tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54270482008-07-13T15:56:36.237-07:00Tales of Jonathanjonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.comBlogger92125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5427048.post-79779331621378106082008-07-13T15:50:00.000-07:002008-07-13T15:56:36.285-07:00So...I started this blog as an aspiring writer. Hey, I even have links to Zines where my stories appeared at one time. But, like, totally, haven't been writing for a long time, baby. I ain't no writer no more. I know I'll never be an emblazoned member of the storied class.
But... ya know, writing was in itself a thrill worth the trip. Despite a friend stating that writing without the intent of jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5427048.post-59450511152796806472008-06-16T04:35:00.000-07:002008-06-16T04:50:29.934-07:00Like all good nerdy Americans, I've been reading fivethirtyeight.com for awhile now. And it depressed me. It depressed me because I was forced to revise my wild-ass guess evaluation of where the election really is likely to end up.
So, for proper context here, we need a story. I was hanging out with a nonpartisan group in 2004, and though they truly were nonpartisan, they weren't actually jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5427048.post-7408063124245883232008-06-04T04:31:00.000-07:002008-06-04T04:32:13.333-07:00The pundit class has gone hog wild over the latest Clinton gambit. This one's her campaign to win one person's vote to be the vice-presidential nominee.
I can see their point. It would be hard to engineer a ticket that's more fun to cover nor more fun to pillory.
Hillary and the pundits make the case that Obama is weak among women and blue-collar white voters. Coincidentally, Hillary's great jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5427048.post-70403438572369058962008-05-17T20:08:00.001-07:002008-05-17T20:08:44.881-07:00I want to follow politics. But now, finally I've been forced to admit to myself that there's simply no story out there to follow. Not even Jon Stewart can excite my interest at this point in the meaningless wind down before the eventual coronation of Barak Obama as the democratic nominee.
We're entering a true dryspell. McCain's VP? Who could possibly care? Anyone misguided enough to vote for jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5427048.post-26083452921767961482008-04-29T21:44:00.001-07:002008-04-29T21:44:11.105-07:00Falling off the bicycle
It isn't true that you never forget. Part of the reason I haven't written for four years is because I didn't write for one. Part of the reason I didn't write for one year is that I didn't write for three months, and so on. By which logic, I can't ever stop typing again for so much as a millisecond or all will be lost. But I digress.
Anyhow, I tried to type a few words over the past few days. Letjonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5427048.post-25141119604478014212008-04-28T22:38:00.000-07:002008-04-28T22:39:40.194-07:00I wrote a word! Yes, I did. It was me! Yeeha!
It is of such simple victories that celebration must be built. Si?jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5427048.post-27713008381627002182008-04-13T20:34:00.000-07:002008-04-13T20:59:16.577-07:00Yes. yes, it's great that Democrats have finally decided to neutralize the religious advantage Republicans have been able to claim all these years. I admire the strategic genius of embracing the religion issue with full heart. I believe that Hilary and Barak are truly two religious people who see the admonitions for social justice, compassion, and mercy which lie at the heart of all religion.
I jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5427048.post-10566844238274558072008-03-04T20:30:00.000-08:002008-03-04T20:34:47.771-08:00Senator Clinton just led her followers in a chant of "Yes, We Will!"
I wouldn't normally mind someone appropriating such similar phraseology and sentiments as her competitors' "Yes, We Can!"
But...
But the good Senator has been accusing Obama of plagiarism (as we all know) for his speeches that borrow phrasing - often attributed - from Governor Deval, a participant in his campaign.
Oh, the jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5427048.post-71091669039431752492008-02-19T00:40:00.000-08:002008-02-19T01:06:43.052-08:00There's been a massive meat recall of 144 million pounds - the largest in history, we're told. Evidently, this was sparked by secret video taken of downer cows - cows too sickly to even stand - being prodded into the abattoir and thus into the nation's meat supply. Two slaughter house employees are being prosecuted for animal cruelty.
I'm glad of the recall in that downer cows are prohibited jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5427048.post-29450793622453624862007-12-22T16:05:00.000-08:002007-12-22T16:14:46.541-08:00I read a book co-written by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston. Ooo. Ouch. The first fiction novel I read in the past year and a half had to be the worst one ever written in the English language. Just my luck.
I'm not being fair. I bet thriller, and especially techno-thriller, fans loved this work. It did many things right, including good pacing, the fate of the Earth in the balance, and jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5427048.post-72740154250915485152007-11-29T19:50:00.000-08:002007-11-29T19:51:55.810-08:00Do I feel like a fool!
Not only did "Journeyman" Robert Reed win a Hugo this year, he won it for a different story than the one I thought was so spectacular.
Hah! Read a random blog and this is what you get.
I hope you' ve learned your lesson. I sure have.jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5427048.post-35303459106137489572007-09-28T17:45:00.001-07:002007-09-28T18:04:28.889-07:00Only planning to read one science fiction story this year? Read Good Mountain by Robert Reed. For me, it's the best story I've read since "The Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang.
This is ironic for me, because I always think of "Story of Your Life" as Ted Chiang does Robert Reed. It's a great story because Chiang is a great writer who gets all the details right and puts the plot puzzle together jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5427048.post-27035316005975286712007-09-16T12:38:00.001-07:002007-09-16T12:42:58.181-07:00So,
By the very fact that you are reading this, you should assume the space-time continuum was spared (and thus my feline was not).
If you're curious, Kye's been walking for a month and a half now. No shiny new website for you. (Also, my computer crash ate the Baker Signet font, thereby screwing up all of my covers from time immemorial. I'm thinking about just signing over all future paychecks jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5427048.post-92023455342489279142007-08-16T00:43:00.001-07:002007-08-16T00:44:15.499-07:00Would you destroy the entire space-time continuum to save the life of a cat?
If it was your cat, of course you would.jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5427048.post-7357854053507446102007-07-16T09:08:00.000-07:002007-07-16T09:12:55.938-07:00Finally, Issue #4 of Fictitious Force will emerge. It turns out it's not a good idea to move in the middle of a production schedule. Nor does changing jobs help.
Whine, whinge, moan, complain.
Anyway, we're psyched that the neglected hobby will get a moment in the sun. To those that still read the static, printed word, there are some stories I'm proud to be associated with here. Strong writingjonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5427048.post-26035969902227474772007-07-02T06:53:00.000-07:002007-07-02T06:58:28.124-07:00I sent this letter today. You should send something similar. Before it's too late:
Chairperson Garland R. Hunt
State Board of Pardons and Paroles
2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, SE
Suite 458, Balcony Level, East Tower
Atlanta, Georgia 30334-4909
Monday, July 02, 2007
Dear Chairperson Hunt:
You are the last hope, not for Troy Davis but for the people of Georgia, and of America.
If you donjonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5427048.post-62820378177722315082007-05-11T12:30:00.000-07:002007-05-11T12:38:06.458-07:00jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5427048.post-33522588486539346042007-05-11T12:22:00.000-07:002007-05-11T12:30:33.367-07:00I took my son, Kye, to his first rally on Tuesday. In some ways this was a positive for me. Kye is going to be a part of this vast imperfect world. It’s essential that he learn to stand up against the gross injustices that seem to be endemic. Eight-months-old is as good a time to start as any.
And yet… My almost-three-year-old daughter, Wylde, was there too. A seasoned pro, this wasn’t her firstjonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5427048.post-1172258198706498852007-02-23T11:16:00.000-08:002007-02-23T11:16:38.716-08:00Nobody likes a gas tax.
It hits us on the item we’re most price-sensitive about. (We all have friends and family members who don’t even look at the price of their groceries or shoes, but who will drive across town to find the big sign that shows a five-cent lower price on gas.) It’s regressive. It makes us feel the terrorists, or cartels, or Europhile’s have beaten us. Heck, high gas prices are jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5427048.post-1171377198781131192007-02-13T06:25:00.000-08:002007-02-13T06:33:18.790-08:00Repeat after me: Gas Tax.
To paraphrase Heroes: Tax the carbon, save the world.
It needs to be at least $1 per gallon, probably closer to $2.
Will it damage the economy? Certainly, in the short run it can't help but do so. What it will also do is change a dynamic that desperately needs to be changed.
We all watched the SUV craze of the 90s. Many of us bought in. We saw the MPG disappear jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5427048.post-1149142761240128092006-05-31T23:19:00.000-07:002006-05-31T23:19:21.303-07:00Environmental Security?I heard someone on NPR make a very good point today. To paraphrase, Global Warming is much like Social Security. Both require significant upfront sacrifices for benefits that will manifest only in our children's lifetimes.
To further the analogy, the longer we wait the bigger the sacrifice necessary to stave off "armageddon."
So why did I support the Democrats' recent stonewalling on Social jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5427048.post-1146161364415607322006-04-27T11:07:00.000-07:002006-04-27T11:09:24.426-07:00The life you save may be your own
But first we need to help save the people of Darfur from being wiped out. Genocide isn't a tough call. We're against it.
Come to the mall in DC and let people around the world know we care, and we demand the genocide come to an end.jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5427048.post-1144789197441015022006-04-11T13:47:00.000-07:002006-04-11T13:59:57.490-07:00It's difficult for me to get worked up about the latest demonstrations of incompetence and deceptions of the American people by this administration. Truly, truly, truly, their lying, poor judgment, and general inability to run a roadside stand, much less a country has been on clear display for more than four years now.
The press asks how Bush's poll numbers dropped all the way to 36% job jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5427048.post-1142892888705139662006-03-20T14:04:00.000-08:002006-03-31T10:22:12.283-08:00Crisis Culture Killed my Cogs
We live in a crisis culture. Everyone knew there was abject poverty before Katrina, but we couldn't get the activation energy going to make any significant progress towards solving the problem. Now that New Orleans isn't a constant worry, once again we don't fret or even think about poverty, nor the fact that we haven't made any progress towards solving it.
We knewjonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5427048.post-1142345680374360902006-03-14T06:07:00.000-08:002006-03-14T06:14:40.386-08:00Through the lens of history, most crises lose their luster. Believe it or not, many of the hot button issues we work ourselves into a lather over today will not fundamentally affect the reality our descendents experience one hundred or two hundred years in the future. What is wrought in one political cycle is as likely to be undone as extended in the next. The consequences in years intervening jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713684107017786243noreply@blogger.com