Will Shetterly's Blog, page 165

quiet thinking

I am a fan of quiet places. My one complaint about life in cities is there's always one neighbor loves loudness. If you think, like me, this might be a class thing, it's not. Tim Krieder has a comment about train riders and bus riders that seems true, as generalizations go:

From The Quiet Ones - NYTimes.com: "James’s thesis that this obliviousness correlates to a sense of special entitlement is corroborated by my own observation that the crowd on Amtrak, where airline-level fares act as a...

"Silver or Gold" by Emma Bull

First published in After the King: Stories in Honor of J.R.R. Tolkien (Martin H. Greenberg, editor), Tor.   Now available in And Other Stories by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly, an ebook and a trade paperback from all fine and some not-so-fine booksellers.
Silver or Gold

by Emma Bull
Moon Very Thin sat on the raised hearth -- the only place in the center room out of the way -- with her chin on her knuckles. She would have liked to be doing something more, bu...

"The Thief of Dreams" by Will Shetterly

First published at Endicott Studio.

The Thief of Dreams

by Will Shetterly
A tiger dreamed of gazelles running free across the plains. Then the tiger woke, its dream gone. It saw a gazelle and leaped upon it to make the gazelle its breakfast.

A serpent dreamed of a city overgrown by the jungle. Its walls were strong, and its wells were full of cool, clear water. A child came. The serpent told it, "I guard this city for you and your people. Take it, grow strong, and help others."

Then the serpe...

"white vote" is code for the richer side in the class war

Does Obama Have White Voter “Problem”? — The Monkey Cage: "Since the mid-1970’s Democrats have had a white voter “problem.” Obama is a Democrat. This is by far the best lens through which to view white support for Obama.  Conversely, it is also the best lens through which to view black support for Obama.  For example, LBJ received essentially the same level of black support in 1964 as did Obama in 2008. ... In 2008, Obama garnered about 43% of the white vote. This was the high...

quibbling with Jay Atkinson on the requirements of storytelling

From Book review: “Elsewhere’’ by Richard Russo - Books - The Boston Globe: "the requirements of good storytelling are harsh: three-dimensional characters, a strong sense of place, and the accumulation of specific sensory detail. "

I think that's a useful list, but I must add that all of those things are extremely subjective, and sometimes what's wanted are archetypes, a place that could be anywhere, and the unrelenting storytelling push of dialogue and action.

Flannery O'Connor on stifling writers

"Everywhere I go, I'm asked if the universities stifle writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them." —Flannery O'Connor

Kushner and Spielberg's "Lincoln"

Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner have made a great movie with a misleading title: it should be called The 13th Amendment. It's funny and touching and beautifully made. There are two minor Spielberg moments that I would cut, but that's a tiny quibble. While all the actors are great, Tommy Lee Jones gets to have the most fun. Lincoln joins Glory at the top of the tiny group of great Civil War films.
Some people, like Shakesville, want a different movie, either abou...

"Joshua Tree" by Emma Bull

First published in The Green Man (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling, editors), Viking. Now available in And Other Stories by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly, an ebook and a trade paperback from all fine and some not-so-fine booksellers.

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Joshua Tree

by Emma Bull
My name is Tabetha Sikorsky. Yes, that’s usually spelled “Tabitha,” but spelling has never been my mom’s hot subject. I’m not sure what my dad’s hot subject is, but I hope it’s wood shop, since he’s now living in Phoenix nailing r...

"Kasim's Haj" by Will Shetterly

A FOLK TALE

Years ago, I read someone's version of this story in a newsgroup, probably about Islam. That person guessed the story might be from the 1001 Nights, but it doesn't feel like a story Scheherazade would tell. If you recognize it, let me know. I think the only thing you need to know is that it's traditional for a muslim to make a journey at least once in life to Mecca out of devotion to God. The journey is called the Haj.

Because this is not my story, I’m placing this version in the pu...

2012 Election: It really was class warfare

"Identity Politics and Economic Reality" at The Economic Populist gave me the numbers in the comments. I verified them; they're from the US network exit polls. Here's the economic spread for Obama voters vs Romney voters:

Obama: < $30,000, 62% to 35%
Obama: $30,000 to $49,999, 56% to 42%.

Romney : $50,000 to $99,999, 52% to 46%
Romney: $100,000 to $199,999, 54% to 44%
Romney: > $200,000 or more, 54% to 44%.

You're welcome to do the breakdown by race and gender if you insist, but this is...