Thursday already?

[lance_sibley]

Where has the week gone?

Work continues to go well - I've spent the last two days trying to solve a nasty problem with an export-to-Excel function on the website taking far too long, and I think that a solution is in sight. I managed to get about half of it coded before I had to leave around 5 to get to my VB class.

We got our results back tonight from Tuesday's quiz - I got 33 out of 35, for 94%. It was funny - when I turned in my answers, the instructor looked at me quizzically because in a stretch of something like 14 answers, 13 of them were "B". He said, "I guess I should have mixed them up a bit?" I had expected that I would have gotten at least a couple of them wrong, but I wasn't about to go back and second-guess myself, and it turned out to be the right decision - my two incorrect answers were to later questions. (I suppose I ought to have a look and see what the questions actually were, and try to find out the correct answers...)

Tonight we didn't really have a class per se, but we were to use the three hours to work on our second assignment, the due date of which has been pushed back 5 days to April 8. Two of the five of us in the class didn't bother to show up, and a third only came in for about five minutes because he'd forgotten to save his work to date on a USB key or email the files to himself, so he couldn't work on it tonight. I was the only one who stayed right until 9:30, actually, despite the fact that I would have much preferred to come straight home because I need sleep. However, I made some good progress, and now I just need to make my output prettier, and finish one more section. I hope to be able to get that out of the way this weekend, and then I'll be able to answer all of the Polaris-related emails that have been piling up in my Inbox (along with several responses to comments here).

Edited to add: I had meant to post this year's Hugo nominees, which were announced this morning.

Nippon 2007
The 65th World Science Fiction Convention
P.O. Box 314
Annapolis Junction, MD 20701-0314
FAX (301) 622-1951 or
FAX (818) 450-0769
info@nippon2007.us
http://www.nipon2007.us

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nippon 2007 is delighted to announce the nominees for the 2007 Hugo Awards (for work done in 2006). The Hugo Awards are science fiction's highest honor for professional and fan work.

The winners will be announced at the Hugo Awards Ceremonies during the 65th World Science Fiction Convention in Yokohama, Japan, on Saturday, September 1st. The ceremony will begin at 6:00 p.m. JPT. The Worldcon will be held in the PACIFICO YOKOHAMA Convention Center on August 30th - September 3, 2007.

The Hugo Awards (and site selection) ballots are being mailed to our members in a stand-alone mailing in addition to being included in Progress Report 5, due to be mailed in late April. Online voting will be available to all eligible voters, and printable versions of the ballot will also be included on the Nippon 2007 web site. Only supporting and attending members of Nippon 2007 may vote on the Hugo Awards.

To join Nippon 2007 and vote for the works and people you think were the best in 2006, write us at the address above or see our web pages (www.nippon2007.us) for more information.

The 2007 Hugo Awards nominations include finalists in 14 categories, plus the John W. Campbell Award (not a Hugo), listed below. As part of the transition between rule sets, the sponsors of the John W. Campbell award extended the eligibility for writers whose eligibility was reduced to one year because of the rules change that went into effect in 2006. This will only affect
the awards for 2007.

As a result of a change ratified by the World Science Fiction Society in 2006, the former Best Professional Editor category has been replaced with two categories: Best Editor, Short Form and Best Editor, Long Form.

2007 Hugo Award Nominees (Total Voters : 409)

Novel

Votes: 1009 Voters: 327
Range: 35 - 58

Eifelheim by Michael Flynn (Tor)
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik (Del Rey: Voyager 1/06 as Temeraire)
Glasshouse by Charles Stross (Ace)
Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge (Tor)
Blindsight by Peter Watts (Tor)

Novella
Votes: 424 Voters: 167
Range: 26 - 34

"The Walls of the Universe" by Paul Melko (Asimov's April/May 2006)
"A Billion Eves" by Robert Reed (Asimov's October/November 2006)
“Inclination" by William Shunn (Asimov's April/May 2006)
"Lord Weary's Empire" by Michael Swanwick (Asimov's December 2006)
"Julian: A Christmas Story" by Robert Charles Wilson (PS Publishing)

Novelette
Votes: 564 Voters: 191
Range: 21 - 34

"Yellow Card Man" by Paolo Bacigalupi (Asimov's December 2006)
"Dawn, and Sunset, and the Colours of the Earth" by Michael F. Flynn (Asimov's October/November 2006)
"The Djinn's Wife" by Ian McDonald (Asimov's July 2006)
"All the Things You Are" by Mike Resnick (Jim Baen's Universe October 2006)
"Pol Pot's Beautiful Daughter (Fantasy)" by Geoff Ryman (Fantasy and Science Fiction October 2006)

Short Story
Votes: 608 Voters: 214
Range: 16 - 43

"How to Talk to Girls at Parties" by Neil Gaiman (Fragile Things, William Morrow)
"Kin" by Bruce McAllister (Asimov's February 2006)
"Impossible Dreams" by Tim Pratt (Asimov's July 2006)
"Eight Episodes" by Robert Reed (Asimov's June 2006)
"The House Beyond Your Sky" by Benjamin Rosenbaum (Strange Horizons September 2006)

Related Book
Votes: 403 Voters: 190
Range: 21 - 93

About Writing: Seven Essays, Four Letters, and Five Interviews by Samuel R. Delany (Wesleyan University Press)
Heinlein's Children: The Juveniles by Joseph T. Major (Advent: Publishing)
James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon by Julie Phillips (St. Martin's)
Cover Story: The Art of John Picacio by John Picacio (MonkeyBrain Books)
Worldcon Guest of Honor Speeches by Mike Resnick and Joe Siclari, eds. (ISFiC Press)

Dramatic Long Form
Votes: 678 Voters: 242
Range: 30 - 101

Children of Men

• Screenplay by Alfonso Cuaron and Timothy J. Sexton.


• Directed by Alfonso Cuaron. (Universal Pictures)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

• Screenplay by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio.


• Directed by Gore Verbinski. (Walt Disney Pictures)

The Prestige

• Screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan.


• Directed by Christopher Nolan. (Touchstone Pictures)

A Scanner Darkly

• Screenplay by Richard Linklater.


• Directed by Richard Linklater. (Warner Independent Pictures)

V for Vendetta

• Screenplay by David Lloyd.


• Directed by James McTeigue (Warner Bros.)

Dramatic Short Form
Votes: 525 Voters: 179
Range: 22 - 64

Battlestar Galactica "Downloaded"

• Writers Bradley Thompson and David Weddle.


• Directed by Jeff Woolnough. (NBC Universal/British Sky)

Doctor Who "Army of Ghosts" and "Doomsday"

• Written by Russell T. Davies.


• Directed by Graeme Harper. (BBC Wales/BBC1)

Doctor Who "Girl in the Fireplace"

• Written by Steven Moffat.


• Directed by Euros Lyn. (BBC Wales/BBC1)

Doctor Who "School Reunion"

• Written by Toby Whithouse.


• Directed by James Hawes. (BBC Wales/BBC1)

Stargate SG-1 "200"

• Written by Brad Wright, Robert C. Cooper, Joseph Mallozzi, Paul Mullie, Carl Binder, Martin Gero, and Alan McCullough.


• Directed by Martin Wood. (Double Secret Productions/NBC Universal)"

Editor, Long
Votes: 543 Voters: 191
Range: 28 - 88

Lou Anders (Pyr)
James Patrick Baen (Baen Books)
Ginjer Buchanan (Ace Books / Roc)
David G. Hartwell (Tor Books)
Patrick Nielsen Hayden (Tor Books)

Editor, Short
Votes: 584 Voters: 211
Range: 26 - 92

Gardner Dozois (The Year's Best Science Fiction)
David G. Hartwell (Year's Best SF / New York Review of Science Fiction)
Stanley Schmidt (Analog)
Gordon Van Gelder (Fantasy and Science Fiction)
Sheila Williams (Asimov's)

Pro Artist
Votes: 695 Voters: 199
Range: 28 - 71

Bob Eggleton
Donato Giancola
Stephan Martiniere
John Jude Palencar
John Picacio

Fan Writer
Votes: 493 Voters: 182
Range: 21 - 39

Chris Garcia
John Hertz
Dave Langford
John Scalzi
Steven H Silver

Semi Prozine
Votes: 361 Voters: 159
Range: 22 - 76

Ansible edited by Dave Langford
Interzone edited by Andy Cox
Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet edited by Gavin Grant and Kelly Link
Locus edited by Charles N. Brown, Kirsten Gong-Wong and Liza Groen Trombi
The New York Review of Science Fiction edited by Kathryn Cramer, David G. Hartwell and Kevin J. Maroney

Fanzine
Votes: 362 Voters: 155
Range: 23 - 28

Banana Wings edited by Claire Brialey and Mark Plummer
Challenger edited by Guy H. Lillian III
The Drink Tank edited by Chris Garcia
Plokta edited by Alison Scott, Steve Davies and Mike Scott"
Science-Fiction Five-Yearly edited by Lee Hoffman, Geri Sullivan and Randy Byers

Fan Artist
Votes: 305 Voters:141
Range: 23 - 59

Brad W. Foster
Teddy Harvia
Sue Mason
Steve Stiles
Frank Wu

Campbell Award
Votes: 551 Voters: 200
Range: 24 - 81

Scott Lynch (1st Year)
Sarah Monette (2nd year)
Naomi Novik (1st year)
Brandon Sanderson (2nd Year)
Lawrence M. Schoen (2nd Year)

Comments

[the-pirate-show.livejournal.com]

I never did see Children of Men- it came out while I was rehearsing and starting out on this tour, and there was just no time. A Scanner Darkly, however... brilliant.

[cuteteenboy.livejournal.com]

I think either Downloaded or Girl in the Fireplace should win the Hugo for best dramatic short form.

200 was freaking fantastic, it was easily my personal favorite of the lot, but for entirely different reasons than should be considered for this Hugo category. To me, "Best Dramatic Short Form" isn't about favorites, and 200 was really more of a comedy anyway. Really, Girl in the Fireplace deserves it the most.

-D man

[kipron.livejournal.com]

congrats on the exam! :)

i'm a little disappointed about the episode they nominated for BSG. For my money there were MUCH better episodes that aired in 2006. New Caprica, anybody?

[boywhocantsayno.livejournal.com]

The tastes of the Hugo nominators and voters can be a little strange when it comes to media - and if you'll notice, the number of people nominating in the Short Form category was less than half of the total number of people who sent in ballots.

For the most part, the people who participate in the Hugo process tend to be readers rather than watchers, and a good number of them are a bit snobbish about it, claiming that there's no such thing as a good SF film or television show. (And before anyone else reads this and lambastes me, I know some examples of people like this personally. I'm not saying everyone is like that, just that it's not unheard of.) So what a person who primarily reads SF considers to be a good television show is much different than what you or I would consider to be good. Remember, these are largely the same group of people who nominated Enterprise's "A Night In Sickbay".

[wychwood]

Hey, congratulations on the job thing! That's really great :) I know I'm late to the party, but I only just saw...

[boywhocantsayno.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm really feeling good about it, especially right now - I had a really productive week, as you may have seen in some of my more recent posts.

[kanecool.livejournal.com]

I'm glad someone's having a quick week! Mine is achingly slow and I have to go in again for a few hours tomorrow. bleah. I suppose I could've refused, but I feel that I was hired because I said I was willing to work the occasional Saturday. I didn't think it would be in the first week though! I've already done 53 hours (including today's 11).