Polyphony is moving to a subscription model as of volume 7 — Go check it out, and consider a pre-order with Wheatland Press.
Oddly Specific — Weird, and hilarious, signs. (Thanks to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) corwynofamber.)
More silly signs — (Thanks to Scrivener's Error.)
The Standard Model — Particles, etc. for you skiffy writers. (Via John Burridge.)
Apple rejects iPhone application with drawings of US senators and representatives — Ah, logic. (Thanks to goulo.)
?otD: What is that high, lonesome sound?
11/24/2009 Body movement: 60 minute suburban walk Hours slept: 4.5 This morning's weigh-in: 235.0 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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The Good. The Bad. The Ugly. — Kameron Hurley riffs on a recent comment of mine about copy writing vs fiction writing.
Two Lumps does steampunk
The Emerging Field of Biophotonic Communication — The growing evidence that cells communicate with photons is generating an exciting new field of research. Wow is that is that strange.
"RuBisCo Stars" and the Riddle of Life — Plus a really cool iPhone app. Centauri Dreams gets jiggy with the interstellar communication.
52% of Republicans think Obama was not legitimately elected — WTF? And don't try to tell me this compares to Bush v. Gore - the issues there were sufficiently legitimate to wind up before the Supreme Court, which made a self-admittedly flaky decision (viz their instructions that the ruling was not to be used as precendent). This is trial by FOX News and conservative paranoia. Not to mention which the numbers don't even begin to hold up on the face of it.
Gingrich warns GOP of dangers of extremism — Much like Howdy Doody warning of the evils of puppetry, methinks. Or possibly Joe McCarthy being alarmed about the impact of Red baiting, to use a more Republican-focused analogy. Newt bears as much responsibility as Lee Atwater and Roger Ailes for creating the psychotic mess that is the modern GOP. Now he's sorry?
?otD: Who are the three men you admire most?
11/21/2009 Body movement: 60 minute suburban walk Hours slept: 7.0 This morning's weigh-in: 234.8 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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Scrivener's Error on the updates to the vile Google Books Settlement — Yep, copyright theft is still copyright theft. Way to not be evil, boys.
Downloading Optimism — Artist Lucy Knisley on digital books. Worth the read.
Fire and Ice: 1900 — Shorpy with some real steampunk.
Anonymous Doc on on unusual medical procedures — A stool transplant? (The first part of the link is about something else entirely, and is rather sad. Interesting blog to follow.)
A 25-year battery — Can I have one for my iPhone?
?otD: Why do they call it Twin Peaks when there's three hilltops?
11/17/2009 Body movement: 60 minute urban walk (San Francisco hills!) Hours slept: 6.0 This morning's weigh-in: 234.5 Currently reading: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
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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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| 2009-11-10 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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| 2009-11-09 05:41 |
| [links] Link salad looks toward Philadelphia, blinks into the rising sun |
| Public |
| cool, culture, funny, links, personal, photos, politics, process, science, sex, tech, writing |
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Foob on writers — And our "temper mental" selves.
Lucy Knisley on memories of childhood sexuality — Oi. Quite something.
Another fabulous WPA poster on Vintagraph
Dieselpunk Bomber — Mmm.
Martian Landscapes — Boston.com's "The Big Picture" with a roundup of some of the recent, stunning Mars photography. (Via Bad Astronomy.)
A Tiny Revolution on Reagan and the Pakistani bomb — Yep, those Republicans, always looking out for national security. And principled, too! Nothing to see here, citizen, move along.
Unclear on the concept of separation of church and state — Several Democrats, including Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pennsylvania, said they are in touch with their Catholic bishops back home. Altmire said he must have the approval of his bishop in Pittsburgh before he can vote yes. Nice to know that there are some Democrats who hold Constitutional principles in as high regard as their GOP colleagues.
Paranoia Strikes Deep — Paul Krugman on the American Right. He says something I've been saying for years, albeit far more elegantly, in the money shot: ...the G.O.P. has been taken over by the people it used to exploit.
?otD: How many writers does it take to change a light bulb?
11/9/2009 Body movement: 15 minutes of stretching and meditation, 30 minutes on stationary bike Hours slept: 5.25 This morning's weigh-in: 233.0 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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| 2009-11-06 05:40 |
| [links] Link salad sidles toward another weekend |
| Public |
| art, books, conventions, cool, healthcare, links, nature, personal, politics, reviews, science, steampunk, stories |
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METAtropolis [ Audible.com | Powell's | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Borders ] reviewed here and here — A mixed bag, at least for my story.
catrambo reports on the reading tonight here in Portland — I've dropped the ball on promoting this, but 6:30 pm at the Press Club in SE Portland, with ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif) jeffvandermeer, catrambo, tattoo artist-turned-author Jeff Johnson and my own bad self.
Goth scuplture — In an earlier sense of the term. Cool stuff. (Thanks to willyumtx.)
Sketching the Mechanical Elephant — No, that is not a euphemism. Art writing art Guru James Gurney on the giant mechanical elephant.
England's Ancient Ridgeway Trail — Mmm. Want to go. Someone want to invite me to a UK Con as GoH so I can do this stuff?
Dark Red Spot Found on Kuiper Belt Object Haumae — Wow.
Anonymous Doc on the divergent experiences of patients and doctors
Media bias in the Washington Post op-ed page — Liberal media much? I like his phrasing, one of those outlets typically counted as part of the "Liberal Media" by right-wing self-victimizers and their media amplifiers.
?otD: Would 'Thorax' be a great name for a villain or what?
11/6/2009 Body movement: 60 minute suburban walk Hours slept: 6.0 This morning's weigh-in: n/a (forgot) Currently reading: The Jade Man's Skin by Daniel Fox
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| 2009-11-05 05:29 |
| [links] Link salad talks to the surgeon |
| Public |
| art, cool, culture, food, links, personal, photos, politics, science, sex, weird |
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Soviet War Paintings — Some very striking art here. (Snurched from Gurney Journey.)
Sex, then amnesia...and it's no soap opera — Weird. Some dance to remember, some dance to forget, I suppose. (Thanks to mikigarrison.)
Weird Stuff McDonalds Sells Around The World — A special investigative report from Dark Roasted Blend. In case you were wondering.
A Bell Helicopter lands on a Vermont Transit Flxible Clipper — Vintage weirdness. Some things happen simply because they can. Which may in fact explain much that goes on in my life.
Mars is sublime — Some seriously cool imaging.
Some Real Mature Women, And Some More Of They Friends... — Ta-Nehisi Coates on the myth of the Golden Age. Money shot: This is a theme residing in the conservative soul--a professed, thinly-reasoned skepticism of the fucked-up now, contrasted against a blind, unquestioning acceptance of the hypermoral past.
?otD: How many lungs does one man need, anyway?
11/5/2009 Body movement: 60 minute suburban walk Hours slept: 6.5 This morning's weigh-in: 234.6 Currently reading: The Jade Man's Skin by Daniel Fox
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| 2009-11-04 05:01 |
| [links] Link salad sports a metaphor or two |
| Public |
| books, conventions, cool, culture, funny, links, personal, photos, politics, science, trains, videos, weird |
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Yokimo the Goat gets around — World Fantasy Convention from the caprine perspective.
Two Lumps takes on NaNoWriMo — With a sideswipe at Stephenie Meyer.
Bullet train patent design — Mmmm.
The Adventures of Lil' Cthulhu — Want a child-friendly way to introduce your little one to the traditions of the Old Cult? Meet little Cthulhu, who lives in the magic city of R'lyeh with all his friends, as you and your child embark on a fun and educational journey through the world of the Great Old Ones (Thanks to willyumtx.)
RearGear — The ultimate in repressed Americana. Weird. (Thanks to ginastonge.)
Glacier Man — This is very cool.
Why does driving bring out the worst in people? — I've asked this exact question a number of times. The same person who will hold the door for you at the bank will viciously run you to the shoulder in traffic.
CNBC's Darren Rovell: NYC marathon winner not a real American since he's originally from Africa — Best smackdown of Nativism EVAR. And what did you do, Darren, to become an American? You were born here to American parents - that must have been real hard work fighting your way through your mother's birth canal. I'm sure childbirth taught you a lot more about liberty and freedom than a guy who escaped a civil war to come to a land where he could be free.
Making Light with a lot more on the Meb Keflezighi story referenced above — I was struck by Abi Sutherland's comments that "Leaving the US is apparently very unpatriotic; learning about other cultures is suspect, and moving abroad all but treason". I have that problem, too, to a smaller degree. Because of where I was born and how I was raised I don't have a "home town", I'm not "from" anywhere in the usual sense of that phrase. A (former) friend back in Texas used to insist I couldn't possibly be Texan, despite six generations of ancestors there, because I wasn't born in Texas, like she was. To her logic, I'm not even American. Um, no.
?otD: Why is a strike good in bowling but bad in baseball?
11/4/2009 Body movement: 15 minutes of meditation and stretching, 30 minute stationary bicycle ride Hours slept: 6.5 This morning's weigh-in: 233.0 Currently reading: The Jade Man's Skin by Daniel Fox
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| 2009-11-03 05:11 |
| [links] Link salad wakes up in its own bed for a change |
| Public |
| books, cars, cool, green, links, nature, personal, photos, religion, reviews, science, tech |
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Justine Musk on books — Including jeffvandermeer's Booklife, as well as Green [ Powell's | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Borders ]
Video: elaborate multi-camera rig elegantly captures giant redwood tree — If you've ever tried to photograph a tree, you'll really appreciate this. Plus the resulting image is very striking.
Cassini dances with Enceladus once again — Mmm, outer space.
Implantable Silicon-Silk Electronics — Biodegradable circuits could enable better neural interfaces and LED tattoos. The future is here, where shall it put its luggage?
Fully Autonomous Audi TTS to Race at Mad Pikes Peak Rally Circuit — And so it begins...
Faith, Science and the Flood — Strange Maps with some religious history. My favorite bit is the phrase "great Sea-Bosom".
?otD: How many pins can dance on the head of an angel?
11/3/2009 Body movement: 15 minutes of meditation and stretching, 30 minute stationary bicycle ride Hours slept: 6.25 This morning's weigh-in: 234.6 Currently reading: The Jade Man's Skin by Daniel Fox
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| 2009-10-28 04:56 |
| [links] Link salad knows the way to San Jose |
| Public |
| books, cool, food, funny, links, personal, politics, publishing, science, stories, weird |
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My novella "Chain of Stars" is ip in its entirety at Subterranean
Michael Stackpole on Cory Doctorow — Deconstructing ebooks.
Cool Tools: The Geek Atlas — For all your travel needs. (Thanks to willyumtx.)
Brewster Rockit on zombies and passwords — Hah!
Animal fat mayonnaise — Ummm... (Thanks to corwynofamber.)
The strangest moments in space launch history
The Cover-Up Continues — The New York Times blasts Obama for continuing torture coverups. Come on, Obama. We elected you to be better than the other guy.
?otD: How long have you been away?
10/28/2009 Body movement: n/a (traveling) Hours slept: 6.0 This morning's weigh-in: n/a (traveling) Currently reading: Dragon in Chains by Daniel Fox
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Boeing B-17F underwater
Refining the Deuterium Starship
Obama's foreign policy report card
Ross Douthat And The Last Crusade — Ah, reasonable conservatism.
?otD: How was your day, dear?
10/27/2009 Body movement: n/a (traveling) Hours slept: 6.0 This morning's weigh-in: 232.6 Currently reading: Dragon in Chains by Daniel Fox
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