Monthly Archives: February 2019
The Limits of My Knowledge, Professionally (and Otherwise)
Posted on February 28, 2019 32 Comments
Someone asked me about “impostor syndrome” today on Twitter, so I linked over to the piece I wrote about it a couple of years back. Not surprisingly, this being Twitter, some folks had criticisms of the piece; one of the most cogent came from Lindsay Ellis, who essayed it in a multitweet thread which begins […]
A Weight Loss Strategy I Can’t In Good Conscience Recommend
Posted on February 28, 2019 39 Comments
It’s called food poisoning! And if you look at the weight chart above, covering this week (I have one of those scales that records my weight every time I step on it), you can probably guess when I had it. I’m here to tell you it wasn’t pleasant. Fortunately it seems to have run its […]
Smudge Shot, Plus Internet Update
Posted on February 26, 2019 26 Comments
First, let’s get you all a kitten picture, stat: Yes, he’s adorable. And an asshole! But also adorable. As most kittens his age are. And yes, he’s still a kitten until at least late April or early May, which would be our best guess for his birthday. Enjoy these last couple months of his kittenish […]
The Big Idea: Brett Frischmann
Posted on February 26, 2019 3 Comments
Author Brett Frischmann wrote a non-fiction book about the consequences of technology. But he wasn’t done with the topic yet, nor it with him — and that’s how his novel Shephard’s Drone came about. Here he is to explain what happened next. BRETT FRISCHMANN: Human beings have special powers. We can imagine things that don’t […]
Today’s Adventures In Internet Connectivity
Posted on February 25, 2019 59 Comments
After more than a month of dealing with substandard (even for me) internet connectivity through CenturyLink, in which my already-slow internet connectivity slowed by a two-thirds, and neither a “repair” nor a new modem did anything to fix it, I decided to try something else. Sprint, as it happens, has an “unlimited” plan that features […]
New Books and ARCs, 2/22/19
Posted on February 22, 2019 21 Comments
Got a big stack of new books and ARCs this week for you to peruse and consider. What here looks like something you’d enjoy? Tell us all in the comments!
Follow Up Oscar Predictions, 2019
Posted on February 22, 2019 11 Comments
When the Oscar nominations came out this year, I did my first-pass guesses as to who and what would take the statuettes home, and noted I would follow-up closer to time, because things change. And this year, yow, did they — A Star Is Born, the film I suspected would take the win, appears to […]
On the Subject of “Hot Takes on Scalzi”
Posted on February 21, 2019 56 Comments
Just posted a Twitter thread I want to save here for posterity, and also for those of you who don’t bother with that particular service. It involves people complaining about me! — 1. So, one of my favorite Hot Takes on Scalzi is the one that goes “I *used* to like Scalzi, but then he […]
The Big Idea: Howard Andrew Jones
Posted on February 21, 2019 7 Comments
In today’s Big Idea, Howard Andrew Jones muses on the nature of heroism, and what it means for his latest novel, For the Killing of Kings. HOWARD ANDREW JONES: I think a lot of us are inspired by heroism before we really know what it is. I still remember tuning into an original Star Trek […]
Smudge Protests Being Woken Up
Posted on February 20, 2019 7 Comments
As he should. Whoever woke you up was a real jerk, Smudge! Don’t worry, he went right back to sleep. As cats do.
Forgotten Books, Remembered (For Now)
Posted on February 19, 2019 16 Comments
I suppose it was inevitable: I discovered a that I am listed as a contributor to a book that I was not aware existed. It’s a 2009 book from the National Geographic Society called The Backyard Guide to the Night Sky, credited to Howard Schneider, and for which I am listed as contributing essays. And […]
The Big Idea: Tina LeCount Myers
Posted on February 19, 2019 2 Comments
In today’s Big Idea, author Tina LeCount Myers discovers that in writing Dreams of the Dark Sky, her conscious was writing one thing, and her unconscious writing something entirely different — and yet, it all came together in the same story. Here’s how. TINA LeCOUNT MYERS: Conscious Me: I wrote a story about invasive vs. […]
Portrait of Athena, February 2019
Posted on February 18, 2019 14 Comments
She came home for the weekend so I was able to grab a few photos of her. This one turned out pretty well. Still writing that thing, so back to it.
I’m Out Until Monday, So, Here, Have Some Flowers
Posted on February 14, 2019 3 Comments
And on Valentine’s Day, too! Awwwwwww. I’m out because I feel like it but also because I have a project to finish. So, unplugging from the Internet to get done. As one sometimes has to do. See you all next week.
Love Death & Robots Trailer
Posted on February 14, 2019 14 Comments
Why would I bring this trailer to your attention? Oh, no reason. No reason at all. Still, you might want to block out some time on March 15 to see the series. Just because. (Note: the above trailer is very noisy and probably NSFW.)
Today In “I Regret Nothing”
Posted on February 14, 2019 51 Comments
Yesterday I reached 160,000 Twitter followers and polled my followership with how they wanted me to celebrate: A preview from an upcoming work, a song, a cat picture or a “burrito.” The burrito won. This is what followed. *** HUMANS OF TWITTER: It is time. Yesterday, having reached 160k Twitter followers, I promised one and […]
The Big Idea: Charlie N. Holmberg
Posted on February 14, 2019 6 Comments
Immortality has been done in fiction, many times. But has it been done like Charlie N. Holmberg does it in Smoke and Summons? Holmberg is here to explain why the immortality found here may be unique after all. CHARLIE N. HOLMBERG: Once upon a time, my agent and editor got together behind my back, schemed, […]
A Ring Around the Moon, 2/13/19
Posted on February 13, 2019 11 Comments
It was big and bright and I had Krissy come out and look at it, and then I tried to take a photo of it with my Nikon, and you can barely see it in this exposure: I also took a photo of it with my Google Pixel with Night Sight on: Now, I should […]
The Big Idea: Charlie Jane Anders
Posted on February 12, 2019 11 Comments
Night follows day, day follows night — or does it? It depends on where you live. And in The City in the Middle of the Night, award-winning author Charlie Jane Anders considers a world where neither follows the other, and everything that entails for her characters and their lives. CHARLIE JANE ANDERS: Five or six […]
In Which Smudge Is Convinced That He Will Get Food From the Dinner Table If He’s Cute Enough While He Reaches For It
Posted on February 11, 2019 22 Comments
Meanwhile, Spice, in the background, knows better.
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying