Meme: Favorite Scene in a Sci Fi movie

www.BlackScienceFictionSociety.com was created to highlight, explore, celebrate and develop black science fiction. We are just about at 100 registered members so please help spread the word about us to all your friends. The more the merrier! Anyways, there was a discussion on the forum: What is you favorite scene from a Science Fiction movie?

The admin stated, "Near the end of Gattaca, when the doctor revealed he knew the Ethan Hawke character had been faking the entire time."

Someone else added, "Roy Batty's death speech in Blade Runner: 'I have seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships off the shores of Orion.'"

SO then I'm passing this along and tagging those of you with blogs Chris Howard, with this meme. Here are my faves.

Incredible Shrinking Man --

"So close -- the infinitesimal and the infinite. But suddenly, I knew they were really the two ends of the same concept. The unbelievably small and the unbelievably vast eventually meet, like the closing of a gigantic circle. I looked up, as if somehow I would grasp the heavens ... the universe ... worlds beyond number ... God's silver tapestry spread across the night. And in that moment, I knew the answer to the riddle of the infinite. I had thought in terms of Man's own limited dimension. I had presumed upon Nature. That existence begins and ends is Man's conception, not Nature's. And I felt my body dwindling, melting, becoming nothing. My fears melted away, and in their place came -- acceptance. All this vast majesty of creation -- it had to mean something. And then I meant something too. Yes, smaller than the smallest, I meant something too. To God, there is no zero. I STILL EXIST!”

DUNE -- When the savior brings the water of life to the planet

Equilibrium -- When the hero cleric kills all his would-be assassins and takes down Father.

Soylent Green-- When the old guy (Edward G Robinson) looks back on the beauty of the world before he dies.

I'd have added Soylent Green is people or -- from Invasion of the Body Snatchers-- the scene where some hero realizes something was way wrong with the world. They're memorable but I can't call them favorites.

Logan's Run -- When Logan returns to save the people. (Okay, I named my son after Logan.)

Alien vs Predator -- The moment when the predator warrior marks Sanaa Lathan's face and later when the other predator warriors accept her as one of them (symbolic, of course) and give her the warrior's spear as if she had been his mate. Love that kinda initiation/rite of passage stuff. And in some weird sense we see that she had TWO possible lovers in the flick. The italian, and the extra-terrestrial. Ah, if life had only gone differently.

Enemy Mine -- When the names are being read at the end of the flick.

Ooh, better stop now...I'm giving myself goosebumps. As you can see I like mostly the ending triumphant scenes in movies.

National Poetry Month -- minority style

Remember when Walter Mosley, Rafael Campo and several other poets resigned from the Board of Governor's of the Poetry Society of America?

They did it when New York Times Book Reviewer John Hollander made a comment comment about “cultures without literatures — West African, Mexican, and Central American.” Then he made matters worse by saying on National Public Radio that “there isn’t much quality work coming from non-white poets today.”

But that's my paraphrase. Go check out the article yourself and well, here are the three anthologies mentioned by the reviewer:




Check out San Antonio current online for the full article:

Book Review: The hidden dangers of soy

Here is my latest book review. Beware of soy. I always wondered why my vegetarian friend has thyroid issues and why certain vegetarians such as Linda McCartney died of breast disease. It's especially dangerous for kids. I wonder about Gabe...I gave him soy as a kid and then I read from an allergist that many kids who don't speak often begin to speak when soy is removed from their diets. Who knows?

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/04/16/162553.php

One of my commenters to this article said that anyone can skew statistics. It's not a matter of statistics or skewing them but there are many studies done by the FDA, the AMA, and other governmental and medical sources/resources that says there is something very wrong with soy. If you do a google search on soy health benefits or soy dangers (without quotes) you'll see that many websites from reputable doctors and governments discuss soy issues and soy dangers.

The human heart is very hard to change and it often doesn't change unless someone or something it respects tells it to change. The many books written about the dangers of soy won't change anyone. Not until the government steps up will anyone change....and that isn't likely to happen while the food companies have so many important and powerful lobbyists. Look how long it took for the government to start talking about the dangers of cigarettes, saccharhine, etc. And even now folks still take them. It's about the human heart's inability to change.

Sundays in America by Suzanne Strempek Shea

Sundays in America is a A Book Sense nominated title for those who like studying Christian spirituality and the nature of human community and worship.

Here's the blurb:

A spirited, spiritual pilgrimage to different Christian churches for a year of Sundays—from storefronts to mega-churches, from Massachusetts to Maui

When Pope John Paul II died, Suzanne Strempek Shea, who had turned away from the Catholic Church of her childhood, recognized in his mourners a faith-filled passion that she wanted to recapture. She set out on a yearlong to visit a different church every Sunday for a year—a journey that would take her through the broad spectrum of contemporary Christianity lived in this country, from her New England home to the West Coast, the Deep South, the Midwest, and even to Hawaii.

Beginning with a rousing Baptist Easter service in Harlem, including a sing-along at the Cowboy Church in Colorado's Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame and a multimedia experience at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church, the largest church in the country, Shea approaches each congregation with the curiosity of a newcomer and with respect for each unique expression of faith. Sundays in America weaves the threads of Christianity in America into a vibrant tapestry, an essential guide for those seeking a new house for their worship, as well as a colorful road trip for the armchair explorer.

Check it out.

Faith under fire by LaJoyce Brookshire

Check out the interview with LaJoyce Brookshire. She is the author of the novelization of the heartwarming film “Soul Food” but her latest book is self-published and it's called, “Faith Under Fire: Betrayed by a Thing Called Love.” This is a painful read, my friends. Not only does she have to deal with the illness and death of her husband but she discovered he had been on the down-low all the time she was with him.

okay: my soapbox:

AIDS and abortion are the highest cause of death in the African-American community. AIDS is the highest killer of black women. And down-low brothers are one of the biggest cause of this. There is a lot of sexual woundedness in the black male community: children raped by molesting relatives and church deacons, children raised without men in the family, many adopted male children, guys who got habituated to down-lowing when they went to prison. Yes, yes, I know there are some folks who are gay and none of this connects to them. But in my experience among my gay male friends...those folks are pretty rare. Some folks don't know why they are gay. Others know why they are. Am not picking on anyone's orientation. Just stating it like it is. And honesty is what heals a person and an ethnic group. And there is waaaay too much down-lowing going on in the black community. Whether a guy is gay or a sex addict or tipping, he should be honest and not be down-lowing and risking the health of the ONE woman he's involved with. And, yes, folks...we should be abstaining from pre-marital and extra-marital sex.

Anyway, check out the book and her blog.

Fasting from wrong thinking #1

Okay, where to start? where to start?

So many wrong thoughts, so little time.

I think the quick, powerful, active word of God I will use to conquer my first negative thought is: "I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Psalm 139.

Alas, I dislike and distrust my body.

I dislike it because when I was around 8 my half-sister said, "our father likes me better and makes me live with him because I'm light-skin and you're dark." Okay, she has forgiven herself for this but it has done major damage and caused a whole lotta self-loathing on my part. Of course, as an adult I know that she probably needed to believe this lie. She was born a month after I was born to my mother's best friend. My mother was married to my father. Hers wasn't. And hers never wanted her so after my mother had had it with my father's various adulteries and beatings and forced abortions....well, she divorced the man. But my half-sister wanted to believe this and I have no doubt the lie healed her...but it's brought be a great deal of grief. I have never felt beautiful. Yep, I used to model for the students at my college etc and people have said that I was very beautiful...but I never felt it. I don't even look in the mirror. (Yeah, I gave this trait to Satha my main character in Wind Follower.)

I also distrust my body. My mother was a nurse...Nurses are alarmists. They always think the body is going to fall apart on you. It doesn't help that I've had such a stressful life that my health broke and my body did kinda fall apart on me.

Remedy: With God all things are possible.
Remedy: It is never too late.

Prescription: I am going to get up every morning and walk to the mirror and say, "I praise you Lord because I am wonderfully and fearfully made." I hope I can say this thing with faith. I hope I can believe it when I say it. (Might have to remind myself of my sense of humor and how happy I have made my friends. Will see.) I hope I can actually look myself in the mirror. I truly don't know what I look like. I so wish I were saner...but alas, I am what I am. May God help me. Amen.

UMBC S.I.S.T.E.R.S. Presents Black Author Showcase

"UMBC S.I.S.T.E.R.S. Presents Black Author Showcase™ April 26th" on April 26, 2008 from 12pm to 3pm.

Event: UMBC S.I.S.T.E.R.S. Presents Black Author Showcase™ April 26th
Time: April 26, 2008 from 12pm to 3pm
Location: University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)
Event Type: book, signing, and, reading
Organized By: S.I.S.T.E.R.S.
Description: S.I.S.T.E.R.S. at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) is hosting the Black Author Showcase from 12 noon to 3 PM on Saturday, April 26, 2008, at The Commons.

All are welcome to this book signing and reading.
Attendance is free, Light refreshments served,
parking is available on campus.

Guest Speaker Felicia Pride author of
The Message: 100 Life Lessons from Hip-Hop's Greatest Songs
Featuring local authors: Trice Hickman, Troy L. Thompson, Vickie M. Oliver-Lawson, AC Arthur, and Tahanee Roberts

new baby kitten

Yep...didn't know I'd end up with one but....

Little old lady (and pet-lover) neighbor called out to me when I went outside: "Carole do you want a kitten?" A two week old kitty, mind you.

Although hubby had told me, "NO, I don't want to have to commit to another eighteen years." What do I say? "Yes." After all, we just ended up with son's friend's dog and are defacto already committed to a dog for eighteen years or so. So, two animals instead of one?

Now we just have to take them both to get their shots. And -- big question-- we have to get kitty to stop shivering in doggie's (8 month old pitbull) presence. And we have to get doggie to stop licking kitty. Ah the energy spent keeping them apart. Am trying to get them to love each other. Will see. Am hoping doggie isn't licking kitty because he wants to eat him.

ah witchcraft

The Congo, witchcraft, and the male member

Pen*s theft panic hits city..

Ah those folks who don't understand the influence of witchcraft....

Baby Parts for Profit

This is a transcript of a commentary from the radio show "Stand to Reason," with Gregory Koukl. It is made available to you at no charge through the faithful giving of those who support Stand to Reason. Reproduction permitted for non-commercial use only. ©1999 Gregory Koukl

For more information, contact Stand to Reason at 1438 East 33rd St., Signal Hill, CA 90755
(800) 2-REASON (562) 595-7333 www.str.org

Baby Parts for Profit

by
Gregory Koukl

Some have argued whenever anyone cries "Nazi" this is a good reason to reject their whole point of view because nothing could really compare. Nothing in our country could be properly characterized by that kind of comparison. Well, I don't know. You be the judge.

I have a piece here that I would like to read to you. It's not ordinary that I read a piece in its entirety, but in this particular case I think it is critical. It's not only a critical issue, but it is said so well and so effectively that I just want to pass on what columnist Mona Charen has written November 9 in a piece that is simply entitled "Harvesting Part for Sale."

If you have not heard anything about this, I suggest that you sit down. If you have younger children around the radio, they don't need to hear this. You're going to have a hard time hearing what I am about to read, to think that this is possible in our country.

The rest of the article is here. And remember that many, many, many of these aborted babies being harvested for body parts are black babies and poor hispanic babies.

funny post over at jumpdrives

Dragon song...posted over at:
http://www.sfjohnson.rtsquad.org/wordpress/?p=88

Definition of "solution"

Okay, I really hate it when someone comes come up with an idea about some worldly problem and other folks start thinking it's a corny idea that will have not "solve" anything.

Okay, those who sneer and mock at any kind of activism...give me a brief definition of "solve" please?

Do you define "solve" and "solution" as an immediate resolution that encompasses everyone everywhere? Do you define it as something small that sets some other small thing in motion that over time -- perhaps a long time-- creates a groundswell of change? Does more than one person have to be affected for something to be "solved"? Does the "affected" person have to be someone important or just one small child whose mind and life has been profoundly changed? Is something "solved" when someone who might have been tempted to evil is saved from such a life because the artwork/sermon/whatever intercepted and challenged the evil before it came to that person? OR is something solved when someone who is performing the evil chooses --because he has seen this art-- to stop doing evil?

Did, for instance, Martin Luther King "solve" resolution? Did Desmond Tutu solve the problem of Apartheid? Did Malcolm X solve racism? Does any kind of art, sermon, newspaper article, or film in and of itself "solve" racism or anything?

Not that I'm being a pill or anything...but words and thoughts and concepts should be examined...and the word "solved" is a very deep and very heavy word.

How much visible change must be seen? And in whom must that visible change be seen? And BY whom should that visible change be seen.... for us to consider the agent of change valid...or the effect of that change valid? Should an artist not light a single candle in a dark world? What use is conversation of art then, if change is only measured in large increments?

-C

Free music, free video-making, and music opps

If you are an independent or non-profit filmmaker or film student and need free music for your project, go over to moby.com, in the 'film music' section.
You can choose from their available music. And it's free. If you want it for a for-profit film, you can work it someway to make some donations be given to the humane society.

http://www.mobygratis.com/film-music.html

Then there is ludacris's site www.wemix.com

upcoming Musicians can post their songs and videos there...and Luda might produce it.

Then there is www.animoto.com You can get make free videos there of about 47 seconds. If you want a longer one, you'll have to pay $3 for one or $30 for a year. I wonder if can use some of this to remake my wind follower trailer. Anyway, there's all this free stuff out there...so take advantage of the opportunity.
-C

Ah book prizes

Pulitzers:
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz for literature
Time and Materials by Robert Hass, Failure by Philip Schultz for poetry.

Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policemen's Union took home the California Book Award gold medal for fiction. The silver went to Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid
Suns. Special, out-of-category commendation for Robert Alter's translation of The Book of Psalms.

Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction 2008 Shortlist

Sarah Hall won Tiptree Award for The Carhullan Army (American title: Daughters of the North) It also won the 2007 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize for the best work of literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama) from Britain or the Commonwealth written by an author of 35 or under.

Nnedi's The Shadow Speaker was on the honors list for Tiptree. Yay!!! Nnedi has been winning a lot of recognition for that lovely book.
I was also kinda hoping Sylvia Kelso's Amberlight would be recognized by Tiptree. Maybe next year.

For the Bram Stokers
Novel: The Missing by Sarah Langan
First Novel: Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
Long Fiction: Afterward, There Will Be A Hallway by Gary Braunbeck
Short Fiction: "The Gentle Brush of Wings " by David Niall Wilson

Fiction Collection: (Tie)
Proverbs for Monsters by Michael A. Arnzen
5 Stories by Peter Straub

Anthology: Five Strokes to Midnight edited by Gary Braunbeck and Hank Schwaeble
Nonfiction: THE CRYPTOPEDIA: A Dictionary of the Weird, Strange & Downright Bizarre by Jonathan Maberry & David F. Kramer

Poetry Collection: (Tie)
Being Full of Light, Insubstantial by Linda Addison <- YAY, Linda!
VECTORS: A Week in the Death of a Planet by Charlee Jacob & Marge Simon

Lifetime Achievement Award: John Carpenter, Robert Weinberg
Richard Laymon President's Award: Mark Worthen, Stephen Dorato, Christopher Fulbright

Site dedicated to Octavia Butler

Wow, I just discovered Octavia Butler.net - A fan Blog dedicated to S.F Writer, Octavia E. Butler. Make it grow, my friends! -C

so many vampires, so little time

Check out some of the vampire stories coming out this month. L A Banks has one coming out in March.

http://patricias-vampire-notes.blogspot.com/2008/04/more-new-vampire-books-for-2008.html

Paula Guran post on types of urban fantasy

It's over at the Juno Books blog and it's great.

Seaborn trailer

Ah horror

I'll admit that I have horror issues. I hate most horror flicks ....except I'm selective. I won't watch slasher horror such as Saw or hostel. I won't watch any film that is nihilistic and makes the evil triumph over the main characters. Heck, I know evil continues...but for me in the specific story I'm watching it BETTER end well for characters I've grown to love (which means they are alive and triumphant if a bit maimed) or else the story is just another story about evil triumphing. I like ghost and demon stories but if it's a story that is so real, a story that has happened, or a story that in any way or form reminds me of ghost or demonic encounters I've had....well I always regret seeing it. I loved the 6th sense and couldn't sleep for nights...but was especially perturbed by the fact that one could be dead and not know it. That was upsetting. I DID see Open Water and was pretty upset about it. I kept imagining their hopelessness in the water. Too much grief and worry...and I'm pretty sorry I saw it.

I did see Omega man back in the day ...zombies and destroyed humans don't really bother me. Unless I'm seeing something from the viewpoint of the destroyed human... like The Fly or some Cronenberg stuff. I hate the hopelessness and keep thinking about how they might be feeling as they live through their doom. I really hate that kinda thing....people in a bad state and knowing they're in a bad state and being unable to get out of it. That's how I define horror I think. I still haven't watched Terms of Endearment ...or any movie with someone dying of some loathsome disease...because of that. And yet (forgive all this rambling) I'll say that my favorite horror movie of all time has got to be The incredible shrinking man. Because it ends on such a spiritually triumphant committed-to-life note. -C

Christian comic bit.

Loved this. And you church folks will like it too.

Hedge of Protection



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bvy_CMOhrg0

Forbes Richest (Fictional) Characters

Okay, admit it. You wouldn't mind working for some of these companies or hooking up with some of these rich guys.

http://www.forbes.com/2007/12/11/richest-fictional-characters-oped-books-fict1507-cx_mn_de_1211fictional15_land.html

RIF needs your help

Reading Is Fundamental, Inc. (RIF), founded in 1966, motivates children to read by working with them, their parents, and community members to make reading a fun and beneficial part of everyday life. RIF's highest priority is reaching underserved children from birth to age 8. Through community volunteers in every state and U.S. territory, RIF provides 4.6 million children with 16 million new, free books and literacy resources each year. For more information, and to access reading resources, visit RIF's website at www.RIF.org

From Carol H. Rasco, president and CEO, of Reading Is Fundamental (RIF):


"President Bush’s proposed budget calling for the elimination of Reading Is Fundamental’s (RIF) Inexpensive Book Distribution program would be devastating to the 4.6 million children and their families who receive free books and reading encouragement from RIF programs at nearly 20,000 locations throughout the U.S."

“Unless Congress reinstates $26 million in funding for this program, RIF will not be able to distribute 16 million books annually to the nation’s youngest and most at-risk children. RIF programs in schools, childcare centers, migrant programs, military bases, and other locations serve children from low-income families, children with disabilities, foster and homeless children, and children without access to libraries."

To find out how you can help, visit http://www.rif.org/get-involved/advocate/what/


Check out RIF’s third annual Program Excellence Honors .

punished by having babies

Another electoral year and once again I find myself not wanting to vote for any of the presidential candidates. Okay, I wasn't too keen on Hillary Clinton because she had that white privilege feminist thing going on. How she can say she understands the poor when she made $109 million in the past ten years amazes me! How she can say she is a woman who has made it on her own also amazes me because unlike other successful women she pretty much made it because of her husband's power. And John McCain...well, he has no idea what it's like to be sick without money. He's way too judgmental about the poor and he's too into winning this war.

But then, up comes Barack Obama with his stupid comment about people "punishing teenaged girls with babies." What an idiot!

This pro-abortion male doesn't seem to realize that abortion causes more harm than good. We blacks have been set into self-genocidal mode by abortion mills that always seem to be in poor black communities. Please do a little research on Margaret Sanger. Studies will show you that she was a eugenist, a racist, spoke out at KKK rallies. Planned Parenthood fights to distance themselves from her but heck...in actuality they haven't.

