About writing generally
worldsfair | November 15, 2006Here is some silliness to get back in the swing of things. Composed whilst waiting for Ben (Cohen) at the Vancouver Airport, recently rejected by McSweeney's, and likely to make an appearance at one of my sites in the not so distant future.
Still, I was (and still sort of am) seriously considering shopping a better version/take of this piece to a place that "pays per word", mainly because it would be deliciously ironic to get compensated for words like "Uuuuhhhggg", "Gggrr", and "Rrrrn."
HAN SOLO AND CHEWBACCA WEIGH IN ON THEIR NEW HYBRID MILLENIUM FALCON.
HS: Well, so far, it seems like…
worldsfair | October 27, 2006
At the beginning of this past week, I did a post on some of the science behind the aroma of coffee, so I thought it would be fitting to talk a bit about wine as well. Not because I'm a wine afinionado (not even close), but mainly because I had the opportunity to write a piece for Maisonneuve which looked closely at the burgeoning use of genomic technology in this otherwise tradition steep profession.
As well, the process behind this piece getting published was interesting in of itself, since this was one occasion where I really experienced how heavy handed the editing process can be.
Anyway…
worldsfair | October 11, 2006With all the debate going on around the validity of the current world of theoretical physics, the New Yorker, in a recent issue, weighs in as eloquent as ever:
(By Jim Holt)
It is the best of times in physics. Physicists are on the verge of obtaining the long-sought Theory of Everything. In a few elegant equations, perhaps concise enough to be emblazoned on a T-shirt, this theory will reveal how the universe began and how it will end. The key insight is that the smallest constituents of the world are not particles, as had been supposed since ancient times but "strings"--tiny strands of…
worldsfair | September 29, 2006(The Science Creative Quarterly is a science writing webzine I run at UBC)
PDF | JPG
The Science Creative Quarterly seeks science humour pieces for entry into our awesome new contest. Judging will be based on a number of criteria that can be annotated as follows:
Briefly, final Score (FS) is equal to the the base score of the humour piece submitted (S), times a number (n) of modifiers (fs) which are dependant on captions provided, and their humour level. Note that captions may be submitted separately even at multiple dates after initial humour submission. Number of captions provided by…
worldsfair | September 29, 2006(terry.ubc.ca is a webzine on global issues that I coordinate at UBC)
TERRY'S WRITING CHALLENGE
There once was a website named Terry1
That wanted to make people wary
Of things going on
In the world that are wrong
Without making it all seem too scary.
So this is a call for submissions
To write or create things worth dishing
Pragmatic or pretty
Might help to be witty
It's quality stuff that we're wishing
To sweeten the bait for you all
A contest we'll once again call
Some say it's illustrious
We hear it's stupendious
Much fun should be had with it all.
Three categories2 we've placed in the mix…
worldsfair | September 18, 2006So it turned out that my back to school crunch was even crunchier than expected, no doubt brought upon by the fact that my daughter had just started Kindergarten (talk about the sense of relativity and time flying), and the usual chaos associated with a new semester starting. As well, I've been procastinating lots on a book project where the first two chapters are entitled "A is for ASS," and "B is for BEETON," a process I hope to be able to discuss more fully if I have the luxury of certain things being finalized.
But no matter, back to the blog. And I thought easing in would be the best…
worldsfair | September 8, 2006To start off the sophomore year of the SCQ, I published a piece that I had sitting around for the last year or two. Basically, it's a creative non-fiction piece that looks at the sorts of things one can fear in the sciences.
It actually started off as a request by Maisonneuve for their "Good & Evil" issue, in that they wanted me to write about the top ten things to fear in the sciences. I thought it was an interesting request, but when I was rummaging through my mind on what these things to fear were, they inevitably turned into a list of societal nuances, as opposed to a pragmatic…
worldsfair | September 7, 2006I have to say that I was seriously upset by hearing that Steve Irwin was killed recently, and by a Stingray barb no less. It's kind of strange actually, because I was just about to submit a humour piece to Seed where I did a little play on words with the name "Crocodile Hunter."
I know that he'll be sorely missed in my household, having made some serious kiddie street cred by appearing in a Wiggle's video. Besides which, I think he was one of the funniest things ever on TV, and I mean that in only the best of ways. (BBC obituary here)
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THE CROCODILE HUNTER BECOMES THE PLANET HUNTER…
bcohen | August 25, 2006It's all that.
Ars Medica, or The Ars, as British hipsters call it, is a fascinating "literary journal that explores the interface between the arts and healing, and examines what makes medicine an art." It's run out of Toronto, begun by a group of doctors (one of them my cousin), and really tip-top. So far they've had three issues, each with an eclectic mix of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and art. I don't know their future plans, but for the websites claims, so I don't know what the next issue looks like. But the first issue looked like this:
All I'm saying is, this is a nice middle…
worldsfair | August 22, 2006Well, this is just a heads up to let you know that the SCQ is preparing to start its year two. For a while, we've only been presenting academic review type pieces, which, to be frank, has just not been good for traffic and the like (what do you think that says about readership?).
And so, on September 5th, we'll revert back to the eclectic mix that the SCQ is admired and loved for, including our great humour pieces which has led to folks sometimes referring to us as the "McSweeney's for Sciencegeeks."
