wisb-Guardian-Express

The folks behind the marketing campaign for Syfy's new/returning show, Alphas, have been sending me lots of video links.  I've decided to share those with all of you (by "share" I mean "use my blog space to point to things you might have found on Youtube if you had been looking").  If you have been watching the show, please let me know what you think in the comments.

Here are the video promos:

Occasionally I will post a poem or some other piece of writing on my blog under the title "Adventures in ..."  Why?  Because I like sharing and sometimes I write things that I don't feel like publishing, for one reason or another.  And if I'm not going to publish it through traditional channels, I might as well share it.

The following poem is certainly not one of my best.  I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote it.  But it is the first poem I've written with the note feature of my Zune HD.  That's pretty cool, no?

Anywho.  Feel free to let me know what you think.

Here's the poem:

The dream slips into nothingness,
the chasm a story that never ends
and whips the world into a warped waking of minds.

Who are we in the dream
but the tender wisps
of someone's eldest aspirations?
Who do we become
in another's dreams
but the hope transposed
over the globe of the soul.

When we grow into our own snow globes
we turn the dream upon itself
to become the careful display of nostalgic longing.

Until one day the new child
forms from the chiasmic center
of a hurricane ocean of imaginations.
Until we become ourselves
the makers of globes.

I've also started a new writing project, which I'm tentatively calling The Last Fable of Maxine Swansey, which takes place (currently) over three different time periods in a character's life (1984, 2050, and 2155). I may add more time periods, and possibly other characters across the years inbetween. I don't know.

What I do know is that the writing style for this piece is nothing like anything I've written before. It combines stream of consciousness and a literary writing structure reminiscent of someone like Pynchon or Salman Rushdie (more Rushdie than Pynchon at the moment -- these are just comparisons to give an impression of the style I'm working with, not an assessment of quality or an admission of copycat behavior). I'm not sure why I'm doing this, though I like how inserting stream of consciousness in the middle of third person does some interesting things to destabilize the narrative (in a way that I think works). We'll see what happens as I continue to write this thing.

Point is:  I'm having fun doing something weird, but also mundane. There's a lot of intersection between the everyday and the strange, and the often fuzzy border that exists between the two (the first chapter involves a character discovering a man in a random Spanish courtyard trying to convince people he has learned how to control animals through martial art dance -- in this case, a bull -- and there's all kinds of other weirdness going on, too -- coincidences upon coincidences, some strange technology, odd characters, and so on and so forth).

And that, I think, is what I really need. I need to have fun just writing something. Something I can insert more of my life into, as writers are wont to do.

Anywho. What are you all up to?

The net is abuzz with news that Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the Moon, has passed away after what appeared to be complications from heart surgery.  He was 82.

Perhaps it sounds silly to some, but I teared up after seeing this on Twitter and realizing it wasn't a hoax.  It's hard to explain, but Neil Armstrong is one of those people you can't help but look up to.  A person who did something no other human being had ever done before.  He fulfilled the dreams of writers and scientists and people sitting around in their living rooms watching black-and-white scifi TV shows.  July 20th, 1969 will forever be a reminder of his achievements, and the achievements of his fellow astronauts, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.

Like a lot of people, he was, in no small way, an inspiration for me when I was a child -- if not directly, then by proxy.  I remember watching a live broadcast of a shuttle liftoff as a kid and thinking to myself, "That might be me one day."  There's something powerful about that kind of reaction, of believing you can do something -- that you should do something.  Health conditions made sure I would never be an astronaut, but the world Armstrong created by putting his feet into the fine dust of the Moon was one that made me long to go up there and carve out a piece of history for myself, however small.  Perhaps that explains my obsession with space, and not just science fiction.  It explains my desperate desire to go up there one day, even if only for a few moments.  To feel space in my own way.  To feel like I'm a part of some grander human experience.  Armstrong made all of that possible.

And in a weird way, I thought he would always be here.  I know that's insane, since we all must die.  He was 82, after all; he lived a lot of years.  But he was supposed to be there like some kind of great father, to watch over us as we journeyed further and further out there, to be there for us with all his wisdom.  The world does not feel right without him -- cannot feel right.  There's an emptiness now.  We've lost a human being who meant so much to so many.  A man who took us where no humans had ever been before, who uttered a line that will echo throughout history forever:  "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
You will have a special place in our hearts, Mr. Armstrong.  One day, when some human being puts his or her feet on some distant rock, like Mars or maybe a planet around another star, they will think of you, your words, and what you meant to the world and mankind.  And maybe they too will bask in the glory that you began all those years ago.

Sleep well, hero.

It seems the furor over the would-be publication of the first chapter of Save the Pearls by Victoria Foyt hasn't quite sunk in yet for Marvin Kaye, the new editor of Weird Tales.  You can read my previous post and all the attached links to get a sense of what happened -- if you don't know already.  To add to the mess, as Rose Fox of Publishers Weekly reports, Kaye has taken to defending himself in emails sent to individuals requesting to have their subscriptions canceled rather than posting a public response as "promised" by the publisher (the request Rose discusses was made by L. Grabenstetter here)(I've taken the liberty of reprinting the message here, though I strongly suggest reading both Rose Fox's and L. Grabenstetter's articles):

Your wishes will be respected; I believe the publisher will handle that, I regret your decision, and can only say that after reading the book, I found it a powerful attack on racism, just the opposite from the charges leveled at it. However, I only recently saw the marketing of this book, and find it in terrible taste; had I seen it, I would not have read the book. As it is, we have decided not to publish the story. 

Regarding Scott Card’s story, I did not see any homophobia in it, or I would have objected, but for the record, I did not want to buy anything from him; the publisher, Tor Books, made it clear that if I did not include his story, they would not publish the book at all. MK 

I can't help but wonder what is going through Kaye's head.  Whatever you think of Card, his Hamlet rewrite was thoroughly panned for, well, being rather homophobic and legitimating certain anti-gay stereotypes.  How Kaye can defend Hamlet's Father against these criticisms is perhaps indicative of his inability to accept what many are saying about Save the Pearls. While I have personally reserved judgment on Save the Pearls because I have yet to read it, the community has voiced its mostly-negative opinion.  They are not happy, and the more I read about their reasons, the more I'm inclined to agree with them.  Most people/organizations would see the anger being funneled their way and immediately go into damage control.  But not Kaye.  Rather than, if you'll excuse the phrase, take his head out of his ass, he's decided to suspend critical analysis in favor of further idiocy.

At this point it doesn't really matter whether Save the Pearls is racist; Kaye and the publisher have made a critical error, both in effectively lying to us about when they became aware of the depth of controversy surrounding Foyt's work and in refusing to recognize what is happening to them (or, rather, what they have done to themselves) as a product of poor management, poor vision, and poor public relations.  By sending defensive emails to subscribers, you don't help your case.  Just look at how poorly Progressive Insurance have handled themselves in recent weeks.  The point is that as a member of a professional venture, it behooves you to maintain professional decorum, even if the Internet will not afford you the same courtesy.  That means admitting mistakes when you make them, acknowledging and fielding counterpoints with respect, and so on (these are basic concepts of argumentation, by the way).  Perhaps some people are being overly harsh to Save the Pearls, but you cannot make that case by, as I mentioned the other day, treating the opposition with condescension bordering on contempt.

I'm not sure if Weird Tales can recover from these massive failures.  With subscribers shedding the magazine and the SF/F community generally up in arms over it all, it will take an extraordinary amount of work to gain the community's trust.  And that might be an understatement.

I'm teaching an Introduction to Literature course this semester and cannot decide between two of Shakespeare's plays.  So I'm going to leave that up to the Internet.

Vote away:

Update:  The list is now alphabetical by author!

(Note:  The following books are what was listed on Twitter under the #ThoroughlyGoodBooksbyPOC hashtag at 5:45 PM EST (the 21st of August).  Twitter will not allow me to view anything that might have appeared earlier than the morning of the 21st.

It should also be noted that some folks have expanded the list to include books featuring POC characters, even when such books are written by white authors.)

