This is a global portal for all novels and movies about climate change and "The Virus," with news links and opeds from blogs to videos to Wikipedia to Twitter to news links and Facebook Groups. See this portal, the only such cli-fi sci-fi portal on the internet. MEDIA inquiries are okay at this point in time, and personal comments may be sent to the editor at danbloom ATMARK gmail DOT com
Paul said that the Times is expanding its books coverage, with the intent of becoming more "strategic" in how it covers particular books.
Previously, the newspaper had 3 separate desks that covered books entirely independent of one another.
That will now change, with all books coverage falling under a single Books Desk umbrella.
To this end, Paul noted that the Times has been, and will continue, hiring new writers and editors to write about books in different ways.
Those editors and writers will be focused "across all genres," Paul said, and covering—but not reviewing—books [in genres such as cli-fi and SFF and ecolit that] she feels thethe paperdid not effectively cover in the past.
There will be a re-design of the New York Times Book Review, which remains "central" to the newspaper's books-related mission. The redesign will affect both digital and print and, will be unveiled sometime in summer 2017. see also:
Pamela Paul, editor of The New York Times Book Review, visited Reddit’s r/books yesterday for a short AMA (Ask Me Anything) tied in to the Book Review‘s annual list of The 10 Best Books in 2016. While conversation also touched upon publishing industry trends and how many books Paul has read in a year (76 “for fun” one year long before the internet and her family), most of the focus was on the how and why of the best-of list. How did the editors choose Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad, or Han Kang’s The Vegetarian (translated by Deborah Smith)? What ineffable quality determined the difference between the editors’ internal longlist and the final shortlist? Paul gives insight into how the best-of list gets put together, starting in January, and what the selections do (or really don’t) have in common.
Books editor Pamela Paul stressed that the NY Times is actually expanding its books coverage, with the intent of becoming more "strategic" in how it covers particular books.
Previously, the newspaper had 3 separate desks that covered books entirely independent of one another—the Business Day, which is where publishing reporter Alexandra Alter was assigned;
the Daily Critics, comprised of Michiko Kakutani, Dwight Garner, and Jennifer Senior;
and the Sunday Book Review—with very little communication between teams and some duplication in what was covered.
That will now change, with all books coverage falling under a single Books Desk umbrella.
Previously, Paul said, the Times' books coverage consisted "85% of reviews" with the rest being "a mix of profiles, industry news, features, and bestseller lists."
This approach, she said, resulted in "a lot of duplication." In other words, at a Times that has rapidly expanded its digital strategy, the question will no longer be, she said, "Does this book merit a review," but rather, "Does this book merit coverage?"
To this end, Paul noted that the Times has been, and will continue, hiring new writers and editors to write about books in different ways.
Those editors and writers will be focused "across all genres," Paul said, and covering—but not reviewing—books she feels thethe paperdid not effectively cover in the past.
While Laura Marmor was brought to the Books Desk from the NYT Styles Desk as deputy editor of news and features, the biggest recent hire at the Books Desk was of new editorial director Radhika Jones, who came from Time magazine, where she edited features including the Time 100 Most Influential People. (Before Time, Jones was at the Paris Review.)
Jones will be spearheading an upcoming redesign of the New York Times Book Review, which remains "central" to the newspaper's books-related mission.
The redesign will affect both digital and print and, Paul said, in an email to PW, be unveiled sometime this summer. David Kelly remains the deputy editor of the New York Times Book Review.
"New York 2140" a climate change novel by the leading climate change writer in the world today: Stan Robinson
''
New York 2140
''
by
Kim Stanley Robinson
from
Orbit BOOKS, March. 2017
"....KimStanley Robinson's ''New York 2140'' ...the date pretty much says it all, it takes place mor than 100 years in the future,....Stan is primarily an optimist and a utopian ....he is in many ways an idealist, .....and I agree with those who say he's probably the leading climate change, or cli-fi ...writer in the world today."
The title of the novel? Says one tweeterer: ''Is that definitely what it's called...? Not just a holding title? Weird...'' and a reply later by someone connected to the book says: "It's not awfully memorable, I agree.''
