It’s been a while since I posted up a blog full of random interesting links.
Here’s a few having to do with my books:
- World Cup Widow? 8 Fiction Reads to Help You Escape Reality
It’s odd to me, showing up on the same list as Aldus Huxley, Angela Carter, and Margaret Atwood.
Again, very flattering company. And I like the quote they used. I remember writing that one and being proud of it.
- Six Reasons why the Kingkiller Chronicle is the next Game of Thrones.
Over the years, I’ve been described as the next Tolkien, the next Scott Lynch, the next George Martin…. And while it’s flattering, I’d really rather be the first Pat Rothfuss. I have much more experience being that.
Now that I post up these three links, I realize they’re all lists of some sort. Which makes me feel kinda awful. My only saving grace is that I didn’t find these by clicking through horrible clickbait websites. (You’ll never believe what these authors did! Number 5 will surprise you!)
Speaking of, have you seen The Onion’s new parody site? Clickhole?
(Click to Embiggen. Seriously.)
It’s lovely as only The Onion can be.
* * *
In other news, here’s an article on Facebook being a whole new kind of dick.
And a blog where Vi Hart is being a whole new kind of cool.
Lastly, many of you remember Tabletop episode where I played Lords of Waterdeep with Wil Wheaton, Brandon Laatsch, and Felicia Day.
(Don’t know what I’m talking about? You can see the original, delicious half-hour episode over here.)
I laughed my ass off at the original episode, but the game was edited down considerably to get it to be 35 minutes long.
If you were ever curious to see how the whole thing played out in detail. If you ever wanted more owlbear jokes. If you ever wanted to watch my terrifying strategy unfold like a delicate flower made entirely of razor wire and the screams of angels….
Well, now you can. Because they released the extended version of the episode. More than two hours of solid gaming goodness.
Fondly,
pat
P.S. Have I mentioned something kinda awesome is happening on July 7th?
It is. It very is.
Stay tuned for details.
35 Comments
Hey Pat, speaking of the TV show, any news? Or rather, any that you can share that you for some reason have conspicuously chosen not to?
I agree you’re better at being you.
There’s sympathy lamps in the store?
Not yet.
The satanists will snatch them all up.
You know, because they’ve want Sympathy for the Devil.
Ya-zing!
A week? I don’t know that I can do that.
Hours of Rothfuss gaming. Life is now complete. Now if only there were books, babies, and swords in the post. Everything is better with books, babies, and swords. …except bacon. Bacon needs none of those, and may, in fact, be undesirable in combination with at least one.
If you’re going to be the first Pat Rothfuss can I be the second? If for no other reason than the beard.
If you say yes I’ll teach you this one weird trick that a mother invented. Monkfishermen hate her.
You, I like you.
You crack me up chaelek. I’ve used the below quote of yours in signatures (crediting both you and Pat of course).
Reference https://blog.patrickrothfuss.com/2012/02/200k-blog-the-golden-tickets/
In particular:
chaelek
Posted February 3, 2012 at 12:27 AM | Permalink
If a loved one were hypothetically kidnapped and I showed up at your door, bloody and disheveled, clutching the ring, would you help me save them, buddy-cop movie style?
Reply
Pat
Posted February 3, 2012 at 1:03 AM | Permalink
Oh hell yes.
I am choosing to believe that July 7 is a date you chose (even if unknowingly) because it is Gustav Mahler’s birthday. You share some traits with Mahler in terms of motivic development, epic storytelling, and a style that encompasses everything from the profound to the banal in a way that is never cheap. Best of all, repeated study always reveals previously undiscovered nuggets (and occasionally nougats).
I am (with difficulty) resisting the urge to break down in detail all of Mahler’s symphonies, and how they for a large, 3-part arc with many similarities to the ways that Kvothe develops as a character as his story is told. I look forward to some incredible stuff as we near a point analogous to Mahler’s 9th. (note to Mahler fans, not sure the 8th fits in here at all…but the 9th, 10th and Das Lied certainly might)
oops, for=form in 2nd ‘graph.
So. if I understand your post correct, it’s obvious, it all points to 3, to the third part of the something bigger… Half Life 3 confirmed! That’s what you are trying to get at here right.
Mahler’s 8th seems more similar to Wheel of Time, just based on the size of the cast =) Sorry, I’m not enough of a Mahler scholar to contribute anything deeper, but I appreciated your post!
This might be the best theory ever.
I’m not saying it’s right, mind you. I’m just saying I like it….
Mahler’s 9th – facing the certainty of death with a mixture of hope, bitterness, despair, anger, nostalgia, grim acceptance, and finally, peace. Well, that’s the way I hear it anyway.
Hey Pat,
when the day you will be making movies from the KKC come (and it will you know it), I hope you consider the Aubrac region in France for the landscape of Ademre.
Each and every time I read about Ademre I see Aubrac … Difficult land with no crops, stone houses integrated into the landscape, extremely windy and so on …
http://www.tourisme-aveyron.com/fr/decouvrir/incontournables/images/bandeau/aubrac/Photo-2.jpg
Plus, you have the Auvergne mountains just near for the Stormwall Mountains !
http://500px.com/photo/3334629/elancezes-sunset-by-beijaflor-?from=user_library
And of course you being the first you is way better…
Oh, and thanks for your writing.
I don’t think the article about Facebook’s actions is giving an honest interpretation of what happened. This article is a bit better:
http://www.spring.org.uk/2014/06/facebook-reveals-secret-experiment-to-control-your-emotions.php
What Facebook did was A) harmless and B) almost a necessity for what they are. There is simply too much information out there so Facebook MUST filter what you see and they do all the time. Most of the time you don’t even know it and therefore don’t care. This time, they made an intentional decision about what you see in order to learn how it affects your behavior.
The worst part about this, is that it’s impolite to do such studies without prior consent. To me, impolite is not the same as being a dick.
Thank you for being a voice of reason about this. I’ve been completely astounded by how much of an uproar this has caused.
I would say its more than impolite, I would say its unethical.
Sure, they signed the TOS, but I would hardly say they were educated on how this could affect them.
At my university we have rigorous informed consent guidelines.
http://www.reo.ualberta.ca/en/HumanResearchEthics/InformedConsentProcess.aspx
Especially doing something like this where it actually does change a persons psychology, sometimes for the worst, it is extremely unethical that they didn’t let people know about the risks before participating and allow people to opt out.
I commented before reading your article.
I still am not pleased with the ethics of all of this. For example it wouldn’t be approved by my university, but it seems the risks were lower than it first appeared.
Unethical is the crux of the issue.
A good question to ask is this: “If someone in the psychology department of a university had done something similar to this, would they be fired?”
The answer, in my opinion, is yeah. They probably would. At the very least they would get their asses professionally chewed on.
Because performing experiments on people without their informed consent is unethical.
Which is to say it’s a dick move.
And if the sort of people who conduct psychological studies for a living are saying this is a dick move, why on earth would it be okay for facebook to do it?
I liked this article:
https://freedom-to-tinker.com/blog/felten/facebooks-emotional-manipulation-study-when-ethical-worlds-collide/
because it did a good job of explaining some reasons why people might be of different minds about this topic.
Embiggen is one of the greatest words ever. EVER.
It is a perfectly cromulent word
To add to the ‘6 reasons its the next Game of Thrones’ (In which I agree with you, you are the first Pat Rothfuss).
I guess maybe it fits in the 6th category is that I really liked how it subtly turned a mirror on ourselves. Its obviously set in a different time and a different place than where we live, but there are some subtle themes of the human condition that still stick out and made me put down the book and think about my own life.
Its a perfect escapist story, while at the same time getting to think about the real world. I think that’s my favorite part of your books.
It’s no surprise to me that you are on the list of heartbreaking quotes – nobody has ever come as close to expressing how I’ve felt before.
I hope they do go forward with the TV Show, I rarely enjoy what is on TV, but when I do find something fantasy-esque or book based it is a nice thing to do with my non-reader/non-ubernerd friends.
Although, I was thinking the other day how well done someone like Netflix could produce a KKC tv show. They haven’t done anything real hard fantasy yet, plus, you get the whole hour, no commercials or recaps which is kinda awesome. PLUS the whole show at once…..which would probably detrimental to my life but whatever.
I know it was already optioned by someone else, but you know, I like sitting around thinking about random things that really don’t matter in the scheme of life….
Lastly, you’re a tease…and that is all. July 7th + procrastination time!! This is madness. Madness I say! Have a good 4th Pat!
Is it because:
07/07/14… 7 + 7 = 14?
This is also a good theory….
I’m not going to lie… I nerded out a little because of your reply. Thanks for making my day :) Hope you have a safe Independence Day!
Oh thirteen gods PLEASE don’t tell us you’re shaving your beard! Because that’s not something that should happen ever. Not even once in a blue moon and certainly not twice in a red. Unless it’s for a charitable cause, and even then it’s questionable.
More money could probably be raised if he just threatened to shave it, then asked for donations to keep it.
Regarding quotes of heartbreak, and even taken out of context…
“Love me.”
It’s one of those rare scenes where you can feel what the character is feeling, but it’s hard to describe it to someone else.
On Goodreads, we are called Rothfussians, and I like it.
Mid-Summer’s Bazaar . Geek Week is nice, it was a thought I also had.
I like Bazaar because it’s like bizarre. Mid-Summer’s Bizarre Bazaar.
hehe.
I just wanted to say that I watched the Lords of Waterdeep Tabletop episode because of your link. (I was a Tabletop fan, but it’s been a good long while since I was caught up, and I had missed it.) After 5 minutes of the basic 30-minute episode, I realized it wasn’t for me (I’m already familiar with the game), and I restarted the extended edition to get all the good comedy bits.
It was easily one of my favorite episodes so far. I was cracking up repeatedly.
I especially appreciated the Tick reference. The earlier comments about buttering yourselves had already put my mind in a Tick zone (specifically, the character Buttery Pat), so when you said, “I’m filled with tinier men!” I just about fell over (or would have, were I not already in a reclined position on my couch).
Thanks! And for the Vi Hart link!