Cool Things

It has been an interesting month so far.


Got an email notifying me that another story of mine has been shortlisted. Won't know the final decision until June.


Got my glasses and they are helping. I've only had them for a week, but I haven't had any headaches in that time either.


Went to see Rob Sawyer give a talk at the Oshawa Library. He gave me an interesting perspective on the Star Wars saga and how we the audience willingly dismiss the less than noble natures of the story's supposed heroes. In a nutshell, science fiction should and must be a reflection of social consience, and more importantly, be proud of what it does. 'A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away...", though a good hook, dismisses everything that follows, and therefore the science, as a fairytale. Many would argue that the science within is a fairytale.

I still enjoy all the Star Wars movies, probably 1 of 5 people in the world who would admit such a thing. I enjoy a good FX spectacle, and honestly never thought much about the Aurthorian plotline. I had always treated them as movie entertainment and nothing more.

However, it is a dangerous entertainment, because it does trivialize a genre that has always worked hard to gain respectability in the literary world.

Anyway, it was a good talk. Afterword, there was a short Q&A, then Sawyer did a 10 minute reading from his book.


Lately my youngest daughter, (1 yr 9 mths) is insisting on going for early morning walks. The other day we traveled a good distance for a small kid. Today I took her to Heydonshore, a park on the shore of Lake Ontario. It was a beautiful day, though swarming bugs were everywhere. Anyway, the local airport has the yearly Canadian Aviation Expo, and the local stunt pilot decided today was a good day to practice his tricks over the lake, so I got a free airshow.


That's about it. Have a Happy Mother's Day.

Mike