Monthly Archives: December 2010
The End is Near
Posted on December 31, 2010 14 Comments
For 2010, that is. The rest of us should probably continue on as usual. That’s just a suggestion. Why, in some parts of the world, it’s already 2011! And they seem to be doing just fine. I’m signing off for the rest of the year. See you all in January.
Just Arrived, 12/31/10
Posted on December 31, 2010 29 Comments
It’s the last Just Arrived of the year! In order of me grabbing them from the pile: *Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love, Andrew Shaffer (Harper Perennial): A slim nonfiction book which assures you that all the great philosophers couldn’t get dates, either — or, in the case of Rousseau, got off on flashing women […]
My 2010 in Review
Posted on December 30, 2010 16 Comments
It’s been an interesting year. Some highlights, in no particular order: 1. Being elected President of SFWA and working with the current board of directors. I’ve largely kept to my self-imposed rule of not speaking about my presidential-related activities here, as a way to keep my personal views and organizational responsibilities clearly separate in the […]
To Avoid the Inevitable Onslaught of People Sending it To Me
Posted on December 29, 2010 34 Comments
Yes, I’ve seen this: Thoughts: 1. Could be more tightly edited and better lit; 2. Kind of funny, but also kind of mean. And you say, but, John, you’re the one who tells teenagers their writing sucks. Well, yes, I do. But I don’t do it to get them to stop writing. I do it […]
The Joys of Owning a Dog
Posted on December 29, 2010 45 Comments
Came down to the kitchen this morning and found the trash formerly in the trash can comprehensively distributed across (and into) the kitchen rug, in a manner that clearly suggests a dog working her way through the trash to get to the tiny bit of roast gristle somewhere down at the bottom of the can. […]
Note to John Seavey
Posted on December 29, 2010 104 Comments
Hey, John: I did, in fact, see your blog entry called John Scalzi and the Myth of Inerrancy, which was a rebuttal on my column on The Lie of Star Wars as Entertainment. I tried to leave a long comment about it on your own site, but inasmuch as the Blogger comment tool appears buggier […]
Science Fiction and Movie Studios
Posted on December 29, 2010
Today’s Filmcritic.com column is the last one of 2010, and in it I look at how well science fiction has done for the major film studios by charting how many of each studio’s domestic top ten-grossing films are from the science fiction genre. The answer: Probably more than you think — but not for every […]
A Reminder to Authors About Blurbs
Posted on December 28, 2010 25 Comments
Authors: Please, if you’re thinking of asking me to blurb your work, take a look at my blurb policy, which is available here, and is linked off the front page of Whatever (as well as every other page on the WordPress install). I mention it because I’ve gotten several direct requests for blurbs from authors […]
Some Things I’m Likely to Do in 2011
Posted on December 28, 2010 22 Comments
Yesterday I posted an entry on some things I’d like to do, creatively speaking, and it appears to have thrown at least a couple of people into a concern spiral that I was leaving science fiction forever. Relax, folks. As noted in the entry, those things were aspirational and not officially on the schedule. What […]
Some Things I’d Like to Do
Posted on December 27, 2010 54 Comments
The end of the year is not a bad time to think about some of the things one would like to try one’s hand at moving forward. And to that end, here are some things I’ve been thinking about doing at some point in the future. Note that this is not a list of things […]
The Year in Pets
Posted on December 27, 2010 19 Comments
Ghlaghghee gazes upon 2010, which as you may remember was a fairly significant one for the pets. On the dog front we mourned the passing of Kodi and welcomed Daisy. The roster of cats remained the same, however, for which we are thankful. To help usher out 2010, here’s a pet retrospective for the year. […]
Sunsets 2010: The Quickening
Posted on December 26, 2010 9 Comments
As it appears the rest of 2010 will consist of clouds, a quick review of 2010’s sunsets, as viewed by my camera: This one taken in Melbourne rather than out my office window. And, of course, one sunrise.
A Cr-48 Update
Posted on December 25, 2010 8 Comments
Because I know you folks are passionately interested, especially on Christmas Day, some further thoughts on working with the Cr-48 and the Chrome OS: * The Cr-48 generally continues to be a pretty nifty little computer, although it is not without its flaws. The flaw I’ve noticed the most are the genuinely terrible track pad, […]
Look! More Christmas Photos!
Posted on December 25, 2010 18 Comments
Because that’s how we roll, Christmas morning. Athena hard at work at Christmas 2010: The Unwrapination. One of Athena’s gifts. Her gifts parted out between geekish and stylish, because, you know. Look at her parents. “Put down that camera and unwrap your presents.” I got a very nice coat with hat and gloves, the […]
Christmas Eve 2010
Posted on December 25, 2010 19 Comments
A small sampling of photos from our Christmas Eve, which we spent at my sister-in-law’s with her family and Krissy’s parents: A larger set of photos is available for your perusal here. Hope that your Christmas Eve was excellent and that your Christmas is even better.
Whatever Best of 2010
Posted on December 24, 2010 17 Comments
Zeus is correct: We’re getting to the point where the new year is starting to peek over the horizon. What better way to begin to take our leave of 2010, then, than by posting my annual retrospective of what I think have been the most interesting Whatever posts of year? Because, hey. You might have […]
Athena Wishes to Share Some Birthday Music With You
Posted on December 23, 2010 47 Comments
Here’s the song she wishes to share with you on her birthday: Yes, that’s my kid.
Athena, Age 12
Posted on December 23, 2010 114 Comments
And clearly thinking about very serious things. If you feel the need to wish my daughter a happy birthday, I would not look askance upon it.
The Ultimate Sacrilege
Posted on December 22, 2010 36 Comments
I’m in a coffee shop! With a cloud-based laptop! Clearly, the end is near.
Seriously Annoying
Posted on December 22, 2010 29 Comments
Okay, WordPress users, a question for you: Can you think of any reason why WP would suddenly and randomly make the most recent posts disappear from the front page? The post isn’t deleted and is directly accessible, it just doesn’t show up on the front page, even if it was there before. It seems to […]
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