It helps that he hasn't yet been quoted saying fans of his work are fools for some reason or another, or that the world's problems could be solved by slaughtering large numbers of its people.
Having a family member who was the victim of a traumatic experience, I can say that while I don't think we need memory-erasing drugs, we do need methods to accelerate the recovery process, so that less time is necessary to transform the mere remembrance of a traumatic experience from a trauma in and of itself to a manageable, if unpleasant, one.
When I think of the time she lost to recovery - and then multiply it across everyone else who has had a traumatic experience - it is difficult to imagine many drugs that could have a greater effect on our quality of life.
When I think of the time she lost to recovery - and then multiply it across everyone else who has had a traumatic experience - it is difficult to imagine many drugs that could have a greater effect on our quality of life.
I'm sort of amazed at how prominent Daniel Craig's ass is on that poster.
Everyone knows that a play isn't subversive unless its lead is a handsome young white man.
Mercedes sang the hell out of that song. I loved it; I just wish they'd cast against type in roles other than hers and Kurt's.
Mercedes sang the hell out of that song. I loved it; I just wish they'd cast against type in roles other than hers and Kurt's.
Missing: John Constantine.
For those wondering, the method used to determine whether an author was "right" or "left" was whether the person who enjoyed reading them were "right" or "left" - Anderson was categorized as right because he was preferred by self-described moderates and conservatives, Ellison was categorized as left because he was preferred by self-described radicals and liberals. A similar method was used to determine if the author was "hard science" or not.
I thought this was cool . . . until I realized that I save time by slipping into and out of my shoes without untying and retying the knot. I don't think I've tied my shoes in months.
Shorter article:
If you judge a robot vacuum by its ability to draw parallel lines, then the Neato and Mint are superior to the Roomba.
But if you judge a robot vacuum by its ability to vacuum, then the Roomba is superior.
Even shorter article:
My author has an undiagnosed anxiety disorder.
I've scheduled my Roomba to run daily while I'm at work. I haven't vacuumed in years, and I haven't needed to; it cleans well enough that any dirt left by one pass is gone by the next.
The biggest problem has been Roomba's tendency to eat headphone cords (which I've solved by not leaving headphones on the floor), its tendency to become stuck under furniture (which I've solved by not buying furniture that clears the floor by less than six inches), and its noise (which I've solved by not being home when it runs).
Which, granted, are pretty significant life changes to make to avoid vacuuming. But still. No vacuuming.
If you judge a robot vacuum by its ability to draw parallel lines, then the Neato and Mint are superior to the Roomba.
But if you judge a robot vacuum by its ability to vacuum, then the Roomba is superior.
Even shorter article:
My author has an undiagnosed anxiety disorder.
I've scheduled my Roomba to run daily while I'm at work. I haven't vacuumed in years, and I haven't needed to; it cleans well enough that any dirt left by one pass is gone by the next.
The biggest problem has been Roomba's tendency to eat headphone cords (which I've solved by not leaving headphones on the floor), its tendency to become stuck under furniture (which I've solved by not buying furniture that clears the floor by less than six inches), and its noise (which I've solved by not being home when it runs).
Which, granted, are pretty significant life changes to make to avoid vacuuming. But still. No vacuuming.
@Josh Wimmer: Well, I haven't read "To Read the Dispossessed," so maybe it claims that Anarres is too good to be true, but from what you linked, I don't think that was Delany's criticism.
My response was directed more at the quote "Sometimes the 'flaws' she presents are so minor as to constitute merely a clever way of avoiding the criticism of perfectionism" and the notion that because Anarres is superior to the too-familiar A-Io, Anarres must somehow be implausible or the comparison simplistic. Anarres is better than A-Io, but remains complex and problematic in serious and fundamental ways, even without A-Io's ills.
My response was directed more at the quote "Sometimes the 'flaws' she presents are so minor as to constitute merely a clever way of avoiding the criticism of perfectionism" and the notion that because Anarres is superior to the too-familiar A-Io, Anarres must somehow be implausible or the comparison simplistic. Anarres is better than A-Io, but remains complex and problematic in serious and fundamental ways, even without A-Io's ills.
Meh, I read patriotism in the assertion that Anarres is too good to be true: it's clear that A-Io is intended to be an analog to the United States (or similar liberal democracy), and even those who acknowledge the country's obvious flaws are hesitant to believe that any superior society, especially one as radically different as Anarres, could exist. After all, America may not be perfect, but is the best of all possible societies. Any society that is more perfect must necessarily be too perfect to exist.
I didn't see Anarres as being quite that perfect. It's too kind to call it sanctimonious and insular. It's closer to fundamentalist and xenophobic; the opening chapter has one of the crew of the Urrasti ship killed by a brick thrown by the Anarresti mob. Shevek suffers greatly due to those attitudes throughout the book, and we're intended to view them as unjust.
Yet it's easy to see why Anarres is preferable to A-Io, which suffers both from those problems and from racism, sexism and classism.
Really, the contrast between Anarres and A-Io is anything but simplistic: A-Io presents us with a society somewhat worse than our own, and Anarres presents us with one that, because it lacks the major flaws of A-Io - the above -isms - should be perfect. But it's not, as Shevek's experience can attest.
Effectively, Anarres isn't a perfect society; it's more a challenge to the idea of a perfect society - one that is clearly better but still clearly flawed.
I didn't see Anarres as being quite that perfect. It's too kind to call it sanctimonious and insular. It's closer to fundamentalist and xenophobic; the opening chapter has one of the crew of the Urrasti ship killed by a brick thrown by the Anarresti mob. Shevek suffers greatly due to those attitudes throughout the book, and we're intended to view them as unjust.
Yet it's easy to see why Anarres is preferable to A-Io, which suffers both from those problems and from racism, sexism and classism.
Really, the contrast between Anarres and A-Io is anything but simplistic: A-Io presents us with a society somewhat worse than our own, and Anarres presents us with one that, because it lacks the major flaws of A-Io - the above -isms - should be perfect. But it's not, as Shevek's experience can attest.
Effectively, Anarres isn't a perfect society; it's more a challenge to the idea of a perfect society - one that is clearly better but still clearly flawed.
I used to like Mark Twain, but his "progressive" anti-slavery message has gotten in the way of his storytelling. He should really have more sensitivity toward his traditional, pro-slavery readers. If he doesn't watch it, he'll end up as shrill as Harriet Beecher Stowe.
My grandmother thought the end times were at hand toward the end of her life, too. I think she found it comforting to believe that the world really would stop turning if she weren't on it.
Not that we don't face threats to our species - like climate change - but I think it's best to develop solutions to address those threats specifically rather than start a big, amorphous project that has as a potential side effect the solution to the problem.
Not that we don't face threats to our species - like climate change - but I think it's best to develop solutions to address those threats specifically rather than start a big, amorphous project that has as a potential side effect the solution to the problem.
I prefer to think that the public is intelligent enough to thoughtfully examine proposed policies and decide whether to support or oppose them on the basis of their merit.
Then I read the ignorant, paranoid ranting in this thread and I lose confidence in democracy. What next, "Fluoridation: Poison or Mind Control?"
The internet is no less critical infrastructure than our transportation system or emergency services, and the notion that the government shouldn't have the authority to direct its use - even in the case of a national emergency - is insane.
It's akin to arguing that Louisiana and Mississippi shouldn't have the authority to convert I-10, I-55, and I-59 to contraflow to permit a hurricane evacuation.
Not that I trust the pro-torture Senator Lieberman to craft a bill that is judicious with respect to the power it affords the government, but if there is an issue with this bill it is not with the mere idea the government should, in a time of national emergency, want to have the authority to tell AT&T to give higher priority to its communications than, say, bittorrent.
Then I read the ignorant, paranoid ranting in this thread and I lose confidence in democracy. What next, "Fluoridation: Poison or Mind Control?"
The internet is no less critical infrastructure than our transportation system or emergency services, and the notion that the government shouldn't have the authority to direct its use - even in the case of a national emergency - is insane.
It's akin to arguing that Louisiana and Mississippi shouldn't have the authority to convert I-10, I-55, and I-59 to contraflow to permit a hurricane evacuation.
Not that I trust the pro-torture Senator Lieberman to craft a bill that is judicious with respect to the power it affords the government, but if there is an issue with this bill it is not with the mere idea the government should, in a time of national emergency, want to have the authority to tell AT&T to give higher priority to its communications than, say, bittorrent.
@Joel Johnson: Back at ya, JJ.
@puffnstuff: Because at best Joel hasn't worked through his homophobia yet, as one would expect from a person who considers himself clever when he refers to Apple's support for same-sex marriage as support for "progressive sexual rights," and suggests those rights are comparable to his God-given right to ogle hot chicks on iPhones.
@Joel Johnson: Yeah, right. Apple dare not cross the gay mafia. We may not be able to secure our civil rights under law, but by God, we own the iPhone App Store!
Recommendation, JJ: find a way to express your outrage without also venting your homophobia.
Man, if I were the driver, I totally would have run him down, and if that didn't kill him, beaten him to death with my masculine fists of manly man man death.
But since I wasn't, I'll have to settle for inspecting the EXIF data on that picture he took.
Alternative theory re: Nixon on the silver dollar: he won the 1960 election, not Kennedy. And he was assassinated in 1963, rather than Kennedy. Thus he is lionized on the silver dollar, instead of Kennedy.
That movie was full of lame.
Like the scene where they decide to burn the books for heat. Instead of the wooden shelves, the wooden tables, or the wooden chairs.
I guess they chose a comfy chair over knowledge, which could be considered both a metaphor for humanity in the movie and for the humans who made the movie.
@wirebrain: The distinction between opinion and practice is rather meaningless, but in this case, Card does practice discrimination.
He's on the board of the National Organization for Marriage. He and his organization are spending millions to oppose same-sex marriage; even now, he and his organization are spending millions to repeal legal recognition of same-sex marriage in Maine.
Orson Scott Card does not merely opine that he does not support equality; he spends time and money to deprive people of it.
