Hmmmm (VI) for 2014

Starting a new thread for our "hmmmm" articles

I think this is a good idea.
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/edward-snowden-clemency-010214

Another vote for Eddie Snowden:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/edward-snowden-did-us-all-a-favour-it-s-time-to-cur...

...and let us not forget, one report I read indicated the NSA has spent tens of millions on, yes, a QUANTUM computer, which would enhance their decryption abilities to an even greater extent.

But do you feel any safer?

Gotta love those Scots:

http://imgur.com/a/Cfwm6

(Gord, of course)

Anxiety & creativity:

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/06/19/kierkegaard-on-anxiety-and-cre...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25691066

Explains a lot, doesn't it?

How's this for a PSA:

http://www.upworthy.com/a-truly-absurd-psa-with-zombies-makes-no-sense-until-you...

Story on the BBC home page a minute ago: "A graphic first person account of cannibalism in the Central African Republic".

I...don't think so.

Well, it makes perfect sense if the writer is a cannibal.

Actually, it is an interview with a man who ate bits of a Muslim man in misdirected revenge for the slaughtering of his family by other Muslims. It is first person.

Love that Chris Hedges fella:

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_last_gasp_of_american_democracy_20140105

Nastiest book reviews of the year:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/eleanor-catton-douglas-coupland-up-for-hatchet-job-a...

I have to say that I'm increasingly unimpressed with catty reviews. Very often the reviewer is simply pursuing some personal agenda, and contributes little insight about the book. That's not to say that reviews should be smarmy and nice, but the whole premise of this award is flawed: reviewers need no encouragement to be "fearless," as they put absolutely nothing on the line by cutting up a book. Negativity is often the refuge of the coward: it takes more courage to seriously engage with a book and praise it than it does to do a hatchet job, because you open your own taste to criticism.

I say this having written some fairly catty reviews myself.

Interesting thing in Slate re the comma and whether we should even use it:
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/the_good_word/2014/01/comma_usage_rules_are_u...

The author of this thing has unfortunately conflated two separate questions: whether the comma is necessary in formal prose and whether creeping textism will eventually kill us all. I'm more interested in the question of whether the comma is actually good for anything in formal prose. Usually it isn't. And there is no question that it is the most misused punctuation mark in the entire punctuation menagerie.

I noticed, of course, the way they wrote the article with no commas, and to be honest I didn't find it flowed very well and that the weird jerky style was harder to scan than normal writing with commas. I am all for people being informal in writing if they want to, but I don't think this style should take over, any more than I would insist that people like this writer use commas. I guess it is sort of an aesthetic thing though. I admit that his meaning, at all times, was perfectly clear.

I'm for primarily for commas in paragraphs, especially in longer emails, though I have no qualms with reading texts and tweets when they are not present. My ire with badly written anything primarily stems from improper grammar and spelling; it rarely originates in poor punctuation. So I while I don't advocate the defenestration of the good ol' comma, I should mention that punctuation's ancestors in the grand scope of reading, like rest stops (the punctus) and diacritical marks, made their debut as learning and pronouncing tools in ancient texts, often for Foreigners and Latin speaking Romans reading Greek texts.

Israel and the propaganda war:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/01/opinion/sunday/how-israel-is-losing-the-propag...

Given that I now know Ian's day job (thanks Cliff for posting that interview) I thought he might get a kick out of this review:

http://www.amazon.com/review/R2VDKZ4X1F992Q/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt?tag=nerdgsm-20

Oh, that's grand. VERY good. Love to get some crowd source funding and hire Ian to write the next installment of, yes, "Ping, the Duck".

Brilliant. I actually read this book as a small child. I had no difficulty following it. I had no idea at the time that I was a prodigy.

Thanks for posting Anna. Ping is a huge favorite of mine!

It shares an honored place on my bookshelf, next to another tale of punishment, consequences, family, redemption and loyalty, Rebel.

The authors strike back! (Take that, Mr. Putin):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26062202

>22 CliffBurns: - when I agree with the sentiments I can't help thinking that it much easier to diss Putin when you are not Russian and/or in Russia.

On a related note I watched a documentary on the preparations for Sochi and it was chaos. Half of the workers haven't been paid and when they complain the police pay them visits to 'discuss' the matter.
There was also an interview with the mayor of Sochi who stated there were no gay people in the city, homosexuality is a Western disease.

The IOC peddles its ass to thugs in Russia and pigs in China--and you wonder why I haven't watched a minute of the Olympic Games in years?

Oh, dear God.

"Sensory" reading:

http://weburbanist.com/2014/02/05/sensory-reading-experience-integrates-touch-an...

(My wife sent this to me, knowing it would rile me up.)

Take a minute today to register your disapproval of the surveillance state (currently in the midst of construction):

https://thedaywefightback.org/international/

Rand Paul is head-huntin' the NSA as well:

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/02/11/rand-paul-will-file-nsa-class-act...

The best part is, the moment you register your disapproval of the surveillance state, the surveillance state puts you on their list of people who disapprove of the surveillance state!

Gene Autry's "Cowboy Code":

The Cowboy must never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage.
He must never go back on his word, or a trust confided in him.
He must always tell the truth.
He must be gentle with children, the elderly, and animals.
He must not advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant ideas.
He must help people in distress.
He must be a good worker.
He must keep himself clean in thought, speech, action, and personal habits.
He must respect women, parents, and his nation's laws.
The Cowboy is a patriot.

The 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic (possibly) had Canadian roots:

http://www.canada.com/health/History+worst+epidemic+started+China+spread+Canada+...

Did you know that outbreak killed an estimated 3% of the world's population?

(Another find from Gord.)

>29 CliffBurns:

Ol' Gene sure sounds a lot like the Boy Scouts of America. 'No mention of the subject of sexual preference in either, however.

And maybe Robert Fulghum needs to be required reading over at NSA?

>30 CliffBurns:

Fascinating. I've read a book or two about the subject, but don't recall these epidemiological historians mentioning this new possible Canadian connection.

I do recall some militant mid-western USA towns who forcefully turned away any and all visitors. Their "The Walking Dead" tactics apparently worked.

Just tallied up the books I'd read so far this year by the number of people who also own copies, and got the following results:

9 or less -- 1
10 - 99 -- 9
100 - 999 -- 4
1000 - 9999 -- 1

So over 60% of the books I've read so far in 2014 less than 100 people also have copies in their libraries.

On GoodReads, using ratings as an indication of popularity, I get the following:

9 or less -- 1
10 - 99 -- 6
100 - 999 -- 6
1000 - 9999 -- 1
99,999+ -- 1

Which seems to suggest there are more people on GoodReads with tastes similar to mine...

Too much time on your hands?

#33 Or that Goodreads has ten times more members.

Well, probably most of the Snobs are rightfully suspicious of literary awards. Then out comes this:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/feb/21/literary-prizes-make-books-less-pop...

In short, someone has studied the Goodreads ratings of books that have won book prizes, comparing their mean ratings before and after winning awards, and concluded that book prizes lower a book's mean rating. Which some copyeditor at the Guardian, being confused on the definition of "popular," has then mangled into an utterly inappropriate headline ... but I digress.

For the past few years, I've taken the view that awards exist primarily to serve booksellers -- they are the only people who really benefit -- and serve readers poorly. And here you have concrete evidence of just how poorly they serve readers.

That definitely rates a thoughtful "Hmmmmmm..."

>36 ajsomerset:, I've seen a bit of this, including here on LT, and I think what happens is when a book gains notice, some of the people (perhaps many of them) don't grasp the finer points, or are not entertained in the way that they'd expected. I've seen many very worthy books with mostly high ratings still end up with a couple of one or one and a half star ratings.

I recently added an older book from one of my shelves (The Mythical Man-Month, and was astonished to see that there were four LT members that had given it a single star.

So it goes.

38: Your explanation rests on the assumption that the prize winner actually has merit, which we can't assume. ;)

Prize winners attract wider audiences than they otherwise would, which makes it more likely that they will be read by people who otherwise might have ignored them completely, and so they can be rated lower based on taste rather than merit.

They can also be unremarkable books, which is the case far more often than people like to admit. Thinking back over the years, it is difficult to remember who won various major prizes, except in those cases where the book was either truly exceptional or genuinely lousy. Most prize winners are soon forgotten. Some of the low ratings given prize winners are entirely justified.

My feeling is that readers are better served by book reviews that point them to what interests them than they are by prizes.

39: I find that certain book prizes reflect my tastes more than others. In decreasing order they would be:

Booker
National Book Critics Circle Award
James Tait Black
Pulitzer
National Book Award

The Pulitzer in particular seems more concerned with 'worthiness' than merit. This is particularly the case with the Drama award.

>39 ajsomerset: I will absolutely grant you that winning a prize for literature has little to do with merit. There are some awards that are better than others, of course, but all of them are a product of the time. I remember many authors that were considered to be timeless, and that I'm sure live on only in my memory.

I do treasure reviews, but remind you that people review books for many reasons, including financial gain. I recently attended a presentation by an author who had nothing but five star reviews on Amazon, and very low ratings everywhere else (on those rare occasions where someone had even owned either book he'd written). Do I think that perhaps the reviews were either by friends, or perhaps even paid reviews? Yepper, I do.

When I see something reviewed here on LT, it's pleasant to be able to (in a manner of speaking) glance at the profile of the reviewer, noting books in the library, and other reviews, which often tempers the review. It does give an added value to a review, though.

On the other hand, I own a staggering amount of A E van Vogt's works, and assure you that this fact should not count for much when looking at my interests or other reviews. I also have not rated nor reviewed most of them, since I bought them as much for the cover art and from sentiment, as for any possibility that I'd read them.

What we love in our callow youth is best left to memory, rather than to a reexamination in the cold, logical light of intellect and knowledge.

Great post, Lynda.

A big "A-men" on that last line.

Have not watched ONE MINUTE of the Olympics.

Breads and circuses.

Gold medal hockey game? (Yawn)

On the other hand, I've been riveted by coverage of ongoing events in Ukraine. Lots of folks with roots in that part of the world around here...

You aren't as crazy as you think:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/10359105/Dozens-of-mental-disorders-dont-exist...

Could I live long enough to witness...the return of airships:

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26372277

https://twitter.com/sasapetricic/status/439404594779926529/photo/1

Nuff said.

Okay, this is just plain beautiful. Your heart-warming moment on a day with a -46 Celsius windchill:

http://ca.shine.yahoo.com/blogs/shine-on/-i-want-to-stay-with-my-mommy---newborn...

The big black kettle calling the big black kettle black. Or, two big black pots calling each other black. Or... aw, you get the point

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2014-02/28/c_133150579.htm

> 49: I call that "pot-kettleism", for simplicity...

My big pot-kettle moment of last week was when Kerry said (re Russian action in Crimea):

John Kerry: "You just don’t in the 21st century behave in 19th century fashion by invading another country on a completely trumped up pretext."

Well unless you are the US in 2003....

The slave owner...a true capitalist at heart:

http://www.thenation.com/article/178336/water-and-soil-grain-and-flesh?page=full...

(Gord strikes again)

Wow, that deserves a careful, multiple reading.

Now for some life guidance from our most influential PhD, DVM, MD, DSci, DDS, DBA, DN or whatever the hell, he was:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/02/dr-seuss-birthday_n_4869045.html

Chilling documentary on the "surveillance state" by documentary film-maker Terence McKenna:

http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Technology/ID/2440419645/

...further on the previous, an article on the new cyber-warriors:

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/06/general-keith-alexander-cyberwar/

Speed-reading app:

http://www.refinery29.com/2014/03/63838/spritz-speed-reading

The archive of the Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM) film / TV reviews.
http://www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/movies/

From their review of All in the Family:
http://www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/movies/long/allinthefamily.html

"The difference between the countless Liberals and intellectuals criticizing Mao for saying all art is political and us Maoists is that we Maoists base our opinion on the overall data regarding an audience. In this regard, the political activist working on a petition and talking to thousands of people while carefully listening to those people is in a very similar situation.

Contrary to the Liberal blame-the-victim line or the equivalent line of "think for yourself," we do not let artists off the hook by saying that "All in the Family" audience-members should figure out for themselves that Archie Bunker is the main object of satire. It is part of the ineptitude of the artist/director if s/he is really unable to perceive the impact of his/her work on the audience. In 1999, a survey indicated continuing interest in more Archie Bunker TV shows by 64% of people interviewed.(2)

It is not efficient at all to blame the audience. We have also criticized a defender of early albums by Ani DiFranco along these lines. In actuality, "All in the Family" is far worse than the error by Ani DiFranco in earlier albums, because "All in the Family" came out on television before cable. It was a time when monopoly capitalist television had an unquestioned and unquestioning audience and "All in the Family" cultural workers should have known that, while at least Ani DiFranco and similar artists can say that nothing says that her sales will reach anyone but like-minded people."

From their review of Men in Black:
http://www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/movies/review.php?f=long/meninbla...

"Men in Black" is the art imitating life of the conspiracy theory oriented bourgeoisie--
the wannabe intergalactic capitalists. Here we have the super-elite saving the Earth on a
daily basis from threats far beyond the comprehension of the panicky, slow-witted
Earthlings--including the INS, NYPD, the military etc.

So it is in "Men in Black"'s strategy for diverting some possibly class conscious proletarians
that the super-elite is willing to admit that its underlings really are
useless and petty, not to mention fat and offensive in the case of much of the New York
Police force for instance. Without such admissions, "Men in Black" would be much
less useful as propaganda for the aspiring intergalactic bourgeoisie.

The Men in Black consider themselves "above the system,"
and indeed they are in this movie fantasy of the aspiring intergalactic bourgeoisie
which long ago went beyond petty national conflicts like that seen at the Mexican border.
The Men in Black want their rule to appear "neutral" and beneficial to humyn-kind,
as if it were possible for a state to be class-neutral.

Makes for odd reading, doesn't it?

Only if you are a capitalist roader.

Readers are just better-adjusted people:

http://www.bbc.com/news/education-26515836

From the article:

Viv Bird, chief executive of Booktrust, said: "This research indicates that frequent readers are more likely to be satisfied with life, happier and more successful in their professional lives."

A young football player retires at 26...and here's his reasons why:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rashard-mendenhall/rashard-mendenhall-retirement-_...

You don't get this kind of thinking in sports very often. Kudos to the kid.

The CIA spies on its overseers and wipes its ass with the American constitution...and no one seems to care:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/the-cia-shows-its-fangs-at-home-neil-macdonald-1.25...

"What’s truly depressing, though, is the quiescence of the American public. Reports of Feinstein’s speech have generated news stories, but little evident public outrage.

Since 9/11, Americans have developed a supine trust in their deep state. As have Canadians, evidently; revelations of the same sort of electronic eavesdropping by the Communications Security Establishment, which has far less oversight than the NSA, have left the Canadian public relatively unperturbed.

It’s a combination of complacency, and fear.

Protect us, is the message, and do what you have to do.

We’re fine with it."

Part of this is the circular firing squad attitude of us lefties in the US. We all dislike Feinstein for helping to pass all the crap laws during the Bush admin that allow the intelligence community so much freedom to spy on us. So we are now more interested in the schadenfreude of her getting bit by the same rabid dog, than we are in using this very real issue (separation of powers, it is a real issue, look it up!) to try to get some wins in this area. It's kind of pathetic.

Looking for a birthday gift for the he-man in your life?

http://www.cbc.ca/newsblogs/yourcommunity/2014/03/you-can-crush-things-in-a-tank...

Can you crush your bosses?

A bit old hat. Vladimir Putin has been doing this for years.

Unless I can blow things to pieces with the main gun, I'm not interested.

Map of Europe, from 1000 A.D. to the present:

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=14d_1348362692

68: Interesting, despite some problems with the synchronization. Some relevance to today in the way it shows the way that the western parts of what is now Ukraine were for so long part of or influenced by the more civilized Poland/Lithuania, while the east was prey to the Golden Horde and then Russia. Until the expanding Russian empire gobbled up the whole place, of course.

"It's Obama's fault"--another good article by Neil MacDonald:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/the-new-gop-attack-line-blame-world-s-woes-on-weake...

