John Crowley's Blog, page 13

The grim slide

In Michael Dirda's fine and heartfelt overview of the work of James Salter, in the new issue of what Rodger Cunningham dubbed the New York Review of Each Other's Books, that amid James Salter's journalism is an interview with Vladimir Nabokov for People magazine.  Salter interviews Nabokov for People.  This sounds like an alternative universe, but it's only the past, another country where they did things differently.

New Saint

Saints are named fro proven miracles and lives of heroic virtue.  Some more miraculogenitive and heroic than others.  But I think it will be a while before this new saint is beaten out for Longest Saint Name(NYTimes):

Pope Francis named Laura of St. Catherine of Siena Montoya y Upegui, who toiled as a spiritual guide to indigenous people in the 20th century, as a potential source of inspiration to the country’s peace process.

Me in Seattle, at work

I am in Seattle, doing a workshop for Les Howle and Clarion -- "Writing from the End," about causality in fictiona dn other things, and also offering help and counsel to those who need iT:

http://www.bestseattlecriminaldefenseattorneys.com/serious-felony-lawyer-john-crowley-seattle-tacoma-yakima-tri-cities-snohomish/

Above average, really

Stephen Hawking's famous quote-quote, repeated in a nice -looking new scince mag called Nautilius:

“The human race is just a chemical scum on a moderate-sized planet, orbiting around a very average star in the outer suburb of one among a hundred billion galaxies.”

Great name for a neo-punk rock band (if any such were needed) -- "Chemical Scum."

RU Nutz 2?

From a Yemeni jihadist site called "Lone Mujahid Pocketbook"  which trains American jihadist wannabes with advice and instruction:

“R U dreamin’ of wagin’ jihadi attacks against kuffar?” the 64-page manual asks, using a pejorative term for unbeliever. “Have u been lookin’ 4 a way to join the mujahideen in frontlines, but you haven’t found any? Well, there’s no need to travel abroad, because the frontline has come to you.”

I don't know why, but the delicacy of those unlikely apostrophes is particularly hateful.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/06/us/terrorists-find-online-education-for-attacks.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130506

No-doz Redux

Didn't we used to have caffeinated gum?  I seem to remember.  But I may be confusing it with Aspergum, which was gum infused with aspirin.  Certainly we had access to caffeine outside the cup.  We were unafraid, unregulated, and sleepless.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/caffeine-laced-foods-spur-f-d-a-investigation/?ref=health

Don't Take Me to your Leaders

A blue ribbon panel gathers in Washington to consider alien monitoring of the planet, ans what the government has been covering up about it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/04/us/politics/panel-convenes-in-washington-to-discuss-aliens.html?ref=science

 Former Senator Mike Gravel is among the notables.  And also this person:

“I’ve been exploring how we might get this issue out of the shadows of the lunatic fringe,” said Roscoe G. Bartlett, a former Republican representative from Maryland.

And another:

“I’ve come to understand and appreciate the importance of open, transparent government and the power of truth,” said Paul T. Hellyer, who served as Canadian minister of defense during the 1960s.

“We are not alone in the cosmos,” he added.

I agree.

Sacre bleu!

For the Francophone readership, and certainly Matthieu -- here is video of a panel I took part in at the French conference L'Etonnants Voayageurs.  To my right is the tireless translator ( who at one point is so stressed he starts speaking in English) and to my left is Doug Headline, who -- I think I can claim this -- began the American-style publishing of genre fantasy and science fiction in France (identifiable covers, brand-named lines, etc.).  This was 13 years ago, when i was young and strong.  I not only couldn't speak French i could hardly speak at all.  You can send away for a transcript in English (but i can't imagine where.)


http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/borges-and-the-paradox-of-the-seenk/?comments#permid=58:1

In the future nothing will be forgotten, which is not different than to say in the future nothing can be remembered,

The Flash

A student asks if there is such a thing as SF flash fiction. He thought it would be hard to write and rare. I said I thought there were probably whole books of it, I didn't know, but I knew where to find out.

crowleycrow @ 2013-04-20T15:41:00

David Remnick in the New Yorker says that Chechens speak Russian with a thick accent but also their own language, Noxchiin Mott.  Lovely name for a character in an international spy novel/thriller, or parody of one.