Why Doesn't Worldcon 2006 Go Away? Part 2

For a convention I didn't go to, I certainly have a lot to say about it....

There's been at least one post complaining about the process of voting for the the Hugo Awards. And of course, at least one response to that complaint. However, IMHO it sounds rather hypocritical to make a post being depressed about Hugo voting numbers and then make sarcastic remarks about a fan (who are the people that conventions are for) who doesn't like the process.

Maybe it's not the process that's broken, but rather letting people know about it. I think when fewer than 10% of the people vote on the Hugos, the validity of the award starts to crumble. Why don't more people vote for the Hugos? I don't know. I've certainly taken the time now and again to complain about the Hugos. I think it's ridiculous that so few people vote for the award. Perhaps it's just that the fans aren't the ones who care about the award and it's the professionals who care. What does it say when more people go to the Hugo ceremony than vote for the award. Should you have to provide a completed ballot to be able to attend the awards? Maybe they should give everyone a 10% off coupon to the dealer's room for a completed Hugo ballot. I wish more people voted, much less nominated. One step at a time, I guess.

Yes, William Lexner is new to the field, but that's good. And yes, he has some basic facts wrong (e.g., only about 10% of Worldcon memberships are bought at the door, not half). We want these people to stick around. We want people to come in and question things. I think William has some interesting ideas about the awards. Since their tablated on a computer these days (right?) there's no reason to not have Hugo voting be open later and longer. I have to argue with only having voting at the convention, though. I pay for my supporting membership so that I can nominate for the Hugos, vote for the Hugos, and vote on site selection. I can't always go to the Hugos. I suppose you could have secure online voting during the convention dates. That might work. And to quote him:

Now I've heard it said that this implausible because the Hugo Awards themselves must be engraved in advance of the event. If this is the height of the argument against technological advance and across-the-board fairness and equality by the Old Guard, then I'll happily sink that laughable argument.

Make up engraved plates for all of the nominees. I am reasonably certain that with the 3000+ engineers and rocket scientists in attendance, we could manage to rivet them onto the cute little rocket ships. Hell, I bet one of our numerous PhD.'s could even handle engraving tools.

Responses to William's criticism of the Hugos take on a 'it's tradition' and 'we've always done it this way' air to me, and that's dangerous. Nothing makes me want to break and change things quicker than hearing 'we've always done it this way' or 'it's tradition.' That just means you're lazy.

I mean, c'mon, we made a change to the Best Editor award (which reads to me like a bunch of book editors were sick and tired of getting passed over for magazine editors). But whatever, I think it's too bad that book editors get overlooked for this award (except this year, the only living book editor to receive the award, congrats David!). It will be nice for Jim Baen to win the first Best Book Editor Hugo next year, since sentimentality will give him all the votes.

Here's my question, though. You've made separate categories for Editor. Now, who's going to tell all the fans (you know, the two who vote) who edited what? Patrick Nielsen Hayden made a nice entry on his web page to tell what he's worked on. What about the rest of you? I know who a lot of the editors are, but does your average fan?

To that end, I've created a wiki to help out with the Best Editor Hugo Awards.

http://besteditorhugo.pbwiki.com

It's very bare right now. I'm going to incorporate Patrick's info shortly. Then I'll hit up some other people and get their info on the page. Yes, it looks like a vanity site since I'm the only editor with any content (and Lou's up there since I didn't want the beginning of the alphabet to be empty), but I will be adding content. Like I say on the wiki, I hope this will become something that others will take initiative on and put up information. It could be editors, authors, observant fans, etc. We can create links to editor's blogs and home pages, links to author's pages, links to publishers, etc. This could be a very cool thing. Or we could all grow tired of it and stop in a week or two. Please chose the former.

Tags: Science Fiction, Electric Velocipede, Worldcon, Hugo Voting

Why Doesn't Worldcon 2006 Go Away? Part 1

For a convention I didn't go to, I certainly have a lot to say about it....

There's been some talk about an event at the con here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. If you don't know (or don't want to click on an assload of links) apparently Harlan Ellison groped Connie Willis during the Hugo Ceremony.

I won't bother to rehash all the things that people have said on the above posts. I wasn't there, so it's tough for me to give an opinion on the matter. However, like a lot of people, I feel compelled to weigh in. I'll try a different tack.

While it was grossly inappropriate for Harlan to do what he did, there's little use in censuring him, or 'putting him down' as I read somewhere (most likely that's tongue in cheek). He's not a young man and I doubt that our opinions, thoughts, bon mots, threats, etc. would matter to him. Harlan is happily an irascible ass. It's what he does.

But, to say that what he did is fine 'because that's Harlan being Harlan' is just as irresponsible as his actions to begin with. It doesn't matter who it was up there, it was a man taking advantage of a woman. What if it was David Hartwell and Connie Willis? Robert Charles Wilson and Connie Willis? Robert Sawyer and Connie Willis? Harlan and Kelly Link? Does the enormity of the situation change if there are different people up there? In my opinion, no.

For me, in situations like these, before I do something I think, "Would I do this to my mother up here?" and if the answer is no, then I don't do it. Perhaps my life is more vanilla than yours. Or your mom is more liberal than mine is, but I digress.

Science fiction already has problems with being perceived as a boy's-only club. To paraphrase someone else on this matter (I'm sorry for the lack of citation here, but there are SO many posts about this), if this is how we treat one of the most respected women in the field, what does the aspiring young lady think she has to look forward to?

In some ways, I feel that I shouldn't even offer an opinion on this matter. I'm a male. I'm a white male. Heck, to be blunt, I am a tall, white, American male. I am given advantages by merit of what I physically am that many other people do not get. I have no idea what it feels like to be discriminated against. I don't know what it feels like to be oppressed. Traditionally, tall, white, American men are the opressors. So why should my opinion be counted? Maybe because it's different from the other tall, white, American men? Maybe.

I've written before about the need for more women in science fiction and how important women are to science fiction. I don't think this episode with Harlan and Connie Willis will change the mind of aspiring female science fiction authors.

In fact, I hope that they can take inspiration from this and want to be a part of something to change the field. This month we've gone from a bomb to a fizzle.

We can do better than that. We need more (slush) bombs.

Tags: Science Fiction, Electric Velocipede, Worldcon, Harlan Ellison, Connie Willis

Hugos and Stuff

First, congrats to all the Hugo winners this past weekend at Worldcon. I'm particularly pleased at David Hartwell's win and Scalzi's Campbell win. Very, very cool. Good guys. Hard-working guys. (and if Connie Willis wasn't so nice and so talented I'd be irritated that she won, but have you read "Inside Job"? It's. SO. FRICKING. GOOD.)

Second, via the inestimable Robert Sawyer, the Hugo nominating stats. And I'm proud (and a little pathetic) to note that Electric Velocipede is actually part of the extended ballot this year.

No, 10 nominations doesn't really float my boat since I know that I know more than 10 people who went to last year's Worldcon and this year's Worldcon who probably left at least one entry in the Best Fanzine nominating section blank. (you know who you are)

True, it could be that everyone I know thinks there are five other fanzines better than the one I edit. That's possible.

And the Packers are winning the Super Bowl this year.

Tags: Science Fiction, Electric Velocipede, Hugos, Worldcon

My Home Town's in the News!

OK, so Forbes just put out a list of America's Drunkest Cities. Guess who's #1? That's right, it's my home town: Milwaukee. To quote:

"[M]ore than 70% of adult Milwaukeeans reported that they had had at least one alcoholic drink within the past 30 days--the highest percentage on our list."

Here's the list, with bolded cities that I've been to:

1. Milwaukee
2. Minneapolis-St. Paul
3. Columbus, OH
4. Boston
5. Austin (I'll be there in a few months)
6. Chicago
7. Cleveland
8. Pittsburgh
9. Philadelphia (tie)
9. Providence (tie)

This list contains some of my favorite cities: Chicago, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, etc., and now maybe I understand why. Drinking was truly a way of life back in Milwaukee; it was just something that you did all the time. Of course, when you were shut in by cold and snow half the year, you had to do something to pass the time.

Just to be clear, the last thing I want to do is glorify drinking. I know for many people it is not something fun to do to pass the time. And also to be clear, I am going to celebrate this news with a drink.

Tags: Science Fiction, Electric Velocipede

Worldcon

Alas, I won't be at Worldcon. It's just too far away, and too much expense while we're working with one income and a baby. For everyone who'll be there without me, have lots of fun and tell me all about it when you get back (or even tell me about it while you're there). And of course, for you conventioneers (and supporters and goers to last year's convention in Glasgow), you did vote, right?

While I won't be there, the zine will be. You can go to the Borderlands Books table in the Dealer's Room and pick up a copy of the last five issues (6 - 10) and talk to some great booksellers.

I will be at World Fantasy this year, however, and I'm really looking forward to it. I'm still working out the logistics for a room to stay in since I decided on going rather late. I have something set, but it's fairly crowded and I wouldn't be adverse to alternate plans if they were available.

Tags: Science Fiction, Electric Velocipede, Worldcon, World Fantasy

Mike Simanoff

Through Jeff VanderMeer's blog, I learned of the sad passing of Mike Simanoffa few days ago. The news came as quite a shock to me. I always enjoyed talking with Mike (he worked as a librarian and did some freelance science fiction work, so we had a lot in common) and missed seeing him since he moved away from New York.

To honor Mike's memory, I've posted Mike's story "Morris, His Self" on the Electric Velocipede website. It's a small insight into the person that was Mike. It's a story that I've always had a fondness for, and it's the only story I've published that actually featured velocipedes.

UPDATE: I'm glad to say that this post is generating a lot more traffic than my typical posts. Thanks to everyone who's linked here, and thanks and appreciation to all of those who knew Mike and want to come home and share in a small remembrance of him.

UPDATE UPDATE: Noticed that the link was to an old version of the site, I've updated that.

Tags: Science Fiction, Electric Velocipede, Mike Simanoff

Pluto or not Pluto

Recently, several wittier people than me have commented on recent news on whether Pluto is a planet or not. (specifically, John Scalzi [and by proxy, his adorable daughter] and Scott Westerfeld have gotten into a gentlemanly--so far--disagreement over the matter)

I've sat on the sidelines long enough. I've listened to all the arguments and all the reasons on why Pluto should be considered a planet or not (and compelling arguments they were, in fact Scott even uses graphics while Scalzi resorts to video). I just can't let these false ideas be perpetrated any longer.

The truth is, everything revolves around the Earth, or to be specific, around me (see below for photographic evidence; I mean, Christ! Look at that photo! Look how f'ing huge I am?!) And you know what I have hidden behind my back with that smirkety smirk?


Photo copyright Cory Doctorow




































It's frickin' Pluto all you hayters! It doesn't matter if it's a planet or not because I have it and I'm not letting any of you all play with it anymore!


Image copyright NASA

(Apologies to those who read this via RSS; it's funnier on the actual blog site)

Tags: Science Fiction, Electric Velocipede, Scalzi, Scott Westerfeld, Pluto

Thoughts About Books

Some of you may be aware of Jay Tomio's list of the Top 100 of the Past 10 Years over the Bodhisattva. (the link is for the beginning of the list, 91 - 100) It's been an interesting list so far. Jay's a little more than halfway through with the latest list being books 41 - 50. The list makes more sense with this quote from Jay:

Don’t pay too much attention to order with the possible exception of my top ten as I loved all these book and they are largely interchangeable.

He also was getting sick of seeing book lists that referred to mostly canonical books or books that were published well before he was alive. Not that there's anything wrong with older books, but there must be a reason we're publishing so much stuff now, right? If what's coming out now wasn't worth reading, it would be published, right? :) In Jay's words:

I just grow tired of seeing various discussions about our favorite books having to invoke times before many of us were even drawing breath. I promise you their has been other (and vastly superor) children’s fantasy since C.S. Lewis people.

The list is full of lots of books I've liked, books I didn't like, book I haven't read yet, and even books I hadn't heard of. That last bit is what I think makes this list great. I don't read as much as I like, and I obviously don't read as much as Jay does. This is part of the reason why Electric Velocipede has never run reviews; I just don't read enough, quickly enough, to be able to get reviews out in a timely manner. (hint hint for people who read a lot and want to do reviews)

I can't say that I agree with everything that Jay says or thinks about these books, but he's not putting the list together as anything that's supposed to be 'definitive,' more something of 'here's what I think, and maybe you'll find something you missed.' To that end, here's some things I missed that I'm interested in checking out:

49. Wild Life by Molly Glass
58. The Thousandfold Thought by R. Scott Bakker
62. The Sea Came in at Midnight by Steven Erickson
67. Thirst by Ken Kalfus
69. The Knife Thrower and Other Stories by Steven Millhauser
72. The Garden of Secrets by Juan Goytisolo
74. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
81. My Happy Life by Lydia Millet
84. The Insult by Rupert Thomson
85. Dark Propety by Brian Evenson
87. Alva and Irva: The Twins Who Saved a City by Edward Carey
91. My Life as Emperor by Su Tong

N.B.: I've left out books from authors I like that I've missed, such as Graham Joyce's THE LIMITS OF ENCHANTMENT, which I didn't know about, but since I like Joyce's work, it's likely I would pick it up if I saw it.

Tags: Science Fiction, Electric Velocipede, Jay Tomio, book lists

Banned Books

I was all set to do the Banned Books Meme when I decided to look at the list first. I realized I had read embarassingly few titles from the list. Then I thought about the list of television shows that I had seen and started feel even more embarassed that I had clearly watched more television than read banned books.

So I won't do the meme. You can find it linked to on Andy Wheeler's blog above. I don't think I need to state how I feel about banning books (I'd even get up and advocate for the non-banning of a book that I disagree with; information is to be shared), and there's no need to show how little I've read. :)

Go here for information about Banned Books and the American Library Association's Banned Book week.

Tags: Science Fiction, Electric Velocipede, Banned Books

What I'm Doing

Here is a quick round-up of a few things I've been working on:

1. Reading submissions to the anthology--Logorrhea: Good Words Make Good Stories--I'm editing for Bantam
2. Editing and laying out the Ezra Pines chapbook (so Mark Rich can work on illustrations and Hal Duncan can write the intro...you guys are working on this, right?)
3. Laying out and editing issue #11 of Electric Velocipede
4. Determining the contens of issues 12 - 14 (12 is almost full, and 13 and 14 are getting set; there's a reason why I'm filling up multiple issues at the same time and you'll hear more about that after I get the anthology done)
5. Updating ALL the content of the website into the new design
6. Along those lines, I've been working on converting the website over to my Verizon space and I'll be dropping AOL (I'll actually be switching over to a FREE AOL account, but that means I lose the AOL web space where I currently host the website)

Yes, I know, I should dump AOL and free web space altogether. Some day. Soon. But for now, since I'm paying Verizon to connect to the Internet, and they're giving my free space, there's no point in paying more for more space. And there's absolutely no point in paying AOL and Verizon at the same time. Particularly since AOL is allowing me to keep my e-mail for free from them.

So, that means those of you who are still connecting to an AOL URL (shame shame shame!) you need to change to http://www.electricvelocipede.com as the URL you use to connect to the Electric Velocipede website. This URL is already set to forward people to the Verizon space. I'll be putting little notes at the top of the AOL pages (or perhaps just replacing the pages with informational pages) to let people know to switch URLs.

Tags: Science Fiction, Electric Velocipede, AOL, editing

Air Travel is Annoying Enough

These new bans make it even worse. No liquids allowed to be carried on? Does that mean that the airline can't bring liquid either? No more free cans of soda for my flight? Why are those safer than what I brought with me? What if I bought it at the airport and can show a receipt? I'm glad they're allowing baby formula and medicine through, that would be amazingly stupid if they prevented those, too.

My opinion on air travel since 9/11 is that we should be knocked unconcious and stuffed into compartents. Air travel for people should be treated just like shipping. Then there's no need for food, liquids, bathrooms, anything. Just put us under, shove us in a box, stack up the boxes, and let's go.

UPDATE: From Cory Doctorow on BoingBoing, here's the relevant idea that was implied (at least in my head) but missing from my thoughts written out above:

If this is a good idea now, then why won't it still be a good idea in a year? A decade? After all, terrorist plots will always exist in potentia (can you prove that no terrorist plots are hatching at this moment?) Until they handcuff us all nude to our seats and dart us with tranquilizers, there will always be the possibility that a passenger will do something naughty on a plane (even then, who knows how much semtex and roofing nails a bad guy could hide in his colon?).

