Alan Baxter's Blog, page 101

A Dictionary of the Near Future

I found this article called A Dictionary of the Near Future at the New York Times online thanks to Marc Pesce on Twitter. I love the things I find through Twitter – the interwebz is a playground of joy. This is an article by Douglas Coupland, who says, "The thing about the future is that it never feels the way we thought it would. New sensations require new terms…"

He then lists a whole slew of modern terminology, some of which is just awesome. Here, look for yourself:

AIRPORT-INDUCED IDENTITY ...

Worldcon panel – The eternal border

Here's the next in my posts about some of the panels at the recent Worldcon. This time it's a panel I attended as an audience member, as the subject interested me greatly. It was called The eternal border, and was all about whether or not there are taboos in dark fantasy. On the panel were Deborah Biancotti, Richard Harland, Catherynne M Valente and Jason Nahrung.

I classify my own stuff as dark fantasy more often than anything else and I certainly have very little respect for perceived...

"Idle Chatter" at Bosley Gravel's

My Friday Flash story, Idle Chatter, first posted here back in July, has been reprinted at Bosley Gravel's Cavalcade Of Terror. Apart from having a very funky name, this new fiction site looks set to publish some pretty interesting stuff. Give a look if you get a chance.

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Worldcon panel – Novellas

This is the first in a series of posts I plan to write on my Worldcon panel experiences. I sat on a number of panels and was in the audience for several more and I learned a lot. Some of the discussions were just awesome and I want to share some of what was discussed. Firstly, I'll talk about the Novellas panel I was on. This was the big fanboy moment for me as I got to be on a panel with Robert Silverberg, moderating it no less. Also on the panel were Keith Stevenson, Coeur De Lion

Worldcon wrap, part two

So the last post left things with me getting an early night on Saturday. Man, that seems like a lifetime ago! I'm sitting in my hotel room now, listening to the Vangelis Blade Runner soundtrack to ease my aching brain, jotting down a few thoughts about the rest of the Con, which is now sadly over. I'll actually post this tomorrow I expect, when I get some wifi, but I'm writing it while still blurry with the last day of the Con, so excuse any gibberish. And yes, Worldon, Aussiecon 4, is over. ...

Worldcon, the story so far

Worldcon is well under way and I've found myself taking an early break on Saturday night to recover a bit. This gives me a chance to blog a few comments and pictures about what's been happening at Aussiecon4, the 68th Annual World Science Fiction Convention, here in Melbourne.

I am exhausted and still suffering from last night (hence the early night tonight) so I apologise for any omissions or nonsensical lines.

It all began on Thursday. I flew in to Melbourne Thursday morning and managed to...

Worldcon is imminent

I'm packing my bags for Aussiecon4. I leave for Sydney tonight, to stay with a mate in order to be up early tomorrow for my flight to Melbourne. It's really happening. With that in mind, things might be a bit quiet around this site for a week or so. They may not – I intend to blog about the Con as much as possible – but the truth is that these things invariably become a maelstrom of activity and blogging becomes a luxury of time that often can't be afforded.

However, I do intend to live Tweet ...

Ebook revolution well under way

Exactly a year ago, I wrote about how ebooks are the future. Today I read that the Oxford English Dictionary, the mighty volumes that record our very language itself, will only be available online. You can read a bit about that here.

Now, I'm a speculative fiction writer. I love science fiction. I've said this before – my iPhone does way more than Captain Kirk's communicator could ever do. The iPad is suspiciously like Star Trek: The Next Generation's PADD (Personal Access Display Device)...

Flesh and Bone is here

You know how the other day I was going on about how much I love to receive books? I was talking about what a joy it is to get books in the mail, especially books that are works of art in themselves, as well as containing awesome stories? Well, there's one thing better. Getting a book in the post that contains awesome stories, one of which is written by me. I still get such a thrill seeing a book with my name in the Table Of Contents. This one arrived today:

Flesh & Bone: Rise Of The...

Friday Flash – Jeff Newman's Headaches

This is a little bit cheeky, but as I don't have a new flash fiction piece for today, I thought I'd redirect people to the piece that was published at 52 Stitches on Monday. It's still the same week and it's still flash fiction, so it counts, right? The story is called Jeff Newman's Headaches and you can find it here. I hope you like it.

If you already read the story after I posted an announcement about it on Monday, I apologise for wasting your time. For you, just so you don't feel cheated...