Filed under: Art, Artificial Intelligence, Expert systems, Marketing, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction, Space
Heading out here in a bit for a weekend of mixed business and pleasure, so I won’t be posting until early next week. But a couple of quick notes before I go . . .
A reader passed along a note that the webcomic Questionable Content has been running a sequence for the last couple of weeks which includes a hologram-manifesting AI (actually, two different ones) very much like the ‘experts’ in Communion of Dreams. I really like the rendering, and it is exactly how I envisioned Seth and the other experts manifesting in the book. The sequence starts here, and is quite fun (I’m just a sporadic reader of QC, but enjoy it when I do get to reading it). Perhaps I should send J. Jacques a copy of the book and see if we can get a graphic novel of the book going . . .
Well, sales of CoD have finally gone from a trickle to drought. Haven’t sold any for the last couple of days. Not too worrying, since I have been busy setting up things for the next promotional push (hope to have some news on the scheduling of that next week). But still, if you’ve read the book, do me a favor and just tell a friend about it. Help get the word out. And take a moment to go ‘rate’ the book on Amazon, perhaps even write up a review (or say whether one of the other reviews were useful). Oh, and if you’re an Amazon Prime member, *please* take a moment and ‘borrow’ the book – costs you nothing, and helps me out in several ways.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Jim Downey
Filed under: Amazon, Art, Feedback, Kindle, Marketing, Promotion, Publishing
Got another very positive review of Communion of Dreams. It goes over a lot of ground, but here’s an excerpt that’ll give you an idea what the author thinks:
One of the things I enjoyed most, as a science fiction fan of many decades, was finding little bits of reference to various other writers, either in a conceptual sense or, sometimes, in a name used or a place mentioned. So many science fiction novels touch on psychology, sociology, scientific and technological progress, philosophy, religion or just sheer adventure. This one has it all, and I do mean *all* of it. My mind was a whirl of ideas and thoughts, all intertwining as I read about the discovery of the artifact, watched different people react based on their perception and frame of reference, and saw their attitudes change over time as more and more was discovered.
Check out the whole thing, along with the other reviews so far, and vote whether the review was helpful to you.
I am very happy to see a positive review, of course, and hope that this helps to spread the word (hint, hint) about the book to others. But I am even more pleased to get the feedback that the book ‘works’ for the reader. That’s always a crap-shoot for any author or artist: you work to produce something (an artifact, if you will) which is then put out there for interpretation by each and every person who encounters it, and at that point it is out of your hands.
So yeah, it is very rewarding to get this kind of reaction. Of course, additional sales and riches would be nice, too . . .
Jim Downey
Filed under: Art, Augmented Reality, George Lucas, Humor, movies, Science Fiction, Society, Star Wars, YouTube
I can be a bit of a curmudgeon. A grump. A misanthrope. Anyone who’s read my blog for a while knows this.
But sometimes, people impress the hell out of me. Oh, I’m not talking about the sorts of things that cause a lump in your throat. You know, self-sacrifice . . . being kind to strangers . . . saving a defenseless animal . . . that kind of thing. No, I’m talking about how people can be remarkably creative and intelligent. Like this:
Yeah, it’s two hours long. You don’t have to watch it all at once. Just look at it in bits and pieces. It’s OK, because you know the story, and the thing was *designed* to be sampled:
In 2009, thousands of Internet users were asked to remake “Star Wars: A New Hope” into a fan film, 15 seconds at a time. Contributors were allowed to recreate scenes from Star Wars however they wanted. Within just a few months SWU grew into a wild success. The creativity that poured into the project was unimaginable.
Just watching the amazing approaches that different people took to telling each slice of the story is pretty mind-blowing. Everything from bad acting with pretty good mock-ups of the scenes, to sock puppets, to incredible animation, to re-interpretations using animals, and on and on. It’s really damned impressive.
And of course, so is the brilliance behind the idea, and seeing it to completion.
Yeah, sometimes people impress the hell out of me. I’ve been laughing my ass off watching this thing.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Art, Emergency, Flu, Government, Pandemic, Publishing, Science Fiction, Survival, tech, Violence, Writing stuff
As we’re closing in on having Communion of Dreams ready to go out in both digital and print form, I’ve been thinking about changes in story-telling formats. And I’ve just seen an exceptional example of just that, even though I’ve never been fond of horror movies/books, and the zombie genre in particular. It’s brilliant, though some of the images are disturbing.
Be sure to start down at “Day 1”. http://www.reddit.com/user/Vidzilla/submitted/
Jim Downey
(Via MeFi.)
Filed under: Art, Marketing, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction, Writing stuff
Take a look at the top of this blog. See that wonderful image of the McBaine Burr Oak by Peter Haigh? I’ve always loved that image, and Peter has been kind enough to grant me use of his image for my blog, for the Communion of Dreams website, and now, for the cover of the book.
So, my wife and I have gone over different cover designs, and have decided that we like the idea of having the image over the entire cover, slightly offset so that all of the trunk of the tree is on the front of the book, with the rest wrapping around. But now I would like your help in deciding the final cover design.
Below you’ll find seven different versions of the cover, titled 1 – 7. Take a look, and let me know in comments how you would rank them, in order, from favorite to least favorite. If you want to offer other thoughts or feedback, that’s OK too. I reserve the right to make the final decision, but I would really appreciate your feedback.
So, here we go:
So, there ya go. Everyone who comments/sends me an email with feedback will be entered into a drawing for a signed copy of the book. Deadline this time tomorrow.
Thanks!
Jim Downey
Yes, I have a very twisted sense of humor:
Uploaded by “historyteachers“.
And they have a buttload of other vids which may be worth checking out as well.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Art, Blade Runner, movies, Philip K. Dick, Predictions, Ridley Scott, Science Fiction, tech
My, my, my. Hit the mother lode: Future Noir.
Just one of the gems there is the Blade Runner Sketchbook.
Less than 8 years to go.
Jim Downey
Via Mefi.
Filed under: Art, Depression, Failure, General Musings, Health, Migraine, Predictions, Survival
“So, how’re you doing?”
It’s the sort of question which comes after all the preliminary stuff, all the catching-up with an old friend who I haven’t seen in a couple of years. Your best friends are like that: able to ask the same question that everyone asks, but have it mean something more.
* * * * * * *
This morning I woke up, not hurting.
This was unexpected. Yesterday had been a long day, and I hurt a lot. The source of the pain was just a minor case of post-nasal drip. No, that didn’t hurt. But it caused me to do a fair amount of coughing. That’s what hurt. Yeah, because of the torn intercostal muscle high on my right side, which feels like a broken rib. The one I’ve had for about 16 months now.
So I expected to hurt. In fact, most of the time I expect to hurt.
Chronic pain is different than short-term pain. Oh, I’ve broken plenty of bones, and know what it means to *really* hurt for days, and then to ache for weeks. For a couple of decades now I’ve had a knee which can cause an immense amount of pain if I subject it to the wrong kind of use, and that pain will remain intense for a week or so. Pain is no stranger in my life. Never has been.
But chronic pain, that’s different, as I’ve come to learn. It almost takes on a physical weight, which you have to carry around. That wears you out, sometimes sooner in the day, sometimes later. It functions like a restraint you have to strain against to accomplish anything. It’s like having a migraine – a full fledged, nausea-inducing, sparkly lights & mild vertigo migraine – and still having to drive over an icy road into the sun.
* * * * * * *
My garden still hasn’t been put to bed for the year. Yeah, it’s really late.
It’s just one manifestation of how this year has gone. Everything has taken longer than I expected, cost more than I thought it would, and didn’t work out quite the way I hoped it to.
Partly this is due to the chronic pain. Partly it is due to mistakes on my part. Partly it is just because of chance. By turns this has made me depressed, disappointed, disgusted. Sometimes even on the brink of despair.
And yet…
* * * * * * *
“So, how’re you doing?”
It’s the sort of question which comes after all the preliminary stuff, all the catching-up with an old friend who I haven’t seen in a couple of years. Your best friends are like that: able to ask the same question that everyone asks, but have it mean something more. I am fortunate enough to have several such close friends.
