Robert J. Sawyer

On April 19, 2005, as part of the Rob and Bob Tour — the joint book tour for Robert J. Sawyer’s Mindscan and Robert Charles Wilson’s Spin — Bob and I visited the Canadian Light Source synchrotron facility in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Out of that visit, the following has come to pass; I will be the first-ever writer-in-residence at this cutting-edge physics-research facility.

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan — International award-winning science fiction author Robert J. Sawyer will be writer-in-residence at the Canadian Light Source synchrotron from June 1 to July 31, 2009. Sawyer, widely regarded as one of Canada’s most influential authors and most successful science fiction writers, will use the residency to explore the creative processes at the root of science and art, and increase public discussion of science in Canada.

“Imagination is at the heart of both artistic and scientific endeavours,” says Sawyer. “And the science being done in Canada is world-class. The opportunity to immerse myself for two months at one of Canada’s — and the world’s — top scientific institutions will enormously enrich my writing, and I hope my presence will stimulate the imaginations of people at the Canadian Light Source and in the surrounding community. It’s a win-win situation.”

“This is an amazing opportunity, not only for the staff and national research community of the Canadian Light Source, but also the literary community,” says Jeff Cutler, Director of Industrial Research at the Canadian Light Source. “A common thread in Rob’s work — the role that science plays in our humanity and how we understand the universe — is echoed in our focus on discovery, innovation and progress. The residency is an excellent opportunity to have a world-leading author share in the life of a world-leading science facility.”

Sawyer is the author of 20 science fiction novels, which have been published in 15 languages. He is one of only seven authors — and the only Canadian — to win all three of the world’s top science fiction awards: the Hugo Award (2003) for the novel Hominids, the Nebula Award (1996) for The Terminal Experiment, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award (2006) for Mindscan. His novel Flashforward is currently in development as a TV series for the U.S. network ABC. He has taught at the University of Toronto, Ryerson University and the Banff Centre, and is a frequent commentator on the Discovery Channel and CBC television and radio. Several of his stories are set at Canadian science facilities, such as TRIUMF, SNOLab, and the Royal Ontario Museum.

While at the CLS, Sawyer will be performing the duties typical of a writer-in-residence, such as mentoring writers at the synchrotron and in the community, participating in outreach activities, and developing his own work. His wife, poet Carolyn Clink, will join him in Saskatoon during his residency.

The Canadian Light Source is Canada’s national centre for synchrotron research. Located at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, the CLS is a powerful tool for academic and industrial research in a wide variety of areas including environmental science, natural resources and energy, health and life sciences, and information and communications technology. CLS operations are funded by the Government of Canada, NSERC, NRC, CIHR, the Government of Saskatchewan and the University of Saskatchewan. More information.

For more information contact:

Matthew Dalzell
Communications Coordinator
Canadian Light Source Inc
Ph: (306) 657-3739
Cell: (306) 227-0978
matthew.dalzell@lightsource.ca

Robert J. Sawyer
sawyer@sfwriter.com
sfwriter.com

Robert J. Sawyer has previously been writer-in-residence at the Richmond Hill (Ontario) Public Library; the Toronto Public Library’s Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation and Fantasy; the Kitchener Public Library; and the Odyssey Workshop. Quotes and comments from previous residency patrons are here.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Here are the science-fiction conventions I’m planning to attend in 2009:

• Program Participant
  International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts
  Orlando, Florida
  March 18-22, 2009
  www.iafa.org
• Program Participant
  Ad Astra
  Toronto, Ontario
  March 27-29, 2009
  ad-astra.org
• Guest of Honour
  FilkOntario
  Toronto, Ontario
  April 3-5, 2009
  www.filkontario.ca
• Program Participant
  Norwescon 32
  Seattle, Washington
  April 9-12, 2009
  www.norwescon.org
• Guest of Honor
  Xanadu Las Vegas
  Las Vegas, Nevada
  April 17-19, 2009
  www.xanadulasvegas.com
• Program Participant
  Keycon 26
  Winnipeg, Manitoba
  May 15-17, 2009
  www.keycon.org
• Program Participant
  Readercon 20
  Burlington, Massachusetts
  July 9-12, 2009
  www.readercon.org
• Program Participant
  Anticipation: the 67th World Science Fiction Convention
  Montréal, Québec
  August 6-10, 2009
  www.anticipationsf.ca
• Program Participant
  Con-Version 25
  Calgary, Alberta
  August 21-23, 2009
  www.con-version.org
• Program Participant
  VCON 34
  Vancouver, British Columbia
  October 2-4, 2009
  www.vcon.ca
• Program Participant
  Astronomicon
  Rochester, New York
  November 6-8, 2009
  www.astronomicon.info