I agree. If we do this for today, or a week, or a month, what makes it suddenly ok after that time passes? This is why I reiterate: knock us out and ship us like packages. That way you can run us all through an MRI for all I care.

I'm thinking of flying to Austin in November for World Fantasy, and I'll NEED my laptop, but there's no way it's going if it has to be checked. I was getting excited about the trip, but now I don't know. If it's going to be a major hassle to get there, I don't know that I'll make the trip.

And at the end of the year I want to fly my family--which includes a nine-month old (at least at the end of the year she'll be that old)--to AZ to visit Grandpa and Grandma. NJ to AZ is not a short trip and that baby will need to eat. Is my wife prohibited from coming on the plane because she's carrying milk? Is the TSA going to test my wife's breasts to make sure that they're not part of a terrorist plot?

Where does it stop?

Tags: Science Fiction, Electric Velocipede, Air Travel

For Jason Erik Lundberg

For Jason Erik Lundberg
Originally uploaded by gumboeditor.

Since Jason was talking about this book the other day, I thought I'd post a photo of me reading it.

IT'S. SO. FRICKING. GOOD.

Deanna Hoak Hearts Me

Or at least, she tagged me for a meme. Some of these are tough to do since there are more than book that would fit the question....

1. One book that changed your life?

Night Shift by Stephen King. I got it because of the Children of the Corn movie, and then realized that there wasn't a whole book about the movie (which I hadn't seen, being about 12 at the time but being of that desparate pre-teen age I was certain that the movie and its book were FANTASTIC) but a short-story collection. It just changed the way that I looked at fiction. Before this book I had no idea of the things you could do with words.

2. One book you have read more than once?

The Black Company by Glen Cook. I think that Cook is a greatly overlooked writer by much of the fans in the genre. Every time you think you know what's going on in this series, it changes. This first book is mind-blowing. Instead of writing a fantasy series from the point of view of those who are doing the world-changing heroics, here's a book from the point of view of the guys on the front line whose lives won't change all that much no matter what the outcome. In the later books these characters become more important and more powerful, but they somehow still retain that blue-collar feeling.

3. One book you would want on a desert island?

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (or the complete Winnie the Pooh collection).

4. One book that made you laugh?

I've been reading Paddington books to my five-month old and many of the stories contained therein have made me laugh out loud and wake her up. Which means that I need to keep reading so that she falls asleep again.

5. One book that made you cry?

I'm not ashamed to admit that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince made me cry. It wasn't so much to major character's death in the book, but some of the trials and travails that Harry goes through as he grows up. If you haven't spent much time around teenagers (or you aren't one yourself) I think you're missing a huge chunk of what these books have to offer. They really capture the mindset and attitude of teens and what they go through on their way to adulthood.

6. One book you wish had been written?

Hmmm, there's an amazing (so I've heard) John M. Ford book that's being written, but I don't know if/when it will be finished.

7. One book you wish had never been written?

Like Deanna, being a part of the industry, I will take the high road and not answer this question. Actually, I take that back. I really felt Shadowmancer was terrible, and I don't know why so many people that it wasn't.

8. One book you are currently reading?

Patron Saint of Plagues by Barth Anderson. So! Fricking! Good! I wish I had the time to sit down and read it straight through. This guy has a lot of talent. I think this book went under a lot of radars, but it should be picked up by people and read. It's very topical (about the spreading of disease) and yet it still connects the readers to the characters. Great great great.

9. One book you have been meaning to read?

This time I'm listing several books: Iron Council by China Mieville, The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl by Tim Pratt, The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque by Jeffrey Ford, and From the Files of the Time Rangers by Richard Bowes.

10. Tag five people:

Hmmm...I think the five people I'd like to see do this either don't do memes (or have already done this one) or don't have a blog. Yes, there are people in SF publishing that don't have a blog. (are you reading this Herr Minz?)

Tags: Science Fiction, Electric Velocipede, meme