My short story, White Whale Of Europa, has been accepted for publication by Lillicat Publishers in their anthology, Visions III, Inside The Kuiper Belt, edited by Carrol Fix. The anthology will publish “original and exciting work that presents a futuristic representation of the Kuiper Belt and anything between it and the Sun, with a preference for at least some action taking place in the Kuiper Belt or the Ort Cloud.” This story was previously published in Black Satellite, No, 4, 2003. A review on the now defunct Project Pulp website described it thusly: “A genetically engineered animal resides on the terraformed surface of Europa. Created by a partnership of alien industrialists, the whale exists solely to be hunted by wealthy clients.”
I’m very grateful to Lillicat Publishing and Carrol Fix for giving me this opportunity. The story represents my first effort at “world building” a solar civilization five hundred years in the future with various mutated forms of humanity living on Mars, the Asteroid Belt, and the great majority confined to an enormous, circular plastic ring that surrounds the Earth. I tried to write a novel based on the concept, Ring Of The Autocrator, but gave up after about 30,000 words when I realized I had no empathy with the protagonist. Some who know about my writing might protest that I often write about unsympathetic characters, but I just couldn’t raise any real feelings about this fellow and so let it go. I might try another novel using the same concept, but with a different main character. It remains to be seen.
On the entertainment front, I went to the Rock’n’Roll Hotel (silly name) and saw Dengue Fever, Saturday, September 12. I’ve been intrigued by this band for several years now. The idea of a Cambodian woman singing in Khmer while American musicians back her struck me as a pretty interesting cross-cultural music experiment. My curiosity was fully justified. I thought the band was wonderful, the most feel good experience I’ve had in years. In fact, after I thought about it, the closest I’d ever come before to such a nice, happy vibe was when I saw the Rascals play at a park back in ’89 (Damn, I go back such a ways!).
The lead singer, Chhom Sinol, is a pint-sized, black haired beauty with an amazing pop voice, a regular Cambodian Ronnie Spector. Her charisma was powerful; she had the crowd in the palm of her hand, and yet she was still very modest and humble, making sure to bow and thank everyone after each song. The band backing her is wonderfully accomplished. They play an interesting blend of psychedelic rock and Asian pop (with a special focus on Cambodian hits from the ’60’s). I was completely enthralled by them for the whole of their set with never a dull moment. This is the first relatively new band I’ve liked in a long time, me being an alte kokker now and pretty much completely out of it. Oh, and when I say “new,” they’ve actually been around for at least a dozen years. New by an old man’s standards. Dengue Fever’s latest album is The Deepest Lake. I recommend it highly.