Black women are 13% of the population but 37% of the abortions are done by us. Over 1200 black babies aborted every day. 425,000 every year. Over 14 million black babies aborted in 34 years. Abortion is the number one killer in the black community. And please don't tell me that ALL those people were raped, were teenagers, were unmarried. And DEFINITELY don't tell me that it was women who made those choices to abort. Heck, most of the women were forced into it by God-fearing parents and selfish boyfriends. The mental illness and breast cancer issues caused by abortion in the black community is amazing.

Many of us -- I for instance-- were born or conceived out of wedlock. I'm certainly glad I'm being here. I'm glad my friends are here. I think we've done a lot for the world and brought joy and goodness to the world. In addition, I know folks who were conceived by rape and their mothers love them. Their mothers weren't repulsed by them.

Part of the reason why the hispanic community have passed us in population growth is because of this self-genocide on our part. Next time black folks start whining to me about our dwindling political power, I'm going to say, "we aren't a large enough proportion of the united states population, why do we need to have a say in this government? We're a small minority and we're getting smaller every day. Check out the Center for Disease Control. Check out the Census bureau." So Barack, you just lost my vote.

New Free Cause fundraiser tool

FreeCause and Yahoo have developed a new Autism Awareness Yahoo Toolbar that raises funds for autism while you surf!

Each time you conduct a search through this autism awareness toolbar, 5 cents is donated to autism awareness, treatment, and research, and is going into programs serving the families directly!

Please help be part of the solution by using this new toolbar to further resources available to families who need help today! We need your help, so please pass this along to everyone you know!

http://download.freecause.com/?toolid=41631

P.S. If you are already using GoodSearch for an autism fundraiser, you might consider this toolbar, as GoodSearch pays approx. 1 cent per search, while this toolbar pays 5 cents per search. This will help autism raise 5x more in funding!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF AUTISM AWARENESS!

Asian Pacific Islander speculative fiction recommended reading list

Here's some info on API Heritage Month:

FYI: National Hispanic Heritage Month will begin on Sept. 15, and American Indian Heritage Month is in November. Arab American Heritage Month is April, actually, so we missed it this year. We'll catch it next time around.

The CARL BRANDON SOCIETY recommends the following speculative fiction books for Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month:

Ted Chiang STORIES OF YOUR LIFE AND OTHERS: A collection of stories from one of American speculative fiction's most precise and beautiful writers.

Sesshu Foster ATOMIK AZTEX: An Aztec prince or a Los Angeles meatpacker? The protagonist travels back and forth between two alternative realities, never sure which is real.

Hiromi Goto HOPEFUL MONSTERS: Wonderful stories by the author of The Kappa Child.

Kazuo Ishiguro NEVER LET ME GO: In a dystopian England, three children discover that they are clones produced to provide organs to the sick.

Larissa Lai SALT FISH GIRL: Science fiction set in a dystopian near future in which corporate enclaves house lucky employees, leaving most of humanity to deal with increasingly strange ecological developments.

Amirthi Mohanraj (illustrated by Kat Beyer) THE POET'S JOURNEY: A young poet sets out into the wide world on a journey to find poetry; with the help of a few magical creatures, she finds more than she ever expected.

Haruki Murakami HARDBOILED WONDERLAND AND THE END OF THE WORLD: Mad experiments with the unleashed potential of the dreaming brain.

Vandana Singh OF LOVE AND OTHER MONSTERS: The main character wakes up from a fire and doesn't know who he is, but can sense and manipulate the minds of others. He is not alone in this ability. Singh takes us on a metamind ride.

Shaun Tan THE ARRIVAL: A wordless graphic novel about immigration and displacement.

Bryan Thao Worra ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE EYE: Speculative poems that take us from the secret wars of the CIA in Laos to the secret edges of the human soul and the universe.

For more information, please visit www.carlbrandon.org

ooh, nice!

I love making award lists.

http://sormag.blogspot.com/2008/04/sormag-readers-choice-awards-2007.html

And they say we black folks are paranoid

http://www.allaboutrace.com/2008/04/15/your-conspiracy-theory-is-my-blood-and-flesh/

Please pass this on.

Dossouye: A Charles Saunders anthology

Charles Saunders, that excellent Afro-centric fantasist, has just published a new book, 'Dossouye', with Sword & Soul Media. The book is available via print-on-demand at www.lulu.com
'Dossouye' consists of all the short stories about the African Amazon warrior that were published in anthologies over the years, plus a brand-new novella. He heavily revised the first Dossouye story, "Agbewe's Sword." The others were slightly altered to make them flow better sequentially. The new novella, "Obenga's Drum," puts the preceding stories into context, and ends the volume.

