Stu Segal's Defying Gravity

Any "SPACEBALLS" fans out there?

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:17:05 GMT

We just recently picked up a new car and this is the front plate that was on it.

Any of you Spaceballs fans who may want this front plate before I toss it?

Rashmika rear-ended on US Rt 1, car "totaled" !

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:23:35 GMT

First of all - she's fine. Car's totaled.

She was sitting at a traffic light in a line of cars, and some guy on his way to work, exiting US Interstate 287 just didn't see that the cars were stopped, and instead of using his brakes just used the back of her car to stop.

Must have been pretty hard, because his airbag deployed on impact, and he was taken to the hospital (the police subsequently issued him a "careless driving" ticket). The back end of her car was pretty smashed up, but it looked fixable.

Except for being shook up from the accident (she watched this idiot in her rearview mirror as he hit her, but there was nothing she could do), and having a bit of soreness, she's fine. Just angry.

She really liked the car, and wasn't planning to get a new one for a couple years - but the insurance company says the damage is approaching $20K, and the frame of the car is bent, so by the time it's fixxed it could actually cost more than the value of the car - so they "totaled" it.

I got this car in early 2003; it was one of the first G35 Sport Coupes that Infiniti brought to the US. (For you not in the USA, this is the car that Nissan originally brought to the US instead of the Skyline GT-R). I drove the car for a couple years, and in '05 when I ordered a Corvette, Rashmika moved into this car - don't be thinking she gets my "leftovers", because at the time she had her own Jaguar, but loved the Infiniti so much that she dumped the Jag for the Sport Coupe (she claimed the Jag didn't have any "zip").

We both really liked this car. Too bad. But the good news is . . .she's fine.

Rainy day, wash the car . . .

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:58:12 GMT

I'm pretty sure the neighbors think I'm nuts when they see me out in the rain, in my duster, washing the car . . .

The only time I ever wash the car is in the rain. The thing is, the only time any one else washes their cars is on sunny days, because I guess they like to wash it, and shine it, and admire it, and maybe drive around in the shiny car.

I have however noticed that I have what I think is called "hard water", which has a lot of minerals in it, and wherever it air-dries it leaves behind a white residue. This residue builds up on certain of our plumbing fixtures and, even with the chemicals that are supposed to remove it, is nearly impossible to remove. So exactly what would this residue, or the chemicals, or the required compounding, do to a relatively fragile surface like the paint on a car?

I could spend a lot of time on this but I won't, because the easy answer is - - - I wash the car in the rain. Then the rainwater washes away the hard municipal water. And it looks fine. And I never have to worry about whether it's going to rain after I wash the car. Makes perfect sense to me.

Turn out the lights. Vito has left the building.

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 17:01:36 GMT

Sept 11, 2009 - today we lost Vito. Rather than dwell on the battle against declining health made by this stoic dog, I’d like to tell you how he affected so many people over the years:

We adopted Vito, a 145 lb. bullmastiff with a head the size of a basketball, at age 2½ . So fierce looking that people would cross the street rather than approach him, so fierce looking that delivery people would start up our front steps then stop when they saw him sitting inside the house behind the storm door.

But we found out in short order that Vito liked everyone. I mean everyone - people, dogs, cats, rabbits, squirrels. (In seven years we never heard him growl – not once). Over the years we learned he had a special affinity for people who are old/infirmed and children. He somehow comprehended people’s frailties, and when he was with an old person or a child he was always on perfect behavior, never knocking into an older person, and never objecting when a child would hang on him, or pull his ears, or stick their fingers in his nose or mouth.

Vito met hundreds of people over the years, because we took him to either the park, or Main Street, every day - - and he’d meet strangers. Dog lovers were fascinated with him and would want to say hi, and non-dog lovers and people who were afraid of dogs would often inquire (or we would ask them if they wanted to say hello). There were an enormous number of people who were skeptical or scared, who approached and petted Vito after being assured by us that it was safe, who learned that big fierce-looking dogs are not necessarily what they thought. I just can’t describe the feeling of watching Vito win them over.

And then there was the Therapy work. My Mother became terminally ill in late 2003, and it became very obvious that Vito understood her situation and wanted to comfort her. So obvious in fact that I decided to take him for the Therapy Dog Certification Exam as I thought he might be able to bring a little happiness and comfort to other terminally ill people.

So I read about the certification process and registered for the exam. Let me tell you, while the certification isn’t hard, it does require a dog that is extremely obedient - much more so than a normal housepet or companion dog, more like the obedience expected from trained K9 dogs. The reason of course is that these dogs are expected to go into sickrooms, hospitals and convalescent centers and not wreak havoc either intentionally or unintentionally. So I showed up, and here I was with a bunch of people and trainers who had obviously put their dogs through extensive training and were warming them up putting them through practice exercises. I, on the other hand, sat down next to Vito, looked him in the eyes and gently told him to just look and listen to me, and to stay calm. I don’t want to brag about how Vito’s behavior put to shame all the trained dogs, but it did. Somehow he knew it was important to pass this exam, and he performed flawlessly.

Which led to a year of visiting terminal patients and their families at the Barbara E. Cheung Hospice. Vito went twice a week – he would visit the nurses station, then go bed to bed (he would go into each room and check to see if anyone was in the beds) visiting patients. Truth is, most patients at the hospice were in their final days, and were heavily medicated. But occasionally he would have a tremendous impact on the family members, who were there on what was basically a “deathwatch”, and were tired, stressed, sad. I could tell when it was about to happen because I would see some family member, slumped in a chair, who would make eye contact with Vito, and their face would just light up (after all, the last thing anyone expects to see in a hospice is a big friendly bullmastiff). Which would usually lead to them getting down on the floor and spending a half hour patting Vito and talking about their dog or maybe dogs they used to have. And for that half hour or so they would be transported away from their deathwatch to a place where they were just happy to be with big Vito.

I could go on and on, but I won’t. Vito enriched the lives of hundreds of people. The loss to Rashmika and I, and the ones closest to us, is more than you can imagine.

At age 2 ½ Vito was diagnosed with a number of serious orthopedic issues, including hip dysplasia, a condition which usually prevents dogs from living a full life. Under the guidance and treatment of our friend, veterinarian Kurt Blaicher, Vito lived a long, happy life; I’m sure without Kurt this would not have been so.

