Nearly Monthly News End of Summer Wrap-Up
Greetings! I've been on the road in August, heading to the UK to visit friends of the NMN Alasdair Stuart and Marguerite Kenner, and then visiting friends from all over (some for the first time in person!) at this year's World Science Fiction Convention (WorldCon) in Glasgow.
I wasn't on programming this year, so I took advantage of my open schedule to explore Glasgow and the many amusements it has to offer.
On the road trip home, Alasdair, Marguerite and I took a scenic detour to see the Falkirk Wheel and The Kelpies.
After that, we headed back to Alastair and Marguerite's for some well-earned post-con recovery and low-key local adventures until it was time for me to fly home.
My trip back to the US was everything you could ask for in a transatlantic flight: long and dull. Although it feels like I've been swimming upward through jet-lag ever since, that’s no excuse to dawdle: on to the news!
From my Desk
My latest short story for The Sunday Morning Transport is live! "All Belknaps Go Under the Mountain" was inspired by an off-hand joke by Mary Robinette Kowal several years ago, and evolved into my love note to Southwest Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains.
I’ve talked plenty about AMCmageddon here, but if you want more, my essay “AMCmageddon, or My Quest to Singlehandedly Revive In-Theater Moviegoing while Simultaneously Driving AMC Theaters to Ruin” in Alasdair's Hugo-nominated newsletter The Full Lid goes into greater depth about how the experience of seeing fifteen movies in a month affected my relationship to movie-going in general.
If neither of those is your speed, Batman: Caped Crusader season 1 is still available on Amazon Prime in the U.S. and around the world.
What I'm Reading and Watching
Even on the road, I tried to keep tabs on the Olympics. Watching from two different countries over the course of the games introduced an interesting bi-national perspective, and since this was the first time the Olympics have been held in a city I know well, and it was a fun bonus to try to spot familiar streets and landmarks while watching events like the triathlon.
And it's not over yet. As I type this, I'm watching Peacock's coverage of the Paralympics which is impressively comprehensive and totally worth the extra month of subscription time.
Speaking of Los Angeles, the LAPL's summer spotlight on The Parable of the Sower inspired me to re-read it for the first time since moving to LA. This near-future dystopian novel is rapidly becoming alternate history, and while Butler's version of California in the 2020s hasn't exactly come to pass, it’s eerily prescient.
From the Cutting Room Floor of the Duolingo Dystopia
Junior wanted to hear all about my recent travels, but he wasn't happy with the level of detail I was able to provide:
I don't know what to tell you, Junior. Not everything sticks in the brain like it used to.
And That's the Nearly Monthly News!
What have you been up to this summer? Any adventures to share? Drop me a line! Otherwise, stay safe and healthy, and I'll see you soon.