Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 241
August 25, 2009
Creamy
I tried to take a picture of tonight's dinner, but the colors came out weird, and the photo seemed the opposite of appetizing. A pity, because it was one of those lingering-on-the-palate type dinners.In honor perhaps of Shah Akbar, I made Mughlai-style chicken, a dish that hails from Andhra Pradesh, renowned for spicy food. This dish, however, is not picante at all, but beautifully seasoned
August 23, 2009
I'm Marvel/I'm DC
You all probably saw this last summer. I didn't, so I'm making you watch it again.
Sadness in Space
A gallery in the New Scientist of unsuccessful or canceled NASA programs. A continuing refrain:With work progressing and the factory mostly completed, Congress refused further funding due to spiralling costs and a slipping schedule.
August 21, 2009
Canadian Scientists Prepare for Zombie Attack
The Canadians remain far ahead of us in the realm of public health. They're preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse. Professor Robert Smith? (the question mark is part of his surname and not a typographical mistake) and colleagues wrote: "We model a zombie attack using biological assumptions based on popular zombie movies. "We introduce a basic model for zombie infection and illustrate the outcome
Bias in the News
Even the Weather Channel!(From Oz)
August 20, 2009
Happy 119th!
Happy Birthday, Howard!!!
More Childhood Nightmates
Another insane cartoon from the Fleischer Studios!Betty Boop kidnaped by cannibals! Bimbo sweats away! KoKo menaced by Giant Floating Louis Armstrong Head! Exploding volcanos! Inappropriate racial stereotypes!The question isn't whether this sort of thing warped me for life. The question is: How did people grow up watching this kind of thing and turn out normal?
Privacy Violations
Five California Facebook users are suing Facebook, claiming that Facebook violated their privacy by allowing them to use Facebook.The list of offenses against the aggrieved is truly egregious. Take the plight of "accomplished actress" [redacted:]. After posting her photos to Facebook, [redacted:] was quite surprised to discover her photos had been posted to Facebook. Outraged, she's charging the
August 19, 2009
Reviews Too Late: Jodhaa Akbar
Jodhaa Akbar (2008) is an epic Bollywood film dealing with the relationship between the Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great (former child star Hrithik Roshan) and his wife Jodhaa Bai (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, known to her fans as The Most Beautiful Woman in the World). What we have here is a chick flick, albeit one with sword fights and enormous battle scenes. We open with a lengthy genealogy of
August 18, 2009
Bimbo's Initiation
"Bimbo's Initiation" scared the dickens out of me when I was little. Maybe it was the spanking. Maybe it was the sex. Maybe it was Betty Boop with spaniel ears.Or maybe it was the notion that Mickey Mouse might push me down a sewer.
