I’m giving two talks at the Burwood campus of Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, this week. Both the Deakin talks are in the “Moot Court” room on the Burwood campus of Deakin University, Building C, Level 3. Here’s a map.

* Tuesday, Nov 24, 4 to 5 p.m., “My Life as a Writer”. We videoed this, and I hope to podcast it.

* Thursday, Nov 26, 1 to 2 p.m., “Life is a Gnarly Computation”. Here’s a link to a PDF file of the slides for the talk.

And I’m giving a talk on with Leon Marvell at the “Re:Live” conference at the University of Melbourne. The talk is at the Seminar Room in the Federation Hall of the Faculty of VCA and Music, University of Melbourne, 234 St Kilda Road. More info at the conference page.

* Friday, Nov 27, 3:30 to 5:00 p.m., “The Lifebox Soul Replicator”

Come hear me if you can!

Unrelated link: some guy blogged about buying a Kindle version of Hylozoic. which he’s now reading on his iPhone.

To get ready, I reworked and expanded the “Writer’s Toolkit” document that I use when I talk about writing.

I’ll be doing a reading at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 28, 2009, at the University of Washington Book Store in Seattle. More info here.

[Cod, salmon and Norwegians at the aquarium near Alesund.]

Saturday, July 11, 2009,
7:30 to 9:30 PM, (doors at 7:00 PM).

The Writers With Drinks show .

I’ll be reading from Hylozoic at this monthly show at the Make Out Room bar/club in San Francisco. The show will, as always be emceed by the redoubtable Charlie Jane Anders. As well as me, the evening features Derek McCormack, Hugh Behm-Steinberg, and Chelsea Martin.

Location: The Make Out Room, 3225 22nd. St. between Mission and Valencia,
San Francisco, CA. Admission: $3 to $5 sliding scale.

[Sphinx atop the Royal Theater in Copenhagen.]

Sunday, July 12, 2009.
2:00 PM

Dark Carnival Bookstore

Location: 3086 Claremont Ave, Berkeley CA.

Meanwhile, the following is a list of the upcoming readings to promote my latest novel, Hylozoic.

(Picture from 1982, accepting the first Philip K. Dick Award.)

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Saturday, June 06, 2009. 3 P.M.
Borderlands Books
866 Valencia St.
San Francisco, CA 94110
415.824.8203
MAP
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Sunday, June 07, 2009. 7:30 PM
Moe’s Books
2476 Telegraph Avenue
Berkeley CA 94704
510.849.2087
MAP
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Wednesday, June 10, 2009. 7:30 P.M.
Books, Inc. in Mountain View
301 Castro Street
Mountain View, CA 94041
650.428.1234
MAP
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Sunday, July 12, 2009. 2:00 PM
Dark Carnival Bookstore
3086 Claremont Ave.
Berkeley CA, 94705
510.654.7323
MAP

The event is at 7pm at the 111 Minna Gallery in San Francisco. Admission is $25 (because it’s a fundraiser), but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

What is Sex?

Each of us is here as a link in a chain of a zillion reproductive sex acts. The pleasures of partnership and the orgasm help make us obsessed with having sex, even if we don’t know or care about reproduction. We might think of sex as any path that leads to orgasm. Note here the difference between sex with a person and, say, sex via pornography. In sex with a person, you’re talking about emotion, the positions of your limbs, touch across large skin areas, tastes, scents and pheromones. In the “artificial sex” of pornography, you’re talking about visual images, perhaps enhanced by recorded sounds. Amazing how little we’re willing to settle for! How might artificial sex improve? I’ll sketch some science-fictional scenarios.

Paintings by our teacher, Glen Moriwaki, and the 5 artists who painted in Caunes: Kevin Brown, Paul, Barbara Hefennan, Rudy Rucker, Sylvia Rucker.

As well as “The Muse,” Rudy will be showing his Hylozoic triptych and “Minervois Awning.”

Show Dates: April 8-12th.

Opening party Friday, April 11th from 5-7 p.m.

Rudy will be watching the gallery Saturday afternoon from 1 to 5 p.m., so stop by if you want to say hi to him; bring a book if you want it signed.

A good place to park is the public Vallejo Street garage on Vallejo Street across Columbus Ave between Stockton St. and Powell St.