Private First Class Bowe Robert Bergdahl, United States Army. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
So we’re a week away from Rolling Thunder XXV, and I’m reminder by recent news articles just how important it still remains that every year we highlight the issue of MIA/POWs. Whilst the Vietnam War is still a big presence hovering over the event, the MIA/POW situation is still importasnt because there is at least one live soldier who is not yet home - Bowe Bergdahl.
One of the problems with trying to promote disability awareness is getting people to see things from a disability perspective. It can be hard for people to understand issues without the same frame of reference used raising them.
Oh, I know there are plenty of “simulator” methods out there used to try and show people how disabilities themselves “feel”, but that’s only part of the story – how we interact with our environment as people with disabilities also needs to be explained.
Every year around this time we tend to reach the same place when it comes to network TV news – announcements of those shows that have been renewed for another season, and those that have been cancelled.
This year, we got hit with a whammy and a half when it comes to science fiction shows – Terra Nova has been cancelled, and Fringe, according to many, is on life-support, with no definite answer due until the end of the current season.
The reasons follow a similar refrain we’ve heard before – the production costs are too high. This makes sense, when you consider the amount of FX work that science-fiction shows tend to use these days.
It’s been a stressful few weeks when it comes to issues surrounding Metro, the mass-transit system operated in the Washington DC area by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).
We’re coming off the back of a series of public meetings discussing the proposed fare hikes on the system, as well as continued disruptions, both planned and unplanned.
So people’s tempers have been getting short. Understandable really, given the historical trends on these matters.
Escalator issues, elevators, trains going out of service, unidentified track problems causing trains to be emptied at stations – it’s a long list that, viewed sequentially, gives the impression of a system in operational crisis.
One of the things much wiser people than I keep trying to get through to authors these days is the importance of communicating with the artist they pick (or is chosen) to do their cover art.
I guess I’m kind of jumping on the bandwagon with adding my .02 cents, but circumstances conspired to give me the perfect opportunity to come up with a prime example for you all.
Here’s the pitch:
@FixWMATA is a local activist that tweets regularly about WMATA and it’s … issues.
Thanks for posting this. I have two thoughts that fit better here than in twitter-sized chunks, in response to your ending questions:
I think that to reconcile the differing perceptions of myself and @SueGrimshaw, we need to recognize that different genres of fiction fulfill different roles for people. Let me simply label those roles as “thinky” and ”escapist” fiction. In short, “thinky” fiction exists to explore ideas, one way or another. “Escapist” fiction exists to provide readers with a temporary vacation to their mental happy-place.
A series of twitter posts between myself and @p2p_editor earlier today has me wondering.
As a cover artist, there’s a trend to some of the artwork I’m asked to create – a lot of it tends to be dark, post-apocalyptic, dystopian scenes or themes. I believe that editors are seeing a similar trend in the stories coming across their desk too. This was the basis of the conversation with @p2p_editor.
Whilst it’s probably not reliable, the stuff that’s being written tends to be affected and influenced by the world around the author. Science fiction especially tends to reflect the society and culture in place, even when its looking to the future.
A “swords and sorcery” fantasy battle scene created for @trollgodfather and Tunnels & Trolls.
The scene was composed so that elements could be split out as separate “snapshot” renders, if possible – “Shall We Dance” is one example derived from this scene, with additional tweaks for the close-up.
Shortlink for this post: http://wp.me/p2cbiZ-UC
A few days ago I had a brief Twitter conversation with @SueGrimshaw, and at one point she noted something along the lines of “we have the most fun” – we being editors and artists. This coming on the heels of a post on @JodyHedlund’s blog, “Book Covers: Are They Important in the Digital Age?” got me thinking about this aspect of my work.
I asked myself “Do I have fun doing cover art?”. The answer came back to me as a “Yes!” – although admittedly it took some thinking through to be certain. To answer the question from Jody’s blog, I believe that cover art is important, perhaps even moreso in the digital age than the old times of just physical books.
I’m not exactly a fan of NASCAR, but I do watch it on occasion.
Last year I came to a startling realization.
Every time I looked at the screen, the commentators would be talking about Dale Earnhardt Jr, or Jeff Gordon, or Jimmy Johnson, or the rest – but out of the corner of the screen, every time, one car kept showing up that hardly was being mentioned.
Every time.
This black and gold car, emblazoned with “Cat” on the front, number 31.
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