Jeff VanderMeer's Blog, page 141
June 14, 2009
Weird Tales #353: Jeffrey Ford, Jeff Johnson, Paul Tremblay, and Others
New Weird Tales. My wife Ann is the fiction editor, although you probably already know that. In August she’ll be going to the World SF Convention as a Hugo nominee because of it. Here’s the lineup. I should note there’s some awesome stuff in this issue, but “The Garbacologist” is perhaps the most awesome. It’s a tough call.
FICTION
- “Weiroot” | by Jeffrey Ford
- “The Garbacologist” | by Jeff Johnson
- “Headstones in Your Pocket” | by Paul G. Tremblay
- “Bruise for Bruise” | by Robert Davies
- “Court
Lord Lizard-Skink Is Back!! All Hail the Lizard-Skink…
My friend the lizard-skink, the reincarnation of our cat Pretty Ugly, last seen more than a year ago–he’s back! Well, I think it’s a he. Sexing lizards is not my strong suit. Also, erm, I think it’s the same lizard, but it might be a successor. Don’t know how long these critters live. But it was a thrill to see him near the garage, giving me that tough-guy baleful glance.
Here’re some past entries on him, including lizard mugshots. I still don’t know exactly what he is, but I’m glad he’s around.
Links for a Lazy Sunday
(Stolen from Silence Without. It ain’t no hat, that’s for sure. It ain’t a beard, neither. It might be a cookbook, if you hold it in the right light.)
Well, or a not-so-lazy Sunday. A working Sunday…
A great post on money management from Kristine Kathryn Rusch. So true. I remember how much of my first big advances I blew on stupid things. I still have the thirteen pairs of shoes to prove it. Even now, I am not as smart as I could be on these issues, but I’m learning. The best advice, too, for a f
June 13, 2009
Landscape, Texture, and Detail: Elinor-Klapp Phipps Park
(The road running along the edge of Elinor-Klapp Phipps Park outside of Tallahassee, Florida; this is a long post, so get the heck out while you still can.)
CUE:
Sounds: Cicada firesong, reaving stacatto through the trees, the pinhole chatter of a transmission none of us can understand; recursive bobwhite harmlessly piercing; distant intelligent yarple-yap of coyote (maybe fox?); whirring kung-fu of a dozen different species of grasshopper; nervous rustle of spastic squirrels; hard fall of nuts
Electric Six and Jarvis Cocker: Bringing the Raunch
I went over to the world’s coolest CD store (even though my daughter Erin no longer works there), Vinyl Fever, and sold some CDs, bought some CDs, and even came out ahead in the cash-flow department.
The CDs I bought are, coincidentally, linked by their somewhat raunchy, grind-it-out approach to the music and lyrics. For Electric Six, on I Shall Exterminate Everything Around Me That Restricts Me From Being the Master, this comes naturally–from a disco/funk/garage rock perspective.
(Not everything
June 12, 2009
Kira’s Back: Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid
Kira is back on the thread for the feature I did on Omnivoracious about Joe Nigg’s How to Keep and Raise a Dragon. This post will never, evah die. (Although it appears older comments have disappeared! Fie! I will reverse this foul trend. Er, although if you go to the main post, it appears it cuts off the most recent. I am sorely confused.)
Kira: I have 1,000,000 questions about dragons and now that it is summer vacation i can post to my hearts delight
And a dragon video for your enjoyment…
Oh wait,
June 11, 2009
Paper Tyger’s Juliet Ulman: Editor Extraordinaire
I’ve run an interview/feature on Juliet Ulman at the Omnivoracious book blog. Juliet now runs Paper Tyger, but for over a decade she worked for Bantam Spectra. In the process, she was responsible for editing and publishing a slew of amazing books. She also provided a great U.S./NY publisher home for Veniss Underground, City of Saints & Madmen, and The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases. I always thought she was a great editor, but she was good at the small gra
The Alien Baby in Antarctica
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(More alien baby in Antarctica, general alien baby here…and Henry Kaiser’s penguin tricked out with critter cam and decomposing amphipod-eaten seal head, for good measure.)
A FEW NOTES UPON FINDING A GREEN ALIEN BABY FIGURINE IN A SPECIMEN TRAP AT LONGITUDE ___, LATITUDE ___, ANTARCTICA
Dr. Larry Gilchrist, Ph.D.
To be honest, my first thought as research leader was: I’m not prepared for this. Then the relief poured over me as Dave and Sandra pulled the object free of the trap and I understood it
June 10, 2009
Hot Dutch Couple Kicks Ass with Chaos…
…er, or something like that. It’s late. I’m tired. BUT, “Escober” did a great job answering my questions for an Omnivoracious feature. Check it out. They deserve your attention. Really intelligent stuff. And don’t forget all the cool stuff you can win in the contest the publisher is running…
***
Amazon.com: What’re some of the most unusual reactions you’ve gotten to the books from fans?
Escober: One quite dramatic one that we will never forget was a reader who emailed us to tell us that he recogniz
VanderBear Judging Micro Fiction Contest
I’m judging this Brain Harvest Mega Contest. Er, well, kinda. They’re picking the top 10 and I’m picking the winners from the top 10. I hope I don’t have to demand a recount.
