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So, first a reminder that today is World Biodiversity Day (also known as the International Day for Biological Diversity). This year, the spotlight is on invasive alien species, and, sadly, we're not talking Klingons. To quote the WBD website, "Since the 17th century, invasive alien species have contributed to nearly 40% of all animal extinctions for which the cause is known." And, of course, almost every single one of those invasive species were introduced by humans.
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Wednesday, when I was done with the interview, we drove over to the East Side of Providence and spent the evening with Jonathan Thomas, his wife Angel Dean, and Sam Gafford. Johnathan, Sam, and I signed the signature sheets for the forthcoming Black Wings: New Tales of Lovecraftian Horror (edited by S.T. Joshi, PS Publishing). Then we just sat about and talked, which was nice, and bizarrely social for me. I had barleywine for the first time. In fact, I had just a little too much of it, but it was delicious. By the way, Jonathan has a collection of short fiction available from Hippocampus Press, Midnight Call and Other Stories, which I've yet to read, but am looking forward to getting into very soon.
And no, I'm most emphatically not happy at the news that Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles has been canceled, while the sadly unwatchable Dollhouse has been given a second season (though with a smaller budget, I might note). I already knew that Terminator was getting the axe, so I couldn't imagine that Dollhouse wouldn't go bye-bye , as well. And, yeah, I keep hearing how the series has gotten much better than it was at the start, but I had such a strong aversion to the first three or four episodes (characters, concept, actors, etc.) that it'd pretty much have to have become an entirely new show to win me over. I suspect it survived only because its production costs are relatively low (though, again the budget cut), while the pricey sfx required for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles were the kiss of death. Anyway, please don't tell me I should give Dollhouse another chance. I might someday, once I stop being angry about the loss of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Maybe.
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Yesterday, we caught a matinée of Terminator: Salvation. It wasn't quite as good as I'd expected, lacking something of the epic scope and feel I'd hoped for, but I did like it quite a lot. Also, the trailer for District 9 looks promising.
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Turns out, I have a much better reason to hate Stephenie Meyer than her atrocious writing, which I always felt was sort of a poor excuse for loathing someone. Turns out, she's a frakking Mormon, and hands over a percentage of her income (10%, I believe) to the gay-bashing LDS Church. When one considers that in the first quarter of 2009 16% of all books sold in the U.S. (or one in every eight) were written by Meyer, that's a hefty tithe, especially when you factor in her split from the proceeds of the film and tie-in merchandise. So, I may now hate her for, among other LDS-related idiocies, being part of the driving force behind the passage of Prop 8 in California. That she's also a crappy writer can be secondary.
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A quick reminder that the trade paperback of Alabaster is now available from subpress, for the very low price of $14.95 (plus s&h). Also, there's this nifty Alabaster wallpaper you can download FREE.
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Okay. The platypus says it's time to get back to work on "Galápagos."
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Wednesday, when I was done with the interview, we drove over to the East Side of Providence and spent the evening with Jonathan Thomas, his wife Angel Dean, and Sam Gafford. Johnathan, Sam, and I signed the signature sheets for the forthcoming Black Wings: New Tales of Lovecraftian Horror (edited by S.T. Joshi, PS Publishing). Then we just sat about and talked, which was nice, and bizarrely social for me. I had barleywine for the first time. In fact, I had just a little too much of it, but it was delicious. By the way, Jonathan has a collection of short fiction available from Hippocampus Press, Midnight Call and Other Stories, which I've yet to read, but am looking forward to getting into very soon.
And no, I'm most emphatically not happy at the news that Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles has been canceled, while the sadly unwatchable Dollhouse has been given a second season (though with a smaller budget, I might note). I already knew that Terminator was getting the axe, so I couldn't imagine that Dollhouse wouldn't go bye-bye , as well. And, yeah, I keep hearing how the series has gotten much better than it was at the start, but I had such a strong aversion to the first three or four episodes (characters, concept, actors, etc.) that it'd pretty much have to have become an entirely new show to win me over. I suspect it survived only because its production costs are relatively low (though, again the budget cut), while the pricey sfx required for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles were the kiss of death. Anyway, please don't tell me I should give Dollhouse another chance. I might someday, once I stop being angry about the loss of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Maybe.
---
Yesterday, we caught a matinée of Terminator: Salvation. It wasn't quite as good as I'd expected, lacking something of the epic scope and feel I'd hoped for, but I did like it quite a lot. Also, the trailer for District 9 looks promising.
---
Turns out, I have a much better reason to hate Stephenie Meyer than her atrocious writing, which I always felt was sort of a poor excuse for loathing someone. Turns out, she's a frakking Mormon, and hands over a percentage of her income (10%, I believe) to the gay-bashing LDS Church. When one considers that in the first quarter of 2009 16% of all books sold in the U.S. (or one in every eight) were written by Meyer, that's a hefty tithe, especially when you factor in her split from the proceeds of the film and tie-in merchandise. So, I may now hate her for, among other LDS-related idiocies, being part of the driving force behind the passage of Prop 8 in California. That she's also a crappy writer can be secondary.
---
A quick reminder that the trade paperback of Alabaster is now available from subpress, for the very low price of $14.95 (plus s&h). Also, there's this nifty Alabaster wallpaper you can download FREE.
---
Okay. The platypus says it's time to get back to work on "Galápagos."
