The Kemblog: 2010

Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Is this warning really necessary?

In my son's Iron Man mask.

Posted via email from garykemble's posterous

Feature: UQ Graduate Contact Magazine

Like most horror fans, Gary Kemble remembers the exact moment he was truly scared by a book; it was while reading Stephen King’s The Shining in high school.

via uq.edu.au

Not sure about the headline... was the year of my graduation really so bad. :)

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Thursday, November 18, 2010

New tshirt: Guns don't kill zombies...

You can buy this tshirt at Red Bubble: http://www.redbubble.com/people/garykemble/t-shirts/6298753-1-guns-dont-kill-...

Or, given the design is under a Creative Commons licence (Attribution-Share Alike) you can make your own t-shirt (download the jpg from Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/garykemble/5187025370/)

The image in this design is also under a CC licence. You can view the original here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/simonov/1971164711/

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Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Review: Rare Exports (2010)

In Australia, like in the UK and the US, Santa Claus is the jolly old elf who brings presents at Christmas-time.
But Christmas has a dark side.

via horrorscope.com.au

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Monday, November 08, 2010

Leopard print

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Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween!

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Monday, October 25, 2010

Tape lovers mix it up, old-spool

(Image: DG Jones, Flickr - CC-BY-NC)

Colleague Cassie White did this story today, about how while Sony has stopped production on the Walkman, tape-lovers live on.

This is my favourite bit, where Darren Pauli talks about his love of tape:

"I've got a whole series of tapes like this Metallica tape I had back in school that my mates recorded and we used to listen to on the bus," he said.

"I've had it in my car and listened to the same tape that's just kept going for 10, 12 years.

"All the way through it you can hear in various parts when mates I've lent it to have accidentally hit record when listening to it.

"It's got a whole conversation between one of my mates and his brother and it's hilarious.

"Right in the middle of a Metallica guitar solo it cuts to Gatecrasher, this electronic techno stuff, then goes back to it. It's something that's kind of personal with a hint of nostalgia.

"I'll put it on with mates and we'll laugh because it reminds you of the old days."

Got me reminiscing about my own experiences with tape:

When one of my mates did the Europe thing in the mid-90s, another friend and I made him a tape: Miserable Mother****ers. It consisted of 90 minutes of us speaking shit at coffee shops, going to gigs at The Zoo and other reputable establishments around Brisbane, speaking more shit at more coffee shops, that kinda thing. The idea was to reassure him that he wasn't missing anything. At some point, some excerpts of the tape got put online, but I'm pretty sure they're gone now.
When I went backpacking in the late 90s, I bought a new Walkman to take with me. I was trying to keep my luggage down so I took one tape with me. 90 minutes of music. 45 minutes of Counting Crows' August and Everything after (sad music) and 45 minutes of Ben Folds Fives' Whatever and Ever Amen (happy music). By the end of six weeks, I still wasn't sick of either side!
Just after my wife and I first met, she decided to go overseas (no, it wasn't because of me! She'd already booked the tickets). So we had a long-distance relationship for a while, and we used to send each other mixtapes. We've still got them, of course. I never did convert her to Billy Bragg, but she married me anyway!
I still own tapes of Triple J's retrospective on The Whitlams and Nirvana. I really enjoyed it and I listened to it over and over again. I never listen to tapes anymore, even though we still have a stereo with a tape player on it. But I keep the tapes. Because it's nice knowing they're there. It sounds old-fashioned, but these tapes are true artifacts, in the way a playlist on a hard drive can never be.
I've still got my Walkman somewhere. One day, I'm going to dig it out and show the kids. I'm sure they'll be amazing, and horrified, and embarrassed!

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Saturday, October 23, 2010

Beating the Odds wins UN media award

The ABC News Online Investigations team has been awarded the prestigious UN Media Peace Prize in Melbourne for Best Online report.

Woohoo! I did the social media strategy for this project. We had some fantastic input from readers - you can read them at the bottom of the page.

But obviously, the bulk of the credit goes to reporter Eleanor Bell and photographer Ed Giles, who uncovered some fantastic stories in Mt Druitt.

via abc.net.au

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Friday, October 22, 2010

Interview with Steve Austin on 612 Brisbane

Stephen M Irwin and I were on ABC 612 Brisbane last night, talking about horror, Macabre, Brisbane ghosts and more.

You can check it out here: http://blogs.abc.net.au/queensland/2010/10/writing-horror-gary-kemble-stephen-irwin.html?site=brisbane&program=612_evenings

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Brisbane Zombie Walk, this Sunday!

I'm going to miss Brisbane Zombie Walk this year due to being double-booked. But if you're at a loose end, get down there.

Last year's was a hell of a lot of fun...

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Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Catty at work

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Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Storify: your thoughts on Afghanistan

At my day job - social media guy with the ABC - we've been experimenting with using Storify to collate viewer responses. Today, I've pulled together some content on the Afghanistan debate. Some great responses, and photos from isafmedia.

I was hoping the embed would work, but it doesn't. You can check it out here: http://storify.com/abcnews/should-australia-stay-in-afghanistan

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Friday, October 15, 2010

Movie Minutiae: Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)

I was prompted to look into this after reading this story about a first edition of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, found in a charity bin in Wollongong.
It got me thinking about taking liberties, since even the best adaptations take liberties with the original material. They have to - they're movies, not books! And part of the charm of adaptations is seeing how the screenwriter goes about it.

via blogs.abc.net.au

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Thursday, October 14, 2010

Like Inception? Try Ad Infinitum

I finally got around to seeing Inception last night. I had to drive half an hour and go and see a late session, which I generally try and avoid on 'school nights', but I'm glad I made the effort.

I loved how Christopher Nolan has taken a well-worn genre - the heist movie - and put a whole new spin on it. I also loved how the film was like four movies in one - each one sitting inside the previous like Russian dolls.

(If you want to have a good old chat about Inception, head on over to 100 Days of Action)

It reminded me of a story I wrote a few years back 'Ad Infinitum', which also plays with the notion of 'what is real?'.

'Ad Infinitum' was the first story I ever sold. Shadowed Realms is now defunct, but the site has been partially preserved thanks to Pandora. If you'd like to read 'Ad Infinitum', go here, then click on 'current issue', then 'Ad Infinitum'.

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Thursday, October 07, 2010

Stories tell of brown land's black heart

The Westside News was kind enough to do a story about me and Stephen M Irwin's appearance in Macabre.

I took the photographer down into the creepy fire escape at work to replicate the setting of my story (a bunker in Afghanistan).

I wonder if he would've been so keen to follow me in there if he knew what happens to the photographer in my story!

via westside-news.whereilive.com.au

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Monday, October 04, 2010

Where do you draw the line?

As a horror writer, where do you draw the line?

It's something I've been thinking about since AussieCon 4. I was on a panel with, among others, Paul Haines. I said that I'm interested in horror as escapism (eg zombies, giant cockroaches), and Paul said he's the exact opposite.

My story in 'Feast or Famine' in Macabre is kinda real-world. But editor Angela Challis pushed me on it. I regard it as the most disturbing story I've written, but it's not the most disturbing idea I've had.

I had this vision a few years back. I don't want to reveal it, for reasons that will soon become evident. The image was really strong, but I thought: "I can't write that". I filed it away.

After AussieCon 4 I read a few stories. 'A Positive' by Kaaron Warren (Macabre) and 'I've Seen the Man' by Paul Haines (Scenes From the Second Storey) are the two that jump out. They made me want to push myself, see how far I could go.

Then I was reminded of the call for stories for Ticonderoga's Red Dead Heart anthology. And the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

I got about four-fifths of the way through the story. Then I thought: "I can't write this". I took a break. I had some encouragement. Then I sat down and finished the story. I thought: "I don't have to send this anywhere". I can delete it if I want to!

I haven't re-read the story. It could be a pile of crap. I wrote it pretty quickly, so it probably is!

But I wanted to ask the horror writers out there -- where do you draw the line? Is there a line for you?

For horror readers -- have you ever thought, 'No, s/he's gone too far?'

(PS I'm not saying there's anything wrong with 'fun' stories, more that I'd Iike to extend my range)

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Sunday, October 03, 2010

AussieCon 4 links... and then some!

I know I said I was done with the AussieCon 4 posts, but Twitter friend @illegibscrib has sent me this EPIC collection of AussieCon 4 links. Thank you @illegibscrib - con-goers the world over salute you!

UPDATE 3/10: @illegibscrib has added another great stack of links... you'll find them down the end.

Aussiecon4
2010 Hugo Winners and Nominees (includes voting breakdowns)
Masquerade Competition Winners
All Aussiecon4 Convention Newsletters (The Echidna)

Kevin Standlee
Video: 2010 Hugo Awards Ceremony
Video: Worldcon Chairs Photo Session

Jo Walton
Ditmar Awards 2010

Cheryl Morgan
Video: Ditmar Awards 2010
Video: Aussiecon 4 Opening Ceremonies
Video: Aussiecon 4 Closing Ceremonies
Video: Aussiecon 4 Fan Guest of Honour Speech by Robin Johnson
Worldcon, Day 1
The Dead Critics Panel
Smoke Filled Rooms
My Terrorist Resume Expands

Voyager Books
Maria Quinn wins Norma K Hemming Award

Galactic Suburbia
Links to Aussiecon4 Podcasts

London in 2014
Aussiecon Update

Flickr
Photos from Aussiecon4 / Worldcon 68

Gary Kemble
In pictures: The Nightmare Ball
(panels and summaries)
The story behind Switzerland's first sf movie (Cargo)
Kim Stanley Robinson still betting on utopia
The future of short stories
Drinking the Kool Aid at WorldCon
Ebooks: the future is now
Finally, my AussieCon4 wrap
(audio)
Audio: Interview with Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Audio: Kim Stanley Robinson Guest of Honour speech
Audio: Charlie Stross on ebooks
Audio: ebooks and the publishing industry panel
Audio: Kim Stanley Robinson on climate change
Audio: Directions in Australian Horror
(author interviews)
Interview: Marianne de Pierres
Interview: Tim Holman
Interview: Angela Slatter
Interview: Rowena Cory Daniells
Interview: Trent Jamieson
Interview: Helen Stubbs (Winner of Aussiecon4 Short Story Competition)
Interview: Kaaron Warren
Interview: Graham Storrs
Interview: Cory Doctorow

John Scalzi
Tales from Melbourne
My Big News: I’m Toastmaster of Chicon 7, the 2012 Worldcon

Paul Cornell
How Australia Was

Seanan McGuire
Officially the Princess of the Kingdom of Poison and Flame

Gail Carriger
WorldCon AussieCon4 Day 1 Friday
WorldCon AussieCon4 Day 2 Saturday
WorldCon AussieCon4 Day 3 Sunday: Final Report
Quick Check In After WorldCon AussieCon4

Catherynne M Valente
Notes on Losing My First Hugo

Trudi Canavan
My AussieCon4 ‘Report’

Peter Watts
Worth the Price

Tansy Rayner Roberts
Feminist Fail and Win at Aussiecon 4
Thoughts from Worldcon
Yet Another Worldcon Post

Jennifer Fallon
Musing on the Panels Stuff-up at Worldcon

Helen Lowe
An Interview with Cheryl Morgan: Reprised for Worldcon
Worldcon: Two Days In
Worldcon: It’s All Over Now

Helen Lowe (Orbit Books)
UNconventional: Worldcon & Me

Nicola Pitt (Orbit Books)
Worldcon photos from last weekend!

