Andre Norton, Star-Bound

-Science fiction and fantasy writer Andre Norton died today. She was 93. She began writing SF so far back, that women pretty much had to use a pseudonym to get published — hence "Andre". (Her birth name was Alice Mary.) Over the decades, she published over 120 novels, the most recent of which came out only a few years ago. She was the first woman Grand Master of the genre.

-I personally own far too few of her books; about half-a-dozen (all of which, oddly, have "star" as the first word of their title). I always found her readable, imaginative, and unafraid of complexity. I never met her, more's the pity; the closest connection I can claim is that we both wrote for GURPS (there was a GURPS Witch World supplement about 15 years ago). She will be missed.

(Sad news courtesy n0ire and Yahoo News.)

Simon & Icon

-I really need to make an LJ icon out of that pic of me from Boston magazine.

-In somewhat related news, two Xmases ago my brother gave me a Simon, mint in the box. I'm thinking of ripping out the innards, and turning it into an Xbox.

(One problem is that a Simon actually has more external controls than an Xbox!)

Excavated from the Archives

-Two pictures of a younger me.
( Dangerous devices. Caught by the rhythm. )