Really thrilled to see a lot of people here and on my blog post commenting about having grown up with these. It's a nice sense of community (and people mentioning Tintin and Asterix, too). And am learning more about the Indian comics, too, from these comments.

It's really sad to read comments from people who either blame the victim (Bhutto), make excuses for Musharaff (a dictator), or make blanket statements about the Middle East, while operating off of the assumption that the U.S. is doing so great right now.

If you can't have empathy for the dead, if you can't see outside of your own narrow worldview...well, that begins to become the definition of either the classic self-absorbed narcissist or a sociopath.

Have a little respect.

And, six months before this amazing original antho, Tachyon's putting out our reprint antho of classic steampunk stories, that does include Blaylock, so you're covered either way:

“Introduction: The Nineteenth Century Roots of Steampunk,” Jess Nevins

“Steampunk in Pop Culture,” Rick Klaw

“Steampunk in the Comics,” Bill Baker

“Benediction: Warlord of the Air” excerpt, Michael Moorcock

“Lord Kelvin’s Machine,” James Blaylock

“The Giving Mouth,” Ian MacLeod

“A Sun in the Attic,” Mary Gentle

“The God-Clown Is Near,” Jay Lake

“The Steam Man of the Prairie and the Dark Rider Get Down,” Joe Lansdale

“The Selene Gardening Society,” Molly Brown

“Seventy-Two Letters,” Ted Chiang

“The Martian Agent: An Interplanetary Romance,” Michael Chabon

“Victoria,” Paul Di Filippo

“Reflected Light,” Rachel E. Pollock

“Minutes of the Last Meeting,” Stepan Chapman

“Excerpt from the Third and Last Volume of the Tribes of the Pacific Coast,” Neal Stephenson

Cory's diet and approach seems particularly sane for him, especially considering he also does yoga and stuff like that. But it all depends on what your goal is and what kind of habits you have. I lost about 75lbs on Atkins about five years ago. I knew I couldn't maintain strict Atkins for the long-term, just knowing my own inclinations, so I switched over to a regular regimen of weightlifting with cardio and a diet that had no processed foods and no sugar in it. I now have wheat bread and vegetables and fruits as my main source of carbs. I eat meat, eat a lot of eggs, and rely on the weightlifting to build muscle mass to burn fat. As a result, I'm still 50lbs lighter than I was five years ago and most of the weight gain is muscle.

I do think it's ridiculous to say that exercise is a bad idea, especially sustained, regular medium to high exertion exercise that combines resistant training and cardio. It's exercise, not diet, really, that has allowed me to keep the weight off and be healthy.

Jeff