The Wind’s Hind Quarters 6/30

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aka Quit Zoomin’ Those Paws Through The Air

Starring in today’s roundup: Charlie Jane Anders, Jon F. Zeigler, Arianne, Melina D, Paul Kincaid, Martin Wisse, Justin Howe, Lou Antonelli, Doctor Strangelove, Terry Weyna, Spacefaring Kitten, Laura “Tegan” Gjovaag, Grac and embrodski. (Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editors of the day Richard Brandt and Daniel Dern.)

Charlie Jane Anders on io9

“Eight Books You Need To Know About To Understand The Hugo Awards Snafu” – June 30

about books

But all the discussions about the Puppies, pro and con, tend to bog down in generalizations. So let’s get specific. Here are eight books that can help illuminate this mess. Because this is about books, or it’s about nothing at all.

[Anders takes a highly interesting approach, contrasting what reviewers and Sad/Rabid Puppies advocates have to say about these eight sf works:]

  • The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
  • Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
  • Monster Hunter Legion by Larry Correia
  • Blackout by Mira Grant
  • Redshirts by John Scalzi
  • Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
  • The Book of Feasts and Seasons by John C. Wright
  • Seveneves by Neil Stephenson

 

 

Jon F. Zeigler on Sharrukin’s Palace

“The Hugo Dispute: An Assessment” – June 30

[Thorough article. This is just an excerpt of two of the topics:]

Over at Amazing Stories, Steve Davidson recently blogged about possible fan responses to this mess. Some of his suggestions strike me as either impractical or actively harmful, but I think he’s on the right track with at least one item:

“First, the crafting of a formal statement that articulates the position that Fandom and Fans (which includes authors, artists, editors, podcasters, bloggers, fan writers, fan artists and everyone) do not game awards (or other fannish institutions) for personal, political or financial gain. Further, that individuals who may be eligible for awards state formally that they do not grant permission for third parties to include them or their works in voting campaigns or slates or organized voting blocs and that if their names or works are found on such, it is without their express permission.”

As a purely voluntary principle for creators in this space, I think that’s well worth considering. So here’s my line in the sand, to be repeated if and when it becomes fully relevant.

I won’t participate in organizing a slate for any industry award. If and when I publish something that’s eligible, I will not give my permission for that work to be included on any slate. If someone includes my work on a slate without my permission, and that work reaches the ballot, I will withdraw it from consideration. If that means the award becomes irrelevant to my success as an author, so be it.

I can succeed without having to chase fan politics. I can do that by pursuing the work I love: writing and selling stories. If that isn’t enough, I don’t intend to waste my time stewing over might-have-beens.

Now, as it happens, the argument above assumes that the rules of the awards process aren’t going to change. If they do change to make slate voting more costly or difficult, that mitigates the problem. There are multiple ways to get that result, some of which admittedly constitute a cure worse than the disease.

Fortunately, there’s a proposed rule change that will be considered at the WSFS business meeting this year, and that seems very promising. That’s the so-called E Pluribus Hugo proposal, a modification of the procedure for counting nomination votes.

I’ve spent some time looking at the EPH proposal. In fact, while I don’t claim to be an expert, the comparative study of election systems is familiar to me (my professional background is in mathematics and computer science). Thus far I’m quite impressed.

 

Melina D on Subversive Reader

“Hugos 2015 – Where to now?” – July 1

So what do I do next?

I was talking to my sister about the Hugos the other night. My sister is not in the community (though she does read and watch speculative media), but she’s worked in politics, so she understands a lot about the political process and it was relatively easy to explain how the slate dominated the awards this year. She helped me clarify some of my thoughts and then asked the question:

“So what are you going to do about it?”

Funnily enough, I’d been turning this question over in my head for a few days. What was I going to do to make my voice heard? How was I going to stand up and say ‘I want the best writing – the absolute best – to be nominated for and win Hugos Awards.’ I want writing which makes me feel something, writing which makes me stay up late reading, writing which makes me want to tell everyone about what I just read.

I have two main powers as a supporting member – I can nominate and I can vote. There is a third power though – I can write about it. I can write about the stories and books I read and why I love them or why they don’t quite work for me and why other people should go to read them. I can write about the nominees and why I would vote for one or the other. The power of the internet means that I can put my voice out there.

