Hugos 2023 Voting!

It's Hugos time again! I became a Hugos voter a few years ago after the whole mess before they adjusted the nomination and voting process. It's actually super-easy to become a voting member--if you pay for your annual membership (it's been about $50-60), you get a packet of most of the books and stories that have been nominated (not all of them--providing copies for voters is not required of the nominees; publishers just happen to be quite generous most of the time). And then you get to vote!

There's also the associated possibility of actually, like ATTENDING Worldcon, but that's an additional cost I haven't taken on as yet. (But if they have it in Seattle in the near future, as some have suggested....)

As the host of Worldcon this year is in China--Chengdu, specifically--there have been some interesting hurdles that I won't really grumble about. It's worth noting, however, that because of the location, there was a slightly different body of voters/nominators than before. (Worldcon, in my recollection, has most often been hosted in English-dominant locations.) Which is neato, in that there are many more folks of Chinese nationality (not just descent, mind you--in recent years, the diversity of nominees has been markedly increasing) nominated. Between that AND a short window for nominees to provide materials (I think a couple of the zine/podcast nominees specifically noted in their packets they only had eleven days), that also meant not everyone was able to get their materials translated in time.

Or: There were several nominees who were only able to share their materials in Chinese and not any translations in English. (And, to be fair, vice versa: Several of the nominees who shared things in English only added apology notes.) Some nominees could only share part of their materials in both languages; some folks who shared translations confessed they had to rely on AI/machine-translation in order to get it done before their deadline. In those cases, you could almost feel the absence of nuance. (In the case of one short story, that's almost the point--in the Astounding category, Maijia Lu's story "Left" is specifically about how the pictographic basis of Chinese language means some elements of physics can be expressed more wholly than in phonetic-based scripts like English.)

I find this interesting and not irritating, though YE GODS, can you imagine how I feel, having multiple stories and books in my possession that I cannot read? My heart, she is breaking. But also, this is a cool problem to have, no? From my perspective, anyway.

2016: By the Numbers

I've done quite a bit this year! My habit for the past few years has been to keep track of these things monthly, but somewhere in the middle of the summer, I lost track of things. This is about the best that I can do in reconstruction--I'll be a bit more organized in the year to come (I hope).

Academic Conferences Attended: 6
Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnicity, Ames, IA (20160303-04)
Association of Teachers of Technical Writing, Houston, TX (20160406)
Conference on College Composition and Communication, Houston, TX (20160407-09)
Computers and Writing, Rochester, NY (20160519-22)
Council of Writing Program Administrators, Raleigh, NC (20160714-17)
International Writing Centers Association, Denver, CO (20161013-16)

Books Read:
102, according to GoodReads. A good number, except that I ambitiously set my reading challenge to 200. LOL.

Comics Read: Not Enough
Princess Leia, Saga, Black Panther (not counting graphic novels)
I need to increase my consumption here--I've got batches of comics in my Marvel/Comixology/Dark Horse accounts. I just need to read and log them more consistently.

Concerts Attended: 6
Adele (St. Paul, MN, 20160705)
Nico & Vinz (Ames, IA, 21060825)
Switchfoot & Relient K (Clive, IA, 20160921)
Grace Potter (Des Moines, IA, 20160929)
Beyonce (Nashville, TN, 20161002)
Carrie Underwood (Des Moines, IA, 20161007)

Cooking Classes/Demos: 17
Quinoa (Cooks Emporium, 20160128)
Pressure Cookers (CE, 20160220)
A Taste of Egypt (CE, 20160227)
Turkey Roulades & Lemon Cupcakes (CE, 20160305)
Risotto Croquettes (Wheatsfield Co-op, 20160329)
Versatile Goat Cheese (WC, 20160426)
Chicken Mole (CE, 20160430)
Cooking with Cast Iron (Williams-Sonoma, 20160626)
Fermented Food & Kombucha (WC, 20160809)
Spiralizer Favorites (W-S, 20160821)
Natural Fermented Pickles (CE, 20160903)
Nordic Waffles (CE, 20161008)
Thanksgiving Side Dishes (CE, 20161112)
Paella (CE, 20161119)
Seven Cheese Gougere (CE, 20161126)
Holiday Cookies (CE, 20161203)
Holiday Savory Snacks (CE, 20161210)

