On the “Right” Kind of Reviews
One of the things that often bothers me about the reviewing process is the idea that some reviews are inherently more valuable than others. By this, I don’t mean in the sense of the quality of the writing itself; after all, some reviews really are nothing more than a quick “I liked it” or are borderline unreadable. Rather, I mean “more valuable” in the sense that different styles of reviewing are worth more than others. While I think most of us would agree that this is poppycock, there are some in the sf/f community who would honestly claim that the critical/analytical review is simply better than the others (namely, the self-reflective review).
The Downsides to Owning Way Too Many Books
Yeah, I know. There’s no such thing as “too many books,” except when there is. As I mentioned recently, I’ve been slogging through Stephen King’s IT on a mission to get a fuller picture of the story we’ve been told 1.5 times in film. When I say “slogging,” I mean it. For all that I enjoy about the book, there are so many things that I don’t, most notably its massive page count and glacial pace. It comes back to that “big books” problem, which I’ve talked about before (probably on Twitter somewhere) — albeit in a somewhat different context. In brief, I’ve avoided books over 300-350 pages for years simply because I work so much and read too slow. With all that swirling around in my head, I decided to put IT down for a bit to put my brain into something else. All of this leads me to my topic for today:
The Neo-Nazis Are in Town, and They’re Playing Us
As I write this, Richard Spencer and his cronies have arrived in Gainesville, FL for an event at the University of Florida. He was not invited by anyone but himself. The student body overwhelmingly doesn’t want him here. The city overwhelmingly doesn’t want him here. But he’s here nonetheless to share his message of hate, to manipulate young people to serve his needs, and to play all of us like a fiddle. This event isn’t just about presenting his ideas. He’ll use this as an opportunity to stage altercations, lie, and manipulate in order to legitimate his movement. This new breed of neo-Nazi/white nationalist has a wide range of technological tools at their disposal that make disseminating lies and hatred easier than ever. Every reaction we give them is more fuel for his fire. They don’t need us to discriminate against Spencer or his kind; they’ll make it up if they have to. None of this means we shouldn’t respond. What it means is we’re sort of trapped between a rock and a hard place in all of this. If we react, it will be used against us. If we don’t, it’ll seem like silent consent. Either way, it seems like we are powerless against this stuff. The problem, however, isn’t us.
On Ethics and Linking Policies (or, Yeah, DNL Doesn’t Work That Way)
The Internet is a wonderful place. The Internet is a terrible place. The Internet is where dreams go to live and die in a messy conglomeration of joy, hate, madness, rage, love, sadness, and bewilderment. We want this Internet place to be safe for everyone. Yet, so often it is not. Given the right prompting, Internet detectives can hunt down your information, reveal your identity, and really ruin your day. Hell, in some cases, these folks have ruined entire lives, making people feel unsafe in their actual homes. It’s an obvious problem, and one that thus far we don’t really have a solution for — at least, not one that doesn’t involve putting your entire online identity behind a firewall of private accounts. Even then, it doesn’t necessarily work, since your private accounts can be infiltrated by especially motivated people.
On Colin Kaepernick, Free Speech, and Bad Arguments
So, Colin Kaepernick. What’s the deal? Over the past week, a lot of folks have had some pretty strong opinions about Colin Kaepernick’s choice to refuse to stand for the national anthem — and his reasons for doing so. If you don’t know what’s going on, I’ll let you read a more detailed account here. My job, today, is to offer a few scattered thoughts about responses to Kaepernick’s protest. Since I don’t feel like writing a proper introduction, I’ll just get right into it: 2. He has freedom of speech, duh!
Negative Bookstore Experiences: Why Bookstores Should Be Like Libraries
A few weeks ago, I flew out to California to visit family and friends, pursue some possible job opportunities, and get some much needed decompression from the stress of PhD life. During that time, I stopped at a Barnes & Noble to pick up a book recommended to me by a friend. Unlike previous stops at one of the big chain stores — whereat the cashier tries to sell me on their membership card, to which I always respond “no, thanks” — I had a far less pleasant experience. It went something like this: Cashier: Are you a Barnes & Noble member? Me: No, but… Cashier: *judgmentally* …you know what the membership card gives you, right? Me: I do, but… Cashier: *dismissively* …Alright then. $15. What I had meant to say was this: I understand what the card provides, but Barnes & Noble closed down the only store within a 30-40 minute drive of my house, so I don’t get the opportunity to browse there anymore. And I don’t like browsing for books online, which means I don’t buy books all that often from any online bookstore. Sorry.