John Joseph Adams's Blog

TV: Interior: Chinatown

Description: Interior Chinatown follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural trying to find his way into the larger story—and along the way discovering secrets about the strange world he inhabits and his family’s buried history.

Starring: Jimmy O. Yang, Chloe Bennet, Lisa Gilroy, Tzi Ma, Archie Kao, Ronny Chieng

Created by: Charles Yu (based on his book)

Network/Streamer: Hulu

My Rating: 8/10 overall; finale 10/10

My Take: Wonderfully weird, meta and fourth-wall-breaking narrative. Jimmy O. Yang, Ronny Chieng, Diana Lin are notably fantastic.

The 2024 Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook Updates

In case y’all don’t know: I love Dungeons & Dragons. Love might not even be a strong enough word.

A lot of D&D players were pretty wary about the 2024 rules updates Wizards of the Coast announced for Dungeons & Dragons. This is not a new edition of the game, but rather a revision of the 5e ruleset. I was more optimistic than wary, particularly because if I didn’t like the new ruleset, the original 5e ruleset is still there to use whenever I want.

That said, I’m very happy with almost all of the changes. There were some changes that seemed kind of pointless, and some nerfs that seemed unnecessary to me, but overall the changes are largely positive. As an editor, I’m a little disappointed that they didn’t clear up some of their spells that are complexly worded and hard to parse in the moment, but they did clarify a lot of rules and made a lot of things seem simpler. The addition of the large glossary of terms in the PHB was very welcome as an easy go-to reference point.

In any case, if you’re a 5e player and you’re on the fence whether or not to buy the 2024 sourcebooks, I highly recommend them. The new books are intended to be backwards compatible with the original 5e rules, so you can even have some characters made with 5e rules and some made with 5.24e rules in the same party. Likewise, if you’re a new player just wanting to start playing, the 2024 books are a great place to start.

BTW: I’m presently doing a TTRPG survey. I did this a couple of years ago about just D&D, but now I wanted to find out about Cypher, Pathfinder, and Tales of the Valiant. If you play any of those things (including D&D), fill it out!

Put your savings in a high-yield savings account

I feel like a chump for not having realized these were a thing until recently, but if you’re like me and were unaware of them (or just haven’t gotten around to getting one), do it without delay. Might as well make your money make more money when you’re not using it for stuff. Check out NerdWallet for a breakdown of the various options. Personally, I really like SoFi, because they give you both a savings and checking account; there are no fees or limits for withdrawing money from your savings, and there are no overdraft fees—so you can leave zero dollars in your not-high-yield SoFi checking account and whenever you use it for payments, SoFi just “overdrafts” from your savings account at no cost.

Red Hot Chili Peppers Drummer Chad Smith Does Drum Sorcery

Drumeo is a site/program that helps you learn how to play drums. But even if you have no interest in learning to play, their YouTube channel is very entertaining, particularly if you’re into metal or heavier rock. They have a great series on there—”X Hears Y For the First Time”—where they get a famous drummer, play them a song they don’t know without the drum track, and then they create their own part.

I always enjoy it, but this one is really something special. Chad Smith doesn’t even listen to the whole song even once—he starts playing along after listening to only the very beginning of the song. And he KILLS IT. It’s really something to behold.

I can’t picture images in my mind

This condition is known as aphantasia, and it’s supposedly extremely uncommon, yet I’ve encountered a lot of creatives who have this condition. A lot of people don’t realize they have it because they think that picturing things in your mind is a kind of metaphor—not that people can literally see images in their mind’s eye. I did an informal poll of creatives on Twitter a while back and got responses mostly at either end of the spectrum—i.e., “can’t see anything in my mind’s eye” to “I can see vivid images as clear and high-fidelity as reality.” Below is a basic test to determine where you fall on the aphantasia spectrum. I’m a 1, alas—though maybe it makes me a better editor, since all I have is the words to evoke the idea of imagery and no actual imagery.

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Sign Up for My Robot Wizard Zombie Crit! Newsletter

Robot Wizard Zombie Crit! is my new newsletter, which will bring you updates about my anthologies and other projects, including Lightspeed and Nightmare. Plus, you’ll get my thoughts about books, short stories, TV and film, roleplaying games, and related subjects. Subscribers will receive Robot Wizard Zombie Crit! Stories: Volume One as a free reward for subscribing. Delivered to your inbox once a week, starting January 2025.

What I’m Watching test

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Aliquam ornare ex sit amet felis tincidunt iaculis sit amet sit amet lectus. Maecenas commodo sodales metus, eu tempor velit auctor nec. Fusce sit amet lobortis dolor. Vivamus elementum condimentum lectus et ullamcorper. Maecenas ac orci sit amet purus efficitur vulputate eu eu felis. Curabitur condimentum tortor risus, elementum fringilla odio iaculis vitae. Mauris viverra lacinia porta. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Pellentesque massa risus, malesuada quis aliquam in, eleifend vel risus. Integer tincidunt dictum lorem. Nam ultricies suscipit purus, et rutrum eros euismod non. Praesent consequat id nibh ut pretium. Pellentesque congue a nisl eu ultrices. Duis in magna felis. Mauris luctus eros sem. Suspendisse tempus tincidunt eros feugiat ultricies.

Nulla fringilla lacus at dui dignissim, nec aliquam eros tincidunt. Sed quis sodales orci. Nulla non neque at nisl egestas consectetur vel a ex. Praesent placerat nunc sed velit placerat fringilla. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Proin pellentesque convallis nulla, vel consequat quam mollis id. Sed vel congue justo, at rutrum eros. Suspendisse tellus nisl, placerat id laoreet non, tempus vel ex. Duis mollis placerat ligula, sit amet tincidunt libero placerat commodo. Etiam convallis finibus ligula, sit amet faucibus lorem pharetra et. Sed sit amet sapien eu magna dapibus mollis. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Donec pulvinar ultricies ex, vitae interdum magna porta vitae. Nunc porta fermentum urna quis porttitor. Suspendisse potenti.

Aliquam velit risus, euismod vulputate gravida vitae, viverra quis nulla. Aliquam ac aliquet odio, sit amet interdum nisl. Suspendisse volutpat est ut sem hendrerit ullamcorper tempus vestibulum sem. Nam ac euismod diam. Phasellus ornare lorem ut augue scelerisque molestie. Cras id porttitor ante. Cras ultrices justo ut viverra semper. Ut vel arcu magna. Maecenas tincidunt consequat pharetra. Pellentesque id vestibulum leo. Nulla facilisi. Vivamus a elit ac ante vulputate porttitor quis vitae nisi. Donec venenatis dignissim arcu ac volutpat.

Nunc pellentesque magna quis purus porta tempus. Donec mattis nunc nisi, a cursus leo aliquet in. Pellentesque vitae nisl est. Duis leo tellus, dignissim id bibendum nec, rutrum nec libero. Nam molestie ultricies leo, imperdiet consequat dui imperdiet et. Sed vitae consectetur sapien. Sed vitae nulla et ipsum sollicitudin porta ac at mi. Proin in elit a ligula volutpat viverra. Mauris urna libero, sollicitudin sit amet risus quis, consequat hendrerit lectus. In porttitor ipsum id mauris porttitor, sed pellentesque felis feugiat. Duis non fringilla ipsum, at tincidunt diam. Phasellus mattis tellus sed magna condimentum accumsan. Aliquam quis nunc a dolor pretium tincidunt nec ac magna. Etiam dapibus metus at felis tincidunt, sed cursus metus rutrum. Duis et est augue. Aliquam posuere lorem at justo molestie dignissim.

Test Post Please Ignore

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla placerat, ex sed fermentum blandit, mi dolor blandit nunc, a commodo arcu felis vel magna. Ut id lectus posuere, viverra magna quis, tristique leo. In aliquam tristique turpis, id tempor nibh vulputate vitae. Sed sit amet auctor lorem. Cras id commodo libero, at elementum augue. Vivamus blandit sodales commodo. Sed id ultricies justo. Aliquam ac vulputate magna, id mollis nisl. Nullam malesuada imperdiet nisl et dictum.

