Jay Lake: Writer

[links] Link salad contemplates the shores of Tripoli

I will be on Twitter tonight at #sffwrtcht from 6 pm to 7 pm Pacific — Tune in for a live interview and discussion moderated by @BryanThomasS.

SFWA with the 2010 Nebula Nominees — Congratulations to all my friends and colleagues on the ballot!

Scrivener’s Error with yet more on Borders — With a very specific comment (and citation) on the question of book inventory as consignment.

Are You Smarter Than an Eighth Grader (From 1895)? — In my case, hell no. That’s what I have the Googles for.

Hung Out to Dry: A Taxonomy of City Blocks — Strange Maps with a rather curious interpretation of urban cartography.

Why Earth And Titan Share Twin Atmospheres — Earth and Titan have thick, nitrogen-rich atmospheres. That’s because both formed from the leftovers of cometary impacts, say planetary geologists.

The Threatening Scent of Fertile Women — Interesting squib on human sexuality. (Via David Goldman.)

Language Log on spelling the name of Libya’s leader — And The Straight Dope‘s classic column on the same topic.

30% of Libya in Hands of Youth Movement

George Lakoff on what conservatives really want — I continue boggled at the political flimflam that has managed to make the interests of the top 1% of American society (economically) the overwhelming obsession of so many millions of poor and middle class ‘values voters’.

Firefighter refused call to Tucson shooting — A veteran firefighter refused to respond to last month’s deadly shooting spree that left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords wounded because he had different political views than his colleagues and “did not want to be part of it,” according to internal city memos. Good thing he was there to stand up for family values!

?otD: Ever been to North Africa?

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2/23/2011
Writing time yesterday: 2.5 hours (Endurance copy edits, 2,000 words on a collab, review of Sunspin outline)
Body movement: 30 minute stationary bike ride
Hours slept: 7.25 hours (interrupted)
Weight: 252.6
Currently reading: Dead Iron by Devon Monk

Tags: Art, Awards, Cool, Culture, Funny, interviews, Language, Libya, Links, Personal, Politics, Publishing, Science, sex

Posted: 6:30 am Wed February 23 2011 | Comments(0) |

[writing] Doing what I do

Divided my writing time yesterday between several writing projects. Critique, some WRPA, Endurance copy edits, reviewing the Sunspin outline preparatory to diving back into Calamity of So Long a Life. I feel like one of those cavaliers who leapt onto his horse and was dashing in all directions.

A little bit more of Endurance copy editing, and it’s back off my desk, in the next day or two. And I squee over the cover illustration! Dan Dos Santos is like unto a god to me.

Today I’ll be plumbing deeper into Sunspin. Probably I will not start writing until Wednesday, depending on how long I spend dealing with the outline and re-engaging with the existing draft.

I find myself mildly reluctant to re-embark on this project. It’s the usual “jumping off into a novel” feeling. I’m just not used to experiencing the sensation in the middle of the book. But there’s a great deal about this project that is unusual for me, so this is just par for the course.

One writes, one progresses. I love this stuff.

Tags: Art, Books, Calamity, Endurance, Process, Sunspin, Writing

Posted: 6:49 am Tue February 22 2011 | Comments(2) |

[photos] Your Tuesday moment of zen

The Palace of Fine Art, San Francisco. © 2007, 2011, Joseph E. Lake, Jr.

This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Tags: California, Photos, zen

Posted: 6:47 am Tue February 22 2011 | Comments(0) |

[links] Link salad under the Milky Way tonight

tor.com publishes the cover of Endurance — Green is back… More on this from illustrator Dan Dos Santos.

A reader reacts to Green — Ironically in the light of my recent copy editing activities, the reviewer mentions wishing that the book was a trilogy.

Scrivener’s Error with more deep neepery on the Borders bankruptcy — Including more on the inventory question that cathshaffer and I were discussing in comments yesterday.

The Creative Process — In handy pie graph form. From this post by Dr. Pezz. (Via jimvanpelt.)

Sorry About All the Bombs — The author of The Anarchist Cookbook speaks.

The Six-Legged Meat of the Future — Insects are nutritious and easy to raise without harming the environment. They also have a nice nutty taste. Mmm. Hexapodamania.

Haze Over China — Note the use of the term “photo-like image” in the explanatory copy. Huh?

Herald Square: 1908 — Note the use of the term “electrified owls” in the explanatory copy. Huh?

The Gates of Hell Have Opened in Tripoli — Juan Cole on the situation in Libya.

Canadians Who Look Like Justin Bieber — Because to conservative America, not having to worry about going bankrupt over medical bills is a bad thing. Um…

Disgraced ex-Tea Party leader, Mark Williams plans to infiltrate SEIU Rallies — More evidence that because conservatives can’t win on ideas, they have to lie and cheat. Anybody remember the Brooks Brothers Riot? FWIW, Ed Brayton on liberals being assholes, too. Please note that while extremely regrettable, being an asshole is not the same as being a provocateur.

Birtherism: Worst. Trap. Ever. — Birtherism, like evolution denial, is one of those counterfactuals so beloved of conservatives that makes it very hard for me to take anything else they have to say seriously. Contrast with climate change denial or right-to-life activism, where I can at least perceive an intellectual or moral grounding, however wrongheaded I might personally find those positions. It’s the difference between ideas that you have to be basically nuts to believe in the first place and ideas that reasonable people can disagree on.

The Odd Conservative Hostility Towards Mitch Daniels — [C]ulture war politics isn’t a net loser for the GOP, and it may be the only thing that keeps [the party] competitive. From conservative commentator Daniel Larison. Fascinating read.

?otD: Do you have time for private consultation?

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2/22/2011
Writing time yesterday: 2.0 hours (short fiction revisions, WRPA, Endurance copy edits, review of Sunspin outline)
Body movement: 30 minute stationary bike ride
Hours slept: 7.5 hours (interrupted)
Weight: 251.6
Currently reading: Dead Iron by Devon Monk

Tags: Books, Endurance, Food, Funny, Green, healthcare, Language, Libya, Links, Personal, Photos, Politics, Process, Publishing, reviews, Science

Posted: 6:46 am Tue February 22 2011 | Comments(1) |

[conventions] RadCon, Day 3

Yesterday was the last day of RadCon. Usual morning stuff — exercise, brekkie with friends, packing out of the room, whatnot. I sit on a couple of excellent panels, both of which I wound up moderating.

The first was ‘Formidable Women’, with me and David Levine bookending Alma Alexander, Patty Briggs, M.J. Enghe, C.J. Cherryh and Jane Fancher. The questions under discussion were “What constitutes formidable?” and “What is a woman?” Wow, was that an amazing (and sometimes hilarious) 50 minutes.

The following panel was on the novel pitch, with some of the same players plus several new ones. And a lot of audience participation. And me riding roughshod with moderatorial privilege to keep it all on track. Still, I think it was rather productive.

The drive back was extremely pleasant, with much admiring of the ever-growing forest of wind power turbines dotting the eastern end of the Columbia gorge, and a brief visit with friends in Hood River. I managed some writing last night, and went to bed quite early to help myself sleep off the last of the weekend’s debauchery.

My next such event is Rainforest Writers Village in two weeks. Do you have a convention coming up?

Tags: Conventions, Oregon, Travel, Washington

Posted: 6:23 am Mon February 21 2011 | Comments(1) |

[photos] Your Monday moment of zen

Your Monday moment of zen.

The Palace of Fine Art, San Francisco. © 2007, 2011, Joseph E. Lake, Jr.

This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Tags: California, Photos, zen

Posted: 6:13 am Mon February 21 2011 | Comments(0) |

[links] Link salad dreams of presidents

The Definitive Work on Pain — Scrivener’s Error with more well-informed analysis on the Borders bankruptcy.

ferragus with a fund raiser for his beloved dog, Connery Beagle — The anthology itself.

Forgotten aquatic parakeets once amazed with their bionic gills — A weird squib from Boing Boing. (Via danjite.)

The New Money — Credit card transactions and your iPhone. Fascinating stuff.

If I were an evil genius, how could I go about melting the ice caps? — The Straight Dope is deeply snarky with a completely, erm, straight face.

?otD: Who’s your favorite US president?

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2/21/2011
Writing time yesterday: 1.25 hours (short fiction revisions, WRPA)
Body movement: 30 minute stationary bike ride
Hours slept: 7.5 hours (interrupted)
Weight: 252.8
Currently reading: Dead Iron by Devon Monk

Tags: Books, Culture, Links, Personal, Publishing, Science, weird

Posted: 6:12 am Mon February 21 2011 | Comments(0) |

[conventions] RadCon Day 2

Awaken.

Up early.

Belly dancing workout.

Breakfast.

Programming.

Programming.

Programming.

Programming.

Dinner.

Party.

Drink.

Dance.

Party.

FREEBIRD!

Drink.

Dance.

“Let’s do the Time Warp again!”

Party.

Up late.

Sleep.

[...]

Got weekend?

Tags: Conventions, Travel, Washington

Posted: 10:33 am Sun February 20 2011 | Comments(1) |

[photos] Your Sunday moment of zen

Your Sunday moment of zen.

The Palace of Fine Art, San Francisco. © 2007, 2011, Joseph E. Lake, Jr.

This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Tags: California, Photos, zen

Posted: 10:29 am Sun February 20 2011 | Comments(0) |

[links] Link salad is running low and slow

McSweeney’s reviews Good Night, Moon — Snerk.

Mammatus Clouds Over Olympic Valley — I’ve actually seen these in real life once, in Texas. It makes for a very weird sky.

Locomotive Breath: 1906 — A cool shot of Salem, MA from Shorpy. Mmm, trains.

Switchable Metamaterial Makes Itself Invisible — A metamaterial that turns itself off could dramatically improve magnetic resonance imaging. Not in the casual, everyday sense of ‘invisible’, but this is sill extremely cool. Yes, we are living in the future. Any questions?

Water, Water Everywhere — A new view of the solar system.

Top Five Myths about the Middle East Protests — Juan Cole is interesting and informative.

?otD: Got sleep?

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2/20/2011
Writing time yesterday: 0.5 hours (revisions on a short fiction project)
Body movement: 30 minute stationary bike ride
Hours slept: 7.0 hours (interrupted)
Weight: n/a (away from home)
Currently reading: Dead Iron by Devon Monk

Tags: Books, Cool, Egypt, Funny, Links, Personal, Photos, Science, Tech, trains

Posted: 10:28 am Sun February 20 2011 | Comments(1) |