I know there's a lot of sturm und drang about GRR Martin's new HBO contract (Grokked from Jay Lake). But I just want to remind everyone, "George R.R. Martin is not your bitch." You know what I think? I think it's damn frackin' fabulous he has that contract. While I'm not entirely into the Song of Ice and Fire thing, I do understand the write like the wind sentiment. And yeah, it would totally suck for everybody if GRR didn't find the time to get that story out of his head and on paper before bitting the bullet (well, maybe except for Brandon Sanderson), but you know what? "Hey, look, it's a writer being highly successful for being a writer." And nobody should poop on that parade.
The Con or Bust auction. As it says, "Con or Bust, Helping Fans of Color Attend SFF Cons." I have to say, one of my impressions of Confusion this past year was more diversity. Not saying it's big, most cons are a sea of white people, but I did notice more non-white con goers this time. Which in my book is a Good Thing™. (Grokked from just about everybody)
"The writer either has a meaning and cannot express it, or he inadvertently says something else, or he is almost indifferent as to whether his words mean anything or not. This mixture of vagueness and sheer incompetence is the most marked characteristic of modern English prose, and especially of any kind of political writing." George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language", 1946. The more things change, the more the stay the same (which is exactly the type of phrase ol' George is railing against). (Grokked from Cat Rambo)
Calvin and Hobbes wallpaper. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Looks like that free wi-fi hope is just hype. Sigh. Dreams crushed. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Tobias Buckell with some new, lower cost, space exploration options for low Earth orbit.
The five mistakes design studios (and freelancers) make.
"By a unanimous vote (last month), Chicago’s City Council passed one of the strongest 'wage theft' laws in the United States." There are a lot of statistics in there about the current state of labor relations. Just in case you think there isn't a class war going on (and has been going on since the 70s). (Grokked from the Slactivist)
Of somewhat importance to the WIP (whenever I get back to it), a large portion of the population seems to be locked into the left-behind fiction mindset and adjusts their reality to fit that perspective.
Maybe it's a good thing, but in their rush to condemn Fox News uses a photo of a same sex couple to top their article on why hetero marriages are better for America. Irony, it's what's for dinner. (Grokked from Steven Gould)
While it's meant as a social/political statement, it's still interesting that an entrepreneur in China is selling canned "fresh" air. Kinda puts bottled water to shame, doesn't it. I guess there's no better time than now to point out that here is an example of a country that doesn't have an EPA or much in the way of environmental regulation. You know, the kind of country certain wing-nut conservatives want us to have. I still remember being able to "see the air" in Cleveland (and Philadelphia). This is a point that the green movement should point to in a most dramatic way and say, "All those people who want to disband the EPA and change our Air Quality Standards and bitch about ethanol in their gas during winter time, there but for the grace of God (and environmental activists) goes the US." I'm also wondering when some scientist on the West Coast decides to start looking for traces of this particular "fog" to show up on our shores. And since it's pointed to in the the article, President Screw would be so proud. (Grokked form Tor.com)
"The wrong side of history has its landmarks in those who have cultivated a fear that any change in a culture's way of thinking will result in a loss of something sacred." The article asks us to question our positions fro the viewpoint of 10/20/50 years on to see if we're making the right decisions. That's a good sound byte, but both sides tend to justify themselves that way. However, I think the above quote is more important. But then fear is what tends to drive us, not rational thought about the issues. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Tweet of my heart: @NestoHogan: You call me a halfbreed mongrel like it was somekinda bad thing…
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