Will Shetterly's Blog, page 104

Links to cartoons by Toby Morris, whose observations about New Zealand apply to my country and probably yours

I clicked a link toThe Pencilsword: On a platewith a little trepidationbecause it was described as a cartoon about privilege. I was pleased to find it's about economic privilege, not social privilege. (Yes, they're often related, but some rich people lose their wealth and kill themselves because they know they'll lose their social privilege too, and the New Rich always gain the social

Dear feminists upset by last week's Game of Thrones

Spoiler warning: plot points from GoT and disagreement with modern feminism's understanding of art and sexual violence. The torture and castration of Theon Greyjoy doesn't offend you, but the idea that a bad man might rape his wife does? Like the castration of Theon, the message of Sansa's rape is simple: rape is horrible, one of the worst things a person can do to another. The show has had

Zumba versus Salsa for physical and psychological health

Zumba and salsa seem to do equally well for mental health, but Zumba has an edge for physical issues, based on a recent study. FromSalsa dance and Zumba fitness: Acute responses during community-based classes: There was a significantly higher (p0.001) total time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (51.23.1 vs. 32.65.9min), total energy expenditure (41166 vs. 21046

You can derail agendas, but not conversations or investigations

I liked this bit inEstablishment Journalists Pride Themselves on Staying on the Official Rails: "Rails, after all, are meant to keep a vehicle on a predetermined track. It’s not much of compliment to compare a journalist to a smoothly operating train, always showing up at the official stations." I'll take that point further: When people say you're derailing, ask where they want to send you. And

"The Lynching Party" - flash fiction by Will Shetterly

The Lynching Party Will Shetterly The storm's last flash of lightning came with the last twitch of the red-headed man's feet. The Kid looked uneasy, so Curly said, "Someone's got to deal justice to horse thieves." They rode back in silence. Near the town limits, they saw Doc, Slim, and Tex galloping toward them. Tex called, "Want to join a necktie party?" Curly began, "That red-headed

Adam Smith quotes for supporters of Basic Income

"The necessaries of life occasion the great expense of the poor. They find it difficult to get food, and the greater part of their little revenue is spent in getting it. The luxuries and vanities of life occasion the principal expense of the rich, and a magnificent house embellishes and sets off to the best advantage all the other luxuries and vanities which they possess. A tax upon house-rents,

Belle: highly recommended for fans of historicals, Regencies, and interracial romances

Just saw Belle. Maybe because I was afraid it would be self-important in its handling of a based-on-a-true-story about a mixed-race illegitimate woman raised by her noble family in England at the end of the 18th century, I wasn't expecting to like it much, but it was amusing and touching and pretty to look at. I gave it 9 stars on IMDb. At Rotten Tomatoes, it has an 83% for audience and critics,

Drive-By Truckers: spoken word meditation on The Three Great Alabama Icons

ETA:

For my fellow leftists who think most or all conservatives are racist

In the '50s and '60s, it was fairly safe to assume that the more conservative someone was, the more racist someone was. After Malcolm X left the Nation of Islam, he said, "It’s impossible for a white person to believe in capitalism and not believe in racism. You can’t have capitalism without racism. And if you find one and you happen to get that person into conversation and they have a philosophy

Facebook disabled my account

I don't know why. Maybe someone reported me for something to harass me for my politics, because that's what keyboard crusaders do. Maybe it's a FB glitch. In any case, I've submitted my ID to prove to FB that I am who I am. With luck, I'll have the account back soon. And then I may disable it, because FB is such a timesink. No decision yet; if I leave FB, I'd like to say goodbye there before I