Meet Cat Valente

Cat Valente is currently in Turku with her husband Dmitri. They would like to meet local fandom for drinks and chat at Cosmic Comic Café tonight at 7 PM. Welcome!

Launchland: Finnish SF Music

Just came across this a couple of days ago: Finnish musician Lauri Järvilehto, a.k.a. Songsworth, released an sf-themed album earlier this year. Launchland is “Music for the Science Fiction Imagination”, according to Songsworth:

At the end of the day, this music is about imagination. The worlds where my mind has wandered have left their mark, and that mark is stamped on these songs. I hope that these songs go some way to propel you too to new worlds beyond anyone else’s imagination – your own private worlds, with a shared genesis in these stories.

I hope this album gives you the odd chance to launch at the stars – and land at worlds never before seen by anybody else.

The artist draws inspiration from sf books (by Alastair Reynolds and Hannu Rajaniemi, to name a couple) and comics, and names songs after works that connect to them in his mind. The style is instrumental synthesizer music that instantly feels sfnal (at least to someone who grew up in the 80s listening to Vangelis, Jarre, etc.).

The self-published album is available on iTunes and Amazon, and you can also download it on Songsworth’s web site.

Åcon 5: Thursday

As usual, Åcon Thursday started very early. Went to pick up our Guest of Honor Cat Valente at the hotel and headed for the ferry terminal. Had a cup of coffee. Joined the cattle drive wandering to the ferry. Breakfast, Ölcon, a short Finncon meeting, some shopping, quick lunch.

Arrived in Mariehamn and checked in the hotel, then sat at the registration desk for most of the evening. Got lots of oohs and aahs from the more technologically-oriented persons about the credit card reader I brought that connects to the iPad (it also proved very handy since the nearest ATM is at the town center).

This is the largest Åcon ever—92 registered members, most of them present (some arriving tomorrow, a couple that couldn’t make it). There wasn’t much programming today: the opening ceremony, a squee panel (where the panelists and the audience talked about things they are enthusiastic about, in the style of the SF Squeecast) and the traditional Do not disturb sign workshop. This year added the Please disturb signs in the mix. There were some very imaginative entries, including a zombie Moomin one.

Some people have now gone to see the special screening of Iron Sky organized for Åcon members at the local movie theater. The rest are having a sugar rush party at the hotel, with a selection of candy Hanna and Mika brought, and of course some nice beers from the hotel bar.

Åcon 5 Ready to Go

The Guest of Honour Catherynne M. Valente has arrived in Turku safe and sound. All is ready for Åcon to start tomorrow!

If you’re not able to attend and want to follow what’s going on at the convention, the best way is probably on Twitter. There should be some updates on the convention web site during the weekend as well.

The convention program book has been published in an electronic version; you can download it from the web site in epub format.

PS If you arrive in Turku already today and want to meet people, the word on the street is that some Åconites will gather at Cosmic Comic Café today (probably around 7 PM).

Summer Meetings; Reverse Time Trek

At the pub meeting yesterday it was decided to once again go to the restaurant Koulu for the summer meetings. So from June 7 onwards you can find the Turku sf pub meetings at the Koulu terrace (or somewhere inside if the weather is too cold or wet to be outside). Welcome!

We also decided to go on a Time Trek some time after Finncon (late July/early August). More specifically, we’ll take the Time Trek walking tour (an outdoor route that symbolizes the history of the Universe, with 1 km representing each billion ears in the age of the Universe). To make things more interesting (or more convenient if you want a more practical explanation) we’ll do the trip backwards, starting at the University of Turku and ending in Piikkiö, where there will be a barbecue at the journey’s end. More details will follow later; everyone is welcome to walk with us for either the whole 13.7 km route or just a part of it!