Michael Coorlim's Blog, page 35
April 15, 2015
Connie Willis turns down Hugo presentation role
Award winning science fiction author and editor Connie Willis has explained why it is that she’ll be turning down the role of presenter of the Hugo awards this year.
“You may have been able to cheat your way onto the ballot. (And don’t talk to me about how this isn’t against the rules–doing anything except nominating the works you personally liked best is cheating in my book.) You may even be able to bully and intimidate people into voting for you. But you can’t make me hand you the Hugo and say “Congratulations,” just as if you’d actually won it. And you can’t make me appear onstage and tell jokes and act like this year’s Hugo ceremony is business as usual and what you’ve done is okay. I’m not going to help you get away with this. I love the Hugo Awards too much.”
I understand and respect Connie’s decision to remove herself from an unacceptable situation. Read the full text of how she has come to this decision here.
An interesting point of connection: I sat on a Worldcon panel with both Connie and Brad Torgersen in 2012 (along with Eleanor Arnason and Bud Sparhawk). I don’t really have a strong impression of Brad, but I recall Connie as polite, professional, and personable.
Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.
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April 14, 2015
TWIK is Moving
That Which is Known, the podcast I produce based on the research I do for my books and scriptwriting, is moving from my author blog here to its own domain at thatwhichisknown.com. Your feed subscriptions shouldn’t need to change.
Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.
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April 7, 2015
TWIK012: Space Travel
A very brief overview of the basic mechanics involved in space travel.
Equations and Constants
Time in hours to accelerate: Hours = Δv x .0455 / Acceleration in Gs
Time in days spent coasting: Days = Distance (in AU) x 1076 / Δv
Earth’s Orbital Velocity: 18.5 mps
Earth’s Escape Velocity: 6.96 mps
Constant acceleration: Δv required = √(distance / acceleration) x 1482 x acceleration
Constant acceleration time: Hours = Δv / (21.8 x acceleration)
Future Episodes
Future episodes dealing with space travel:
Rocketry (next week)
Health impacts of space travel (the week after)
Psychological effects of prolonged isolation
Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.
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March 31, 2015
TWIK011: Machine Learning
Machine Intelligence is a sub-field of artificial intelligence.
This episode was recorded with our new acoustic box. Let me know what you think.
Methods of Machine Learning
Genetic Algorithms
Decision Tree Model
Association Rule Learning
Artificial Neural Networks
Inductive Logical Programming
Support Vehicle Machines
Cluster Analysis
Belief Network
Simple Harmonic Motion
I researched Machine Learning while writing the script for the science-fiction audiodrama Simple Harmonic Motion. SHM is “episode zero” of an audiodrama podcast I’ll be writing and producing for Burning Brigid Media, Synesthesia Theatre.
It will be available exclusively to those who sign up for the Burning Brigid Media mailing list. Go ahead and check that out if you want to give it a listen!
Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.
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March 26, 2015
Fan Art Contest
Want a free paperback? Show off your artistic chops.
I’m pleased to announce the first ever Galvanic Century fan-art contest. The rules are simple: Draw some Galvanic Century-related fan art, and you’ll stand to win a paperback edition of the Steampunk Omnibus, collecting the first four books in the steampunk series.
What should you draw?
Whatever you want, as long as it’s work-safe and related to the Galvanic Century books. Draw the characters. Draw a scene from the books. Draw some weird tech from the novels. Whatever grabs you.
Who wins?
In one sense we’re all winners for getting to see awesome fan-art. I’ll be posting the pics here, on facebook, on tumblr, maybe on twitter. We’ll see.
In another sense, one of you, selected randomly, will be sent a paperback.
So fire up your artistic potential and submit your art, and we’ll see what happens.
The nitty-gritty.
To enter, send a .jpg or .png to contact@mcoorlim.com with the subject header “Fan Art Contest”. Include your contact information and preferred attribution.
Entrants grant Michael Coorlim a non-exclusive license to post submitted art on www.mcoorlim.com, and to post said art to social media including but not limited to twitter, facebook, and pinterest.
The contest ends on May 1st, 2015. One entrant will be selected at random to receive a paperback copy of Steampunk Omnibus.
Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.
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March 24, 2015
TWIK010: Kowloon Walled City
Kowloon: Libertarian paradise or anarchist criminal nightmare? Why not both?
Kowloon is one of those historical things I’d heard about that I just knew I had to put into a book someday. And, after a fashion, I did. Several major scenes from Ghosts of Shaolin are set there, though the real Kowloon wasn’t a haven for rogue engineers practicing forbidden science.
As far as I know, anyway.