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

This is the first in a series of blog posts in which I’m going to discuss people and things that I think merit consideration for this year’s Hugo and Aurora Awards; both sets of awards will be given at the Montreal Worldcon this year.

Last year, at the World Science Fiction convention in Denver, a motion was passed to eliminate the semiprozine category for the Hugo Awards. If that motion is ratified this year at the World Science Fiction Convention in Montreal, the category will be eliminated, and this will be the final year that the award is given.

The semiprozine category was created essentially to keep Locus, the California-based trade journal of the science-fiction field, from always winning in the best fanzine category. Semiprozines are magazines that are not amateur efforts, but aren’t on the same level of commercial enterprise as the prozines (“professional magazines”), such as Analog, Asimov’s SF, and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Since the category was created, Locus has almost always won this Hugo, and many think that’s reason enough to retire the category, hence the current motion.

However, a great many worthy publications have emerged over the years that are also semiprozines, including The New York Review of Science Fiction from the US and Interzone from the UK.

Consider this:

• No Canadian publication has ever been nominated for the semiprozine Hugo.
• The Hugos will be given in Canada this year.
• This may well be the last year in which a Hugo Award is given in this category.
• English Canada has not one but two world-class semiprozines: On Spec from Edmonton, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and Neo-Opsis from Victoria.

Both On Spec and Neo-Opsis are perfect-bound digests printed on quality paper, and, frankly, are physically better products than Analog and Asimov’s are these days. Both routinely publish excellent fiction, as well as provocative nonfiction.

Last year, it took just 38 nominations to make the Hugo ballot in the semiprozine category; last year, only seven people bothered to nominate On Spec and some number fewer than five (the threshold figure for which results were reported) nominated Neo-Opsis. Get with the program, people!

I’m going to be nominating both On Spec and Neo-Opsis for the semiprozine Hugo this year (and will also be nominating the NYRSF and the SFWA Bulletin, both of which also are worthy of the award).

If you have an attending or supporting membership in this year’s World Science Fiction Convention in Montreal, or had one in last year’s Worldcon in Denver, you’re eligible to nominate, too.

Neo-Opsis and On Spec are terrific Canadian publications. They deserve to be nominated; heck, they deserve to win. I urge you to keep them in mind when making your nominations.

Nominations for the Hugos are open right now — don’t delay, the nominating window is short. Participate — and maybe one of those shiny Hugo rockets will stay in Canada this year.

• On Spec, Diane Walton, ed.
• Neo-Opsis, Karl Johanson, ed.

Remember, this may be their last chance ever to become Hugo finalists, but for all time they’ll be able to proclaim “Hugo Award nominee!” on their covers.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Audible.com is doing unabridged recordings of my novels Wake, Watch, and Wonder. Today was the first recording session for Wake, and actress Jessica Almasy, who is voicing Caitlin Decter, reports that it went well. Other voicing is being done by Aze Fellner, who, like me, turns out to be a fan of Julian Jaynes’s The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind (which figures in the plot of Wake).

For Audible.com’s existing offerings of books by me, see here.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

So, Norman Spinrad just confirmed me as a friend on Facebook. Early next month, David Gerrold and I are giving joint keynote addresses at a conference in Istanbul. A little while ago, George Clayton Johnson left a message on my answering machine to say how much he loved one of my stories. Oh, and every now and then, Harlan Ellison gives me a call, too.

Norman Spinrad, who wrote the classic Star Trek episode “The Doomsday Machine.” David Gerrold, who wrote the classic Star Trek episode “The Trouble with Tribbles.” George Clayton Johnson, who wrote the classic Star Trek episode “The Man Trap.” Harlan Ellison, who wrote the classic Star Trek episode “City on the Edge of Forever.”

