March 06, 2014
— Ace Jonathan Ross is a television host well-loved in Britain because their talent pool is small and they don't know any better.
No just kidding he's fine, I kind of like him. Most Americans will know Jonathan Ross, if at all, from accidentally leaving on BBC America after Doctor Who ends, or by searching for Doctor Who interviews.
I barely know the man's work at all but the thing that puts me off him, a bit, is that he's so ingratiating and ass-kissy with his guests. I get the need to ingratiate oneself, but he goes too far for my tastes.
This is actually germane to this story. I'm not entirely wasting your time.
Jonathan Ross was asked to host this year's Hugo Awards, science fiction's most prestigious awards. I made that last part up. When I say "most prestigious" I only mean "I've heard of them."
Why was he asked? Well, in addition to being a host on TV shows every single day (in Britain he's as ubiquitous as Buster Friendly and His Friendly Friends from the Philip K Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), he's also a science-fiction fan. He reads comics, he writes comics. He went to Comic Con last year as a guest of fanboi fave rave Neil Gaiman. He apparently hosted the Eisner (comic book) Awards there and did such a good job they immediately invited him back for next year's duties.
Plus, he's married to a science fiction writer -- a woman named Jane Goldman, who has herself won the Hugo Award. The very show he was to be hosting.
So let's be clear: He has a reason to respect the Hugo Awards, if he didn't already. If he suggested they were trivial or stupid, he would hear about it from his wife.
The perfect host, yes? Kismet, no?
No.
Because his hiring sparked a Nerd Rage in the sci-fi community -- including among sci-fi writers and those in charge of other aspects of the Hugo Awards show. Their main complaint was that he is "controversial," meaning, I guess, that as a comedian, he has told some mean jokes. They objected not so much to jokes he had told before, however, but, in a science-fiction timey-wimey wibbly-wobbly sort of way, to the jokes they feared he might tell in the future, while hosting the show.
Let me repeat: this guy is no Ricky Gervais. I don't know him all that well, but if you define "edgy," one picture that will not appear next to that definition is Jonathan Ross' face.
And apparently it's caused a huge Twitter rage, with lots of attacks on the anodyne Ross.
The New Statesman takes it from here:
At Loncon’s request, [Neil] Gaiman asked Ross to take the stage at this year’s Hugos. “I think Jonathan would have been an excellent host,” he told me. “One of the things Jonathan is great at is making a room full of people feel comfortable. To be a Hugo host you need to be genuine, funny, respectful – and he is respectful, while still being cheeky. Jonathan would do it better than I did. And he agreed to do it for free because he is SFF family.”Despite this, a vocal contingent resorted to petty name-calling on the Internet. Does calling someone a “grating fatuous bellend” not count as bullying if your subject is famous? I call bullshit. Does saying horrible things about someone because you think they might possibly say horrible things about you make you the better person? In this tirade about insults and slights, nasty bullies with little self-awareness recast themselves as the victim.
“What was peculiar about the attacks was they had constructed an ad hominem straw man to attack, who was sexist, sizeist, hates women and likes making everyone feel bad,” said Gaiman. “It doesn’t bear any resemblance to Jonathan. While he has occasionally said things that make you go ‘Oh god, your mouth opened and that thing came out’, he is a consummate professional.”
(Regarding the “sizeist” accusation, here’s what Ross’ teenage daughter Honey Kinny tweeted to Seanan McGuire, the most vocal of the Twitter pitchfork mob: “I was horrified by your outrageous and unfounded assumption that my father would ever comment negatively on a woman’s body. I’m Jonathan’s overweight daughter and assure you that there are few men more kind & sensitive towards women’s body issues.” When I emailed asking McGuire to pinpoint a moment in which Ross had ever made a fat joke, I got no reply.)
A "bellend," by the way, is apparently the glans. Yeah, I had to look that one up myself.
Ross agreed to do host the show for free, because he's sci-fi family (through his Hugo Award winning wife).
But nah: Let's attack him mercilessly and get him fired because being cruel to strangers is how we prove We Matter.
So now Jonathan Ross is fired, and the Hugo Awards will find some unobjectionable, totally-into-sci-fi host like, I don't know, Sarah Silverman.
Thanks to @slublog.
Posted by: Ace at
12:17 PM
| Comments (404)
Post contains 864 words, total size 6 kb.
Posted by: artisanal 'ette at March 06, 2014 12:21 PM (IXrOn)
Who on earth names their daughter "Honey Kinny?"
But that aside, this is ridiculous. One of the reasons I don't read sci-fi anymore is because it was all getting so damn preachy, and now I know that it wasn't just a phase.
Posted by: MWR, Proud Tea(rrorist) Party Assault Hobbit [/s][/u][/b][/i] at March 06, 2014 12:22 PM (4df7R)
Posted by: IrishEd at March 06, 2014 12:22 PM (D0NZx)
Last fall, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) predicted above-normal temperatures from November through January across much of the continental U.S. The Farmers' Almanac, first published in 1818, predicted a bitterly cold, snowy winter.
The Maine-based Farmers' Almanac's still-secret methodology includes variables such as planetary positions, sunspots, lunar cycles and tidal action. It claims an 80% accuracy rate, surely better than those who obsess over fossil fuels and CO2.
The winter has stayed cold in 2014, and snowfall and snow cover are way above average. USA Today reported on Feb. 14 that there was snow on the ground in part of every state except Florida. That includes Hawaii.
"Sometimes trying to figure out why something happened is as hard as making the forecast of what will happen," CPC Acting Director Mike Halpert said in a Feb. 14 interview. Such uncertainty is what we are supposed to be basing our industrial and economic policy on.
As Bloomberg notes, the CPC underestimated the "mammoth December cold wave, which brought snow to Dallas and chilled partiers in Times Square on New Year's Eve." The Almanac didn't, though Caleb Weatherbee, its prognosticator, apologized for being a few days off on two of the season's biggest storms.
The CPC seems to have completely missed the "polar vortex" that swept down and caused every state except Florida to experience snowfall and brought about 4,406 record low temperatures across the U.S. in January, along with 1,073 record snowfalls.
Posted by: Eric "Otter" Stratton at March 06, 2014 12:22 PM (e8kgV)
Posted by: MWR, Proud Tea(rrorist) Party Assault Hobbit [/s][/u][/b][/i] at March 06, 2014 12:22 PM (4df7R)
For example I do like Eric Flint and he is a liberal union goon. He doesn't push it so hard in his books but particularly in the 1632 series you can see it.
Posted by: Vic[/i] at March 06, 2014 12:23 PM (T2V/1)
Being a nazi is all the rage these days.
Gaiman's comic Sandman was fantastic.
Please tell me we were joking about Colin Powell speaking at CPAC. That has to be a joke, right?
Posted by: prescient11 at March 06, 2014 12:24 PM (tVTLU)
Posted by: Shooter McGavin at March 06, 2014 12:24 PM (EKqcK)
The con audence started skewing female, cis and trans, a ways back.
Lots of this "muh feels" nonsense going on nowadays.
Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at March 06, 2014 12:25 PM (kdS6q)
Posted by: MWR, Proud Tea(rrorist) Party Assault Hobbit [/s][/u][/b][/i] at March 06, 2014 12:26 PM (4df7R)
If someone told me he has a wooden tongue, I wouldn't doubt it for a second.
