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.

Edison’s Frankenstein

Posted on November 5, 2011 by Lawrence Person

Did you know that the first first filmed version of Frankenstein was not the James Whale movie, but a 1910 Edison studios film? Though full of the hokey melodramatic tropes of early silent cinema, it actually follows the basic plot … Continue reading →

Posted in Horror, Movies, Science Fiction, video | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Random Internet Images That Amuse Me

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Lawrence Person

Instead of actual content… (Hat tip: Gail Carriger‘s Facebook page.)

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Hephaestus Books: A Different Kind of Ripoff

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Lawrence Person

Jerry Pournelle and C. J. Cherryh have been among the first to report on the nefarious activities of Hephaestus Books, which seems to be publishing omnibus editions of hundreds or thousands of books which they haven’t bothered to obtain the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Science Fiction | Tagged , , , , | 34 Comments

The Decade of Weirdness: The 1970s

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Lawrence Person

For a while now, I’ve been posting about various Halloween horrors, real or imagined. Now I’d like to take you back to a time when the world went crazy, when paranormal phenomena entered the mainstream and the most ludicrous crap … Continue reading →

Posted in Clueless Dorks, TV, weird | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Annual Fark Scary Story Thread

Posted on October 30, 2011 by Lawrence Person

Once of the great things about Halloween is the annual Fark Scary Story thread, which is now up for this year. Here are links to the last seven years of Scary Story threads: 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 … Continue reading →

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Halloween Scares: Black Eyed Kids

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Lawrence Person

So, vampires are so last year, and scary bunnies and goatmen don’t do it for you? Are you looking for a new urban legend to unnecessarily scare yourself silly with for the Halloween season? How about Black Eyed Kids? No, … Continue reading →

Posted in weird | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Scary Halloween Videos: Abandoned Insane Asylums

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Lawrence Person

I’ve been looking for some scary videos on YouTube, and honestly, the most popular “paranormal” videos there are pretty embarrassingly lame. “Ah! A guy in eyeshadow steps out of the dark! It’s a ghost!” Much creepier, to my mind, are … Continue reading →

Posted in Horror, video, weird | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

A Detailed and Possibly Tedious Account of Adding a New Bookcase To My Library

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Lawrence Person

One problem with having a large library that you’re always adding books to is keeping up with shelving them in the proper place. I have all my fiction shelved in alphabetical order by author within three form-factors (hardbacks, trade paperbacks, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Cartoons for the Halloween Season: Betty Boop in Minnie the Moocher

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Lawrence Person

Cab Calloway, Betty Boop and dancing skeletons. What more could you ask for?

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“No wireless. Less space than a Nomad. Lame.”

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Lawrence Person

Ten year’s ago today, Apple released the iPod. Few could see where this little device would end up taking Apple. (Certainly not this guy.) The headline is Commander Taco’s famous dismissive evaluation of the device on Slashdot, for those of … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, technology | Tagged , , | 1 Comment