Craft/Movement Classes: 23
Copper hoop earrings & pendant (The Workspace, 20160114)
Felted wool mittens (TW, 20160121 + 27)
Silver & copper rings (TW, 201602)
Resin Jewelry (TW, 20160224, 20160302)
Boho Wall Hanging (TW, 20160801)
Fused Glass Pendants (TW, 20160829)
Inked Coasters (TW, 20160831)
Knitting (TW, 201609)
Mat-cutting (TW, 20161006)
Dia de los Muertos Skulls (TW, 20161008)
Crochet (TW, 201610)
Sugar Skull Embroidery (TW, 20161020)
Silk Painting (TW, 20161029)
Delsarte: Body Language and the Artist (TW, 20161105)
Delsarte: And a Torso Even More So (TW, 20161105)
Delsarte: Standing Up for Your Art (TW, 20161105)
O'Keeffe Oil Painting (Reiman Gardens, 20161107)
Fused Glass Ornaments (TW, 20161109)
Frugal Florals (RG, 20161116)
Balloon Crafts (RG, 20161117)
Miniatures (RG, 20161120)
Wreath-Making (RG, 20161130)
Etched Glass Ornaments (TW, 20161207)

Festivals Attended: 2
Define American Festival, Des Moines, IA
Festival of Cheese, Des Moines, IA (20160730)

Lectures and Readings Attended: 7
Alisha Gordon, "The Fierce Urgency of Now" (20160121)
Reshma Saujani, "Women Who Don't Wait in Line" (20160128)
Marion Blumenthal Lazan, "My Holocaust Story" (20160208)
Cheryl Strayed (20160915)
Jennifer Knox + Iowa Bird of Mouth (20160916)
Gloria Steinem (20161011)
Margaret Atwood (20161101)

Movies Watched: 14
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (DVD)
Jurassic World (DVD)
A Better Life (film festival)
Don't Tell Anyone (film festival)
The Muslims Are Coming! (film festival)
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies [theatre]
Cinderella (2015) [DVD]
The Grand Budapest Hotel [streaming]
Hector and the Search for Happiness (streaming)
Captain America: Civil War (theatre)
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (streaming)
Edge of Tomorrow (DVD)
Loving (theatre)
Rogue One (theatre)

Museums & Landmarks Visited: 12
Chocolate Tour of Chicago (BestTours.com, 20160507)
Strong Museum of Play, Rochester, NY (20160522)
Design Exchange, Toronto, ON (20160524)
Aga Khan Museum of Islamic Art, Toronto, ON (20160525)
Peel Art Gallery and Museum, Brampton, ON (20160527)
Niagara & Horseshoe Falls (20160528)
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY (20160529)
Contemporary Art Museum in Raleigh (20160715)
Pappajohn Sculpture Park, Des Moines, IA (20160730)
Olive & Sinclair Chocolate Factory Tour, Nashville, TN (20161001)
Corsair Distillery tour, Nashville, TN (20161002)
Broad Contemporary Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA (20161227)

New Restaurants Visited: 43
The Mission Inn (Riverside)
Ninfa's (Houston)
1600 Bar + Grille (Houston)
Calabash Island Eats (Houston)
Volare (Chicago)
Doc B's Fresh Kitchen (Chicago)
Quartino's (Chicago)
Yolk (Chicago)
The Owl House (Rochester)
Senbazuru Sushi Bar (Richmond Hill)
Sushi Inn (Toronto)
Bohemia (Barrie)
Anchor Bar (Buffalo)
Table 128 (Clive)
Blue Tomato Kitchen (Des Moines)
Bubba - Southern Comforts (Des Moines)
Prime (Des Moines)
Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream (Cleveland)
Fran's Restaurant (Toronto)
Spoon River (Minneapolis)
Izzy's (Minneapolis)
Birchwood Cafe (Minneapolis)
Hell's Kitchen (Minneapolis)
Bluestem Bar (Minneapolis)
Little Octopus (Nashville)
Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream (Nashville)
Biscuit Love (Nashville)
Las Paletas (Nashville)
Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream (Nashville farmers' market)
Bolton's Spicy Chicken & Fish (Nashville)
Five Daughters Bakery (Nashville)
Franklin Juice Company (Nashville)
Green Fine Salad Co. (Denver)
Guard and Grace (Denver)
Syrup (Denver)
Prospect's Urban Kitchen & Bar (Denver)
Range (Denver)
Goldfinch (Des Moines)
Thai Kitchen (Ames)
Porto's Bakery & Cafe (Glendale)
Komodo (Los Angeles)
Cascabel (Los Angeles)
Sam's Banh Thai (Riverside)