Here's the blurb:

Charles R. Saunders, critically acclaimed author of the cult classic Imaro novels, has created yet another heroic-fantasy icon in an Africa of a different place and time. Orphaned at a young age, Dossouye becomes a soldier in the women’s army of the kingdom of Abomey. In a war against the rival kingdom of Abanti, Dossouye saves her people from certain destruction; but a cruel twist of fate compels her to go into exile. Mounted on her mighty war-bull, Gbo, Dossouye enters the vast rain forest beyond the borders of her homeland, seeking a place to call her own. The forest is where Dossouye will either find a new purpose in life… or find her life cut short by the many menaces she encounters.

Sword & Soul will also be publishing the remaining Imaro novels. So, if you can spread the word about this, I'd really appreciate it.

Well folks, Worth the price of admission alone! Everyone please support . You'll be glad you did!

So many things Wiscon

Alas, I'm not going to Wiscon. I really should but maybe next year, God willing. It's all the rage in the feminine speculative world.

Sylvia Kelso, author of Amberlight, will be there.

As will Nnedi, author of Shadow Speaker.

As will Nisi Shawl, co-author of Writing the Other

As will Chris Howard, author of the forthcoming Seaborn. Yeah, a novel about sea sirens. I really want to get this.

As will Lori Devoti, author of the forthcoming

Sylvia will be doing a feminist analysis of Wind follower. Lori Devoti will be on a panel on using ancient myths in fantasy. Sounds like fun.

-C

Copyright "orphan" legislation

Call me paranoid and suspicious but this bit of legislation makes me raise my eyebrows. Will corporations be able to keep an orphaned "document" after they have done a "reasonable search" and been "unable" to find the creator of the work? Contact your senators and representatives.

http://www.copyright.gov/orphan/

Mark Simon was writing about a bill that died in 2006, but a new one
is being introduced as we speak (go to
http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200804/042408e.html to read info about
it). Please refer to the following websites for more up-to-date information, opinions (pro and con), and legal actions about the "orphan works" issue:

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/04/12/countering-the-fud-a.html

http://www.illustratorspartnership.org/01_topics/article.php?
searchterm=00264

http://www.nikondigital.org/dps/dps-v-4-08.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphaned_work
http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/woissues/copyrightb/federallegislation/
orphanworks/orphanworks.cfm

My latest guest post on blogging in black

My latest post on Blogging in Black

Sword and Soul

Wow, Charles Saunders mentioned me on his blog as a great author of the "sword and soul" genre.

"Sword and soul" is a phrase he coined for the African-American version of Sword and sorcery. He wrote the Imaro books for DAW. Who knew I fell into a category? I just thought of myself as anthropological fantasy. Anyway, his good comment is down at the end of the blog. NICE!!!! What a trip!!!! First he reads my book, then he mentions me. Okay, happy dance!

http://www.charlessaunderswriter.com/


-C

Update on WIPs

I am really realizing that both my new works-in-progress deal with wars.

BACKSTORY: The gospel of Jesus Christ is that we were once at enmity with God but now we have been placed by Christ, through our faith and acceptance of his bloody sacrifice of himself, into the kingdom of God's dear son. We have a captain who has destroyed and plundered death, the demonic dominion of this world, and sickness. He has taken captivity captive and given gifts to men....especially the gift of authority and power over the kingdom of Satan. Through the eucharist, the blood of Jesus, the word of God and faith we can conquer as Jesus did.

Inheritance takes place in real-world upstate New York. Or rather the actual world. (God and the angels alone live in the real world. And those in Christ are trying to live in the spiritual world but we are so carnal minded we sometimes can't see what God's word -- truth-- says about certain situations.) So now am really trying to make this demonic/deliverance story more real-life than it's been portrayed in novels and television. A succubus story that is normal yet can scare the pants off you cause it's sooooo close to home. I tend to like horror stories that seem more real and seem as if they really could happen to a regular person. A) because those horror stories are truer, and B) because those horror stories are always happening in the world...except that people don't think of them as demonic stories. Heck, a serial killer murdering women and who is only capable of sexual fulfillment if he has sex with dead bodies, baby girls, or whatever kind of sexual perversion out there....that's demonic. Except the world -- and many Christians-- just don't believe it. So the creative work of inheritance is to show the demonic in a way that is exciting for horror readers but which rings totally true.

The Constant Tower, on the other hand, I think is gonna be kinda allegorical. And this kinda scares me. I hate allegorical Christian stories. Sometimes they are so point-by-point match-game that the story is stiff. By which I mean the stories are so filled with symbolism and sermon illustrations that there's no breathing room. The two basic allegories in Constant Tower are: 1) The world is out of sync and people of that world think that the out-of-sync-ness is normal. and 2) there is a Great Spiritual war going on in that world but peoples in the world are unaware of it. So, how to do it?

Will see. Gotta focus. Gotta make the stories Christian without being cookie-cutter, true without being preacherly, paranormal without being flaky. Wish me luck.

-C

Primer

Okay, Primer is on IFC. It's a time travel movie. I am gonna try once more to see this movie and to see if I actually understand what the heck is going on. Wish me luck. I like movies like this....if I can figure out what the heck is going on. -C

Asian Pacific Islander Specfic Blog carnival

Description ¤ The Carl Brandon Society is hosting a blog carnival for Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. CBS welcomes your blog posts celebrating API speculative fiction literature, artists, and writers. Below is the Carl Brandon Society reading list for the month of May. Reviews of books, etc., are welcomed as well.