For more photos and info about Vito, see: Vito’s Webpage

There are several organizations which helped Vito and/or with which he was involved. If anyone would like to make a donation in memory of Vito those organizations are:

Rawhide Rescue - who rescued Vito and placed him with us.

University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School - who provided specialized health support for Vito.

Therapy Dogs International – who certified and insured Vito as a Therapy Dog.

Visiting Nurses Association of Central Jersey - who do amazing work supporting Hospice patients.

Humane Society of the United States – who fight every day for humane treatment of animals.

I may be a conservative, but I'll miss Ted.

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:14:50 GMT

Like most people from my generation, I have felt for a long time like I know the Kennedy's . . . almost like they are extended family. Over the years, the decades, we have celebrated with them, and we have cried with and for them.

A viewer wrote in to one of the cable channels today, in response to the question "Just what is it about the Kennedy's?" And I thought his/her answer was right on:

"They were rich, handsome and famous, and all they ever cared about was helping people less fortunate than themselves".

I've never agreed with Ted Kennedy's politics, but I've always admired his determination and sincerity. I'm glad to have been here to see our first "young" President elected, glad to have cut school one day to see Bobby on the campaign trail, and glad to have heard Ted's 1980 DNC speech.

With Ted's passing we have lost the family who can only be described as America's First Family, even in the hearts of conservatives like me.

Strollin' With the Stars in Montreal

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:11:01 GMT

One of the things we again this year at WorldCon was the morning Strolls. We got great authors, artists and editors to join us and stroll around beautiful Montreal.

And over 200 fans showed up to stroll with us!

A couple years ago frankwu and I kicked around the idea of bringing a healthier atmosphere to the con, then with the help of stephenhsegal and capybaron we organized the strolls.

We were joined on the strolls by John Joseph Adams, Lou Anders, Peter Atwood, Paul Cornell, Ellen Datlow, Cory Doctorow, scottedelman, Felix Gilman, Joe & Gay Haldeman, maryrobinette Kowal, jaylake , Farah Mendlesohn, Larry Niven, John Picacio, Lawrence M Schoen, Stephen H. Segal, Ann VanderMeer, Kaaron Warren and frankwu .

Below are some photos - the ones in front of the cool old building are on the steps of the Basilique Notre-Dame, and the others are in front of the Place des Arts.

A BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED!!!
WE'LL DO IT AGAIN! (maybe Melbourne, definitely Reno)

(¯`·.¸(¯`·.¸ ANTICIPATION! Stroll With The Stars ¸.·´¯)¸.·´¯)

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:11:33 GMT

Less than a month away, now I'm starting to get excited! One of the things I'm participating in is Stroll With The Stars - an opportunity to go for a morning stroll with some of our favorite Authors, Artists and Editors.

This was the idea of a number of the participants who were looking for a way to go to the Con, do all the stuff we normally do, but also get out in the fresh air for a healthy stroll and some good conversation. (And let me stress, we mean "stroll" - def: a leisurely walk. This will not be a heart-pounding aerobic activity, it will be a stroll).

Some of the most interesting Authors, Artists and Editors have agreed to lead the Strolls, and will be strolling along at the right pace to have a good conversation.

This year's schedule:

Friday 9AM - Ellen Datlow, Scott Edelman, Jay Lake, Stephen H. Segal, Kaaron Warren
Saturday 9AM - Peter Atwood, Cory Doctorow, Joe & Gay Haldeman, Ann VanderMeer
Sunday 9AM - Lou Anders, Paul Cornell, Felix Gilman, Mary Robinette Kowal, Farah Mendlesohn, John Picacio
Monday 9AM - John Joseph Adams, Frank Wu, Lawrence M. Schoen, Stephen H. Segal
We are going to meet each morning, Fri-Mon, 9AM, at the Riopelle Fountain by the Palais des Congrès (right across from the Palais, at the corner of Ave Viger and Rue de Bluery); returning before before 10. NOTE: You don't need to "sign up", just show up.

ps: Some of us are also doing a "practice lap" at 9AM on Thursday morning if anyone wants to join us.

The Hugos - Vote for METAtropolis, John Picacio, Weird Tales

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:59:15 GMT

There are three categories I find particularly interesting this year (but I urge you to vote in all categories, and do so before midnight, July 3):

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form – There is a lot of debate about whether METAtropolis was appropriate as a nominee for the category (seems a little strange that fans who claim to be so forward-looking can be so close minded). If you are unaware, it’s an audiobook, nominated in a category traditionally populated by full-length feature films. Let me tell you why METAtopolis has my vote:

It is just an outstanding piece of work - 5 excellent stories by great authors, all which fit within the framework that John Scalzi and the other authors developed - beautifully read by 5 pros, led off by a dramatic performance by Michael Hogan. The concept and the execution (content and production) are simply outstanding, and very different than what’s expected in this category.

This is the kind work that deserves a Hugo. If you haven’t yet listened to METAtropolis (yes, I know, it’s 9 hours long), stop what you’re doing and start listening - it will be well worth your time.

Best Professional Artist – an unbelievably difficult category to vote on, for a couple reasons.

First, there is no specific piece of work to vote on as there is in the literature categories – so as a voter you are left much more to your own resources than with many of the other categories. Second, the talent nominated in this category is always just unbelievable - every year it is a choice from amongst nominees who are masters in the field, every one deserving a win.

This year I want to point you toward the work of John Picacio - there is a very lot I could say about his work, but the most convincing argument comes from the work itself (see: John Picacio’s 2008 published work). Review John’s work and I think you’ll agree – this is the work of a grandmaster, the kind of work that honors our genres.

Best Semiprozine – there is a lot of excitement around this category, not because of the nominees but because of the possibility that the category may be discontinued after this year. I’m told the reason is because Locus has won so many times that a foregone conclusion is that as long as the category exists, Locus will win.

But I think the Hugo should go to a magazine which publishes literature. And I think Weird Tales has done an outstanding job of bringing us some of the best new authors, and the best established authors, in the last year (see – Year In Review). From Peter Atwood, whose Weird Tales story “All In” is nominated for a Prix Aurora Award, to Michael Moorcock’s all new Elric novella - Weird Tales hit a home run bringing us great stories from great storytellers. And isn’t that what the Hugos are all about?

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This is the small print that says the opinions above are mine and mine alone. These opinions may be biased – perhaps by many factors, not the least being my attention to Science Fiction and Fantasy, on screen, in print, and in the spoken word, for over 50 years.
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North Korea tests Obama

Wed, 27 May 2009 19:57:56 GMT

About 6 weeks ago I posted about North Korea's test firing of a missile. I expressed my concern that if allowed to do so, the North Koreans would forge ahead with their nuclear armament plan, and ended my post with "And, by the way, when they all said during the election that "the new President would be tested" - well, this is it, this is the test, and the terrorists and terror nations of the world are watching."

So from what I could see - "we" (meaning the US, led by President Obama) did nothing. Yes, I know, we went to the UN and got the UN to issue harsh words, and we continued our sanctions. Maybe our new administration hasn't noticed, but North Korea has ignored the UN for 60 years, and our sanctions have been ineffective. So my conclusion - we did nothing.

From a North Korean paper yesterday - "It is a laughable delusion for the United States to think that it can get us to kneel with sanctions," it said in an editorial. "We've been living under U.S. sanctions for decades, but have firmly safeguarded our ideology and system while moving our achievements forward. The U.S. sanctions policy toward North Korea is like striking a rock with a rotten egg."

I believe 6 weeks ago was the "test" of our new President, and terrorists everywhere observed his "retaliation" (speech). So this week North Korea actually performed an underground nuclear test, and five (yes 5) test firings of missiles.

Do you think it's just a coincidence that this is happening now? Do you think it's a coincidence that the first test firing came less than 100 days after our new President took office? Do you think it's a coincidence that one month after the first test firing North Korea moved to nuclear testing?

I'm pretty sure it's not a coincidence, and I'm also pretty sure that President Obama and Prime Minister Brown making more speeches condemning the North Koreans won't have any effect. I think something needs to be done before these people develop an atomic bomb and use it to blackmail the world (or sell it to other equally crazy terrorists or terror nations).

Peter Paul & Mary - last night

Thu, 21 May 2009 13:45:50 GMT

We were lucky to catch Peter Paul & Mary at the State Theater last night. I first remember them from my teens, when they were leading the Peace March in Washington, and they were marching with Dr. King - and their songs like "Blowin" In The Wind" were essentially the musical soundtrack of the protests.

As you can see from the photo, they don't look quite the same as you may remember - a tall willowy blond with long flowing hair and bangs, bookended by tall darkhaired men with goatees. Yes, they're older, and yes they're sitting, and yes (what you may not be able to discern in the photo) Mary Travers is on oxygen.

In '04 Mary was diagnosed with leukemia, since then has had a bone marrow transplant, and though fortunate to be alive has suffered damage to her lungs, thus the oxygen. And at 73, still has the gumption and guts to perform. OK, she is no longer has that iconic long blonde hair that flowed with every twist of her neck, but what she does have is readily apparent on songs like "If I Had A Hammer", where her voice just shines.

It was great to see them, and great to see how they were able to still work together and perform so well, given challenges that might easily prevent most people from going on the road at all.

So we got to hear, "Puff The Magic Dragon", "Leavin' On A Jet Plane", "If I Had A Hammer", "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" and two and a half hours of other stuff, and I got to sing "This Land Is Your Land" with them (well, actually me and about 2,500 other people).

It was really bittersweet to see them, all now in their 70's, Mary struggling with her health - if you can find a way, see them soon.

Shocked and Awed..

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 03:01:27 GMT

When I was a kid, and even a young adult, I had certain expectations of what would happen in the world. This year I’m going to be 60 . . .and I’m thinking about those expectations, and realize some have happened, in some cases way beyond my imagination. . . and some have not, and may not.

Are you surprised or disappointed by “the future”?

This is what I thought, back in the 50’s and 60’s:

I thought:

we’d have flying cars, or something nearly as good.
we’d have “Peace On Earth”.
we’d colonize other planets, moons, etc.
there would be all kinds of mass transit to help us get around.
we’d find enough cures that our lives would be extended indefinitely.
the sun would be shining every day.
we’d eat perfectly balanced diets, like the astronauts.
we’d have robots, and robotics, to help our everyday lives.
I would be bald.
our economy would only get stronger
America would continue to be the greatest place on earth.
the human condition would be vastly improved.
cancer would be a thing of the past, like the plague and polio.

I never imagined that:

the PC would be as integral to daily life as it is.
communications would be so advanced.
newspapers would be a thing of the past.
ABC, CBS and NBC would be eclipsed.
cars and motorcycles would be so good.
we’d be able to watch anything anytime on our TV’s or PC’s.
I’d be able to see the worlds’ greatest musicians.
we would avoid falling into George Orwell’s 1984.

Where is my flying car? OK, I always knew it was a stretch to expect flying cars. But amphibious cars certainly seemed possible. And cars that would drive themselves seemed to be just over the horizon . . . and it still seems that way. But that quantum leap to the next great solution never happened. Here we are, stuck in 1914 (but with better roads and vehicles).

“Peace On Earth” - I grew up in the 50’s/60’s. Our neighbors, the McQuades, owned a very large house with a very large porch, on which they put a very large sign every holiday season that said, yup, “Peace On Earth”.

During my childhood we were between shooting wars. We had a “cold war”, and we all lived with the knowledge that some day the Russians would nuke us. Just like that - a bright flash of light and incinerated . . . . or maybe a long slow death from radiation poisoning. But I always believed the cold war would end, and there would be peace.

Then came Vietnam, North Ireland, the Six-Days War . . . and I realized my perception that we had been living just one cold war away from peace was a childish illusion. Are we actually now further from peace than when Eisenhower was President, or is it just my perception?

We will colonize other planets, moons, etc. - Yes I believed this, as surely as I believe that my peanut butter diet is both nutritious and slimming. The problem was, and I hate to say it, after JFK died so did the space program. Sure, we have done more after his death, but the leader who made us believe we would conquer new frontiers was gone . . . . and replaced by . . . .Nixon, Agnew, Ford, Carter . . . . and other such exciting characters, who we could barely stomach, let alone convince us we should spend gazillions getting to other galaxies. The very bad news here is – we continue to increase our impact on the earth, and have made no attempt to find an alternative.

