Monthly Archives: October 2010
It’s 9PM on Friday Night, Time for a Cat Video
Posted on October 22, 2010 25 Comments
What’s eerie about it is how, save for the accent, this cat could be me when I am frustrated by my technology.
Daisy, Drowsy
Posted on October 22, 2010 21 Comments
For the folks who are saying to themselves “it’s been two days and no new pictures of Daisy,” you can reset your clocks: Here she is via one of the faux-retro cameras that are all the rage on cell phones these days. Note the photo scratches! That’s your assurance of fake authenticity! The picture is […]
My Personal World Fantasy Schedule
Posted on October 22, 2010 11 Comments
It is: Saturday, October 30, 9 – 10am: SFWA Business Meeting Yup, that’s it. I have no other programming other than that. Why? Because with the exception of Worldcon and Phoenix Comic Con, this is the year I decided that I was going to take a break from convention programming and just go to conventions […]
Reminder: SFWA Business Meeting at World Fantasy
Posted on October 22, 2010 17 Comments
Allow me to put on my SFWA presidential hat here (it’s a beanie!) and speak to those active members of SFWA reading this blog who will also be attending the World Fantasy Convention in Columbus: 1. Our annual business meeting will be taking place at World Fantasy. 2. It will be on Saturday, October 30, […]
The Big Idea: Helen Lowe
Posted on October 21, 2010 25 Comments
Stories have their protagonists and their antagonists — their “good guys” and “bad guys” — but in practical terms, what’s often the difference between the two sides? This is a question Helen Lowe asked herself, leading up to the writing of her “The Wall of Night” series, of which The Heir of Night is the […]
And Now Some Meta
Posted on October 20, 2010 36 Comments
Folks here and elsewhere have asked or speculated on the roots of my “Things I Don’t Have to Think About Today” piece on Monday. The fact is that I don’t have any particular reason for having written it when I did; unlike the “Being Poor” piece, which was written in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, […]
And Just How Is the New Pup?
Posted on October 20, 2010 44 Comments
She’s not unwell, thanks for asking. By and large Daisy seems to be getting the hang of the Scalzi family, although there’s still work to be done on the “cats are not for eating” score. She’s very attuned to fast movements and, surprise, the cats move quickly around a new dog, so there’s been some […]
Science Fictional Dogs
Posted on October 20, 2010
In honor of the new pup, this week at Filmcritic.com I’m talking about dogs and the essential role they play in science fiction film. What, you don’t think they’re essential? Shame on you. How can you say that about man’s best friend? You must like those things, what are they called? Oh, yes. Cats. As […]
You Look Like You Could Use a Sunset
Posted on October 19, 2010 24 Comments
There you go. No charge!
Just Arrived, 10/19/10
Posted on October 19, 2010 27 Comments
Mmmm… more books in the mail. What’s up today: * The Broken Kingdoms, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit): You’ll recall that N.K. Jemisin was a recent guest poster here, but rather more importantly, she writes pretty damn awesome fantasy novels, and this one is the second in her Inheritance Trilogy, which you really should be reading. In […]
The Big Idea: Jackie Morse Kessler
Posted on October 19, 2010 28 Comments
Here’s a question for you: How can a book take both ten years — and only four weeks — to write? The answer lies in Hunger, the latest novel by Jackie Morse Kessler. Turns out there’s more to putting together a novel than placing fingers to keyboard, and it also turns out that when it […]
Narrative Usurpation; Quick Thoughts On the Previous Post
Posted on October 18, 2010 47 Comments
First, please to enjoy the new t-shirt: The statement will be familiar to this year’s class at Viable Paradise. For the rest of you, it relates to characters who show up in a story and are so entertaining that you forget whatever else is supposed to be going on and just pay attention to them […]
Things I Don’t Have to Think About Today
Posted on October 18, 2010 495 Comments
Today I don’t have to think about those who hear “terrorist” when I speak my faith. Today I don’t have to think about men who don’t believe no means no. Today I don’t have to think about how the world is made for people who move differently than I do. Today I don’t have to […]
What I’ve Been Reduced To
Posted on October 17, 2010 38 Comments
My beloved 24-inch monstrosity of a monitor just experienced fatal explodination — I was sitting here reading something when it suddenly flickered, offered up a load pop and then went dead with only the alarming smell of ozone to mark its passing — and unfortunately the backup monitor I have is incompatible with my desktop […]
There is No Coke Zero in the House, But There is One of These
Posted on October 17, 2010 49 Comments
No, I have no idea how it snuck in. But clearly it is there to screw with my mental feng shui. Stupid Pepsi ninjas.
Meet Daisy
Posted on October 16, 2010 65 Comments
What we did with our Saturday: We went and got ourselves a new dog. Her name is Daisy, she’s a two-year-old laborador-mastiff mix, and we got her through a local rescue service. Her previous owners were no longer able to care for her, which had nothing to do with Daisy and everything to do with […]
Procedural Note Re: The Big Idea
Posted on October 16, 2010 2 Comments
This post is specifically for authors/editors/publicists who have submitted Big Idea requests for November/December: I’m currently looking at and scheduling the latest batch of requests and should send you information by Tuesday. So don’t panic! Thank you.
The Big Idea: Graham Hancock
Posted on October 15, 2010 27 Comments
It’s probably inaccurate to call the writing of fiction “restful” (says the man currently trying to write a new novel), but can it offer a respite? From Graham Hancock, it just may. Hancock is best known as a non-fiction author of highly controversial historical books, and controversies, while sometimes invigorating, have their downside as well. […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying