Looking back on 2013 in science fiction and fantasy

For reasons that defy explanation, I am somehow considered a viable authority on the general fields of science fiction and fantasy media, because the poor fools over at the SF Signal Podcast allowed me to inflict myself upon their 2013 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Year in Review episode.

Fortunately, an actual best-selling genre author (Gail Carriger) and an actual seasoned podcast authority (Jeff Patterson) were on hand to make sure Patrick Hester wasn't trapped with just me on the line to make himself look bad. Gail is worth the price of admission alone, and Jeff is...well...he's spent several decades working the dark underbelly of television. It's done things to his mind...unnatural things...but it makes for good podcasting.

Give a listen.

Per usual, the unending tale of my podcast buffoonery is available here.

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Twisdom from ZachWeiner, December 19, 2013 at 08:58AM

@scalzi @warrenellis I think the more general case is "One creator one page" is dead. People will consume you how they like.

— Zach Wintersmith (@ZachWeiner) December 19, 2013

via Twitter https://twitter.com/ZachWeiner



December 19, 2013 at 08:58AM

Twisdom from 4n6woman, December 04, 2013 at 02:02PM

Q: What is the most used language in programming?

A: Profanity.

— stace (@4n6woman) December 4, 2013

via Twitter https://twitter.com/4n6woman



December 04, 2013 at 02:02PM

Wait, so HOW long has Nintendo been making game consoles?

The poor fools over at TechTalk radio exposed my idiocy to the Chicagoland airwaves again and our conversation wandered into the history of video game consoles. Specifically, exactly how long Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft have actually been making consoles -- and what was the only generation of home gaming rigs that this trio entirely sat out.

Fortunately the balance of the show was spent discussing more substantive matters, like why -- exactly -- Snapchat thought Facebook's $3 BILLION buyout offer was too chintzy to accept. The parts where I'm not talking are certainly worthwhile, so give a listen.

If you've not suffered enough, the unabridged history of my podcasted buffoonery is listed here.

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Several smart people (also, me) discuss the value of sci-fi/fantasy novel series as opposed to standalone stories

In a recent #MindMeld column, the beneficent SF Signal Irregular Paul Weimer posed the following question to a glorious and resplendent cavalcade of sci-fi and fantasy media figures (and, also, me):

Everywhere you go in genre, series seem to predominate over single novels. How do you read a series differently as compared to singletons? Have you ever given up on a series, or returned to one after a long absence?

The lineup of respondents include:, Sally ‘Qwill’ Janin, Lisa Paitz Spindler, Peggy Hailey, Fábio Fernandes, Brent Bowen, Zachary Jernigan, Steven H Silver, Alex Ristea, Stefan Raets, Rob Bedford and, well, me.

The responses are rather intriguing (excepting my own, of course). Worth your time to peruse the spectra of insights.

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• Every Single Death in A Song of Ice and Fire, Visualized

The least technical discussion of the SR-71 you've ever heard

So, they let me back on TechTalk Radio again where I explain exactly how pants-crappingly awesome the SR-71 Blackbird was from a technical and design-engineering perspective -- as only a non-aerospace engineer can. Fortunately, Mike and I babble on about the disruption of cable television by devices like Chromecast and Roku for a good while first.

If you're an airspeed nerd and/or just hate your cable provider, give a listen.

As usual, my unabridged history of podcast misdeed is available here.

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Twisdom from ChuckWendig, November 06, 2013 at 10:46AM

@jchutchins Facebook is like tofu or white rice. It has become a conveyance for other foods, taking on the flavor of other websites.

— Chuck Wendig (@ChuckWendig) November 6, 2013

via Twitter https://twitter.com/ChuckWendig



November 06, 2013 at 10:46AM

Twisdom from NathanFillion, October 31, 2013 at 11:45PM

Me: Adam! I love your Halloween costume!
@AdamBaldwin: It's Halloween? http://t.co/p2eCuC2y0s

— Nathan Fillion (@NathanFillion) November 1, 2013

via Twitter https://twitter.com/NathanFillion



October 31, 2013 at 11:45PM

Twisdom from wonderella, October 31, 2013 at 03:04PM

The tenth rule of fight club is don't read the comments.

— Wonderella (@wonderella) October 31, 2013

via Twitter https://twitter.com/wonderella



October 31, 2013 at 03:04PM

"Experts" pick the sci-fi books you gotta read by year's end

Because Patrick Hester uses wisdom as his dump stat, I was invited back on the Hugo-winning SF Signal podcast to discuss both what sci-fi I'm reading, prose-wise, and what I will pull out all the stops to read by year's end. Fortunately, Jeff Patterson, Fred Kiesche and Paul Weimer are along for the ride to inject some actual informed genre bibliophilia into my relentless name-checking of Scott Lynch, Brian Wood and Cherie Priest.

If you're building a Christmas list for the sci-fi-o-phile in your life, or just like hearing geek-banter normally reserved for side-chats at the D&D game table, you could spend worse hours than to hear the SF Signal Recommendations for 2013's Remaining Sci-Fi Must-Reads. My segments are imminently mutable.

As always, my tally of past SF Signal podcast audio-crimes is available here.

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Twisdom from maureenjohnson, October 28, 2013 at 12:39PM

The thing that makes writing books take so long is that they make you finish them.

— maureenjohnson (@maureenjohnson) October 28, 2013

via Twitter https://twitter.com/maureenjohnson



October 28, 2013 at 12:39PM

Twisdom from MarcusRomer, October 23, 2013 at 03:18PM

The Creative Process
1. This is awesome
2. This is tricky
3. This is shit
4. I am shit
5. This might be ok
6. This is awesome

— Marcus Romer (@MarcusRomer) October 23, 2013

via Twitter https://twitter.com/MarcusRomer



October 23, 2013 at 03:18PM

Twisdom from JustinKownacki, October 23, 2013 at 10:03AM

"I wish I had more followers I could market myself to," he sighs, confusing human contact with lead generation.

— Justin Kownacki (@JustinKownacki) October 23, 2013

via Twitter https://twitter.com/JustinKownacki



October 23, 2013 at 10:03AM

The (nearly) unimaginable future of the American tax code

Let me begin this essay by stating I am in no measure an economist and have no real credentials for advocating the economic viability of what I'm about to propose. I come at this as someone trained in both narrative and sociology, which is to say this is how I expect the political story of American federal taxation to eventually end.

And it will end, at some point in my lifetime, with the demise of the income tax and the rise of the federally guaranteed basic income. Put another way, the federal government will stop taxing your personal income and will instead underwrite it, for everyone.

Twisdom from MykeCole, October 16, 2013 at 03:15PM

Let me put it a different way: Make every month NaNoWriMo.

— Myke Cole (@MykeCole) October 16, 2013

via Twitter https://twitter.com/MykeCole



October 16, 2013 at 03:15PM

Twisdom from timpratt, October 16, 2013 at 11:37AM

Sticks & stones may break my bones but words will worm their way deep into my subconscious where they will intermittently haunt me for years

— Tim Pratt (@timpratt) October 16, 2013

via Twitter https://twitter.com/timpratt



October 16, 2013 at 11:37AM

Twisdom from damiengwalter, October 05, 2013 at 06:15AM

When I die, the devil is going to show me a pile of all the books I could have written, and a folder of all the tweets I sent instead.

— Damien Walter (@damiengwalter) October 5, 2013

via Twitter https://twitter.com/damiengwalter



October 05, 2013 at 06:15AM

The TechTalk episode where I reveal the OG version of Einstein's famous equation

Against all good sense, I'm allowed back on TechTalk radio to reveal how Einstein originally composed his mass-energy equivalence equation in 1905, because it didn't look anything like E=mc².

The rest of the show is dedicated to snarky but cogent discussion of deception and identity on Facebook, which is a much better use of your time. Before I leave, I toss a "Google vs. Sci-Fi" grenade over my shoulder. Give a listen; just fast-forward when you hear my voice.

As always, my complete litany of podcast transgressions is available here.

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Twisdom for September 30, 2013 at 10:15AM from DRUNKHULK

GOVERNMENT SHUT DOWN! BIG DEAL! IT BEEN IN SLEEP MODE FOR YEARS NOW ANYWAY!

— DRUNK HULK (@DRUNKHULK) September 30, 2013

via Twitter https://twitter.com/DRUNKHULK



September 30, 2013 at 10:15AM

Twisdom for September 27, 2013 at 03:36PM from pattonoswalt

Pretty soon Starbucks will stop being coy and offer to just shove a pumpkin & a fistful of nutmeg in your ass for $20.

— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) September 27, 2013

via Twitter https://twitter.com/pattonoswalt



September 27, 2013 at 03:36PM

Twisdom for September 27, 2013 at 03:19PM from MaryRobinette

The clerk at @RadioShack had no idea what a rotary dial phone was. When I said it was an antique phone, she said, "like 1st gen iPhone?"

— Mary Robinette Kowal (@MaryRobinette) September 27, 2013

via Twitter https://twitter.com/MaryRobinette



September 27, 2013 at 03:19PM

Twisdom for July 29, 2013 at 02:32PM from techemployee

like steve jobs, i don't ask what a user wants. i ask what a 20-something yuppie would casually throw money away for

— Entitled Tech Worker (@techemployee) July 29, 2013

via Twitter https://twitter.com/techemployee



July 29, 2013 at 02:32PM

Twisdom for September 26, 2013 at 08:37AM from weatherchannel

Oops...you misspelled "baller." RT @larissat18: I'm sitting here drinking coffee and watching the weather channel...I feel like a granny.

— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) September 26, 2013

via Twitter https://twitter.com/weatherchannel



September 26, 2013 at 08:37AM

The TechTalk show where I blather briefly about mobile devices

On my latest TechTalk radio appearance, I discuss some rather banal issues with mobile device usage among the elderly before dropping a question about Einstein's most famous (and famously misunderstood) equation. Luckily Paul Ulreich from Verizon is there to clean up my mess -- at least on the phone front.

If you're curious about age-based accessibility for mobile phones, this is actually a very fine episode to give listen -- so long as you mute the parts where I'm talking. You know, the usual.

As always, my complete archive of podcasted misdeeds is available here

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The TechTalk episode where I talk about the secret history of Steve Ballmer

In this TechTalk radio episode, I reveal what dark history Steve Ballmer lived out between his days at Harvard and his illustrious run as a minion of Microsoft. Here's a hint: it involved a midwestern state, pastries and another legendary Fortune 100 CEO. No foolin'.

Mercifully, we spent much more of the episode discussing Oyster and its "Netflix for ebooks" pitch, as well as the future of the prose-for-pay industry. The parts when I'm not talking are definitely worth a listen.

As always, my complete archive of podcasted misdeeds is available here.

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