Matt Ruff's Blog, page 16
June 24, 2020
Second Life Book Club appearance postponed to July 1
Owing to last-minute technical difficulties—some kind of cross-dimensional rift opening at Linden Labs, possibly related to the Necronomicon—my appearance on today’s Second Life Book Club has been postponed until next Wednesday, July 1, at noon Pacific. Sorry for the late change, but I hope to see you next week!
June 22, 2020
Second Life Book Club this Wednesday, June 24 at Noon Pacific [POSTPONED]
This Wednesday, June 24, I will be the featured guest on the Second Life Book Club, chatting with host Draxtor from noon to 1 PM Pacific Time. If you want to (virtually) attend the event, you will need to sign up for a (free) Second Life account and create an avatar—click the “Join Now” button on the Book Club page to get started.
The event will also be livestreamed on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, and the video will be posted to YouTube afterwards.
[ETA: This event has been postponed to July 1.]
Second Life Book Club this Wednesday, June 24 at Noon Pacific
This Wednesday, June 24, I will be the featured guest on the Second Life Book Club, chatting with host Draxtor from noon to 1 PM Pacific Time. If you want to (virtually) attend the event, you will need to sign up for a (free) Second Life account and create an avatar—click the “Join Now” button on the Book Club page to get started.
The event will also be livestreamed on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, and the video will be posted to YouTube afterwards.
June 15, 2020
Rocket Feather podcast
This week I am a guest on the Rocket Feather podcast, which is hosted by my old college buddy Charles Matheus and his partner in crime, Kelly Roberge. Our conversation was originally planned to last about an hour, but we were having so much fun it stretched to nearly two (and might have gone longer, if Charles and Kelly’s cats hadn’t been so insistent on having their dinnertime respected). We take a trip down memory lane to our days at Cornell, recap what I’ve been up to for the last 35 years, and then do a couple of deep dives into my novels Set This House in Order and Lovecraft Country. (Note to my publicist, if she’s reading this: I’m pretty sure I managed to work in a plug for somewhere along the way.)
You can listen to the podcast by clicking on the player above, or visit the Rocket Feather website for additional options. Many thanks to Charles and Kelly for having me on the show!
A couple programming notes while I’ve got your attention:
On July 16, starting at 5 PM Pacific, I will be doing a virtual 88 Names event (via Zoom) for Powell’s City of Books of Portland, OR. My friend and fellow novelist Christopher Moore has graciously agreed to act as moderator.
On July 25, starting at 5:30 PM Pacific, I will be doing another virtual 88 Names event (also via Zoom) for Sunriver Books & Music of Sunriver, OR. This event will be hosted by the bookstore’s owner, Deon Stonehouse.
Both of these events are open to the public, and you don’t need to be in Oregon to participate. I’ll post details on how you can join as we get closer to the event dates.
June 3, 2020
May 11, 2020
88 Names podcast: last words
Today we officially wrap up . My co-host Blake Collier and I both have some final thoughts to share. You can read Blake’s sign-off essay ; you’ll find mine .
I had a blast doing this. I owe a big thank you to Blake and to our heroic producer, Darryl A. Armstrong of the Threaded Zebra Agency. Many thanks also to ; to ; to our host site, Rise Up Daily; and last but not least to . Stay safe, everyone!
May 10, 2020
88 Names podcast: reading and Q&A in AltspaceVR
In conjunction with the 88 Names podcast, I did a live reading from the novel in virtual reality last month, on Microsoft’s AltspaceVR platform. The video, courtesy of our floating cameraman Shahab Zargari and producer Darryl Armstrong, is now available to share. (There’s also an audio-only version, which you can find .)
Like my other virtual events, this was a lot of fun. As I told Suzanne Lee, who did about the reading, what I especially love is the degree of spontaneity this allows for. In the real world, setting up a bookstore appearance or an author panel can take weeks of advance planning, but on Altspace or Second Life, you can throw an event together in a matter of hours and have people logging in from all over the world. And this will only get easier as the hardware and software improve.
May 9, 2020
88 Names podcast: COVID-19 follow up + Troy Heard Q&A
Most of our podcast episodes were recorded before the coronavirus was declared a global pandemic. We wanted to follow up with some of our interview subjects, see how they were handling the economic shutdown, and ask if they had any predictions about how this might affect the future of VR and other immersive technologies. Brandon Oldenburg, Joanna Popper, and Noah Nelson share their thoughts .
We also have one more written interview to share, this one with Troy Heard, Founding Artistic Director of Majestic Repertory Theatre in Las Vegas. The theater scene has been hard hit by the pandemic, and it’s especially difficult for practitioners of immersive theater like Troy. But he has some interesting ideas for adapting to the crisis, like drive-through performances. You can read the interview .
May 5, 2020
88 Names podcast episode 8: Simón Rojas & Amir Ebrahimnia
In this of the 88 Names podcast, we talk to Simón Rojas and Amir Ebrahimnia, co-founders of the Toronto-based ad agency Derooted Immersive.
This was our only podcast interview to be recorded during quarantine. We discuss the impact of the pandemic on current business and speculate about how it may affect the future of VR and other technologies that allow people to connect remotely. We also talk about the risks of conducting guerrilla marketing campaigns in a nervous world. (Pro-tip: If you’re going to stage a mock pirate ship battle in a big city harbor, make sure to let the cops know about it in advance.)
May 1, 2020
Lovecraft Country teaser trailer
In a series of tweets this week, Misha Green, Jordan Peele, and J.J. Abrams hinted that HBO was about to drop a trailer for Lovecraft Country. Sure enough, it’s here!
I know people are going to have a ton of questions about this, so here’s a quick Q&A:
What is this?
An HBO series based on my 2016 novel of the same name. You can read more about the book here.
Are you excited?
I’m bouncing off the walls with excitement. Can’t you tell?
Have you seen the show yet?
No. I read a draft of the pilot script, and visited the film set a couple of times, but this footage is as new to me as it is to you.
How faithful is the series to the novel?
Since I haven’t seen it yet, I can’t really say, but it’s a safe bet that, as with any adaptation, there will be changes, some large, some small.
How do you feel about that?
I’m fine with it. I already have my version of the story; I don’t need an exact copy. As it is, watching the trailer is like getting a glimpse of a parallel universe—one whose elements are familiar to me, but still different enough to feel fresh: There’s the Winthrop House; there’s the white citizens’ brigade who want Letitia out of the Winthrop House; there’s Hippolyta’s orrery; oh, wow, there’s the Braithwhites’ pet shoggoth. It’s a translation, for sure, but it’s cool.
Is there anything else people should know?
Online references to the show rightly credit executive producers Jordan Peele and J.J. Abrams, without whom this wouldn’t be happening, but they sometimes fail to mention . As the series’ showrunner, Misha mapped out the season, wrote or co-wrote all of the scripts, and oversaw the day-to-day production. More than any other individual, the series’ success rests on her shoulders (no pressure, Misha!), so it’s only right that she should get credit too.
When will the show air?
August. I’ll let you know the exact date once HBO announces it.
