Systemic Biases

I was reading a profile of former California Governor Jerry Brown.  He is living a more private life on his farm.  He also serves as the head of the board that maintains the "clock" that measures the threat of nuclear war.

Within that story it was noted that the "clock" stands at 100 seconds to midnight...nuclear war...and that it had not been changed with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin having increased the alert level of Russia's nuclear forces.  President Biden elected not to make a corresponding adjustment to the alert level of America's nuclear forces.

Based on what I see, I think President Biden's choice was correct but that isn't what prompts me to set fingers to keyboard.

It is my opinion that this would not have been the situation had the nations been reversed.  Had the US President increased the alert level of our nuclear forces, then the "clock" would have certainly been moved towards "midnight".

Such is the bias of international non-governmental organizations and the media that report on their activities.  Their reactions are predictable and inequitable.  A shift in American policymaking is greeted with significant responses.  A shift in the whims of the world's dictators barely ruffles the feathers of those international organizations.

8/6/2025 - modest grammar correction

Some Final Thoughts on the 2019 Hugo Awards

My ballot for this year's Hugo Awards went in before the end of July.  I ended up only voting in the Novel category.  My ballot was:

1. Spinning Silver
2. Trail of Lightning
3. Record of a Spaceborn Few
4. No award
5. The Calculating Stars
6. Revenant Gun
7. Space Opera

It was really close on The Calculating Stars, but I thought she took a shortcut that undermined her larger message.

I didn't vote in any other categories for a couple of reasons.  In order:

1. My dad spent this year dying from cancer.  I was his primary support.
2. See #1
3. See #1
4. See #1
5. See #1
6. See #1
7. See #1
8. See #1
9. The narrow range of repeat nominees
10. The seemingly outsized influence of review sites/publishers

So the biggest issue was that I didn't have as much time this year to spend on reading/listening to the nominated works and then reviewing them.  That aside, there are a couple of issues that compromise my enthusiasm for the process.

I typically focus the Novel, Fancast, and Graphic Novel categories.  Depending on time, I might wander into the art and short story categories.  But those first three are the ones that I care about more than the rest.  I think I have a reasonable base of experience with works in that category and thus can offer a reasonably informed opinion regarding what might or might not be worthy of recognition.

The last couple of years have witnessed a significant narrowing in the range of works considered for nomination.

For example, four of the works in the Graphic Novel category come from properties that have nominated in past years.  Black Panther, Monstress, Paper Girls, and Saga are all repeat nominees; in some cases, multiple repeat nominees.

To be blunt, I have never been impressed with the storytelling or art associated with Saga.  I was disinterested in reading this year's nominated volume based on my underwhelming experiences in year's past.  Ironically, the guy that writes Saga also writes Paper Girls.  I think Paper Girls is generally a property that is worthy of attention.  For what it is worth, I thought Frank Cho's "Skybourne" and "Redlands" by Jordie Bellaire & Vanesa Del Rey were worth consideration.  I would put either of them above Saga.

In the Novel category, "Record of a Spaceborn Few" and "Revenant Gun" also come from series that have been nominated several times.  I am concerned that nominations of each installment in a series represent a trend that will ultimately narrow the range of works considered within the category.  All of the novels in N.K. Jemisin's "Broken Earth" series were nominated and won in the novel category. I put all three novels above "no award" on those ballots (and put at least one in first place) as those were incredibly good books.  So I'm not arguing against series-based work ever being on the novel ballot or that multiple entries in a series shouldn't be eligible in the novel category in multiple years.  I am suggesting that a portion of the nominating readers may be focused on such a narrow band of works that they might be excluding other works that are more worthy of consideration and ultimately nomination to the shortlist.

Had I read it in time for nominations this year, Mark Lawrence's "Grey Sister" would surely have been on my ballot.  I hope that the capstone of that trilogy, "Holy Sister" will be read by enough nominators that it will make next year's ballot.  Grey Sister was head and shoulders above the works that I put below "no award" this year.

In the Fancast category, the Coode Street Podcast, Fangirl Happy Hour, and Galactic Suburbia are repeat nominees.  Coode Street and Galactic Suburbia have their positive moments.  I've heard enough of Fangirl Happy Hour to know that they aren't all that impressive.  I gave a quick listen to the first episode of Be The Serpent.  It was the first episode and not bad by that standard.  I hope they've gotten better.  By comparison, all of my nominees in this category have a lengthy history of exemplary work in the genre.

