And open letter to the NY Times on their public call for comments. (Grokked from Tobias Buckell and Ferret Steinmetz)
Dear Arthur Brisbane,
“(the reading public) worry less about reporters imposing their judgment on what is false and what is true… (i)s that the prevailing view?”
In the main, yes. Because, in the main, people understand that the supposed “biasness” of reporters is a false statement that typically comes form people who are biased.
“And if so, how can The Times do this in a way that is objective and fair?”
Don’t let anyone squeak through the cracks. Or start articles with, “the statements made by (person) have not been fact checked.” Also, do it BEFORE posting the story. It helps no one to post a story of an event, only to publish a “well, they were embellishing and misrepresenting” a week later. And perform this function on everybody, no matter what their position, political affirmation, or status. In other words, be objective and fair.
“Is it possible to be objective and fair when the reporter is choosing to correct one fact over another?”
Possible, but leads to charges if being biased. See earlier answer on not letting them get through.
“Are there other problems that The Times would face that I haven’t mentioned here?”
Oh, a host of them. Like doing audits to see how well you’re doing the checking. Checking the checkers. Not to mention decoupling the Times from the spouting of “news” leading to being “scooped” by other news outlets. And we’re not even discussing the costs associated, the huge “time suck” this would produce, and the extra people needed to pull this off, or the price of reporters who can do more digging, know where to dig, and come with an ability to remember history, fact, and trivia.
But, you know, one of the reasons people have been moving away from “established” news outlets and getting their information from elsewhere is that they see no difference between places like the NY Times and the Drudge Report. They can get the same quality of “news” from other places, and be entertained by them.
Stop being “blessed stenographers” who do little more than repeat what is told to you (usually in a mass communications way). Question the veracity of “experts.” Fail to play the games those who have the information/newsworthy want you to. And do the damn job an independent press was meant to do.
Are you going to lose in the short run? Yes. People will be pissed. Newsworthy people won’t give you press credentials. Some people will refuse to be interviewed by your reporters. But in the long run you just may regain the respect of the populace who will come to see you as a trusted broker and source for news. Once that happens, the other stuff will melt away.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Linkee-poo never mentions the word addiction, in certain company
William Gibson holds forth on his process. Frankly, I think part of his description and reasoning is, "we have to be entertaining during an interview." (Grokked from Warren Ellis)
Jay Lake shares his outline for Mainspring. Actually, I think it's more of a synopsis, but still an interesting peak into another author's process.
Because it pings on my day job and night passion, Philip Jose Farmer's calling cards. (FYI, calling cards are slightly different than business cards) Proving, yes, you can have humor in your daily communications. (Grokked from Joe Hill)
"Nothing good gets away." A letter about love from John Steinbeck to his son. (Grokked from Camille Alexa)
Yo, is this racist? Or, if you have to ask, or start a comment with, "I'm not sure if this makes me racist," you can bet your last dollar, it's racist. (Grokked from Catherine Shaffer)
Another in the long line of friends lost to "the greatest healthcare system in the world." This is what it means to not have a universal healthcare system, people die before their times and alone. Like Random Michelle says, there's no guarantee that with screening our friend wouldn't have died, but it does mean that she wouldn't have died the way she did. Being poor means hoping the pain goes away. Fuck cancer.
And speaking of long lines, another new "promising" diet-in-a-pill. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Evolution explained pretty damn well. It's the luck of the draw, there is no plan, and it follows the tautology of "what survives, survives." Just as side note, in a later paragraph there is the mention of one human point mutation that causes sickle cell anemia and how it's a "terrible disease." This is true in one sense (it's a very painful, debilitating disease that can lead to necrosis and death), however sickle cell provides natural immunity to malaria. So, another lesson is that sometimes a mutation can help, but still be a "bad" thing. Also not discussed is the various ways bacteria and (and early single celled life could) "trade" genes, which is another form of mutation. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
The Rush sees the problem with attacking Romney for being a greedy capitalist (because, that's pretty much 1 - his business plan and 2 - goes against the "GOP, we like rich, white people" slogan). Well, Rush, yeah, we can do better than that when we make our attacks on Romney ("Corporations are people, my friend" and "I like firing people" - the man writes better than we can outsource it). "'Newt is not sounding like a conservative when he’s making these attacks,' Limbaugh said Monday." Yes. Newt is attacking someone for being a corporate raider/1%er who was more interested in lining his pockets with crisp Benjamines every quarter instead of taking the long view, helping all boats rise, and growing businesses, jobs, and prosperity for all (or at least a larger percentage). I agree with Limbaugh here. That tact is very definitely not what conservatives are all about. You have to coddle the corporate raider/1%er, and screw everybody else. That's the conservative mandate.
And speaking of using conservatives own words against them. Sure, conservatives are all against government making the connection between inaction and commerce when it's the ACA, but when it was about marijuana growing, they argued in the opposite direction. While the article says this is to "box Scalia", I think they've quickly forgotten that shame, stare decisis, and logic have been excised from the conservative panoply.
Arizona has some money burning a hole in its governmental pockets, so it's going to buy its government buildings back. On the plus side, the real estate market has improved for Arizona, having sold their capitol in 2009 for $81 million (in a total $735 million deal), the company that owns it is willing to part with the property for a mere $105 million. The article doesn't discuss how much the State had to pay to lease back the properties for the past two years. Tell me again how Republicans are better business people (all this done under Jan Brewer and a Republican controlled legislature), 'cause I keep forgetting. (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)
A long but interesting look at South Carolina, the Tea Party maturation, Mitt Romney and the upcoming primary election. There's a lot of interesting psychology going on in there, all along the lines of "One of Us or Not One of Us." It's the absolutism and moral rectitude that I find so repelling in the TP. "As we sat in leather armchairs on either side of a coffee table, Loftis (S.C. State Treasurer, swept into office as a TPer) explained to me that, now that he was actually serving in elective office, he had come to understand how important it was to choose a candidate who could actually do the job in question, rather than one who said all the right things about slashing government and all of that." Strange how when you get more involved with something, a lot of the extraneous BS falls away and you look for ways to get things done.(Grokked from Jay Lake)
Jay Lake shares his outline for Mainspring. Actually, I think it's more of a synopsis, but still an interesting peak into another author's process.
