Here’s part three of the podcast of my story “I, Robot.”
Monthly Archives::
February 2006
Here’s part two of the podcast of my story “I, Robot.”
This is the commencement of the podcasting of a new story, I, Robot, which was originally published in The Infinite Matrix, is slated for reprint in several of the Year’s Best anthologies, and is a finalist for the British Science Fiction Award and the Locus Award for Best Novelette. It’s a riff on Asimov’s robots stories, in which only one kind of robot is allowed — I tried to use this to show how such a world would be one of universal, totalitarian Broadcast Flags, technology mandates that restrict innovation and liberty.
Arturo Icaza de Arana-Goldberg, Police Detective Third Grade, United North American Trading Sphere, Third District, Fourth Prefecture, Second Division (Parkdale) had had many adventures in his distinguished career, running crooks to ground with an unbeatable combination of instinct and unstinting devotion to duty.
He’d been decorated on three separate occasions by his commander and by the Regional Manager for Social Harmony, and his mother kept a small shrine dedicated to his press clippings and commendations that occupied most of the cramped sitting-room of her flat off Steeles Avenue.
No amount of policeman’s devotion and skill availed him when it came to making his twelve-year-old get ready for school, though.
“Haul ass, young lady – out of bed, on your feet, shit-shower-shave, or I swear to God, I will beat you purple and shove you out the door jaybird naked. Capeesh?”
The mound beneath the covers groaned and hissed. “You are a terrible father,” it said. “And I never loved you.” The voice was indistinct and muffled by the pillow.
“Boo hoo,” Arturo said, examining his nails. “You’ll regret that when I’m dead of cancer.”
The mound – whose name was Ada Trouble Icaza de Arana-Goldberg – threw her covers off and sat bolt upright. “You’re dying of cancer? is it testicle cancer?” Ada clapped her hands and squealed. “Can I have your stuff?”
I’m giving a talk on copyright, creativity and authorship at a public event in London next week put on by the Open Knowledge Foundation:
Speakers:
* Paula LeDieu, iCommons
* Cory Doctorow, Writer and Campaigner
* Tom Chance, RemixReading and Free Culture UK
* Jennifer Rigby, BBC Creative Archive* When: Wednesday 22nd February 2006, 7-9pm
* Where: Stanhope Centre, Marble Arch, London, W2 2HH. (Directions) (Map)
Here’s the seventh and final installment of the podcast of my story Human Readable:
Well, I’ve just had my second flight cancellation from London-Boston in 24 hours, and my new flight doesn’t land until 5PM. As many of you know, I’m scheduled to be speaking at MIT’s Bartos Theater at 5PM, which means I’m going to be late. Someone’s picking me up at the airport and I’m going to sit as far forward on the plane as I can, so with any luck I won’t be too late. Luckily, we’ve got a great big block of time booked for my talk — 5PM-7PM with a subsequent reception until 9PM, so with any luck you’ll be able to entertain yourselves for a bit until I get there. Just cross your fingers and hope for short lines at the Department of Homeland Security checkpoint.
Here’s installment six of the podcast of my story Human Readable:
The Clarion Foundation is the charitable organization that oversees the legendary Clarion science fiction writers’ workshop, and it’s seeking your help in the form of donated banner-space on your site.
I’m on the Board of the Foundation, a new nonprofit, and we’ve just produced our first-ever marketing campaign with the generous volunteer assistance of Grad Conn, my friend and old business-partner. The campaign consists (modestly) of the badges you see below, and a landing-page with some information on signing up to the workshop, which runs for six weeks every summer — it’s going to be in East Lansing, Michigan again this year.
We’re looking for websites that are willing to help us run the campaign by donating some space to host one of these badges (they’re in two standard sizes, 150×150 and 150×58) in a prominent place between now and the application deadline on April 1. Even if you can only run it for part of the time, or in rotation, we’d appreciate your help.
Clarion has trained hordes of talented writers, from Bruce Sterling to Octavia Butler, from Kelly Link to Nalo Hopkinson. I’m a graduate and had the good fortune to teach the program last year as well. Attending Clarion is a life-changing experience for many, a watershed moment that helps writers understand what is needed if they are to succeed, and that gives them the tools to achieve success.
Help us out if you can: inline one of the images below and link it to http://www.theclarionfoundation.org/ads/landing/. You’ll be helping to guide the careers of the writers who’ll be entertaining you in a year or two.
Thanks!
A couple days ago, I posted about my schedule in Boston — talks at MIT, Harvard, Olin College and Boskone, the northeastern regional science fiction convention. The organizers of Boskone have just alerted me to another event I’m scheduled to do there:
I’ll be hosting a “Kaffeeklatsch” at the con on Sunday, 19 March, from 10AM-11AM. These are small, informal coffee-and-cake roundtables where we just talk about whatever’s on your mind. The signup for the Kaffeeklatsch will be at the con, and space is limited, so if you’re interested, be sure to put your name down as early as possible.
On Tuesday night, I gave a talk about DVB-CPCM, Europe’s version of the Broadcast Flag, a plan to make sure that digital TVs don’t do anything to disrupt the entertainment industry’s business-model. The talk was part of the Open Rights Group’s second meeting and it also included a great talk by Phil Booth of the No2ID campaign.
Improbulus, a digital rights activist, recorded both speeches and uploaded them to the Internet Archive. The recording of my talk cuts just a few words off the beginning and end, but nothing major. Hope you enjoy it!