Host blog ¤ Carl Brandon Society blog

Scheduled for ¤ May 15, 2008

Submission deadline ¤ May 15, 2008 23:59:46 -0400

Current status ¤ This edition is upcoming.

Categories ¤ Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, speculative fiction, fantasy, science fiction, surreal fiction, horror, authors, writers, artists


Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Reading List

The CARL BRANDON SOCIETY recommends the following speculative fiction books for Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month:

Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang A collection of stories from one of American speculative fiction's most precise and beautiful writers.

Atomik Aztek by Sesshu Foster An Aztec prince or a Los Angeles meatpacker? The protagonist travels back and forth between two alternative realities, never sure which is real.

Hopeful Monsters by Hiromi Goto Wonderful stories by the author of The Kappa Child.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro In a dystopian England, three children discover that they are clones produced to provide organs to the sick.

Salt Fish Girl by Larissa Lai Science fiction set in a dystopian near future in which corporate enclaves house lucky employees, leaving most of humanity to deal with increasingly strange ecological developments.

The Poet's Journey by Amirthi Mohanraj (illustrated by Kat Beyer) A young poet sets out into the wide world on a journey to find poetry; with the help of a few magical creatures, she finds more than she ever expected.

Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami Mad experiments with the unleashed potential of the dreaming brain.

Of Love and Other Monsters by Vandana Singh The main character wakes up from a fire and doesn't know who he is, but can sense and manipulate the minds of others. He is not alone in this ability. Singh takes us on a metamind ride.

The Arrival by Shaun Tan A wordless graphic novel about immigration and displacement.

On the Other Side of the Eye by Bryan Thao Worra Speculative poems that take us from the secret wars of the CIA in Laos to the secret edges of the human soul and the universe.

NEW VANCOUVER/PORTLAND NATIVE GATHERING

A new Native monthly gathering, “Columbia River First Nations Gathering” is beginning Friday, April 11 at 6:00 PM; it will then meet every 2nd Friday after that. It will meet at the Hazel Dell Grange, 7509 NE Hazel Dell Ave., in Vancouver. It is a potluck gathering and EVERYONE is invited, regardless of race, religion or species. There will be lots of friendship making, prayer, good food and cultural music/worship. Wiconi is blessed to be a partner in this new venture.

Amahoro-Africa 08

Amahoro Africa is a place where African voices, African leaders, African methods and solutions come together to address African issues together with non African friends. Amahoro is a word of traditional African origin meaning peace. Although used widely across Africa, it has particularly deep and significant meaning in places like Rwanda, Burundi, and Congo, where violence and genocide have inflicted unimaginable pain and suffering.

Around the world, a conversation has been growing among an emerging generation of young Christian leaders. This conversation isn't just about exploring ideas; it is also about considering new frameworks, building relationships and creating networks of friendships among leaders engaging with the postcolonial African world in the name of Jesus.

In recent years, innovative Christian leaders around the globe have been observing their world and reaching a similar conclusion: the modern colonial world is giving way to an emerging postmodern, postcolonial world.

Newton's Riddle author on television

Cindy & Neill Russell can be seen discussing Newton's Riddle this week on Sid Roth's "It's Supernatural". Check out local stations and Christian stations. They can also be seen on www.sidroth.org I totally love Sid and his program, Messianic Vision

Walk against Lupus in NYC

On Sunday, May 18th at Battery Park here in New York, there will be a walk against Lupus.


Unfortunately for many, Lupus is never diagnosed properly, and they lose their lives before a true path toward healing is ever begun.

The Lupus Foundation of America estimates that at least 1.5 million Americans and 5 million people worldwide have a form of lupus. 90% of these are women, and a startling number of these women are African Americans, Latinos, Asians, and Native Americans.

Lupus is a significant public health problem that requires action and more public and private research now! The LFA mission is to improve the diagnosis and treatment of lupus, support individuals and families affected by the disease, increase awareness of lupus among health professions and the public, and find the causes and cure, which are still unknown.

Our goal is to raise $250,000 through the Walk for Lupus Now®. This is the first annual walk, and I am very excited about fundraising for this cause. Please know that all the money raised will go towards supporting the 41,000 people in the New York area who have been diagnosed with lupus.

Please help us achieve this goal by making your tax-deductible donation to my team, THE MAMATHANGS! here:

HELP US WALK FOR LUPUS

If you are free on that Sunday morning, we'd love to have you walk with us. Join The Mamathangs!


Thanks and All Best,
Sheree R. Thomas
(Team Captain, The Mamathangs!)

*****************************
The inaugural Walk for Lupus Now® to benefit The Lupus Foundation of America is scheduled for Sunday, May 18th and I'm inviting you to join our team for a fun filled morning for a very worthy cause!

Please visit our Team Page using the link below to register online today...
http://my.e2rm.com/TeamPage.aspx?TSID=184465

Online registration is free and especially easy. By registering online, you will have the opportunity to customize your own Personal Fundraising Page which you can then email to others asking for their support.

This event will bring together families, friends, co-workers and community leaders.

Visit http://www.nycwalkforlupusnow.org for more information
Sheree Thomas

-----------------------------------
Our Team Information:
-----------------------------------
Team Name - The Mamathangs!
Team Captain - Sheree Thomas

Chimurenga

Chimu People on the 164-page double edition, out now

The latest issue of the Cape Town based cultural and literary journal, Chimurenga, is a double-take on sci-fi and speculative writing from the African world, collectively titled “Dr. Satan’s Echo Chamber”. The title of the double-issue is drawn from a dub mix by the late Jamaican producer King Tubby.

Chimurenga 12 is a collection of dystopian faction, which challenges, relentlessly, and throws rocks at the windows of the world. The issue features writing and art by: Allan “Botsotso” Kolsky, Koffi Kwahule, Joao Barreiros, Olufemi Terry, Doreen Baigaina, Stacy Hardy, Akin Adesokan, Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu, JG Ballard, Emmanuel Dongala, Blank du Blanc, Jean Malaquais, Liesl Jobson, Peter Kalu, Dominique Malaquais, Basim Magdy, Jean Lamore, Femi Rage Dawkins, James Sey, Minnette Vari, Teju Cole and Rana Dasgupta.

Chimurenga 13 documents the making of several Afrofuturist projects, from the speculative engineering of Abu Bakaar Mansaray to the film-work of the Black Audio Film Collective and Jean-Pierre Bekolo, and dub/death-work of King Tubby. The issue also features: Angolan composer and theorist Victor Gama’s object-oriented music writing; John Edwin Mason on the making of Abdullah Ibrahim’s “Mannenberg”; Lionel Manga on future-present Douala; Baudouin Mouanda on SAPE; Pume Bylex on his paintings; Eyal Weizman on walking through Palestinian walls; Luca Frei on the Beaubourg underneath Paris and a discussion between Sartre and Nkrumah staged by the Sharzhad Collective.

Since its very first issue in 2002, Chimurenga has received excellent reviews; writers, poets, scholars and journalists, among numerous others, have lauded its originality, the quality of its content and its willingness to tackle subjects other publications might consider too difficult or controversial to address.

It is widely viewed as one of the most interesting and important publications available in post-apartheid South Africa and is fast gaining supporters abroad. Award-wining Kenyan writer and founder of Kwani, Binyavanga Wainaina, says “Chimurenga is the finest literary magazine in Africa”. Vanity Fair calls it “an uber-cool, multilingual journal spinning a funky mix of art, culture and political writing from and about Africa”. Chimurenga is available at bookstores across South Africa.


ISSN 1683-6162

A Cultural Fantasy Manifesto

Came upon this essay by Marie Brennan on cultural and anthropological fantasy. It was written last year but what is time when a thought is so wonderful?

Into This Mind -- Fantasy Novel by Lisa Nevin

Into This Mind by
Lisa Nevin
Hardback: ISBN-10: 1-58832-186-X and Hardback: ISBN-13: 978-1-58832-186-2
Softcover ISBN-10: 1-58832-185-1 and Softcover: ISBN-13: 978-1-58832-185-5


About the Book: Believing that the newly opened Betta Conservation Land holds many long-forgotten mysteries, Jena eagerly seeks to explore it. In the most unlikely of places, an abandoned ballroom, her intuition is validated as she enters the mind of a young woman named May. Ready to dismiss the experience as a daydream produced by her overactive imagination, Jena is stunned when her best friend, Katri, encourages her to return to the ruined building. Suspecting that Katri knows more than she's telling, Jena follows Katri's advice and finds herself once again inside May's mind. Through repeated visits, Jena discovers a terrible secret involving murder and intrigue. But can she stop it, or will it destroy her?

Here are some reviews

"The novel offers interesting concepts and an explanation for the ability of some people to sense the memories of others and their need to right an old wrong."

Read the full Review at: SFRevu:

"Excitement and drama are bound to captivate you as you explore Jena's memory shifting capabilities and wonder if she really is crazy. It kept me hanging on the edge of my seat. The dramatic events unfold in an entertaining format. This had very well written dramatic events. Picturesque details are extremely well done. Keeps your imagination running. I loved it."

Read the full Review at Ghostwriter Literary Reviews:

"There's no question that the story kept my attention. There was only one brief point where the plot slowed down. Nevin stuck strictly to her plot. There was no needless backstory. The present tense became utterly unnoticeable after the first few pages. Nevin shows a lot of potential in her ability to dole out little facts in the mystery bit by bit. The story had a few surprises and it ended fairly satisfyingly, although I can't say that Jena was ever in any true danger. One can imagine Jena becoming a sort of psychic investigator in future books. However this book stands alone."

Read the full review at Fantasty Debut:


You can order it from Lisa's website