot.html

Available on iTunes, Google Play and most other places you can get podcasts. We can be heard Wednesday at 6am and 9pm Central on scifi.radio.

filkcast.blogspot.com
lydamorehouse: (Default)
While I was at Gaylaxicon, an email went out form Cole Sarar (she/they) who runs Sci-Fi Reading Hour desperately looking for any author who might be up for a performance in early November. I checked my calendar right away because I really enjoyed [personal profile] naomikritzer 's performance last year. I wrote about this here, but this is the gig where Cole pairs a musician and an author together. In Naomi's case, it was like getting to watch a radio play because the musician had the ability to do sound effects and she had reworked the piece so that Cole and she could share the narrative.

At any rate, ever since then, I've been thinking about what of mine might work for something like this. I don't write a lot of short stories, though I have written some. The short stories I have written don't tend to get very broad distribution (by which I mean, I have yet to truly break into any kind of traditional short story market. The one I did get in in the 1990s? SF AGE? Now defunct.) A few years ago, I wrote something for one of [personal profile] rachelmanija 's projects that I really loved. It was about a supervillain trying to adopt a cat. It's very silly and tonally and conceptually, the complete opposite of [personal profile] naomikritzer 's "A Year Without Sunshine," so I had no idea if that would appeal to Cole. But, I was recently reminded at Diversicon that one of my strengths is humor. I decided to take a chance and I sent that along with a note that said, "You're probably already booked, but in case not, I'm up for it, and here's the piece I'm considering performing."

I don't know if I was, in fact, the only one to reply or if my being ready with a specific piece made me more appealing than any others who jumped in, but I got the gig.

I will, of course, be reminding you as this gets closer, but for your records here's the pertenent information: the performance will be Sunday, November 2 at the Bryant-Lake Bowl & Theater (https://www.bryantlakebowl.com/). Doors open at 6 pm and the show starts at 7 pm. There will be a post-show interview with both the writer and the musician at 8:00 pm. Cost is $10 in advance and $15 at the door*. (Braynt-Lake Bowl has its November calendar up, but this show isn't, for obvious reasons, up yet.)

Also, my co-performer will be the lovely and talented Scott Keever who says this about himself: Scott Keever is an award-winning guitarist and composer from Minneapolis. He has specialized in solo guitar, primarily fingerstyle, utilizing resophonic, classical, jazz and folk guitar sounds in his explorations while also focusing on Celtic and Eastern European styles. His stylistic range can be heard on his solo albums "Solo Guitar: Vol. 1" (2018) and “Solo Guitar: Vol. 2” (2022) (both available on Spotify and Apple Music) As well as being a solo performer, Scott plays guitar, Bulgarian tambura and oud for Orkestar Bez Ime (OBI), an award-winning Twin Cities band that specializes in Balkan dance music. He is also currently a member of chamber pop group Follow The Firefly and has recently worked with Ukrainian Village Band. He has been a long-time musician and performer in the local Minnesota theater scene and has appeared in productions with Brave New Workshop, Flying Foot Forum, Walking Shadow Theater, Ethnic Dance Theater, O’Shea Irish Dance and Table Salt Productions. He has also composed music for short films, documentaries, theater, radio and podcasts.

If that sweetens the deal for you. Please come if you're interested, yada yada, but what I really wanted to tell you about was the rehearsal yesterday morning. 

Our schedules are such that all of us were available in the morning. We met at Cole's South Minneapolis house at 10:00 am. 

It is always a challenge for me to navigate Minneapolis. When I first moved to the Cities, I lived in Minneapolis, but now, after decades of living in St. Paul, I find that whatever fey creatures rule the leylines of Minneapolis have rejected me. GPS mostly helps? It still managed to lie to me about which side of the street Cole's house was on so I spent several confused minutes trying to decide whether or not we were actually supposed to meet at the taco shop at the corner, or what. But, thanks to my chronic fear of being late, I had plenty of time to figure it out and managed to arrive nearly precisely on time.

Cole's house is a typical Minneapolis two-story affair. (How do I describe this to out-of-towners? A lot of our houses in the Twin Cities are older, at least by Midwestern standards, so I'd guess this was a Craftsman era house--early 1900s.)  Cole did not offer the full house tour, but I was immediately at home to see a dining room table full of art supplies and other child-friendly detrius. It was a lovely, lived-in house. We chatted about this and that while waiting for Scott to arrive. Cole's ethnic heritage is Turkish and so she offered Turkish tea. I've had (and loved) Turkish coffee, but I was very intregued by Turkish tea, so I said yes immediately.  During that conversation I learned that their father immigrated from Istanbul, but never became a US Citizen. We spent some time trying to decide if that made her a first generation immigrant or second. We settled on one and a half, which I found amusing. 

Scott arrived in an extroverted, (likely) undiagnosed ADHD clamor. I, of course, liked him immediately. But, between Scott and I, thoughtful Cole had a tendency to get left behind as conversation lept from subject to subject without even a pause for a breath. I spend at least part of the time pausing Scott to make sure Cole--OUR ACTUAL HOST--was included.

I'm pretty sure that Cole hoped for this rehersal to be no more than an hour and a half, but we ended up going three hours. 

Whew.

The way this show works Cole will also read something, so we started by listening to their story. They had sent us something ahead of time, but as Scott and I sat on the floor listening it was very clear that what she sent was NOT this story. After it was over we had a laugh because Cole had been saying that the piece they wrote "matched" mine in tone, but what we'd gotten in the email was so much DARKER that I spent some time thinking, "Wow, well maybe humor wasn't as self-evident as I thought?" But, no, it was just a clerical error. Cole had accidentally sent us the piece that had gone with the previous month's show! 

I read my piece and then we spent a little time trying to figure out the order if the show, who would read first, etc. That's all still up in the air, and I don't think it really much matters. I think Cole's piece is longer than mine, but we need to fill an hour one way or the other.

Then, somehow, the conversation got on Neil Gaiman and that whole horror show and I discovered I have a ton of friends in common with Scott thanks to his association with Cat's Laughing and the general Venn Diagram of nerds, music, and Renaissance Festival. 

It was a good time, but ran late and so then I made a tactical financial error by suggesting to Mason that we hit his favorite Korean fried chicken place for lunch. We had a great time and great food, but this--it turned out--was not the time of the month to splurge. Money is a huge argument in my household and so the rest of the evening was not nearly as fun as how the day started. 

Captialism, man. I could really do without it.



=====

*If you're local and want to go but can't afford it, let me know. I have two comp tickets as part of the package. My wife never attends my readings and my son will be out of town, and I hate to waste these.
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
During which I encountered:

* A person supine on the sidewalk, having apparently been struck by a car exiting the expressway. There were EMTs so I didn't interfere.

* A person driving their RC car on the LRT tracks as the train was approaching, who seemed put out that I told him to get off the tracks.

* An angry screaming apparently deranged guy between me and where I needed to be to catch the bus.
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)


This all-new Huckleberry Bundle presents Huckleberry, the mythic Wyrd West tabletop roleplaying game about tragic cowboys in a world doomed to calamity – unless you save it.

Bundle of Holding: Huckleberry
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
2018: Tories vote to pitch the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, PM May’s Brexit progress is strangely uneven, while Prince Harry and Meghan Markle conduct an experiment to determine the depths of British racism.

Poll #33722 Clarke Award Finalists 2018
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 6


Which 2018 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?

View Answers

Dreams Before the Start of Time by Anne Charnock
1 (16.7%)

American War by Omar El Akkad
2 (33.3%)

Borne by Jeff VanderMeer
4 (66.7%)

Gather the Daughters by Jennie Melamed
0 (0.0%)

Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill
1 (16.7%)

Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfař
1 (16.7%)



Bold for have read, italic for intend to read, underline for never heard of it.

Which 2018 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
Dreams Before the Start of Time by Anne Charnock
American War by Omar El Akkad
Borne by Jeff VanderMeer
Gather the Daughters by Jennie Melamed
Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill
Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfař
wychwood: a cartoon panda doing a somersault (gen - tumbling panda)
This month was ridiculous, so I'm splitting the booklog in two, in the hopes of getting at least some of it out of the way!