Why is it, despite everything else that’s cool in my life, knowing these guys is one of the things I find the most cool of all? I am such a Trekkie!

Live long and prosper, y’all!

Source of this blog posting’s title is from “Is There In Truth No Beauty?”

Spock: This is delightful! I know you! All of you! James Kirk, captain and friend for many years. And Leonard McCoy [affectionate laughter], also of long acquaintance. And Uhura, whose name means “freedom.” She walks in beauty like the night.

McCoy: [to Kirk] That’s not Spock!

Spock: Are you surprised to find that I’ve read Byron, doctor?

McCoy: That’s Spock!

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

(Orion publishes most of its SF under the Gollancz imprint; their other SF&F authors include Stephen Baxter, Arthur C. Clarke, Charlaine Harris, Richard Morgan, Terry Pratchett, and Alistair Reynolds.)

Woohoo!

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Details are here.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Just spent 75 minutes on the phone with David S. Goyer, director of the Flash Forward pilot, and co-author (with Brannon Braga) of the pilot script. Not much I can say, except, man, this is going to be a cool show! Filming starts February 21, 2009, in Los Angeles, and Carolyn and I will be heading down to watch some of it.

(Info about my novel Flash Forward is here.)

Pictured: David S. Goyer, Robert J. Sawyer, and Brannon Braga at Chateau Marmont in Hollywood, 20 November 2007.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Toronto’s annual general-interest SF convention Ad Astra is looming: it takes place March 27-29, 2009. I’ll be there, of course, and so will the multitalented Joanne Ellen Hansen (pictured), who is the artist guest of honour this year. She’ll be joined by writer GoHs David Drake, Tamora Pierce, and Timothy Zahn, plus an amazing roster of panelists. Come on out and join the fun!

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Once again, I’ll be one of the authors at the Book Lover’s Ball, the Toronto Public Library’s annual black-tie fundraiser. Tickets are $500.

This is the fourth annual event; at the second one, I received the $2,500 Toronto Public Library Celebrates Reading Award; this year’s winner will be announced at this year’s ball, which takes place on Thursday, February 12, 2009. Here are some photos from the 2007 ball.

Authors confirmed for this year so far are:

• Tony Aspler
• Linwood Barclay
• Christie Blatchford
• Giles Blunt
• Wayson Choy
• George Elliott Clarke
• Tish Cohen
• Julie Couillard
• Anthony De Sa
• Marina Endicott
• Joy Fielding
• MaryLou Finlay
• Elyse Friedman
• Catherine Gildiner
• Richard J. Gwyn
• Dan Hill
• Maureen Jennings
• Guy Gavriel Kay
• Vincent Lam
• Stephen Marche
• The Right Honourable Paul Martin
• Andrew Pyper
• Paul Quarrington
• David Adams Richards
• C.S. Richardson
• Peter Robinson
• Robert Rotenberg
• Robert J. Sawyer
• Russell Smith
• Christina Sorbara
• Anita Stewart
• Debbie Travis
• Jan Wong
• Alissa York

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

The redoubtable John Joseph Adams just bought reprint rights to my 2000 short story “The Shoulders of Giants” for his upcoming anthology Federations (Prime Books). I’m absolutely thrilled, because “Shoulders” is, I think, one of my very best stories.

It was originally published as the lead story in the DAW anthology Star Colonies, which also contained stories by my great Toronto-area friends Robert Charles Wilson and Edo van Belkom.

I’ll leave it to John to announce in his own time the other details of the anthology, which will contain a mixture of new and reprint work, but I will say that the line-up of authors he’s got is amazing; this will clearly be one of the major anthologies of 2009, and I’m very proud to be part of it.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Louis Braille, who invented the writing system for the blind that bears his name, was born 200 years ago this week.

Caitlin Decter, the main character in my upcoming novel Wake, is blind, and uses Braille. And BBC has a really good article about what it’s like to be a Braille user here.

(Oh, and the Wikipedia entry on the Braille system is here.)

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

From Clint Budd, Aurora Award administrator (with a big shout out of congrats to Clint for getting nominations rolling so early!):

THE AURORAS! — This year at Worldcon!

Aurora Awards website

Nominations open January 1st, 2009, and close February 28th, 2009.

An on-line and a printable nomination form is at here.

Partial list of eligible works at the Canadian SF Works Database.

LITERARY AWARDS: If you are nominating a written work (Novel, Short Story, etc.) that isn’t listed in the Canadian SF Works Database PLEASE include Author, Title, Publisher, *Publication Date*, and (if its published in a magazine, anthology etc.) — the name of the publication. If you know of a website that has all this info — put in the website address instead — to save time and space. Please consider adding your nominated work to Canadian SF Works Database.

Just the name of the author or work is not enough.

ART AWARD: if you are nominating an artist, PLEASE list a published or displayed work and where it was published or displayed. JUST THE NAME OF THE ARTIST IS NOT ENOUGH.

FAN ACHIEVEMENT (Publication): PLEASE list the name of the fannish newsletter or amateur publication and the Publisher/Editor’s name and contact info.

Note: the rule excluding club fanzines is still in effect. A new amendment was adopted at the last Business Meeting (Keycon 2008) but will have to be ratified at the next Business Meeting (Anticipation/Worldcon 2009).

FAN ACHIEVEMENT (Organizational): PLEASE list the specific organizational achievement that you are nominating the person for. PLEASE list the name of the Organizer nominated, and the event, date and location the event occurred at.

FAN ACHIEVEMENT (Other): PLEASE specifically describe the activity you’re nominating for (i.e. “filking” is NOT specific enough — this is an award for Achievement), the name of the person nominated and contact info.

[Constitution definition: Fan Achievement (other): For Canadian fan activity in the previous calendar year not encompassed by the previous two subsections. For example: multi-media presentation, music, art, apas, fan-writing, etc.]

Aurora Awards website

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Welcome to 2009, the International Year of Astronomy! Things are looking up already! :)

I’m amused that “Yours to Discover,” the slogan for the IYA, is the same as that for the province of Ontario, where I live:

(And, yes, that’s my real license plate.)

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Yes, I know Open Office is free, but here’s another excellent choice, also free: SoftMaker Office 2006 for Windows. Included are a Microsoft Word-compatible wordprocessor called TextMaker and a Microsoft Excel-compatible spreadsheet called PlanMaker.

And for WordStar users like me, TextMaker optionally supports the WordStar keyboard interface. Just select Extras, Customize, Keyboard Mappings and switch from “Default” (Word-like) to “Classic” (WordStar-like). Cool!

Oh, and at Extras, Preferences, Files, Default file format, you can set the format used for saving files to Open Document, various flavours of Word, or TextMaker’s own format.

It’s a nice package (in fact, I paid to register an earlier version of TextMaker back in 2003); this free version is well worth grabbing. It’s fully functional, not time-limited, and has no restrictions (although SoftMaker does offer a more-recent version as commercial software, for those who want the latest and greatest).

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

It’s a no-win scenario for authors to talk about the impact the used-book trade has on their livelihood, so I won’t. But The New York Times had an interesting article entitled “Bargain Hunting for Books, and Feeling Sheepish About It” recently.

All right, I’ll make one comment. One of the standard arguments you hear is that lots and lots of people buy used books when trying an author out, and then if they like him or her, they start picking up their stuff new. In my experience, having done hundreds of signings, that’s just not generally true. People often come to signings with stacks of my books to get autographed, but it’s usually either all new copies, or all used copies. I’ve almost never seen a case of a reader switching from one to the other.

Yes, yes, yes, I’m sure there are individual examples of people switching from buying an author used to buying new, but, again, in my experience, it’s not the norm, even among people who profess to loving the author’s work.

And, just in case the point is lost: when you buy a used copy of an author’s book, neither the author nor the publisher makes a cent. Yes, yes, somebody paid for the book originally, and that person did contribute to putting food on my table (and on my editor’s table) … but the person who bought the book used did not.

(And before someone chimes in and says, “Well, then, I guess you hate libraries, you Philistine!,” no, I don’t — and in Canada (and many other countries, but, as with so many things, not the US) we authors get a nice cheque from the government each year to compensate us for our lost royalties on copies circulated through libraries; read up on the Public Lending Right if you want to know more.)