A little background:

In response to the recent Weird Tales fiasco, author Jim C. Hines decided to switch things around to get people to list their favorite novels by people of color, irrespective of genre.  I've decided to compile as many of those books as I possibly can.  The following list will, I hope, be updated over the course of the week (please understand that I am in grad school, which begins anew tomorrow, and so my time may be limited to do this).

(Note:  Some authors will not have specific titles listed.  This is either because people suggested practically everything written by those authors or specifically stated "anything by."  Please excuse any repetitions you may find.)

Now for the list:

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed
The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years by Chingiz Aitmatov
The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine
Heaven's Fate by Andre Alan
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie
How to Traverse Terra Incognita by Dean Alfar
Salamanca by Dean Francis Alfar
Anything by Isabel Allende
Krymsin Nocturnes by Joseph Armstead
No God But God:  The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam by Res Aslan

Daytripper by Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
The Tiger Claw by Shauna Singh Baldwin
Dreampark by Steven Barnes
Lion's Blood by Steven Barnes
Cosmos Latinos:  An Anthology of Science Fiction from Latin America and Spain edited by Andrew L. Bell and Yolanda Molina-Gavilan
Zoo City by Lauren Beukes
Full Moon on the Reservation by Gloria Bird
Noughts and Crosses by Mallory Blackman
Servant of the Underworld by Aliette de Bodard
Saga de los confines by Liliana Bodoc
2666 by Roberto Bolaño
When the Rainbow Goddess Wept by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard
Icon by Dwayne McDuffie and M. D. Bright
King Maker by Maurice Broaddus
The Knights of Breton Court by Maurice Broaddus
Anything by Tobias Buckell
Anything by Octavia Butler

32 Candles by Ernessa Carter
Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra
Red Earth and Pouring Red by Vikram Chandra
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
Anything by Joyce Chng
Radical Equations:  Civil Rights from Mississippi to the Algebra Project by Bob Moses and Charles Cobb
Shadow Ops:  Control Point by Myke Cole
The Hanging of Angelique by Afua Cooper
White Talk by Chris Crutcher


Wolf at the Door by J. Damask
Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga
Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat
Mare's War by Tanita S. Davis
Anything by Samuel R. Delany
Playing Indian by Philip Deloria
Anything by Junot Diaz
Black Candle:  Poems About Women from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh by Chitra Divakaruni
Acacia by David Anthony Durham
Pride of Carthage by David Anthony Durham
Anything by Tananarive Due

Perma Red by Debra Magpie Earling
The Budayeen Series by George Alec Effinger
Cold Magic by Kate Elliot
Cold Fire by Kate Elliot
Cold Steel by Kate Elliot
The Honey Month by Amal El-Mohtar
Blonde Roots by Bernardine Evaristo

Zero by Huang Fan
The Wretched of the Earth by Franz Fanon
Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad by Minister Faust
Shrinking the Heroes by Minister Faust

The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez
The Kappa Child by Hiromi Goto
Half-world by Hiromi Goto
Tall Story by Candy Gourlay

Redwood and Wildfire by Andrea Hairston
Mindscape by Andrea Hairston
The Ben January Series by Barbara Hambly
When Dreams Travel by Githa Hariharan
Girl, Overboard by Justina Chen Headley
Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley
Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier
Changing by Lily Hoang
Cortez on Jupiter by Ernest Hogan
Smoking Mirror Blues by Ernest Hogan
Mean Spirit by Linda Hogan
Anything by M. C. A. Hogarth
Anything by Nalo Hopkinson
So Long Been Dreaming:  Postcolonial Science Fiction and Fantasy edited by Nalo Hopkinson and Uppinder Mehan
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
God's War by Kameron Hurley

Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Anything by Brenda Jackson
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin
The Killing Moon by N. K. Jemisin
Mona in the Promised Land by Gish Jen
Red Moonshine by Alaya Dawn Johnson
Smoketown by Tenea Johnson
Some Prefer Nettles by Tanizaki Junichiro
The Makioka Sisters by Tanizaki Junichiro

Atlas:  The Archaeology of an Imaginary City by Dung Kai-Cheung
Good Luck Yukikaze by Chohei Kambayashi
Yukikaze by Chouhei Kambayashi
Polar City Blues by Katharine Kerr
SNARE by Katharine Kerr
Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi
Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King
Warrior Woman by Maxine Hong Kingston
Transmission by Hari Kunzru

