My guilty pleasure

I just saw this thing over at Cosmic Variance about the innocent guilty pleasures of academics. I can immediately tell you what my guildy pleasure is. Writing (fanwriting, that is). Especially blogging. It is non-productive, just for fun, and I often steal a few minutes of work time for it (like now). Bad work ethic? That's what I'm afraid of, although I hope that it's just making me a happier person who works better the rest of the time.

But as Peter at US/LHC blogs noted:

Life + Blogging = Const.

This means that the time has to be taken from somewhere. Well, at least I'm reading science blogs, right? I'm really working too.

But I'm scared of this.

Jim Munroe

As you might have noticed, I'm very fond of enthusiasts, of people who are doing things and of general do-it-yourself attitude. Because of this I have for a few years kept an eye on Jim Munroe's website. He is a writer with a punk attitude, who makes computer games and shows and other things. I have actually only read one book by him (Angry Young Spaceman), but I always intended to check out his other things -- and I might still do that :-)

I'm not sure what to think about the new graphic novel Therefore Repent, which Munroe says is his "take on the dark fantasy world established in the Holy Bible’s Book of Revelations". The description reminds me slightly of Hal Duncan's Vellum, only not exactly: "Bible slashfic, what with the bisexual angels and nipple-clamp-enhanced demonic communion". I'll have to check it out I guess.

I just realized that Jim Munroe lives in Toronto, which makes him a name on my list of Canadian authors which I intend to read during my year(s?) here.

More steampunk remarks

Thinking about steampunk, I realise that two of my favourite steampunk novels were not mentioned in the article I wrote about the other day: Iron Dragon's Daughter by Michael Swanwick and The Light Ages by Ian R MacLeod. Just wanted to mention them, in case anyone is looking for steampunk reading :-)

I'm also looking through all the Locus Online Blinks I have missed during the last few weeks, and there I found something more on steampunk: a long article from The Boston Globe, with photos of steampunk things built by enthusiasts.

Rhyming

Every day I'm frustrated that I cannot express myself as well in English as in Swedish. Sometimes I sound really stupid, like when I try to talk about bikes. How could I know all the names of the parts on a bike? But I wouldn't blame anyone from just assuming that I don't know what I'm talking about at all.

But it's also stimulating to be totally immersed in an environment of a language which I know this well. I note little things here and there, funny things which I like. Like how it says on the vending machine that it takes loonies and toonies -- that took me about ten seconds to figure out. That's the one dollar and two dollar coins!

And I think people here are very fond of rhyming. "My ride, my guide" (time table for buses), "Hot eats, cool treats" (some restaurant), "Turn the knob to Bob" (ad for a radio show), "Stoop and scoop" (clean up after your dog!), "Pay and display" (parking meter), and so on... Little phrases that dance inside my head, very catchy this rhyming thing.

I was never good at wordplay based on the sound of words, even in Swedish. Rhyming is difficult. But I do have an ear for it.

Steampunk -- again

Steampunk Magazine had already been mentioned a couple of times on this blog. I printed out the latest ish (#2) several weeks ago, but haven't read more than snippets of it until now. There is a long article by Cory Gross (seems to be an interesting person) which is an excellent history of steampunk in film, literature and popular culture. Just the kind of well researched article I always try to write, and therefore get lost in endless reading of books and articles and seldom finish. The kind of article that John-Henri Holmberg might write (and does), if you know this Swedish science fiction guru.

What I want to say is: read this, if you're not reading anything else in Steampunk Magazine. It starts on page 54, and the pdf can be downloaded here.

A full review of this issue of Steampunk Magazine will come in my little fanzine in English. And if you're tired of all my promises of fanzines which never appear, I can assure you that this is a quick and simple fanzine -- no bells and whistles, translated articles or colour pages, just text. It will actually be ready before the second tuesday in October, if nothing really serious comes in my way.

Fearless Fantasy

I've been trying to visit all of the bookstores I've found so far. In one of them there was a sign posted on the counter that said that there was a fantasy book group meeting at the library. I asked the girl in the store -- it seems to be her initiative. Great!

Yesterday I was at my first meeting with this group. It's not big, only five persons including me. They seem to know nothing about fandom, but they are exactly the right reader types. I know (proto)fans when I see them. I found them! I already feel much more at home in Kingston. There are some people to discuss books with (and I might try to force them to read my fanzines).

For next time we are going to read A Wrinkle in Time, a book people have been talking about since the author passed away recently. A good thing about books for children is that they are usually quick reads -- so I'll have time for more books!

I informed the others about the Judith Merrill collection in Toronto and about the Worldcon in Montreal 2009. Nice to be able to contribute with interesting information. Fandom is a great network for resources of the fantastic (fandom actually is the Resource -- without it, no Worldcon).

Kingston, Ontario

Well. I'm here. I haven't had internet access all the time, and there are lots of things to do.

I've found an apartment for me and my family. I've met some people, and got a social insurance number, and a health insurance, and a cell phone, and keys to the department and my temporary office.

We have started to check out the book stores. We have found out where gamers hang out. I have read a strange novel I want to review when I'm not so tired.

And the Worldcon 2009 will be in Montreal. Maybe I should stay for another year? Too early to decide yet -- but I confess that it would be fun to be here for the Canadian Worldcon. We simply don't have a convention centre that can be used for something like that in Sweden, so I doubt that the Worldcon will ever be in Scandinavia (but I hear that the Swedish-Norwegian parties have a good reputation at the Worldcon!).