Nick Mamatas's Blog, page 6
November 15, 2016
Is it three things that make a post?
1. This tweet took off:
2. My next online writing class for LitReactor starts on Thursday, so sign up if you want to learn a little something.
3. I am a big fan of OR Books, which is having its $1 ebook sale right now. I picked up Rosset: My Life in Publishing and How I Fought Censorship and Finks: How the CIA Tricked the World's Best Writers. They have a lot of interesting books on politics, literature, "the cyber", etc.
Apologists for H.P. Lovecraft can stop saying that he "was a man of his time" now, as he is qualified to work for the Trump White House.
— Nick Mamatas (@NMamatas) November 14, 2016
2. My next online writing class for LitReactor starts on Thursday, so sign up if you want to learn a little something.
3. I am a big fan of OR Books, which is having its $1 ebook sale right now. I picked up Rosset: My Life in Publishing and How I Fought Censorship and Finks: How the CIA Tricked the World's Best Writers. They have a lot of interesting books on politics, literature, "the cyber", etc.
November 9, 2016
What Happened?
In the 1990s, the anti-globalization movement was left-wing, anti-corporate, and internationalist. Today it is weak and has been largely replaced by an anti-globalism movement that is right-wing, anti-Semitic, and ultranationalist. A few elements have brought us here.
The moderate left shoulders much of the blame. Even during the Battle of Seattle, we were treated to such monstrosities as Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan playing huggy-huggy, and Medea Benjamin and her allies forming a human shield to protect the windows of a Starbucks from protestor rocks—the shopkeeper's window being the most important thing in the world, after all. The next year, she'd appeal to the company to have fair trade coffee in their stores. This is called "getting a seat at the table." At around the same time, the far-right started to operate freely, if quietly, within the movement.
Then came 9/11, and the US left blinked. The massive protest movement in the US was sucked into the Democratic Party and transformed into an absurdity—an objectively pro-war "anti-war" force rallying around the asinine slogan "Justice Not Vengeance." When Simon Wisenthal named his book Justice Not Vengeance, he was discussing legal prosecution of Nazis, as opposed to summary justice, after the war was completed. Justice not vengeance necessarily implies war. In 2004, anti-war Democratic hopeful Howard Dean criticized the US war in Iraq, but was all for the war in Afghanistan and even rattled a saber in the direction of Saudi Arabia. That was the left of the possible.
But corporate globalization is a massive problem, economically and environmentally. Neoliberalism doesn't have any solutions, mainly because globalization is its goal rather than a problem to be solved. At best, neoliberalism looks simply to administrate the bumps of the globalization process away, and for that it requires a large number of bright young things who speak well, dress nicely, and are sufficiently cosmopolitan to not get very upset or confused if they must adopt local clothing or eat strange foods for a few weeks here and there while carrying out their tasks. The highly educated militant-liberal (who considered themselves radical) white left of the 1990s basically grew up and got jobs at NGOs, or in neoliberal political parties. So the anti-globalization movement liquidated into the pro-globalization movement. Fair trade coffee for all; buy that Starbucks stock!
Meanwhile, the neoconservatives made a hash of things, thanks to their consistent delusion that you can bomb and bribe people across the world into becoming Jeffersonian democrats.
Politics abhors a vacuum. Without as left or mainstream right alternative, the far right was able to blossom and grow. Thus Brexit, thus ultranationalists and outright fascists in parliaments across Europe, thus ISIS because al-Qaeda was too soft, and thus yesterday US voters sought to end the advantage of the rich and powerful voted for a politically inexperienced billionaire selling white nationalism. And, to be perfectly clear, Trump did better among blacks and Latinos than mainstream Republican Mitt Romney did four years ago. (I was as surprised as anyone who foolishly believed poll numbers that Trump won yesterday, but I've repeatedly said he'd surprise people with the extent of his popularity among people of color.) Trump didn't just win because of racism, he won because There Was No Alternative.
This wasn't inevitable. Five years ago, Occupy had to be physically smashed by the police in order to be defeated. Right-wing infiltration of it was limited to a relative handful of libertarians and conspiracy kooks thanks to its broad appeal to those outside of the middle-class elite-university left. (People fight more when they can't just opt out by switching sides.) Bernie Sanders was a sheepdog for the Democratic Party, but the old coot did remember enough of his early politics to build the beginnings of a movement that would exist beyond the election and beyond mere parliamentary politics.
For the actual left, it's past time to create the alternative. There were enough "shy" Trump voters yesterday that it is clear that people don't really want to associate with pussy-grabbing racists, but if the neoliberal center doesn't want to associate with them when Lady Gaga and several Saudi princes are available, they'll take what they can get.
The moderate left shoulders much of the blame. Even during the Battle of Seattle, we were treated to such monstrosities as Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan playing huggy-huggy, and Medea Benjamin and her allies forming a human shield to protect the windows of a Starbucks from protestor rocks—the shopkeeper's window being the most important thing in the world, after all. The next year, she'd appeal to the company to have fair trade coffee in their stores. This is called "getting a seat at the table." At around the same time, the far-right started to operate freely, if quietly, within the movement.
Then came 9/11, and the US left blinked. The massive protest movement in the US was sucked into the Democratic Party and transformed into an absurdity—an objectively pro-war "anti-war" force rallying around the asinine slogan "Justice Not Vengeance." When Simon Wisenthal named his book Justice Not Vengeance, he was discussing legal prosecution of Nazis, as opposed to summary justice, after the war was completed. Justice not vengeance necessarily implies war. In 2004, anti-war Democratic hopeful Howard Dean criticized the US war in Iraq, but was all for the war in Afghanistan and even rattled a saber in the direction of Saudi Arabia. That was the left of the possible.
But corporate globalization is a massive problem, economically and environmentally. Neoliberalism doesn't have any solutions, mainly because globalization is its goal rather than a problem to be solved. At best, neoliberalism looks simply to administrate the bumps of the globalization process away, and for that it requires a large number of bright young things who speak well, dress nicely, and are sufficiently cosmopolitan to not get very upset or confused if they must adopt local clothing or eat strange foods for a few weeks here and there while carrying out their tasks. The highly educated militant-liberal (who considered themselves radical) white left of the 1990s basically grew up and got jobs at NGOs, or in neoliberal political parties. So the anti-globalization movement liquidated into the pro-globalization movement. Fair trade coffee for all; buy that Starbucks stock!
Meanwhile, the neoconservatives made a hash of things, thanks to their consistent delusion that you can bomb and bribe people across the world into becoming Jeffersonian democrats.
Politics abhors a vacuum. Without as left or mainstream right alternative, the far right was able to blossom and grow. Thus Brexit, thus ultranationalists and outright fascists in parliaments across Europe, thus ISIS because al-Qaeda was too soft, and thus yesterday US voters sought to end the advantage of the rich and powerful voted for a politically inexperienced billionaire selling white nationalism. And, to be perfectly clear, Trump did better among blacks and Latinos than mainstream Republican Mitt Romney did four years ago. (I was as surprised as anyone who foolishly believed poll numbers that Trump won yesterday, but I've repeatedly said he'd surprise people with the extent of his popularity among people of color.) Trump didn't just win because of racism, he won because There Was No Alternative.
This wasn't inevitable. Five years ago, Occupy had to be physically smashed by the police in order to be defeated. Right-wing infiltration of it was limited to a relative handful of libertarians and conspiracy kooks thanks to its broad appeal to those outside of the middle-class elite-university left. (People fight more when they can't just opt out by switching sides.) Bernie Sanders was a sheepdog for the Democratic Party, but the old coot did remember enough of his early politics to build the beginnings of a movement that would exist beyond the election and beyond mere parliamentary politics.
For the actual left, it's past time to create the alternative. There were enough "shy" Trump voters yesterday that it is clear that people don't really want to associate with pussy-grabbing racists, but if the neoliberal center doesn't want to associate with them when Lady Gaga and several Saudi princes are available, they'll take what they can get.
Well, Well, Well...
Between the election result, and Brexit, and Scotland's IndyRef result, and Greek elections, one thing is clear: polling is no longer functional.
So Trump won! Terrible, to be sure, but it could have been worse. Cruz could have won. He's a true believer; Trump will just say anything to be liked and has no real ideas, which means he is at least persuadable on some level. And could Cruz have won? Yes. "Never Trump" was illusory—party members voted for their parties. Clinton didn't get those suburban independents she thought she had in the bag. She didn't get enough women, despite running against that ol' pussy grabber, and she didn't get young people in sufficient numbers.
People wanted an outsider. Obama was actually an outsider. Bernie Sanders, despite his long political career, was a credible outsider. Trump, of course, despite his maybe-billions, could also claim credibly to be an outsider. And so the Democratic Party said, "Okay, how about the ultimate insider instead? It's her turn, after all. Sure, she's extremely unlikeable and is basically running on 'Not that nasty fellow', but c'mon..."
And sure, Clinton may well have won the popular vote, but it's not like the campaign didn't know that the electoral college existed. She let Wisconsin slide. Trump was in Ohio more than once monthly, it seemed.
So, what will the Democrats do now? So far, it looks like blame Gary Johnson, despite the fact that Libertarian votes tend to be from disaffected Republicans, and despite the fact that William Weld, Johnson's running mate, practically campaigned for Clinton in the final weeks before the election.
The Democrats are not a home for the left, this much should be finally, finally, clear. The weakness of the far left in the US is also due to its middle-class composition; Clinton and the far left abandoned the working class—not just those white people waiting for the factories to come back, but the blacks and Latinos as well (Clinton did worse in both sectors than Obama did) and so they went for the candidate who promised them the moon. There's an irony there—in 2012, Republicans sniffed that Obama won because he promised people "free stuff." Trump is promising America literal time travel back to whenever America was supposedly great.
Well, that ain't gonna happen either.
So Trump won! Terrible, to be sure, but it could have been worse. Cruz could have won. He's a true believer; Trump will just say anything to be liked and has no real ideas, which means he is at least persuadable on some level. And could Cruz have won? Yes. "Never Trump" was illusory—party members voted for their parties. Clinton didn't get those suburban independents she thought she had in the bag. She didn't get enough women, despite running against that ol' pussy grabber, and she didn't get young people in sufficient numbers.
People wanted an outsider. Obama was actually an outsider. Bernie Sanders, despite his long political career, was a credible outsider. Trump, of course, despite his maybe-billions, could also claim credibly to be an outsider. And so the Democratic Party said, "Okay, how about the ultimate insider instead? It's her turn, after all. Sure, she's extremely unlikeable and is basically running on 'Not that nasty fellow', but c'mon..."
And sure, Clinton may well have won the popular vote, but it's not like the campaign didn't know that the electoral college existed. She let Wisconsin slide. Trump was in Ohio more than once monthly, it seemed.
So, what will the Democrats do now? So far, it looks like blame Gary Johnson, despite the fact that Libertarian votes tend to be from disaffected Republicans, and despite the fact that William Weld, Johnson's running mate, practically campaigned for Clinton in the final weeks before the election.
The Democrats are not a home for the left, this much should be finally, finally, clear. The weakness of the far left in the US is also due to its middle-class composition; Clinton and the far left abandoned the working class—not just those white people waiting for the factories to come back, but the blacks and Latinos as well (Clinton did worse in both sectors than Obama did) and so they went for the candidate who promised them the moon. There's an irony there—in 2012, Republicans sniffed that Obama won because he promised people "free stuff." Trump is promising America literal time travel back to whenever America was supposedly great.
Well, that ain't gonna happen either.
November 4, 2016
Apptastic
Two of my stories are being highlighted today in the new Great Jones Street app for short fiction.
Arbeitskraft
and
Thy Shiny Car in the Night
Check 'em out!
Arbeitskraft
and
Thy Shiny Car in the Night
Check 'em out!
October 26, 2016
If I've ever changed your life for the better...
send me three dollars.
October 25, 2016
Some Stuff
The latest issue of the surprisingly energetic New Haven Review is out. In addition to its print edition, it releases its issues as a big long PDF, which means that you get to read my new short story "Tom Silex, Spirit-Smasher" right now.
Speaking of stories online, I went looking for a piece I published last year—my one-sentence story "Anti-Fragile" only to find that it is no longer up on TriggerWarning.Us, where it was first published. (Thanks to the Wayback Machine, I did eventually find a version. Presumably, it is because of co-editor Rachel Haywire's financial and psychological shenanigans as detailed by Ann Sterzinger, her erstwhile partner.
But, you know, I did expect that a website that labels itself "a safe space for free speech" wouldn't flush an entire high-quality fiction issue down the memory hole, but hypocrite and piece of shit Rachel Haywire did just that.
Thankfully, the Wayback Machine preserved it. Speaking of the Internet preserving things—here's a sentence worth repeating a few times:
Rachel Haywire is a hypocrite and a piece of shit.
Rachel Haywire is a hypocrite and a piece of shit.
Rachel Haywire is a hypocrite and a piece of shit.
Speaking of stories online, I went looking for a piece I published last year—my one-sentence story "Anti-Fragile" only to find that it is no longer up on TriggerWarning.Us, where it was first published. (Thanks to the Wayback Machine, I did eventually find a version. Presumably, it is because of co-editor Rachel Haywire's financial and psychological shenanigans as detailed by Ann Sterzinger, her erstwhile partner.
But, you know, I did expect that a website that labels itself "a safe space for free speech" wouldn't flush an entire high-quality fiction issue down the memory hole, but hypocrite and piece of shit Rachel Haywire did just that.
Thankfully, the Wayback Machine preserved it. Speaking of the Internet preserving things—here's a sentence worth repeating a few times:
Rachel Haywire is a hypocrite and a piece of shit.
Rachel Haywire is a hypocrite and a piece of shit.
Rachel Haywire is a hypocrite and a piece of shit.
October 10, 2016
Tomorrow Night, LitQuake
Short story writers read from their works, and discuss the challenges and rewards unique to short-form fiction. With Daphne Gottlieb, Kait Heacock, Vanessa Hua, Martin Pousson, Anne Raeff, Sumiko Saulson, and Nick Mamatas
Tuesday October 11, 2016 7:00pm - 8:30pm
San Francisco Center for the Book 375 Rhode Island Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
Tuesday October 11, 2016 7:00pm - 8:30pm
San Francisco Center for the Book 375 Rhode Island Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
October 8, 2016
The Big Tweet
And that's the story of how Billy Bush saved the world from nuclear Armageddon.
— Nick Mamatas (@NMamatas) October 8, 2016
This tweet of mine really took off, thanks to retweets from Popehat, and then Andy Richter, and then Edgar Wright. Twelve hours later, it's still going strong.
What is interesting is the number of people who feel the need to respond to a joke tweet with their serious business. Stupid serious business, like:
"But Bill Clinton is a rapist!!", which, regardless of the truth-value of that claim, is irrelevant. At worst he's the rapist who had eight years in proximity to the nuclear button and demonstrably did not press it in a fit of narcissistic pique.
"But Hillary Clinton is the one who wants war with Russia!" which is clearly untrue and a political impossibility besides. Clearly, what Clinton wants is to limit Russia's international influence, which has been an abiding part of US foreign policy since 1917. It's also worth noting that a war with Russia need not be a nuclear exchange. Nor need a nuclear exchange involve Russia as the primary belligerent.
"But Billy Bush was just as bad!" And also not running for President. And on the level of "Will he press the nuclear button because he's a wannabe tough guy who doesn't understand international relations as at all!" even Billy Bush isn't as bad as Trump. Billy knows his level, and has found, far far far from the halls of power, except insofar as he leaked the tape to his aunt Barbara or something.
"It wasn't Billy Bush, it was the important work of David A. Fahrenthold!" The important bit of his reportage is right here: "After the video appeared online Friday afternoon..." Farhentold didn't find the video; he wasn't even given the video. The video was put online to be oh-so nonchalantly discovered by someone else...
"It wasn't Billy Bush, it was Hillary Clinton and everyone who believed in her!" Oh man. Almost nobody believes in Hillary Clinton except for the demographic of middle-class and wealthy women, almost all of whom are white. (That Barbara Bush again!) She's what the Democrats settled on. That's why this sort of media trickery was even necessary in the first place.
And now, shall we make the statue of Billy Bush of gold, or platinum?
September 26, 2016
Some junk
Hey, I'm back!
Let's see...
1. Here's some footage of Trump working on his rhetoric for tonight's debate:
As I said on Facebook: I think Trump will win tonight's debate because Clinton will be all "womp womp policy number slogan" and Trump's rejoinder will be "Whatever, bitch! You look like a fat albino frog!" and America loves a bully.
2. Here's a great review of I Am Providence, that appears in the latest double-sized Halloween issue of Rue Morgue, which is like a Canadian Fangoria, except it's for smart people.
Can't really be arsed to type the whole thing in for people who cannot read the gif, but it's a rave.
3. Another gif! (sorry), this one in the afterword of the forthcoming anthology The Children of Gla'aki, which includes my story "Country Mouse, City Mouse"
Anyway, Ramsey Campbell liked my story and found it authentic, which I wasn't even going for!
More tonight!
Let's see...
1. Here's some footage of Trump working on his rhetoric for tonight's debate:
As I said on Facebook: I think Trump will win tonight's debate because Clinton will be all "womp womp policy number slogan" and Trump's rejoinder will be "Whatever, bitch! You look like a fat albino frog!" and America loves a bully.
2. Here's a great review of I Am Providence, that appears in the latest double-sized Halloween issue of Rue Morgue, which is like a Canadian Fangoria, except it's for smart people.
Can't really be arsed to type the whole thing in for people who cannot read the gif, but it's a rave.
3. Another gif! (sorry), this one in the afterword of the forthcoming anthology The Children of Gla'aki, which includes my story "Country Mouse, City Mouse"
Anyway, Ramsey Campbell liked my story and found it authentic, which I wasn't even going for!
More tonight!
September 14, 2016
Great Jones Street
I spent the last few weeks corralling previously published short mystery/crime fiction for a new smartphone app, Great Jones Street. I don't know if this sort of thing is the key to finally reviving short fiction, but given the ubiquity of both smartphones and short attention spans, it may just be. Right now the app is available for download in the Apple Store, and will soon be available for Android phones and various other products.
John Joseph Adams curated SF/F, and they seem to have someone good doing short literary fiction too. Download today and check it out.
John Joseph Adams curated SF/F, and they seem to have someone good doing short literary fiction too. Download today and check it out.
Nick Mamatas's Blog
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