The Good, the Bad & the Sushi
Great news: the wonderful Shaun Tan won an Oscar for the short film based on his book, The Lost Thing.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/28/3150766.htm
I had the chance to meet Shaun at WorldCon in September last year. He illustrated a story of mine I had published in Aurealis years ago. Now I can say I’ve had a story illustrated by an Oscar winner. 🙂
Sad news: Clarion South is on hold indefinitely. I attended Clarion South in 2009. It’s a 6-week writing workshop that provides a tremendous boost to anyone serious about writing speculative fiction. The workshop was one of the best experiences of my life and I made some wonderful friends there. The workshop was held ever two years, but due to financial plans the 2011 workshop was rescheduled for 2012. Now that has been put on hold indefinitely.
Unfortunately we’ve been unable to lock in a viable venue option that would allow us to run the workshop at an acceptable cost to writers. The cheapest option would still more than double tuition fees.
So, with regret, we must tell you that at this stage the workshop is on hold indefinitely.
We know many of you will be disappointed, and so are we. Clarion South has been a great experience for us and we’re proud of the great writers in Australia and overseas that the workshop has helped.
In the meantime we will continue to look for a venue that enables to run the workshop in the format for which it has become famous. We will alsoinvestigate other configurations and opportunities that might give the workshop a future in Australia.
Sushi:
A new all-female sushi chef restaurant has opened in Tokyo. Traditionally sushi chefs have always been men. The excuse for this is:
The No. 1 reason most chefs cite as to why girls can’t make sushi: they’re too hot. “The temperature of a woman’s hands is higher, and when you’re handling fresh fish, this isn’t good…”
The new restaurant only employs female chefs. As the restaurant is located in Akihabara, there is a catch…
Kazuya Nishikiori, the middle-aged owner of Nadeshico, says he wanted to create a new model for working women in Japan. But he later explains he’ll only hire women who are between the ages of 18 and 25 to work behind the counter. “After all, our slogan is ‘fresh and kawaii,”‘ he explains, invoking the ubiquitous word for “cute.” “If someone wanted to work here and was 30, I’d put her in the back.”
Hot Women Serving Cold Fish Make for Raw Feelings in Tokyo
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704254304576117193420193936.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#articleTabs=article