News and Blog Updates: June 08, 2008

News Nibbles for this posting:

• This weeks Special Feature is a notice from Michael G. Munz regarding his story "Playing with Hubris," which appears in the June-July issue of NexGen Pulp Magazine
• You can get some brain building tips from "Are We Alone" and read about a really old clam in "Are We a Blog"
• io9 has an article on the "grim" hallmark of bad writing as well an article on a concept car from the 60's that had it's own bar, Locus Online posts about the latest magazines and of a documentary about Harlan Ellison, Science Fiction Awards Watch has the Mythopoeic Awards Finalists, there's even more news about the (cringe!) Creature from the Black Lagoon Musical at SciFi Scanner, of course SF Signal more tidbits, but they also have a MIND MELD Jay Lake on Scientific Accuracy in Stories, SFScope lists the latest freebies from Tor, and StarShipSofa presents: StarShipSofa No 92 A E van Vogt Part 2 mp3
• Recently The Website at the End of the Universe posted an article about The Classic Science Fiction Channel. The site looks interesting so those of you who are interested in older Sci-Fi movies and TV may want to take a look at it.
• As always there are lots of great blog updates such as Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest "Coming up for air", Cynthia Leitich Smith "Book & Writer News; First Daughter Giveaway", Harry Shannon - "Dead and Gone trailer up at Lionsgate!", Holly CupalaLois McMaster Bujold "Passage typos, last call", and Spokane Comicon "Crusading for comics" ( I was hoping that there would be a new post from Spokane Comicon saying how things went. Maybe there will be a new entry soon, so keep an eye on thier blog)
  
• So jump on in and enjoy the news below:
  

Special Feature
Michael G. Munz: "Playing with Hubris," appears in the June-July issue of NexGen Pulp Magazine
The latest short story by Seattle based speculative fiction author Michael G. Munz is now published in the June-July issue of NexGen Pulp. Munz's story, "Playing with Hubris," is a humorous tale of a man who meets the god Apollo in a modern cafe. The story was referenced in a recent interview by Crystal's Book Reviews. Below is a little teaser/excerpt from the story:

"You're saying you're Apollo. The god."
He smiled disarmingly. "Well, not 'god' in the sense that people use the word these days, but…yes."
I gave him a couple more blinks of cynical disbelief. He certainly seemed a well-dressed psychotic. "God of music…of medicine…drives the sun across the sky and all that?"
"None other than," he agreed. "Though I don't actually drive the sun anymore. They've got that whole thing all automated now. Upkeep on the chariot got to be too much of an expense. Progress, you know."
"Right…"
"You don't believe me," he said, unsurprised.
"Does that bother you?" I asked.
He laughed once and waved his hand in dismissal. "Oh, certainly not. I've had temples built in my honor. I don't need your approval."
"Oh? I thought you guys were supposed to be all ego. And shouldn't you be appearing in the form of a bull or something?"
"Hey, don't be confusing me with my dad. That whole 'carry off the maiden in bull form' was his favorite pastime." He rolled his eyes. "Every Wednesday night."
(special feature and below)

News Headlines:
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Are We Alone - Next show available June 9, 2008 Building Better Brains

Forgot your own birthday? Misplaced your Shih Tzu? Did you put the milk in your backpack and the iPod in the fridge? Age may bring wisdom but - alas - not a boost in RAM. But there's hope - scientists are discovering that the brain is more malleable than thought. We'll hear about the science of neuroplasticity and what you can do to slow that cerebellum slide. Ever been to a brain gym? Plus, why the brains of London cabbies are bigger than those of your average commuter. Guests:

• Michael Merzenich - Professor Emeritus Neuroscientist, University of California, San Francisco
• Gordy Slack - Science journalist and author of The Battle Over the Meaning of Everything: Evolution, Intelligent Design, and a School Board in Dover, PA
• Sam Wang - Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Molecular Biology at Princeton University and the author of Welcome to Your Brain: Why You Lose Your Car Keys but Never Forget how to Drive and other Puzzles of Everyday Life
• Lisa Schoonerman - Co-founder, VibrantBrains
• Jan Zivic - Co-founder, VibrantBrains

You can listen to this and other episodes at: http://radio.seti.org/
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Are We A Blog? - What does it all Ming?


News Worth Reposting:
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Norwescon News! - R.A. Salvatore to be Guest of Honor at Norwescon 32 ( Click the link to go to the Norwescon Blog.)

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Mythville MetaMedia - New Literary Zine Seeking Submissions
Mythville MetaMedia is seeking short stories, poetry and creative non-fiction for a monthly literary zine. Send submissions to mythville@yahoo.com

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Local author Phoebe Matthews - is looking for reviewers for her new book "Tarbaby Trouble". There will be more information posted as it becomes available - http://phoebematthews.com

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Jeffrey Marks’s book "Anthony Boucher: A Biobibliography" was published in May by McFarland and Co. Boucher was the founding editor of The Magazine of F&SF. The reviews say "a delightful tribute to a multi-talented man" and "No one with an interest in Boucher or the history of his genres will want to miss this book." Marks' website is www.jeffreymarks.com or you can read about the book at: http://www.amazon.com/Anthony-Boucher-Biobibliography-Jeffrey-Marks/dp/0786433205?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194284555&sr=8-1

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NWSFS Blogs on MySpace & Blogspot - Wanted: Assistant Editor(s)
I don't know if the title editor really appies or not, but I am looking for an assistant editor, blogmaster, or whatever you want to call yourself. Primary requirements are:

• Those interested must live in the Seattle area, so we can meet face-to-face.
• It would be preferred that anyone interested have a MySpace account, and it would be nice if you had a GMail account so as to be able to assign author privilages to the Blogspot Blog.
• You must have some blogging and/or web design experience, plus ready access to a computer.
• Ideally you should be a NWSFS Member, but non-members are welcome too.
• This position can at times require up to 10 hours a week, so that is one thing to consider.

Right now I am trying to line up someone to help out, so that when I eventually take a vacation, they can fill in for a week or so. Duties may expand over time. Contact me here, or at Nemo Black if you are interested.


Headlines From SF News Sites:
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io9: The Grimly Grim Hallmark Of Awfully Bad Writing [Bad Writing], Futuristic Custom Car with a Built-In Cocktail Bar -- It Made Perfect Sense in 1962 [Retro Futurism], A Homebrew Club for Biogeeks [DiYBio], How Alien Kids Get High [Concept Art], Master Of Male Danger Will Write Dune Movie [Dune], Is the U.S. Space Program History? [When We Left Earth], The Ultimate Star Wars Fan Directory? It's A Trap! [Star Wars], Is Earth's Magnetic Field Failing Us? [Mega Geophysics], Five Reasons Why Aliens Will Make Contact with the Japanese First [Mangobot], & Weapons Inspectors on the Jovian Moons [Ocean]

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Locus Online: Monitor: Other Magazines, first week June, & Gary Westfahl reviews the film documentary about Harlan Ellison, Dreams with Sharp Teeth

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Science Fiction Awards Watch: Mythopoeic Awards Finalists, SF Canada Lifetime Achievement Award, Those Awful Awards, & Mythopoeic Update

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SciFi Scanner: Masters of SciFi - An Interview With Obi-Wan Kenobi's Stunt Double Nash Edgerton, & Daily Scan: 06.06.08 - When Humans Punch Aliens; Creature from the Black Lagoon Goes Musical

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SF Signal: SF Tidbits for 6/8/08, The Amazing Adventures of Little Batman, SF Tidbits for 6/7/08, This Week's Free Tor Book: Orphans of Chaos by John C. Wright, MIND MELD Makeup with Jay Lake: Scientific Accuracy in Stories, Friday YouTube: Top 10 Giant Movie Monsters, & SF Tidbits for 6/6/08

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SFScope: Updates to Previously Published Articles (1-7 June 2008), Books Received: June 2008, Tor's free novel and wallpaper offering, Andy Schmidt takes editorial post at IDW, Ian McDonald sells Desolation Road reprint rights to Pyr, & Harlan Ellison licenses 32 OOP titles to E-Reads

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StarShipSofa: StarShipSofa No 92 A E van Vogt Part 2 mp3


Selected Blog Updates:
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Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest - "Coming up for air"

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Boxcar Astronaut - "Ship Repairs"

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Bret Jordan - "The Beast Within Illustration"

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Cynthia Leitich Smith - "Book & Writer News; First Daughter Giveaway"

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David Thorpe - "The kids are alright, Hail Lewisham, publish Hybrids 2, and stop age banding! "

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Di Francis - "writing progress"

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Graveside Tales - "Harvest Hill submissions are now closed", "Preorder HAWG by Steven Shrewsbury", & "Social Network"

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HARPER PERENNIAL - "Septembers of Shiraz, links, excerpt and tour dates"

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Harry Shannon - "Dead and Gone trailer up at Lionsgate!"

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Holly Cupala - "Poetry Friday: The Sea"

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Horror Library Blog-O-Rama - "Comedians and Writers Alike By AJ Brown"

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JAMES AND DADDY - "Update 8th June 2008"

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Jeremy C. Shipp - "One of my short stories from SHEEP AND WOLVES will be animated"

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Lois McMaster Bujold - "Passage typos, last call"

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Louise Bohmer - Lachesis Publishing - "Coming in June from Lachesis -- Brushed Back, The Infinite Instant, Stone Masters"

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Marianne De Pierres - "Parrish Wreaks Havoc in Hardcover"

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Paul S. Kemp - "Snippet from Shadowrealm", & "GenCon Indy"

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Planet Pride - "Planetary Potential from Protoplanetary Disks", "Water on the Moon?", "Searching for asteroids around another star", & "Canyons’ End"

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Rebecca Moesta - "Crystal Doors book news and Free Offer!"

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Spokane Comicon - "Crusading for comics"

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Tor Books - "From eMusic: Cory Doctorow Interview"

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w1n5t0n - "Cory Doctorow Interview from eMusic.com"

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Willie Meikle - "Acceptance vs Rejection stats", & "Story published in Romanian"

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Yasmine Galenorn - "Next Dragon Wytch Excerpt & Luna’s Saturday Update", "Luna’s home!", & "Luna Update and Other Stuff"