Moving sidewalks. Monorails. Mass transit. I really didn’t believe that all these things would be limited to Disneyworld. Maybe someone can explain to me why, in a country being held hostage by OPEC, we all insist on driving everywhere in our own vehicles. Why is there so little mass transit that people can’t even get comfortable enough with the idea to push their politicians? I am fortunate to live in a place served by mass transit - but again, it’s a hundred year old system with new track and engines. Where is MagLev? Where are trains that actually run on schedule (excluding Japan)? Does anyone care?

We will live forever, or at least, a pretty long time. It certainly seemed like medical science was curing disease at a rate that would all but wipe it out. And if we wore out body parts and organs, there would be replacements. Life expectancy has gone up dramatically in the last 50 years – but somehow I don’t think this is happening quickly enough for me to be around to see our Martian colony or our first visit from extra-terrestrials.

And it’s raining why? When I was a kid there was a lot of press about “cloud seeding”, which was a way to modify precipitation by seeding the clouds with certain chemicals. It seemed like a sure thing – we’d be able to control the weather and have beautiful sunny days all the time, and maybe have rain just in the middle of the night. (And, BTW, cloud seeding is still in use in China, generally to increase rainfall for arid regions – but they also seeded the clouds in 2008 to prevent rain during the opening ceremony of the Olympics). It actually seems to me that as I age, the weather is becoming worse; shouldn’t we be having “hundred year storms” every hundred years, instead of every two minutes?

We’d eat balanced diets and be perfectly healthy like the astronauts. And why not? We saw the astronauts on TV; it looked easy. There were tubes of nutritious goo and Tang – they ate this stuff, and they all looked like Olympians. I guess I didn’t anticipate The Cheesecake Factory or White Castle.

Robots. Who couldn’t use a Klaatu or Robby? I wasn’t sure if robots would be for the wealthy, or everyone, but I was sure they would exist. The best I can see we’ve done with robotics which everyone uses are Automated Teller Machines – yes, they do a job that was, and still is, done by humans. And they do it pretty well, 24 hours a day. But somehow I imagined robots doing more.

I was certain I’d be bald. After all, my Dad was wearing a toupee by 32, and given the receding hairline of my 20’s I had vowed to just shave my head when the male pattern became noticeable. Truth be told, in my late 40’s I started taking something called propecia, which may be responsible for my hair today. But I would have just never imagined that I’d get gray; hey, I didn’t think there’d be any hair up there.

Working Wives??? I grew up in a world where Moms were at home, and Dads earned enough for the family. I slowly saw the necessity for two wage earners to support most families. I’ve watched as the powerhouse companies of the planet (which were all based in the US) - US Steel, Motorola, General Motors, RCA, Prudential, Citibank, Zenith, Ford – have gone out of business, or been eclipsed by foreign competitors. I’ve watched as our jobs moved out of the US. There is a very long discussion here, and it’s not about the last 8, or 10, or even 20 years – it’s about an attitude of arrogance and disregard that has pervaded our country for the last 50 years. It’s not the governments’ fault, or Wall Streets’ – it’s our fault; and it’s not getting better.

The best place on earth. This is a tough one, because I believe the US is still the best place on earth, but I have seen the erosion of personal freedoms over the past 60 years, and the growth of a litigious society full of rules that limit all kinds of behavior which was personal choice when I was a kid. We seem to be moving further away from the course our founding fathers charted 2 centuries ago.

The Human Condition. What can I say?

Cancer. 50 years ago we were on the cusp of a cure, or so we thought. When I was a kid it seemed that sometimes people died of cancer, and sometimes other things. Now it seems that most people I know, or know of, die of cancer, and it seems more pervasive now than it did 50 years ago. We have gotten much better at early detection; and it seems that when detected early there are much more effective treatments than there once were.

PCs. Who would have thought the PC would become so critical to daily life? To efficiency? My calendar, phone book, journal, banking, shopping, music, communication with friends and business colleagues, encyclopedia, dictionary, auto and bike shop manuals, etc., etc., all live on, or gateway through, my PC. And if I go out, there are alternatives to get to all this stuff. First of all, I never imagined the PC as anything but a fast calculator and a word processor, and second, how did we ever get by before?

“Advanced communications” was Ham radio when I was a kid. There was 5-digit dialing. Nobody spoke to anyone in Singapore (unless you were the State Department). Not even Dick Tracy with his wrist radio, or Batman with his batphone. Now at a moments’ notice you can find three different ways to communicate with someone on the other side of the planet. And you never have to be out of touch. And it’s cheap. Amazing.

There were 2 things everyone did. One was read the newspaper, and the other was watch the (network) news. And I mean everyone; if you wanted news this was how you got it. As far as I’m concerned, the network news and newspapers are dead – and good riddance. Like all other monopolies, the quality devolved to the lowest common denominator. Need proof? How about Katey Couric as CBS new anchor?

Cars and motorcycles. When I was 13, Parnelli Jones broke 150mph qualifying for the Indy 500, and I dreamed what it would be like to circle the Raceway at that breakneck speed. What I never dreamed is that someday I would own cars that would go that fast, and would also have air conditioning, power windows, and be so good they could be driven every day. No more required semi-annual tune-ups; sparkplugs now last 100,000 miles. The cars we drive today have incredible speed and power, excellent gas efficiency, and even the most common cars are engineered to be more durable than the finest most expensive vehicles produced 50 years ago. The only regret? We still have speed limits on the highway that prevent the occasional top end run, and we all can’t live near the Autobahn. (And motorcycles are even more amazing, with acceleration and speed that are downright insane).

I heard of videotape and imagined that we’d someday be able to watch something “on tape”; that sounded pretty cool. But I never imagined that with the combination of cable TV (or satellite), Netflix, streaming video, pay-per-view, and Tivo we’d be able to watch anything, anytime we want. Think I’m kidding? Get cable, Tivo and Netflix; now tell me there’s nothing on TV. These content providers have allowed a fundamental change in viewing - from being glued to the armchair during primetime so you didn’t miss your favorite shows, to acquiring your favorite shows and watching them at your leisure.

