(1) CHRIS GARCIA LOOKING FOR MATERIAL. And not for just any old zine — Chris is bringing back The Drink Tank, the 2011 Best Fanzine Hugo winner that he had retired after 400 issues. Here are the themes of his next two issues —
I wanted to get a call out to folks that I need article/art/stuff! I’ve got two themes working, Heavy Metal Music (co-edited with Doug Berry) with a May 10th deadline, and the 1980s (co-edited with Alissa McKersie) with a July 1st deadline. [email protected] is where folks can send stuff!
(2) NEW CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT FOR SPACE SCIENCE. The Planetary Society sent the news to members: “Announcing the Planetary Science Congressional Caucus”.
I’m excited to share with you a major step forward for the support of space exploration in the U.S. Congress: the official formation of the new Planetary Science Caucus.
A caucus is a formal interest group made up of members of Congress. Having a caucus allows legislators form new relationships and organize a core voting block of political support for an important issue, in this case, planetary science and space exploration.
According the caucus’ official charter, its goals are to:
- “Find life in our lifetimes,” by advancing federal policies that support the search for life in our solar system and beyond.
- Raise awareness of the benefits to the U.S. economy and industrial base resulting from federal investment in space science, technology, exploration, and STEM education.
- Support private industry, academic institutions, and nonprofits that support space science and exploration.
… The co-chairs of the caucus are Rep. John Culberson (R-TX) and Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA).
The Planetary Science Caucus will also be open to members of the Senate with Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) already signed up as original members.
Additional members in the House of Representatives include: Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA), Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL), Rep, Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA), Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL), Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-IL), Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-CT), Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA).
Bill Nye responds to the news in this video —
(3) THE CORBOMITE MANURE. A.V. Club warns “This may be the final frontier of obsessive Star Trek cataloging”.
Over the decades, fans of the Star Trek franchise have come to represent the prototypical obsessive sci-fi nerd. This is due, in large part, to Trekkers’ penchant for going beyond just an intimate knowledge of the show’s lore and characters, and delving into fastidious cataloging of alien species, uniform designs, ship schematics, and Riker beards. But now, we may have finally reached the final frontier of Star Trek cataloging with this exhaustive collection of “video errors” that appeared throughout the show.
Organized by blogger and Trek fan Ashley Blewer, Signal Loss is an ongoing project that’s attempting to map every scene where an audiovisual signal loss is being conveyed to the audience. This can occur when the crew is attempting to contact a planet or ship that’s in trouble, when some sort of virus is infecting the ship’s interface, or when someone gets stuck half-way through teleporting. Basically, if a character is looking at a glitchy screen, it’s going to be on this list.
(4) THE BOOM TIMES. John Clark’s memoir of chemistry in the developmental age of liquid propulsion, Ignition!, is being brought back into print. Ars Technica has the story: “The funniest, most accessible book on rocket science is being reissued”.
The dry wit with which he recounts these history lessons will be the bigger shock, for this is a truly funny read. He snipes about the US’ failure to use the metric system, grumbles about then-new computers in a way that would still be familiar today, and numerous anecdotes have reduced me to tears. (The story about an Admiral who wanted Clark’s Naval Air Rocket Test Section to drop a rat—sex not specified—into a 10,000-gallon tank of 90 percent hydrogen peroxide is a good one, as is the one about the rocket scientist sitting next to Scott Crossfield on an airplane.) That humor helps the accessibility, and as long as you remember some high school chemistry you shouldn’t have a problem with the science, either.
Clark is also a minor sf writer, with stories in the 1930s pre-Campbell Astounding.
(5) PICACIO BEGINS CHOOSING. John Picacio has started announcing recipients of the Mexicanx Initiative Worldcon memberships.
Proudly announcing the first wave of #TheMexicanxInitiative's Sponsored Guests, coming to @worldcon2018: @mdaviles1 @monorama @smokthedragon & @Mexicanity. #RepresentationMatters #Mexicanx #DREAMersAreAmericans #Coco pic.twitter.com/0UWvBaz3p1
— John Picacio (On Deadline Hiatus) (@JohnPicacio) January 29, 2018
Announcing #TheMexicanxInitiative's next four Sponsored @worldcon2018 Membership Recipients! Thrilled to have these amazing sf/f pros & fans joining us in San Jose this summer. More to be announced next week! @gavilla #Mexicanx pic.twitter.com/J5aZ5D7H9o
— John Picacio (On Deadline Hiatus) (@JohnPicacio) February 5, 2018
(6) CUSTOMER FEEDBACK. Are standards slipping here? A tweet from Damien G, Walter —
https://twitter.com/damiengwalter/status/960525803611078656
(7) NOT EASY BEING GREEN. Can a slate handpicked by Jon Del Arroz and friends impact the 2018 Hugo ballot? We’ll find out: “Happy Frogs OFFICIAL Hugo Awards Slate” [Internet Archive page].
The Hugo Awards Nominations are open, and the Happy Frogs board of trustees have worked tirelessly to bring you a slate of the best science fiction of 2017. Below are the nominees for your ballot consideration, to support making science fiction a fun, inclusive place again, the best of the year by far…
Daddy Warpig for Best Fan Writer?
(8) DEATH WILL NOT RELEASE YOU. From National Geographic: “Exclusive: Dinosaur-Era Bird Found Trapped in Amber”.
The squashed remains of a small bird that lived 99 million years ago have been found encased in a cloudy slab of amber from Myanmar (Burma). While previous birds found in Burmese amber have been more visually spectacular, none of them have contained as much of the skeleton as this juvenile, which features the back of the skull, most of the spine, the hips, and parts of one wing and leg. (Help us celebrate 2018 as the Year of the Bird.)
The newfound bird is also special because researchers can more clearly see the insides of the young prehistoric creature, says study co-author Ryan McKellar of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Regina, Canada.
…The team was lucky to acquire the bird for the Dexu Institute of Paleontology in Chaozhou, China. Birds in amber can sometimes sell for up to $500,000, putting them beyond the reach of scientists, says Xing, a paleontologist at the China University of Geosciences in Beijing.
(9) MAHONEY OBIT. Best known as the dad in Frasier, John Mahoney (1940-2018): British actor, died February 4, aged 77. Genre appearances include 3rd Rock from the Sun (one episode, 1996), Antz (voice, 1998) and The Iron Giant (voice, 1999). He also provided the voice of Preston Whitmore in the video games Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) and Atlantis: Milo’s Return (2003).
(10) COMICS SECTION.
- Mike Kennedy says, “So that’s what ‘A.I.’ means…” — Monty.
- Then he spotted “A cause for sleepless nights that some fans may recognize” in Pickles.
(11) MOORCOCK ON COMIC ADAPTATION. February 20, 2018, sees the next instalment of Titan’s Michael Moorcock Library series – The Chronicles of Corum Vol. 1 – The Knight Of Swords.
Hellboy creator and artist Mike Mignola, Batman artist Kelley Jones and Eisner award-winning writer Mike Baron bring Michael Moorcock’s timeless story of order versus chaos to vivid life in this brand-new hardcover collection.
To celebrate this exciting new edition to the Library series, Titan are releasing a special video interview with Michael Moorcock, where the acclaimed science fiction and fantasy author shares his thoughts on comic book adaptations of his best-selling novels.
(12) ELLISON STORE JOINS THE INTERNET. Tomorrow at noon Pacific time, Jason Davis launches HarlanEllisonBooks.com, taking the Ellisons’ long-time book business online.
Over the last few weeks, my tech-savvy associate Bo Nash has built the online store as a self-contained entity housed at HarlanEllisonBooks.com/shop. I’ve stocked the virtual shelves with items from the catalog of the Harlan Ellison Recording Collection (HERC), treasures from the bowels of the Lost Aztec Temple of Mars, and even a few items from the early days of HarlanEllisonBooks.com. Tomorrow, the store will open for business. For the moment, I’m manning the imaginary counter until we work out all the inevitable bugs; we beg your forgiveness for any infelicities you experience in your initial visits. Once all the bugs are worked out and I’ve streamlined the processes, I’ll hand off to Susan.
(13) NO MORE ELLISON AUTOGRAPHS. Davis also gave his mailing list a health update about the author.
AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FROM HARLAN
Harlan is retiring from the autograph game. Due to the lingering effects of the stroke he suffered several years ago, Harlan will no longer be signing books. As HE explained, “Though I’m left-handed, my right side is paralyzed from the stroke. When I sign, the effort to steady my hand becomes very exhausting, very quickly.” Harlan is not ruling out the possibility that continued physical therapy won’t improve the situation, but with ongoing interest in signed books via HERC and recent announcements of extremely limited signed editions from Subterranean Press, Harlan felt it was time to publicly address the matter.
