Tad Williams's Blog, page 39
December 21, 2010
EVERYBODY'S Colored
17 December 2010
"EVERYBODY'S colored, or else you wouldn't be able to see 'em."
Don Van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart
Rest in Peace, Cap.
I know that some "real" R.E.M. fans aren't crazy about this song, but the hell with 'em. It's a great rainy-day antidote...
R.E.M. - Shiny Happy People (Video)
www.youtube.com (embedding disabled)
My daughter says I am unfairly favoring cow jokes. Hence:
What do you call a fish with no eyes?
Fsh!
New Zealander friends, where were you on this one? This is the kind of stuff I need to know! (Actually, it's just entertainingly weird, but don't hesitate to share...)
Distorted Railway Line | catchrandom
catchrandom.blogspot.com
Because you are such very fine people, here is a very fine XKCD comic.
16 December 2010
Cow joke for the day: One farmer tells another farmer that he had to shoot one of his cows. "Oh, no!" his friend says, "Was it mad?"
"Well," says the first, "it certainly wasn't very happy about it."
December 16, 2010
Have You Had Any DOG FORT Today?
15 December 2010
I was lying in bed last night thinking about Saturday morning cartoons of my youth, but although I can remember most of the ones my younger brothers watched, I can't remember mine. I know I wasted hours on them...so what were they? Is it premature senility or unmemorable cartoons?
14 December 2010
Have you had any DOG FORT today?
If I remember correctly, my first hamster was named "Fancy". He lived in an embalming fluid box. Despite this, he led a fairly long and healthy life (for a hamster.) He died robbing a liquor store. That last part may be a faulty memory — I hit my head several times when I was a child.
December 14, 2010
Sorry for the Dead Monkey
13 December 2010
I have spent much of the afternoon wrestling with the ogre Ikea Flatpack. We have declared a draw for the afternoon, but I think I have him on the run. Tomorrow, I will shove some drawers in him and finish him off.
Sorry for the dead monkey, but you have to see these — especially Squidworm!
Ten Weirdest New Animals of 2010: Editors' Picks
news.nationalgeographic.com
A fish with "hands," a T. Rex leech, and a self-cloning lizard are among National Geographic News's picks for the weirdest new species in 2010.
(via Michael A Ventrella) I don't care what the reason for this is, the fact of it is a shame.
9/11 Health Bill Blocked in Senate
www.nytimes.com
The bill provided medical care for rescue workers and residents of New York City who became ill as a result of breathing in toxic fumes from ground zero.
12 December 2010
Have just taken dear friend (and publisher) to airport for her return trip to NJ, now will take Girl out for some stuff she has to do. Then return home to do some work of my own. My profile picture is an indication of how little Sunday I'm going to have left for Tad fun.
December 12, 2010
Everybody Has His Price
11 December 2010
Is it just me, or does Brit actress Helen Flanagan's outfit not wander over the line from "daring" into "just plain weird"...?
Everybody has his price. Mine is damned low. Go on, make me an offer. I accept! See?
(via Mick Gray.) And thanks to Mick in turn. I'm sharing this so my wife Deborah will be sure to see it. The rest of you will just have to enjoy it too.
Joy Division "Transmission" - Boing Boing
www.boingboing.net
Currently on tour in the US, Joy Division/New Order bassist Peter Hook and his band The Light are performing Joy Division's classic 1979 debut album "Unknown Pleasures" in its entirety. Unfortunately, tonight's show in San Francisco is sold out or I'd be there. Instead, I will dance, dance, dance...
It's not bad enough to have feckless, ill-behaved animals, but they also frequently come into the office at night and force me to converse when I have more important things to do. The skinny cat's favorite band appears to be "Gwar", because he says it over and over. He is an annoying creature.
10 December 2010
"Monday morning feels so bad
Everybody seems to nag me
Comin' Tuesday I feel better
Even my old man looks good
Wednesday just don't go
Thursday goes too slow
I've got Friday on my mind..."
December 10, 2010
Don't Forget to Breathe
9 December 2010
Thanks all for chatting with me. I had to type muy rapido to keep up with y'all. Let's do it again soon.
(In case you were unable to join Tad for the Live Chat, the replay is available on Penguin's site at The Water Cooler. -Ed.)
Just to remind anyone interested: I'll be doing an online chat at this URL...
http://us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/publishersoffice/subcontent/watercooler.html
...in about ten minutes — 9PM, Eastern time, 6 PM Pacific. All questions are welcome. Step into the light, children.
The Video and Radio Network - The Water Cooler - Penguin Group (USA)
us.penguingroup.com
Live Chats with your favorite Penguin Group (USA) authors.
Cow Joke: The devout cowboy lost his favorite Bible while he was mending fences out on the range. Three weeks later, a cow walked up to him carrying the Bible in its mouth. The cowboy couldn't believe his eyes. He took the precious book out of the cow's mouth, raised his eyes heavenward and exclaimed, "It's a miracle!"
"Not really," said the cow. "Your name is written inside the cover."
Was awake in wee-est of wee hours, desperately sleepy, with a story idea unspooling itself and refusing to stop. Ah, well. I hope it will eventually benefit others, because it sure as hell ruined MY night.
I laughed. I'll admit it. I'm a big, fat pushover.
Animals of YouTube sing "Deck the Halls"
www.youtube.com
8 December 2010
Post to Tad's wall from Deborah:
Dear Tad,
I've decided that I want to use your "And Ministers of Grace" in my YEAR'S BEST SF 28 [2010]
— Gardner Dozois
Don't forget to breathe.
7 December 2010
I don't know that I like the new profile. I was hoping it would automatically photoshop my pictures to make me look better. And better dressed.
Okay, if all my Facebook friends send all my other Facebook friends a dollar, we'll all have...hold on, let me figure this...the same amount of money. Shoot. Well, scratch that. Clearly my future is not in pyramid schemes.
Ritual giant reindeer murder — the war on Christmas heats up!
(video embedding disabled)
Rudolph Balloon Christmas Parade Tragedy
www.youtube.com
December 7, 2010
Yes, We Canz Eat the Weak and Wear Ther Skinz
6 December 2010
Normally I only link Fox News in derision, but this is a FASCINATING article. "Game-changer" indeed.
Mystery Surrounds Cyber Missile That Crippled Iran's Nuclear Weapons Ambitions
www.foxnews.com
Stuxnet is an incredibly advanced, undetectable computer worm that took years to construct and was designed to jump from computer to computer until it found the specific, protected control system that it aimed to destroy: Iran's nuclear enrichment program
It must be tough to cover an Elvis Costello song with EC standing right next to you. Fiona not only kills this one, she makes it HERS. Still gives me shivers.
Fiona Apple, Elvis Costello - "I Want You"
www.youtube.com
Screw the hokey-pokey. THIS is what it's REALLY all about.
My new religion
www.youtube.com
5 December 2010
The profilepic, in case you're wondering, is famed evangelist Billy Sunday at the White House. I think he's casting out sin. Or else he's doing his famous Heisman Trophy imitation. Either way, happy Sunday!
4 December 2010
Is there anything that you like for which you WOULDN'T want to see the bloopers reel...?
This guy reminds me of some ex-roommates of mine.
nanaimo fire ,stewart ave
www.youtube.com
All in all a very nice day. Kids were fun, we spent most of the evening doing family stuff, I got some exercise on the basketball court. Can't complain.
What a nice feeling.
3 December 2010
Profile pic in honor of my freezing UK chums: Yes, We Canz Eat the Weak and Wear Ther Skinz.
December 3, 2010
Any Day Without a Zombie Apocalypse
2 December 2010
By the way, anyone recognize my profile pic?
Want a hint?
via Marc Laidlaw: Send the missionaries!
Titan: Nasa scientists discover evidence 'that alien life exists on Saturn's moon'
www.telegraph.co.uk
Evidence that life exists on Titan, one of Saturn's biggest moons, appears to have been uncovered by Nasa scientists.
"Any day without a zombie apocalypse is a good day in my books."
—my Facebook Friend Warren Flynn, on what a weird year 2010 has been.
Everybody in my business (writing, publishing) or interested in my business (reader) should read this article. A very good summation of Where We Are.
Thanks to my agent Matt Bialer for passing this on to me.
Boston Review — Onnesha Roychoudhuri: Books After Amazon
www.bostonreview.net
Has this been a weird year for anyone else? The highs and lows have been quite astounding. Sadly, for most people the effects of the economy have meant more lows than highs. (But around here the Giants made up for a lot.) I think Mercury is in Belgrade or something.
1 December 2010
Rabbit rabbit rabbit.
(And I'm putting my mammals where my mouth is. Observe the profile pic closely.)
Feeling less bruised, but planning to surf the mope a little longer, have a bowl of ice cream and stay up late. Fear me!
30 November 2010
Has had worse evenings, but not without sustaining bruises. Ah, well. It can only get better...
Profile picture: Ask not what the Bubblegum Bear can do for you, rather you should ask what you can do to escape the Bear...
This will give you serious Shatnermares.
YTMND - WUB WUB WUB WUB II: The Wrath of Shatner
wubwub2.ytmnd.com
O3 has just launched. We must never speak of it again, until the day comes to rise and conquer. Or the first two Octomobs are on break and I need coffee and a crumb cake.
November 30, 2010
I Am Now Again a Productive Member of Society
29 November 2010
If the Dalai Lama is reborn into the body of a child each time, do we call that kid the Dalai Larva?
Out of the sick bed, I have rejoined the labor force. I am now again a productive member of society. Huzzah. ARBEIT MACHT MÜDE.
via Jay Rothbell Sheckley: You really need to read this. And pass it along to some sensible conservative friends, too, please. Who cares about arguing over the causes? It's the THING ITSELF we have to deal with.
"Plant plankton are tiny creatures that live in the oceans and carry out a job you and I depend on to stay alive. They produce half the world's oxygen, and suck up planet-warming carbon dioxide. Yet this year, one of the world's most distinguished scientific journals, Nature, revealed that 40 per cent of them have been killed by the warming of the oceans since 1950. Professor Boris Worm, who co-authored the study, said in shock: "I've been trying to think of a biological change that's bigger than this and I can't think of one." That has been the result of less than one degree of warming. Now we are on course for at least three degrees this century. What will happen?"
There Won't Be a Bailout for the Earth | CommonDreams.org
www.commondreams.org
Alas, the biosphere doesn't read Vogue. Nobody thought to tell it that global warming is so 2007. All it knows is three facts. 2010 is globally the hottest year since records began. 2010 is the year humanity's emissions of planet-warming gases reached its highest level ever...
Hovering on the brink of a new octomobilization. The next FB friend will be the last member of Octomob 2, then the one after will be the first of O3. Soon my faithful minions will trample the world! Or at least take up a lot of room on the escalator during peak shopping season!
28 November 2010
I live! After a fashion. I ate toast and I'm sitting in a chair. Believe me, that's Lazarus-level stuff after the way I felt yesterday.
27 November 2010
As you can see from my profile picture, Scott Bakula has been yanked back from the brink of death. Me too. Well, I think I just had some kind of stomach bug, but it felt very death-brinky in the middle of the night. Bleah.
Twenty Five Pounds of Assorted Holiday Foods
26 November 2010
via Cathy Ferry: God getting His drank on.
Large Hadron Collider proves the universe was once a liquid
io9.com
The world's most powerful particle accelerator smashed together lead nuclei at the highest energies possible, creating dense sub-atomic particles that reach temperatures of over ten trillion degrees. Beyond being awesome, this achievement shows the early universe was actually a liquid.
Oh, almost forgot — in honor of that bloated feeling many of us have today, it's Herbie Popnecker, the Fat Fury!
It's good to live in the era of YouTube. Here's one of my psychedelic favorites from the YES precursor, TOMORROW. (It's actually much bouncier than your normal 60s acid-fest.)
Tomorrow - My White Bicycle (1967)
www.youtube.com
This recording was made by the often overlooked group TOMORROW, consisting of the following musicians: Keith West - vocals Steve Howe - guitar John "Junior" Wood - bass John "Twink" Alder - percussion Mark P. Wirtz - keyboard
via Stacey Hale Hankins: Thanks, Stacey. This killed me. Somebody ought to add dialogue.
Crows vs Cat vs Cat Street Fight
www.youtube.com
An action packed thriller! The tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife!
Wait a minute! Who broke into my house while I was innocently sleeping and force-fed me with twenty five pounds of assorted holiday foods?
25 November 2010
Another good one from Taiwanimation News:
Growing Up Palin: Ex-governor and her family become celebrities
www.youtube.com
http://www.nma.tv/ Sarah Palin and her family come a long way since Bristol got knocked up by her teenage boyfriend and Sarah was plucked from obscurity to become the Republican Party's vice presidential candidate. Dancing With the Stars, reality TV, a new book = Sarah Palin as next US president?
Shut up and enjoy your Thanksgiving. Clean your plate. Don't make me come over there.
Before we abandon ourselves to winter completely — Flowers in the Rain. This is a reformed version of The Move, and short interview afterward with Noel Edmonds (and Lulu.) I love those Brummie boys.
The Move - Flowers In The Rain (1984 Performance)
www.youtube.com
Here's Carl Wayne, Roy Wood & others unknown as 'The Move' on TV in 1984. Also includes an interview & some brief 60s news footage. http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/
November 25, 2010
Fiends With Benefits
24 November 2010
Our daughter is horrified by the concept of pitching in to clean up — she believes religiously that she should only have to pick up her own mess.
Oh, she's going to get some surprises when she gets to the grown-up world...
23 November 2010
I offer this freely to anyone who wants a horror comedy title:
"FIENDS WITH BENEFITS".
Don't thank me, just remember me in your will.
via Mia Kleve: See, you CAN get there from here.
MTA offering service to Hogwarts? Magical Harry Potter train line appears on subway sign
www.nydailynews.com
A new symbol has appeared on the 14th Street Union Square subway sign - one that any Harry Potter fan will recognize as a clever nod to the boy wizard's magical world: a maroon circle emblazoned with the mystical number 9 3/4.
Lousy night's sleep, lousy mood, a variety of reasons. Grumble, grumble, grumble. And you smell funny, too. So there.
22 November 2010
You know, Cheetah, since Jane's been spending all her evenings at yoga I've really started to notice how good you're looking lately...
Today seems like a good day to keep an eye peeled for woozles.
