September 10, 2004

When Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) throws himself a party, he invites the journalism elite to the celebrations.

Guests at his 68th birthday bash included NBC's Tom Brokaw and Tim Russert, ABC's Peter Jennings, Barbara Walters, Ted Koppel and George Stephanopoulos, CBS's Mike Wallace and Dan Rather, CNN's Judy Woodruff and Jeff Greenfield, MSNBC's Chris Matthews, CNBC's Gloria Borger, PBS's Charlie Rose, U.S. News & World Report publisher Mort Zuckerman, Washington Post Chairman Don Graham, New York Times columnists William Safire and David Brooks and USA Today columnist Walter Shapiro.

"I thank God we have no free schools or printing, and I hope that we shall not have these for a hundred years. For learning has brought disobediences and heresy and sects into the world; and printing has divulged them and libels against the government. God keep us from both."
--Sir William Berkeley , Governor, Virginia Colony, 1671

September 8, 2004

A new Jaded Writings column has been posted. This week, I remember the victims of the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks.

* Leo Tolstoy - 9/9/1828
* Stephen Jay Gould - 9/10/41
* Joni Latham - 9/9/57
* O. Henry - 9/11/1862
* D.H. Lawrence - 9/11/1885
* H.L. Mencken - 9/12/1880
* Stanislaw Lem - 9/12/21
* Michael Ondaatje - 9/12/42
* Roald Dahl - 9/13/16
* James Fenimore Cooper - 9/15/1789
* Agatha Christie - 9/15/1890
* Kevin Tisserand - 9/15/66

September 7, 2004

The Hugo Award is the most prestigious honor in science fiction. Named after Hugo Gernsback, "The Father of Magazine Science Fiction," the Hugo is also known as the Science Fiction Achievement Award. The 2004 winners were named over the weekend:

* Best Novel - Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold
* Best Novella - "The Cookie Monster" by Vernor Vinge
* Best Novelette - "Legions in Time" by Michael Swanwick
* Best Short Story - "A Study in Emerald" by Neil Gaiman
* Best Related Book - The Chesley Awards for Science Fiction and Fantasy Art: A Retrospective by John Grant, Elizabeth L. Humphrey and Pamela D. Scoville
* Best Professional Editor - Gardner Dozois
* Best Professional Artist - Bob Eggleton
* Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
* Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form - Gollum's Acceptance Speech at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards
* Best Semi-Prozine - Locus, Charles N. Brown, Jennifer A. Hall and Kirsten Gong-Wong, eds.
* Best Fanzine - Emerald City, Cheryl Morgan, ed.
* Best Fan Writer - Dave Langford
* Best Fan Artist - Frank Wu

Congratulations, everyone!

* driving to Key West
* the arrival of autumn
* roasting marshmallows over a campfire
* badminton
* Dunkin’ Donuts' Boston Creams

September 5, 2004

Approximately 30,000 irreplaceable books were destroyed on Sept. 2 in a fire at the Anna Amalia Library in Germany. The entire collection of its first librarian and the sheet music archive of the library's patron, Anna Amalia (1739-1807), the duchess of Saxony-Weimar, were some of the treasures lost in the blaze. Firefighters and local residents were able to save 120,000 books, however, including a 1534 Bible owned by Martin Luther.

If you type "blog" into Google, The Blog of Death appears in the top 100 listings. In fact, I'm at #33 -- just below Wil Wheaton and Andrew Sullivan.

Past Afterthoughts