[TheForge] [OT drift] Re: Jean Tijou screens

[Mike Spencer]

> ...in general somebody ought to be teaching a class in the
> importance of crafts to science fiction writers.

Ha!  What a great idea, Ries!  We could offer a workshop for young
authors at the Banff Centre.  Even for senior directors.  Do you
remember Bogey forge-welding the driveshaft with a (claw?) hammer in a
bonfire in African Queen?

I once had a long phone conversation with an author who wanted to know
if it was reasonable that he should have a woman blacksmith install a
spiral stair in one night and any details that would lend some
authenticity.  We agreed that she would need one unskilled helper, a
long night and that, yes, he had an elegant modular cast-iron spiral
stair from a late Victorian whorehouse already on hand in the story
line.  I got an autographed copy of the manuscript for my trouble.

Actually, with a background in science and a career (such as it is) in
craft and art, I've tried to bridge C. P. Snow's "Two Cultures" gap
and only felt as if I had succeded on a handful of occasions.  But the
science *fiction* folks are already on the arts side of the divide and
should welcome our ummm... collective wisdom. :-)



- Mike

-- 
Michael Spencer                  Nova Scotia, Canada       .~. 
                                                           /V\ 
mspencer at tallships.ca                                     /( )\
http://home.tallships.ca/mspencer/                        ^^-^^