Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 41

Coolness

While the Northwest U.S. and Canada are suffering under their “heat dome,” with Canada thrice recording an all-time high temperature of 121F, my own neighborhood is experiencing a cold front.

The weekend’s predicted rain in Taos Ski Valley was delayed— I got in two hikes, not one, before the skies opened— but when the rain came it passed through the whole state, in my home town raining more or less continually for 24 hours. After a couple weeks of temperatures hovering around 100F, to...

Havoc x 2

June Havoc harmonizes with June Havoc singing “The Man With the Big Sombrero.”

I keep thinking the sombrero is a metaphor for something, but I can’t imagine what.

June Havoc, it will be remembered, was the younger sister of Gypsy Rose Lee.

Rained Out

I’m in my happy place, which is to say Taos Ski Valley. But Nature is not in tune with my bliss.

We thought a few days in the cool of the mountains would be an antidote to the misery of the 100-degree parched desert of our home, and we were right. We got reservations on the top floor of a Bavarian-style chalet that is proving very comfortable, despite the narrow spiral stair up which we had to haul our bags. (Fortunately Christof, our landlord, was willing and able to help.)

(It shou...

Pata Pata Time

Here’s Miriam Makeba with her biggest hit, “Pata Pata,” as performed on the Ed Sullivan show in 1967 (she’d been singing the song for at least ten years before this). From the quality of the video I suspect it was recorded off someone’s television.

Pata pata was the name of a dance popular in Johannesburg’s shebeens in the 1950s, where one partner would rotate in place while the other crouched and patted her down in the style of a cop patting down a suspect. (I’m guessing the inhabit...

Breaking Through

After weeks of frustration, things are finally getting done. I got the appointment I needed, I located a missing document, the laser printer I ordered a couple months ago is finally being shipped, the tractor got fixed, the hot tub ditto, and (after a couple hours chatting online with stupid robots) I got Comcast to send me a replacement modem for the one that wasn’t working. (Except that it didn’t arrive on the day it was supposed to, but then it’s Comcast, so I wasn’t surprised.)

Quite s...

Having a Day

For Father’s Day here in the States, I post a photo of my dad on a fishing trip taken before I was born. I know it was before my birth because there seems to be the outline of a cigarette pack in his breast pocket— he smoked with a holder, like Roosevelt— but he gave it up when I was born.

He was kind, gentle, smart, and supportive of my eccentric career choices. It’s only fair that he gets a Day every year.

(And can someone explain to me why WordPress is suddenly stretching photo...

The Steel Fortress

A few weeks ago I wrote about my post-COVID lassitude and the difficulty I was experiencing in shoving myself out the door and into the world even after the vaccines had made it safe to do so.

Well, the lassitude is over. Two dinner parties last weekend, three the weekend before. Lots of hanging out. Lots of martial arts. I’m planning trips. Lots of trying to get things accomplished, and usually failing because I can’t seem to get other people to do their work.

I’m as bouncy as I ev...

Taos Toolbox is Back!

Taos Toolbox, the master class for writers of science fiction and fantasy, had been postponed past 2020 due to COVID. It’s now been rescheduled, for September 5-18, 2021.

Until we determine how many of the original players can attend, we will be accepting no new applications. Keep watching this space for more information.

When Dacron Polyester Walked the Earth

I believe the announcer is Don LaFontaine, known as “The Voice of God,” famous for narrating countless film trailers that began, “In a world where . . . ” Since he died, film trailers have almost stopped using narrators entirely. Apparently he couldn’t be replaced

Too Long a Vacation

Since I’m vaccinated and the world is opening up again, I’m busy trying to tick off all the items on my to-do list that were delayed by the pandemic. And I’m not getting a lot of help.

I think that people who have been in lockdown have just forgotten how to do their jobs. The people who were in the trenches for the last year, working their regular jobs in the face of the pandemic, are still as competent as ever they were, but those lucky enough to spend their time at home have just lost th...