I know this happened last week, but the preparations for going to the Eastercon/Orbital2008 have overshadowed most other things. See also previous post.
I first became aware of Atrhur C. Clarke through the movie/novel "2001 - A Space Oddyssey" which made a considreable impression on my young self.
One of my favorite longer stories by Clarke is "Rendezvous With Rama".
I have on my shelf a brick of a book with about 100 short stories by Clarke , I think I will slowly work my way through those.
At the convention I found a signed copy of "Tales From the White Hart", and despite the (understandably rather high) price I just had to get it. Should read the short stories in that one, too.
I see Arthur C. Clark as one of the giants in science fiction, and a very influential science writer - one of the few science fiction writers with a scientific writer's background.
It was good to see a last minute addition to the Eastercon programme of a panel discussion about Clarke's influence in science as well as science fiction. On top of that, one of the panelists had been the secretary for Arthur C. Clarke for about a year, and he could bring light on theless public sides of the author. Nicely done.
He will be missed in the scifi community.
Saturday, 29 March 2008
Eastercon/Orbital2008 impressions
Here come my entries made to my LiveJournal directly from the Eastercon/Orbital2008 - covering the first 3 days.
Friday:
Arrived safe and sound at the Eastercon in London.
Friday meeting up with a lot of new people.
Having a Babylon 5 Ranger pin helps finding other B5 fans - or they spot me ...
In the morning a nice discussion about the future of the Star Trek franchise. In the end we agree that tere is indeed a future for Star Trek (no real surprise there)
Being in London, which con will be without Doctor Who in its programme? Friday had a discusion about Russel T. Davies : Fanboy let loose ?
Of course he is both a fan and the one who revived the Doctor Who as a series.
Sunday Babylon 5 is on the programme , "The Lost Tales will be on the programme - my only regret it that it is at the same time as the Neil Gaiman as Guest of Honour. difficult choice. Well , I want to meet some B5 fans here , so I guess "The LOst Tales"it will be.
Just hope to Get to have my "Day of the Dead" script book signed by Neil Gaiman.
Saturday:
Morning panel : "Doctor Who - Trickstergod ?"
Paul Cornell , writer of the double episode of the new Doctor Who : "Human Nature/Family of Blood"
Paul Cornell is a very lively panelist , lots of fun to see/hear. the discussion touched on a similarity with the Doctor and the Shadows from Babylon 5 - both being a sort of "Agents of Chaos" - quite a thought.
Lots of people reacting to the Ranger Pin , so had lots of B5 talks. Sunday "The Lost Tales" will be shown in the video room, I will be there and hopefully get some more good B5 talk.
Got some pictures - will come later - of Ranger Hilary in a very well made costume.
How about a B5 Ranger meeting a Klingon - good fun (got a pic of that as well).
In the afternoon a good panel discussion of "Religion in SF" , always a subject to generate a good discussion.
Had the "Day of the Dead" script signe by Neil Gaiman . Asked him about his position on a collection of non JMS B5 scripts , his reply sounded positive to me.
Sunday morning now - so writing this directly from the con.
This afternoon a programme point not foreseen : A tribute to Arthur C. Clarke - Have to be there.
Sunday:
Essentially no people came to watch "The Lost Tales today , so I went to the Neil Gaiman Guest of Honour performance with the author reading a bit of his work , and questions from the floor. I was slightly surprised by the reply to the question of "free circulation" of his works. He apparently has no personal objection to that as such , since it gives more people the opportunity to read his works . You could see it as free advertising. On the other hand , some of the works, like audio books are not his own property , so he can not just say :"go ahead".
A hastily panel discussion has been organised in the response to the death of Arthur C. Clarke's influence in science, space exploration and science fiction. He was one reason for me - and many of the panelists/audience - to get into science fiction, as well as igniting the interest for space travel and science.
I have always had an interest in astronomy, and I could not resist going to a video presentation playing the two editions of BBC and Patrick Moore's program "The Sky at Night".
I have always found that he possessed an enthusiasm for the subject, and a very good sense for making the complicated scientific more understandable to the general public.
