Some thoughts on the Left’s cognitive dissonance and hypocrisy.
Category Archives: Popular Culture
Congratulations To Michael Totten
His new zombie novel has already been optioned.
The SF “Community”
…has apparently become community organized:
I’ve said for a long time that the awards are biased against authors because of their personal beliefs. Authors can either cheer lead for left wing causes, or they can keep their mouth shut. Open disagreement is not tolerated and will result in being sabotaged and slandered. Message or identity politics has become far more important than entertainment or quality. I was attacked for saying this. I knew that when an admitted right winger got in they would be maligned and politicked against, not for the quality of their art but rather for their unacceptable beliefs.
This is one of (though not the only one) reasons that I don’t read as much SF as I did when I was younger. The best way to fight this nonsense, of course, is to buy Larry’s books
[Monday-morning update]
The mission of SFWA was to act as a professional organization, to enhance the prestige of writers in our genre, to deter fraud, and to give mutual aid and support to our professional dreams.
It was out of loyalty to this mission that I so eagerly joined SFWA immediately upon my first professional sales, and the reason why I was so proud to associate with the luminaries and bold trailblazers in a genre I thought we all loved.
When SFWA first departed from that mission, I continued for a time to hope the change was not permanent. Recent events have made it clear that there is not reasonable basis for that hope.
Instead of enhancing the prestige of the genre, the leadership seems bent on holding us up to the jeers of all fair-minded men by behaving as gossips, whiners, and petty totalitarians, and by supporting a political agenda irrelevant to science fiction.
Instead of men who treat each other with professionalism and respect, I find a mob of perpetually outraged gray-haired juveniles.
Instead of receiving aid to my writing career, I find organized attempts to harass my readers and hurt my sales figures.
Instead of finding an organization for the mutual support of Science Fiction writers, I find an organization for the support of Political Correctness.
Instead of friends, I find ideologues bent on jihad against all who do not meekly conform to their Orwellian and hellish philosophy.
Politics trumps Science Fiction in the modern SFWA.
Sounds like it’s time for an alternate organization.
[Update a while later]
[Bumped]
More thoughts from Glenn Reynolds, over at USA Today.
Mad Men
What is all the belly aching about?
We enjoy the show, but some people have been taking it a little too seriously. I hope Megan doesn’t end up Sharon Tated, but I expect Sally to go to Woodstock.
Colbert
Kathy Shaidle says that as a late-night host, he may actually become funny.
I guess we’ll see.
Marlon Brando
A perspective, from Mark Steyn.
What Keeps Women Out Of STEM
Among other things, they don’t like the dating pool. I wonder if The Big Bang Theory helps, or hurts with that perception?
[Update a few minutes later]
This seems vaguely related: Redefining boyhood. As a disease to be treated.
I guess you could say it’s a pre-existing condition.
Amazon Fire TV
A review.
I bought a Sony Blu-Ray player around Christmas time that has a lot of streaming built in, and moved the Roku to the bedroom. Not sure the features justify an upgrade for me right now, but if you don’t have such a device, it looks pretty cool.
Hipster Web Fonts
A righteous rant. As Glenn notes, a lot of web designers are young, with good eyesight, and monitors the size of a drive-in theater screen.
But now I’m thinking I should go look at my own style sheet.
Cosmos
Chad Orzell has some problems with the reboot. So do I and while it’s not his main concern, he puts his finger on it:
The bit where he called out young-Earth creationism for the impoverished scale of its vision was cute, too, though I’m not sure it was all that necessary or useful (in that the people who believe that won’t be watching, and wouldn’t be convinced), but then the show has clearly established a pattern of throwing red meat to the anti-religious from time to time.
Yes, if by “from time to time” he means every episode so far. I’m not traditionally religious, but I find it gratuitous and off putting. The writers and Tyson seem to get some sort of righteous satisfaction from putting a rhetorical thumb in the eyes of believers. It does not advance science, or their own secular religious cause.