Because it pings on my day job and night passion, Philip Jose Farmer's calling cards. (FYI, calling cards are slightly different than business cards) Proving, yes, you can have humor in your daily communications. (Grokked from Joe Hill)
"Nothing good gets away." A letter about love from John Steinbeck to his son. (Grokked from Camille Alexa)
Yo, is this racist? Or, if you have to ask, or start a comment with, "I'm not sure if this makes me racist," you can bet your last dollar, it's racist. (Grokked from Catherine Shaffer)
Another in the long line of friends lost to "the greatest healthcare system in the world." This is what it means to not have a universal healthcare system, people die before their times and alone. Like Random Michelle says, there's no guarantee that with screening our friend wouldn't have died, but it does mean that she wouldn't have died the way she did. Being poor means hoping the pain goes away. Fuck cancer.
And speaking of long lines, another new "promising" diet-in-a-pill. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Evolution explained pretty damn well. It's the luck of the draw, there is no plan, and it follows the tautology of "what survives, survives." Just as side note, in a later paragraph there is the mention of one human point mutation that causes sickle cell anemia and how it's a "terrible disease." This is true in one sense (it's a very painful, debilitating disease that can lead to necrosis and death), however sickle cell provides natural immunity to malaria. So, another lesson is that sometimes a mutation can help, but still be a "bad" thing. Also not discussed is the various ways bacteria and (and early single celled life could) "trade" genes, which is another form of mutation. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
The Rush sees the problem with attacking Romney for being a greedy capitalist (because, that's pretty much 1 - his business plan and 2 - goes against the "GOP, we like rich, white people" slogan). Well, Rush, yeah, we can do better than that when we make our attacks on Romney ("Corporations are people, my friend" and "I like firing people" - the man writes better than we can outsource it). "'Newt is not sounding like a conservative when he’s making these attacks,' Limbaugh said Monday." Yes. Newt is attacking someone for being a corporate raider/1%er who was more interested in lining his pockets with crisp Benjamines every quarter instead of taking the long view, helping all boats rise, and growing businesses, jobs, and prosperity for all (or at least a larger percentage). I agree with Limbaugh here. That tact is very definitely not what conservatives are all about. You have to coddle the corporate raider/1%er, and screw everybody else. That's the conservative mandate.
And speaking of using conservatives own words against them. Sure, conservatives are all against government making the connection between inaction and commerce when it's the ACA, but when it was about marijuana growing, they argued in the opposite direction. While the article says this is to "box Scalia", I think they've quickly forgotten that shame, stare decisis, and logic have been excised from the conservative panoply.
Arizona has some money burning a hole in its governmental pockets, so it's going to buy its government buildings back. On the plus side, the real estate market has improved for Arizona, having sold their capitol in 2009 for $81 million (in a total $735 million deal), the company that owns it is willing to part with the property for a mere $105 million. The article doesn't discuss how much the State had to pay to lease back the properties for the past two years. Tell me again how Republicans are better business people (all this done under Jan Brewer and a Republican controlled legislature), 'cause I keep forgetting. (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)
A long but interesting look at South Carolina, the Tea Party maturation, Mitt Romney and the upcoming primary election. There's a lot of interesting psychology going on in there, all along the lines of "One of Us or Not One of Us." It's the absolutism and moral rectitude that I find so repelling in the TP. "As we sat in leather armchairs on either side of a coffee table, Loftis (S.C. State Treasurer, swept into office as a TPer) explained to me that, now that he was actually serving in elective office, he had come to understand how important it was to choose a candidate who could actually do the job in question, rather than one who said all the right things about slashing government and all of that." Strange how when you get more involved with something, a lot of the extraneous BS falls away and you look for ways to get things done.(Grokked from Jay Lake)
Story Bone
"It is a simple system. If you mess with it, it will simply kill you. And then it will simply fail to notice it had done so."
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Linkee-poo sees if this will swim
An excerpt of Arctic Rising by Tobias Buckell. and if you like it, you can try to win an ARC here. Be the first kid on your block to know what happens next.
Jim Hines tries out posing like women on fantasy covers. And we'll put here that the covers are from books that are nominally "pro-strong-female" types and not ones that are exploitative (as their primary motivation). I don't think I can look at Jim in the same light again. Confusion is going to be interesting (btw, Jim is Toast Master this year). Also, I'll note here, this is actually one of the exercises that is used to "cure" people (mostly men) of "porn addiction" (that is, having the patient pose in similar positions as the models). As someone who knows (a very limited number of) fashion models, even your magazine and catalog poses can approach some of these problems (models holding their bodies in exceptionally painful and demanding poses). Not to mention what can be done to "enhance" (ie. retouch/photoshop) the images which makes them even more unreal. As a final note, I'll say here it's disheartening after some progress to normalcy in the middle 2000's that fashion photography seems to be heading back toward the "meth chic" look, and the 70s "violence toward women" aesthetic (granted, I'm not paying that close attention to it these days, so my impression maybe off).
What our logos would look like if comic sans was the only font in the world. And now you know why us designers hate it when a random computer screen font is used for actual printed materials (I'm look at you IKEA and your mistaken use of Verdana). We shall not discuss Arial.
Karl Schroeder has just one word for us, plastics. Polyethylenimine sounds pretty good. I'll have to look at it more closely when I have time because I'm reminded of a medical truism, "all drugs are toxic." At the very least they hammer your kidneys (nephrotoxicity), at the worse they can lead to a faster death. What you look for is an acceptable trade-off between the risks and benefits of the solution.
Just in case you still don't think that the conservative fuckery of the past year has had any effect. Fortunately it hasn't derailed the recovery, just delayed it. Except high heinous fuckery in the next few months. Why? Because it generally takes a quarter to half a year for people's emotional perception of the economy to change. So if a "good" (for relative values of good) economy is going to help Obama this fall, it's the economic news of the next 6 months that will make or break the impression of voters in the booth.
Paul Krugman makes my point about wanting a business man to run the country (or the "my business 'success' makes me uniquely qualified to be President" fallacy). Plus, you know, we tried that one before with the (shhh, don't say his name) Bush Presidency. Didn't work out so well did it? How are all those governors that were "business men" (like Ohio's own Kasich) work out this year? As you get to local politics it works better. Even on the Governor level it's not so bad. At the Federal Level, it's a handicap. Plus, you know what, all my life I've dealt with "successful business" types. I barely trust them to run a boy scout troop. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Jim Hines tries out posing like women on fantasy covers. And we'll put here that the covers are from books that are nominally "pro-strong-female" types and not ones that are exploitative (as their primary motivation). I don't think I can look at Jim in the same light again. Confusion is going to be interesting (btw, Jim is Toast Master this year). Also, I'll note here, this is actually one of the exercises that is used to "cure" people (mostly men) of "porn addiction" (that is, having the patient pose in similar positions as the models). As someone who knows (a very limited number of) fashion models, even your magazine and catalog poses can approach some of these problems (models holding their bodies in exceptionally painful and demanding poses). Not to mention what can be done to "enhance" (ie. retouch/photoshop) the images which makes them even more unreal. As a final note, I'll say here it's disheartening after some progress to normalcy in the middle 2000's that fashion photography seems to be heading back toward the "meth chic" look, and the 70s "violence toward women" aesthetic (granted, I'm not paying that close attention to it these days, so my impression maybe off).
What our logos would look like if comic sans was the only font in the world. And now you know why us designers hate it when a random computer screen font is used for actual printed materials (I'm look at you IKEA and your mistaken use of Verdana). We shall not discuss Arial.
Karl Schroeder has just one word for us, plastics. Polyethylenimine sounds pretty good. I'll have to look at it more closely when I have time because I'm reminded of a medical truism, "all drugs are toxic." At the very least they hammer your kidneys (nephrotoxicity), at the worse they can lead to a faster death. What you look for is an acceptable trade-off between the risks and benefits of the solution.
Just in case you still don't think that the conservative fuckery of the past year has had any effect. Fortunately it hasn't derailed the recovery, just delayed it. Except high heinous fuckery in the next few months. Why? Because it generally takes a quarter to half a year for people's emotional perception of the economy to change. So if a "good" (for relative values of good) economy is going to help Obama this fall, it's the economic news of the next 6 months that will make or break the impression of voters in the booth.
Paul Krugman makes my point about wanting a business man to run the country (or the "my business 'success' makes me uniquely qualified to be President" fallacy). Plus, you know, we tried that one before with the (shhh, don't say his name) Bush Presidency. Didn't work out so well did it? How are all those governors that were "business men" (like Ohio's own Kasich) work out this year? As you get to local politics it works better. Even on the Governor level it's not so bad. At the Federal Level, it's a handicap. Plus, you know what, all my life I've dealt with "successful business" types. I barely trust them to run a boy scout troop. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
What the Universe Wants
Like yesterday, sometimes I complain to the Universe about what it's trying to do to me. There's several tricks the Universe plays. Like when I buy something nice for myself (ie. not something that is absolutely needed, typically more expensive that $25, and/or could be purchased to make my life easier - an example is I need new glasses) the Universe sends something that either 1) costs a whole lot more money and needs to be done (ie. car/home repair or something health related) or 2) bad news of some sort (like being informed that an employee has resigned, or needs to be fired, and I need to hire in the next person - although, ha ha, Universe, I don't do that anymore :: gives the Universe a raspberry ::).
The Universe also has this habit of trying to distract me from things I like to do.
Here's an example. I've listened to the Writing Excuses episode discussing the "Hollywood Formula" with Lou Anders a few times (episode 6:18, 10-02-2011). This morning I wanted to listen to it again and take notes (as this will help me keep the lesson in my head). I started trying to do this at 8:30am (I listen to podcasts and audiobooks while working, which is why sometimes detailed things in the audio get lost as I focus in on actual work, not what I'm listening to). Since then I've had 5 phone calls, had to go to someone's office twice, was interrupted in person three times, three IM conversations, and a few other things. The podcast is 20 minutes long. I've gotten 2 minutes in with all the distractions.
Understand I can go for weeks at a time without a phone call. The only times I normally go to someone's office is for information I need (instead of them calling me to their office). While I do get interrupted in person several times a day (ie. people coming to my cubicle), it's normally first thing when I get in, near noon, 3pm, or end of day. The IMing and email is ongoing, but much of it wasn't really about me, but other people's crisis (and other things).
I can hear you asking the question, "So, Steve, just how did you get time to write this post, then?" That's because this last time I came back to my desk, I didn't put my headset on. I didn't try to restart the podcast. That is, I'm not doing the thing I want to do to improve my writing (the Universe can be a bitch about my writing times and attention). So, because of that, it's now been the longest stretch of time today where I haven't been interrupted (about 10 minutes).
This is what I'm talking about.
Update in the 10 minutes after this post, I've had 8 emails, 2 immediate requests for help and 1 new project (which will bump back all the other projects). Because the Universe figured out I also like blogging.
Update 2 In the past 5 minutes of restarting note taking, 8 emails, one of which needs me to "call (someone) right now to solve problem." Which I'm about to do.
Update 3 It's now 2:20pm, finally finished the 20 minute podcast taking notes (I had to rewind a few times).
The Universe also has this habit of trying to distract me from things I like to do.
Here's an example. I've listened to the Writing Excuses episode discussing the "Hollywood Formula" with Lou Anders a few times (episode 6:18, 10-02-2011). This morning I wanted to listen to it again and take notes (as this will help me keep the lesson in my head). I started trying to do this at 8:30am (I listen to podcasts and audiobooks while working, which is why sometimes detailed things in the audio get lost as I focus in on actual work, not what I'm listening to). Since then I've had 5 phone calls, had to go to someone's office twice, was interrupted in person three times, three IM conversations, and a few other things. The podcast is 20 minutes long. I've gotten 2 minutes in with all the distractions.
Understand I can go for weeks at a time without a phone call. The only times I normally go to someone's office is for information I need (instead of them calling me to their office). While I do get interrupted in person several times a day (ie. people coming to my cubicle), it's normally first thing when I get in, near noon, 3pm, or end of day. The IMing and email is ongoing, but much of it wasn't really about me, but other people's crisis (and other things).
I can hear you asking the question, "So, Steve, just how did you get time to write this post, then?" That's because this last time I came back to my desk, I didn't put my headset on. I didn't try to restart the podcast. That is, I'm not doing the thing I want to do to improve my writing (the Universe can be a bitch about my writing times and attention). So, because of that, it's now been the longest stretch of time today where I haven't been interrupted (about 10 minutes).
This is what I'm talking about.
Update in the 10 minutes after this post, I've had 8 emails, 2 immediate requests for help and 1 new project (which will bump back all the other projects). Because the Universe figured out I also like blogging.
Update 2 In the past 5 minutes of restarting note taking, 8 emails, one of which needs me to "call (someone) right now to solve problem." Which I'm about to do.
Update 3 It's now 2:20pm, finally finished the 20 minute podcast taking notes (I had to rewind a few times).
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Dear Universe
Okay, so it seems that this year is not going to be easy. You want to pile-on and see how far it can go before I crack. I understand.
Uncle.
You can stop it. Now.
I've had two weeks between major scheduling and the restart of classes and you decided to fill the empty spaces. Yes, thank you for the little text you sent my way. That's what I was more of, please. Not this other stuff.
I mean, sure. Okay, some of it is necessary. But there's plenty of this that is just gratuitous. Please stop with the extras and get back to the words.
Uncle.
You can stop it. Now.
I've had two weeks between major scheduling and the restart of classes and you decided to fill the empty spaces. Yes, thank you for the little text you sent my way. That's what I was more of, please. Not this other stuff.
I mean, sure. Okay, some of it is necessary. But there's plenty of this that is just gratuitous. Please stop with the extras and get back to the words.
Linkee-poo is like a restless wind inside a letterbox
Sorry for the lightness lately. With everything going on, time to read has been sparse.
Rick Ferrel Moore on why we should spend time creating our characters. And not, you know, just paste them on the wall to throw plot darts at.
Benjamine Tate (ne. Josh Palmtier) and place as character.
Remember those "tipping points" of global climate change? Remember how one of those was when the snow/ice packs would grow darker, absorbing more solar energy and accelerating their melt? Oopsie. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Stephen Colbert on the Senator Frothy didn't say "black people" controversy. I really wish more people were paying attention as the GOP dog whistles their way through the primaries. Dear GOP/Fox, you slips are showing. Let us not discuss the rampant homophobia on display as well.
Rehabilitating the legend of Japan's "lost decade." It's an interesting article with some deep economics (interesting because Japan's "Lost Decade" is a plot point in my novel, albeit an historical one). The headline and premise is a little wonky, IMHO. Japan's economy in the late 80s and early 90s was in bad shape (a result of a quick turn to austerity measures after a "failed stimulus" - sound familiar?). However, it's now 2011, some 21 years since Japan's economy hit the bottom. Also note on page 3 how Japan has used this perception to their advantage (and profit). (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Rick Ferrel Moore on why we should spend time creating our characters. And not, you know, just paste them on the wall to throw plot darts at.
Benjamine Tate (ne. Josh Palmtier) and place as character.
Remember those "tipping points" of global climate change? Remember how one of those was when the snow/ice packs would grow darker, absorbing more solar energy and accelerating their melt? Oopsie. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Stephen Colbert on the Senator Frothy didn't say "black people" controversy. I really wish more people were paying attention as the GOP dog whistles their way through the primaries. Dear GOP/Fox, you slips are showing. Let us not discuss the rampant homophobia on display as well.
Rehabilitating the legend of Japan's "lost decade." It's an interesting article with some deep economics (interesting because Japan's "Lost Decade" is a plot point in my novel, albeit an historical one). The headline and premise is a little wonky, IMHO. Japan's economy in the late 80s and early 90s was in bad shape (a result of a quick turn to austerity measures after a "failed stimulus" - sound familiar?). However, it's now 2011, some 21 years since Japan's economy hit the bottom. Also note on page 3 how Japan has used this perception to their advantage (and profit). (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Monday, January 9, 2012
Linkee-poo is still tied to that kitchen chair
Jim Hines wins for the best "vote for" Hugo/Nebula blog post. With attendant link to Mary Robinette Kowal's post on self-promotion and award season.
Fellow VPer Kay Hankinson has a new blog. Good luck, Kat.
Tor.com has an excerpt of Ashes of Candesce by Karl Schroeder. I had a chance, several years ago, to hear Karl read from his Virga Series (I left late from a con to attend which made me late for other appointments, it was worth it). This is one series that I've been wanting to read for some time now.
Vince shares a cover of "Hallelujah". I think this is the song I've heard the most covers of, and it's a damn good song (that it survives such a wide range of artists doing their take on it is testament to the song's strength). Although, I'm not quite sure it's a true "Christian" song (sort of like singing "Mrs. Robinson" at church camp because it has the line "Jesus loves you more than you can know"). Although, it is a great song about the creative process and sorrow in love.
The "best" of the climate deniers of 2011. With ample (and easy) counter evidence to show them to be wrong, politically and financial motivated, and just trying to screw us all over so they can make an extra buck. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
It's a dog pile on Santorum. Okay, just reread that and "ew." A lest we forget the elephant in the room, the excised GW Bush. Hey, you know all those things the current crop of GOP hopefuls like to spout at theguidable conservative voters? Yeah, tried them. This sucky economy is the result (lower taxes, less regulation, aggressive foreign policy, denial of rights for women and minorities). Been there, done that. Can't even afford the t-shirt. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Paul Krugman with a little sunshine on conservative economicintentional lying falsehoods. Oh, and how are those European economies that voluntarily embraced "austerity" measures (England, Germany, Spain) doing these days? (Grokked from Tobias Buckell, I think)
Wizards of the Coast are soliciting fan feedback for the 5th Edition of D&D. COnsidering I haven't played since the 3rd edition, I'm not sure I'm good for this. But you may be. Hey, look, a company that's listening (hopefully). (Grokked from Tor.com)
Fellow VPer Kay Hankinson has a new blog. Good luck, Kat.
Tor.com has an excerpt of Ashes of Candesce by Karl Schroeder. I had a chance, several years ago, to hear Karl read from his Virga Series (I left late from a con to attend which made me late for other appointments, it was worth it). This is one series that I've been wanting to read for some time now.
Vince shares a cover of "Hallelujah". I think this is the song I've heard the most covers of, and it's a damn good song (that it survives such a wide range of artists doing their take on it is testament to the song's strength). Although, I'm not quite sure it's a true "Christian" song (sort of like singing "Mrs. Robinson" at church camp because it has the line "Jesus loves you more than you can know"). Although, it is a great song about the creative process and sorrow in love.
The "best" of the climate deniers of 2011. With ample (and easy) counter evidence to show them to be wrong, politically and financial motivated, and just trying to screw us all over so they can make an extra buck. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
It's a dog pile on Santorum. Okay, just reread that and "ew." A lest we forget the elephant in the room, the excised GW Bush. Hey, you know all those things the current crop of GOP hopefuls like to spout at the
Paul Krugman with a little sunshine on conservative economic
Wizards of the Coast are soliciting fan feedback for the 5th Edition of D&D. COnsidering I haven't played since the 3rd edition, I'm not sure I'm good for this. But you may be. Hey, look, a company that's listening (hopefully). (Grokked from Tor.com)
Story Bone - In the Grip of Stronger Stuff
This is a story bone of a sort.
I've been catching up with my Writing Excuses feed. One of the shows I finally listened to (and I think this was from back in November) the writing prompt was to come up with a magical system. And my brain has been cranking on that ever since. So I'd thought I would share some.
For Bladesman, there is a magic system. However magic is very rare, especially on the west coast, and magic is hard. Those kids who show some little magical talent are in for a rough ride if they decide to pursue that course. The plus side, if they survive, is to become exceptionally powerful and quite wealthy. So here is how the magic works. First off, the person needs to show some native talent. Wild ability is very week, akin to bending spoons (only for realz), but not that powerful. If the child (or more likely the child's parents) decide to follow that path it means 12-15 years of training and the application of full body tattoos the old fashion way (a needle on a board that punches ink into the skin). It is a very painful experience which tends to warp the mind of the magician. And then you need to do something to juice up the batteries. Magic is human powered and magicians need a steady source of energy. That energy can be had a few different ways. You can kill people (not with magic, the laws of thermodynamics apply here) which is a very strong form of energy, but the magician needs to be the one that kills the person, and it's very fleeting. Most magicians go for sex magic. For this, they need to be around people having sex, and they soak up the energy pouring off them. What do you get at the end? Well, you join a very elite cadre of enforcers that are paid quite well and you get to bend the (classic) elements to your will. Typically you are bullet proof at that point, and phenomenally tough to kill. The Achilles Heel? The spells are the actual tattoos, you need to recharge the batteries, and iron and steel can negate your powers.
But I've been thinking of other systems.
Like, what if magical use was transferred the way vampirism is transferred? Or maybe like lycanthropy. I like that last one because of what werewolfism stands for within the literature, the release of the pure ego (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is actually a werewolf story). But it's considered a curse, one which society would like to stamp out.
What if magic was something akin to highly addictive drugs, like meth (something is saying that this has been done already, and not just by Robert Jordan). At the start magic is very exhilarating. It provides a feeling of being more alive and triggers the pleasure centers in the brain. However, the more you use it, the more you have to use, the less satisfying the result is. And it's killing you all that time, robbing you of life and health (see, "Faces of Meth" for examples).
What if it's like shamanistic magic. Being a shaman isn't something you choose, it's chosen for you. Typically the proto-shaman experiences a life-threatening event (disease, loss of blood, sever trauma, etc) that results in a near-death event. Because the person has experienced the spirits (passing over and returning), they're seen as the conduit for those spirits to either help, translate, see the future, whatever. In this case, the profession picks you. What if magic users are only those who have "died" and returned? Are there a subset of people trying to enter the profession? What are they willing to do to get there? What happens if they fail?
What if magic was like bipolar disorder? In the manic phase you're able to perform magic, in the depressive phase you can't. If you've ever experienced this (seen it or experienced it yourself) you're already thinking, "That's pretty close to how you feel in the grips of it anyway." Well, yeah. That's kind of the point. For some people who suffer from this, the high points are too good to give up, and they remain untreated. Unfortunately, the down parts tend to take over after a time. What if it was reversed (the magic comes in the down phase)? Or you could use almost any mental disorder here. Would the cure be worth it to the individual? To society as a whole (here, think magic use tied to sociopathy)? Would the individual suffer through the disease to be able to tap into that magic?
I guess most of these end up with the question of if the price of magic is too much to bear? What if to gain magic use you had to lose yourself (family, friends, personal identity)? Remember here, that when Capt. Kirk was given the opportunity to do it all over, to be the captain, to go out and seduce all the green-skined ladies, to have his shirt ripped in every episode, to save the planet, he chose not to (Star Trek Generations).
I've been catching up with my Writing Excuses feed. One of the shows I finally listened to (and I think this was from back in November) the writing prompt was to come up with a magical system. And my brain has been cranking on that ever since. So I'd thought I would share some.
For Bladesman, there is a magic system. However magic is very rare, especially on the west coast, and magic is hard. Those kids who show some little magical talent are in for a rough ride if they decide to pursue that course. The plus side, if they survive, is to become exceptionally powerful and quite wealthy. So here is how the magic works. First off, the person needs to show some native talent. Wild ability is very week, akin to bending spoons (only for realz), but not that powerful. If the child (or more likely the child's parents) decide to follow that path it means 12-15 years of training and the application of full body tattoos the old fashion way (a needle on a board that punches ink into the skin). It is a very painful experience which tends to warp the mind of the magician. And then you need to do something to juice up the batteries. Magic is human powered and magicians need a steady source of energy. That energy can be had a few different ways. You can kill people (not with magic, the laws of thermodynamics apply here) which is a very strong form of energy, but the magician needs to be the one that kills the person, and it's very fleeting. Most magicians go for sex magic. For this, they need to be around people having sex, and they soak up the energy pouring off them. What do you get at the end? Well, you join a very elite cadre of enforcers that are paid quite well and you get to bend the (classic) elements to your will. Typically you are bullet proof at that point, and phenomenally tough to kill. The Achilles Heel? The spells are the actual tattoos, you need to recharge the batteries, and iron and steel can negate your powers.
But I've been thinking of other systems.
Like, what if magical use was transferred the way vampirism is transferred? Or maybe like lycanthropy. I like that last one because of what werewolfism stands for within the literature, the release of the pure ego (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is actually a werewolf story). But it's considered a curse, one which society would like to stamp out.
What if magic was something akin to highly addictive drugs, like meth (something is saying that this has been done already, and not just by Robert Jordan). At the start magic is very exhilarating. It provides a feeling of being more alive and triggers the pleasure centers in the brain. However, the more you use it, the more you have to use, the less satisfying the result is. And it's killing you all that time, robbing you of life and health (see, "Faces of Meth" for examples).
What if it's like shamanistic magic. Being a shaman isn't something you choose, it's chosen for you. Typically the proto-shaman experiences a life-threatening event (disease, loss of blood, sever trauma, etc) that results in a near-death event. Because the person has experienced the spirits (passing over and returning), they're seen as the conduit for those spirits to either help, translate, see the future, whatever. In this case, the profession picks you. What if magic users are only those who have "died" and returned? Are there a subset of people trying to enter the profession? What are they willing to do to get there? What happens if they fail?
What if magic was like bipolar disorder? In the manic phase you're able to perform magic, in the depressive phase you can't. If you've ever experienced this (seen it or experienced it yourself) you're already thinking, "That's pretty close to how you feel in the grips of it anyway." Well, yeah. That's kind of the point. For some people who suffer from this, the high points are too good to give up, and they remain untreated. Unfortunately, the down parts tend to take over after a time. What if it was reversed (the magic comes in the down phase)? Or you could use almost any mental disorder here. Would the cure be worth it to the individual? To society as a whole (here, think magic use tied to sociopathy)? Would the individual suffer through the disease to be able to tap into that magic?
I guess most of these end up with the question of if the price of magic is too much to bear? What if to gain magic use you had to lose yourself (family, friends, personal identity)? Remember here, that when Capt. Kirk was given the opportunity to do it all over, to be the captain, to go out and seduce all the green-skined ladies, to have his shirt ripped in every episode, to save the planet, he chose not to (Star Trek Generations).
Sunday, January 8, 2012
By the time we got to Woodstock
My Epic Confusion schedule:
- Friday 7pm Salon F, Fantasy and Horror with Steve Buchheit, Peter V. Brett, Ferrett Steinmetz, Violette Malan, and Howard Andrew Jones.
- Saturday 11am, Salon H, Killer Parties with Kameron Hurley, Cat Rambo, Steve Buchheit, Myke Cole, and Michelle Sagara West
- Saturday 2pm, Salon H, The Shared Universe with Cindy Spencer Pape, Cat Rambo, Elizabeth Bear, Steve Buchheit, and Tobias Buckell
- Saturday 4pm, Salon H, The Lure of the Undead with John Scalzi, DJ DeSmyter, Carrie Harris, Steve Buchheit, and Ferrett Steinmetz
Linkee-poo wants to paint it black
This won't end well. First cases of totally drug resistant TB are diagnoses in India. Good thing that evolution thing is a bunch of bunk, or we'd have to worry about stuff like this. (Grokked from matociquala)
To the guy in the big diesel truck with the bumpersticker "Annoy a Liberal, Get a Job" fuck you. Look, it's a damn stupid talking point. Here are those dirty, liberal, teachers who are wrecking our youth by filling them with liberal talking points like "we shouldn't pollute", or "smoking is bad for you," or the infamous, "i before e except after c…" You might also remember this past summer those horrible public workers that are driving us to socialism who continued to work, inspecting airplanes and airports after the Congress refused to reauthorized the FAA. And hence they worked and paid their own travel costs to make sure airplanes didn't fall out of the sky. Have you ever seen a conservative work without compensation (or promise of compensation)? Yeah, neither have I. (Grokked from Absolute Write)
It's amazing what can happen when you take the money out of politics. Not that everything the Connecticut government has done has been wunderbar, but it's a damn site better that what's going on elsewhere. (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)
The inside of an abandoned Soviet era rocket motor facility. So you can get your urban archeology and uberbigthings fix on.
On the "they's can't make us buy that damn dirty health insurance", "Others argue that the Constitution's framers could not possibly have envisioned a congressional power to force purchases. However, in 1790, the first Congress… required all ship owners to provide medical insurance…in 1798, Congress also required seamen to buy hospital insurance… (i)n 1792, Congress enacted a law mandating that all able-bodied citizens obtain a firearm. This history negates any claim that forcing the purchase of insurance or other products is unprecedented or contrary to any possible intention of the framers." A cogent legal discussion of the ACA's chances in the Supreme Court from the NEJM. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
The Guggenheim digitizes a lot of their out-of-print books and offers them for free on their website. I'm not sure I agree with how they did this, but free art books from the premier American collection of modernist art.
Hey, you know who the climate deniers like to say about how the world is too big for us to effect? Yeah, not so much. Seems the new study links human pollution patterns to stronger tornadic activity. And for those deniers who like to say, but that's only one study. Well, there is an older study that show why the east coast has rain on the weekends more often. Strangely enough it was also directly linked to human pollution patterns. Or the study that showed with our holding more water a higher latitudes (damns, pools, etc) was causing the Earth to spin faster (milliseconds difference, but still measurable). (Grokked from Jay Lake)
To the guy in the big diesel truck with the bumpersticker "Annoy a Liberal, Get a Job" fuck you. Look, it's a damn stupid talking point. Here are those dirty, liberal, teachers who are wrecking our youth by filling them with liberal talking points like "we shouldn't pollute", or "smoking is bad for you," or the infamous, "i before e except after c…" You might also remember this past summer those horrible public workers that are driving us to socialism who continued to work, inspecting airplanes and airports after the Congress refused to reauthorized the FAA. And hence they worked and paid their own travel costs to make sure airplanes didn't fall out of the sky. Have you ever seen a conservative work without compensation (or promise of compensation)? Yeah, neither have I. (Grokked from Absolute Write)
It's amazing what can happen when you take the money out of politics. Not that everything the Connecticut government has done has been wunderbar, but it's a damn site better that what's going on elsewhere. (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)
The inside of an abandoned Soviet era rocket motor facility. So you can get your urban archeology and uberbigthings fix on.
On the "they's can't make us buy that damn dirty health insurance", "Others argue that the Constitution's framers could not possibly have envisioned a congressional power to force purchases. However, in 1790, the first Congress… required all ship owners to provide medical insurance…in 1798, Congress also required seamen to buy hospital insurance… (i)n 1792, Congress enacted a law mandating that all able-bodied citizens obtain a firearm. This history negates any claim that forcing the purchase of insurance or other products is unprecedented or contrary to any possible intention of the framers." A cogent legal discussion of the ACA's chances in the Supreme Court from the NEJM. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
The Guggenheim digitizes a lot of their out-of-print books and offers them for free on their website. I'm not sure I agree with how they did this, but free art books from the premier American collection of modernist art.
Hey, you know who the climate deniers like to say about how the world is too big for us to effect? Yeah, not so much. Seems the new study links human pollution patterns to stronger tornadic activity. And for those deniers who like to say, but that's only one study. Well, there is an older study that show why the east coast has rain on the weekends more often. Strangely enough it was also directly linked to human pollution patterns. Or the study that showed with our holding more water a higher latitudes (damns, pools, etc) was causing the Earth to spin faster (milliseconds difference, but still measurable). (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Friday, January 6, 2012
What Steve did on his Holiday Vacation - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Over my extended vacation this past holiday, we went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to see their exhibit, Women Who Rock. I think I've said it before, some guy dig women with guns, women on motorcycles, women who like football, but for me there's very few things that can top a women in a rock and roll band. Fronting, playing guitar (of any stripe), drummers, whatever; they're damn sexy. So I totally expected this show to be fantastic.
