Monthly Archives: December 2017
Sunset, 12/31/17
Posted on December 31, 2017 9 Comments
The last sunset of 2017, accessorized with a light pillar (made from sunlight reflecting off ice crystals in the air). Not a bad way to see out the year. Catch you on the other side, folks.
Don’t Live For Your Obituary is Out!
Posted on December 31, 2017 9 Comments
Let’s end 2017 on a high note, shall we: Don’t Live For Your Obituary, my collection of essays about the writing life, is now out, and available both in (increasingly hard to find so hurry if you want it) signed, limited edition hardcover, and (not at all difficult to find!) eBook. The hardcover, as it […]
Daisy, 2007 – 2017
Posted on December 30, 2017 281 Comments
In 2010 our dog Kodi died. Krissy was pretty wrecked about it, and decided that it would be a while before we got a new dog. That lasted a couple of months, until she was somehow cruising a pet adoption site and saw the picture of a two-year-old half labrador, half mastiff named “Daisy.” She immediately […]
New Books and ARCs 12/29/17
Posted on December 29, 2017 31 Comments
Here it is, the final stack of new books and ARCs for 2017. See anything here you’d like to take into the new year with you? Tell us in the comments!
2017 Recap + What’s On Tap For 2018
Posted on December 29, 2017 26 Comments
Sure, 2017 was an unmitigated shitshow in a general sense here in the US and in lots of other parts of the world — but how was it for me? Well, in fact, it was pretty good. In no particular order: 1. The Collapsing Empire came out to great reviews and sales, hit a bunch […]
Sunsets, 2017
Posted on December 28, 2017 12 Comments
First, here’s tonight’s: And a few others from 2017: Good job, sky! A quality year for sunsets to be sure.
2017 Top Ten Whatever Posts + Social Media Stats
Posted on December 28, 2017 24 Comments
It was an interesting year on Whatever, in terms of visitorship. As I noted in early July, visitorship to Whatever — as in people actually clicking through to the front page of the site — has undergone a collapse this year. I speculated as to why at the link, so if you’re interested in that, […]
I Present To You Our Big Holiday Purchase
Posted on December 27, 2017 76 Comments
It’s a wall-mounted heater for our garage. Exciting! Well, okay, not exciting. But it means that no matter the weather (and right now it’s a blistering four degrees Fahrenheit outside), the garage is always above freezing; we run the heater so the overall garage temperature is between 40 and 50 degrees. This means that our […]
2017 Portraiture (Non-Related Edition)
Posted on December 26, 2017 7 Comments
I took a lot of photos this year, including pictures of friends at various events I was at. Here are some of the best of those.
Whatever Best of 2017
Posted on December 24, 2017 8 Comments
Well, this was a year, wasn’t it. I’m not going to be terribly disappointed to see it go. Nevertheless, I got some decent writing out of it here on Whatever. Below, in alphabetical order, you’ll find the pieces I find of special note in 2017. Be aware that I tried to keep the pieces kvetching […]
Google Search Updates Take a Personalized Turn
Posted on December 23, 2017 27 Comments
I had cause to do an ego search on my name yesterday and noticed that when I did, Google popped up a couple of new features on the right-hand column, saying that I could post updates and suggest edits to searches on my name. I haven’t seen news or posts about this new functionality anywhere. […]
19
Posted on December 23, 2017 33 Comments
My kid is pretty great. And she’s 19 today. I hope this year of hers is everything good.
New Books and ARCs, 12/22/17
Posted on December 22, 2017 16 Comments
Just in time for Christmas weekend, this lovely stack of new books and ARCs? Which would you like to see under the tree? Tell us in the comments!
New Books and ARCs, 12/21/17
Posted on December 21, 2017 18 Comments
Happy solstice! To celebrate the longest night of the year (on this side of the globe anyway), I’ve got a very fine stack of new books and ARCs for you to peruse. See anything here you’d spend a long evening with? Tell us all in the comments.
Quick Thoughts on the Google Home Max
Posted on December 21, 2017 28 Comments
Google went and made a big-ass home assistant called the Google Home Max, which boasts two 4.5-inch woofers, and commensurately-sized tweeters and the promise that it would be a) useful like the regular Google Home and b) sound pretty good, for $399. Well, I have a fair number of home assistants in the house now, […]
Please Enjoy the Scalzi Family 2017 Holiday Card
Posted on December 21, 2017 13 Comments
It’s lovely and truly captures the sentiment of the season. Its genesis comes from a bad pun I made on Twitter (“If shrimp had a religious leader, it’d be known as the Prawntiff”) and then art of the Prawntiff being made by @jurijuri. It delighted me so much that I asked her if I could […]
New Books and ARCs, 12/20/17
Posted on December 20, 2017 34 Comments
For your perusing delight, a baker’s dozen of new books and ARCs that have come into the Scalzi Compound. Anything here you’d like to see under the tree this year? Share which it is (or they are) in the comments!
Hey, I Did An “Ask Me Anything” Q&A on Reddit
Posted on December 20, 2017 9 Comments
And you can find it here, if you’re interested in hear me blab on about writing and books and people and the Netflix deal and all that. And if you’re not, I mean, why do you even come here? WELL?!?
Head On Post-Writing Post
Posted on December 19, 2017 36 Comments
Now that I’ve, you know, slept, a few thoughts on Head On (that’s the UK book cover for it, btw): 1. I like it and I think others will like it to. It has everything: Futuristic sports, murder, sex, love, home invasion, shady business people and midnight flights to central Europe. As one must. 2. […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying