Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 63

Glacier Had a Baby

Springtime

Here we are, just a few days from Midsummer, and the temperature is 7º Celsius (44 Fahrenheit), with a wicked cold wind.  That’s southeast Iceland for you. This photograph was taken near the pleasant fishing town of Höfn (“Haven,” or “Port” if you like), which is currently suffering from a weird tertiary effect of global warming that I’m guessing no one ever predicted. Behind the great big mountain in the photo is Vatnajökull, the world’s third-largest glacier after Antarctica and Greenland....

Turf

I should make the point that my Iceland posts aren’t made in any particular order, but dictated by what I feel like writing about and how much time I have available. So if you’re familiar with Icelandic geography, you may suspect that I’m teleporting randomly about the landscape.  Whereas to those of you who don’t know Iceland, it won’t matter. What we have here is a turf-roofed house similar to those inhabited by most Icelanders throughout history, a style used well into the 20th century— ex...

Score!

Tölt and Snæfellsjökul

Behold the stratovolcano Snæfellsjökull, used by Jules Verne to send Professor Lidenbrock & Company toward (but not to) the Center of the Earth. Unfortunately M Verne never actually went to Iceland, else he might have learned that Snæfellsjökull’s crater is completely sealed by ice. (Do your research! I tell my students.) Here we see one of Iceland’s celebrated horses performing its singular four-beat gait, the tölt, in which either one or two feet meet the ground at each stride.  (There is n...

The Harp

This is a photo of the Harpa (Harp), Reykjavik’s astounding concert hall.  The irregular glass panels are each colored differently, or are designed to reflect different colors in a changing environment, or both.  At any rate the colors shift and change and move with the environment, and in full daylight (which we don’t see here) the effect is magical. We didn’t get inside, because a visit from the President of Germany, Herr Steinmeier, was under way, and there was a police presence.  This als...

Clews

I am off to an Undisclosed Location for ten days or so, so within this harmless karaoke video I have inserted a few clues as to my destination. And no, I have no plans to kiss any sheep while I’m there. Bæ!

It All Comes Down to Luck

So after forty years earning a living in the creative arts, I have one primary insight to offer: It all comes down to luck. Luck matters more than talent.  I know any number of extremely gifted writers who just had shitty luck, and whose careers failed on takeoff or blew up in midair.  Likewise I know any number of less-than-gifted writers who just wrote the one right book at the right time, and whose career took off.  I know others who basically blundered their way to success— they were neve...

It’s Huge!

My biggest book— both in terms of length and in terms of ebook sales— is now a very, very long audio book! Just in time for filling all those long hours during your summer vacation!

Pop-Up Concert

Tonight we took a short drive up State Highway 314 to attend a baroque concert.  This was by Antigua y Moderna, a group of professional musicians who do pop-up concerts in people’s homes.  So on a mere 48 hours’ notice we drove to a lovely, large passive solar home, partook of snacks and wine, and then sat down to listen to the music.  As befit the occasion, I was dressed with formal elegance— in a vintage aloha shirt. Since attending concerts in Europe I’ve always thought chamber music is he...