86. The Chalet School Wins the Trick and 87. A Future Chalet School Girl - Elinor M Brent-Dyer ) I'm always very happy to read any of this series.


88. The Life of Birds - David Attenborough ) I personally am not invested in birds in particular, but all of this stuff is fascinating.


89. Steering the Craft - Ursula Le Guin ) I think this would probably be useful for someone who wanted to improve their fiction writing - and it's interesting even for someone like me.


90. Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet - Karen Hellekson and Kristina Busse ) A good snapshot of a moment I remember, and a reminder of how much things have changed!


91. The Tainted Cup - Robert Jackson Bennett ) I unexpectedly enjoyed this; not particularly memorable, but solid entertainment.


92. Tales From the Folly - Ben Aaronovitch ) I would say this was really only for fans of the series, but if you are a fan there's some really nice moments here.


93. We'll Prescribe You a Cat - Syou Ishida tr. E Madison Shimoda ) Not much depth, but it was quite pleasant to read.


95. Conclave - Robert Harris ) I really enjoyed this book, and I thought it did a great job of the Catholic vibes.


97. The Ministry of Time - Kaliane Bradley ) Ultimately I don't think I have any idea what this book is doing, but I do think it's at least trying to do something different; I would try Bradley again.


94. Sheepfarmer's Daughter, 96. Divided Allegiance, and 98. Oath of Gold - Elizabeth Moon ) A really classic fantasy trilogy; I still love these with the wholehearted commitment I did when I first came across them in a second-hand shop as a young teenager.
redbird: closeup of me drinking tea, in a friend's kitchen (Default)
I got a paper letter from the Registry of Motor Vehicles yesterday, telling me it was time to renew my state ID card, and a billing email from Panix this morning.

I took care of both of those online. Both were straightforward, although the state required me to check more boxes--which makes sense, because Panix doesn't care where I live, am registered to vote, or also have email with other providers. Interestingly, the RMV noted that I'm already registered as an organ donor--but that, unlike voter registration, doesn't depend on them having my current address.
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)


A diverse assortment of (mostly) non-Future History science fiction stories from Robert A. Heinlein.

The Menace From Earth by Robert A. Heinlein
took a drive thru the so called war torn SW side around the ICE facility. The worst part was the 3 bicycle cops that jumped the curb and cut in front of me mid block and I almost hit them.

More folks with cameras and such and of course the Portland police standing about, there werent many protestors or demonstrators, or as they say paid antifa there. Geez, this is Portland people, we have our own style here and having fun is the best part, make it festive while exercising our 1st amendment rights! Oh and if the protestors were being paid, you know they would have union reps to ensure that it was equal pay for all.

Ryo Akiyama

2025-10-11 19:02[personal profile] fennectik posting in [community profile] anime_manga
fennectik: Anime (Anime)
Recently found out more about that other kid in Digimon Tamers and his connection with Rika Nonaka. As it turns out, he's the protagonist of some Digimon games released for the WonderSwan gaming system which connects Digimon Adventure 1 and 2 with Tamers, with the Tamers Anime being the conclusion to his story.

Ryo's connection to Rika is that he's the sole person she ever lost to in the Digimon card championships years before the events of Tamers, and when he disappeared she became the Digimon Queen. Mind blown.

lydamorehouse: (crazy eyed Renji)
 buckeye butterfly
Image: Buckeye butterfly

My family and I are up at our friends' cabin for the weekend. 

These are the friends of ours who have a lovely place with a natural shoreline (which they planted and meticulously mantain) on Crooked Lake in Siren, Wisconsin. At the far end of their property there is what I believe is a "smooth aster" (the native version of a purple aster.) It has attracted so many butterflies this year, it's not even funny. We've seen the buckeye pictured above as well as a painted lady, a clouded sulpher, and (and this might sound strange,) my favorite, this chonk of a moth, the corn ear worm moth.

corn ear worm moth
Yep, total pest. Turns into chonk floof, baby mothra. 