Media featuring Kowloon:
Ludlum’s The Bourne Supremacy (Affiliate Link)
Brothers from the Walled City (Affiliate Link)
Bloodsport (Affiliate Link)
Other Links:
Kowloon Walled City Park website
Rare photos of Kowloon
Music provided by http://audionautix.com/
Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.
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March 17, 2015
TWIK009: Japanese Village of Knightsbridge
A Victorian exhibit of cultural condescension.
In the late 19th century entrepreneur Tannaker Buhicrosan built a Japanese village in an exhibition hall in the middle of London. That’s pretty much what this episode is about.
The Japanese Village is a set-piece in the last chapter of Bartleby and James, featured twenty years after its decommissioning.
Links:
Contemporary articles about the Japanese Village
An article about the Village by Joseph McLaughlin
Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.
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March 10, 2015
TWIK008: Geography of Victorian London
London is a city within the city of London.
My first novel was set in London, and I did quite a bit of research into the layout and character of what was the biggest and most important city of the late Victorian era. This episode is a birds’ eye view of some of the city’s more famous locations, very broad, but very shallow.
Links:
Bartleby and James – set in London
Visit London dot Com’s Victorian sites
Photographs and illustrations of Victorian London landmarks
Detailed maps of Victorian London
Future Episode Ideas:
In depth discussion of specific municipalities
Focus on political and social geography
Detailed examination of landmarks
History of London
Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.
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March 6, 2015
Authors’ Notes
This might be interesting.
This is the first in a weekly series where I’ll be chronicling my efforts and endeavors as a working creative. Some of you are curious about what it’s like to be a (moderately) successful self-published author, and these entries will be a small peek into what my life consists of.
There’s an ulterior motive here… accountability. Writing it down like this means I can analyze my own work habits, and putting them on display will hopefully encourage me to be on my best behavior.
Some of the links that follow are affiliate links.
What I did
That Which is Known is caught up through March and I began turning my notes into episodes for April. I’ll have a science-fiction audioplay release in April, so these episodes will come from the research I’ve been doing on artificial intelligence and space flight.
Speaking of which, the foam we ordered arrived, so we’ll be building the acoustic boxes for the mic, so we can move on with recording the audio for the play within the next week or so.
Did a whole bunch of research for the audio drama podcast we’ve got in the works. Started writing more scripts.
Finished preliminary research on the British Raj for the next Galvanic Century book, and started plotting out the book’s major milestones. The June deadline I’ve set myself will be tight, but I think I can hit it. Maybe. I’d like to have a draft complete by the end of the month.
Gave an interview with The Aravinda Show. It was a blast and we ended up with a ton of great material. I’ll throw up a link when it’s live. Going to add this show to my podcast rotation.
Got a rejection for a story I’d sent out. Dutifully sent it on to the next market on my list.
What I’ve Consumed
Binge-watched the SyFy series Alphas (affiliate link). Annoyed by the unresolved cliffhanger ending.
Caught the Downton Abbey (affiliate link) season finale.
Read Larry Brooks’s Story Engineering (affiliate link). Nothing super revolutionary, but a few tricks I can slip into my workflow. I’d recommend it to anyone who needs help with story structure.
Started to listen to the Once and Future Nerd podcast. Don’t know if I like the narration yet. Feels like there’s too much telling, not enough showing, but it’s early. And it’s a lot of fun.
Also started working through We’re Alive. I see why it took off the way it did.
Podcasts I’ve kept up with: Caustic Soda, The Smartest Man in the World, Audio Drama Production, The Rocking Self Publishing Podcast.
What’s Coming up:
Taxes. Self-employment taxes are harsh, and I’m terrible at planning for them. I really should be making quarterly payments.
Another podcast interview next week.
Starting writing the first draft of the next Galvanic Century book. Hopefully I’ll have the outline done Monday at the latest.
Producing audio dramas.
It’s been a busy week. All my weeks are busy weeks.
Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.
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March 3, 2015
TWIK007: Detective Fiction
Who Dunnit? This episode is more concerned with Who Solvit.
Today we’re examining the Detective Fiction literary subgenre, from its origins in Poe’s C. Auguste Dupin, older works that may have inspired Poe, and the Golden Age of detective fiction in the 20s and 30s. I myself started the Galvanic Century series with short detective fiction novelettes.
Links:
Bartleby and James
Dreams of the Damned
Collection of Poe’s Dupin detective work (Affiliate Link)
Detective Fiction Bookshelf at Project Gutenberg
Ideas for Future Episodes:
Sherlock Holmes
Detective Fiction Subgenres
Classic “Rules” of Detective Fiction
Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.
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