Top 10 Posts For September 2017
Contentions over Dragon Con and the Dragon Awards vaulted several Scrolls and other posts into September’s Top 10 – including Chris Barkley’s column of advice on how to fix them. Jerry Pournelle’s death notice was visited by many mourners. And
Take A Knee Playing Out in SFF Media
The iconic protest is beginning to gain a following among sf/f TV casts. #TheXFiles #TakeAKnee pic.twitter.com/65GJiBAOsl — Gillian Anderson (@GillianA) September 26, 2017 In the spirit of Gene Roddenberry – If I could take one knee on the bridge I
Barkley — So Glad You (Didn’t) Ask: A Column of Unsolicited Opinions — #16
An Amicus Brief for The Dragon Awards By Chris M. Barkley: To the Dragon Con Committee, I am willing to bet that this year’s Dragon Awards ceremony was barely over before the fannish naysayers and provocateurs began to bray that
Pixel Scroll 9/30/17 Anyway For All The Things You Know Tell Me Why Does Appertainment Flow
VERSUS ORVILLE. Nick Izumi conducts his own “Trek Off: Comparing ‘The Orville’ to ‘Star Trek: Discovery’” at Nerd & Tie. Production Design: The Orville‘s sets and costumes are also reminiscent of 90s Trek. The inside of the ship is
Anne Jeffreys Dies
By Chip Hitchcock: Anne Jeffreys (January 26, 1923 – September 27, 2017), age 94; played Marion Kerby in Topper (1953-1955 TV version), and soap opera character Amanda Barrington (General Hospital, Port Charles), who (says the New York Times) came under
2017 Lord Ruthven Awards
The winners of the 2017 Lord Ruthven Awards, presented for the best fiction on vampires and the best academic work on the study of the vampire figure in culture and literature, were announced at this year’s International Conference on the
Star Wars: My Force Awakens
By Steve Vertlieb: Among the many highlights of my recent pilgrimage to Hollywood was an entirely unexpected, nearly miraculous, accidental “close encounter” with the current star of one of the most lucrative and beloved movie franchises in motion picture history.
Pixel Scroll 9/29/17 Like The Best And Worst Of Typos That Lose Control
TASTING SESSION. James Davis Nicoll feeds his test subjects “Ugly Chickens” by Howard Waldrop at Young People Read Old SFF. With so many works to choose from, which of Waldrop’s stories to pick? “The Ugly Chickens” seemed like a
An Evening With (As In, They’re On Stage, I’m In The Audience) Stephen and Owen King, On Tour Promoting “Sleeping Beauties”
By Daniel Dern: One of the many great things about attending science fiction conventions — regional ones like Arisia, Boskone and ReaderCon, and, where schedule and budget permit, Worldcons — is getting to see/hear, and with luck, planning, and more
2017 Salam Award for Imaginative Fiction
The winner of the inaugural Salam Award for Imaginative Fiction was announced September 27. The new short story award is intended to “promote science fiction and related genres of writing in Pakistan.” Winner Firuza Pastakia for her story The Universe
Pixel Scroll 9/28/17 The Night They Scrolled Old Pixel Down
A HATCHLING. The Book Smugglers conduct “A Chat With Ann Leckie” about Provenance. The Book Smugglers: Yeah, and there’s scope for that, there’s so many different worlds and so many different things and the set-up is already there, so…
Hugh Hefner (1926-2017)
Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner died at home September 27 of natural causes. He was 91. While the magazine’s primary appeal was nude pictures of women and sex-oriented features, Playboy was also known for its cultural and political articles, and
2017 SFPA Speculative Poetry Contest Winners
The Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association announced the results of the 2017 SFPA Speculative Poetry Contest on September 28. The contest raises awareness about speculative poetry and the SFPA, internationally, and rewards writers of extraordinary speculative poems. Entries are
Pixel Scroll 9/27/17 How Do You Get Down Off A Pixel? You Don’t, You Get Down Off A Scroll
THUMBS UP. Good words: “Blade Runner 2049: The first reactions are in”. “Good news!” tweeted Guardian scribe Jordan Hoffman. “Blade Runner 2049 is a terrific continuation and expansion of the orig[inal].” Erik Davis from the movie site Fandango agreed,
Annihilation Official Teaser Trailer
Based on the novel by Jeff VanderMeer, the movie comes to theaters February 28. Stars Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny, and Oscar Isaac.
We met for lunch and disagreed
By John Hertz: We met for lunch and disagreed. Sometimes we drank tea instead; he sometimes brewed it himself. We each kept saying we should meet more often. From a letter I wrote on September 12th to Tom Sadler, of
Pixel Scroll 9/26/17 I’ve Been To Arrakis On A Sandworm With Two Names Twice
NO, IT AIN’T COOL. Indiewire reports “Harry Knowles Allegedly Sexually Assaulted Austin Woman Two Decades Ago, and Drafthouse Owners Didn’t Take Action”. An Austin-area woman said Ain’t It Cool News founder Harry Knowles sexually assaulted her at an Alamo
George R.R. Martin Among Inaugural PastWords Awards Recipients
The Historical Writers of America (HWA), an organization for all historical writers, fiction and nonfiction, presented the initial set of PastWords awards at a banquet in New Mexico on September 23. HWA created the PastWords to recognize creators who have
Barkley — So Glad You (Didn’t) Ask: A Column of Unsolicited Opinions — #15
Flash Review: Star Trek Discovery “The Vulcan Hello” and “Battle at the Binary Stars” By Chris M. Barkley: STAR TREK: Discovery, The Vulcan Hello and Battle at the Binary Stars, (4 out of 4 stars, 2017) with Sonequa Martin-Green (First Officer
Pixel Scroll 9/25/17 What Do A Pixel And A Scroll Have In Common? They Both Can’t Climb Trees
STAR TREK DISCOVERING. Camestros Felapton takes you from photon soup to Klingon nuts: “Thoughts on Star Trek Discovery Episodes 1 & 2”. Although not especially spoilery, good form still demands a SPOILER WARNING! However, Russell T Davies made a smart
2017 Copper Cylinder Awards
The winners of the sixth annual Copper Cylinder Awards have been announced by the Sunburst Award Society. The Copper Cylinder is an annual members’ choice award for Canadian literature of the fantastic. Adult Award Company Town by Madeline Ashby [Tor
Source Materials About the 1989 Hugo Controversy
Noreascon 3 was one of the best Worldcons ever, and the reasons for saying so are in my convention report (reprinted here in five parts a few years ago, opening with Worldcon Wayback Machine: Noreascon Three (1989) Day One). However,
