I saw Asimov do an entire panel presentation about being rejected by Judy Lynn Benjamin (not yet Del Rey.) And I was at a picnic where he brought Willy Ley’s hot daughter. So he would have loved it, I’m sure.
As for me, I ran and covered the ears of my autographed Bradbury special issue of F&SF.
Unfortunately, Ray Bradbury doesn’t have much use for modern technology like YouTube, according to the L.A. Times:
Bradbury chafes, for instance, at the description of his work as science fiction – in the past he has pointed out that, to his mind, "Fahrenheit 451"is the only sci-fi book in his vast body of work – and despite his passion for more national space projects, he is not technology obsessive by any means.
“We have too many cellphones. We’ve got too many Internets. We have got to get rid of those machines. We have too many machines now.”
Bradbury wrote darkly about bookburning in “Fahrenheit 451,” but he sounds ready to use a Kindle for kindling. “I was approached three times during the last year by Internet companies wanting to put my books" on an electronic reading device, he said. "I said to Yahoo, ‘Prick up your ears and go to hell.’ "
IIRC Ray Bradbury doesn’t care for cars and never learned to drive; unless I’m thinking of another author.
From the Rachel Bloom Fan Page on Facebook:
It’s official via e-mail: Ray loved the video!!!
Youtube has now flagged it as having adult content and you must sign in to see it…
Here’s a different link .
I can’t question her hotness (nerd hotness! Woohoo!), but I do question her taste. There’s no way that Bradbury is the greatest science-fiction author in history. He’s not even the best one still alive. He doesn’t have anywhere near the scientific grounding to be considered the greatest.
Zebra
August 20, 2010, 4:05pm
48
blink
It depends on whether you’re focusing on the science part or the fiction part of “science fiction”. Personally, I don’t give three hoots about the “scientific grounding” of his work - the fact is, the man can write a beautiful sentence.
The opening paragraphs of “All Summer in a Day”:
“Ready?”
“Ready.”
“Now?”
“Soon.”
“Do the scientists really know? Will it happen today, will it?”
“Look, look; see for yourself!”
The children pressed to each other like so many roses, so many weeds, intermixed, peering out for a look at the hidden sun.
It rained.
It had been raining for seven years; thousands upon thousands of days compounded and filled from one end to the other with rain, with the drum and gush of water, with the sweet crystal fall of showers and the concussion of storms so heavy they were tidal waves come over the islands. A thousand forests had been crushed under the rain and grown up a thousand times to be crushed again. And this was the way life was forever on the planet Venus, and this was the schoolroom of the children of the rocket men and women who had come to a raining world to set up civilization and live out their lives.
Q.E.D.
A friend of mine knows Ray Bradbury. She shared the video, and took a photo of him watching it. It’s not mine, or I’d share.
I’m trying to picture if he was shocked, or laughing his ass off. From what I’ve heard of writers, I’m guessing laughing his ass off.
“Fuck me, Mr. Heinlein …
I’ll be your outer space fraulein!”
It depends on whether you’re focusing on the science part or the fiction part of “science fiction”. Personally, I don’t give three hoots about the “scientific grounding” of his work - the fact is, the man can write a beautiful sentence.
He’s a great writer, to be sure: He’s just not a great science fiction writer.
He looked… well, he didn’t look well . Mostly he looked like he was pretending to be shocked but not really.
carnut
August 21, 2010, 3:38am
56
OMG, that song has been going through my head since WJW posted it on his blog. I might not forgive him for it.
Rick
August 21, 2010, 3:40am
57
If you need me I’ll be in ma bunk
Reading a little Fahrenheit 69
I’m wondering if she’s kin to Eric Bloom from Blue Oyster Cult.
It’s really too bad Ginny Heinlein isn’t around anymore, she would have loved this.
The photo in question. It’s his 90th soon.