Monthly Archives: December 2022
Closing Thoughts on 2022 + Thoughts on 2023
Posted on December 31, 2022 22 Comments
2022 is not going to go down as a vintage year in most people’s minds, and reasonably so — to be frank, very few years since 2017 have been exactly what I would call stellar — but it had its moments, both globally and personally. I have already noted my professional year, and on a […]
But Wait, What About the Scalzi Pets?
Posted on December 31, 2022 11 Comments
Some of you were outraged I didn’t post my favorite photos of the pets yesterday along with the humans. That’s because I was going to give them their own post! First, Zeus, who is gone but definitely not forgotten. Next, this adorable two-fer of Sugar and Charlie. They are cuddlebuddies, when Charlie isn’t being a […]
The Scalzis in 2022
Posted on December 30, 2022 10 Comments
We clean up okay. Also, if you’re curious as to which is my favorite picture of me and Krissy together this year, it’s this one: Yup, that’s us! — JS
Whatever Best Of 2022: Athena Edition
Posted on December 29, 2022 11 Comments
Hello, everyone, and welcome to this year’s “Best Of” for my contributions to this site! I didn’t start posting this year until May, so I have slightly less content to choose from in terms of favorite posts of the year, but here’s a few of them: Day 3 of Santa Monica Final Day of Santa […]
My Professional 2022
Posted on December 29, 2022 11 Comments
I mean, it was pretty good, actually! Here’s some of the highlights: The Kaiju Preservation Society: It got three starred reviews in the trades, was a New York Times bestseller in two separate media categories (once for print & ebook, then again for audio), has been optioned for television and has already been an award […]
Some Things I Liked in 2022
Posted on December 28, 2022 29 Comments
As 2022 heads out of the door, here are some things I liked in it, including entertainment, tech, life and other stuff. This is in no particular order: Everything Everywhere All At Once: Yes, I know, me and every other nerd in the world, but look, sometimes the nerds are right. The film is anarchic […]
Behold, the New Computer, Late 2022 Edition
Posted on December 28, 2022 30 Comments
My 2018 vintage desktop was beginning to show its age in various ways, including having an OS I could no longer update and which thus became a non-trivial security hazard, and by requiring increasingly byzantine rituals to open and operate different games and productivity apps. Also, the latest generation of CPUs and GPUs are out, […]
Twenty-Four
Posted on December 27, 2022 46 Comments
My dad stole the title “24” on my actual birthday, so I have to use the words for the numbers, instead. Guess that’s a consequence of not posting my birthday post on my birthday, but let’s not dwell on it. Anyways, I turned 24 a couple days ago (thank you all very much for the birthday wishes), […]
The Worthless Billionaires of 2022
Posted on December 27, 2022 42 Comments
(Photo: The Royal Society, used under Creative Commons. Additional photoediting by me) If I have one wish coming out of 2022, it’s that this is the year — finally — when the myth of the assumed competence and virtue of billionaires is buried in a shallow grave down by the river. 2022 was chock-a-block full […]
In Which Sugar the Cat Accurately Characterizes the Soporific Liminality of the Post-Christmas Week
Posted on December 26, 2022 4 Comments
“I could get up and do something, but… why?” Excellent question, Sugar. Let’s both nap on it and see if we achieve any clarity on the matter. — JS
Whatever Best of 2022
Posted on December 24, 2022 2 Comments
I wouldn’t say 2022 went by quickly, but I will say that I’m still surprised we’re at the end of it. I feel like there should be at least a couple more months to go in the year, because, you know. I had plans. But here we are anyway. And here’s my annual list of […]
24
Posted on December 23, 2022 36 Comments
I’ve told this story before, but it’s worth telling again: When Athena was very small, she didn’t know what day was her birthday, and the way she found out was by us bursting into her bedroom in the morning with a cake and singing “Happy Birthday” to her. Well, she knows when her birthday is […]
New Books and ARCs, 12/23/22
Posted on December 23, 2022 13 Comments
Here it is, the final stack of new books and ARCs for 2022 — and a pretty good one to usher the year out on. What here would like to take with you into 2023? — JS
From 1999: “I Love You, My Pet”
Posted on December 22, 2022 13 Comments
Athena’s 24th birthday is tomorrow (don’t say “happy birthday” in the comments yet, she’s writing a piece tomorrow where the birthday wishes will be more appropriate), and on the occasion of it being the day before her birthday, I thought I would unearth an article I wrote about her in the Washington Post when she […]
A Holiday Gift For You: “End of the Year PR Missives From Scrooge & Marley”
Posted on December 22, 2022 15 Comments
Earlier in the month I promised that if Whatever readers (and others) helped to get the Locus Magazine fundraiser to $75k by the time their fundraiser closed, I would write a Christmas story, and if it got to $85k in the same timeframe, I’d throw in an audio version as well. It hit the $75k […]
A Sincere But Scatterbrained Christmas Card
Posted on December 22, 2022 17 Comments
If for some reason you cannot read it, it says: “I was on deadline and forgot to buy Christmas cards, Please have a wonderful holiday and a tremendous 2023 anyway, Your bestest pal, John Scalzi.” And I mean every word. — JS
This Has Been Earworming Me All Day So Now I’m Giving It You
Posted on December 21, 2022 15 Comments
Don’t worry, for once, the earworm is not painful. Enjoy. — JS
Get Phonky With It
Posted on December 20, 2022 20 Comments
About six months ago, my friend introduced me to a new genre of music called Phonk, and ever since then I’ve been totally obsessed. Today, I want to share some Phonk with you, since it’s my new favorite genre and I think everyone should give it a try. EDM and techno have been my favorite […]
New Release Date For Starter Villain: September 19, 2023
Posted on December 19, 2022 24 Comments
Why the change? Because we can get into more trouble that way. Put it on your calendars, folks. — JS
Process Notes on Starter Villain
Posted on December 19, 2022 41 Comments
As I sometimes do when I finish writing a novel, here are some behind-the-scenes notes on Starter Villain, which I have now completed and which will be available (knocks wood) in August September of 2023. 1. The book took longer to complete than expected because in June I got COVID, and while my physical symptoms […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying