Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 187
February 14, 2012
Death Narrative
You know, I really don't want to notice this kind of thing, but the story's become so ubiquitous, I can't help but see it. So here's what I see.Whitney Houston died a few days ago. Nobody knows why, and the results from the labs won't be in for a month or more. But that hasn't stopped the media from imposing their own narrative on the story. The narrative of another star personality destroyed by the scourge of drugs.It's such a satisfying story. It's completely satisfying to those parts ...
February 13, 2012
Flock of Swans
On 6 May 2o1o, the Flash Crash hit at 2:45pm and the stock market lost 1000 points in only a few minutes, spurred by frantic sell orders from automated trading systems.Because we haven't seen anything as radical as the Flash Crash before or since, it's been assumed that this sort of thing is fairly rare.A new study by Neil Johnson and his cohorts at Florida University shows that flash crashes— "black swan events"— occur more than once a day on average. 18,520 times between 2006 and 2011.They...
February 12, 2012
Monday Monday
Monday's the official release day for The Fourth Wall, the third in my series featuring game designer Dagmar Shaw. Let's party!Of course you should probably buy the book first. If you can't find it at your local bookstore, then it can be purchased at Amazon and B&N, or in ebook formats via Kindle and Nook.Don't just take my word you should buy this book. From a starred review in Booklist: . . . the blending of mystery-thriller, SF, and traditional Hollywood-story elements is hugely...
Straight From the Toolbox!
Some items concerning Taos Toolbox:First, there are still a few places available in the science fiction and fantasy master class taught by Nancy Kress, Daniel Abraham, and myself. If you think you might want to write this sort of thing professionally, then do the professional thing and apply!Toolbox grad Sean Craven is saying nice things about me, and about the workshop, over on his blog. Check it out for a personal view of the workshop, and for a very personal list of his five favorite...
February 9, 2012
Reviews Too Late: Red Cliff
One quick questions: why are films about the Alamo always boring?
I'll leave you to ponder that while I chat about Red Cliff.Red Cliff was the most expensive film ever made in China, and also produced more Asian box office than any film, ever. Originally it was released as two films in 2008-9, a format that is reproduced on DVD as the "International Edition," which gives us the two films on two DVDs for a total run time of 280 minutes. There is also an American cut that runs a mere 148...
I'll leave you to ponder that while I chat about Red Cliff.Red Cliff was the most expensive film ever made in China, and also produced more Asian box office than any film, ever. Originally it was released as two films in 2008-9, a format that is reproduced on DVD as the "International Edition," which gives us the two films on two DVDs for a total run time of 280 minutes. There is also an American cut that runs a mere 148...
February 8, 2012
Robot Overlord 1.0
Want to buy your own robot fighting machine? iRobot (a corporate name that is bound to interest the Asimov estate) will sell you the 710 Warrior for a mere . . . well, I don't actually know the price.The Warrior 710 is a 450-pound tracked robot that is built for versatility and moving stuff around. It will punch through window glass, climb stairs, haul or push large objects, and has a manipulator hand that will reach around corners and still handle 220-pound objects.My guess it will do...
February 6, 2012
Wall Street— Gone Dark?
Just days ago I was mocking the Dodd-Frank financial reforms as overly complex and ineffectual. But now an article in New York suggests that they have, in fact, had a considerable effect on the banking industry. And for the good, if you ask me . . .To comply with the looming regulations, banks have begun stripping themselves of the pistons that powered their profits: leverage and proprietary trading. In the wake of the crash, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs converted to bank holding...
Madonna . . . HIGH PRIESTESS OF SATAN!!!
Enjoyed the Super Bowl halftime show, did you? Bet you didn't know you were WORSHIPING THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS!According to this guy anyway. He starts with the fact that one of Madonna's dancers had angel wings and a harp, and goes right to the obvious conclusion that this is totally Satanic— because Lucifer was an angel and liked music! And then the exposé develops from there, using strict Cartesian reasoning to demonstrate its thesis.The previous post is about Hillary Clinton's satanic...
February 4, 2012
Here. Now. (Or Soon)
February 2, 2012
Sizing Up the Super-PACs
The New York Times has been tracking the donors to the "super-PACS," the grossly-funded organizations which, thanks to our Supreme Court, usually boast more money than the candidates they choose to support.Let's find out who's behind the nation's race to oligarchy, shall we?I'm shocked— shocked!— to discover that Wall Street seems to be backing Mitt Romney this year. You'd almost think he was, I dunno, a rich investment banker or something.This is a switch from 2008, when Wall Street was b...
