I woke up today and checked the Huffington Post, as I often do as part of my morning new scrounge, and was surprised to spot Isaac Asimov’s head bouncing around in an ad for Pimsleur Approach.

Check out my (non-moving) screen grab.

I find it hard to believe that the use of his well-known face in this ad is authorized.

Isaac Asimov … endorsing Pimsleur? This can’t be a real thing. Can it? I don’t recall him ever writing anything on that subject, or hearing him pontificate on it, and a Google search only turns up a single reference that connects the two—and that’s for people who are equally as pissed off at seeing a great man misused by it as I am!

This traduces his memory and lessens his (though I kinda hate to use this word about the Good Doctor) brand.

So Pimsleur Approach people, just stop, OK? And if it’s not something the Pimsleur people did, but is instead the responsibility of the Huffington Post’s ad department, then they should knock it off. A photo of Isaac Asimov is not a stock image that can be used to imply endorsement.

I’ve written both companies to ask WTF is going on, and will let you know what I find out.

UPDATE: As of 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning, Asimov’s face is still shilling …

I ran across this photo over at Locus of me and Andy Duncan and Ellen Datlow (with Wil McCarthy in the background) at the 2001 Nebula Awards in Los Angeles, and all I could think was … now there’s an image in desperate need of a caption!

So, friends, it’s up to you to provide one. What could it be that we’re discussing so intently? And more importantly …

What exactly is Ellen measuring with her fingers?

So yesterday, my boss and pal Craig Engler tweeted a pic of three oranges. He said it was a snack, but it sure looked like he was about to juggle to me. That’s when I learned he’s an accomplished juggler, who’s not only juggled clubs, but fire!

How did I not know that about a guy I’ve known for maybe 20 years? No idea. But what he didn’t know, and what you probably don’t know either, is that I was once in the Guinness Book of World Records—for juggling!

Back in the early ’80s, I learned to juggle—and so did my brother and Dad. We were pretty new to it in 1983 when we heard that year’s International Jugglers’ Association convention would be held at nearby Stony Brook University, but we were having so much fun tossing stuff in the air (and not letting it fall to the ground) that all three of us went.

Which resulted in us talking part in an attempt to break the record for the most number of people juggling the most number of things at the same time. This photo captured the moment when 476 of us juggled 1,867 objects, and ended up on the wraparound cover to the association’s September 1983 magazine. (more…)

A new month has begun, and so, as usual, I gather together my dreams (which I tweet whenever they occur) from the month before to see whether poetry can be made from allowing them to rub up against each other. During the first month of 2013, I dreamt of Isaac Asimov, Batman, Sean Connery, Gardner Dozois, Larry David, and maybe some of you.

JANUARY 2013

I dreamt Eric Van had written an original song for me to play on the ukulele. Sadly, I knocked over my drink and accidentally erased it.

 31 Jan

I dreamt I was free falling, head toward the earth, feet toward the sky. It as pleasant, though I woke before I needed to open my chute.

 30 Jan 
 



I dreamt I listened to Isaac Asimov speak at a kaffeeklatsch for two hours, then headed off to the con suite. Sadly, I remember no details.

 30 Jan

I dreamt I was an old Chinese guy amused to be taken to a Chinese restaurant by someone who thought I’d like it. Woke before I ate anything! 

30 Jan

I dreamt I sliced peppers at ‪@NextRestaurant, ‪@GAchatz watching. When I looked upon what I had done, I was embarrassed by my sloppy work.

 30 Jan 


I dreamt I talked to Conan O’Brien about online reviewing ethics. He didn’t speak, just raised an eyebrow quizzically. Man, was he tall.

 30 Jan

I appear to have lost a dream, because now that I’m awake, I have no idea what my middle-of-the-night scribble ACCEPT WEIRD MEAL means. 

28 Jan

I dreamt I drove with the ambassador when his head was cut off. I demanded to be taken to the airport — but Sean Connery insisted we fight.

 28 Jan 


I dreamt I waited with a huge crowd for the arrival of a bus I _had_ to catch, and was required to remove my shoes before I could board. 

28 Jan 


I dreamt I made a meal out of hundreds of differently flavored bees hovering about me that I plucked out of the air one by one and savored. 

28 Jan

(more…)

As you know, I was one of the Guests of Honor at Immortal ConFusion a few weeks back, which means there’s one thing you’ve all been wondering since then …

How was the food?

Because when I wasn’t pontificating on panels, getting intimate with a kaffeeklatsch, hanging in the bar, or leading new friends in a ukulele singalong, I was out on the streets of Michigan seeing what gustatory delights could be found. I didn’t get out much—after all, I was in Michigan on the con’s dime, and I wanted to make sure they got their money’s worth—but still, I did manage to visit three restaurants, thanks to the kindness of the committee.

Joe’s Coney Dog

I’m not sure I’m the best judge of what makes a good coney dog. I grew up in Brooklyn, for several years living about a mile from Coney Island. To me, a Coney Island hot dog means a Nathan’s hot dog with mustard, sauerkraut, and nothing else. Others might add a little relish, but little else, with the dog itself being a major player in the concoction.

So when I found myself in Dearborn, surrounded by dozens of restaurants proclaiming a Coney Island heritage, I knew I had to see what this was all about. I prevailed upon my hosts to bring me face to bun with a coney, and so on Saturday, we hit the road and ended up at Joe’s Top Dog.

I ordered the Jim Padilla special—which is a hot dog topped with ground beef, chili, mustard, and onion—for the full experience, and when it arrived, I stared at it and thought, “How the heck am I supposed to eat this thing?”

I also thought, “Is there really a hot dog under all those toppings?” (more…)

With the one-year anniversary of my purchase of a ukulele about a month behind me, and my attendance at the George Formby convention in Blackpool about a month ahead of me, I felt moved to share another song with you. And so, here I am having my way with “Makin’ Whoopee!,” made famous by Eddie Cantor in the 1928 musical Whoopee!

I’m improving slowly … but at least I’m improving. Still quite a ways to go, though, and still hoping I’ll find a local teacher someday.

Can’t wait to learn from my betters next month in Blackpool!

I told you last week that as I was flipping through some of Irene’s old comics, one thought kept going through my mind at the sight of the anxiety-producing situations on the covers of Strange Adventures—

I hate it when that happens!

And as I continued looking at the covers of other DC Comics anthology titles—such as House of Mystery, Tales of the Unexpected, Mystery in Space, and My Greatest Adventure—the phrase continued to repeat in my mind …

I hate it when that happens!

(more…)

Sean Howe posted a moving Fred Hembeck strip today over at his Marvel Comics: The Untold Story Tumblr. It seems to have been originally published in 1986 on the occasion of Marvel’s 25th anniversary, but it’s still relevant 27 years later.

And yeah … I know that, and you know that … but I don’t think they know that.

Irene’s been going through her comic book collection, and last night, I found myself attracted by her stack of old Strange Adventures. As I looked at the seductive, anxiety-producing covers, all I could think was—

I hate it when that happens!

(more…)

With August so far away, it’s early to be thinking about this year’s World Science Fiction Convention, better known as LoneStarCon 3 … or is it? Regular readers here know that there’s more to any con than the con itself. There’s also the food!

And because I’m not just about expensive and difficult to get into gastronomical marvels like Alinea, Next, Astrid y Gaston, and Steirereck, but also down-to-earth comfort food such as burgers and BBQ, one of the first places I head when researching a city is Adam Richman and Man v. Food.

So what does he have to say about San Antonio?

(more…)