RIP: Ray Bradbury passes at 91

Don Smith sends in this article.

• Ray Bradbury died in Los Angeles, California, on June 5, 2012. He was 91. 
• I remember his writings well, as Bradbury, Clark, and Asimov sent a lot of us down roads we may never have looked down without them. One thing of interest to note, is that this great author of speculate and science fiction never got a drivers license. Apparently he saw a horrific crash when he was young. 
• Even trying to start with any book or story written by him would lead to a list that could not be put on here. For me I guess it would be The Martian Chronicles, and Fahrenheit 451 that come to mind first. 
• But he was involved in so many screen plays, and adaptions that to pick a true favorite is almost impossible there. 
• He will be greatly missed by the sci-fi community and the world is just a bit lonelier now.

Don     I do not even in my wildest imagination think I could do a better job.  Or encapsulate my appreciation for the enjoyment Bradbury has brought me over the years.   Yes he most certainly will be missed and the science fiction/fantasy fields are so much worse for the absence.   

Click the article title for the wiki article

Do WHAT? Ray Bradbury?

Like I have said before, there aren't many videos or stories that I have reservations on posting. Well I just came across a music video on YouTube by Rachel Bloom. It has reasonable production value and the music is well performed and recorded. Plus it has a strong science fiction element....so to speak. Mz Bloom's song professes a rather strong attraction to one of the giants of science fiction, Ray Bradbury. In the video you will find the musical version of "lets get to know each other better"

It's quite funny, but I really can not in good conscience post anything more than the youtube link here.

The beat is infectious and the production funny. Enjoy.

Bradbury prefers library over internet

Ray Bradbury, hands down - master craftsman of the speculative fiction genre, has a sore spot, it would appear. To quote Mr Bradbury “The Internet is a big distraction,”. That is a curious statement from someone accustomed to looking into the future and understanding the impact the Internet / Web has, and will have. But not really surprising is Bradbury's passion for the public library.

From the article:

• “Libraries raised me,” Mr. Bradbury said. “I don’t believe in colleges and universities. I believe in libraries because most students don’t have any money. When I graduated from high school, it was during the Depression and we had no money. I couldn’t go to college, so I went to the library three days a week for 10 years.”

But the internet?:

• “It’s distracting, It’s meaningless; it’s not real. It’s in the air somewhere.”

Due to a rapid decline in the economy and a sharp decline in property taxes, many libraries find themselves in financial trouble. And to say the least, he find this disconcerting.

Read the full article to find out what steps he is taking to secure the health of the library system

Ray Bradbury Receives Grand Master Poet Award

On Saturday, officers of the Science Fiction Poetry Association presented Ray Bradbury with the 2008 Grand Master Poet Award as part of his 88th birthday celebration.

Read S.F.P.A.'s Stephen M. Wilson's comments on Bradbury's career and accomplishments which everyone agrees, a Grand Master award was long over due.

<- Wilson's comments on the SFPA official site ->



<- Deborah P Kolodji - Poetry Scrapbook via Science Fiction Award Watch ->

Photo by Jim Woods

There Will Come Soft Rains

A short film in Russian with subtitles based on a story by Ray Bradbury. Very dark and for all the world I kept having flashbacks to "the Brave Little Toaster" you will see, there is little correlation!