Nerdery
2.25.19 The joys of taking books on vacation
One of the great joys of vacation, for me, is a chance to arrive at my location and dive into a book. It sounds counter-intuitive — to travel hours in order to disappear into yet another world — but I just adore traveling through a city or the countryside, finding a perfect location, and getting…
Read More1.08.19 Arisia 2019 Schedule
Come find me at Arisia in Boston from Jan. 18-21! I’ll be paneling, partying, reading and selling. Here’s my schedule: Saturday, Jan. 19, 8:30pm – 9:45am (St. James)It Was Nineteen-Eighty-Something The twenty-year nostalgia cycle took longer this time, but the Reagan era is back. 2018’s Ready Player One hid its plot in a fire hose…
Read More1.04.19 11 Thoughts, Questions and Concerns I Had While Binging Netflix’s ‘You’
You and I have a few things to talk about. Yes, there will be spoilers. 1) The angsty villain protagonist stalker creepo is named Joe Goldberg (and played by Penn Badgley, who apparently had something to do with Gossip Girl). Anyway, I’m concerned about him being a Goldberg. I’m all for diversity but this is…
Read More6.29.18 ‘Westworld,’ ‘Humans’ forget to ask the big question: What does a robot want?
(Warning: Somewhat spoilery.) What does a robot want? In this time of real-world troubles among flesh-and-blood humans, I suppose it’s easier to think about robot needs and wishes, of androids dreaming of electric sheep. To consider where Westworld thinks its going, and about the hole Humans appears to have fallen into. And so …. As…
Read More6.13.18 We are officially old: Simon Le Bon is a Glamfather. Er, Grandfather
Duran Duran fans, it’s official: We are old. How do I know this? Because — as had to happen eventually — Simon Le Bon became a grandfather on June 6. I figure there are stages in the life of teen fandom: You find the object of affection (OOA) You lust after OOA You write fanfic…
Read More5.17.18 9 Ways I Know ‘Book Club’ Will Stink, Based on the Poster
Last night, Dear Husband and I were talking about what we might do this weekend. (We still haven’t seen Black Panther, which is a stain on our character, and that is probably what will happen.) But then he brought up Book Club. I’m not sure if my eyes dropped out right then or a few…
Read More5.13.18 How a musical called ‘Chess’ keeps making all the wrong moves after 34 years
Chess is not a great musical. It is not even one of Tim Rice’s greatest musicals. But if you’ve ever heard “One Night in Bangkok” or “I Know Him So Well,” you know this: it’s got some pretty awesome 1980s-era pop music. And I love it dearly. How could I not? Along with Rice, the…
Read MoreConfluence (Parsec) 2017
Friday, August 4 6 p.m. Superhero movies: Why hasn’t the bubble burst? Commonwealth East JL Gribble (moderator), Timothy Liebe, Randee Dawn, Dame Dahlia “Star Wars” initiated a series of Hollywood sf films, and “Halloween” started a craze for slasher films. But in the end, the bubble burst. We’re saturated with superhero movies, television series, and…
Read More7.08.17 Flashback! Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman talk Readercon (1994): ‘It’s like Brigadoon!’
In 1994, I had my first brush with science fiction/fantasy conventions when The Boston Phoenix asked me to interview Ursula K. LeGuin, who was to be the Guest of Honor (along with Terri Windling) at the 7th annual Readercon. At that time, I still had an image in my head that SFF conventions were all…
Read MoreReadercon 2017
Readercon, which bills itself as “the conference on imaginative literature,” is meeting for the 28th time in Massachusetts from July 13-16 and I will definitely be there! If you’re planning to attend, please say hello and come to find me at these readings and panels: Thursday, July 13 8:00 p.m. Salon A Broad Universe Rapid…
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