Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 25

Chop Chop

Tonight’s dinner, a brined pork chop served with leftover holiday potatoes and Kathy’s ginger-broccoli stir-fry.

Braurian Motion

From Brauron, a relief of Artemis (holding a torch made of bundled reeds) about to receive a group of mortals who intend to sacrifice a bull. Two other goddesses are on the right, but I don’t know their names offhand.

The servant on the far left is carrying a large swathed box on her head, which apparently was used for holding ritual implements. Servants with boxes on their head are common in these reliefs.

Check out the group of arktoi (wild girls) on the left, standing in front o...

Spicy Solution

Turkey posole! Kathy’s solution to the problem of holiday leftovers. Made with green chile from our near-neighbor, Farmer Dan, who was kind enough to deliver it to our door.

Salute

A gin gimlet, consumed in the rolling toast to Greg Bear, 4:21pm 26 November. If you’re on the other side of the Date Line, where it’s still the 26th, by all means raise a glass at the appointed hour.

Tonight’s Crescent Moon

My Best Thanksgiving Story

Some years ago there was a small grocery near the university in Albuquerque. To avoid being crushed by supermarket chains they’d gone upmarket, with gourmet offerings on their shelves next to the Hamburger Helper. One of the things they offered were fresh turkeys on major holidays.

I’d ordered my turkey there for several years and was quite happy with the results. One year I ordered a 12-14 pound bird, and when I came into the store to pick it up, I was told, “Sorry, but a coyote killed yo...

Our Loss

I’ve had an incredibly busy two days, action-packed, and it’s only now that I’m managing to get my head around Greg Bear’s passing. We’ve been friends for about as long as I’ve been in this field, so long that I can’t remember when or where we actually met. We’ve known each other for something like forty years.

My earliest specific memory of Greg wasn’t of our meeting, but of a post-Hugo Award bash. He’d been up for two Hugos that year, for “Hardfought” and for the novella version of ...

No Accident

Celebrating their 25th anniversary and an early Black Friday bash, Audible has the audio book of The Accidental War on sale for $5.99. It’s the first book of the latest Praxis series, and is narrated by the excellent David Drummond.

The sale continues through the 29th. Don’t miss it!

Three Cretan Ladies

Behold a 3500-year-old fresco of three Cretan ladies, found in the palace at Knossos. Except they may not be ladies, they might be goddesses. Or priestesses dressed as the goddesses they served. Or some upper-class women enjoying one another’s company. Archaeology can be complicated that way.

The principle divinity of the Cretans seems to have been female, and very likely she looked and dressed like this, with the long curling hair, the nipped-in waist, the flounced skirts, and bare ...

Beastly Me

This coming Saturday I will be signing, reading, and give an interview at Beastly Books, George R.R. Martin’s bookstore in Albuquerque. My appearance will be from noon till one.

There will be copies of Imperium Restored and Lord Quillifer, both of which came out in 2022, as well other books from my catalog.

Y’all come.