(N.B. Though Harlan won’t be signing any books for the foreseeable future, signed items will be in the shop’s inventory at its launch, which is why we’re doing our best to make sure everyone—HERC members, HarlanEllisonBooks.com customers, and Kickstarter backers—is aware of the store before it goes online and the signed items sell out. My apologies if this is the third time you’ve read about the store.)
(14) VIDEO GAME CAREERS. At SyFy Wire, Tricia Ennis reports how “#GirlsBehindTheGames aims to inspire diversity in the video game industry”.
If you’ve been on Twitter in the last few days—especially if you spend any time in the gaming side of the site—then you’ve no doubt seen a brand-new hashtag popping up in your timeline. #GirlsBehindTheGames is a brand-new initiative aimed at inspiring young women to pursue careers in video game development by highlighting those women already making their mark on the industry.
Since January 25, women from all over the world, and from every facet of game development, have been using the hashtag to share their own stories and their work with the world, putting a few faces to some of the work that’s gone into our favorite games.
(15) ENGINES OF CHANGE. Daniel Dern advises, “Lady Augusta Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace (along with Chuck Babbage) gets some screen time in PBS’ Victoria Season 2. As do her (and other?) of their analytical engines, done up in lovely shiny metal.”
Here in the USA, the second season of Victoria premieres tonight on PBS with a double episode. In “The Green-Eyed Monster”, the emerging science of mechanical computation gains the attention of the palace early in the young queen’s reign. But it is Lady Augusta Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace, who gets center stage, not Babbage, even to the presentation of the analytical engine. Even though she serves the drama as the female object of the queen’s unwarranted jealousy, hers is a strong, positive portrayal.
(16) GENDER STATS FROM MINNESOTA SURVEY. “Not just boy and girl; more teens identify as transgender” says Minnesota Public Radio News.
Far more U.S. teens than previously thought are transgender or identify themselves using other nontraditional gender terms, with many rejecting the idea that girl and boy are the only options, new research suggests.
The study looked at students in ninth and 11th grade and estimated that nearly 3 percent are transgender or gender nonconforming, meaning they don’t always self-identify as the sex they were assigned at birth. That includes kids who refer to themselves using neutral pronouns like “them” instead of “he” or “she.”
“Diverse gender identities are more prevalent than people would expect,” said lead author Nic Rider, a University of Minnesota postdoctoral fellow who studies transgender health.
The study is an analysis of a 2016 statewide survey of almost 81,000 Minnesota teens.
Nearly 2,200 identified as transgender or gender nonconforming. The study found that these kids reported worse mental and physical health than other kids, echoing results seen in previous research. Bullying and discrimination are among possible reasons for the differences, Rider said, although the survey didn’t ask.
(17) ANOTHER TECHNOLOGY ON THE BRINK. Cat Eldridge sends this link along with an observation: “Bullmoose, the Maine based music chain with a dozen or so stores sells more vinyl revenue wise than anything followed by DVDs (which mostly get ripped to digital) and CD sales are dead last.” – Billboard reports “Best Buy to Pull CDs, Target Threatens to Pay Labels for CDs Only When Customers Buy Them”.
Even though digital is on the upswing, physical is still performing relatively well on a global basis — if not in the U.S. market, where CD sales were down 18.5 percent last year. But things are about to get worse here, if some of the noise coming out of the big-box retailers comes to fruition.
Best Buy has just told music suppliers that it will pull CDs from its stores come July 1. At one point, Best Buy was the most powerful music merchandiser in the U.S., but nowadays it’s a shadow of its former self, with a reduced and shoddy offering of CDs. Sources suggest that the company’s CD business is nowadays only generating about $40 million annually. While it says it’s planning to pull out CDs, Best Buy will continue to carry vinyl for the next two years, keeping a commitment it made to vendors. The vinyl will now be merchandised with the turntables, sources suggest.
Meanwhile, sources say that Target has demanded to music suppliers that it wants to be sold on what amounts to a consignment basis….
(18) GOING TO LAW. John Scalzi chimed in on Metafilter’s discussion of the false claims by Antonelli, Torgersen and Freer that Camestros Felapton is a pseudonym used by Foz Meadows’ husband. He commented about the prospects for a defamation lawsuit —
Slightly baffled that Lou Antonelli et al aren’t drowning under what would appear to be a slam dunk of a defamation lawsuit right now.
It’s not a slam dunk, at least in the US, because among other things, one would have to show quantifiable damages — usually economic damage to one’s livelihood. It would be difficult to prove in this case, with regard to Foz Meadows, at least, because in the field of science fiction and fantasy literature, no one considers proclamations from puppy quarters to have much truth value. They have a years-long history of spinning up bullshit, bigotry and flat-out lies. When Freer, et al spun up this one, the general response was various flavors of “Christ, these assholes,” plus concern/outrage for the hate and bigotry Meadows and their husband had to deal with. It’s laudable that Mr. Antonelli has finally admitted he was wrong and offered an apology for it, but it should be clear that nearly everyone knew he was wrong long before he admitted it.
(Ironically, if Meadows and their family wished to pursue defamation, the person they would most likely have the best case against is Freer, who if memory serves lives in Australia, as they do, where the libel laws are slightly less stringent than here in the US. Freer’s best defense in that case would be “triviality,” ie, that he’s not important enough, nor his audience large enough, to have done Meadows and her family harm.)….
And more follows…
[Thanks to JJ, Steve Green, Cat Eldridge, John King Tarpinian, Bill, Kathryn Sullivan, Andrew Porter, Chip Hitchcock, Martin Morse Wooster, rcade, Will R., Jason Davis, Daniel Dern, and Carl Slaughter for some of these stories. Title credit goes to File 770 contributing editor of the day Daniel Dern.]
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First??
(5) Cool!
And can someone explain that spelling to me? “Mexicanx.” I don’t understand the significance, and googling it hasn’t changed that.
(7) By now, mentioning JdA automatically reminds me of my current foster kitten’s sinus infection. It’s nasty, and we have spent months trying to make it go away, yet it keeps coming back.
(9) RIP. I loved his portrayal of Martin Crane.
(18) I clicked on the link and read Scalzi’s entire comment. He nailed it.
“Mexicanx” was discussed in the original story; word was that it is used by the labeled people (not just outsiders), by analogy to “Latinx”, as a way around the issue that Spanish (like other Romance languages) is gendered.
The Spanish for “from Mexico” is “Mexicano” for men and “Mexicana” for women. “Mexicanx” covers both. I’d previously seen “Latinx” for “Latino / Latina” but not until this initiative the Mexican version.
(Ninja’d by Chip!)
Not really morning yet. Send skeep?
As a great fan of frog-kind, must these people really put their rhetorical mouths on innocent amphibians? The poor things have enough trouble with chyrtid fungus and acid rain.
(7) The sinus infection still reads Fille 770. Are you flattered, Mike? JdA just emailed me about my comment here.
STRANGELY, I have no desire to enter into correspondence with a troll and cyberstalker, so I have blocked him.
If only it were that easy to make my foster kitten healthy.
(5) PICACIO BEGINS CHOOSING.
The first 8 recipients are some seriously accomplished people! I hope that Worldcon 76 gets some of them onto programme panels.
You really shouldn’t talk about him like that. After all, he’s a big fan of your father, Michael Moorcock.
And he tweeted a partial quote to look like I endorsed Daddy Warpig for a Hugo. Kind of like that old Mad Magazine article about how to pick part of what critics said to use in ads for movies. Alfred E. Del Arroz.
I find that unsurprising.
And I don’t think Daddy Warpig is going to be too broken up when he finds out it’s not true, either.
I don’t know who that is.
Given that he chooses to call himself “Daddy Warpig,” I also don’t want to know who that is.
@Laura Resnick
I’m pretty sure that at least half of JdAs mentions on the internets is Filers pointing and laughing, so damn sure he comes for a look. Every addict needs his fix. After his resounding success at achieving cut-price martydom by being banned for Worldcon, where else can he get his kicks. I am not whelmed by his slate. Though kudos for ADMITTING that that is waht it is.
Hope the kitten does get better though.
I have been catching up on novellas in between reading Chris Brookmyre’s ‘Places in the Darkness’, which is OK, but my socks remain resolutely earthbound. Most impressed by Julliete Wade’s aliens in ‘Sunwake in the Lands of Teeth’. The aliens are cleverly drawn and the writerly skill really draws one in. I’d hoped to get a copy of ‘Murderbot Diaries’ from the library, but it is so popular that the Interlibrary loan app has suggested I request my local library to buy a copy.
Ken Richards: I’d hoped to get a copy of ‘Murderbot Diaries’ from the library, but it is so popular that the Interlibrary loan app has suggested I request my local library to buy a copy.
All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries is only $3.99 on Kindle, and it’s totally worth it! You can get an excerpt for free here.
(7) At this point I’m sure it’s cruelty to get Teddy’s hopes up for a bid at a Hugo just to dash them against the rocks of No Award.
Ken Richards: Chris Brookmyre’s ‘Places in the Darkness’, which is OK, but my socks remain resolutely earthbound.
Very early on, I thought I might DNF that because the two main characters started out so unlikeable, but I stuck with it and ended up changing my mind, and I really enjoyed it.
Oneiros: At this point I’m sure it’s cruelty to get Teddy’s hopes up for a bid at a Hugo just to dash them against the rocks of No Award.
Nah, Teddy’s not even going to get close to the final Hugo ballot this year; his minions got tired of spending money for no reward, and wandered off to rig the Dragon Awards for free.
@JJ Re ‘Places in the Darkness’, I’m 80 or so pages in, and things might just be beginning to happen. I generally enjoy Brookmyre’s work so have no thoughts of not continuing. I’ve been putting off buying ‘All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries ‘ because (a) it is almost certain to me nominated and (b) may therefore end up in the packet. I can always buy is if this is not the case siince the cost is very fair.
Ken Richards: Re ‘Places in the Darkness’, I’m 80 or so pages in, and things might just be beginning to happen. I generally enjoy Brookmyre’s work so have no thoughts of not continuing.
I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts when you finish. It’s probably not on my Hugo shortlist, but it is definitely on my longlist right now.
7) Y’know, the fact that JDA and his band of half-witted, egotistical twats nominated Bright, a botched abortion of a dudebro film with the subtly of a car crash and written by a hard-try drunk baby, really encapsulates everything they’re about.
It’s perfect, really.
Castalia House is boycotting Worldcon, so unlikely to be a Rabid Pups this year unless its just all hostages. Also that means poor Mr Warpig should withdraw.
In other news I intend to be me for ALL of this week nor am I going to get tired about joking about it – so you’ll just all have to get used to that. Sorry. 🙂
About hostages: Ethan Van Scrier and X-O Manowar are the only items that I heared of before that are not scrappy-dog/puppy alligned.
(EvS seems to have a video on his youtoubechanel, that has SJW in the titel, so there is perhaps some connection)
Any other hostages?
StefanB: About hostages: Ethan Van Sciver and X-O Manowar are the only items that I heared of before that are not scrappy-dog/puppy alligned.
Based on what I’ve seen on Twitter, Van Sciver is definitely alt-right and GG/Puppy-adjacent.
JJ: Thanks I did only know him as DCComicbookartist.
Managed to get my Hugo PIN email, and the first round of “this is, I think, what I’m nominating” is down. Not mentioning titles, authors, etc, until after the noms have closed, though.
(7) I can think of a much more effective method JDA could use to troll the Hugo awards, but see no reason to give him ideas.
(18) Hmm… my takeaway is that Freer could possibly sue himself for reverse-libel, as he will likely see a drop in sales after all this nastiness. Could be precedent-setting, and a new revenue stream for puppies – libel someone, sue yourself for damaging your own reputation, start a gofundme to recoup lethal fees from fighting the SJW court system. Mad, definitely. Genius, perhaps.
It doesn’t have a chance of becoming a kerfuffle unless some VD wannabe initiates an Ecstatic Toads slate.
And he tweeted a partial quote to look like I endorsed Daddy Warpig for a Hugo.
Well, Mr. Del Arroz tweeted a partial quote to make me seem that I thought he was the best Hispanic writer, so, yeah…
@laura, sorry to hear about your foster kitten’s sinus infection
9) Rest in peace, Mr Mahoney.
Lis Carey Not really morning yet. Send skeep?
I’ll take some as I’ve been up since five. My circadian rhythms took a severe beating from my head trauma, so I’ve no sense of what time it is which means I’m suddenly awake at odd hours as my internal sense of what time it is simply doesn’t exist.
Van Skiver is not alt-right, and in fact has been highly critical of the alt-right in general and Vox Day in particular. He is a Republican, though.
He’s not actually producing much at the moment though, is he? It’s been a couple of years since his last book. Too much time obsessing about SJWs.
/godstalk
@RedWombat : Think of the Happy Frogs as the frog-monsters from Hellboy.
(7) One item on his list was already on mine. I really liked Bright for a bunch of reasons.
But otherwise….meh.
Regards,
Dann
Here’s all the bio you need, from one of his tweets: “I’ve been doing #GamerGate work between 10 and 16 hours a day.”
Interesting that Brookmyre is now writing SF. I’ve been reading him as a contemporary mystery/thriller writer for a few years; according to the Guardian (via Google), he
I thought Black Widow (his latest in the local library) very good, and not as violent as some of his work, but it might trigger for some. (Calibration: I avoid most books sold as “thriller”s, and don’t read “horror” outside of some pieces in more-general anthologies (e.g., Datlow’s recent Alice-themed), but probably have a stronger stomach than some Filers.) I thought I’d gotten his his first book, Quite Ugly One Morning, as a giveaway at first Glasgow Worldcon, but the acquisition date lines up with Torcon III (2003). It’s more violent than Black Widow, but also more Left than most mysteries&thrillers; YMMV, but ISTM that the violence is not particularly directed against women, and his latest series features a woman doing well taking over her father(?)’s detective agency (and her scraping against a woman police detective), so Filers who like his SF and also read mystery/thrillers might like his work. Some of his work doesn’t have US editions; among the older that do, I liked Not the End of the World, which gets seriously snarky about right-wing Xianity.
Side note wrt last Scroll’s discussion of (differentiating) pseudonyms: “Chris” is used only for Places; the contemporary works are by “Christopher”. Was this Banksian move his idea, or the publisher’s, or …?
@rcade
Yup. He was one of their ardent foot soldiers, but I’m not sure what is more delusional of JdA; that he thinks nominating a prominent member of a well documented harassment campaign makes for a ;fun, inclusive’ environment, or that he wrote a Hugo worthy novella.
All that being said, unlike Beale, who at least has a con man’s ability in terms of raising support through ginned up outrage, JdA’s slate is unlikely to encourage more than a few dozen leftovers at best.
Oooooh 2017 was such a good year in reading. I’ve been fighting with my ballot for 2 days and wish I had at least ten slots in some categories. Congratulations to everyone.
@Joanna Same here! I have three definites in Novel, and then at least six battling for the last two slots!
True that Van Skiver and Beale seem to be in some kind of vendetta against each other.
Is that a bad thing?
He is a Republican, though.
Hey, not all of us wear jackboots as we spy on American’s private lives. 😛
4) Unfortunately, it looks like the title of the book should be Ignition! Mike, may I have a homemade spritzer of extra dry vermouth, club soda, and lime?
I read Spanish pretty well (I can read novels in Spanish), so I looked around to get a feel for what the story is with “latinx” and “Mexicanx.” In particular, I wanted to learn how to pronounce them, since they’re very alien to Spanish orthography.
Here’s what I learned: these terms are only used in the United States, mostly within the LGBT community. Native speakers outside the US often see it as US imperialism destroying their language. (Or they’re unaware of it entirely–if Spanish is all you speak, “Mexicanx” looks like a typo, not a word.) It seems really clear that the push for this comes from people who speak a little Spanish, but whose main language is English.
Here’s an English-language article on the subject: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/are-you-latinx-usage-grows-word-draws-approval-criticism-n651396
I think the safest thing for anyone writing in English would be to just use “latin” or “Mexican” unless you’re an active part of the Hispanic community and are completely certain of what you’re doing. Otherwise, you’re bound to offend someone.
Dann on February 6, 2018 at 6:04 am said:
I liked parts of it for the ‘closest thing to live action Shadowrun’ aspects and would listen to Orc Metal (I mean there’s already a whole subgenre of Troll Metal that exists already) but man the second half of that movie fell apart and the last twenty minutes were just so dumb and corny. I’m interested to see what another writer/director could do with it since it’s getting a sequel.
Other sources such as Bleeding Cool (NB The neutrality of this article is disputed) give the impression that EVS is quite a nasty bit of work, but not a fan of Mr Beale. I think Teddy wanted to be congratulated.
Given his chosen handle, that seems all too predictable.
(They call their trolling and harassment “work?” That’s almost sweet.)
Just a thought about the Best Pro Artist. Obviously this comes from people being lauded for book covers for the most part. Is there history of a comics professional getting nominated? There are plenty enough reasons not to nominate a competent but minor talent like EVS, but has Charles Vess or Mark Buckingham ever been up there? Or even come close to nomination?
GSLamb on February 6, 2018 at 7:41 am said:
He is a Republican, though.
Almost all of you vote for people who want me dead.