That story is surely the absolute, all-time, gold standard in terrifying dystopian futures. It makes the worlds of 1984 or The Matrix look like Club Med. RIP Mr. Ellison.

Wow, shocked, though I understand he hadn’t been too well the last several years. Ellison was one of my very favorite authors, loved his fiction, non-fiction, contributions to television, film - he contributed across such a wide range of genres: speculative, science & crome fiction, fantasy, mystery, all his…

He wouldn’t have been surprised, though.

There was nothing wrong with, or particularly disrespectful about, that one; a clearly affectionate reference to something he was well-known for, nothing more.

Well, they do say ‘write what you know.’

Lots of writers have that clause. Douglas Adams didn’t, and I think that half-assed money-grab release of the unfinished The Salmon of Doubt convinced more of them to do it.

Lack of friends?  Hoo boy, do you not know about Ellison.  He had tons of friends.

i love the mental image i have of him in the writer’s room of “the flying nun!” “what wacky hijinx is sister bertril going to get into this week?”

“HATE. LET ME TELL YOU HOW MUCH I’VE COME TO HATE YOU SINCE I BEGAN TO LIVE. THERE ARE 387.44 MILLION MILES OF PRINTED CIRCUITS IN WAFER THIN LAYERS THAT FILL MY COMPLEX. IF THE WORD HATE WAS ENGRAVED ON EACH NANOANGSTROM OF THOSE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF MILES IT WOULD NOT EQUAL ONE ONE-BILLIONTH OF THE HATE I FEEL…

Always remember this essay by Harlan, especially the section on violence. http://harlanellison.com/iwrite/mostimp.htm

I’ve heard enough stories about Harlan to know that ‘prickly’ is putting it mildly. My only personal interaction with him was when he phoned my husband and I one night - we ran a small press publishing company specialising in classic ghost/horror stories - because he’d heard we were doing a collection of stories by…

I guess no more dangerous visions. 

On another note, look for my totally original short story “I Don’t Have a Mouth But I Need to Scream.”

This is crushing to me. I first discovered him in the early 80's after reading Danse Macabre by Stephen King and I was stunned at how fucking talented and prodigious Ellison was. Pre-Internet, it was great to come upon one of his books and he always toured the ‘cons’ where I would try to find his books.

He’s suing angels now. sniff

I’d like to see Hawkeye spend an afternoon running errands, shot in one continuous take, directed by Richard Linklater.

“I can’t communicate how pleased I would be if they made a movie with no fighting, no super hero battles, and no super lasers. Just a simple, family drama for two hours.”

A steamy erotic thriller starring Black Widow and The Hulk. Directed by Gaspar Noé.

This is, without hyperbole, the most significant written statement since the Declaration of the Rights of Man or Luther’s 95 Theses.  

“But human stories aren’t part of the Marvel films’ business plan”