Monthly Archives: August 2009

Re: The Science Fiction Failure Mode

Since I’m saying it other places, I thought I’d note it here as well: regarding the oh-so-defensive shibboleth that “Star Wars isn’t science fiction, it’s fantasy!”: Well, no. This argument is often provided by people who can’t stand that Star Wars is (correctly) regarded as science fiction despite the fact that its science is so […]

Read More

Quick Note to Would-Be Interviewers

I’ve recently been getting a number of interview requests where the interviewer wants to do the Q&A with a procedural “hook” — i.e., some gimmick ostensibly to make the interview more fun and and interesting (“Answer as if you’re in the middle of being waterboarded!” “The questions are in the form of palindromes!” etc). Well, […]

Read More

Still Life With Cat and Book

Because who doesn’t like cats? And books? Illiterate dog-fanciers, I suppose, but there’s not much chance of them coming here. Aside from giving the increasingly unruly Ghans ogh Ghlaghghee a gheline ghix, this post also serves notice that according to Subterranean Press, who would know, the print version of METAtropolis is now out and shipping. […]

Read More

It’s a (Bad Design) Trap!

Today at AMC, I post up ten examples of truly bad design in the Star Wars universe, of which R2-D2 and C-3PO are just two examples. Yes, they are very poorly designed indeed. Search your heart. You know it to be true. I explain all there. Head over and feel free to agree with me […]

Read More

Today’s Reminder That Hollywood is a Strange Place

The guys who produced Terminator: Salvation, a worldwide hit, have filed for bankruptcy: Even though the movie has sold a healthy $370 million worth of tickets around the world and has yet to be released on DVD and in other post-theatrical markets, Anderson and Kubicek apparently couldn’t stay afloat. As detailed in yesterday’s lawsuits, they […]

Read More

Here, Have a Cookie

Athena has to make peanut butter cookies for a 4-H project she’s doing, so she’s been baking a bit over the last couple of days, and my job, since I’m not allowed to help her make the cookies (by the 4-H rules), is to act as the official taste tester, and provide my thoughts and […]

Read More

The Big Idea: Lev Grossman

After a bit of a summer vacation, the Big Idea is back! And to kick things off, author Lev Grossman is here with The Magicians, his new fantasy novel, which aside from starred reviews in Booklist and Library Journal, has prompted no less than George R.R. Martin (who knows from fantasy) to declare that it […]

Read More

You Think You Know a Guy

This article in the Boston Globe today suggests that even your closest friends are in some fundamental ways strangers to you — and that this is not necessarily a bad thing. While not 100% on board with the methodology of the survey on which the researchers base their conclusions, I find the general proposition largely […]

Read More

Big Idea Update

I’ve had questions from folks wondering about the status of Big Ideas here on Whatever and on the upcoming BigIdeaAuthors.com site, so I thought I’d do a quick update on both: 1. The BigIdeaAuthors.com site has now been constructed and ready to be populated with content, which we’ll be doing over the next few weeks […]

Read More

Squirrels and Podcasts

First, via Jeff Hentosz: Oh Noes! The Hugos have been photocrashed! Oh, quiet. The meme isn’t officially overplayed until next Tuesday. We’re in under the wire. Second, Tor.com has a podcast interview with me, done at Anticipation, in which I talk about various things, including METAtropolis, the state of science fiction, young adult novels and […]

Read More

Strange Horizons Fund Drive Results, or, You Guys Rock

So, yesterday, when I challenged all y’all to match donations with me and Krissy to help the online science fiction magazine Strange Horizons meet its fundraising goal for the month, the total amount of money donated to that point was $1,565, out of a goal of $7,000. And where is it today? I’ll let Strange […]

Read More

Controversies and etc.

io9 has the latest on a disability and sexuality-related controversy regarding Stargate: Universe that’s blossomed online in the last couple of days, including a response from one of the SG:U producers to the issue. Note that there are spoilers in the link. Since I’m the creative consultant for SG:U I’ve had a couple of people […]

Read More

Strange Horizons Friday: I’m Matching Donations

So, Strange Horizons is an online magazine of science fiction and fantasy that pays writers official pro rates (as defined by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America), publishes a wide range of fiction and non-fiction about science fiction and fantasy, and goes out of its way to publish new and emerging writers. They’re […]

Read More

%d bloggers like this: