This year, I will again be a panelist at SFContario, Toronto’s only downtown SF convention. It takes place November 18-20, and in addition to being a panelist I will also be presenting an Aurora award for the Best Graphic Novel in English. (Hopefully I don’t have this same scratchy throat a month from now.) Here […]
My SFContario schedule Read More »
Today is my mother’s birthday. October is also Breast Cancer Awareness month. She is a breast cancer survivor. In that spirit, I link to this post, which critiques the “narrative” surrounding breast cancer — namely, that early detection always saves lives. I suggest that everyone read it, because it highlights some interesting truths about diagnosis
Happy birthday, Mom. Read More »
Last year, Neil Gaiman & Co decided that for the Halloween season, people should give out spooky books in addition to (or in lieu of) candy. They called it All Hallow’s Read. However, I was far too absorbed in my own problems last October to notice this development, much less contribute recommendations. I’d likely have
All Hallow’s Read recs Read More »
This week, after a nightmare of last-minute changes and formatting errors, I finally turned in the print copy of my thesis to the good folks at OCAD U. It’s a design thesis for the Strategic Foresight and Innovation program, and it’s called “Loss Prevention: Customer Service as Border Security.” It’s just shy of a hundred
The things that didn’t make it in: Read More »
If the pronouns listed in the title above mean anything to you, I suggest you read this piece by Deb Aoki about why she left American superhero comics for Japanese shounen manga. Snip: The fascinating and diverse female casts of Bleach and Naruto are a big part of these series’ appeal to both male and
Re: DC, Starfire, Sailor Moon, and the difference between comics in the US and Japan: Read More »
From Detroit “The Detroit Step is what New Yorkers do when you tell them where you’re from,” the man said. We met outside Comerica Park, the new stadium for the Detroit Tigers. I was hanging off the fence, taking a photo. I was informed that this was the exact reason why the stadium had been
Tomorrow, I’m heading to the Detroit Design Festival, where I’ll be creating my very first art installation for the Bordertown design group. The group has contributed costumes, games, souvenirs from aborted utopias, and other wonderful things. My piece is a series of design fictions about the future of border security in Istanbul. I based those
A long time ago, my medieval studies professor said to me: “So, what are you interested in? What subject do you see yourself spending the rest of your life learning more about?” “…I’m not sure,” I told her. I want to be a novelist, I wanted to say. “I ask because you’re going to have
I have successfully defended my second master’s thesis. Read More »
In a rare coincidence, two pieces of mine are up at SF Signal and Tor.com, respectively. Thanks to Paul and Bridget, the editors, for allowing me to rant at my leisure. The first is a piece on how to raise stakes for characters in post-Singularity or post-Scarcity novels. Snip: I belong to a genre writing
Today is a good day for finger-wagging. Read More »
“I didn’t know it was so bad,” Amy said. “I really didn’t. I swear. I just couldn’t stop myself.” “I know,” the guard said. “I used to work corrections before I got this job, and that’s what kids in your situation always say, organic or synthetic.” Amy hugged her knees. She supposed organic kids wanted
Some words I (re)wrote the other day: Read More »