The Primate Paradox: An Analytical Thought

When you look at the passage in the image below, I want you to think of one thing: this is a primate (Robert Anton Wilson) writing about the philosophical limitations of primate logic; in doing so, however, the primate has proven that what is written is, in fact, demonstrating a different limitation of primate logic–that […]

Amazon (Retailer) vs. Macmillan (Publisher): Epic Battle or Silly Mistake? (Update)

(Some new links and stuff have been added on the bottom.) The short version: Amazon pulled all of Macmillan’s titles (print and otherwise) from their website due, apparently, to the publisher’s desire to raise ebook prices. Speculation says this is because Amazon wants people to buy the Kindle, making higher prices for ebooks bad news […]

Dear Authors: Please Don’t Stand Up For What’s Right (Make Profit Instead)

There’s been a lot of talk about whitewashing covers lately. I haven’t brought it up here yet because I didn’t think there was much else to say that hadn’t already been said elsewhere, and to greater effect. Then someone wrote the following: But there was one response from people who were justifiably angry that I […]

Magical Realism: A Brief Definition (in the form of a rebuttal)

Over at Suite 101 they have an article about Magical Realism. While the author lists some excellent examples of the subgenre, I do think she gets one thing quite wrong: An angel walks into your local grocery story with shiny wings and a glowing halo. Everyone accepts this as a natural occurrence and doesn’t bat […]

Reading Resolution Redux: A Question For Readers

A couple days ago I wrote a post about my reading resolutions for 2010. In it I discussed my goal to read more international science fiction and fantasy, under the guise that intentionally doing so would not be as artificial as seeking out work by people of color. Looking back, I completely disagree with my […]

Reading Resolutions: Enhanced and Revamped

Earlier this year I laid out some New Years resolutions for 2010, some of them related to reading and others related to writing. But Laura Miller over at Salon.com (and Larry over at OF Blog of the Fallen) wrote something that made me think that maybe I should be a little more challenging and, perhaps, […]