Category Archives: Whatever

Walton reviews Harlan Ellison's Last Dangerous Visions

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Mandolin

Jo Walton writes an intelligent, thought-provoking review of THE LAST DANGEROUS VISIONS, edited by Harlan Ellison in 1982. “On reflection, not very dangerous,” she concludes. “…it wasn’t visionary and they certainly hadn’t seen the future. But we don’t condemn science … Continue reading →

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She genuinely wanted to know…

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Maia

Coming from New Zealand where we have a public health system (with problems, but it exists), my reaction to a lot of the proposals has been: “Huh” or “that’s so fucked up” or “that’s making things better than they are … Continue reading →

Posted in Whatever | 45 Comments

Alpha Workshop for Young Writers Fund Drive

Posted on March 19, 2010 by Mandolin

The Alpha Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Workshop for Young Writers provides a ten-day crash course in speculative fiction writing for students aged 14-19. The students write and revise a short story, receive critiques, and work with four professional authors–which … Continue reading →

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Nisi Shawl & Cynthia Ward guest blogging at Booklife Now

Posted on March 8, 2010 by Mandolin

Jeff VanderMeer’s Booklife Now blog has two very exciting guest writers this week–Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward. Nisi and Cynthia are the authors of Writing the Other, a practical text aimed at helping authors write characters unlike them. The book … Continue reading →

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Random YouTubery

Posted on March 5, 2010 by Jeff Fecke

I still have no idea who this guy is, but the made Steven Colbert happy, and he’s Russian. Via Chris Bodenner

Posted in Popular (and unpopular) culture, Whatever | 5 Comments

Well, Crud.

Posted on March 3, 2010 by Jeff Fecke

Those of you who’ve been meandering around the interweb for a while will be familiar with the blogger Jon Swift, the mock-conservative who declared that he received his news through unbiased sources like Rush Limbaugh, and who said of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Whatever | 3 Comments

The Big Idea Behind Nojojojo's Hundred Thousand Kingdoms at Scalzi's Whatever

Posted on February 26, 2010 by Mandolin

N. K. Jemisin (who sometimes posts here via the Angry Black Woman as Nojojojo) discusses her excellent debut epic fantasy novel, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, in the Big Idea feature at John Scalzi’s blog. his week, in my copious free … Continue reading →

Posted in Whatever | 6 Comments

New Post on Big Other — Video Friday: Author Edition

Posted on February 12, 2010 by Mandolin

First up: “My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors” by Moxy Fruvous: “We’ve been living in hovels / spending all our money on / brand new novels.” And via Ann Leckie, “Sensitive Artist” by King Missile: “I stay home, reading … Continue reading →

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Howard Zinn 1922-2010: "I Never Died" Says He

Posted on January 27, 2010 by Maia

The first book I ever read by Howard Zinn was SNCC: The New Abolitionists. I’ve read a lot of his writing since then, and I think it’s his most powerful book. Howard Zinn wrote an essay The Optimism of Uncertainty. … Continue reading →

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Rachel Swirsky's Short Story Nebula Reccommendations, 2009

Posted on January 27, 2010 by Mandolin

I recently blitzed through a number of short stories so that I could finalize the short story portion of my Nebula ballot. I wanted to post about the ones I decided to nominate, and also some of the other excellent … Continue reading →

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