Tag Archives: pegasus awards

Nominate Nerdy Music for the Pegasus Awards!

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Do you like music related to science fiction or fantasy? Then you can nominate your favorite songs for the annual Pegasus Awards for Excellence in Filking — which is, as you might guess, writing and performing music often related to SF&F and other nerdy, geeky topics.

Pegasus Award Logo

(Pegasus Award Logo.)

 

In case you’re wondering, anyone who has an interest in filk is considered part of the “filk community” and can nominate candidates (and vote, later!). Since very few people make it to every convention or hear every performer, the award includes a “brainstorming” phase which wrapped up a few weeks ago; you can head to the brainstorming results for suggestions in each category.

What are the categories? The Pegasus Awards are given out in four permanent categories, as well as two categories which rotate from year-to-year:

  • Best Filk Song — any filk song that has not previously won a Pegasus
  • Best Classic Filk Song — any well-known filk song at least 10 years old that has “entered filk community public consciousness”
  • Best Performer — any filk performer who has not won this Pegasus in the past 5 years
  • Best Writer/Composer — any writer/composer of filk songs who has not won this Pegasus in the past 5 years
  • 2017 Rotating Category: Best Horror Song — any song that “elicits horror”
  • 2017 Rotating Category: Best Perky Song — kind of self-explanatory

If you have some favorites you’d like to nominate — and you can nominate up to five songs or people in each category — fill out the 2017 Pegasus Nominating Ballot. Nominations are open until the end of July.

Let your voice be heard, and have fun with it! (And let me know if you need some suggestions….)

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If you’re really not sure whether you’re eligible to nominate, the award by-laws define “exhibiting interest” using examples such as filking at SF&F conventions, attending filk conventions or “house sings,” taking part in related on-line forums, and just “discussing filk and filk related issues with other filkers.” So, if you read this whole post, you can probably claim to have exhibited interest and therefore would be qualified to participate in the Pegasus Award process. (However, this is just barracks lawyering and does not constitute legal advice or any official rules determination.)

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It’s Brainstorming Time Again

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The “brainstorming” phase has begun for the annual Pegasus Awards for Excellence in Filking — i.e., writing and performing music often related to science fiction and fantasy. Anyone who has an interest in filk is considered part of the “filk community” and can contribute to brainstorming possible nominees, as well as nominate and vote for winners.

Pegasus Award Logo

(Pegasus Award Logo.)

 

Pegasus Awards are given out in four permanent categories, as well as two categories which rotate from year-to-year:

  • Best Filk Song — any filk song that has not previously won a Pegasus
  • Best Classic Filk Song — any well-known filk song at least 10 years old that has “entered filk community public consciousness”
  • Best Performer — any filk performer who has not won in the past 5 years
  • Best Writer/Composer — any writer/composer of filk songs who has not won in the past 5 years
  • 2016 Rotating Category: Best Adapted Song — which can include adapting or parodying a mundane song or a filk song, but can also mean adapting a poem or book
  • 2016 Rotating Category: Best Exploration Song — which includes songs about “finding out what’s Out There“

If you’re not sure whether you’re really eligible to submit brainstorming ideas, the award by-laws define “exhibiting interest” using examples such as filking at SF&F conventions, attending filk conventions or “house sings,” taking part in related on-line forums, and just “discussing filk and filk related issues with other filkers.” So, if you made it this far in this post, you can probably claim to have exhibited interest and therefore would be qualified to participate in the Pegasus Award process.

If you have some favorites you’d like to suggest (and you can suggest as many as you can think of), fill out the Brainstorming Poll Form. There is space on the form for five suggestions in each category, but you’re allowed to fill out as many brainstorming forms as you like!

The nomination phase will start in the spring, and voting takes place in the late summer. The Pegasus Awards are awarded at (and administered by) the Ohio Valley Filk Fest in October.

So, start brainstorming! (And let me know if you need some suggestions….)

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Are You a Science Fiction Fan? Will You be Voting?

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If the title isn’t clear enough, and the logo below didn’t show up, I’m referring to voting for the Hugo Awards rather than voting for the Cary Town Council. Being on one ballot was not enough for me!

(In fact, if you want to put me on a third ballot, you can nominate any of my filk songs for a Pegasus Award. Hahaha!)

Hugo Award Logo

But, insofar as the Hugo Awards go, the deadline is fast approaching for getting our votes in, as was recently pointed out by perhaps the biggest name in fantasy literature these days, George R.R. Martin.

The deadline is in fact the 31st of July — one day past the deadline for Pegasus nominations, haha! — and if you’re a member of the World SF Convention you should have gotten your Voter Packet and instructions weeks ago. If you’re not a member but you still want to vote, there’s just a little time left for you to purchase a Supporting Membership* and participate in the process.

In the blog post linked above, Mr. Martin noted that so far more than 2300 ballots have been cast. He asks,

Who are all these new Supporting Members? Are they trufans rallying to the defense of one of our field’s oldest and most cherished institutions? Are they Sad Puppies, Rabid Puppies, Happy Kittens, Gamergaters? Are those dreaded SJWs and ASPs and CHORFs turning out by the hundreds and the thousands? Are these the Neo-Nazis and right-wing reactionaries we have been warned of? The truth is… no one knows. We may get a clue when the ballots are opened and counted, but even then, the numbers may well just say, “Answer cloudy, ask again.”

If you’re not familiar with all the lingo in there, count yourself lucky. And if you’re undecided about voting or what to vote for, bear in mind Heinlein’s admonition:

If you are part of a society that votes, then do so. There may be no candidates and no measures you want to vote for … but there are certain to be ones you want to vote against. In case of doubt, vote against. By this rule you will rarely go wrong.

So, vote! Even if you vote against me.

As for that other democratic process, we’ll have more to say in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

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*A Supporting Membership costs $40, for which you get electronic copies of several of the nominated works (e.g., Best Novel) with which to make an informed decision.

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Last Day for Pegasus Award ‘Brainstorming’ — Poll Closes Tonight

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If you haven’t already submitted your ideas for what songs, composers, and performers should be considered for the Pegasus Awards for excellence in filking, you have until early Friday morning to do so!

Pegasus Award Logo

Unlike other awards, the Pegasus Award cycle begins with a wide-open “brainstorming” phase. (In this respect, the Hugo Awards may have something to learn from the Pegasus Awards; but, I digress.)

The Pegasus awards honor science fiction and fantasy-related music in these categories:

  • Best Filk Song
  • Best Classic Filk Song — a song at least 10 years old that has “entered filk community public consciousness”
  • Best Performer
  • Best Writer/Composer
  • 2015 Rotating Category: Best Adapted Song — “parodies, pre-existing lyrics set to new music (for example, setting a Kipling poem), or other material adapted to filk”
  • 2015 Rotating Category: Best Time-Related Song — “31st wedding anniversary gifts are timepieces. For OVFF’s 31st Anniversary we focus on anything related to time”

Anyone who has an interest in filk music — which most people think of as science fiction and/or fantasy-related music — is considered part of the “filk community” and can participate in brainstorming possible nominees, nominating, and voting. The award by-laws define “exhibiting interest” using examples such as filking at SF&F conventions, attending filk conventions or “house sings,” taking part in related on-line forums, and just “discussing filk and filk related issues with other filkers.”

Speaking of “discussing filk and filk related issues with other filkers,” last week on the Baen Free Radio Hour we released part 1 of a 2-part roundtable discussion about filk. Here’s the link to an MP3 of the podcast. We’ll release part 2 sometime in May.

All that being said, you can probably claim to have exhibited interest in filk just by reading this far in this post (for which, thank you!), and therefore would be qualified to participate in the Pegasus Award process. So if you have favorites you’d like to suggest, fill out the Brainstorming Poll Form. Note that there’s only space for five suggestions in each category, but you’re allowed to fill out as many brainstorming forms as you like. (I filled out two.) But you have to submit your suggestions soon — as in, today! The deadline is one minute after midnight tonight, Pacific Time, or around 3 a.m. tomorrow morning, Eastern Time.

The actual nomination phase to decide what goes on the ballot will start next month, when the brainstorming results are released, and then voting will take place later in the summer. Then the Pegasus Awards will be awarded at the Ohio Valley Filk Fest in October.

So … start your brainstorming! And finish it, quick!

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Related Posts:
– The Pegasus Award Brainstorming Poll is Open!
– In Case You’re Nominating for Any Awards This Year
– What Do YOU Think is the Best Adapted Filk Song?
– What Do YOU Think is the Best Time-Related Filk Song?

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What Do YOU Think is the Best Time-Related Filk Song?

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This post is part 2 of a 2-part series related to the 2015 Pegasus Awards. You can read the first post at What Do YOU Think is the Best Adapted Filk Song?

Looking for more of your suggestions!

Pegasus Award Logo

As noted in part one, my first request for suggestions, the Pegasus Awards honor science fiction and fantasy-related music, and each year the organizers select two special categories for awards. This year the second of the special categories is the “Best Time-Related Song.”

Like the “Best Adapted Song” category, this one is wide open for nominations because the songs can “focus on anything related to time.” The Ohio Valley Filk Festival organizers picked the category because 2015 is OVFF’s 31st anniversary, and the 31st wedding anniversary is the timepiece anniversary.

The problem I’m running into is that I’m finding it hard to come up with time-related songs! So, a question for you: what do you think is the Best Time-Related Filk Song?

At present, I’m considering nominating:

  • “Beer-Powered Time Machine” by Mikey Mason
  • “Find Forever Gone” by Bella Morte
  • “One More Time” by Michael Longcor
  • “Welcome to the Age of Steam” by Jonah Knight
  • “’39” by Brian May / Queen

Can you think of other time-related songs I should consider for this category? You can actually suggest your own slate to the entire filk community by filling out the Pegasus Award Brainstorming Poll.* But at the very least, send me your suggestions!

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*As always, if you’d like to hear some of my songs to consider, let me know. We’ll find a way to make it happen.

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What Do YOU Think is the Best Adapted Filk Song?

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This post is part 1 of a 2-part series related to the 2015 Pegasus Awards.

I’m looking for your suggestions!

Pegasus Award Logo

The Pegasus Awards honor science fiction and fantasy-related music, and each year the organizers select two special categories for awards. This year one of the categories is the “Best Adapted Song.”

This special category is pretty wide open for nominations, since it “can include adapting or parodying a mundane song or a filk song, but can also mean adapting a poem or book.” So it might involve the best use of an existing song to make a new filk song, or it could involve a song that best captures the spirit of a favorite story or movie.

So, seriously: what do you think is the Best Adapted Filk Song?

I’ve thought of a few songs by friends of mine (or, in one case, a friend of a friend) that I’m considering nominating:

  • “Band of Brothers” by Ken Theriot
  • “Dead Hobbit” by Madison Maria Roberts
  • “Duet With a Klingon” by Carla Ulbrich
  • “Has Anybody Seen My Goyle? ” and “Call Me, Arthur” by Scott & Kirsten Vaughan (a/k/a The Blibbering Humdingers)
  • “The Ballad of Jones the Cat” by Keith Brinegar and White Plectrum
  • “When We Come Out of the Stargate” by Danny Birt

I know there are many more adapted songs out there, so if you have favorites that you think I should consider for this category, send me your suggestions!

Or, even better, you can suggest songs for the entire filk community to consider by filling out the Pegasus Award Brainstorming Poll Forms.* (When it comes time to actually nominate for the award, you can only nominate 5 songs, but during the brainstorming phase you can fill out as many forms as you like.)

Thanks in advance!

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In other award news, you have until the end of January to join the World Science Fiction Convention to be eligible to nominate and vote for the Hugo Awards. For the price of a supporting membership ($40), you’ll get electronic copies of all the nominated stories and artwork — it’s really quite a bargain! And, who knows? maybe you’ll even see something you nominated on the ballot. But only if you join!

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*If you’d like to suggest or nominate one of my songs, that’s okay, too. If you haven’t heard my songs and you’d like to, drop me a line. We’ll find a way to make it happen.

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In Case You’re Nominating for Any Awards This Year

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Welcome to my periodic “here’s what I have eligible for awards” post.

119/365 Vote for me...
(“Vote for me…,” by Dave, on Flickr under Creative Commons.)

Fiction. I have two stories eligible for award consideration, published in 2014:

Related/Dramatic Works. I did some voice acting in 2014, too:

Music. My album came out in 2013, but the Pegasus Awards aren’t strictly time-bound. “Another Romulan Ale” and “Tauntauns to Glory” were both played on the Dr. Demento show in 2014, so that’s something. But if you’re stuck for an entry for the rotating categories of the Brainstorming Poll, you might consider:

  • For Adapted Song, “A Ship With No Name,” “Thorin Oakenshield,” or maybe “The Enemy’s Gate is Down”
  • For Time-Related Song, “Ten Thousand Years Ago”

If you’re curious about any of these, whether you’re nominating for the Nebula, Hugo, or Pegasus Awards or not, let me know. I’ll be happy to send you a story, or even sing you a song!

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The Pegasus Award Brainstorming Poll is Open!

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What science fiction or fantasy-related music would you like to see on the Pegasus Award ballot next year?

Pegasus Award Logo

Opening the “brainstorming” phase signals the start of the 2015 awards cycle for the Pegasus Awards for “filk” — the music of science fiction and fantasy fandom. The Pegasus Awards are awarded at (and administered by) the Ohio Valley Filk Fest each October; in fact, the 2014 awards were just handed out last weekend.

The brainstorming phase is conducted via this online poll that allows anyone to nominate up to five songs and performers, in four permanent and two rotating categories. The 2015 categories are:

  • Best Filk Song — Any song is eligible that has not previously won a Pegasus Award or been on the final ballot in this category in the last 2 years
  • Best Classic Filk Song — Any well-known filk song that is at least 10 years old, has not previously won a Pegasus Award, and has not been on the final ballot in this category in the last 2 years
  • Best Writer/Composer — Any writer/composer of filk songs who has not won this Pegasus Award in the past 5 years
  • Best Performer — Any performer in the filk community who has not won this Pegasus Award in the past 5 years
  • 2015 Rotating Category: Best Adapted Song — Parodies, pre-existing lyrics set to new music (e.g., a Kipling poem), or other material adapted to filk
  • 2015 Rotating Category: Best Time-Related Song — Because it’s OVFF’s 31st anniversary and the 31st wedding anniversary is the “timepiece” anniversary, any songs related to time

Anyone who has an interest in science fiction and/or fantasy-related music may be considered part of the “filk community” and can participate in brainstorming possible nominees, nominating, and voting. The award by-laws define “exhibiting interest” using examples such as filking at SF&F conventions, attending filk conventions or “house sings,” taking part in related on-line forums, and just “discussing filk and filk related issues with other filkers.”

If you made it this far in this post or have read any of my previous filk-related posts, you can probably claim to have exhibited interest and would therefore be qualified to participate in the Pegasus Award process. So if you have a favorite you’d like to suggest, fill out the Brainstorming Poll Form. And unlike elections for public office, you’re allowed to fill out as many brainstorming forms as you like!

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If You’re a Teacher or a Parent, You Should Get to Know Tim Griffin’s Music

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Last month I introduced my newsletter readers* to Tim Griffin, whose music I encountered at the World Science Fiction Convention this past August.


(Tim Griffin.)

My expectations for the World Science Fiction Convention in London were very high, and while the overall trip was awesome the convention had some ups and downs. As with any big convention, I didn’t get to see everyone or do everything I wanted, but one bright spot was the music portion, the best part of which was getting to meet Tim Griffin, who was one of the finalists for this year’s Pegasus Awards.

If you or someone you know is a parent or teacher, and might appreciate amusing songs that sneak in a bit of educational content, Tim Griffin is a name you should know and http://www.griffined.org/ is a website you should visit early and often. The first song Tim played had me hooked:

Aristotle said the world is a ball
Unrolled a scroll and made a map of it all
He put the planets in the sky, moving round the Earth every day
Copernicus drew a very different one
Pictured all the planets going ‘round the Sun
Then Galileo built a telescope and said, “Hey, it sure looks that way.”

You know that each generation learns a little bit more
Pulling back the curtain, opening up the door
But it’s only when we’re standing on the shoulders of giants
We can see the things we didn’t before

While he was singing I made a note on my phone — “shoulders of giants” — because I knew I wanted to learn more about his music.

Tim’s songs are enjoyable just from the standpoint of being catchy tunes, but what makes them unique is that most of them have educational components because he was a science teacher. I talked with him several times and found out that he runs a nonprofit educational foundation that produces music and makes it available — free! — to educators and anyone else who’s interested. Not only does he provide the songs for free download on his website, but he also provides the lyrics and in many cases includes references to educational standards that the songs address (e.g., California state standards, Common Core), and sometimes includes suggestions for educational activities to accompany the songs.

Tim pointed out to me that teachers don’t have to use the songs in an overt manner: the songs can be effective even if they’re only played as background music during what would normally be a non-educational part of the day, such as when the children have just come in from lunch or recess and are getting ready to start the next lesson. His foundation has conducted some research into music and learning retention, and the results have been quite positive, but even without that the music itself is worth a listen.

Check out his website, listen to a few of the songs, and if you like what you hear, buy one of his CDs or make a tax-deductible donation to the foundation — but even more importantly, share the music (or this blog post) with a teacher or principal or librarian.

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*Yeah, I have a newsletter I send out sometimes. You can sign up for it here.

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P.S. Seriously, if you know any teachers who may be looking for an innovative way to introduce science and math and technology topics to their students, please forward this to them!

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My Song ‘Tauntauns to Glory’ Made the Pegasus Award ‘Brainstorming Poll’

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I have no idea who suggested it, but I appreciate whomever-it-was putting what is arguably my most popular song up for consideration during the “brainstorming” phase of the Pegasus Award cycle.

Pegasus Award Logo

This does not mean that the song has been officially nominated, because the Pegasus Awards operate in three parts: first, the brainstorming; second, the nominating; and finally, the voting.

The nominating phase is open now, and folks may nominate up to five artists/songs per category:

  • Best Writer/Composer
  • Best Performer
  • Best Filk Song
  • Best Classic Filk Song — songs must be at least 10 years old to be considered “classic”
  • Best Adapted Song
  • Best Song of Passage — for which “Tauntauns to Glory” was suggested

As the main site says, “Anyone with an interest in Filking or Filk music can place a nomination and/or vote.” To nominate, use the handy nomination form. If you need ideas on what you might nominate, check out all the results of the Brainstorming Poll.

Nominations must be submitted by 12:01 a.m. PDT, 31 July 2014 — meaning, the first minute after July 30th ends (on the West coast).

Again, thank you to whoever suggested me and my song for the award!

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