"I, too, have an enchanted sword, though I use it but rarely."

Some wedding pictures

2009-10-14T08:15:02Z

My dad's wife Linda sent me pictures she took of the wedding, and with her permission I've uploaded some of them to Flickr.

The end of a good week

2009-10-12T07:34:28Z

As I type this we're about to have our last night in Berkeley before we return to Houston. We've had five full days here, plus partial days on either end (counting the morning and mid-day tomorrow). I managed to get in re-visits to most of the things I really liked in the Bay Area, and of course there was the celebration.

Tuesday: We got in to Oakland. Our checked bags were to get in a couple of hours later. (This is why we try not to check bags, but we had extra stuff this time.) Katie's family had got in earlier, so we went to Berkeley to see them. I finally got to meet Katie's brother -- this year was the first time in our 13-year relationship that I'd even talked to him, let alone met him; but now I got to verify he was a real person.

Wednesday: Got the programs made, and picked up the xkcd cartoon I had blown up and mounted as a surprise for Katie. Managed to get it out of the copy shop door and into the car without Katie noticing; then we met with randy_smith2 to go over the ceremony. Visited the good people and cats of Comic Relief. Had dinner with my birth mother Peg and her husband at Breads of India (Peg [who is a spice wimp] said "This is hotter than I like but it's so delicious I don't care") and then went with her to games night at Endgame. Katie named her as the Matron of Honor and we gave her a copy of Dominion as a gift; we took the opportunity to take the shrinkwrap off.

Thursday: Katie visited one of her advisors during the day; I delivered some welcome bags to hotels. My mother had a bunch of the people attending over for a dinner at her house. Wine was drunk, superb food was eaten, pleasant conversation was had.

Friday: The rehearsal, expertly managed by Randy; then the rehearsal dinner, featuring more wine, great food, and pleasant conversation.

Saturday: The big day. We were glad we'd had the rehearsals; but most everything went quite smoothly -- even my 6- and 3-year-old niece and nephew (flower girl and ringbearer), after a bit of wrangling. The redwoods stood magnificently, the overcast clouds cleared up just in time, the trio we'd engaged from the UC Berkeley music department played very nicely. Things were read: a passage from Ecclesiastes; some quotes from Jonathan Carroll's Sleeping in Flame; Shakespeare's Sonnet 116; a poem that Neil Gaiman wrote for some friends' wedding. We added a little something to the traditional vows: in among "for richer and for poorer" and "in sickness and in health", "in brightest day, in blackest night". Randy got us back for this, by adding a little something to his parting benediction in between the rehearsal and the ceremony -- I don't remember the exact words, it was something like "...go forth in love, and may those who worship evil's might beware your power." Everyone at the reception said what a good job he did on the ceremony.

Then of course the reception, with more excellent food and wine. (My dad, who lives in the Napa Valley, provided the wine. Thank you, Dad.) We were persuaded that the reception needed some music, and I was able to engage a string quartet at somewhat short notice. (Thank you again, UCB Music Department contact list.) It really did enhance the atmosphere. Toasts were had; nobody said anything terribly embarassing. We had two people via webcam and/or cell phone: Katie's main advisor (who had left Cal for a position in Austin), and Mike Chary, whom we really wanted but in the end couldn't make it. I'd never met Katie's advisor before either, and it was interesting to at last find out what he looked like. He said some things I recognized as true. Mike of course told the story of how, 13 years ago, he hit me with a 2000-mile-long clue bat. ("...and for my next trick, I will get two people I've never met, 2000 miles away, to fall in love, and a mere decade later marry!")

We had provided some sets of "Apples to Apples" and some decks of cards, but they turned out to be quite unnecessary.

Sunday: Was cold and gray all day. We really lucked out that the weather on Saturday was typical late-summer weather, and not this winter overcast. We had a brunch with many of our guests, then relaxed in our room. Later on we went to see _Capitalism: A Love Story_, which Katie's brother had helped work on. In between we had Zachary's pizza, which meant a bit of rushing about but (for me at least) was worth it.

Let me not finish this without acknowledging the incredible efforts of my mother and sister, who put together welcome bags for the out-of-town guests, and made silk-and-crystal bouquets and boutonnieres, and knit a shawl that was the perfect accessory for Katie's dress, and in general just outdid themselves in every way to make our event a success.

So: Five days of big fun, and now I finally get to wear the pretty shiny ring I had made a few months back.

Wedding playlist

2009-09-02T08:33:22Z

I'm trying to think of good songs to play at my wedding, coming up in six weeks. So far I've got:

Every Breath You Take (The Police)
Tainted Love (Gloria Jones, Soft Cell)
I Can See For Miles (The Who)
The World's Address (They Might Be Giants)
They'll Need a Crane (actually TMBG has quite a few songs)
He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss) (The Crystals)
Run For Your Life (The Beatles)

Any other suggestions?

memed

2009-06-16T05:20:09Z

From womzilla:

Don't take too long to think about it. List 15 books you've read that will always stick with you -- the first 15 you can recall in 15 minutes.

Okay, let's see...

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
Richard Adams, Watership Down
Aron Nimzovich, My System
E.E. Smith, the Lensman series
Lois McMaster Bujold, The Warrior's Apprentice
Neil Gaiman, The Sandman
Douglas R. Hofstadter, Metamagical Themas (I listed Gödel, Escher, Bach first, but the essays in MT have had an even bigger impact on how I look at things)
Jo Walton, Farthing
Tim Powers, Last Call

(That's about the 3-minute mark; it's slowing down now)

Steven Brust, Jhereg
Emma Bull, War for the Oaks
Cordwainer Smith, Norstrilia
Euripides, The Bacchae
Susana Clarke, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
Greg Egan, Axiomatic

Boxed!

2009-05-22T22:34:22Z

I've finally gotten all the books packed up, into no fewer than 28 banker's boxes. Now I just have to get the games....(That won't take as long or as many boxes, I hope!) It's appalling how few books it takes to fill a box, and how heavy the box is after.

