2015
The last quarter of 2015 was a challenge. On September 22, I broke my left wrist and I was in confining splint or cast for six weeks. Then just last week I re-broke it and I am in a splint again. It is a downer but like all things, it will pass. I am grateful for all the help I have gotten.
A family member had a fight with cancer and has won for now.
Another downer this year were the Puppies and there influence on the Hugos this year. Their narrative was nonsense and most of the stories that they got on the ballot were substandard. The only good thing that happened is that more people got involved and voted.
In a small way, I stood up for a sister fan when a fellow fan was intimating her. I think I did the right thing. One most important things said at the last Worldcon was:
“There’s room for all of us here, but there’s no middle ground between ‘We belong here’ and ‘No you don’t.’ I believe we must find non-toxic ways to discuss our conflicting points of view.” Laura J. Mixon on accepting her Hugo for Best Fan Writer.
Many great people left us this year: Leonard Nimoy, Terry Pratchett, Tanith Lee, George Clayton Johnson, Peggy Rea Sapienza, Christopher Lee, Yogi Berra, B.B King, Lemmy Klimster, Yvonne Craig, James Horner, Grace Lee Whitney, Wes Craven, and many others.
Despite Puppy, nonsense Worldcon was fun. I got to talk to David Gerrold about est and he high fived me at the Hugo Ceremony. It was also cool being a Hugo escort and I got to bring out the Hugo For Best Novel. See more about Sasquan, the 2015 Worldcon, in my August 2015 entries or here.
My panels at AFO 16 went well. They were Fantasy Anime, The Macross Saga, and 30th Anniversary of Robotech. At Worldcon, I got a ton of Japanese SFF books to discuss at the AFO 16. I also plan to cover Legend of the Galactic Heroes, which is finally getting an English release as a series and novels.
I checked out ContraFlow, this year’s Deep South Con. It was fun even with a splint. OASIS was back and it went well. I need to document my plans for future of the con.
Megacon was manageable this year. I wish I could have spent more time at Spooky Empire. Hurricane Who had the right attitude when things went awry. Swampcon gave me chance to imrove my History of SF presentation. Florida Anime Experience gave me the chance to see the crew of Anime Addicts Anonymous. Florida Supercon let me see Jim Shooter, Neal Adams, John Romita Jr., Paul McGann, Karen Gillian, and Frank Quietly.
There were a lot of great genre films this year. Ex Machina asked the classic question “What is a human?” Mad Max: Fury Road proves that you can write a thought provoking story with a great action adventure. The Martian reminds us that science matters and we can meet the challenges space present us. Star Wars: The Force Awakens returns us to one of the greatest playground ever. It is great film for old and new fans alike. The Force is back. Inside Out shows how complex we are in a very simple way. When Marnie was There reminds us that we all want to be loved. Ant-Man and Avengers: The Age of Ultron gave us a fun trip to Marvel Universe. The Man from UNCLE was fun 60s spy romp. Spectre brought back a classic villain to the screen. Tarantino takes us on a cinematic adventure in 70MM with The Hateful Eight. Mockingjay Part 2 wrapped up The Hunger Games film series. Cinderella was a great new look at a classic. Birdman was disturbing in powerful way. Gone Girl was a great adaptation and shows what happens when you team up a great writer and director. Whiplash asked how far should one go for art. The Imitation Game and The Theory of Everything showed the strengths and flaws of great minds. Jupiter Ascending has some questionable parts but worth your time in a theater.
The best film of the year was Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. See it. It is painful, beautiful and life affirming. I hope it gets some Academy nods particularly in the screenwriting.
Two good documentaries came out this year in the theater. Best of Enemies showed the relationship between Gore Vidal and William Buckley. Hitchcock/Truffaut explains Hitchcock’s importance in film. Selma dramatized the very complex struggle for Civil Rights in the US.
I caught up on some classics this year including Fight Club, Seven, Inglorious Bastards, Django Unchained, and finally Lawrence of Arabia.
