Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
Last August, the Hugo Awards for science fiction and fantasy were swept by a younger group of women and people of color. At the time, we said “This was really a year that underscored that a younger generation of diverse writers are becoming central to the genre.” So maybe it’s not surprising that there was…
George R R Martin said the Hugo awards have been dealt a mortal blow by right-wing writers after they promoted a list of their selections so successfully that they dominated the shortlist. The campaign was started by a group calling itself Sad Puppies as they sought to right the wrong, as they saw it, of the…
One of the false promises we’ve been made that people keep buying into is that the Internet is a “democratizing” force, that the digital world gives us instant access to the real vox populi, that the simple fact that anyone can leave a comment, or answer a poll, or submit an entry to a contest…
I am a novelist. I also have a Master’s degree from MIT. So numbers appeal to me, especially numbers that provide clear data on thorny issues, like, oh, sexism and racism in literature. This year, the Hugo Awards—probably the most famous and visible awards in speculative literature—were hijacked by a coordinated campaign of conservative writers…
Piracy is a serious issue. Live-streaming apps like Periscope and Meerkat have plenty of sticky societal implications. These are two indisputable facts! Let’s not make the mistake, though, of assuming that they overlap. This week, HBO confirmed that it sent takedown notices to Periscope, the Twitter-owned emporium of bored iPhone owners showing off their cats…
The storage facility of prohibited items collected at Newark Liberty International Airport (Photo by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post) If the past 10 years have taught us anything, it’s that, one way or another, the TSA is going to get at your crotch. The latest data point comes from Denver, courtesy of CSBS4: A CBS4 investigation…
Just yesterday, German FinMin Schaeuble bent the truth, proclaiming that there was no sign of contagion from Grexit concerns. Today, it appears, he will be eating his words, as Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese bond spreads have exploded higher (up 15-30bps this week) amid the collapse of Greek sovereign and bank bonds. It’s not just…
AddThis Button Begin BOSTON (CBS/AP) — A moment of silence, the tolling of church bells and a call for kindness will mark the second anniversary of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.Mayor Marty Walsh, Gov. Charlie Baker and other officials unveiled commemorative orange banners bearing a white heart and the word “Boston” on them on Wednesday…
LONDON — For Callum Jones, a digital reporter at The Times of London, every morning begins with a 4:30 a.m. wakeup call. Jones is responsible for assembling and sending Red Box, a newsletter from The Times and Sunday Times that delivers a roundup of political news, commentary, and polling every morning. Red Box — which…
Single: article; “It’s like an ever-descending spiral for you…” (Michal Dzierza / Flickr) In 1975 Susan Sontag, the American intellectual famous for On Photography and Against Interpretation, was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer and survived after a radical mastectomy, extensive radiation treatments, and thirty months of debilitating chemotherapy. In the aftermath she needed someone…