Unemployed

2009-05-16T11:05:16Z

In preparation for the move to Houston, I've now (today was my last day) quit the job I've held for 19 years. I haven't quite seen the store for the last time -- still need to get my paycheck on Monday -- but no more hours on the time card. Feels kind of weird.

Cool

2009-04-14T08:08:46Z

I hear there's going to be a print collection of Kazu Kibuishi's wonderful webcomic Copper.

A thought about Dollhouse

2009-03-26T10:20:55Z

The protagonist is Echo, and there are Alpha, Sierra, and Victor. I'm guessing, however, that Golf and Hotel aren't going to be important to the story.

Book meme, sort of

2009-03-03T08:23:45Z

brooksmoses reflects on page-of-book memes and asks, "What's the closest book to you right now? Why is it there?"

Well, the closest book to me right now is Jo's Lifelode which I ordered from NESFA Press and just came in the mail today. I'm terribly curious how Jo revised the ending from the draft I read, and I really can't allow myself to read it until I'm done with The Wizard Knight, because when you're reading Wolfe you have to pay attention and remember things -- and I'm still about 50 pages from the end of The Knight, let alone The Wizard.

Now, Lifelode might be sitting on my bed near me just because it still has novelty value, although I'd be more likely just to put it on my "to-read" shelf when I got it home. The real reason I want it close by is so that from time to time I can open it up to the dedication and acknowledgements page and read where it says

This one is for David Goldfarb.

(mjlayman posted about getting her copy last week, but she didn't mention that! Perhaps she didn't want to spoil the surprise.)

I am so chuffed that it makes me want to use phrases like "OMG".

Big changes ahead

2009-02-22T12:17:44Z

So as you all know, Katie got her degree last year and has been looking for a job.

On Friday she called me up at work and asked me, "Do you want to move to Houston?"
I replied, "Not especially, but if that's where you're going I'm coming with you."

Good thing I haven't yet bought plane tickets to Worldcon.

It's a meme thing, you wouldn't understand

2009-02-20T20:58:25Z

Unfortunately Hlavaty can no longer claim perfection.

Nerdy meme

2009-02-12T10:24:39Z

Ganked from kouredios
From Joe at RevSF: Since the memes will not stop until morale improves, we at RevolutionSF.com take a stand.

Here's a nerdy one created by Joe Crowe, for you to irritate all who try to make you tell 38 personal tidbits about yourself to everyone and their mama. And appear cool while doing it.

1. Answer these questions using the first letter of your first name. [or the first letter of your LJ handle] (n.b.: In my case of course these are the same.)
B. You can't use the same word twice. (Part of a title is OK, but you can't use "Batman" as every answer. That would be crazy.)
3. Multiple word answers are OK.
4. If the so-called "friend" who sent it to you has the same first letter as you, you have to use different answers than them. Brutal, we know.
5. Snarky comments are encouraged.

Here's mine:

1. Star Wars character: Darth Vader

2. Star Trek character: Dax

3. Cartoon character: Donald Duck

4. Marvel superhero: D-Man

5. DC supervillain: Darkseid (or Deathbolt or Deadshot)

6. Superpower: danger sense

7. SF or fantasy book title: Dzur

8. Sci-fi-ish gadget, device, or weapon: disintegrator ray

9. Sci-fi, fantasy, horror movie: Donnie Darko

10. Sci-fi-ish TV show: Doctor Who

11. Monster, creature or alien race: Daleks

12. Actor from sci-fi stuff: Peter Davison

13. DC superhero: Duo Damsel

14. Marvel villain: Doctor Doom

15. Whedonverse character: Dawn

What I read in 2008

2009-01-05T08:31:04Z

For the sake of anybody who cares, here's a list of what I read last year.

(I also had subscriptions to The Bridge World, Science News, Chess Life, The ACBL Bulletin, and Asimov's Science Fiction, all of which I read pretty much as they arrived...plus various blogs and newsgroups.)

73 books total (up from 68 in 2007...of course, some were pretty short), of which 49 were SF or fantasy, 15 were non-fiction, and 9 were literary or historical fiction.

January:
Graeme Harper and Adrian Rigelsford Calling the Shots

A memoir about directing various episodes from season 2 of Doctor Who. Rather more puffy than I was hoping for.

Austin Grossman Soon I Will be Invincible
Jeff Warren The Head Trip

A non-fiction book about consciousness. Also a bit puffy, but had some stuff I hadn't known about.

Lawrence Watt-Evans The Vondish Ambassador

The print version.

Pamela Dean Going North

February:

Kat Richardson Greywalker
The Babylon 5 Scripts of J. Michael Straczynski, vol. 13
Robert Charles Wilson Axis
John Scalzi The Last Colony
"H. N. Turteltaub" The Sacred Land
"H. N. Turteltaub" Owls to Athens

For some reason I wasn't aware of the last volume of this series of historicals about a Greek merchant ship until recently. Having finally got my hands on a copy, I also re-read the penultimate volume.

China Mieville Un Lun Dun
Kat Richardson Poltergeist

March:

Lawrence Watt-Evans The Wizard Lord
Lawrence Watt-Evans The Ninth Talisman
Terry Pratchett Wintersmith
Sarah Monette Mélusine
Sarah Monette The Virtu
Gerald Durrell Birds, Beasts, and Relatives

April:

Samuel R. Delany About Writing
Peter S. Beagle The Line Between
Tobias Buckell Crystal Rain
Nevil Shute Most Secret

May:

Lois McMaster Bujold The Sharing Knife: Passage
The B5 Scripts of JMS, Vol. 14
The B5 Scripts of JMS, Vol. 15
Sharyn November, ed. Firebirds Rising
Cory Doctorow Little Brother
Chris Dolley Resonance

Chris Dolley used to be a regular on rec.arts.sf.composition, and he posted some things that made the book sound interesting. It was, although I felt it took the protagonist way too long to figure out the truth about his situation when it was obvious to me.

James H. Schmitz, edited by Eric Flint Eternal Frontier

Somehow I'd missed this collection of stories when it first came out.

Ian McDonald Brasyl

Hugo nominee.

The Art of P. Craig Russell: A Retrospective

June:

Jo Walton (Currently without a definite title; possibly Tangled Things and Texts, definitely not The Industrial Landscapes of Elfland.)
Michael Chabon The Yiddish Policemen's Union
Babylon 5: Other Voices vol. 1
Edward McPherson The Backwash Squeeze and Other Improbable Feats

Non-fiction about the world of tournament bridge, from a beginner's/outsider's perspective. Told me some things I hadn't known, like what Bob Hamman's day job is.

Dave Duncan Children of Chaos
Dave Duncan Mother of Lies

A fun two-parter, up to Duncan's usual standard, although I'm not sure why he put it in the setting he did, and I found the theurgical magic improbably mechanistic.

July:

Steven Brust Jhegaala
Steven Brust Dzur
Babylon 5: Other Voices vol. 2
Michael Swanwick The Dragons of Babel

I'm a sucker for "magic treated as technology", and this book was great, even better than The Iron Dragon's Daughter.

August:

Lawrence Watt-Evans The Misenchanted Sword

Lawrence gave away copies of this at his kaffeeklatsch at Worldcon, and I found myself re-reading it almost despite myself. It's not as polished as his later books, but it's a quick and involving read.

Martin Gardner Aha! Gotcha

One of the books I won on the panel "Win Tom Whitmore's Books".

John Chadwick The Decipherment of Linear B

This was a surprise from Katie, who had gotten it out of the UC Berkeley library. She thought I'd be interested, and she was right.

Mike Ashley, ed. The Mammoth Book of Comic Fantasy II

As the title says, a large anthology. I'd got it cheap at a garage sale some years ago and finally got around to reading it.

Diana Wynne Jones House of Many Ways
Ron Klinger Bid Better, Much Better, After Opening 1NT

September:

David Macaulay Unbuilding
Mary Gentle 1610: A Sundial in a Grave
Dave Duncan The Alchemist's Code
Terence Reese and David Bird Famous Play Decisions
Henry Kuttner Robots Have no Tails
Ellen Kushner The Privilege of the Sword

October:

Neil Gaiman The Graveyard Book
Victor Mollo Destiny at Bay
Ken Macleod The Execution Channel

A book which is rather libellous towards Al Gore and Hillary Clinton. Never thought I'd be grouping Ken Macleod with Tom Kratman....

Charles Stross The Fuller Memorandum
Rudyard Kipling The Jungle Books

Yes, because of the Gaiman. Though there's only one really direct analog, plotwise.

November:

Sarah Monette The Mirador

I think I'd got this as a birthday present after reading the earlier two, but only got around to reading it half a year later.

Jo Walton Half a Crown
Michelle Bottorff Cantata in Coral and Ivory
Jane Lindskold Child of a Rainless Year

I had picked this one up on a recommendation from Tom Whitmore, and enjoyed it very much. I'll be looking for others by her. (Coincidentally, tor.com put up The Buried Pyramid just after I finished this.)

December:

Matthew Arnold On Translating Homer

Pamela Dean mentioned this in a post and it sounded interesting enough that I looked it up online.

Douglas R. Hofstadter I Am a Strange Loop

Gödel, Escher, Bach and Metamagical Themas were formative books
for me. Alas, having read those (especially the former) and a couple of popularizations about cognitive science (e.g., Steven Pinker's How the Mind Works) left me feeling that there wasn't much new in this one.

A.T. Murray, translator The Iliad

Done in a self-consciously archaic style that left me wanting a time machine so that I could go back and slap him upside the head with a wet fish. I have to admit it was usefully literal, though, and it was online for free.

Robert Fitzgerald, translator The Iliad

Much better.

"Homer" The Iliad

I wasn't sure whether to count these as fantasy or historical fiction; I finally settled on historical.

Robertson Davies The Rebel Angels
Fritz Leiber The Knight and Knave of Swords

Bought at a used bookstore many years ago, finally got around to reading.

Thoughts about humor

2008-12-31T10:21:09Z

On rec.arts.sf.composition, the topic of humor came up. I mentioned a theory I have, that there are at least four different pathways in the brain that trigger the same reward mechanism (i.e., laughter). zeborahnz asked me to expand on this, and I wound up writing a fairly long essay (someone on rasfc said "This isn't your Ph.D thesis?")...which I want to post here so that I have access to it at will. (And who knows, perhaps even someone will read it and find it edifying.)

As I said, it's long...so a cut.

I think of them as puzzle-solving, recognition, social bonding, and social domination. (I'm actually not completely sure that recognition should be counted as a separate category; there was a time when I would have said "three" instead of "four". But on the whole, I think it is.)

"Puzzle-solving" involves a logical juxtaposition of opposites, a setting-up of seemingly-contradictory world views that must be reconciled. It's an evolutionary outgrowth of world-modeling as survival behavior.

"Recognition" is also such an outgrowth; it involves identifying something outside of what might be its normal context, or noticing a pattern. Sometimes the pattern can be completely artificially constructed, as when some lame gag or catchphrase becomes funnier through repetition. It's the in-joke, the reference, the running gag.

Here's an example of recognition humor: there's a story (it might be Joanna Russ's "Useful Phrases for the Tourist", but it might not) that is a phrasebook for an alien language. This language has a word for "being torn between wanting to stay in your nice warm bed and having to get up and pee." The humor there comes, I think, mainly from
recognizing the situation described, at having it isolated as a word-worthy concept.

Here's an example of a joke that I think combines puzzle-solving and recognition:

How many surrealists does it take to change a light bulb? A fish.

For that one, you need to recognize the form of the joke, and remember facts about surrealists, in order to figure out why a non sequitur was deployed right there. If you've never heard a light bulb joke before, or aren't familiar with the surrealist movement, the joke will fall flat.

This may be the place to note that I've had the experience of struggling with a difficult puzzle and, on solving it, being moved to laughter.

"Social bonding" is laughter used as an expression of solidarity. Steven Pinker, in How the Mind Works, notes that it's a great pleasure to go out with a group of friends and talk with them and laugh with them; but, he notes, some researchers have taken transcripts of what some such groups have actually said, and most of it just really isn't funny when seen by itself. ("You had to be there.") Laughing with someone is a way of bonding with them. It's the principle behind the TV laugh track.

"Social domination" is easy to understand: it's ridicule, the putdown, slapstick, embarrassment humor. Laughing at rather than with.

Now, elements of social domination work their way at least a little bit into nearly all comedy. When Abbott and Costello do "Who's on First?" the humor is mainly the puzzle-solving of figuring out how all the violations of the use-mention distinction are working -- but there's also just a bit of looking down on Costello for not understanding what's going on, when you do.

Thinking about all this almost makes me want to go into cognitive science. I would *love* to see brain imaging done on people viewing different kinds of comedy -- e.g., Bedazzled vs. the Three Stooges. If I'm right, then there should be different but overlapping parts of the brain active for each.

(It's entirely possible that something like this has already been done. If anyone knows about it, please tell me! It's also possible that the differences are finer-grained than current imaging techniques can pick up, or that there's just too much variation in how individual brains are "wired".)

The above also, I think, sheds light on the perennial question of why so much SF is so serious. To have a really SFnal joke, you need to build up *two* different alien worldviews, and get them ingrained in the reader's brain to the point where they can be juxtaposed and then resolved at a level of unconscious processing. But building up even one alien
worldview is a difficult and lengthy task.

Lois Bujold could do _A Civil Campaign_ late in the Vorkosigan series, because she was drawing on a lot of previously-built worldbuilding. A lot of other SF and fantasy humor is based on parody and spoof, in
effect parasitizing other peoples' worldbuilding (and also drawing on the recognition pathway); still other examples juxtapose an SF or fantasy setting with intrusions from mainstream reality.

Sources: My foundation for a lot of this was the aforementioned _How the Mind Works_; its chapter on humor was enlightening reading for me, and I recommend the book. I do think that in his conclusion to the chapter, Steven Pinker incorrectly conflates puzzle-solving with social domination. (My terms, btw, not his.) I was also influenced by the discussion in a panel on SF humor at the 2006 Worldcon, and by conversations with Katie Schwarz and Teresa Nielsen Hayden.

(Whew!)

My darling doctor

2008-12-18T11:11:03Z

Katie tells me that she has now received signature pages from all four of her committee members, and plans to submit her thesis tomorrow morning. At which point she will be done.

She tells me that the office where you file a thesis gives out lollipops...with "Ph.D" on the wrapper.

Anyone out there looking to hire a Ph.D in Physics with experience programming in C++?

A quiz

2008-10-23T11:22:31Z

Got this one from james_nicoll.

I thought it was surprisingly accurate -- accurate enough to post here, which I don't for most of this sort of quiz.

Your result for What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test...

Balanced, Secure, and Realistic.

14 Impressionist, 9 Islamic, 0 Ukiyo-e, -4 Cubist, -6 Abstract and -14 Renaissance!

Impressionism is a movement in French painting, sometimes called optical realism because of its almost scientific interest in the actual visual experience and effect of light and movement on appearance of objects. Impressionist paintings are balanced, use colored shadows, use pure color, broken brushstrokes, thick paint, and scenes from everyday life or nature.

People that like Impressionist paintings may not alway be what is deemed socially acceptable. They tend to move on their own path without always worrying that it may be offensive to others. They value friendships but because they also value honesty tend to have a few really good friends. They do not, however, like people that are rude and do not appreciate the ideas of others. They are secure enough in themselves that they can listen to the ideas of other people without it affecting their own final decisions. The world for them is not black and white but more in shades of grey and muted colors. They like things to be aesthetically pleasing, not stark and sharp. There are many ways to view things, and the impressionist personality views the world from many different aspects. They enjoy life and try to keep a realistic viewpoint of things, but are not very open to new experiences. If they are content in their lives they will be more than likely pleased to keep things just the way they are.

Take What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test at HelloQuizzy

Win Tom Whitmore's Books: the category list

2008-08-18T03:51:51Z

Here's the list of categories only, for those who don't care about the questions. Thanks again to Tom Galloway. I'll put a few as teasers, then cut:

Tiptree Through the Tulips

The Rocky and Bullwinkle Horror Show

Darth Be Not Proud

Anne Rice-A-Roni: The New Orleans Treat

Spider's From a Writer's Family; He has the Robinson Jeanne

A Faerie Home Companion

Take Two Robert Asprins and Call Me in the Morning

LeGuin and Bear It

He Didn't Want to Extend His Trilogy, But He Gave In to Piers Pressure

Neil Before Zod

Are You Tolkien to Me? Are You Tolkien to Me?

Captain Jack carried a Torchwood for the Doctor

Big Trouble in Little China Mieville

Ask Not For Whom the Campbell Tolls

Turn of a Friendly Orson Scott Card

Hungry Like Gene Wolfe

What'chu Talkin' 'Bout, Connie Willis

And Here's to You, Spider Robinson

Spice, Spice Baby

There's a Heinlein Between Madness and Genius

Iron Man, Iron Man, Does Whatever an Iron Can

Kinfolk Said, Jedi Move Away From There!

Whedon Need No Stinking Badges

Mostly Douglas

R.U.R. Or Have You Ever Been a Robot?

Wolverine Uses Pledge to Get That Lemony Snicket Scent

Jane See Tarzan. Tarzan See Arthur. Arthur C. Clarke

The Boogie-Woogie Cthulhu Boy of Company B

I'm a Gaiman Fan, Not That There's Anything Wrong With That

Yolen, Yolen, Yolen, Keep Those Dogies Yolen

Does Greg Bear Poop in the Woods?

Tarzan Stripes Forever

Professor Marvel Recommends Tiger Baum

Things I Wouldn't Touch With a 10-Foot Poul Anderson

50 Ways to Love Your Leiber

A Hard Day's Nightfall

Blish, Splash, I Was Takin' a Bath

He's Not Dead, He's Pining For Benford

I Call Shotgun in the Van Vogt

Spring is Brusting Out All Over

Hi Yo Silverberg, Away!

Take a Long Walk Off a Short Piers Anthony

Lois Bujold is Such a Vor

Wild Cards, Starring Wink G.R.R. Martindale

Home of the Brave, Land of the Friesner

A Rage in Harlan

My Favorite Martian Chronicles

Go West, Young Frankenstein

I Robot, You Jane

Play That Funky Music, T.H. White Boy

I've Got a Bonestell to Pick With You

This Campbell Soup is Astoundingly Mm-Mm-Good

The Tolkien Addict had a Nasty Hobbit

The SF Fan Wanted to Save Animals, So He Joined Soylent Greenpeace

Camptown Ladies Sing this Song, Dozois, Dozois

All He Wanted at the Con was a Piece of Asimov

Did You Know that Batman Lives in His Parents' Basement?

The Jerry Garcia Fan Got Bose Speakers for the Dead

I Know the Answer, but I Have a Mental Bloch

Something Wiccan This Way Comes

Run it Up Fred Pohl and See Who Salutes

You Can't See Forrest J. Ackerman for the Trees

Dudley, It's Time to Save Pournelle from Snidely Again

My Lovecraft is Full of Eels

A Rabbi, A Nun, and Christopher Priest Walked Into a Bar

It's De-Lovely, It's Delightful, It's Delany

WWF Simakdown

Win Tom Whitmore's Books: The Questions -- game 2

2008-08-18T03:49:48Z

And here is the post for game 2.

50 Ways to Love Your Leiber
Fafhrd, of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, was somewhat based on what real person?

A: Sevgm Yrvore uvzfrys.

A Hard Day's Nightfall
The planet in "Nightfall" revolves around how many suns?

A: fvk

Blish, Splash, I Was Takin' a Bath
What did the drug ascomycin, from the 'Cities in Flight" stories, do?

A: Retard aging

He's Not Dead, He's Pining For Benford
Benford's contribution to the second Foundation trilogy was which of Foundation's Fear, Foundation and Chaos, Foundation's Triumph?

A: Sbhaqngvba'f Srne

I Call Shotgun in the Van Vogt
Q: What Van Vogt story or book inspired the movie Alien?

A: Npprcg rvgure Oynpx Qrfgeblre be Iblntr bs gur Fcnpr Orntyr.

Spring is Brusting Out All Over
What House does Vlad Taltos belong to?

A: Wurert

Omni or Analog? Heck, Take Bova Them
Ben Bova won six Best Professional Editor Hugos. How many of them were for years that included his editorship of Omni?

A: bar (1979 Uhtb, ur fgnegrq ng Bzav va 1978)

Hi Yo Silverberg, Away!
For what no longer a Hugo category did Robert Silverberg win his first Hugo, in 1956?

A: Orfg Arj Jevgre

Take a Long Walk Off a Short Piers Anthony
What was the first book in the Xanth series?

A: N Fcryy sbe Punzryrba

Lois Bujold is Such a Vor
What should Miles Naismith Vorkosigan's first name have been, but wasn't because his paternal grandfather denied permission to use it?

A: Cvbge

Wild Cards, Starring Wink G.R.R. Martindale
What character accidentally first released the Wild Card virus on Earth?

A: Wrgobl

Home of the Brave, Land of the Friesner
Esther Friesner's two most recent books, Nobody's Prize and Nobody's Princess, are about what historical character, who allegedly launched a thousand ships with her beauty?

A: Uryra bs Gebl

(1086 ships, to be precise.)

A Rage in Harlan
During his Guest of Honor appearance at the 1978 Phoenix Worldcon, Harlan Ellison tried to not spend any money in Arizona, even sleeping in a tent rather than a hotel room. Why did he do this?

A: Orpnhfr Nevmban unqa'g engvsvrq gur Rdhny Evtugf Nzraqzrag.

My Favorite Martian Chronicles
Why did a Martian kill the two members of the first Earth expedition to Mars?

A: Ur jnf wrnybhf bs uvf jvsr'f srryvatf sbe bar bs gur nfgebanhgf.

Go West, Young Frankenstein
Name the three actors who were in both Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein.

A: Mel Brooks, Gene Wilder, Madeleine Kahn

I Robot, You Jane
Who was U.S. Robotics and Mechanical Men's robopsychologist?

A: Susan Calvin

Play That Funky Music, T.H. White Boy
What Broadway musical was based on The Once And Future King?

A: Pnzrybg

I've Got a Bonestell to Pick With You

(Tom W. noted that it's actually pronounced "BON-es-tell")

What group gives the annual Chesley Awards for science fiction and
fantasy art?

A: NFSN :: Nffbpvngvba bs Fpvrapr Svpgvba & Snagnfl Negvfgf

Round 2:
This Campbell Soup is Astoundingly Mm-Mm-Good
Who Goes There? was written by John W. Campbell, but was originally
published under what pen name?

A: Qba N. Fghneg

The Tolkien Addict had a Nasty Hobbit
Who has been announced as the director of the upcoming Hobbit movies?

A: Thvyyrezb qry Gbeb

The SF Fan Wanted to Save Animals, So He Joined Soylent Greenpeace
What famous actor's final film before his death was Soylent Green?

A: Rqjneq T. Ebovafba

Camptown Ladies Sing this Song, Dozois, Dozois
Within 2, how many Year's Best Science Fiction collections has Gardner Dozois edited?

A: gjragl-svir

All He Wanted at the Con was a Piece of Asimov
Isaac Asimov was born in what country?

A: Ehffvn

Did You Know that Batman Lives in His Parents' Basement?
The Bat-Cave has a lot of interesting decor. What denomination is the giant 1947 coin?

A: Craal

The Jerry Garcia Fan Got Bose Speakers for the Dead
What is Ender Wiggin's real first name?

A: Naqerj

I Know the Answer, but I Have a Mental Bloch
What did Robert Bloch supposedly keep on his desk?

A: Gur urneg bs n lbhat puvyq va n wne

Something Wiccan This Way Comes
Academic politics are so vicious because the stakes are so low. In one book, it turns out that faculty wives are using witchcraft to help their husbands. Name this Fritz Leiber novel.

A: Pbawher Jvsr

Run it Up Fred Pohl and See Who Salutes
What two magazines did Fred Pohl edit?

A: Tnynkl naq Vs

(It was noted that these were the biggest two, but hardly the only two.)

You Can't See Forrest J. Ackerman for the Trees
What horror music video did Forry have a cameo in?

A: Guevyyre

Dudley, It's Time to Save Pournelle from Snidely Again
In Footfall, what was the name of the Jerry Pournelle-based character?

A: Jnqr Phegvf

My Lovecraft is Full of Eels
What is the translation for Cthulhu fhtagn (fah-tag-en)?

A: Pguhyuh qernzf, be Pguhyuh jnvgf, be Pguhyuh jnvgf qernzvat

A Rabbi, A Nun, and Christopher Priest Walked Into a Bar

(Tom W.: "The bartender said, 'What is this, some kind of joke?'")

It's not The Dark Knight, but in 2006 a film directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale based on a Christopher Priest novel debuted. What was it?

A: Gur Cerfgvtr

It's De-Lovely, It's Delightful, It's Delany

Samuel Delany has been a professor at three universities. Name any one of them.

A: Havirefvgl bs Znffnpuhfrggf, Grzcyr, Havirefvgl bs Ohssnyb

WWF Simakdown
Cliff Simak was guest of honor at what Worldcon?

A: Qrairagvba Gjb, 1981

And the second lightning round:

1. Who is the commander of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch?

A: Fnz Ivzrf

2. What pub did Arthur C. Clarke set a number of stories in?

A: gur Juvgr Uneg

3. Name the two creators of Superman.

A: Fvrtry naq Fuhfgre

4. What Heinlein novel has Denver as the capital of the United States?

A: Gur Qbbe Vagb Fhzzre

5. Who sells a tribble to Uhura in The Trouble With Tribbles?

A: Plenab Wbarf

(Both Tom and the challenger said "Harry Mudd". I'd have gotten it right.)

6. Which of this year's Best Artist Hugo nominees has previously won the Best Fan Artist Hugo?

A: Cuvy Sbtyvb

7. Honor Harrington is an officer in whose navy?

A: Fgne Xvatqbz bs Znagvpber

(Conversely, I'm glad this one wasn't in my set.)

8. Whose autobiography was titled "The Way The Future Was"?

A: Serq Cbuy

9. Poul Anderson is what sf author's father-in-law?

A: Tert Orne

10. According to Asimov, how many laws of robotics are there?

A: Sbhe

Win Tom Whitmore's Books: The Questions -- game 1

2008-08-18T03:23:53Z

For those of you who like to play along at home, here are the questions, with answers in ROT13. I'll put the categories in here, but for those who just want to read the category titles, I'll do a separate post for those. Thanks to Tom Galloway for writing these.

This is game 1; I'll do a separate post for game 2.

Game 1, Round 1:
Tiptree Through the Tulips
Alice Sheldon's only Nebula winning story appeared under her other pseudonym, Raccoona Sheldon. What was the title of this story about femicide?

A: Gur Fperjsyl Fbyhgvba

The Rocky and Bullwinkle Horror Show
Two answers needed: What were the full names of Boris and Natasha?

A: Obevf Onqrabi naq Angnfun Sngnyr

Darth Be Not Proud
What was Darth Sidious' other name?

A: Ybeq Cnycngvar

Anne Rice-A-Roni: The New Orleans Treat
In Interview With The Vampire, who is the vampire being interviewed?

A: Ybhvf

Spider's From a Writer's Family; He has the Robinson Jeanne
What Nebula and Hugo winning story was written by both Spider and Jeanne Robinson, to take advantage of her professional background?

A: Fgneqnapr

A Faerie Home Companion
Two answers needed: In A Midsummer Night's Dream, who are the King and Queen of faerie?

A: Boreba naq Gvgnavn

Take Two Robert Asprins and Call Me in the Morning
What race is Aahz a member of...and remember, he's NOT a pervert!

A: Creirpg

(I buzzed in in the middle of this one, and got it right.)

LeGuin and Bear It
Give any two of the protagonist of A Wizard of Earthsea's names; original, true, and use.

A: Qhal, Trq, Fcneebjunjx

(I remembered his true name and his use-name, but not his childhood name.)

He Didn't Want to Extend His Trilogy, But He Gave In to Piers Pressure
What author has been named to finish the Wheel of Time series?

A: Oenaqba Fnaqrefba

Neil Before Zod
Per his first Hugo acceptance speech, 14 year old Neil Gaiman wanted two things. One was a Hugo Award. What Kryptonian super-power was the other?

A: K-Enl ivfvba; jung ryfr jbhyq n 14 lrne byq obl jnag?

Are You Tolkien to Me? Are You Tolkien to Me?
What does any one of J.R.R. Tolkien's initials stand for?

A:Wbua Ebanyq Erhry

(I got all three.)

Captain Jack carried a Torchwood for the Doctor
Which number Torchwood does Captain Jack command?

A: Guerr

Big Trouble in Little China Mieville
What is the city setting for Perdido Street Station?

A: Arj Pebohmba

(I remembered Bas-Lag right away, but this one took me longer. Luckily nobody else got it before me.)

Ask Not For Whom the Campbell Tolls
Who won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer last year in Yokohama?

A: Anbzv Abivx

Turn of a Friendly Orson Scott Card
In the Ender's Game universe, by what name is Julian Delphiki better known?

A: Orna

Hungry Like Gene Wolfe
Gene Wolfe developed the machine that cooks what brand of potato chips?

A: Cevatyrf

What'chu Talkin' 'Bout, Connie Willis
It was really tempting to write this question so that it'd take about 10 minutes to read, but be very funny...but speaking of Connie and the Hugo Awards, name any one of her nine Hugo winning works.

A: * Sver Jngpu : abiryrggr : 1983
* Gur Ynfg bs gur Jvaarontbf : abiryyn : 1989
* Qbbzfqnl Obbx : abiry : 1993
* Rira gur Dhrra : fubeg fgbel : 1993
* Qrngu ba gur Avyr : fubeg fgbel : 1994
* Gur Fbhy Fryrpgf Ure Bja Fbpvrgl: Vainfvba naq Erchyfvba: N Puebabybtvpny Ervagrecergngvba bs Gjb bs Rzvyl Qvpxvafba'f Cbrzf: N Jryyfvna Crefcrpgvir : fubeg fgbel : 1997
* Gb Fnl Abguvat bs gur Qbt : abiry : 1999
* Gur Jvaqf bs Zneoyr Nepu : abiryyn : 2000
* Vafvqr Wbo : abiryyn : 2006

Game 1, round 2:
And Here's to You, Spider Robinson:
What's the name of Mike Callahan and Sally McGee's daughter?

A: Znel

(I got this one, but it took me a long time to remember!)

Spice, Spice Baby
What is the name of the spice in Dune?

A: Zrynatr

There's a Heinlein Between Madness and Genius
Under what nom de plume did "Mycroft Holmes" write mocking light verse?

A: Fvzba Wrfgre

Iron Man, Iron Man, Does Whatever an Iron Can
Other than jets, what transportation mechanism has Tony Stark installed in his Iron Man boots?

A: Ebyyre fxngrf

(Someone -- I think it was Zed -- actually beat me to this one!)

Kinfolk Said, Jedi Move Away From There!
On what planet does Luke Skywalker find Yoda?

A: Qntbonu

Whedon Need No Stinking Badges
In Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog, other than Dr. Horrible and Bad Horse, the Thoroughbred of Sin, name a member of the Evil League of Evil.

A: Fanxr Ovgr, Shel Yrvxn, Qrnq Objvr, Cebsrffbe Abezny, Gvr-Qvr, naq Snxr Gubznf Wrssrefba

Mostly Douglas
In the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, what is Trillian's full name?

A: Gevpvn ZpZvyyna

R.U.R. Or Have You Ever Been a Robot?
In the title R.U.R, whose Universal Robots are they?

A: Ebffhz

Wolverine Uses Pledge to Get That Lemony Snicket Scent
What is the real name of author Lemony Snicket?

A: Qnavry Unaqyre

(Zed buzzed in on "real name" with "Logan", which is incorrect even for the question he thought he was answering -- it's now "James Howlett". I waited till "Lemony".)

Jane See Tarzan. Tarzan See Arthur. Arthur C. Clarke
For his final book, The Last Theorem, Clarke collaborated with which SF
author, who was first published before Clarke was?

A: Serq Cbuy

The Boogie-Woogie Cthulhu Boy of Company B
What was the title of the Cthulhu-based episode of The Real Ghostbusters, a play on the story title "The Call of Cthulhu".

A: Gur Pbyyrpg Pnyy bs Pguhyuh

I'm a Gaiman Fan, Not That There's Anything Wrong With That
In his early days as a writer, Neil Gaiman wrote a book about what rock group?

A: Qhena Qhena

Yolen, Yolen, Yolen, Keep Those Dogies Yolen
Hannah becomes Chaya when she travels back in time to the Holocaust in what Jane Yolen work?

A: Gur Qrivy'f Nevguzrgvp

Does Greg Bear Poop in the Woods?
What's unusual, and significant, about the cover art for Bear's first book, Psychlone?

A: Orne qvq gur neg, uvf ynfg cebsrffvbany cvrpr bs neg.

Tarzan Stripes Forever
What is either Tarzan's real name, or his royal title?

A: Wbua Pynlgba, Ybeq Terlfgbxr

Professor Marvel Recommends Tiger Baum
In the book version of The Wizard of Oz, what color are the magic slippers?

A: Fvyire

Things I Wouldn't Touch With a 10-Foot Poul Anderson
Poul Anderson was a founding member of what medieval recreation group?

A: Gur Fbpvrgl sbe Perngvir Nanpuebavfz

And now the lightning round, which didn't have funny categories:

How many Hugos has Lois Bujold won?

A: sbhe

In what current state does The Yiddish Policeman's Union take place?

A: Nynfxn

Who was the author Guest of Honor at Denvention One?

A: Urvayrva

Simon Pegg and Zachry Quinto are both in what to be released in 2009 film?

A: Fgne Gerx

Dr. Manhattan's real name is what?

A: Wbanguna Bfgrezna

What's the name of the restaurant at the end of the universe?

A: Zvyyvjnlf

What is the name of Miles Vorkosigan's wife?

A: Rxngreva

8. What won the Best Novel Hugo in 2007?

A: Envaobjf Raq

(I can't believe I blanked on this one. My only consolation is that Tom W. did too.)

