Author Archives: Lawrence Person

About Lawrence Person

Lawrence Person is a science fiction writer living in Austin, Texas. His short fiction has appeared in Asimov's, Analog, Postscripts, Jim Baen's Universe, Fear, and several anthologies. He also edits the Hugo-nominated SF critical magazine Nova Express, and runs the Turkey City Writer's Workshop. His non-fiction has appeared in National Review, Reason, Whole Earth Review, The Freeman, The World & I, Science Fiction Eye, The New York Review of Science Fiction, and Slashdot.org. He owns such a large library (mostly science fiction first editions) he had to buy a two-story house to put it in, and then adopted a golden retriever to drag him out of his house on a regular basis. He also makes a mean batch of salsa.

Hours of Tasteless Entertainment

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Lawrence Person

Suppose you came to the Internet sometime after the year 2000. You may take a certain level of taste and restraint for granted, even for porn sites. You may never have beheld the web design wonderland that was Geocities. Geocities! … Continue reading →

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Shoegazer Sunday: Mash’s “Bury”

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Lawrence Person

Here’s another obscure Japanese shoegazer band, Mash, with their song “Bury.” I like the way it builds, though the outro crescendo could have been a bit shorter…

Posted in Music | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

New William Gibson Book: Distrust That Particular Flavor

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Lawrence Person

William Gibson has a new book out, Distrust That Particular Flavor, collecting his non-fiction output. Gibson’s essays are usually interesting and thought-provoking. Paul Di Filippo offers a review, as does The New York Times.

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Top 500 Books Sold at Auction in 2011

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Lawrence Person

The list of the top 500 books (or related paper items) to sell at auction for 2011 is now available. Beyond a first edition of Gulliver’s Travels, there was no SF I could spot, but a number of interesting items, … Continue reading →

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A Very Old New Film

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Lawrence Person

The Academy Award-Winning film Wings is coming to both DVD and Blu-ray. That’s the 1927 Academy Award-winning film, in case you didn’t know…

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The 2011 Houston Texans: Great Season, Disappointing End

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Lawrence Person

December 26, 2010: After watching the Texans lose to the Denver Broncos, making it four losses in a row to fall to 5-10, a despondent fan in the greater Houston area is preparing to commit suicide when the Angel of … Continue reading →

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Shoegazer Sunday: Ringo Deathstarr’s “You Don’t Listen”

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Lawrence Person

Here’s the earcatchingly-named Ringo Deathstarr (note the double r at the end of Deathstar; there’s evidently a New Jersey rapper that goes by the single r version of the name) with “You Don’t Listen.” The band hails from Austin, which … Continue reading →

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Croooooooow!

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Lawrence Person

There’s a scene in Ian McDonald’s The Dervish House in which one of the characters notes that rooks and other birds have had their intelligence enhanced through stray environmental nanotechnology. As the videos below show, they might not have to … Continue reading →

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2011: Texas’ Dryest Year Ever

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Lawrence Person

Official confirmation, just in case you needed it: Federal scientists confirmed Friday that Texas had its driest year on record in 2011. The statewide average rainfall for the year totaled just 14.88 inches, according to the National Climatic Data Center, … Continue reading →

Posted in Austin | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Library Additions: August 8—December 31, 2011

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Lawrence Person

Despite this big-ass list, I think my book buying is actually slowing down a little. It’s getting harder to find things that I want (and don’t already have) at Half Price Books or eBay. Despite that, I always seem to … Continue reading →

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