Unfortunately it was full of fail. Not the women themselves, not even the local photographer's pictures that weren't displayed with the actual show, but 4 floors away in a side room, but the actual displays, which mostly consisted of dresses and album covers. Now, I'm sure the curation, research, and organization were just fantastic, but you really couldn't tell. See, they put the show on the top two floors (which used to be the actual Hall of Fame part, which was much better when it was there, BTW) which are the smallest spaces they have. Just one of the galleries on the lowest level hold more square footage than both top floors (the place is a pyramid, they were big when the place was designed and IM Pei was trying to redeem himself from the Louvre glass pyramid controversy). So it made for a very cramped space to hold a major show. With the number of people viewing the displays, and placing the actual informational text at the bottom of the full length displays, it was nearly impossible to read all that curation stuff. Then, because of the cramped space, objects were severely overlapped so it was difficult to see the album covers, sheet music, and other random artifacts displayed on the walls behind the dresses.
Plus, it was so cramped it was difficult to move around. Didn't you all at the Hall expect this to be well attended? I mean, you cut off half the entrance way by a pop-up scrim, which also decreased the natural light flowing into the space. And the Hall has been open for, what, over a decade now and you haven't been able to solve the heating problem on the top level? Seriously, it was broiling up there. Put in adequate ventilation, that would solve the problem. And placing the two video screens (noticeably inadequate compared to other displays) in exactly the wrong places and positions so people viewing what was on the screen blocked other people trying to view items in the display cases behind them (there was no place else for the people viewing the video to stand), fail.
And since we're talking about the physical space and traffic flows, just WTF were you thinking with the minimal spacing between the display cases in the middle of the floor? Also, I know there's another exit from the top floor that leads back down to where you now have the HoF. I couldn't find it. And I knew it was there, but I had to go back down through the display to leave. I wasn't the only one.
And then there were the display graphics. Really? Putting the major advances of women in R'nR on 12" paper "records" and pasted at different heights along the wall? Are we in grade school? Are we doing a bulletin board at the local YMCA? And did you forget that at the top of the circular stair there are no lights so you couldn't read the last few? And then there's the quotes along the stairwell wall on the top floor. They stretch too far around the circular low wall that you can't read the entire quote from one standing position, and they often run behind the standing display cases, so you can't read those. Then the sitting platform that runs around the wall was the only sitting spot in the show. When people who were tired of climbing and affected by the heat would sit down, they would block the quotes even more. People sitting on the seats obviously were often bored because they peeled off some of the letters, which again made them hard to read. And the screen on the top level slowed down the traffic circling in the cramped space which made the heat worse as well as trying to see the actual displays. Then there was the lack of indication of which way we should go to leave the exhibit.
Look, this stuff isn't hard. I know you have professionals on staff, did you let the interns run wild on this one? It was very amateurish. The flow of people in the exhibits, the design of the exhibits, the lighting, the sound space, and the access to the space - fail, fail, fail.
That's all before we get to the prize of your show, the Lady Ga Ga Meat Dress. Not impressed. Especially with painting it "to make it look fresh." It didn't. In fact it made it look completely artificial, like it was plastic. I know the drying processes darkened the meat to a jerky like appearance, but that would have been better (maybe with a photo of it "fresh").
Then we get to the general Hall flow. I appreciate that with the escalators (hey, there's 6 floors, you need to use them a lot) you wanted people to walk the long way around so visitors will look at all the exhibits or something. It kept throwing me off. I expected to get off the escalator, make a 180 turn and get on the next one going my way. Instead, while going up say, the escalator right next to the top of the escalator going up was the bottom of the escalator coming down from the floor above. Instead you need to walk the long way around to the opposite side of the escalator column to get either the next one up, or to go back down. This goes against every other escalator set up I have ever used. It's called "learned behavior" and you're screwing with it. Again, I wasn't the only one who had this problem.
That the final down escalator dumps you into the gift store really isn't a problem, although by that point it's like the final insult, instead of feeling "natural." And then lets talk about the gift store. And here let me say I know you outsource the actual running of the store to FYE (formerly Camelot, IIRC). But, it's still in your building and is allowed to represent you).
While I normally wear sold color t-shirts, I really do love a good designed t-shirt. And you had some excellent ones. Not in my size. And yet there were some t-shirts in my size (so it's not like you don't offer 4-5x sizes, just not in the t-shirts I really liked - like the lightning guitar shirt). And then I wanted a show t-shirt. Okay, you're graphics for the show weren't all that good (at this point that was the least of the fails, hey, I'm available and I'm relatively cheap), but like I said above, women in rock and roll = roawr roawr. But you didn't offer a show t-shirt for men. You only offered a princess cut t-shirt for the "Rocker Girls." Fail. Didn't you think that there are actual guys who like women rockers? Did you think only "the chickeroos" would come to the show? Fail. Fail, and did I mention, Fail. Oh, and how long ago was the Elvis show and I can still buy items for that one?
Then no postcards of the show, no mugs, no magnets either. And then when we ask a sales person, he explains that, "we had them, but we sold out, and the show only goes for another week or two." Fail. Major epic fail because at that time there were still two months of show time (so, fail because you didn't have enough stock and/or enough brains to reorder and fail because the staff don't fucking know the show went for another two months, not weeks)
I know I screwed up because at the time you were building I didn't spend the $100 to get a lifetime membership. At this point, I may be willing to pay twice that. See, at the time I was just starting my career and $100 was a bit steep (just a note to show you how much we love R'nR, my Mom bought a lifetime membership). So now every time I come to your house, I have to pay the $22 a piece. When I pay more for entrance to someplace less than an acre and that can be gone through in a few hours than I would pay for a single entree, I expect a little more. You're other displays show me you know what you're doing. Why couldn't you have come up to 50% for a Special Exhibit (ie. "come and spend your money with us again"). Display graphics are damn cheap. How about full wall size displays wallpapered to the open areas? Custom wallpaper has been available for over a decade now. How about using the head space for other information (instead, except for the top floor video display, all that space was wasted)?
As a staunch supporter of the R'nR HoF being in Cleveland (hey, NYC, if it wasn't in Cleveland it should have been in Detroit; NYC and LA don't have as strong a claim), it's really disappointing. My guess is it'll be several years before I go back.
Unfortunately it was full of fail. Not the women themselves, not even the local photographer's pictures that weren't displayed with the actual show, but 4 floors away in a side room, but the actual displays, which mostly consisted of dresses and album covers. Now, I'm sure the curation, research, and organization were just fantastic, but you really couldn't tell. See, they put the show on the top two floors (which used to be the actual Hall of Fame part, which was much better when it was there, BTW) which are the smallest spaces they have. Just one of the galleries on the lowest level hold more square footage than both top floors (the place is a pyramid, they were big when the place was designed and IM Pei was trying to redeem himself from the Louvre glass pyramid controversy). So it made for a very cramped space to hold a major show. With the number of people viewing the displays, and placing the actual informational text at the bottom of the full length displays, it was nearly impossible to read all that curation stuff. Then, because of the cramped space, objects were severely overlapped so it was difficult to see the album covers, sheet music, and other random artifacts displayed on the walls behind the dresses.
Plus, it was so cramped it was difficult to move around. Didn't you all at the Hall expect this to be well attended? I mean, you cut off half the entrance way by a pop-up scrim, which also decreased the natural light flowing into the space. And the Hall has been open for, what, over a decade now and you haven't been able to solve the heating problem on the top level? Seriously, it was broiling up there. Put in adequate ventilation, that would solve the problem. And placing the two video screens (noticeably inadequate compared to other displays) in exactly the wrong places and positions so people viewing what was on the screen blocked other people trying to view items in the display cases behind them (there was no place else for the people viewing the video to stand), fail.
And since we're talking about the physical space and traffic flows, just WTF were you thinking with the minimal spacing between the display cases in the middle of the floor? Also, I know there's another exit from the top floor that leads back down to where you now have the HoF. I couldn't find it. And I knew it was there, but I had to go back down through the display to leave. I wasn't the only one.
And then there were the display graphics. Really? Putting the major advances of women in R'nR on 12" paper "records" and pasted at different heights along the wall? Are we in grade school? Are we doing a bulletin board at the local YMCA? And did you forget that at the top of the circular stair there are no lights so you couldn't read the last few? And then there's the quotes along the stairwell wall on the top floor. They stretch too far around the circular low wall that you can't read the entire quote from one standing position, and they often run behind the standing display cases, so you can't read those. Then the sitting platform that runs around the wall was the only sitting spot in the show. When people who were tired of climbing and affected by the heat would sit down, they would block the quotes even more. People sitting on the seats obviously were often bored because they peeled off some of the letters, which again made them hard to read. And the screen on the top level slowed down the traffic circling in the cramped space which made the heat worse as well as trying to see the actual displays. Then there was the lack of indication of which way we should go to leave the exhibit.
Look, this stuff isn't hard. I know you have professionals on staff, did you let the interns run wild on this one? It was very amateurish. The flow of people in the exhibits, the design of the exhibits, the lighting, the sound space, and the access to the space - fail, fail, fail.
That's all before we get to the prize of your show, the Lady Ga Ga Meat Dress. Not impressed. Especially with painting it "to make it look fresh." It didn't. In fact it made it look completely artificial, like it was plastic. I know the drying processes darkened the meat to a jerky like appearance, but that would have been better (maybe with a photo of it "fresh").
Then we get to the general Hall flow. I appreciate that with the escalators (hey, there's 6 floors, you need to use them a lot) you wanted people to walk the long way around so visitors will look at all the exhibits or something. It kept throwing me off. I expected to get off the escalator, make a 180 turn and get on the next one going my way. Instead, while going up say, the escalator right next to the top of the escalator going up was the bottom of the escalator coming down from the floor above. Instead you need to walk the long way around to the opposite side of the escalator column to get either the next one up, or to go back down. This goes against every other escalator set up I have ever used. It's called "learned behavior" and you're screwing with it. Again, I wasn't the only one who had this problem.
That the final down escalator dumps you into the gift store really isn't a problem, although by that point it's like the final insult, instead of feeling "natural." And then lets talk about the gift store. And here let me say I know you outsource the actual running of the store to FYE (formerly Camelot, IIRC). But, it's still in your building and is allowed to represent you).
While I normally wear sold color t-shirts, I really do love a good designed t-shirt. And you had some excellent ones. Not in my size. And yet there were some t-shirts in my size (so it's not like you don't offer 4-5x sizes, just not in the t-shirts I really liked - like the lightning guitar shirt). And then I wanted a show t-shirt. Okay, you're graphics for the show weren't all that good (at this point that was the least of the fails, hey, I'm available and I'm relatively cheap), but like I said above, women in rock and roll = roawr roawr. But you didn't offer a show t-shirt for men. You only offered a princess cut t-shirt for the "Rocker Girls." Fail. Didn't you think that there are actual guys who like women rockers? Did you think only "the chickeroos" would come to the show? Fail. Fail, and did I mention, Fail. Oh, and how long ago was the Elvis show and I can still buy items for that one?
Then no postcards of the show, no mugs, no magnets either. And then when we ask a sales person, he explains that, "we had them, but we sold out, and the show only goes for another week or two." Fail. Major epic fail because at that time there were still two months of show time (so, fail because you didn't have enough stock and/or enough brains to reorder and fail because the staff don't fucking know the show went for another two months, not weeks)
I know I screwed up because at the time you were building I didn't spend the $100 to get a lifetime membership. At this point, I may be willing to pay twice that. See, at the time I was just starting my career and $100 was a bit steep (just a note to show you how much we love R'nR, my Mom bought a lifetime membership). So now every time I come to your house, I have to pay the $22 a piece. When I pay more for entrance to someplace less than an acre and that can be gone through in a few hours than I would pay for a single entree, I expect a little more. You're other displays show me you know what you're doing. Why couldn't you have come up to 50% for a Special Exhibit (ie. "come and spend your money with us again"). Display graphics are damn cheap. How about full wall size displays wallpapered to the open areas? Custom wallpaper has been available for over a decade now. How about using the head space for other information (instead, except for the top floor video display, all that space was wasted)?
As a staunch supporter of the R'nR HoF being in Cleveland (hey, NYC, if it wasn't in Cleveland it should have been in Detroit; NYC and LA don't have as strong a claim), it's really disappointing. My guess is it'll be several years before I go back.
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