Monthly Archives: July 2008
I Don’t Know Art, But I Know What I Like
Posted on July 26, 2008 48 Comments
“Now up for bid, this absolutely stunning piece of modern work entitled ‘I Will Be There At The End of All Things, or, The Shreddination’ by the prodigiously talented artist Zeus Scalzi. Zeus Scalzi has quickly established himself as a young master of the paper form, rending and shredding fibers as a way to comment […]
Really, Now, WTF?
Posted on July 25, 2008 46 Comments
Why does it seem like the Internets just want to fight me these last few days? I love the Internets! Oh, Internets. Let’s never fight again.
Another Entry in the Annals of “People Who Haven’t the Slightest Idea What They’re Saying”
Posted on July 25, 2008 231 Comments
Awww, look. Someone’s trying to lecture me on speech and the Internet! (claps happily) Background: In the comment thread to this entry yesterday, someone named Gretchen came in and acted in a manner I thought was inappropriate, and I told her so. She maintains I misunderstood her intent, to which I said fine, then I […]
Don’t Stop MP3in’, Hold On That Feeling
Posted on July 25, 2008 29 Comments
Via a tip off from Rob Thornton, behold the Journey mp3 player! Oh, yes, it’s real: The Zvue Journey comes preloaded with Journey music — 11 of their classic hits (“Any Way You Want It,” “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Wheel in the Sky,” “Open Arms,” etc.) as well as the 11 songs on their new album […]
Your Instructor For Your “Advanced Catnappery” Course
Posted on July 25, 2008 16 Comments
Looks like he’s running a little late. Which means, of course, that he’s excellent for this class. There’s a waiting list for him, really.
You’re All Insane
Posted on July 24, 2008 68 Comments
For everyone in comments and e-mail who have plaintively asked if it’s okay if they like the Seven and the Ragged Tiger album, here’s a Duran Duran video for y’all: It’s “New Moon on Monday,” in which Simon, John, Roger, Andy and Nick (God please strike me dead for being able to remember all their […]
Also —
Posted on July 24, 2008 25 Comments
If you like fluffy white clouds — I mean, really like fluffy white clouds — you should be in Ohio right about now. Bigger version here. And hey, what do you know — using a polarized filter does help.
Airing a Repeat: On Submitting Bitchy E-Mails to Scalzi’s Attention
Posted on July 24, 2008 130 Comments
Someone is presently boring me in e-mail, so I thought this might be a nice time to haul the following chestnut out of the archives. This is originally from 2004. On Submitting Bitchy E-Mails to Scalzi’s Attention A quick note to anyone who has got it in their mind to send me bitchy e-mail: My […]
History and Science Fiction and Movies
Posted on July 24, 2008
Hey! Thursday again, and another AMC column on science fiction movies. This time I talk about what science fiction and historical movies have in common, which is, not a whole lot of fidelity to their academic subjects — and why maybe that doesn’t matter a whole lot when it comes to science fiction. I’m sure […]
Just in Case You Thought the Hand-Wringing Over Science Fiction Was an English Language Thing
Posted on July 23, 2008 19 Comments
There’s a nice, long piece in El Pais, Spain’s largest newspaper, about the current denatured state of the science fiction genre. Naturally, having a facility in reading Spanish might help (I relied on the good graces of Google Translate, myself). Personally I don’t think things are as apocalyptically bad as the writer of this piece […]
Hugo Prognosticating
Posted on July 23, 2008 11 Comments
Over at Tor.Com, folks are putting down their markers on who they think will win the Best Novel Hugo this year. For obvious reasons, I am refraining from making an appearance in the comment thread, and anyway, I’ve already essayed my chances here. But if you want to put in your two cents, over there’s […]
Your Wednesday Musical Interlude
Posted on July 23, 2008 20 Comments
Mandy Moore doing “The Whole of the Moon” by the Waterboys: It’s surprisingly not horrible! Indeed, I think it’s pretty good. Also, not to put too fine a point on it, there would be no way Athena would listen to the actual Waterboys version without proclaiming her boredom with it (“Dad, the whiny man is […]
Reminder: ArmadilloCon
Posted on July 22, 2008 41 Comments
Just a reminder to all and sundry that if the dates of August 15 through 17 are just a big ol’ gapin’ hole in your social calendar, there’s something you can do about it, namely, come to Austin, Texas and hang out with me, Joe & Gay Haldeman and lots and lots of other truly […]
Zoe’s Tale: Not in SFBC
Posted on July 22, 2008 25 Comments
For those of you hoping to pick up a copy of Zoe’s Tale via the Science Fiction Book Club, I have some bad news, which is that SFBC won’t be carrying it. The reason for this is fairly uncomplicated: they made an offer for it which we felt wasn’t acceptable, so we didn’t accept it. […]
The Big Idea: Greg Egan
Posted on July 22, 2008 15 Comments
If you like your science fiction hard — we’re talking diamond-scratching hard, here — then you already know that Greg Egan is your man; this Hugo winner’s been spinning tales of hard SF for years that make you think and thrill at the same time. After a six-year break from novels, Egan is back with […]
Things I Forgot to Remember, Monday Edition
Posted on July 21, 2008 19 Comments
Some stuff I probably should have mentioned before: * As you know, Tor.Com is live and is featuring my new short story “After the Coup,” which takes place in the OMW universe. What I neglected to mention was that in addition to writing it, I also read it aloud, and the audio track is available […]
Two Small Observations
Posted on July 21, 2008 82 Comments
They are: 1. People who don’t know what they’re talking about don’t like to have that fact pointed about, especially if you use the word “ignorant” in context to the fact. 2. People like to confuse “pointing out the fact you don’t know what you’re talking about” with “being hostile,” because it makes them feel […]
New Short Story at Tor.Com — Now Live!
Posted on July 20, 2008 25 Comments
Tor.Com is finally live, and as noted in various news organizations, the site combines “original fiction, a group blog, lightweight social networking features and an extensive art gallery.” Plus it’s just generally cool. Am I involved with Tor.Com? I am, in two ways. First, I signed on there to be their roving Science blogger, occasionally […]
Fan Fiction in Canada
Posted on July 20, 2008 23 Comments
For all you fanficcers out there, an interesting take on fan fiction from the Canadian legal perspective, i.e., whether fan fic would be legal in Canada if it ever went to court there. The author suspects not and notes that in Canada (and much of the rest of the world outside the US) there’s an […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying