Open Thread: Minicon 52 I was fortunate enough to attend the 2017 iteration of this venerable science fiction convention thanks to the generosity of another member. As usual, Minicon was held over Easter weekend at the Bloomington Doubletree (known as the RadiShTree to longtimers.) This may or may not be the last year at… Continue reading Open Thread: Minicon 52
Tag: Minnesota
Magazine Review: Haute Dish Spring 2016
Magazine Review: Haute Dish Spring 2016 edited by Debby Dathe This pun-titled periodical is the thrice-yearly organ of Metropolitan State University in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It features the artistic (mostly photography) and literary talents of the students there. This issue is thin compared to most college literary magazines I’ve seen, and the written contributions short–the… Continue reading Magazine Review: Haute Dish Spring 2016
Book Review: Great Historical Coincidences
Book Review: Great Historical Coincidences by Pere Romanillos “Serendipity” is the good fortune that comes when you discover something useful or interesting while you were looking for something else. Knowing how to grasp the opportunity offered by serendipity is one of those skills that every scientist and artist should have at their disposal. This book, originally… Continue reading Book Review: Great Historical Coincidences
Book Review: Rad Women Worldwide
Book Review: Rad Women Worldwide by Kate Schatz Right up front, I have to say that the title is the most annoying thing about this book. Did anyone ever use “rad” as an adjective unironically? That said, “radical” is not an unfair term to apply to many of the women whose short biographies are… Continue reading Book Review: Rad Women Worldwide
Book Review: Festival of Crime
Book Review: Festival of Crime Edited by Christine Husom, Mickie Turk & Michael Allan Mallory Minnesotans have a reputation for being a bit mild-mannered and reserved. But we love celebrations just as much as anyone else, and the state is filled with fairs and festivals, from small-town scarecrow contests to the crowded Pride in Minneapolis. And… Continue reading Book Review: Festival of Crime
Book Review: The Martian Chronicles
Book Review: The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury Once, Mars was a place of mystery. Humans looked at it from the blue Earth with feeble telescopes, and imagined what life, if any, might inhabit that red dot in the sky. Were there canals filled with water? Bloodsucking tripod operators? Beings that had never fallen from grace… Continue reading Book Review: The Martian Chronicles
Book Review: Superheroes
Book Review: Superheroes edited by Rich Horton Superheroes as we know them more or less started in the comic books of the late 1930s, with the most obvious first “true” superhero being Superman. And comic books have largely shaped our perceptions of costumed superheroes ever since. But sometimes prose is a perfectly acceptable way of… Continue reading Book Review: Superheroes
Book Review: Time Frames: A Speculative Poetry Anthology
Book Review: Time Frames: A Speculative Poetry Anthology edited by Terry A. Garey Poetry related to the various genres of speculative fiction (SF, fantasy, horror, etc.) is pretty common. You can see samples by ones or twos in many magazines and spec-fic collections. But full hardback anthologies of speculative poetry are rare. So Rune Press… Continue reading Book Review: Time Frames: A Speculative Poetry Anthology
Book Review: Twin Cities Speculations: An Anthology of Sci-Fi and Fantasy
Book Review: Twin Cities Speculations: An Anthology of Sci-Fi and Fantasy edited by Eric Binfet As I may have mentioned before, I have a soft spot for local writers, of which Minnesota has many. One Twin Cities writers’ group got together and self-published an anthology, and here we are. Eight stories of SF and fantasy,… Continue reading Book Review: Twin Cities Speculations: An Anthology of Sci-Fi and Fantasy
Open Thread: Bloggers Get Social
Open Thread: Bloggers Get Social Last Wednesday, I went to an event titled “Bloggers Get Social”, which was held at a Davanni’s in Edina. Getting there was the first hurdle, as it started at 5 P.M. and I got off work at 4:30 several suburbs away. I found an express route that worked on paper,… Continue reading Open Thread: Bloggers Get Social