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Jack Davenport, who starred in the BBC sitcom Coupling, has been cast to play Lloyd Simcoe in ABC’s pilot based on my novel Flashforward, and, in honour of that, Carolyn and I, and our friends Nick DiChario and Bev Geddes, watched the first two episodes of Coupling this evening. Carolyn and I had seen the whole series previously, and loved it — and, I’ve got to say, it’s just as good on a second viewing, and Jack Davenport is fabulous (as is Susan Walker, pictured with him above).

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Christmas has come and gone, and Carolyn and I had pleasant times visiting both her family (on the 25th) and mine (on the 26th).

For those who are curious, among the goodies we got were:

DVDs:

• Casino Royale
• Cloverfield
• The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (special edition)
• Ironman
• Sex and the City, the movie
• The Big Bang Theory, Season One
• Doctor Who, Season Three
• Heroes, Season One
• Mad Men, Season One

BOOKS:

• In Search of Time by Dan Falk
• The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill (published in the US as Someone Knows My Name; without doubt the hottest recent Canadian-authored novel)
• Death by Black Hole by Neil DeGrasse Tyson
• Plus four, count ’em, four Chapters gift cards

Dan Falk and Larry Hill are friends of mine, so I’m particularly pleased to have received their books.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

I had a chance to play extensively today with eReader 1.3 on an iPhone, and I must say I am very, very impressed. The iPhone version is a terrific implementation of the eReader software (much, much nicer, say, than the version of Mobipocket on the iRex iLiad).

eReader is my favorite e-reading software, in part because it has a much better DRM system for commercial books than does Mobipocket. This new version of eReader for the iPhone includes most of the key capabilities of the versions long available for Palm and Windows Mobile devices: the ability to toggle justification, dictionary lookup, and the option to invert the screen (black background with white letters, instead of vice versa).

Text renders beautifully in both Georgia and Helvetica typefaces (although providing Marker Felt was an odd third choice; I’d like to see Verdana). It’s an extremely pleasant reading experience, and the combination of an iPhone or iPod Touch with eReader would make a very good ebook-reading platform.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

My friend Berry Kercheval drew this article entitled “2008: A good year for Neanderthals” from New Scientist to my attention. Cool!

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

In the Planet of the Apes movies, the reigns of power in the far future are held by orangutans. And now we know why.

Dr. Zaius: Tell me, why are all apes created equal?

Taylor: Some apes, it seems, are more equal than others.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Tony Award-winning actor Brian F. O’Byrne has joined the cast of ABC’s Flash Forward, based on my novel. And we have a new date to start filming: Saturday, February 21, 2009 (two days later than originally announced — it’s easier to get one of our locations on a weekend).

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Bill Anders: We are now approaching lunar sunrise and, for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you.

“In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.”

Jim Lovell: “And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.”

Frank Borman: “And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.”

And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you — all of you on the good Earth.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Rob’s second short-story collection, Identity Theft and Other Stories, was published earlier this year. Said the American Library Association’s Booklist, “At every opportunity, Sawyer forces his readers to think while holding their attention with ingenious premises and superlative craftsmanship.”

In its March cover story, Quill & Quire, the Canadian publishing trade journal, named Rob one of the 30 most influential, innovative, and just plain powerful people in Canadian publishing.” Only two other authors made the list: Margaret Atwood and Douglas Coupland.

Rob was special guest at San Diego Comic-Con this year. At 140,000 people, it’s the world’s largest pop-culture event. They treated Carolyn and Rob fabulously.

Carolyn and Rob also had a great time at the World Science Fiction Convention, which this year was held in Denver in August, and at the World Fantasy Convention, which this year was held in Calgary at the beginning of November. During the Denver trip, we got a wonderful behind-the-scenes tour of the NORAD Cheyenne Mountain Complex.

Audible.com is now offering six of Rob’s novels as unabridged audiobooks.

Rob is hosting the 17-part half-hour documentary series Supernatural Investigator for Canada’s Vision TV; it airs Tuesday nights at 10:30 p.m. Eastern time, starting on January 27, 2009.

Rob’s next novel, Wake, comes out in hardcover on April 7, 2009, in the U.S. and a week later in Canada.

ABC is making a pilot for an hour-long TV series based on Rob’s novel Flashforward. The pilot script was written by David S. Goyer (who wrote Batman Begins) and Brannon Braga (who worked on the last few Star Trek series); filming is scheduled to begin in Los Angeles on February 17, 2009, and, if the pilot is a success, the series should be on the air in September 2009.

Carolyn continues to enjoy the Algonquin Square Table poetry workshop at the University of Toronto. This year, she published seven poems and ran the poetry open mic at the World Fantasy Convention. She’s just been named an assistant poetry editor at Chizine.com. She only golfed once, but did take yoga classes in the fall.

Happy Holidays, Everyone!

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Ron Howard’s new film adaptation of Peter Morgan’s stage play Frost/Nixon is absolutely terrific. Frank Langella and Michael Sheen reprise their Broadway roles as Richard M. Nixon and David Frost. It’s an amazing piece of filmmaking, and the performances by the two leads are Oscar calibre. The film is only in limited release right now (to establish its Academy Award eligibility for 2008); it opens wide soon.

I didn’t see the Broadway production, but it’s astonishing to think that Langella and Sheen manage to do such subtle performances on the big screen (the kind of subtlety you just can’t do on stage when no one can see your face in close-up) after previously having played the parts more broadly. (Yes, it’s ironic that the big screen requires smaller acting.) Brilliant, captivating performances — and Ron Howard pulls off the same trick he managed with Apollo 13: taking a story that all of us who lived through know the outcome of and still make it edge-of-your-seat suspense.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

I had a need to pull together a document covering my professional achievements over the last 10 years. If anyone’s interested, that document is here as a PDF.

A few highlights:

In March 2008, Canada’s publishing trade journal Quill & Quire names Robert J. Sawyer one of the 30 “most influential, innovative, and just plain powerful people in Canadian publishing.”

Photo: Rob receiving the Galaxy Award — China’s top honour in SF — for “Most Popular Foreign Author,” August 2007.

Photo: Rob receives an Honorary Doctorate from Laurentian University, June 2007.

Photo: Rob receives the $2,500 Toronto Public Library Celebrates Reading Award at the black-tie Book Lovers’ Ball in February 2007.

Rob named editor of Robert J. Sawyer Books, the science-fiction imprint of Calgary’s Red Deer Press, September 2003.

Photo: Rob receives the Best Novel Hugo Award for Hominids, August 2003.

Robert J. Sawyer’s novel Flashforward, which goes on to become a series pilot for ABC TV, is published, June 1999.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Every year since 1947, with the exception of 1950, the mayor of Hiroshima, Japan, has issued a Peace Declaration on the anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on that city. This is the text of the 2008 Peace Declaration:

[Hibakusha: victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, including those who survived the blasts.]

Another August 6, and the horrors of 63 years ago arise undiminished in the minds of our hibakusha, whose average age now exceeds 75. “Water, please!” “Help me!” “Mommy!” ― On this day, we, too, etch in our hearts the voices, faces and forms that vanished in the hell no hibakusha can ever forget, renewing our determination that “No one else should ever suffer as we did.”

Because the effects of that atomic bomb, still eating away at the minds and bodies of the hibakusha, have for decades been so underestimated, a complete picture of the damage has yet to emerge. Most severely neglected have been the emotional injuries. Therefore, the city of Hiroshima is initiating a two-year scientific exploration of the psychological impact of the A-bomb experience.

This study should teach us the grave import of the truth, born of tragedy and suffering, that “the only role for nuclear weapons is to be abolished.”

This truth received strong support from a report compiled last November by the city of Hiroshima. Scientists and other nuclear-related experts exploring the damage from a postulated nuclear attack found once again that only way to protect citizens from such an attack is the total abolition of nuclear weapons. This is precisely why the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the International Court of Justice advisory opinion state clearly that all nations are obligated to engage in good-faith negotiations leading to complete nuclear disarmament. Furthermore, even leaders previously central to creating and implementing US nuclear policy are now repeatedly demanding a world without nuclear weapons.

We who seek the abolition of nuclear weapons are the majority. United Cities and Local Governments, which represents the majority of the Earth”s population, has endorsed the Mayors for Peace campaign. One hundred ninety states have ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. One hundred thirteen countries and regions have signed nuclear-weapon-free zone treaties. Last year, 170 countries voted in favor of Japan’s UN resolution calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Only three countries, the US among them, opposed this resolution. We can only hope that the president of the United States elected this November will listen conscientiously to the majority, for whom the top priority is human survival.