Anyway, if you're interested in participating, here are a few submission types that we are…
worldsfair | August 14, 2006Timing is everything. That (I'm pretty sure) was the case of my first piece getting into Maisonneuve. And again, it is something that comes up with consistent frequency in my quest to publish. For instance, my gnome piece (shouldn't everyone have a gnome piece?), is another example of this notion, except that in this case, timing worked against me. Here, McSweeney's gave it the pass due to their having another "sentient gnome piece" published already. Which makes perfect sense because if there are too many, well, then a literary endeavour is bound to develop a reputation, a tradition even,…
worldsfair | August 11, 2006This has to be one of my favourites, written pretty much the day after I listened to Stephen Lewis talk. Anyway, it also ties in with the start of the International AIDS Conference this Sunday. I'm hoping our Canadian government has some choice announcements to make at the beginning, but I guess we'll just see.
AMERICAN: Is it an animal, mineral or vegetable?
ETHIOPIAN: Yes sir, I believe it is all three, sir.
AMERICAN: Hmm... Can I get it online?
ETHIOPIAN: I'm sorry, sir. I do not understand your meaning, sir. On where, sir?
AMERICAN: Online... You know, like at eBay or Amazon?
ETHIOPIAN…
worldsfair | August 8, 2006So I'm in the midst of trying to write a book, with a genetics theme and all. And so far, things look pretty good. I'm having fun anyway. But this is not what this post is about. This post is actually about a previous attempt to write a book, which was tentatively entitled "Towards Hannah: an Unusual Primer on Genetics and Biotechnology." Anyway the main pitch behind that book project was to focus on about a two year period of my life and use it as a backdrop to talk genetics.
It even got representation which was neat at the time (and includes the Dr. Phil episode), but ultimately, the…
bcohen | August 3, 2006An article from the Columbia Journalism Review I saw linked from Arts and Letters Daily (where they seem to be upping the number of science links of late) discusses "Why editors must dare to be dumb."
The author notes that "In science, feeling confused is essential to progress. An unwillingness to feel lost, in fact, can stop creativity dead in its tracks." Which I thought was an idea worth adding to the conversation on science, metaphor, and poetry that both I and Nick, over at The Scientific Activist, have been talking about.
Another choice line, here quoting an unnamed cosmologist: "By…
bcohen | August 1, 2006Science and metaphor aren't just for Lakoff and Johnson anymore (okay, they never were, but Metaphors We Live By (1980) was the first thing to pop in my head). From the Toronto Star comes a story, "It's Like This, You See", about the topic. I'll quote their header:
The ability to think metaphorically isn't reserved for poets. Scientists do it, too, using everyday analogies to expand their understanding of the physical world and share their knowledge with peers
The story hits on string theory and Darwin and Velcro and the Greeks. And includes this nice quote from Jan Zwicky, at UBC (I…
worldsfair | July 20, 2006Looks like an appropriate time to put this one up on the blog. I have to say that this was the one of the easiest pieces I've ever written. It's also the only one that got published at McSweeney's with no additional editing whatsoever.
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IT'S A LUCKY THING FOR STEM-CELL RESEARCH THAT THE FOLLOWING PASSAGES AREN'T IN THE BIBLE.
The petri plate is the work of Satan. How does God know what a petri plate is in this ancient time before the advent of scientific achievement? It is because he's God, which is really handy for that sort of thing.
Go forth my children and use the word "embryo"…
bcohen | July 18, 2006The book Rebuilt, by Michae Chorost, and the documentary Sound and Fury, by Josh Aronson, here re-considered. (This is a Bookshelf #1 revisitation and expansion.) ((No reason for mentioning Jerry Falwell, by the way. That was a typo.))
I finished Rebuilt, about cochlear implants and technology-society relationships and deaf culture and the Bionic Man and cyborg philosophy. Here are some tidbits.
Rebuilt is about cochlear implants. They put a thing in your head, behind your ear. You can then hear. Or have sounds transmitted to your brain, through the device. "You can then hear." Some…
worldsfair | July 17, 2006This particular piece has had a long and storied past, originating as far back as my term as an Immunology lecturer during my Ph.D. days (we're talking back in 1997 or so). Essentially, one of things I did (and still do) with my lectures is incorporate graphics that are both visually interesting and academically offbeat, but always with a clear science perogative. I usually like to think of them as "transition" points, whereby it gives the student a chance to break from the monotony of a lecture (which no matter how fascinating the topic, and how captivating you are, will tend to glaze even…
worldsfair | July 10, 2006Despite the recurring theme of rejection with many of the pieces I submit, I find you still get the sense that you were (nevertheless) in good hands. In other words, you'd like to think that the editors who take the time to read your material and then leave generally ambiguous statements about your work, are not saying "no" without good reason. It certainly makes you feel all the more special when something does make the grade.
In some respects, I think my first accepted piece at McSweeney's (The Von Trapp Children Speak to a Geneticist) is a good example of this. It was fun to write, and it…
bcohen | July 7, 2006I'm following Dave's lead here, who was following Nick Hornby's lead, who could probably be made aware of our lead following and then wax poetic on the flourishing of his format. Except I'm sure he's busy. Lunching with Cusack. Unless Cusack is lunching with Anjelica Huston, like in The Player. Damn, Robert Altman's good. Can we talk about McCabe and Mrs. Miller?
Did I get sidetracked?
These are the books on my nightstand, and beside my desk at my office. They shift frequently, but this is where things stand today. As of now, early July, the first ten are nightstand-based, the last…