5 Ways to Explain Scifi Obsession to Friends
We all have that one friend who doesn’t get science fiction. Some of us have probably gone through the annoying experience of trying to explain it and realized how futile such a thing really is. But maybe we’ve failed because we haven’t bothered to try one of the following five options: –I’m an Alien!Look, your […]
Why I’m Sick of the Term “Race”
To get into this discussion, I’m going to have to toss out all of my beliefs that there is no such thing as race (a belief Edward James Olmos not only agrees with, but managed to have changed in the United Nations, adding weight to the importance of science fiction in the world of today). […]
Book Shopping Etiquette
I recently returned from an enormous book sale in the Gainesville area and have a few thoughts on the issue of book shopping etiquette, since clearly nobody at the sale had any idea what etiquette was. So, I have compiled this list of good book shopping etiquette in crowded browsing situations: 1. Form a directional […]
I Know What Un-American Is
Do you? Well, if you don’t, maybe you should consider the following: 1. Sending U.S. soldiers into Iraq to die under the spoken claim that a) Iraq was a direct threat to the United States (false) and b) Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (also false). What exactly are they defending in Iraq? You should […]
Racist/Sexist Editors: Still Bad Even If They’re Not
So, apparently if you’re an editor and you don’t publish enough women or people of color in an anthology or magazine, but it’s because your slush pile contained primarily white males, you’re still a sexist or racist bastard. At least, that’s what oldcharliebrown says. It seems that no matter what, even if you have a […]
How to Know You’re a Crazy Liberal: Move to Florida
I’m a graduate student at the University of Florida, as some of you well know (studying science fiction and fantasy and postcolonialism and anything that fits into the cracks). The experience, thus far, has taught me a few things about what it’s like to be a graduate student and a teacher, and about myself. That […]