Edward Willett's Blog, page 76

'Twas the Nocturnal Time of the Preceding Day to the Day We Call Christmas

With apologies to Clement Clarke Moore

'Twas the nocturnal time of the preceding day
To the day we call Christmas (which is, by the way,
Just a modern twist on the eons-old fight
To use feast and fire to end winter's night).
And all through our dwelling (a.k.a. the house),
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
(Mus musculus—really a terrible pest,
But even a pest needs a bit of a rest.)
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there
(Though...

The mathematics of pizza slicing

It's almost Christmas, and Christmas means food: turkey, dressing, candy canes, oranges, cranberries, chocolate, and, of course, pizza.

(OK, maybe pizza is not the most traditional of foods, but it's still a popular holiday choice, so humor me.)

Pizzas normally come pre-sliced. The question is, and I'm sure you've asked yourself this a lot, "How do we eat this pre-sliced pizza in a way that ensures nobody gets an unfair share?"

That's the question, as New Scientist reported on December 11, that ...

Terra Insegura cover art minus the text

In his New Works gallery on his website, Hugo Award-winning artist Stephan Martiniere has included the cover of my DAW SF novel Terra Insegura, minus the text (title, my name, DAW logo) that clutters up the actual book. It's a stunner! And I literally got a chill looking at it when I realized for the very first time that, down at the very bottom, there are human skulls littering the spaceport pavement…

Winter issue of Fine Lifestyles Regina is out!

The Winter 2009/2010 issue of Fine Lifestyles Regina magazine is out, all 260 full-colour glossy pages of it. This is the second issue I've edited, and I also wrote several articles for it, including the cover story, an interview with just-retired NHL player Mike Sillinger, a Regina native who's now moved back to the city with his family. As I did with the Premier Brad Wall interview from the last issue, I'll post that to my blog once we're getting close to the next issue.

Also included in...

I've sold another novel!

Specifically, I've sold The Singing Water, a modern-day YA fantasy with Arthurian elements, set mostly in Saskatchewan, to Montreal's Lobster Press, a Canadian publisher of award-winning children's books. Best of all, they're planning to bring out the entire five-book series I've got planned, collectively entitled Excalibur Reforged.

The Singing Water is scheduled to kick things off next fall; which means my first couple of months of 2010 will be spent on revising it.

I'm very excited to be...

O Tannenbaum

Time to re-roast an old chestnut, a column I wrote several years that has become fresh in my mind due to the successful completion last night of Operation Dress-the-Tree (to be followed in a few weeks, of course, by Operation Curse-the-Tree as the needle-shedding skeleton is hauled out to the alley).

Is there scientific interest to be found in ol' Tannenbaum? Indeed there is!

Consider, for instance a Christmas tree's incredible capacity to "drink" water. A tree may slurp up six or seven litres ...

My preview of this weekend's South Saskatchewan Youth Orchestra Christmas brunch…

…is in today's Leader Post.

It begins:

What could be better than a wonderful Christmas brunch onstage at the Conexus Arts Centre?

How about a wonderful Christmas brunch followed by a performance by the South Saskatchewan Youth Orchestra?

That's exactly the hard-to-imagine-a-better-than event scheduled for this Sunday. A silent auction and food kick off the event at 11 a.m., with the concert to follow. Conductor Alan Denike will lead the 45-member orchestra, made up of players whose ages range...