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Column: Two sci-fi superstars take center stage at UCSD

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Call it “Game of Thrones” meets “Red Mars.” Two of the nation’s top science fiction writers dished out down-to-earth advice to fans at UC San Diego.

George R. R. Martin — author of “A Song of Ice and Fire,” his book series adapted on HBO as “Game of Thrones” — recently shared the stage with novelist Kim Stanley Robinson.

Unlike the elaborate, detail-rich “Game of Thrones,” which globe trots to filming locations, there have been several failed attempts to adapt Robinson’s “Red Mars” trilogy for television viewing — “each more deadly than the last,” opines the author.

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For years, “Red Mars” bounced around Hollywood. It landed with Spike TV a couple of years ago. Then early last year, Spike TV abruptly halted work on its 10-episode series when the project’s executive producer quit. The series is still on hiatus.

For Martin and Robinson, the May 2 seminar here was a homecoming of sorts. Both have taught at the UC San Diego-based Clarion Workshop.

Few outside the literary community may know that this annual six-week workshop for writers, billed as the world’s oldest science fiction and fantasy writing program, occurs in San Diego.

Although the Clarion Workshop began elsewhere in 1968, it moved into UCSD’s Clarke Center for Human Imagination in 2007. That relocation was, in large part, due to the influence of Robinson, a UCSD graduate.

The author since has been hailed in The New Yorker as “one of the greatest living science-fiction writers.”

A class act: County Supervisor Bill Horn and his wife, Kathy, met with U.S. Secretary of Defense Gen. James “Mad Dog” Mattis last week, but it wasn’t over our country’s defense.

Mattis joined Horn and his classmates from the Marines’ Basic School for officers (class 5-67) May 6 at their 50th reunion gathering outside Washington, D.C.

The supervisor was surprised to see the Marine general, who simply showed up at the event. Mattis obviously had done some research because he commented specifically on Horn’s service in Vietnam, where Horn earned a Bronze Star and Purple Heart, among other commendations.

“We were the Boys of ’67, and I was lucky enough to attend our reunion this past weekend,” Horn posted online. Many of his class’s 516 grads were thrust into some of the fiercest fighting in Vietnam, where 39 died.

This week, Horn is celebrating a much more upbeat occasion — his 50th wedding anniversary.

Canadian historian Wendy Kramer, left, has done research on explorer Juan Cabrillo that has upended previously held understandings about his origins. In mid-2016 she visited San Diego with retiring USD history professor Iris Engstrand.
Canadian historian Wendy Kramer, left, has done research on explorer Juan Cabrillo that has upended previously held understandings about his origins. In mid-2016 she visited San Diego with retiring USD history professor Iris Engstrand.
(Peggy Peattie / San Diego Union-Tribune)

Historic occasion: Past California State Librarian Kevin Starr once praised a book on San Diego and its author, Iris Engstrand, saying: “No one has written a better one-volume history of this important American city.”

So, it is no surprise that the San Diego History Center is honoring the retiring University of San Diego professor who has taught for nearly nearly five decades.

Mayor Kevin Faulconer is leading a May 11 tribute that begins at the Balboa Park center then moves to The Prado restaurant where former Union-Tribune editorial page editor Bob Kittle will interview the author of 20 books, including “San Diego: California’s Cornerstone.”

Her reputation has traveled far. She also was honored by King Juan Carlos of Spain for capturing Spain’s history in the Americas.

San Diegan Mary Murphy, a judge on the Fox TV series, "So You Think You Can Dance."
(Jeff Christensen / Associated Press)

Stepping up: Mary Murphy, the perpetually smiling TV dance contest judge with the “hot tamale train” catchphrase, is embracing a far more serious topic here on Friday — Alzheimer’s disease.

Her mother died at the young age of 59 after a 10-year battle against the memory-robbing illness, which has attacked others in her family. Murphy will speak at a female-focused luncheon hosted by Alzheimer’s San Diego at Estancia La Jolla Hotel.

Two-thirds of San Diego’s 65,000 Alzheimer’s patients are women, and 60 percent of caregivers are female, says Mary Ball, CEO of the local organization. She adds that women in their 60s are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s than breast cancer.

Murphy, a longtime judge on Fox TV’s “So You Think You Can Dance,” cites research that indicates frequent dancing can help reduce the risk of dementia. So she periodically holds free ballroom dance sessions for Alzheimer’s sufferers.

The goal of her class isn’t to memorize the dance steps but to remember how to laugh. “They have a lot of fun,” says Ball.

Skateboarder Tony Hawk attended the 2017 Success Makers Summit on April 17, 2017 in New York City. He hosted an American Express Success Makers event at his Vista headquarters on May 2.
Skateboarder Tony Hawk attended the 2017 Success Makers Summit on April 17, 2017 in New York City. He hosted an American Express Success Makers event at his Vista headquarters on May 2.
(Mike Coppola / Getty Images)

Hawk Headquarters: Tony Hawk long ago transformed his passion for skateboarding into a business empire. Now he has teamed up with American Express to share his entrepreneurial expertise with its local Platinum business card holders.

In addition to Hawk’s Birdhouse Skateboard operation and his 900 Film company, his Vista headquarters is home to his digital Ride Channel for skateboarders, his “Demolition Radio” program on SiriusXM and his philanthropic foundation.

On his May 9 tour, Hawk even gave American Express business owner invitees a free demo on his skateboard ramps.

diane.bell@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1518

Twitter: @dianebellSD

Facebook: dianebell.news

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