Links for 04-02-2008
Richard Bowes on sf writer culture; real-life superheroes; from England to India without any money; Vonnegut on war; music reviews …
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1 – I Like Writing but Hate Being a Writer – Richard Bowes
“A few times I’ve set scenes from stories at conventions and award ceremonies [...] It’s rarely done in spec fiction maybe because the genre’s writers are rather proud of the fact that they do not draw on personal experience.” BAM!
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“By most observers’ reckoning, between 150 and 200 real-life superheroes, or “Reals” as some call themselves, operate in the United States, with another 50 or so donning the cowl internationally.”
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3 – How to Herd Organic Search Traffic to Your Blog
Blog optimisation tricks.
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4 – Penniless India trek is under way
“A man has started a two-and-a-half year walk from Bristol to India without any money – to show his faith in humanity.” This will be interesting. I really want to see it work … but the cynic in my is tutting already.
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5 – The Worst Addiction of Them All – Kurt Vonnegut
“Tell people with that disease that war is coming and we have to get ready for it, and for a few minutes there, they will be as happy as a drunk with his martini breakfast or a compulsive gambler with his paycheck bet on the Super Bowl.”
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6 – Study: Climate Change Escalating Severe Western Water Crisis
“A water crisis in the Western United States is primarily due to manmade global warming, and it could force difficult choices for the region as farmers, residents and biofuel producers fight for their share of water.”
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7 – The Top Ten Things Environmentalists Need to Learn
“I often find myself in arguments over economics versus environmentalism. This becomes a very difficult situation because the immediate accusation is that I care only about money and need to realize that sacrifices must be made for the good of the planet.
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8 – Live review: Explosions in the Sky, Eluvium – Concorde 2, Brighton 23/1/2008
a series of adventures in light and shade and space, beautiful chunks of atmosphere – slices of sky for you to fly through, eyes squeezed shut. If Eluvium was like sound made liquid, then Explosions In The Sky are like drowning in light.
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9 – Album review:: Brain Police – Beyond the Wasteland
“I was a touch surprised to find that Jonsi of Sigur Ros is a fan of old-school riff metal, but listening to ‘Beyond The Wasteland’ it’s clear that he knows quality music when he hears it, whatever the genre.”
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10 – Album review: Puny Human – Universal Freak Out
“What have 50′s comics and science fiction, 70′s heavy metal and 80′s post-punk got in common? Initially I’d have answered “not a great dealâ€, but it turns out there is a connection — they’re all things that influence the music of New York nut-cases
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11 – Album review: Desoto Jones – Aurora
“The question is, will the tactic of trying to be everything to everyone pay off for Desoto Jones? As always, only time will tell — the market is a fickle place, as tens of thousands of one-album careers will attest to.”
