There's a great discussion on the "tone" argument (and related ideas) happening on the MedievalPOC tumblr right now.

First bit

Second bit

Third bit

Fourth bit

whipchick has made a couple of interesting posts about writing, race, and privilege.

The first post is titled "Write About Indians" (and is an entry for the LJ Idol writing contest, to provide some context).

The second post expands on and gives some more background on the first, and is titled On Writing RaceThe discussions going on in the comments may be ( Read more... )

sparkymonster posted today about author Elizabeth Moon making some very prejudiced remarks. She therefore joins a club that includes Amanda Palmer and Orson Scott Card -- artists whose personal views on some subjects many of us find abhorrent ( Read more... )

Um, that's Soap the TV show, not soap the substance (warning -- don't go to that wikipedia page unless you're okay with possibly seeing spoilers for the show ( Read more... )

Exposure to cellphone radiation protected mice doomed to Alzheimer's from memory loss -- and reversed memory loss in those that had already started down the path of dementia.

As most of you know, if A and B are correlated, there are basically three possible explanations: A causes B; B causes A; or C causes both A and B. Researchers in Norway ( Read more... )

The Senate has compromised its way to 60 votes, and is on track to pass its healthcare bill by Dec. 24. BBC version, Globe & Mail version.

The NYT looks at some of the hidden pork barrels in the Senate healthcare bill.

Results from cognitive neuroscience studies are beginning to change the way children are taught. In particular, children are ( Read more... )

The first Argentinian gay marriage may not happen today; a judge has blocked issuing the marriage license until the Supreme Court can examine the issue.

Well, that didn't last long -- who had "December 1" in the pool? Microsoft is investigating an issue in Windows 7 dubbed "the black screen of death".

The Beeb shows us photos of a day in the life ( Read more... )

Unofficial exit polls are indicating that Switzerland has passed referendum to ban the building of minarets. One article mentioned that the call to prayer is already banned. Edit: And the official results are in: it passed ( Read more... )

The Toronto Humane Society has been raided by OSPCA and police; Tim Trow was arrested, and many other top staff have been charged. They've also charged everyone on the board of directors, which took them by surprise.

Man with cerebral palsy makes huge changes in his movement by working with a choreographer on a dance piece. "I said today, 'I can ( Read more... )

Starting off with three from The Homosexual Agenda:

Uganda's proposed law to jail gay people for life is expected to cause strife at a Commonwealth summit. It would also jail people for three years who know of a gay or lesbian person and who don't inform the police within 24 hours, jail those for seven years who defend gay rights, and put to ( Read more... )