"Maybe I’m naive about the present state of the left, and of course it has always had way too much infighting, damaging the cause for everyone. Freud named this fight the narcissism of small differences, and it’s a good name, because to get so caught up in your own particular ideology that even your own allies are denounced is indeed narcissistic. ( Read more... )

If you were a dinosaur, this would actually be readable ( Read more... )

I often finish the books I read. Godel Escher and Bach being the exception, and hopefully I'll be able to plow through it in the future.

For my five days in Wildwood, NJ I borrowed Paul McAuley's The Quiet War from the liberry. First chapter was promising, followed by a jet fighter getting transhumaned to become part of his plane. Nothing ( Read more... )

Short-lived, but highly intelligent aliens. Their culture and society is kept in a constantly updated song. On the surface it's simple, but tone, melody, harmony, timbre, tempo, etc. add a lot of information to a single phoneme. Newborns pick up on it quickly, discovering the nuances throughout their brief childhood, and can draw upon the song like ( Read more... )

Tie-in book Star Wars: Aftermath is a flop. How can the publisher ensure more people buy it, and learn for themselves the story's shit?

Cry homophobia because a handful of assholes complain about gay Jedi. Now everyone left of center will shell out good money for the bookThe book'll probably gather dust on their shelves or the buyer will discover ( Read more... )

NecronomiCon was a blast.

Beards outnumbered the fedoras/trillbys on a logarithmic scale.

WorldCon was a shitstorm, so I hear.

There's a smallpox outbreak in a city, even though the disease has been wiped out for thirty years. Even the remaining bits kept by the CDC and Russia's State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology ( Read more... )

Ice at the bottom of Ceres's craters feeding a tenuous atmosphere, held in by the rim walls, facilitating the existence of Cererian life.

Months ago, when I lacked taste, I listened to NPR and NPR podcasts on a regular basis. Nowadays I can't be arsed listening to anything unless I'm running errands ( Read more... )

Dreamt that Greg Egan posted a photo. Not a face shot, just legs, feet, and part of a hand.

The finger/toe nails were painted bright pink. Looking closer, the pants were women's pants.

Does this mean Egan's a woman's pseudonym?

Has anyone found proof that he graduated from the University of Western Australia?