The old blog, active from 2006 through 2012.
PhilCon Schedule and Praise from Ian McDonald
My schedule at the upcoming PhilCon convention, and some praise from fellow Pyr author (and Hugo nominee) Ian McDonald about my novel "Infoquake." Continue reading→
Five Things Neither Democrats or Republicans Are Talking About, But Damn It, They Should
Today’s the day we finally get to discover whether the Democrats’ surge allows them to break the Republican lock on government that’s been a fact of life for most of the Bush presidency. While some are calling this a potential sea change, there are a few commentators out there that are stating the truth: this election really won’t change much in the end. Even if the Democrats take control of the House and Senate, they’re... Continue reading→
Five Things Republicans Need to Shut Up About if They Intend to Run the Country Again at Some Point
It’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that the Republicans are going to lose at least one house of Congress in next week’s mid-term elections. Or at least, it would be a foregone conclusion if they were running against anybody but the Democrats. (See my recent blog entry Five Things Democrats Need to Shut Up About if They Intend to Run the Country Again.) Still, if any Congress deserves a change in leadership, it’s this one.... Continue reading→
Quake Up Your Book Group
If your book group wants to read and discuss "Infoquake," just e-mail me and I'll join the discussion by phone. If the members of your book group have purchased five or more copies of "Infoquake," then I'll throw in a signed sixth copy for free to the member of your choice. Continue reading→
20 Reasons Why I Want to Live in a Cheesy SF Dome City
It’s been way too long since I’ve posted anything here on DeepGenre, so pardon me if I indulge in something frivolous. I’ve always had a secret desire to live in one of those sci-fi domes you see in hopelessly dated ’60s and ’70s films. Logan’s Run. Sleeper. THX-1138. The Island. Yeah, I want to live there. Why? No insects. I hate insects. Haaaaaate them. If we could create an entirely indoor civilization where I’d never have to see an insect... Continue reading→
Christopher Nolan’s “The Prestige”
If Christopher Nolan continues to mine the vein of tortured protagonists with such rich results as he does in "The Prestige," he just might become our foremost cinematic chronicler of obsession. But then again... wasn't everyone saying something very similar about M. Night Shyamalan? Continue reading→
Reverse Engineering the Turing Test
As part of the research for my next book, MultiReal, I’ve been thinking a lot about mind uploading. Mind uploading is a transhumanist concept wherein you take a human brain and digitize it. We’re not just talking about scanning and mapping here; the goal is to have a fully functioning mind that can exist outside of all this defective muscle, bone, and tissue you cart around with you. Science fiction authors have been kicking the... Continue reading→
Capclave 2006 Wrapup
Capclave 2006 might be your kooky uncle who's continually rushing around in a frenzy of activity. He's a blast to hang out with, he's smart as hell, and he can teach you a thing or two about Standing Up to The Man. But when he drops you back home at the end of the day, you can't help thinking to yourself, "How can anyone live like that?" Continue reading→
Five Things Democrats Need to Shut Up About if They Intend to Run the Country Again
The Democrats will probably wrest control of one or both houses of Congress from the Republicans in a few weeks. As far as I’m concerned, that’s a good thing. But it’s a good thing largely because the Republicans have been doing a bad job governing and they deserve the boot — not because the Democrats have presented much in the way of a viable alternative. The Democratic Party worries me. They’ve been witless, hapless, senseless,... Continue reading→
Random Things Not Worth a Full Blog Post
Where have I been the past few weeks and why haven’t I been blogging? Take your pick: Freeboating at a fancy-schmancy LexisNexis conference in Boston with my wife Diligently avoiding sharp objects in an attempt to avoid despair at the still-unfinished state of MultiReal, the sequel to Infoquake Falling increasingly behind on a number of web projects Starting half a dozen rants about this or that topic and coming to the realization that none of... Continue reading→