who only by moving can balance

Posted by John Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/04/22/the-big-idea-heather-tracy-2/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=55399

Any author can tell you that events in their own life can have an impact on their fiction. As we learn in Heather Tracy’s Big Idea for Only a Chapter, sometimes those events have a bigger impact than we might have expected.

HEATHER TRACY:

When I began writing what would become Only a Chapter back in 2015, the working title I had then was “Faceless Man.” I knew I wasn’t going to call the book that, but I couldn’t come up with anything better. I still have several drafts of the original version saved with that name on my computer.

The big idea for the original version of the book came from dreams I had in high school through college of a faceless man who would do huge romantic things like fly me on a private jet to New York City to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway with the original cast, then he proposed. The dreams were always very vivid, and I could always tell the man was wearing a tuxedo, but I could never see his face. Sometime after dating my now-husband for a while, I realized that when he and I originally met at my senior prom, he was wearing a tux. In different ways, a lot of the things in my dreams did happen, but much less sensationally. For instance, before he proposed, he took me to see a local production of A Chorus Line.

In “Faceless Man,” Clare had these dreams, they pointed her to this dream guy, and that was about it. The story was fun, but pretty flat. There wasn’t enough heart. There wasn’t enough tension. I put the book to the side for almost nine years.

Then, after completing breast cancer treatment in early 2023, big idea number two hit me (seriously, I can never have just one big idea for these things): What would happen if Clare had breast cancer, but also, what would happen if she didn’t? What if the story had two timelines with the ways her life could go if that dreaded phone call went two different ways? I had obviously been contemplating this scenario in my own life and thought it would be therapeutic to work it out through my fiction.

The final version of the book still has the faceless-person dreams, but this time, they’re different depending on the timeline. Clare’s bisexual, and in one timeline the dreams start pointing her toward a male, and in the other a female. In the timeline where she has breast cancer, the cancer diagnosis and story are my own, though fictionalized slightly to work within the confines of the narrative.

Oh, and the title? When I announced on social media that I had breast cancer back in 2022, I said on social media that “Cancer is only going to be a chapter in my life, and not the whole story.” Thus, Only a Chapter was born.

Only a Chapter: Amazon|Space Wizard

Author Socials: Bluesky|Facebook|Goodreads|Instagram

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/04/22/the-big-idea-heather-tracy-2/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=55399

Posted by John Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/04/20/sunset-4-20-25/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=55376

I got a new camera (a Nikon Coolpix P1100, review coming at some point), and one of the things it does really well is zoom in real close to far away objects. I tried it on the sunset today, and, yup, it got in real close. Enjoy.

— JS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/04/20/sunset-4-20-25/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=55376

Posted by John Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/04/19/the-new-chair-arrives-2/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=55358

There are not many physical things I actively covet in this world, but for a while now I’ve wanted a classic Eames chair. I couldn’t bring myself to purchase one because they are, in two words, stupidly expensive. There are less costly knock-off versions, of course, but in this particular case the knock-offs don’t do the psychic trick for me. If I was going to ever make the splurge, I wanted the “real thing.” After all, it was going to be my ass in the chair. But I — reasonably! — balked at spending more for a chair than I spent for my first car (even adjusting for inflation, I just checked).

Then three things happened: One, I came into some unexpected money that did not immediately have to go to bills. Two, a friend pointed out that Design Within Reach was having a 25% off sale, which meant the chair new did cost less than that first car. Three, the world is on fire, so, you know what? Fuck it. I checked with the family’s chief financial officer (i.e., Krissy) to make sure there were no objections, and then put in the order. The chair was originally supposed to arrive around my birthday, but they got it out a little early, and now here it is in my office.

And how is it to sit in? Very nice! I’m typing this while plopped down in it, and everything is groovy and it smells great. I suspect I will be sitting in it quite a bit. There was some discussion about whether to have it here or at the church, and I decided I would rather have it here than travel a couple of miles to visit it. The one drawback to having it here, however, is that I have pets, with claws and fur, to scratch and schmutz up the thing. So enjoy this picture of it without the blankets I will be using to cover it when I’m not in fact sitting in it.

(And what about the chair that was previously in the corner the Eames now occupies? It’s likely to go to the church, where there is more than enough space for it and where it will get to play with lots of other chairs. Until it gets moved, it’s residing in the dining room, which itself is undergoing some renovation, and where, as you can see, Smudge has already found it and is happy resuming his practice of napping on it. It’s a nice chair (as you can see by the fact it also has a blanket to keep it from being schmutzed up) and I’m sure it will live a long and happy life in its new environs.)

The only real downside to the Eames chair, for me, the World’s Laziest Person, is that it comes with an actual owner’s manual; apparently I will need to oil the wood on the chair once a year or so, which, ugh, fine, I guess. I do plan to keep the thing, you know, for the rest of my actual life, so I suppose I should take care of it.

Also, this marks the end of my “expensive furniture” habit. I’m too cheap, and we have too many pets and chaos for any more of this stuff. Everything else is bought with the idea it will be colonized by fur-bearing miscreants who will use it for parkour. This is fine. They can enjoy the rest of the furniture. This one thing is for me.

— JS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/04/19/the-new-chair-arrives-2/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=55358

Posted by John Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/04/18/a-cover-song-for-krissy-your-song/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=55350

Because she’s away and I miss her and I wanted to make sure she had something from me on her birthday, and she’s moving around so flowers would be difficult to send. This is of course the famous song from Elton John. Folks paying attention will note I made one lyrical change, because while Krissy’s eyes are sometimes green, they are never blue.

Also for music production nerds, I finally figured out comping, and the vocal performance here is from fifteen different takes. And still I have a couple of bum notes! That’s on me, not the DAW.

In any event, enjoy this birthday present to my wife.

— JS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/04/18/a-cover-song-for-krissy-your-song/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=55350

Posted by Athena Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/04/16/adventures-in-chicago-part-3-siena-tavern/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=55302

Welcome back to another tale from the Windy City! In this exciting third installment of my trip to Chicago, I’ll be telling you all about a restaurant called Siena Tavern. There were quite a few commenters last time that mentioned I should’ve asked The Langham’s concierge for dining recommendations, and I’m happy to report that I did in fact do so, and even had them make the reservation for me. They are helpful like that.

When we talked to the concierge, we mentioned we didn’t want a steakhouse, and Bryant doesn’t like seafood or sushi at all (tragic), so the concierge asked if Italian sounded good. We decided it did, and were told about Siena Tavern, an elevated Italian restaurant only a few blocks from our hotel.

When we arrived, I immediately liked the vibe of the interior. Large, semi-circle shaped booths, atmospheric lighting from the thin Edison style bulbs that were hanging from the ceiling, and a strange amount of gold framed mirrors. It was a unique style, modern yet comfortable. The first thing that caught my eye was the large, oval shaped bar. It was sleek and sophisticated looking, but I felt the beauty of the bar was detracted from by the TVs. I recognize it’s more of a personal distaste for screens in restaurants, and probably doesn’t bother other people as much, but I just think flatscreens are not the vibe if you’re not at a sports bar.

We were seated and presented with a paper menu. The restaurant is fairly dim, so  each table has a mini lamp on it that makes it easier to read the menu:

I loved the idea of the “forget about it” option, where they just bring you four courses and a dessert and you get what you get, but I didn’t opt for it this time around. If I go back, I am so totally doing that next time.

Aside from the water we were brought, which was served in pretty green glasses, we ordered these two beverages off their Zero Proof menu:

I got the Lavender Bramble, with blueberry lavender, lime, lemon, and blackberries. Bryant got The Imposter, which was peach nectar, mint, and ginger beer. These were both super tasty! The lavender wasn’t too overpowering in mine, and they were both perfectly fizzy and fun, really great flavor combos. These were both $9, which I find to be a pretty good price for a mocktail. Aside from the mocktails, they have a really nice alcohol selection with some seriously interesting sounding cocktails.

We decided not to get an appetizer (very unlike me), and got two entrees, three sides, and two desserts.

The concierge had recommended two things when telling us about Siena Tavern, the first being the gnocchi, the second being the squid ink pasta. While I was very tempted to try the squid ink pasta, as I’ve never had it before and it sounded interesting, I cannot deny that gnocchi is my most favorite of all the pastas (or pasta-esque dish, since I know it’s not really a pasta). The concierge made the gnocchi sound so enticing, I simply had to get it:

Truffle cream with fried sage and pancetta. Sounded pretty dang good. Well, the concierge steered me right. This gnocchi was absolutely wonderful. Pillowy and soft gnocchi, creamy and trufflicious sauce, salty pancetta, it was a beautiful dish with all the best flavors and textures. Definitely one of the best gnocchi dishes I’ve ever had, I highly recommend these bad boys. It was $26, which I think is perfectly good for a main dish with truffle in it.

Bryant picked the braised short rib:

The short rib was served on top of a white truffle risotto, and had a red wine demi glace. The meat was fork tender, and the risotto had a nice truffle flavor without being overwhelming. I will say it was a little bit of a smaller portion of meat for sixty dollars, but it was definitely good. The short rib is one of their more expensive items, so I would say go ahead and splurge if you really love a nice short rib, but they do have more modestly priced options.

For the sides (which are listed as for serving two) we got these roasted carrots:

I am super picky about roasted carrots, and I really loved these ones. They were served on top of whipped ricotta, and topped with a spiced agave and pepitas. The agave sauce was like liquid gold, sweet and sticky goodness that highlighted the natural sweetness of the roasted carrots rather than overpower it. The whipped ricotta provided a rich, creamy contrast to the crunchy pepitas, and overall this was a balanced dish that I highly recommend.

We also got the caramelized Brussel sprouts:

Not to be confused with their shaved Brussel sprout salad, this side dish of Brussel sprouts is caramelized and served with pancetta. I think in the photo it kind of looks like a small portion of Brussel sprouts, but it was definitely enough for two, and I even took some in a to-go container. I liked the Brussel sprouts, I think the pancetta is a really classic addition that you can’t go wrong with. They were good but not like, the most amazing Brussel sprouts ever.

And our final side was the parmesan fries:

Served with ketchup and a lemon garlic aioli! While these fries were actually really good and nicely crispy, the presentation of them threw me off. So far, all of the dishware had been very nice pieces, especially the Brussel sprouts bowl, and in fact was a point of conversation between me and Bryant because we liked the dishes so much. So to be served fries in this weird tin can thing was honestly more amusing than anything else. I did really like the aioli, though.

All of the sides were fourteen dollars each.

And finally, something sweet to end the meal. Bryant opted for the tiramisu zabaione:

I felt like you couldn’t really see the dessert that well in the photo since it’s like, all inside of the glass, so I tried to get a little cross-section shot for y’all:

(It’s really not much better of a shot because it just kind of looks like a big ol’ spoonful of whipped cream.)

We had never heard of zabaione before, but apparently it’s an Italian dessert made with egg yolks and sugar, and is basically just like a light custard. So tiramisu custard, essentially. Honestly, there wasn’t much coffee flavor, and it just didn’t make much of an impression. Sadly I fear that this dish suffers from the issue of two really good things being combined to make a not-as-good thing. Like, we would’ve rather just had regular tiramisu.

For my dessert, I picked the orange olive oil cake:

This cake was seriously the bomb dot com. The cake itself was so dense and moist from the olive oil, and had a wonderful orange-y flavor that wasn’t acidic or overpowering. The vanilla gelato was so creamy and decadent, and you can literally see the vanilla beans in it. The candied orange was a really pretty garnish that added a nice contrast of texture, and overall the whole thing reminded me a lot of Crêpes Suzette. This dish was truly divine.

Both desserts were fourteen dollars, so everything together was close to $200.

As for the service aspect, it was pretty good. I wouldn’t say it was amazing, but the waiter did a perfectly fine job. I would say he just wasn’t the overly friendly type. Which is fine, not everyone has to be all the time. He was more like, a chill guy, I guess.

All in all, we really liked Siena Tavern. Good atmosphere, good prices, and good food. I would definitely go back and try the squid ink pasta, or maybe next time I’ll go for their brunch.

Have you been to Siena Tavern before? What were your thoughts? Have you had squid ink pasta? Let me know in the comments, and have a great day!

-AMS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/04/16/adventures-in-chicago-part-3-siena-tavern/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=55302

Posted by Athena Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/04/14/adventures-in-chicago-part-2-smith-wollensky/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=55263

Howdy, y’all! Welcome to the second installment of my adventures in Chicago. In the first of this series, I went over our dwelling, which was The Langham. Equally as important as where you stay is where you eat, and we started our stay in Chicago by eating at Smith & Wollensky, a renowned steakhouse on the river right next to our hotel.

On the drive up to Chicago, I had asked Bryant what he wanted for dinner, as it was his birthday (which is why we were staying in a suite at The Langham, too, for that matter). He said a steakhouse sounded nice, and of course Chicago has no shortage of those. I wasn’t sure which one to pick, since there’s so many to choose from, but came across one that had significantly more good reviews than anywhere else I saw.

Smith & Wollensky had over 9,000 reviews with a 4.7 rating. The photos looked good, the menu looked alright, so we both decided to give it a try. I made us a reservation for 5pm that evening and included that the occasion we were celebrating was a birthday. I also learned that there are multiple locations in the US, like in Boston, New York, and Vegas, as well as a ton of international locations such as London, Tokyo, and Seoul. Quite an impressive reach.

Upon arrival, it was actually pretty empty. There was wooden floors, hanging lights, huge windows for looking out onto the river, white table cloths on every table, and very interesting spring green chairs. Definitely had the vibe of “fancy steakhouse” going for it.

We were seated in a back corner, at a table next to what felt like the only other people in there at the time. We were given a large menu that had food on the front, and drinks on the back.

Then the server put a big tablet down on the table that apparently contained a list of all the wine. I was immediately put off by this, as the tablet felt tacky and I didn’t want a glowing screen in my face. I felt like I was at an Applebee’s or Olive Garden, where the tablets on every table are sticky and an eyesore. It wasn’t the most egregious thing to ever happen, but that plus the comically large, flimsy menu detracted from the “fancy” vibe.

Moving on, they brought some bread out for us:

The bread itself was fine, but the butter was unsalted and made for a very plain, lackluster bite.

When the server asked for our drink orders, I asked her her opinions on the non-alcoholic “All Day Rosé” VS the “Kylie N/A Sparkling Rosé.” She told me she preferred the Kylie, so I went with that.

This was perfectly enjoyable, it mostly just tasted like less sweet Welch’s white grape juice, but I liked it fine enough. It was fourteen dollars a glass.

For our starter, we went with the burrata:

The burrata came with a basil and cilantro pesto, tomato chutney, and crostini. It had the option to add prosciutto for six extra dollars, turning this from a twenty dollar appetizer into a twenty-six dollar one.

Bryant and I agreed that this seemed like a dish that had been premade yesterday, covered and put it in a fridge, and then when we ordered it was taken out, uncovered, and brought to the table. The bread was so cold and hard, it honestly seemed like two day old bread with how stale it was. While I did really enjoy the tomato chutney, the rest of the dish was entirely forgettable, and ultimately not worth the almost thirty dollars.

For our entree, we actually decided to split one of their American Wagyu. We settled on the “Wagyu Manhattan Cut”, which is a 9oz gold grade wagyu with a coffee and cocoa rub, with roasted corn puree, chimichurri, and smoked tableside. We ordered it medium. I’m not entirely sure why, but they decided to smoke it a couple tables away from us, so we actually had to turn and look three tables away to see our steak get smoked before they brought it over to us. So, a more accurate description here would be, “smoked table adjacent.”

Anyways, here’s how it looked:

It is just me, or does that look really unappetizing for some reason? Actually, I know it’s not just me, because Bryant said it didn’t look very good, and while writing this post my mom looked over, saw that picture, and said that it looked very unappetizing and she couldn’t believe it was $99.

Though we ordered it medium, it was undeniably rare, yet had a burnt flavor to it. I absolutely adore chimichurri, especially when on a fantastic steak, but this was without a doubt the single worst chimichurri I have ever tasted. It looked and tasted like it was out of a bottle from the store. As much as I disliked this steak, Bryant was even more disappointed in it than I was, and didn’t care to finish his half. I finished mine only because of the price, not because I liked it.

As for the side to this wagyu, we got the truffle fries:

We actually did enjoy these fries, they had a nice truffle flavor and were a good texture, I just wish they had been served with something other than ketchup. I don’t really like ketchup on my truffle fries, I don’t think the flavors go well together and the ketchup usually overwhelms the truffle. I would’ve much preferred an aioli of some kind. Plus, these were fifteen dollars, which seems like entirely too much.

For my second drink, I got their N/A Blackberry Burlesque:

Made with tea, blackberry puree, ginger beer, lime, and mint, I quite enjoyed this drink. It felt like how a mocktail should feel, flavorful and refreshing and fun. With the ginger beer and mint, it tasted a lot like a Moscow mule, which is one of my favorite cocktails. So this faux blackberry mule was a win in my book. It was fifteen dollars.

Finally, it was time for dessert, and since it was Bryant’s birthday, we were told he could pick out any dessert (other than the Tableside Baked Alaska For Two), and it would be on the house. He decided on the apple tart, which would’ve been twelve dollars if it hadn’t been free:

I do so love a birthday candle in a restaurant dessert. This apple tart, made with puff pastry, granny smith apples, and blackcurrant jam, was topped with vanilla ice cream, and there was even a little “happy birthday” chocolate. The dessert was quite tart (ha, it’s a tart that’s tart) from the granny smith apples, and the sweetness of the vanilla ice cream really balanced it out. It was pretty tasty!

For my dessert, I got the vanilla bean crème brûlée, also a twelve dollar dessert:

I thought this crème brûlée was presented very prettily, with a perfectly torched top and accompanying raspberries and mint. The portion was actually quite large, the black tub it was served in was fairly deep. For the taste, I must say it was truly on the side of “adequate.” It honestly just tasted like store-bought crème brûlée, and was somewhat bland. I’m not mad at it, just disappointed.

All in all, Smith & Wollensky was a huge letdown, and I wouldn’t recommend going there if you’re in the area. While the food varied from incredibly mid to actively bad, the service was fine. Our waitress was plenty nice and did her job.

Honestly, the thing our experience was most impacted by (other than the food) was the table next to us, which was a family with three iPad kids that were not well behaved at all, and when the mom tried to take the young boy’s tablet away when their food came, he threw an absolute fit and it was just wholly unpleasant to be seated next to them. This of course is no fault of the restaurant’s, but it certainly didn’t help with our experience of the atmosphere and restaurant as a whole.

When I told two of my Chicago friends about the experience, they said that Smith & Wollensky’s is one of those places that sadly went downhill after COVID, and is now pretty much just being held up by its name and reputation alone. So they also don’t recommend it.

Overall, I was really disappointed by Smith & Wollensky, and so was Bryant. I couldn’t wait to write a scathing review, which I genuinely feel is so unlike me because usually if I don’t like a restaurant, I just won’t write about it. I feel this is different, because usually when I have that mentality of “if I don’t have anything nice to say, I won’t say anything at all,” it’s about local restaurants and small businesses, owned by people in my community that are just trying to pursue their small town dreams. I feel differently about a steakhouse that can be found all over the world.

As much as I couldn’t wait to write a negative review and tell you all how bad everything was, my venom has mostly expired over this past week and a half. I started thinking that maybe my experience would’ve been better if I had spoken up about our issues. I didn’t give them a chance to correct their mistakes, or offer some sort of compensation. How can they fix something if they don’t know I’m unhappy?

But I also feel that things shouldn’t have been bad enough that I’d have to complain in the first place. This is “America’s Steakhouse,” a fine dining establishment in some of the largest cities, the name of the game is luxury and hospitality, so I really don’t feel like there should’ve been this much to complain about at all.

Have you been to Smith & Wollensky in Chicago before? What about a different location? What did you think? Let me know in the comments, and have a great day!

-AMS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/04/14/adventures-in-chicago-part-2-smith-wollensky/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=55263

Posted by Athena Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/04/12/checking-out-small-town-productions-springtime-market/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=55213

A couple of months ago, I saw something while scrolling on Facebook about a “spring time market” at the local county fairgrounds. I put it on my calendar so I would remember to actually try and go when the time came. Well, lo and behold, this is the one weekend of the entire month that I’m not out of state for, and I actually remembered to go to this event!

An organization called Small Town Productions was hosting this Springtime Market at the Miami County Fairgrounds, and after looking at their Instagram, they’re basically a group that puts on pop-up markets featuring local vendors and food trucks, so you can shop and dine within your community.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from it, as I hadn’t seen anything about it since I initially learned of its existence, but I did remember it said “shopping, food trucks, massage, facials, tattoos, permanent jewelry.” I like all of those things, so I figured it would be decent, at least.

Upon arriving, I was thankful to find that there was free parking. The event was held in one of fairground’s big barns, and set up like a farmer’s market/craft show, with all the different vendors’ booths set up inside, and the food trucks stationed outside the barn. The market had opened at four, and I had arrived at about four thirty. Though parking was free, the admission fee into the market was $5. Little did I know that the first 25 people in the door received a special coupon. I got a $5 off any retail purchase, and $5 off any food vendor purchase, as well as a free ticket to two of the organization’s upcoming events. Lucky me!

When I walked in, there was honestly a lot to look at:

It wasn’t absolutely massive or anything, but it was definitely decently sized and set up very nicely.

The first booth I ventured to was called Golden Lights Co., and they had the most adorable bookmark charm bar set up where you could pick out a bookmark, add a tassel/ribbon, and choose from tons of different charms to make your own custom bookmark. They had so many different designs of bookmarks to choose from, as well as some super cute charms. I absolutely loved that idea, but didn’t get one because I don’t really read that much. I did, however, get some stickers, a coloring book, and a candle.

This candle smelled like I was far away on a beach. The coconut and vanilla were really lovely, and it has a wood wick. The owner and the other girl working the booth were both really friendly and I enjoyed chatting with them. I recommend checking out their Instagram, as it seems to be a little more updated than their website.

I moved on to the next booth, which was called Baker’s Pantry. They offered loaves of sourdough, brownies, cookie bars, and more. I ended up getting this big ol’ cookie bar:

This one was oatmeal white chocolate cran. I figured it would be good, but holy moly this thing was so delish! It was chewy, not dry at all, packed to the brim with craisins, and it tasted like she used brown butter to make it. I’m not sure if she actually did, but it definitely had that deeply rich and toasty flavor that is oh-so-yummy. This was so good and only five bucks!

Across from the baked goods booth was Lisa’s Pretzels. She had a ton of different flavors of gourmet hand dipped pretzels to choose from, and honestly I had choice paralysis and just ended up buying a sampler pack that comes with one of everything:

The sampler pack was fifteen dollars, or about fifty cents a pretzel. And here they are all laid out:

So there’s 32 different flavors of pretzels, and one haystack. Not only does each pretzel have a label on the back telling you which flavor it is, but the card that came stapled to the sampler pack has a tiny photo of every different pretzel with its flavor listed right under it. Super helpful, I think. I did not try every pretzel before writing this post, but I did eat half of half of them to get a good feel for the product before commenting on them.

I love how much variety of flavors there is, plus who doesn’t love a haystack? I think some of the most standout ones that I tried were the blackberry cheesecake, coconut, praline pecan, and the pineapple jalapeno. Yes, that’s right, there’s a pineapple jalapeno one and it is spicy.

I think these would be really fun for a party or event, and she does sell party boxes but also does custom orders. (Also, if for some reason you didn’t believe me and counted the pretzels yourself, then yes, you are correct in the fact you only see 31 pretzels and not 32. That’s because I left one in the bag when taking this photo and didn’t realize it until after!)

Continuing my stroll around, there was a syrup shop that sold specialty flavored syrups for coffee and tea, which I think is really cool but I don’t make coffee or tea at home. They had a really cute set up and were called The Good Way if you’re interested in checking them out.

Then there was a booth that had this beautiful build your own bouquet station set up:

Of course, I had to make one:

This bouquet cost me $18 dollars since I had nine stems total. This booth also sold candles and wax melts, and I ended up getting two scents of wax melts, which were nine dollars each:

I looked up the candle/wax melt brand, which is called Five Willows Candle Co., and their candles and wax melts are all premium coconut blended wax. They also say they contain no additives or dyes, and use phthalate free fragrance oils. The lady working the booth was so nice and even complimented my bouquet making skills! I’m not sure if she was the owner but she was very friendly. And they have an Instagram, too.

I also stopped by Pine Grove Living, which is a children’s clothing boutique, because I saw an absolutely adorable sage green sweater that I wanted to get for my cousin’s youngest kid. I didn’t take a photo but it was a really nice sweater and they have an Instagram. The sweater was a bit pricey at $27 but I’ve definitely seen similar prices for stuff at Kohl’s and I’d rather buy from a small business anyway.

I passed by more candle booths, a photography booth, the flash tattoo station, the permanent jewelry station, a pottery booth, a couple different woodwork booths, there was even an animal shelter set up there that you could adopt from and they had PUPPIES! I dared not go over to them because I would have left with a puppy.

I did, however, saddle on up to a booth with some beautiful stained glass pieces. I figured I would only get one stained glass piece because they’re generally a bit pricier of items, but I was shocked to find that all of their pieces were super affordable! I know you’re probably thinking, what do I consider to be affordable for stained glass art? Let’s take a look.

This butterfly was $30.

This moon heart was $45.

And this big one was $38!

All of these pieces were under fifty bucks, and come with a chain to hang it up with. I even got this little plant stake for my one and only house plant that I got two weeks ago:

This booth also sold bars of soap, which I thought was an interesting combination of things to sell, but I did buy two bars which were seven dollars each:

So I looked up their soap brand on Instagram, but couldn’t find a page for their stained glass art. However, in the email receipt they sent me, it says “Dreamland Soap/Opalescent Sunshine Stained Glass.” So I’m not sure why their Insta is only soap but they do have great stained glass art! Anyways, these soaps smelled really nice, the fresh linen was so clean and fresh smelling, and the black raspberry and cream was right up my alley.

So that is everything I bought, but there were lots of other great vendors, too! The one thing I didn’t see that was previously advertised was the massages and facials. I don’t know if I just missed them somehow, but I went around the barn twice and didn’t see them anywhere. That was really disappointing because I would’ve loved to get a chair massage or something like that, I absolutely love massages and think it would’ve made a great addition to all the retail and food.

So, now that the shopping was done, it was time to get some stuff from the food truck and head out. There were only three food trucks, which I honestly thought there’d be more, and for a real meal there was really only one food truck, as one was a coffee food truck and one was kettle corn.

The coffee truck was Beanhive Coffee Co., who I did not get this time but have in fact had a couple times before, as they tend to travel around this area in their cute little cart. They’re good! Definitely give them a try if you see them. They also have an Instagram and Facebook if you want to see where they’ll be.

The kettle corn truck was Cumberland Kettle Corn. I got a bag of regular kettle corn for eight dollars and a bag of caramel kettle corn for ten, though if you bought two bags you got a dollar off your purchase. I tried both and it’s good kettle corn, I do prefer the regular over the caramel, though.

And of course, I had to get food from Lumpia Queen, a Filipino food truck.

This truck was actually at the Miami County Food Truck Rally I went to last year, but last time I only tried something small from them, and this time I got several different things to try.

Here was their chicken pancit, with a chicken lumpia for ten dollars:

These noodles were so yummy and really bright from the lime and green onion. I love noodles so I’m glad I tried this.

I also got the chicken adobo with a veggie lumpia for ten dollars:

These chicken wings were huge and really well cooked, not dry at all. The flavor was barbecue-y and delicious.

And I got an order of beef lumpia on their own, which was $7:

And the money shot:

Talk about yum! These lumpias were so crispy and tasted extra good with the sweet chili sauce. My favorite ended up being the veggie one, but all were good.

They have an Instagram, too.

So, there you have it, my haul from “The Small Town Springtime Market.” I had a great time perusing all these different small businesses and talking with nice people, I’m really happy with everything I got. Still wish I’d gotten a puppy, though.

Anyways, I wanted to post this piece ASAP because the market is actually going on today (Saturday, April 12th) from 10am (right now!) to 4pm. And they’ll be there tomorrow from 10am to 2pm, as well. So I really wanted to let any local peeps reading the blog know about it in case you wanted to go check it out. You can buy your tickets at the door, and they give you a wristband in case you want to go out to the food trucks or out to your car or something.

Have you had Filipino food before? Do you like stained glass art? Would you try the pineapple jalapeno pretzel? Let me know in the comments, and have a great day!

-AMS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/04/12/checking-out-small-town-productions-springtime-market/

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Posted by Athena Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/04/10/adventures-in-chicago-part-1-the-langham/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=55195

When traveling, you cannot underestimate the importance of where you stay. For me, there’s only one answer when visiting Chicago: The Langham. If you’re looking for luxury, you won’t find anywhere better.

The Langham was established in London in 1865, but now can be found all over the world, including in Australia, Italy, China, and more. As for the US, you can find them in Chicago, Boston, New York, and Los Angeles, with two more locations soon to be in Seattle and San Francisco.

While I have only stayed at their Chicago location (twice), there is no hotel more elegant. Their building in the AMA Plaza may have a subtle appearance, but the inside is certainly worth writing home about. From their regal lobby, to their stately rooms, to their staff’s dapper attire, sophistication can be found in every corner of the hotel.

The Langham, though grand and opulent, is not just prized by me for its looks. At The Langham, I feel like I am truly, honestly, a valued guest, and am welcomed with the most sincere hospitality. It’s where I go if I’m in the mood to be treated like royalty. The staff makes everything a breeze, from valeting my car, to having my bags taken to your room, to getting checked in, the staff is wildly welcoming and they truly take everything off my plate for me. My worries are left at the door.

Not to mention their incredible concierges. If you’re looking to book a brunch, want recommendations on what to do, or need directions, the concierge will be more than helpful. They can recommend you ten different restaurants, point them out on the map, and book you a table at one for dinner that night in less than five minutes.

I’d also like to give a huge shoutout to the housekeepers as well, as their attention to detail in cleaning and tidying up the rooms is unparalleled. The first time I stayed there last year, I had my clothes haphazardly in a pile in the corner of the room and one of the housekeepers FOLDED ALL OF THEM. I was shocked, as I would’ve never asked or expected that of them.

Also, The Langham is one of the few hotels that truly meets my standards of “clean” when it comes to the shower and tub. Usually, even if a hotel has a tub, I won’t use it because it isn’t quite clean enough for me. As for The Langham, though, their large soaking tubs are a delight I particularly love about staying there.

Speaking of which, here’s some photos of the suite we stayed in. This was one of their junior suites:

(Stuffed animals not included.)

And the bathroom, with a vanity stool and his and her sinks (which I adore):

And of course, the aforementioned shower and tub:

Off to the left there is the toilet, which is enclosed in its own separate area away from everything else which I love because whose idea was it to put the thing you go to the bathroom in in the same room as where you brush your teeth?! Also, the glass for the tub has a privacy glass setting, which whites it out so it can’t be seen through. Plus, it’s hard to see in this shot but there is in fact a rainfall showerhead.

Not only do they include full sized shampoo, conditioner, and body wash to use during your stay, but they also have a fancy leather box full of little kits for you to use if needed. There’s a dental kit that includes a toothbrush and tiny tube of toothpaste, a shaving kit, a sewing kit, a vanity kit, and more that I can’t remember. I know that most hotels have an iron and ironing board, but The Langham has a nice steamer. And if you read my post from a week or two ago, you know I am fiend for a nice steamer. That’s one thing I hate about living out of a suitcase, all your clothes are wrinkly! Thankfully, that wasn’t an issue with the steamer on deck. Plus, they have laundry services and even shoe shining service available.

My parents actually stayed at The Langham in London and they said it was lovely. They even partook in their renowned tea service, which they highly recommended to me. I really want to do that at some point, as I love an afternoon tea time.

The one in Chicago has an indoor pool, steam room, Himalayan salt sauna, herbal sauna, and of course a full spa with massages, wraps, acupuncture, and more. Sadly, I have yet to experience any of those things I just listed, but I sure would like to!

And the final thing I want to mention (and this one I actually did partake in), is their Private Cinema Suite. They have a room that has a 111-inch screen, and comfortable seating for up to 12 people. There’s also a snack cart stocked with candy, popcorn, and sodas for you to enjoy and it’s included in the cost of renting the room out. They actually have a very interesting selection of almost 200 movies to choose from, and a lot of films I honestly wouldn’t expect. They even had Megamind, which y’all know is a personal favorite of mine.

Anyways, what I’m getting at here is The Langham is nice. I really cannot recommend it enough. It is expensive, but I truly feel that you get your money’s worth in every aspect possible. I would love to stay at some of their other locations sometime.

Have you ever stayed in a Langham before? What was your experience like? Do you recommend any other good hotels? Let me know in the comments, and have a great day!

-AMS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/04/10/adventures-in-chicago-part-1-the-langham/

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Posted by John Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/04/10/the-big-idea-mark-lawrence/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=55189

For the Big Idea for The Book That Held Her Heart, author Mark Lawrence went back to one of the oldest and most evocative questions that human ask themselves and others, and tried to find the answer… or, if not the answer, at least, an answer.

MARK LAWRENCE:

The big idea that supports the architecture of The Library Trilogy is really a question. It’s perhaps not a particularly original puzzle but it’s one that I’ve always struggled with, more so since I became a published author, and especially over the last few years. It’s an easily stated, deceptively simple question:

What is truth?

I worked for two decades as a research scientist. Truth to a scientist is a relatively straightforward thing. We have unambiguous means for proving mathematical truths, and the scientific method allows us to support fundamental theories about the world to the point where we can treat them as true until such time as contradictory evidence is found.

In the ‘real’ messy world we inhabit, truth is a much more nebulous concept.

One person’s truth is another’s lie.

In my book, as well as telling an exciting, emotional tale, I wanted to explore these ideas – ones that have seemed especially relevant over recent years but have been of personal importance to me for all of my writing journey.

Writers need to empathise with others. They need to inhabit other skins and see with different eyes. If they can’t, then their characters will all feel the same and their stories will be one-note tunes. Partly because of my scientific background, and partly because of the way I’m wired, I have struggled – emotionally rather than intellectually – with there not being a right answer, with two people seeing the same event, accessing the same facts, and coming away with different opinions about what happened and why. Opinions that are polar opposites. And yet it happens all the time.

And so, I made that writing journey of mine part of the story. I chose as one of my two main characters a young woman, a truth seeker with a razor-sharp intellect and a great poverty of information. The other lead is a young man trapped within a vast library, a romantic with no access to the world save through the great diversity of books heaped around him.

I wrapped up each of these two people in different subsets of information about each other and their history – not lies exactly, or not entirely, but different spins on the same facts.

The library in my trilogy is vast – possibly infinite – containing books from every place and time, in an avalanche of languages and forms. The librarians, by choosing and cataloguing the books, and the king by deciding which to disseminate among the populace, wield great power over the lives and imaginations of their people.

I hope I present the library and the books within it in a way that shows my love for both as physical objects. There’s a magic there that first captured me as a toddler when, dwarfed by the scale of the place, I wandered the aisles of the library where my mother worked. I did my best to map some of that awe to the page.

My impossibly huge library is, of course, an analogy for the internet, and my librarians stand in for search engines. The king has elements of a news source that curates information to create within its viewers a worldview beneficial to the throne. I’ve attempted to apply these elements with a light hand – it’s not the main point of the book – the main point is that it be fun to read, that it excites you, and maybe breaks your heart. But it is the big idea.

The internet was heralded by many (and foretold in Card’s Ender’s Game) as an informational utopia where access to knowledge would clear away misunderstanding and where the voices of the most intellectual would rise to prominence, gathering support through the making of well-argued cases.

These prophets didn’t anticipate that, faced with near-endless information, we would plug ourselves into the sources that best agreed with what we emotionally wanted to be true. They didn’t foresee the information bubbles and echo chambers we would create. The ability to reach out across the globe we hoped would expose one culture to another and promote understanding and harmony. Instead, it allowed scattered extremists to find companion souls and focus their destructive energies.

The theme to The Book That Wouldn’t Burn is most definitely not a lecture. Rather, it’s an accumulation of questions to which I don’t have answers. It is, in part, me making the painful acknowledgement that when I point at others and believe them brainwashed by lies, victims of confirmation bias, and plugged into propaganda … the same may well be true of me. Those people lined up against my worldview are not uniformly stupid. It seems arrogant and distressing to believe them all to be evil… Which brings us back to that elusive search for truth and perhaps to the conclusion that no such thing exists in the mess of motivation, malice, and morality with which we so often wrestle in our societies.

That’s a rather bleak conclusion, and rest assured, none of the characters in the book espouse it. They’re struggling, like the rest of us, to understand the world around them. There is a debate about whether unfettered access to information is a good thing – one librarian likens it to handing out knives to toddlers and waiting for the bleeding to start. But underlying all of this is a love for books and libraries, along with a belief that, somehow, they must be good things and that allowing those hungry to learn full access to what is known can’t be wrong. Can it?

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Posted by John Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/04/09/the-big-idea-jon-mcgoran-4/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=55180

Security and confidence don’t come cheap, especially in a world where both are in short supply. In his novel The Price of Everything, author Jon McGoran delves into a future where the wealthiest look for both — and those in their employ potentially pay the price.

JON McGORAN:

Every writer has their own process—some start their stories with a character, others a theme or a setting. My stories always start with an idea, and my latest book, The Price of Everything, has a lot of them.

One of the central ideas is the concept of money as a physical vulnerability for a society, a weakness and potential vector for harm, especially relevant to a society like ours that is so focused on money.

The Price of Everything takes place in the near future, after a cyber war has cratered the internet, collapsing electronic commerce and cryptocurrency, and leading to an economy dependent on super-high-denomination cash. When you consider the current prevalence of phishing scams, credit card scams, identity theft, etc., you don’t have to squint too hard to see how today’s system might be untenable. One character even reflects on the olden days (meaning now): “Even as a kid he never trusted all that e-commerce stuff. He couldn’t understand how the older generation fell for it the way they had. They must have known everybody was getting ripped off, way before the Cyber Wars and the Upheaval. But they had gone along with it anyway.”

In this cash economy, a guild of elite couriers has emerged to transport the super-high-denomination currency in attaché cases chained to titanium cuffs grafted onto the bones of their wrists. The couriers swear an oath: The delivery gets where it is going or they forfeit that hand, and effectively their life. This economy has become so inequitable and devoid of opportunity that young people agree to be disfigured—and to potentially even lose their lives—in order to protect some billionaire’s money.

This wealth disparity dovetails with another major idea in the book: climate change. I write about climate change a lot, partly because it is existentially important, but also because I tend to write stories set in the near future, and if you don’t include either climate change or a solution to it, you are effectively denying the reality of it. And we’ve had way too much of that.

Wealth disparity ties into climate change in a number of ways, not the least of which is that most billionaires seem to achieve that status in ways that make the problem worse: carbon fuels, massively consumptive technologies like generative AI, etc. By definition, the super-rich will do what it takes to get a lot of money. They have already done so. It should come as no shock that they will do whatever it takes to keep that money, and to keep making more. The crazy thing is that they’ll keep on doing it even though it is endangering the planet they live on.  

But if the vulnerability of electronic money is central to the backstory, the vulnerability of cash is central to the plot. Part of the challenge of discussing the ideas in a book like this is that some of the coolest ones are only revealed at the end, and I’m not about to put out any spoilers days before publication day. Instead, I’ll just point out that when money becomes a vulnerability, the people with the most of it become the most vulnerable.

Finally, for me as a writer, the biggest ideas is making sure none of these other big ideas get in the way of the story itself. You can have the coolest, most fascinating and important ideas in the world, but no one will ever know about them if readers bail on your book because it’s preachy or hectoring or filled with info dumps. I love a good book that gives you something to think about, but it’s got to be a good book first. Hopefully, The Price of Everything is.

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