Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 251

Little Caps

Because I was in the mood to do something tasty and elaborate, last night I cooked a meal for our friends, Peggy and Kevin. For primi I made capelletti, "little caps," in this case pasta stuffed with chicken, parmesan, parsley, a little nutmeg, and some cream to hold it together. You start with a 2x2-inch square of pasta--- all of which I made myself, the first use of the pasta machine I've

Gummi Bear Surprise

Here's why TSA will soon be banning gummi bears from aircraft!

Mystery Writing Contest

Always wanted to try writing a mystery?New Mexico Tech is offering cash prizes in a mystery writing contest.

Miletos Tristesse

The saddest sights we saw in Turkey were the ruins of Miletos. We saw a lot of lost and abandoned cities. Ephesus, Priene, and Kaunos were all once-thriving port cities stranded inland when their harbors silted up. That's also what happened to Miletos, which is now 10km from the sea. But somehow those other cities weren't sad, and Miletos was. There was the huge Roman-era theater that had

Elegy for Angels and Dogs

I just signed contracts with a French publisher for my novelet "Elegy for Angels and Dogs." This will be printed in an edition of Roger Zelazny's stories. Which is not as strange as it might seem, because the story is a direct sequel to Roger's "The Graveyard Heart." The two were originally paired in a Tor double--- the first Tor doubles were classic SF stories with sequels written by younger

Weird Factoid of the Day

I just found out that while working for Eyre and Spottiswoode--- surely my favourite British publisher, just for the name alone--- Graham Greene edited the first novel of a man better known as a fantasy illustrator:"Greene scrupulously hammers Mervyn Peake for the facetiousness, prolixity, and overwriting in the original manuscript of Titus Groan. Peake, after reeling from the shock, reworked his

The News

Notes from the world:The Army has a problem, in that its soldiers keep getting old and unable to function properly--- just like the rest of us. Unlike the rest of us, the Army has a plan. They're going to use Science to keep their soldiers young for, maybe, ever. A soldier rendered forever young – because of red wine and bald rats? It has the makings of a Jerry Bruckheimer blockbuster, but

Moogaloop

A musical jam from New Orleans to Congo to Moscow. A melodic tribute to the power of the internet.I'm not sure how they cope with the time delay as signals are bounced to HEO and back, but they seem to do it well.There are jam sites, or so I'm told. My Inner Rock Star is complaining that I learned touch typing instead of guitar.(Thanks to Sage Walker)

Pork!

Maybe it's an overreaction to spending three weeks in a Muslim country, but I've been having quite a love affair with the Unutterable Flesh since I've got back.I've grilled pork chops. I've had carne adovada. I've eaten BBQ ribs, and I've enjoyed chorizo.Just now I've finished Julia's recipe for Roti de Porc Grand'Mere, which she doesn't translate as "Grandma's Pork Roast" but as "

Necropolis

Here are pictures of the tombs I promised you. The bottom picture was taken from our hotel room balcony in Dalyan. These are referred to as "Lycian temple tombs," though as it happens these particular tombs are in Caria, and are part of the necropolis of Kaunos, a once-great city whose ruins are now accessible only by water. The Lycians, and I guess the Carians, began building elaborate tombs in