Category Archives: Tornadoes in Teacups

Argumentatativiticiousnessity

Fear and Loathing at the Awards Table

Posted on June 28, 2011 by

As long as I’ve been paying attention to the pros in this business, I’ve been warned against giving too much credence to literature industry awards — of any sort. The systems used to bestow those awards are not perfect, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Advice, Tornadoes in Teacups | 31 Comments

Portlandia is comedy gold!

Posted on February 2, 2011 by

My wife alerted me to the fact we get IFC free for a month, and she did it by showing me Fred Armisen’s project, “Portlandia.” Honestly, I have not laughed so hard at a half-hour comedy program in many, many … Continue reading →

Posted in Tornadoes in Teacups | 6 Comments

Conservative SF discussed at Pajamas Media

Posted on January 27, 2011 by

My author buddy and Baen superstar Larry Correia pointed me to this: Is Science Fiction getting more conservative? I’ve spent a few posts on this blog discussing the decline of SF and how this decline is perhaps due to the … Continue reading →

Posted in General Science Fiction & Fantasy, Tornadoes in Teacups | 5 Comments

Violence and politics

Posted on January 9, 2011 by

I won’t comment much on what went down in Arizona yesterday, suffice to say that I’m not especially surprised. I spent most of my adult life living in one of the most liberal parts of the United States and now … Continue reading →

Posted in Tornadoes in Teacups | Leave a comment

The remarkable power of silence

Posted on October 22, 2010 by

I have to admit it. I do love a good verbal battle. A vigorous crossing of word-swords. Where you can hear the virtual cling! and clang! of the blows being meted out by intellectual pugilists locked in combat. Somehow this … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal Thoughts, Tornadoes in Teacups | 8 Comments

The anti-ists punish Elizabeth Moon and Juan Williams

Posted on October 22, 2010 by

ETA: Please check out this excellent news article on Elizabeth Moon’s disinvitation to Wiscon. Anyone with half a brain can see the parallels between Juan Williams’ firing from NPR, and the eviction of Elizabeth Moon from Wiscon. In both cases … Continue reading →

Posted in Tornadoes in Teacups | 5 Comments

Political Correctness jihadis evict Moon from Wiscon

Posted on October 21, 2010 by

ETA: more thoughts on the larger problem of “anti-ism” as it’s surfaced in our modern political and social discourse. What’s happened (happening?) to Moon and to Juan Williams is just symptomatic of a more troubling problem that has wider implications. … Continue reading →

Posted in Tornadoes in Teacups | 9 Comments

FaceRail 2010: Soap Opera, Oil Spill, and Cult

Posted on October 12, 2010 by

I have decided that the various “fail” events in Science Fiction are like daytime soap opera. The dialogue is purple and cheesy, people love one another one moment and hate one another the next, everything is waaaaay overly dramatic, everyone … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal Thoughts, Tornadoes in Teacups | 5 Comments

Science Fiction’s political failure 2: the rise of Political Correctness

Posted on October 11, 2010 by

ETA: it would appear Dave Truesdale beat me to the punch by at least 5 years. Click here to read his take on PC in the fanastic and the speculative. Ouch, Dave unloads with both barrels. I see also that … Continue reading →

Posted in General Science Fiction & Fantasy, Tornadoes in Teacups | 39 Comments

Science Fiction’s political failure is also its economic failure

Posted on September 27, 2010 by

Sometimes I feel as if American Science Fiction literature in the 21st century has become an island community. With novel sales dropping yearly and almost all of the short SF markets operating as subsidy programs, many SF readers, writers, and … Continue reading →

Posted in General Science Fiction & Fantasy, Tornadoes in Teacups | 13 Comments