WWWednesday: January 15, 2020

Passing:

Mike Resnick passed away at the age of 77. His best-known book was probably Kirinyaga, but Wikipedia lists 69 books for him, including tie-ins and some mysteries. He won the Hugo and the Nebula in 1995 for his story “Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge” and a Hugo in 1991 for his novelette “The Monamouki.” Recently he edited Galaxy’s Edge. On Twitter, Tobias Buckell acknowledged Resnick as one of his Clarion teachers, a mentor and an inspiration.

File770 has an obituary.

Neil Peart, extraordinary drummer and the lyricist for Rush, passed away. John Scalzi added a Rush video to his blog in memoriam.

Books, Writing and Scandals:

David Gerrold has thoughts about writers feuding, and he posted them on his FB page.

The Romance Writers of America (RWA) scandal moved into its next (inevitable?) phase with the announcement of the resignation of the president and one other board member who was at the heart of the original issue.

Dame Judy Dench in Cats, image from the New York Times

I didn’t know that N.K. Jemisin’s new book, due out in March, 2020, was urban fantasy… apparently, taking the word “urban” to heart in this case, when the city of New York attains sapience. This is from August, 2019, and still interesting.

Writer Patrick Tomlinson was targeted by a group of internet trolls who hijacked various Goodreads accounts in order to flood an upcoming book of his (not out until the summer of 2020) with one-star reviews. Goodreads has made some changes, but hasn’t resolved the problem yet. This is a public Patreon page.

Cat Rambo has a lengthy and thoughtful essay on her website about the use of “courtesy” as a way to silence marginalized voices. Set aside some time for this one. You’ll want to read it and you’ll want to think about it.

From Bookriot, statements overheard in (or near) bookstores.

For the New Year I learned something: There used to be book-toilets. Yes, toilets designed to look like books. I don’t know if I’m amused or offended. Perhaps just bemused.

Jodie Whitaker as the 13th Doctor

Movies and TV:

I didn’t have a shred of interest in the Birds of Prey movie until I saw this trailer.

And here is the trailer for the Netflix adaptation of Joe Hill’s Locke and Key. They sure got the house right!

HBO adapted the Stephen King supernatural crime thriller The Outsider for television, and The AV Club has a review.

Build has a 36-minute interview with Doctor Who’s Jodie Whitaker, Mandip Gill and Tosin Cole.

Internet:

Did you see Cats? Did you read reviews of Cats? Well, you probably didn’t read any reviews quite like Camestros Felapton’s Audio-Free Podcast review, including a neighboring triceratops and Timothy the Talking Cat.

African gray parrots will trade tokens for food, and give a token to a token-less bird so it can get a treat, this Smithsonian article finds.