tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89805885648289948772024-03-12T19:45:41.911-07:00Allan Davis JrWeird fiction. Strange worlds. Staying long?
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#MAGA | #Alt-West | #RabidPuppies | #Alt-Tech | #Gamergate | #Anti-SJWallandavisjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10755527781683974219noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980588564828994877.post-72661672503235878972019-05-25T20:00:00.000-07:002019-05-25T20:00:02.981-07:00What Makes a Villain?<br />
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<a href="http://www.superversivesf.com/2019/05/21/making-a-villain-update/" target="_blank">Excellent post by Declan Finn over at Superversive</a>.<br />
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<i>Hey, just because the character slashes someone’s throat and watches their lifeblood coming out of them in spurts, chuckling manically, doesn’t necessarily make them a bad guy. Though it could make them a fairly scary good guy? (If you ever get the chance, look up the first Mr. Moto film with Peter Lorrie. He plays a Japanese man in the 1930s, just as everything goes to Hell in the Pacific. You seem him kill people in what looks like cold blood. He always wears black gloves, black coats, and he always looks sinister. You have no idea what side he’s on until the very end.)</i></blockquote>
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<i>On the other end of the equation, there are people who try to tell me that MacBeth was a tragic hero … Really? That’s like saying that all of the murderers caught by Columbo were heroes, as opposed to a murder mystery told from the killer’s point of view. Here’s a lesson to being a writer: if you’re trying to make your hero tragic, don’t give him a body count in the triple-digits that includes innocent women and children.</i></blockquote>
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<i>My point: you don’t need a bad guy to be crazy for him to be evil. Nor do you need a sadist, a rapist, a pervert, sex-fiend, or Jack the Ripper.</i></blockquote>
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allandavisjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10755527781683974219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980588564828994877.post-2615778204953548422019-05-24T20:00:00.000-07:002019-05-24T20:00:02.261-07:00Cataline on Game of Thrones<br />
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<a href="https://darkherald.net/2019/05/22/game-of-thrones-is-not-fantasy/" target="_blank">Cataline Sergius has an excellent observation on fantasy vs horror</a>.<br />
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<i>But heroic fantasy is all about the action. It’s about battle and the being in the now that comes from knowing you are on a three day roller coaster ride and it has no tracks. The feeling of triumph from looking at the body of a guy who was doing every fucking thing in his power to end your life and you made him fail that...</i></blockquote>
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<i>...But here is the thing about horror. It’s all powerlessness. Whatever is after you has all the power. It’s all about the build up and your protagonist’s coming dread as he realizes there is nothing he can do to defeat the thing that is coming for them all. It’s all about fear and powerlessness. </i></blockquote>
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-=ad=-allandavisjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10755527781683974219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980588564828994877.post-21821782590771734832019-05-23T20:00:00.000-07:002019-05-23T20:00:03.143-07:00Social Media Witch Hunt<br />
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Jon Del Arroz points out how "inclusive" and "diverse" are actually code words for "conform...or else" as the usual suspects launch into the typical mob witch hunt. This time, against a 14 year old YouTuber, for badthink and wrongspeech.<br />
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<i>She’s 14.</i></blockquote>
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<i>She’s a child.</i></blockquote>
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<i>With opinions she posted.</i></blockquote>
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<i>The internet hasn’t been around all that long. I started posting when I was about 14-15 to various websites, and even though there were strange adults who might stalk around then, there wasn’t a danger due to big social media of these mob echo chamber coming after me to try to ruin my life at such an age.</i></blockquote>
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<i>Now there is.</i></blockquote>
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<i>And they’ll get the police involved. It won’t surprise me either if they “find something”, in order to put a stop to what Soph is saying.</i></blockquote>
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<a href="http://delarroz.com/2019/05/21/theyll-jail-you-over-your-opinions/">http://delarroz.com/2019/05/21/theyll-jail-you-over-your-opinions/</a>allandavisjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10755527781683974219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980588564828994877.post-60885931316861634792019-05-22T20:00:00.000-07:002019-05-22T20:00:07.165-07:00Is the Media Neutral?<div class="tr_bq">
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<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/why-many-of-todays-news-reporters-believe-it-is-their-duty-to-lie-to-you_2928537.html" target="_blank">Absolutely dynamite article by Brian Cates.</a><br />
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<i>The Associated Press’s Washington Bureau chief, Ron Fournier, introduced the concept of “accountability journalism” publicly back in 2008, which gives reporters a license to go beyond just reporting the facts of a news story in a neutral and objective manner to instead begin putting their thumbs on the scale and start pressing down—hard—to ensure a desired politicized outcome is clearly seen in the reporting. It gives them a “duty” to shape the story toward political outcomes.</i></blockquote>
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<i>Fournier basically endorsed the idea that journalists need to stop seeing themselves as neutral relaters of facts and begin shaping narratives for the public in order to hold the powerful accountable.</i></blockquote>
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Personal opinion? I think this "thumb on the scale" imbalance has been there for a really long time, but Ron Fournier just went public with it in 2008. Opinions?<br />
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-=ad=-allandavisjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10755527781683974219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980588564828994877.post-29149370117360826162018-04-13T07:46:00.003-07:002018-04-13T07:46:33.725-07:00Friday the 13th!<br />
Yes, it's Friday the Thirteenth! You know what that means!<br />
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No. Not that.<br />
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Or that.<br />
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Sheesh, some people...<br />
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No, every Friday the Thirteenth, I knock the price on Perchance to Scream down to 99 cents!<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OGF8AGG" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VeYJxA5dIJk/VEagQ_J_JoI/AAAAAAAAIFk/r8Cz99Hep8gq66YBHIZ7-rSIUsRZnLrawCPcBGAYYCw/s320/PerchanceToScream.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Get it while it's hot!</div>
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allandavisjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10755527781683974219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980588564828994877.post-81265073843152205382018-03-08T20:00:00.000-08:002018-03-08T20:00:23.690-08:00Awesome gun control essay by Ivan Throne<br />
Ivan Throne: How School Shootings are Destroying the Left<br />
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<a href="https://darktriadman.com/2018/03/08/how-school-shootings-are-destroying-the-left/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); background-color: white; color: #455a64; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: pre-line;" target="_blank">https://darktriadman.com/2018/03/08/how-school-shootings-are-destroying-the-left/</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-line;">
"I tell you that if you bear love for your children, and for the people of the United States and their future, it is a foul and putrid repudiation of that love to prevent their schools and churches being hardened by armed men willing to defend them with lethal force."</span>allandavisjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10755527781683974219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980588564828994877.post-58626456649537253452018-02-16T18:00:00.000-08:002018-02-16T18:00:20.881-08:00The Star Wars that Should Have Been<br />
The incomparable John C. Wright <a href="http://www.scifiwright.com/2018/02/review-of-the-movie-weve-all-been-waiting-for" target="_blank">pens a review of the Star Wars sequel</a> the fans wish had been made...<br />
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<i>The twin errors any sequel in any genre must avoid are these: first, the sequel must not violate or overturn anything established in the original, including taking care to continue with themes, story elements, characters and backdrops the audience expects; second, the sequel must not cling too closely to the original, nor be content merely to repeat story elements.</i></blockquote>
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<i>You cannot simply have the rebels still fighting the selfsame Empire they defeated in the last movie blowing up yet another iteration of the Death Star. That would be ridiculous! </i></blockquote>
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<i>...It is something of a paradox, since the audience wants the same story that they liked the first time, but not done in the same way.</i></blockquote>
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<i>The cleverest and most satisfying way I have ever seen a writer answer this paradox was E.E. Doc Smith, when he opened GRAY LENSMAN with the startling revelation that the villainous space pirate king, Helmuth, slain in climactic combat at the end of GALACTIC PATROL, was himself merely an agent of a larger, deeper, darker group.</i></blockquote>
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<i>Now, of course, this tradition is not new to EE Smith. Beowulf, after slaying Grendel in the golden hall of Hereot, is permitted no long rest, but must descend into an accursed swamp to fight Grendel’s Mother, a monstrous hag tougher than the first monster.</i></blockquote>
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<i>In this way, the hero, or the hero’s heirs or disciples, is, in effect, fighting for the same cause and against the same foe, but the significance of the first victory is not diminished. Instead, the scope is larger, and the battlefield gets bigger.</i></blockquote>
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-=ad=-allandavisjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10755527781683974219noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980588564828994877.post-35612495876444402942018-02-14T09:59:00.001-08:002018-02-14T09:59:55.318-08:00The Publishing Industry<br />
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<a href="http://delarroz.com/?p=2166" target="_blank">Jon Del Arroz explains</a>--probably a lot better than I ever could--why I chose to focus on self-publishing instead of trying to get in with big major publishers. This is in regards to a memo DC comics sent out to their employees and freelancers regarding what was "okay" to say on social media.<br />
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<i>Of course some people's mean spirited speech will be more equal than others.</i></blockquote>
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<i>DC wouldn't hire me in a million years, because I don't toe a company line, I am an independent thinker, and they don't allow those in t he comic industry. It'll be interesting to see how it goes later this year when my The Ember War adaptation hits amazon. If/when that sells well, what then?</i></blockquote>
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<i>Even a smaller publisher like Angry Robot doesn't care about anything other than their political signaling. They didn't even dignify me with a response when I emailed Mike Underwood about The Stars Entwined, which I'll be putting out March 20th. Of course, I'm blocked by him on twitter -- despite sharing a drink with him at a convention several years ago. It's all about the political signaling, even if I outsell the vast majority of their titles already...</i></blockquote>
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<i>This is why it's imperative to build your own platform if you want to have any semblance of free speech. You can't do it through these companies, they'll never let you. They hate you at the end of the day, and this is how they begin to show it.</i></blockquote>
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"Build your own platform." Excellent advice, and definitely worth listening to.<br />
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<a href="http://voxday.blogspot.com/2018/02/please-shut-up-they-begged.html" target="_blank">Vox Day commented </a>on the same memo, and nailed down the problem; as usual, "what's okay for me is not okay for thee."<br />
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<i>This is why SJWs always prefer nebulous Codes of Conduct and Community Police to clear, objective guidelines that can be impartially applied. You see, the "rules" are supposed to be applied only to those who violate the Narrative, while allowing complete freedom of action to the SJWs.</i></blockquote>
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As a non-leftist, free speech and anti-censorship, straight white male, who has written for Lew Rockwell and works at the Mises Institute, I'm fairly well convinced that anything I did try to submit to the big publishing houses would hit the round file faster than you can say "censored." I will continue to follow the advice of Jon and Vox and grow my own platform.<br />
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<br />allandavisjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10755527781683974219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980588564828994877.post-34025612066036683692018-01-25T23:30:00.000-08:002018-01-25T23:30:49.330-08:00Excellent Article: "Together or Separately" by Brian NiemeierBrian predicts what Dr. Jordan Peterson likely has in store:<br />
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They know that further debate is useless--not that they ever meant to beat him in a good-faith contest of ideas; rather they tried and failed to trip him up. So they're trotting out the tactic that's been their go-to gambit since #GamerGate: make vague, unsubstantiated claims of harassment, blame Peterson's fans, and smear him by association. His continued presence is a painful reminder of their humiliation, so the game now is to get him de-platformed and disemployed.</blockquote>
<a href="http://www.brianniemeier.com/2018/01/together-or-separately.html" target="_blank">The article is full of excellent advice. </a>allandavisjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10755527781683974219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980588564828994877.post-31283564062637650372018-01-22T21:00:00.000-08:002018-01-22T21:00:13.443-08:00Crowdfunding Comic Books<br />
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Check out the <a href="https://freestartr.com/project/will-caligans-comic/" target="_blank">new Freestartr campaign</a>. Comic artist Will Caligan lost his job due to SJW attack, and this crowdfunding operation is to help him out.<br />
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<img height="360" src="https://freestartr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Caligans_comic.png" width="640" /><br />
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...and wow. Not even three hours in, and the original $7500 target has been reached.<br />
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<br />allandavisjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10755527781683974219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980588564828994877.post-14813944936493567212018-01-19T21:00:00.000-08:002018-01-19T21:00:55.666-08:00The Murder of the Sword and Sorcery Genre<br />
Jim Fear makes some <a href="https://steemit.com/blog/@jimfear138/the-attempted-murder-of-sword-and-sorcery" target="_blank">excellent points</a>.<br />
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Nobody who doesn't really care about your pet issue is going to think it's anything but you preaching, and that isn't what they came to sword & sorcery for. They came here to watch good guys bash bad guys (or at least reasonably okay guys bash bad guys), airship pirates conducting daring raids, wizards of vast and deadly power hurl spells, monstrous creatures eating people, underwater kingdoms threatened by ancient evil, unthinkably valuable artifacts stolen by intrepid thieves, and on and on the list goes of things you could be doing rather than putting people to sleep with your boring message fiction that seems to be trying to take up the majority of fantasy literature these days.</blockquote>
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I've said something similar in the past; if your story is more focused on "the message" than "the plot," then you are preaching instead of telling a story. And the only people who don't mind being preached at are the already converted--to whom preaching is a total waste of time anyway.allandavisjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10755527781683974219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980588564828994877.post-54762093197742315902018-01-11T21:00:00.000-08:002018-01-11T21:00:31.001-08:00Looking forward to Arkhaven!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.castaliahouse.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://i1.wp.com/3.bp.blogspot.com/-ddCjQ0qhvTU/WlNriwtl7WI/AAAAAAAAC2g/kclPHJrPMOQ5uhRl2d9DGhBLlKwQ-poBgCLcBGAs/s320/Arkhaven_375.png?zoom=1.25&resize=320%2C320&ssl=1" /></a></div>
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As a long-time comic book fan--heck, I can remember when the entire X-Men team was made up of five white teenagers and their bald mentor--I'm definitely looking forward to Castalia House's new comic book imprint. They've got scads of comics raring to go, starting with <a href="https://www.amazon.com/QUANTUM-MORTIS-Man-Disrupted-Book-ebook/dp/B078VV5FJK" target="_blank">Quantum Mortis</a> and expanding from there. Check them out!</div>
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allandavisjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10755527781683974219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980588564828994877.post-60482836383406220012018-01-09T21:00:00.000-08:002018-01-09T21:00:07.380-08:00Worldcon: Arroz is in good companyJon Del Arroz discovers there is a historical precedent set by Worldcon to <a href="http://delarroz.com/?p=1965" target="_blank">ban people they didn't want speaking</a>.<br />
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<i>The Futurians were kicked out of the first Worldcon because organizers feared that they would distribute communist propaganda. The group included a number of luminaries including Asimov and Pohl.</i></blockquote>
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Because of their fear of not Asimov hurting anyone...but spreading political ideas that they found too dangerous for the times...WorldCon banned Isaac Asimov.</blockquote>
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The implication is clear. The elites in science fiction believe I have the potential to be the next Asimov. They want to ensure I’m deplatformed as much as possible because they fear the influence I’ll have politically to change their stodgy, outdated culture, which would change science fiction into something that’s thriving and fun. In the process, they’d lose their control over the kinds of stories that are published.</blockquote>
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...that's the kicker, isn't it? Somehow, it always comes back to the gatekeepers.<br />
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-=ad=-allandavisjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10755527781683974219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980588564828994877.post-25049469137868195722018-01-04T21:00:00.000-08:002018-01-04T21:01:08.012-08:00Retro-Rocket Review: The Funniest Star Trek Novel Ever<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g-SO9lgAyjc/Wk6wc-37sVI/AAAAAAAAoEQ/te3BwLZoDYM_UFx6_4SNMiGX9ZHiphAvgCLcBGAs/s1600/How_Much_for_Just_the_Planet_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="283" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g-SO9lgAyjc/Wk6wc-37sVI/AAAAAAAAoEQ/te3BwLZoDYM_UFx6_4SNMiGX9ZHiphAvgCLcBGAs/s640/How_Much_for_Just_the_Planet_.jpg" width="384" /></a></div>
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I have been reading aloud to my kids for more nights than I can count. We started bedtime books when the eldest was nine...and that kid now has a PHD. We still do bedtime books now, when the youngest is 12. We have read the Narnia books, and the Tolkien books, back-to-back-to-back, and with the possible exception of some of the Percy Jackson books and two or three of the Myth Inc. books, none of them has had my kids rolling on the floor as much as How Much for Just the Planet.</div>
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Think about it. Federation prospector ship and Klingon battle-cruiser discover a huge deposit of dilithium on a planet, simultaneously. The Federation crew is forced to abandon ship, sending it on to contact the Enterprise. However...the ship's computer is malfunctioning, and as the escape pod leaves the ship, the food replicator begins spewing out an unstoppable flood of peppermint milk shake.</div>
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It only gets weirder from there.</div>
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Then, when both the Enterprise and the Klingon cruiser Fire Blossom arrive to negotiate for the rights to the dilithium, the natives decide to make their point...musically. The book reads like a Gilbert and Sullivan musical, with the crews of both ships being dragged along on one misadventure after another.</div>
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Fun, laid back, refuses to take itself seriously. </div>
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<br />allandavisjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10755527781683974219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980588564828994877.post-59028271434527268692018-01-03T21:00:00.000-08:002018-01-04T06:05:23.901-08:00Worldcon Ejects Arroz<br />
That's right, the World Science Fiction Convention committee has decided to "downgrade" the membership of writer <a href="http://delarroz.com/" target="_blank">Jon Del Arroz</a> from the "attending" level to the "supporting" level. This comes across as censorship, since Jon has been critical of the industry, and the fact that he's a Hispanic writer speaks volumes also.<br />
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In slightly related news, there will be a <a href="http://voxday.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-bradley-awards.html" target="_blank">new set of awards</a> to be handed out around the same time as this year's Worldcon.<br />
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UPDATE: PJ Media has <a href="https://pjmedia.com/trending/sjws-bar-conservative-hispanic-writer-worldcon-claiming-racist-bully/amp/?__twitter_impression=true" target="_blank">picked up the story.</a><br />
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"With Worldcon's statements about 'intent' to violate their rules, and failure to specify rules, this is a clear targeting over my politics because I'm a vocal Christian and Hispanic Trump supporter," says Del Arroz. "The left claims I should be banned for controversial political opinions, but the only opinion I espouse on a regular basis is that artists should not be blackballed for their politics. That shouldn't be a controversial topic. It is imperative that artists be free from fear of retaliation of their industry in order that they might create great works of art. This is the ultimate free speech issue."</blockquote>
allandavisjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10755527781683974219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980588564828994877.post-63996835620530168992017-10-13T06:46:00.001-07:002017-10-13T06:46:26.594-07:00Messing with Mythology<br />
My latest article on LewRockwell.com is now live. It's sort of a guided tour; it starts out at Star Trek, meanders through the suburbs of mythology, takes a sharp turn into the ghetto of comic books, and finally ends at the bright shiny new high-rise that is Alt-Hero.<br />
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<a href="https://www.lewrockwell.com/2017/10/allan-davis/messing-with-mythology/" target="_blank">Check it out.</a>allandavisjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10755527781683974219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980588564828994877.post-77240764189163608862017-10-12T23:30:00.000-07:002017-10-12T23:30:07.798-07:00Friday the 13th<br />
Yes, it's Friday the Thirteenth! You know what that means!<br />
<br />
No. Not that.<br />
<br />
Or that.<br />
<br />
Sheesh, some people...<br />
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No, every Friday the Thirteenth, I knock the price on Perchance to Scream down to 99 cents!<br />
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Get it while it's hot!</div>
<br />allandavisjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10755527781683974219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980588564828994877.post-54878961296048144852017-04-19T09:19:00.000-07:002017-04-19T09:47:58.906-07:00Auburn is not Berkeley<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Some pictures from last night's visit by Richard Spencer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CNxpowBgmZA/WPd2lmu09UI/AAAAAAAAkjA/EuQPGC_z0DQlfaTd5w6h8PZyXzJ0xyotwCK4B/s1600/IMG_2414_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CNxpowBgmZA/WPd2lmu09UI/AAAAAAAAkjA/EuQPGC_z0DQlfaTd5w6h8PZyXzJ0xyotwCK4B/s320/IMG_2414_SLC.jpg" width="216" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Masks were visible, but Auburn Police did not let anyone wear them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N7EKY72NxlY/WPd2nt8TsxI/AAAAAAAAkjI/kxSgXU1iig4sraK6L5My7JHzlD_6NzIJgCK4B/s1600/IMG_2415_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N7EKY72NxlY/WPd2nt8TsxI/AAAAAAAAkjI/kxSgXU1iig4sraK6L5My7JHzlD_6NzIJgCK4B/s320/IMG_2415_SLC.jpg" width="213" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Saw lots of cameras.