9. What science fiction author won a MacArthur Genius Grant?

A: Bpgnivn Ohgyre

10. Other than The Forever War, name a "Forever" book by Joe Haldeman.

A: Crnpr be Serr

Trivia for Chocolate

2008-08-12T10:00:21Z

The other big trivia contest at Denvention was "Trivia for Chocolate". This was run by Mark Olson, Steven Silver, and a third person whose name has fallen out of my head...it was something like Jim Hall. Anyway, this one was rapid-fire one-liner trivia questions, with correct answers rewarded with Andes Mints. (There were also a bunch of Tim Tams donated by the Australia in 2010 bid.) Whoever had the most uneaten pieces of chocolate at the end was considered the winner.

The moral of this one was: Timeliness FTW! I showed up at the time scheduled, and the other strong competitors didn't. I had about 10 minutes with no serious competition to build up a lead before Tom Galloway and Leo Doroschenko arrived. (Tom Whitmore had a conflict, alas.) I didn't count how many I had at that point, but it was something over a dozen. A guy by the name of Marty Massoglia came in at about the halfway mark, and he hurt me quite a bit by being faster than me in my areas of strength. Tom was having a bit of an off-day, but Leo nearly won: at the end my margin was only 8 pieces, quite a bit less than my lead when he arrived. If he'd gotten there earlier, I think he'd have taken it. What's more, they used some questions that Leo had written, which he obviously couldn't answer, so that let me build up my margin a little too. (Although I don't think I got as many as 8 pieces from his questions.)

So Leo gets the moral victory, but I was the one who got my name at the top of the list in the newszine.

Winning Tom Whitmore's Books

2008-08-12T09:46:57Z

To ~~paraphrase~~ mangle Cordwainer Smith:

"I was a fannishfan, and he was Tom Whitmore, a Master of Fandom, but I pitted my wits against him and I won."

Some of you may remember the show Win Ben Stein's Money. Well, Tom Galloway did an SF-trivia version called "Win Tom Galloway's Money". He was supposed to do it at ConJosé, but for various reasons it wound up not happening; he has done it at a couple of other cons.

I had the idea that since Tom Whitmore was Fan GoH at Denvention, and he's also terrific at SF trivia, it should be done there, with Tom Whitmore in the title role. This actually happened, with Tom Galloway standing in for Jimmy Kimmel. My reward for the suggestion was that I got to play in the first game (of two that were run). Instead of money, the prizes were books from Tom's collection.

For those of you who don't remember the show, here's a summary of the format:

Three rounds of play. In the first, three contestants compete. In the second, the low scorer from the first gets replaced by the host (Ben Stein or Tom Whitmore, respectively); the high scorer from the second faces off against the host in a sixty-second, ten-question duel.

There are five categories at any one time; each "category" has only one question and is basically an excuse to make a tortured joke vaguely related to the actual question. Ones I recall include: "SF Authorship Runs In Spider Robinson's Family, He Has The Writing Jeanne"; "My Lovecraft Is Full Of Eels"; "Neil Before Zod". (I hope to be able to post or link to the full list, later.)

I pretty much dominated the first round. Score wasn't kept for Tom in the second round, but I'm pretty sure I outscored him there, and easily made it to the lightning round. I managed to get 8 out of 10 questions. (Really it should have been 9 out of 10. I can't believe that I blanked on last year's Best Novel Hugo winner. My only consolation there was that Tom did, too!) He scored 5.

The eliminated contestants received low-value books as "lovely parting gifts"; the winners got better books -- mine was Aha! Gotcha, by Martin Gardner.

The grand prize was something special: one of only 500 copies of the Baen omnibus Cordelia's Honor (by Author GoH Lois McMaster Bujold) that had been bound in hard covers. Further, it was inscribed to Tom by the author. He estimates that it has a moderately significant monetary value.

So I won the first game, ahead of Tom. In the second game, Tom got 6 out of 10; the challenger got only 4. So as the only person to actually score better, I was awarded the grand prize. Tom graciously offered to sign it to me; he used Ben Stein's tagline, "You won it fair and square, you bastard!". Later on that day, I encountered Lois Bujold herself, and got her to inscribe it to me, so the book is now triply inscribed.

It was a fun game (and I'm not just saying that because I won!). Kudos to Tom Galloway for putting it together, and to Tom Whitmore for being a really good sport.

I'm weird

2008-08-11T09:50:53Z

I wonder if I was the only person at the Worldcon who kept more normal hours than at home?

At the Worldcon, I spent much of the evening to night at parties and socializing. Being an introvert, I was thus wiped out by about 2 AM, which is about when I was going to bed. Since there was usually stuff starting at 10 AM that I wanted to attend, that meant I usually got up in the 9-9:30 range.

At home I'm on the computer till late, which is much less tiring, and I have a job that accepts me coming in at midday. (And no offense to my employers, but: seeing Teresa Nielsen Hayden interview Tom Whitmore is incentive to get out of bed; going to work...isn't.)

Meme from imnotandrei

2008-06-12T09:12:13Z

If you read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now, even if we don't speak often, please post a comment with a memory of you and me. It can be anything you want -- good or bad. When you're finished, post this little paragraph on your blog and be surprised (or mortified) about what people remember about you. Or, if you don't want to post it, but want a memory from me, say so at the end of your comment and I'll reply with one.

Quals

2008-05-09T09:21:09Z

Katie has been stressing out for weeks over qualifying exams. I was never sure exactly what they entailed, and I had faith in her ability to pass any given exam, but her worry was contagious.

Well, the exam was today. From what she said, it seems to have been a general examination of her knowledge and suitability to be a Ph.D candidate, plus a review of her proposed thesis topic. And...she passed! She has a topic based on work she's been doing recently. (She said to me that she thought it was too small a problem, that for a real thesis she'd need to add another problem or two, but the committee just said, "Stop. Write your thesis about that.") She forwarded to me an email from her advisor saying that she might have a degree in as little as three months!

I wouldn't be surprised if it took a bit longer than that, but nonetheless there's an end in sight.

Announcement

2008-04-30T07:00:08Z

As of right now, I want everyone to know of my decision not to emulate Jack Benny. I am not 39...I am 40.