Aansteker voor de nerd

De Marlboro-promotiedame in de tabakszaak zei dat ze leuke aanbiedingen had vandaag en wantrouwend keek ik in haar promokoffer. Aanstekers. Nou en. Maar aanstekers voor nerds: mét usb-aansluiting. Beweeg het schuifje naar beneden en een gloeipuntje komt tevoorschijn. Op te laden via een usb-poort. Geinig toch? Deed me denken aan de Takeshi Kovacs-boeken van Richard Morgan, waar mensen nog in roken, ook al is het sciencefiction. Pakjes sigaretten hebben een gloeistrip, zodat je nooit hoeft te zoeken naar een aansteker of (bewaar me) lucifers. Mijn nieuwste aankoop voelt als een goede stap in die richting.

 

 

Jules Verne

I was told off today for calling myself an SF-journalist and not having written anything about Jules Verne this year, the 100th anniversary of his death. * sigh *. I tried to tell the man (a member of the Dutch Jules Verne Association) how hard it is to sell ideas about modern-day SF, let alone the stuff from hallowed antiquity. I was too embarrassed to admit I didn’t know it was His Year. But I did read his books when I was little and I did visit the Jules Verne museum two years ago in Nantes, on a Tuesday. Guess when it’s closed? Right, on a Tuesday

Serenity Review

Just got back from holiday and saw that the new Emerald City is out, and it contains my Serenity review. I am so mightily pleased. This is my first international publication – and another big step in that happy career of SFF-journalist. They even mention me as ‘Staff’! And amongst the two-week stack of magazines that were on the table when I got home, there was an Elf Fantasy Magazine, too, with two reviews and an interview. Bliss.

WorldCon update

Excerpt from diary 9 August 2005, Glasgow.

My head is just so full of images and sounds. The people, the conversations, the fucking kilts, the books, the drinking, the fat. Ribbons badges panel scooters more fat & more Americans, fans, real ale, Armadillo, agents (“My Agent!”), publishers, snobbery, cliques, loners, shorts, bad hair, pony tails, straggly beards, books, T-shirts, Joss Whedon is my Master now! Dr Who, baby Daleks, dragons, gay men, capes, space cadets, Perry Rhodan, stickers, parties, more parties, Hilton Bar, red wine, bankrupcy, bags, books & more T-shirts, a Klingon, short skirts for girls, cleavage! cleavage! cleavage! entire galleons floating past, the architecturally impossible, damn fine Scottish engineering, ugly shoes and big specs, people and more people. Stumpy, Dave Hipple, the two Terry’s, Anne McCaffrey, Iain M Banks, Raimund, Jaap B., Wim Stolk, Jxrgen, David Mattingly, Alan Lee, John McLintock, Michael Mooney, Bill King, Jeff Ford, Peter Morwood, Diane Duane, A3, Neil Walker, George RR Martin, Philip Rainer, Sara, Elly, Paige.

And I was Dorothy.