To achieve the will of the majority by 2020, Mayors for Peace, now with 2,368 city members worldwide, proposed in April of this year a Hiroshima-Nagasaki Protocol to supplement the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. This Protocol calls for an immediate halt to all efforts, including by nuclear-weapon states, to obtain or deploy nuclear weapons, with a legal ban on all acquisition or use to follow by 2015. Thus, it draws a concrete road map to a nuclear-weapon-free world. Now, with our destination and the map to that destination clear, all we need is the strong will and capacity to act to guard the future for our children.

World citizens and like-minded nations have achieved treaties banning anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions. Meanwhile, the most effective measures against global warming are coming from cities. Citizens cooperating at the city level can solve the problems of the human family because cities are home to the majority of the world’s population, cities do not have militaries, and cities have built genuine partnerships around the world based on mutual understanding and trust.

The Japanese Constitution is an appropriate point of departure for a “paradigm shift” toward modeling the world on intercity relationships. I hereby call on the Japanese government to fiercely defend our Constitution, press all governments to adopt the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Protocol, and play a leading role in the effort to abolish nuclear weapons. I further request greater generosity in designating A-bomb illnesses and in relief measures appropriate to the current situations of our aging hibakusha, including those exposed in “black rain areas” and those living overseas.

Next month the G8 Speakers’ Meeting will, for the first time, take place in Japan. I fervently hope that Hiroshima’s hosting of this meeting will help our “hibakusha philosophy” spread throughout the world.

Now, on the occasion of this 63rd anniversary Peace Memorial Ceremony, we offer our heartfelt lamentations for the souls of the atomic bomb victims and, in concert with the city of Nagasaki and with citizens around the world, pledge to do everything in our power to accomplish the total eradication of nuclear weapons.

— Tadatoshi Akiba
Mayor
The City of Hiroshima

For more information, see here and here.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

This stuff is important, but here’s how it reads on the Weather Network website:

A COMPLEX LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL TRACK ACROSS SOUTHERN ONTARIO SUNDAY BRINGING A VARIETY OF ADVERSE WEATHER TO THE REGIONS. SNOWFALL WARNING..SNOW WILL DEVELOP NEAR LAKE ONTARIO OVERNIGHT AND OVER EASTERN ONTARIO SUNDAY MORNING. GENERAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS NEAR 15 CENTIMETRES ARE FORECAST WITH CLOSER TO 20 CENTIMETRES IN EASTERNMOST SECTIONS. BRISK NORTHEAST WINDS WILL GIVE BLOWING SNOW AT TIMES. THE SNOW WILL TAPER OFF OVER WESTERN SECTIONS NEAR NOON SUNDAY AND OVER EASTERN ONTARIO IN THE EVENING. AREAS NEAR WESTERN LAKE ONTARIO WILL ALSO SEE LOCALIZED FLURRIES DEVELOP THIS EVENING WELL AHEAD OF THE MAIN SNOW AREA. SOME OF THESE FLURRIES WILL BE HEAVY AT TIMES WITH LOCAL BLOWING SNOW NEAR THE LAKESHORE. WIND WARNING..STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 60 KM/H WITH GUSTS TO 90 WILL DEVELOP OVER THE WARNED REGIONS SUNDAY MORNING THEN CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY. WINDS WILL DIMINISH SOMEWHAT SUNDAY NIGHT. WIND CHILLS WILL ALSO BECOME QUITE HIGH WITH VALUES NEAR MINUS 27 EXPECTED OVER SOUTHWESTERN SECTIONS BY MID AFTERNOON. BLOWING SNOW WARNING..STRONG AND COLD WESTERLY WINDS WILL DEVELOP OVER THE WARNED REGIONS SUNDAY MORNING. THESE WINDS COMBINED WITH PERIODS OF SNOW OR FLURRIES WILL FREQUENT WHITEOUT CONDITIONS IN BLOWING SNOW. SNOWSQUALL WARNING..SNOWSQUALLS WILL DEVELOP IN WEST TO SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS OFF LAKE ERIE AROUND MIDDAY SUNDAY. THESE SQUALLS WILL GIVE LOCAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS OF 15 CENTIMETRES ALONG WITH EXTENSIVE WHITEOUT CONDITIONS. MOTORISTS SHOULD BE PREPARED ONCE AGAIN TO ALTER TRAVEL PLANS FOR TONIGHT AND SUNDAY ACCORDINGLY. TRAVELLING CONDITIONS WILL AGAIN DETERIORATE QUICKLY BEGINNING TONIGHT WITH DANGEROUS WINTER DRIVING CONDITIONS FROM WHITEOUTS IN BLOWING SNOW AND HEAVY SNOW EXPECTED TO DEVELOP. SNOWSQUALLS MAY ALSO BECOME AN ISSUE TO THE LEE OF LAKE HURON AND GEORGIAN BAY SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY. ENVIRONMENT CANADA CONTINUES TO CLOSELY MONITOR THIS SITUATION AND WARNINGS MAY BE ISSUED LATER TODAY OR TONIGHT AS THIS STORM DRAWS CLOSER.

