MORE SENSELESS ACTS OF BLOGGERY

Haven’t done one of these for awhile, and it features questions I haven’t answered before, so why not?

Senior year of high school

The year: 1983

1. Did you know your spouse?
No. 

2. Did you carpool to school?
If the school bus counts as carpooling, then yes.

3. What kind of car did you have? 
I had no car. I occasionally borrowed my mom’s AMC Rambler station wagon with unreliable brakes and required a screwdriver to open the doors.

4. It's FRIDAY night football, were you there?
No. And why is Friday in all caps?

5. What kind of job did you have?
I didn’t. I was generally unemployable. I mostly mowed lawns for pocket money.

6. Were you a party animal?
No. I was never invited to parties, and probably wouldn’t have gone if I had been.

7. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? 
None of the above. I was in the Drama Club.

8. Were you a nerd?
Let’s just say I got beat up behind the portables a lot.

9. Did you get suspended or expelled? 
No.

10. Can you sing the fight/school song?
I don’t remember what it was. I’m not 100% sure we even had one.

11. Where did you eat lunch?
The cafeteria.

12. What was your school mascot? 
A commando.

13. If you could go back and do it again, would you?
Never.

14. Planning on going to your next high school reunion?
I haven't been to any of them, so why start now?

15. Are you still in contact with people from high school?
I’m in contact with a couple of people who I knew while I was in high school, but they didn't go to the same school as me.

16. Do you know where your high school sweetheart is today?
No idea.

17. What was your favorite subject?
Art.

18. Do you still have your High School Ring?
I never got one. That was for kids with money. Also, I’ve never been one for jewelry.

19. Do you still have your yearbook?
I don’t know. If I do, it’s in storage in my mom’s house somewhere, gathering dust, cobwebs and mold. I’m not in any hurry to dig for it.

School’s out completely,

This is dF

I don’t usually respond to political memes, because it’s the equivalent of arguing with a mentally ill brick wall.

But I’ve come across a couple that are currently making the rounds that I feel are worthy of a response, because they try to make intelligent points – or what they imagine are intelligent points. So okay.

1. Conservatives are grown-ups (unlike “takers”)



This is a variation on an old favorite in conservative circles: personal responsibility. Paying yr own way is a virtue. Relying on govt programs is not, because people who use govt programs are “takers”: lazy irresponsible children who demand everything be handed to them by the nanny state.

Which is really just another way of saying: “I resent the fact that other people can take my tax money and buy stuff I have to pay for myself.”

As you might imagine, I don’t agree with this, partly because I personally don’t mind if my tax money is used to fund public services, but mainly because I think it’s based on a false premise: namely, that all people who use govt programs are freeloaders who aren’t willing to work and the equivalent of irresponsible children. Yes, some of them are. Many of them are not. So I think it’s unfair, unrealistic and mean to yank their safety net out from under them just because some people in the same net are loafers. Characterizing them as irresponsible children is oversimplistic and, well, lazy.

I also don't really buy into the libertarian fantasy that participation in society should be based solely on your ability to pay for basic necessities, and that if you can’t afford birth control, food, a mortgage, college education or a cell phone, yr not entitled to have them. We can argue over whether things like college and cell phones count as necessities, perhaps. But that’s a different argument from whether people who can’t afford to pay for them on their own are lazy irresponsible children. That’s just an excuse to pretend that people who can’t make ends meet or keep up with the rest of society only have themselves to blame, and therefore are not yr problem.

2. If you don’t vote, Trump happens



This is usually forwarded by left-leaning people worried that voter apathy leads to people like Trump winning the the White House – or worse, Bernie Sanders losing the Demo nomination to Hillary Clinton.

I’m all for voter participation, but I have a problem with the argument that if everyone votes, then good candidates will win (and by “good” they usually mean “the specific candidate I’ve been supporting with every other meme that I post here”). Actually there’s no guarantee that a higher turnout will swing a particular result, except in retrospect, when you can point to examples where, say, your party had only 25% voter turnout while the opposition party had 45% voter turnout. But the party base usually only accounts for about 30% of the electorate. The remaining unaffiliated 40% could go either way depending on all kinds of factors. So if you have 100% voter turnout, the opposition candidate could still win.

Put another way, if you have 100% turnout and yr candidate still loses, is that better than if they lost with only (say) 40% turnout? And would you be more accepting of the result?

Also, people who forward memes like this tend to believe there is a stark difference between the two parties. Well, sure, if you believe every fool meme that pops up on yr Facebook feed catering to yr specific political bias. But many people don’t see all that much difference. To some people (including me to a point), the GOP and the Democratic Party suck in different ways, perhaps, but they still basically suck. I don’t belong to either party, and I haven’t been that happy with the POTUS choices offered to me since at least 1996. This year is a little different in the sense that both parties’ candidates are being pulled closer to the ideological fringe. But political polarization has made change even less likely, so I can’t blame people for thinking it doesn’t really matter who wins, we’re screwed anyway, so why bother?

BONUS TRACK: On a side note, I’ll add a comment about a related meme complaining about the Democratic use of superdelegates, which at the moment is favoring Hillary. Sanders supporters are complaining this subverts the will of the people and that it's a plot by the DNC to steal the election for Hillary.

I’ve heard this one before back when people were complaining about the electoral college in 2000, where Al Gore won the pop vote but lost the electoral vote (Florida’s hanging chads notwithstanding.) I think that’s a valid discussion, but regarding the way the current superdelegate argument is being framed, I just have a few things to say about it:

1. Many of the people complaining about superdelegates don’t seem to understand how the process works (or how political parties work, for that matter).

2. Even of they do, I will bet good money that if the superdelegates were backing Sanders instead of Clinton, the Sanders supporters would not have a single bad thing to say about the superdelegate system.

3. If the GOP had a superdelegate system, it’s possible that the current frontrunners in the delegate count would not be Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.

Of course I realize that Sanders fans are delighted at having Trump or Cruz as the GOP nominee, because they’re pretty sure America as a whole won’t vote for the crazy guy. But think of it this way: one of the purposes of the electoral college is to give political parties the ability to prevent The American Voters from electing any dangerous demagogue yahoo who knows how to work the rubes. (The superdelegate system serves a similar purpose.) So if you want the pop vote to determine all election outcomes, that’s fine – just remember that sometimes the population doesn’t always make the smartest decisions about who would make a good POTUS.

Trump and Cruz are getting closer and closer to proving that.

It can’t happen here,

This is dF

For the year ending December 31, 2015

NOTE: “Political Meme Points” = points scored by any political meme that supports your political ideology and – by doing so – completely decimates the opposing political ideology.

Political Meme Points scored by liberals: 7,882

Political Meme Points scored by conservatives: 7,881

Number of sociopolitical problems solved: 0

Number of opponents destroyed by a meme's irrefutable logic: 0

Number of arguments mutually resolved: 0

Keeping score,

This is dF

Here’s a sort of book meme:

io9 has posted a list of 21 of “the most influential science fiction and fantasy books”. It’s not meant to be definitive or complete. But a list is a list.

And this is what they came up with:

1) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
2) 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
3) Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delaney
4) Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
5) War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
6) Foundation by Isaac Asimov
7) Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
8) Dangerous Visions, Edited by Harlan Ellison
8) Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
9) Ringworld by Larry Niven
10) The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
11) Neuromancer by William Gibson
12) Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
13) A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin
14) Kindred by Octavia Butler
15) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling
16) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
17) The Wind-Up Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
18) The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
19) Slaughter-House Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
20) The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
21) Dune - Frank Herbert

You can read the justifications here.

The ones in bold font are ones that I’ve read.

The ones in italics are ones I have considered reading.

As for the rest … either I have no real interest or (in the case of Tolkien and Herbert) I’ve attempted to read them and gave up.

The same goes for Ursula Le Guin, though not for that specific book. I tried The Dispossessed and couldn’t get into it, but I could be tempted to try another one of her books. Certainly enough people whose opinion I respect have suggested I try the Earthsea books. So I can see myself giving her another try.

Octavia Butler I’m less sure about. I read one of her Patternmaster books (Mind Of My Mind) and while I actually finished it, it didn’t really do much for me. Maybe some of you can advise me if Kindred is worth trying.

I’m sure some may question the presence of Harry Potter and The Hunger Games. I’m not entirely convinced about the latter. I’ve never read the books, but the justification provided by io9 isn't very strong – I don’t know if simply spawning a crop of cash-in imitators counts as “changing SF/F forever”. And anyway, it’s not like overthrowing authoritarian regimes hasn’t been a SF/F staple since at least the 1930s.

However, I think an argument can be made for Harry Potter, in the sense that I can’t name another book series in the history of book publishing where acquiring and reading the latest episode became a global group activity. Maybe it happens with the latest Game Of Thrones novels, but not nearly on the same level.

Speaking of which, I’m still not interested in A Game Of Thrones. At least not right now. I’m not ruling it out, but it’s not a big priority for me right now. I’m also indifferent to Samuel R. Delaney. I’ve never read him, but the books of his I’ve seen on shelves didn’t really interest me. Maybe one day they will.

As for the ones I have read … the only one I’m not that excited about is 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. It’s good, and I won’t deny Verne’s influence in SF, but I found it tedious at times. Apart from that, I’d highly recommend any of the others.

I’m gonna change yr life,

This is dF

I tried this meme awhile back. 

I remember at the time there was some debate about the accuracy of the analysis engine, and with my own results being all over the place, I was curious to see what my results would be this time.

The good news: my unpublished novel Bras From Mars no longer reads like a Dan Brown novel.

It’s more like Great Expectations, apparently.


Only with lingerie and Martians. 

Also, my next novel project will make me the new Cory Doctorow.


Apart from that, my writing style does seem to be gelling. Apparently, my bloggery (both professional and personal), political rants, dream diaries and erotica, can be filed under the same result: 


Ironically, I’ve never read Wallace. I’m told I should. 

Anyway.

Infinite jest,

This is dF

ITEM: Locus Online has released its poll of the 50 best science-fiction and 50 best fantasy novels of the 20^th Century, as well as the Top 15 such novels of the 21^st Century so far.

As you know, I’m a sucker for book lists, if only because they make fun memes. That said, the Locus list should be read with the caveat that it’s an online poll, and the votes were all write-ins. So this list should be taken with a few grains of salt.

And I do have a few grains of my own:

1. There is no Norman Spinrad on it. I know Spinrad’s an acquired taste, but personally I don’t see how you could have a Best SF list this long without at least one of his books.

2. re: Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? – I’m a big fan of PKD, but honestly I suspect this particular book makes lists like this mostly because of the film version, which is markedly different from the book. It’s a good book, to be sure, but PKD has written far better books than this. Okay, two of them also made the list. Still.

3. I was not aware that Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude was a fantasy book.

4. I noticed that China Mieville’s The City & the City is listed in both SF and Fantasy for 21^st Century books. I haven't read it, so maybe it’s a hybrid of both. Even so, surely there should be a rule against that.

Anyway, here’s my own stats:

20^th Century:

I have read 25 of the Top 50 SF novels. Of the ones I have read, 14 are in the Top 20.

I have read 19 of top 50 fantasy novels – which is surprising to me as I don’t read much fantasy. Then again, some of them aren’t your typical “fantasy” genre novel (with swords and dragons and wizards and hobbitses and whatnot).

21^st Century:

I have read 7 of top 15 SF novels.

And I have read 6 of top 15 fantasy novels.

The full list follows, with the usual meme rules:

Bold – read it

Italics – I want to read it or it’s already in my to-read pile

Italics/strikethrough – tried to read it but gave up

( How many have YOU read, kids? )

Off to the bookstore,

This is dF

But we do like the Caramelldansen.



Wave yr hands in the air,

This is dF

ITEM: NPR has unveiled its list of the Top 100 Science-Fiction/Fantasy novels.

The list is reader-nominated and voted (with vetting by a panel of experts), so undoubtedly there will be debate over what should be there and what shouldn’t. Personally I wouldn’t have included graphic novels like Watchmen and the Sandman series. Also, while some people have complained about I Am Legend being on it (“it’s a vampire novel!”), I think it belongs partly because of the speculative/dystopian element, but also because it does treat vampirism as something that can be scientifically explained.

Also, no Spinrad? Srsly? And of all the PK Dick novels they could have gone with, they picked the book that’s better known for the film version which only barely resembles the book?

Anyway, it turns out I’ve read 45 of them. And it’ll hopefully be 46 in the next month or so, as The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein is literally in the reading queue – I have a copy in my “to read” pile.

Here’s the meme version (courtesy of pussreboots):

( Get yr meme on ... )

PRODUCTION NOTE: While I appreciate the readers/panelists deciding to include an entire series as a single entry, occasionally it doesn’t work. For example, I’ve only read some of the Xanth series, but I counted it anyway. And I’m curious as to why the Discworld series didn’t get its own entry. Maybe because it’s technically ongoing?

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION: For the ones with strikethroughs, if you’ve read those books and want to make a case for them.

Nerdtastic,

This is dF

Look, children, it’s an Interwub meme.

INSTRUCTIONS:
Just to liven things up and make people smile, post your favorite cheesy pop song from any era, and then ask your LJ friends to do the same.

I wouldn’t say this is my favorite, but I’ve always had a soft spot for The Association, the band so clean-cut they made the Beach Boys look like dope-smoking thugs.



Point of interest for those of you tuning in from Chicago: you may recognize the urban backgrounds during the “Windy” bits.

Lighter than air,

This is dF

By order of nebris :

What am I born to do? Your Result: Prime Minister   You like to argue and think you are always the best.
Journalist
Author
Artist
The Pope
Accountant
Athlete
Web designer
Mad Scientist
Builder
What am I born to do? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Well, sure. I’ve often thought to myself, “If Tony Blair can do this, why can’t I?”

On the other hand, I’ve heard that Tony took this test and got "The Pope". So, you know, maybe I’ll just stick to reporting about telephones.

Stepping down for the good of the country,

This is dF