John C. Wright's Blog, page 205

Nebula Nominations Open!

Just in case anyone reading these words is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America (known, more formally, as the Ancient and Honorable Guild of the Seekers of Truth and Penitence) the stories from the anthology Federations (John Joseph Adams, ed) are currently eligible for the Nebula Award.

My novelette TWILIGHT OF THE GODS had the honor to appear in that anthology.

Now that the nomination period is open, my editor John Joseph Adams has made the anthology available to SFWA members i...

The Manhattan Declaration of Life, Marriage, Liberty

At last a few words of sanity:

http://manhattandeclaration.org/

http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2009/11/manhattan-declaration58-a-call-of-christian-conscience

In this declaration we affirm: 1) the profound, inherent, and equal dignity of every human being as a creature fashioned in the very image of God, possessing inherent rights of equal dignity and life; 2) marriage as a conjugal union of man and woman, ordained by God from the creation, and historically understood by believers and...

Extreme Unction of the West--One Final Question

A few days ago in this space, I lamented that, from the under-reaction and sheer PC nonsense coming from our political leaders and mainstream media in re the Fort Hood shootings, it was clear that modern America had descended into a psychopathology which I will call 'The Carter Syndrome' where one mistakes friends for enemies, and cannot see enemies at all. Basically, I asked the question along these lines: if the Jihadists were an international totalitarian political party, like the Communis...

Further Insanity

As a follow up to my last post, another exhibit of the growing insanity and inanity of the West.

A remake was made of Patrick McGoohan's iconic and unforgettable THE PRISONER. If you are of my generation, you remember this show.

In the remake, the Village turns out to be the good guys. I kid you not.

http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2009/11/imprisoned

Remind me when I have time to write an article on why Leftism/Political Correctness/Gnosticism/Modernism, while it can from time to time tu...

Insanity Plea

Submitted for your consideration
Exhibit A:
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentary/70662162.html?elr=KArksc8P:Pc:Ug8P:Pc:UiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr

In a report compiled last summer, the Race, Culture, Class and Gender Task Group at the U's College of Education and Human Development recommended that aspiring teachers there must repudiate the notion of "the American Dream" in order to obtain the recommendation for licensure required by the Minnesota Board of Teaching. Instead...

Fraud

Someone hacked into the emails at University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit (a major think tank for the Anthropogenic Climate Change theory). The scientist discussed how to falsify data to prop up Anthropogenic Global Warming theory, because the data did not support the theory.

If these reports are true, I will expect a statue erected to me in the Agora.

http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2009/11/20/climategate-heats-up-global-warming-debate/

http...

Million, Billion, Trillion

I came across this information when I was looking up, for my latest science fiction novel, a way of expressing the difference between a million, a billion and a trillion.

My current novel takes place at several different levels, on several different orders of magnitude. To keep my dates straight, I have to use
1. my small scale timeline (covers the decades between AD 1 and AD 2400)--my hero travels to an antimatter star 50 ly distant, and back again.
2. my middle scale time line (covers AD 1 t...

Graham v Holder 384 U.S. 436 (1966)

Today I had a unique experience: I actually heard from a lawyer who is less knowledgeable and skilled—less lawyerly— than I.

This is remarkable (indeed, I am even now remarking on it) because I graduated third to last in my class of 145 after being kept back a semester. The school team mascot (which I think was a stalk of Asparagus named Ebrit), got a better grade on its final in Police Procedural class than I did.

So where, in all of this great land, did I actually find a lawyer who knew less...

Extreme Unction of the West -- Clarification

In a recent discussion in this space, I waxed indignant over the inability of our popular leaders, both political leaders and opinion makers, to admit that the Jihadists with whom we are currently at war are Islamic and not Christian. They regard it as impolite, nay, as hateful, for anyone to mention the religion and the religious motives of the Fort Hood mass assassin, for example. This provoked a remarkable reaction -- roughly half the comments in my comments box not only affirmed the Polit...

Wright's Writing Corner

Cross posted to Visions of Arhyelon, here is this week's column on writing from the lovely and talented Mrs.

http://arhyalon.livejournal.com/91474.html

P.S. I also recommend the Donald Maass book. It is the only book on writing I ever recommend.