Eric James Stone

This was my second year attending CONduit, Utah’s largest science fiction and fantasy convention.

Friday

The first panel I went to was “The Future of War.” I guess because it was the first panel of the day, and people were still trying to figure out where everything was, for a while I was the only audience member, and L. E. Modesitt, Jr., was the only panelist. So he asked me what I was interested in about the subject, and we began talking about the future of infantry. Modesitt had some very interesting points to make about the economics of war and how that might affect things in the future. (For example, consider the costs of outfitting an entire army with powered armor a la Starship Troopers.) Eventually other audience members arrived, plus panelist Carl Timmerman, who is in the Army Special Forces. He had some great insights.

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This post contains spoilers after the break.� Adding just a few minutes at the climax, without changing anything else in the movie, would have made it much better.� Here’s what I would have done differently: Read the rest of this entry »

10-10:30am
I’ll be doing a book signing at CONduit. Dan Willis will be signing at the same time.

10-10:30am
I’ll be doing a reading at CONduit.

Well, this morning I weighed in at 184 pounds, which was my goal to achieve by June 1. And it’s a good thing, too, because I’ll be going to the CONduit SF con from today through Sunday, and I always seem to gain a bit of weight from eating out during cons. Having gotten to 184, my ongoing goal is to stay within 5 pounds of that.

Oh, for those keeping score, that’s a total of 45 pounds lost since January 1.

I just got back from a midnight showing of the third X-Men movie, and I’m sorry to say it’s not up to the standard set by the first movie, let alone the second.

I enjoyed it, but overall it was unfocused and failed to engage me the way the first two movies did.

The special effects were good enough, and the actors did their part. I’d have to say the major blame lies with the script. The major plotline is based on one of the most powerful comic book story arcs ever written, the Phoenix Saga, but all that remains in this movie is the hollow shell of that story.

When I went down to Arizona for Nebula Weekend, I stayed in my sister Angie’s guest bedroom. The bed was fitted with the softest, most comfortable sheets I’d I’ve felt, so I asked her what they were and where she had found them.

The sheets are Pure Beech Jersey Sheets, made from 100% modal, which is a fiber from the beechwood tree. I bought some after I got home. They can be purchased at Bed, Bath & Beyond. They feel much more comfortable than the 100% cotton sheets I was using.

I haven’t posted about politics in a while, but I’ve been thinking about the immigration debate that’s been going on.

First, let me make it absolutely clear that I am not anti-immigrant or anti-immigration. My father is an immigrant, so I’ve always had a soft spot for immigrants. Frankly, if someone is willing to come to our country, work hard, learn English, stay out of trouble, and eventually become an American, I say let them come. So I’m not one of those who wants a moratorium or even a slowdown on legal immigration. In fact, I’d be happy to see an increase in legal immigration.

However, I do think that illegal immigration is a problem. First, there’s the whole border security issue — if it’s easy for people to sneak into our country, that’s not good. Second, there’s the underground economy that developed around illegal immigrant workers. And there are various other problems that I won’t bother to get into, because I want to talk about solutions.

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Popcorn Popping is a new online literary journal for Mormon-related fiction. Today they published “Loophole,” a short story I wrote about a Mormon guy who finds out that… well, just go read the story. It’s free.

Each year, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA [The second F is silent and invisible]) gather to present the Nebula Awards, which are kind of like the Oscars of the speculative fiction world.

The 2006 awards ceremony was held in Tempe, Arizona, and since I have a sister who lives in the area and likes me enough to let me stay in her guest room (the Blue Room, which looks just the way President Blue left it), I decided to drive down for Nebula Weekend.

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