Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 76

Back at the Zoo

Went back to the zoo tonight, for a high-energy session by saxophonist/vocalist Grace Kelly.  Here’s a sample of the sort of thing we saw. And here’s Kelly at a previous concert at the Albuquerque zoo.  The video probably isn’t the best showcase of her talents, but it shows you what the venue looks like, the big concert stage in the middle of a duck pond, with little kids dancing by the stage and a huge picnic vibe.

 

Chairman of the Board

A gorilla looking very much the elder statesman, though in fact he’s young.  Viewed at the Twilight ramble, last week.

Tiempo

My summer entertainment has largely consisted of the first series of El Ministerio del Tiempo, a Spanish science fiction series available on Netflix.  (Don’t worry, there are subtitles.) It’s smart, it’s clever, and once you accept its (somewhat ridiculous) premise, it explores that premise thoroughly and plays fair with its audience.   More than that, its avoids all the time travel cliches you might expect from TV writers who aren’t familiar with the vast body of time travel literature. Spai...

Sleepy Kitty

This is not exactly your go-to blog for cute animal pictures, but sometimes even my stony heart has been known to melt. Tonight’s expedition was the Twilight tour at the local zoo, a chance to visit the animals in small groups led by a docent.  I was able to take this picture of a full-grown ocelot sacking out on a tree limb. Photographing the animals was challenging, not because they were either indifferent or in motion (though they were), but because I had to photograph them through wire me...

Final Revised Version

The other night we made our way to the Santa Fe Opera— the only opera I know of that features tailgate parties— for a tailgate dinner and “Candide,” music by Leonard Bernstein, book and lyrics by a rather complex and storied group of collaborators, all inspired (or not) by the short novel by “M. le Docteur Ralph”, which was one of Voltaire’s hundred-odd pen names. All clear so far?  It only gets more complex from here. “Candide” originated not as an opera, but a Broadway show, originally conc...

From the Robophobe

More strange, out-of-context critiques from the Toolbox. “She critiques the god and decides it’s not a good one–maybe 6 out of 10.”
“Your story succeeds in avoiding the Lovecraftian gravity well.”
“I didn’t like the character–she was willing to get rid of her dog in exchange for a robot!”
“The self-aware-robot commercial wars will make the PC-Mac rivalry look like a Sunday brunch.”
“I think I need to clarify my world before I break it.”
“Enough about feelings!”
“This plot reminds me of Shaqu...

Maple Leaf

Happy Canada Day to our friends in the North! Y’all keep up that “peace and good government” thing, okay?

Normal Programming Will Be Resumed Shortly

Taos Toolbox 2018 is over.  I drove Nancy Kress to the airport this morning, then went home, enjoyed the air conditioning for a while, and promptly sacked out. Here’s a photo— actually from last week— of us taking guest speaker Carrie Vaughn out for some of the local cuisine. We didn’t get burned up in a forest fire, and we critiqued about 300,000 words of fiction, delivered 18 lectures, and hosted three guests.  About halfway through this last week I began to feel my mind turning to Cream o’...

Free Accident!

There’s a drawing for free copies of The Accidental War on Goodreads. It’s not like the publisher told me about this.  I found out by, well, accident.

Song of Crit and Fire

Fortunately Melisandre brought us back, at what price I shudder to imagine. Behold the Sardenas Canyon Fire, visible from our nest at Angel Fire. Droughtland’s latest fire is small, but has been burning uncontrolled for several days now.  We have to hope that the name of our refuge, Angel Fire, remains metaphorical rather than literal. I have spent the last week and a half at Taos Toolbox, the master class for writers of science fiction and fantasy.  I’ve been teaching alongside the brilliant...