Also, don't forget the fact that men have been trained to believe that their emotional responses are the workings of logic.Which is why you have so many MRA types crowing about how they've BESTED you with their superior logic.
Intelligence and emotion are often presented as mutually exclusive, but they don’t have to be. Emotional intelligence can help you develop better relationships, work harder, and manage your feelings. To hone it, recognize the value in your raw emotions.
Job interviews and job reviews can be intimidating, and it’s tempting to break the ice with a bit of humor. If your sense of humor tends to be overly sarcastic, though, that might be a turn-off to your boss or potential employer.
Before I get into the post-mortem of 2016’s Hugo Awards that I promised, let me first say that the award that made me happiest was Naomi Kritzer winning the Best Short Story Hugo for “Cat Pictures Please.” Naomi and I go waaaaaaay back — if she was not actually the first person I knew in science fiction genre circles (and I think she was), then she’s certainly one of first three or four. She’s always been one of the best of people, to me and to others in the field, and a consistently wonderful writer. We came up in the field together, and to see her work get recognition makes me immensely happy, and even more happy for her. As you can see, she looks pretty pleased herself. And, well. She deserves to be. Good story, great person.
Now, for some other stuff about the Hugos, and this year’s set of nonsense.
As you may recall, once again this year Theodore Beale (aka “Vox Day”), in his guise as the ringleader of the Rabid Puppies, tried to hijack the Hugo Awards via slates dictated by him, nominated by minions. Last year Beale, along with Brad Torgersen, who administered the Sad Puppy variant of this nonsense, engaged in simple cronyism and/or favor-currying, with a couple of unwitting human shields thrown into the mix. That didn’t work out so great for them, so this year Beale asked himself “what would Xanatos do” and came up with a three-prong strategy:
a) Put people and works that were already popular on his slate so he could claim credit for their success when they won, regardless of the fact those people/works would likely be on the ballot anyway;
b) Comb through the Locus recommended reading list for the year and nominate people Beale suspected the people he hates would want to vote for, i.e., more human shields, just a slightly different strategy;
c) The usual cronyism of pals and/or work and people he published through his personal micro-press.
Plus there was homoerotic writer Chuck Tingle, whom Beale slated for the lulz.
(The Sad Puppies, the originators of the nonsense Beale sucked himself onto like a tick, were largely a non-factor this year, which is probably better for them in the long run. They’re now all in for the brand-new Dragon Awards, administered by DragonCon, and you know what? Good for them. I wish the Dragon Awards every possible success, and independent of that, if the Sad Puppies want to focus on them instead of the Hugos, I wish them absolute joy in the work.)
So, how did this particular strategy work for Beale? Well, of course, poorly. The stuff that was obvious cronyism mostly ended up below “No Award” in just about every category, again, for the third year running. In the cases of the human shields and the already popular nominees, Hugo voters simply ignored the fact Beale slated them. In the case of the latter, no one sensible believes that folks like Neil Gaiman, Andy Weir or Neal Stephenson would willingly associate themselves with a minor racist shit-stirrer, and in the case of the former, Beale’s obvious assumption that the people he classifies as SJWs would explode with cognitive dissonance when he put people/work on his slate that they’d otherwise want to vote for (“I want to vote for it! But I can’t now because it’s on a slate! Nooooooooo!”) is predicated on the idea that these folks are the strawmen he’s created in what passes for his mind. They’re not; they knew what was up, and they largely decided to ignore his master strategy.
And then there was Chuck Tingle, who, when he found out what was going on, trolled Beale so long and so hard and with such obvious glee that it became an enduring thing of joy. Rather than being appalled that Tingle had been nominated, the Worldcon community largely embraced him (or whoever Tingle is; no one is really sure). Here was someone who was nominated by a bigot to antagonize other people, who instead allied himself with those folks and was appreciated by them in return.
Did stuff on the slates win? Yup: The stuff that could have won anyway, and the stuff that had merit despite Beale’s cynical attempt to make other people run away from it. Nothing that won, won because it was on his slate. At best (for Beale) it won despite being on his slate, an assertion we can infer from the performance of everything on the slate that fit into category c); again, nearly every crony nomination finished below “No Award” in the voting. An active association with Beale is, bluntly, death for your Hugo award chances. I mean, it takes a lot for someone as esteemed in the field as Jerry Pournelle to finish below “No Award” in Hugo voting, and yet, there he is, sixth in a field of five in the category of Best Editor, Short Form.
But that’s a sign of bias! It most certainly is. For three years Beale, with or without assistance, has been placing mediocre to awful work on the Hugo ballots; for much longer than that Beale has been a racist, a sexist, and a homophobe. The Beale brand, earned through time and repetition, is “graspingly untalented bigot.” And of course Beale knows this, the poor bastard, which is why he tried to drag down actually talented people and their good work by attempting to associate his brand with them. That didn’t work (because again people aren’t stupid), but if you actually intentionally attach yourself to the Beale brand? Then, yes, “associates with a graspingly untalented bigot” is now part of your brand, too. If it’s powerful enough to drag down Jerry Pournelle, a man of no uncertain talent and accomplishment who does in fact deserve better than to finish below “No Award,” think what it’ll do to you.
Beale has stated, in a pathetically grandiose fashion that belies the limit of his actual ability to affect the world at large, that his intention is to “destroy the Hugos.” He’s failed spectacularly three years running. In the years of his effort the Hugos winners have, in point of fact and entirely independent of his efforts, highlighted the immense diversity of talent currently operating in the field. Beale publicly flatters himself, as he publicly flatters himself in all things, as somehow being a prime mover in these events. What Beale is really doing at this point is trying to mitigate his own inability to have the status and influence he assumed would be his, by pathetically attempting to shoehorn himself into the history of others who have done more, and better, than he has. If he can’t be the hero, and at this point it’s become clear he can’t, then he’ll settle for being the footnote — the gum on the shoe of someone else’s long walk to esteem.
Here’s the thing about that. See my friend Naomi up there? She was nominated for the Nebula Award and the Locus Award along with the Hugo. At no point does the story of Naomi Kritzer — her talent, her ability, her recognition for her work — rely on Beale in any way. If he didn’t exist, she’d have been on the ballot anyway. At no point does the story of Nnedi Okorafor, who won the novella Hugo, rely on him either. Or Andy Weir’s. Or Neil Gaiman’s. Or Ellen Datlow’s or Shelia Gilbert’s or N.K. Jemisin’s — Jemisin, who Beale has repeatedly targeted for blatant overt hatred because of who she is, and who has accomplished so many things he hasn’t and is likely never to — all without reference to him. Nora, her talent, her work and her recognition, exist without him, thrive without him, impress without his approval, don’t need him and never will.
Five years from now, few people will remember, and even fewer will care, about the nonsense Beale and his pals kicked up; hell, last year, the crest of the Puppy nonsense, is already mostly remembered with rolled eyes and a “well, that happened” mutter. Ten years from now, only academics and true Worldcon nerds will think about it at all. But Naomi and Nora and Nnedi and Neil and everyone else who won a Hugo this weekend will still have had their moment of deserved recognition, and god willing will still be at it, making work and finding their audiences. They will continue to create and build and make science fiction and fantasy a genre worth reading and thinking about, and will probably do so for decades.
I swear someone could go stranded on a desert island and have their hair naturally dread up and they would STILL consider it cultural appropriation
This post proves the point of why nonblack people shouldn’t ‘dread’ their hair.
Only afrotextured (3c-4c type hair) dreads naturally because of its corkscrew shape.
All other types of hair matt, which is a whole different process where the cuticle of the hair has to be damaged and raised, revealing the inner sticky core of the hair in order for the hair strands to stick to one another. (picture for example here)
Obviously, these 2 things are not the same.
That’s why all it takes for black people to have dreads is a little twisting and some kind of moisturizing product, and a life time commitment to constant maintenance & hygiene. Black people’s dreadlocks are CLEAN.
And why white people do silly shit like back combing, the ‘twist n rip’ method, elmers glue, not washing their hair, and other forms of damage, lack of hygiene and neglect to achieve an imitation of the real thing they consider a ‘low effort’ hairstyle.
On Sunday, Simone Biles picked up the flag for Team USA and paraded through Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium, mixed in with athletes from all over the world as is tradition for the Olympic’s closing ceremonies.
(and now I've googled "Priest Slapping" on a government computer.)
Training is an important part of learning any new skill. However, if your training doesn’t resemble the actual setting you’ll need to use your skills in, it’ll be harder to remember. Try to make your practice match your final context as much as possible.
Honestly I’m not gonna survive the apocalypse. Y'all go on gathering berries and drinking cockroach milk (apparently) and forming barter economies and I’m gonna stay in my house until the last of my seltzer runs out and then I’m gonna put on an all cashmere outfit and lay down and die. Have fun fending off the coyotes and doomsday cults and living on expired canned goods in a world with no more Netflix. Pass.
Here’s a thought experiment : whenever you see something about an article of clothing being banned, for whatever reason, insert into the statement the person who would be wearing it.
Thus: “Burkinis banned from French beaches” becomes “Muslim women wearing burkinis banned from French beaches”.
This removes the innocuous frame that suggests the authorities are merely encouraging substituting one article of clothing for another, more-acceptable one. The more accurate description centers the person being targeted by this prohibition, who may not in fact be able to substitute another item and are in effect being personally banned from that activity, under the cover of deniability (“they could just wear a regular swimsuit! You mean, they can’t? Oh well!) This is particularly insidious for everyday articles of clothing with great personal significance such as a headscarf or veil. Banning these from public settings is more or less forcing people who wear them to stay at home and out of sight.
