Day 264: Amazon finally delivered Eugen Bacon’s Danged Black Thing, completing my stack of this year’s Philip K. Dick Award nominated books. Three and a half read so far!
Year 50 Day 263
Day 263: Some days are cake days. Just because.
Why No PKD Nominee Book Reviews
Just a little clarification as to why I’m no longer posting my usual star ratings or mini-reviews for the Philip K. Dick Award nominated books I read.
While I’ve been attending the award ceremony at Norwescon for quite a while now, last year I took on the responsibility of being the award ceremony coordinator for the convention. This position gives me no insight or influence over the nominees, the judging, or the selection of the eventual winner. I just make sure the ceremony comes together.
However, as part of organizing the ceremony, I do have contact with the authors and publisher representatives. Once the nominees have been announced, I contact the publishers to get permission to make poster-size reprints of the book covers to display at the ceremony, and I invite the authors to attend the ceremony at Norwescon (and, if interested, to participate in paneling for the convention as well). For those authors who can attend, I’m one of the primary points of contact before and at the con; for those who can’t, I assist with finding a stand-in reader if they don’t have someone they know already planning on attending.
So, then, a theoretical possibility: One of the nominated works is one I just don’t get into and end up giving a poor review. At some point in the next few years, the same author is nominated for a new work. Cue awkwardness! I’d like to avoid that.
I’ve also noted a few times in the past that I have a history of never managing to pick the winner as my favorite. So if I say which was my favorite, even though that actually has nothing to do with the final choice, then I’m (historically, statistically) predicting that that book won’t win.
It just seems prudent to keep my thoughts to myself for these books.
Year 50 Day 262
Day 262: I may have forgotten to post today’s photo until just before bed, but we actually managed to leave work a little early and make it home when there was still light in the sky. I’ll be quite happy when the days are long enough that this is a regular thing again!
Year 50 Day 261
Day 261: After the last week’s cold snap (that we’re still working our way out of) and yesterday’s morning of freezing rain, I decided today needed a little sartorial optimism. The tropical theme didn’t warm anything up, but I tried.
Year 50 Day 260
Day 260: The entire region had freezing rain last night, so we ended up with a two-hour late start and then working from home today. I wasn’t terribly disappointed by this turn of events. Today’s photo by my wife, taken just after I grumbled that I hadn’t taken a photo yet today.
📚 The Museum of Human History by Rebekah Bergman
6/2024
The third of this year’s Philip K. Dick nominees. No review, because I’m the award ceremony coordinator. I’m not remotely involved with selecting nominees or winners, just making sure the ceremony goes as it should, but it’s best to keep my reviews to myself.
Year 50 Day 259
Day 259: A particular favorite t-shirt of mine. Gold stars to all who get the reference (not that it’s that subtle or obscure, but still…).
🎥 My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady (1964): ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Henry Higgins is such an ass, Eliza Doolittle is a joy, and the movie, as it always has been, is delightful. It had been quite a while since I’d watched this, and it was a lot of fun revisiting it and refreshing myself on all the little details and moments.
Year 50 Day 258
Day 258: A friend gifted me an LED decorative schematic of the USS Enterprise (swappable between the original and the 1701-D) that didn’t have a power cord. Not only have I found a couple power cords in my stash that will work for it, but I also found that it’s battery powered and, after a little work cleaning out the corrosion, it’s working again. Soon to be brought with me to my work office!