Category Archives: General

Happy New Year 2025

2025 is already three days old by now and so far, things don’t look too bad, though I am apprehensive about the general election coming up in February. Now I have to admit that I’ve never been a huge fan … Continue reading

Posted in General, Personal | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Christmas 2024

It’s been a while since I did a Christmas post, because in the past few years I was either busy with work and holiday preparations or sick on Christmas or both. Initially, it seemed as if Christmas 2024 wouldn’t be … Continue reading

Posted in General, Personal | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

A Baffled Guardian Writer Discovers the Autobahn – and the Best German Roadtrip Songs

In the Guardian, I came across a piece entitled “‘A road trip like no other’: my epic drive on Kraftwerk’s Autobahn” by one Tim Jonze, associate editor of culture. It’s a long and rambling essay about Jonze travelling to Germany … Continue reading

Posted in General, Personal | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Brief Worldcon Update – and a Fannish Poem

I had a great time at the Glasgow Worldcon, but the internet in my hotel isn’t great. Plus, it turns out that my travel laptop is on its last legs and extremely slow. So you’ll have to wait a bit … Continue reading

Posted in Con Reports, General | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

We’re Having Hugo Drama… Again

Apparently, we are not able to get through an awards season without Hugo drama and Worldcon drama in general. Especially since I really don’t have time for this right now, cause I have to prepare for three cons where I’m … Continue reading

Posted in General | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Exploring the Hude Solar System (with Bonus Gothic Abbey Ruins)

The Easter weekend was rather gray and rainy (and marred by Sahara dust in the upper atmosphere), but Palm Sunday was a lovely sunny day, just perfect for a trip to the countryside. So I decided to use the opportunity … Continue reading

Posted in General | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

An Open Letter to the 2024 Hugo Finalists, Whoever They May Be

This is an updated repost of this post from 2021, this post from 2022 and this post from last year, which a lot of people found helpful. There also a Chinese translation of the 2024 post to be found in … Continue reading

Posted in Books, General | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

An Open Letter to the 2023 Hugo Finalists, Whoever They May Be

This is an updated repost of this post from 2021 and this one from last year, which a lot of people found helpful. ETA: This post is now also available in Chinese on Weibo, thanks to MrOctopus233. Nominations for the … Continue reading

Posted in Books, General | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

2022: A Hugo Odyssey

As you probably know, I won a Hugo. However, because Worldcon was in Chicago this year, the trophy was also in Chicago, while I was in Germany. Based on observations from previous years, I expected that it would take a … Continue reading

Posted in General, Personal | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

I Won a Hugo Award!

You’ll have to wait a bit longer for the 2022 Hugo Winner commentary, because it turns out that I’m one of the winners. That was a huge surprise, because I honestly didn’t think I’d win this year, considering how strong … Continue reading

Posted in General, Personal | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 34 Comments