Jerry Nelson (July 10, 1934 – August 23, 2012)

ReformaTories Embrace Torture

The Conservative government has quietly given Canada's national police force and the federal border agency the authority to use and share information that was likely extracted through torture.

The bit he papers over is our role in increasing the rate of extinctions

How oddly relevent to something I am discussing over on FB

Tor.com is thrilled to bring you great science fiction & fantasy selections from Apple’s iBookstore. Each month, we will select a short list of great reads, offering the very best in the genre.

I wonder what the f/m was for this? I see four works and six creators (although I had to dig for the comic book):

Total Female  Male  F/T
 6      0      6     0

Note that it's tor.com doing the choosing here, not Apple.

Do national SF awards serve a useful purpose?

I'd link to whatever it was that made me think of this last night but apparently I didn't jot that down when I wrote a reminder to post this question.

Mindwebs: Power Of The Sentence and A Taste Of Dostiefsky

Power Of The Sentencee

Yeah, that played out pretty much the way I expected once the physical mechanism behind the escape was explained.


A Taste Of Dostiefsky

At points the incidental music drowned out the dialogue but the moral here seems to be "authors are not responsible for the actions of their fans".

Mindwebs: The Eternal Machine and Webster

The Eternal Machine

You bastards.

Oddly not dissimilar to the episode of Mayday I watched last night, although at least they didn't career into ... but that would be a spoiler.

Seriously, I'll probably remember this as long as I have that kid's talking animal show from the 1960s where nobody comes to the protagonist's birthday party, except the one group who rampages through and wrecks it.


Webster

Seriously, is there anyone who understands the true needs of women like a male SF writer?

I'm always a bit surprised to be reminded that Greg Bear had a career before he became POUL ANDERSON'S SON-IN-LAW because I don't associate his early stuff with his later stuff.

Also, apparently I've been mispronouncing David Gerrold's surname for four decades. Go me!

I don't sunburn

So I am going to assume what my scalp is currently doing is some manner of molting.

Seriously, more than a week on Hawaii, no problem. A couple of days in the countryside in Ontario and I've got sheets of skin peeling off my scalp. It makes no sense.

(I did use sunblock)

So

Think Amy gets fridged next season?

Bother

Reports are appearing to the effect Neil Armstrong has died.

The first human to walk on the Moon has died

Former U.S. astronaut, Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, has died at the age of 82, U.S. media reported on Saturday.

Statement from the Family of Neil Armstrong

Which ends with

“For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.”

Apollo 11 lands

Mindwebs: Beachhead In Utopia

Beachhead In Utopia

Another one from an Elwood anthology. I guess I should expect that given that he was a quarter of the short fiction market there for a while. It's a Biggle, generally a good sign.

I saw where this was going very early on. I don't think the specific system as shown would work (it seems to rely on people cooperating with the system to a degree greater than I would expect under the circumstances) but the idea of a War on Poverty going this way seems plausible.