I think the fact that there are so many repeat properties suggests that an unhealthy number of nominators are not looking very seriously at a broader range of titles.  Lela Buis has suggested that identity politics may be one factor that motivates a narrowing of the properties considered for nomination.  A few years ago, K. Tempest Bradford suggested the idea of not bothering to read works by straight white men for a while.

And of course, there is a habitual suggestion that self-published works are not generally worthy of larger consideration.  This year's SPFBO winner, Orconomics, is a tour-de-force that was originally published in 2014.   I would compare it favorably to The Goblin Emperor; a book that has grown on me since I read it.  Either book was better than that year's winner in my opinion.

The point is that if nominators were sampling a broader range of works, then we should see fewer repeat nominees from the series.

A related factor is that review sites may not be as broad in their coverage of the genre.  As a result, readers that look to review sites for references to quality work may not encounter quality works that are not reviewed because those authors or their publishing houses may not enjoy an appropriate "reputation" among reviewers.

One example that should be receiving more attention is Adrian Collins.  He is the editor of Grimdark Magazine and the GdM anthologies.  His work is outstanding.  Many of the included works are also worthy of wider recognition.

A second, admittedly lesser example would be Cirsova magazine.  I read issue #1 a while back.  It presented middling to decent fiction.  The works in the most recent issue were better.  It is definitely a publication that I would suggest that readers try to see if it presents works that they appreciate.  It has a bit of a retro feel to it while also leaving open the possibility of encountering works that translate that retro aesthetic into something that expands upon modern sensibilities.

Neither GdM or Cirsova appears to be on the radar of active readers that nominate for the Hugos.

While I certainly lacked time to engage with the Hugo nominees in a more substantive way this year, I also found that I had less motivation to make that effort.  The narrow range of nominations was less interesting.  With the recent unpleasantness neatly tucked out of the way, I hope that the Hugos do not suffer in the long run from a nomination field that based on an artificially limited scope of interest.

Stand-up Philosophy Or Bullshit Art?

This just came to me today, but someone else might have come up with it already.  Enjoy....

Dann's Dictum for Authors

My reading lately has slowly helped to develop the opinion that there are far too many book series being published.  Authors will develop a fictional world and a cast of characters.  They will then use those developments to create a series of stories.

This makes sense from an author's perspective.  World building takes time.  Character creation takes time.  Re-using the product of those efforts means less work needed to produce each book.  This process also enables an author to tell longer story arcs.

This also makes sense from a publisher perspective.  One successful book in a series is usually sufficient to ensure reasonable sales of other books in the series regardless of the quality (or lack thereof) in each individual book.

This preference for serialization only places the reader at a disadvantage.  Picking up book 4 of 6 (or 12, or....) means that the reader will not possess the knowledge of events in the preceding books.  This forces the reader to go back to the beginning of a series whenever a later book is recommended or otherwise achieves some measure of notoriety.

If every book in the series is a superior piece of artisan effort, then the only real harm is the time spent with a series of enjoyable books.  However, the more books in the series fail to favorably compare with the rest of the series, the more the reader's time and money is wasted just to remain current with the series.

This leads to Dann's Dictum for Authors.

Write one good book.  And then move on.

Do not offer a series unless you have the capacity to have every installment achieve the same high level of reader satisfaction.

This Dictum does not preclude telling multiple stories in one fictional universe.  Dragonlance was home to a great many good stories and several good series.  However they were usually crafted so that one need not be overly familiar with other books/series from that fictional world.  The Star Wars universe would be another decent example.

Authors, I entreat.  I beg.  I appear.  I conjure.  I implore.  I plead.  I supplicate.

Please write the best book you can.  And then move on.  Do not undertake a series unless every installment can be superlative.  Just as a short fiction author who lacks the ability to write books should avoid doing so, an accomplished book-length author that lacks the ability to craft a series should avoid that monumental task as well.

50 Rules

As Facebook lacks a good way of viewing images at their original size, I am posting this here.  That way I can permalink the image to a readable size.

And for the record, correct attribution does indeed matter.

View the image full size if there are legibility issues.

