Interesting Links for 02-08-2013

[andrewducker]

• In Lieu of Money, Toyota Donates Efficiency to New York Charity
  (tags: efficiency charity )
• What happens when you ask abusive trolls to phone a talk show.
  (tags: abuse society misogyny )
• Nuclear power: Not financially viable?
  (tags: money nuclearpower )
• Writer would like to be paid for all the things people want him to do.
  (tags: money writing )

Comments

Edgar Wright’s Polite Exchange With The Censors About The Word "Cunt"

[cartesiandaemon]

I don't know why I find it so hard to believe the system works :)

(I'm not sure if I do approve of "cunt" or not -- he's right that a non-aggressive non-sexual use isn't really a problem, but the perception that it's always aggressive and sexual is a self-fulfilling prophecy.)

Re: Edgar Wright’s Polite Exchange With The Censors About The Word "Cunt"

[andrewducker]

That's not everyone's perception though. And I'd rather _not_ make it a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Not that it matters either way around how I feel about the word - it's the actual usage across the country that matters.

Re: Edgar Wright’s Polite Exchange With The Censors About The Word "Cunt"

[alitheapipkin]

I think it's good that someone can manage to have a sane attitude to it. Personally, the perception that the BBC seems to have, that it's the most offensive word in the English language regardless of context, is something I find quite offensive. But then I read 'Cunt: A Declaration of Independence' at an impressionable age (and have shocked people I regarded as pretty liberal by having a copy on my living room book shelf).

[apostle_of_eris]

An example I get great use from is Dick Gregory's autobiography. (a black comedian who fought the good fight politically for decades) He titled it Nigger, and dedicated it to his mother, " . . . so if you ever hear that word again, you'll know they're advertising my book."

[andrewducker]

The one in italics? Yes.

[del_c]

What does his complaint really boil down to? He would like to be paid lots of money to do what he likes to do; many people would sort of like him to do it, a bit, but not enough to pay him lots of (or sometimes, any) money; the negotiation often ends with the would-be employer saying "well, if you don't want to do it for us for little or nowt, don't let the door hit you, we know plenty who will".

Well, welcome to the world of the entire working class majority, mate.

[moussaka_thief]

Agreed. I worked in publishing for many years and you just can't make a living selling the occasional book anymore. It isn't that the publishers, editors, designers etc etc are making a killing - far from it! You have to supplement your income or use your books as a jumping off point for talks, paid articles, events and so on. Even when authors and publishers made more money from books, most authors had to do other things to survive. Writing is not, and has never been, a career you into expecting a comfortable living....

[philmophlegm]

I saw your link to the "Writer would like to be paid..." not long after I'd seen Saladin Ahmed (whom I follow on twitter) post this:

http://www.saladinahmed.com/wordpress/cap-in-hand-the-darker-side-of-the-writing-life/

You assume that once someone has had a successful novel published that they're set. Ahmed's first novel got both Hugo and Nebula nominations (deservedly so, I really liked it - 'Throne of the Crescent Moon', middle-eastern flavoured fantasy), but he can't actually afford to go to WorldCon - or even childcare.

[andrewducker]

Oh yes. Writing is only a good way to make money for the 0.1%

When I posted it to Twitter yesterday I got this back from Graham Linehan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj5IV23g-fE

[philmophlegm]

I think Ellison is right.

It's part of a wider issue that certain aspects of the way creatives are rewarded for their work don't actually work, and the rewards go to various middlemen - publishers, editors etc. Don't get me wrong, all of these people are valuable, but the balance of power doesn't seem right.

I don't see an easy solution for this, but other industries that aren't that dissimilar seem to reward the creatives adequately. Major sports pay their athletes for example. Maybe sports agents are more effective than literary agents.

Maybe the problem is that it's a buyers' market. There are so many people out there trying to write the next great novel that it's difficult for genuinely talented writers to stand out without big marketing pushes from the publishers. (The J.K. Rowling pseudonym novel is a perfect example of this.)

[andrewducker]

Oh yes. You don't expect people to make a living on selling 500 copies of a book, but that's apparently very good for most authors.

Genocide is good for you

[channelpenguin]

Ahem. The stronger survive the experience, the weaker don't.

Re: Genocide is good for you

[drdoug]

That seems the -obvious explanation for what they claim to have found, but they only give it a brief and unclear consideration in the article.

[philmophlegm]

Yeah, the Wonder Woman cosplay is good, but I'll see your Wonder Woman cosplay and raise you this Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite cosplay.

Here's the character in the game:
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130325174647-bioshock-infinite-elizabeth-story-top.jpg
http://www.onpause.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/BioShock-Infinite-Elizabeth.jpg

And here's the cosplay:
http://2.media.dorkly.cvcdn.com/18/81/ee8a8ba62526b2b91a225cbbd742c275-incredibly-spot-on-bioshock-infinite-elizabeth-cosplayer.jpghttp://pxlbyte.com/wp-content/

[erindubitably]

They ended up hiring her, which is pretty cool.

[philmophlegm]

Yeah, very.

[gonzo21]

That cosplayer landed a job with the game publisher as the official face of Bioshock Infinite at events and things, thanks to her amazing costume.