Of course - lots of talks to other fans - meeting people ... very enjoyable.
Friday:
Arrived safe and sound at the Eastercon in London.
Friday meeting up with a lot of new people.
Having a Babylon 5 Ranger pin helps finding other B5 fans - or they spot me ...
In the morning a nice discussion about the future of the Star Trek franchise. In the end we agree that tere is indeed a future for Star Trek (no real surprise there)
Being in London, which con will be without Doctor Who in its programme? Friday had a discusion about Russel T. Davies : Fanboy let loose ?
Of course he is both a fan and the one who revived the Doctor Who as a series.
Sunday Babylon 5 is on the programme , "The Lost Tales will be on the programme - my only regret it that it is at the same time as the Neil Gaiman as Guest of Honour. difficult choice. Well , I want to meet some B5 fans here , so I guess "The LOst Tales"it will be.
Just hope to Get to have my "Day of the Dead" script book signed by Neil Gaiman.
Saturday:
Morning panel : "Doctor Who - Trickstergod ?"
Paul Cornell , writer of the double episode of the new Doctor Who : "Human Nature/Family of Blood"
Paul Cornell is a very lively panelist , lots of fun to see/hear. the discussion touched on a similarity with the Doctor and the Shadows from Babylon 5 - both being a sort of "Agents of Chaos" - quite a thought.
Lots of people reacting to the Ranger Pin , so had lots of B5 talks. Sunday "The Lost Tales" will be shown in the video room, I will be there and hopefully get some more good B5 talk.
Got some pictures - will come later - of Ranger Hilary in a very well made costume.
How about a B5 Ranger meeting a Klingon - good fun (got a pic of that as well).
In the afternoon a good panel discussion of "Religion in SF" , always a subject to generate a good discussion.
Had the "Day of the Dead" script signe by Neil Gaiman . Asked him about his position on a collection of non JMS B5 scripts , his reply sounded positive to me.
Sunday morning now - so writing this directly from the con.
This afternoon a programme point not foreseen : A tribute to Arthur C. Clarke - Have to be there.
Sunday:
Essentially no people came to watch "The Lost Tales today , so I went to the Neil Gaiman Guest of Honour performance with the author reading a bit of his work , and questions from the floor. I was slightly surprised by the reply to the question of "free circulation" of his works. He apparently has no personal objection to that as such , since it gives more people the opportunity to read his works . You could see it as free advertising. On the other hand , some of the works, like audio books are not his own property , so he can not just say :"go ahead".
A hastily panel discussion has been organised in the response to the death of Arthur C. Clarke's influence in science, space exploration and science fiction. He was one reason for me - and many of the panelists/audience - to get into science fiction, as well as igniting the interest for space travel and science.
I have always had an interest in astronomy, and I could not resist going to a video presentation playing the two editions of BBC and Patrick Moore's program "The Sky at Night".
I have always found that he possessed an enthusiasm for the subject, and a very good sense for making the complicated scientific more understandable to the general public.
Of course - lots of talks to other fans - meeting people ... very enjoyable.
Thursday, 20 March 2008
Eastercon/Orbital2008
I am off to the Eastercon/Orbital 2008 in London this Easter.
If I get the opportunity , I will write some posts directly at the con.
The only Babylon 5 related guest I know of is Neil Gaiman , who wrote the script for the 5th season B5 episode "Day of the Dead".
If anyone reading this is coming to the con, my Nickname will be on my badge.
If I get the opportunity , I will write some posts directly at the con.
The only Babylon 5 related guest I know of is Neil Gaiman , who wrote the script for the 5th season B5 episode "Day of the Dead".
If anyone reading this is coming to the con, my Nickname will be on my badge.
Sunday, 3 February 2008
Real Life Space Communications
As we all know, a lot of science fiction involves space travel. We sometimes tend to forget that real life space travel already takes place, albeit on a somewhat limited scale.
This week end I did a little listening to spacecrafts on the radio. You may not believe it, but space communications is not as difficult as many people would think.
I was finding out when the ISS came over the horizon here and started listening to a relay station for ham (amateur) radio situated on the ISS. If there is not any spacewalks going on, the relay station is active listening on the 435MHz (uplink) band (70cm) and transmitting on the 145MHz (downlink) band (2m).
The downlink on 145.800MHz was clearly audible with a scanner radio and a simple whip antenna, as soon as I went out on the balcony of my apartment. On average the period with audible signals is 10 minutes per pass, shorter when the pass is near the horizon and longer when the station comes over my head.
Many years ago I sometimes set my receiver to 143.625MHz in order to listen for the MIR space station (yes - the Russian one), and have heard that one talking to the Earth station.
On some occasions it is possible to have a contact with one of the astronauts on the ISS, if they have the free time and interest. Almost all the astronauts have the license to transmit from up there.
In fact, the radio hams have several satellite relays orbiting the Earth, giving them the opportunity to try out space communications. Most of those are in a low Earth orbit, and therefore they are only useable for a short time. Some have a very elongated orbit (not really any right now), giving the opportunity for longer communication periods.
Most of us know about TV and communications satellites in the geostationary orbit (the satellite follows the Earth's rotation and seems to be stationary over a certain point on the Earth). The dream of some radio hams is getting their satellite out there, giving 24/7 communications.
Just a dream ... but maybe not any longer. There seems to be negociations going on between the AMSAT (Amateur Satellite) organisation and Inmarsat, about getting a lift with one of their satellites, and even sharing the power from the solar panels. We never know if this will come true, but I sure hope so.
Do not forget that the Space Station is a rather big satellite and is very easy to see when above the horizon. So - even if you cannot receive it on the radio you can go outside and observe a *real life* manned spacecraft. if you want to know when it can be observed at your place , go to Heavens Above and find out. it is a good idea to register, so you can have your location recognised when you log on.
This week end I did a little listening to spacecrafts on the radio. You may not believe it, but space communications is not as difficult as many people would think.
I was finding out when the ISS came over the horizon here and started listening to a relay station for ham (amateur) radio situated on the ISS. If there is not any spacewalks going on, the relay station is active listening on the 435MHz (uplink) band (70cm) and transmitting on the 145MHz (downlink) band (2m).
The downlink on 145.800MHz was clearly audible with a scanner radio and a simple whip antenna, as soon as I went out on the balcony of my apartment. On average the period with audible signals is 10 minutes per pass, shorter when the pass is near the horizon and longer when the station comes over my head.
Many years ago I sometimes set my receiver to 143.625MHz in order to listen for the MIR space station (yes - the Russian one), and have heard that one talking to the Earth station.
On some occasions it is possible to have a contact with one of the astronauts on the ISS, if they have the free time and interest. Almost all the astronauts have the license to transmit from up there.
In fact, the radio hams have several satellite relays orbiting the Earth, giving them the opportunity to try out space communications. Most of those are in a low Earth orbit, and therefore they are only useable for a short time. Some have a very elongated orbit (not really any right now), giving the opportunity for longer communication periods.
Most of us know about TV and communications satellites in the geostationary orbit (the satellite follows the Earth's rotation and seems to be stationary over a certain point on the Earth). The dream of some radio hams is getting their satellite out there, giving 24/7 communications.
Just a dream ... but maybe not any longer. There seems to be negociations going on between the AMSAT (Amateur Satellite) organisation and Inmarsat, about getting a lift with one of their satellites, and even sharing the power from the solar panels. We never know if this will come true, but I sure hope so.
Do not forget that the Space Station is a rather big satellite and is very easy to see when above the horizon. So - even if you cannot receive it on the radio you can go outside and observe a *real life* manned spacecraft. if you want to know when it can be observed at your place , go to Heavens Above and find out. it is a good idea to register, so you can have your location recognised when you log on.
Tuesday, 29 January 2008
Eastercon/Orbital2008
Recently I registered for the Eastercon/Orbital2008 in London (Heathrow) .
I have been reading Neil Gaiman's "Stardust", since he is one of the guestes of honour at the con.
