Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 247
June 14, 2009
The Revolution, Televised
The revolution will not only be televised, it will be downloaded, remixed, Youtubed, Twittered, and set to a soundtrack by the Moody Blues. (Okay, I couldn't bring myself to link to that last one.)On the unlikely chance that my Iranian revolutionary brethren are checking in at this moment, functioning proxy sites may be found at:128.112.139.28 port 3124 please RT 218.128.112.18:8080
June 13, 2009
Rectified
I have written elsewhere of my experiments with beer-can-up-the-butt chicken. It's tasty, it's ridiculously easy, and it's a lot easier to clean up than if you used your grill's rotisserie attachment. But there are drawbacks as well. It's easy for the chicken to topple over and start a fire or get burned. I'm not sure how healthy it is to eat something that's had a burning hot aluminum object
June 10, 2009
Shortcuts Through the Ghetto
I was reading a fantasy novel the other day, by one of those "widely-acknowledged masters of the genre" we're always hearing about, and the story had a familiar sort of shape.(1) Young woman moves into spooky old house in a small village filled with eccentric relatives and retainers. (2) Spooky things happen. (3) Heroine receives explanation from Local Crone, to-wit: "There are Pixies living in
Planets Found and Lost
News from the World O' Science:We may have seen our first extra-galactic planet. Micro-lensing may have shown that a star in the Andromeda Galaxy has a planet six times the size of Jupiter.The advantage of microlensing is that it works best for more distant objects, so it's ideal for planet hunting in other galaxies. In theory, it should be possible to see Earth-size objects in this way. The
Two More Appearances For Your Pleasure
I seem to be everywhere online these days. First, there's an interview with me on Tor.com, wherein John Joseph Adams and I discuss This Is Not a Game. And next, TINAG is reviewed by Paul Raven on authors-books.com. I feel we should read This Is Not a Game as a genuine hybrid, an effort to take the best bits of the technothriller and the SF novel and combine them into something that can straddle
Extreme Shepherding
Playing Pong with, well, sheep.And doing many other things with sheep, all involving Samsung LEDs.It's a clever viral marketing campaign. But don't let that stop you from enjoying the show.
June 9, 2009
My Book Fixes Computers!
This Is Not a Game can inspire you to fix your computer! Or so Zachdude reports over on My iPC. Getting your computer fixed is clearly one of the side benefits of owning the novel. More benefits will be revealed in time: clearly you need to get your copy now, if you haven't already.
June 8, 2009
Bible-Based Marriage Explained
Wow! Thanks to Mrs. Betty Bowers, I now have a better understanding of Bible-based marriage! (Which is a lot more complicated than I thought.)(Thanks to Peggy Whitmore)
June 7, 2009
Avalé This!
The week's mail brought copies of the new l'Atlante edition of Implied Spaces, translated by our very own Jean-Daniel.The title seems to translate as "Pocket Worlds."Or maybe "Eater of Worlds."It has to be admitted that either meaning would fit the story. I have a feeling the Benjamin Carré artwork isn't going to do sales any harm.
June 5, 2009
Fun With Swine Flu
Where has Walter been this week? I hear you ask. I've been in the mountains above Taos with a bunch of friends, eating well, hanging out, and trying to get the hot tub to work. (Stuck valve now fixed.)All was well until yesterday, when one of our number came down with flu-like symptoms and confined himself to our room. This morning, one more friend began to feel badly, and it had to be
