Here are some links to friends, artists, conventions, 3D resources,
fun stuff, and other diversions you might find entertaining.
Return to Main Science Fiction Science and Computing Arts and Computer Graphics Purely Silly
( SOME OF THESE LINKS ARE STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION, PLEASE BEAR WITH ME )
SCIENCE FICTION
MISCON Montana's
longest-running Science Fiction Convention, Miscon happens over
Memorial Day Weekend in Missoula. I was Artist Guest of Honor at Miscon
6 and have been invited to be AGOH again in 2008 at Miscon 22, where
the convention theme will be "Small Caliber" -- a tribute to small
press, semi-pro, 'samizdat' (a Russian word that roughly translates to
"self published") and the new field of webzines.
APHELION Aphelion is the Webzine of Science Fiction, an amateur press venture whose main purpose is to act as a proving ground for budding writers and a source or constructive criticism by one's peers ... basically an online writers' workshop. A very intelligent and entertaining site, useful for aspiring authors and very engaging for science fiction readers.
ANALOG SCIENCE FICTION / SCIENCE FACT Arguably the premiere Science Fiction magazine, ANALOG started out as ASTOUNDING
over 80 years ago. Currently under the talented editorial guidance of Dr. Stanley Schmidt, such notables as Ben Bova, John W. Campbell ,
and Hugo Gernsbach have stood at its helm over the years. Hard science fiction tempered with humor, it adheres to Campbell's description of
what SF is all about: "What if ...?" "Why not ...?" and "If this goes on ..." and is an intelligent and insightful statement on modern SF.
LOCUS A vast repository of information on Science Fiction history, news, and bibliographical data. Edited by Hugo-award-winning Charles Brown,
LOCUS is the Wall Street Journal of the Science Fiction community and has garnered many awards as well.
THE LARRY NIVEN CONCORDANCE A new encyclopedia of the works of Larry Niven, the creator of "Ringworld" and the Tales of Known Space, this promises to be a *major* contribution to the lexicon of Science Fiction. Created by The Lensman (insert name here if permission is granted), this is a work in progress that explores Niven's literary universe in meticulous detail.
THE R2-D2 BUILDERS CLUB Officially recognized by George Lucas (he even used some of their members' components in "Episode
Three: Revenge Of The Sith"), the R2-D2 builders are an international network of Star Wars enthusiasts whose hobby goes far beyond the obvious
entertainment value of owning your own Astromech: they visit kids in hospitals, they raise funds for charities, and they make wishes come true.
Their efforts to create a dream come true for a little girl dying of inoperable cancer (R2-KT) won worldwide acclaim, and well deserved.
JOHN STITH'S WEBSITE Author John Stith is another very entertaining and witty character whose imagination knows no bounds. When I was assigned by ANALOG to illustrate his new novella, "Naught For Hire" I read the hysterically funny piece and selected three of the best scenes for my three illustrations and sent them off. ANALOG came back and said they were all fine and they wanted to buy them all ... then they said "Do you have time to do the cover as well?" --!!-- Well, I had already gleaned most of the "good" stuff for the interiors, but the story was so rich that I didn't have much trouble finding a new scene for the cover. (Imagine a world where artificial intelligence computers are *everywhere*, but they've all been programmed by complete idiots -- this is the world wherein Stith's hero, Private Investigator Nick Naught, plies his trade.) For the cover, I selected a scene centered around a slightly psychotic robot who aspired to be Ahhnahhld Scwartzenegger, and as usual I had some fun with it. First: I had the thing sporting a headband, which you might recognize as the one worn by Buckaroo Banzai in the surreal Peter Weller film, "Buckaroo Banzai Across The Eighth Dimension". And second ... that's me in my battered old fedora as Nick Naught, Private Eye. (I'm a cheap model when it comes to my own work.)
The other model in the piece is the lovely and talented JoAnne Kirley, whose costuming shop, COSTUMES, PERIOD, is internationally reknowned. I called her up and asked her to come over for dinner, and requested that she "...dress 40's" -- she loved the idea when I explained it to her, and as usual exceeded expectations. Thanks, JoAnne!
THE NORTHWEST SCIENCE FICTION SOCIETY AND NORWESCON The premiere Science Fiction club in the Seattle area, founded by Gregory R. Bennett in 1976, NWSFS annually hosts NORWESCON, the Northwest's largest convention, and has since 1978.
TUCKERCON / ARCHON 31 -- THE 9TH NASFiC -- The NASFiC, or North American Science Fiction Convention, is essentially a Worldcon substitute when the Worldcon is won by an overseas bid. The Worldcon this year is going to be in Yokohama, Japan, so the NASFiC will be held, and Kansas City, MO won the bid to host the con. (It will actually be just across the border in Illinois.)
THE LOS ANGELES SCIENCE FANTASY ASSOCIATION -- LASFS -- This is the oldest and one of the largest and most active science fiction clubs in the world, and will eventually be home to Frank Gasperik's King Kong.
APHELION Aphelion is the Webzine of Science Fiction, an amateur press venture whose main purpose is to act as a proving ground for budding writers and a source or constructive criticism by one's peers ... basically an online writers' workshop. A very intelligent and entertaining site, useful for aspiring authors and very engaging for science fiction readers.
ANALOG SCIENCE FICTION / SCIENCE FACT Arguably the premiere Science Fiction magazine, ANALOG started out as ASTOUNDING
over 80 years ago. Currently under the talented editorial guidance of Dr. Stanley Schmidt, such notables as Ben Bova, John W. Campbell ,
and Hugo Gernsbach have stood at its helm over the years. Hard science fiction tempered with humor, it adheres to Campbell's description of
what SF is all about: "What if ...?" "Why not ...?" and "If this goes on ..." and is an intelligent and insightful statement on modern SF.
LOCUS A vast repository of information on Science Fiction history, news, and bibliographical data. Edited by Hugo-award-winning Charles Brown,
LOCUS is the Wall Street Journal of the Science Fiction community and has garnered many awards as well.
THE LARRY NIVEN CONCORDANCE A new encyclopedia of the works of Larry Niven, the creator of "Ringworld" and the Tales of Known Space, this promises to be a *major* contribution to the lexicon of Science Fiction. Created by The Lensman (insert name here if permission is granted), this is a work in progress that explores Niven's literary universe in meticulous detail.
THE R2-D2 BUILDERS CLUB Officially recognized by George Lucas (he even used some of their members' components in "Episode
Three: Revenge Of The Sith"), the R2-D2 builders are an international network of Star Wars enthusiasts whose hobby goes far beyond the obvious
entertainment value of owning your own Astromech: they visit kids in hospitals, they raise funds for charities, and they make wishes come true.
Their efforts to create a dream come true for a little girl dying of inoperable cancer (R2-KT) won worldwide acclaim, and well deserved.
JOHN STITH'S WEBSITE Author John Stith is another very entertaining and witty character whose imagination knows no bounds. When I was assigned by ANALOG to illustrate his new novella, "Naught For Hire" I read the hysterically funny piece and selected three of the best scenes for my three illustrations and sent them off. ANALOG came back and said they were all fine and they wanted to buy them all ... then they said "Do you have time to do the cover as well?" --!!-- Well, I had already gleaned most of the "good" stuff for the interiors, but the story was so rich that I didn't have much trouble finding a new scene for the cover. (Imagine a world where artificial intelligence computers are *everywhere*, but they've all been programmed by complete idiots -- this is the world wherein Stith's hero, Private Investigator Nick Naught, plies his trade.) For the cover, I selected a scene centered around a slightly psychotic robot who aspired to be Ahhnahhld Scwartzenegger, and as usual I had some fun with it. First: I had the thing sporting a headband, which you might recognize as the one worn by Buckaroo Banzai in the surreal Peter Weller film, "Buckaroo Banzai Across The Eighth Dimension". And second ... that's me in my battered old fedora as Nick Naught, Private Eye. (I'm a cheap model when it comes to my own work.)
