David Erik Nelson's Blog, page 15

Distraction of the Day: Supershape Kaliediscopetronics!

Check out this Supershape visual fidget thingy. Make sure to double-click it; that’s where the fun is.

famous ∧ children’s author ∧ British ⇒ antisemite

From Lewis Carroll’s Symbolic Logic (1896):

POSIT: IF you are a famous children’s author AND you are British THEN you are an antisemite.

(cf. Roald Dahl, J.K. Rowling, this asshat, probably Rudyard Kipling, etc.)

As an aside, the fact that Carroll (who came from a family of high-church Anglicans and took holy orders) wrote #21 tends to give credence to #20: All W.A.S.Ps are unfriendly.

Recommended Watch: WE GOT A DOG (SHORT FILM)

Recommended Read: “What It Feels Like To Die” by Warren Benedetto

“What It Feels Like To Die” by Warren Benedetto

I’m usually against drabble[1]; I’m not against this. Go read it now.

[1] short version: the constraint is uninterestingly arbitrary, and very few authors are up to the limitation; much as “five-minute horror film” almost always translates to “one dumb jump scare,” “drabble” almost always translates to “squandered half-an-idea.”

“Read an Ebook Week 2023” Ends Tomorrow! Don’t miss cheap (and FREE) ebooks!

This sale ends tomorrow—but until then all of my books on Smashwords are still steeply discounted (some down to the low-low price of FREE!) Go check it out, snatch up some deals, and spread the word while you still can!!!

WEIRDEST BOOK: “Tucker Teaches the Clockies to Copulate” (steampunk with a smattering of kinky robots) MOST POPULAR BOOK: “There Was a Crooked Man, He Flipped a Crooked House” (haunted house/cosmic horror novel)FREE BOOK!!! “The New Guys Always Work Overtime” (award-winning time-portal/“take-this-job-and-shove-it” story)

“Read an Ebook Week 2023” Starts Today! Cheap ebooks! Free ebooks!

Starting today all of my books on Smashwords are discounted (some down to the low-low price of FREE!). Go check it out, snatch up some deals, and spread the word!!!

WEIRDEST BOOK: “Tucker Teaches the Clockies to Copulate” (steampunk with a smattering of kinky robots) MOST POPULAR BOOK: “There Was a Crooked Man, He Flipped a Crooked House” (haunted house/cosmic horror novel)FREE BOOK!!! “The New Guys Always Work Overtime” (award-winning time-portal/“take-this-job-and-shove-it” story)

Recommended Listening: Mayfair Watchers Society

I often bounce from a fiction Podcast because I’m a “monster-of-the-week” guy (in the X-Files sense of “Monster-of-the-week” vs “Mythology”), and far too many “serial drama”-style podcasts 1) fall in love with their Mythology arc and 2) the writers (in my humble) just cannot sustain those long, heavy arcs. Listening becomes a chore and strain; I have enough chores, and if I wanted homework I’d go to grad school.

Thus far, Mayfair Watchers Society is delivering the thing I desperately wanted: a monster-a-week, no cast of 1000s to keep track of over years-long lightly scripted arcs. You can pick it up anywhere; Autopsy happened to have been the episode where I resoundingly felt “This is for me!“

Also, love the art!

Enjoy!

Mayfair Watchers Society: “The Autopsy” (Season 1, Ep. 3)

NSFW (but I did learn that Danish pig farmers have remarkably clean boots)

I generically hate TED Talks (because they are, on average, garbage), but I’m sharing this because:

It is hilariously NSFWThere’s something about Mary Roach’s delivery that gives the distinct vibe that she maybe lost a bet and was thus obliged to give this talkI have a middle-schooler’s mentality, at bestThe excerpt of the instructional DVD from the Danish National Committee for Pig Production is truly superb

“Pinball’s Symphony: A Whole New World”

I just love every damned bleep, bloop, reverberant clang, and lady robot sigh in this thing.

“The idea of using the short grunts and groans came to me when I watched people playing the game, the way that people expressed their frustrations or their involvement with the game.”

Suzanne Ciani

ON SALE NOW: This Place Is Best Shunned (A Tor.com Original)

Macmillan has finally released the ebook edition of my story This Place Is Best Shunned (A Tor.com Original) on all platforms. Enjoy!