Monthly Archives: October 2014
New Books and ARCs, 10/17/14
Posted on October 17, 2014 78 Comments
Lots of books and ARCs this time around. Tell me which of these you crave, down there in the comments.
Reminder: I’m in Chicago Next Tuesday, 10/21, at the Seminary Co-op in Hyde Park, 6pm
Posted on October 16, 2014 9 Comments
Yes, if you’re in or around the University of Chicago — my alma mater — or, heck, just in the city of Chicago in general, come on down and see me. This is the very last official stop of the Lock In tour, and after this I have no more scheduled public appearances until 2015. […]
One Song, Two Takes: “Kiteflyer’s Hill”
Posted on October 16, 2014 8 Comments
My pal (and musician and songwriter) Mark Nevin wrote a song called “Kiteflyer’s Hill” for Eddi Reader, with whom he had been in the band Fairground Attraction, for her solo album Angels and Electricity. He’s recently also done a version of it for his own solo album Beautiful Guitars, which will be out in the […]
The Big Idea: Rajan Khanna
Posted on October 16, 2014 12 Comments
There are many interesting things about Rajan Khanna’s debut novel Falling Sky, but the one that pings my radar is that involves dirigibles, and that (of course!) noted dirigiblist Cory Doctorow plays a key role. Read on to find out how it all connects. RAJAN KHANNA: Like most novels, Falling Sky began with a sentence. It […]
Our New Toy
Posted on October 15, 2014 79 Comments
We’ve been having a pretty good year here at the Scalzi Compound, and we decided to go ahead and splurge on something that Krissy has wanted for a while now. And here it is: A big ol’ hot tub that seats six, and a big ol’ gazebo to cover it. And thus we have become […]
Quick Procedural Note re: Comments and Embeds
Posted on October 15, 2014 20 Comments
Recently WordPress changed something on the backend relating to how comments are handled (not just here, but globally) and as a result urls for images now embed in comments. Well, I’m not a fan of that; images have the potential to send things off the rails pretty quickly. I’m talking to WordPress about pulling it from […]
A Momentary Pause to Appreciate the Beauties of Autumn
Posted on October 15, 2014 21 Comments
Yup. I like where I live. Hope you’re enjoying your day too, wherever you might be.
The Scalzi Gender
Posted on October 14, 2014 194 Comments
First some tweets, and then some commentary. Today's dipshit tweet about me: "someday not far off we will recategorize these left wing scalzi-faced beta pseudo-men as a third gender" — John Scalzi (@scalzi) October 14, 2014 I'LL GET MY OWN GENDER, PEOPLE. I don't know, that seems kinda awesome. — John Scalzi (@scalzi) October 14, […]
The Big Idea: Sophie Littlefield
Posted on October 14, 2014 15 Comments
Uh oh. Now Sophie Littlefield has gone and done it. She has revealed, in her Big Idea piece for her latest novel The Missing Place, what sort of disreputable persons writers truly are! And she does it through a piece of jewelry! SOPHIE LITTLEFIELD: I often wear a small charm on a chain around my […]
My Annual Plug and Appreciation for WordPress VIP
Posted on October 13, 2014 15 Comments
I was traveling on October 8, the official anniversary date, but today works just as well for this: Hey, I’ve been using WordPress’ VIP service to host Whatever for six years now, and it has been consistently great during all that time: The site never goes down, never buckles under traffic or spikes, and on the […]
#PineapplePizzaGate
Posted on October 12, 2014 71 Comments
So, yeah. This was a bunch of fun. AND NOW THIS VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE THAT WILL SHAKE TWITTER — NAY THE WORLD — TO ITS VERY CORE: I have ordered pizza. TO THE BUNKERS PEOPLE — John Scalzi (@scalzi) October 12, 2014 One pizza has cheese and olive. The other has ham and pineapple. YES […]
On Using the “Mute” Button on Twitter
Posted on October 12, 2014 57 Comments
Yesterday I wrote about GamerGate on Twitter quite a bit, which had the effect of flooding my Twitter stream with comments by frothy lads intent on challenging me to single combat via “debate.” In this case (and indeed in most cases), this largely meant running down a cue card full of already-debunked talking points and/or attempting tired […]
My Thoughts This Morning on GamerGate
Posted on October 11, 2014 1 Comment
Actually, the first of these are from last night, in the wake of learning that game developer Brianna Wu was threatened out of her home: Jesus. Brianna Wu is someone I consider a friend. Fuck everyone who thinks GamerGate is anything other than haters shitting on women. — John Scalzi (@scalzi) October 11, 2014 If you […]
A Note on New York Comic Con’s Anti-Harassment Policy
Posted on October 10, 2014 1 Comment
First, you literally cannot miss it — it’s on several human-sized signs right at the entrances to Javits Center (the other side of these signs say “Cosplay is not consent.” Second, the examples are clear and obvious and the policy is not constrained to only the examples — but enough’s there that you get the […]
I’m in Cincinnati on Saturday for Books by the Banks
Posted on October 9, 2014 15 Comments
Also known as the Cincinnati USA Book Festival. I’ll be there from 1pm through 4pm, with an author spotlight session at 2pm in rooms 207/208. I’ll read, answer questions, and juggle flaming sticks. Please note that the “juggle flaming sticks” portion will be contingent on fire code, availability of flammable materials, and me learning how […]
The Big Idea: Mike Allen
Posted on October 9, 2014 12 Comments
It’s not just words that inspire writers. Mike Allen tells us about the things, more ocular than verbal, that got him going, in this Big Idea piece about his short story collection, Unseaming. MIKE ALLEN: It’s all about the visuals, baby. I am not and will never be the sort of writer who generates a […]
Who Is That Masked Man?
Posted on October 8, 2014 23 Comments
Why, it’s me, who along with Naomi Novik, Kevin Avery, Sarah Maclean, Jeffrey Cranor and Kate Leth (who took the photo), wrote humorous erotic fan fiction of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s Watchmen for the Shipwreck show that took place this evening in Brooklyn. And when the, uh, smoke cleared, my erotic fanfiction from the […]
View From the Hotel Window, 10/6/14
Posted on October 7, 2014 6 Comments
New York! The Big Apple! The City of Sin! And so on and so forth. I have made it here (in several senses of the term), so I guess I can make it anywhere. So that’s settled. And the hotel room I’m in is very nice, too; it even has a kitchenette with a fridge […]
The Big Idea: M.A. Larson
Posted on October 7, 2014 18 Comments
The word “princess” has certain connotations in our culture, not all of them that great. Author M.A. Larson is here to talk about some of them, and how they relate to his new novel, Pennyroyal Academy. M.A. LARSON: I didn’t have a daughter yet when I started on the long path from idea to publication. I […]
Two Views of a Very Temporary Look
Posted on October 6, 2014 66 Comments
Having never done it before, I was curious what I would look like with just a mustache. The answer: Strangely like John Goodman! And of course I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make a genuinely terrible picture of myself, so please to enjoy this, which I call “The Worst Police Booking Photo, Ever”: Aaaaand now […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying