Nick Mamatas's Blog, page 30
September 26, 2014
Remember...
When ISIS was supposed to overrun Baghdad, months ago? Whatever happened with that?
Also, the default old-school LJ page is now itself defaulting to Russian...or it did for a moment there.
Also, the default old-school LJ page is now itself defaulting to Russian...or it did for a moment there.
September 23, 2014
So...
The US has now armed and or attacked the opponents of pretty much every major player in Syria.
Ebola continues to run wild.
Someone thought arresting a protestor dressed in a polar bear outfit in front of cameras wouldn't go viral.
My baby has eight teeth.
It is Tuesday.
Feel free to add to this list.
Ebola continues to run wild.
Someone thought arresting a protestor dressed in a polar bear outfit in front of cameras wouldn't go viral.
My baby has eight teeth.
It is Tuesday.
Feel free to add to this list.
September 19, 2014
Story 101
The ebook/print magazine Lamplight, Vol. 3, no. 1, which we could say specializes in a more "quiet" horror, contains my 101st sold short story, "Burning Stones."
"Burning Stones" isn't my 101st published story, as I have several stories contracted and paid for that have yet to be published, and it's not my 101st story because I have several stories currently aging like fine cheese in slush piles here and there, and it isn't my 101st acceptance because several of my stories have been multiply reprinted, but "101st sold" is accurate.
(The 100th sold was "On the Occasion of My Requirement", but that was the new story for The Nickronomicon, so the sale was more of a formality than anything else.)
So, when Oliver was due I began to wonder if I'd write at all differently. The answer is yes, I am. There have been alterations of theme, more families have been showing up, a dollop more autobiography integrated into the work, etc. A lot of these are also the as-yet-unsold slush pile stories as opposed to solicitations, so maybe I am doing everything wrong now.
"Burning Stones" I wrote for Oliver. That is, on the chance that he sees all these books and magazines in the corner and wants to read something of mine at age eight or nine or ten, this is the one I'd give him first. It'll also be useful, I think, if I happen to get hit by a bus and die before he learns to read. What I want to tell him is dumbly obvious to adults, but could be useful for a kid.
It was also an attempt at a Bradburyesque story, which is not my usual speed.
My usual speed.
There are many writers whose work I enjoy or have enjoyed, that I've never tried to emulate, and that despite my ability to do credible pastiches of any number of famous writers. I had no plan to do so with "Burning Stones." This turned out to be what I'd call a Bradburyesque story only after I was doing writing it. Really, it reads more like Bradbury trying to write a story in my mode, and with my concerns, than vice-versa.
There's an allusion to sex and a couple of bad words in the story, but is Oliver's childhood is anything like mine he will have heard it all before by the time he's eight or nine.
Anyway, "Burning Stones." Quiet horror. Light*(dark fantasy). Check it our. Read it to your kid.
"Burning Stones" isn't my 101st published story, as I have several stories contracted and paid for that have yet to be published, and it's not my 101st story because I have several stories currently aging like fine cheese in slush piles here and there, and it isn't my 101st acceptance because several of my stories have been multiply reprinted, but "101st sold" is accurate.
(The 100th sold was "On the Occasion of My Requirement", but that was the new story for The Nickronomicon, so the sale was more of a formality than anything else.)
So, when Oliver was due I began to wonder if I'd write at all differently. The answer is yes, I am. There have been alterations of theme, more families have been showing up, a dollop more autobiography integrated into the work, etc. A lot of these are also the as-yet-unsold slush pile stories as opposed to solicitations, so maybe I am doing everything wrong now.
"Burning Stones" I wrote for Oliver. That is, on the chance that he sees all these books and magazines in the corner and wants to read something of mine at age eight or nine or ten, this is the one I'd give him first. It'll also be useful, I think, if I happen to get hit by a bus and die before he learns to read. What I want to tell him is dumbly obvious to adults, but could be useful for a kid.
It was also an attempt at a Bradburyesque story, which is not my usual speed.
My usual speed.
There are many writers whose work I enjoy or have enjoyed, that I've never tried to emulate, and that despite my ability to do credible pastiches of any number of famous writers. I had no plan to do so with "Burning Stones." This turned out to be what I'd call a Bradburyesque story only after I was doing writing it. Really, it reads more like Bradbury trying to write a story in my mode, and with my concerns, than vice-versa.
There's an allusion to sex and a couple of bad words in the story, but is Oliver's childhood is anything like mine he will have heard it all before by the time he's eight or nine.
Anyway, "Burning Stones." Quiet horror. Light*(dark fantasy). Check it our. Read it to your kid.
And Now You Will Suffer
Last night, when the NO votes had it, many people were saying that the vote was so close that of course Westminster could not ignore the disaffected Scots. In response, I tweeted:
The feeling is that many NO people did not vote for the status quo ante, but for devolution or increased local powers, which were promised in a heartfelt "vow" by the leaders of the three major parties.
Anyway, this morning after the results that showed a nice ten point gap (pre-"vow" polls were showing a 1-4 point spread):
This happens all the time. When you do not win, you lose. You don't win eighty percent or even half. You lose, unless you still have the political initiative to keep making demands. One day, if we keep mentioning this and squirreling away examples, people will even remember.
You can't just ignore the million people who want to leave the country—you have to take revenge upon them!
— Nick Mamatas (@NMamatas) September 19, 2014
The feeling is that many NO people did not vote for the status quo ante, but for devolution or increased local powers, which were promised in a heartfelt "vow" by the leaders of the three major parties.
Anyway, this morning after the results that showed a nice ten point gap (pre-"vow" polls were showing a 1-4 point spread):
This happens all the time. When you do not win, you lose. You don't win eighty percent or even half. You lose, unless you still have the political initiative to keep making demands. One day, if we keep mentioning this and squirreling away examples, people will even remember.
September 18, 2014
Thursday Quick Notes
I, for one, look forward to the destruction of the United Kingdom. YES. The polls are open, so it's a little late to discuss it now, but for the curious I'd recommend this pro-independence site.
Here's a brief Q/A with me, which reads, in part:
How would you describe your career thus far? In five words?
“Oh my God, failed again!”
Facebook's new satire tag has not escaped irony:
Olivia has started a Tumblr about the board books she reads to Oliver. It's called Book Bonding and involves aesthetic review, personal anecdotes (look for appearances by me and Kazzie!), and discussion of child development. (Olivia is a school psychologist.) Check it out and follow her on tumblr. My big contribution was pointing out that Powells.com had an affiliate program hint hint.
Speaking of online bookselling, wonderful things happen to books on amazon.com when they hit twenty-five reviews. Love is the Law has twenty-three. If you've read it and got a kick out of it, why not put up a review? Thanks.
Finally, my time has come. According to the New York Times, dat ass is in this year. Talk about bringing sexy "back", get it, get it?
Here's a brief Q/A with me, which reads, in part:
How would you describe your career thus far? In five words?
“Oh my God, failed again!”
Facebook's new satire tag has not escaped irony:
Olivia has started a Tumblr about the board books she reads to Oliver. It's called Book Bonding and involves aesthetic review, personal anecdotes (look for appearances by me and Kazzie!), and discussion of child development. (Olivia is a school psychologist.) Check it out and follow her on tumblr. My big contribution was pointing out that Powells.com had an affiliate program hint hint.
Speaking of online bookselling, wonderful things happen to books on amazon.com when they hit twenty-five reviews. Love is the Law has twenty-three. If you've read it and got a kick out of it, why not put up a review? Thanks.
Finally, my time has come. According to the New York Times, dat ass is in this year. Talk about bringing sexy "back", get it, get it?
September 16, 2014
Some things to sell you
My latest dayjob anthology Phantasm Japan is in stores now. Our last anthology received a slew of award nominations and reprinted story, and "Mono No Aware" by Ken Liu won the Hugo, so why not get in on the ground floor of this one and buy a copy today? Huh, huh? This one even includes some illustrations in the final novella.
The Under My Roof movie continues with this casting call: Under My Roof
Feature Film | Non-Union | Starts: Nov 11, 2014 | Filming in: San Diego, CA, California, United States Interesting to see that there's no call for "Tessa", a character who appeared in the last draft of the script I saw. She was to be a friend/confidant of Herbie's, and I referred to her as "Herbie's girlfriend." Glad to see she's gone! Herbie needs no-one to confide in!
And speaking of work and of movies, Edge of Tomorrow is now available as digital download. Check it out, and remember, it's Hugo-eligible and Hugo-worthy for next year's Worldcon. Don't let the liberals...uh I mean the racists...uh I mean the not-mes win!
The Under My Roof movie continues with this casting call: Under My Roof
Feature Film | Non-Union | Starts: Nov 11, 2014 | Filming in: San Diego, CA, California, United States Interesting to see that there's no call for "Tessa", a character who appeared in the last draft of the script I saw. She was to be a friend/confidant of Herbie's, and I referred to her as "Herbie's girlfriend." Glad to see she's gone! Herbie needs no-one to confide in!
