Monthly Archives: October 2015
Soda Madness
Posted on October 16, 2015 89 Comments
You may ask: Now that I have a little bit of spare cash lying around, what do I choose to spend it on? The answer: Obscure soda brands! Note the collection of soft drinks above, which I found at the local Rural King store. I may have squeed a little when I saw them on […]
The New Trees
Posted on October 15, 2015 20 Comments
As promised: The new trees, in their new homes.
I and Ana Marie Cox Geek Out About Politics and Science Fiction
Posted on October 15, 2015 6 Comments
Ana Marie Cox is a well-known political wonk type of person (heck, she was the Wonkette, back in the day), but she’s also a fan of science fiction, and also, as it happens, a fellow alum on the University of Chicago, where our tenures overlapped by a year or so. When I was in Minneapolis […]
We’re Installing Trees!
Posted on October 15, 2015 25 Comments
As you may remember, a couple of weeks ago we had to take down a bunch of ash trees in the front of our property because they had been attacked by the emerald ash borer. It was sad for all of us, most especially the trees. Once they were down, however, we didn’t want to […]
And Now, From the 1994 Version of the World Wide Web: A Free Form Essay
Posted on October 14, 2015 38 Comments
As old people do, I was just reminiscing about the very early days of Web, on account of this Atlantic article about the impermanence of the Web, which among other things presented this tidbit of fact: In 1994, there were fewer than 3,000 websites online. By 2014, there were more than 1 billion. Which floored […]
My Thoughts on Nerdcon:Stories
Posted on October 13, 2015 36 Comments
RIP @scalzi. #nerdconstories pic.twitter.com/HPi2KFx0uP — NerdCon: Stories (@nerdconstories) October 13, 2015 I attended Nerdcon:Stories as a featured guest this last weekend, and let me tell you why I think it was one of the best conventions I’ve been to in a while. 1. It was shockingly well-run, especially for a first-time convention. From my point […]
The Big Idea: David Barnett
Posted on October 13, 2015 4 Comments
In today’s Big Idea for Gideon Smith and the Mask of the Ripper, author David Barnett admits to some of the things he doesn’t know… or didn’t, until he started writing this book. DAVID BARNETT: One of the first things you get told as a writer is “write what you know”. Which is a fine […]
This is What Twitter is Made For, 10/12/15
Posted on October 12, 2015 20 Comments
https://twitter.com/DelilahSDawson/status/653692701758627840 @DelilahSDawson DID YOU NOW pic.twitter.com/UFalS27z3Y — John Scalzi (@scalzi) October 12, 2015 https://twitter.com/DelilahSDawson/status/653694415706435585 @DelilahSDawson They say the red curry HAS A BITE TO IT pic.twitter.com/vHuuecHMzT — John Scalzi (@scalzi) October 12, 2015 https://twitter.com/DelilahSDawson/status/653695306945720321 .@DelilahSDawson I'm sure it was a dish FIT FOR A KING. pic.twitter.com/VRv2XujusW — John Scalzi (@scalzi) October 12, 2015 https://twitter.com/DelilahSDawson/status/653696919592652800 .@DelilahSDawson […]
My Annual Moment of Appreciation for WordPress VIP
Posted on October 12, 2015 7 Comments
On October 8, 2008, I switched my blog hosting solution from its previous, sadly buggy and performance-issue-ridden state, to WordPress VIP. In the seven(!) years since, the downtime I’ve experienced on the blog due to technical or backstage issues has been so small that I literally can’t remember a single one longer than fifteen minutes, and […]
Strange Horizons 2015 Fund Drive: Invest in the Future!
Posted on October 12, 2015 4 Comments
As many of you know, I’m fond of Strange Horizons magazine, not in the least (but not only) because it published my very first science fiction story 14 years ago this very week. SH exists largely on a donation-based model, and every year it does a fund drive. We’re in the final week of the […]
Heading Home Soon
Posted on October 11, 2015 2 Comments
I may update again later in the day, but I wouldn’t be constantly hitting refresh if I were you. In the meantime, of course, Twitter.
Minneapolis Sunrise and Sunset, 10/10/15
Posted on October 10, 2015 17 Comments
Minneapolis is lovely. Nerdcon:Stories, which is why I’ve been in town, is lovely. Everything is lovely. Hope things are lovely for you too. Sunrise: Sunset: By the way, these also constitute my “view from a hotel window” shots for this trip. Enjoy.
The Big Idea: Laura Anne Gilman
Posted on October 9, 2015 7 Comments
You can’t always always get what you want — particularly if you’re not precisely sure what that is. In the writing of Silver on the Road, author Laura Anne Gilman had to ask herself what she wanted, and how she was going to go about getting it. LAURA ANNE GILMAN: My big idea? Apparently was […]
The Big Idea: Ctein
Posted on October 8, 2015 40 Comments
What do you do when you have a great idea for a story, but it’s an idea that a little outside your usual remit as a writer? In the case of John Sandford and Ctein and their new novel Saturn Run, you take a tip from the Beatles: You get by with a little […]
Today’s Twitter Tomfoolery
Posted on October 7, 2015 29 Comments
It goes a little something like this. I can not believe that fog got school cancelled today. Amazing. — Athena Scalzi ⭐️ (@AScalzi98) October 7, 2015 @AScalzi98 NOW THE FOG BEARS COME. — John Scalzi (@scalzi) October 7, 2015 @scalzi I SHALL DEFEND THE HOUSE SINCE YOU ARE GONE. — Athena Scalzi ⭐️ (@AScalzi98) October […]
The Big Idea: Kameron Hurley
Posted on October 7, 2015 4 Comments
Hey! Kameron Hurley’s fantastic Worldbreaker series has a new installment, Empire Ascendant! And she’s here to tell you about it! I’ve used up all the exclamation marks I’m allowed for the month now! Here’s Kameron! KAMERON HURLEY: What would you sacrifice, to save everything you’ve ever known or loved? What happens when what you need […]
Sunset, Dog and Cat, 10/6/15
Posted on October 6, 2015 14 Comments
Yes! You get all three! Because you deserve them. Yes you do. Have a good night, folks. See you all tomorrow.
House For Sale: Come Live in Bucolic Splendor!
Posted on October 6, 2015 42 Comments
My mother-in-law has put her old house up for sale, on account that two-and-half acres of lawn and woods is a little much for her to keep up on her lonesome. So: Looking for a place to live in beautiful, bucolic Darke County, Ohio, home of Annie Oakley (and also, me)? This three bedroom, two […]
The Big Idea: Ann Leckie
Posted on October 6, 2015 23 Comments
And now, for Ancillary Mercy, the third book of a trilogy that began with the ridiculously successful Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie ditches the usual “Big Idea” format for something else entirely. And why not! ANN LECKIE: So let’s be real. Ancillary Mercy is the concluding book of a trilogy. Trilogies are often (though of course […]
New Books and ARCs, 10/5/15
Posted on October 5, 2015 36 Comments
I usually post new book/ARCs entries later in the week, but I’m going to be busy later this week, at NYCC and at Nerdcon:Stories, and also I received enough books to do a post today, so: Hey, look! New books and ARCs! If you see anything that interests you, tell us about it in the […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying