tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70136002012-01-24T06:03:34.540-06:00StoverBlogThis is the weblog of bestselling author Matthew Woodring Stover.
WARNING: use of this product may result in intestinal upset, mental disturbance, sudden mood swings, dental caries and occasional anal leakage. Management denies responsibility for any and all injury.MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.comBlogger1921100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-44309317738716011132010-01-17T14:53:00.000-06:002010-01-17T14:53:14.112-06:00Come Check Out My New PlaceThis is my new den.MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-91701205919056377882010-01-09T12:07:00.000-06:002010-01-09T12:07:39.048-06:00The Nominee In the Soiled Drawers Category . . .. . . . of the Amazon.com People Unclear on the Concept Award.
I'm fairly certain this is the first time I've come across a review of one of my books, positive or otherwise, that includes the phrase "pooped my pants."MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-44914530419304798852010-01-08T11:35:00.000-06:002010-01-08T11:35:32.357-06:00Happy Matt-ersDelivered my latest tie-in the other day (only three weeks late, which is a considerable achievement for me, these days. I am taking a couple days off to do the sort of household tasks that fall to the wayside during bouts of Deadline Fever.
During this temporary tie-in hiatus, I am:
Working on the Barra & Co. books, in hopes that we might be able to bring them out as e-books and PoD type MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-64578541711321645702010-01-01T10:49:00.002-06:002010-01-01T10:49:08.637-06:00Happy 2010That.MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-49829925893540211662009-12-25T12:23:00.000-06:002009-12-25T12:23:05.396-06:00HolidazedHappy Year-End Holiday of your choosing.
My primary Christmas present from the Fabulous Robyn is the Oxford English Dictionary -- this is the Shorter version, two volumes containing only 600,000 and change words (a vocabulary *cough* marginally larger *cough* than my own), which is also updated quarterly on-line, adding an average of 2000 words per update. So I could look up the derivation of, MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-87834686687893021742009-12-01T09:57:00.003-06:002009-12-01T16:26:21.094-06:00Semi-intellectual rumination.An anchor on CNN this morning was ruminating, in their typically middle-brow fashion, on the fact that December is the "final month of the decade," completely ignoring that the actual final month of the decade is next December (if one is speaking of the First Decade of the 21st Century, as opposed to the Decade of Double-Aughts), but who's counting. Other than me. As Fox Mulder once trenchantly MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com50tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-34814927214530362112009-11-30T17:44:00.000-06:002009-11-30T17:44:59.100-06:00I have just received an email from my agent, who informs me that Robert Holdstock has died.
I never met the man, but I have read his books. There are all too many people writing SFF these days who could -- and occasionally do -- leave us with barely a ripple to mark their passing; Robert Holdstock leaves us with a powerful body of work, and a RH-shaped hole in the genre.
Here's hoping to see MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-53318507145842558182009-11-08T18:43:00.002-06:002009-11-08T18:43:32.599-06:00Great Thought for the Day:
“No artist believes in escapism. And we secretly believe that no audience does. We have proved, at any rate, that they will pay to see the truth, for no other reason than her nakedness.”
--Emeric Pressburger
MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-37177568015709846482009-11-05T17:37:00.001-06:002009-11-05T17:38:36.841-06:00Fifteen years ago this month, my agent sold Iron Dawn to Roc Books, an imprint of Penguin/Putnam.
Happy birthday to my career.
Pretty soon it'll be old enough to vote.MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-3035842844678335662009-10-22T17:59:00.002-05:002009-10-22T18:06:58.471-05:00Hey.
SmartPop, the pop culture nonfic imprint of my friends at BenBella Books, has started posting selected essays online, one of which is mine, on BS:G:
The Gods Suck
It's worth nothing that I wrote that somewhere around the end of Season Three, so I literally had no clue how many sharks that show was going to jump before it finally wrapped.
Frankly, I think if they stuck with what I thoughtMWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-3399859132923214552009-10-20T17:24:00.003-05:002009-10-20T18:42:32.266-05:00Here's a question:
What is it with people who feel they have to sign in to Amazon.com just to trash my stuff?
One guy posted a one-star review after reading LS&TSOM -- borrowed from a library.
I mean, seriously: People hate my books so much they feel compelled to register with Amazon just to piss on them. The very first review they've ever posted in their lives . . . just to talk about what a MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com47tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-17658443155008034152009-10-12T16:12:00.000-05:002009-10-12T16:12:19.656-05:00This is AWESOME.
Really.
Those of you who can't get the NYTimes, it's an article about a couple of physicists who have hypothesized that the Higgs boson (one of the last not-yet-discovered elemental particles in the Standard Model) might be so unlikely -- or so dangerous, or whatever (I believe the phrase was "abhorred by reality") that any projects to discover it will be sabotaged by their ownMWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-75674983569622497052009-10-04T16:19:00.001-05:002009-10-04T16:21:01.076-05:00Hey, Lunatic Fringe. I know you're out there.
I have been overcome with a sudden desire to see Caine/Overworld-related fan art. Anybody who's got a dusty image or two, please post links in the comment section. (I'm looking at YOU, Greg . . .)
Oh, and only post your own shit; if there's an image that you think should be posted but wasn't done by you, encourage the actual artist to drop by and MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-36191135303351340142009-09-10T15:12:00.001-05:002009-09-10T15:14:25.563-05:00A proposed slogan for the 2010 mid-terms:Vote Republican, because we're BATSHIT INSANE.MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-57893844693235625332009-09-08T08:31:00.002-05:002009-09-08T08:55:18.226-05:00First:Heroes Die is the Book of the Month over at Joseph Mallozzi's very popular blog. He's providing a forum for reader Q&A, as well as providing a darn nice write-up of his reactions to the story. This came about through the good offices of John Scalzi, so any of you rabid Caine fans can blow kisses in his Hugocentric direction for helping to Keep the Dream Alive. But no biting.And no jumping MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-43146179848590226972009-09-03T09:47:00.003-05:002009-09-03T09:57:05.672-05:00Now, this is interesting . . .Related to the conversation a couple of posts back about the Department of Veteran's Affairs, it appears we have some Actual Numbers, courtesy of the Rand Corporation and the Congressional Budget Office.Not that I've waded through all these; I'm just sharing the links so that those who are interested in Actual Numbers know where to find some.MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-10628446774192160132009-08-29T20:00:00.004-05:002009-08-30T09:47:50.087-05:00Holy Shit, it's working. Do you realize we have attracted an Honest to Jesus Right-Wingnut?I happened to check the profile this "A Truman North" -- the "crimmigrants" guy . . . his email address, no lie --conservativedigest@yahoo.comIt seems a reasonable guess that the other two tongues-in-search-of-rimjobs were either him, or his friends.(Is "tongues-in-search-of-rimjobs" too harsh? Should I MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-65740719830106819512009-08-24T17:09:00.005-05:002009-08-24T17:34:36.367-05:00And here I am.There have been some developments in Stoverland, one of which is that my day job and I have finally parted company on a (semi-)permanent basis, which leaves me giving writing my full attention for the first time since 1996. This is a good thing on one front -- having two tie-ins to deliver before the end of the year, and His Father's Fist not long after that -- and I am producing MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com54tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-9516023204145399462009-07-17T08:01:00.007-05:002009-07-17T08:59:47.232-05:00[On the comments regarding my previous post -- this is, I think, of sufficient general interest to warrant its own Front Page Treatment]It's worth remembering my favorite paraphrase of Nietzsche: When you judge a work of art, the art also judges you.That is to say: what you get out of a book depends more on what you bring to it than on any skill of its author (though I well understand that this MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-34761257476738336302009-07-16T08:14:00.002-05:002009-07-16T08:29:13.981-05:00I have been ruminating lately on how certain genre writers broke out into the mainstream after making the acquaintance/coming to the attention of certain influential critics -- specifically, Bradbury meeting Christopher Isherwood, and Cormac McCarthy becoming the (strictly metaphoric, so far as I know, and generally literary) love interest of Harold Bloom.So here's the question:How do I get this MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-60288740388640711262009-07-13T08:14:00.002-05:002009-07-13T08:27:09.732-05:00This.I have not personally verified the genuine-osity of this organization; as with any online charity site, I suggest you do so before contributing. A less-detective-work alternative would be to simply attend the auction at ComiCon.I do know that Mr Ostrander has (by his own report) recently had eye surgery, and so I strongly suspect that this is entirely legitimate. I'm just too shy to write toMWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-7924552662954168352009-06-21T10:36:00.003-05:002009-06-21T12:49:48.137-05:00It's Father's Day in the USA, so felicitations to all USA-ish males with living offspring.It's also Caine's birthday everywhere (International Date Lines notwithstanding), which means that he's on the cusp of Gemini and Cancer, which tells you pretty much all you need to know about my faith in astrology.However, those of you who are (of legal drinking age and) so inclined, raise a toast to your MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-16187676366169636842009-06-10T19:23:00.002-05:002009-06-10T19:42:13.241-05:00Okay, this is worth mentioning.This "Charlesmaverick" who wrote a note in the previous comments section may turn out to be kind of a big deal; he says two of the biggest publishers in mainland China are interested in presenting Star Wars-related books in one or more of the various Chinese languages (I actually forgot to ask if Cm translated the book into Mandarin or Cantonese or whatever -- MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-62499098120193785932009-05-17T12:28:00.004-05:002009-05-17T12:41:34.119-05:00Well, fuck me like a virgin goat.There's a site apparently devoted to ranking SF and fantasy novels, where some insightful soul of impeccable taste stuck Heroes Die on their list of Top 25 Fantasy Novels of All Time.I don't know who compiled that list, but may the gods shower blessing upon them and their house unto the seventh generation.MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-28673139585273578362009-05-13T12:34:00.002-05:002009-05-13T13:10:05.509-05:00Kweshyins Kweshyins evriboddi gots kweshyins . . .First: I'm not going to tell you what names those future projects might be published under, because1) I haven't decided yet, and2) it would kinda defeat the whole purpose of using a pseud, which is to hoodwink gullible bookstore computer ordering systems -- and presumably equally gullible human genre buyers -- into ordering more copies than they MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-49351392052991714562009-04-24T08:23:00.004-05:002009-04-24T08:38:48.703-05:00For those inquiring minds out there . . .Caine Black Knife has sold pretty well, considering that it's the third book in a series that last saw an entry eight years ago. It has not, however, sold well enough that I can reasonably entertain even a fantasy of supporting my family by writing about Caine, if you see what I mean.Other projects proceed in Macbeth-ish fashion: creeping in their petty MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-35310100382290440482009-04-19T08:30:00.003-05:002009-04-19T08:34:58.544-05:00Hey. Been away. Now I'm back.This is what brings me to the surface this morning, from Maureen Dowd (coiner of the immortal phrase "Darth Cheney) in the New York Times, about a conversation she had with George Lucas at the Obama Inauguration:Lucas, the creator of “Star Wars,” had told me that I had gotten Dick Cheney completely wrong, that Cheney was no Darth Vader. I felt awful. Had I been too MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-70799691744327576052009-03-05T13:34:00.002-06:002009-03-05T13:47:09.369-06:00Ahoy.Costa Rica pics 'n' video, for anyone who wants to see a middle-aged out-of-shape white guy and his smokin' hot wife run around Central American rainforests and beaches and stuff.Also, a very long (and very spoiler-filled) interview with yrs trly, about Shadows of Mindor and other things Star Wars, at Star Wars Action News. The sound on my end is pretty crummy due to technological MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-30075395565354985482009-02-26T08:11:00.002-06:002009-02-26T08:43:17.392-06:00Greetings.Sorry I haven't been around. I went through a particularly bad patch of Whatever the Fuck is Wrong With Me from the end of December through the end of January . . . and as I started to recover, my time and attention were consumed by helping the Fabulous Robyn plan and execute arrangements for a mostly-spur-of-the-moment trip to Costa Rica, because the US economic downturn has decimated MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-80670106530458945312008-12-04T09:36:00.001-06:002008-12-04T09:37:39.042-06:00Hey. Blade of Tyshalle will be released in e-book form Tuesday, December 9th.Spread the word.MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-30165642326414507952008-11-16T07:11:00.003-06:002008-11-16T07:25:06.783-06:00Okay, people. I'm far enough out from under various deadline pressures that I feel the need to catch up with what's current in Our Beloved Genre. As most of you know, I tend more toward reading classics than reading What's Hot Right Now . . . so much so that I don't have a friggin' clue what WHRN might actually be.I'm about to order 5-10 books from Amazon.com. One will be Scott Lynch's second MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com67tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-36414119884106579372008-11-04T12:13:00.002-06:002008-11-04T12:14:57.538-06:00Go vote. All of you.Well, okay . . . all of you who are United States citizens of legal age. Go vote.Everyone else, take the day off.MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com49tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-39057594081353613932008-10-24T17:54:00.002-05:002008-10-24T18:05:20.260-05:00There is news.Right now, the e-books of Heroes Die and Blade of Tyshalle have a tentative (repeat for emphasis: tentative) release date of November 4th.This may be shifted pending resolution of a minor contractual issue, and/or the pitched firefight in the streets between fraudulently-registered Democratic ineligible and/or imaginary voters (i.e., Mickey Mouse) and crypto-fascist Republican MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com46tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-2566801853905794972008-10-22T07:01:00.001-05:002008-10-22T07:19:19.994-05:00I'd just like to touch on the question of Caine's Adventure-related POV, since it seemed to come up quite a bit in the last thread.It's not intended to be a literal transcription of his Soliloquy; it's basically a magic trick, not unlike the illusion a first-hander is subjected to, as an Actor's Soliloquy comes to feel like his or her own thoughts--to make him feel like he is the character.The MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-5115499524585348322008-10-10T07:07:00.005-05:002008-10-10T16:44:11.055-05:00Back to Ayn Rand for a moment, it's worth noting that the #1 cheerleader for the deregulated trading in derivatives that is the fundamental cause of the current global financial crisis, Alan Greenspan, is an avowed admirer of Ms. Rand's political philosophy, and spent roughly the last 15 of his 19 years as Fed Chairman assuring Congress that the "rational self-interest" of derivatives traders MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-51283308480475827562008-10-09T06:59:00.002-05:002008-10-09T07:01:23.055-05:00For the record:Feel free to post extravagant praise of Caine Black Knife (or of anything else I've written, for that matter). You can also post less-than-extravagant praise, or even bitch about how shitty something is.But comments containing spoilers will be summarily deleted.You have been warned.MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com51tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-72063934681817713292008-10-08T13:15:00.003-05:002008-10-08T15:38:19.720-05:00Look for "The Big Idea of Caine Black Knife" on John Scalzi's Whatever this coming Tuesday, which is -- by no coincidence at all -- CBK's on-sale date.He's pretty effing cool.MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-36543042762498414652008-10-06T13:12:00.002-05:002008-10-06T13:23:44.810-05:00In response to Rob Locke in the previous comments thread:My take on Objectivism can be summed up by a paraphrase of Samuel Johnson:"I have read Ayn Rand's work, and found it to be both original and good. Unfortunately, however, the parts that were good were not original, and the parts that were original were not good."To put it another way: what was useful in her philosophy was cribbed from MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-78016115585534148682008-10-05T07:15:00.002-05:002008-10-05T07:38:22.450-05:00Hokay. Here's the rundown.The medical test came out negative, which means that Whatever the Fuck is Wrong With Me is still wholly in the Whatever stage. So it goes.However, in the interim, I have been introduced to a new medication regimen that has me feeling sharper than I have in years. So, downside: lots of pills. Upside: unlike all previous meds, these seem to be working.In the midst of all MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-54761228067604515622008-09-18T12:40:00.002-05:002008-09-18T12:49:58.830-05:00Hey, gang. Sorry I haven't been around lately. I've been struggling through a pretty severe attack of Whatever the Fuck is Wrong With Me, and I've barely had the energy to write, let alone enough to spare for this space.The good news is that one of the specialists I've been consulting sporadically for the last three or four years has had a sudden brainstorm. Test results should be arriving MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-51508800046281775392008-08-22T08:04:00.003-05:002008-08-22T08:13:09.550-05:00On the "my take on Jacen" question, let me quote my response from March of this year over on SFFWorld.com's Stover Forum:---------------I am familiar, in broad outline, with the events of the Dark Nest and Legacy series. Haven't read 'em because I've been too busy with the Prequel and OT eras.As to the specifics of your question, however, I can't give a satisfactory answer. Part of this is due toMWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-48057294083788280102008-08-18T17:38:00.002-05:002008-08-18T17:40:58.686-05:00Just so you know:The Fabulous Robyn, in only her second triathlon -- and only fourth competitive race of any kind -- placed fifth in her age group (out of more than seventy competitors). She was less than two minutes off the podium.This woman is amazing.MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-45530501474627352882008-08-17T04:35:00.002-05:002008-08-17T04:41:25.628-05:00It's 2 AMThe fear is goneI'm sittin' here waitingThe gun's still warmMaybe my connectionIs tired of taking chances . . .Or, y'know, maybe it's 4 AM, and maybe I'm up because my wife, the Fabulous Robyn, is competing in the Pleasant Prairie Triathlon this morning. This is only her second tri, and we have to get her to the staging area by around 5.And maybe that song is going through my head MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-40633978568342963022008-08-08T16:55:00.003-05:002008-08-08T17:02:04.846-05:00For Pizzone:I've only published five short stories, so far as I recall."Br'er Robert" and "In the Sorrows" are available free online -- a quick Google search should be able to find a Web archive."Precursor" is in the DAW anthology LEGENDS: TALES FROM THE ETERNAL ARCHIVE, and is out of print."Equipment" is available in the back of the mass market edition of SHATTERPOINT.And you can find "The MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-91722206438169268702008-08-07T07:45:00.003-05:002008-08-07T08:07:48.704-05:00In response to Tim's question in the previous Comments section:There are a number of female HD fans (judging by my fan mail and store-signing experiences), many of whom seem to be particularly engaged by Hari and Shanna's unhappy relationship, and Hari's damn-the-torpedoes commitment to it.Women sometimes seem to have a more difficult time with BLADE, though a substantial percentage of the MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-6828394846333628282008-08-06T08:20:00.004-05:002008-08-06T08:35:37.142-05:00Hmp. Looks like the ARC seller is an actual fan.His testimony . . .Go figure.Now I feel bad for all the nasty things I've been thinking about him. Mostly.Hey, I don't want to discourage fan activity; I need all I can get. But selling ARCs in advance of the book's release is still a Major No-No.MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-39914783880520159732008-08-05T17:27:00.003-05:002008-08-05T17:40:01.538-05:00Here's the poop on the Blade of Tyshalle reprint:I just heard from my editor that the current market conditions for mm reprints makes a re-issue of an 800-page novel from 2001 kind of problematic. (My understanding is that minimum print run is something like 5,000 copies, and none of the big chains can be counted upon to carry a re-issue.)HOWEVER --It looks like he's gotten the go-ahead to MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-80793186557229717382008-08-04T05:55:00.006-05:002008-08-04T06:09:09.305-05:00Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn died yesterday.I know, he was a difficult man to admire unreservedly. He had opinions (especially about Western culture, the United States, and certain ethnic groups) that many people found -- and still find -- troubling.But the books --A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch marked me for life.An anecdote from the NYTimes profile by Michael T. Kaufman:"Mr. Solzhenitsyn was MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-37916770055181167422008-07-29T18:26:00.002-05:002008-07-29T18:32:56.963-05:00Speaking of covers:Check this outI can only admire the dedication of some of Caine's fans. I sent this on to my editor, too, in case he really wanted to put a new cover on HD but just couldn't come up with sufficient inspiration.Still haven't heard about the Blade of Tyshalle reprint; my editor was out at ComiCon, and was supposed to noodzh his boss during booth hours out there, but he's been MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-63103843034579248942008-07-28T08:05:00.004-05:002008-07-28T10:42:37.375-05:00Tim--Anyone who wants to read the stories I would have written if Caine had been inspired by MacGyver can just go ahead and pick up Daniel Keys Moran's Trent stories (start with EMERALD EYES, which isn't actually a Trent book but introduces the character, and go on through "The Star" and THE LONG RUN and THE LAST DANCER).The best way I can describe Trent is that he springs from the tradition of MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-84898627232726103232008-07-27T13:47:00.002-05:002008-07-27T14:12:56.311-05:00This is response to gio's observation in the comments section of the previous post, that Heroes Die was published before Survivor hit the air (the comment presumably inspired by Del Rey's cover copy for Caine Black Knife, which emphasizes the Reality TV aspect of the Adventures Unlimited Studio system.)This is a instance of life imitating art, I think. The inspiration for the Studio system in MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-32140424311595789532008-07-25T15:13:00.003-05:002008-07-25T15:14:56.503-05:00Sign your comments, people. Even if you don't want to log in, you can put your name (or a name) at the bottom.I sign everything I write, and I require that commenters here do the same. I know some of you folks are new(ish) around here, and I don't want to delete friendly comments just for being anonymous.But I will.MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-65654478380214100192008-07-12T14:56:00.002-05:002008-07-12T15:02:54.823-05:00On a happier note --While I was eating lunch today, I happened to turn on Turner Classic Movies, on which happened to be The Battle Of Britain with Lawrence Olivier and Christopher Plummer. This flick happened to be in the middle of one of the big Spitfire vs Nazi Bomber scenes, which I watched with growing delight."Holy Shit!" quoth I. "It's the assault on the friggin' Death Star!"Now, it occursMWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-14578766061710592892008-07-11T07:55:00.002-05:002008-07-11T08:02:13.252-05:00Come on. Really?I know very few people come by here very often any more (not even me), but no tribute to TMD? Not even one?Camp Concentration334On Wings of SongAnybody?Even The Dreams our Stuff is Made Of, which is non-fic, but still . . .MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-19310792638269360382008-07-09T22:25:00.003-05:002008-07-09T22:31:16.542-05:00Thomas M. Disch shot himself on the Fourth of July.This had me on the verge of in tears, if only because that should be the first line of a new Disch novel. He was the best of the New Wave. The best. Which is probably why he ditched SF almost 20 years ago.Yet another guy who died before I had a chance to shake his hand and tell him how much his work meant to me.God damn it.MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-27987390472680590642008-05-28T07:41:00.002-05:002008-05-28T07:58:50.580-05:00To continue a previous thought, and answer a comment from Modi, below:Really, [the following poster] Robert has the right of it here. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding.As for my seeing the world from an American perspective . . . well, that's unavoidable. I'm American, and though I'm rarely (these days) proud of what my country does, I am a passionate believer in the ideals upon which this MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-448829925321496872008-05-26T08:28:00.005-05:002008-05-27T07:40:05.588-05:00I'm not entirely sure what I want to say today.This, as anyone who knows me will attest, is an unusual state. But I feel I should say something, because today is Memorial Day.It's common, on Memorial Day, to honor Our Brave Soldiers' Sacrifice for Liberty--usually in the Big One, known in classrooms as Word War II. I'm all into that; my father and mother both served in the Army in the Big One, MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-27325399840073342632008-04-28T09:22:00.002-05:002008-04-28T09:43:33.068-05:00This from a long-time friend, the novelist Yvonne Navarro. It's worth your attention.------------So I have to ask: Would you think that being fair is good... but only for SOME people?On Wednesday, April 23rd, the Senate failed to pass the Fair Pay Act. What was almost worse than that defeat were the out-of-touch, old-fashioned-- and downright insulting-- statements about women. Senator John MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-51041715204564326052008-03-31T12:29:00.003-05:002008-03-31T12:41:46.989-05:00To answer Steve's question from the previous comment section:Some of The Lies of Locke Lamora may have vaguely reminded you of my style because Scott Lynch was, at the time of its writing, still a pretty hard-core Caine fan . . . but mostly, really, it's just that Scottie's a fuckin' genius, and great minds sometimes think alike.I've said it before: Scott Lynch is what I'd be if I were younger, MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-33172368924062633722008-03-19T08:16:00.007-05:002008-03-19T15:19:28.759-05:00Hey.In response to the exchange between Aaron and Songofgreyshadows:Just so you all know, there actually is a Stover Forum on the Web -- it was set up a couple years ago by the good folks over at SFFWorld.com -- and it's a swell place to get into all the writing advice and PersonalAnecdotesAboutHowIChangedYourLife and all that shit.The URL is, if my browser serves as a reliable memory:Stover MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-1527433159650728682008-03-12T14:35:00.003-05:002008-03-12T14:41:12.043-05:00Hey, everybody.I just got my first royalty check for Star Wars on Trial, making it my second US book in a row (after Revenge of the Sith) to earn out its advance. This is a positive trend, and one that I hope to encourage.Now, it's not a big check, but any royalty check is essentially Found Money -- extra payment for work which was done long ago.So I just wanted to say thanks to all you folks outMWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-38316777955367944802008-03-11T08:40:00.004-05:002008-03-11T08:57:36.758-05:00From Robert, in the previous comments section:-I've been wondering, is there any significance to what you refer to your characters and when? I've noticed you seem to call Hari "Caine" when you're referring to his Overworld exploits and Caine "Hari when referring to his life on Earth. Also that when you referred to Kris as "Deliann" a few posts back it was specifically when referencing a point in MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-89242592688316682842008-03-10T17:53:00.002-05:002008-03-10T17:56:49.201-05:00From Aaron, in the comments section:____________________________________Meh.So, I want to be more active and help you write more Caine novels. I'm sure your publicist has all sorts of data and crap...and I know you'll have a better idea, but here goes.What do y'all think of the Asshole Maneuver:1: Bombard popular blogs with content and quotes related to MWS work.2: Subsidize tattoos or other MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-81342113366614059562008-03-05T07:23:00.003-06:002008-03-05T07:46:16.254-06:00E. Gary Gygax died yesterday.Nearly everybody who still hangs out here should be a big enough geek to at least know who he was. As my old friend Eric posted on his blog:GYGAX, YOU BASTARD, YOUR FUCKING GAME RUINED MY LIFE.And thanks.Most folks 'round here should know, too, that the genesis of the whole Acts of Caine/Overworld cycle sprang from an attempt to "SFnalize" the experience of playing inMWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-79693055727286308632008-02-27T13:18:00.006-06:002008-02-27T15:05:04.412-06:00They come at him one at a time, each warrior in turn charging toward honorable single combat.Then--They come two at a time.By the time they begin to come in groups, they have to scramble over the bodies of their dead comrades to reach him. A pile of bodies.A pile that becomes a wall, a rampart.Ganner Rhysode builds a fortress of the dead.That makes me feel inferior.Doesn't look like much, here . MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-3444023574334376452008-02-25T10:36:00.004-06:002008-02-25T10:48:26.856-06:00In response to the question "Michael" left on my last post: I don't really read much fiction any more. I recommended Scott Lynch because his publisher very considerately floated me an ARC of The Lies of Locke Lamora, which I thought was the best fantasy adventure I'd read in maybe ten years. It was, however, entirely painful for me to admit this, as Scotty is a friend of mine (as well as some MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-90282822842339433222008-02-24T08:22:00.003-06:002008-02-24T08:47:48.772-06:00Hey, everybody.A couple things: Caine Black Knife looks to be the shortest (in word count) of the Acts of Caine, for two reasons:1) unlike the other two, this one is All About Caine (he's in every single scene), and2) I'm trying something new with this novel . . . a narrative technique borrowed from comics (and minimalist fiction), one that Scott McCloud, in his seminal work Understanding Comics,MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-4032004600915979792008-02-12T16:58:00.001-06:002008-02-12T17:08:03.967-06:00Hey.Those of you who've stuck with me this far might still be interested: I'm proofing the copy-edit on Caine Black Knife. So it's on track for October. So far.That's all.MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-65514092752738278252007-12-07T09:11:00.000-06:002007-12-07T09:13:35.700-06:00And from Peter again:On Dec 7, 2007, at 6:21 AM, Peter wrote:Hm. That answers my question of where your caste system came from. I admit to having thought you were a libertarian, that's my mistake. I guess I assumed you sort of fit your own perspectives into the book under the guise of Duncan, as sort of a wise old man who could tell the answers as you know it. Knowing that you actually created MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-83397756941259405432007-12-06T12:18:00.001-06:002007-12-06T12:18:57.511-06:00And Peter again:On Nov 30, 2007, at 2:54 AM, Peter wrote:I think I'm starting to get a good grip on where most of your writing comes from, so unfortunately my questions are starting to dry up into questions about suggested readings and such.I'm still a bit curious about the caste system you used to create your future earth. It's been called dystopian, and Duncan suggests it's not libertarian, at MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-69112530088721035102007-11-29T08:14:00.000-06:002007-11-29T08:21:28.479-06:00More from Peter:------On Nov 28, 2007, at 5:43 AM, Peter wrote:Good point on the philosophy thing... I think the reason why I (being the one who argued for that genre) fit Blade in particular there was because of the advent of Cainism. I tend to think of books as 'philosophical' when they make an attempt to define or state the perspectives of its characters explicitly, separately from their MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-27291288563453242792007-11-28T07:24:00.000-06:002007-11-28T07:30:08.711-06:00And now from Rob, a long-time correspondent:On Nov 22, 2007, at 9:52 AM, Rob Suder wrote:Hey Matt, I always appreciate you taking the time to answer emails and such. So thank you, especially considering how busy you probably are with you current works. I have a mixture of questions, a few about writing and a few observations mostly about the Caine novels. I’ve been rereading Blade of TyshalleMWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-76661746487094260132007-11-22T09:52:00.000-06:002007-11-22T09:54:23.333-06:00More from Peter:On Nov 20, 2007, at 3:46 PM, Peter wrote:Yeah, you definitely answered the question I was trying to ask, whether you felt there was an implied moral imperative in publishing your writing. Good to know there's someone out there not trying to force me to be like their characters. The pre-moral stance bit is interesting. I find that I have a liking for science fiction (and truth thatMWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-35287954810628406482007-11-20T07:45:00.000-06:002007-11-20T08:41:01.682-06:00Hey. I have risen. Or something.Got the following e-mail from some thoughtful fellow upon finishing BLADE, and it's led to some correspondence that I think fans of the Acts of Caine might find interesting. So I'm putting it up here.------Hey, I finished Blade of Tyshalle and am rereading Heroes Die. I'm finding that the philosophies of Cainism resonate with the perspectives I use to act and am a MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-28766211081067398082007-06-30T08:07:00.000-05:002007-06-30T08:36:33.224-05:00Surrendering to the pressure . . .Yeah, I know: I'm never here. Partly it's because I really don't care for writing about myself directly (of course, all my books are about myself--specifically, how I see the world--at least indirectly, but still . . .).I've never forgotten a general social maxim from my dissipated youth:Great minds discuss ideas.Average minds discuss events.Small minds discuss MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com42tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-44030681092041499422007-04-27T07:44:00.000-05:002007-04-27T08:04:13.226-05:00Sick. Sick sick and more sick.Here's the point: too sick to do my own research. To any and all available netmonkeys who still bother to show up here:Who's the guy who wrote that book about his interviews with Osama bin Laden? I seem to recall it's titled something like "Talking to Osama." Along those lines, anyway.I heard him talking about the book