This small change in syntax makes a whole lot of clothing and appearance regulations look very different, whether it’s in a school setting or a workplace or professional organization. It looks very much like they’re screening out not the offending hairstyle or clothing, but the type of person who would wear it.
It’s been less than a day since Chuck Tingle lost at the Hugo Awards for his prized short story Space Raptor Butt Invasion, and he’s already being pounded in the butt by it.
why are there so many posts about asexuals being immune to sirens. people. sirens don’t lure you in with sex (necessarily). they sing about whatever it is that you want most. they could sing about mothman or cinnamon toast crunch and guess what then your asexual pirate is fucking dead
10-year-old Newark boy was chased by the police and had guns drawn on him. Fortunately,he came home safe , but frightened to death and told his mother a story about his interaction with the police. In fact, he couldn’t even talk, he just cried, because he never experienced something like that and he knows for sure what happens with little black kids, who interact with the police, like Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice…
Police needs to be held accountable for doing this to a kid.
i think it might be a good idea, when you’re designing a villain, if you look at them and think “why do these characteristics make me think of them as villainous” and like, if those characteristics reflect groups of real-life marginalized people….maybe, don’t go with those design choices?
*large hook noses, dark complexion, prominent lips, elderly, physical deformities, injuries, or disabilities, non-conforming gender presentation, obesity or overweight body types, improperly represented mental illnesses, sometimes sexual expression or agency especially in female villains, and certain accents*
You don’t understand, you haven’t been inside this thing. It’s like walking into a parallel dimension made up of camouflage and taxidermy. The thing has a huge waterway running through the whole shop that contains live catfish, ducks and (in one section) alligators. The largest free standing elevator in the us is in this pyramid. It contains a bowling alley, hotel and restaurant. They have a huge aquarium that scuba divers go into to feed the fish and have keeper talks in.
The pyramid actually predates the bass pro. If I’m not mistaken it used to hold a museum. It’s such a central part of Memphis’s skyline that it’s on our postcards. And it’s been turned into a Bass Pro Shop.
Like, the more I talk about it the more I agree with my roommate that a glittering glass pyramid on the horizon that is actually a Bass Pro Shop sounds like one of those overly long Night Vale bits that turns into an ad.
The Pyramid used to be an amphitheater. When I was a kid, I saw Janet Jackson, N*SYNC, and hilariously, Sisqo, LFO, and Eve6 here. However, the Pyramid was the biggest waste of city money because, as it turns out, a fucking pyramid is awful for acoustics! It also had direct competition with The Coliseum amphitheater, ironically.
Anyways, it was pretty short lived and while it was inactive, it was passed around as various things. The King Tut traveling museum showcase came to it, which was cool as all hell, but other than the occasional flea market and temporary skating rink, it was abandoned.
What would happen with the Pyramid was always a hot topic of debate in Memphis. Bass Pro had been gunning for it for a while, but people were really opposed to it for Obvious Reasons. The Pyramid was such an icon on Memphis’ skyline at this point that they didn’t want it to be a huge retail outlet. There were plans to turn it into a theme park of some sort, or maybe an aquarium, but what it came down to was money. Bass Pro had the money and Memphis kind of has a shit government when it comes to things like arts, public works, and culture lmao
anyways, yeah. its a fucking bass pro shop. it has the tallest free-standing elevator in the world and has a steam punk bar on top.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Archaeologists of the future are going to have a field day with this.
“AS: I never did not identify as a feminist, but I didn’t know where I belonged because I didn’t see myself represented. As I started to explore my gender identity, I didn’t know how I could claim the title of feminist without subscribing to the gender binary. I thought I had to be a proud woman to be a feminist. Then I came to the realization that I can be proud of women without necessarily identifying as one. A lot of people are rejecting the binary - that’s the future of feminism.
AS: You’ve said that you learned feminism from black women. But something I learned, just from reading about feminism, is that it hasn’t historically been inclusive of women of color.
GS: That’s partly because women’s studies and black studies grew up separately. There’s this academic idea of feminism and its origins, which from my personal experience is incomplete. There’s sometimes a divide-and-conquer method. But the first three landmark legal cases that were brought for sexual harassment were filed by black women, and the first person to try to enforce anti-sex discrimination through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was Aileen Hernandez, a black woman. When we launched Ms. magazine, we looked at a poll, and the majority of black women supported the goals of feminism. It’s always been remembered the other way around, but black women invented feminism disproportionately.”
On The Daily Show with Trevor Noah guest Reshma Saujani, an Indian-American lawyer and politician, discussed the initiative to encourage young women and girls to pursue studies and careers the booming tech field, where they are falling behind. But there are two moments in a girl’s life where we can reverse the trend.
Gifs: The Daily Show/cc.com
Tuesday Task, take a moment to remember that representation matters. If you represent an undeserved group in your field, remember how amazing and important you are.
