temporary bartender

Greetings, Earthlings. Lee Kottner, Stylist to Jen-Luc Piquant, here. While the owner of this blog is off debauching herself taking a well-earned vacation in Buenos Aires, I'll be filling in for her, so let me introduce myself. I'm a writer, editor, book artist, and all-around geek grrrl currently living in the Bronx, and owner of Spawn of Blogorrhea and LeeKottner.com. Jennifer and I met lo these many years ago when we both moved to New York at roughly the same time, and both eventually ended up working for physics organizations: she for APS, and I for AIP. While we both share an interest in science, mine tends more toward biology and its strange and sometimes creepy interfaces with AI. My geekiness stems from a childhood fascination with marine biology, an almost-double major in bio and English (English won, but just barely) as an undergrad, and a stint teaching science writing as a grad student. While I'm not a professional science writer (nor do I play one on TV), I'll occasionally stick my nose in a peer-edited journal article in Nature or Science, and I'm a current subscriber to New Scientist (which puts out new issues way faster than I can read 'em all).

I'm also a big science fiction freak. It's thanks to writers like Jules Verne, Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Larry Niven, Ben Bova, C.J. Cherryh, Ursula LeGuin and, of course, Star Trek, that I got interested in science at all. Most of the non-professional science geeks I know will tell you the same thing (I suspect many of the professional geeks would too, if I promised not to tell), and yet I've always felt that SF got scant credit for helping to popularize science. So I'm planning to subject you all to a little popularizing of my own in this august forum. Check back over the next ten days if you're interested in reading a bit about the space elevator and nanotubes in SF, or Spider Robinson's resurrection of Nikola Tesla, or what Heinlein and Kim Stanley Robinson can teach us about going to Mars, and where you can read about what life might look like on a neutron star or a red supergiant, for starters.

Heck, let your kids read it. It might inspire them, too.

Comments

[Alison Chaiken]

I'm immensely impressed by the stylish Jen-Luc and will speak for many readers when I ask: can I get Lee to style me? As a physicist, I've rather neglected the styling aspect of my life, so a professional stylist could take me on as a challenge. Perhaps Lee only styles virtual people? Assuredly this is the worst form of prejudice. I suppose that virtual people never have body odor and always fit the virtual clothing.

[Lee Kottner]

I'm afraid you're right, Alison. Styling real people is rather daunting, and I include myself in that category. I've found that it's not a bad thing to have a fairly limited wardrobe to choose from, however, whether virtual or physical. Find a style that works and stick with it, I say, even if it's geekchic. Sadly, unlike Jen and Jen-Luc my avatar is much cooler than I am. The only thing we share is the sticky-up hair and the funky glasses. Her wardrobe sense is much better than mine.

[Alison Chaiken]

By the way, I think that Jen may have overlooked commenting on this:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/10/dining/10drin.html?ex=1304913600&en=d7d8b7c9587e8845&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss0

As the summer replacement bartender, the responsibility falls to you.

[JenLucPiquant]

Actually I linked to that same article in my post ¨Happy Hour¨, still listed on the sidebar...

[Lee Kottner]

Well, I'll comment anyway, even though Jen did indeed cover it. I feel it's my duty as a bartender, virtual or otherwise, to defend the honesty of the ingredients over the catchy gimicks. (I've never wanted anything the consistency of a gumdrop in my drink.) The coolest thing I ever saw a bartender do was use an atomiser to apply vermouth to the inside of of a martini glass before pouring the gin and adding the olive. I don't think martinis get any drier.