I remember the Beatles coming to Atlantic City in ’64. Somehow I was not in attendance, which was, for a long time, a regret. But I got to see many more musicians through the years than I ever expected - McCartney, The Who, The Moody Blues, Rod Stewart, Elton John, The Animals, Dylan, Paul Simon, etc., etc. Equally surprising, I can now hit a button on my remote, queue up a concert, and be surrounded by sound as fine as the best seat at Lincoln Center or the muddiest seat at Woodstock while a six-foot screen fills with a high-def image which is actually better than what I’d see in person. I’ve been an audiophile since I heard my first stereo record in maybe 1963, but I really never imagined it could be this good.

And now my paranoia – yes, I really thought the governments would gain such control over information and communications that we would live in Orwell’s 1984. And just so you know, I am still not convinced that we are not on that path. And to the argument that the internet has given us free and open access to post the truth and expose the worlds’ ne’er-do-wells, I say - there are an awful lot of examples of us all falling for “the big lie”, even in today’s connected world. I might even argue that we are positioned to be more easily led, and more easily led astray.

What have I missed? What are your big disappointments, or big surprises?

Twitter Rant

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 16:05:22 GMT

Occasionally I have something to say. Usually it takes several paragraphs. I find LiveJournal is a good format.

A few months back I joined Facebook, because many of my friends who were on LiveJournal, and many more who were not, joined. I've learned FB is for the more social aspects - but whenever I actually have something to say, I crosspost a link to my LJ post on FB, just in case someone wants to read it.

Now I notice some folks crosspost their Tweets onto FB. So I know who's having coffee, who's in a cab and who took a shower this morning. I can't tell you how thrilled I am to have this information - how I've gotten through life without knowing that Lamar was having his green tea is a mystery. My life now feels complete.

(BTW - now that we have gone from the paragraphs of LJ, to the photos and links of FB, to the sentences of Twitter, I wonder where it goes next. Can our attention span get shorter? Can we just send a symbol? Perhaps the artist that was formerly Prince, who was then represented by a symbol, but is now again known as Prince because nobody really "got it", was really on to something when he was represented by the symbol).

North Korean Missile Test

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 22:57:54 GMT

Today North Korea tested a missile.

I am told the NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) declared the test a failure, as no satellite was put in orbit.
I am also told that since the "satellite" story was just a big lie, and the real goal was to test the missile (which did launch correctly, and separated, and the second stage fired correctly), NORAD's position is just ridiculous - as this was a successful missile test.
And now I'm hearing that this means North Korea can hit all of Europe or North America with a missile; and presumably with a nuclear warhead.
And further, that given their relationship with Iran, it puts this capability within Iran's reach

So today - North Korea thumbed their nose at the rest of the world and through their actions declared their intention. And so far, we made a speech (Gordon Brown and Barack Obama "condemned the action, and indicated we were going to go to the Security Council - which seems a little strange since North Korea has defied the world repeatedly and clearly couldn't care less about UN sanctions).

There are two events I remember pretty clearly:

The Cuban Missile Crises - and President Kennedy's response was to deploy the US Navy to blockade Cuba, and examine the contents of every incoming ship.
The Russian Invasion of Afghanistan - and President Carter's response was to "condemn" the actions of the Russians and to boycott the Moscow Olympics.

In the next couple days we'll find out if Obama has the heart of JFK or Jimmie Carter. And, by the way, when they all said during the election that "the new President would be tested" - well, this is it, this is the test, and the terrorists and terror nations of the world are watching.

The Coolest Dude On Wheels?

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 02:28:49 GMT

After I posted a bunch of car and bike pix on Facebook, my friend Dennis Z. made a very nice comment that I am "the coolest dude on wheels", which of course is not true, but got me thinking - who is the coolest dude on wheels?

I need your help to decide; please answer the poll below. IF YOU'RE NOT A REGISTERED LIVE JOURNAL USER, JUST GO TO THE "LEAVE A COMMENT" LINK AT THE BOTTOM, TELL ME WHO YOU'D VOTE FOR, AND I'LL TALLY YOUR VOTE.

View Poll: The Coolest?

My first Hugo Award nomination . . thank you . . thank you . .

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 01:57:41 GMT

. . . but let me set the record straight. While I appreciate the congratulations, I had nothing to do with it.

Stephen H. Segal and Ann VanderMeer are the editors of Weird Tales, John Betancourt is the publisher and George Scithers is the editor emeritus. Yes, you see me each year at the World Science Fiction Convention with Stephen; this doesn't mean I'm his publisher, I'm his father (and his fan), and at the conventions I'm his support staff.

I may admit to subjecting the poor impressionable boy to a house full of Doctor Who and Star Trek, and bookshelves full of Heinlein, Verne, Norton and Asimov when he was a child; perhaps I'll even admit to taking him to conventions.

But the congratulations for the Hugo nomination should go to Stephen and Ann and the team at Weird Tales. They've done an amazing job.

see: Weird Tales nominated for a Hugo Award

My complete Hugo Nomination recommendations

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 05:06:06 GMT

My full list of recommendations follows, but please remember -

This may be the last year for a "magazine" category, as the elimination of the Semiprozine category is likely to be confirmed at this years' WSFS meeting. A fortunate set of circumstances actually qualifies Weird Tales for the Semiprozine category. Somehow, in 85 years of publishing some of the most outstanding authors we know, Weird Tales itself has never won a Hugo. I'm hoping you'll agree that the outstanding work of the past couple years earns them a nomination in what may be the final year of Semiprozine awards.

Best Semiprozine - Weird Tales, edited by Stephen H. Segal and Ann VanderMeer (see Year in Review and eligible works published in WT)

And also - this is the first year for the Graphic Stories category. Categories only live on if there's adequate interest, so I urge you to nominate some of your favorites in this category.

