james_nicoll

I’ve been thinking of a way to explain to straight white men how life works for them, without invoking the dreaded word “privilege,” to which they react like vampires being fed a garlic tart at high noon. It’s not that the word “privilege” is incorrect, it’s that it’s not their word. When confronted with “privilege,” they fiddle with the word itself, and haul out the dictionaries and find every possible way to talk about the word but not any of the things the word signifies.

Yesterday’s post garnered 800 comments before I put it to bed and I ended up deleting a record number of comments out of it, largely from presumably straight white men enraged at the idea their life doesn’t necessarily suck as much as other folks’ and/or because they ate lead paint chips as children and have impulse control issues (plus a couple from other, calmer folks following up on posts I later deleted, so theirs needed to be deleted too). Whatever the reason, I thought it would be fun to post a compendium of Malletings here for your enjoyment

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

The surface of Mars is a tough place to survive, but researchers at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) found some lichens and cyanobacteria tough enough to handle those conditions.

After driving off Greeley Haven – where she stood patiently for 19 long weeks – Opportunity is now driving again. Not just turning, not just bumping, but driving. She’s driven away from Greeley Haven, heading a short distance downhill, towards a small patch of wind-blown dust which has caught the rover team’s eye.

... is there something about CJ Cherryh that precludes her from
nominations in these "grand master of SF" type awards? This isn't
the first time I've seen award lists discussed on your LJ where
names like COnnie WIllis and Elizabeth Moon pop up, and yet, no
hide nor hair of Cherryh. This seems quite odd to me... just
because I don't particularly like her writing /myself/ doesn't mean
she doesn't (a) have a huge following, (b) a very long and salutory
publishing history, and (c) a dedication to what people might
characterize as reasonably solid science-fiction-ey SF.

Joan Vinge is another name that pops to mind, although I tend to
think of her as "less SF and more fantasy in SF clothing" than
Cherryh... perhaps unwarrantedly.

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

Year Awarded        Winner(s)
2012                Stanley Schmidt
2011                Connie Willis
2009                Joe Haldeman
                    John Varley
2008                Ben Bova
                    Spider Robinson
2007                Elizabeth Moon
                    Anne McCaffrey
2006                Greg Bear
                    Jack Williamson
2005                Jerry Pournelle
                    Larry Niven
2004                Arthur C. Clarke
2003                Michael Flynn
                    Virginia Heinlein

T    M    F    F/T
15  11    4    .27  

Jay Kay Klein, who spent his final days in hospice care with terminal oesophegeal cancer, died May 13 reports John Hertz. Jay Kay was 80 years old.

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.