Amy H. Sturgis's Blog, page 161

"even though it seems really weird"

Today is the first day of the new semester! My seminar(s) are mere hours away... Where did summer go again, exactly?


In other news...

* At , I've created a Listopia list for the best Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper Novels. It's a work in progress. Please take part and add books or vote if you're interested! Thanks so much. I'll have a new update soon to post here about my ongoing Sherlockian pastiche reading.

* I love Cabin Pressure . So much. This latest series was, yes, brilliant.

(And speaking of great series, the second series of Garrow's Law was fantastic, as expected.)

* This week also spells the return of Doctor Who.

Thanks to porpoise_song for getting me in the mood...

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"But the thing is, we've taken away all the things that can possibly have happened, so I suppose the only thing that's left, even though it seems really weird, must be the thing that did happen, in fact."
Martin Crieff, Cabin Pressure, "Paris"

Revolution Science Fiction and Gallifrey Pirate Radio

Hi all!

Two quick notes:

First, the entirety of my "H.P. Lovecraft and the Imaginative Tale" essay is now available at Revolution Science Fiction as Part 1 and Part 2.

Second, the latest episode of the Doctor Who video podcast Gallifrey Pirate Radio is now available, and it's the panel I moderated at this year's ConCarolinas, a retrospective of series six, part one (and, de facto, the eleventh Doctor in general) thus far. (tl;dr: I'm the long-haired brunette on the right end of the table.)




"Oooh!! A big flashy lighty thing. I love big flashy lighty things. Big flashy lighty things have got me written all over them. Well, not actually, but give me time. And a crayon."
- The Doctor, "A Christmas Carol"

"Grotesque beyond the imagination of a Poe or a Bulwer"

The always-wonderful folks at Revolution Science Fiction are featuring my article "H.P. Lovecraft and the Imaginative Tale." The first half went online yesterday here, and the second will be up today. If you read it, I hope you enjoy!

And, speaking of Lovecraftian things, I'm excited to see that Hippocampus Press has added notice for the forthcoming Twisted in Dream: The Collected Weird Poetry of Ann K. Schwader , which will undoubtedly be eldritch and awesome.


In other personal news...

* My undergraduate and graduate "Harry Potter and His Predecessors" seminar begins next week at Lenoir-Rhyne University. The students seem very enthusiastic, and I can't wait.

* To prepare to participate in the October "Freedom, Empire, and Conflict in Two Greek Wars" roundtable to which I've been invited, I'm going to be spending some quality time with Herodotus and Thucydides in the next couple of months. (Fortunately, my role will be that of the outsider historian - familiar with the material, but not a specialist.) Ah, my old friends, it's been ages!

Happy early birthday wishes to darthsindel1981 , ceosanna , amygrech , and dormannheim ! May each of you enjoy many happy returns of the day.


Have I mentioned lately how much I'm looking forward to this film?



"Make love, not horcruxes."
- seen on a t-shirt

Tuesday is Here

First of all, my thoughts are with everyone affected by the violence in London and the UK. There's a post by locals with useful news and support links I found to be of interest at the sherlockbbc community here: "London and UK Riots."


In Harry Potter news:

I'll be the Keynote Speaker at the upcoming "Harry Potter and Crossover Audiences: The 2011 Potter Watch Conference" event on October 1, 2011. It should be a magical time! Thanks to gods_lil_rocker and PotterWatch: The Official Harry Potter Club of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte for the lovely invitation!

If you're anywhere in the area, please consider submitting a proposal for a paper or panel. Here's the call for papers. Abstracts are due by August 15, 2011.


In Firefly and Serenity news:

* The Can't Stop the Serenity 2011 charity events are taking place all over the world. Our local event, in Charlotte, NC, will be held on September 18.

* Browncoats: Redemption , A Firefly Fan Film for Charity, will only be available for purchase until the end of the month. I just received my remastered DVD set, and it's wonderful. It even includes the soundtrack! You can read my original review of the film here.



Last but certainly not least, happy early birthday wishes to gamgeefest , janissa11 , lucybun , baka_kit , gabrielle_h , onegoat , mbranesf , and roo2 . May all of you enjoy many happy returns of the day!


They're good at making sandwiches,
And breathing, and all that other stuff.
It's hard to call it pride,
But I think they're good enough.
There's no shame in Hufflepuff.
- "No Shame in Hufflepuff," The Blibbering Humdingers

Hunger Games!

Just a "fly by" post today...

TeeFury chose my forum request as one of two to fulfill this week, so today's shirt (up for 24 hours!) is from The Hunger Games.


Also, here's a sneak peek shot from Entertainment Weekly of the character Peeta Mellark from the forthcoming Hunger Games film in front of his family's bakery:



This is the same building I posted my own pictures of here from the set location (in what amounts to my backyard).