Posted by: weft cut-loop [/i] [/b] at March 06, 2014 12:26 PM (Y/M/K)
Posted by: ace at March 06, 2014 12:26 PM (/FnUH)
Posted by: Brother Cavil at March 06, 2014 12:27 PM (naUcP)
Posted by: L, elle at March 06, 2014 12:27 PM (0xqKe)
The fan community has seemingly kept pace.
Posted by: West at March 06, 2014 12:27 PM (1Rgee)
Posted by: weft cut-loop [/i] [/b] at March 06, 2014 12:27 PM (Y/M/K)
Posted by: Brother Cavil at March 06, 2014 04:27 PM (naUcP)
I can't STAND K. Smith, but yes, that movie was truly full of wish fulfillment.
Posted by: MWR, Proud Tea(rrorist) Party Assault Hobbit [/s][/u][/b][/i] at March 06, 2014 12:28 PM (4df7R)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at March 06, 2014 12:28 PM (ZPrif)
Posted by: rickb223 at March 06, 2014 12:28 PM (FNtJ6)
Posted by: Dr Spank at March 06, 2014 12:28 PM (P1WNR)
Posted by: Bigby's Frozen Fingers at March 06, 2014 12:29 PM (3ZtZW)
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 12:29 PM (zfY+H)
Posted by: Lincolntf at March 06, 2014 12:29 PM (ZshNr)
Posted by: SE Pa Moron [/i] at March 06, 2014 12:29 PM (CnA98)
Posted by: Shooter McGavin at March 06, 2014 12:29 PM (EKqcK)
Posted by: AMDG at March 06, 2014 12:30 PM (t7OO0)
Posted by: ace at March 06, 2014 04:26 PM (/FnUH)
True. But this does not preclude them from being nerd-raging, PC dicks on the internet, too.
Posted by: MWR, Proud Tea(rrorist) Party Assault Hobbit [/s][/u][/b][/i] at March 06, 2014 12:30 PM (4df7R)
Posted by: DangerGirl at March 06, 2014 12:30 PM (GrtrJ)
Posted by: Gristle Encased Head at March 06, 2014 12:30 PM (+lsX1)
Posted by: Lynn Meeurers at March 06, 2014 12:30 PM (Kz9dH)
Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at March 06, 2014 12:30 PM (DmNpO)
And anyway who gives a fuck about science fiction anyway?
They kept saying I'd have a flying car. Visionaries, my ass.
Posted by: Bigby's Frozen Fingers at March 06, 2014 12:31 PM (3ZtZW)
1) Round-file the entire AR5 as it now stands and start again.
2) Release the current AR5 with a statement that indicates that all the climate change and impacts described within are likely overestimated by around 50 percent, or
3) Do nothing and mislead policymakers and the rest of the world.
WeÂ’re betting on door number 3.
Posted by: Eric "Otter" Stratton, Delta House President at March 06, 2014 12:31 PM (e8kgV)
But that aside, this is ridiculous. One of the reasons I don't read sci-fi anymore is because it was all getting so damn preachy, and now I know that it wasn't just a phase.
Sci-Fi , for me, went to shit in the 80's and rather than coming back to me has only ever gotten farther and farther away.
The mainstream bookstore stuff at any rate. The rare exceptions prove the rule.
Posted by: eleven at March 06, 2014 12:32 PM (GXZgZ)
Posted by: artisanal 'ette at March 06, 2014 12:32 PM (IXrOn)
Posted by: Herr Morgenholz at March 06, 2014 12:33 PM (CK4F6)
>>>I throw up a little every time the name "Sarah Silverman" is mentioned.
Its like a killing word, but more like a bulimic word
Posted by: Bigby's Frozen Fingers at March 06, 2014 12:33 PM (3ZtZW)
Posted by: votermom at March 06, 2014 12:33 PM (GSIDW)
Posted by: rickb223 at March 06, 2014 12:33 PM (FNtJ6)
"Sizeist" Just what in the fuck is that??
Is Michelle Obama sizeist????????? Has this whole fucking world gone looney???
Posted by: prescient11 at March 06, 2014 12:33 PM (tVTLU)
Posted by: Empire of Jeff at March 06, 2014 12:34 PM (CJjw5)
Posted by: awkward davies at March 06, 2014 12:34 PM (whqez)
Hell, the whole Necks Generation was nothing but "I'll remove all the related and contributing factors to make a point about how awful humans are--a point that makes really no sense unless you understand all the related and contributing factors."
Posted by: RoyalOil at March 06, 2014 12:34 PM (VjL9S)
Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at March 06, 2014 12:35 PM (HVff2)
Posted by: Insomniac at March 06, 2014 12:35 PM (DrWcr)
Posted by: SE Pa Moron [/i] at March 06, 2014 12:35 PM (CnA98)
Posted by: Adam at March 06, 2014 12:35 PM (Aif/5)
Posted by: ace at March 06, 2014 12:35 PM (/FnUH)
Posted by: rickb223 at March 06, 2014 12:35 PM (FNtJ6)
Posted by: phoenixgirl at work at March 06, 2014 12:36 PM (8v/hq)
Nicholson: "I think of a man and I take away reason and accountability.”
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 12:36 PM (zfY+H)
Posted by: steevy at March 06, 2014 04:31 PM (zqvg6)
Wanna see her get punched in the face?
http://tinyurl.com/mxussd3
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 06, 2014 12:36 PM (QFxY5)
Shouldn't that 'e' get dropped when the 'ist' gets added? Who decides how these new, made up words get spelled? Whoever makes it up gets to spell it any old way they want?
The hell with CPAC. There are more important issues to solve right here.
Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at March 06, 2014 12:37 PM (IN7k+)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at March 06, 2014 12:37 PM (ZPrif)
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 12:37 PM (zfY+H)
Ace, watching one interview with this guy makes me think just what exactly is so fucking wrong with him.
Re your last post. Absolutely!!! I'm sure piers morgan would have been applauded by these fags.
That's right I said it!!!!
Posted by: prescient11 at March 06, 2014 12:37 PM (tVTLU)
Posted by: RWC at March 06, 2014 12:37 PM (fWAjv)
Posted by: Brother Cavil at March 06, 2014 12:37 PM (naUcP)
The geeks don't read anymore. They appropriate the visible elements of geekdom via osmosis and visiting the correct websites.[/]
I read that as "via onanism", which also works.
Closest I get to the SF community is Wizard World, which is a thing in the ComicCon universe. The conventions are getting more packed. (A bad thing, because you used to be able to have actual conversations with guys like David Mack, and brief ones with Jim Lee. Now they're overrun by cosplayers, of whom not enough are nubile and scanty.)
Boys and I decided that last year was our last year.
Posted by: Frumious Bandersnatch at March 06, 2014 12:37 PM (A0sHn)
Posted by: AnonymousDrivel at March 06, 2014 12:38 PM (1CroS)
Posted by: Fritz at March 06, 2014 12:38 PM (PnMCP)
Posted by: troyriser at March 06, 2014 12:38 PM (V9ol4)
Posted by: Daybrother at March 06, 2014 12:40 PM (X+Z3j)
Posted by: Herr Morgenholz at March 06, 2014 12:40 PM (CK4F6)
Larry Correia, Sarah Hoyt and others have similar problems. Unfortunately for them, they are not "cool" enough to belong to the SFWA.
Posted by: rd at March 06, 2014 12:40 PM (D+lxs)
Is there anyone worthy of picking up the jockstrap of guys like Heinlein, Asimov, Bradbury, etc? Anyone worthy of even being in the same room? The youngest one I can think of is Orson Scott Card, and people despise him.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 12:40 PM (zfY+H)
Posted by: artisanal 'ette at March 06, 2014 12:41 PM (IXrOn)
Posted by: JonathanG at March 06, 2014 12:41 PM (XyoGP)
Harlan Elison ....he's a bitter hateful little fuck.
Posted by: awkward davies
He certainly has overdone the brash infante/tortured artiste/cranky grandpa bit in his life.
But I can vouch personally for him showing generosity, understanding and magnanimity on multiple occasions.
Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at March 06, 2014 12:41 PM (kdS6q)
***
Sounds like the War on Wimmenz.
The fake one the Democrats always talk about - not the Bill Clinton lead one.
Posted by: 18-1 at March 06, 2014 12:41 PM (P3U0f)
Posted by: toby928© at March 06, 2014 12:42 PM (QupBk)
Posted by: Daybrother at March 06, 2014 12:42 PM (ZjBoP)
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 12:42 PM (zfY+H)
Posted by: Herr Morgenholz at March 06, 2014 12:42 PM (CK4F6)
Posted by: RWC at March 06, 2014 12:42 PM (fWAjv)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at March 06, 2014 12:42 PM (ZPrif)
A "Pack of Braying, Censorious Scolds"...who still think of themselves as 'edgy and unorthodox'.
Who also must enforce their orthodox groupthink of unorthodoxy.
Posted by: wheatie at March 06, 2014 12:43 PM (W4wxS)
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at March 06, 2014 12:43 PM (TPCnZ)
I love this place. I get to work Bellend into my vocabulary.
True dat. But it was used in a phrase with the word "grating", and I've been wincing ever since.
Posted by: Frumious Bandersnatch at March 06, 2014 12:43 PM (A0sHn)
Posted by: Empire of Jeff at March 06, 2014 12:43 PM (CJjw5)
Posted by: Lynn Meeurers at March 06, 2014 12:43 PM (Kz9dH)
if they want to be on Fallon they can't appear on ANY other network
Posted by: artisanal 'ette
Rarrw!
Posted by: Zombie Helen Kushnick
Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at March 06, 2014 12:44 PM (kdS6q)
So a genre which has, in its pictoral art, some of the sluttiest, big titty wide ass fuck me now women is somehow PC??
Where are the fucking charged up masturbation happy nerds?? for fuck's sake.
Posted by: prescient11 at March 06, 2014 12:44 PM (tVTLU)
He's a large part of why Babylon 5 was such good sci fi.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 12:44 PM (zfY+H)
Posted by: Roy at March 06, 2014 12:45 PM (VndSC)
Posted by: jwest at March 06, 2014 12:45 PM (u2a4R)
Posted by: artisanal 'ette at March 06, 2014 12:45 PM (IXrOn)
Posted by: Buck Farack, Gentleman Adventurer at March 06, 2014 12:46 PM (Nk6GS)
Posted by: votermom at March 06, 2014 12:46 PM (GSIDW)
Posted by: Mikey NTH - Sick of the Snowplow Bills for the Outrage Outlet - Bring Me The Head Of Al Gore! at March 06, 2014 12:46 PM (hLRSq)
Posted by: Empire of Jeff at March 06, 2014 12:46 PM (CJjw5)
___
I loved, like, uh, when Cartman totally was like Cthulu's friend.
Did Lovecraft, like, do any of the voices on Southpark?
Posted by: Some Liv at March 06, 2014 12:47 PM (P3U0f)
There's probably a Law out there named with this tendency.
Posted by: GnuBreed at March 06, 2014 12:47 PM (cHZB7)
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 12:47 PM (zfY+H)
Posted by: ace at March 06, 2014 12:47 PM (/FnUH)
Posted by: RWC at March 06, 2014 12:47 PM (fWAjv)
Posted by: artisanal 'ette at March 06, 2014 12:47 PM (IXrOn)
Posted by: Burn the Witch at March 06, 2014 12:47 PM (ySQzf)
Posted by: Insomniac
This meme never gets old.
Posted by: Roy at March 06, 2014 12:48 PM (VndSC)
RWC:
It's early, you can only do so many polar bear plunges. I just think he's not good and not funny.
Posted by: prescient11 at March 06, 2014 12:48 PM (tVTLU)
Posted by: Herr Morgenholz at March 06, 2014 12:48 PM (CK4F6)
Posted by: SE Pa Moron [/i] at March 06, 2014 12:48 PM (CnA98)
Posted by: phreshone at March 06, 2014 12:48 PM (Q6pxP)
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 12:49 PM (zfY+H)
Posted by: JonathanG at March 06, 2014 12:49 PM (XyoGP)
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 06, 2014 12:49 PM (XyM/Y)
Posted by: jwest at March 06, 2014 12:49 PM (u2a4R)
Posted by: Roy Munson, Dictionary Salesman at March 06, 2014 12:49 PM (CJjw5)
___
You know, I still have fans...and more to the point, about half of the country are adherents to my racist, sexist, and religious-hating politcal philisophy...
Posted by: Woodrow Wilson at March 06, 2014 12:49 PM (P3U0f)
I've never thought I'd like anybody's hair when it's been dyed an electric orange but Jane Goldman looked kind of hot that way.
Is that too hairist? Did I step over the hair color line with that one? I suppose I'm forever disinvited from hosting the Hugos.
Posted by: MTF at March 06, 2014 12:49 PM (LISuA)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at March 06, 2014 12:50 PM (ZPrif)
Posted by: DangerGirl at March 06, 2014 12:50 PM (GrtrJ)
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 12:50 PM (zfY+H)
are we related? I started with Zane Grey under the covers with a flashlight, then went on to Andre Norton.
Heroes were heroic, women were strong, everyone understood science. Good guys were good, bad guys were not. They all did adventurous things.
Then Jimmy Carter came along, and things changed. We were all guilty of something. The politically correct pointed out that science fiction was really fantasy, and authoritarians were bigots and fascists, and science fiction wasn't real literature. It didn't have many female characters, and didn't have any sex, so it wasn't realistic until the hero was female, and we had to read about her physical needs (to be realistic) and her emotional needs. I didn't care to read about any of that. I wanted to read about rocket ships and ray guns. 'The girls' don't do engineering and math, they do 'interpersonal relationships', which would be ok if the characters are interesting. The science is only the background. The really good science fiction is about how people behave not what method they use for transportation. So that's the hook the liberal busy bodies use to lecture us on how we should behave, not how we do behave.
I say, to hell with that, charge the plasma gun and flame'm until they're crisp.
Posted by: Wilsume W. Range at March 06, 2014 12:50 PM (MkWtP)
Posted by: Nevergiveup at March 06, 2014 12:50 PM (t3UFN)
Posted by: Gristle Encased Head at March 06, 2014 12:50 PM (+lsX1)
Posted by: Herr Morgenholz at March 06, 2014 12:51 PM (CK4F6)
Posted by: prescient11 at March 06, 2014 12:51 PM (tVTLU)
I can't wait to see what this does to Fallon's guest list.
Posted by: votermom at March 06, 2014 04:46 PM (GSIDW)<<<
We'd be willing to appear several times a week.
Posted by: SCOAMF and Mooch at March 06, 2014 12:51 PM (Q1KXS)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at March 06, 2014 12:51 PM (ZPrif)
Posted by: ace at March 06, 2014 04:47 PM (/FnUH)
It's interesting to see the quiet evolution of your social philosophy.
I am curious if you see an epiphany in your life that has moved you toward the more libertarian side of the spectrum?
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 06, 2014 12:51 PM (QFxY5)
Posted by: votermom at March 06, 2014 12:51 PM (GSIDW)
I'm just counting down until "Brawndo" and "electrolytes" are on the SAT. I figure within the decade.
Posted by: AnonymousDrivel at March 06, 2014 12:52 PM (1CroS)
Posted by: Brother Cavil at March 06, 2014 12:52 PM (naUcP)
Posted by: phreshone at March 06, 2014 12:52 PM (Q6pxP)
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at March 06, 2014 12:53 PM (TPCnZ)
Posted by: awkward davies at March 06, 2014 12:53 PM (whqez)
Posted by: prescient11 at March 06, 2014 12:53 PM (tVTLU)
holy cow
Posted by: artisanal 'ette at March 06, 2014 04:41 PM (IXrOn)
------------------------------------------------
Good. These celebs need a good lesson in dictatorship.
Posted by: Soona at March 06, 2014 12:53 PM (rOX4+)
Posted by: ace at March 06, 2014 12:53 PM (/FnUH)
Posted by: phreshone at March 06, 2014 04:52 PM (Q6pxP)
Happy little trees, happy little trees, which are hiding some Viet Cong yellow! Let's bring in a little napalm orange!
Posted by: Insomniac at March 06, 2014 12:53 PM (DrWcr)
Posted by: Roy at March 06, 2014 12:53 PM (ggEAc)
Posted by: Herr Morgenholz at March 06, 2014 12:54 PM (CK4F6)
MRW?
Yeah, that. I mostly re-read old books I have. Most of the newer SF is preachy junk. I hated that so much I also quit going to movies & cut the cable TV off. Who needs noise pollution in their minds?
Posted by: backhoe at March 06, 2014 12:54 PM (ULH4o)
Posted by: votermom at March 06, 2014 12:54 PM (GSIDW)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at March 06, 2014 12:54 PM (ZPrif)
Well then, your book is crap, and you deserve the 7 readers you'll ever get.
"I am curious if you see an epiphany in your life that has moved you toward the more libertarian side of the spectrum?"
I fail to see how favoring politeness and charity is particularly or especially libertarian.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 12:54 PM (zfY+H)
Posted by: ace at March 06, 2014 12:54 PM (/FnUH)
Posted by: Zombie John Gotti at March 06, 2014 12:55 PM (QR7wx)
Posted by: Brother Cavil at March 06, 2014 12:55 PM (naUcP)
Posted by: ace at March 06, 2014 12:55 PM (/FnUH)
Posted by: Lynn Meeurers at March 06, 2014 12:55 PM (Kz9dH)
Posted by: artisanal 'ette at March 06, 2014 12:55 PM (IXrOn)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at March 06, 2014 12:55 PM (ZPrif)
The liberal bent of the sci-fi/fantasy community is something that some of the more conservative and/or libertarian writers have been talking about recently in their blogs. Larry Coreia, in particular, has been mocking them, and has even been attempting to get enough conservatives and libertarians registered with the group that does the Hugos to tip the voting away from the usual liberal themes.
Baen is noteworthy because they completely ignore politics when deciding whether or not someone is worth publishing.
Posted by: junior at March 06, 2014 12:56 PM (UWFpX)
Posted by: Daybrother at March 06, 2014 12:56 PM (0nXeV)
****
Until they stop getting their way it will only get worse...such is human nature.
Posted by: 18-1 at March 06, 2014 12:56 PM (P3U0f)
is there something new?"
They even missed the lede. That he doesn't even have a heart. Great googly-moogly our media sucks.
Posted by: AnonymousDrivel at March 06, 2014 12:56 PM (1CroS)
Posted by: gm at March 06, 2014 12:57 PM (/kBoL)
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 12:57 PM (zfY+H)
Everyone laughed when I said that smoking bans were the early marks of a fascist state.
From big gulps to seatbelt laws to smoking bans, the heel of big brother is in its infancy.
Now they just don't give a fuck. Catholic nun = comrade provide abortificent drugs in YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS or CHARITY...
Posted by: prescient11 at March 06, 2014 12:57 PM (tVTLU)
Also, speaking of fantasy, Brandon Sanderson's door stopper sequel to The Way of Kings was released on Tuesday. And boy is it good.
^_^
Posted by: junior at March 06, 2014 12:57 PM (UWFpX)
Posted by: Herr Morgenholz at March 06, 2014 12:57 PM (CK4F6)
***
But the old school SF authors were generally liberals as well - look at ASimov or Clarke.
It was, of course, a different sort of liberalism predating the rise of the new Left...
Posted by: 18-1 at March 06, 2014 12:58 PM (P3U0f)
Posted by: Z Ryan at March 06, 2014 12:58 PM (fMK2m)
Mewling quims all, if it has not been yet said.
Posted by: LizLem at March 06, 2014 12:58 PM (BF+2f)
Walk the SciFi aisles at a Barnes & Noble (if you can find one) and you are presented with the choice of about 20 authors and the series they have spawned.. and the publishers are no longer satisfied with trilogies.. oh no! book after book after book in "The xxx Saga".. blah blah blah blah.. holy fuck.
There hasn't been more than two new ideas in scifi in the last decade.
Neil Gaiman is one of the few who hasn't succumbed to this sequel madness.. but his books are few and far between.. and more fantasy than scifi, anyway. (Yes, I know he's a libtard douchenozzle, but I don't let the personal lives of actors and writers affect my entertainment habits)
Posted by: Chi-Town Jerry at March 06, 2014 12:58 PM (Z7PrM)
Posted by: Herr Morgenholz at March 06, 2014 12:58 PM (CK4F6)
Is there anyone worthy of picking up the jockstrap of guys like Heinlein, Asimov, Bradbury, etc? Anyone worthy of even being in the same room?
Lois McMaster Bujold, John Ringo, Elizabeth Moon, Eric Flint, Tom Kratman, and a bunch of others with the Baen logo. You can start by going to the BAEN free library, which has free copies of their others books.
Baen is also reprinting all the Heinlein books as the rights become available.
Posted by: rd at March 06, 2014 12:58 PM (D+lxs)
Posted by: Finn McCool at March 06, 2014 12:59 PM (rHjtN)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at March 06, 2014 12:59 PM (ZPrif)
Posted by: phreshone at March 06, 2014 12:59 PM (Q6pxP)
@170 Well, I'm glad to hear that because I was a fan of his early work but he rapidly turned into a douche. (Did you hear he was once in a knife fight? Didja? Huh?).
I had a friend whose relative worked for him and all I heard was how full of himself he was.
--------------------
While I've personally never seen the man, based on what I've heard about him I suspect he's mostly a jerk who has brief flashes of kindess and generosity.
Posted by: junior at March 06, 2014 12:59 PM (UWFpX)
Thanks fellas. Card always had some weird mormon shit in his end of the world series I read.
I really like his writing. xenocide is a fantastic almost buddhist trip.
Posted by: prescient11 at March 06, 2014 12:59 PM (tVTLU)
Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at March 06, 2014 01:00 PM (DmNpO)
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 01:00 PM (zfY+H)
***
Obvious question...what would Superman - raised in an American home in Kansas in either the 30s or 50s (IIRC) think of gay marriage?
Posted by: 18-1 at March 06, 2014 01:00 PM (P3U0f)
Posted by: rd at March 06, 2014 01:00 PM (D+lxs)
Posted by: Brother Cavil at March 06, 2014 01:01 PM (naUcP)
Dean Koontz...is he considered a 'SciFi Author'?
He's been on the outs these days, since it became known that he's a conservative.