The dock is all pulled in, of course, so we've been amusing ourselves in other ways. In the nearby town of Weber, there is a quilt show. Ihave reported on this event in the past. It's very small town, in the best way? We're talking about tables set up in the local high school, staffed by little old ladies and a (bad) taco bar serving food for $5.00 in the cafeteria. The whole event kind of smells like Oretaga taco seasoning, but there are rows and rows of quilts with "artist statements" like, "I thought this pattern would be fun to try. WRONG. So I put it in craft jail for a few years, but this year decided to finish it. So here it is. Enjoy." These ladies (and some gents) really don't mince words when it comes to their quilts. Another one read, "Not much to say. Just need to use up my scraps." Then it will look like this:

yellow quilt, Weber 2025
Image: complex, bright yellow quilt.

Mason and I then went for a drive to check out Clam Dam, which, frankly, is the best name for any dam, anywhere as far as I'm concerned. 

 So far, a nice, chill vacation. Just what we needed post-Gaylaxicon.

How about you all? Up to anything fun?
conuly: (Default)
in the downstairs front hall. Hasn't worked in over a decade. Flip the switch, nothing happens.

I happened to be lying on the floor today when I saw....

Me: Huh. Hey, Jenn? Does that hall light have a pull cord?

Jenn: What? No, I don't think so.

Me: I'm looking right at it. You just can't see it because there's less than an inch of it left, right up against the ceiling.

After I sourced the stepladder and a new light bulb it turns out - the whole time, the only reason it didn't work was because the pull cord was set to off.

Welp, it's fixed now!

***********************


Read more... )
conuly: (Default)
Detectives from the vice squad
with weary sadistic eyes
spotting fairies.
Degenerates,
some folks say.

But God, Nature,
or somebody
made them that way.

Police lady or Lesbian
over there?
Where?


********


This poem is brought to you by the NYHS exhibit on The Gay Harlem Renaissance, which you should definitely see if you're in the city. They have pay-as-you-wish admission every Friday from 5 - 8.

Also, I'm incrementing my Robert Moses counter up but only a little, because it was a complaint embedded in an exhibit about somebody else, but it was at the NYHS, so it doesn't really count. So it has now been one day since the last Robert Moses mention, but only kinda.
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE POST A NAKED URL HERE.

Asking politely has failed for 20 years. Therefore, comments with naked urls will be deleted, as they break Recent Comments. To post links, follow the advice below.



DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE POST A NAKED URL HERE.

OK, results of this have not been what I wanted.

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE POST A NAKED URL HERE.

I am beginning a count now (1:23 PM Oct 13) and if the naked url count hits ten, and I don't think it's someone trying to game what I am going to post, I will turn off anonymous comments for a week. If after that, I get another ten naked urls, I will try a month, and then a year.

If the offender has a DW account, I will block them.

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE POST A NAKED URL HERE.
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)


13 works new to me. Four fantasy, two horror, one non-fiction, one thriller, and five SF, of which at least three are series.

Books Received, October 4 to October 10


Poll #33712 Books Received, October 4 to October 10
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 54


Which of these look interesting?

View Answers

The Seed of Destruction by Rick Campbell (July 2026)
2 (3.7%)

Uncivil Guard by Foster Chamberlin (November 2025)
8 (14.8%)

Crawlspace by Adam Christopher (March 2026)
6 (11.1%)

The Girl With a Thouand Faces by Sunyi Dean (May 2026)
15 (27.8%)

Your Behavior Will Be Monitored by Justin Feinstein (April 2026)
5 (9.3%)

Blood Bound by Ellis Hunter (April 2026)
1 (1.9%)

Sublimation by Isabel J. Kim (June 2026)
18 (33.3%)

Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher (March 2026)
24 (44.4%)

Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction: Volume Three edited by Stephen Kotowych (October 2025)
16 (29.6%)

Rabbit Test and Other Stories by Samantha Mills (April 2026)
15 (27.8%)

The Body by Bethany C. Morrow (February 2026)
4 (7.4%)

I’ll Watch Your Baby by Neena Viel (May 2026)
5 (9.3%)

Nowhere Burning by Catriona Ward (July 2026)
9 (16.7%)

Some other option
0 (0.0%)

Cats!
38 (70.4%)

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mindstalk: (Default)
mindstalk

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