Reprinted from ANALOG
The other model in the piece is the lovely and talented JoAnne Kirley, whose costuming shop, COSTUMES, PERIOD, is internationally reknowned. I called her up and asked her to come over for dinner, and requested that she "...dress 40's" -- she loved the idea when I explained it to her, and as usual exceeded expectations. Thanks, JoAnne!
THE NORTHWEST SCIENCE FICTION SOCIETY AND NORWESCON The premiere Science Fiction club in the Seattle area, founded by Gregory R. Bennett in 1976, NWSFS annually hosts NORWESCON, the Northwest's largest convention, and has since 1978.
TUCKERCON / ARCHON 31 -- THE 9TH NASFiC -- The NASFiC, or North American Science Fiction Convention, is essentially a Worldcon substitute when the Worldcon is won by an overseas bid. The Worldcon this year is going to be in Yokohama, Japan, so the NASFiC will be held, and Kansas City, MO won the bid to host the con. (It will actually be just across the border in Illinois.)
THE LOS ANGELES SCIENCE FANTASY ASSOCIATION -- LASFS -- This is the oldest and one of the largest and most active science fiction clubs in the world, and will eventually be home to Frank Gasperik's King Kong.
SCIENCE AND COMPUTING
NASA There are many links available here, but among my favorites are NASA-TV, which offers round-the-clock coverage of ongoing space shuttle
and ISS activities, plus other interesting programming, right on your computer, and SIGHTING OPPORTUNITIES, which will give you a listing of times in your home town to step outside and watch the Space Station, the Shuttle, and other satellites pass overhead
Iridium Flares, which, if you've never seen one, will amaze you! They are surprisingly bright reflections of sunlight off the solar cell arrays of the Iridium constellation of communications satellites, and because the attitude is stable on these 'birds', it is possible to predict to a high degree of accuracy where and when a flare will occur and how far you will be from the center of the flare when it intersects the Earth. A program to let you predict these beautiful by-products of the space age can be found here.
SPIRIT AND OPPORTUNITY -- MARS ROVERS are still going strong more than 1,100 days after their warranty expired!
SNOPES.COM is the Urban Legends Reference Page ... send this link to your *clueless* computer friends who keep sending you the same "Bill Gates Will Send You $1,000 If You Forward This Email To Everyone In Your Address Book" letter year after year. Also useful for checking computer viruses, computer hoaxes, and perrenial favorites for veracity.
SPACE.COM offers space news with links to space weather and astronomical events.
and ISS activities, plus other interesting programming, right on your computer, and SIGHTING OPPORTUNITIES, which will give you a listing of times in your home town to step outside and watch the Space Station, the Shuttle, and other satellites pass overhead
Iridium Flares, which, if you've never seen one, will amaze you! They are surprisingly bright reflections of sunlight off the solar cell arrays of the Iridium constellation of communications satellites, and because the attitude is stable on these 'birds', it is possible to predict to a high degree of accuracy where and when a flare will occur and how far you will be from the center of the flare when it intersects the Earth. A program to let you predict these beautiful by-products of the space age can be found here.
SPIRIT AND OPPORTUNITY -- MARS ROVERS are still going strong more than 1,100 days after their warranty expired!
SNOPES.COM is the Urban Legends Reference Page ... send this link to your *clueless* computer friends who keep sending you the same "Bill Gates Will Send You $1,000 If You Forward This Email To Everyone In Your Address Book" letter year after year. Also useful for checking computer viruses, computer hoaxes, and perrenial favorites for veracity.
SPACE.COM offers space news with links to space weather and astronomical events.
ART AND COMPUTER GRAPHICS
( I will have a page devoted to this soon, but it (as is so much of this page) is currently under construction. Please check back!)
EDWIN GILVEN AND BLUBAUGH Edwin is an artist in Tacoma, Washington whose character "Blubaugh" is charming and simplistic, but very
inspirational. Edwin does so much stuff it's hard to categorize him as anything less than a Renaissance Man.
STEVE GALLACCI Steve is a Seattle area graphic novelist probably best known for his long-running "ALBEDO ANTHROPOMORPHICS"
-- not your typical "furry animal" comix, Albedo reflects Steve's serious training as a technical illustrator for the U.S. Air Force, his technological prowess, and his wicked sense of humor. He is an outstanding fine artist as well ... a feat I stand in awe of because his beautiful work is created completely by
juggling pallette values in his head -- he's red/green colorblind! You would never know it while you were admiring it!
STEVE ADAMS -- ARTIST Steve is another person I stand in awe of, he has more talent in his little finger than I can muster with both hands. His sense of humor is not just incisive, it's definitive. He is constantly improving his repertoire, which is saying a lot because his versatility and portfolio are
already tough to find peers for. This man has never received the recognition he deserves, on so many levels. Alas, no website I can find.
FLAMING PEAR These people make plug-in tools for Photoshop that offer hours of entertainment, invaluable special effects, and they don't charge
an arm and a leg. Their $15.00US "India Ink" converts photographs into camera-ready art that looks like engraving, scratchboard, or Currier&Ives
gravure, and they offer many free tools as well. "Lunar Cell" creates planets with a few clicks of the mouse, "Flood" will put your subjects hip-deep
in water. Check them out and throw a few bucks at them, they deserve it! You won't be disappointed.
DOGA-L1 This is a FREE 3D computer animation package for the aspiring 3D artist who'd like to see what it's all about. The free version doesn't
support making your own models from scratch, but comes with a large library of pre-built parts you can assemble models from, and will introduce
you to the conepts of keyframing, lighting, building 3D models , camera tracking and many other useful skills. Note that the freeware package is
a little sparse on documentation and the programmers are from Japan, so what documentation there is can be confusing at times, but the package is
intuitively designed and surprisingly easy to use. And it's tough to beat the price. Plus, there are a *lot* of independent websites out there with
forums offering models, tips, and advice. I created a complete animation within an hour of downloading the package, and while your mileage may vary
I know you will enjoy this clever and versatile toy. (Ideal for kids, too! Easy enough for them to understand, challenging enough for anyone to play!) There is a list of other freeware 3D and 3D-related applications here.
The late FRANK KELLY-FREAS was, and still is, the peerless Dean of Science Fiction Illustration. His accomplishments are too numerous to list, but a short sampling would have to include hundreds (perhaps thousands) of book and magazine covers and interior illustrations, the creation of the SKYLAB 1 mission patch, and the creation of Alfred E. Neuman, the "What? Me Worry?" kid, for William Gaines and "MAD MAGAZINE", a character he even parodied in a typically playful cover for The National Lampoon as Lt. William Calley with the title "What? My Lai?". And let us not forget his revisiting of a magazine cover he created in October 1953 for "ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION STORIES" for Tom Godwin's "The Gulf Between", when he showed a giant robot cradling a broken human in his hand, tears welling up in plaintive eyes. He recreated the piece for the record jacket for Queen's "News Of The World" and created a new piece for the inside spread that included such notables as Dr. Carl Sagan in the panicking crowd.
His lovely and talented wife, Dr. Laura Brodian Kelly-Freas, an accomplished illustrator in her own right, hosts a Classical Music program on KMZT-FM -- www.kmozart.com, 1260AM -- in Los Angeles weekdaily from 7am to noon. Kelly was the founding Coordinating Judge of the L. Ron Hubbard Illustrators Of The Future Contest, and Laura currently sits as a Judge on that panel.
( I will have a page devoted to this soon, but it (as is so much of this page) is currently under construction. Please check back!)
EDWIN GILVEN AND BLUBAUGH Edwin is an artist in Tacoma, Washington whose character "Blubaugh" is charming and simplistic, but very
inspirational. Edwin does so much stuff it's hard to categorize him as anything less than a Renaissance Man.
STEVE GALLACCI Steve is a Seattle area graphic novelist probably best known for his long-running "ALBEDO ANTHROPOMORPHICS"
-- not your typical "furry animal" comix, Albedo reflects Steve's serious training as a technical illustrator for the U.S. Air Force, his technological prowess, and his wicked sense of humor. He is an outstanding fine artist as well ... a feat I stand in awe of because his beautiful work is created completely by
juggling pallette values in his head -- he's red/green colorblind! You would never know it while you were admiring it!
STEVE ADAMS -- ARTIST Steve is another person I stand in awe of, he has more talent in his little finger than I can muster with both hands. His sense of humor is not just incisive, it's definitive. He is constantly improving his repertoire, which is saying a lot because his versatility and portfolio are
already tough to find peers for. This man has never received the recognition he deserves, on so many levels. Alas, no website I can find.
FLAMING PEAR These people make plug-in tools for Photoshop that offer hours of entertainment, invaluable special effects, and they don't charge
an arm and a leg. Their $15.00US "India Ink" converts photographs into camera-ready art that looks like engraving, scratchboard, or Currier&Ives
gravure, and they offer many free tools as well. "Lunar Cell" creates planets with a few clicks of the mouse, "Flood" will put your subjects hip-deep
in water. Check them out and throw a few bucks at them, they deserve it! You won't be disappointed.
DOGA-L1 This is a FREE 3D computer animation package for the aspiring 3D artist who'd like to see what it's all about. The free version doesn't
support making your own models from scratch, but comes with a large library of pre-built parts you can assemble models from, and will introduce
you to the conepts of keyframing, lighting, building 3D models , camera tracking and many other useful skills. Note that the freeware package is
a little sparse on documentation and the programmers are from Japan, so what documentation there is can be confusing at times, but the package is
intuitively designed and surprisingly easy to use. And it's tough to beat the price. Plus, there are a *lot* of independent websites out there with
forums offering models, tips, and advice. I created a complete animation within an hour of downloading the package, and while your mileage may vary
I know you will enjoy this clever and versatile toy. (Ideal for kids, too! Easy enough for them to understand, challenging enough for anyone to play!) There is a list of other freeware 3D and 3D-related applications here.
The late FRANK KELLY-FREAS was, and still is, the peerless Dean of Science Fiction Illustration. His accomplishments are too numerous to list, but a short sampling would have to include hundreds (perhaps thousands) of book and magazine covers and interior illustrations, the creation of the SKYLAB 1 mission patch, and the creation of Alfred E. Neuman, the "What? Me Worry?" kid, for William Gaines and "MAD MAGAZINE", a character he even parodied in a typically playful cover for The National Lampoon as Lt. William Calley with the title "What? My Lai?". And let us not forget his revisiting of a magazine cover he created in October 1953 for "ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION STORIES" for Tom Godwin's "The Gulf Between", when he showed a giant robot cradling a broken human in his hand, tears welling up in plaintive eyes. He recreated the piece for the record jacket for Queen's "News Of The World" and created a new piece for the inside spread that included such notables as Dr. Carl Sagan in the panicking crowd.
His lovely and talented wife, Dr. Laura Brodian Kelly-Freas, an accomplished illustrator in her own right, hosts a Classical Music program on KMZT-FM -- www.kmozart.com, 1260AM -- in Los Angeles weekdaily from 7am to noon. Kelly was the founding Coordinating Judge of the L. Ron Hubbard Illustrators Of The Future Contest, and Laura currently sits as a Judge on that panel.
