(1) SHE WAS ON WHAT KIND OF TRIP? The Mirror knows we can’t resist looking: “Woman ‘photobombed by alien’ during selfie on passenger jet on business trip”.
A woman has posted a selfie taken on a plane in which she claims she was photobombed – by an alien.
Olesya Podkorytov from the city of Kurgan in south-central Russia’s Kurgan Oblast region said she took the picture during the flight on a whim but when she posted it on social media friends pointed out something strange a few seats behind.
(2) BEFORE THERE WERE FOREHEAD CLOTHS. Movie bracket maven Hampus Eckerman pointed to this LA Times story, “’Young Frankenstein’ has new life on 40th anniversary”.
Director Mel Brooks spent a lot of money on white handkerchiefs while making his 1974 tour de farce, “Young Frankenstein.”
“I gave everybody in the crew a white handkerchief,” said the 88-year-old comedy legend during a recent phone interview. “I said, ‘When you feel like laughing, put this in your mouth.’ Every once in a while, I’d turn around and see a sea of white handkerchiefs, and I said, ‘I got a hit.'”
“Young Frankenstein” was more than a hit. It is a comic masterpiece.
(3) ‘TWAS CHITTY. Joined by Conan O’Brian, Dick Van Dyke and his a capella group, The Vantastix, sing the title song from his 1968 movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Van Dyke recently turned 90 but he can still belt out a tune.
(4) THE TRANSOM IS SHUT. Tor.com will no longer consider unsolicited short fiction submissions effective January 7, 2016 reports Locus Online.
(5) C. S. LEWIS. Matthew David Surridge is doing a read-through of C.S. Lewis works at Black Gate. The first two parts are —
“Wandering the Worlds of C.S. Lewis, Part I: Boxen”
I have read some, though far from all, of Lewis’ non-fiction; I intend to talk about it only insofar as I see a bearing on his fiction. I’m interested in seeing what images, tones, ideas, and approaches unite a fairly disparate corpus of writing. I want to see how Lewis’ approach to storytelling developed over his life, and how motifs and themes recurred in his work. I hope that by doing this I’ll better understand his individual books. At any rate, I’ll begin here with a look at Lewis’ published juvenilia…
“Wandering the Worlds of C.S. Lewis, Part II: Spirits in Bondage”
Today, I want to go through Lewis’ first book, a collection of lyric poems called Spirits in Bondage, published in 1919 when Lewis was still an atheist.
Yesterday I quoted Lewis’ judgement in his 1955 autobiography Surprised by Joy that the Boxen tales are novelistic and not poetic. If that’s so, what did the older Lewis think about the poetry he wrote in his youth? Did he find wonder and romance in the verse of Spirits in Bondage and Dymer? Hard to judge. Lewis doesn’t mention either volume in Surprised by Joy. Which strikes me as a little odd.
(6) CAREER GUIDANCE. David Gerrold responded on Facebook to Dr. Mauser (thought not actually by name). Between his very funny lines about being a so-called internet blowhard and his thoroughly serious rebuttal comes good advice for writers about dealing with controversy.
1) Never never never never never get into feuds. Whatever credibility you might have, you are automatically lending it to anyone you feud with because you are implying they are of equal validity, when most of the time they are not. People who enjoy feuds are automatically downgrading their credibility.
2) If you must respond, focus solely on the issue. Do not get into any personal remarks of any kind. Discuss issues only, not personalities. (This is because everyone has issues, not everyone has a personality.)
3) Never vilify a whole class or group of people — this generalization assumes that everyone in that class or group thinks and acts alike, that they are a monolithic army of clones. They are not. (I have stumbled here, more than once, and have now learned this lesson very well.)
And finally,
4) Always demand evidence.
(7) COMICS HUGO. George R.R. Martin has “More Hugo Ruminations” at Not A Blog.
I really don’t think we needed to add a Graphic Story category to the Hugo Awards. Comics have their own awards, the Eisners, they don’t need the Hugo too. Besides, most SF fans do not follow comics closely enough to make informed judgements in this area.
That being said, however, I have to concede that the fans did pretty damned well nominating in this category last year. SAGA was the only one of the finalists that I had actually heard of before Sasquan announced last year’s ballot… but I dutifully read all the others before I voted, and for the most part, I was impressed (okay, not by the Puppy nominee, which was several notches below the other four)… especially by MS. MARVEL, a whole new take on the character (actually a whole new character with an old name), a charming new addition to the Marvel universe, and the eventual winner.
So… I still don’t love Graphic Novel as a Hugo category, but it exists, and those who follow the field more closely than me should nominate Good Stuff here again, and maybe I’ll have more comic books to discover and delight in when the final ballot comes out.
Meanwhile, I do have one truly outstanding graphic novel to suggest… I am not totally disconnected from the world of comics, y’see… and that’s a book called THE SCULPTOR, by Scott McCloud….
(8) TOWERING TRAILER. The movie High-Rise is based on a J.G. Ballard novel.
(9) Today In History
- December 21, 1963 – This is the annual International Dalek Remembrance Day, in honor of the first day that Daleks appeared on Doctor Who in 1963.
Doctor Who fans may not be surprised to discover that those forceful characters the Daleks appear to be the only one of the Doctor’s enemies to have been given their own celebratory day. Dalek Day is held on 21st December each year. This date was chosen to commemorate the anniversary of the Daleks because they made their first TV appearance in Doctor Who on 21st December 1963. The official title of Dalek Day is the International Dalek Remembrance Day. There does not appear to be any regular organised celebrations each year to commemorate Dalek Day and it is unclear whether Dalek supporters meet or actually even dress up in Dalek costumes. Many of their fans appear to celebrate Dalek Day at home by having a Doctor Who marathon and watching again their favourite episodes with the Daleks battling against the Doctor.
- December 21, 1937 — Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length animated feature film, opened in Los Angeles.
- December 21, 1984 – Don’t Open ‘Till Christmas opens slightly before Christmas.
(10) NO ROOM IN THE FUTURE FOR RANDY GARRETT. The Traveler at Galactic Journey reviews the January 1961 Analog in a manner that makes a reader wonder if this blog theme is a good fit for somebody who hates a prolific author for the most popular prozine of its time. Not because The Traveler ought to like something he doesn’t, but who’s going to want to hear about it every month?
Thus, it is too early to tell whether or not Analog is ever going to pull itself out of its literary doldrums. I had such high hopes after December’s issue; January’s has dashed them.
It doesn’t help that Randall Garrett is still one of Campbell’s favorite writers. I’m not sure if Garrett’s stories are lousy because Campbell tells Garrett what he should write, or if they’re lousy because Garrett writes what he knows Campbell will take. Or maybe Garrett and Campbell independently share awful taste. In any event, the long long lead novella, The Highest Treason, is a one-star drek-fest if ever there was one.
(11) TIX FOR RADIO PERFORMANCE OF WYNDHAM. Tickets are available to attend a live recording of John Wyndham’s The Kraken Wakes by BBC4 with the BBC Philharmonic. The event will be Friday, January 8, 2016 at MediaCityUK in Salford. Ticket applications are open until December 27.
Join the BBC Philharmonic and BBC Radio 4 for radio drama, The Kraken Wakes. This modern retelling of John Wyndham’s 1953 apocalyptic novel, is adapted by crime writer and dramatist Val McDermid and stars Tamsin Greig, Paul Higgins and Richard Harrington.
This is a rare chance to see a radio drama recorded for Radio 4 with a live orchestral accompaniment from the BBC Philharmonic.
Composer Alan Edward Williams has created a brand new orchestral score that will ‘play the part’ of the great sea monster during the performance.
The Kraken Wakes will be recorded as a live performance in two parts. The drama will then be broadcast later in the year on BBC Radio 4.
(12) CLASSIC RADIO SF. Open Culture helps you “Hear 6 Classic Philip K. Dick Stories Adapted as Vintage Radio Plays”.
As you can probably tell if you’ve interacted with any of his hard-core fans, the science fiction of Philip K. Dick has a way of getting into readers’ heads. What better way to adapt it, then, than in the medium of radio drama, with its direct route into the head through the ears? Science fiction in general provided radio drama with a good deal of bread-and-butter subject matter since pretty much its inception, and suitably so: its producers didn’t have to bother designing distant worlds, alien races and elaborately futuristic technologies when, with the right sound design, the listeners would design it all themselves in their imaginations.
From the series Mind Webs, which ran on Wisconsin public radio, “The Preserving Machine,” “Impostor,” and “The Builder.” From X Minus One, “Colony” and “The Defenders.”From Sci-Fi Radio, “Sales Pitch.”
(13) FRANCHISE SF. The Documentary, on BBC’s World Service, has posted its 56-minute feature “Homer, Hagrid and the Incredible Hulk”.
Ben Hammersley meets creators and fans to investigate how extended fictional universes, from Star Wars and Harry Potter to Game of Thrones, took over global culture. He examines the huge financial success of the world’s biggest franchises, and argues that their stories – the identity of Luke Skywalker’s father, for example – have become common cultural touchstones around the world.
To understand how these expansive fictional universes are created and maintained, Ben visits professor Dumbledore’s office to talk to Stuart Craig, production designer on the Harry Potter films. He goes to Los Angeles to meet Lauren Faust, creator of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. And, he travels to San Diego Comic Con where he discusses a number of different universes with Marc Zicree, writer on numerous film and TV series, including Star Trek.
Ben also speaks to authors Robin Hobb and Warren Ellis, and to Axel Alonso and Ryan Penagos from Marvel. He hears from numerous fans, including Game of Thrones super-fans Linda Antonsson and Elio Garcia about the joys of fandom.
(14) NON-REALISTIC SF ART. Joachim Boaz’ “Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: Jack Gaughan’s Covers For Walker & Co. (1969-1970)” revisits covers of books I remember borrowing from the library when I was in high school.
Some famous novels are graced by his covers: James Blish’s A Case of Conscience (1958), Stanislaw Lem’s Solaris (1961), Silverberg’s Nightwings (1968), Ursula Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness (1969), and Norman Spinrad’s Bug Jack Barron (1969).
Titles in this art sequence without suitable images online: A Gift from Earth (1968), Re-Birth (1955), All Judgement Fled (1968), Trouble with Lichen (1960), The Midwich Cuckoos (1957).
(15) MAGIC NUMBER. Obviously I must mention something titled “Five for 2015: 5 TV Characters of the Year”, Jon Morgan’s post on Pornokitsch. Under discussion are Agent Carter, Phyrne Fisher, Jessica Jones, Kimmy Schmidt and Cat Grant.
(16) HE SLEIGHS ME. At Whatever, John Scalzi has an “Interview With Santa’s Reindeer Wrangler”.
Q: We could talk about that. I mean, the general violation of physics that goes on around the whole Santa’s sleigh thing.
A: Look, I don’t pretend to know the science of the flying sleigh thing, okay? That’s not my job. You can ask Santa’s physicists about it if you want.
Q: Santa has physicists on staff?
A: Of course he does. He’s one of the largest recruiters of physicists outside of NASA. What, you thought all this happened because of magic?
Q: Well, now that you mention it, yes. Yes, I did.
(17) MALCONTENT WARNING. Darth Santa…. Great production values for a video whose humor may leave you a little ill. Or laughing your ass off, depending on what meds you’ve taken today.
[Thanks to John King Tarpinian, Nigel, Martin Morse Wooster, and Andrew Porter for some of these stories. Title credit goes to File 770 contributing editor of the day redheadedfemme.]
Discover more from File 770
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.
Carolyn Crane’s Disillusionists trilogy is so much fun.
And on that note, I am off to see the new Star Wars movie.
I was thinking of Questionable Content myself – on first glance it’s just a slice-of-life webcomic, but it actually appears to be set after a soft-takeoff Vinge Singularity.
Kyra –
Yeah sorry. I meant I can think of more Urban Fantasy works written by women. Urban city settings typically based in the real world with fantasy creatures or magical elements as a part of the story rather than the setting of it. (Seanan McGuire, Kim Harrison, Laurell K Hamilton, etc).
On the flip side Fantasy books that are setting in different worlds with magic and dragons but feature a more of an urban theme, like ex-junkie detective or band of con artists, I can think of more male authors.
Wizards and werewolves in New York versus junkies and criminals in Middle Earth.
Meredith –
Pretty much, only I was much clumsier about how I worded it. Wasn’t meant to be a factual observation or anything, just an anecdotal observation that came to mind when I was writing my original response.
I just read the new T. Kingfisher story, linked upthread. It’s peculiar, and beautiful, and chilling.
You are a bad, bad person and I am glad to know you.
Blessedly, Randy is not all that gets published in Analog! The December 1960 issue was very good.
And, strangely, I *like* the work he does with Laurence Janifer and Bob Silverberg. It’s just his solo work that I find so execrable.
Is Analog the most popular prozine? F&SF has won the Hugo several years running:
http://galacticjourney.org/?tag=worldcon
@Jon
Right, still my impulse was to explain Jacques can do SF as well. It starts as early as strip 2 with a bored Pintsize.
And now I know there’s a usable Wikia for it.
Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen features a thief as the protagonist, the setting isn’t urban insofar as that sub genre usually takes place in a recognisable city past or present or early future; it’s the first in the series and is compulsively readable.
Veronica Schwarb’s A Darker Shade of Magic also features a thief as a protagonist, set in Londons unlike any I would recognise; again, this is the first in the series and I will certainly carry on with this series as well.
I wouldn’t classify either of them as urban fantasy.
If people want a good SF comic, when I last left it(I tend to binge read comics oncw or twice a year) Quantum Vibe was showing promise.
> “Wizards and werewolves in New York versus junkies and criminals in Middle Earth.”
Ah, got it. Hm, I’m not sure I like a division that leaves out a quintessential crime-family series like Holly Black’s Curse Workers books, though — I’d tend to divvy it up more by plot/characters than setting.
Still, if secondary-world crime stories by women are the question, there’s definitely Leigh Bardugo’s recent, and very popular, Six Of Crows. I wouldn’t personally recommend it because I didn’t like it, but it’s very much a classic heist plot.
And I feel certain Tanith Lee has to have written something that counts. Some part of The Secret Books of Paradys, maybe?
Hmm … Melissa Scott has plenty of books with criminal protagonists and plenty of secondary world fantasies, but I’m not sure she’s ever done both at once.
Jon Zeigler, Sanddorn: I rather feel that the SF element in QC is one of its least successful aspects. The status of the AI’s has had to be retconned a couple of times, and even now it doesn’t work perfectly. Jacques is clearly using them as an analogue for discriminated-against groups in the real world, but since this is a post-singularity society they are actually more powerful than the humans, which makes this hard to sustain.
Re QC. Of course Jacques now has two explicitly SF webcomics as well: the post-Singularity Alice Grove, and the post-post-Singularity gag strip DORD.
For magic-flavored heist stories, I liked Premonitions by Jamie Schultz. And I see that book 2 came out while I was distracted.
Rev Bob Top of my list would be Jennifer Estep’s “Elemental Assassin” books. The protagonist used to use her magical abilities as a hit woman, but now she’s more of a vigilante.
I like this series a lot. An auto-buy for me. I haven’t like her other two series as much although they are still good. She’s fun on Twitter also.
I do notice unless specific request for YA/UF/PNR request here do seem to be met more frequently with books written by men. Although I have noticed an if someone recommends a woman more women are mentioned going forward. I think it’s an unconscious bias at work.
Simon Bisson: Yes indeed. (I suppose all three series could be set in the same universe.) I intend to nominate Alice Grove, and if I have a blank space I may nominate DORD, though that would be stretching the concept of ‘story’.
Quantum Vibe! I read a bunch of it, lost the bookmark and forgot the title. Thanks for the link, tintinaus.
I just got my comixology copy of The Secret Loves of Geek Girls. Edited by Hope Nicholson. From what I’ve seen so far this will go on my ballot as either Related Work or Graphic (I’m not sure where it goes). Availabile on Amazon and I’m sure elsewhere.
It was Kickstartered. Info:
Secret Loves of Geek Girls is an exciting new nonfiction anthology of comic and prose stories from women in fandom. All the stories in this collection revolve around personal experiences and thoughts on romance, sex, and dating.
The Secret Loves of Geek Girls is a celebration of the stories we tell each other but never make public —until now.
The Secret Loves of Geek Girls includes:
* Cover Art by Gisèle Lagacé & Shouri
* Art by Renee Nault, Jen Bartel, Sanya Anwar, and Kristen Gudsnuk.
* New comics by: Margaret Atwood, Meaghan Carter, Megan Kearney, ALB, Jen Vaughn, Meags Fitzgerald, Gillan G., Diana Nock, Roberta Gregory, Laura Neubert, Sarah Winifred Searle, Natalie Smith, Jenn Woodall, Mariko Tamaki/Fiona Smyth, Irene Koh, Fionna Adams/Jen Vaughn, and Annie Mok.
* Illustrated stories by: Kate Leth, Janet Hetherington, Sam Maggs/Selena Goulding, Megan Lavey-Heaton/Isabelle Melançon, Cherelle Ann Sarah Higgins/Rachael Wells, and Stephanie Cooke/Deena Pagliarello.
* Text stories by Brandy Lynn, Diana McCallum, Jen Aprahamian, Katie West, Adrienne Kress, Soha Kareem, Loretta Jean, J.M. Frey, Trina Robbins, Twiggy Tallant, Rachel Deering, Hope Nicholson, Crystal Skillman, Marguerite Bennett, Soraya Roberts, Emma Woolley, Gita Jackson, Renee Nejo, Natalie Zina Walschots, Alicia Contestabile, Tini Howard, Cara Ellison, Jessica Oliver Proulx, and Erin Cossar.
*Reprinted comics by: Gisèle Lagacé and Danielle Corsetto.
Galactic Journey: While Astounding/Analog didn’t always win the Hugo Award, it had the largest circulation of any prozine in the 1960s.
I can’t find comparable info online just this moment although I suspect it’s out there, however, in a 1970s issue of Science Fiction Review someone tabulated the circulation statements that magazines had to publish annually to keep their second-class mailing privileges.
Thank you for the links to my C.S. Lewis pieces!
If people are looking for secondary-world fantasies about woman criminals, I remember a book from the 1980s I thought was pretty fun, about a woman coming to a fantasy city and joining the Thieves’ Guild. I believe it was called God Stalk, by P.C. Hodgell …
Well, if he’d wanted me to see it, he would have had to unblock me.
Of course, I didn’t specifically call him “An internet blowhard” (I guess that explains the search term cropping up in the WordPress stats). I said that if you consider him one, then calling the cops on something he said is an overreaction.
Can we all agree that calling the cops over nasty things said on the Internet is a dumb move?
Can we not also agree that if one does such a dumb thing, apologizing and retracting the complaint, etc. is the proper thing to do?
Should we not encourage people to do the right thing when they screw up?
Really, does anyone disagree with these three points?
Dr. Mauser: Can we all agree that calling the cops over nasty things said on the Internet is a dumb move? Can we not also agree that if one does such a dumb thing, apologizing and retracting the complaint, etc. is the proper thing to do? Should we not encourage people to do the right thing when they screw up? Really, does anyone disagree with these three points?
Can we all agree that apologizing for bad behavior one has bragged about only after a huge uproar occurs does not make one noble?
Can we all agree that recanting and going back to bad behavior after only three weeks makes one’s apology look incredibly ungenuine?
Can we all agree that publicly posting a private e-mail and adding contact information for the person who wrote it, knowing what sort of abuse and harassment that person will receive, is utterly unacceptable?
Really, does anyone disagree with these three points?
@Matthew David Surridge:
Flawless victory.
I don’t think people do disagree with those three points. However, people tend to also think:
* Poor behavior, even followed by an apology/retraction, should not necessarily be consequence free.
* Poor behavior, followed by an apology, that is then followed by further ill judged behavior tends to undermine the effectiveness of the apology.
* People defending the person who engaged in poor behavior, don’t do that person any favors but instead remind everybody about how poorly a person behaved.
So, yes Antonelli apologized and retracted and many people here noted his apology positively e.g. https://file770.com/?p=24256&cpage=2#comment-315213
but it was also reasonable of people to be concerned about the pattern of behavior. I think it was also reasonable of Carrie Cuinn not to want her publication to be associated with Antonelli and to communicate that to him privately (notably before his apology). I don’t think Antonelli’s behavior after that did him any favors at all.
I’m also not sure of what you are attempting to do with raising the issue again. I don’t think it helps Lou Antonelli much.
Gah. Ticky!
My apologies if someone has already called attention to this:
Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs Sequel Is A Go — The Schwartz Awakens Posters Spoof The Force Awakens
@Mike You are correct, according to this source. Fascinating! It has been (to my mind), consistently the least of the Big Three. At least since I started reading all three regularly since 1954.
But, as I point out in my column, it’s too early to tell if that trend is shifting…
Yes
Yes but retracting the retraction makes the original retraction moot.
Yes but they must follow through and change their behavior or keep promises they make as part of the apology
Here is something we use in our household and I try to use all the time:
Proper apology consists of the following
1. I’m sorry for… (Specific what you did wrong)
2. This is/was wrong because… (Stating clearly why you were wrong no excuses)
3. In the future I will… (This is a real plan)
4. Please forgive me?
Followed by an actual change in behavior which shows your sincerity and you recognize what you did was wrong. In some cases this requires getting help/counseling, taking a break from the Internet, changing friends, reading books, cutting back/out alcohol/drug use, self-help books, anger management classes, etc. Change is not easy. Sincere apologies frequently require accepting one has to change.
Saying I’m sorry is a start not the end.
For reasons, I just re-read the comment thread to https://file770.com/?p=24256 (aka Lou Antonelli’s BOLO Story) and I’d forgotten that it diverted into the vexed issue of how to verify Nick Mamamatas’s abilities in martial arts and whether pseudonymous people own dogs.
@Camestros: whether pseudonymous people own dogs.
Well of course they do, but the dogs also go by pseudonyms.
@ Ultragotha:
No, I have not. Sounds interesting. Must keep an eye out.
Currently working my way through (AGAIN) about 60 BBC radio dramatizations of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Done in (I think?) the 1980s, featuring Clive Merrison as Sherlock Holmes (fantastic vocal casting!) and Michael Williams as Dr. Watson (Williams, who had a long career, is the late husband of Dame Judi Dench). Really well done adaptations.
I hate to cause trouble, but no. No I’m afraid we cannot all agree on that.
If by “nasty things said on the internet” we are including online threats to show up at a specific place with specific guns and shoot dead a specific number of people, as was threatened recently to an institution I have family at, then yes, I think calling the cops is and was a reasonable response.
Calling the cops for anything less serious than death threats? Probably a waste of the cops’ time.
Petty personal vendettas? Yeah, definitely a waste of the cops’ time.
But agreeing it’s always a dumb move? I can’t support that as an absolute rule, sorry.
We’re out of the heats and into the third round of the Science Fiction Movie Bracket which of course means, somewhat paradoxically, that things are hotting up. Hardly a single contender that I could point to as a likely loser, although of course some are facing the heavy weights of the competition like The Empire Strikes Back. I can’t wait to see the results of this one, especially since Hampus’ write-ups are always so good. 🙂
The current Humble Books Bundle has some quite good comics in it, including the Lumberjanes.
Amazon UK ebook sales:
The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi
Anderson Lake is a company man, working undercover as a factory manager while he searches Bangkok’s street markets for foodstuffs thought extinct. There he meets the beautiful windup girl Emiko, engineered and bred to suit the whims of the rich and now abandoned in a future where oil has run out.
Consider Phlebas, by Iain M. Banks
Culture series book 1
Blood Song, by Anthony Ryan
Vaelin Al Sorna is the Sixth Order’s newest recruit, and under their brutal training regime he is forged into a weapon in the name of protecting the Realm and the Faith. War is coming.
What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions, by Randall Munroe
Explanations for everything from the odds of meeting your one true soulmate to how many humans a rampaging T-Rex would need to eat a day.
Ack-Ack Macaque, by Gareth L. Powell
In 1944, as waves of German ninjas parachute into Kent, Britain’s best hopes for victory lie with a Spitfire pilot codenamed Ack-Ack Macaque. The trouble is, Ack-Ack Macaque is a cynical, one-eyed, cigar-chomping monkey and he’s starting to doubt everything, including his own existence.
The Traitor (also known as The Traitor Baru Cormorant), by Seth Dickinson
This has a smaller discount than I usually share (17%), but since it’s a 2015 publication that has had some good press around here I thought I’d best list it anyway. Baru Cormorant believes any price is worth paying to liberate her people – even her soul.
Touchstone, by Melanie Rawn
Cayden is part Elven, part Fae, part human Wizard. His mother wants him to follow his father to the Royal Court to make a living off the scraps of kinda, but Cade likes the theatre.
TashaTurner, that sounds pretty much exactly what I’d written in my “Elements of an apology” post. Although I’m not sure where this “Retraction of a Retraction” comes in. And I notice everyone is quick to bring up Lou’s other sins, which I did not mention, nor excuse. The point of that posting was not excusing Lou, as some folks have misinterpreted it to be, but to address the other crap that happened around it. For example, how even though Gerrold accepted the apology, along with the Sasquan ConCom, other people refused to, even though they were not the offended parties.
I didn’t name Carrie Cuinn (as Camestros did above) or any of the more bloodthirsty commenters on the Sasquan announcement because I didn’t want anyone going after them (Kind of a damned if you do, damned if you don’t, I am learning, as some demand you name names, so they can attack you for naming names, or discredit you for not, even though everyone knows them already). And my only point about Cuinn is that if she’d waited long enough to hear Gerrold’s acceptance instead of rushing to be the first to act, she could have avoided all the headaches.
In any case, the whole reformative effort of the humbling apology was rather blunted by the actions of the third parties, and THAT’S what the article is decrying, because if this is what someone is going to get when they try to make amends, they’re just going to dig in their heels and say “Why bother?” instead. The lack of civility has widened the divide in fandom and hardened the positions. And if people thought the events of the Hugo Award ceremonies would shut down the other side, well, no, now you’ve got another Sad Puppies campaign.
And the whole fandom is going to get back on the same treadmill of hate, and nobody’s going to compromise or apologize because we’ve all seen how that gets treated. As I said, in a civilized world, the apology and acceptance would have been the end of that issue, But no, this is Fandom, and we don’t do things that way.
It seems I missed a day or two of shenanigans and Star Wars discussion.
I’m in Florida with the family (spouse-enforced vacation every few years). We got to watch the Falcon 9 go up and, far more importantly, come back down.
Christmas Day, we go to Kennedy Space Center. They will have to chase me out of there with a hose.
Peace: Perfectly reasonable, which is why when I originally wrote it, it was in the form of “If you think [the speaker] is an internet blowhard…” Because as you rightly point out, if they’re not a blowhard, if they are serious, then yes, calling the cops would be appropriate.
Of course, 99.99% of the death threats on the internet are the purest of BS. It’s that 0.01% you need to watch out for.
Although who knows, if those blowhards got visits from the cops, maybe there would be a lot fewer death threats on the internet.
because if this is what someone is going to get when they try to make amends, they’re just going to dig in their heels and say “Why bother?” instead.
One does not apologize to “get” something in return. One apologizes because one has done something wrong. If one’s apology is derailed because the other party (or even third parties) aren’t reacting the way you want them to, it wasn’t really an apology.
GOD STALK !
Well, as the main conspirator behind the Graphic Story Hugo Award, I’m a little weirded out by Mr. Martin’s comments regarding it. But I am just as chuffed that he took time out to make a recommendation.
Happy Holidays,
Chris M. Barkley
A question for Filers: what would you recommend for a generally non-fantasy reader who did like the Gentleman Bastard series?
You could always haul out Dorothy Dunnett’s Lymond books if they really want to dive in the deep end.
She also wrote a series of mysteries involving a portrait painter/undercover agent with a yacht. Same mouthy type as Lymond, though. (The US titles tend to be ‘Dolly and the ___ Bird’. Dolly is the yacht.)
It is amazing the number of polite apologies I have seen on File 770 when people have made errors or trod on toes or said something hurtful. Honest apologies are very helpful for soothing social discord.
But an apology has to be honest. If someone has done something awful and apologized for it, they are not *owed* forgiveness. An apology is a recognition that forgiveness is entirely in the hands of the offended parties. An honest apology never demands forgiveness or throws a tantrum if it doesn’t get it.
An honest apology is never about soothing the feelings of the *offender*.
Dr. Mauser: For example, how even though Gerrold accepted the apology, along with the Sasquan ConCom, other people refused to, even though they were not the offended parties.
You are wrong. Anyone who was going to Sasquan has the right to feel like an “offended party”: because Antonelli’s letter to the Spokane PD had the effect of heightening police awareness and concern about the convention, increasing the possibility of a reaction where one was not required, or an overreaction where one was required — thus putting all convention attendees at risk.
This continued insistence that Gerrold is the only one Antonelli caused harm to is ridiculous.
Dr. Mauser: And my only point about Cuinn is that if she’d waited long enough to hear Gerrold’s acceptance instead of rushing to be the first to act
Why are you assuming that she would have acted differently if she’d waited until after Gerrold accepted Antonelli’s apology? Her decision was based on Lou’s actions, not on whether Gerrold forgave him.
Dr. Mauser: she could have avoided all the headaches.
RIGHT THERE — You just blamed her, right there, for Antonelli’s actions. That is despicable. If Antonelli had not publicly posted her private e-mail and her contact information, there wouldn’t have been any “headaches” for her. Your victim-blaming is disgusting.
Dr. Mauser: if this is what someone is going to get when they try to make amends, they’re just going to dig in their heels and say “Why bother?” instead.
People don’t apologize for what they will get in return. They apologize because they did something wrong. The fact that Antonelli reverted to his bad behavior is completely on him, and not on anyone’s reaction to his previous bad behavior or to his apology.
And thank you Dr. Mauser. Welcome to the kill file. Nice to know I can occasionally figure out how to add another nuisance to the block list.
I guess it depends on why they liked the Gentleman Bastard series? I don’t think anyone’s recommended Kage Baker’s “The Anvil of the World”.
Good catch. That slipped right by me. Wow, that’s a nasty piece of rationalization.
Kyra –
And now I went from recommending books to having books to read 🙂
Matthew David Surridge –
I think I’ve heard of that before but I’m not sure where.
::tickbox::
Dr Mauser,
On top of what others have said, the Gerrold/Cuinn incidents were just the latest in a string of bad behaviour from him. I have only been reading File770 since April and I think the last two brought his tally to 5 since then.
Averaging 1 similar incident a month is not showing he had learned anything, and people are entirely right to judge his sincerity going forward.
I am glad you are a friend of his and standing by him, but part of a friendship is telling each other when they have done something stupid; not excusing and thus enabling further bad behaviour.
Actually, I hardly know the man, but watching the contortions people are going through over him is just mind boggling. Hate is overriding logic.
A typical fandom exercise.
I’m just pleading for people to stop being stupid to justify their partisan hate. It’s an uphill battle. Hate is WAY too much fun for some people here.
Oh, and I didn’t blame Cuinn for Antonelli’s actions, I blame her for bandwagoning with all the rest of the hate, and wanting to be seen as doing the “right” thing, and acting to “Punish” Lou by breaking their contract. Entirely her decision. (And it’s not like she couldn’t have known Lou’s reputation beforehand).
And I am in no way endorsing the assholes who attacked her (They could have easily found out how to contact her regardless of Lou’s post containing breadcrumbs – He did not post her e-mail), nor have I excused Lou for making that post. He may have positioned it as a “Lesson he learned for making that stupid mistake” but it’s clear he was complaining about his treatment.
As for apologizing to get something, sheesh, one apologizes to get forgiveness, because you sure as hell don’t get it if you don’t.
Since we were name-checked in the original post defending Antonelli, I think I would like to point out that a month or two before we knew about his attempt to attack Gerrold via Authority (in the form of the police), Antonelli had tried to attack a Filer, Aaron, via Authority (in the form of Aaron’s employer). That worked roughly as well as the attempt against Gerrold did (not at all), but I think it should make it obvious why some Filers might have been reluctant to accept that Antonelli genuinely wished to change (and certainly the changes he said he was committing to haven’t materialised, so who is to say any of them were wrong about him?). He has form. It is only luck that so far the Authorities he has resorted to haven’t been inclined to listen to him; it is only luck that he hasn’t attacked someone more vulnerable to such efforts. I hope that his attempted attack on Cuinn via Internet Mob doesn’t represent a permanent addition to his unpleasant tendency to try and recruit people to act out his revenge fantasies.