Best Graphic Story - "In the Cage", published in Mushishi volume 4

And the rest of my recommendations:

Best Novel - "The Alchemy of Stone" by Ekaterina Sedia

Best Novella - "America, Such as She Is" by Jay Lake, published in Alembical
Best Novella - "Black Petals" by Michael Moorcock, Weird Tales #349 (Mar/Apr 2008)

Best Novelette - "Renovations," by Matthew Pridham, Weird Tales #348 (Jan/Feb 2008)

Best Short Story - "Gift Time" by Lawrence M. Schoen, published in the anthology Barren Worlds
Best Short Story - "Evil Robot Monkey" by Mary Robinette Kowal, The Solaris Book of NewScience Fiction Vol. 2
Best Short Story - "Time and the Orpheus," by Chiles Samaniego, Weird Tales #351(Sept/Oct 2008)
Best Short Story - "The Last Great Clown Hunt," by Chris Furst, Weird Tales #352 (Nov/Dec 2008)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Longform - City of Ember
Best Dramatic Presentation, Longform - Cloverfield
Best Dramatic Presentation, Longform - Wall-E

Best Dramatic Presentation, Shortform - Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Best Editor, Shortform - Ann VanderMeer
Best Editor, Shortform - Stephen H. Segal
Best Editor, Shortform - Ellen Datlow

Best Editor, Longform - Lou Anders
Best Editor, Longform - Sean Wallace

Best Professional Artist - John Picacio (see published work of 2008)

Best Fan Artist - Brianna Spacekat (see website)

My Hugo Nomination recommendations

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:59:00 GMT

It's a short list this year:

Best Graphic Story
- "In the Cage", published in Mushishi volume 4

Best Dramatic Presentation - Longform
- City of Ember

- Cloverfield

- Wall-E

Best Dramatic Presentation - Shortform

- Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Best Editor - Shortform
- Ellen Datlow

- Stephen H. Segal

- Ann VanderMeer

Best Editor -  Longform
     - Lou Anders
     - Sean Wallace

Best Professional Artist
- John Picacio (see published work of 2008)

Best Semiprozine
- Weird Tales, edited by Stephen H. Segal and Ann VanderMeer (see Year in Review and eligible works published in WT)

Best Fan Artist

- Brianna Spacekat (see website)

The Day The Earth Stood Still

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 01:21:38 GMT

About a year ago I asked if I was alone in my outrage of the remake of this great movie. (see the original post).

After comments from some of you I changed my position, as someone pointed out that even though the original movie was well done and had a great message, the age and relative obscurity of the movie meant it simply wasn't being seen by younger people. Point taken. So I for the last year have anxiously awaited the new movie.

And now I've seen it.

First of all let me say . . . . .the new movie is very entertaining, with great special effects. The two hours just zipped by.

In many ways the plot is very similar to the original. Alien arrives from another planet in an exotic "spaceship", brings along awesome unstoppable robot, tries to communicate with world leaders, is shot by over-zealous military, there's an irritating little kid, etc. etc.

SPOILERS FOLLOW!!

But there are some elements of the movie that are very disappointing:

First of all, the plot of the original was about our ability to commit nuclear mayhem on ourselves and others - and the aliens' ability/responsibility in not allowing that. This plot is about the aliens stopping us from destroying the earth through our irresponsible ecological practices. Am I really supposed to believe that aliens would care that we are trashing our planet?
Then there's the title of the film, which represented a scene in the original movie where the alien flexed his muscles by showing his power - stopping everything on earth for an hour. Well, there was a scene near the end of this movie where everything ground to a halt, but it was completely unconnected to the plot, and never explained. Anyone who hadn't seen the original movie would be clueless about this scene.
In the original we learned to purpose of Gort, the robot. Not mentioned in this movie - just a big scary robot.
Then my real problem - they didn't seem to know how to end the film. About 15 min. before the end, the alien (who was heretofore going to wipe out all of humanity and its' creations) observes a tender bonding scene between the female lead and the kid, then the alien "gets" that humans are, well . . . human, and decides not to destroy the planet - even though they had spent 80 years setting up the infrastructure to destroy the planet and repopulate it with indigenous life forms excluding humans. Puleeeze!

So my evaluation is - - - - if they had named the movie something else, and had come up with a decent ending, I would have really liked the film. But as a "remake", I'd say . . . . re-watch the original.

Stroll With The Stars, at Anticipation in Montreal

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:26:34 GMT

We got such positive feedback from "Stroll With The Stars" last year, that we're doing it again at Anticipation in Montreal.

For anyone that doesn't know. . . the idea is a leisurely morning stroll, with some of our favorite authors, artists, editors and publishers strolling along. And it's a stroll (not a heart-pounding aerobic exercise), so hopefully everyone who wants to can participate. A leisurely mile, out in the fresh air, with interesting folks. Someone described it as a "strolling kaffeeklatsche", and someone else likened it to the peripatetic schools of the Greek philosophers.  Anyway, we had a great time (see Denvention Strolls), with 40-50 fans strolling along with us each day.

Montreal will be even better. It's a city of interesting architecture, diverse culture, and old world charm. Rashmika and I were there last June for a few days and, coincidentally, we took some early morning walks around the city - my impression of Montreal is that, though different than New York or London, it's equally diverse and interesting. And did I mention, it's not flat (which makes the planning a bit more challenging, since we are committed to keep the exercise at a level that's comfortable for everyone); but it's also not 5,000 feet above sea level like Denver, which will make walking much easier on all us sea-level folks.

Last year we were joined by Lou Anders, David Brin, Paul Cornell, Ellen Datlow, Joe & Gay Haldeman, Mary Robinette Kowal, Jay Lake, John Picacio, Scott Edelman, Lawrence M. Schoen, Stephen H. Segal, and Frank Wu for the Strolls, and we're hoping to get all them, and more, for Anticipation.

So look for updates, pack your walking shoes, and be prepared for Anticipation, which is shaping up to be the best Worldcon ever!

Cold Steel & Absinthe – a traditional family Thanksgiving

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 19:04:40 GMT

I love carving the bird, but not so much for culinary reasons. Years ago, my cousins Dave & Miriam Witten gave Rashmika and I the carving tools you see on our table.

Dave, who was actually my Mom’s eldest first cousin, was a Captain in the elite Army Ranger battalion, Merrill’s Marauders. (This was the only Army Ranger battalion active in WWII, and has the rare distinction that every soldier in the battalion was awarded a Bronze Star). The unit was assigned to “deep penetration”, their mission being to engage enemy troops in Burma.

