A Curious Statistical Anomaly

We actually made it to the 8:30 a.m. panel this morning. The protesters were already picketing the hotel and happened to be just under our window. Evidently the Sheraton, here in Baltimore, is negotiating with their staff and things are not going well. The union had asked the convention to cancel but since that means the organizers are then responsible to pay all costs of the contract (which is a tremendous financial burden) it was impossible to cancel or to move to another venue. So, there’s is a picket line just outside the front of the hotel. I was a union steward years ago so this is a bit of a tough situation. But to eat or sightsee, I’ve got to cross that line because I’m staying here in the hotel. It’s a bit of an uncomfortable situation for all the conference attendees.

I Fought the Law panel

8:30 a.m. I Fought The Law: Has CSI ruined the way we view reality? Panelists: John French (moderator), Lee Lofland, Gwen Freeman, Jonathan Hayes, Cody McFadyen.
There seemed to be no doubt that forensic science and CSI had upped the stakes in trials as people expected there to be a lot of forensic evidence and less guesswork in the prosecution of a person.
Shows and movies and authors the panel thought to have gotten it right: Bones, Medium, Dexter (except for the blood spatter thing), Jeffrey Deaver, James Lee Burke, Robert Fate, and Lee Childs.
Mentioned that criminals were also getting educated. For example, most rapists now wear condoms thinking that keeps them from leaving DNA evidence at the scene but usually they tear open the condom packaging with their teeth leaving DNA evidence. McFadyen mentioned that the profiles of rapists were changing to take into account the new mindset of those who do not wear condoms.
Evidently, bloody evidence doesn’t go into plastic bags — even though they always do that in the shows.
That Urban justice departments usually have far more people in their crime scene divisions working on the evidence than rural areas, and that it probably meant that you have a better chance of finding the criminal or getting to the truth of the evidence in an urban area.
On the subject of digital evidence, they stressed the need for a very, very, very, strict chain of evidence when using/collecting/enhancing or whatever digital evidence of any kind.

Stop I'm Already Dead Panel

10:00 a.m. Stop I’m Already Dead: Keeping a series interesting.
Panelists: Jerry Healy, Felicia Donovan, Jeff Cohen (moderator), Mark de Castrique, and Hope McIntyre.
Suggestions for keeping a series fresh and interesting to the readers included such things as:

• Tie the plot into something that is controversial or socially important and with legs enough to last until the book hits the shelves. That keeps it relevant to the reader.
• Sometimes to keep it fresh, the author needs to stop and do something else for a while so they approach the characters and series with a new outlook.
• If it’s going to be a series, make sure you like your characters because you are going to be spending a lot of time with them. If you get sick of them, it will show to the reader.
• Have enough continuing characters of depth so that you have a pool of secondary characters to draw on for plot.
• Let characters grow or let the relationships between the characters grow. They shouldn’t necessarily be stagnant but some successful series do have non-changing characters.
• Having your main character being put into the “fish out of water” plot seems to keep it fresh. In other words, take the character out of the comfort zone. If an urbanite, put the character in a rural setting — whatever make the character uncomfortable.

The panel got into a side discussion about the importance of the author’s last name for placement of books in bookstores to maximize sales. Having a name that puts you about eye level seems to be best.

Dealer's Room

We walked quickly through the dealer’s room before the next panel to get an idea of what was there. Nearly all the dealers are book sellers, which is great for me. The silent auction items are to the back of the room and there are some outstanding collections of items up for bid.

I also noticed a wheelchair bound person stumped as the panel he wanted to attend was up a set of stairs and there was no ramp or lift to get up there. Some thought if he left the hotel got into the plaza outside and went around he might be able to get on that level. Another woman I talked with, who had a walker, said that at one point to get to the lift she had to go up a flight of stairs. The hotel is not quite as accessible as some of the attendees would like.

