A.C. Wise

Odd Ends

acwise — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 21:59:23 +0000

A review of Sybil’s Garage No. 7 from SFRevu.

Captured: America in Color from 1939-1943, a set of gorgeous photos reproduced from color slides. It’s like stepping into a combination of Carnivale, Grapes of Wrath, and American propaganda posters - really wonderful stuff!

To make up for the fact I had to work over the long weekend, I went book shopping. It’s like comfort eating, but slightly healthier…maybe. The results: Patient Zero by Jonathan Mayberry, House of Mystery: The Beauty of Decay, by various authors, and Sympathy for the Devil, by various authors, edited by Tim Pratt.

Finally: Dear cooler weather, where did you go? What gives? Don’t be a tease. It’s not nice. Seriously.

Sybil’s Songs

acwise — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:42:09 +0000

Over at the Senses Five Press blog, Matt Kressel has posted the playlist for Sybil’s Garage No. 7, containing the majority of the author-suggested songs accompanying the poems and short stories in the issue. You can also find samples of some of the fiction and poetry on the blog, or download the entire Sybil’s Garage No. 4 for free.

Also, September is fundraising month at ralan.com, which is the best market resource for speculative fiction out there. If you happen to have a few extra bucks to spare for a good cause, head on over and help Ralan out.

Summer’s End

acwise — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 02:19:05 +0000

The end of August seems like as good as place as any to bring this project to the end. The weather will probably stay warm for a few days, and I may grab a few additional pictures here and there, but September always feels like the start of Fall. The chill will come soon enough, students are back to school, and before I know it, they’ll be draining Love Park Fountain and closing it down for the winter. It’s been fun.

At the risk of sounding terribly pretentious, photography, in fact art in general, teaches people a different way of seeing. Once I started taking these pictures, I began to notice people who were invisible to me before. I took them for granted. I passed through the park, I passed them by, and I never even noticed them. That won’t be the case anymore. Now, I’ll be looking for the moments in time, the slices of life all around me, even when I’m not actually taking pictures of them.

Today’s picture feels like an appropriate one to end on. I passed by, these two people were swaying ever so slightly, dancing in the fountain.

The full set of Summer of Love photos can be found here. Thanks for tagging along.

Summer of Love: Day Twenty Five

acwise — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:08:14 +0000

There are worse ways to spend a hot summer day than lounging around a fountain.

Summer of Love: Day Twenty Four

acwise — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 23:12:35 +0000

Today, I present a study in contrasts. I don’t mean to alarm anyone, but I think she’s about to go all Ringu any second now.

Summer of Love: Day Twenty Three

acwise — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 23:50:56 +0000

I wish I knew what these two were talking about; she appears suspicious, he appears sincere. At the same time, it’s much more fun not knowing. After all, the realm of ‘what if’ is where stories are born.

This second one pleases me because it makes me think of ducklings, but at the same time, they’ve got a very purposeful Beatles/Abbey Road strut going on.

And finally, something totally unrelated to Love Park or ducklings: a great interview with Kij Johnson over at the Nebula Awards blog.

Summer of Love: Day Twenty Two

acwise — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 02:07:54 +0000

I wasn’t in the city on Monday, and there was no one at all around the fountain yesterday. The weather is starting to turn cooler, but I’m going to do my best to make it to the end of the month at very least.

Summer of Love: Day Twenty One

acwise — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 01:51:24 +0000

Another hot day today, and lots of people were out in the park, sunbathing, splashing and otherwise. For some reason, even though it really has nothing to do with what’s actually happening, the first picture makes me think of collecting shells on the beach. The second one makes me think of some sort of ad for alcohol…or maybe that’s just a sign that it was a long day. I wish her tattoos had showed up better in the picture, but trying to get a really decent shot of them would probably have qualified me as a creepy (or creepier) stalker.

Summer of Love: Day Twenty

acwise — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 23:42:34 +0000

Summer of Love: Day Nineteen

acwise — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 23:04:15 +0000

Another rainy day in the park…

…and another tribute to Ray Bradbury, this one with less boobs.