Wishing Tree in Portland, Oregon, from Atlas Obscura.

Wishing Tree in Portland, Oregon, from Atlas Obscura.

Happy 2021, everyone.  Congratulations on making it this far.

Conventions:

The Baltimore Science Fiction Society reported out on the findings of an investigation into the behavior of Eric Gasior, Vice Chair of the Virtual BaltiCon 54.

Giveaway:

One commenter will get the trade paperback version of Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House.

Tech and Fun:

From Boston Dynamics, the famous dancing robots.

Books and Writing:

Daniel Jose Older gets some help from Tik Tok to demonstrate why he thinks there’s no reason to put non-English words in italics in English text.

Nerds of a Feather has a microreview of Naomi Novik’s A Deadly Education.

Eldritch horror has gone mainstream!

Are publishers making progress on the inclusion front? Well, they think so.

Oh, look! A Best of 2020 list! This one is from The Mary Sue and doesn’t pretend to be all-inclusive, and I admire them for that.

Lithub shares ten books coming out this year that we’re anxious for (including a new Murderbot book!)

Mary Robinette Kowal provides an itinerary of where she’ll be virtually this month.

N.K. Jemisin provides her, well, not resolutions, exactly, but “best-laid plans” for 2021. I love how she discusses reducing her use of F-bombs, but not eliminating them completely, because she “is a New Yorker, after all.”

Streaming, TV and Movies:

Rumors continue that Jodie Whitaker will leave Doctor Who after this season. The Mary Sue wants a woman of color next. May I suggest Jo Harris, who has already played the Doctor in two episodes? Nothing we thought we knew about regenerations was true, so there’s no reason a previous generation can’t return.

If you love the DISCWORLD books by Sir Terry Pratchett, then stay far, far away from BBC’s adaptation The Watch. If you don’t care about the books or the characters and you think low-budget, irreverent fantasy could be fun, then check it out. Last month Polygon gave it a review that is, in my opinion, kind.

Warning, spoilers: Over at Whatever, Athena Scalzi has strong opinions about Wonder Woman 1984.

The Internet:

H.G. Wells fans are not pleased with the new British commemorative coin.

World:

Altas Obscura has an “unusual monuments” button on its site. I found the Portland, Oregon Wishing Tree there, and I like it.

Author

  • Marion Deeds

    Marion Deeds, with us since March, 2011, is the author of the fantasy novella ALUMINUM LEAVES. Her short fiction has appeared in the anthologies BEYOND THE STARS, THE WAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE, STRANGE CALIFORNIA, and in Podcastle, The Noyo River Review, Daily Science Fiction and Flash Fiction Online. She’s retired from 35 years in county government, and spends some of her free time volunteering at a second-hand bookstore in her home town.