I suspect it won't do any good to protest that I was just talking about stories...
In other news, two interesting pieces of information in sf these days. One is the demise of OMNI magazine's internet version, laying off Ellen Datlow and several other editors (first heard from the Market Maven, confirmed by Ellen). Ick yuck. This is bad, because I had great hopes for on-line magazines based partly on this one -- it went on-line and continued paying its authors top rates. The parent company, General Media, plans to do a print version, but who knows when and how regularly? Ellen was not encouraging.
The other interesting piece of news is that over in Britain, in response to really ridiculous charges of pedophilia (or paedophilia, as they appear to spell it), Sir Arthur C. Clarke announced that not only had he not had sex for many years (the man is 80), but that he was also quite gay, and had no interest in molesting little girls (the charge brought against him in the newspapers). Clarke's queerness had been long quietly suspected, as he lives with a male companion in Sri Lanka and has for many years, but we now have definitive proof. He said that he might write a new book incorporating it. The response I've seen so far in the sf community has been neither shock nor dismay at the revelation, but rather matter-of-factness and a hope that he'll actually write the new book himself... If you haven't read Clarke, _Childhood's End_ is a stunning book, one of the best of classic sf.
Yesterday I had dinner with Jed at New Delhi Junction in Berkeley (the curries were tasty, but the naan and samosas and rice were all overly oily, ick). Afterwards we stopped at Cody's and he bought me a book! :-) Isabel Allende's new _Aphrodite_, a book on eroticism and food. "Appetite and sex are the great motivators of history. They preserve and propagate the species, they provoke wars and songs, they influence religions, law and art. All of creation is one long uninterrupted cycle of digestion and fertility." The book appears to be a combination of personal reminiscence, folklore, historical legends, bits of literature, and recipes. Perhaps more -- I haven't read it yet. I love the way it starts..."The fiftieth year of our life is like the last hour of dusk, when the sun has set and one turns naturally toward reflection. In my case, however, dusk incites me to sin, and perhaps for that reason, in my fiftieth year I find myself reflecting on my relationship with food and eroticism; the weaknesses of the flesh that most tempt me are not, alas, those I have practiced most." The back cover has a totally succulent picture of the author, topless, shielded by a bowl of fruit. You go, girl! Even if the book turns out to be as light and frothy as I suspect, it'll make a lovely coffee table piece, and it's always nice to see a serious literary author dipping into open eroticism.
Shmuel, I managed to accidentally delete your mail before replying. Thanks for the comments on the stories, and on the broken link in yesterday's journal. Fixed.
Back to work, my dears. Talk to y'all later...