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Salt Fish Girl by Larissa Lai
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Sightseeing by Rattawut Lapcharoensap
Liar by Justine Larbarlastier
The Devil in Silver by Victor LaValle
Lucretia and the Kroons by Victor LaValle
The Earthsea Series by Ursula K. LeGuin
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
Night, Again by Dinh Linh
Ash by Malinda Lo
Huntress by Malinda Lo
Adaptation by Malinda Lo
Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord

The Crusades Through Arab Eyes by Amin Maalouf
Anything by Naguib Mahfouz
The Dragon and the Stars edited by Derwin Mak and Eric Choi
Fire Logic by Laurie J. Marks
Anything by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Snakes and Ladders by Gita Mehta
Shine, Coconut Moon by Neesha Meminger
Red Spider White Web by Misha
Tales from Firozsha Baag by Rohinton Mistry
Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry
Such a Long Journey by Rohinton Mistry
Crossfire by Miyuki Miyabe
Bodies in Motion by Mary Ann Mohanraj
Anything by Silvia Moren-Garcia
Anything by Toni Morrison
Anything by Walter Mosley
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami
After the Quake by Haruki Murakami
The Legend of Tarik by Walter Dean Myers

Priscilla the Great by Sybil Nelson
Rocket Girls:  The Last Planet by Housuke Nojiri

The Next Continent by Issui Ogawa
The Shadow Speak by Nnedi Okorafor
Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
Zahra the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor
The Famished Road by Ben Okri
Salsa Nocturna by Daniel Jose Older
The Twelve Kingdoms Series by Fuyumi Ono
Bone Game by Louis Owens
Anything by Helen Oyeyemi

Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins
The Darker Mask:  Heroes from the Shadows edited by Gary Phillips and Christopher Chambers
Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon
The Grass Dancer by Susan Power
Harmony by Project Itoh
Genocidal Organ by Project Itoh

None

The Umbrella Country by Bino Realuyo
Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves
Anything by Eden Robinson

The Chronicles of Elantra by Michelle Sagara
Orientalism by Edward Said
All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka
Ancient, Ancient by Kiini Ibura Salaam
A Strange in Olandria by Sofia Samatar
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Dossouye by Charles R. Saunders
The Imaro Series by Charles Saunders
Black No More by George Schuyler
House of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan
FilterHouse by Nisi Shawl
The Woman Who Thought She Was a Planet by Vandana Singh
Flygirl by Sherri S. Smith
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
The Vampire's Beautiful Daughter by S. P. Somtow

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan
Lauriat edited by Charles A. Tan
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum
Dark Matter:  Reading the Bones edtied by Sheree R. Thomas
Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi wa Thiong'o
The Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi wa Thiongo
Apex Book of World SF edited by Lavie Tidhar
Apex Book of World SF 2 edited by Lavie Tidhar
Pluto Files by Neil Degrasse Tyson

None

Ink by Sabrina Vourvoulias
Lower Myths by Eliza Victoria
The Viewless Dark by Eliza Victoria

In the United States of Africa by Abdourahman Waberi
The Lion Hunter by Elizabeth Wein
The Broken Crown Series by Michelle West
Zone One by Colson Whitehead
The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead
Otherland by Tad Williams
Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson

Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian

Stories of Ibis by Hiroshi Yamamoto
Sleeping Helena by Erzebet YellowBoy
Dragon of the Lost Sea by Laurence Yep
The Deer and the Cauldron by Jin Yong
NP by Banana Yoshimoto
Ooku by Fumi Yoshinaga
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu

None

Additional Anthologies or Magazines:
Expanded Horizons (magazine)
Philippine Speculative Fiction Anthologies edited by Various
Alternative Alamat by Various

Plus the short story work of:
Aliette de Bodard
Zen Cho
Tananarive Due
Xia Jia
Rahul Kanakia
Yoon Ha Lee
Ken Liu
Rochita Loenen-Ruiz
Shweta Narayan
An Owomoyela
Sofia Samatar
Benjanun Sriduangkaew
Nghi Vo