PURELY SILLY
PARLEZ-VOUS FRANCAIS? You
probably don't need to be able to, but it helps. I have a favorite
daily newsletter from mon ami Cyril, who speaks better English than I
speak French, and it is a combination of hilarious or astounding or
terrifying videos from all around the world, and photos, retouches,
cartoons, and a bunch of stuff I scarcely understand. But it's free, it's an interesting point of view from Europe, and it is more often than not sidesplittingly
funny. *IT IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR KIDS UNDER 18 AND IS DEFINITELY NOT WORK-SAFE*! It contains adult humor, occasional nudity, (Occasional! No, this is an adult humor site, there is a LOT of nudity on this site) and serious political parody. This is what The National Lampoon aspired to be in its best moments, but without American censorship. You are warned in advance: this is a mixed media site that will offend everyone, including you. But it's refreshing to see how the rest of the world sees us -- and the rest of the world, and most of its content is charming, artistic, and overwhelmingly funny. With those caveats, I recommend www.yatahonga.com
HUMOR IN THE NEWS I have been a fan of comedian Chris Pena and his lovely POSSLQ, site designer Lisa Coburn (daughter of the late James Coburn, "Our Man Flint", "The Dirty Dozen", "Monsters, Inc.") for over a decade now, and their purely politically-incorrect web page, "Humor In The News", is so far out in left-field that it it will occasionally stun you. But it is a belly-laughing funny site! Chris has a sense of humor that he unabashedly wields like a cudgel rather than a rapier, and he never fails to hit his target. Leave the rapier wit to snobs: Pena batters straight to the bone and offers no quarter. His commentary is blatant, opinionated, ascerbic, irreverent, and hilarious in the extreme. If your tendencies lean toward rabid Republican ultra-conservative, don't bother to even drop in: you will suffer major apoplectic nerve trauma. If, on the other hand, you have an open mind and support unfashionable and treasonous ideas like Freedom of Speech or Freedom of Press, you just might enjoy a visit to this priceless page. 6 stars out of a possible 5! "Humor In The News" delivers!
cartoons, and a bunch of stuff I scarcely understand. But it's free, it's an interesting point of view from Europe, and it is more often than not sidesplittingly
funny. *IT IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR KIDS UNDER 18 AND IS DEFINITELY NOT WORK-SAFE*! It contains adult humor, occasional nudity, (Occasional! No, this is an adult humor site, there is a LOT of nudity on this site) and serious political parody. This is what The National Lampoon aspired to be in its best moments, but without American censorship. You are warned in advance: this is a mixed media site that will offend everyone, including you. But it's refreshing to see how the rest of the world sees us -- and the rest of the world, and most of its content is charming, artistic, and overwhelmingly funny. With those caveats, I recommend www.yatahonga.com
HUMOR IN THE NEWS I have been a fan of comedian Chris Pena and his lovely POSSLQ, site designer Lisa Coburn (daughter of the late James Coburn, "Our Man Flint", "The Dirty Dozen", "Monsters, Inc.") for over a decade now, and their purely politically-incorrect web page, "Humor In The News", is so far out in left-field that it it will occasionally stun you. But it is a belly-laughing funny site! Chris has a sense of humor that he unabashedly wields like a cudgel rather than a rapier, and he never fails to hit his target. Leave the rapier wit to snobs: Pena batters straight to the bone and offers no quarter. His commentary is blatant, opinionated, ascerbic, irreverent, and hilarious in the extreme. If your tendencies lean toward rabid Republican ultra-conservative, don't bother to even drop in: you will suffer major apoplectic nerve trauma. If, on the other hand, you have an open mind and support unfashionable and treasonous ideas like Freedom of Speech or Freedom of Press, you just might enjoy a visit to this priceless page. 6 stars out of a possible 5! "Humor In The News" delivers!
The links on this page are under construction and in a constant state of flux. Please drop by frequently and see what's new!