Road Trips Taken: 8
Lafayette, IN (20160312-18); Spring Break cooking
Chicago, IL (20160506-08); bachelorette weekend
Rochester, NY/Toronto, ON/Buffalo, NY (20160518-30); conference/visiting family/wedding
Pennsylvania & Cleveland, OH (20160701-03); wedding
Lafayette, IN (20160805-07)
Toronto, ON (20160909-11); wedding
Minneapolis, MN (20160924-25); theatre
Nashville, TN (20160930-1002); concert

Sports Attendance:
Rams vs. Forty-Niners (20161224)

Theatre Performances Attended: 10
Sweeney Todd, Minneapolis, MN (20160724)
[title of show], Ames, IA (20160923)
Lady and the Trump, Minneapolis, MN (20160924)
The 39 Steps, St. Cloud, MN (20160925)
Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play, Ames, IA (20161009)
Cabaret, Ames, IA (20161113)
Ugly Lies the Bone, Des Moines, IA (20161119)
November, Ames, IA (20161127)
Cirque Dreams: Holidaze, Ames, IA (20161201)
The King & I, Los Angeles, CA (20161228)

TV Watched:
A lot. (I meant to keep track of how many episodes I watched this year, but I lost track around June. But it's a lot.)

Art, Unabstracted

One of my favorite things about Iowa State is The Workspace. While I've usually enjoyed arts-and-crafty stuff, it's never been something I pursued. But last summer, while picking up buttons for my writing center, I noticed a "Craft of the Month" posted: clipboard art. I asked if I could buy it, like a kit, but they said it was meant to be done in the Workspace itself. Basically, each month, you can walk in during open hours, pay a small fee, and they'll set you up with a how-to and a box full of supplies. It is addictive. Since then, I've done most of the crafts-of-the-month, and most of the walk-in one-time things like scarf dyeing or bracelet making. And I've done a few classes, too: tai chi, sea-glass jewelry, Zen doodling, miniature book-making, and watercolors. (In addition to accommodating a wide variety of arts, The Workspace also coordinates movement classes, including tai chi, some theatre-oriented stuff, and dance.) I've been posting my crafts over on Instagram as I've done them, and I feel really proud. Like, I've taken a hammer to copper tubing and made my own bracelets! It's pretty awesome.

As for painting, I shared a photo of the octopus I painted a couple of weeks ago, which remains my favorite thing, color-wise. I don't think I really have a good grasp on the medium of watercolor yet--I crave saturated colors and nubbly textures, which are not really things watercolors do.


Above, you'll see everything I painted in watercolors class, to varying degrees of success. The least abstract ones--the lilac-like branches and the pine tree--were imitated from the models we got in class. In contrast, you can see where I just kept fiddling and adding and daubing on. For a couple of the most vivid ones, rather than wetting the paper and mixing water in with the paints, I worked with dry paper and an almost entirely dry brush. Not an incredibly efficient use of paint, but satisfying to my eye.

Our watercolor instructor, Molly Nagel, emphasized two things about using these paints:

1. Watercolors will teach you patience. To get a good sense of what your painting will look like, you have to let the paint dry before you start adding more. Watercolors will mix, and bleed, and fade. Watercolors will teach you how to wait.
   
   
2. Watercolors will always wake up. No matter how long you let paint crack and dry on your palette, or how many days you let your canvas (or in my case, heavy-weight cold-press paper) sit, a few drops of water will bring it all to life again, and you can keep on dabbing and dabbling.

There's something really satisfying about both those principles, regardless of whether I keep on with watercolors. A few weeks ago, I went to the crafts store and bought a pad of watercolor paper, a set of brushes, and a set of paints. So far, I've only done the aforementioned octopus. I've also been trying to work more slowly.



I've worked on the tree painting on four different days. On the first, all I did was the background--a wash of green. On the second day, I used burnt sienna to outline the branches, trunk, and root. About a week later, I did the green leaves. And tonight, I muddled together some white, crimson, and ultramarine to get the purple for the blossoms. I haven't decided if I will do anything more with it. I'll let it sit for a few days. I'll mull.