Monthly Archives: October 2010
Give Her the Candy and No One Gets Hurt
Posted on October 31, 2010 26 Comments
Athena on “Beggar’s night,” which is a couple of days before Halloween so that kids aren’t running around on the streets on the same night adults are going to Halloween parties and then driving about stupidly. Or so they tell me; personally I prefer my Halloween on Halloween. Either way, the procurement of candy was […]
Saturday Morning Check In
Posted on October 30, 2010 2 Comments
I’ve got a few minutes before I have to go down and run the SFWA business meeting, so I thought I’d check in and say hello. The World Fantasy Convention is going swimmingly; I’m seeing tons of folks I enjoy seeing and on the “I have to be a grown up and not just hang […]
The Big Idea: James A. Owen
Posted on October 29, 2010 7 Comments
Writing is often considered a solitary pursuit — and yet there are examples of writers and other creative sorts banding together, bound by a common place, philosophy or type of output. For those groups, very often the commonality and camaraderie can inspire greater work than isolation. It’s this idea that James A. Owen is thinking […]
New Monitor is Here
Posted on October 28, 2010 20 Comments
Just in time for me to leave for World Fantasy. Life is like that sometimes. For those of you into geekation about these things, the monitor is one of these. It’s my second Dell monitor, the first being the one that recently explodinated on me. But then it outlived its warranty and was excellent right […]
A Touch of Color
Posted on October 28, 2010 15 Comments
As some of you were noting the site’s new look is a little monochromatic, here’s a color splash for you, namely, last night’s sunset. Don’t say I never do anything for you.
New Look, Etc.
Posted on October 28, 2010 51 Comments
A couple of notes on the new Whatever theme: 1. I like it, so it’s very likely to stay. 2. I’m not quite done tweaking it yet. There are a couple of things I personally prefer (like having the comment link at the bottom of an entry, not the top) that I need to incorporate, […]
Warning: About to Change Themes
Posted on October 27, 2010 71 Comments
Head’s up, folks: I’ve found a new theme I think I like, and I’m going to try installing it. I can’t promise everything won’t blow right up. Also, when I do install it, I will then proceed to fiddle. Do not be surprised if things look a bit hinky afterward. I’ll let you know when […]
Just Arrived, 10/27/10
Posted on October 27, 2010 28 Comments
What’s come over the transom this week: * Cryoburn, Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen): Hey, remember that time when you said to yourself, “Man, I wish I had a new Miles Vorkosigan novel right now?” Turns out Lois McMaster Bujold was listening. As if she had a bug right in your brain. Which I’m sure she […]
My Filmcritic.com Column is Back Up
Posted on October 27, 2010
For those of you who tried to click on it yesterday after it was taken down for being up early: Now you can click on it and it will be there. Won’t you go visit? I’m writing on what scares me in science fiction film.
The Big Idea: Aliette de Bodard
Posted on October 27, 2010 8 Comments
On occasion I’ve had someone say to me that writing speculative fiction must be easier than writing straight fiction, because you don’t have to worry about being accurate about facts and settings. Well, that’s of course not true at all — and the amount of research that fantasy and science fiction writers do is often […]
Why, Yes, I Have a New Short Story Coming
Posted on October 26, 2010 13 Comments
A few sharp-eyed folks caught the a notice over at the Subterranean Press site, announcing that SubPress had bought a story from me. Is it true? Yes, it’s true. What’s it about? I won’t tell you. You’ll have to wait until it’s out. When will it be out? As the SubPress announcement notes, “sooner than […]
The Damage
Posted on October 26, 2010 38 Comments
One of coincidentally-named Bradford Pears just got its branches handed to it by the windstorm. This was the same tree previously ravaged by the remains of Hurricane Ike when it blew through a couple of years ago, so this is not an entirely surprising turn of events. Even so, a little sad (and annoying, as […]
Why I’m Heading to the Basement Now
Posted on October 26, 2010 27 Comments
See, the red line you see is a bunch of potentially tornado-producing clouds. And that little crosshair directly in front of it is where I live. That image is from about five minutes ago. So down to the basement go I. Catch you all in a bit. If I’m not blown to Oz.
Hey, You Know What’s Really Scary?
Posted on October 26, 2010
UPDATE, 11:30am: Looks like the column has been taken down at least temporarily. I’ll let you know when/if it goes back up today. My Filmcritic.com column is up a day early this week — don’t ask me, I just file the things, they decide when to post them — and this week I’m looking at […]
My Very Sensitive Author Photo
Posted on October 25, 2010 74 Comments
For when I finally ditch this speculative fiction nonsense and buckle down to write a True Work of Mopey Bastardery. Can’t you sense my pain? My sad, bearded pain? I think this shall be the book that I write for this author photo: It shall be a stunning examination of the emptiness of the human […]
Quoted for Truth
Posted on October 25, 2010 36 Comments
Yes. This. Please remember. (Venn diagram by Dave Hoffman)
The Yard FAQ
Posted on October 25, 2010 106 Comments
Pretty much any time I post a picture of my yard, I get the same several questions in the comment thread from folks who are apparently new around here. After most of a decade, I’m now officially bored with answering the same questions (sorry guys, it’s not you, it’s me), so I’m creating The Yard […]
The Big Idea: Kathe Koja
Posted on October 25, 2010 7 Comments
“All the world’s a stage” — and in fiction, this saying is more true than elsewhere, with the author as director, moving her actors in and out of the floodlights, as the story demands. Kathe Koja, however, adds yet another dimension to the saying in her new novel Under the Poppy, in which the stage […]
Turns Out Sunday is For Not Being On the Blog, Too
Posted on October 24, 2010 24 Comments
The excuse this time: Friends from out of town, who I don’t see near enough. So I will see them! And there will be much rejoicing. To compensate for my absence, please to enjoy Daisy rolling about on the lawn. I’ll be back tomorrow. See you then.
Saturday is For Not Being on the Blog
Posted on October 23, 2010 14 Comments
I’ve set up the temporary monitor for my desktop computer — it’s an HP monitor that came from an old Wal-Mart “all in one” computer package we got for Athena a while back, which is so old I had to buy an adapter to get it to work with my computer — and it sucks […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying