We Write!
I was watching the epic melt-down on twitter, with some bemusement. Oh, there is a fair amount of 'why would I care?' It was never my playground, and probably never will be (I am davefreersf for what it is worth). But seriously, 'if you don't like what someone says, block them', seemed fairly intuitive to... Continue Reading →
I recently came across a series of tweets by Sergej Sumlenny, discussing how Russia had used books, as well as other entertainment media, to prepare its citizens for war in general, prior to its invasion of Ukraine. Here's an excerpt from Threadreader's aggregation of the tweets. Let's start a long thread about how Russian book... Continue Reading →
The image of the starving artist/writer/musician in the garret has existed for a long, long time. So has the fact, in many cases. In many cases, too, at the same time as producing books or art or music that endured and is loved by millions. In sf, H Beam Piper springs to mind, but the... Continue Reading →
I'd like to highlight five news reports from the past couple of weeks that have a direct or indirect bearing on us as writers (and readers, of course). First, the Electronic Frontier Foundation reports on an interesting development where technology runs headlong into copyright law. Dymo’s latest generation of desktop label printers use RFID chips... Continue Reading →
It seems that anti-Semitic prejudice is impacting the publishing world, particularly in Europe, but here in the USA as well. The publishing world today is extremely woke. And woke-approved manuscripts on Jewish themes must now pass a simple purity test: Thou shalt not portray Israel or Zionism in a positive light. American novelist and former... Continue Reading →
I was struck by the words of Twitter's new CEO, Parag Agrawal, in a 2020 interview with Technology Review. Our role is to serve a healthy public conversation and our moves are reflective of things that we believe lead to a healthier public conversation. The kinds of things that we do about this is, focus... Continue Reading →
I have no problem with parents deciding for themselves - and for their families - what they consider morally and ethically correct, appropriate and normative. That's their job. My wife and I have our own standards, which are not shared by all of our friends, but all of us respect each other's different points of... Continue Reading →
Fred Reed asks some pointed questions about censorship, and how it's been outsourced from "officialdom" to private companies. Here's an excerpt. Governments never like freedom of expression. In America, though, there was the First Amendment to which ritual obeisance need be paid. How to prevent expression of Bad Thought? The answer was to have private... Continue Reading →
Dorothy and I are enjoying a convention weekend - not the usual literary conventions, which have been disrupted by COVID-19 since early last year, but a small local con that was the inspiration of fellow author, blogger and friend J. L. Curtis (a.k.a. Old NFO). In April last year he organized the first Foolzcon, named... Continue Reading →
... and mainstream publishing has already done much the same thing to the authors it publishes. Now Amazon has decided it can stop the sale of books that don't fit its politically correct criteria. Can this be on the horizon for author-published books as well? Well-known independent journalist Matt Taibbi analyzes the purge of non-PC... Continue Reading →
Mad Genius Club 