Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 159
June 25, 2013
Textbook: Deep State
A scene from my novel Deep State comes to life as Turkish police shoot down a protestor’s camera drone. Apparently the video was taken on June 11.
Before it was knocked down, the drone managed to capture part of the police assault on Gezi Park. Here it is, complete with absurdly dramatic music. (The actual police assault begins about 4:00.)
It’s clear we’re entering a world where drones aren’t necessarily controlled by the authorities.
Before it was knocked down, the drone managed to capture part of the police assault on Gezi Park. Here it is, complete with absurdly dramatic music. (The actual police assault begins about 4:00.)
It’s clear we’re entering a world where drones aren’t necessarily controlled by the authorities.
Not Easy Being Green
Marvel Comics isn’t content, apparently, with conquering the world of cinema. Now Marvel has its sights set on . . . romance fiction!What in the name of Millie the Model is this? It’s double-barreled chick-lit, in the form of books featuring the romantic adventures of She-Hulk and Rogue.
While I don’t know much about these particular characters, I can nevertheless imagine their romantic lives would be, well, fraught. The average Joe might be wary of ladies who can hulk out and turn into rampag...
June 23, 2013
Glorious Archive
National Geographichas dug through their vast collection of unpublished photographs and made an amazing selection available online.
You gotta wonder why some of these weren’t published in the first place.
June 22, 2013
Science Prison
My sometime student and terrific writer Kim Jollow Zimring has a great idea.
(Inspired, by the way, by the legislator who opined that global warming was caused by wind farms, because the giant turbines stole the cooling breezes.)
She suggested that everyone in this country be sentenced to Science Prison, and that the only way to get out was to pass a test on basic science.
Gotta say, it sounds like a better idea all the time.
(Inspired, by the way, by the legislator who opined that global warming was caused by wind farms, because the giant turbines stole the cooling breezes.)
She suggested that everyone in this country be sentenced to Science Prison, and that the only way to get out was to pass a test on basic science.
Gotta say, it sounds like a better idea all the time.
June 19, 2013
ACE
This coming weekend I’ll be at ACE, the Albuquerque Comics Expo, where I will be sharing the Convention Center with Neal Adams, Claudia Wells, Dean Stockwell, Nicholas Brendon, Chrissie Zullo, Larry Welz, and a host of others.My only program item will be a panel at 1pm, on the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Not exactly my best area of expertise, for all that I’m pleased to be included.
However, not having a lot of programming leaves me a lot more time to meet readers, and so I hope I’ll be seein...
June 17, 2013
Privacy
I’ve been considering the proposition that maybe privacy is a mid- to late-Twentieth Century concept that’s already proving obsolete.
Up until the 20th Century there wasn’t any privacy to be had, unless you were some kind of hermit that lived by himself in the wilderness far away from any civilization. (And even some hermits wouldn’t have had privacy— none of that on a desert pillar, for sure.)
Hunter-gatherers lived in small communities, in caves or huts made of twigs and leaves. No privacy th...
Up until the 20th Century there wasn’t any privacy to be had, unless you were some kind of hermit that lived by himself in the wilderness far away from any civilization. (And even some hermits wouldn’t have had privacy— none of that on a desert pillar, for sure.)
Hunter-gatherers lived in small communities, in caves or huts made of twigs and leaves. No privacy th...
Two Surprises
So, a free election in Iran in which the liberal candidate won.
And in Turkey, the prime minister is threatening to treat demonstrators as terrorists, calling for a new constitution, and threatening to send in the Army.
The world is full of surprises, isn’t it?
And in Turkey, the prime minister is threatening to treat demonstrators as terrorists, calling for a new constitution, and threatening to send in the Army.
The world is full of surprises, isn’t it?
June 14, 2013
Two Good Causes
Hey writers! The Clarion Writers’ Workshop is having their annual write-a-thon beginning June 23. You write, and other folks pledge money depending on how much you write during the six-week period. Everybody benefits, because you get something written, and Clarion earns a few bucks. Check it out!
A few years ago, I attended Launchpad, the science workshop for SF writers, in which I and a score of other writers spent a week learning astronomy from writer-astronomer Mike Brotherton. Launchpad wa...
A few years ago, I attended Launchpad, the science workshop for SF writers, in which I and a score of other writers spent a week learning astronomy from writer-astronomer Mike Brotherton. Launchpad wa...
June 13, 2013
Police State
Recent events, here and in the world, have me thinking about police states, and what they are and how they come about.In Turkey, Prime Minister Erdogan— who has been democratically elected three times— heads a state that is increasingly authoritarian, and he is now depending on police forces to maintain his grip on power. A new draft bill has landed on Erdogan’s desk that gives the Turkish intelligence service,MİT, police powers— except that while the police and the gendarmerie supposedly hav...
June 11, 2013
Deep State (of Depression)
Once again I’m watching scenes from one of my novels play out on television, and once again I’m finding it depressing. Deep Statewas a novel about a revolution against an oppressive Turkish government, and now we get to see that on CNN— and to watch Christine Amanpour try to corner a Turkish official about exactly which “terrorists, radicals, and marginal people” are responsible for the violence. (He had no answer, since it’s perfectly obvious that the overwhelming majority of the violence is...
