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Does the photo have a parking lot? Yes. And as a bonus: a CVS! This one’s a classic of the form. Reminder that I’m in town for tomorrow’s PGH Book Fest, and my event, with Isabel J. Kim is a 1pm, with a signing to follow. Come see us and/or get books signed by us! — JS

Roughly a year ago (actually closer to thirteen months), a chair arrived at the house: an Eames Lounge Chair, that classic piece of midcentury furniture, beloved of tweedy intellectuals and pretentious jazz aficionados everywhere. I had wanted one for years but couldn’t rationalize buying the thing, because they were (and are) stupidly expensive; I could and have furnished two entire rooms with…

It was a holiday weekend and when I wasn’t de-skunkifying a dog, I had some free time, so I went ahead and did another cover song, this one from Alisa Xayalith, who is probably best known as the lead singer of The Naked and Famous, but who has put out a solo album while that band as been on a break. This song was one she put out in the run-up to that album. It’s simple but lovely. My version…

In science fiction, everything can be rethought — including one of the most foundational aspects of human civilization, agriculture. T.K. Rex gives it a go in The Wildcraft Drones, with an exciting take on the future of food production… and how we all might live because of it. T.K. REX: The world of The Wildcraft Drones began on a train. I’d just finished my first ecology class, I was watching…

My friend Shelley Combs died, suddenly, a week ago. I found out about it the other day when her ex-husband posted about it on Facebook, and it was fair to say I was shocked. She and I had messaged each other just a few days before her passing, to catch up and talk about our kids and just have very mundane friend talk. I didn’t know it would be the last time I would ever talk to her, but then, we…

It did not go well for her. Nor, it must be said, did it go particularly well for us, since Charlie has now swamped the entire house with a gassy, onion-y skunk smell. Currently all the windows are open and the fans are running. It’s working questionably well. To Charlie’s credit, as soon as she came into the house she ran upstairs and toward the bathroom. She was well aware she needed a bath.…

I got myself a new musical instrument (one of these) and I thought I would give it a spin on a cover song. For reasons that are known only to the subterranean recesses of my own brain, this is the song that immediately recommended itself, the second-most popular song from The Postal Service. The Orchid (the synth I got) is indeed providing one layer of the synth sequence that runs through the…

“He died at the hand of the Coca-Cola Company” has a fitting ring to it, doesn’t it. (Spoiler: I survived. Bearly.) — JS

Fun fact: Ohio is the only US state to have a flag that is not rectangular — ours is a pennant. Also fun fact: I hardly see anyone ever fly an Ohio state flag. They will fly to Ohio State flag, which is to say, the flag of the football team that has a university attached, but not the actual state flag. So, I got one (two, actually, the size I wanted only shipped as a pair) and have placed upon…

Because this is a sentiment that is surely timely. In addition to singing, I’m playing bass on this one. I tried chugging along with the guitar but it sounded just terrible, so the guitars on this one are courtesy of UJAM, and some MIDI programming on my part for the solo. Also, I wasn’t intentionally trying for a Tom Petty-like drawl, but damn it’s hard to sing a Tom Petty song without one, so…

It’s fair to say that Pamela Ribon and I have come up together in the world. Back in the before times, she and I both started blogging when blogs were still called “online journals,” and our first novels came out within a year of each other. Since then she’s become a force in animation, working on story and screenplays for Moana, Ralph Breaks the Internet and the animated short My Year of Dicks,…

Athena started the bloomposting yesterday and here is my contribution: the irises in our front yard, which are in their annual two-week period of blooming, followed by 50 weeks of just being green shrubs. Still, for those two weeks, it’s pretty great to look at. The irises have come in nicely this year— John Scalzi (@scalzi.com) 2026-05-14T12:42:09.714Z I of course can take no credit for these…

In the further adventures of home renovation, the back deck has been laid and now the roofing is being put up, for shade and to keep rain off the deck. It’s looking.. pretty good! There’s more to be done, obviously. But it’s coming along nicely. — JS