…lture” (when in truth I know almost nothing about North America!). This assumption comes about because the hegemony is so huge and pervasive that it becomes, itself, an invisible mass and the default assumption. Mostly, if you write in English and aren’t breaking into malapropisms or broken syntax constantly, you’re immediately assumed to be “one of them,” part of the western paradigm. (also, because I know this is going to come up at some point,…

…“Chở củi về rừng”: “carrying wood into the forest/jungle”. Doing useless things (like “carrying coal to Newcastle”, an English proverb I learnt at the same time as the Vietnamese one). Hahaha, that one is hilarious. In other news, I have 3k words on the novel. One of my fave characters just showed up (great cook, good sense of humour, major temper. What’s not to love). Just one more scene, and I’ll be done with chapter 1!…

…ors and the bodhisattva Quan Am to find strength; but that it would always come back to that core of dark thoughts within you, that fundamental fright you carried with you like a yin shadow in your heart. I know, of course, where it started. I took you to the ship–because I had no choice, because Khi Phach was away on some merchant trip to the Twenty-Third Planet–because you were a quiet and well-behaved son, and the birth-master would have attend…

…stick in the mouth of the dead, the references to two of the great rivers of Vietnam, etc.) -The Million Writers Awards longlist is now up (many thanks to Jason Sanford and the tireless judges). It includes “Exodus Tides”, published in IGMS (and, by a happy coincidence, collected in my forthcoming ebook sampler Scattered Among Strange Worlds); and many other familiar names from Ken Liu to Mari Ness. Also includes “Ghostweight” by Yoon Ha Lee, one…

…(via Jay Lake and Jennifer Jackson): Congratulations to Ken Scholes and his wife Jenn on the birth of their twin daughters: Elizabeth 5 lbs 3 oz, Rachel 5 lbs 6 oz – as of about 9 am (Pacific)….

…take you’ll soon rue. Also, “Rồng” when pronounced English-style really is undistinguishable from “wrong”, which is a little problematic for actual comprehension… And, finally, it’s really hard to mix Vietnamese and English when talking, unless it’s for safe words like “phở” that I know very well… But it went well overall; at least no one ran away screaming 😀 Among the attendees were Cristian Tamas, Eugen Lenghel, Marian Truta, Alexandru Mironov,…

…OK, so I’ve given it a try, but it’s not working out. Clearly the novel thing needs a little more of my focused attention, and I can’t do this while managing a blog and a twitter and a facebook. Accordingly, I’m having a mini-darkness notice: I’ll still post about the important stuff, and do a few things, but I’m cutting back on my internet consumption….

…cks Dig Time Lords… In Chicks Unravel Time, editors Deborah Stanish (Whedonistas) and L.M. Myles bring together a host of award-winning female writers, media professionals and scientists to examine each season of new and classicDoctor Who from their unique perspectives. Diana Gabaldon discusses how Jamie McCrimmon inspired her best-selling Outlander series, and Barbara Hambly (Benjamin January Mysteries) examines the delicate balance of rebooting…

…much idea of what I’m up to, other than this engagement, having lunch on Sunday, and presumably wandering into Forbidden Planet at some point 🙂 ETA: I have the con schedule, thanks to Shana Worthen and Simon Bradshaw 10:00 am Welcome (SFF) 10:05 am BSFA Event 11 am Aliette de Bodard interview with Edward James 12 pm – 12:45 SFF AGM 12:45 pm – 1: 45 pm Lunch 1:45 pm – 2:30 pm BSFA AGM 2:30 pm – Marek Kukula talk 3:30 pm – SF & Colonialism panel wi…

…be out by Loncon 3, and hopefully there’ll be some sort of launch event around then. “The Frost on Jade Buds” is set in the Xuya universe, in an asteroid belt on the edge of the Dai Viet Empire; and it deals with the aftermath of a terrible war, and the fallout from the powerful weapons employed then. Very loosely inspired by the use of Agent Orange and land mines in the Vietnamese/American war, which are still a problem today. As usual, many than…