Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 218

Green Leopard Ebook

Hey, have I mentioned that The Green Leopard Plague is available as an ebook? And at a very reasonable price, too!

Untergang II: Enter the Man of Steel

It occurs to me that if you show these parodies in a certain order, they even have a plot.Hearing that Hitler parodies are being removed from YouTube, Stalin makes his move:Hearing that Stalin is moving in on their action, the Hitler parody writers react:And now--- just because I feel like it--- Hitler reacts to the final episode of Lost.

Untergang

As have many of you, I've enjoyed the "Downfall Meme," in which a key scene of the 2004 film Der Untergang ("Downfall") is used to comment on issues of the day.Alas, German movie dinosaur Constantin Film AG is now asserting ownership of these parodies--- which, it has to be said, vastly increased the popularity of their fine if depressing film--- and they are slowly being taken down wherever they

Idiot Plots

Let's say you're a cop. You're in pursuit of a serial killer. The killer knows you're after him and has already trashed your house and tried to murder a member of your family. What do you do?A. Surround your family with guards.B. Get your family out of town and to an undisclosed location where the killer can't find them.C. A and B both. D. Let your family go about their ordinary lives.The

Figures From the Past

As most of you probably know, I began my career as an author of historical fiction. Those books are long out of print and, I assumed, long forgotten.I'm pleased to report that one reader hasn't forgotten. Reader/modeler Dan Thompson has created a miniature of my character Captain Favian Markham, USN, standing on the deck of his captured British frigate Macedonian. The process of creating the

Brokeback Canal

Via Gio, an ad for French cable channel Canal+, featuring a tale of tragic love on Brokeback Mountain.

Premake

Via Gardner, it's the trailer for the 1950 version of The Empire Strikes Back!In 3-Dimension!

Premature Burial

A few days ago, all Twitter was aglow with the information that Harlan Ellison had died.Last night, I received email that Normal Spinrad had died during an operation.As it happens, Harlan is very much alive, and Norman survived his operation perfectly well.So there seems to be a "prankster" working the science fiction social networks. I put "prankster" in quotes because, speaking only for myself

Six Weeks to Under Four Minutes

From Air & Space magazine, a time lapse photograph showing the six weeks' preparation necessary for launching the Discovery cut down to just under four minutes.[via Bob:]

Erased

Via Gio, the winner of the 19th Century Darwin Awards.