Blogger has blocked user access to Vox Day’s Vox Popoli blog, telling readers it is “under review due to possible Blogger Terms of Service violations.” Blogger is owned by Google.
Vox Day immediately restored availability of Vox Popoli’s posts at a new URL, “milobookclub.com”, and commented on the situation in “Conflict is the air we breathe” [Internet Archive link.] He begins:
As you’ve almost certainly noticed if you’re here, Google has decided to roll the dice and take its chances with the Legal Legion of Evil. As with YouTube, Blogger hasn’t entirely deplatformed the account, but instead elected to block access to the blog while publicly issuing false and defamatory statements about it.
This is not a surprise. This day has been a long time in coming, and we have been prepared for it on every front. You may wish to note that this post was made barely an hour after Google took action. Special thanks to the dev team, who were ready for instant action and whose rapid response time allowed such an easy and seamless transformation….
He does not reveal Blogger’s stated reason for the action. It might be his anti-vaccination posts, or advocacy of racism, or even his anti-corporate posts targeting Marvel – but since these things have been his regular drumbeats for some time, one can only speculate why Blogger took action today.
Comments have not been turned on at the new URL, nor are past comments available there. Vox Day says his SocialGalactic platform is hosting parallel discussions of each post.
Its appearance will be celebrated by a First-Day-of-Issue Dedication Ceremony on that date in Portland, Oregon. The outdoor ceremony in the Evan H. Roberts Sculpture Mall of the Portland Art Museum will be held “rain or shine” says the USPS. Those planning to attend in person are asked to RSVP here. Alternatively, people can view a short pre-recorded introduction of the stamp on the Postal Service’s Facebook and Twitter pages, available on Tuesday, July 27, 2021 1 p.m. PST.
The 33rd stamp in the Literary Arts series honors Ursula K. Le Guin (1929–2018), who “expanded the scope of literature through novels and short stories that increased critical and popular appreciation of science fiction and fantasy.” The stamp features a portrait of Le Guin based on a 2006 photograph. The background shows a scene from her landmark 1969 novel The Left Hand of Darkness, in which an envoy from Earth named Genly Ai escapes from a prison camp across the wintry planet of Gethen with Estraven, a disgraced Gethenian politician.
The artist for the stamp is Donato Giancola, a three-time Hugo winner who also was named a Spectrum Awards Grandmaster in 2019.
The stamp is valid for 3-ounce mail, currently costs 95¢, and a sheet of 20 can be pre-ordered here for $19.
How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark. Collectors can get the first-day-of-issue postmark in two ways.
(1) The Postal Service offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the USA Philatelic catalog and online at usps.com/shop.
(2) The USPS gives customers 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office™ or at The Postal Store® website at usps.com/shop. They must affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:
FDOI – Ursula K. Le Guin Stamp USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services 8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300 Kansas City, MO 64144-9900
After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by November 27, 2021.
The European Astrobiology Institute and the European Science Foundation are creating Life Beyond Us: An Original Anthology Of Sf Stories And Science Essays with many well-known SF writers to promote the understanding of science through summer schools, workshops, and outreach projects. Each story is accompanied by an essay (by scientists working on the origins of life, habitability, and life detection) to outline the actual science explored in that story. More than just another anthology, it’s a tool for science education.
To fund publication of the anthology, a Kickstarter is running currently and will end on May 12, 2021. The Kickstarter link is here.
When the Kickstarter funds, it will include stories by Eugen Bacon, Stephen Baxter, Gregory Benford, Tobias S. Buckell, Eric Choi, Julie E. Czerneda, Tessa Fisher, Simone Heller, Valentin Ivanov, Mary Robinette Kowal, Geoffrey A. Landis, Rich Larson, Premee Mohamed, G. David Nordley, Malka Older, Deji Bryce Olukotun, Tomáš Petrásek, Arula Ratnakar, DA Xiaolin Spires, Bogi Takács, and Peter Watts. The anthology will be edited by Julie Nováková, Lucas K. Law, and Susan Forest.
Rewards available for project backers include experiences not available elsewhere:
A virtual tour of the Very Large Telescope (Atacama Desert, Chile)
A virtual tour of an astrobiology lab doing microbe research (Extraterrestrial Oceans Habitability Lab)
A music and astrobiology show
Helping to design Julie Czerneda’s alien for her next SF novel
A fun astrobiology talk for your classroom or club
Conversations with some of the big name authors
Tuckerizations, swag, Zoom AMAs, and story critiques
European Astrobiology Institute plans to release the book in September 2022: fitting, given that European Space Agency’s rover Rosalind Franklin will be launched to travel to Mars that month.
There are special editions such as the Limited Hardcover (illustrated case-laminated cover, dust jacket, and signed) and Patron Editions (illustrated case-laminated cover, dust jacket, and signed). The Limited Edition and Patron Editions are adorned by interior artwork consisting of 19th century naturalist Ernst Haeckel’s beautiful and mesmerizing illustrations of life on Earth, often stranger than most aliens we can imagine. (Click for larger images.)
For further information, plus a bonus interview with SF author Dr. Gregory Benford, see this update .
What comes to your mind first when you say “astrobiology”?
Benford: Exoplanets in SF, plus cosmology…
Can you hint at what’s your story going to be about?
Benford: Life in the outer solar system.
Is there any place in the universe you’d love to see – where and why?
Benford: Galactic center! I’ve written papers about the vast magnetic structures there and the black hole vicinity.
The Life Beyond Us Kickstarter will last until May 12, 2021. The pledges have already passed the 62% level.
By James Bacon: Fans love clothing that is related to SFnal elements, and I have a number of garments that I adore, wear too much and are absolutely wearing my fandom on my sleeve, literally. So when I saw this, I was like — that is VERY cool — some thought has occurred here, in a similar artistic fashion as one might find with Fountain Pen Inks.
Offered in 80 denier opaque and a ‘marl’ effect, it looks like a product that may be of interest to Filers and fans.
A deeper look at Snag Tights indicates that they have a good set of standards, the company website speaks to being inclusive, affordable, sustainable and pay fair wages, as well as welcoming affiliates.
Brie Read started the business in 2019 but it now has a huge following, believes in user generated content and is herself a size acceptence advocate. An interview earlier this year appeared on the Joy of Marketing – “Brie Read from Snag Tights on building a business and a community”.
Read was born in Saudi Arabia and moved around the world as a youngster but went to University of Dundee studying computer science and psychology, and has settled in Scotland as it “feels like home”.
Heritage Auction’s next Hollywood Auction on December 18 will feature Margaret Hamilton’s “Wicked Witch of the West” screen-worn flying hat from The Wizard of Oz. Among the other goodies you can bid on are —
Elizabeth Taylor “Cleopatra” lavender gown and headdress from Cleopatra (1963).
Marlon Brando “Fletcher Christian” Royal Navy officer uniform from Mutiny on the Bounty (1962).
Original Lucasfilm-sanctioned “Darth Vader” promotional costume for Star Wars: The Empire Strikes back and Return of the Jedi.
Frank Darabont personal 3-sheet poster from Planet of the Apes signed by Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall and James Whitmore.
Ultra-heavy “Thor” Mjölnir hammer used by all the Avengers in the “worthy test” sequence in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Moe Howard’s (70+) page handwritten manuscript for his autobiography Moe Howard and the Three Stooges.
Robert Keeshan’s iconic “Captain Kangaroo” jacket from Captain Kangaroo.
Lou Ferrigno “The Hulk” screen worn costume on custom display from The Incredible Hulk.
Kevin Costner “Mariner” costume ensemble from Waterworld.
Director Barry Sonnenfeld’s annotated shooting script from The Addams Family.
Plus the Michael Keaton original “Batman” cowl and display from Batman Returns.
Also the helmet worn by actor Michael Ansara in the “Soldier” episode of Outer Limits. (Which John King Tarpinian assures me was also worn by Robin Williams in an episode of Mork and Mindy.)
Or maybe you’d like to exchange a pile of dollars for these cubits from Battlestar Galactica.
And I’m sure we all remember Apocalypse Kong – don’t we?
Finally, for your listening pleasure, a recording of a Star Trek score — but which episode? Perhaps “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” the third episode which aired two days after the date on the box.
Fireside Magazine has come under intense criticism because in the audio recording of one of its essays the white voice actor used an offensive stereotype of the American southern Black accent in his narration.
“Da Art of Speculatin’” by Dr. Regina N. Bradley was offered as a free-read article accompanied by a free-to-listen audio of the text.
Fireside editor Pablo Defendini has since taken the audio down. The essay itself, discussing the influence of the Southern hip hop group OutKast, is still available at Fireside.
Dr. Bradley (@redclayscholar on Twitter) tweeted these grievances about how her work was treated, illustrated by a sound bite from the now removed audio:
AHT AHT Fireside. I feel erased with a white guy reading my piece being about being southern Black woman listening to OutKast. I was available. The piece LITERALLY STARTS WITH “I’m a southern Black woman who stands in the long shadow of the Civil Rights Movement.” ???????????????????????? https://t.co/CfZFhBMnK9
WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!?! @FiresideFiction @KevinRineerVO This is what you think I’d sound like? What BLACK WOMEN AND SOUTHERN BLACL FOLKS SOUND LIKE?!?!?! pic.twitter.com/wLCm34P2l2
I'm on a social media hiatus for personal reasons (I am ok) but as a former guest editor and contributor to @FiresideFiction I'm here to say what happened today was unacceptable, Pablo D's apology was useless, and please support Dr. Bradley's terrific work–> https://t.co/jTob55NJlK
Publishing is already so violently unsafe for Black Women and there are so few places that even pretend to be aware of that fact. @FiresideFiction was one of them, emphasis on the past tense. This is so wildly disappointing and hurtful and racist.
Anyway, I'm not here to argue. I'm barely even here at all. But while I am, I'm here to say we as people in the publishing community need to do better at making it less horrible for Black Women. That includes speaking out when magazines make it more horrible.
Oh my God, this is *awful.* Minstrel-sounding jokey nonsense — and like 3 completely different accents mangled together just in the brief span of that sample. I thought Fireside was better than this.
Fireside editor Pablo Defendini tweeted apologies (thread starts here) which were incorporated in his longer write-up “Regarding our audio recordings” explaining what happened. A major revelation is that he didn’t listen to the audio before putting it online,
Earlier today we published an essay about OutKast by Dr. Regina Bradley. This is an essay written by a Black woman, about Black musicians, and edited by a Black man. I hired a white man to narrate the audio version of the essay, and that narrator decided to use an offensive stereotype of the American southern Black accent in his narration. This basically amounted to auditory blackface, in the worst tradition of racist minstrelsy. So why did I publish it? Frankly, I didn’t listen to it before I posted it. More on that, and on the other errors I made, in a second, because this is the context, not an excuse.
There is no excuse for having published it. I apologize for having done so. Specifically, I apologize to Dr. Bradley for having undermined her work, to Maurice Broaddus for having stained the otherwise outstanding issue of Fireside Quarterly that he edited, and to Chelle Parker, our copyeditor, for having put them in the line of fire for this, when they had no visibility into the audio production process or ability to prevent this from having happened.
On Twitter he emphasized:
Just to be explicitly clear: I’m the only one who manages the audio production process—this was entirely my doing, and no one else who works on Fireside had a chance to hear the audio, much less rectify. This is all absolutely my fault, no one else’s.
The work was done by voice actor Kevin Rineer, who tweeted his own apologies but has since taken down his account. Here are screencaps:
Rineer’s video says in part:
I know that it was completely inappropriate for me to have recorded especially with that accent. It was almost the same as if you tied a blindfold to a high school quarterback and expected him to make the game winning throw. It was horrible disgusting and a complete miss that’s what i meant by the the analogy there… My actions though were disgusting inappropriate and for that I do apologize
Yet it’s hard to reconcile the person capable of the self-flagellation of this apology with the one who made the original choice he did about his performance.
[Update: Rineer now has also closed his YouTube account. The video formerly linked here is no longer available.]
Defendini underscored his own failure to review the audio:
Apart from the inappropriate choice of narrator, I also didn’t provide any pertinent direction at the outset of the engagement. Normally, when I hire voice talent for narration, I send them some notes about the pieces I want them to narrate, pointing out special considerations, or particular pronunciations of tricky or uncommon terms. I failed to do that here.
I also failed to check each recording when I took delivery of them. I was pressed for time and trying to get work out the door, and I did not take the time to review the finished recordings. As many have correctly pointed out, it takes two seconds of listening to the recording to realize that this one was deeply, deeply problematic. I did not do so — I just moved the files along — and the result is that I allowed an extremely hurtful racist caricature to be published on Fireside’s website.
While it may not have been intentional, intent doesn’t matter. The harm caused is real. And this particular type of harm — in this particular moment in history — is extra fucked up. All I can do at this point is apologize, try to fix it, ensure it doesn’t happen again, and try to make up for it.
Because Kevin Rineer voiced the recordings for all the stories in the current issue of Fireside Quarterly, Defendini has pulled them all and will have them re-recorded.
And he will be making other changes to the production process:
Starting with the Winter 2021 issue of Fireside Quarterly, which ships on January 1st, all stories will be narrated by individual narrators as opposed to by one narrator for an entire issue’s worth of stories.
Starting with the Winter 2021 issue, I’ll send the final audio of each story to its author, in the same way we send them proofs of the print issue before it goes to press.
Starting with the Spring issue of Fireside Quarterly, I’ll consult with the editor of each issue on the choice of narrator for each story before we hire anyone.
Defendini closed his post with further self-criticism and intent to make amends:
Finally, my personal neglect allowed racist violence to be perpetrated on a Black author, which makes me not just complicit in anti-Black racism, but racist as well. I have to grapple with that, and make amends. I’m not sure exactly how, yet, but some kind of concrete reparation is absolutely called for. I’m speaking with various folks who have reached out (and who I’ve reached out to as well), in order to figure out what that looks like.
This letter is the beginning of the process of making amends. I know that words don’t mean much without action to back them up. I’ll be doing everything I can to make sure that nothing like this happens again.
Some writers commented that there needs to be a change in editor, Kate Dollarhyde, Merc Fenn Wolfmoor, and Sarah Gailey, who indicated the issues raised today are not the only ones besetting Fireside:
J. Michael Straczynski dropped the fifth of his attention-grabbing “data packets” this afternoon with the biggest payload of all:
The Last Dangerous Visions, was announced in 1973 and scheduled to appear in 1974, but of course it didn’t. Even now the volume which will bear that name will be quite different from what it would have been like fifty years ago, as Straczynski explains in an open Patreon post.
The Last Dangerous Visions will not republish the stories originally accepted for the anthology that have in the intervening years been withdrawn and published elsewhere.
Some of the remaining stories that “have been overtaken by real-world events, rendering them less relevant or timely” will be omitted. (The rights to those stories will be returned to the authors.)
Of the remaining stories JMS says “many more are as innovative, fresh and, in some ways, even more relevant now than when they were first written. These are rich, compelling stories by some of the best known science fiction and fantasy writers to work in the genre that deserve to be seen by the world.”
Tim Kirk’s artwork commissioned for the original volume will also be included.
Additional stories are being contributed by “some of the most well-known and respected writers working today… Their names will be announced the deeper we go into this process, with more still being added at this time.”
Also, The Last Dangerous Visions “will present stories by a diverse range of young, new writers from around the world who are telling stories that look beyond today’s horizon to what’s on the other side.”
Plus, one last slot will be opened up for submissions from unknown and unpublished writers, giving “one new voice, one last chance to make it into The Last Dangerous Visions.”
The final stories will be organized by topic, interweaving original, heavy-hitter and new writers into a narrative flow.
Adding to the suspense, Straczynski says, “There is one last, significant work by Harlan that has never been published, that has been seen by only a handful of people. A work that ties directly into the reason why The Last Dangerous Visions has taken so long to come to light. That piece will be included in this volume to close off the last of Harlan’s major unpublished works.”
Once all the stories are in place, the book will be taken to market around March/April 2021. Several major publishers have already expressed significant interest in picking up the book upon completion.
The Harlan and Susan Ellison Memorial Library. Straczynski also reports that the Ellison home will become The Harlan and Susan Ellison Memorial Library, “a place where lovers of art, architecture and comics can come in small groups for tours, and academics can study decades of correspondence between Harlan and some of the most famous writers in and out of the SF genre, along with his original manuscripts and drafts. We are also working toward having the house declared a Cultural Landmark, possibly in association with a local university.”
Royalties from The Last Dangerous Visions will go into the Trust that supports the Library.
Patreon. A lot of expenses for the LDV story rights, legal work on the trust, etc., are being fronted by JMS, “tens of thousands of dollars” (see his post for specifics). He invites fans of Harlan’s work or SF in general who would like to help defray some of those costs in return for the exclusive opportunity to see The Last Dangerous Visions come together in real-time to subscribe to his Patreon.
There is a tier here that will only remain online for five months, through April, when the book is slated to be completed.
Patrons will be the first to know the names of the authors contributing to TLDV, first to see partial manuscripts and story excerpts before the book is published, and will be given peeks at Tim Kirk’s amazing art. Beat by beat, they (and other Patrons operating at that level or above) will be a part of the process of finishing one of the most discussed and eagerly anticipated books in the history of modern science fiction.
J. Michael Straczynski started posting these messages on Facebook on November 9 with the introduction: “Five discrete data packets to be broadcast, one every 24 hours.” They’re also repeated on Twitter.
The fourth “packet” posted today is the word “Visions.”
In aggregate we now have —
Temporal interference cleared. Data packet 4 transmitted to arrive 11/12/20 local chronosphere.
Rebooting transmission in toto to compensate for potential temporal lag in sequence. pic.twitter.com/dNg0Agf5yP
J. Michael Straczynski started posting these on Facebook on November 9 with the introduction: “Five discrete data packets to be broadcast, one every 24 hours.” Today he tweeted as a set the messages unveiled on FB so far. Til JMS finishes the transmission you can make up your own mind what the executor of the Ellison estate is trying to tell us:
3nemy i¬terference 4ttempting to bl{}ck trans~Mission 0f d4ta p-cket f0ur
Owner Greg Ketter and an employee were attacked and robbed as they were closing Minneapolis’ DreamHaven Books for the night on November 9. Ketter said in a public Facebook post:
2020 is the just the gift that keeps on giving. Ryan and I were just beaten and robbed tonight as we were closing the store. Ryan took some serious punches to the head and face. I must have been hit in the head but it happened so fast that all I remember is being on the floor as the two assailants kicked, punched and scattered books and shelves. Somewhere along the way they did get my wallet (I think it fell out of my pocket as I was fighting them off) and the days total cash. I managed to get up and get behind the counter and grab a baseball bat I keep for just such a purpose and they ran out. I chased them (I’m pretty slow). They had an accomplice waiting across the street and they peeled out before I could get their license number. We’re bruised and battered but we’re still whole. I’m going to be sore tomorrow.
Ketter added in a comment:
I think we’ll all be OK. Tomorrow is Ryan’s day off and I’ll check in with him to make sure he’s all right. We have some shelves to fix up and books to sort out but it’s mostly minor stuff. It’s mostly emotional damage for me – I’m just so tired of this stuff.
Earlier this year, DreamHaven suffered damage in the wave of vandalism that struck Minneapolis during protests in May against the death of George Floyd, but no one was present or injured when the store was broken into and damaged that time.
[Thanks to Kathryn Sullivan and James Davis Nicoll for the story.]