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A69T14VWeEo/WPd2pmmYRSI/AAAAAAAAkjQ/uscK0ijM-Z0Wh5fhM4B_fvY6E1_8CWC7QCK4B/s1600/IMG_2416_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A69T14VWeEo/WPd2pmmYRSI/AAAAAAAAkjQ/uscK0ijM-Z0Wh5fhM4B_fvY6E1_8CWC7QCK4B/s320/IMG_2416_SLC.jpg" width="213" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Roll Damn Equality."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-meHqv8Cdelg/WPd2ru9mGDI/AAAAAAAAkjY/yZBVm9UytNsVCm0PIjq5NQ3KJh17cgVMQCK4B/s1600/IMG_2417_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-meHqv8Cdelg/WPd2ru9mGDI/AAAAAAAAkjY/yZBVm9UytNsVCm0PIjq5NQ3KJh17cgVMQCK4B/s320/IMG_2417_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Police presence.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k4Vj9LAlKvE/WPd2svKYZgI/AAAAAAAAkjg/TiPZ9C6Y36YHsPKuglL8dwekog11hmM8QCK4B/s1600/IMG_2418_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k4Vj9LAlKvE/WPd2svKYZgI/AAAAAAAAkjg/TiPZ9C6Y36YHsPKuglL8dwekog11hmM8QCK4B/s320/IMG_2418_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Auburn brought in local police, sheriff, Montgomery police, and I even saw a friend who is retired Auburn PD, though not in uniform.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5vHlDLCsZ4s/WPd2t7990nI/AAAAAAAAkjo/kmS6XzWYTCMr3Yu0gXORMDN8p1A3m3GLgCK4B/s1600/IMG_2419_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5vHlDLCsZ4s/WPd2t7990nI/AAAAAAAAkjo/kmS6XzWYTCMr3Yu0gXORMDN8p1A3m3GLgCK4B/s320/IMG_2419_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Local TV news cameras, pointed at the protest. The people in the distance are in line to enter the auditorium.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gOmN4yK5BjU/WPd2vWNDbFI/AAAAAAAAkjw/ldeVye8pITA0Ued5n5EhCDX7xfgKnvDvACK4B/s1600/IMG_2420_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gOmN4yK5BjU/WPd2vWNDbFI/AAAAAAAAkjw/ldeVye8pITA0Ued5n5EhCDX7xfgKnvDvACK4B/s320/IMG_2420_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Everyone going in was checked with a metal detector wand and all bags were searched.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PHqsP17Y2kE/WPd2wr7wc0I/AAAAAAAAkj4/n0yjWnxOTyoKV2wmAyKyVhGwZVzrG5_ZgCK4B/s1600/IMG_2421_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PHqsP17Y2kE/WPd2wr7wc0I/AAAAAAAAkj4/n0yjWnxOTyoKV2wmAyKyVhGwZVzrG5_ZgCK4B/s320/IMG_2421_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Early protesters.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lyJmIp8Tqg0/WPd2yBSqn2I/AAAAAAAAkkA/93jv0J66cLE6eLlkQ-7TBQ2epz6W32KsACK4B/s1600/IMG_2423_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lyJmIp8Tqg0/WPd2yBSqn2I/AAAAAAAAkkA/93jv0J66cLE6eLlkQ-7TBQ2epz6W32KsACK4B/s320/IMG_2423_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The line to get into the auditorium, at its longest.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xf8JwRKZ_S4/WPd2ztsud5I/AAAAAAAAkkI/sPDRwc1HE50y_LvrsrK1Upo4FLt7OLfwwCK4B/s1600/IMG_2424_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xf8JwRKZ_S4/WPd2ztsud5I/AAAAAAAAkkI/sPDRwc1HE50y_LvrsrK1Upo4FLt7OLfwwCK4B/s320/IMG_2424_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Auburn Antifa, I think. I also think this might be all of them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bb5JEBQXLT8/WPd20-x0M5I/AAAAAAAAkkQ/vf5pxPYAddQHWy_bfr2AZ4paicf_sDJIgCK4B/s1600/IMG_2425_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bb5JEBQXLT8/WPd20-x0M5I/AAAAAAAAkkQ/vf5pxPYAddQHWy_bfr2AZ4paicf_sDJIgCK4B/s320/IMG_2425_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Stop making fast and furious movies." Some people will protest anything...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--UC7P25VlKw/WPd213Uk_MI/AAAAAAAAkkY/Je-BkF45MeQq2oPWeX8SwikdJQS83afXQCK4B/s1600/IMG_2427_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--UC7P25VlKw/WPd213Uk_MI/AAAAAAAAkkY/Je-BkF45MeQq2oPWeX8SwikdJQS83afXQCK4B/s320/IMG_2427_SLC.jpg" width="213" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">...the other side of the sign read "1. Pour cereal. 2. Pour milk." His buddy carried a sign that said "Bring back club penguin."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6DmngeQIbgw/WPd23YOX9vI/AAAAAAAAkkg/9mkMpJEEm4Mc3uaCb0L86-fV3M8ojoSxwCK4B/s1600/IMG_2428_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6DmngeQIbgw/WPd23YOX9vI/AAAAAAAAkkg/9mkMpJEEm4Mc3uaCb0L86-fV3M8ojoSxwCK4B/s320/IMG_2428_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">They got a decent chant going, but the drum was so loud I couldn't make out the words.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XyHhzcEZMpA/WPd24mqjQcI/AAAAAAAAkko/4SaUcD1Asjsxl9U6KQwYH5YYAwRPQMAewCK4B/s1600/IMG_2429_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XyHhzcEZMpA/WPd24mqjQcI/AAAAAAAAkko/4SaUcD1Asjsxl9U6KQwYH5YYAwRPQMAewCK4B/s320/IMG_2429_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dts6PweOqv0/WPd26uJ8SYI/AAAAAAAAkkw/Qu7UAOnkhfMCDHX-c2CJq99V_ChjY53PwCK4B/s1600/IMG_2430_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="284" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dts6PweOqv0/WPd26uJ8SYI/AAAAAAAAkkw/Qu7UAOnkhfMCDHX-c2CJq99V_ChjY53PwCK4B/s320/IMG_2430_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Will trade racists for refugees."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mwgaZHoUD6Q/WPd28JTZJvI/AAAAAAAAkk4/Z4gbH2-296Eolcy5ueXux86zW5LoWudOACK4B/s1600/IMG_2431_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mwgaZHoUD6Q/WPd28JTZJvI/AAAAAAAAkk4/Z4gbH2-296Eolcy5ueXux86zW5LoWudOACK4B/s320/IMG_2431_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Police presence.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WoT8baULEh8/WPd29b6C4vI/AAAAAAAAklA/cHAtS1KeNNMXm9einedX2_grlpvy7ojHgCK4B/s1600/IMG_2432_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WoT8baULEh8/WPd29b6C4vI/AAAAAAAAklA/cHAtS1KeNNMXm9einedX2_grlpvy7ojHgCK4B/s320/IMG_2432_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TuJY3_hJB2U/WPd2-o7vVrI/AAAAAAAAklI/RrN_66yw_REoIVY_0vLDMwdHpIiNSgMFgCK4B/s1600/IMG_2433_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TuJY3_hJB2U/WPd2-o7vVrI/AAAAAAAAklI/RrN_66yw_REoIVY_0vLDMwdHpIiNSgMFgCK4B/s320/IMG_2433_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">At one point, the chant got loud enough that it attracted the attention of people in line.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7f46V1DxjWo/WPd2_zUW7SI/AAAAAAAAklQ/afWgBuPAfyIYFDr2GcEh3F5ZPYXZvPF8gCK4B/s1600/IMG_2435_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7f46V1DxjWo/WPd2_zUW7SI/AAAAAAAAklQ/afWgBuPAfyIYFDr2GcEh3F5ZPYXZvPF8gCK4B/s320/IMG_2435_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">They marched over behind the TV cameras, and gestured at the protesters. One was wearing helmet and shield.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VBvYcSnf0U0/WPd3BQRFKOI/AAAAAAAAklY/8XcS6lVnGIcBeesJIb3rKwh_ZWQuSEQFQCK4B/s1600/IMG_2436_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VBvYcSnf0U0/WPd3BQRFKOI/AAAAAAAAklY/8XcS6lVnGIcBeesJIb3rKwh_ZWQuSEQFQCK4B/s320/IMG_2436_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">...and then they went back to standing in line.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nO7YiRqIt3c/WPd3CkXxagI/AAAAAAAAklg/EYTr2jgsLIE5Ax1kezMgWe8HcYT9NjzdwCK4B/s1600/IMG_2439_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nO7YiRqIt3c/WPd3CkXxagI/AAAAAAAAklg/EYTr2jgsLIE5Ax1kezMgWe8HcYT9NjzdwCK4B/s320/IMG_2439_SLC.jpg" width="207" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The carrot dude. He had a sign that said something like "I don't carrot all about your hate."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gBWsc9MV03I/WPd3EF8NMNI/AAAAAAAAklo/fmAGLwlla4ovg9I8QhGcRIOL11var_wygCK4B/s1600/IMG_2440_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gBWsc9MV03I/WPd3EF8NMNI/AAAAAAAAklo/fmAGLwlla4ovg9I8QhGcRIOL11var_wygCK4B/s320/IMG_2440_SLC.jpg" width="213" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Hate has no home here."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5JPWmL_atog/WPd3Fbi0apI/AAAAAAAAklw/RWMvoXSoxkce98hugl7Olc4SBliAcnIdQCK4B/s1600/IMG_2441_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5JPWmL_atog/WPd3Fbi0apI/AAAAAAAAklw/RWMvoXSoxkce98hugl7Olc4SBliAcnIdQCK4B/s320/IMG_2441_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Police presence.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d_c41dL-3Ow/WPd3GtZBHBI/AAAAAAAAkl4/CSlBYHFo3dcZwItMSo8ByGOiOmzRvNNcACK4B/s1600/IMG_2442_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d_c41dL-3Ow/WPd3GtZBHBI/AAAAAAAAkl4/CSlBYHFo3dcZwItMSo8ByGOiOmzRvNNcACK4B/s320/IMG_2442_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Waiting for the wand.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jGSynbL0o5g/WPd3H25OlLI/AAAAAAAAkmA/Z-T8ZtKIjhAXfdN8gufOFpRhQ-IgZ2k9gCK4B/s1600/IMG_2444_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jGSynbL0o5g/WPd3H25OlLI/AAAAAAAAkmA/Z-T8ZtKIjhAXfdN8gufOFpRhQ-IgZ2k9gCK4B/s320/IMG_2444_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SfiXCpOJCJk/WPd3JDH8lKI/AAAAAAAAkmI/JOlk2D_9OgsiTobD-mcpbtaLrQ52kmucgCK4B/s1600/IMG_2445_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SfiXCpOJCJk/WPd3JDH8lKI/AAAAAAAAkmI/JOlk2D_9OgsiTobD-mcpbtaLrQ52kmucgCK4B/s320/IMG_2445_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Flags and helmets outside the auditorium.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-COCcLG_j53k/WPd3KK93tJI/AAAAAAAAkmQ/j8KBvQUA9NYL8BSyrRxzBplu3koM0D1cgCK4B/s1600/IMG_2446_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-COCcLG_j53k/WPd3KK93tJI/AAAAAAAAkmQ/j8KBvQUA9NYL8BSyrRxzBplu3koM0D1cgCK4B/s320/IMG_2446_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sdunfv9ElzA/WPd3LuteRuI/AAAAAAAAkmY/Z91k6iEmeucrWaFNVhgOw03-OTuwBckXQCK4B/s1600/IMG_2447_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sdunfv9ElzA/WPd3LuteRuI/AAAAAAAAkmY/Z91k6iEmeucrWaFNVhgOw03-OTuwBckXQCK4B/s320/IMG_2447_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hu5lZ-uvlxs/WPd3M40LxNI/AAAAAAAAkmg/lqbUJDTL-dAasFEtEF4vhvi_Qul1O6SeQCK4B/s1600/IMG_2448_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hu5lZ-uvlxs/WPd3M40LxNI/AAAAAAAAkmg/lqbUJDTL-dAasFEtEF4vhvi_Qul1O6SeQCK4B/s320/IMG_2448_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The press corner in the back of the room.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IHf7DBQM8Mw/WPd3OIgDuvI/AAAAAAAAkmo/PoAE8DkxqHACWV-mGpyoHOFcrnWmxEyoACK4B/s1600/IMG_2449_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IHf7DBQM8Mw/WPd3OIgDuvI/AAAAAAAAkmo/PoAE8DkxqHACWV-mGpyoHOFcrnWmxEyoACK4B/s320/IMG_2449_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VnjMG5JDl18/WPd3PUCKBgI/AAAAAAAAkmw/kArcgyIUYd4mBEnc0TMlm3JdjdhcFyGDgCK4B/s1600/IMG_2450_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VnjMG5JDl18/WPd3PUCKBgI/AAAAAAAAkmw/kArcgyIUYd4mBEnc0TMlm3JdjdhcFyGDgCK4B/s320/IMG_2450_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Right after I went in, a full squad of officers filed in and took up position in the corners of the room.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tZUnJormKE0/WPd3QpPdgqI/AAAAAAAAkm4/SqoNBA8EomwgO0ES0WGetFcixR0lQ-SegCK4B/s1600/IMG_2451_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tZUnJormKE0/WPd3QpPdgqI/AAAAAAAAkm4/SqoNBA8EomwgO0ES0WGetFcixR0lQ-SegCK4B/s320/IMG_2451_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">First time I've ever seen this Trump hat.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-POzpAHR75HE/WPd3RpFZJvI/AAAAAAAAknA/FbQaxhqm7HsLvX0SVMU7lx-o4FJvHikNACK4B/s1600/IMG_2454_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-POzpAHR75HE/WPd3RpFZJvI/AAAAAAAAknA/FbQaxhqm7HsLvX0SVMU7lx-o4FJvHikNACK4B/s320/IMG_2454_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pmRL3qP6lUc/WPd3TAengHI/AAAAAAAAknI/XtJraN4zaCQ3C5xV7VJbtc4ac8dk25CtgCK4B/s1600/IMG_2455_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pmRL3qP6lUc/WPd3TAengHI/AAAAAAAAknI/XtJraN4zaCQ3C5xV7VJbtc4ac8dk25CtgCK4B/s320/IMG_2455_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Standing ovation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P4pSvhtJsOo/WPd3UGtnD3I/AAAAAAAAknQ/NVX_nXPpAK4BYlb8v8leKWO01Ar-W1sFACK4B/s1600/IMG_2456_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P4pSvhtJsOo/WPd3UGtnD3I/AAAAAAAAknQ/NVX_nXPpAK4BYlb8v8leKWO01Ar-W1sFACK4B/s320/IMG_2456_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">By the time Spencer got up to speak, the place was full. Standing room only. However, I received a text from my wife saying the local media pictures showed the room only half full.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nl4nH5v-5w8/WPd3VZCbjkI/AAAAAAAAknY/BSjA_W_D-uAvlqYNUNWroKjMSS1_26nRACK4B/s1600/IMG_2457_SLC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nl4nH5v-5w8/WPd3VZCbjkI/AAAAAAAAknY/BSjA_W_D-uAvlqYNUNWroKjMSS1_26nRACK4B/s320/IMG_2457_SLC.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A couple minutes in, and this gentleman stormed out, shouting "Not MY White!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thoughts...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The police presence was strong. As I left, I saw police cars from Auburn, Montgomery, and Sheriff's office, plus two or three detention vans just waiting to be loaded up. They were on the ball; they converged immediately on the one fight that broke out, and hauled two people away that I saw, one in a blue shirt.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There was a lot less shouting and heckling than I expected, too. I think Auburn students in general paid a lot more respect and attention than Berkeley students would have, and I'm willing to bet that says a lot about the students here in Alabama as opposed to the ones on the left coast.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">-=ad=-</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
allandavisjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10755527781683974219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980588564828994877.post-81844398230888424452017-03-22T06:24:00.002-07:002017-03-22T06:24:27.319-07:00A Modest Proposal (for Science Fiction)<br />
<br />
My latest LRC article is "A Modest Proposal for Science Fiction," covering such topics as the Hugo awards, discrimination in publishing, and a proposed tax on SF writers. And their beards.<br />
<br />
https://lewrockwell.com/2017/03/allan-davis/war-sci-fi-deplorables/<br />
<br />
-=ad=-allandavisjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10755527781683974219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980588564828994877.post-57145173898026179622017-03-06T06:13:00.005-08:002017-03-06T06:13:56.866-08:00The Great Social Media Purge<br />
<br />
My latest article is live at LewRockwell.com.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://lewrockwell.com/2017/03/allan-davis/great-social-media-purge-2016-2017/">The Great Social Media Purge of 2016-2017</a><br />
<br />
...and, on a somewhat related note, I posted the following to Gab:<br />
<br />
Free Speech - When *Everyone* gets to speak.<br />
<br />
Free Speech (TM) - When "everyone" gets to speak...except the "Nazis," and the racists, and the sexists, and the gamers, and the Deplorables, and the Alt-Right, and the conservatives, and the libertarians, and...<br />
<br />
-=ad=-allandavisjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10755527781683974219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980588564828994877.post-74684764455614369882016-11-18T10:57:00.000-08:002016-11-18T10:57:10.350-08:00The Rise of Alt-TechMy latest LRC article covering Alt-Tech and the migration to it, is now live. Check out<br />
<br />
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2016/11/allan-davis/slouching-towards-irrelevance/<br />
<br />
-=ad=-allandavisjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10755527781683974219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980588564828994877.post-15972121067759556962016-09-22T13:10:00.000-07:002016-09-29T06:48:10.488-07:00Circuits and Slippers<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dCf1o6"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bxfn8GKMe1I/V-Q6JHqhGOI/AAAAAAAAh8g/lrtSiSp90WAaNaTAkKU8xoTVhrQjiNFAwCLcB/s400/Circuits-and-Slippers-Facebook-Header---Contributing-Author.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's all Bruce Bethke's fault.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bruce ran The Friday Challenge, a weekly writing contest, and this particular one involved retelling a fairy tale as science fiction. I immediately jumped on Jack and the Beanstalk, because I could see the trip up the stalk as a ride on a space elevator. And rather than trading a cow for magic beans, my Jack traded an arm--literally--for his ticket up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once he's made it to the space station at the top of the stalk, he's going to have to face down the big man himself, and just wait til you see the Goose that Lays the Golden Eggs--well, we don't want to pack too many spoilers into one blog post, now, do we...?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, make sure to catch "The Girl, the Stalk, and Entropy," my take on the classic Jack and the Beanstalk fairy tale, in Circuits and Slippers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-=ad=-</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; font-family: ubuntu, "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.1em; line-height: 1.38; margin: 37.9375px 0px 25.2813px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://jayleejames.com/circuits-and-slippers/" style="background-color: black;">CIRCUITS AND SLIPPERS</a></span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; font-family: ubuntu, "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.1em; line-height: 1.38; margin: 37.9375px 0px 25.2813px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-size: large;">
A SCIENCE FICTION FAIRY TALE ANTHOLOGY<br />
COMING SEPTEMBER 29, 2016</span></div>
allandavisjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10755527781683974219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980588564828994877.post-84006278153577698142016-05-17T08:57:00.002-07:002016-09-22T13:49:35.344-07:00Tomorrow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WNYD23BcqjI/Vzs_NGYZysI/AAAAAAAAcL4/fVlckbXqwmU8x2njcErDAB_q-7YZPvzigCLcB/s1600/99%25C2%25A2-Sale-on-Libertarian-Fiction.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="335" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WNYD23BcqjI/Vzs_NGYZysI/AAAAAAAAcL4/fVlckbXqwmU8x2njcErDAB_q-7YZPvzigCLcB/s400/99%25C2%25A2-Sale-on-Libertarian-Fiction.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Tomorrow is the start of the Libertarian Fiction Sale!<br />
<br />
-=ad=-allandavisjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10755527781683974219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980588564828994877.post-65859551001234020192016-05-17T08:47:00.002-07:002016-05-17T08:47:20.668-07:00New Mailing List<br />
I think I'm being dragged, kicking and screaming, into the "marketing" world...<br />
<br />
In preparation for the big libertarian fiction sale (starting tomorrow!), I've added a mailing list; you should see it off to the right. And as an added bonus, anyone who signs up will receive a free copy of "The Whispering Worms of Wazarel," the poem that closes out my anthology of spooky stories "Perchance to Scream."<br />
<br />
To sign up for this shiny new email notifications list, check out the link to the right, or just click <a href="http://eepurl.com/bZuUXb">HERE.</a><span id="goog_1749431585"></span><span id="goog_1749431586"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><br />
<br />
Thanks!<br />
<br />
<br />allandavisjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10755527781683974219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980588564828994877.post-89443822336705514142015-09-10T17:29:00.000-07:002015-09-10T17:32:40.927-07:00Obvious Solution...Is Obvious<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been a science fiction fan since my mother gave me her copy of Dune when I was eight years old. And I am ashamed of what happened at the Wordcon.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Hugo awards are very simple. “The BEST science fiction of the year.” Not “the best message science fiction.” Not “the best fiction written by a pre-approved clique of writers.” And most definitely not “the best fiction but only if it’s nominated by the right people.”</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are two evils of Hugo voting. The greater evil is “voting without reading,” and the lesser evil is “voting based on stuff besides the merits of the story.”</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">700 people thought Toni Weisskopf deserved a Hugo nomination. 1200 people thought she deserved the award itself, and well over 2000 people voted for one of three woman to win that particular award.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then, 2500 zombie voters declared that all of those thousands of votes were null and void. (Yes, I call them zombies because their tactics remind me of crooked Chicago politics; if the election isn’t going your way, dig up some denizens of the local graveyard to help swing the numbers back the way you want them.) The same 2500 people locked out five categories in total.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those 2500 zombies perpetrated both evils in one swoop. They didn’t bother to read the stories, and then voted--not based on the merits of the work, or even the author of the stories themselves, but on the names of the people who nominated them.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then they celebrated this fiasco. They actually cheered for No Award.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those 2000 people, who voted in good faith, what must they be thinking? The neutrals are probably leaning Sad Puppy at this point, considering how they were treated. The Sad Puppies are very likely to morph into Rabid Puppies.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And the Rabids themselves? They are probably trying to decide what to nominate next year. Top of their lists so far are J. Jonah Jameson for Best Editor, Baby’s First Star Wars Picture Book for Best Novel, and SJWs Always Lie for Best Related Work.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am a voracious reader, as is all of my family. And from here on out, when I go to buy a book, I will be checking the author. If they celebrated this irrational victory of politics over principle, then my money will go to other writers.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The punchline to this is Three Body Problem, the book that won Best Novel. Vox Day didn’t get a chance to read it before the deadline, so he didn’t nominate it. He did rank it at the top of his final ballot, however, and declared that he would have nominated it, had he read it. It won, solely because Vox did not nominate it. And like Larry Correia points out, that’s the problem with the Hugos right there. Three Body Problem didn’t win because the community thought it was the best--it won to supposedly spite the people who would have nominated it but for timing.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Science fiction is a community, and the Hugo voters are drawn from that community. Pay your $40 and you’re in; no entrance exam, no psych eval, no blood test, just forty bucks and a love of the genre. You can’t “police” that community, because there’s no wall around it; you can’t police a self-selecting group.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, from that regard, the furor over this year’s Hugo nominations is horrendously overblown. Science fiction fans paid their fees and voted. </span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Maybe if the Puppies had only gotten one or two of their works nominated instead of sweeping the ballots, things would have been different!” Eh, maybe...except, that’s what happened in Sad Puppies 2, so I doubt it.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Slate voting is EVIL!” Voting without reading is evil. Voting based on the name of the nominator is evil. You can’t stop someone from saying “I like this book, you might like to read it too.” You can’t stop someone from saying “I like these books, and I will be voting for them come Hugo time.” Or do you want to install some kind of Hugo campaign law that says “you can only suggest THREE books for Hugo slate, not five or ten or fifteen…?” So then what’s the difference between suggesting a book or two to read, and suggesting an EVIL SLATE to vote on…?</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“But but but...VOX DAY!” You know, Vox was insulted by “he tried to game the Hugos, and ended up placing sixth.” That’s what led to Rabid Puppies. Vox Day makes for an easy and obvious target because...he’s Vox. If he hadn’t been offended and set up Rabid Puppies--if, say, Larry Correia and Brad Torgersen had run with Sad Puppies 3--the response would have been identical, just aimed at them instead of at Vox.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s been said before, but I’ll point it out, yet again. The “racist” Puppies weren’t racist at all. Even Vox picked Three Body Problem for Best Novel, which had to be translated from Chinese to become eligible. The “sexist” Puppies weren’t sexist at all, with multiple women on their ballots. And “Vox just wanted a Hugo” doesn’t even hold water. Look at Vox’s final ballot. In Long Form Editor, with Vox nominated, he’s placed himself fourth, with not one but two women ranked above him.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like Larry Correia said, it’s about turf. The furor over the Hugos isn’t about who’s doing the nominating, it’s about who controls the process.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By all accounts, the Nomination Domination Puppy Brigade numbered perhaps 350 voters. However, over 700 people voted to nominate Toni Weisskopf for Best Long Form Editor. This is a category that, in years past, has seen people nominated on as few as forty votes. This year, for some mysterious and unknowable reason, Vox Day’s “slated” 166 votes were just barely enough to sneak him in to the number 5 slot. When it only takes forty votes to get a nomination, the person who can slate 166 wields an enormous amount of power. </span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, stated another way: In a world where it takes 166 votes to get a nomination, the guy who can slate 40 is simply powerless.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do the extrapolation. The “answer” to the “problem” of the Hugos is right there in that sentence.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In a world where it takes 1000 votes to get a nomination, the guy who can slate 166 is powerless.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s your answer. Not more totalitarian control over the process, not more convoluted and draconian restrictions over who can vote and how much power those voters can wield, and definitely no bloc slate zombie voting tactics. </span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No, the real answer is MORE...more slates, more Puppies, more voters. The only way to take away the massive power of slate voters is to expand the voting pool to all of science fiction fandom. Bring in more voters, by the hundreds, by the thousands, if at all possible. “Sad Puppies 4: The Embiggening” is an excellent start.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course, doing that would put the power to award Hugos into the hands of fandom as a whole, rather than The High Church of Science Fiction which has controlled it for the last several years.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-=ad=-</span></span></div>
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