Colin Harvey – author

On the day Hugo-nominated Canadian SF writer Peter Watts goes on trial, and soon after another friend has had, erm, issues with the US Border Agency, I’ve written the first of two blog posts taking David Langford‘s section header from Interzone as my starting point.

One of the features of the Media Communications Studies is to challenge what is accepted, especially what is ‘common sense,’ since the things that are so classified are often the result of media messages repeated almost ad infinitum. So I now only have to hear ‘but it’s common sense’ or ‘everyone knows that…’ and my Inner Scientist rises up and says Yeah? Prove it!

So when I got into a bit of a discussion last week about the curse of mobile phones, I risked being hoisted on my own petard. Until I took up the challenge.

Kate and I have started going to the theatre on a Thursday evening, and since I’m a reviewer, it seems a good idea to turn my attention to reviewing plays. It was Hedda Gabler a fortnight ago; now it’s the turn of The Secret of Sherlock Holmes. Kate was more impressed by us buying stand-by tickets for £5, and ending up in £30 seats, but then again her family crest is a pair of shopping trolleys crossed, and the phrase “It was a bargain” in Latin… (is eram non carus, for those of you who are wondering)

I’ve posted the first of an occasional series at Suite101, examining why stories fail. SF is a literature driven by ideas, but an idea without a plot is not a story. Plot grows from character, just as in the best stories, plot drives character.

I’ve held back from this sort of article for some time, because I still think of myself as a journeyman, but I’m slowly accepting that I’m further along the road that journey takes, than many others.

So I was all set to poke fun at Mary Robinette Kowal for mixing up her 1s and her 3s, ’cause everyone knows that the deadline for the Hugo nominations is the 31st. Then I looked at the reminder mail from Worldcon again. Oh, crap. It really is the 13th. The 31st is the Nebula Awards and TTA Press.  There are some pointers toward quick reading sites  here.

Today’s post over at Suite101 is nearer to a rant. (What am I saying? It is a rant, albeit, almost under control…) It’s probably going to prove a bit of an own-goal, but a rant’s better out than in, and it means I can get on with tackling the day. And it’s better than Going Krakatoa on someone.

This morning I posted on the blog about a recent opportunity to make money…although on closer inspection, it maybe isn’t such a good deal. Which sums up much about the internet.

This morning’s post on Suite101 is full of joy and tears and awkward questions. More here.

This morning’s blog is a straight list of the 2009 Nebula Award finalists. However, I couldn’t resist posting links to the stories I trumpeted when they first came out, which makes me look profoundly perspicacious. Of course, that ignores the finalists I initially rubbished, as well as all the other stories I backed which never made the final… 🙂

I promised this morning’s ramble would be on Life Writing, so I’ve posted a few (almost) random thoughts at Suite101.