Comments on PaulCornell.com: Worldcon

I know, I was just really strung out. Pleasure mee...

2008-09-15T12:11:00.000+01:00

I know, I was just really strung out. Pleasure meeting you, too.

We Aussies who joined you at Mataam Fez did say th...

2008-09-15T11:44:00.000+01:00

We Aussies who joined you at Mataam Fez did say that we loved FAMILY OF BLOOD, you know - you just had the bad luck to be in a very tightly contested year. We just saw your show in repeats and got to see the Doctor Who Confidential about it, which was a lot of fun.

Pleasure meeting you in Denver!

Thanks very much. You can confirm that I did all t...

2008-09-09T07:52:00.000+01:00

Thanks very much. You can confirm that I did all that cheering!

I'm truly sorry that Human Nature didn't win the H...

2008-09-09T05:39:00.000+01:00

I'm truly sorry that Human Nature didn't win the Hugo -- it was an effing marvelous story and I loved it. And it was nice to meet you at the Hugos (I was the economy sized redhead sitting in the row in front of you).

I agree, I think it's his best work.

2008-09-05T07:52:00.000+01:00

I agree, I think it's his best work.

Human Nature would have got my vote, but to be fai...

2008-09-03T12:37:00.000+01:00

Human Nature would have got my vote, but to be fair you were very, very, very (insert many more 'very's!) unlucky to be up aganist Blink!

Thanks! I'm sorry to not be much help, though, I j...

2008-08-30T16:14:00.000+01:00

Thanks! I'm sorry to not be much help, though, I just made that name up!

Hi - this may seem like an odd question and not re...

2008-08-30T13:44:00.000+01:00

Hi - this may seem like an odd question and not related to your blog! Am researching my family tree and have found a charcater name in "The Shadow of the Scourge" Doctor Who: The Big Finish Audio Adventures #13 - Michael Pembroke - that I am interested in knowing mre about. Do you remember where the name came from?
Hope you can help and don't mind a mad message!
PS Have loved your recent episodes of Doctor Who!

Thanks, all. Actually, Liberal, that was much the ...

2008-08-28T06:58:00.000+01:00

Thanks, all. Actually, Liberal, that was much the conclusion the panel came to, large scale change by social forces with individuals sometimes turning everything round. And therefore time being quite 'robust'. You step on a butterfly in prehistoric times to no great effect. I suspect that time travel is fundamentally impossible anyway, for reasons we have absolutely no idea of at the moment (what time is being one of those lovely unanswered questions of physics). And of course I let Stephen ask his question, but I can't remember what it was! Liberal: largely the matter of copyright! Plus I really enjoy Austen. We're going to be moving around in literary time a bit next issue. Glad you enjoyed it.

Really enjoyed the new issue of Fantastic Four:...

2008-08-28T00:59:00.000+01:00
Really enjoyed the new issue of Fantastic Four: True Story, Mr. Cornell.

What made you decide to base the main story in the Regency period of literature?

Sounds like you had a great time. I shall be suit...

2008-08-27T12:49:00.000+01:00
Sounds like you had a great time. I shall be suitably jealous.

whether or not social forces or great people are the levers of historical alternatives

I've thought for a while that the structure of history (that's a very Who-fan way to think of it, isn't it?) is really an example of chaos theory in action. Large societal forces push the system around, but it's very sensitive to small changes, so the right person in the right place at the right time can tip it over from one state to another. Both are true but neither is the whole picture (well, I'd argue quite strongly with "great" as an appropriate descriptor for all the members of the class "people who influence history", but that's a side issue).

(And OMG what did Stephen Baxter put his hand up for? Or was it so packed that he didn't even get to ask his question?)

I've set up a page of Denvention 3 News and Post-con Reports and have included a link to your report.

Yes, Laurie, of course, thanks very much! And no,...

2008-08-27T06:10:00.000+01:00
Yes, Laurie, of course, thanks very much! And no, I've no idea what that is. Cheers.

Paul,

Changing the subject reall quick.
2008-08-27T04:40:00.000+01:00
Paul,

Changing the subject reall quick.

I noticed other day while at my sisters place that ITV will be showing a drama which has some weird type of connection with the works of Jane Austen.

Just wondered if you happen to know any buzz about it. You know? Do you think it will be worth a look?

Wonderful Worldcon report. Mind if I link to it f...

2008-08-27T02:21:00.000+01:00
Wonderful Worldcon report. Mind if I link to it from the Denvention Web site?

Laurie Mann
Denvention Webmaster &
Hugo Ceremony Manager

Thanks, all. Jen, I look forward to seeing you in ...

2008-08-26T11:29:00.000+01:00
Thanks, all. Jen, I look forward to seeing you in Calgary too. The Skrull Beatles wandered off at the end of Wisdom with the aim of becoming the Skrull Monkees. Unfortunately, that never came to pass.

Beautiful post, Paul. Thank you for taking the tim...

2008-08-25T20:49:00.000+01:00
Beautiful post, Paul. Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences with us.

BTW, thanks to your tip on Comic Book Locator, I found Captain Britain. Seems to be selling well here in the wilds of Northern Virginia. Looking forward to more.

What a wonderful report! Looking forward to seein...

2008-08-25T20:18:00.000+01:00
What a wonderful report! Looking forward to seeing you in Calgary.

--Jen Heddle

Thanks for that fanvid link - I'm in awe of people...

2008-08-25T13:04:00.000+01:00
Thanks for that fanvid link - I'm in awe of people who have the skills to create them, and that one's a particularly awesome one.

I remember being terribly scared at my first panel...

2008-08-24T22:22:00.000+01:00
I remember being terribly scared at my first panel in San Diego. It was part of the CAC (the academic conference held at the Con) and I was on a panel talking about continuity with Paul Levitz (the head of DC) and Peter Sanderson (who is like a walking encyclopedia of facts). I believe I read my paper (which was the proto-Vertigo books before there was a Vertigo and their use of DCU characters) and then tried to sit quietly, usually only talking when called upon directly. It was about the same the next year when I moderated a panel for the first time.

On a totally unrelated matter, I was re-reading the WISDOM trade the other day and couldn't remember what had happened to the other Skrull Beatles after the fight with the Martians.

Sounds to me like you had a great time. I've never...

2008-08-24T14:54:00.000+01:00
Sounds to me like you had a great time. I've never done a world con - was tempted to a few years back when they held in in Scotland but just didn't have th funds to do it:(

I generally barely manage one or two standard SF Television events a year.

The biggest have ever been to is SF Ball which is a charity event that raises money for Christys McMillion Centre in Bournemouth - but sadly that event is mostly about the folks in front of the camera which I enjoy - but being the type of person that has a mind that wants to know everything down to the smallest trivia. I like to know what the writers have to say and think as well as the directors.

Perhaps one day I will get to do a world con. Hey maybe if I succeed with my current comic book idea - I may be a guest there say in about another 10 or 100 years lol.

As to the next Doctor Who Hugo - I think that maybe yours. I mean Mr Moffat will be producing and writing much more for Doctor Who which may well improve his chances of winning another one - but I think fans will get spoilt with Moffat scripts in the 2010 season of Doctor Who - and will vote for someone else because there work seems fresher.

To be honest I would have found it incredibly difficult to choose between Blink and Human Nature. I really loved both stories. I liked the idea of Blink with its killer statues - but also enjoyed the human drama and how difficult life was for Martha in Human nature acting as the Doctors Caretaker and trying to keep him safe from danger.

What I really liked though was the ending few moments of Family Blood where the narrator explains that the Doctor was trying to be kind to his adversary by going underground the way he did. It brought forth that darker part of the Doctor that is always lurking.

I remember seeing the first William Hartnel Adventure back in the 1980s when the BBC repeated episodes of the other Doctor Whos in order to celebrate the 20th anniversary and I was a little shocked at the scene where the Doctor gets a rock and is about to kill the cave man - yet Ian and Barbera stop him.

Anyway sorry to be rambling. Sort of writing this and enjoying the closing ceremony of the olympics. Captain Britain to light the olympic flame in London 2012 I say.