Tracey O'Hara (HarperCollins)
Aussiecon4, or the 68^th Annual World Science Fiction Convention

Kathleen Jennings
Aussiecon4 / Worldcon Sketchbook

Kyla Ward (AHWA)
Congestion

Alan Baxter
Worldcon, the story so far
Worldcon wrap, part two
Worldcon panel – Novellas
Worldcon panel – The eternal border
Aussiecon4 photos – last post

David D Levine
The Days Are Just Packed - Aussiecon, days 1-2
The Days Are Just Packed - Aussiecon, days 3-4
The Days Are Just Packed - I've seen the Southern Cross for the first time

Graham Clements
My Writing Week 3 (35) - Aussiecon
My Writing Week 3 (36) - More on Aussiecon
Aussiecon 4 - Young Adult Panels

Foz Meadows
Worldcon Wrap

Stephen Dedman (and possibly others) – Talking Squid
Worldcon 2010 Observations

Deborah Biancotti
Oh, yeah, there was a WorldCon

Brian Thurogood
YA Speculative Fiction continues to gain readers and importance
AussieCon4 – a ‘science’ failure
Artists’ Paradox of “a knock at the door” at AussieCon4
The Eternal Border, a discussion on taboos at the 2010 WorldCon
The steampunk playground within speculative fiction
Pitching the novel – advice from AussieCon4
Cyberpunk and the City – the view from AussieCon4
Fantastic Females – writers discuss feminism at WorldCon
We’re all connected, all the time – blogs and social networking in the world of YA spec fic
Making a living – professional writing for speculative fiction authors

Australian Literature Review
(panels)

On ‘Anachronistic Attitudes: Writing thought and belief in historical fiction’
On ‘Destroying the Future to Save the Planet’
On ‘Nuts and Bolts: Editing YA Spec Fic’
On ‘Keeping Pace: Maintaining momentum in fiction’
On ‘Write What You Know’
On ‘In Conversation: Kim Stanley Robinson and Robert Silverberg’
On ‘Girl Meets Boy Meets Dragon: Romance in fantasy’
On ‘Steal the Past, Build the Future: New histories for fantasy fiction’
On ‘Thinking in Trilogies’
On ‘The Novella’
On ‘Kim Stanley Robinson – Guest of Honour Speech’
On ‘Joseph Campbell and the Hero’s Journey’
On ‘Losing the Plot: Plotting in advance VS writing as you go’
On ‘Crowns and Swords: The intertwined worlds of fantasy and monarchy’
On ‘Hand-waving Rule Bending and Other Dirty Tricks of Hard SF’
On ‘The Race to the Red Planet’
(author interviews)
Mary Victoria – Author Interview
Fiona McIntosh – Author Interview
Ben Chandler – Author Interview
David D. Levine – Author Interview
Kim Stanley Robinson – Author Interview
Kate Forsyth – Author Interview
Zoe Walton – Publisher Interview

Rachel Hyland (Geek Speak Magazine)
Conventional Wisdom: A WorldCon Memoir
Living the Fairy Tale: an interview with Seanan McGuire

The Wheeler Centre, Melbourne
Melbourne Gets its Geek On

Parker Strahn
Aussiecon 4: Day One (Thursday)
Aussiecon 4: Day Two (Friday)
Aussiecon 4: Day Three (Saturday)
Aussiecon 4: Day Four (Sunday)
Aussiecon 4: Day Five (Monday)

Nicole Murphy
AussieCon - so far
AussieCon - going on
AussieCon - relaxacon
AussieCon 4 - the conclusion

Lord Mountain Goat
Video: GRRM, Bringing Game of Thrones to HBO (part 1 - spoilers!)
Video: GRRM, Bringing Game of Thrones to HBO (part 2 - spoilers!)
Video: GRRM, Bringing Game of Thrones to HBO (part 3 - spoilers!)
Video: GRRM Answers Fan Questions

Jake Stormoen
A Game of Thrones HBO Panel at AussieCon (Worldcon)

morningsword
A Game of Thrones HBO Panel at AussieCon (Worldcon)

James (WOTLuckers)
Worldcon Report (Including Kaffeklatsch with George R R Martin)