I can also read more. This Hugo ‘season’ has allowed me to find a lot of new places to find short fiction and I’ve already started reading some from the first half of the year. I’m reading more blogs and online magazines and looking at their book reviews and announcements. I’ve made sure that I’m putting more time into reading – even if it’s just a short story before bed.

There’s a few places I can go to find 2015 stories and media, but I’d also like to open it here. What new fiction or nonfiction are you consuming? What have you really enjoyed? What would you like to share with others? Leave a comment, tell me about it. I might go on to read and review it, I might not, but it gives me new places to explore and new things to try. I might find a new author I absolutely love, or find myself reading a new type of story I’d never even thought about before.

With more reading, I’m going to feel more confident nominating. And by sharing my reading, I hope I can encourage others to read and nominate their favourite stories of the year. Maybe it won’t be enough to negate the slate, but at least I’m doing something positive.

 

Paul Kincaid on BestScienceFictionBooks.com

“A Reply to Kevin Standlee on the Hugos”  – June 30

[Excerpt is first of four points.]

1: No, I do not want a “Strong Leader”, and that is not what I said. What I want is a more responsive organisation. Every award that I know of has a mechanism in place that would allow for a change in the rules between one award presentation and the next. Some of these amount to a strong leader, most do not. None of them takes at least two years to put in place any rule change.

Situations change, and in our modern digital age they change very rapidly indeed. It surely makes sense that awards should be able to respond just as rapidly. As it is, whatever might be proposed at the next WSFS meeting cannot take effect until after it is ratified at the following WSFS meeting in 2016, which means it will be the 2017 awards before there is any actual change. If the Sad and Rabid Puppies behaved within the rules this year, as indeed they did, then they have free rein to do exactly the same next year. That does not strike me as an award process that is fit for purpose.

Here’s is a proposal to make the award more responsive without a “Strong Leader”, (it may not be the only possibility or the best, but it is at least a notion that could be considered): I have seen a number of proposals online for possible changes to the Hugo rules. Why not provide a venue online where these proposals can be thoroughly debated by all interested parties, so that when the next WSFS meeting comes along all that is needed is for the proposal to be ratified or not by the meeting, and lo, the rule change is made, there and then, within the year? As it is, whatever debate has gone on previously, the proposal can only formally be made at the next WSFS meeting, by those who can attend the Worldcon (an expensive commitment, especially if it is on a different continent), and will then only be ratified by those attending the next WSFS meeting at the next Worldcon (yet another expense). By moving the debate online and making the WSFS meeting a ratification body, I think you would actually make the Hugos more democratic, not less.

So no, Kevin, I do not want a strong leader.

 

Martin Wisse on Wis[s]e Words

“If you want to change the Hugos, understand their history” – June 30

Okay, I don’t want to begrudge anybody their Hugo rant — ghu knows I’ve written enough and in fact I’d agree with quite a bit of this criticism:…

The Hugos are the way they are, with all their strengths and weaknesses because they’re the result of a decades long specific democratic process and the 2015 categories and rules are the fossilised remains of this process. You cannot understand the Hugos properly unless you not only know that the Best Semi-prozine category was created to shield all other fanzines from the Locus juggernaut, but also that the same sort of thing happened with the Best podcast category, the long struggle to get comics recognised properly and why there are two editorial categories and what went before that.

And not only that, you need to know the process and rules under which these changes are made, like the proposers of E Pluribus Hugo frex do seem to. You need to understand how the business meetings work as well as why and how it was established, even without Kevin Standlee to prompt you. You need to be a bit of a process nerd to be honest. (You also need to realise that much of this was designed by Americans, who seem to have a national weakness for over complicated voting systems with huge barriers to entry…)

This bone deep understanding and awareness of what is and isn’t possible given the history and current structure of WSFS and the Hugos is likely why people like Kevin Standlee might be a bit dismissive of such criticsm as well as looking overly lawyerly. That’s the risk of being an insider, you have a much better grasp on the mechanism of the system and less of an idea of what it looks like from the outside

But what you should also realise is that knowning this history and being familiar with the whole process more than likely also gives you an overwhelming sense of how fragile the whole structure is, how easy it is for a well intended proposal or rules change to damage or destroy WSFS. I see a deep fear and wariness behind that “slow and prone to complexify process, a desire to err on the side of caution, knowning how close it has come to all going kablooey.

 

Justin Howe on 10 Bad Habits

“Caring is Meaningless” – June 30

This is a thing I wrote in response to some SFF fandom bullshit going on. If you’re reading this and don’t know what the Sad/Rabid Puppies are, well, I envy you. Stay unaware. Don’t google it. Google prehistoric squirrels or Steven Universe conspiracy theories instead. It’ll be time better spent. For the rest of us poor bastards who have eaten of the Fruit of Bullshit from the Tree of Train Wreck, this post is for us.

When someone says, “Well, at least I care!” all they’re saying is, “Well, at least I have an opinion!” I’ve read this from one of the Sad Pup ringleaders, and couldn’t help but read the bit about “caring” as the foot-stomp of the petulant, self-righteous child. Caring is meaningless. Caring can be split so many ways and made to mean anything. You can carry it down into all kinds of Godwin Law absurdity. Mussolini cared about train schedules. Custer cared about the Sioux. You can’t say they didn’t. They certainly cared enough to have opinions about them. To state so sternly that you’re justified in your actions, because “you cared” is simply a sleight of hand attempt to raise feelings up to the level of values, because you’re not wise or self-aware enough to process your feelings without making noises.

 

Lou Antonelli on This Way To Texas

“Puppies in the heartland” – June 30

The Puppy Kickers cite well-known authors who are known conservatives – Mike Resnick and Larry Niven are two – but they came up through the ranks years ago. People like Larry Corriea and Brad Torgersen have entered the field in the past ten years, and have seen and felt first-hand the snubs and insults of the snobs. Both were nominated for the Campbell Award for Best new writer in their first year of eligibility. They didn’t win. Now, that award allows you two years of eligibility, and over the years many writers have has two shots at winning – but neither Larry nor Brad were even nominated in their second years of eligibility.

The Puppy Kickers would assert it’s because as people got to know them better, they realized they sucked as authors. I suspect it’s more likely they were shunted aside because they do not conceal their Mormon faith.

In 2012, when Mitt Romney was the Republican nominee for president, most of the leading lights in the s-f  literary world combined their hatred for people of faith with their hatred for Republicans by attacking Romney in the most vile language. Quite frankly, I personally believe there are some things you should never say to or about people, regardless of the subject. In light of the attacks on Romney, is it any wonder all the Mormon s-f writers went off the reservation? It’s almost a human rights issue – “you can’t say that about one of my coreligionists.

I doubt most of the Puppy Kickers have any Christian friends, and certainly no Mormons. But here in Middle America there are plenty of Christians, Mormons, and even – as Jay Lake used to say – “low church atheists” – people who don’t believe in the supernatural, but, like Jay, didn’t mind if you needed a faith.

I remember when Jay said the source of so much ill feeling were the “high church atheists” – people who didn’t believe in God, and wanted to stamp out your religion, too. Jay was a smart man and a nice guy.

As I have made the convention circuit, I have been heartened by the many people who have been kind and supportive of my work, and either supportive or tolerant of the Sad Puppies effort. It reminds me that most people are thoughtful and considerate human beings, and the internet is a tool that is – like the machinery left behind by the Krel as depicted in the s-f classic movie “Forbidden Planet” – letting the darkest and worst innermost aspects of human nature loose upon the land.

 

Doctor Strangelove on Strangelove for Science Fiction

“Attention seeking troll puppies” – June 30

The various Puppy leaders, it turns out, have little to say, and their arguments implode into insignificance. They don’t think a literary award, the Hugos, should go to literary fiction. They don’t think science fiction should contain messages, or be socially progressive. Their voting slates, of course, contain attempts at literary fiction and message fiction. If we set aside their arguments, all we are left with is noise. Their attention-seeking trolling of the Hugo nomination process in essence says “look at me, look at me!” That is sad, indeed.

 

Terry Weyna on Fantasy Literature

“Magazine Monday: Hugo-Nominated Short Stories 2014”

[Reviews all five nominees.]

The short stories nominated for the Hugo Award this year are a disappointing lot. I read a great many stories in 2014 that were far better than at least four of these tales.

 

Spacefaring Kitten on Spacefaring, Extradimensional Happy Kittens

“Jeffro ‘GURPS-disadvantaged people ruin SFF’ Johnson” – June 30

Reading Jeffro Johnson was an interesting and even SFFnal experience. I mean, one of the most enjoyable aspects of science fiction and fantasy is that it has the capacity to offer alien experiences and viewpoints.

Most likely I disagree with Jeffro Johnson on a wide range of topics, but unlike the three Mad Genius Club bloggers who are competing with him for the Best Fan Writer Hugo, Johnson makes a better job at explaining his views. He is also mainly interested in science fiction and fantasy instead of waging a culture war against “social justice warriors” which is more than a welcome change after wading through the polemics of Dave Freer, Cedar Sanderson and Amanda S. Green…..

 

Laura “Tegan” Gjovaag on Bloggity-Blog-Blog-Blog

“Hugo Reading – Fan Writer” – June 30

[Reviews all five nominees.]

Johnson is the clear winner here, since he seems to be the only one that really fits what I think of as the category. I might put Mixon on the ballot as well, but that is a difficult choice. Both of them are going below “No Award” I think. The other three do not deserve awards for the writing in their packets. In fact, they really shouldn’t have been nominated at all. My guess is that all three must have been on the slates, since I do not believe they could have been nominated by the merits of the writings they provided.

If I sound a little bitter, it’s because I’m feeling bitter… How can people who clearly hate fandoms not their own be nominated for a Hugo Award? My concept of fandom is a big umbrella under which all of us can hang out and do our own thing in a non-judgmental setting. To read screeds against other fans is depressing. To see those screeds nominated for awards? Gah. Seriously, did any of the people voting on the slates actually read these works and say, “Yes, this is the best writing about fandom I saw in 2014.” and, if so, why? How? How can writing that rips someone apart be the best? Why all the hate?

 

Grac on Grac’s Never-Ending TBR Pile of Doom

“The Three-Body Problem – Liu Cixin” – June 30

… I gave this book 3 because of the clunky/heavy part midway through, which almost made me give up. I can see why some people loved it, but I wasn’t one of them – it may well still end up winning this year’s Hugo but I don’t think it’s better than my vote (The Goblin Emperor, in case anyone is interested!). I prefer my science fiction a bit more people-oriented, to be perfectly honest, and the characterisation of many folks in this novel left something to be desired, even as the background of the Cultural Revolution and modern-day China added to its interest.

 

embrodski on Death Is Bad

“Amazing Man” – June 22

I dashed off a little short story, inspired by the Sad Puppies Hugo Fiasco. I had fun writing it, I hope someone finds it enjoyable to read. :)…

….“So all of this…” Paula gestured around herself to indicate the Presidential Palace, the Liberty Legions, and presumably the entire Liberated States of America. “All of this was because you felt snubbed by a group of people you don’t even like?”

Amazing ripped the glasses from his face and crushed them in his fist. His responding roar was super-human, shattering all the glass in the Palace and leaving Paula with mild, but permanent, hearing loss.

“It’s about ethics in journalism!”

Emilio won a Pulitzer that year, as well as a Peabody, an Oscar, a Grammy, a Dobby, and a Tony Award; all purely on merit and not for any other reason at all. Amazing Man won the Nobel Peace Prize. That last one raised a few eyebrows, but it was pointed out that the Peace Prize had previously been awarded to people with a much higher body count than Amazing Man had managed, and wouldn’t it be better to keep it that way? It was hard to argue with that logic.

Miss Perry was released, because Amazing Man was above petty things like personal revenge. She is now happily employed as a Field Hand in the Angola Liberty Farm.

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591 thoughts on “The Wind’s Hind Quarters 6/30”

  1. Lori Coulson on July 1, 2015 at 1:40 pm said:
    Late to the game, I see. So those of us who are anti-slate aren’t Christians? First time I’ve heard being Roman Catholic isn’t Christian,

    There are evangelicals and adventist groups who would definitely assert that Catholics aren’t Christians but they would say Mormons aren’t Christians either. A lot of anti- mormon sentiment comes from various ‘Christian’ groups 🙁

  3. Re: The Weather

    Heat waves are the worst. Keeping cool and hydrated (which I really, really need to do for health reasons) is impossible when my bedroom is in the roof. I expect I’ll forget most of this week, sigh.

    @Kyra

    I like Korean and Japanese food a lot, Chinese and Thai food sometimes, no idea about the others. Richness is okay up to a point, but past that point its delicious for the first three bites and then I start feeling sick. Everything else is good. 🙂

    @Jared Dashoff

    peas in guacamole

    Why would you do that? 🙁

  4. I want a Berliner Weisse. It’s (IMO)the best drink for hot weather, but I don’t think there are any left:-( I shall go and rummage and may not be back.

    ETA. Good grief, it’s getting fashionable. I bet that means it’ll be more than 4.75DM a crate even adjusted for inflation.

  5. Jared Dashoff on July 1, 2015 at 1:50 pm said:
    Since we are veering towards food rather than books these days, may I suggest for tomorrow’s round up the discussion be about peas in guacamole.

    Is that a thing or just a British political joke?

    [ in the UK chip shops sell mushy-peas which vaguely look like guacamole. A story attributed to various figures is that they are on a campaign trail and are so middle-class and out if touch that they mistake the mushy peas for guacamole]

  6. There are evangelicals and adventist groups who would definitely assert that Catholics aren’t Christians but they would say Mormons aren’t Christians either. A lot of anti- mormon sentiment comes from various ‘Christian’ groups 🙁

    The anti-Catholic crowd throw around words like ‘idolater’ and ‘papist’. They are less common then they used to be. Partly, Catholics proved a natural ally for their political agenda and partly because Catholicism is no longer an easy target for anti-immigrant groups.

  8. For lemon/beer combinations I’m always fond of a radler: a German beer brewed with lemon juice with lowish alcohol content, developed (AFAIR) for cyclists in the Black Forest in the late C19. There are US craft breweries making them now, though my favourite is from Monteith’s in Greymouth on South Island.

  10. I would say that generally (in my experience) that inter-denominational pushback between different Christian sects is usually more virulent than between other faiths.

  11. @Meredith

    “Why would you do that? :(”

    Peas are the everyfood. They go with anything. You have not lived until you try the Peas-and-Rocky-Road ice cream combination.

  12. Peas in Guacamole – The New York Times, apparently. They tweeted a link to an article by Melissa Clark who suggested adding fresh English peas to guacamole.

    The usual give peas a chance and peas in our time.

  13. has anyone been following the temps in Spokane?

    Yes. I offered sympathy from Los Angeles. (107F on Monday in my neighborhood, 105F yesterday, today – don’twannaknow).

  14. Due to today being the hottest here since records began (1880s) I’m breaking my three months of enforced teetotalism and drinking chilled IPA – I don’t normally hold with cold beer but it is necessary today.

    Somebody mentioned commercial iced teas the only ones I’ve seen in the UK have far to much sugar and I suspect little actual tea (not that you could taste the difference through the sugar).

  15. @Gabriel F

    We have a long awkward history of murdering each other over differences of opinion on scripture.

    Family history makes claim to descending from Cromwell’s sister on one side and Irish Catholics on the other. Thank goodness family parties never involve both sides at once. (Also middle class on one side and working class on the other, and no my parents marriage was not popular with anyone.)

  16. Just as a note on the recurring discussion about THE GOBLIN EMPEROR not being “real” fantasy because there’s no magic in it, even though there is:

    I’m (finally) reading A GAME OF THRONES. I’m close to halfway through the book, which probably means I’ve read about as many pages as there are in GOBLIN EMPEROR. And so far, there’s more magic in GOBLIN EMPEROR than there has been in THRONES, but no one would say THRONES isn’t real fantasy.

    There are omens and portents, hints and folklore, but so far the magic amounts to dreams having a crapton of foreshadowing to them, a cameo by some White Walkers (without any confirmed magic to them) and some dragon eggs that no one yet believes are more than stone.

    It’s all humans jostling for power and killing or maiming each other. GOBLIN EMPEROR is elves and goblins much more politely killing or attempting to kill, and using magic in understated or key ways.

    But THRONES has lots of action and a more traditionally pre-industrial setting, so it feels more familiar. We believe that the magic is out there even though it hasn’t taken center stage because in stories like this it eventually does, while in GOBLIN some readers saw magic being invoked right in front of them and missed it because the world and the storytelling aren’t as genre-familiar.

  17. Jared Dashoff on July 1, 2015 at 2:02 pm said:
    @meredith and @camestros felapton

    But, but, but…that would actually be mushy-peas with avacado mixed in? Did Wigan invade Mexico while I was sleeping? What’s next black-pudding quesadillas? Uncle Joe’s Chilli Balls?

    I need to lie down…

  18. I’m really, really happy others are ahead of me in thinking about prepping against malicious future slate use. (It’s hot and excess heat plus humidity is very bad for seizure-y disorders.) Thank you, everyone, for a bunch of reassurance.

  19. @Kurt Busiek

    Its fascinating how much work familiar cues do for some stories. I hadn’t realised before how much not having certain things could leave a story in someone’s blind spot.

    @Bruce Baugh

    Solidarity on health related heat sensitivity. Its awful for keeping my blood pressure up.

    I was briefly terribly worried that EPH might lead to legitimate works being eliminated if some nefarious individual maliciously stuck them on a slate, but I think the random nature of the rest of the voters would cancel it out.

  20. Well, given the heat, the humidity and the air pollution I have spent quite a lot of time watching grass grow today.

    This is unfortunate because I’m way behind on project remove stuff from daughter’s room so surveyor can get into it by 10.30 am tomorrow; I’m hoping he is reasonably slender. Then we can adjourn to somewhere with air con to discuss light and lack thereof, should the CrossRail people build what they want to build; all things considered it’s not the best start to July.

    On the other hand, things could be a lot worse; I have made major dents in my reading for voting schedule and I’m fairly sure where I’m going. In the end, as others have noted, I needn’t angst about slate; garbage is garbage and that takes care of the great majority of the candidates…

  21. @P J Evans checked with an online converter to find that 107°F is 41°C which puts our recording breaking 34°C to shame. It’s still far too hot for me though.

  22. Jeffro did not volunteer for this mess and his *employer* placed him on the slate.

    He could have declined the nomination – Surridge did. He could have withdrawn it – Black Gate, Kloos, and Bellet did. He could choose to be hosted somewhere other than Castalia House. He has done none of these things. Instead, he continues to toe the slate party line and insist that there is nothing wrong with dishonestly and dishonorably getting on the Hugo ballot that way. Casting Jeffro as an innocent victim is a dog that just won’t hunt. He’s walking through this with his eyes open. He knows what the score is. He just doesn’t care.

  23. My current favorite tofu dish is the Korean soon dobu, or tofu soup. It uses a soft tofu, as does Taiwanese deep-fried tofu (not a dish I’d try at home).

    Related to shandy, there’s a Mexican lager/lime combination called chelada that’s getting more popular in this neck of the woods. My current hot weather drink is limeade: juice of one lime with sparkling water.

    Summary of Antonelli’s essay: Let’s move the goalposts over there for a while. It confirms the impression I got from the excerpts from his Hugo-nominated related work: he’s a legend in his own mind.

    Book recommendations: I’m currently enjoying most of the stories in Old Venus. Otherwise, apart from Ancillary Sword/Goblin Emperor/Three Body Problem the books I’ve read this year that I’ve enjoyed the most are nonfiction: a history of the attempt by Jefferson and Astor to establish a settlement at the mouth of the Columbia River c. 1805, a hagiography of Nelson Rockefeller, “How To Be a Victorian”, and Bart Ehrman’s Forged (a history of the New Testament that would have JCW frothing at the mouth).

    I did read “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress” for the first time last month (never did care for Heinlein growing up): dated in some areas, but holds up decently. I doubt it would make a puppy slate today, though. And “My Real Children”, for something completely different.

  24. I am so happy to be missing this heat/humidity wave ya’ll have going on. It’s about 67F here in Michigan. My father has end-stage COPD and a hot, humid day can kill him, so at least on days like today he can get out and about!

  25. Doire on July 1, 2015 at 2:01 pm said:

    I want a Berliner Weisse. It’s (IMO)the best drink for hot weather, but I don’t think there are any left:-( I shall go and rummage and may not be back.

    Isn’t that the terrible, terrible beer that gets much better when you add a shot of cherry cordial to it?

    I gave that up when I learned about lambics.

  26. Wow, guacamole and fresh peas. A combination of two of the three green food-like substances that I can’t stand! (Now if they only added asparagus, it would be a clean sweep.)

    All of the Pacific Northwest is in a hot spell, and the temps here in Portland have been only a few degrees cooler than Spokane. I know from promoting several Portland Westercons over the years that the average high here in Portland in early July is 78 degrees–about 20 degrees cooler than what we’ll be see the next few days.

  27. @Meredith

    For Korean food, Tofu Bibimbap is a particular favorite of mine. The tofu is generally not highlighted in this dish, it’s just one ingredient among many, so I’d call it a good example of how tofu contributes as a flavor/texture to a greater whole. Dubu jjigae (a kind of stew) is also very nice.

    For Japanese cuisine, you might want to try ordering some Inari the next time you go out for sushi. It’s a very nice addition to a mixed sushi selection. (You can also, many places, get maki sushi with tofu as the “filling”, but I would suggest inari is more interesting and flavorful, and will give you a much better idea of the taste of the tofu itself within the context of the dish.)

    Both Korean and Japanese cuisines also have common side dishes which are basically tofu cooked a certain way with a particular sauce — for example, Japanese Agedashi Tofu or Korean Dubu Jorim. These much more highlight the flavor and texture of the tofu itself. But while I like both, I might suggest these are “next level” dishes to try if you first have tofu in other contexts and decide you like it after all.

  28. But THRONES has lots of action and a more traditionally pre-industrial setting, so it feels more familiar.

    Very true and, ironically, less fantastical but more like a standard fantasy novel. In both cases the magical element would not be hard to strip out but hard to see why that is a problem. LoTR doesn’t have that much actual spell casting going on either aside from the one-maguffin.

  29. Bibimbaps are wonderful; tragically they closed the Korean restaurant downstairs which did real bibimbap in stone, and it’s now some trendy Bad Egg place. I shall have to find somewhere else to feed the craving…

  30. Meredith: I was briefly terribly worried that EPH might lead to legitimate works being eliminated if some nefarious individual maliciously stuck them on a slate,

    Being on a slate will still boost the votes of a work as EPH doesn’t really penalise slates so much as dillute there lockstepyness. I.e it will only reduce the chance of a clean sweep due to slates.

  31. Jared Dashoff on July 1, 2015 at 1:58 pm said:
    Whut? Peas in guacamole? What is wrong with the NYT?!
    Wasabi peas, or Siracha Peas snacks are delicious. But I don’t want peas in my guacamole or avocado in my peas. These are not two great tastes that taste great together!

  32. I encountered tofu for the first time while staying at a ryokan in Kyoto*, where they served the most enormous and tasty breakfasts, perfect set-up for tramping around Kyoto all day. Trouble was, the tofu was just a small block in a dish with no hint of what I was supposed to do with it. I nibbled a bit by itself: bland boring lack of taste, no texture. I put soya sauce on it, and it tasted of soya sauce. I put it on the ham and eggs, and it did nothing to enhance the flavours or much of anything else. I put it in the miso soup and it just kind of disintegrated. Never did figure it out, left it alone eventually.

    *Karatachi Ryokan, near the Fushimi Inari shrine. Check it out if you’d like a semi-traditional Japanese boarding house experience rather than an anonymous room in Hotel Space. Tell them I sent you… and they won’t know what you’re talking about. But bring along a tourist book about your home, and they’ll love you for it.

  33. @ Scott Frazer Traditionally raspberry or woodruff syrup (or in the very long, long ago caraway schnapps) , but I am currently enjoying one straight.

    I think the trick is not to think of it as beer.

  35. Peas in guac seems like packing material to me! Don’t let anything get in the way of my avocado with inferior green stuff!

  36. Now back in the furnace after a healthy Bloody Mary, since I have not bought the white rum for a proper Mojito.

  37. Isn’t that the terrible, terrible beer that gets much better when you add a shot of cherry cordial to it?

    noooo. A good Berliner Weisse is a great beer, with a sourness that cuts through the heat of a long summer’s day and very very different from lambics even if those are on the sour side as well.

    The problem is that with the Weisse it’s so easy to overdo it/spoil it and it goes off and it’s just awful. (Especially considering many US brewers’ idea of more = better). Lambics are more difficult to spoil and can always be rescued somewhat by adding sugar and making them into faros.

  38. > “LoTR doesn’t have that much actual spell casting going on either aside from the one-maguffin.”

    I’ve long been of the opinion that magic in LoTR, with a few exceptions (a ring that makes you invisible, palantirs that can communicate across distances, and so on) is more about a kind of personal power, the force of Who You Are, than “spells” in the Vancian, D&D sense. It’s something I thought the Jackson movies got terribly wrong in the wizard duel between Gandalf and Saruman.

  40. Remember, a balanced daily diet should include one of every colour. Guacamole or peas, or both together, is great for your green part of the spectrum. Personally, I often have trouble locating blues and violets, and have been known to resort to food dyes in my rice.

    In any case, don’t have nightmares about your greens.

  41. These days relations among US religious groups seem to have been affected by the political culture wars. Social liberal vs conservative may be the most important consideration for some.

  43. I like peas and I like guacamole but I don’t want to combine the two. If I want a mushy green thing with peas in it I’ll eat mushy peas, preferably with some nice fish and chips.

    @Kyra

    Thanks! I think I have an idea where I can get a couple of those. (Eating out can be complicated with wheelchair, travel, etc..)

    @Stevie

    Looks like there’s a place that specialises in it on Greek Street – its appropriately named Bi Bim Bap.

  44. @ Ginger and toniee,
    Avoid the kind of “ice (sic) tea” that comes in a can. For real iced tea, make a pot of your favourite hot tea (adding sugar, if you want, while it’s still warm; adding sugar to cold tea just makes a tea-ey sludge at the bottom of the glass). Then pour into a glass stuffed with ice cubes, add lemon and mint sprigs to taste, and enjoy.
    I know British people who like a drink of similar colour called Pimms’, but I avoid drinks with sticks of cucumber in ’em.

  45. There are omens and portents, hints and folklore, but so far the magic amounts to dreams having a crapton of foreshadowing to them, a cameo by some White Walkers (without any confirmed magic to them) and some dragon eggs that no one yet believes are more than stone.

    One of the joys of ASOIAF is that the dreams and omens and portents are very, VERY misleading. Also, there is a SPOILER event after which magic starts to work again after having failed to do so for centuries.

  46. I don’t plan to spend much time worrying about Beale’s next evil plan. Life is too short. If he nominates people who aren’t even aware of the award and can’t take a position on slating, I’ll judge those people on their merits.
    If the problem with the awards is author self promotion, the existence of a wiki or spreadsheet listing all eligible works can help address it. Social pressure on authors to point to the wiki rather than list their eligible work.

  47. Glenn Hauman No, no, no. There are 10 types of people in the world: those that understand binary, and those that don’t.

    As I understand it, that’s actually 1/(2**2) { |00> + |01> + |10> + |11>} types of people these days. But I’m not certain of it…

  48. > “I encountered tofu for the first time while staying at a ryokan in Kyoto …”

    Kyoto is actually famous for its tofu. When I was there about six years ago, it was a great place to be a vegetarian … although, yes, sometimes tricky to figure out exactly what you were supposed to be doing. Still, all the wonderful momen tofu, kinugoshi tofu, age tofu, atsu-age tofu, oboro tofu, yaki tofu …

  49. I have no idea why that just got caught by the spam filter, but the important bit is:

    Thanks Kyra.

    The rest can stay there. :p

  50. @Anna
    But is the spoiler event the cause or is it another thing that is made possible by the return of magic?

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