Can't Get No Respect

I got the following via email.  Despite my professed religious skepticism, I thought it was pretty funny.  The ending was a nice twist and represented some serious irony as well.

There were 3 good arguments that Jesus was Black:

1. He called everyone Brother.
2. He liked Gospel.
3. He couldn't get a fair trial.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Jewish:

1. He went into His Fathers business.
2. He lived at home until he was 33.
3. He was sure his Mother was a virgin and his mother was sure he was God.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Italian:

1. He talked with his hands.
2. He had wine with every meal.
3. He used olive oil.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was a Californian:

1. He never cut his hair.
2. He walked around barefoot all the time.
3. He started a new religion.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Irish:

1. He never got married.
2. He was always telling stories.
3. He loved green pastures.

But the most compelling evidence of all - 3 proofs that Jesus was a woman:

1. He had to feed a crowd at a moment's notice when there was no food.
2. He kept trying to get a message across to a bunch of men who just didn't get it.
3. Even when He was dead, He had to get up because there was more work for Him to do.

Amen!!!

The above was as I received it.  I did adjust the line spacing a bit.  It had been forwarded several times.

Just in case you didn't catch the irony, check the capitalization for all of the options; Black, Jewish, Italian, Californian, Irish, woman.

Four of the five capitalized categories are properly capitalized.  One is not.  We do not refer to Caucasians.  We refer to caucasions..or whites...or honkys...or crackers...or whatever.  The same holds true....or should...for "blacks".

The only category not capitalized was "woman".  So even in a joke where women are singled out as being God-like, or god-like as the case may be, then apparently can't get the same respect as the other categories with respect to capitalization.

An America Doomed To Decadance

How else to describe the relative "necessity" for a tool to make doggie treats at home.  Ladies and gentlemen, Bake A Bone.

Getting The Attention I Deserve

Well I have finally hit the big time.  Big Brother...or the Fatherland...or the Motherland....someone...cares enough to stop by.  But they couldn't bother to leave a comment!

We welcome our visitors from DHS with open arms, but not open legs!

My traffic sucks, but it is mine!

I Am Wrong. I Know It. And...

...I don't care.

I use two spaces after every period.  That practice is not in compliance with the leading intellectual thoughts on style.  It bothers some folks.  Fortunately, they are few in number.

Person Of The Year Fluke

Literally.

It appears that Time magazine has included Sandra Fluke in their list of candidates for 'Person of the Year'.  for those that may not recall, Ms. Fluke is the college student that was subjected to the rather boorish behavior of Rush Limbaugh after she announced that she wanted her contraceptives covered by her university insurance program.  The university in question is associated with the Roman Catholic church.  For better or worse, those Catholic folks have a problem with contraceptives and objected to being forced to pay for something that they oppose as a matter of faith.

Now before anyone gets all het up, I am well aware that Ms. Fluke's testimony included the fact that some contraceptives have very serious uses for other medical conditions.  And I happen to agree with her that if someone has one of those conditions, then it isn't exactly unreasonable to expect your health insurance program to exclude include the appropriate medication from in the available treatment options.

That being said, I can't think of a single reason to include her on any list of important people.  Michael Graham of the Boston Herald agrees.  I think his take is worth reading for the larger social commentary.

Can you think of anyone who better represents the America of 2012 than Ms. Fluke? I can’t.
She’s got it all: The “Generation Cupcake” inadequacy (“So what if she didn’t earn the award — give it to her, anyway!); the “Occupod” sense of entitlement (“Somebody should be buying my condoms, and it ain’t gonna be me!”); and, of course, the liberal detachment from reality (“There’s a war on women! We’re being oppressed! Just ask Hillary Clinton, Condi Rice and Oprah!”).

Then there’s the economic angle. One could argue that the icon of the failing Obama economy is the college grad with a worthless degree under his arm and a bed in his mom’s basement.

Time magazine gives us Sandra Fluke, with a bachelor’s degree in (no joke) Feminist, Gender, & Sexuality Studies, no marketable skills, and still on the academic track, living on the largess of others.

I’m not trying to be mean to Sandra Fluke. Unlike Rush Limbaugh I make no comment on her personal life or sexual proclivities.

But I also didn’t — and would never — put this unaccomplished 30-something on the “Person of the Year” list for publicly whining about paying her own bills.

