The Alabama Supreme Court ruling on frozen embryos is exactly why we have, in this country, a separation of church and state. Mind you, this is the same state that has laws in effect declaring that a pregnant woman can be charged with murder should she miscarry. (Those laws have been used for just that purpose. They originated in precisely the same ignorance as the Supreme Court ruling and produce an unjustness that should infuriate any compassionate individual.) And now,…
I’m reading Four-Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman right now based on a recommendation by Becca Syme, a writer coach whose wisdom particularly resonates with me. Burkeman’s work, while wise in its own way, is also incredibly flawed, particularly in his view of economics. At one point, for instance, he contrasts choosing to island hop across Greece against choosing to feed homeless families. His point is that our time is limited and whatever we choose to do…
Ravelry has allowed another pattern to be posted on its site that violates its community guidelines, namely the ones forbidding hate speech and the targeting of politically conservative users (not to mention the ones not allowing certain curse words). First, let me reiterate that I am a non-political libertarian who believes that no limits on free speech should be imposed by the government. This includes so-called “hate speech.” Individuals and private institutions and businesses, however, can regulate speech within the…
I have some rules that help me navigate the world without having to spend too much time stressing over silly things like what to wear and whether a particular sentence is appropriate in a particular story. The rule for the latter is much simpler than the rule for the former (which is a series of rules), so that one goes first. The rule is: Story trumps everything. Well, the core of that is that Story is Character, but the rule…
Ravelry, a crochet and knitting social site, has implemented a No Trump Support ban because We cannot provide a space that is inclusive of all and also allow support for open white supremacy. Support of the Trump administration is undeniably support for white supremacy. Let’s leave aside for a moment that it is absolute insanity to seriously equate President Trump with white supremacy; this is in no way factually correct and is, in fact, a delusion of the left. No, wait….
I was noodling around on Facebook today when I saw a link to an article from the Associated Press, “Only black reporters allowed in Georgia mayoral race event.” The AP is one of the less biased sources of news out there, possibly because it’s the source for many other news media, so I’m inclined to take the piece at face value. So here’s what happened: Last night, a bunch of people (all black, from the way the article reads) went…
The year in books is off to a slow if interesting start, beginning with some short stories. “The Endless Lives of Kama” by William Delman at Daily Science Fiction explores the consequences of prescience. It can be enjoyed with or without pondering the deeper layers within the story, but those who enjoy oracle type stories will surely delve more deeply. “ILU-486” by Amanda Ching is predicated on the notion that there is a war on women coming from the right. Don’t…
Futurity recently published an article by Angie Hunt called “The case for teaching students to question ‘classic literature’” which discusses research by Jeanne Dyches into the way literature is selected and taught in high school classrooms. Dyches’ research involved asking a high school literature class to “[review] more than a century’s worth of national studies on the titles most commonly taught, national and local standards for recommended readings, as well as local and state curriculum policies.” Her “findings” include an increase…
Someone once told me, “Say what you mean and mean what you say.” It’s a bit cliched, yes, but it’s a maxim I try to follow, particularly because I’m a writer and words are, in many ways, my life. In today’s world, that level of sincerity is sorely lacking. I hear it every time I’m out in public. People say things they don’t necessarily mean, words that more often reflect societal values or expectations rather than a genuine belief or…
Cory Doctorow wants to save the world. I just finished reading Makers, Doctorow’s (fictional) treatise on the entrepreneurial spirit and the effects of a free (ish) market in a microcosm, or rather, the effects of the entrepreneurial spirit when said spirit ignores the “rules” imposed by outside forces. If you haven’t read this surprisingly addictive narrative, I highly recommend it. It’s a good story, after all, full of love and friendship and enough business and gadget ideas to float the…