World in the Satin Bag

World in the Satin Bag

Religion and Schools: One Man’s Voice

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The next time I hear someone spouting the great idea that religion/creationism/the Bible should be taught in schools, I’ll just think about these words: Secular schools can never be tolerated because such a school has no religious instruction and a general moral instruction without a religious foundation is built on air; consequently, all character and training must be derived from faith. Adolf Hitler said those words. Adolf frakking Hitler. Not some guy running around handing out hugs, but the guy who waged war against the world, killed off millions of Jews and other folks for no real reason at all, and did a lot of other terrible things, or had other people do those things for him. Yeah, because that’s the kind of world I want to live in…

World in the Satin Bag

Free Stuff: Giveaways!

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I thought it might be nice for some of my readers to know about some giveaways that are out there. Free books are always good, right? There are three giveaways over at Blood of the Muse, a new blog I just discovered that looks beautiful. They are: Star Wars Republic Commando: Hard Contact by Karen Traviss (signed). Quantico by Greg Bear (signed). No Humans Involved by Kelly Armstrong Then there is a giveaway at Walker of Worlds: Temporal Void by Peter F. Hamilton. Also, check out Fantasy Book Critic, as there are always a bunch of giveaways there, plus over at F&SF Lovin’ Book Reviews there is usually something going on. That is all! (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this!)

World in the Satin Bag

Help: Need Your Advice

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I already asked one friend and he gave me a good perspective on the matter, but I thought I would ask all of you who read my blog or stumble upon it for your thoughts on something that recently came to my attention.Last year in the final quarter of my first year at UC Santa Cruz I took a required course called Lit. 101, which, at the time, had the theme of “Animal Theory”. It was an interesting course, to a certain extent, though not perfect, and I developed a relationship with the professor because we both share some common interests–science fiction, actually.So, when I found out one of the professors I wanted to do another independent study course with wouldn’t have the time I decided to ask the professor of my Lit. 101 course. And she emailed me back saying that she didn’t feel she would have the time to do so, but offered me a slot in her graduate course this fall.Now, for those that don’t know, I’m an undergraduate. I have no degree, yet, and this will be my second year at a real university as opposed to the five I spent figuring out what the hell I wanted to do in community college. That means I’ve never taken a graduate course; the highest course I’ve taken is actually the Lit. 101 course, which is the second highest level course you are required to take for a literature degree.I’m hesitant to take her up on her offer only because I don’t know a lot about graduate level seminars and fear that I’m not up to something like that. At the same time, I like this professor and this is a great opportunity. It will offer me a challenge, which I feel I do need, and might help me on my way to applying for graduate school. So, what do you all think on this matter? Do you have any advice or suggestions? Or perhaps you’ve had a graduate school experience and could enlighten me to what it’s like? Thanks. (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this!)

World in the Satin Bag

What’s in a Review?

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I found a rather interesting article on reviews today, and it struck me as a useful tool for any reviewer out there. Check out this link for details. I’d like to know people’s thoughts on this, personally. What criteria do you use to judge a work? Do you consider yourself a critic? What kind of reviews do you like? I personally like funny reviews from time to time. Oh, sure, I want to know if it’s good or not, but I also don’t want to read a dry treatise on a novel/film/whatever. I’m a fan of the Popbitch/Pop Justice school of comment, and that means I like you to take the piss every now and again. If something’s rubbish, say so. If something is so trashy you love it, say that too. Then again, there’s having fun and being cruel. Critics don’t have to be objective, because any critic who pretends to be is lying, but that doesn’t mean a critic should forget a creative work has been made by an individual. Vitriol just tarnishes the reviewer rather than the reviewed. Anyway, thought on the matter are appreciated . . .

World in the Satin Bag

Website Found: PhD Comics

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I keep stumbling upon this site and think it is worth mentioning here. What is it?PhD stands for Piled Higher and Deeper and is essentially a great source of post-graduate ridicule. The humor found there is pretty much focused on the stereotypes of post-graduate research and humorously crushing the dreams of graduate hopefuls everywhere–like me. Why is it cool?PhD has a lot of great features for graduates with an MA or PhD., for one, which is completely useless to me at this point (but will be useful some day). Their comic section features a huge archive of comics, some of which are downright hilarious. I particularly like how they make humor with graphs.Additionally the site features book versions of the comic, “Grad Gear” (t-shirts and the like), and a job section where folks with MAs or PhDs can potentially find work. There is also a forum. So check it out. It’s a neat little site and the comic is pretty funny! (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this!)

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