A lot of good TV this year. Once Upon a Time, Grimm, Arrow, Person of Interest, Lost Girl, and Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, and The Flash are still going strong. Agent Carter was fun and we get more. Gotham is an interesting mess. Doctor Who had a very strong season. In 1975, the Doctor asked what would you do if you met a child and knew that child will grow up to be an evil fiend and kill millions. In 2015 the Doctors meets a child that will grow up to be an evil fiend and kill millions. Daredevil and Jessica Jones showed a different part of the Marvel universe. Both are very strong. Sense8 is about group people from all over the world tied together mentally. American Horror Story: Hotel is another mixed bag. The Walking Dead walks a fine line between brilliance and misery porn and the latter may win. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell was brilliantly adapted. Orphan Black had some great moments. Mr. Robot was derivative but had some intriguing ideas. Black Mirror showed scary possibilities if we do not balance technology with empathy. Supergirl makes the world save for all super heroes. Frank Spotnitz took us to a defeated and conquered America in an adaptation of Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle. The Player was a fun ride and I wish we got more. Heroes came back in Heroes Reborn.It worked. The Muppets took some time, but it found itself. For Christmas we got adaptations of Sir Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood’s End and James S.A. Corey's The Expanse.
We said good-bye to David Letterman and Jon Stewart. Noah Trevor was a great host for The Daily Show.
A lot of good anime this year. Rumiko Takahasi was back with poor half shingami Rin-ne. Gangsta explored an alternative world with metahumans and noir. Your Lie in April made us cheer and cry at the same time. YowaPeda, Gatchaman Crowds, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures: Stardust Crusaders and Knights of Sidonia had great second seasons. The Heroic Legend of Arslan reminds us of the importance of politics and logistics in a story of a prince reclaiming his kingdom. She is a bubbly heiress and he is chain smoking academic, together they will solve a crime in The Perfect Insider. Saitama can stop anyone in an instant but cannot pass the hero’s exam in One Punch Man. Mitchiko and Hatchin tore it up on Toonami. We look at the hot issues of 1968 in Young Blackjack and pay respect to the master Tezuka. Shirobako showed the struggle of making good anime. Shimoneta: A Boring World Where the Concept of Dirty Jokes Doesn't Exist was a crazy series about a very sexually uptight world.
Mainstream comics were weak this year. DC and Marvel restructured. I stayed with X-Factor, Spider-Man 2099, He-Man, Ms. Marvel, Astro City, Saga and Rachel Rising. I did checkout Rat Queens for the Hugo and it was fun. I do want to read more That Damned Band. Black Canary and Zatanna: Bloodspell by Paul Dini was great team up and biography for these great heroes.
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie wrapped up a great trilogy. Quentin finally get his act together in The Magician’s Land by Lev Grossman. Cixin Liu looks at alien invasion in the long term in The Three Body Problem and The Dark Forest. Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Water Knife warns us of world where water scarcity is the rule. My Real Children by Jo Walton looks at the two different life paths for the same woman. A detective has to solve a bizarre crime and save her daughter in Lauren Beukes’ Broken Monsters. Nnedi Okorafor gave us aliens and superheroes in Nigeria in her novel Lagoon. Kim Stanely Robinson took us on an interstellar trip in Aurora. We got a new type of leader in The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (Sarah Monette). We looked at family in James S.A. Corey’s Nemesis Games. Sakyo Komatsu destroys and rebuilds the world in Virus. Fritz Leiber’s The Big Time told an intricate story involving time travel. Aliette de Bodard took us to and dark and intriguing alternate Paris with Fallen Angels in The House of Shattered Wings. The creators of the Welcome to Nightvale podcast were able to write an intriguing novel of the mysterious desert town. Ian McDonald took us to the Moon and focused on a tight Brazilian family in Luna:New Moon. Gwenda Bond did a great job giving us a teen Lois Lane in Lois Lane: Fallout. David Gerrold look at the social aspects of vampires in Jacob. John Scalzi did another serial novel in the Old Man’s War universe in End of All Things. A family becomes part of a first contact situation in Nancy Kress’ Yesterday’s Kin. Carl Hiaasen gave us a new Skink novel called Skink - No Surrender.
Amanda Palmer's The Art of Asking was great and really helped me this year. We should ask for anything but we must be prepared for no.
I added The Fangirl Happy Hour and Random Trek to my podcast list. I had the pleasure of corresponding with Renee Williams, one of co-hosts of The Fangirl Happy Hour. I did so with many of my fellow fans by email, Twitter, and Facebook. It was great.
I did bike ride more this year and I recorded it. This went by the wayside due to the accident. I promised someone to stay off my bike for 6 months. This person does not have a stake so they asked this out friendship.
I will work on balancing fan writing, reading, media watching, studying for a class I plan to take, and con work. This will be a challenge with arm re-broken but it is a challenge and that makes it exciting.
To see what have I been reading check here. Note after February the site will be here. Hopefully I will make some corrections and update in the coming week.
As always, thanks to those who made the year as fun as it was. This I list would be long and I would forget someone.
Do to the structure of the splint I did this with one hand. Please forgive my mistakes.
Everybody have a great 2016 and take care.
