Monthly Archives: June 2014
A Former Marine Corps Weapons Instructor on the Desirability of Guns for Self-Defense
Posted on June 19, 2014 401 Comments
Turns out he has a few cogent reservations. I would agree with them. Relatedly, I suspect it would surprise a number of people to know I don’t have a philosophical issue with gun ownership. Own them if you like; please take substantial training with them and learn to operate them responsibly, since they really are designed […]
The Big Idea: M.K. Hutchins
Posted on June 19, 2014 13 Comments
Worldbuilding is complex enough when you stick to some commonly-accepted fundamentals, like, oh, let’s say, land. What happens when you decide to shake up those fundamentals? M.K. Hutchins decided to make an aquatic change-up in Drift, and the results of that choice surprised even her. M. K. HUTCHINS: 10,000 B.C.E. was not a good time […]
Brothers, 80s Style
Posted on June 18, 2014 23 Comments
My niece Ashley unearthed this picture of me (left) and my brother Bob, taken sometime in the 1980s, i.e., when he and I were young and still had hair. Bob was a surprise brother — my mother had him when she was very young and put him up for adoption (as teen mothers often did […]
We Did This 19 Years Ago Today
Posted on June 17, 2014 46 Comments
And I would do it again. Yes I would. She would, too. I checked the other day. She said yes. Still.
Joystiq Previews Midnight Star (Spoiler: They Really Like It)
Posted on June 17, 2014 10 Comments
Midnight Star, the mobile FPS video game I helped create (along with an accompanying graphic novel that I wrote), is thiiiiiiiiiiiis close to release, and Jessica Condit of Joystiq got her hands on it and did a little play testing. Her thoughts? “Midnight Star is a mobile FPS that works (no, really)” (that’s the article […]
The Big Idea: Matthew Johnson
Posted on June 17, 2014 11 Comments
Matthew Johnson writes short stories and thinks about words apparently quite a lot. Those two enthusiasms collide in his collection, Irregular Verbs and Other Stories, which I read in a pre-press version and was rather impressed with. Below, Johnson muses on words, their provenance, and their power over us. MATTHEW JOHNSON: I’ve always loved the […]
Lock In Earns a Starred Review From Publishers Weekly
Posted on June 16, 2014 20 Comments
I mean, today was going to be a pretty good day anyway — my wife is coming home after a trip and it’s the 21st anniversary of our first date — but a starred PW review is icing on the cake, I’d say. The whole review is here for your perusal, but here’s a pull […]
Father’s Day: It’s Okay I Guess
Posted on June 15, 2014 32 Comments
I’m not a huge fan of Father’s Day. This is not to say I feel antagonistic toward it — I don’t, I think it’s a nice idea to thank dads for being dads — but merely that it’s not a day I’ve ever given much thought to, even when I became a father. Some of the […]
Proposal Day, 20 Years On
Posted on June 15, 2014 22 Comments
Twenty years ago today, and, indeed, pretty much close to the minute I’m writing this out now, I proposed to my now-wife, Kristine. Actually it’s more accurate to say that the proposal was written up beforehand (it was published as part of my newspaper column at the time), but right about now was when Krissy […]
It’s Flag Day, So Here’s a Picture of a 7-Year-Old Athena Distraught That Her Flag Has Touched the Ground
Posted on June 14, 2014 21 Comments
It’s the worst thing to happen in the history of ever! (For those deeply concerned: a) she’s acting, b) this was, like, eight years ago, so even if she weren’t acting she would be over it now.) Hope your own flag day is lovely and that your flags, if any, remain undropped.
New Books and ARCs, 6/13/14
Posted on June 13, 2014 32 Comments
And to take us into the weekend, another stack of books and ARCs that have recently arrived at the Scalzi Compound. What looks good to you? Let me know in the comments!
My Brain is Not Braining at the Moment, So Here, Listen to Au Revoir Simone 80s-up Mazzy Star
Posted on June 13, 2014 8 Comments
Does what it says on the tin. (If for some reason that embed does not work for you, here’s a direct link.) And for those of you somehow not aware of the original:
Disclosure Statement
Posted on June 12, 2014 1 Comment
Because I think it will be interesting to do so, and because I think this sort of transparency might even be useful: Here’s a disclosure statement of past and current business relationships that I have, that I can publicly announce at this moment (there may be business relations I cannot yet disclose for contractual reasons; […]
The Big Idea: Daniel H. Wilson
Posted on June 12, 2014 7 Comments
Look out! It’s a robot uprising! Yeah, okay — but what then? That’s what Daniel H. Wilson was wondering in Robogenesis, his sequel to the massively successful novel Robopocalypse. Does he have answers? Find out below. DANIEL H. WILSON: Recently, I was talking to an older engineer-type gentleman at a cocktail party and trying to […]
Congratulations to Eric Cantor On His Upcoming Job as Lobbyist
Posted on June 11, 2014 116 Comments
I mean, yes, he wanted to be Speaker of the House one day, but you actually have win your primary elections to do that, and Eric Cantor didn’t. So, a-lobbying he will go, almost certainly. Much is being written about the meaning of Cantor’s defeat at the hands of an unheralded primary challenger, but to […]
On Phoenix Comicon, 2014
Posted on June 10, 2014 14 Comments
Well, one, clearly, at some point at Phoenix Comicon I was in a luchador mask in front of a whole bunch of people. You know, as you do. Two, Phoenix Comicon continues to be one of my favorite “comic con” conventions, in part because it has a robust author track, which means a) lots of […]
Today’s New Books and ARCS, 6/10/14
Posted on June 10, 2014 29 Comments
Booksies, my precious! These are books that are out now or are about to be. See anything here that makes your heart flutter? Let me know in the comments.
The Big Idea: Greg Van Eekhout
Posted on June 10, 2014 17 Comments
Los Angeles is often seen as a magical city, but it’s never been magical in quite the same way as it is in California Bones, the latest novel by Greg Van Eekhout. Here it’s dark and noirish and sinister in all the good ways — and yes, before you ask, not only did I like […]
Oh Boy! Travel!
Posted on June 9, 2014 11 Comments
Wending my way back to Ohio. See you folks on the other side.
My Bit of the Paul & Storm Concert, Recorded
Posted on June 8, 2014 7 Comments
YouTube user TransMatrix recorded me doing my comedy bit at the Paul and Storm concert on Friday, which includes me wandering about stage for a while, and then doing a skit with Amber Benson. And here it is! Enjoy. The whole bit is about 40 minutes.
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