Catching Up
I was going to write a report on some of my experiences at Readercon 22, but it felt flat and boring, so I've discarded it. It was a great convention, as always, and I got to see all sorts of great folks in the way one does at a convention: too quickly. Panels seemed to go well, I enjoyed the ones I saw, I survived the ones I was on, and I got to see Jeff Ford do a little dance at the Wold Newton Reading Extravaganza, so my con was complete. For a comprehensive collection of links to reports on panels and the convention in general, as well as links to various videos of events, check out the official Readercon list. It was a wonderful few days, and I'm tempted to single out particular people who worked really hard behind the scenes to make it a wonderful few days, but really, everybody who volunteers for Readercon deserves thanks.
Meanwhile, I have neglected this here blog a bit over the last week, and am likely to continue to neglect it while I work on some writing assignments as well as preparing classes for the fall, so I would not be surprised if the next two or three weeks are fairly quiet around here.
To keep you from dying of boredom in that time (because I know I am your only source of entertainment!), here are some things that are not here...
Meanwhile, I have neglected this here blog a bit over the last week, and am likely to continue to neglect it while I work on some writing assignments as well as preparing classes for the fall, so I would not be surprised if the next two or three weeks are fairly quiet around here.
To keep you from dying of boredom in that time (because I know I am your only source of entertainment!), here are some things that are not here...
- My latest Sandman Meditations piece -- now with added poetry!
- I'm not the only one reading Sandman issue-by-issue -- The Oncoming Hope is now up to issue 20, "Facade", and has a thoughtful post about it. I'm still hurtling forward with Sandman without looking back, for fear of getting caught in a paralyzing feedback loop of recursion, so don't have any new thoughts on "Facade", myself, but it's a post well worth checking out.
- Ta-Nahisi Coates offers a some powerful paragraphs of E.L. Doctorow and thinks about the aggressive confidence of great writing
- John Coulthart on alchemical and John Dee-related treasures available via the Internet Archive
- A quest to find the exact locations in Manhattan of the cover photographs for some of Bob Dylan's early albums (via Bob Dylan Encyclopedia)
- Photographs of Stanley Kubrick filming Paths of Glory
- Richard Brody on Rainer Werner Fassbinder's science fiction movie World on a Wire, released to U.S. theatres for the first time. Hopefully, a U.S. DVD is imminent (I would not be surprised to see it from Criterion, which would be a cause for celebration)
- I would also like to second what Brody said in his brief review of the DVD of Fassbinder's Martha: "An enterprising distributor ought to release [Fassbinder's] complete works in a boxed set, as has been done for Kurosawa; the Fassbinder box would be even more important, more artistically satisfying, more exhilarating, and more fun."
- At the new film blog Press Play, Simon Abrams considers class in the films of Stuart Gordon (of Reanimator fame).
- Genevieve Valentine is among my favorite people in the galaxy, and the io9 Book Club is discussing her novel Mechanique this month. I'm glad they're doing it by the month, but it would rhyme better if it were Mechanique Week. Maybe we could say that in order to participate in the Book Club, you should go seek Mechanique this week... Or use the book club to take a peek at Mechanique. Or sport a motto: Eat a leek and read Mechanique! Hey you, Jesus freak -- get yourself some Mechanique! Tired of realpolitik? Read Mechanique! Okay okay okay, I know. I'm a geek.