Wolfesbane and Mistletoe (Anthology) Panel

11:30 a.m. Werewolves of London: Wolfsbane and Mistletoe, a Christmas Anthology.
Panelists: Toni L.P. Kelner (moderator), J.A. Konrath, Alan Gordon, Charlaine Harris, Donna Andrews, Dana Cameron, and Kat Richardson.
This new anthology, just out in bookstores, is of stories that are about werewolves and Christmas. The members of the panel were all contributors to the anthology and Toni and Charlaine were the editors. The panel talked about their stories and their take on werewolves. There was also mention of the duality of werewolves who are human most of the month and then turn to the “other”. They retain their humanity and yet know what they become — this is a great opportunity for writers to layer on a lot of issues.
When asked about worldbuilding and how difficult it is to do with short stories vs long. Toni had an interesting analogy. All the authors agreed that world building was easier for short stories. Toni said it’s like having company that never leaves the living room so you don’t have to clean the rest of the house. That seemed so great an idea — in a short story you’re just essentially telling one thing and you don’t need a full blown world because a lot of it is just accepted due to the story length, and you don’t need a lot of detail. In a novel you need to know how everything works because it’s a longer work and people will begin to wonder.

Now it’s our lunch break — and we’re hoping to post this before going back to the afternoon panels.

Today is the first day of Bouchercon, Charmed to Death, being held in Baltimore, Maryland from October 9th to Sunday, October 12th. Since we live in Maryland, we debated driving up each day or staying at the hotel but finally got a hotel room. The deciding factors were the price of gasoline, the time to drive up here (about 1 hour 20 minutes if not during rush hour), and the fact that programming starts at 8:30 a.m.

We didn’t have an auspicious beginning. Hyperion ended up working more than forty hours between Monday and Wednesday — and thus was a bit sleep deprived.  So, instead of getting out of the house early this morning, we ended up setting out a bit after noon — running a few errands on the way up state and arriving in time to check in, settle in our room and get to the last panel of that day at 4:30.

Do You Want to Know a Secret Panel

4:30 PM: Do You Want To Know a Secret? What I wish I knew starting out. Panelists: Jan Brogan, Hallie Ephron, Rosemary Harris, Hank Phillippi Ryan, and Roberta Isleib.
This was an amazing panel of useful information for any beginning writer. Each of the panelists talked about what they wish they’d known before they got published. The discussion/advice covered many areas including: writing the first draft (page limits per day, word limits per day, writing front to back, skipping around writing scenes and then connecting, outlining, critique groups or not…), revising (when you finish the first draft, wait two weeks minimum then read it through taking notes on what works and what doesn’t — don’t revise right off, just read and take notes. Once you finish go over and read your notes. At this point you begin your revisions). They also discussed getting agents (difficult, but always follow their instruction in Writer’s Market or whatever publication you saw the listing in — if they want a query letter send query letter, if they want a chapter send a chapter — do what they ask in the manner they want it). Publicity: small or large bookmarks, postcards, magnets (remember they’re heavy to lug around), little baggies with gifts, the key is — is it fun, is it wasting your time?). There was a lot of other material covered — but that’s what I remember and it’s all good advice.

We then broke for supper. The Opening Ceremony was scheduled for 7 PM.

We walked down to the harbor. The harbor has a mall and food court and lots of restaurants. It was also a chance to stretch our legs and take a breather. We ate and walked back, noting lots of fast food places closer to the hotel for maybe other days. We got back just in time to drop our stuff in our room and go back for opening ceremonies.

7 PM: Opening Ceremonies.

The Chairs of the convention, Ruth Jordan and Judy Bobalik, introduced the Toastmaster for Bouchercon 2008, Mark Billingham. He gave a short welcome and talk and had us all laughing. He introduced each of the Guests of Honor. The guest then came up and gave a short talk.

• American Guest of Honor – Laura Lippman
• International Guest of Honor – John Harvey
• Distinguished Contribution to the Genre: Lawrence BLock
• Lifetime Achievement – Barbara Peters and Robert Rosenwald of Poison Pen Press
• Fan Guest of Honor – Thalia Proct

Then they started giving out awards. I know I’m probably actually giving them out of order but this is the way I remember it. (No wonder eye witnesses are so untrustworthy.)

First up was the Macavity Awards by Mystery Readers International. The award is a cat curled up on two books that are slightly offset.

• Best Mystery Novel: Laura Lippman: What the Dead Know (Morrow)
• Best First Mystery: Tana French: In the Woods (Hodder & Stoughton*/Viking)
• Best Mystery Short Story: Rhys Bowen: “Please Watch Your Step” (The Strand Magazine, Spring 2007)
• Best Mystery Non-Fiction: Roger Sobin, editor/compiler: The Essential Mystery Lists: For Readers,
• Collectors, and Librarians (Poisoned Pen Press)
• Sue Feder Memorial Historical Mystery: Ariana Franklin: Mistress of the Art of Death (Putnam)

Then the Barry Awards were presented. This was a lovely plaque. The awards are from Deadly Pleasures and Mystery News magazines. The award is named after Barry Gardner a mystery reviewer. I would really like to list the winners of the award but I didn’t have my notebook with me and I don’t want to get it wrong. I’m sure the winners will be up on their website soon. Or if I find a copy of the winner list somewhere I’ll add it in here. [Hyperion: I’m going to check with Press Services first thing in the morning]

Crimespree then announced their award winners. This award was also a plaque. From my chair it looked like it was writing on one half (probably the details and year) and then a book cover on the other half. It looked really nice.:

• Favorite Book of 2007: The Unquiet by John Connolly (Atria)
• Favorite Ongoing Series: Inspector Banks by Peter Robinson (Morrow)
• Favorite First Novel: Big City, Bad Blood by Sean Chercover (Morrow)
• Favorite Anthology: Expletive Deleted edited by Jennifer Jordan (Bleak House Books)
• Favorite Comic Book Writer: Brian Azzarello for 100 Bullets.

The audience was then dismissed to have fun, read, party, and track down friends old and new. We on the other hand, took some more photos and then scurried to our room to send you this update.

We’ll be updating regularly from the convention and then will do an overview report on Gumshoe Review after the convention.

Watched the second presidential debate last night and as far as I’m concerned Obama won — again. This one was in town hall format which was said to be McCain’s forte. However, I felt both candidates seemed comfortable in the set-up. After the debate, we stayed on CNN for the analysis just to see what they thought of things.

This morning when I checked the news, I learned that most of the pundits think Obama won also. Not surprising really since McCain didn’t give much you could work with except he’s a maverick — not. I also visited the independent fact checking sites this morning. I’ve noticed that when the republican candidates state something as fact and you check it out, it turns out to be either a down-right lie or misleading. On the other hand, checking the facts put forth by the democratic candidates, you find that either it’s the truth or misleading. Misleading I expect — each party is trying to put the best spin on their candidate but lies I can’t tolerate. What’s is especially annoying is that even when it’s pointed out to the republican candidates/party that their information is erroneous/false, they still keep harping on it — they don’t care if they lie as long as they get elected. Sheesh, I hope no one falls for their falsehoods, but based on what people say I guess if you tell the same lie often enough some people will believe it since they don’t bother to check things out themselves — on the principle that they couldn’t say it if it wasn’t true.

One of the things that I found interesting was that the focus group of 25 people in Ohio were given dials which they could turn to the positive side if they agreed with the candidate or felt a connection with the candidate. Throughout the debate Obama pretty much stayed above the median line and most of the time nearly hit the top of the positive area; when he did go negative it wasn’t very low either. McCain on the other hand often just hugged the center line with occasional forays into negative and positive (but never as high as Obama). Now the interesting things was that after the debate the group was asked who they think did the best job and it was overwhelmingly McCain. So, even thought throughout the debate they liked and connected most with Obama based on their dialing indicators, they said they like McCain best. I think this indicates a disconnect between what we think when we’re concentrating and reacting at the time and what our base response is. It seems no matter what you see or hear, you’ll fall back on your set preferences even when they don’t match your preferences as you indicate them during the debate. Hmmmmm….lots of potential for research here.

The image for this political post is for the movie An American President. I love the movies not so much for the love story, though that is interesting and well done, but because of the speech near the end. Michael Douglas playing Andrew Shepard saying … well why try to write it when you can listen to it.

What he expresses in this speech is what I think are the true tenets of democracy. It is hard. You do have to work at it. You must question your leaders and don’t fall for the feel good line. Listen. Think. Vote in November.

Wonder what they’ll do for the next debate.

When I was reading CNN this morning, I saw a link to a science article called “Meltdown: A global warming travelog“. I’ve always heard the saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. I believe in it mostly because there’s so many times that I just can’t express what I want but if I show it to someone they “get it” immediately.

Global warming is, next to the economy and health care, one of the most important problems facing our country and the world. Global warming effects the world — not just the US. Even more important, because it does effect the entire world (remember it’s global), it will effect us here in the US whether we believe in it or not — no matter how much our politicians pretend it’s not important.

Well, I went the CNN article which was basically a short paragraph description and a short narrated slide show of photos. I found the slide show to be so jaw-dropping in images. I’m talking about the before and after glacier photos:

The Pasterze Glacier in the Austrian Alps, in 1875 and then in 2004.

The Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park, Canada, in a 1917 and again in 2005

The difference between the two photos shows more clearly and concisely than any million words just how much trouble our Earth is in.

I haven’t read the entire book, What Matters by David Elliot Cohen and photography by Gary Braasch. But you can check the book out at its website where there is a e-version available that appears to be free. Here’s the book description from Amazon:

For more than a century, photography has revealed truths, exposed lies, advanced the public discourse, and inspired people to demand change. Socially conscious pioneers with cameras transformed the world—and that legacy lives on in this eye-opening, thought-provoking, and (we hope) action-inducing book. Like Jacob Riis’s How the Other Half Lives, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, and Jonathan Schell’s The Fate of the Earth before it, we believe that What Matters will fundamentally alter the way we see and understand the human race and our planet.

What Matters asks: What are the essential issues of our time? What are the pictures that will spark public outrage and spur reform? The answer appears in 18 powerful, page-turning stories by the foremost photojournalists of our age, edited by The New York Times best-selling author/editor David Elliot Cohen (A Day in the Life and America 24/7 series), and featuring trenchant commentary from well-recognized experts and thinkers in appropriate fields. Photographer Gary Braasch and climate-change guru Bill McKibben provide “A Global Warming Travelogue” that takes us from ice caves in Antarctica to smoke-spewing coal plants in Beijing. Brent Stirton and Peter A. Glick examine a “Thirsty World,” chronicling the daily search for clean water in non-developed countries. James Nachtwey and bestselling poverty expert Jeffrey D. Sachs look at the causes of, and cures for, global poverty in “The Bottom Billion.” Stephanie Sinclair and Judith Bruce present the preteen brides of Afghanistan, Nepal, and Ethiopia.

Sometimes the juxtaposition of photographs can be startling: “Shop ’til We Drop,” Lauren Greenfield’s images of upscale consumer culture, starkly contrast with Shehzad Noorani’s “Children of the Black Dust”—child laborers in Bangladesh, their faces blackened with carbon dust from recycled batteries.

The combination of compelling photographs and insightful writing make this a highly relevant, widely discussed book bound to appeal to anyone concerned about the crucial issues shaping our world. What Matters is, in effect, a 336-page illustrated letter to the next American president about the issues that count. It will inspire readers to do their part—however small—to make a difference: to help, the volume includes extensive “What You Can Do” sections with a menu of web links and effective actions readers can take now. This year give What Matters.

It looks from what I read of the e-version (sampling some chapters), that this might be a book that can get people talking about global warming beyond the usual response of “if global warming exists it wouldn’t be so cold in the winter”. Our climate is changing and it’s changing far more rapidly than scientists have predicted. There’s now an almost clear passage at the north pole. Antarctica is losing huge chunks of its iceshelf and other areas are degrading. There was a recent report that the nitrogen is now being released from the northern ice where its been sequestered. The Earth is in trouble and it’s time to stop talking about whether the problem exists and talk about what to do to adapt to the changes that global warming is going to make in our lives — I think we’re beyond talking about how to stop it. Now we need to deal with the repercussions and this book might, with it’s wonderful photographs be a way of explaining it to those who need to see to believe.

Someone pointed me to this youtube video. I loved what Taylor Mali was talking about and it got me thinking. First watch the video then read my thoughts.

Back in the dark ages, I was very active in women’s rights issues. I also taught courses in Assertiveness Training. One of the key issues that always had to be dealt with was how women talked. When you listen careful, there are still a lot of women that end every sentence with a slight uprising inflection that turns a statement into a question. It’s as if they’re asking permission to have that opinion. Women who expected to have a chance at breaking through the glass ceiling had to train themselves to actually make declarative sentences without the rising inflection that seemed so natural to them.

Things have changed a lot since then; there’s still often a glass ceiling, but it’s usually also invisible. PC or political correctness has made as all afraid to speak our minds. There is, however, a very big difference between talking down to someone, insulting someone, and expressing an opinion. Lately, expressing an opinion different from the person you are speaking with has somehow become wrong. I truly don’t understand that view of things and it often gets me into trouble but then I, unlike some others I could name, am a maverick.

It is our duty to express our opinions. It’s our right to let people know when we disagree with them, provided — and this is a big exception — we do it with respect and courtesy. That’s not difficult to do, but you do need to be sensitive to the other person and remember they don’t have to believe or think the same way you do. Guess what? People can disagree with each other and still be friends, colleagues, or co-workers. Most of the problems today stem from the fact that we’re so busy trying to be just like everyone else, trying hard to not stand out, and that means that none of us are happy.

Personally, I think a lot of this has to do with how we talk to each other. Speak clearly, concisely, with respect, courtesy, and with authority.

So what do you think about how you talk? Do you question authority? Do you speak with conviction?

A bit late as usual but here’s the October coffee cup. This month I chose a sunflower cup. Somehow, even though I found this cup on sale around June or July, it just seems to shout FALL to me. The leaves around here are starting to turn (well some of them are). The temps are going down into the 50s at night and not higher than 70s during the warm days. The garden is still putting out green tomatoes and some lettuce. But, I know it’s the beginning of the end of summer here.

We brought our Meyer Lemon Tree in off the deck for the winter. He was already not particularly liking the cooler night time temps. He dropped a bunch of leaves in protest. So, now he sits on the rug in front of the sliding glass doors and seems to be all perky and happy. (Okay, so I anthropomorphise my plants — scientific studies have shown that plants like to be talked to and giving them gender and names — this one is Meyer, variety and name, I never said I was original — makes it easier to talk to them.)

This month is going to be very busy. Next weekend, Hyperion and I will be at Bouchercon which is a mystery convention. I’ve never been before so it should be lots of fun. We’re going to be covering the convention for Gumshoe Review. Our usual method is to blog about the convention daily with some photos. Then we do a major upload of photographs to the Gumshoe Review Flickr account, and a general overview of the convention for Gumshoe with a pointer to the daily, more detail blog reports.

We’ll also be attending Capclave. Capclave is the science fiction convention sponsored by WSFA (Washington Science Fiction Association) — tagline is: where reading is not extinct (hence the dodo mascot). Hyperion and I are members of WSFA and have been attending for a few years now. We’ll be covering this convention for SFRevu — with the same method of daily blog articles and the full blown report in SFRevu. Check out the convention website and if you’re in the area please come to the convention. The guests of honor this year are James Morrow and Michael Dirda. It’s small about 300-400 people. The ratio of writers, publishers, reviews, and SF professionals to fans is fairly high. There’s some really interesting program items. There are also some workshops that, if you are an aspiring or beginning writer, you’ll find very helpful. There’s no extra charge over the membership fee for the workshops. So, if you’re in the area drop in and check it out.

Well, I just watched the Vice-Presidential debate. As far as I’m concerned this debate goes to Biden. (And I don’t he like him as a candidate — and you know that if you’ve read my earlier political rants.)

While Palin did much better than I expected after the disastrous interview with Katie Couric — at least she was coherent. Palin consistently didn’t answer the question that was asked. She gave pretty standard blah-blah-great to be an American-blah-blah answers that were obviously prepared and rehearsed. How do I know that? Because when she got thrown by a question she pretty much just threw out the usual catch phrases or turned and did more on energy.

