One reason I love my friend Adam Lipscomb’s blog is because of what he writes about politics — or, rather, the magical way he writes about idiots in politics and religion in America. For example, this post. Go on, read it, it’s short, and it has Pat Robertson, rabid dung beetles, rotted Norway rads, fetid dogshit, and Pat Robertson shitting his own teeth. It’s beautiful. A beautiful imagine for the rationalists of today. Now, skipping to the meat, the point is that Pat Robertson claimed that “they” (them folks in Haiti) made a pact with the devil and that’s why …
Category: GENERAL
And Another Thing… (Clarkesworld Poll)
Those of you who’ve been reading Clarkesworld over the past year may want to participate in the magazine’s 2009 readers’ poll, which is running till the end of January. Along with my short story, “Of Melei, of Ulthar,” there are bunches of other great stories and cover art to vote on too!
Jakarta Blues
No, not blues in the Robert Johnson/Mississippi Fred McDowell/Miles Davis sense. Blue is the color of the cabs you want to take in Jakarta: Blue Bird Taksi (Taxi) are cabs I have found most trustworthy around here. To answer a few questions: yes, I am in an apartment in Jakarta, which I have rented for the months of January and February, the break between fall semester 2009 and spring semester 2010. No, I have not permanently relocated to Jakarta. Yes, I am enjoying the warm weather, though mostly because there are air conditioners all over the place. That said, it’s …
The Beastie Has Landed…
I’m in Jakarta now, and in one piece — despite the insane, once-in-a-century once-in-seventy-years dump of snow we got on the departure day. It took three hours to get to the airport, instead of the usual one and a half, but the trip went well. More later…
Launch Pad Chat (Book Chatter #17)
My Launch Pad classmate Stacey Cochran hosted a live chat about Launch Pad a while back, and I just realized that I haven’t posted the link for those who missed the chat when I mentioned it on Twitter! Plenty of participants joined in, and it’s worth giving it a listen, whether you’re considering applying for the program (I recommend it very highly!) or just curious about what it was like. It was so good to hear so many of their voices — and those who couldn’t make it were definitely missed… You can check out the chat here.
Apex Readers’ Poll and Anthology
Well, the final edit for “The Bodhisattvas” is finally in the can (thanks to Jonathan Strahan for very useful nitpicking and questions), and I’ve been nudged to mention that there’s a reader’s poll over at Apex for the best new fiction piece (“Story of the Year”) of 2009. Tons of good work there, so if you’ve been reading Apex Magazine this year, check out the list, maybe refresh your memory, and vote for what you liked best… which of course is my story, “Cai and Her Ten Thousand Husbands”, right? Right? Speaking of which, the Apex anthology collecting “Cai…” and …
What’s Your Major, Mr. Hippocampus?
A discussion of Steven Pinker in the comments for my last post brought up a memory from grad school, and I thought I’d post it here. I was sitting in the little coffee shop/diner place across from the Second Cup on du Parc, up in the McGill Ghetto in Montreal. It was basically my favorite place for a light meal, and I always had a samosa and a calzone — usually chicken, sometimes beef or veg. This time, I’d met up with my friend Chiraz and we were having coffee and talking. Somehow, I got onto the subject of the …
Six Word Story, Ahem,
Not that I consider this a serious publication, but I figured, if Ernest Hemingway (and a bunch of Wired contributors) could do it, so could I. (Arrogant, I know. Well, actually I figured that if he could do it powerfully, I could do something maybe passable.) The result is, I have a “six-word memoir” coming out in this book. I get a contributor’s copy, but no money, of course. It’s amusing, though I’m not really in the practice of giving away content, really. I am actually not fond of But it is just six words. Since I don’t have any …
Spider & Jeanne Robinson Fundraiser (& Sofanaut Award Shortlist)
So, the crew of the good Starship Sofa are running a fundraiser for Spider and Jeanne Robinson, for the latter is struggling with a pernicious sort of cancer. If you donate, you can have a copy of Lawrence Santoro’s “Lord Dickens’s Declaration” in ebook form, in addition to the free podcast of the story (starting here, continuing here). Yes, I’ve made a contribution, and you should too. Even you godless types, like me, have Newtonmass to celebrate and be thankful for. At the same time, Tony, the captain of the Starship Sofa, also informed me that “Lester Young and the …
Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry
Another belated review for a Librarything freebie book, here. This one is tough for me to post, for reasons I imagine will be obvious… I try not to be too negative when I review books, stories, or other creative work. For one thing, I know what it’s like to have someone slam my work when they clearly haven’t understood it even slightly. I know what it feels like to see someone who doesn’t care either way about me and my work to stand up and dismiss it — online, which makes it harder because any twit can write a nasty …