Monthly Archives: May 2012
The Sky Right Now
Posted on May 31, 2012 20 Comments
Yeah, it’s pretty wild at the moment. Also, the panorama photo function on my cell function seems to be working.
Oh, And DOMA Ruled Unconstitutional
Posted on May 31, 2012 56 Comments
By the United States Court of Appeals for the First District. Details here; actual ruling here. And off it will go to the Supreme Court at some point in the not too far future. My lawyer friends tell me it’s very well argued and positively backed to the gills with a half century worth of […]
And Here’s an Industrial Strength Woodchipper for You
Posted on May 31, 2012 30 Comments
And yet Steve Buscemi is nowhere to be found. Probably just as well. What’s being fed into the chipper are not my enemies (so far as you can prove) but the fallen limbs of the increasingly wan Bradford pear tree you see there next to the woodchipper dude. I do not have particularly high hopes […]
A Cool Million
Posted on May 31, 2012 28 Comments
As of about right this very second, Whatever’s stats package recorded a million views this month. Thanks for visiting, folks. Come again.
A Note About the Format of Redshirts
Posted on May 31, 2012 70 Comments
Many of the reviews of Redshirts note it, and the original subtitle of the book (which you can still see on the Amazon page for it) points it out explicitly, so I thought I’d write a little something about it here. It is: Redshirts is not a novel. More accurately, the book Redshirts is not […]
Redshirts Reviews to Start Your Morning
Posted on May 31, 2012 23 Comments
Good morning! The Redshirts reviews are coming in more quickly now, which makes sense as we are less than a week away from release. Here are three new ones for you: 1. Alex Knapp of Forbes offers up a combo review of the book/interview with me. He “highly recommends” the book. And also, given Forbes’ […]
Possibly the Most Squeetastic Review I Will Ever Receive
Posted on May 30, 2012 28 Comments
It is here. I am pleased the reviewer got so much out of the book; she is very much the audience for it.
Dayton and College Graduates
Posted on May 30, 2012 32 Comments
The New York Times comes to visit Dayton, whose metropolitan area I am (barely) a resident, and to use it as a poster child for the sort of formerly prosperous manufacturing city that is now fighting to retain and attract college graduates who see New York, San Francisco or even Raleigh as a better place to […]
7th Grade is Over. Now It is Time to Eat Frosting With a Spoon
Posted on May 30, 2012 52 Comments
What? It is not customary in your tribe to eat frosting with a spoon upon the completion of the 7th grade? Strange tribe. Strange customs. We will keep ours.
And Now My Favorite Track From the New Garbage Album
Posted on May 30, 2012 10 Comments
It’s “Big Bright World”: The whole new album is pretty darn good, I have to say. I’m a Garbage fan since the first album, and there’s not really an album of theirs I don’t like. They pretty much hit all my “This is my music” triggers and always have. There’s something to be said for […]
The View From Today’s Workspace
Posted on May 30, 2012 35 Comments
It’s too nice to stay inside. Here’s the front porch with dog, cat and computer. How is your work day going?
Some Administrivia Regarding The Site
Posted on May 30, 2012 33 Comments
This is one of those housekeeping posts, mostly of interest to me and the perhaps three people out of the entire audience who give a crap about the fiddly things I do to the site. Hello, fellow OCDians! Anyway: 1. I fiddled with the sidebar slightly today, to put up a promo spot for Redshirts, […]
The Big Idea: Mark L. Van Name
Posted on May 30, 2012 8 Comments
Contrary to what the Beatles once said, love is not all we need. But it’s still high up there on the list. What does this have to do with No Going Back, the latest science fiction novel by Mark Van Name? Quite a lot, actually. MARK L. VAN NAME: I never set out to make […]
Redshirts Contest Winners, Reviews and So On and Such
Posted on May 29, 2012 27 Comments
To quickly catch up on a number of things relating to Redshirts: 1. Congratulations to Troy Zimmerman, the winner of the Redshirts fan art contest, with the very amusing picture you see above (click on it for a larger view). Closely behind Troy was Desiree Kern in second place, followed by Natalie Metzger, Nathaniel Payne […]
Introducing “Redshirt: The Theme to the Novel ‘Redshirts'” by Jonathan Coulton
Posted on May 29, 2012 35 Comments
Yes, Jonathan Coulton wrote me a song to go with my book. Here’s all you have to do: 1. Listen to the song (because it’s awesome). 2. Go to Tor.com’s final Journey to Planet JoCo installment to read and/or hear me and Jonathan Coulton talk about the genesis of the song, and how it relates […]
Redshirts at Wired’s GeekDad and GeekMom
Posted on May 28, 2012 7 Comments
Today Redshirts gets a double dosage of geek parental attention at Wired.com: GeekDad runs an interview with me about the book, in which I talk about writing about red shirts and the role of humor in science fiction, while GeekMom notes Redshirts in an article about what the site’s contributors are reading. The takeaway from […]
Planet JoCo Nears Its Climax
Posted on May 28, 2012 9 Comments
The wife just came into the room and said: “I am doing things today. You are going to help me. There’s a lot of stuff. It will take up most of your day. Say goodbye to your Internet friends.” So, uh, goodbye, Internet friends. Whilst I am away, helping out the wife in the many […]
The Class of ’12 Flings Their Caps Into the Air
Posted on May 27, 2012 9 Comments
Because, you know, high school. Done with. Somewhere in there is my niece. It was a good day for her and for the family.
Graduation Song
Posted on May 27, 2012 1 Comment
Away from the Internets for most of the day because my niece Cecilia is having her high school graduation ceremony. See you all tomorrow. In the meantime, here’s “The Paper Chase,” one of my favorite graduation-themed songs, from the (now defunct) The Academy Is… (the ellipsis is part of their name). I wrote about Fast […]
Musical Synchronicity, Of a Certain Miserable Sort
Posted on May 26, 2012 35 Comments
It may just be me, but I think the lead characters of these respective and currently popular songs deserve each other. Listening to the lyrics will help to explain why.
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying