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| 2009-11-25 04:57 |
| [links] Link salad goes ungently into the unsweet night of surgery |
| Public |
| books, cancer, funny, health, links, madness, personal, photos, politics, reviews, rocket, science |
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A reader reacts to my 2005 novel Rocket Science [ Powell's | Amazon ] — I think they liked it.
Cheryl Morgan reviews Madness of Flowers [ Powell's | Amazon ] — Note the comments section, she's playing an utterly lovely game with a short passage from my book.
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) plunderpuss finishes my medical forms — Hahahah.
joshenglish and Mrs. joshenglish drop by with a lovely parting gift — Hilarious.
SMBC on the topic of lung surgery — An odd resonance in today's comic reading, given where I'm headed this morning.
Nothing to Sneeze At: Doctors' Neckties Seen as Flu Risk — Heh. I knew I was on to something with this whole Hawaiian shirt thing.
APOD with the ice fountains of Enceladus — Wow wow wow.
Hacked E-Mail Is New Fodder for Climate Dispute — Well, this is not good.
Everybody flipflops on the filibuster of judicial nominees — Ah, principled consistency in politics.
?otD: Will you miss me when I'm gone?
11/25/2009 Body movement: n/a (surgery prep) Hours slept: 6.25 This morning's weigh-in: 236.2 Currently reading: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
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| 2009-11-23 05:41 |
| [links] Link salad stares down the barrel of a difficult week |
| Public |
| books, cool, culture, green, links, nature, personal, photos, politics, reviews, science |
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The Torque Control post on my book Green has spawned a fascinating coments section — Go check it out. I'm not saying anything there for obvious reasons, but I'm pleased and a bit amazed at some of the careful consideration of my book going on.
Company Wants To Drill For Whiskey Lost In Arctic — (Via @GreatDismal.)
The Secret World of Naked Snakes — Fun wih nature.
A closeup of Enceladus' icescape — Wow. Wow. Wow.
On the Anniversary of Kennedy's Death, Extremism Lives On — the paranoid strain in the American polity has reasserted itself — that strain which ascribes the worst possible motives to one's political opponents, and where lies abound and violence becomes possible Hello, GOP.
?otD: How manic is your Monday?
11/23/2009 Body movement: 60 minute suburban walk Hours slept: 6.25 This morning's weigh-in: 236.2 (!?) Currently reading: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
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| 2009-11-22 05:31 |
| [links] Link salad hears a high lonesome sound |
| Public |
| art, books, calendula, cool, links, personal, politics, process, religion, reviews, science, stories, videos, writing |
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A bit more on Interzone 225 — With novelette "Bone Island" by calendula_witch and me.
Get Fuzzy on the perils of authorship (again)
The Extraordinary World of Ex Libris Art — (Via Dark Roasted Blend.)
Best Use of Exploitative Tactis — Drawn! with a very strange, short animation. Cool, and vaguely NSFW.
Cassini buzzes Enceladus once again — Mmm, photographic goodness.
Why do we hate? Academics seek answer in new field — (Via Freakonomics Blog.)
JFK nephew barred from communion: report — Mmm, I loves me some separation of Church and State. And what is it about religious people that makes them want to force the rest of society to abide by their particular beliefs?
?otD: Do you feel like you're king of the hill?
11/22/2009 Body movement: 120 minute suburban walk (about to depart) Hours slept: 6.25 This morning's weigh-in: n/a (not yet) Currently reading: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
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| 2009-11-20 05:36 |
| [link] Out on the road today, link salad saw a Black Flag sticker on a Cadillac |
| Public |
| art, books, cool, green, links, nature, personal, photos, reviews, science, stories, weird |
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A reader reacts to Green [ Powell's | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Borders ] — And she likes it...
The Guardian on best science fiction titles — In which I am favorably name checked. And title checked.
Enterprise — Star Trek paintings. Heh. (Via Drawn!.)
Police: Would-be Seattle ninja impaled on fence — "The man was "overconfident in his abilities," and that alcohol likely played a role. Um, yeah. (Thanks to corwynofamber.)
Europa might be teeming with fish — Wow. Just wow.
Underwater river of hydrogen sulphide — Wow.
?otD: What is the little voice inside your head saying?
11/20/2009 Body movement: 60 minute suburban walk Hours slept: 6.0 This morning's weigh-in: 233.2 Currently reading: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
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A reader reacts to Green [ Powell's | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Borders ]
SFWA with a podcast of the Google Books Settlement panel I was on at WFC
The Polish Army in France — WWI poster from Vintagraph.
What the Future May Hold — Bob Herbert on infrastructure. What he said. "Deferred maintenance" is one of the worst ideas our business and political culture ever had.
Thomas Friedman on why it doesn't matter whether or not you believe in global warming — He's right, but I'll add that not believing in global warming is like not believing in evolution or gravity. It's happening regardless of what your wilful blindnesses may tell you.
?otD: Who was she watching, anyway?
11/19/2009 Body movement: 60 minute suburban walk Hours slept: 6.0 This morning's weigh-in: 234.0 Currently reading: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
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| 2009-11-18 05:36 |
| [links] Link salad has its hair pulled back, Wayfarers on |
| Public |
| books, cool, funny, green, health, language, links, personal, photos, process, reviews, weird, writing |
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A fascinating roundup of some (starkly contradictory) reviews of my novel Green [ Powell's | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Borders ]
Fantasy and Fitness: Interviews with Jay Lake and Elizabeth Bear
Get Fuzzy on what writing really is — Plus bonus parts of speech!
Faults "intollerable and euer vndecent" — Language Log is rather funny about 16th century prescriptivism. With primary sources, no less. A must-read for word geeks and grammar geeks.
Hippos biting a crocodile to death — Wow. And yes, this is a violent photo. Nature red of tooth and claw.
PETMAN prototype — A walking robot that approaches the uncanny valley from a different direction. (Thanks to wilyumtx.)
?otD: Where did you leave your heart?
11/18/2009 Body movement: 60 minute urban walk (San Francisco hills!) Hours slept: 6.0 This morning's weigh-in: 233.0 Currently reading: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
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As my cancer surgery approaches, and the indeterminate recovery period, followed by the runup to chemo, I am closing out my commitments. Some have been met, some I am shedding. I'll deliver "The Specific Gravity of Grief" to the requesting editor before surgery next week, and I'll meet my contract commitments on Endurance next spring. Other than that, everything's being cut until I know what my resources are, in terms of time, energy and my ability to write under adverse medical circumstances.
That being said, if I've promised you a story, or I owe you a blurb, a book in the mail or something else, and you have not heard from me already, now would be an excellent time to remind me. (Among other things, stress is rather savagely robbing both my memory and my focus on follow-through.) After early next week, my ability to even pay attention, let alone deliver, will be compromised for a while.
So please, hit me in comments or via email if it looks like I'm not going to do something you're counting on. We'll negotiate from there.
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My largely complete 2009 bibliography, for all your gift giving, award nominating or reading completist needs [ jlake.com | LiveJournal ]
The Curious Threshold For Creativity — A new model of society suggests that we should spend no more than 50 percent of our time being creative. Hmm...
God, the Army, and PTSD — Is religion an obstacle to treatment? Tell me again why faith-based programs are such a good idea?
[Rhode Island Governor] Carcieri vetoes bill allowing partners to plan funerals — That's what I like to see, family values hitting teh gay where it hurts them the most. Hey, conservatives, are you especially proud of this one? This is exactly what you vote for, every time.
Save yourself! — Jihadism as a response to American anti-terror campaigns, and the value of protest. Whatever your politics, this is worth reading.
?otD: What is the name of Orion's dog, anyway?
11/16/2009 Body movement: 60 minute urban walk (San Francisco hills!) Hours slept: 6.25 This morning's weigh-in: 233.5 Currently reading: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
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With the new Nebula Awards rules in place, nominating season is upon us. I thought I'd mention my works this year, highlighting my own favorites, for those interested in considering them. My favorite picks are in bold.
2009 Published Science Fiction:
* "On the Human Plan"; Lone Star Stories; February, 2009 [short story]
* "Rolling Steel: A Pre-Apocalyptic Love Story" (with Shannon Page); Clarkesworld; April, 2009 [short story]
* "To Raise a Mutiny Betwixt Yourselves"; The New Space Opera 2, ed. Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan, Eos, April, 2009 [novelette] [in Sunspin continuity</em>]
"Leopard"; Jim Baen's Universe, June, 2009 [short story]
"Black Heart, White Mourning"; Grant's Pass, ed. Jennifer Brozek and Amanda Pillar, Morrigan Books; August, 2009 [short story]
* "Chain of Stars"; Subterranean, October, 2009 - [novella] [In Mainspring continuity]
"Last Drink Bird Head"; Last Drink Bird Head, ed. Jeff vanderMeer; Ministry of Whimsy Press, October, 2009 [flash]
* Death of a Starship; MonkeyBrain Books, November, 2009 [novel]
2009 Forthcoming Science Fiction:
"Bringing the Future Home"; Global Warming Aftermaths, ed. Eric T. Reynolds, Hadley Rille Books; Fall, 2009 [short story]
"Looking for Truth in a Wild Blue Yonder" (with Ken Scholes); Tor.com, Fall, 2009 [short story]
"The Starship Mechanic" (with Ken Scholes); Tor.com, Fall, 2009 [short story]
2009 Published Fantasy:
* "Golden Pepper"; Flash Fiction Online; February, 2009 [flash]
"The True Secret of Magic", as Joe Edwards; Crime Spells, ed. Martin H. Greenberg and Loren Coleman, DAW; February, 2009 [short story]
"Witness to the Fall"; Crime Spells, ed. Martin H. Greenberg and Loren Coleman, DAW; February, 2009 [short story]
"To Stone" (with Shannon Page); Morrigan eZine, May, 2009 [short story]
* Green; Tor Books, June, 2009 [novel]
"People of Leaf and Branch"; Fantasy; June, 2009 [short story] [in Green continuity]
"Tale of the Poet and the Dog"; Japanese Dreams, ed. Sean Wallace, Prime Books; Summer, 2009 [short story]
"An Elderly Pirate Recalls the Death of Love"; Electric Velocipede Issue 17/18 [short story]
* "Red Dirt Kingdoms"; Realms of Fantasy, October, 2009 [short story]
Madness of Flowers; Night Shade Books, November, 2009 [novel]
2009 Forthcoming Fantasy:
"Bone Island" (with Shannon Page); Interzone, Fall, 2009 [novelette]
"In the Emperor's Garden" (with Shannon Page); Fantasy, Fall, 2009 [short story]
"The Passion of Mother Vajpai" (with Shannon Page); Subterranean, Fall, 2009 [novelette] [in GREEN continuity]
"Shedding Skin; Or How the World Came to Be"; Shimmer (Clockwork Jungle Issue), Fall, 2009 [short story]
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Yesterday was a good day. calendula_witch and I got in a terrific walk up some mondo hills, spent some good quality couple time together, both got writing and reading done, then eventually went out. Our itinerary included Good Vibrations, Borderlands Books, Tacqueria Cancun (one of my favorite Mexican restaurants on the West Coast), and of course, The Make-Out Room for Writers With Drinks. Borderlands Books produced some unexpected bonus in running into Greg and Astrid Bear. I also got a phone call on the store phone, from sdn, which was surprising but fun.
We ran into Kat Richardson on the sidewalk, who was killing time before reading at Writers With Drinks, so we pulled her along. Once there we met up with maryrobinette (another reader) and Mr. maryrobinette, along with two friends of calendula_witch's. Afterwards, out with the WWD crew for crepes and fries at Frjtz. Whoever thought of putting truffle oil on french fries ought to be sanctified.
After WWD, we wound up talking to blakecharlton and therinth quite a bit. Blake's a medical student with both a personal and professional interest in cancer, Erin is a nurse. They had a lot to say, especially Blake, which was very helpful to me in my ongoing process of sorting my perspectives on my cancer, its recurrence, and my fears both rational and irrational. One thing Blake talked about was the survivorship community. The point he made, in reference to a close family member who'd survived a very bad experience with cancer (much worse than mine looks to be, frankly), was that there were conversations that Blake could not have with his loved one. There's a shared experience and an emotional vernacular which cancer survivors only find in other cancer survivors.
This of course made all kinds of sense. You see the same phenomenon in veterans, law enforcement, survivors of a disaster, or people who've shared any complex, high stress experience.
Which made me realize that one reason I'd written "The Specific Gravity of Grief" was to try to frame that cancer experience, that cancer mindset, for people who haven't taken that particular journey. To some degree, it's why I blog so extensively and thoroughly about my cancer journey, but the story (just finished, now in revision, due out from Fairwood Press next year) is a way of communicating the essentially incommunicable. Or so I hope.
A lot of streams crossed last night, and it wasn't dangerous so much as enlightening. It reminded me that while I stumble a lot, I also continue to progress. Sometimes I remember to be proud of myself, and the people around me.
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jaborwhalky with Jay Lake Dorito noodle doom mac and cheese — A recipe in honor of my cancers.
Charles A. Tan with a takedown of International Science Fiction Reshelving day — What he said. (Via Andrew Wheeler.)
Superconductors to Wire a Smarter Grid — More than you probably wanted to know about the US power infrastructure. Still, cool stuff.
Bad Science on the Iraqi bomb detection wands — This is as insane, and in its way deadly, as Thabo Mbeki's AIDS denialism. US conservatism have their global warming denial and evolution psychoses, liberals have their antivaxers, but it's nice to know that antiscience lunacy is not just for Americans.
China's fear of a black president
?otD: Which way to Pismo Beach?
11/15/2009 Body movement: Not yet, but upcoming 60 minute urban walk (San Francisco hills!) Hours slept: 5.75 This morning's weigh-in: 236.5 (!?) Currently reading: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
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Just yesterday finished reading an ARC of the new Daniel Fox book Jade Man's Skin, Del Rey, February, 2010. This is the book two of a trilogy begun with Fox's 2009 Dragon in Chains.
This is a fantasy based in a secondary world analog of Medieval China. Many readers may be familiar with Barry Hughart's brilliant Bridge of Birds as an example of Sinocentric fantasy, but where Hughart was telling a very Westernized, tongue-in-cheek story, Fox has chosen to follow a much more traditional Chinese path with the story and his characters. These books cover the range from Imperial intrigue to ocean-spanning magic to the smallest lives. Brutal, brilliant, complex and startlingly clear all at once, this series does a magnificent job of taking the reader into a culture, a time and a place that most of us have never considered.
I'm eager for the third volume, and these first two come highly recommended.
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| 2009-11-13 02:46 |
| [links] Link salad flies transcontinental |
| Public |
| art, books, cancer, culture, green, links, personal, photos, politics, reviews, science |
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Call for masks — A way of sticking it to my cancer.
Strange Horizons reviews Green [ Powell's | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Borders ] — Not so much with the liking of the book. No, no, not at all. In great detail, at length with the not liking.
Mercado de San Marcos: 1890s
The Speed of Online Conversation — The Web, Twitter, and you.
Rosetta takes home some pictures — Bad Astronomy with some serious wow factor.
Backward star ain't from around here — Fun with astrography. (Snurched from the Twitter feed of @jstephenyork.)
Hoekstra Helps Al Qaeda — A Republican congressman gives aid and comfort to the enemy. Waiting for the media explosion... waiting... waiting... (Just as a thought experiment, imagine if Barney Frank had done this.)
?otD: How many dances can an angelhead pin?
11/13/2009 Body movement: n/a (airport walking) Hours slept: 6.25 This morning's weigh-in: n/a (traveling) Currently reading: The Jade Man's Skin by Daniel Fox
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| 2009-11-12 05:40 |
| [links] Link salad, mostly science edition |
| Public |
| art, books, calendula, cancer, cool, culture, green, links, movies, music, personal, reviews, sale, science, stories, tech, weird |
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Call for masks — A way of sticking it to my cancer.
Interzone 225 ToC announced — With a novelette by calendula_witch and me. Also, she and I have sold a flash piece to Electric Velocipede.
A reader reacts to Green — At the bottom of their summary of recent reading. Some very nice things said.
Early 1970s ad for After Six men's fashions — My eyes! My eyes! Augh!
Google and realtime search — "There were five exabytes of information generated from the dawn of mankind to the year 2003," he said. "That amount of information is now generated every two days." Wow.
Mimicking the Building Prowess of Nature — Scientists build new materials using inspiration from complex biological forms. Some wild photos, and really neat materials science here.
Humanoid dinosaurs? Maybe not so much. — Some arguments about evolutionary paths from Tetrapod Zoology.
Mini ice age took hold of Europe in months — Something to think about in these days of climate change risk.
Why did HAL sing "Daisy"? — Fascinating. (Snurched from the Twitter feed of @jstephenyork.)
?otD: Why was the band on the run?
11/12/2009 Body movement: 55 minute urban walk (airport infrastructure!) Hours slept: 5.75 This morning's weigh-in: n/a (traveling) Currently reading: The Jade Man's Skin by Daniel Fox
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| 2009-11-11 03:27 |
| [links] Link salad thanks a veteran |
| Public |
| art, books, cancer, conventions, escapement, green, links, personal, politics, reviews, tech |
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Call for masks — A way of sticking it to my cancer.
Smart Bitches, Trashy Books gives a shoutout to Green [ Powell's | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Borders ] — Jay Lake’s Green has one of the most wonderful new female protagonists I’ve read in a while (Thanks to Cora.)
Foreign Service Journal reviews Escapement and Green here and here — (Thanks to my Dad.)
Google Dashboard: Now You Know What Google Knows About You — Um, yeah. (Thanks to lillypond.)
The Very Serious Paradox — The Poor Man institute calls out conservative doublethink on the role of government in society. (Admittedly not hard to do, but this one's still a doozie.)
?otD: Who will you thank for Veteran's Day?
11/11/2009 Body movement: n/a (traveling) Hours slept: 5.75 This morning's weigh-in: n/a (forgot) Currently reading: The Jade Man's Skin by Daniel Fox
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![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif) johnscalzi has the details here, but the cool bit is mass market trade hardback distribution for this little project that could.
You know you want it: METAtropolis [ Audible.com | Powell's | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Borders ]
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| 2009-11-10 05:36 |
| [links] Link salad follows the example of the comic-paper idol |
| Public |
| books, cancer, cool, funny, green, health, healthcare, links, madness, personal, photos, politics, religion, reviews, science |
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The Dragon Page reviews Green [ Powell's | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Borders ] — (Thanks to brent_kellmer.)
A reader reacts to Madness of Flowers [ Powell's | Amazon ]
Jay Lake, Religion and a Benediction — Shlomi, on my cancer.
TWA Mechanics from Outer Space — Hilarious photo, ca. 1941.
Saturn After the Equinox — Another APOD image that will take your breath away.
1962 textbook, When You Marry — Check out the excerpted material on class differences in child rearing and sex. It's creepy.
SMBC on the perils of evolutionists — Heh.
Antihealthcare Reform Idiocy — Oh, wow. Money shot: "When I need health care, I pay for it out of pocket," he said, adding that he did not fear the possibility that an accident or illness would leave him with unaffordable bills. "I'm a Christian, so I'm not afraid of death," he said. Good luck with that.
?otD: How thick are you?
11/10/2009 Body movement: 90 minute suburban walk Hours slept: 6.0 This morning's weigh-in: 234.0 Currently reading: The Jade Man's Skin by Daniel Fox
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Mitchell Hooks’ Fabulous 50’s Paperback Covers — Very nice stuff linked through from this post on Drawn!
Little but fierce — Ah, Criggo, thy clippings make me laugh until my bladder threatens.
A Common Nomenclature for Lego Families — An interesting article about how children name things. (Via Language Log.)
You Sir, Have Offended My Honor — Ta-Nehisi Coates on bigotry, with sourcing from Brian Chase.
64 Democrats on the Wrong Side of Stupak-Pitts — I expect Republicans to vote in favor of forced pregnancy and government intrusion in private life. Those are among the most cherished conservative principles. But Democrats? I'm sure you guys are proud of yourselves, and that just makes me even more ashamed.
?otD: Who will stop the rain?
11/8/2009 Body movement: 2 hour, 30 minute suburban walk Hours slept: 6.0 This morning's weigh-in: 232.4 Currently reading: The Jade Man's Skin by Daniel Fox
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| 2009-11-07 07:37 |
| [links] Link salad wanders into the weekend, idly scratching |
| Public |
| books, cool, escapement, language, links, personal, process, reviews, science, tech, trains, writing |
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A reader reacts to Escapement [ Powell's | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Borders ]
RULES OF SEDUCTION: writing the opposite sex — Justine Musk on character.
English, Jack — A blog for you really high end grammar geeks.
Articulated Railroad Car: 1935 — Another quite cool patent drawing.
The Fairey Rotodyne — This looks to me like some crazed Soviet project. Would you fly in it?
APOD with an image of Stickney Crater on Phobos
The Gravitational Lens and Communications — Some serious Big Idea science from Centauri Dreams.
?otD: What age is this the dawning of, anyway?
11/7/2009 Body movement: 2 hour, 15 minute suburban walk Hours slept: 5.5 This morning's weigh-in: 231.2 Currently reading: The Jade Man's Skin by Daniel Fox
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It's the morning after. There's a great deal of work to come, much of it quite unpleasant. But still, I feel so much better. Because we can take action, we have a plan, Things Will Be Done. calendula_witch and I have gone from formless dread to logistics. And believe me, I'm much better at logistics than I am at formless dread.
So now I plan, and deal, and run around, then get my ass kicked in surgery. I'll melt again right before the surgery. I'll melt again when it comes time to prescribe and plan chemo. But for now, I can be as strong as I like, and as busy as I always seem to need to be.
In other news, several people have suggested pulling together a book about this, specifically on the male experience of cancer. I took a few steps toward pitching a book last year, but the interest was low. Still, it's on my mind.
For now, thank you everyone for the flood of good wishes, positive energy and prayer. (Yes, I did say "prayer". I may be a frothing atheist, but if it works for you, I'm proud to be a focus.) More to come.
Nacho Day approacheth.
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