Blog Posts

Language in the Written Word

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The Philippines is home to more than a hundred languages (and that’s not counting the number of dialects). But there are only two official languages in the country:  English and Filipino. The official languages, especially Filipino (a lot of which is based on the Tagalog language), is always the subject of debate. And both languages are arguably the products of a dominant culture enforcing its will on another:  the former by Americans and the second by what could be considered the “mainland” in the Philippines, Manila. In schools, we are taught to be fluent in one language or the other, but the mingling of both languages is discouraged (and in most cases, will count as an error). In English class, we’re not allowed to use Filipino. In Filipino class, we’re not allowed to use English. And yet, both Filipino and English are inevitably used in both classes. In actual practice, the mingling of several languages is the norm. For those who can speak both languages, this is usually called Tag-lish. In my community, since I am also ethnically Chinese, our variation is Chi-tag-lish, as we mix our version of Chinese (usually Hokkien) with Filipino and English. This phenomenon is not unique to the Philippines, and other countries will have their own variations. Take Singapore and Singlish, for example.

Blog Posts

My Superpower: James L. Sutter

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My Superpower is a regular guest column on the Skiffy and Fanty blog where authors and creators tell us about one weird skill, neat trick, highly specialized cybernetic upgrade, or other superpower they have, and how it helped (or hindered!) their creative process as they built their project. Today we welcome James L. Sutter to talk about how the power of talking about the important things relates to The Redemption Engine. —————————————— When asked what my superpower is, I’d usually talk about sneezomancy. For reasons unbeknownst to me, my sneezes are a reliable indicator of my general health. One sneeze means I’m getting sick. Two sneezes means I’m fine. Three or more sneezes means “wow, it’s dusty in here!” Not exactly the sort of thing that gets one onto the X-Men, right? So in getting ready for this article, I started rifling frantically through other powers. The ability to bend my thumb back, like, really far. The ability to eat several pounds of blueberries in a sitting without Serious Gastronomic Distress. The ability to consistently hit the high note in “Take On Me.” And then I realized that I actually have a superpower that permeates every aspect of my life. I can talk to people about things that matter. In fact, I adore it.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

204. Caribbean SF w/ Karen Lord, Tobias Buckell, and Stephanie Saulter — #WorldSFTour

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http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode204CaribbeanSF/SandF%20–%20Episode%20204%20–%20Caribbean%20SF.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSHistories, languages, and micro-states, oh my!  Authors Tobias Buckell, Stephanie Saulter, and Karen Lord join Julia and Shaun for an in-depth but wholly unfinished discussion about Caribbean sf.  We cover the sf/f community in the Caribbean, Caribbean literature and culture, growing up in the Caribbean (and living abroad), and much more! We hope you enjoy the episode! Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 204 — Download (MP3) Show Notes: Tobias’ Website Tobias’ Books Tobias’ Twitter Tor Books “I was recently invoked by The Abyss and Apex, and would like to talk to you about me, dialect, and Caribbean stories” by Tobias Buckell Stephanie’s Website Stephanie’s Books Stephanie’s Twitter Jo Fletcher Books Karen’s Website (books and podcasts are listed on the right hand side!) Karen’s Twitter Small Beer Press You can also support this podcast by signing up for a one month free trial at Audible.  Doing so helps us, gives you a change to try out Audible’s service, and brings joy to everyone. Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0). That’s all, folks!  Thanks for listening.  See you next week.

Awards Season

Thoughts on the Hugo Nominated Short Stories by Adam Callaway

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(Edit:  this post was actually written by Adam Callaway.  I forgot that WordPress would use my ID to indicate the author if I was the one who created it.  Sorry for any confusion.) I am both pleasantly surprised and just a little disappointed with this year’s batch of nominees. There were no short stories I found to be of poor quality. In my opinion, there was one mediocre story, two good ones, and one very good one. I wish there had been a full ballot of short stories to read through. I also wish there had been more diversity in terms of theme and content. In the end, I feel like these are incredibly mature stories that show the changing face of speculative literature in the 21st century. In many ways, they share more in common with fiction published in the New Yorker than Amazing Stories. Instead of ray guns and magic swords, you have metafiction and magical realism. Regardless of the quality of these stories, this is a Good Thing for the future of the genre. But are these really the best stories genre produced last year? Hmm… Here are my brief thoughts on each of the nominees:

Blog Posts

Geekomancer Under Glass – Fall 2014 Upfronts

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Hi folks! I’m back from a novel-induced hiatus, and I’m excited to talk to you all about Fall 2014 Upfronts. For those who don’t follow TV development, Upfronts are the part of the broadcasting season where networks show off their upcoming seasons, new and returning shows, in order to secure up-front advertisement buys. These days, the side-effect of Upfronts is that debut shows get trailers, which end up on YouTube, and then end up in blog posts by geeky writers. I’ve watched through a number of these videos, and bring you some of the most promising and most ridiculous of these Upfronts, to get everyone excited months and months ahead of when any of these shows will be debuting.

Announcements and Errata

Writing Bits: Armadillocon Writer’s Workshop

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This week Shaun gave me permission to talk about the Armadillocon Writer’s Workshop, which is a little event that I run for my local convention. It’s close to my heart for multiple reasons — among them is the fact that it gave me a leg up as a new writer. I feel passionate enough about it that I’ve been running it for seven years. If you’re interested in becoming a professional Science Fiction and Fantasy writer, I think it’s one of the best, least inexpensive workshops designed for beginning and intermediate writers. This year, it will be held on Friday, July 25th, and the manuscript submission deadline is June 15th. Each student is required to submit a manuscript of no more than 5,000 words, which will then be critiqued at the workshop. Check in begins at 8:30am, and the workshop runs until the convention starts (usually, at 4:30pm). It’s a full day of lectures, writing exercises, and critiques. In the last part of the session, students are sorted into critique groups of no more than five. Each group is led by two publishing professionals. We use the Milford Method, and each student both gives and receives critiques. This year, we’re proud to have the following instructors: Ian McDonald, Ted Chiang, Jacob Weisman, Skyler White,  Mario Acevedo, Martha Wells, Kat Richardson, Stina Leicht, Alex C. Renwick, Claude Lalumière, Joe McKinney, Martin Wagner, Marshall Ryan Maresca, Mark Finn, Dr. Anne-Marie Thompson, Derek Johnson, Jayme Blaschke, and Nicky Drayden If you’re a new writer without publishing credits and you’re interested in professional publishing, this is the workshop for you. It’s a lot of fun. The fee is $70. For more detailed information see the Armadillocon website.

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