An unsigned review at Publishers Weekly, a book industry trade magazine, the bible of American publishing, put it this way:
"Setting his latest novel [''New York 2140" set in the year 2140] after a 50-foot global sea-level rise, Robinson, who frequently addresses environmental themes in his fiction, here shows how humanity might move forward after catastrophe -- New York City is still a vibrant metropolis, one in which the streets are canals and skyscrapers are islands.'' Rose Fox previewed the book this way: ''Always the optimist, Robinson finds ways to paint a hopeful picture of a flooded near-future New York City, where rising seas have turned the streets into canals."
''New York 2140'' marks KSR's first main venture into climate fiction, a subgenre of the SF genre he has mined for years. It is meeting the public in this first Year of Trump with high anticipation, with Alex Steffen the futurist noting in a recent email newsletter: ''I'm almost done with Kim Stanley Robinson's latest novel, New York 2140, which comes out in April (if I'm remembering right). [Ed note: March 14 is the release date]. It takes place in a New York City which sea-level rise has turned into an American Venice. I plan to write a review of this, but for now, let me just say that if you're interested in the collision between planetary change, cities and technology, this is a [turning out to be a] great read.''
Others reviewing the novel will likely include Adam Roberts for the Guardian, Jeff VanderMeer, Gary K. Wolfe (in Locus magazine), James Bradley and Jonathan Strahan. Amy Brady at the Chicago Review of Books in her March 2017 column has interviewed Stan as well for her new column on cli-fi trends.
This is a Big Book from Kim Stanley Robinson. Stay tuned for more news here.
[I wrote a new oped and will start tweeting the link now. I want to reach film critics and people inside Hollywood and I need all the help I can get. Any ideas or contacts?]
A Tale of Two Hashtags: #HollywoodInDenial and #HollywoodCliFi
an OpEd by Dan Bloom
Where are the Hollywood movies about climate change issues, the movies with climate themes? You know, powerful ''issue'' movies like "On the Beach" or "Gentleman's Agreement" or "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"?
And not just in Hollywood, but among independent movie studios, too, like the one that produced "Moonlight." And not just in the USA, but among movie studios in Norway, France, Germany, Mexico, Sweden, Japan, China, Chile?
In 2016, there was not one feature movie from Hollywood about climate issues. In 2017, there will be none as well. What is wrong with the people who make movies? Can't they see the handwriting on the wall?
A few years ago, Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood put out a challenge to Canadian writers, young and old, to respond to the challenge of climate change. Prime Minister Justine Trudeau's government has appointed a minister responsible for climate change, and with this action, Canada has, in terms of policy, created a new framework for writers and film directors to use in their creative works. More nations should follow Canada's example. Hollywood, are you listening?
Movies about climate change issues, either in the background of the story or front and center, are more important than ever now as the 21st century gets ready to welcome in the years 2020, 2040, 2060 and more. Some of us won't be here anymore. Others reading this will be here.
Some of these future movies with three dramatic acts -- a set-up, a look inside the situation and final denouement -- might be dystopian, some might be utopian. Some might be crime thrillers or detective yarns. They can take place in the past, the present or the future. They can be sci-fi or cli-fi or speculative fiction stories.
Since most people now accept man-made global warming as real, film producers and scriptwriters need to try to use their creative spark and emotional heft to emotionally move readers about a possible disaster that could claim much of the planet within the next 30 generations of humankind. Hollywood needs to get on this. In a hurry.
Of course, movies take time to fund and cast and greenlight. Some movies take 15 years from first speak of an idea to the final product in the theaters or on TV or DVD. Some take less time, maybe 5 or ten years. But movies cannot be made overnight or produced in a year, as novels or stage plays can. So we cannot realistically expect to see Hollywood movies about climate issues and global warming anxieties (within a 90-minute dramatic frame, with A-list actors and top producers and directors at the helm) until at least 2025 or 2030.
But you read it here first. It can happen. It will happen. Don't believe me? Just Bill McKibben or Robert Macfarlane, who both asked the same kind of question separately in essays they wrote in 2005. Better yet, ask Hollywood climate activist and producer Marshall Herskovitz. He's onto this. He' working at this. He needs more people to support him.
I am an optimist. I believe in the power of art and literature to transform lives and transform society. What Nevil Shute did with his 1957 novel "On the Beach" (with the movie adaptation released in 1959), Hollywood producers and scriptwriters can do with their movies now: shine a spotlight on the most pressing issue facing humanity ever.
I want to tell you about a cute instrumental song from a composer in Japan that is making waves around the world. His name is Yu Hayahsi ( ハヤシユウ in Japanese ) and he is 24 years old and a very humble and modest.
When I contacted him recently and asked him if there were any English-language news articles about this simple yet catchy song that has gone viral around the world, he answered me right away on the internet and said that there were no English language news reports about his song yet.
So here is the first report in English and I hope you enjoy it, and if you want to translate this news article to French or German or Norwegian or Chinese or Spanish, please feel free to do so.
The amazing thing about this song and its composer is that Mr Hayashi wrote the song at his small studio in his home in Niigata in Japan and released to the world on YouTube FOR FREE!
Yes, he does not charge anyone any royalties or payments to use his song. He is both a genius and a music humanitarian.
My first question to Yu was: "May I interview you for my blog?"
His answer in English and in ''internet time'' was: "Thank you for your message. Yes, I'm the composer of "HOW TO PLAY", you are right."
So I asked Yu a few questions online such as ''who, what, where, when, and why?'
Mr Hayashi answered: who : ''It's me, ハヤシユウ（Hayashi Yu）(in English style we would call him ''Yu Hayashi ''in the Western style of naming, which is common now in Japan, but in actual Japanese his name is ''Hayashi Yu.'')'' what : ''a song titled ''HOW TO PLAY'' '' when was the song composed : ''maybe, I think, in December 2013.'' where was the song composed : ''at my house'' why did he compose the song : ''to practice making a funk music '' When I asked Yu about payments or royalties to use his music, he said very humbly and modestly: "The song is free for everyone to use as BGM (background music)."
The song is now very popular around the world, but it is not easy to find out how many people are using it on their websites and personal blogs and as YouTubers for background music, but Mr Hayashi's fans are legion. Worldwide! From Japan to the world! "I don't know who exactly is downloading the music and using my song, and I do not know what they use it for," he told me. "I cannot receive messages about using it from all of them. However, I have been able to find some videos that use "HOW TO PLAY" on Youtube."
In Japan, Yu explained to me, there is a channel for videos that are famous and created by "You Tubers (people earn some income on Youtube). The channel is here: https://www.youtube.com/user/MASAIandHamzael
Mr Hayashi told me that now "HOW TO PLAY" is used as ED theme of this channel.
"I'm proud of this," he said.
How old is the quiet, soft-spoken composer with the entire world in front of him?
"I'm 23, and I'll turn 24 in next month in March," he said during our February interview. "I have ben making BGMs since when I was 20."
And Yu added at the end of our interview: "Thank you for your all messages about my song. It makes me happy, and it's fun."
Before I end this short news report about HOW TO PLAY, I want to thank my friend Akane in Japan, and her husband and their daughter Sana, who produce a series of YouTube videos in Japanese about the life of their cute and talkative daughter at their ''Sana37'' channel. that was where I first heard the music being played and after hearing it over 25 times on their channel, the music began to grow on me.
Then one day in Taiwan, where I live, I heard the very same music coming from the lobby of a movie theater, as a kind of advertisment jingle, and I asked the box office clerk if she knew the name of that song or who composed it and she said "No. I have no idea. It's on on computer so it plays in the lobby from time to time. I think the song is on YouTube but I don't know its name."
That's when I became very curious and interested to to know more about this song, so I asked Akane by Facebook and she replied: "The song is called "How to Play" but I don't know who composed it."
So I went to YouTube as soon as I heard the name of the song and found it right away. Here:
Now you know the story behind the song. Pass it on. Tell your friends. Yu Hayashi is a genious and generous as well, because he did not create the song to become rich and famous and he gave it to the world for free. Anyone can use it.
What a nice man he is, creative and generous. BRAVO, YU HAYASHI!
=======================================
P.S. By the way, the song title is written in a special way, with underline marks (_) between the words How_To .....and..... To_Play. If you are searching for the song, use those marks, too. You will find it that way.
HOW_TO_PLAY
====================================
Yu Hayashi also tells me:
My twitter account is 884yuu: https://twitter.com/884yuu (In Japan, we can call the number 8 (hachi) as "Ha" or "Ya", and 4 for "Shi" so Ha-Ya-Shi my name here!)
He also asked me to add this information:The original source of the BGM is not on Youtube, it is on this site: http://dova-s.jp/bgm/play2253.html
It's a Japanese site that passes out loyalty-free BGM, there are over 100 composers like me. They upload their music on this site, as free BGM.
P.S. You knew "HOW TO PLAY" on sana37 channel! I know the channel, too!