Lowercase letters and a few paragraph breaks would help a lot, guys, plus, y’know, a colon is actually two dots stacked vertically not horizontally:

A complex low pressure system will track across Southern Ontario Sunday bringing a variety of adverse weather to the regions.

Snowfall warning: snow will develop near Lake Ontario overnight and over Eastern Ontario Sunday morning. General snowfall amounts near 15 centimetres are forecast with closer to 20 centimetres in easternmost sections. Brisk northeast winds will give blowing snow at times. The snow will taper off over western sections near noon Sunday and over Eastern Ontario in the evening. Areas near western Lake Ontario will also see localized flurries develop this evening well ahead of the main snow area. Some of these flurries will be heavy at times with local blowing snow near the lakeshore.

Wind warning: strong southwest winds of 60 km/h with gusts to 90 will develop over the warned regions Sunday morning then continue through the day. Winds will diminish somewhat Sunday night. Wind chills will also become quite high with values near minus 27 expected over southwestern sections by mid afternoon.

Blowing snow warning: strong and cold westerly winds will develop over the warned regions Sunday morning. These winds combined with periods of snow or flurries will frequent whiteout conditions in blowing snow.

Snowsquall warning: snowsqualls will develop in west to southwesterly winds off lake erie around midday Sunday. These squalls will give local snowfall amounts of 15 centimetres along with extensive whiteout conditions. Motorists should be prepared once again to alter travel plans for tonight and Sunday accordingly.

Travelling conditions will again deteriorate quickly beginning tonight with dangerous winter driving conditions from whiteouts in blowing snow and heavy snow expected to develop. Snowsqualls may also become an issue to the lee of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay Sunday night and Monday. Environment Canada continues to closely monitor this situation and warnings may be issued later today or tonight as this storm draws closer.

People die when we have storms like this. How ’bout making the warnings clear and legibile, instead of like some god-damned disclaimer on a software license agreement? I note that the same warnings are legible and readable at the Environment Canada website, which is the source of the data. Get with the program, Weather Network!

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

My father, John A. Sawyer, is an economist — so, not surprisingly, he reads The Economist every week. And my dad just dropped me an email to say:

The Economist, which has a worldwide circulation, publishes a year-end edition in which there is a calendar of 4 or 5 events in each month of 2009. The first event listed for August is: “Montreal hosts the World Science Fiction Convention, where an author’s fantasy can lead to a Hugo Award.”

Now that’s mainstream respectability!

The Economist‘s calendar is online here.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Rich Handley’s Timeline of the Planet of the Apes is a magnificent labor of love. He’s taken on the staggering task of trying to make sense out of the jumble of contradictory facts and figures — not to mention temporal paradoxes — in the five original movies, the live-action and animated TV series, Tim Burton’s remake, and more, presenting a fascinating chronology of humanity’s downfall, the rise of the apes, and the ultimate fate of our planet.

The book is gorgeously designed, handsomely printed, copiously annotated, and more fun than — you guessed it! — a barrel of monkeys. Highly recommended.

More info is here on Rich Handly’s site and here at Lulu.com.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site