Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 170

Hobbitses

So our first day off the boat and we ended up in Middle-Earth. Specifically Hobbiton, the set built by Peter Jackson for his Tolkien-based epics.

Hobbiton is near a town called Matimati, which is remodeling its information center to resemble a twee hobbit house. The Maori carvings inside are now eclipsed by a statue of Gollum and official WETA scale models of Bag End. Poor old Maoris.

It costs $75 for an adult to visit Hobbiton, which is about what y0u’d pay for a day at Disneyland, and at Disn...

Exploding

We have left the Plague Ship of Death, though not without cost (we both have colds). The ship has a few more days of incubating viruses before landing in Sidney— if I were Australia, I’d consider evacuating the east coast.

We are now in New Zealand, which has, umm, really active geology.

Three Firsts

I’ve experienced three firsts in a twenty-four-hour period. I’ve seen the Green Flash, I’ve passed through the debris of an underwater volcano, and I’ve seen a total eclipse (from a ship).

It’s the 24 hours I signed up for, so I’m pretty happy.

The Green Flash first. I’d always heard about it, but never seen it. But now, on a ship full of astronomers, I had a better idea what to look for— I’d been expecting the whole horizon to light up, which does in fact happen rarely, but normally it’s only...

Miss Sadie Thompson, and Others

Greetings from the southernmost town in the United States of America. Which is to say, Pago Pago in American Samoa. Which is in a whole other hemisphere from the rest of the USA, but there you go.
I have had a day ashore, into which I flung myself like one of those starving mariners washed up on an inhabited island.
Do you all remember the Sixties TV show, The Prisoner? Being on a cruise ship is sort of like being a guest in the Village. It’s pleasant and all, but you just . . . can’t . . . lea...

Lava Lava Lava

Lava on the slopes of Mauna Loa, as seen from the sea.

Smoldering

Behold! The smoldering crater at Halema’uma’u on Mauna Loa, which has been in continual eruption for something like thirty years. During the day it produces poison gasses; by night a scarlet glow.
I was taken from Honolulu to the Big Island by the Celebrity cruise ship Millennium, which is now carrying me farther south along with a couple thousand other people.
Walter on a cruise ship? I hear you asking. What in the world is Walter doing on a cruise ship?
My friends have heard me denouncing the...

Ponzu

Today was a day for displaying a complete lack of ambition. I went into the ocean twice, and found that the reef just offshore is more interesting than I’d expected. Most was fairly dead, as I’d anticipated, but there were some pretty soft corals, some hard corals, and anemones, parrot fish, angel fish, and sea cucumber. Plus lots of weeds.
I only bought a couple shirts with me, because I figure I’d buy shirts here. And so I did, at Bailey’s, where you have 15,000 aloha shirts to choose from,...

First Impressions

Well, so far, so good.
Here’s the first view of Waikiki from the hotel balcony. Gotta say it’s a lot prettier in person.
Went walking afterwards, had some Korean street food, bought some wine, watched the sunset. After hours on a plane, there wasn’t much energy for anything else.

Enter the Lab

I’m going to be spending most of Halloween on an airplane, and that means Halloween this year depends on you.
You’regoing to have to be scared for the both of us. Fortunately I can make that easy.
By clicking the video below, you will instantly be transported to the laboratory of the most villainous, insidious mad scientist in the history of mad science itself!
Yes, you will be visiting . . . Doctor Bunsen Honeydew!!!!!

Tropic Thunder

To all my friends out on the East Coast, all under the presumed path of Hurricane Sandy, I’d like to say that my thoughts are with you, your friends, and your family. I’m watching the Weather Channel, which is heavy on actual facts and light on news anchors playing daredevil stunts in 65-knot winds. Still, this looks like the Big One, and I hope y’all are prepared.
I’m sure it will be no comfort at all to hear that, in a couple days, I’ll be having exactly the opposite experience of what you’r...