Monthly Archives: April 2016
View From a Hotel Window, 4/29/16: Southfield, MI
Posted on April 29, 2016 10 Comments
It has not just a parking lot, but an entire parking garage. And a vaguely Ballard-esque high rise in the background. Don’t forget that. You guys have a great weekend.
This Picture Was Photoshopped
Posted on April 28, 2016 22 Comments
Specifically, I used Photoshop to remove the light switch on the wall directly above Krissy. Because it ruined the composition, that’s why! Man, Photoshop is handy sometimes. In other news, I’m off to Penguicon in a couple hours, where I’ll be doing a reading (with Dave Klecha) and a panel and otherwise just, you know, […]
The May Mostly Hiatus
Posted on April 27, 2016 17 Comments
As a heads up for folks: My May is going to be super busy with things that don’t involve being online, including writing and travel, so that means that I’m planning to spend most of May offline. I’m not closing down Whatever because I’ve scheduled Big Ideas, but content here is likely to be those […]
Four Things About the Hugos, 4/27/16
Posted on April 27, 2016 91 Comments
First off, gaze upon Chuck Tingle’s latest story, above (and for sale here). That’s kind of awesome. Second off, I see some people here and elsewhere swearing they’re going to put anything that was on the Sad/Rabid slates or recommendation lists below “No Award” this year. Bluntly, you’ll be foolish if you do this. As I […]
Dear Cruz, Kasich and Sanders: Guys, It’s Over
Posted on April 27, 2016 135 Comments
I just wrote a much longer piece going over last nights results in detail, but other than the line where I called Ted Cruz “a malignant teratoma with a law degree” it was just boring as hell, so, here’s the shorter version: Hey! Cruz! Kasich! Sanders! You got no shot! Let it go! They won’t, […]
Quick 2016 Hugo Finalist Thoughts (With a Link to Even More Hugo Thoughts)
Posted on April 26, 2016 131 Comments
Thoughts on this year’s Hugo finalists (the list of which you can find here): * First, as part of my new gig at the Los Angeles Times, I wrote an analysis of this year’s ballot there, so head on over there if you want to see it (Note it’s geared toward a general audience, so […]
The Big Idea: Marko Kloos
Posted on April 26, 2016 23 Comments
It’s not often that a highly successful military science fiction series involves me in some way. But here’s Marko Kloos explaining how I was in a small way tangentially a part of the creation of his highly successful military science fiction series, of which Chains of Command is the latest installment. MARKO KLOOS: The first […]
Scammers and Fixed Pots
Posted on April 25, 2016 56 Comments
Lots of news in the last couple of weeks about Amazon Kindle Unlimited scammers, who are creating 3,000-page books filled with mostly garbage because that’s what lets them take advantage of the way Amazon pays authors participating in the KU scheme: Amazon tracks the last page synced and pays out by how far into the […]
Puffball, 4/24/16
Posted on April 24, 2016 30 Comments
I’m occasionally reminded that I don’t know the name of every plant around my house. This is an example: I call this one the “puffball shrub,” because, well, here’s a puffball. I’m sure someone has told me what kind of plant this is. It’s just that the information rolled out of my head after they […]
View From a Hotel Window, 4/22/16: Columbus
Posted on April 22, 2016 8 Comments
Columbus has clouds! My event in Westerville went well, and now I’m kicking back in my hotel room here in Columbus, where tomorrow I’m a featured author at the Ohioana Book Festival. If you’re in the area, come on down. It will be lovely to see you. If you’re not in the area, well, enjoy […]
Off to Westerville and Columbus
Posted on April 22, 2016 3 Comments
I’m heading east today, slightly, to participate in two events: Today, at 1:30 pm. I’m appearing at the Westerville Public Library for a reading and a signing. I’ll be reading not-yet-published material, so if you want new stuff from me, that’s where to go. Then tomorrow I’m at the Ohioana Book Festival all day, where […]
Jesus, 2016, Let Up Already
Posted on April 21, 2016 51 Comments
BREAKING: Publicist: Pop music superstar Prince has died at his home in suburban Minneapolis. — The Associated Press (@AP) April 21, 2016 This is not a good day. Let’s go crazy anyway.
A New York State of Mind
Posted on April 20, 2016 231 Comments
Do I have a couple of thoughts on the New York primary? Why, yes! Yes I do. * Hey, remember when Ted Cruz decided to mock “New York values” back in Iowa, a nicely-coded way for him to say that the God-fearing conservative white people of Iowa could trust him because he wasn’t down with minorities […]
The Big Idea: Paolo Bacigalupi
Posted on April 19, 2016 23 Comments
Paolo Bacigalupi has made a career out of imagining the some of the less pleasant futures that are possible given humanity’s current path, written brilliantly enough to keep you turning the pages even as you realize to your horror he might turn out right about these things. The Water Knife, a hardcover bestseller now releasing […]
Kristine, 4/18/16
Posted on April 18, 2016 88 Comments
It’s her birthday! Please feel free to wish her a happy one.
The First Bumblebee of Spring
Posted on April 17, 2016 13 Comments
The crab apple blossoms this year are a little on the underwhelming side, due to a late freeze killing a fair number of them, but there’s enough for this bumblebee to work with, and she’s working on them indeed, in the late afternoon sun. Hope your weekend was a good one.
Zeus, 4/15/16
Posted on April 15, 2016 29 Comments
Because it’s been a while, and while the Scamperbeasts get most of the photographic attention these days, Zeus is still a mighty beast. Enjoy him in all his majesty. Other than that, for those of us in the US, celebrate that today isn’t tax day (for federal, at least), and that you get the whole […]
Boycotts Are Supposed to Hurt
Posted on April 14, 2016 142 Comments
In North Carolina, the legislature passed an absolutely appalling discriminatory law, and the effect was that companies started rethinking upcoming business in the state and some notable creative folk, including Bruce Springsteen and Sherman Alexie, pulled out of upcoming events. This has prompted articles like this one and this one, where people are making the argument […]
A Slow Week In My Brain
Posted on April 13, 2016 35 Comments
I’m having one of those weeks (so far, anyway) when I sit down to write something here and all I come up with is… meeeeeeeh. Which is to say I don’t feel I have anything of particular interest to say on any particular subject, so I’m unmotivated to try to pretend that I do. Even […]
The Big Idea: Gillian Murray Kendall
Posted on April 12, 2016 1 Comment
Who dares to broach The Book of Forbidden Wisdom? And who dares to write it? Gillian Murray Kendall, who has done the latter, talks about what that book means and represents in the world she’s created for it. GILLIAN MURRAY KENDALL: The evil brother of Lady Angel Montrose interrupts her wedding and threatens her life in order to […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying