Some background, first: Growing up, everyone around me was white like me. That statement is not literally true. The small, rural town of Colfax, Washington actually contained Asians, Hispanics, African-Americans, Native Americans, Indians, and Arabs. Not in large concentrations, but they were there. Hell, they were within one grade level of me at school. But…
Assorted Ramblings (blog)
On War
I hate doing things as a simple meme post. The world is so much more complicated than that. The attacks in Paris were a physical set of attacks made against a NATO country. We here in America have sworn mutual defense with France, and so these attacks may as well have been made against us…
On Finding Some Common Ground
Ladies and Gentlemen of America, I have a news flash for you. The Constitution Is. It exists, it is interpreted by the Supreme Court, and nothing short of a Constitutional Amendment is going to change that. Stop trying to make arguments that it isn’t. To the Left: like it or lump it, the Second Amendment…
The Law of Superefficient Reactions
“For every internet action, there is a greater and opposite reaction.” There. I’ve boiled it down for you. You want an explanation? OK, let’s get into the math of this thing. Let’s say Alex makes an argument on the internet, which we will take as A. Now, A could be basically any position at all, and…
Final Thoughts on Sasquan, The World SF&F Convention 2015
Frog and I had a wonderful, amazing convention. We got to meet fans we didn’t know we had, sell many books, hang out with authors and friends, find more people who share our interests, and even attend a few room parties. It was a beautiful, smokey, unforgettable experience. Conventions always remind me why I started…
On Collateral Damage
Let me talk to you for a moment about Jennifer Brozek. Now, I’ve been going to panels with Jennifer for a couple of years. She’s an amazing speaker, she’s a hell of a gamer, and she is amazing at what she does. She has nothing to do with the Sad Puppy or Rapid Puppy or any kind…
WorldCon Report, Day 3: Into the Smoke
So, day 3 was supposed to be simple. I had one job to do. That job, by the way, was to drink beer, an activity that I perform on occasion with no obligation whatsoever. Well, that and work sgt-at-arms for the Business Meeting, which was fun but uneventful (wait for Day 5). No, Friday was shaping up to…
WorldCon Report, Day 1: The drumbeat begins
Alright, day one of Worldcon was a slow start. Jessica Rising was awesome enough to show Esther and I a sneaky way to get in the registration line before the doors to the convention center opened, thus insuring that we did not actually have to wait in said line for more than a couple of…
Meritocracy
The Supremes issued a couple big opinions this week. Then the country basically lit itself on fire. There’s a lot of celebration, and rightly so. There’s also a lot of hatred from the right for the judicial authority which has so finally demolished the debate. The legal issues are done. Gay marriage is now legal….
What’s with the sudden rage on Twitter?
Alright, I’ve gone kind of off the rails live-tweeting this horrific CLE I’m a part of. We’re on lunch break, now, so I’m going to break my thoughts down in a form that isn’t limited to 140 characters. The NACDL is the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. In theory, it’s an organization that exists…