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scalzi

@scalzi@mastodon.social

I enjoy pie.

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scalzi , to Random stuff
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So, hey, I just finished writing a novel. If you want to know what it's called and what it's about (and when it will be out), just follow this handy-dandy link right here:

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2024/05/18/new-novel-finished/

scalzi OP ,
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Also, for the questions you will probably now ask, the New Book FAQ:

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2020/02/11/new-book-faq/

scalzi , to Random stuff
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It’s drizzly but otherwise nice today, which makes it a fine time to peruse a stack of new books and ARCs that have come to the Scalzi Compound. Which of these books are particularly catching your eye today?

Logical Fantasy: The Many Worlds of John Wyndham, David Byte, ed; Lincoln's Dreams, Connie Willis; Time Out, Michael Marshall Smith; Little Fuzzy, H. Beam Piper; Voices Carry, Raven Oak; Cursed Under London, Gabby Hutchison Crouch; One Hundred Shadows, Hwang Jungeun; Where I End, Sophie White; Welcome to Boy.Net, Lyda Morehouse; The Proper Thing and Other Stories, Seanan McGuire; Fall of Light, Steve Erikson
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    • scalzi , to Random stuff
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    Shit's about to go down

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    Apple said the Logic Pro updates would be available May 13, well now it's May 13 and I don't see the updates in the app stores WHERE ARE MY LOGIC PRO UPDATES APPLE

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    Happy Mother's Day to one of the few people in the world who can pull off looking good in High-Vis Orange

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    Did I get to see the northern lights? I did! In Ohio!

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    Me, super enthused to be 55 today.

    (Spoiler: I am actually having a pretty good day)

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    I'm happy to say that Starter Villain is a finalist for the Locus Award this year, in the category of science fiction novel. Here is the complete finalist list for my category, along with a link to the full award categories and finalist list. Congrats to everyone who is a finalist this year!

    https://locusmag.com/2024/05/2024-locus-awards-top-ten-finalists/

    The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport, Samit Basu (Tordotcom) A Fire Born of Exile, Aliette de Bodard (Gollancz; JAB Books) Red Team Blues, Cory Doctorow (Tor; Ad Astra) Furious Heaven, Kate Elliott (Ad Astra; Tor) Translation State, Ann Leckie (Orbit US; Orbit UK) The Terraformers, Annalee Newitz (Tor; Orbit UK) Starter Villain, John Scalzi (Tor; Tor UK) Lords of Uncreation, Adrian Tchaikovsky (Orbit US; Tor UK) System Collapse, Martha Wells (Tordotcom) The Road to Roswell, Connie Willis (Del Rey)
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    • scalzi , to Random stuff
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    ELON DEMANDS BLOOD TO KEEP HIM YOUNG

    https://gizmodo.com/tesla-cybertruck-door-leaves-a-gash-in-owners-leg-1851463705

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    Sugar has given you THE SECRET SIGN. You know what to do now.

    scalzi OP ,
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    DISCLAIMER: The photo in previous post for entertainment purposes only. Sugar the cat is not in fact signaling, either overtly or secretly. Any action you undertake after seeing this photo is on your own recognizance and Sugar is neither legally nor morally responsible for your decisions. Make good choices. Be nice people. Pet a cat. Etc.

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    There's a new edition of H. Beam Piper's "Little Fuzzy" out today, which features an introduction by none other than me! If you would like to check it out (and learn more about the educational program that is reissuing it), here's the link for that:

    https://wordfirepress.com/gpcw/

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    Over at Uncanny Magazine, I have an essay about the aesthetics of spectacle, relating to the Dune films of 1984 and the 2020s: How spectacle in each film was treated and why, and what makes the look and feel between the eras so very different.

    https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/scalzi-on-film-the-aesthetics-of-spectacle-a-look-at-dune-in-1984-and-2024/

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    This is my "Okay, but, really?" face

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    Charlie is almost certain she saw a leprechaun.

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    The flowers in the garden are beginning to pop! Also, note to self, buy more Claritin, like, tomorrow.

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    As a follow-up to the previous post about the Rabbit, and how its functions could probably be done on/with a smartphone:

    https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/30/24145838/rabbit-r1-android-app-pixel-6a

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    This Rabbit device and the Humane pin have the same problem, which is that literally anything they can (or ever could) do can be added into your smartphone for no additional cost, and then you only have to carry around one thing, which can also make, you know, phone calls

    https://youtu.be/ddTV12hErTc

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    Because they're pretty: Some wildflowers.

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    As we hurtle toward the end of another April, there’s still time to tuck in one more stack of new books and ARCs that have come to the Scalzi Compound. What here strikes you as a good read to take with you into the weekend?

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    Charlie is a fan of Spring.

    scalzi OP ,
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    @jonfairbairn She's a mutt.

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    I still love my Google Pixelbook but in the last couple of months the chunky bezels are (finally) really beginning to get to me.

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    To be fair, it's easy to forget something that costs more than you were ever going to spend for it, to do things that your phone and/or laptop already do better

    https://gizmodo.com/apple-vision-pro-already-forgotten-about-1851426564

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    People are buying this stock not as a solid investment but as a symbol of allegiance, which is cult thinking. The stock is massively overvalued and these small retail investors are going to end up taking a bath that they can't afford to take. They're going to lose their retirements, all for a man who would loathe them individually and to whom their only value is the money they can give them. They're not even being (actively) defrauded. They're doing it to themselves.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/04/14/truth-social-investors-faith-trump/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzEzMTUzNjAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzE0NTM1OTk5LCJpYXQiOjE3MTMxNTM2MDAsImp0aSI6IjA1ZDM5NTcwLTFmZWUtNDM1MC05MTNiLWNhYjRkOWY2YmI3ZSIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS90ZWNobm9sb2d5LzIwMjQvMDQvMTQvdHJ1dGgtc29jaWFsLWludmVzdG9ycy1mYWl0aC10cnVtcC8ifQ.NYOGXlrMhaG0zFW-9kwpWcjCV2_1gTWnqKaPObVb6b4

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    This is not the right way to hotbox

    https://gizmodo.com/tesla-software-update-traps-woman-in-hot-car-1851407234

    jscalzi , to Random stuff

    My social media experience got better when I left the former Twitter; the algorithm and Musk really made it awful. I like things much better now that I timeshare between here and Bluesky and (to a lesser but still enjoyable extent) Mastodon. But I'll note I also changed my own behavior - I block jerks much faster, and don't go out of my way to pick fights - and don't use social media much for keeping track of news. It's made my social media experience more congenial than it was even a year ago.

    RE: https://www.threads.net/@laurengoode/post/C5jHeZ9pG9r

    scalzi ,
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    @thezenlady @jscalzi They don't but I check in on Mastodon to catch up!

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    I took this from my front yard yesterday. Life experience, this was.

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    I really dig my still-new Mac Book Pro, but if I had to purchase it all over again, I think I would go for the 14-inch version rather than the 16-inch. The chonkiness of the 16-inch version is considerable.

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    The first weekend of April brings a new stack of books and ARCs to the Scalzi Compound. What here is an intriguing read to you?

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    Thankfully, my "blue checked back when it verified identity" account there remains unblemished with the current "I pay money to advertise that I'm a fascist bigot" blue check. Mind you, I haven't posted there since November in any event (I keep the account to make sure no one scoops up the name).

    https://gizmodo.com/elon-musk-punishing-popular-x-users-blue-checkmarks-1851387024

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    My film column at @uncannymagazine.bsky.social is up and is called "The Godzilla Beeper." What does that mean? And how does it relate to the various versions of Godzilla over the years, including the Oscar-winning Godzilla Minus One? Click through to learn:

    https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/scalzi-on-film-the-godzilla-beeper/

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    Perhaps the Most American Headline of All Time, from Reason Magazine

    scalzi OP ,
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    (Also Spoiler: We'll just make more)

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    This was a largely silly exercise in voting brackets, but on the other hand this is a legit result: Aside from social media apps, this is the app I use the most, and even including the social media apps, it's almost certainly the most useful one I use. I can't even remember the last time I used a paper map or printed directions.

    https://gizmodo.com/google-maps-is-the-greatest-app-of-all-time-1851379205

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    Mastodon, I have no April Fool's Day prank for you, but I do have this photo of two cats about to get into it, which I think you'll agree is a better, more interesting use of all of our time.

    (PS: The cats did not get into it, they were both soon distracted by cleverly deployed socks filled with catnip)

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    A day for rebirth and renewal.

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    Starter Villain is a finalist for the Best Novel Hugo! Congratulations to the other finalists in my category (what tremendous writers! What tremendous work!) and to all the other finalists up and down the ballot. I have some more thoughts on being a Hugo Award finalist in this year above all others, on my site:

    https://whatever.scalzi.com/2024/03/29/starter-villain-a-hugo-finalist-for-best-novel/

    scalzi , to Random stuff
    @scalzi@mastodon.social avatar

    Make up your mind, strawberries

    jscalzi , to Random stuff

    I've turned on fediverse sharing on this account. Hello, fediverse, here's a picture of a cat.

    scalzi ,
    @scalzi@mastodon.social avatar

    @jscalzi I will note that if you are seeing this on Mastodon, my primary account here is https://mastodon.social/@scalzi and is different enough in substance that it is worth following for itself (for example, the Threads account will have lots of US politics on it, and the Mastodon account will have substantially less).

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    So, I have just turned fediverse sharing for my Threads account (@jscalzi), which means it's now accessible via Mastodon and other federated applications and programs. That said, if you are on Mastodon, my primary account here is https://mastodon.social/@scalzi and will remain so for the forseeable future. I use both in somewhat different ways. My Threads account, I will note, is where I gripe about US politics/social stuff more. In any event, hello, fediverse, again!

    scalzi OP ,
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    (Also, I originally posted assuming I was on my Threads account, and have updated in the edit (smacks head))

    scalzi OP ,
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    @vrsimility It suppresses it in its "for you" algorithm, but that doesn't mean people there don't write about it.

    scalzi OP ,
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    @alexf24 @jscalzi If they block Threads, obviously that's fine, it's their choice. As noted, I'll be continuing to post to my native Mastodon account.

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    Today was the first day that I have encountered this painting by Wayne Thiebaud, and I have to say that it makes me deeply uncomfortable

    scalzi , to Random stuff
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    Spent the day finishing and uploading a new EP of electronic music. Meet "Totality": Five tracks on a theme of the upcoming eclipse, going from ambient to industrial and back again. It's being seeded to streaming as we speak, but you can listen to it now here:

    https://whatever.scalzi.com/2024/03/24/yet-another-new-ep-from-me-totality/

    scalzi OP ,
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    @LillyHerself Thank you! I did it myself!

    scalzi OP ,
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    @tehabe Yup! I mean, unless you have very slow Internet.

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