I'm looking forward to seeing the final product!


"I do not want to lose the boy with the bread."
- Katniss Everdeen, from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Happy Tuesday!

Thanks to everyone who took part in yesterday's poll about my annual October posts. It's still open, if anyone else wishes to weigh in!

'Tis the last week of the summer term. In other news, a few quick items:

* Don't miss Presenting Lenore's daily posts about dystopian ficton in her Dystopian August blogathon!

* Speaking of dystopias, this is new from Philip Reeve in the School Library Journal: "The Worst Is Yet to Come: Dystopias are grim, humorless, and hopeless—and incredibly appealing to today's teens."

* So many terrific people were born this week! Happy birthday to lizziebelle , and happy early birthday to zmaddoc , supermusicmad , wiccagirl24 , febobe , and ghani_atreides . May all of you enjoy many happy returns of the day.


For your amusement (no matter where you live), "50 State Stereotypes in 2 Minutes":



"Fairest of the months!
Ripe summer's queen
The hey-day of the year
With robes that gleam with sunny sheen
Sweet August doth appear."
- R. Combe Miller

Poll time! Poll time!

Today is August 1 - or, as I like to think of it, the day that marks only two months until October. Since I'm the anal, pre-planning sort, and I have an action-packed fall season before me, I thought I'd look ahead and post this poll.

FYI, for those of you who don't know, for the last five years I've had a tradition of turning this blog into a month-long celebration of Halloween, posting a "spooky post" every day in October. You can see my past October posts here.

(Note: If you're not on LiveJournal and can't vote via the ticky-boxes, you're welcome to leave a comment!)


View Poll: Ye Olde Octoberish Poll

Thanks for participating!

I survived the LJpocalypse of July 2011! How about you?

LJ is back! Woohoo!

In news...

* Editor Janet B. Croft has accepted the proposal for my essay "From Both Sides Now: Lois McMaster Bujold and the Fan Fiction Phenomenon" (working title) for the forthcoming collection Forward Momentum: The Science Fiction and Fantasy of Lois McMaster Bujold (Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy Series) for McFarland Press, scheduled for publication in late 2012/early 2013. I am ridiculously excited about this one.

* The US DVDs of the second season of Garrow's Law (see icon) will be released next week. *much rejoicing* Garrow's Law is part of my current BBC fixation, which also includes much love for Sherlock , of course, as well as Cabin Pressure and Doctor Who . And speaking of retro Who, we're about to watch the second half of "The War Machines," in which Patrick Troughton will regenerate into Jon Pertwee. So we're moving steadily along...

* And speaking once more of Doctor Who , did I previously realize that the second Doctor was Dudley Dursley's grandfather in real life? No, I don't think I did. Hmmm. It's a small world after all.

Happy early birthdays to tudorpumpkin and lizziebelle . May you both have most excellent days and wonderful years to come!


And now, a Lovecraftian moment, thanks to wellinghall :


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"My Patronus is a Wookie."
- seen on a tee-shirt

Harry Potter, Doctor Who, and Sherlock

LiveJournal is only allowing me on in fits and starts at this point, so apologies for my tardiness in replying to previous comments and messages. Soon, I hope!


This year's Harry Potter Fest at Lenoir-Rhyne University will be a day-long event on Friday, October 28, including live quidditch matches, wizard rock concerts, costume contests, and more. It's free and open to the public; if you're in the area, I hope you'll join us! (My pictures from last year are here.) I'm already planning a new costume for this year...

In related news, I'll be teaching my "Enduring Questions: Harry Potter and His Predecessors" seminar as an undergraduate/graduate cross-listed course this Fall. The response thus far has been exceptional!


For your viewing pleasure, a lovely mashup of Sherlock (visuals) and Doctor Who (audio):



"Boom!"
- Professor McGonagall, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

Fandom Fun

LiveJournal is only allowing me on in fits and starts at this point, so apologies for my tardiness in replying to previous comments and messages. Soon, I hope!


This year's Harry Potter Fest at Lenoir-Rhyne University will be a day-long event on Friday, October 28, including live quidditch matches, wizard rock concerts, costume contests, and more. It's free and open to the public; if you're in the area, I hope you'll join us! (My pictures from last year are here.) I'm already planning a new costume for this year...

In related news, I'll be teaching my "Enduring Questions: Harry Potter and His Predecessors" seminar as an undergraduate/graduate cross-listed course this Fall. The response thus far has been exceptional!


For your viewing pleasure, a lovely mashup of Sherlock (visuals) and Doctor Who (audio):



"Boom!"
- Professor McGonagall, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2