Arrivals And Departures
Hey there, how was your weekend? My wife learned how to make sauerkraut and we understand that it’s nearly past the fartsmelly stage of fermentation. Here’s some other things that have been going on of late.
Arriving: Readers of this page know that I love me some Digger by the entirely wonderful Ursula Vernon. Readers of this page will also recall that I really, really loved Vernon’s serialized novella, Summer In Orcus¹, which ran from September to December. It’s one of the best YA reads of the past decade for me, and I encourage you all to go check it out.
And, as of a couple of days ago, I urge you to purchase the physical item, something I’ve been eager for ever since it was announced back in March. The Summer In Orcus Kickstarter (words by T Kingfisher, pictures by Lauren Henderson, logistics by Sofawolf Press) is now up for your consideration, and I suggest you look most carefully at the tier that gets you a hardcover copy (for keeping) and a softcover copy (for giving … or maybe you’re more altruistic than I am towards your elementary school niece and will give away the hardcover). You have a month to get in on the campaign, with delivery slated for October; get in while the gettin’s good.
Departing: There’s a lot of critters in SIO: frogs and bears and wolves and wasps and weasels and birds … so, so many birds. A lot of them would feel right at home in Your Wild City, the exploration of flora and fauna and how they’ve adapted to the urban environment by the invaluable Rosemary Mosco and the inimitable Maris Wicks. At least, they would until today.
Dude to the demands of time on both of their careers of popularizing and interpreting science and nature via the medium of comics, Mosco and Wicks have decided to wrap up Your Wild City. It’s a sore loss, but there’s a wonderfully broad and weird archive that isn’t going anywhere. Thanks for all the comics explaining the birds, bugs, and beasties of our cityscapes, ladies!
Arriving and Departing: See, because elevators both come and go on a regular basis, like they’re helping Grover explain spatial concepts or other opposites, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Readers will recall that Kelly and Zach Weinersmith are collaborating on a book about technologies we expect to have Soonish, one being the idea of cheap lift capability to escape the gravity well.
A prime possibility for such cheap lift is the long-fictional, maybe-someday-real space elevator, which has great potential and only a few drawbacks. And you (for values of you that incudes iDevice users; Android coming soon) can now experience space elevators yourself, thanks to a new augmented reality app. Point your phone at the cover of the book (or an image of same) and you get to see a space elevator in action. Neat!
Spam of the day:
Steven Never Knew His Secretary Could Swallow (true story)
Steven was under the impression that she suffered from a lifelong disability, requiring feeding via a cannula implanted directly into her GI tract.
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¹ Released under her alias T Kingfisher, which identity she uses for writings that are not strictly for kids. The books she releases as Ursula Vernon feature more hamsters and shrews and not much real danger.
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