Monthly Archives: August 2020
My Brain Is Empty So Here’s Some Flower Pictures
Posted on August 31, 2020 26 Comments
Howdy! I hope everyone had a nice weekend, and if you didn’t, I hope the next one is better. I don’t really have a lot going on in my head right now, so I thought I’d share some photos of mine for those of you who don’t have Instagram or don’t follow me (which, no […]
Hey, Remember How I Pester You All About Voting? Guess What! I’m Doing It Again!
Posted on August 31, 2020 60 Comments
Oh, hello there! It’s the last day of August — I know, it only feels like a year since August first — and after this it’s two months and three days until Election Day here in the United States. Here’s what we know about that: * The president and the GOP would be very happy […]
My Top Five Love Death + Robots Episodes
Posted on August 29, 2020 22 Comments
Love Death + Robots came out eighteen months ago on Netflix, so if you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend it. If you don’t know, it’s an eighteen episode anthology of science fiction and fantasy animated shorts. I was so excited for it that I watched it the night it came out, and have […]
Movie Review: Bill & Ted Face the Music
Posted on August 29, 2020 40 Comments
I enjoyed Bill & Ted Face the Music quite a bit, which is utterly unsurprising as I am both Gen-X, i.e., the generation of Bill and/or Ted, and also I used to live in San Dimas, home of Bill and Ted and the town in which almost all of this film takes place (fictionally; it […]
New Books and ARCs, 8/28/20
Posted on August 28, 2020 13 Comments
We’re rounding into the home stretch for August, and here are the new books and ARCs we’re talking along with us as we go. See anything here you’d like to bring into September with you? Share in the comments!
The Public Domain Will Not Make You Popular
Posted on August 28, 2020 94 Comments
Here’s an interesting assertion from the folks at SFFAudio, offered as part of a longer thread which I’ll not link directly to here, mostly because I want to focus on this particular point, but which you may find on their Twitter feed: The reason HEINLEIN isn’t read more today is because almost all his stuff is […]
Sunset Clouds, 8/27/20
Posted on August 27, 2020 7 Comments
Missed the actual sunset, but I think this is an acceptable substitute. Enjoy. — JS
Showcasing My Collection: Enamel Pins, Volume One
Posted on August 27, 2020 27 Comments
Hello, everyone! I hope you’re all having a great Thursday, or whatever day it happens to be when you read this. Today I wanted to share with you something very important to me; my pin collection! However, since I have about eighty pins, I’m just showing you a couple of my favorites today, and save […]
The Big Idea: Liz Williams
Posted on August 27, 2020 15 Comments
Author Liz Williams has spent more than a little amount of time pouring herself into her contemporary fairytale, Comet Weather — more time, in fact, than she ever imagined she might. In today’s Big Idea, join her as she describes what went into crafting this female-led, Somerset-based series, and why it was worth the wait. […]
This Hurricane’s For Real, People
Posted on August 26, 2020 13 Comments
4 PM CDT Wednesday, August 26 Key Messages for Hurricane #Laura: Catastrophic storm surge, destructive winds, and widespread flash flooding expected over portions of southwestern Louisiana and far southeastern Texas. https://t.co/kbOJlOuTbt pic.twitter.com/N8LTiJBgFx — National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 26, 2020 And it’s going to be very very bad when it hits. If you’re in its […]
Sunset, 8/25/20
Posted on August 25, 2020 6 Comments
We’ve had some good ones lately, but this one seems especially evocative. — JS
I Wrote a Deeply Not Good Piece Today, So Rather Than Inflicting It On You, Here’s a Binging With Babish About a Burrito
Posted on August 25, 2020 19 Comments
Seriously, I wrote it, scheduled it, reread it, went ooooooh, nooooo, trashed and deleted it, and now no one will ever know its contents but me. Also, inasmuch as this episode of Binging With Babish is about a burrito, it was on point. Also also, I would totally make this, except without the 2 million […]
Athena Recommends: Fall Guys
Posted on August 25, 2020 7 Comments
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is a game I’ve quickly become obsessed with. Released earlier this month, Fall Guys is the newest and bestest version of a Battle Royale game. It is also the cutest and most colorful game I’ve seen in a while, and I am definitely one for aesthetically pleasing visuals. I mean, the little dudes […]
The Dispatcher Sequel “Murder By Other Means” Available September 10 on Audible Plus
Posted on August 24, 2020 29 Comments
Admit it: were you just not thinking to yourself, “Hey, didn’t Scalzi tell us he wrote a sequel to The Dispatcher? Whatever happened to that?” Here’s what happened to it: It’s called Murder by Other Means, and it’s coming out on Audible in audio first, as an Audible Original and as part of Audible’s new […]
I Was Writing a Piece About Six Months of Quarantine and Annoyed Myself as I Wrote It, So Here’s Zoe Keating Instead
Posted on August 23, 2020 23 Comments
Trust me, you’re getting the better end of the bargain here. Zoe’s amazing. Here’s her site. Go buy some of her music. — JS
Thoughts on Pixel Buds 2: The Buddening
Posted on August 22, 2020 22 Comments
The second generation of the Pixel Buds wireless headphones have been out for a while and I’ve been interested in picking up a pair, since I have the previous iteration and was looking to upgrade. However, I wanted to get them in the Oh-So-Orange color, which only became available this last week (they will match […]
On the Occasion of Ray Bradbury’s 100th Birthday: “Meeting the Wizard”
Posted on August 22, 2020 58 Comments
It’s Ray Bradbury’s 100th birthday today, so to note the day, I’m reposting the essay I wrote about meeting him when I was twelve, which was featured in the Subterranean Press special, expanded edition of The Martian Chronicles. It was written while he was still alive, and I know he read it. It makes me […]
And Now, the Whatever Official Product Solicitation Policy
Posted on August 21, 2020 1 Comment
Inasmuch as Athena wrote today about her experience at a spa, and has also launched an occasional series called Small Business Saturday, in which she talks about a small business whose products she has tried and enjoyed, and because I also review things here from time to time (mostly tech, but other things too), I […]
I Miss Travelling, So Here’s My Attempt at Travel Writing
Posted on August 21, 2020 48 Comments
When I was seventeen, I watched Yuri On Ice; a sports anime about a figure skater from Japan. In this anime, the main character’s parents own an onsen resort, or basically a hot springs/bath house kinda place. You may also have seen one of these in Spirited Away, but just in case you have no idea […]
A Small Cosmetic Note
Posted on August 20, 2020 39 Comments
As most of you have figured out by now, there are currently two writers here at Whatever: Me, John Scalzi, who has been here for a while, and Athena Scalzi, who came on staff as of this month. On RSS/email as well as on the AMP versions of site, the author byline is evident, but […]
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