Weekly Links 20090531

Misc

– This is an old story now, but it still makes me laugh.  Hypocrisy tends to do that.

– Well, it had to happen.  A solar powered motorcycle.

– I happened to stumble upon an absolutely beautiful picture to the Space Shuttle ‘Enterprise’.

Writing

– It goes almost without saying that the earliest forms of storytelling involved a storyteller. Without the devices of a stage, props, actors, or effects, all you’re left with is a storyteller to explain things in words, either orally or in a written record. Homer’s Iliad is an oral epic that describes the Trojan War, not as a history or a collection of facts from reliable sources, but from the point of view of an omniscient narrator who’s able to tell us about the thoughts and motivations of the characters, and the dealings of the gods.  Narrative in games.

– Keycon, Winnipeg’s fan driven Science Fiction and Fantasy convention was held during the May long weekend.  The convention doesn’t usually have what I would call a ‘strong writers track’, but they’re getting better every year.  One attendee this year, and a past guest I believe, was Robert J. Sawyer.  He sat on some panels, did a reading from his latest book Wake, and basically just mingled with the Con people.  I’ve had an opportunity to meet him 3 or 4 times now, and he has proven to be an extremely approachable and friendly guy.  Thanks for coming to Winnipeg Rob.

– A police officer that writes talks about the hows and whys of a police officers body language.  Good stuff.

– I was led to a web site the other that has detailed documentation on Psychology, all aimed at writers.