Biden on the other hand, consistently countered with “facts” — you know those things that can be check. He listed what the Obama/Biden ticket planned to do on each of the major issues. He continually corrected misinformation delivered by Palin that has been corrected over and over and over and yet still the Republicans keep throwing it out there. (Check the Facts on CNN on statements made.)

Biden also made it clear that a vote for McCain/Palin is a vote to continue the Bush policies that have gotten this country in so many problems for another four years. Biden also continually set the record straight on the “fact” that McCain, as much as he wants to play himself as a maverick, has consistently supported and voted for Bush’s policies. That is not a maverick — that’s a team player. Voting for McCain is a vote to continue doing what we’ve been doing for the last 8 years. I don’t think there’s an American alive that thinks they’re better off now than they were eight years ago — unless they’re rich and/or own a big corporation.

Biden also, and to my mind finally, stood up and explained how McCain’s $5,000 health tax credit and taxing of the health benefit paid by your employer — is going to be a huge tax increase for the lower and middle class that have health benefits. This has been needed to be said for quite a while and I think he did it clearly and concisely. I’m hoping people got it this time.

Overall, Biden dealt with facts, plans, and specifics. Palin simply said those things that make us feel good. She’s the Republican cheerleader. This country doesn’t need to feel good. It needs to get the work done to bring up back up to the the strong nation that we once were.

In case no one is paying attention, let me point out something I’ve noticed over my lifetime. Every time we have a Republican President our economy takes a nose dive (usually not as drastic as the current one) and the deficit rises alarmingly. Then we change to a Democratic President and the economy stabilizes and usually starts getting stronger. Then people go back to the Republican’s who promise that if we take off oversight and reduce regulation then everything will be even better and those darn Democrats only want to give things away and tax people. So, the parties change again and down we go on the economic slide.

This nation can’t afford four more years of these policies that are destroying this nation. We need a change. I think that Obama/Biden are our best chance to regain some of the ground we’ve lost. They are the party of change. Don’t listen to the feel good speeches of the Republicans, look around you, look at what they want to do, check with the CNN fact check area, check other independent and non-biased fact checking sites on the web (you’ll be surprised at what you find).

This is going to be the most important election we’ve ever had because if we don’t act to fix our problems and have a president who will actually make the hard decision so that this country can move forward, we’re going to go down into economic chaos and ignominy. I want my country back. I want to live in the America that was a beacon — and continuing the current administrations polices is NOT going to get us there.

Why is the image of the DVD cover for Canadian Bacon? If you haven’t seen the film, it’s a hilarious (and very scary film). The basic plot is the cold war is over. Jobs in the military sector are being lost and the economy is having problems. So, to fix the problem — the President and his cabinet decide they need to have an enemy to get people’s fear levels up and fuel the military sector and the economy. The Russians refuse to be the bad guys so they decide on Canada. Check it out. It used to be just funny — now, with the current administration’s perchance to raising the population’s fear levels — it’s kind of scary (and a bit predictive). Watch it, it’s a good film with lots of great actors (most of them Canadian).

Well, finally, I made it to October. The issues of the zines went live late, late last night. Before that there were several days of desperate effort to get everything in — including all the late arriving content. But now it’s October 1st and all the issues are live and up.

Please check out Gumshoe Review, our online magazine of reviews, interview, and news pertaining to the mystery genre. Also visit SFRevu, the place to go for information, reviews, interview, and news about what out there for lovers of science fiction and fantasy.

This month SFRevu has an interview with Orson Scott Card and Ed Shubert about their collection of short stories from the InterGalactic Medicine Show. There’s also a review of the book. On Gumshoe Review, we have an interview with Charlie Houston and a review of his newest book, Every Last Drop. Each zines has lots of other reviews, too.

If you’ve been wondering what to read next, here’s your chance to read some reviews and pick new books for your “To Be Read” piles. I know that my pile just keeps getting higher and higher — no matter how fast I read.  [Hyperion: Gravity is going to be the deciding factor in the end.  I’m just saying 🙂 ]

I’d love to hear what you think about these zines. The zines have comment forms after each article and review. And there’s always the chance to comment here.