He pretty well sums up America in 2012.  Whatever it is, someone else is responsible.  Ms. Fluke is a perfect fit.

edited 12-6-2012

Oh....The Humanity

I had a chat with a friend of mine the other day.  Folks that know me, either know him or have heard of him.  Such is the high esteem in which I hold him.

He is a veteran of Desert Storm.  His uniform contains some serious fruit salad. 

A decade or so after that conflict, he entered the healthcare field as a paramedic.  There are lots of stories to tell there.

But the comment that made us pause was the moment self realization that he had begun to care about people...again.

The irony here is that while he wore our nation's uniform, he was charged with being a living implement of mayhem, destruction, and death among our enemies.  Yet during that time, he possessed a significant sense of caring and compassion for other humans.

Years later, that sense of compassion was severely undermined by his near decade long experience as a paramedic.  When most people would have assumed that he would have cared the most for others, he found that sense of compassion slipping away.

Spend a little time reading The Most Interesting Ambulance Crew In The World on Facebook.  Paramedics and EMTs spend waayyy too much time servicing people that could either drive to a hospital, wait to see their doctor in the morning (and yes they have doctor's), or just need a little better sense of perspective.

My friend tells stories....lots of stories...that are just as bad and many that are worse.  The one that comes first to mind is the run to a home where a teenage girl was undergoing a severe emotional crisis...because of a bad haircut.  And her parents called EMS.

An Endless World?

XKCD had a great comic a couple days ago.  I'm not sure that it will link up well here, so just go there and check it out.

Scalzi Blogs About...

Careful, folks.  A fair ramble lies ahead.

Author John Scalzi has been touted by the Blogfather as being a latter day Robert Heinlein.  I am partial to Mr. Heinlein's work, so I began following Mr. Scalzi's blog some time ago.

I still have yet to read any of his sci-fi.  "The Old Man's War" is sitting on the kitchen table.  Soon....

Back to his blog, he recently announced that his publisher had put a whole bunch of e-books on sale.  He even included a nifty link.

Lo and behold, what do I find?  Books by Peter V. Brett.  Also books by Robert Silverberg!  I've been reading Mr. Silverberg's work for almost 40 years.

The sale is good for the entire month of September.  If you use an e-reader, like the Kindle, then you might find some good reading in your future.

Back to Mr. Scalzi's blog again, but finding it was a bit of queer luck.  Glenn Reynolds leans pretty heavily toward the libertarian end of things.  At least, within the American political scale, he is a much of a libertarian as Barack Obama is a socialist.  Which is to say that he's not in the perceived center of American politics, but he ain't exactly way out on the fringe either.

Mr. Scalzi's politics tend to lean towards the left; not unreasonably so.  And yet Mr. Reynolds repeatedly plugs just about anything that Mr. Scalzi puts on paper.

I believe the line is firmly drawn at any works on paper that Mr. Scalzi might create in his bathroom.

Mr. Scalzi's blog is well worth your time.  I get it via my email.  He is pretty reader friendly when it comes to naming his entries.  His book recommendations are clearly marked.  I don't have time to read three books a week...although I do try....so I can skip those without reading.

Or at least, I should ignore his recommendations.  But I can't when it involves Neal Peart of Rush!

I am doomed....


Mr. Scalzi has discussed any number of interesting issues over the last couple of months.  One series in particular was about perceptions of presence and when a person steps over the line from friendly into seriously creepy behavior. 

He also touched on Todd Akin in some interesting and and also some predicatable ways.

Mr. Scalzi swings a mighty Mallet of Loving Correction.  So the comments on his blog are more polite than others.  [grumble...I could do the same thing but I don't get enough comments to swing a dead cat, much less a MoLC, at....grumble]

Having rambled on for a bit, you might wonder where all this is going.  Well, you are already there.  Lots of good reading.  Civil exchanges of ideas.  Go forth and be satiated!

How Do You Do That?

How do you build a city our of rock and roll?  What about the engineers?  The skilled trades; carpenters, iron workers, electricians, plumbers?  What about the vendors that sell the stuff you actually build stuff with?  What about the finance folks that get the cash to fund the project?  What about the teachers that taught them all?

Where is Dr. Sheldon Cooper^[1] when you really need him?

^[1] Ok.  Read the link.  If the amount of information cataloged there isn't the definition of irony, then I don't know what is.