"the most respected, least trusted, most envied and least read"

[eldritchhobbit]

I'm back from Oklahoma! My sister's wedding was beautiful. Thanks to all who wished Margret and Michael well. They are now honeymooning in St. Croix. To my great relief, I managed not to drop my bouquet, her bouquet, or the ring during the ceremony, or faint or burst into tears, and so I count myself a success as the matron of honor. I was particularly pleased by the geek content of the event; the song played during the ceremony was a slightly-rewritten standard from Pete's Dragon, and the newly married couple arrived at their reception to the sounds of the Star Wars Main Title. I hope to have pictures to share soon.

In other news...

Blogging News

* The Liberty and Power Group Blog, to which I contribute, and which is a part of the History News Network at George Mason University, has been named one of The Top 100 Liberal Arts Professor Blogs. Yay team! It is syndicated for LJ as power_liberty.


Television News

* Jeremiah, an excellent post-apocalyptic science fiction series by J. Michael Straczynski (creator of Babylon 5), will begin airing in syndication on the SciFi Channel this Thursday, July 10. In my opinion, the first season is very good, but the second season is simply fantastic. I hope this worthy series gains many new viewers! I highly recommend it.

* It's also great to learn that there will indeed be a fifth season of the brilliant Hustle, which I have sorely missed.


Literary News

* R.I.P. Thomas M. Disch (1940-2008)
I was deeply saddened to read that science fiction author and critic Thomas M. Disch (1940-2008) took his own life on the 4th of July. Honored with one Hugo win and two Hugo nominations, nine Nebula nominations, the John W. Campbell and Rhysling awards, and two Seiun awards, Disch had a long and distinguished career. I will remember him especially for his 1969 novelization of The Prisoner and his 1972 dystopian novel 334, as well as his nonfiction books The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of: How Science Fiction Conquered the World and On SF.

* A discussion recently began here on sf_with_bite regarding readers' top ten favorite SF short stories. I am more of a fan of novels and novellas than short fiction, but off the top of my head, here is my list, in alphabetical order:

"The Cold Equations" by Tom Godwin
"The Colour Out of Space" by H.P. Lovecraft
"Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut
"The Machine Stops" by E.M. Forster
"Rappaccini's Daughter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne
"Samaritan" by Connie Willis
"The Screwfly Solution" by Raccoona Sheldon
"A Study in Emerald" by Neil Gaiman
"That Only A Mother" by Judith Merril
"Usher II" by Ray Bradbury

What are yours?


"Because of his intellectual audacity, the chillingly distant mannerism of his narrative art, the austerity of the pleasures he affords, and the fine cruelty of his wit, Thomas M. Disch has been perhaps the most respected, least trusted, most envied and least read of all modern first-rank SF writers."
John Clute on Thomas M. Disch

Comments

[izhilzha.livejournal.com]

I saw that about Jeremiah--I never got a chance to watch it the first time around, so it's set to record on my DVR.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Yay! I hope you enjoy it, too.

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

'An Inconstant Moon' by Larry Niven.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Oooh, nice choice!

[estellye.livejournal.com]

I am so sad to hear about Thomas Disch. It is always so heartbreaking when someone takes their own life. Nobody should be that sad and desperate.

Congratulations on being part of the top 100 for your group blog!

It's great that your sister's wedding was a success and so was the Matron of Honor. I don't prefer the word "Matron" though, can we call you "Honored Attendant"? LOL *hugs!*

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I like "honored attendant" better! LOL! :D

Thanks for the kind congrats. And I agree 100% about the sad news about Thomas Disch.

[randomalia.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to hear your sister's wedding went so well! And to Star Wars theme music! An excellent choice. XD

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much! That was a great choice, wasn't it? ;)

[theladyrose.livejournal.com]

Congrats to you and your fellow bloggers!

I'm excited, too, that series 5 really does seem to be getting off the ground. Have you heard the rumors of a big screen Hustle con yet?

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much!

That's fantastic news for Hustle! I'm so glad that Jaime Murray's involved, even if she won't be in Season 5 (which really is a shame).

[lbilover.livejournal.com]

That is such awesome news about Jeremiah. I've never seen Season 2 on anything besides a laptop, so it's going to be wonderful to see it on TV at last. Sean as Mister Smith is amazing. And I love the short story 'Harrison Bergeron' and also Sean's performance in the TV version.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Yes! I think Mister Smith represents one of Sean Astin's very, very best performances. It's such a meaty and meaningful part. I didn't catch the second season until it was available on iTunes, so I'm looking forward to seeing it on television, too!

I just love the Harrison Bergeron film. I regularly use it in my science fiction university classes, and the students are always really taken with it, too. Great stuff!

[scribblerworks.livejournal.com]

A song from Pete's Dragon?? :-) At a guess, was it "Candle on the Water"? I love that song (and happen to know - though I haven't spoken with him in several years - the songwriter, Al Kasha). I think it's a perfect wedding song.

It was sad to get the news about Disch.

I never got a chance to see much of Jeremiah, much as I like JMS's work. Nice to know there will be a new opportunity.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Yes, it was "Candle on the Water"! That's so amazing that you know the songwriter. It really is a beautiful song. The groom rewrote a few lines to personalize it, and his sister sang it as they lit the unity candle, and it was just magical.

The Disch news made me very sad.

I hope you enjoy Jeremiah!

[vyrdolak.livejournal.com]

I read a few stories from one of his collections, probably Getting Into Death, but I never finished it. He was hard to read. RIP all the same.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

RIP indeed; it seems he didn't have much peace in his final days.

[nakeisha.livejournal.com]

I'm glad the wedding went well and you all enjoyed yourself - and you clearly did a grand job.

Welcome back.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! *hugs* I have tons of LJ to catch up on... yikes!!!

[zerotonin.livejournal.com]

Hi, I'm a blow-in from LL&M. The top-10 list reminds me that I *should* read "Rappaccini's Daughter" someday. I'm told that it ends on a very ambigious note?

*am surprised that nothing by Charles Beaumont and Richard Matheson is on the list*

And funny, I thought that Bradbury's stories about why it is BAD THING to kill butterflies and about the post-nuclear devastation house would have been there over Usher II.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Hi there! *waves* Thanks for stopping by!

Yes, "Rappacinni's Daughter" is satisfyingly ambigious in its conclusion. And hey, if you like the story, you can buy the perfume oils!

I'm a Matheson fan in particular, and I also like Beaumont. I knew I'd forget something! There should be some Fritz Leiber on that list, as well.

And it was tough choosing just one Bradbury!

[whswhs.livejournal.com]

I'd have to think a while to come up with ten, but the two that come to mind immediately are Rudyard Kipling's "As Easy as A.B.C." and Fritz Leiber's "Space-Time for Springers."

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Oooh, good ones! I'm really starting to adore Fritz Leiber. I've only recently begun to devour his work. I should've had him on my list!