SOAP:
- This month I visited Norman OK, with the primary goal of attending a consortia on surfactants run by chemical engineering professors at Oklahoma University (IASR). I am not the only scientist attending who has an artistic side; in fact Professor John Scamehorn has ventured into producing film (he is leading a steampunk web series no less, due out in late 2015).
DISEASE:
- Before the consortia began, I managed to connect with writer/illustrator Tom Barczak who resides in Norman. I had interviewed .Over some Starbuck's coffee we discussed art, writing, and disease. Of course, my own series fictionalizes the alchemical humors, posing them as a source of necromancy; an imbalance of humors was called a Dyscrasia (a word popular in 1880).
- Tom, ever fascinated with sensing strange/beautiful things, discussed Synesthezia. This ailment is a modern one, and refers to a secondary stimulus of senses. For instance, a subset is called Chromesthesia, in which listening to sounds will trigger recoloring of whatever is being viewed by eye: one could be looking at a white wall and it would change to red or blue as certain music is played. Great material for magic/fantasy! I can't wait to see how Tom translates his insights.
DRAGONS
Tom has a wonderful illustrated, poetic series that begins with
. He is just now releasing an audio book voiced by Neil Hellegers. Check out the below video trailer. If you like dark, poetic fantasy, you'll enjoy this.