His latest movie...'Odd Thomas'...had to be made with private funds, and debuted out of the country.
It's currently available here though, on OnDemand, without having been released in theaters.
I watched it last month...and I Highly recommend it!
Posted by: wheatie at March 06, 2014 01:01 PM (W4wxS)
Based on the Man of Steel marriage, he'd kill half the city and terrify everyone by telling them about his powers in the most menacing way possible. And never smile.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 01:01 PM (zfY+H)
What Issa should do is get the committee majority to vote in contempt charges and throw him off the committee.
http://tinyurl.com/mya4nbl
Posted by: Vic[/i] at March 06, 2014 01:01 PM (T2V/1)
You may think this is just about the Hugo Awards. I don't. I think it's about a vituperative splenetic fury that has taken over the whole country
---------------------------------------------------
Damn, I love this blog.
Posted by: Soona at March 06, 2014 01:01 PM (rOX4+)
..........
Good story.. very bad movie!
Posted by: Chi-Town Jerry at March 06, 2014 01:01 PM (Z7PrM)
Posted by: Nevergiveup at March 06, 2014 01:01 PM (t3UFN)
***
To the left all things must serve the left.
So even when you attempt to avoid politics you are committing a thought crime as an author, though the left is making it rapidly impossible to avoid politics anyway.
Posted by: 18-1 at March 06, 2014 01:02 PM (P3U0f)
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 01:02 PM (zfY+H)
Posted by: artisanal 'ette at March 06, 2014 01:02 PM (IXrOn)
Posted by: Herr Morgenholz at March 06, 2014 01:02 PM (CK4F6)
@178 But the old school SF authors were generally liberals as well - look at ASimov or Clarke.
It was, of course, a different sort of liberalism predating the rise of the new Left...
----------------------
That's correct. In fact, there was recently a push by a sci-fi writers organization to push for banning anyone who didn't toe the party line. A bunch of older sci-fi and fantasy writers basically came out and called the approach fascism and censorship. The response by the organization regulars, of course, was that the older writers were all a bunch of conservative nut-jobs.
If you're calling Mercedes Lackey a conservative, then something is very, very wrong with you...
Posted by: junior at March 06, 2014 01:02 PM (UWFpX)
Posted by: Chi-Town Jerry at March 06, 2014 01:04 PM (Z7PrM)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at March 06, 2014 01:04 PM (ZPrif)
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 01:04 PM (zfY+H)
Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD. Mmmm. Blondies with whipped cream. at March 06, 2014 01:05 PM (VtjlW)
Posted by: artisanal 'ette at March 06, 2014 01:06 PM (IXrOn)
Posted by: votermom at March 06, 2014 01:06 PM (GSIDW)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at March 06, 2014 01:06 PM (ZPrif)
It can be tough to get into the scifi genre even if you ARE an established writer. Richard Paul Evans, writer of bestselling Christmas Box and I think a conservative, got an idea for a YA scifi novel series, pitched to his publisher Simon & Schuster. They rejected it! Never mind he'd sold millions of dollars of books previously.
Luckily Glenn Beck's publishing company scooped in and filled that void, and apparently the series has sold really well. But it's a tough business regardless.
Posted by: LizLem at March 06, 2014 01:07 PM (BF+2f)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at March 06, 2014 01:07 PM (ZPrif)
But the old school SF authors were generally liberals as well - look at ASimov or Clarke.
-------------------------------------------------
I couldn't finish Clarke's "Rama" sequals. Marxism oozed from the paper itself.
Posted by: Soona at March 06, 2014 01:07 PM (rOX4+)
They put the word out to celebs, agents and publicists ... if they want to be on Fallon they can't appear on ANY other network ... and not just shows that go head-to-head with Jimmy, but morning shows as well. holy cow
Posted by: artisanal 'ette at March 06, 2014 04:41 PM (IXrOn)
Jay Leno's manager tried the same thing when he took over for Carson 2o some years ago. It really earned him some early backlash and helped Dave Letterman out.
Now the broadcasting company itself thinks this is OK?
Posted by: rd at March 06, 2014 01:08 PM (D+lxs)
Posted by: Blood at March 06, 2014 01:08 PM (QupBk)
Obvious question...what would Superman - raised in an American home in Kansas in either the 30s or 50s (IIRC) think of gay marriage?
-------------------
DC "rebooted" their entire universe a couple of years ago. So now he grew up in the '90s.
Also, one of the more recent versions of him was a vegetarian.
Posted by: junior at March 06, 2014 01:08 PM (UWFpX)
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 01:09 PM (zfY+H)
Posted by: Daybrother at March 06, 2014 01:09 PM (M3iOs)
Posted by: Lynn Meeurers at March 06, 2014 01:09 PM (Kz9dH)
Keep an eye on Castalia House. They just released a Tom Kratman novella I loved.
www.castaliahouse.com
Posted by: Lemmenkainen, Freelance Warlord at March 06, 2014 01:09 PM (ZWvOb)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at March 06, 2014 01:09 PM (ZPrif)
Posted by: DDG at March 06, 2014 01:09 PM (jLXdE)
Posted by: Dr. Varno at March 06, 2014 01:09 PM (V4CBV)
Posted by: Herr Morgenholz at March 06, 2014 01:10 PM (CK4F6)
Posted by: Buckeye Abroad at March 06, 2014 01:10 PM (Ad9WL)
Posted by: steevy at March 06, 2014 01:10 PM (zqvg6)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at March 06, 2014 01:11 PM (ZPrif)
Posted by: Herr Morgenholz at March 06, 2014 01:11 PM (CK4F6)
Posted by: Brother Cavil at March 06, 2014 01:11 PM (naUcP)
Posted by: AMDG at March 06, 2014 01:11 PM (t7OO0)
Posted by: artisanal 'ette at March 06, 2014 01:12 PM (IXrOn)
Posted by: James Grimaldi at March 06, 2014 01:12 PM (5linU)
Posted by: NBC [/i] at March 06, 2014 01:12 PM (CnA98)
Posted by: Chris_Balsz at March 06, 2014 01:12 PM (5xmd7)
Posted by: gm at March 06, 2014 01:13 PM (/kBoL)
Posted by: artisanal 'ette at March 06, 2014 01:13 PM (IXrOn)
Posted by: Lea at March 06, 2014 01:14 PM (lIU4e)
Posted by: Lynn Meeurers at March 06, 2014 01:14 PM (Kz9dH)
Posted by: rickb223 at March 06, 2014 01:14 PM (FNtJ6)
Posted by: Dack Thrombosis at March 06, 2014 01:15 PM (oFCZn)
Ms McGuire and her coterie write what is called Urban Fantasy and/or Women's Speculative Fiction. This group is feminist in nature, specially those in the speculative fiction group. Their stories tend to be driven by challenging the traditional gender and race roles as well as gay liberation.
Somewhat systemic of where we are as a society.
Posted by: Usedtocould at March 06, 2014 01:15 PM (Q5wIZ)
Posted by: Yoshi, Aggrieved Victim of the White Man at March 06, 2014 01:15 PM (OzZJn)
Posted by: Scott M at March 06, 2014 01:16 PM (AdBfq)
Posted by: Y-not at March 06, 2014 01:16 PM (zDsvJ)
Posted by: JohnJ at March 06, 2014 01:16 PM (TF/YA)
Posted by: Mallfly at March 06, 2014 01:16 PM (bJm7W)
Day-um. Heinlein was "like 60" when he wrote Moon is A Harsh, and SISL.
Posted by: Stringer Davis at March 06, 2014 01:16 PM (xq1UY)
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin is having a hundred or so strokes a minute
He's gonna need some lube.....
or have a ...
Posted by: Grated Bellend at March 06, 2014 01:16 PM (A0sHn)
The Left hasn't gotten Nick Searcy fired. Have they tried?
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at March 06, 2014 05:11 PM (ZPrif)
He's half the show, imho, so they wouldn't dare.
Posted by: artisanal 'ette at March 06, 2014 05:13 PM (IXrOn)
What bout the next show? The intimidation is usually what shuts most people up.
But I know that won't work with Searcy.
Posted by: rd at March 06, 2014 01:17 PM (D+lxs)
231 The Left hasn't gotten Nick Searcy fired. Have they tried?
I'm sure they've tried.
But it seems he can only get gigs as 'bad guy' roles, now.
He was recently on the show 'Intelligence'...as a rogue general who was trying to stage a fake terrorist attack.
Posted by: wheatie at March 06, 2014 01:17 PM (W4wxS)
When, Exactly, Did the Science Fiction Community Become a Pack of Braying, Censorious Scolds?
since John Scalzi and his merry band of holier-than-thou-snark took over...
Posted by: claire at March 06, 2014 01:17 PM (awk6I)
Posted by: rickb223 at March 06, 2014 01:17 PM (FNtJ6)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at March 06, 2014 01:17 PM (ZPrif)
The Left hasn't gotten Nick Searcy fired. Have they tried?
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at March 06, 2014 05:11 PM (ZPrif)
He's half the show, imho, so they wouldn't dare.
Posted by: artisanal 'ette at March 06, 2014 05:13 PM (IXrOn)
-----------------------------------------------------
They're giving the kid (Kendall?) some of the best lines of the show this season.
Posted by: Soona at March 06, 2014 01:17 PM (rOX4+)
http://larrycorreia.wordpress.com/ has some info about this insanity from a successful author.
Posted by: Kristophr at March 06, 2014 01:18 PM (c6N69)
Its fine to express your personal preferences in public, but really, do it personally, don't try to ruin someone's career because you dislike them for some select reason or position they take. Amicable disagreement is part of functional society.
Personally I believe the internet is a huge part of this rise. Its easy to be brave when you're out of range, and its easy to get the feeling you're on the winning side of a huge wave when all you read are friendly and supportive comments.
Lacking that sympathetic feedback of seeing the hurt or fear, pain, or anger on someone's face as you scream horrible things at them is what makes people get so awful on the internet. And it lets them build and sustain this bitterness.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 01:18 PM (zfY+H)
Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at March 06, 2014 01:18 PM (g4TxM)
Posted by: LizLem at March 06, 2014 01:19 PM (BF+2f)
Posted by: Yoshi, Aggrieved Victim of the White Man at March 06, 2014 01:19 PM (OzZJn)
That's part of why I love Justified's writers. They are so democratic, they'll give the most awful people or minor characters great lines, too. Nobody is just a throwaway nothing, they get to shine and be fun and interesting no matter who they are. There are no bit parts or cardboard standups.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 01:19 PM (zfY+H)
Posted by: JonathanG at March 06, 2014 01:19 PM (XyoGP)
Posted by: Jean at March 06, 2014 01:19 PM (4JkHl)
Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith[/i][/b][/s][/u] at March 06, 2014 01:20 PM (qyfb5)
Posted by: Goldilocks at March 06, 2014 01:20 PM (SH+D5)
Posted by: Yoshi, Aggrieved Victim of the White Man at March 06, 2014 01:21 PM (OzZJn)
Posted by: ace at March 06, 2014 01:21 PM (/FnUH)
Posted by: artisanal 'ette at March 06, 2014 01:21 PM (IXrOn)
Posted by: Vituperative Mewling Quims at March 06, 2014 01:22 PM (W4wxS)
Posted by: Buzzion at March 06, 2014 01:22 PM (2ISwT)
Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at March 06, 2014 01:22 PM (DmNpO)
Posted by: Mirror-Universe Mitt Romney at March 06, 2014 01:23 PM (9JPz+)
Nothing is scarier than a nerd/dork come to power. A lot of years of feeling like you're the outsider DOES NOT foster compassion. It fosters a feeling of "Hey everybody! It's payback time!"
Not that all sci-fi people are nerds/dorks. But as the saying goes about lawyers - It's just that small 99% that ruin the reputation of everyone else.
Posted by: Ted K. at March 06, 2014 01:23 PM (FJYfm)
Uh, when an actor is doing PR for an upcoming movie, or a musician for new album, the idea is to get on as many shows as possible.
Not like Fallon is 60 minutes and he's getting an exclusive/scoop on a breaking story.
Posted by: Lizzy at March 06, 2014 01:23 PM (aq/zi)
Posted by: Blood at March 06, 2014 01:24 PM (QupBk)
This is the self same whiny group of writers who went ballistic over a chick in chain-mail cover for SFWA and had the vapors because Mike Resnick commented in the SFWA Bulletin how pretty a female editor was.
Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at March 06, 2014 01:24 PM (0z3kx)
Posted by: --- at March 06, 2014 01:24 PM (MMC8r)
Posted by: rickb223 at March 06, 2014 01:24 PM (FNtJ6)
Posted by: filbert at March 06, 2014 01:24 PM (roTS7)
Posted by: ace at March 06, 2014 01:24 PM (/FnUH)
Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at March 06, 2014 01:25 PM (g4TxM)
But then I'm old fashioned. And I don't mean that in some self-deprecating way, I'm old fashioned. I always have been a bit of a throwback, raised the old way, but now I'm nearly 50 so I'm just old, and I think it hurts my potential for an audience. Readers seem to expect the new crap and don't know what to do with an older style or story.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 01:25 PM (zfY+H)
Posted by: Mirror-Universe Mitt Romney at March 06, 2014 01:25 PM (9JPz+)
Posted by: Blood at March 06, 2014 01:25 PM (QupBk)
Posted by: ace at March 06, 2014 01:26 PM (/FnUH)
Posted by: Dack Thrombosis at March 06, 2014 01:27 PM (oFCZn)
Unfortunately for them, they are not "cool" enough to belong to the SFWA.
----------------------
Is SFWA the group that Scalzi used to lead?
Hoyt was a member for a while, but left it due to a combination of the political nonsense, and because she realized that the organization didn't actually do anything productive for writers.
Posted by: junior at March 06, 2014 01:27 PM (UWFpX)
Posted by: SE Pa Moron [/i] at March 06, 2014 01:27 PM (CnA98)
Posted by: Sarah at March 06, 2014 01:27 PM (jjkR7)
* Yes I know, Frankenstein's MONSTER, pedants.
Rocky and I thank you for your attention to detail.
Posted by: Frank N Furter at March 06, 2014 01:27 PM (A0sHn)
Posted by: The Political Hat at March 06, 2014 01:27 PM (XvHmy)
Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at March 06, 2014 01:28 PM (0z3kx)
Posted by: Brother Cavil at March 06, 2014 01:28 PM (naUcP)
Posted by: Mirror-Universe Mitt Romney at March 06, 2014 01:28 PM (9JPz+)
Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at March 06, 2014 01:29 PM (g4TxM)
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 01:29 PM (zfY+H)
Posted by: Frumious Bandersnatch at March 06, 2014 01:29 PM (A0sHn)
Posted by: Vlad Putin at March 06, 2014 01:29 PM (1CroS)
Posted by: A. Pendragon at March 06, 2014 01:29 PM (wJliR)
How can we expect private organizations to back freedom of speech when POS federal appeals courts support the "heckler's veto" 100%.
School banning American flag apparel b/c it would upset the dreamers.
Posted by: prescient11 at March 06, 2014 01:30 PM (tVTLU)
But the reason I despise him as a writer is he went and butchered H. Beam Piper's science fiction novel Little Fuzzy. And his agent got it cleared with Piper's estate and published. Ugh.
Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at March 06, 2014 01:30 PM (0z3kx)
Posted by: eleven at March 06, 2014 01:30 PM (fsLdt)
That's FrankenSHTEEN!
Posted by: Dr Frankenstein, misprouncing his name at March 06, 2014 01:30 PM (zfY+H)
Posted by: toby928© at March 06, 2014 01:30 PM (QupBk)
Posted by: All Hail Eris at March 06, 2014 01:30 PM (QBm1P)
Posted by: Lizzy at March 06, 2014 01:31 PM (aq/zi)
275
Such an opportunity for conservatives to fill the voids the left is creating.
It's happening.
But, more and faster, please.
Posted by: artisanal 'ette at March 06, 2014 05:21 PM (IXrOn)
------------
The Left has been tarring conservatives as 'evil'.
They tell young people..."Don't listen to those people, they're evil!"
But then, the Left has also been laying down the attitude that 'Evil is Cool'.
So basically the Left has made it 'cool' to be conservative.
And by all their definitions of what constitutes Victimhood Status...conservatives have been bullied so much that they've earned that too.
Posted by: wheatie at March 06, 2014 01:31 PM (W4wxS)
Posted by: Mirror-Universe Mitt Romney at March 06, 2014 01:31 PM (9JPz+)
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 01:32 PM (zfY+H)
Posted by: Null at March 06, 2014 01:32 PM (xjpRj)
Posted by: Romeo13 at March 06, 2014 01:32 PM (84gbM)
Posted by: artisanal 'ette at March 06, 2014 01:32 PM (IXrOn)
Posted by: Mirror-Universe Mitt Romney at March 06, 2014 01:32 PM (9JPz+)
Scuppers let the water out. I think scuttle is correct.
That's a fair point, but the Brits use the verb scupper to mean "sink a ship". I should have thought through the noun scuppers better.
Posted by: Frumious Bandersnatch at March 06, 2014 01:34 PM (A0sHn)
That and how so many sci fi and fantasy stories revolve around the Fictional Female Super Warrior...
99% too many.
Posted by: eleven at March 06, 2014 01:34 PM (fsLdt)
Posted by: Frumious Bandersnatch at March 06, 2014 01:36 PM (A0sHn)
Sci-Fi seems to work like a herd mentality since the 80's. Back then the herd was all Cyber Cyber Cyber Cyber Virtual Cyber Cyber Cyber.
Now it's Female Super Warrior.
Posted by: eleven at March 06, 2014 01:36 PM (fsLdt)
Here is what Scalzi did to Piper's work. Took Jack Holloway a sunstone prospector and someone who got sick of bureaucratic Earth and sought a frontier world to live on and turned him into an amoral lawyer turned prospector with a very dodgy past. He also deleted half the characters from the original book while doubling the page count.
Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at March 06, 2014 01:36 PM (0z3kx)
The ones that are above the water line do but the ones below the water line used for draining in Dry Dock. Let the water in a floating ship.
Posted by: Buzzsaw at March 06, 2014 01:36 PM (wrS2o)
Posted by: --- at March 06, 2014 01:36 PM (MMC8r)
Posted by: Brother Cavil at March 06, 2014 01:37 PM (naUcP)
Posted by: Jean at March 06, 2014 01:38 PM (4JkHl)
Posted by: Dr Frankenstein, misprouncing his name at March 06, 2014 05:30 PM (zfY+H)
-----------------------------------------
Blucher! NEEEIIIIIIGH!
Posted by: Soona at March 06, 2014 01:38 PM (rOX4+)
Posted by: Chris at March 06, 2014 01:39 PM (crkWb)
Posted by: Buzzion at March 06, 2014 01:39 PM (cNmY6)
Heinlein's book: Take Back Your Government is fucking awesome and is a must read.
Coupla takeaways:
1) can't count on churches for votes; you just can't
2) old people are selfish as all fuck
3) communists are the most dangerous mother fuckers out there. in any aspect of society where they are flourishing it is necessary to watch it like a hawk as they are the worst cancer in the word.
Posted by: prescient11 at March 06, 2014 01:41 PM (tVTLU)
Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at March 06, 2014 01:41 PM (0z3kx)
Ace,
Btw speaking of scifi, did you ever read A Brave New World?? It's like 200 pages for fuck's sake.
Maybe I can send you a version in French? Check it out, it definitely is a must read.
Posted by: prescient11 at March 06, 2014 01:42 PM (tVTLU)
Every Alpha male's hearts desire, a good woman who guards his back in a fight.
(and every beta male wanna be alpha scheming to get the girl away from the pack leader.)
Posted by: Wilsume W. Range at March 06, 2014 01:45 PM (MkWtP)
Posted by: tasker at March 06, 2014 01:45 PM (RJMhd)
Jeez o pete. So they broke the mold after Harlan Ellison, huh?
Posted by: Bud Norton at March 06, 2014 01:45 PM (6cOMd)
Posted by: Brother Cavil at March 06, 2014 01:48 PM (naUcP)
Posted by: ace at March 06, 2014 01:48 PM (/FnUH)
Posted by: JonathanG at March 06, 2014 01:49 PM (XyoGP)
Posted by: ace at March 06, 2014 01:49 PM (/FnUH)
Posted by: ace at March 06, 2014 01:50 PM (/FnUH)
Posted by: That Guy Who Says He Is Not Picky Like Some People[/i][/b][/s][/u] at March 06, 2014 01:53 PM (qyfb5)
Posted by: eleven at March 06, 2014 01:54 PM (fsLdt)
Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at March 06, 2014 01:54 PM (g4TxM)
If those super warrior women acted like real women they'd be a lot less amazing to geek boys. "No, I don't know whether Sven has started dating again. It didn't come up when we were sacking the castle. And yes, I am going to wear this helm again."
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 01:55 PM (zfY+H)
Posted by: ace at March 06, 2014 01:57 PM (/FnUH)
Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at March 06, 2014 01:58 PM (g4TxM)
Posted by: Buzzion at March 06, 2014 01:58 PM (4g54J)
Basically, sci-fi and comics geeks (of which I am one) apparently have had a majority of their ranks taken over by Proglodytes (of which I am most emphatically NOT).
Posted by: acethepug at March 06, 2014 02:01 PM (Gu1YY)
Posted by: zvi at March 06, 2014 02:03 PM (GefuU)
Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at March 06, 2014 02:03 PM (g4TxM)
Kornbluth's Not This August would get burned. The United States defeated and prostrate before the victorious Communists nations. Except the United States still has a secret weapon that will shift the balance and the book concerns dispirited people helping that weapon become operational.
One scene from the book has firmly lodged itself into my mind - the Communist spies in the town were perfectly ordinary never made anyone wonder, until the US surrendered. Then they announce they are proud to be Communists and are invited to the newly established secret police by the victors. And the spies are never heard from again.
Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at March 06, 2014 02:05 PM (0z3kx)
Posted by: JonathanG at March 06, 2014 02:07 PM (XyoGP)
the old masters were horribly left-wing. Mr Clarke .... why can't everyone be peaceful like Buddhist Sri Lanka.
Posted by: zvi
Ah, the rumors, pretty much confirmed as far as I'm concerned, on why Clarke so loved living on Sri Lanka....
Google, for the curious.
Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at March 06, 2014 02:07 PM (kdS6q)
Peter Hamilton's The Commonwealth Saga?
Haven't read it but it is referred to in a story about google tattoos. Posted by: tasker
Nope, too new. The work would have been in the 80's. Those
Posted by: Jean at March 06, 2014 02:07 PM (4JkHl)
@362
Kornbluth's Not This August would get burned. The United States defeated and prostrate before the victorious Communists nations. Except the United States still has a secret weapon that will shift the balance and the book concerns dispirited people helping that weapon become operational.
---------------------
Reminds me of a book by Heinlein (I think), which has a somewhat similar plot - except that the bad guys in that book are the ChiComs.
Posted by: junior at March 06, 2014 02:08 PM (UWFpX)
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 06, 2014 02:08 PM (3J2NG)
Liz Lem?
I tried a few "software" products about that in the days of DOS & found them to be more trouble than they were worth. I suspect things have improved. Yes, I used to get paid for writing so I reckon I'm a "perfessional" one rather than an amateur one.
My only advice would be to run a websearch & try several.
I'm settling in for the nite. With a beer. It's been squalling all day in the Golden Isles so I have a wet Border Collie in bed with me. WTH? He's clean & odorless- just wet. You could have a worse bed partner....
Posted by: backhoe at March 06, 2014 02:08 PM (ULH4o)
Like how Stalin dealt with WW2 Russians who came into contact with allied forces. They were shipped off to the gulags for becoming too "westernized." Thanks for defeating Hitler, comrade. Now off to Siberia with you.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 02:09 PM (zfY+H)
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 02:11 PM (zfY+H)
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at March 06, 2014 02:11 PM (yDmQD)
@369 "One scene from the book has firmly lodged itself into my mind "
Like how Stalin dealt with WW2 Russians who came into contact with allied forces. They were shipped off to the gulags for becoming too "westernized." Thanks for defeating Hitler, comrade. Now off to Siberia with you.
--------------------
There's a Flames of War (15mm WW2 miniatures wargame) mini-campaign that has a similar bit. If the Soviet Partisans win the campaign, then when the liberating Soviet forces arrive, the Partisan Leader is "disappeared" because he's too popular with the locals.
Posted by: junior at March 06, 2014 02:12 PM (UWFpX)
Posted by: tasker at March 06, 2014 02:14 PM (RJMhd)
Posted by: Jean at March 06, 2014 02:15 PM (4JkHl)
Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at March 06, 2014 02:15 PM (0z3kx)
Question for Anna and other Horde writers:
Is the herd mentality due mostly to writers/publishers trying to create stories that sell well and ride on the money bandwagon they see in a successful trope/genre? Or is it also that budding writers or established publishing houses nowadays do not have the creativity to write or promote outside the box of what is popular?
Posted by: LizLem at March 06, 2014 02:17 PM (BF+2f)
Posted by: Null at March 06, 2014 05:32 PM (xjpRj)
Short man with a needle dick syndrome. Charles Stross is another excellent writer who jumps on every dickweed lefty bandwagon. Just write about interesting concepts and get an editor to strike out all the political pablum.
Posted by: Captain Hate at March 06, 2014 02:18 PM (NI2j4)
I think "scuppered" comes from describing a condition where the water level exceeds those, thus the sea is over your deck. Never a good situation.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 02:21 PM (zfY+H)
Just remembered Robert Adams and his Horseclan books. In these PC days am surprised to see them listed on Amazon. Since the Ehleenee bad guys practiced buggery.
Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at March 06, 2014 02:21 PM (0z3kx)
And then there's the Katyn Forest Massacre... Look it up some time if you haven't people. Its horrifying.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 02:22 PM (zfY+H)
Posted by: JonathanG at March 06, 2014 02:22 PM (XyoGP)
Posted by: Go Cougars! at March 06, 2014 02:23 PM (oMoDj)
Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at March 06, 2014 02:25 PM (0z3kx)
Posted by: That Guy Who Says He Is Not Picky Like Some People[/i][/b][/s][/u] at March 06, 2014 02:28 PM (qyfb5)
The Soviet Union spun it as German atrocities and the allies went along with it to keep the fragile alliance going but the lie stood until the 90s. The Soviets refused to admit they had anything to do with it until ten years ago... and until 2010 claimed that it was rogue officers, not a signed order by Stalin.
It was horrific.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 02:29 PM (zfY+H)
Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith[/i][/b][/s][/u] at March 06, 2014 02:29 PM (qyfb5)
And established publishers chase trends also. So what sells right now they will hunt for more in a similar vein.
Then there are the writers who can only write very political garbage. So they sell to small publishing houses who believe the same tripe. They get the magic three sales and then plunk down the $50 to join SFWA, and then rot it out from the inside.
Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at March 06, 2014 02:29 PM (0z3kx)
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 06, 2014 02:31 PM (3J2NG)
@389 On the other hand, publishers probably don't mind that SFWA has neutered itself. With most of the big names in the field getting driven out, the organization has no clout whatsoever.
----------------------
Based on what Sarah Hoyt has written about the organization, I don't think it ever had much clout to begin with. Her comments about the organization suggest that it never really did anything useful for anyone who actually was published, and refused to allow in anyone who wasn't.
Posted by: junior at March 06, 2014 02:33 PM (UWFpX)
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 02:34 PM (zfY+H)
http://www.pbs.org/behindcloseddoors/in-depth/katyn-massacre.html
Then there is the National Archives where I fear I will get lost
http://www.archives.gov/research/foreign-policy/katyn-massacre/
Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at March 06, 2014 02:36 PM (0z3kx)
I couldn't finish Clarke's "Rama" sequals. Marxism oozed from the paper itself.
Sir Arthur didn't write those (and yes, I could not read them either, and for the same reason). Some lefty JPL engineer named Gentry Lee did, and a shitty job he did, too.
Posted by: The Oort Cloud at March 06, 2014 02:41 PM (NKoXJ)
Posted by: Captain Hate at March 06, 2014 02:42 PM (NI2j4)
Posted by: Scott M at March 06, 2014 02:59 PM (vMc5E)
Basically Stalin planned on taking Poland eventually and had all the leaders, dissidents, surviving Polish generals etc and had them killed to clear the path for later control.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at March 06, 2014 03:07 PM (zfY+H)
Posted by: BornLib at March 06, 2014 03:11 PM (zpNwC)
Posted by: Scott M at March 06, 2014 06:59 PM (vMc5E)
Nice! I currently use flash cards to to organize scenes, thought should give the modern century a try 
Also need to organize my research better, gaah.
Posted by: LizLem at March 06, 2014 03:12 PM (BF+2f)
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 06, 2014 03:19 PM (3J2NG)
Posted by: BornLib at March 06, 2014 03:20 PM (zpNwC)
Wow. You don't say. Well I never.
Posted by: dissent555 at March 06, 2014 03:39 PM (yR6A1)
Posted by: BornLib at March 06, 2014 03:43 PM (zpNwC)
are some off the strongly libertarian authors I read. Williamson especially; his freehold series is anti-anything that resembles gubmint.
Posted by: exsanguine at March 06, 2014 05:20 PM (WiAcn)
Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 06, 2014 05:44 PM (u82oZ)
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Posted by: fixerupper at March 06, 2014 12:18 PM (nELVU)