Science fiction. Fantasy. The universe. And related subjects.

We are an odd rocket, veering our way through a universe full of epic fantasy rereads, lists featuring our favorite musical horse videos, deep dives into the history of military fantasy, nakedly open personal essays, Game of Thrones recaps, rankings of the kloo horn players in Star Wars, and more. How do you contain that into a singular voice?

We needn't have worried.

In my eagerness to post about my friend Joe's Apollo 11 gift, I have been remiss in not acknowledging - and celebrating - the 10th anniversary of tor.com, which also took place on July 20th.

I can't remember what originally prompted me to join the Tor Books mailing list - I suspect it was a link on one of the geek news sites that I sometimes visit.  Regardless, it was well worth the click of a mouse and a typed e-mail address. The tor.com site, represented by its mascot, Stubby the Rocket, has proven to be a valued source of genre news updates, excellent free short fiction by both established and new authors, and well-written and thought-provoking opinion pieces from the tor.com staff.

The opinion postings are perhaps the best part of the site. They're thoughtful, well-informed, personal, passionate, but most of all, concerned.  Concerned with the state of the genre, concerned with where it's been and where it's going, concerned with questions of race, gender and hierarchy in science fiction, fantasy and horror, concerned with the roles played by people of colour, women and LGBT characters, concerned with how genre writing has dealt with these characters over time, and concerned with how they will deal with them going forward - pivotal questions for both creators and fans at this point in time.

Obviously they're a bit partisan in promoting their own publications, but for the most part I've been pleased with the Tor books that I've purchased. Tor has a well established track record in the genre which is reflected in their professional recognition:  as of 2015, Tor became the most nominated and awarded publisher in the science fiction, fantasy and horror field, with a March 2018 score of 579 nominations and 111 wins.  As an example, looking at the 2018 Hugo Award nominees, eight of the 24 nominated novels, novellas, novelettes and short stories are from Tor, twice as many as any other publisher.*

In conclusion, congratulations to the tor.com team, please keep doing what you're doing, and here's to the next ten years.  Or ten thousand, after all, science fiction should always look to the future.

- Sid

P.S. If you'd like to sign up for their newsletter - which I strongly recommend -  visit:

https://read.macmillan.com/tordotcom/newsletter-signup/

* They did better in 2017, 13 out of 24.

"I'm pretty sure I've invented a time machine..."

One of Karli's friends was hiking on nearby Bowen Island recently and came across the following cautionary missive:

First, I'd like to say that British Columbia is a surprisingly busy spot for time travel, what with the Stanley Park Time Machine and my own experience of discovering a time machine while taking a walk at lunch.

That being said, back to the matter at hand. It's very courteous of this hopeful time traveller to post a warning, but I do have one small problem with their announcement.

If you don't want people to stand in that exact spot, putting up a notice that takes about 20 seconds to read is a bad idea  - because they will stand in that exact spot to read it.

Regardless, good luck with your arrival on Friday August 4th or Friday August 3rd  - depending on how your calculations end up.  Pro tip: given that the next Friday August the 4th is in 2024, you should probably have laminated your sign if you wanted it to last that long.

- Sid

Armstrong, Collins, Aldrin.

My friend Joe retired at the start of 2018, and, as people tend to do when they retire, he and his partner Drew have relocated to a less expensive neighbourhood. (This is easy to do if you've been living in Vancouver.)  In their case, they ended up in exotic Chilliwack, just east of Vancouver in the Fraser Valley.  However, things like medical appointments still bring Joe back into the big city, which has made it easier for use to keep in touch.

We met for lunch last week, and he cheerfully announced that he had a little present for me.  He explained that he'd been going through some of his possessions to clear out the clutter, and had stumbled across something that he thought would be perfect for me.  He then handed me a small envelope that contained a commemorative plated aluminum medal from the Apollo 11 landing in 1969, in absolutely beautiful condition.

Surprisingly, there's almost no information about this medal online.  There are a couple of what appeared to be matching coins for sale on eBay, but both with absolutely no provenance or history. Littleton Stamp and Coin is still in business, but their site doesn't offer any sort of historical information.*  At 60 cents each, Littleton must have struck thousands if not tens of thousands of these medals, but there's no documentary evidence of them at all - which just makes it a more interesting and intriguing present.

I honestly hadn't realized the significance of the timing of Joe's gift until I showed the coin to Karli, who said, "Oh, July 20th, you can post about that on the actual anniversary date." 

Thank you very much, Joe.  As per previous postings, I treasure my friends and their inexplicable willingness to indulge and enable my interests - which is part of what friendship is.

- Sid

 * Ironically so, considering that they sell antique coins and commemorative items.