Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 240

Online and Away

So . . . I'm off to Dragoncon. I'll try to check in with you all, but I may be having too much fun.But since I'm going to be away for a while, I thought I'd leave you with a question. Actually, it's the usual question. How can Walter get more fame and money?I couldn't help but notice that this year's Hugo novel list was tilted toward people with a high online profile. Cory, Charlie, Neil, and

Dragoncon Schedule

Here's my Dragoncon schedule, for those of you who may be attending:Title: Writer's Apocalyptic RoundtableTime: Fri 02:30 pm Location: A601 - A602 - Marriott (Length: 1)Description: Want a chance to corner your favorite apocalyptic writer and ask them a question? Here is your chance to talk to some of the best in the business!Title: World Building: Time: Fri 07:00 pm Location: Manila / Singapore

Reviews Too Late: Defiance

I watched my Netflix copy of Defiance the other night, and thought it would make an interesting comparison with Inglourious Basterds. I mean, here were real Jews, killing real Nazis, as opposed to cartoon Jews killing cartoon Nazis. The Bielski partisans did stuff that really mattered, like saving 1200-odd people from the Holocaust; whereas the Basterds did stuff that wouldn't have mattered

Great Flaming Gas Bags!

Jess Nevins at No Fear of the Future has produced a history of the zeppelin pulps, a subgenre I never knew actually existed. (I thought it was all a joke.) And yes, there really was a magazine called Spicy Zeppelin Stories. The article details a rather unusual collaboration between pulp editor Frank Armer and the U.S. Navy, which wanted to buikl public support for its zeppelin program. (The

Feel The Burn

It makes this New Mexican's heart swell to bursting to know that the successful test today of the new all-American airborne laser assassination weapon was conducted right here in our state!Tremble, evildoers! Someday soon you'll just be walking down the street working out your wicked schemes, and suddenly--- just as in my favorite scenes in the classic film Scanners--- your head will just explode

The New Literacy

From the article by Clive Thompson (thanks to Blake Charlton).As the school year begins, be ready to hear pundits fretting once again about how kids today can't write—and technology is to blame. Facebook encourages narcissistic blabbering, video and PowerPoint have replaced carefully crafted essays, and texting has dehydrated language into "bleak, bald, sad shorthand" (as University College of

Nipple Song

Nothing better to start your day than a fine jumpin' Bollywood video--- this time with handy English subtitles!

Rescission

In response to Ron's post on "Putting it Simply," below, I dug up a statistics on government-run health care. Since most of you probably don't read this blog for the comments on the comments, I thought I'd put them here.In countries with government-run health care, there isn't a man with a gun telling you that you can't get a second opinion. Or a third. Likewise, most countries with government

At This Rate, My Plan for World Domination Will Come to Fruition Even More Quickly!

Mark W. Tiedemann has said some awesomely nice things about This Is Not a Game over on irosf.com.When Williams is good, he is very good—and this is one of his best. He dances across the lines that blur real world and gameplaying with elegance and an acerbic sense of consequences that denies the artificial separation between the two worlds. When games grow large and complex enough, he suggests,

Away

I'm off this weekend for Bubonicon.And if I miss you there, I'll hope to catch you next week at Dragoncon.