Medicinal use of psychedelics:

http://aeon.co/magazine/altered-states/psychedelics-relieve-cancer-patients-desp...

(From Gord)

Hey, America, your Supreme Court just sold you out to the one-per centers:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/new-u-s-election-rules-open-donation-spigots-for-th...

This comes as a surprise? Scalia is well known for accepting freebies from the rich and connected.

Vlad Putin, dissected:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/why-russia-s-vladimir-putin-confounds-the-west-1.26...

I thought for a moment there that you were channelling J.G. Ballard, Cliff...

I don't want to think about Putin so I am posting this as a palate cleanser.
http://eusa-riddled.blogspot.co.nz/2013/02/macavitys-rainbow.html

Nice one, Robert.

"The dissection of V. Putin during a bobsled run down Mount Fuji..."

Speaking of Putin: http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2014/04/books-i-will-not-write-yet-a...

God, I hate Big Pharma:

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-26954482

How our brains respond to stories:

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/10/03/paul-zak-kirby-ferguson-storyt...

We knew this, right?

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-27074746

This speech by Chris Hedges was recently posted on Truthdig:

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_myth_of_human_progress_and_the_collapse_...

The audio's a bit wonky at the beginning but it soon becomes crystal clear.

This is one of the best presentations I've seen in a long time.

Hedges is THE MAN.

Canada's doing ok:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/23/upshot/the-american-middle-class-is-no-longer-...

That's the effect of a long and nasty winter. We've all been trapped in our igloos and couldn't spend any money.

Sherron found this: North American Indians giving a history lesson from their perspective:

http://indigenoushistory.wordpress.com/2013/05/09/what-if-people-told-european-h...

keeping kids busy:

http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/childlabor/

Child labor...not a pretty picture, is it?

As bad as stealing schoolgirls in Nigeria and selling them for the equivalent of $12.

Some things just never change...

The dichotomous reaction to Stoner:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/11/magazine/you-should-seriously-read-stoner-righ...

STONER has been on my TBR pile for ages.

Author Williams impresses me: he wrote in a diversity of genres and seemed to do well at all of them. I love a writer who isn't a "one trick pony".

I'll probably get a bit o' flack for this, but in a way, it reminds me of, The Sun Also Rises and Good bye Mr. Chips.

Sigh...poor beta males...

...and in the spirit of more decripitude:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/09/abandoned-structures-photos-johnny-joo_...

englishrussia.com often posts photos of abandoned buildings. Unsurprisingly, there are a lot of abandoned military buildings in Russia, and it's apparently not against the law to enter places that have been left abandoned.

Reminds me of this classic scene:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSp2KGMQEk8

And, forget about picking up gold from receding Greenland glaciers. Global warming presents skeletons in the Alps:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-one/10562017/Melting-glaciers-in-no...

"What lies beneath...?"

Here in the UK, the White War is almost totally unknown. I never knew anything about it until I first visited Austria in 1994.

Doesn't Mark Helprin's A Soldier of the Great War deal with the war in the Alps, in part? Or am I confusing it with something else?

(A novel worth reading, anyway.)

I see his novel WINTER'S TALE has been adapted into a movie.

Found this recent write-up on Helprin, A.J. Thought you'd be interested in a genre-eye view of his work:

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2014/02/winters-tale-is-a-failure-that-genre-fans-must-...

I haven't actually read Winter's Tale. But that piece oozes the kind of smug, dismissive snark that makes me want to pull the writer through his car window and kick his head until he starts convulsing. When people start holding up their inability to seriously engage with the book they're writing about as some kind of badge of honour....

...AND they're a genre twit on top of it.

Genre twits dismissing the work of serious literary writers because it impinges on their territory.

Knew you'd love it, man.

Quick calculators for your rems and rads:

http://www.retronaut.com/2014/05/cold-war-calculators/

Courtesy of Retronaut, which is loaded with cool archival images.

Fascinating piece about the Thai rice industry and its relation to the current political stalemate:

http://landdestroyer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/let-me-tell-you-about-thailands-rice.ht...

I'll say no more:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/more-wild-boars-than-people-possible-...

Oh, now don't get me started on wild boars. I know, "wildlife management" is an oxymoron.

However...

Decades ago, when I was single and had money, I went to a reception of The Nature Conservancy (TNC), at a posh New England art gallery. And lo, PETA was there outside, protesting that TNC was murdering introduced wild hogs in Hawaii. Wild hogs kill endangered species like Nene Geese and other extremely rare endemics. We (homo sapiens) caused this problem, now we (homo sapians) have to try to fix it.

I know, I know, there are a few 'Publicans that support TNC. But jeez, PETA going after TNC? A conservation organization? Really? At best, I thought it was a bit mis-directed and there were dozens of more appropriate targets. At worst, those protesters needed a whack off side the head with a seal bat.

Thanks for posting, Cliff and sorry for the rant, but I just read a Huff post article about the mass extinction of the earth's species.

I hope there are plenty of pork BBQs in Saskatchewan...

MEIN KAMPF...study it or sink it in the deepest part of the ocean? As copyright lapses, the debate ignites:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/adolf-hitler-s-mein-kampf-at-centre-of-fresh-contro...

> 106: I've read it (in the interests of study). It's dull, dull, DULL! Apparently, most Germans thought so, too; most of the copies that were bought were put on a shelf and were used as "evidence" of the Führer's genius (without anyone actually testing that genius by reading the thing).

Equally, when I've watched newsreels or "Triumph of the Will", my immediate impression has been that Hitler's speeches were - to my modern, politics-savvy ear - so free of actual content as to be almost totally meaningless. But Hitler was an orator of great power - we would now call him a "conviction politician" - whereas the content and meaning of his speeches would be something of an Emperor's New Clothes subject.

Sadly, the same can be said of politicians of many different colours these days.

Dunno what happened to my copy--I used to have the big, fat, red edition. Only made it about a hundred pages in before I ran out of steam. About as literary and intelligent as reading the minutes of the annual general meeting of the KKK...

Don't forget, everything you read, all you do...is BEING WATCHED:

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/article/2014/02/18/snowden-docs-reveal-covert...

(And are you comfortable with that?)

I've often noted the dichotomy of Heinlein's earlier works and the later ones, and both Annalee Newitz's review, and the original article by Jeet Heer (on New Republic) are worth reading.

http://io9.com/how-robert-heinlein-went-from-socialist-to-libertarian-1588357827

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118048/william-pattersons-robert-heinlein-bio...

Both articles are far more interesting and insightful than the second volume of the biography they're reviewing.

Jeet Heer's piece was very good.

...and, full disclosure, I despise Heinlein's writing and from what I've read would've loathed him as a human being as well.

Don't forget, though, that when Philip K. Dick was making no money from writing and having to feed his family on cat food, Heinlein loaned him money, not because he admired Dick's writing or his politics, but because "You're one of us."

Probably I just read the wrong book but I read one Heinlein (it had the word cat in the title, that's all I remember) and could hardly finish it. I just kept thinking, Jeeeeeez this is terrible writing. I still intend to read one of the famous ones they teach in English classes - maybe the Moon is a Harsh Mistress or Stranger in a Strange Land? Because I am trying to read some of the foundational sci-fi just so I have the cultural background.

Robert, that's a nice story. I figure authors are just like others in that they have good sides and bad sides. I do not have any fondness for Heinlein's politics (which seeped into the book I was reading in a way that was really irritating) but am willing to believe he was a good friend.

>113 RobertDay: He did, indeed. It hardly makes up for other things. After I'd matured a bit, when I first decided that I no longer much cared for him {1}, I noticed that he often did things that were meant to manipulate others, rather than from a generosity of heart. Forrest J Ackerman had true generosity. How I miss him!

{1} I loathed Stranger in a Strange Land, and after struggling through Time Enough for Love, I determined that I did not *have* to read everything written by everyone, and crossed him right off my list.

> 114, Yes The Cat Who Walks Through Walls was certainly the wrong way to start. The titles you mentioned are better. For Stranger in a Strange Land I recommend the uncut version. If you read it, I would be interested in your thoughts about the anachronistic dialog (it does not sound like the 60s and there is a reason for that).

There is no such thing as a GOOD Heinlein novel. Technically, aesthetically, he had the sensibilities of a hack. The best he could manage was "juvenile" science fiction, material that would appeal to horny fourteen year olds with absolutely no taste in literature (and no life experience). A writer to avoid like a spraying skunk.

I liked a few of the early Heinlein books, HOWEVER, I was 8 or 9 when I was reading them. Parts of some went right over my head (at that age), only to return later, when something would remind me of it, and I'd say "ohhhhhh, *that's* what he was talking about." I'm still sentimental about The Door Into Summer, but that doesn't mean that I'd recommend it to others.

I feel something of the same towards A. E. van Vogt (better human being, but still, mostly a hack). Sometimes van Vogt could surprise and amaze, though. I own a LOT of his books, but they were just as often purchased for the cover art as for the author. I love that old 40s/50s/60s cover art.

>114 anna_in_pdx: If you're just trying to give depth to your reading, go for some of the obscure authors from the early days. Cordwainer Smith will wake you right up, and there's always one of my favorites from the early days, C. L. Moore.

> 117 When I read Heinlein while growing up in the Midwest US in the 1950s, his world view was self-evidently correct: it was just common sense and did not seem like he had a world view.

I outgrew Heinlein a long time ago and I am not defending his writing or politics. This conversation makes me smile because my immersive experience of reading him makes it impossible for me to hate him.

> 118. I agree about Van Vogt. I loved his geysers of outlandish notions, but I think his prose is even worse than Heinlein's.

What Facebook is doing to your brain:

http://themindunleashed.org/2014/05/heres-facebook-brain-kind-shocking.html

120: That's obvious horse pucky.

It asks us to buy into its unstated premise that for most people, FB has become the primary means of social interaction. But the reality is that, for most people, FB is something you do when you get home from real life.

>121 ajsomerset: Facebook is something I do when I have absolutely nothing else to do. I have 15 connections, and perhaps half of those ever post. I used to have many more, but pruned them sometime back to two groups. People who would be genuinely hurt, for no reason, if I "unfriended" them. Relatives (a couple of cousins, my daughter, and a couple of friends who I like, who don't post anything off color, and don't post more than once a week or so.

I didn't read the link. On the other hand, I do recommend a book that discusses the larger issues that rapid access to shallow information (shallow in the sense of depth, not a reflection on the quality): The Shallows : What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains.

Ah, touchstones. How did I get along without you in my life?

Facebook truly occupies a significant part of many lives, as do smart phones, and other gadgets that keep us from having internal conversations, or even just thoughtful silence.

Uh-oh. I'm on a roll, but I'm still going to stop. Life beckons.

122: I didn't read the link. On the other hand, I do recommend a book that discusses the larger issues that rapid access to shallow information....

One of the things the Internet does to our brains is to get us to react to shallow information without even reading the link. ;)

I have THE SHALLOWS and I'm dying to read it.

The internet and computers have definitely changed my brain--I tend to skim more and my attention span is shorter. I'm combating that with more time spent reading (like I needed an excuse).

I detest the way Facebook has devalued the word "friend", just like internet dating and such rot have changed the way people view inter-personal relationships. A recent Alain Badiou book I read talked about that...

...on the other hand, here's a way to connect with someone that doesn't involve technology:

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-27798250

...and people are lining up for the experience. Interesting.

>123 ajsomerset: One of the things that reading does is to permit us to develop faculties enough to surmise what's in a link without feeling the need to read it. Just pointing out the obvious...

124, 126: "The internet and computers have definitely changed my brain--I tend to skim more and my attention span is shorter."

This much is true. The way we read books or magazines is quite different from the way we read articles online. I think there is something to the premise of The Shallows. I haven't read it, of course, but I surmise what's in it without feeling the need. ;)

That's unrelated to the assertion that FB is somehow making us lonely, though. Although re FB devaluing the word "friend," I noted the Globe & Mail making a point that the Moncton shooter, Justin Bourque, only had 40-odd FB friends. This, they implied, indicates that he is a socially inept loner. We do seem to make assumptions about people based on their online personae and on norms that apply only in the strange worlds of FB and Twitter.

(Lyndatrue, I hope you don't think I was taking a nasty shot at you in 123. It was just too good an example of how we react to info online to pass up.)

I have always been a speed reader and a skimmer. I think since I have become an Internet addict I spend a lot less time reading. However the Internet has also helped me get better ideas for reading projects and my reading has been much higher quality since joining Library Thing in 2008 or so. Facebook can be very annoying - it can also be a good source for certain kinds of information or entertainment, depending on how much you enjoy the points of view and interests of your FB friends. I think 126 is right in that we are much more used to making snap judgments about whether or not to take the time to click over and read a given thing on the Internet now that there is so much choice out there.

I am not sure how useful the Shallows or other such books are in that they seem like they have a preconceived idea and are selectively looking at info to reinforce it (much like most of us tend to do anyhow and this is another thing that I believe is amplified on line). As some of you already know, I like to read books on cognitive processes and biases, so I might enjoy it. If you read it, Cliff, let us know if it is worth the time.

Will do, Anna. Dunno what's taken me so long to get to it.

Maybe my poor attention span...

The rich keep gettin' richer:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/rich-got-14-6-richer-in-2013-1.2672352

(Sound FX: Metallic swish of the guillotine...)

130: As I have remarked before, knit one, purl two.

Thank you, Madame DeFarge.

This article by Tim Parks talks about how reading is changing and touches on some of the points raised earlier about time, attention spans, etc.:

http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2014/jun/10/reading-struggle/

Needless to say, another great Gord find...

>133 CliffBurns: Interesting diversion, and thanks. It reminds me of why I initially loved the writing of Gene Wolfe, and then become terribly disappointed as he gained in popularity. He went from being evocative and rich in his phrasing into yet another hack writer, endlessly adding on to what had originally been meant as four novels (now bastardized into an endless supply of various styles and types of suns).

I always loved William Faulkner, and almost dragged some out (after reading the article), but life is finite, and there are other things that demand my attention more (Marquez, for example). Never much cared for Dickens, though.

Weird. 'Only in that central section of North America:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/22/us/its-not-the-living-dead-just-a-funeral-with...

According the the Manchester GUARDIAN, Neil Gaiman is a "leading cultural figure".

Um....no? Not a chance? Minor writer with inexplicably big following? Comic book writer with all the deficiencies that applies?

http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jun/22/monty-pythons-greatest-skits-best...

136: This is the kind of thing that makes us real leading cultural figures very angry.

True, very true.

"Gaiman . . . leading cultural figure . . . (136)

Maybe the writer said "CULT figure", and the editor thought "cult" was slang for
"cultural" and so "corrected it!

Minor writer with inexplicably big following?

That big following makes him a leading cultural figure whether ya like it or not, Cliff ... just like Justin Bieber.

The comparison is apt. And depressing.

Patrick Lundborg, psychedelic pioneer, interviewed by Graham Hancock:

http://realitysandwich.com/220045/unified-psychedelic-theory-an-interview-with-p...

Review of the Pythons' stage show/extravaganza:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/03/theater/up-to-its-old-tricks-monty-python-reun...

Why some of us still love "the boys of summer":

https://twitter.com/Mets/status/488025146050236416/photo/1

Slavoj Zizek: when secretly negotiated trade deals subvert democracy:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/13/capital-politics-wikileaks-...

It's official: the vast majority of us are fucking morons:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/world-s-85-richest-earn-more-than-3-5-billion-po...

N.Y. TIMES editorial board supports a repeal on the prohibition of marijuana:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/07/27/opinion/sunday/high-time-marijuana...

A few years too late but what the heck?

A blog post regarding the NYT's attitude in their editorial vs their attitude towards their workers:

http://wonkette.com/555403/at-the-times-a-call-to-legalize-marijuana-except-at-t...

Thanks, Anna.

The TIMES' stance is the epitome of hypocrisy. Drug tests, unless you're an airline pilot or top-notch brain surgeon? Fuck off!

Unless you're an airline pilot, a top-notch brain surgeon, or a bottom feeding worthless opinion columnist.

Did the highly acclaimed series "True Detective" plagiarize author Thomas Ligotti?

http://lovecraftzine.com/2014/08/04/did-the-writer-of-true-detective-plagiarize-...

>114 anna_in_pdx: Similarly Asimov used to call Heinlein a friend even though he avowed that they were at opposite ends of the political spectrum.

I tend to gauge the worth of a lot of this early science fiction by how successfully it challenged the 'norms' of present day thinking, and how bold it was in presenting a different model of technology or society. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, for all of its clunky dialog, is a very interesting leap in thinking - particularly as it came from the 1960's. As we contemplate a Chinese ambition to land on the moon, we can reflect on Heinlein's nod to Chinese involvement in colonising the moon, and what directions those colonies might eventually go in terms of seeking to establish their independence. As for dropping loads of moon rock through the atmosphere (another idea from the book), one need go no further than the US Project Thor to see speculation turned into (very disturbing) science. Heinlein certainly wrote some pot boilers, and some self-indulgent pieces, but if you were looking for one of the best of his works you couldn't go past this.

Boing Boing's "American Manifesto"--read it and weep...in outrage:

http://boingboing.net/2014/08/09/american-manifesto.html

Surprise, surprise: the U.N. leadership colludes with the Yanks and Israelis to screw the Palestinians:

http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Wikileaks-Ban-Ki-Moon-Worked-with-Israel-t...

Who's more dangerous, cops or the purported bad guys:

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-28946204

The fact that no one can put a figure to the amount of citizens killed by policemen in American is horrifying...and deeply suspicious.

Gord sent this one, the most brilliant 90 seconds of footage I've watched in awhile. For some reason it's marked as "Inappropriate", so you may have to sign in to view this on YouTube but...damn, it's worth it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wnsdc7cTPuU

I don't think I could ever get over getting beat up by a coelenterate.

Meanwhile, the squirrel-whisperer is about a million times more popular than the Nittany Lion:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kscEoohfVY

Oh, that's...haha...great stuff.

I don't know if non-UK residents can hear this but here is Will Self giving George Orwell a kicking - Why Orwell Is the Supreme Mediocrity.

I read it a few days ago and think there is a bit of pot and kettle there.

I like Self, though sometimes I think he sees his role as a provocateur and gadfly.

At least he's not boring and non-intellectual, as many authors these days seem to be.

By the way, I am a HUGE Orwell fan--to me, the three literary giants I most revere are Orwell, Kafka and Beckett.

America, climbing back into the quagmire:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/u-s-is-off-to-a-war-that-doesn-t-make-sense-again-neil-ma...

This piece from Will Self made me chuckle this morning. Welcome to Planet Dickhead:

http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2014/09/will-self-awful-cult-talentless-hips...

My favorite bit:

"And we are, aren’t we, us fiftysomethings? We’re the pierced and tattooed, shorts-wearing, skunk-smoking, OxyContin-popping, neurotic dickheads who’ve presided over the commoditisation of the counterculture; we’re the ones who took the avant-garde and turned it into a successful rearguard action by the flying columns of capitalism’s blitzkrieg; we’re the twats who sat there saying that there was no distinction between high and popular culture, and that adverts should be considered as an art form..."

Preach it, Brother Self!

163: Will Self comes across as a pompous ass and every bit as much of a "dickhead" as those at whom he sneers.

I dunno, Gus, Self is a satirist and part of his job is to make us uneasy, cause us to question the way we behave, the hypocrisies we sustain in order to shore up a shaky ethical system. I don't always agree with him (see: his commentary on my hero Orwell) but I do think his remarks are informed by a real intellect and a savage view of the world.

I don't think we'd get along, ol' Will and me, but he's NOT stupid. And so I read him. He frequently makes me mad but, I think, that's the point.

It's probably just me, but I am unimpressed by savage views of the world, but that's not what I find so annoying about him.

I agree that he is anything but stupid, but whatever point he starts out to make often gets lost in his relentless and, in my view, very irritating drive to show how clever he is.

Neil Macdonald strikes again. Barack Obama, Nobel laureate and latest president to strut willingly into a quagmire from which there is no escape:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/even-democrats-seem-unsure-of-obama-s-isis-strategy...

Do you hear something braying from the tar pits?

Tune in November 12th:

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29380448

Uh, oh. First case of Ebola on U.S. soil.

Cue the Doomsday scenarios...

Also cue the chorus of crazies citing their deity's wrath. Ebola arrives in the U.S. because:

(choose as many as you like)

1. Gay Marriage
2. Abortion
3. Obama/ObamaCare
4: Immigrants
5. Benghazi
6. Prayer Forbidden in Schools
7. Something something Guns
8. Something something Sex
9. Something something Freedom
10. (Fill in your own crotchet.)

I choose 10. I love to crochet. :-}

Here's one convention I'll be giving a WIDE fucking berth:

http://www.sff.net/people/rothman/wfc/

Woof!

A visit to a creationist museum:

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/10/the-genesis-code/379341/?sin...

Really, really weird.

(From Gord)

>172 CliffBurns: I don't know, the toastmaster is Graham Joyce who died in September so it could be a pretty unique event.

"...appearing via Ouija Board..."

If he could, I'm sure he would.

This was a really interesting and very long article about the mentality of mass shooters and how authorities are working to intervene with them before they act:

http://www.esquire.com/features/mass-shooters-1014

177: Oh, look what I missed. Thanks!

178: Hey speaking of shooting - is your book out yet?

Next spring. I am in edit hell.

I actually like editing. I always feel a great sense of relief when I have got the story down and can begin the less draining and more easily compartmentalized process of polishing it up. I can happily do a bit of work before dinner, knowing that I will not find myself at a point where I can't possibly stop the flow for an hour or so, despite the grumbling of my stomach.

Neil MacDonald on the wealth (and power) divide in America:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/how-the-law-follows-the-wealth-gap-in-modern-day-am...

From a recent BBC article:

"The US has the world's largest prison population, with about 2.2 million adults behind bars.

In 2012, close to 25% of the world's prisoners were held in American prisons despite the US accounting for just 5% of the world's population."

That latter stat is...wow.

Another article on, yes, the future of books. This piece, from THE ECONOMIST, is more optimistic than the usual twaddle--technology may change but books, in one form or another, survive:

http://www.economist.com/news/essays/21623373-which-something-old-and-powerful-e...

Oddly, I was talking to someone last week who told me that the magazine trade is picking up. Printed magazines are now seen as premium products that people like to have, even if they also have an online or e-readable version. There is something of a divide emerging over what people want to see in a magazine. The e-version is seen as the ideal vehicle for news, updates and ephemeral information, whereas the printed magazine is still sought as a repository of longer feature articles of lasting merit. This isn't just specialist or hobby magazines; the opinion in the trade is that it is the whole market. Hopefully, books will go the same way...

Of course, any article that heaps scorn on CanLit is all right with me:

http://reviewcanada.ca/magazine/2014/09/cant-lit/

For any Boston Bruin fans out there--sometimes the nasty ol' Bruins get a bad rap but they're nice guys underneath. See:

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/young-bruins-fan-gets-thrill-of-his-life-1.2...

Good piece on James "Amazing" Randi:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/09/magazine/the-unbelievable-skepticism-of-the-am...

(From Gord.)

I've read this article from Vanity Fair a couple of times, and it's still making me think.

"How Did Amazon End Up as Literary Enemy No. 1?"

http://www.vanityfair.com/business/2014/12/amazon-hachette-ebook-publishing

I don't think I realized (before reading this) that Goodreads had been acquired by Amazon (this is probably old news to most of you). The problems are more complex than is in this article, but it still has more meat than most of the sound bites that pass for news now. I did like the points made about self-publishing (that only certain genres benefit from this, for one thing).

We haven't seen the end of this by any means.

Plucked off the web:

"1 in 10 Americans are now prescribed antidepressant medication. This number leaps to 1 in 4 among women in their 40’s and 50’s."

>190 CliffBurns: The happiest people are (in descending order):

Married Men
Single Women
Married Women
Single Men

(Lads, please don't let women read this or the game's up.)

Cheer up a grey morning with cute footage of an orphaned sea otter pup. Even a curmudgeon like Ian Sales can't resist this:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/13/shedd-aquarium-sea-otter-_n_6154624.htm...

Got two Hmmmm.... articles for you guys:

1. China bans puns in headlines
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=16011

2. Funniest headline of the day, today
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/12/03/texas-missing-brains/198196...

One, two, three:

"Hmmmm...."

This has been around for a couple of weeks but still is, uhm, interesting.

The best soccer penalty shootout ever:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F9jXYOH2c0

>193 anna_in_pdx: From Neil Gaiman and Kim Newman's Ghastly beyond Belief, a collection of utterly dreadful blurbs and similar, often annotated with comments (most likely by Newman):

"Together, they faced the alien menace, armed only with their brains!"

("Well, my brain missed, Carruthers - throw yours.")

Time to put a chokehold on cops for a change:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/it-won-t-be-easy-reining-in-america-s-chokehold-pol...

The Senate releases it's report on torture, everyone outraged...but they really only scratched the surface:

http://www.cbc.ca/day6/blog/2014/12/11/former-guantanamo-guard-calls-for-torture...

And we'll NEVER hear how many were tortured to death at "black" sites or hold accountable the civilian employees who at the behest of their government contractor (and therefore held at arms length) conducted and condoned heinous acts against their fellow human beings.

America...love us or we'll rendition your ass.

Better add that line to the "Star Spangled Banner"...

America, no longer the land of the free:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/u-s-torture-debate-underscores-shifting-view-on-per...

The world is actually much improved as of late (statistically):

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2014/12/the_world_is_...

Good piece.

I think we all occasionally need to be reminded that bad news doesn't predominate in our world, it just draws the most advertising dollars.

There was a recent story where a newspaper in Russia decided that for one day it would only publish positive and affirming stories/articles.

Readership plummeted.

Remember that U.S. military venture into Panama 25 years ago? Greg Grandin doesn't want us to forget:

http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175937

(Another gem from Gord.)

How stupid was the "Bay of Pigs" fiasco? Read about it here:

http://penguinrandomhouse.ca/hazlitt/longreads/one-most-ridiculous-things-has-ev...

(Thanks, Gord)

Why does America suck up to Wahhabist scum in Saudi Arabia? To Neil MacDonald, the answer's obvious...and sickening:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/new-questions-raised-about-u-s-saudi-relationship-1...

Manga...or child porn?

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30698640

Other cartoonists respond to Paris terror attacks:

http://www.juxtapoz.com/current/artists-respond-to-charlie-hebdo-attack

Graphic artist Joe Sacco talking about the limits of satire...in his own inimitable fashion:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2015/jan/09/joe-sacco-on-satire-...

The Onion's angle:

http://www.theonion.com/articles/no-one-murdered-because-of-this-image,29553/

People are wonderfully strange, aren't they?

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-30697553