Aussie Chris
Meeting George R.R. Martin

Linda
World Con 2010 Day 1
World Con 2010 Days 2 and 3
World Con 2010 Day 4
World Con 2010 Day 5

Ameel Zia Khan
Aussiecon 4: Day 1
Aussiecon 4: Day 2
Aussiecon 4: Day 3
Aussiecon 4: Day 4
Aussiecon 4: Day 5

Kathryn Andersen
Worldcon 2010 - Day 1
Worldcon 2010 - Day 2
Worldcon 2010 - Day 3
Worldcon 2010 - Day 4
Worldcon 2010 - Day 5

Shane on the Go
Worldcon
Worldcon - day 2
Worldcon - day 2 - after lunch
Worldcon - Day 3 - Part 1
Worldcon - Day 3 - Part 2
Worldcon - Day 4 - Part 1
Worldcon - Day 4 - Part 2... and then it was over ...
Video: Robert Silverberg on Novellas: The Perfect Format
The Hugos

Soon Lee
Aussiecon: Day One
Aussiecon: Day Two
Aussiecon: Day Three
Aussiecon: Day Four
Aussiecon: Day Five
Hugos 2010 voting statistics: musings
Aussiecon 4: WTF moments. Picks for 2011

strangelove4sf
Day One: Environmental Politics in SFF
Day Two: Robinson and Silverberg in Conversation
More about Aussiecon 4

SuperDave
One con ends...another begins.
WorldCon Day 4
End of the WorldCon, and I feel fine

Megan Burke
Aussie Con 4 - My First Panel (inclusive of legs, nerds, boys and fruit)
Musings on a sense of community in Aussie Con 4 & MWF
Aussie Con 4 - Wrap Up

Patty Jansen
Write What You Know
The Next Step: Should We Go to Mars?

M A Miller
Promoting your book to the converted: AussieCon 4 from an author’s perspective

Celia Powell
AussieCon 4 Roundup

Tez Miller
AussieCon 4

Elfy
Aussiecon IV

Julia B
What I've learned from the Pros

Blindmouse
Thoughts Spurred by WorldCon (In Particular, "Characters Dress Themselves, A Mantra")

Satima Flavell
A worldcon is a wond'rous thing, God wot!

Con Reporter
Preliminary WSFS Business Meeting Report
Main WSFS Business Meeting Report
Sunday WSFS Business Meeting Report

Graham Clements

Aussiecon 4 - The Climate Change Panels (Part 1)

Aussiecon 4 - The Climate Change Panels (Part 2)

Patty Jansen

why you should read military SF

Aidan Doyle (second place in Aussiecon4 Short Story Competition)

WorldCon Report

Victorian Science Fiction Conventions Inc

The AntiFan Films

Leanne C Taylor

Unthinkable! Indescribable!

Keeping Pace: Maintaining Momentum in Fiction

In the Wake of the Sea People, in the Footsteps of Goliath: The Bar-Ilan and University of Melbourne Excavations at Tell es-Safi/Gath

E.T. has a chainsaw: When science fiction and horror collide

Interlude : Pictures of no importance

Time and the Novel

To market: How to sell your short stories

The Future is Overtaking Us

Far future: Where fantasy meets SF

Editing the Novel

Writing Your First Novel

Anachronistic attitudes: Writing thought and belief in historical fiction

From Gilgamesh to Fallout 3: How new technologies bring new narrative techniques

Losing the Plot: Plotting in advance vs writing as you go

The Eternal Border

Whither the Republic: Forms of Government in Science Fiction

Alexandra Pierce

Aussiecon4: overall impressions

Mike Glyer

2020 Vision

Chicago in 2012 Confirmed in Early Returns

It’s Chicon 7

Further Down Underness

2010 Hugo Voting Statistics Posted

More Thoughts on the Fan Hugo Statistics

Taking Home Hugos, Then and Now

Best Fan Writer Hugo Final Exam

Start Thinking of 2011 TAFF Nominees

Tracey Lea

Magic Mean Streets: city as a fantasy location (panel 1)