I like the story. For the signing I intend to bring the script book for the Babylon 5 episode "Day of the Dead" that he wrote.
In the pile of books I got just before Christmas I found China Miéville's "Perdido Street Station", since he is another guest of honour at the con. I have got through the first couple of chapters, but have not yet been caught up in the story. I have decided to work my way through the first part, and then decide if I want to continue. .... I know - I try not to judge a book by its first chapter , but I am afraid it is not really my type of story. The initial chapters are a little too much Dystopian for me.
I have been reading Neil Gaiman's "Stardust", since he is one of the guestes of honour at the con.
I like the story. For the signing I intend to bring the script book for the Babylon 5 episode "Day of the Dead" that he wrote.
In the pile of books I got just before Christmas I found China Miéville's "Perdido Street Station", since he is another guest of honour at the con. I have got through the first couple of chapters, but have not yet been caught up in the story. I have decided to work my way through the first part, and then decide if I want to continue. .... I know - I try not to judge a book by its first chapter , but I am afraid it is not really my type of story. The initial chapters are a little too much Dystopian for me.
Sunday, 30 December 2007
Happy New Year 2008
Wishing you all a happy and prosperous New Year 2008.
I will be visiting a friend with no internet , so will be off for some days
Here's to a lot of posting in 2008 ...
...no worries - my friend is a scifi afficionado, so I will have my fun. probably going to watch second season of "The 4400" and some other stuff.
I will be visiting a friend with no internet , so will be off for some days
Here's to a lot of posting in 2008 ...
...no worries - my friend is a scifi afficionado, so I will have my fun. probably going to watch second season of "The 4400" and some other stuff.
Saturday, 22 December 2007
My early Christmas.
Count me lucky.I just got a really good early Christmas present.
I talked to a friend of mine on the phone the other day and mentioned my interest in scifi, and he promptly said he probably had something for me. He had collected a pile of books for an English speaking lady in Denmark, but it turned out most of it was SciFi, and she was not really interested. But they both thought that the books should find a home and not simply be dumped. So I received 4 shopping bags full of SciFi/Fantasy books, about 100 books by authors like::
Tad Williams, William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Asimov, Heinlein, Alfred Bester, Stanislaw Lem, Michael Stackpole (Fortress Draconis), Frederik Pohl, Joe Haldeman, Robert Jordan, Larry Niven, Greg Bear, David Brin, Philip K. Dick, George R.R. Martin, Kim Stanley Robinson (the full Mars Trilogy) and more ...
Most of the books I did not have already, so a very neat addition to my collection. Many of the books were even unread.
Another bag had some "normal" classic stories from Alexander Dumas and others.
Wow for an early Christmas gift! Now for finding some new shelf space.
I wonder when I get the time to read all this ...
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate, and a Happy New Year 2008.
I talked to a friend of mine on the phone the other day and mentioned my interest in scifi, and he promptly said he probably had something for me. He had collected a pile of books for an English speaking lady in Denmark, but it turned out most of it was SciFi, and she was not really interested. But they both thought that the books should find a home and not simply be dumped. So I received 4 shopping bags full of SciFi/Fantasy books, about 100 books by authors like::
Tad Williams, William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Asimov, Heinlein, Alfred Bester, Stanislaw Lem, Michael Stackpole (Fortress Draconis), Frederik Pohl, Joe Haldeman, Robert Jordan, Larry Niven, Greg Bear, David Brin, Philip K. Dick, George R.R. Martin, Kim Stanley Robinson (the full Mars Trilogy) and more ...
Most of the books I did not have already, so a very neat addition to my collection. Many of the books were even unread.
Another bag had some "normal" classic stories from Alexander Dumas and others.
Wow for an early Christmas gift! Now for finding some new shelf space.
I wonder when I get the time to read all this ...
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate, and a Happy New Year 2008.
Wednesday, 19 December 2007
"The 4400" is over
Just came across this info from Entil2001
Sad news as I have come to like "The 4400" as a solid story.
Let's hope (there is always hope) for a speedy end to the writer's conflict - and that the writers will get the recognition needed.
Sad news as I have come to like "The 4400" as a solid story.
Let's hope (there is always hope) for a speedy end to the writer's conflict - and that the writers will get the recognition needed.
Monday, 17 December 2007
The Golden Compass
After a pause the posts begin again. Time has been a bit crazy, both at work and at home.
Yesterday I went to see "The Golden Compass" at the movies.
The movie is based on the first novel in Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy "Northern Lights" - also known as "The Golden Compass", a fantasy adventure story.
The orphan girl Lyra , played by Dakota Blue Richards , sets out to save a friend kidnapped by the Gobblers, something that happens frequently, the children never returning.
Since I have not (yet) read the novels, I can not compare the movie with that, this may come later. After all a movie is never the same as the book it may have been made from.
I liked the movie , found the story captivating. The spiritual (some may say religious) aspects of the film were well treated and came through with a good balance. just that you know - I distinguish between (organized) religion (dogmatic beliefs in texts) - and spirituality (wisdom coming from within - the soul ?)
From the creepy Christopher Lee - and Nicole Kidman for that matter, to the support characters it is well played, including the very young Dakota Blue Richards. Special effects are made to tell the story, not effects for the sake of effects, making the film a pleasure to watch.
The universe Pullman has created is rather different from ours - yet has so much in common.
Very recommended for young and old alike.
Yesterday I went to see "The Golden Compass" at the movies.
The movie is based on the first novel in Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy "Northern Lights" - also known as "The Golden Compass", a fantasy adventure story.
The orphan girl Lyra , played by Dakota Blue Richards , sets out to save a friend kidnapped by the Gobblers, something that happens frequently, the children never returning.
Since I have not (yet) read the novels, I can not compare the movie with that, this may come later. After all a movie is never the same as the book it may have been made from.
I liked the movie , found the story captivating. The spiritual (some may say religious) aspects of the film were well treated and came through with a good balance. just that you know - I distinguish between (organized) religion (dogmatic beliefs in texts) - and spirituality (wisdom coming from within - the soul ?)
From the creepy Christopher Lee - and Nicole Kidman for that matter, to the support characters it is well played, including the very young Dakota Blue Richards. Special effects are made to tell the story, not effects for the sake of effects, making the film a pleasure to watch.
The universe Pullman has created is rather different from ours - yet has so much in common.
Very recommended for young and old alike.
Monday, 29 October 2007
Comet hunt .... Success tonight.
After what feels like an eternity of cloudy weather I got to see comet Holmes.
A bit of clear sky appeared , and the comet was just visible to the unaided eye here (the sky is heavily light polluted where I live).
Without any optical instruments it looks like a star to me - maybe it would be fuzzy in a darker sky.
Using a pair of binoculars at 15x magnification the comet is much like the pictures as seen here , with the exception of the faint green haze outside the brighter disk.
It looked bigger than I expected, and I noticed thet in order to get the most from the view, I had to use "averted vision" that is focusing the view a bit away from the comet. The brighter core is a little elliptic looking and a little offset from the centre of the disk.
If you have a pair of binoculars, you should go out and take a look. The Sky and Telescope link above gives you what you need to find the comet.
This is the third comet I have seen, only Hale-Bopp in April 1997 was bright enough to be clearly seen in the heavily light polluted skies of the western Netherlands, but this unexpected view is much better with a pair of binoculars , or better a telescope using a not too high magnification 20 - 50x should be fine.
Good luck comet hunting.
A bit of clear sky appeared , and the comet was just visible to the unaided eye here (the sky is heavily light polluted where I live).
Without any optical instruments it looks like a star to me - maybe it would be fuzzy in a darker sky.
Using a pair of binoculars at 15x magnification the comet is much like the pictures as seen here , with the exception of the faint green haze outside the brighter disk.
It looked bigger than I expected, and I noticed thet in order to get the most from the view, I had to use "averted vision" that is focusing the view a bit away from the comet. The brighter core is a little elliptic looking and a little offset from the centre of the disk.
If you have a pair of binoculars, you should go out and take a look. The Sky and Telescope link above gives you what you need to find the comet.
This is the third comet I have seen, only Hale-Bopp in April 1997 was bright enough to be clearly seen in the heavily light polluted skies of the western Netherlands, but this unexpected view is much better with a pair of binoculars , or better a telescope using a not too high magnification 20 - 50x should be fine.
Good luck comet hunting.
Friday, 26 October 2007
Thursday, 25 October 2007
Comet bursting into the sky.
Two days ago Comet 17P/Holmes was an insignificant piece of ice barely visible in amateur telescopes under dark skies.
Yesterday all that changed . If you have a clear sky, take a look in the constellation Perseus, there you will find an extra "fuzzy star" - visible to the unaided eye. With a visual magnitude og between 2.5 and 3 it should be about as strong as the stars in the "Big Dipper", "The Plough", "The big Wagon" or whatever you may call the most well known constellation in the Northern sky. The increase in brightness is about a million times in about 24 hours - quite amazing.
Take a look at Spaceweather.com for more information - and a star map to find the comet, and Cometography for a bit of history of this comet.
Stop Press: Latest estimates are now magnitude 2 .... even brighter ... so the outburst is still in progress.
Here's hoping for a little clear sky at my place i The Netherlands ...
Good luck with comet hunting.
Yesterday all that changed . If you have a clear sky, take a look in the constellation Perseus, there you will find an extra "fuzzy star" - visible to the unaided eye. With a visual magnitude og between 2.5 and 3 it should be about as strong as the stars in the "Big Dipper", "The Plough", "The big Wagon" or whatever you may call the most well known constellation in the Northern sky. The increase in brightness is about a million times in about 24 hours - quite amazing.
Take a look at Spaceweather.com for more information - and a star map to find the comet, and Cometography for a bit of history of this comet.
Stop Press: Latest estimates are now magnitude 2 .... even brighter ... so the outburst is still in progress.
Here's hoping for a little clear sky at my place i The Netherlands ...
Good luck with comet hunting.
Monday, 22 October 2007
Radio Astronomy and SETI
On 11 october a new radio telescope started operation. The Allen Telescope Array (ATA) in Hat Creek, CA is planned to be extended to an array of 350 dish antennas with a diameter of 6m (20ft) The inauguration was done with the first 42 of these dishes.
The ATA is built to do simultaneous radio astronmical observations and SETI work.
More detail can be found at the website for the SETI institute ATA ppress release.
I am quite excited, since the data collected from the ATA is *much* more than from traditional single dish telescopes , and more than will come from the VLA (Very Large Array) - and for a cost much loser than for older (traditional) radio telescopes.
For more about SETI (Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence), take a look at at the websites :
SETI Institute
SETI League
SETI@home
The ATA is built to do simultaneous radio astronmical observations and SETI work.
More detail can be found at the website for the SETI institute ATA ppress release.
I am quite excited, since the data collected from the ATA is *much* more than from traditional single dish telescopes , and more than will come from the VLA (Very Large Array) - and for a cost much loser than for older (traditional) radio telescopes.
For more about SETI (Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence), take a look at at the websites :
SETI Institute
SETI League
SETI@home
Monday, 15 October 2007
50 years of the Space Age
October 4th, 1957 saw the first successful launch of a satellite into space.
The (then) USSR lauched "Sputnik 1" becoming the first country entering the Space Age. Its characteristic "beep-beep" sound was heard by radio enthusiasts all over the world on approx. 20 MHz and 40 MHz. MOre information and a recording of the beeps can be found at the Wikipedia page concerning Sputnik 1 . (link at the bottom of the page)
One month later, on November 3rd, a second launch of Sputnik 2 with the first living being put in orbit. The dog Laika, unfortunately, had no way of returning alive to earth.
The first satellite launched by the US was Explorer 1 , on January 31st, 1958.
This marks the beginning of the "Space Race", which continued through the 1960's and 70's.
The Space Age has had a lot of "ups and downs" , and I will come up with some highlights in later posts.
The (then) USSR lauched "Sputnik 1" becoming the first country entering the Space Age. Its characteristic "beep-beep" sound was heard by radio enthusiasts all over the world on approx. 20 MHz and 40 MHz. MOre information and a recording of the beeps can be found at the Wikipedia page concerning Sputnik 1 . (link at the bottom of the page)
One month later, on November 3rd, a second launch of Sputnik 2 with the first living being put in orbit. The dog Laika, unfortunately, had no way of returning alive to earth.
The first satellite launched by the US was Explorer 1 , on January 31st, 1958.
This marks the beginning of the "Space Race", which continued through the 1960's and 70's.
The Space Age has had a lot of "ups and downs" , and I will come up with some highlights in later posts.
Thursday, 4 October 2007
My little contribution to the Eurocon
A family member of mine in Denmark is a young writer (my niece). It does not come from strangers, both her parents have books published.
She writes short stories in the SF and Fantasy genre - and as far as I know, she is writing on a fantasy novel. She has had a few short stories published in Denmark - in collections with other writers.
In 2004 and 2005 she won a Danish SF award in the category 17 - 20 years old writers - and in 2006 at the Eurocon in Kiev the Danish delegation made a presentation on her behalf, and she was awarded an Encouragement Award for New Writers. I had to find thet out by looking into the list of award winners, because she never told me. Imagine my surprise at seeing only two Western European names among the long list of Eastern European writers, one of them hers.
At the Eurocon 2007 she was asked to contribute an English language short story for a "Fanzine" short story collection to be released in connection with the Eurocon. Since she does not write very well in English, she asked me to assist with a translation. The story is only 6 - 7 pages long, so I got started. Not as easy as most people would think, since I wanted to translate the sense of the story, not just the words.
So there you have it - my own little contribution to the Eurocon 2007.
The book has the title "Science Fiction - The Danish Fanzine!" (Issue 15/2007)
On another note, I was talking to another participant of the 'con and, since he had the book, I mentioned the story and he immidiately went to my young niece and asked her to sign the book. He argued that young writers should be encouraged. I should have been quick with the camera (I wasn't), because this was a first time experience for her.
As an aside, she had another short story in a book released at the 'con , albeit in Danish. That book is titled "Lige Under Overfladen" (Just Below the Surface) and is a collection of short stories from young European writers (not yet well known, but who knows if and when ?)
Actually I made a second contribution by taking photos at the convention and delivering 2 CDs with all pics taken on the Friday and Saturday of the convention.
A large selection of those have been published here .
She writes short stories in the SF and Fantasy genre - and as far as I know, she is writing on a fantasy novel. She has had a few short stories published in Denmark - in collections with other writers.
In 2004 and 2005 she won a Danish SF award in the category 17 - 20 years old writers - and in 2006 at the Eurocon in Kiev the Danish delegation made a presentation on her behalf, and she was awarded an Encouragement Award for New Writers. I had to find thet out by looking into the list of award winners, because she never told me. Imagine my surprise at seeing only two Western European names among the long list of Eastern European writers, one of them hers.
At the Eurocon 2007 she was asked to contribute an English language short story for a "Fanzine" short story collection to be released in connection with the Eurocon. Since she does not write very well in English, she asked me to assist with a translation. The story is only 6 - 7 pages long, so I got started. Not as easy as most people would think, since I wanted to translate the sense of the story, not just the words.
So there you have it - my own little contribution to the Eurocon 2007.
The book has the title "Science Fiction - The Danish Fanzine!" (Issue 15/2007)
On another note, I was talking to another participant of the 'con and, since he had the book, I mentioned the story and he immidiately went to my young niece and asked her to sign the book. He argued that young writers should be encouraged. I should have been quick with the camera (I wasn't), because this was a first time experience for her.
As an aside, she had another short story in a book released at the 'con , albeit in Danish. That book is titled "Lige Under Overfladen" (Just Below the Surface) and is a collection of short stories from young European writers (not yet well known, but who knows if and when ?)
Actually I made a second contribution by taking photos at the convention and delivering 2 CDs with all pics taken on the Friday and Saturday of the convention.
A large selection of those have been published here .
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)