Monthly Archives: August 2017
The Big Idea: Stella Parks
Posted on August 16, 2017 12 Comments
I’ve eaten Stella Parks‘ desserts, and, oh, man, they are so good. So I’m delighted to give her space today to let her tell you about her debut cookbook BraveTart, which examines and celebrates a branch of America’s culinary tradition Parks thinks is overlooked and underappreciated. Is she right? Read on. STELLA PARKS: When people […]
The Big Idea: Beth Cato
Posted on August 15, 2017 7 Comments
There’s the saying that “those who don’t learn history are doomed to repeat it,” but in order to learn your history, sometimes you have to dig deeper — much deeper — than what is commonly known. This is a fact that has relevance for author Beth Cato and her latest novel Call of Fire. BETH […]
A Poll About Beds
Posted on August 14, 2017 127 Comments
Because I thought about it this weekend while Krissy was away: My answer: I stay on the same side of the bed. I’m not entirely sure why, except out of habit. I’ve never really thought about it until now. You?
Three Views of a Sunset, 8/13/17
Posted on August 13, 2017 3 Comments
These shots were taken roughly fifteen minutes apart from each other. We in Ohio certainly don’t lack for variety in our sunsets, do we. Oh, and just for fun, here’s an old-timey, vaguely creepy sunset take: Yup, that’ll do.
The Moral Shambles That is Our President
Posted on August 13, 2017 154 Comments
Denouncing Nazis and the KKK and violent white supremacists by those names should not be a difficult thing for a president to do, particularly when those groups are the instigators and proximate cause of violence in an American city, and one of their number has rammed his car through a group of counter-protestors, killing one and […]
Hugo Notes 2017
Posted on August 12, 2017 12 Comments
To begin, for informational purposes, the list of 2017 Hugo winners, the document of how the voting went, and the document of what and who got nominated and what just missed the ballot. Got it? Okay! 1. I’m both super pleased with the list of winners and even more pleased that the ballot could have […]
To The Barricades, With Refreshments
Posted on August 12, 2017 43 Comments
This morning on Twitter: You know, when the history of this era is written, I want the record to show I was firmly on the side of "Fuck this fucking Nazi bullshit." — John Scalzi (@scalzi) August 12, 2017 https://twitter.com/tomtomorrow/status/896365333245812736 See you on the barricades. I'll bring snacks. — John Scalzi (@scalzi) August 12, 2017 […]
New Books and ARCs, 8/11/17
Posted on August 11, 2017 27 Comments
The weekend’s rolling in, so here are some new and upcoming books to get excited about. What do you like here? Tell all in the comments!
Twitter Jokes: Punchline First(?)
Posted on August 10, 2017 39 Comments
I note this particular tweet (which, if for some reason you can’t see it, is here), not just because it amuses the crap out of me, although it does, but it because it’s an example of a phenomenon that I think might be unique to Twitter — namely, because of the way Twitter formats pictures […]
Update on the Dragon Awards and Me
Posted on August 10, 2017 60 Comments
First, read this, from Andrew Liptak at the Verge, and make sure you stick around for the M. Night Shyamalan-like twist at the ending, featuring a shocking statement from me! Also, here is the Dragon Awards’ own statement, re: Alison Littlewood departing from the ballot. Read them? Okay, then let’s get to the questions. So, wait, […]
The Big Idea: Kathe Koja
Posted on August 10, 2017 6 Comments
It is sometimes said that someone is a person of their time — which may make you wonder what might happen to that person in different times, and what those times would do that person. Kathe Koja might, anyway, and it’s one of the reasons her novel Christopher Wild exists. KATHE KOJA: Come over here. […]
And Now, The Moment You’ve All Been Waiting For: My Review of Coke Zero Sugar
Posted on August 9, 2017 43 Comments
I’m well-known for being an aficionado of Coke Zero — so much so that I was once given my own weight in the beverage by a science fiction convention — so when Coca-Cola announced it was taking the drink off the market in place of a new, reformulated drink called “Coke Zero Sugar” it was […]
Sadly Appropriate For the Day
Posted on August 8, 2017 37 Comments
Thanks to a dumbass president wetting himself about North Korea and trying to hide it with bluster. Bear in mind I think we’re almost certainly likely to be fine and everyone will climb down from their current state of rhetorical stupidity. On the other hand, having a dumbass for a president is already tiring. On […]
Withdrawing From the Dragon Awards, 2017
Posted on August 7, 2017 1 Comment
Update, 8/10/17: I’ve decided to stay on the ballot. Here’s the reasoning. The other day I announced The Collapsing Empire was a finalist for the Dragon Award in the Best Science Fiction novel category, which was neat. Today, I notified the Dragon Award administrators and let them know I was withdrawing The Collapsing Empire from […]
In Which I Photomanipulate a Picture of Krissy Into a Terrifying Shark-Like Version of Herself
Posted on August 5, 2017 38 Comments
Me (to Krissy): Hey, you know how I have a photo program to even out skin tones and otherwise do some tweaking? Krissy: Yeah. Me: So, I took one of your pictures and ran it through the default setting four or five times and came out with… something terrifying. Krissy: What does that mean? Me: Well, […]
The Collapsing Empire a Finalist for the Dragon Award
Posted on August 5, 2017 13 Comments
Which is an award given out at DragonCon. It’s a finalist in the category of Best Science Fiction Novel, which makes perfect sense, really. Here’s the full ballot (there’s more than a dozen categories), and if you’re inspired to vote in one or more of those categories, here’s how you register to do that. As […]
New Books and ARCs, 8/4/17
Posted on August 4, 2017 14 Comments
We’re trundling toward the weekend, with a nifty stack of new books and ARCs to peruse. See anything here you’d like to put on your own “to be read” stack? Tell us in the comments!
I’ll Be at the National Book Festival the First Weekend of September
Posted on August 4, 2017 7 Comments
Here are all the details for the National Book Festival, and here is my schedule. It’ll be my first time back in the DC area in a while — the last time I was there was in 2012, I think — so I’m excited to be coming back. See you there!
Today in Dogs and Cats Living Together
Posted on August 3, 2017 9 Comments
It’s Daisy and Spice. Enjoy.
Wonder Woman: A Smash, Possibly in Different Ways Than You Think
Posted on August 3, 2017 55 Comments
This next weekend Wonder Woman is very likely to crack the $400 million mark at the domestic box office, which in itself is a significant feat (only 26 other films in the history of cinema have managed it) but is particular good news for the Warner Bros. studio and its DC universe of films, after […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying