Alice laughed: "There's no use trying," she said; "one can't believe impossible things." "I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." ~ Lewis Carroll from Alice in Wonderland
Hi everyone! I don't really post here ever, but I need your help. I just graduated with my MFA, and have now been accepted to the prestigious Sewanee Writers Conference in Tennessee this summer. There I'll be workshopping my novel, trying to get it finished, and meeting with agents and editors. But the conference ain't cheap, and I need all the help and love I can get.
I started a campaign to raise the $2260 I'll need for the conference, plus funds for travel to research the novel. Both the Sewanee Writers Conference and my research trip will be invaluable in completing a draft of my novel this summer. Once the draft is complete, I can begin to revise and query agents. You can have a real hand in seeing a published literary novel come to fruition.
Details about the novel and how to donate can be found here: http://www.gofundme.com/zaknelson. There are different levels of personalized rewards available, so chip in and help an artist out!
Many thanks.
Zak reading from novel-in-progress at North Carolina State University. 16 April 2014.
I'm at Comikaze this weekend with Iron Man Mark 74... 1874. I have posted up the pics from today already so have a look!
Tonight I am in LA, in a hotel room alone, and I just saw one of the coolest things of my life. I went to see Danny Elfman's music from the movies of Tim Burton concert, where a full Orchestra and Choir played a few selections each from an array of their collaborations. What made the night particularly awesome was that Danny Elfman came out and sang most of Jack Skellington's songs, and Oogie Boogie's song too. Catherine O'Hara also came and sang Sally's song. You couldn't tell that they were not the recorded versions, they were so perfect. Tim Burton also came out on stage to thunderous applause. It was amazing. I wept tears of joy to see one of my idols perform again, after 18 years of him saying that he would never be on stage again. I was at Oingo Boingo's last show, the last time he did perform, and I can say that his voice is just as awesome as it ever was. I also got to hear the Beetlejuice main theme played in a room with Danny Elfman in it, and I never thought that would ever happen. It is all so much more amazing when heard in a perfect theater, played by amazing musicians, most of whom also played on the sountracks of the movies.
Anyway, I will shut up now, but please feel free to check out my Flickr set if you'd like to see some not great pictures that will remind me of this night for the rest of my life. (Yes, pictures were kosher, as long as there was no flash.) There's a lot of the original art in these pics from Tim when he was planing the movies. Enjoy!
Tuesday, September 03, 2013
DragonCon 2013 Costume Photos
Hi to everyone still following here!
Mia, Sahrye and I just got back from
DragonCon out in Atlanta, and for those of you who do not know, it's a costume
party like no other for 4 days straight. We had a really great time and I
thought I would share the pictures with you if you are interested:
The IronMan bustle dress is mine, obviously, you can
see Mia showing off Storm and a Star Fleet uniform, and Sahrye is rocking Madam
Vastra from Doctor Who, complete with hand-made prosthetics, as well as some
star Fleet goodness of her own.
What went into designing all of those guilt-inducing turrets and malevolent AIs lurking in the Portal games? Wayside Creations' new web series Aperture R&D takes us deep into the bowels of the premiere mad science corporation and shows us what it takes to become Lab Team of the Month.
Work is certainly more interesting—and more terrifying—when you're being managed by an AI sphere and death by turret is a regular occupational hazard. What other Portal-themed goodies will this series give us in future episodes?
[via The Awesomer]
27 Science fictions that became science facts in 2012.
"In the House, 78 percent of Republicans voted against emergency aid. In the Senate, those 36 votes..."
"In the House, 78 percent of Republicans voted against emergency aid. In the Senate, those 36 votes...": “In the House, 78 percent of Republicans voted against emergency aid. In the Senate, those 36 votes represent 80 percent of Republicans. The overwhelming majority of Republicans, well more than three-quarters, now approach natural disasters as political fodder, another opportunity to push deficit hysteria and to force massive cuts to other domestic spending. Tax cuts to the wealthy? Those pay for themselves. Rebuilding destroyed communities populated by millions of Americans? Only if you cut other government programs. In other words, the vast majority of Republicans are assholes.”