And speaking of work and of movies, Edge of Tomorrow is now available as digital download. Check it out, and remember, it's Hugo-eligible and Hugo-worthy for next year's Worldcon. Don't let the liberals...uh I mean the racists...uh I mean the not-mes win!
September 13, 2014
September 10, 2014
Sean O'Haire
I just saw the name on the side of my screen, where Facebook runs trending "news" stories, and knew he was dead.
O'Haire was a pro wrestler with some success, but ultimately had nothing to make him stand out. He debuted during the Monday Night Wars when there was more than twenty hours of TV wrestling per week, and looked like just another long-haired bodybuilder. He did briefly have a sort of "mastermind" or jimminy-cricket-in-reverse gimmick, but he just didn't have the charisma to pull it off, and WWE at the time was discontinuing gimmicks and storylines after a month or two:
O'Haire even got some screen time with Roddy Piper, but Piper's star had long since faded, and so nothing rubbed off.
He left wrestling to try fighting for real, and like many wrestlers, found gigs in the "freak show" precincts of MMA and kickboxing. That he made his MMA debut six months after leaving WWE should tell you about how well prepared he was for real combat sports. Here he is losing to an aging and Butterbean in two minutes:
He did better in MMA (4-2) than he did in kickboxing (0-4) but his only victory over a fighter worthy of even a Wikipedia entry was this match against Shungo Oyama:
Sean O Haire vs Shungo Oyama by abbott1
(Go to 6:40 for the action. If you can call it that–O'Haire outweighs Oyama by fifty pounds or so, and Oyama is known more for his spirit than his victories.)
Professional wrestlers are often undisciplined athletes—they're kept "in shape" (i.e., awash in painkillers and fat-blasters and 'roids) by the constant touring. Here's a pic of O'Haire in the ring at one of his kickboxing matches, just a couple of years after leaving wrestling:
Despite the pudgy physique, he was probably healthier on some level than he was here, in WCW circa 2000:
And now he is dead at the age of 43. No known cause yet, but we pretty much know that the cause will either have been suicide, a "heart" problem caused by either painkiller or other drug abuse, or some tragic misadventure worthy of a noir novel.
Another terrible waste.
Update: source reporting suicide.
O'Haire was a pro wrestler with some success, but ultimately had nothing to make him stand out. He debuted during the Monday Night Wars when there was more than twenty hours of TV wrestling per week, and looked like just another long-haired bodybuilder. He did briefly have a sort of "mastermind" or jimminy-cricket-in-reverse gimmick, but he just didn't have the charisma to pull it off, and WWE at the time was discontinuing gimmicks and storylines after a month or two:
O'Haire even got some screen time with Roddy Piper, but Piper's star had long since faded, and so nothing rubbed off.
He left wrestling to try fighting for real, and like many wrestlers, found gigs in the "freak show" precincts of MMA and kickboxing. That he made his MMA debut six months after leaving WWE should tell you about how well prepared he was for real combat sports. Here he is losing to an aging and Butterbean in two minutes:
He did better in MMA (4-2) than he did in kickboxing (0-4) but his only victory over a fighter worthy of even a Wikipedia entry was this match against Shungo Oyama:
Sean O Haire vs Shungo Oyama by abbott1
(Go to 6:40 for the action. If you can call it that–O'Haire outweighs Oyama by fifty pounds or so, and Oyama is known more for his spirit than his victories.)
Professional wrestlers are often undisciplined athletes—they're kept "in shape" (i.e., awash in painkillers and fat-blasters and 'roids) by the constant touring. Here's a pic of O'Haire in the ring at one of his kickboxing matches, just a couple of years after leaving wrestling:
Despite the pudgy physique, he was probably healthier on some level than he was here, in WCW circa 2000:
And now he is dead at the age of 43. No known cause yet, but we pretty much know that the cause will either have been suicide, a "heart" problem caused by either painkiller or other drug abuse, or some tragic misadventure worthy of a noir novel.
Another terrible waste.
Update: source reporting suicide.
September 6, 2014
Tonight
50 Mason Social House
San Francisco
7PM
Readings by me, Joe Clifford,Tom Pitts, Constance Ann Fitzgerald, Michael Paul Gonzales and Travis Richardson!
There will be booze.
September 4, 2014
It's Funny Because It's True
"The fashion magazines are suggesting that women wear clothes that are ‘age appropriate’ … for me that would be a shroud."—Joan Rivers
RIP
RIP
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