Not a bad day. A routine dentist appointment (reminder to self: floss more often) followed by a trip to a favorite, out-of-the-way-unless-I’m-at-the-dentist bookstore, then on to a quick stop at the Computer Recycling Center in Santa Rosa in order to unburden myself of an outdated laser printer, and a slight detour while on the way home through the Rohnert Park Library (and their bookstore) netted the following finds:

Fritz Leiber, The Best of Fritz Leiber
Robert Holdstock, Mythago Wood
Robert Holdstock, Lavondyss
Jeff VanderMeer, Why Should I Cut Your Throat?
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Book of Lost Tales: Part Two

And I’ve actually got room on the shelves for these, since Jennifer and I managed to pick up another IKEA Billy bookshelf over the weekend. So, on the shelves they go, along with other recent arrivals, including:

Ambrose Bierce, The Best of Ambrose Bierce
William Peter Blatty, The Exorcist
Stephen R. Donaldson, Daughter of Regals and Other Tales
Hal Duncan, Ink
Hal Duncan, Vellum
Fritz Leiber, The Knight and Knave of Swords
Michael Moorcock, Elric: To Rescue Tanelorn
Cordwainer Smith, The Best of Cordwainer Smith
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Book of Lost Tales: Part One

Sure, some hardcore collectors might scoff at my unmatched mix of Book Club editions, Trade Paperbacks, and bargain bin finds, but I like my books. Now if I could just manage to find the time to read ‘em.

One book that I have read recently is the John Joseph Adams-edited anthology Seeds of Change, in fact, this was my in-flight reading on the long, long flight back from Worldcon (and may have been one of the only things keeping me sane on said flight). Seeds of Change is a short collection (240 pages) of nine original science fiction stories by the likes of Jay Lake, Tobias S. Buckell, Ted Kosmatka, and K.D. Wentworth, each of which marks the turning point, the paradigm shift, between now and “the future.” The collection’s agenda is quite progressive, with stories tackling racism, peak oil, scarcity, and electoral politics, among other themes, but never coming across as preachy or polemic. Perhaps my favorite story of the collection is Blake Charlton’s “Endosymbont,” which deals smartly with the question of artificial intelligence and what it is that makes one human. You can read an excerpt from “Endosymbont,” as well as complete stories by Jay Lake, Tobias S. Buckell, and Jeremiah Tolbert, at the Seeds of Change website. And while you’re there, check out the very cool trailer. Trust me on this one.

Just found on my camera... photographic proof of Jeremy Lassen serenading the residents of Denver with his post-pub crawl rendition of AC/DC's classic chestnut, Big Balls. Ah, if only I had video...


I've got big balls
I've got big balls

( Sing along behind the cut... )

So, after drifting off to Napville somewhere in midst of the wildly-incoherent and downright mindless Transformers (thus improving it markedly), I woke up, glanced at the clock, realized it was still early enough to have fun, turned off the TV, and decided to make the trek down to the Sheradin (AKA The Party Hotel). I walked the several blocks, skipped the Studio 54-style elevator line-up by heading up to the second floor, ascended to the twenty-second floor, and made the rounds for a little while, chatting up a few people and hanging out just long enough to be counted present (and have a couple of drinks courtesy of Brotherhood without Banners and Baen). But the whole of the twenty-second floor smelled of heat and sweat and salmon (the latter thanks to the Seattle Worldcon Bid folks), so I wandered back to base, skipping the hotel bar in lieu of the Jim Jarmusch elevator car (if you've been in it, you'd understand) and a ride to the ninth floor. Yeah, I'm crashing out, and it's not even one o'clock here. After all, tomorrow's another day, and I need to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed by the time I hit the dealers' room.

Worn out from a day spent on my feet and the accursed concrete floor. My heels may never forgive me. Glad tomorrow's a short day, but we're going to have to ship a few books back home, and I'm not sure how that's going to work, logistics-wise. Hopefully it's not going to turn into the slog of death (so come buy books!).

Not sure where Jeremy's at. Not in the hotel bar that he texted from an hour ago. So maybe I'll head back over to Leela's for dinner. After all, if I'm on my own, cheap is good.

But the big question is, am I up to hitting parties later? Guess I'll figure that out after dinner and a drink.


Update: Figured out where everybody is... the Hugo Awards are tonight. Duh. But I'm beat, so I'm up in the hotel room, half-watching one of the dumbest movies ever made.

From yesterday:

Jeremy Lassen, Connie Willis, and Walter Jon Williams

What follows are a few random shots from Denvention 3. Having a good time meeting, re-meeting, and hanging out with some very cool people...

( ...and it's all behind the cut. )

At Worldcon (AKA World SF, Denvention 3). Jennifer dropped me at the airport shuttle bright and early, which got me to SFO at the crack of dawn, and, after a complementary massage courtesy of the TSA, got jlassen and myself to Denver just in time to hit the ground running, check in, and set up the Night Shade Books table.

Ahead, four more days of constantly on my feet and late-night schmoozing. But for tonight, crashing out early (1:32 a.m.) after meeting (and re-meeting) many cool people.

Pictures coming soon. And if you're here, stop on by the table and say "hi." It gets lonely in the dealers' room.

I've been taking advantage of a rare day off by playing Guitar Hero 3, a game that thrives on the cognitive dissonance of characters like corpse-painted black metal rocker Lars Umlaut shaking bootie to the sounds of Pat Benatar's Hit Me With Your Best Shot. While the game lacks certain rock-and-roll nuances, like hitting a botched note twice to pretend you're improvising or the ability to throw a dirty look at the bass player when you make a mistake, thus passing the blame, it's a realistic enough experience that I've managed to blister a thumb. Ouch.

But it's entertaining, though not quite as entertaining as watching Jennifer play Rayman Raving Rabbids; I've never seen anybody swear quite so creatively at annoying cartoon bunnies.

Though I shouldn't get too game-addicted, since I'm off to The 66th World Science Fiction Convention bright and early tomorrow morning. Stay tuned for pictures and more...


...but until then, here's Maddie.