On this day in 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge opened, connecting San Francisco to Marin County. At the time, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world, at 4200 feet.
Wooly Mammoth on the range
Writing, Editing, and Publishing:
I am very sad to say goodbye to one of my favorite writers, the great Tanith Lee, whose fairy-tale adaptations largely made me the reader and writer of fairy tales that I am today. The link above is to her obituary in Locus, but the Guardian also posted a particularly good one.
We are a couple days late for Towel Day, an annual celebration of everything Douglas Adams, but in belated celebration, check out the 42 best lines from Hitchhiker’s Guide.
John Scalzi got some good news this week. He signed a 3.4 million deal with Tor for his next 13 books: 10 adult books, and 3 young adult books.
The nominees for the Aurora Awards, celebrating excellence in speculative fiction written by Canadians, have been announced. Jo Walton, William Gibson, and Charles de Lint all have works on the list.
And the Spectrum Awards for fantastic art (meaning, art that engages in fantasy, not just really great art, although it’s that, too…) have been awarded. Congrats to all the winners!
Neil Gaiman discusses his new Sandman comic series, the prequel to the existing Sandman comics, and discusses his artistic process at the same time.
Um, Helen Oyeyemi interviews Kelly Link? It’s called “Horror Stories are Love Stories”? Just a second while I go devour this LA Book Review interview…
Finally, Aiden Moher, writing for Tor.com, presents five books about kickass moms. I think my favorite is Mrs. Murray from Madeleine L’Engle’s TIME QUINTET.
Frozen Mammoth
Film and Television:
Claire L. Evans, writing for Grantland, reviews the upcoming George Clooney film Tomorrowland, comparing its utopian vision to the recent dystopian fare that has been dominating sci-fi.
Yay! There’s a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen reboot coming our way…
Mad Max: Fury Road has been getting some rave reviews. Here’s one from a fan who was delighted with Furiosa’s portrayal.
Internet Stuff:
This…thing…with Will Riker as the main character in his own show is … what is that word that means wonderful and strange and hilarious?
A great crowdfunding opportunity here, for some beautiful art books set in a futuristic Sweden.
NASA revealed 9 instruments which will be on board its mission to Europa, sometime in the 2020s.
Lyuba, the best preserved wooly mammoth mummy
Art:
I’ve been researching genetics and cloning lately, reading a fantastic book by Beth Shapiro called How to Clone a Mammoth, so I thought I’d share some mammoths with you today.
I’m going to shamelessly plug a book here. My friend (and Eisner-award winning cartonist) Brian Fies published a book called WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE WORLD OF TOMORROW? It has several of the same themes as Tomorrowland. Brian explores the ways our sense of wonder with science and tech soured as we grew disillusioned in other ways, and postulates ways that innocent “gosh-wow!” factor can came back. It’s really good.
Cool! Thanks, Marion! :)
I hadn’t considered Mrs. Murray for the kickass moms list, but you’re right, Kate–she definitely belongs there!
And I really hope the reboot of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is more faithful to the source material. Saying that the first movie was a “loose adaptation” is not quite accurate, says I. :)