Aliquam ornare ex sit amet felis tincidunt iaculis sit amet sit amet lectus. Maecenas commodo sodales metus, eu tempor velit auctor nec. Fusce sit amet lobortis dolor. Vivamus elementum condimentum lectus et ullamcorper. Maecenas ac orci sit amet purus efficitur vulputate eu eu felis. Curabitur condimentum tortor risus, elementum fringilla odio iaculis vitae. Mauris viverra lacinia porta. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Pellentesque massa risus, malesuada quis aliquam in, eleifend vel risus. Integer tincidunt dictum lorem. Nam ultricies suscipit purus, et rutrum eros euismod non. Praesent consequat id nibh ut pretium. Pellentesque congue a nisl eu ultrices. Duis in magna felis. Mauris luctus eros sem. Suspendisse tempus tincidunt eros feugiat ultricies.

Nulla fringilla lacus at dui dignissim, nec aliquam eros tincidunt. Sed quis sodales orci. Nulla non neque at nisl egestas consectetur vel a ex. Praesent placerat nunc sed velit placerat fringilla. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Proin pellentesque convallis nulla, vel consequat quam mollis id. Sed vel congue justo, at rutrum eros. Suspendisse tellus nisl, placerat id laoreet non, tempus vel ex. Duis mollis placerat ligula, sit amet tincidunt libero placerat commodo. Etiam convallis finibus ligula, sit amet faucibus lorem pharetra et. Sed sit amet sapien eu magna dapibus mollis. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Donec pulvinar ultricies ex, vitae interdum magna porta vitae. Nunc porta fermentum urna quis porttitor. Suspendisse potenti.

Aliquam velit risus, euismod vulputate gravida vitae, viverra quis nulla. Aliquam ac aliquet odio, sit amet interdum nisl. Suspendisse volutpat est ut sem hendrerit ullamcorper tempus vestibulum sem. Nam ac euismod diam. Phasellus ornare lorem ut augue scelerisque molestie. Cras id porttitor ante. Cras ultrices justo ut viverra semper. Ut vel arcu magna. Maecenas tincidunt consequat pharetra. Pellentesque id vestibulum leo. Nulla facilisi. Vivamus a elit ac ante vulputate porttitor quis vitae nisi. Donec venenatis dignissim arcu ac volutpat.

Nunc pellentesque magna quis purus porta tempus. Donec mattis nunc nisi, a cursus leo aliquet in. Pellentesque vitae nisl est. Duis leo tellus, dignissim id bibendum nec, rutrum nec libero. Nam molestie ultricies leo, imperdiet consequat dui imperdiet et. Sed vitae consectetur sapien. Sed vitae nulla et ipsum sollicitudin porta ac at mi. Proin in elit a ligula volutpat viverra. Mauris urna libero, sollicitudin sit amet risus quis, consequat hendrerit lectus. In porttitor ipsum id mauris porttitor, sed pellentesque felis feugiat. Duis non fringilla ipsum, at tincidunt diam. Phasellus mattis tellus sed magna condimentum accumsan. Aliquam quis nunc a dolor pretium tincidunt nec ac magna. Etiam dapibus metus at felis tincidunt, sed cursus metus rutrum. Duis et est augue. Aliquam posuere lorem at justo molestie dignissim.

OUT THERE SCREAMING Awards Roundup

Here’s an update with all of OUT THERE SCREAMING’s award nominations and wins:

Stoker Award: won!Locus Award: won!Shirley Jackson Award: finalistBritish Fantasy Award: won!World Fantasy Award: finalistIgnyte Award: finalist (winner TBD)

Not too shabby!

OUT THERE SCREAMING Hits NYT Bestseller List!

OUT THERE SCREAMING, edited by Jordan Peele (and me!), hit the New York Times bestseller list. That’s a big accomplishment for any book, but is basically unheard of for an anthology, so it’s kind of extra exciting. It debuted at #15!