“It’s been a long year. And not a good one.” I looked at my friend. She nodded. “But I’ve had worse. And I’ve had an idea about a new story I want to tell…”
Jim Downey
Filed under: Architecture, Art, Mark Twain, Music, N. Am. Welsh Choir, New Zealand, Travel
There’s the grey of spring, and then the grey of fall. Temps and clouds in Wellington were about the same as we had left back in Missouri, but somehow it felt warmer . . .
* * * * * * *
I looked out the window of our hotel room. I was not expecting Richard M. Nixon wearing an afro to look back at me. This was the horror of it:
I know one can become a bit overwhelmed when traveling to foreign climes, but for a moment I was wondering whether my sanity had “lit out for the provinces.”
* * * * * * *
Breakfast, then an optional tour through the city with Helen on our bus. First we went up to Mount Victoria, a gorgeous vantage point at which to enjoy the whole city (and location for a couple of scenes from Lord of the Rings). This was followed up with a visit to Te Papa Tongarewa – the national museum and gallery of New Zealand.
It’s a very interesting place, a mix of the traditional and the innovative. They’ve got a decent collection of modern art, and a lot of good stuff covering the history and culture of NZ, from the earliest settlements of the Maori to the present day. But what I found to be most enjoyable was the use of the built space inside the museum: it isn’t just simple layers of different floors, but rather incorporates multiple layers of open space/mezzanines so that you enjoy the exhibits from many different perspectives, creating a visual melding of the different aspects of New Zealand depending on where you are. It’s a very effective bit of architecture, and the museum staff make use of it very very well.
Martha, ML, and I spent several hours enjoying the place, including a break for some refreshments at one of the museum cafes. Then it was off for a walk back to our hotel.
* * * * * * *
Te Papa sits right on the waterfront of Wellington Harbor, and our hotel in the city center just a couple of blocks from the waterfront. So it was an enjoyable walk back to the hotel, past docks and seaside restaurants, then into the main shopping and restaurant area of downtown. We spent a good time just enjoying and doing a bit of shopping, then grabbed some lunch at a little local hole-in-the wall place.
Back to the hotel to relax a bit. Martha had a rehearsal that afternoon, I popped out to a grocery store and got some ‘picnic’ type items for a light dinner for us.
* * * * * * *
I always enjoy going to grocery stores in other countries. It is one of the best ways to get a handle on how local people live, and to see the differences between their culture and my own.
I’d mentioned previously I found NZ to be more like the US than like the UK or Europe. This was another manifestation of that. Yeah, there were clear differences between this grocery store and the ones at home – different brands, some different packaging approaches (such as cat and dog food in long tubes, similar to a sausage). But for the most part you could drop any American in the place and they’d feel right at home. The salad bar and deli areas were just like back home, though with meat pies and a couple of other such distinctions. There was more lamb than you’d find in most meat cases, but otherwise it was familiar. Baked goods on display were typical. Snacks and the beer/wine department like you’d find in a Hy-Vee store here.
All in all, perfectly normal.
* * * * * * *
ML and I again went with the choir when they went to the Opera House that evening, and we set up to sell CDs in the lobby. It was a great place, and was in pretty good shape, what you would expect of a classic Edwardian structure which has been renovated and cared for.
But the weather turned colder and wetter, and attendance at the performance that evening was fairly light. The performance itself, which included the Wellington Male Voice Choir as well, was quite good. We only sold a few CDs.
* * * * * * *
Following the performance, we were all invited to the Welsh Dragon Bar – a former public toilet which now plays off that history (and the Welsh connection) with their motto: “come in for a leek.” It’s owned by a Welsh emigre, and is generally considered the best (only?) Welsh pub in the Southern Hemisphere.
They’d made a bunch of Welsh & NZ finger food for the group, all of it welcome and quite tasty. The bar was mobbed, and we kept the place hopping with happy voices for a good while, some of the choir members staying on until closing time.
But not me, nor Martha. We went back to the hotel and crashed. We had to be traveling again early in the morning, catching a flight to the South Island.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Art, Fireworks, Music, N. Am. Welsh Choir, New Zealand, Travel
Clouds of steam issued out of the bathroom. The natural gas pipeline had been repaired.
Ah…
* * * * * * *
Breakfast was good. We packed up, were downstairs to wait with the rest of the group. Everyone was on the bus before our scheduled departure time – impressive!
What was also impressive was the way Helen, our guide, handled questions which would have made me throw things at people. Best example that morning was “Does the sun rise in the west here?”
Sheesh.
* * * * * * *
We headed mostly south, towards the Waitomo Glowworm Caves. It was pretty country, like much of what we saw of New Zealand: beautiful rolling hills, lush, green, with dairy, sheep, and deer farms. To be honest, it reminded me of parts of Wales, or parts of the Ozarks. It took about three hours for us to get to the caves.
The caves themselves are a significant tourist attraction, though the whole experience wasn’t anything as horrid as many such places I’ve been. This is in part due to the delicate ecological condition of the caves, and the need to control traffic through them (as well as the impact which tourists have on the area around the caves.) The structures for bathrooms, and ticketing, and cafes, and the inevitable gift shop are all under a large clear double membrane which has air forced into the sandwich. It looks like a cross between a geodesic dome and bubble-wrap.
But it kept us dry (it had been raining most of the drive) and was a bit warmer than just being in the open. We got our tickets, went down into the caves as a group.
Nice caves, but nothing spectacular, part of a Karst plane such as we have here. Indeed, we have a cave on our own property which isn’t a whole lot smaller.
It was cool when the choir all gathered around and sang in the ‘cathedral’ of the cave. Excellent acoustics.
And then there were the glowworms . . .
* * * * * * *
These glowworms anchor themselves to parts of the ceiling of the cave, then let down long silk snares. The worm (a larval stage) then feeds off of mosquitos and other small flying insects which get caught in the snares when they’re attracted to the light of the worm.
When you turn off other light sources, the ceiling filled with glowworms looks remarkably like the sky filled with stars.
It’s very cool.
* * * * * * *
After the choir swept through the gift shop on the way out, we made our way to Otorohanga, a small town nearby. We took a break there for lunch (and shopping! Mustn’t forget the shopping! Good lord, did the members of the choir know how to support the tourist industry!)
I think it was the first time I tried the local version of fast-food: a pie. Meaning a small meat pie. Usually some combination of beef, chicken, lamb, but occasionally other varieties are available (and noted on the menu), combined with a thick sauce/gravy which might include potato or onion. All backed into a small round pie crust (about 3 or 4″ diameter, typically.) I had these a number of times on the trip, and I don’t think I ever had one which wasn’t extremely tasty.
* * * * * * *
As I noted on my Facebook page that day:
Safety quote from the morning paper: “When igniting a roman candle held between the buttocks, remember to use your free hand to protect the family jewels.”
Yeah, Guy Fawkes Day was coming. The Kiwis seem to have their own home-grown rednecks like the ones I grew up with.
* * * * * * *
We continued on to Rotorua, enjoying more of the landscape as we crossed the island heading east. After a brief tour around the city in our bus, we were deposited at the hotel to sort out rooms and get settled for a bit before our evening festivities.
From the tour itinerary:
Depart by coach to Te Puia, Maori Institute for your Maori dinner experience. Tonight you will enjoy an in depth experience of the customs and traditions of the Maori. The evening will begin with a traditional powhiri or Maori welcoming ceremony, next a warrior’s challenge and then a full kapa haka or Maori performing arts concert. Dinner tonight will be a modern version of the traditional Maori style of cooking, in a hangi pit where kai (food)– is steam-cooked by hot rocks in the earth. Following dessert, see the world famous Pohutu geyser illuminated against the night sky, while enjoying a hot drink. Transfer back to the hotel following your experience.
Actually, that’s not a bad description of what actually happened. Te Puia was pretty cool, all in all, though once again there was a touristy element to the whole thing. Seeing the haka is always fun, and the performers clearly enjoyed playing it to the hilt.
The geyser was cool. Er, you know what I mean. We sat on rock ledges overlooking the geyser, which were toasty warm from the geothermal vents, while the performers from Te Puia wrapped up the evening’s show. Well, they tried to, though the choir had to return the favor of song with a couple of pieces from their repretoire. It was enjoyed by all.
The bus came and fetched us, took us back to the hotel to crash.
Jim Downey
Communion Of Dreams 