Trans characters in YA spec fic (panel 2)

WorldCon 2010/AussieCon 4 – Daily Wrap (Day 1)

WorldCon 2010/AussieCon 4 – Daily Wrap (Day 2)

Australian horror writers Association – Nightmare Ball

Mapmaking For Fantasy Authors (panel 3)

So long and thanks for the fish…

Tarran Jones

World Con (AussieCon 4) Day 1

World Con (AussieCon 4) Day 2

World Con (AussieCon 4) Day 3

World Con (AussieCon 4) Day 4 & Day 5

Michael Neate

Aussiecon4 (Worldcon) Report - Day One

Aussiecon4 (Worldcon) Report - Day Two

Aussiecon4 (Worldcon) Report - Day Three

Aussiecon4 (Worldcon) Report - Day Four

James Shields, GUFF delegate

Brief summary of Aussiecon day 1

Exterminate!

The Hugos

Oops, I seem to have started another convention...

Laura Goodin

Back from AussieCon 4/WorldCon

Moderating Con Panels — an Introduction

Peter M Ball

Still at Aussiecon 4

Joffre Horlor

AussieCon4, World Science Fiction Convention, Melbourne, 2010

Jack Nicholls

Navigating AussieCon 4

Jennifer Brozek

WorldCon 2010 and 2011

John Hertz, DUFF delegate

What a Worldcon

Patrick J Jones

Aussiecon 4 / Worldcon 68

Frederik Pohl

Thank You, Fandom!

Rowena Cory Daniells

World Con Through the Eyes of the Uninitiated

Karen Healey

Karen reviews Worldcon

Dirk Flinthart (Launz Burch)

The Con

Tehani Croft Wessely

The Aussiecon 4 round up

monkeygod - Speculative Fiction Writers Of Singapore

First time at WorldCon

Duncan Lay

AussieCon update from Duncan Lay

Peter V Brett

Worldcon Teaser

Scott Edelman

Aussiecon4 "Vampire vs. Zombie Smackdown" Panel

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Saturday, September 25, 2010

My grant application, behind the scenes: at ROR

Vision member Gary Kemble announced this week that he had received an OZCo (Australian Literature Board) Grant. So I grabbed him and said, Gary, please tell us how you did it!

Read on...

via ripping-ozzie-reads.com

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Friday, September 24, 2010

Movie Minutiae: The Crow (1994)

The Crow - based on a comic book about a man returning from the dead to avenge his girlfriend's rape and murder - is a tragic story, and there was another tragedy behind the scenes.

Read on at The Buzz...

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Audio: 612 Brisbane interview

I was planning on tweeting just before we went to air, but was so nervous I forgot.

So, if you missed the interview, and would like to hear me, Stephen M Irwin and Will Elliott talking to Richard Fidler about Macabre, you can listen here: http://blogs.abc.net.au/queensland/2010/09/macabre-anthology.html?site=brisbane&program=612_afternoons

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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Australia Council grant

I've been walking around like a... well, a zombie since Monday, when a letter turned up telling me that my Australia Council New Work grant application was successful.

I was so sure that I'd missed out that I read it as a rejection letter, then went back. Saw the words 'delighted to advise'... thought, that's a bit insensitive... went back, read it halfway through.

I realised that my grant application had been successful. Tweeted. Read the rest of the letter, which told me not to tell anyone until Wednesday. Deleted the tweet.

I still can't really believe it. There were 13 successful applications. My lucky number this year - I was on floor 13 at AussieCon 4.

The grant means I'm going to be able to take some time off work to do stuff that I can't do when I usually write (at night), namely interviews and research (library research).

The project is called 'Skin Deep' and is about tattoos, ghosts, Brisbane, corruption, politics.

So now I've got even more incentive to clear my plate by finishing the edit on 'Metamorphosis' before the end of the year!

I have to heartily thank Kate Eltham and the Queensland Writers Centre. Kate ran an excellent seminar on grant writing earlier this year. So far I'm two from two!

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