on the radio (late last year, I suspect); the MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-1176374863081865632007-04-12T05:45:00.000-05:002007-04-12T06:04:37.870-05:00Kurt Vonnegut died last night.God damn it.Never met him. Never wrote to him. The year I was born, he was writing his fourth novel. When it was published the next year, it sold 500 copies. It was called CAT'S CRADLE.I don't feel bad for him. I feel bad for me. I feel like I've lost family. The last lines of "Requiem," the final poem of his last book:When the last living thinghas died on account ofMWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-1172865856110412102007-03-02T13:54:00.000-06:002007-03-02T14:07:09.510-06:00Every Language Snob in the English-speaking world is now cordially invited to kiss my ass.Remember all those stuck-up horsebutts who've told you, over the years, that there is no English rhyme for "orange"?The next time some dumbass pulls that, look hiim straight in the eye and say --"Door-hinge."Then tell him you stole it from me.And send me a dollar.If they want to pretend it's actually MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-1172838767510967092007-03-02T06:24:00.000-06:002007-03-02T06:32:47.546-06:00Back on moral clarity . . .I just read over the final line of my previous post, and I was powerfully struck by the possibility that my insistence on nuance and uncertainty has a great deal to do with boredom.It is an unavoidable fact that moral clarity in an unambiguous world just isn't very interesting. Or interesting at all.Oy. Double oy.As one of the villains in Crowley's MOONCHILD once MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-1172410562119258912007-02-25T07:25:00.000-06:002007-02-25T07:36:02.166-06:00Hey.I'm still alive, but buried in work. And play. And generally happy about it, which is a switch.Tip for the aspiring writer: write things that make your [gender-appropriate portions of anatomy] hard, and fuck the rest. Don't try to be like somebody else. Tell it your way, and be as honest as you can with exactly why it warms your shorts, both with yourself and in the tale itself.Remember: not MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-1169642039335587132007-01-24T06:21:00.000-06:002007-01-24T06:42:12.390-06:00Hmm.A deafening silence from the Moral Certainty tubthumpers. How about that?Y'know, Nicholas Kristof of the NYTimes had a nicely turned phrase in his column comparing Bush to Ahab of MOBY-DICK fame:"The siren call of moral clarity."Which got me thinking about just exactly what seems to be so seductive about it, and what kind of people are so easily seduced that they will cheerfully ignore MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-1169328466125310012007-01-20T14:12:00.000-06:002007-01-20T18:28:59.346-06:00Goldberg responds:http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YWY1MzdjMDk3ZWVmNTg5NGYwYjQ0ZWViNGI0M2VlMDI=A few quick points (well, okay, neither few nor quick -- but I hope you might find them worth reading nonetheless): 1.) Notice how his first, and only, idea is to attempt to denigrate and devalue me and my position without addressing any single argument. Without answering a single question, or MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-1169301465726843302007-01-20T07:32:00.000-06:002007-01-20T07:57:45.890-06:00Hi, everybody.Just so you can't say you heard it somewhere else first:I delivered a draft of CAINE BLACK KNIFE the week before Christmas. I've been keeping a lid on it because I still haven't heard an official reaction from my editor.But my agent liked it.I'm not thrilled with this story, as it stands. The individual scenes are better, I think, than anything else I've done, and the structure is MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-1168085261588648542007-01-06T05:42:00.000-06:002007-01-06T06:10:53.703-06:00This is where I sprain my arm patting myself on the back . . .From the comments a couple posts ago:............................Matt, I thought that these things might interest you:My final project in English this semester is an essay centered around "Getting Away From it All." We could choose any novel we saw fit. I chose Blade of Tyshalle and developed the argument about how most of the novel isMWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-1167958401193342882007-01-04T18:49:00.000-06:002007-01-04T18:54:58.766-06:00On learning that Keith Ellison, D-Minn, the United States' first Muslim Congressman, will take his oath of office on a Koran once owned by Thomas Jefferson, I am put in mind of one of the inscriptions within the rotunda of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C.:Taken from a letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush, September 23, 1800 --Almighty God hath created the mind free . . . All attempts to influenceMWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-1167868879812426182007-01-03T18:00:00.000-06:002007-01-03T18:01:19.850-06:00I guess I'm feeling better.Dear Mr. Goldberg:Please excuse the late arrival of this email in response to your column on "Certainty" that apparently appeared in the Chicago Tribune on Dec. 28th of last year. I don't read the Tribune (and I'd be unlikely to read your column if I did), but my mother sent me your column as a clipping, since you bring up STAR WARS EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH. My MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-1155580600406184232006-08-14T13:21:00.000-05:002006-08-14T13:38:34.810-05:00Ladies and Gentlemen, and fans of mine (who very likely do not fall into either of the first categories), I present to youPaul Stevenson, of Danville, Illinois, one of approximately three people (other than my older brothers) who can truthfully say he kicked my ass.Would have been about third grade, I guess. Maybe fourth. It's important to note, here, that I was the biggest kid in my class. MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-1155392612747117272006-08-12T09:19:00.000-05:002006-08-12T09:23:32.816-05:00On the9/11 conspiracy thing --Check out www.911myths.com.They seem to have the healthiest attitude, to wit:"This is what we found. Don't take our word for it. Check for yourself. Here are our sources."On other fronts:The surgery went fine, and according to my orthopedic surgeon, it was entirely successful. In fact, my rehab may be shorter than he originally predicted. Though I am currently in MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-1154961783767938782006-08-07T09:13:00.000-05:002006-08-07T09:47:36.200-05:00The garage sale went well. The surgery comes up next week, and has been described as routine, though I have to take it under a general, which I hate . . . The Celebrex ain't workin' so much. There may be narcotics in my short-term future after all.And in response to AzrofD, regarding TRAITOR and my style:I don't think of myself as even HAVING a style.I take every story as its own thing, and throwMWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-1154778393499633382006-08-05T06:43:00.000-05:002006-08-05T06:46:33.546-05:00Your sympathies are appreciated.Good news on the narcotics front: turns out I can take Celebrex, one of the advanced Cox-2 inhibitors, and it works pretty well. And as Justin suggested below: it's a routine surgery these days, and I'm expected to recover fully.Now I'm off to help with our garage sale today, before the Fabulous Robyn turns into her evil twin, the Velocirobyn.You wouldn't liker herMWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-1154615913431590512006-08-03T09:19:00.000-05:002006-08-03T09:41:00.596-05:00Hey, kids.Thanks to all who still stop by here once in a while, despite my absence for four and a half months.Mostly working very hard. And struggling with my health. In these days of powerful psychoactive drugs that you have to gradually titrate, changing meds is a a lot like being boned up the ass with a razor-wire dildo.CAINE BLACK KNIFE proceeds apace. It's gotten a little weird, but I, MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-1142346765755646742006-03-14T08:01:00.000-06:002006-03-14T08:41:34.566-06:00So . . .Yesterday, Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI) introduced a Motion of Censure on the floor of the US Senate, to formally take Our Commander in Cheat to task for violating the Constitution and the law in his illegal domestic wiretapping program. Astonishingly enough, the main response from the Republican leadership (specifically, Dr. Bill "I've seen the videotape and in my medical opinion MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-1140456879651075842006-02-20T11:20:00.000-06:002006-02-20T11:37:29.393-06:00I have hit my fucking limit.http://select.nytimes.com/2006/02/20/opinion/20herbert.htmlFor this of you not subscribed to the TimeSelect service (the New York Times subscription upgrade) what Bob Herbert's writing about is the Maher Arar case -- the Syrian-born Canadian software engineer who was kidnapped at Kennedy Airport by the US government and flown to Syria, where he was held (and tortured) MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-1139685099766543472006-02-11T13:10:00.000-06:002006-02-11T13:16:05.146-06:00Go . . . SCOOTER!Sing, boy! SINNNNG!http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/10/politics/10leak.html?_r=1&oref=sloginMWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-1139605420548730722006-02-10T14:54:00.000-06:002006-02-10T15:03:40.550-06:00For those of you who might be wondering, STAR WARS ON TRIAL is a non-fiction (and un-LFL-authorized) collection of essays by prominent SFF writers on everything from he politics and ethics of The Saga to its effect on filmmaking and the effect its tie-ins have had on published SFF. David Brin for the Prosecution. Matthew Woodring Stover for the Defense.Smack down.But all in fun.Mostly.It's part MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-1139506065124016292006-02-09T11:15:00.000-06:002006-02-09T11:27:45.156-06:00I'm not dead.Nor am I gone.I have been ill, however, but now I'm better. I have also been busy. CAINE BLACK KNIFE is moving along. I have also completed (seemingly -- barring further news from the publisher) another project, STAR WARS ON TRIAL, on which I share co-editing credit with the justly-legendary David Brin, and which will be coming out from BenBella Books in June, and which is going to MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-1139415707273738362006-02-08T10:20:00.000-06:002006-02-08T10:21:47.296-06:00Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold On the President’s Warrantless Wiretapping ProgramFebruary 7, 2006As Prepared for Delivery from the Senate FloorMr. President, last week the President of the United States gave his State of the Union address, where he spoke of America’s leadership in the world, and called on all of us to “lead this world toward freedom.” Again and again, he invoked the MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-1132427610479993442005-11-19T13:01:00.000-06:002005-11-19T13:13:30.496-06:00Hey, I'm back again.Yes, I have been thoroughly engrossed in CAINE BLACK KNIFE, as well as in recovering from a nasty flu bug I picked up at WFC. I fought off the space monkeys (I have managed to adapt kali and jujitsu into the art of the Double Quantum Banana -- don't ask -- and I'm pretty sure the fuckers will never dare to trouble me again).WFC was a treat. I spent most of the weekend hanging MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-1129560702105862212005-10-17T09:45:00.000-05:002005-10-17T09:51:42.113-05:00Jeez, it's been so long Blogger forgot who I am . . .In response to a couple requests for CAINE BLACK KNIFE updates . . .I have been wandering in the wilderness of the dead zones.This is also why I've left off the politcal bitching 'roung these parts -- too much of my brain consumed with trying to pierce the Veil of the Blind God, as it were.But I seem to have found my way back into the light, MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7013600.post-1128003847010075672005-09-29T09:07:00.000-05:002005-09-29T09:26:16.040-05:00So I've been thinking about this constitutional law thing. I've been thinking --What's the point?Witness the following case study:In June, 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Bush Administration's policy of detaining foreign nationals without legal process at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station was illegal. The Court determined that the prisoners could not be held in a prison beyond the law,MWShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072845997157010606noreply@blogger.com17