Category Archives: In the news

Hugo Awards Are In; Puppies Lose Big; The Alternative Nominees; E Pluribus Hugo Proposal Passes Its First Vote

Posted on August 23, 2015 by Ampersand

Best Novel – The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu, translated by Ken Liu (Tor Books) Best Novella – No Award Best Novelette – “The Day the World Turned Upside Down” by Thomas Olde Heuvelt (Lightspeed, April 2014) Best Short … Continue reading →

Posted in Hugo Awards, In the news | 60 Comments

Baltimore

Posted on April 28, 2015 by Ampersand

I really don’t have anything to say. But I can quote. Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Nonviolence as Compliance“: Now, tonight, I turn on the news and I see politicians calling for young people in Baltimore to remain peaceful and “nonviolent.” These well-intended … Continue reading →

Posted in In the news, police brutality, Prisons and Justice and Police, Race, racism and related issues | 158 Comments

On Hugos and the No-Award Option

Posted on April 24, 2015 by Ampersand

Winning the Hugo requires winning a two-stage process of voting. First a work is one of five winners of the nomination stage, and then one of those five wins the final stage. The Puppy-nominated works did not legitimately win the … Continue reading →

Posted in In the news | 17 Comments

#SavingChase: Judge Orders Mom Arrested For Violating Agreement To Have Her 4-Year-Old Son Circumcised

Posted on March 27, 2015 by Ampersand

From the Florida Sun Sentinel (if that link is paywall blocked, try this indirect link). Despite the threat of being jailed Tuesday, a West Boynton mother hid with her 4-year-old son in a domestic violence shelter, the latest twist in … Continue reading →

Posted in Free speech, censorship, copyright law, etc., In the news, Sexism hurts men | 12 Comments

Kevin Moore On Starbucks “Race Together”

Posted on March 23, 2015 by Ampersand

My friend Kevin Moore draws and writes: I love the expressions Kevin drew, especially in panel 4. This reminded me of the discussion in comments here, where a few posters were (rightly) concerned that Starbucks employees aren’t paid enough to … Continue reading →

Posted in In the news, Race, racism and related issues | 17 Comments

Texas Kindergarden Sends Five-Year-Old Home Because He Has Awesome Hair

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Ampersand

This story is sort of an intesectionality jackpot, combining as it does elements of racism, religious bigotry, and sexism. For five-year-old Malachi Wilson, the first day of kindergarten will always be one he remembers. As it turns out, Monday, which … Continue reading →

Posted in In the news, Race, racism and related issues, Religion, Sexism hurts men | 9 Comments

Nine thoughts about the police shooting of Kajieme Powell

Posted on August 21, 2014 by Ampersand

Huffington Post reports: St. Louis officials have identified the 25-year-old man shot dead yesterday in an officer-involved shooting that happened only a few miles from where Michael Brown was killed by police earlier this month. Authorities said Kajieme Powell stole … Continue reading →

Posted in In the news, police brutality | 18 Comments

Must-Read Jamelle Bouie Article On The Decades-Old Context For Ferguson

Posted on August 20, 2014 by Ampersand

Ferguson protests over Michael Brown won’t end soon: The black community’s anger is rooted in a history of racism. This longish (well, longer than a blog post) article by Jamelle Bouie, about the long history of official racism in Ferguson, … Continue reading →

Posted in In the news, police brutality, Prisons and Justice and Police, Race, racism and related issues | 1 Comment

A quick note on Michael Brown’s death and “plausibility”

Posted on August 19, 2014 by Ampersand

Dorian Johnson was walking with Michael Brown when they were stopped by Officer Darren Wilson. According to Johnson’s eyewitness account: …a police car pulled up alongside Brown and him, and the officer—who has been identified as Darren Wilson—allegedly told Johnson … Continue reading →

Posted in In the news, police brutality, Prisons and Justice and Police, Race, racism and related issues | 45 Comments

Robin Williams, 1951-2014

Posted on August 11, 2014 by Ampersand

Oscar-winning actor and comic Robin Williams died Monday at 63 of an apparent suicide, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.

Posted in In the news | 10 Comments