Monthly Archives: November 2005
Eye-Roller of the Day
Posted on November 5, 2005 31 Comments
Uh-huh: White House officials will be required to attend briefings next week on ethics and the handling of classified information after the indictment last week of a senior official in the CIA leak probe, according to a memo released on Saturday. The briefings will provide a refresher course on general ethics rules, including "the rules […]
Fun With Royalties and other Book News
Posted on November 5, 2005 7 Comments
Yesterday’s mail brought royalty statements for Old Man’s War through June of 2005 (yes, there’s a bit of a time lag involved), and it was pretty good news. Not only has Old Man’s War earned out its advance, it’s also earned out the advance of The Android’s Dream, the book that was the other part […]
Mike Argento and the Dover, PA ID Trial
Posted on November 5, 2005 9 Comments
For those of you who have been following the basics of the "Intelligent Design" trial in Dover, Pennsyvania, here’s an excellent resource for a more or less daily perspective on what’s been going down there: York Daily Record columnist Mike Argento had been attending the trial from start to finish (which was yesterday) and has […]
Rough Guide Movie Books: Pick a Canon
Posted on November 4, 2005 56 Comments
You may not have known this, but The Rough Guide to Sci-Fi Movies was just one of four Rough Guide Movie books released on the same day. I just got sent the other three today (along with some very cool postcards based on the cover of my book), and I thought I would show them […]
Patenting Plots?
Posted on November 4, 2005 18 Comments
Via e-mail, I’ve been asked to give an opinion on this, in which the US Patent Office notes an application to patent story plots, the applicants reasoning apparently informed by the reasoning provided via software patents. People are already beginning to freak out about it, suggesting it’s the end of the literary world as we […]
Relevant Religious Positions
Posted on November 4, 2005 23 Comments
Apropos to this earlier entry, a pleasing development out of the Vatican: A Vatican cardinal said Thursday that the faithful should listen to what secular modern science has to offer, warning that religion risks turning into "fundamentalism" if it ignores scientific reason. Cardinal Paul Poupard, who heads the Pontifical Council for Culture, made the […]
Another Helpful Cloning Hint
Posted on November 3, 2005 15 Comments
Yes, you’ll save a few pennies if you use the store brand amino acids to make your clone. But I’m here to tell you, sometimes it’s worth it to pay full price for that expensive national brand. And that’s all I’m going to say about that. You know what the really weird thing about this […]
35 for 43
Posted on November 3, 2005 52 Comments
A CBS News poll has President Bush clocking a 35% approval rating — 35 percent. To put this in perspective, that’s only one point higher than the approval rating Jimmy Carter had the day he left office, and the lowest second-term presidential approval rating since Nixon wallowed in the 20s during the dog days of […]
I’m Being Framed
Posted on November 2, 2005 2 Comments
Apparently, Analog magazine is highlighting the Whatever on its blogs page this month, along with Jonathan Strahan’s Coode Street blog. Since the Analog page jams the Whatever into a dinky space, I guess it’s a good thing I reformatted the site so the design width isn’t a fixed length. I’m always happy to be pointed […]
World Fantasy Convention? What’s That?
Posted on November 2, 2005 7 Comments
Before we begin, a picture of a cat, because, well, this is the Internet: Yes, she’s adorable. If she wasn’t she’d be fired. Some folks have asked if I was going to the World Fantasy Convention this week, or assumed I would be going. However, I am not. There are various reasons, including but not […]
The Most Idiotic Star Wars Review Ever
Posted on November 1, 2005 50 Comments
It’s here, on Slate. How bad is it? It’s so bad that it reads like something from Salon. The writer has confused Lucas’ inability to write or direct, and his absolute disinterest in humans on either side of the screen, with postmodern artistic intent. Bah. The only thing genuinely postmodern about the Star Wars series […]
Last Day for Subterranean Submissions!
Posted on November 1, 2005 9 Comments
To all and sundry who are sending me mildly anxious e-mails on the matter: Yes, I am accepting submissions for the Subterranean magazine cliche issue through 11:59:59 pm Eastern Standard Time, November 1st, 2005. So, presuming you read this entry before then, you still have time. To answer the next question: Yes, I’ve been reading […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying