Tobias S. Buckell's Blog, page 51
August 9, 2013
An interesting solution to the used books pay debate
The Passive Guy has an interesting thought experiment. I’m not sure if it would ever come to be, but the voluntary aspect of it solves some of the issues that weigh down the used book sales debate and makes it interesting to ponder.
I’m not sure I have a dog in the fight, I grew up utterly dependent on used books and libraries due to my socio-economnic status. I’d not be nearly as well read as I am without.
But this would solve my situation back in the day and still look fair all around, and is...
Foz Meadows on Action vs Romance
Food for thought:
“In het-female-oriented romance stories, the resolution of conflict between hero and heroine serves as the narrative justification for the romantic outcome: he has done Y and she has done Z, therefore they win each other. The story is about both their wants and needs, and while there’s often a stronger emotional focus on the heroine, the why of the hero’s attraction is still deemed important.
Traditional action narratives teach men that relationships are based on the successfu...
August 8, 2013
Omni, reboot: a major presence is back
I remember that even non-SF readers were familiar with Omni and often had subscriptions (one of my uncles). The UFO stuff got a bit weird and I would skip right over all that, but before that became too burdensome, it was quite a presence.
“Today, though, Omni is coming back — and with it, questions about how our vision of science and science fiction has changed since its launch. Omni’s resurrection comes courtesy of Jeremy Frommer, a collector and businessman who acquired Guccione’s archives...
METAtropolis: Round Three: Green Space (pre order page now live)
The cover and narrator line up is as of yet to be determined (or revealed), but the early pre-order page for the third Metatropolis Audible anthology is up!
“Audible’s Audie Award-winning and Hugo Award-nominated vision of the not-too-distant future returns!
As METAtropolis: Green Space moves into the 22nd Century, human social evolution is heading in new directions after the Green Crash and the subsequent Green Renaissance. Nearly everyone who cares to participate in the wired world has become...
This sentence has five words. Here are five more…
via Heather Shaw and Juliet Ulman, a fantastic micro lesson on sentence/paragraph structure:
“‘This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use...
August 7, 2013
Deutsche Bank says solar at ‘major inflection point’
Saw this on twitter via Ramez Naam a while back:
“Deutsche Bank analysts have painted a bullish outlook for the global solar market, noting that solar PV is about to enter a ‘third growth phase’ where it can be deployed without subsidies, and can resist a backlash from utilities.
The report by analysts led by US-based Vishal Shah estimates that three-quarters of the world’s market will be ‘sustainable’ for solar within 18 months, meaning they can operate with little or no subsidy. (see graph at...
Mothership: Tales from Afrofuturism & Beyond – 12 hours to go for a cool anthology I’m a part of
This is a dynamite project with a fantastic line up of authors. 12 hours to go, and the project is just shy of its goal!
“Author Bill Campbell (Koontown Killing Kaper, Sunshine Patriots), poet/journalist Edward Austin Hall (the forthcomingChimera Island), and artist Professor John Jennings (Black Comix,Black Kirby Project)have assembled 40 extraordinarily talented writers who represent just a part of the changing face of speculative fiction.
Mothership: Tales from Afrofuturism is thedynamic, ge...
August 6, 2013
Big Oil on a diet
From QZ, a look at the changing nature of the large oil companies:
“This may be more than a passing carnage. We may be witnessing a more-or-less orderly industry retreat from Big Oil’s old, unsustainable size and Wall Street expectation, and toward a more manageable—and healthy—scale of business.
A common feature across Big Oil—a group that includes BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell—is a serious struggle keeping its weight on. Investor attention fixates on the prospect of growing daily producti...
Andrew Sullivan on freeloading
Andrew Sullivan on the encouragement of Freedomworks and other types to get young Americans of a Certain Political Persuasion to refuse healthcare:
“since 1986, hospitals have been legally required to treat anyone seriously ill who presents himself at an emergency room, with clear medical needs. In the most fundamental way, that was the moment the US socialized medicine – and Ronald Reagan signed the bill. Alas, like so many Reagan domestic initiatives, there was no federal money provided to p...