Dave brought home the carving tools, and the beautiful peacock handled serving tools, from India. When he and Miriam moved to Washington, DC (in, I think, 1991) they made a gift of these to Rashmika and I. Whenever we use them I think of Dave and Miriam, two of the sweetest, most cultured people I ever knew.

And a side note, Dave is the first person I ever knew who ever told me he was going to be cremated. This was clearly not the norm for Jewish people, and certainly not for people of Dave’s generation. (As I recall, Dave was the oldest of the cousins and was actually about the age of my Grandmother, born around 1910.) So I asked him about it, about not having a headstone, and I’ll always remember what he said - not a quote, but it was something like - I’ll be happy knowing people think of me kindly sometimes. Rashmika and I think fondly of Dave and Miriam - the music, the bread - and were enriched and influenced by them.

Then of course there’s the other Thanksgiving tradition, the Absinthe. OK, I’ll admit it’s not exactly an established tradition - what with Absinthe being banned in the U.S. for 92 years, and just being legalized again in 2007. But Rashmika, David and I are going to establish this as a family tradition, starting today - we’ll let you know how it goes.

Goodbye, Ingela

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:18:48 GMT

It is with great sadness we must say goodbye to our friend, Ingela Levett.

We met Ingela in the fall of 2002, when we adopted big Vito from Rawhide Rescue. Apparently Rawhide went to NYC to get Vito from the Animal Shelter and brought him to NJ to find him a home. He has been with us 6 years, is the sweetest most obedient dog you can imagine, and in 2006 he earned his Therapy Dog Certification - which allows him to go to the Hospice and Nursing Home to visit people. (Nothing like a 140 pound bullmastiff to bring a smile.)

Without Ingela, it would not have been. Without Ingela, the 2,000+ dogs she rescued between 2001 and today may have been euthanized in shelters. Without Ingela, a certain autistic child I know might not have his furry friend.

Rashmika and I grew to know Ingela over the past 6 years. She devoted every waking hour to Rawhide Rescue. No matter how tired, or ill, she might be she was never too tired to rescue one more dog.

Ingela's devotion is what inspired us to do our annual "Ride For Rawhide"; how could we not help her to raise the money she needed to rescue and care for these dogs?

For a long time, I didn't really know Ingela had a life before Rawhide Rescue; I just assumed she had always done this. I didn't know she was the Information Management Director at Bristol Myers Squibb, where she worked for 30 years; but when I learned that it made sense - the drive, the organizational skills, the people skills. After retirement, she founded Rawhide Rescue.

Ingela went into the hospital a few weeks back, having been diagnosed with lukemia. Apparently, in the hospital, she contracted a staph infection, then pneumonia, and passed away this morning.

Countless dogs and families are a living testament to Ingela's efforts. I greatly admire the impact she has had on so many; who am I to judge, but it sure seems like a life well spent. I will miss her dearly.

ps.
Ingela's Obituary & Funeral Arrangements
The family has asked for donations to Rawhide Rescue in lieu of flowers or other gifts.

President Obama, now's the time . . .

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 05:40:29 GMT

Most of you know I was not a supporter of Barack Obama, but now is the time for all Americans to be proud of our new President and support his ideas and initiatives.

We have had 16 years of unyielding, uncompromising bickering and fighting, with half of America on one side and half on the other. The Clinton years are over. The Bush years are over. Let it end.

If you're a Republican open your mind to the ideas and ideals of President Obama; he's an honorable man with honorable intentions. If you're a Democrat, open your mind to the ideas of your Republican neighbors; they want the same fine country that you do.

If we all work together with our new President we can once again have the unity and pride that we did during the FDR, Kennedy and Reagan years. I know we can do it - yes we can.

My 1960 campaign button ( I was 11 and my Uncle Ben, rest his soul, gave it to me)

Lyle Lovett! John Hiatt!

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:22:20 GMT

We caught them last night at Princeton. 2 1/2 hours of thematic improv. Lovett did a song, then they talked a little and Hiatt did a song related to some theme he picked up from Lovett's song, and so on for a couple hours.

While I guess he's really known as more of a songwirter, the power of Hiatt's blues is amazing (and you gotta love anybody who can pull off the "how how how how" without sounding phony).

And Lyle Lovett - well what can I say? Every time I've seen him I've been struck by the uniqueness and clarity of his vocals, and the subtle insight of his songs.

These two guys seem to tour together sort of regularly (we saw them with Joe Ely & Guy Clark in '04 and '05). A really entertaining show if you're interested in songwriters and some insight into the songs and the creative process.

Our "Grand Prix Tours" Trip

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 04:28:17 GMT

We went to an F1 race with Grand Prix Tours (www.gptours.com) this summer, and I promised a couple other members of this community I would report back on Grand Prix Tours, and how it went.

Let me first say this. I do a little travel, both domestic and international, and I make all the arrangements myself; I have never before this used a travel agent or a tour operator to either help with, or plan, or be involved in either travel or vacation plans. And let me also say, I went into this very skeptical about what value, if any, I would get from a tour operator.

So you have an idea where this is going, I will tell you now that we had a fantastic time at the race, Grand Prix Tours far exceeded our expectation in ways which were completely unexpected and made the trip a very memorable experience.

So to the beginning - we decided we wanted to see the Grand Prix du Canada; we have been avid F1 fans for about 5 years. We never miss a race on TV, but had never been to an F1 race in person.

So I got on the internet and the phone, and I priced out everything. Race tickets, hotel, travel (plane, train, car), metro pass, etc. And let me say – I am pretty good at this, at getting good rates at hotels, and figuring out the best places to stay at the right prices, etc. When I got all done I went online and started looking at the handful of F1 tour operators who offered GP Canada packages.

A little review and it became clear Grand Prix Tours offered the most comprehensive package, and the most flexibility (choice of hotels/price ranges) of all the tour operators. We decided we were going to stay for 4 nights - this way we could arrive on Thursday and get settled, show at the track for Friday practice, watch Qualifying Saturday, the Race on Sunday, and follow that with a relaxing dinner and a good night’s sleep and leave on Monday.

And we decided on the Hotel Gouverneur Place Dupuis based on its’ close proximity to the track (it’s across the street from the Metro Station, and the metro is a 3 minute ride to the racetrack), its’ location in Old Montreal, its’ proximity to lots of mid-priced restaurants, etc. And when I figured out our best price for 4 nights + tax, Metro Pass, and Race Tickets it came to $3,358 (for two people) – of course, about $800 of this was race tickets.

When I called Grand Prix Tours and went through my plans with them, their package was $3,415 - virtually the same, except that their package included a Friday night cocktail reception, and a Saturday night Theme Party, both with F1 Drivers as hosts (read on, because these two events were amazing). So I figured, having never been to an F1 race before, and not knowing anyone else attending except my wife, that for the extra $57 we would sign up with Grand Prix Tours, have someone in Montreal who could steer us in the right direction, and we would get both Friday and Saturday night events as part of the deal.

So the next day I called Grand Prix Tours with about a dozen questions. (And remember what I said earlier about being very skeptical - so I really wanted to get to the bottom of this) I was on the phone with them maybe a half hour; I told them I would think about it and get back to them. They were as nice as could be.

I called them back the next day, told them it was a “go”, and gave them a $1,000 deposit – the remainder to be paid no more than 4 weeks before the GP. (A side note is - since I’m not used to this idea of giving a deposit up front, then paying for the trip in advance, I was a little nervous about suppose the trip didn’t happen? Rain, health, disaster? So I called AIG Travel Guard and bought a policy that insured the trip as well as giving us medical insurance for any emergency while we were out of the US for that week).

Unexpectedly, I got a call from Grand Prix Tours the next week. “Hadn’t you mentioned you want to take your wife out for a nice dinner in Montreal?” Well yes I had, and Noreena who was assigned to be the onsite coordinator in Montreal was calling me back with her personal recommendations for a nice restaurant for Sunday night dinner for Rashmika and me. Very nice, unexpected and quite welcome phone call.

I had a few more conversations with Grand Prix Tours before the trip. They were always helpful and friendly.

About a week before the race a package arrives at our home. It contains 2 Grand Prix Tours t-shirts, some wristbands, document holders (to hang our tickets around our necks), and personalized Guidebook which contains all kinds of race info, as well as information and directions to the dinner and the party.

So on the appointed day we show up at the hotel in Montreal. Just as promised, Grand Prix Tours has a reception table set up in the hotel lobby. Noreena who I spoken to on the phone, and her colleague Tessa, greet us – they immediately recognized our names (which is always nice). They had our Race Tickets and Metro Passes ready. We wanted to go walk around town and get some dinner and they gave us directions to a few restaurants. They also gave us both their cell phone numbers so if we had any issues over the weekend we could reach them.

OK – I won’t spend a lot of time here talking about the race, or our seats, or the venue, because that would have been the same with or without Grand Prix Tours. My only comment is that they procured the seats for us, where we wanted (hairpin turn), at a “pass-through” price – so we didn’t have to go through the hassle of getting the tickets ourselves. And they got us special 4-day Metro passes so we had unlimited access to the subway, which is how you get to the racetrack.

But let me tell you where they really surprised us –

Friday night we went to the Grand Prix Tours cocktail party. I’d say 75-100 people showed up. Very nice hors d’oeuvres and cocktails. Then Peter Windsor (commentator for Speed TV) showed up and told us all kinds of interesting stories - - then Mark Webber showed up and spent about a half hour speaking to us. It was a relatively small group and it was really interesting to listen to Webber, who had been out on the track practicing just a couple hours earlier. (Read on – the Saturday night event made the trip)

So Saturday night was scheduled as an F1 Theme Party & Charity Dinner. It actually didn’t sound very interesting to me, but the Friday night event with Mark Webber was so interesting that we thought – hey, why not? So we donned our dressier clothes and showed up to what was a much fancier affair than the cocktail party had been. An absolutely beautiful gourmet buffet, complete with carving stations, pasta chefs, etc - tons of food, and lots of variety – we spent about an hour eating and mingling, and then the program got underway.

James Allen, a BBC Commentator who covers F1 was the MC for the evening. I am unfamiliar with him, but he did seem knowledgeable. His first guest was Pedro de la Rosa, who is now a test driver for McLaren – de la Rosa spent about a half hour telling us of his experiences with McLaren. Then he brought out Sam Michael, who is the Chief Engineer for the AT&T Williams team – and Michael tried his best to give us some insight into the engineering aspect. And then - a HUGE SURPRISE - because as Michael left I turned and who is walking in behind us but Sir Jackie Stewart!!! Well apparently Sir Jackie saw this party as an opportunity to mention his favorite charity – the Mechanics Trust. So he spent maybe 30-45 minutes telling us racing stories. Also, earlier that day Jim McKay the TV commentator had passed on; apparently McKay was Sir Jackie’s mentor after he retired from racing and went into broadcasting. Just the week before Sir Jackie had flown to Maryland to visit with his close friend, who he knew was dying. So Sir Jackie reminisced with us about his friend McKay.

So the two night events far exceeded our expectations.

My overall evaluation is - for the same amount I would have spent (actually maybe a little less as we got a great meal Saturday night), we had the support of knowledgeable onsite Grand Prix Tours staff, all our tickets were arranged for us, there were two social events where we got to meet other fans and actual Formula 1 drivers and team members (and can you believe they arranged for us all to meet Sir Jackie Stewart?). They made the entire trip very easy to do, and arranged more for us to do than we could have ourselves.

I don’t know if or when we’ll go to another Formula 1 race; when we do, my first call will be to Grand Prix Tours.

FIRED!!!!!

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:07:34 GMT

So I woke up this morning in a sweat, as I had just been fired.

I was still working for "The Bank". Oddly, it must have been Guarantee Bank, , as I had been fired by my boss, Jay Bradway (odd, because Guarantee was sold in the 80's, and Jay had ridden into the sunset with his millions). And since he refused to see me I was worrying about how I was going to survive, pay the bills . . . .

As I slowly came awake I realized - - - HEY WAIT JUST A MINUTE - - I DON'T EVEN HAVE A JOB!!! - - HOW CAN I BE FIRED??!! But strangely it left me with a feeling of uneasiness the whole day.