This weekend, I’m rockin’ it out at New York Comic Con. I’m there mostly doing the Day Job thing, unfortunately (though, if I can, I might wear my steampunk for Sunday.)
For anyone who manages to recognize me in my civvies, though, you’ll probably end up being filmed or photographed, if you’re looking fabulous and want to flaunt it.
In the meantime, enjoy the linkspam below. This edition features lots of interesting essays, some awesome postcards, and a video of my interview with Cherie Priest.
The Film
I mentioned this back in my Dragon*Con report, and now you can watch it online. Again, I apologize in advance for my awkwardness: it was my first interview of the day and I was hyped up on caffeine. Cherie, however, was marvelous.
The Reads
Aliette De Bodard writes an interesting survey of the prevalence of science fiction in the non-Western world: Thought Experiments: The View from the Other Side. Science Fiction and Non-Western/Non-Anglophone Countries.
Here’s a nifty site that concerns itself with Islamic Science Fiction.
And Catherynne Valente, editor of Apex magazine has announced recently that their November issue will be a special edition featuring only Muslim/Arab SF writers!
Over at People’s Daily, the English-language Chinese newspaper, this article talks about how a unique royal casket indicates cross-cultural exchange in Tang dynasty China.
And on the other end of the cultural exchange spectrum, Patrick Garson talks about social tensions of Orientalist art. Bonus points for his nuanced handling of what has been a hot-bed subject.
Atlas Obsura features an article about the Chamsori Gramophone and Edison Science Museum in Gangneung, South Korea.
For things less historical and more Weird West, take a look at G.D. Falksen’s article about the upcoming film The Warrior’s Way on Tor.com.
There is some great historical tidbits about ancient Chinese rockets here (in English), translated from here (in Chinese).
And for more creative quirkiness, check out the watches of Haruo Suekichi.
Jha Goh turned me onto this article on The Guardian about Southeast Asian sea nomads, featuring an awesome slide show about their way of life. And they even make their own diving goggles out of wood!
And did you know that Australian Aborigines could be the world’s first Astronomers?
The Sites
Here is a website promoting the cross-cultural history of two minority groups in Canada: Chinese Canadians and Indians 150 years of shared experience. According to their website description: “On the 150th anniversary of British Columbia, the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC believes that it is timely to commence a closer look at these inter-community histories to promote understanding of the shared experiences between Chinese Canadians and First Nations peoples.” Now that’s a multicultural dialogue worth investigating more!
Plus, a couple of sites for the technology-minded:
A new blog about Native Science!
And the website for Makerfaire Africa.
The Pics
Speaking of the West and the non-West, here is a website called Images of Asia, about vintage post cards from Asia & the Middle East. The site lists all the countries in both regions (plus some others that I would count as part of the Balkans and Central Asia). Not all countries have examples, but this is a project-in-progress. It’s interesting to see what images show up. Some are featured below.
Oil refinery at Cape Bailoff and dock at Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Click for link.
Theswing Wat Sodar Bangkok, Thailand. Notice the vintage car there too! Click for link.
Tiblisi Obelini Sulfur Baths in Georgia. Click for link.
Chinese women in Jakarta. Click for link.
A Burmese beauty. Click for link.
Greetings from Constantinople. Click for link.
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