Link of the Week: John Chu’s “Stand Back! I’m Going To Quote Junot Díaz (Thinking about language)”

John Chu's recent post over at The Booksmugglers is a must read.  He talks about the difficulty of including foreign language in works of fiction and has some truly interesting things to say on the subject.

An excerpt:

Whereas listeners might reasonably experience that orchestration both ways, readers either understand a foreign language or they don’t. However, like how the orchestration of the Carousel Waltz must be compelling in either instrumentation, a story that makes use of dialect or foreign language must be compelling either way. Non-fluent readers must never feel as though something is missing but fluent readers must never feel as though anything is extraneous. 

Go on.  Read the whole thing.

Link of the Week: On Gender Disparities and Criticism in SF/F (from Natalie Luhrs)

The other day, Natalie Luhrs of Radish Reviews posted a compelling Twitter discussion about the different ways in which men and women are treated in sf/f when they criticize some aspect of he genre.  It is a must read:

Link of the Week: "Bigotry, Cognitive Dissonance, and Submission Guidelines" by Charles A Tan

I was going to write about this whole ordeal today, but by the time I got the chance to do so, I saw that Charles Tan had beat me to the punch (and by "beat me to the punch" I mean "he blogged about it and in no way actually beat me to anything because I own nothing").  Instead of going on about the same things and repeating brilliant points already made by Charles, I'll send you all over to his essay:  "Bigotry, Cognitive Dissonance, and Submission Guidelines."  Here's a quote:

Wait, wait, a privileged Western white writer writing about Africa? This hasn't been done before. 

And Mike Resnick has written about Africa before. He must get it right, right? 

In many ways, the editor's oversight of this fact is part of a larger, arguably unconscious, racism on his part. Take for example his blog entry titled Broadening The Toolbox Through Cross Cultural Encounters: On Resnick, Africa & Opportunity. Instead of talking about writers from the continent of Africa (and it's a large continent, so there's a large pool of writers like Chinua Achebe, Lauren Beukes, and Joan De La Haye), we get Mike Resnick. Nnedi Okorafor gets mentioned but only as an off-hand comment, rather than the focus of the article. 

So when talking about an anthology that's diverse and inclusive, neither Mike Resnick, Kay Kenyon, or Jack McDevitt are what I'd consider the examples you should be touting as a contributors. Because to many, it appears that you are favoring the already privileged writers instead of those marginalized.

Enjoy!

(For the record, I have also written on things said by the editor mentioned in Charle's post.  My post was on misery tourism, which may be of interest to some of you.)

Link of the Week: "Confirmation bias, epic fantasy, and you" by N.K. Jemisin

N.K. Jemisin takes a stab at the now tiring debate over whether epic fantasy in faux-European settings can include women and people of color without rewriting (imaginary) history.  It's an interesting topic, as always, and, as always, Jemisin is brilliant in her response.

Here's the comment I left:

Link of the Week: "The Problem of Toni Weisskopf" by Foz Meadows

Foz Meadows has some things to say about a recent post by Toni Weisskopf on all the debates going on in sf right now.  It is what I'd call essentially reading at this point.

Here's one of my favorite parts:

Top 10 Blog Posts for February 2014

And here they are:

10. Why I Haven't Babbled About the Hugo Awards...Yet
9. Book Review: Tarnished by Rhiannon Held
8. Top 10 Science Fiction and Fantasy Anime Movies
7. Censorship is what people say when they don't want to address the actual issue...for reasons
6. How to Destroy the SFWA...err, no, I'm not going to talk about that after all
5. Moderating the Community and the Cost of Respect
4. Top 10 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movies Since 2010 (Thus Far)
3. Top 10 Overused Fantasy Cliches
2. On the SFWA Bulletin Petition Thing Nonsense
1. Movie Review: Riddick (2013) (or, I'm Going to Mega Rant Now)

I am genuinely surprised that my review of Riddick remains one of my most popular posts this year.  Interesting...

For anyone curious, I'm currently using Google Analytics for the numbers.  I don't think they're entirely accurate, but the stats in Blogger are currently flooded with hits from the spam accounts that targeted me last month.  Some posts were artificially amplified by that; GA mostly removes spam hits, but it also removes repeat visits and anything else it assumes isn't an "original visit," which seems fairly wide in scope.  So it's a little difficult for me to figure out what is super popular right now...  Oh well!

Link of the Week x2: "World SF is the Diversity Our Community Needs" at The Book Smugglers

In case you missed it, I also have a post up at The Book Smugglers today.  It is also on world sf, though on a slightly different aspect of it.  Do take a read, if you get a chance.  Thanks to the fine folks over at The Book Smugglers for allowing me to suck up some space for my thoughts!

And if you want to help me get to Worldcon, please consider supporting my fundraiser.

Link of the Week: "World SF and the Global Archipelago of Worlds"

As part of my efforts to spread the word about the World SF Tour, I've got a guest post up at SF Signal on world sf!

That's pretty much it.  Go read it!

You might also consider checking out the World SF Tour fundraiser page and donating $10.

Link of the Week: "Me, as a useful representative example" by Mary Robinette Kowal

If you want to know the background for all of this, start with this post (mine) and all the links listed there, then go here (The Daily Dot) and here (Silvia Moreno-Garcia).  These will provide you with the necessary details to really understand why Mary Robinette Kowal has become a target by...certain individuals.

In short, her post provides an example of precisely the sort of treatment many women receive in the SF/F community and the publishing industry.  It's worth reading.  It's worth thinking about.

That is all.

(For the record:  Mary once donated an hour of her time to The Skiffy and Fanty Show -- cause she's awesome.)

Link of the Week: @chuckwendig on Self-Publishing (or, Heh, Yeah)

The link...in which Chuck Wendig says things I've been saying for a long long time about self-publishing, but with a lot more funny terms and a billion more readers.

As a sorta-reviewer, I've had to shut out almost all self-publishers and indie authors for precisely the reasons Wendig cites in his post.  And it's frustrating, because I know there are some lovely authors in that sea, but you can't honestly expect me to give up my time and energy reading mountains of legitimately crap books just to find the gems.  A while back, I got crapped on for suggesting this.  Now, I'm sure all the poop goodness is hanging out in Mr. Wendig's backyard.

Oh, and I seriously mean there are good SPed books out there.  I've read some of them.  I've even bought some in recent memory.  I just don't buy most of the SPed books out there for the same reason I don't subscribe to every blog I come across.

Anywhoodles.

Top 10 Blog Posts for November 2013

November was obviously a fairly light week in terms of new posts, so this list is a reflection of all the stuff people were still reading from the months prior.  And if you missed any of this stuff, you'll have to catch up...

Here it is:

10.  Conventions:  the Simple, Step-by-Step Approach for Handling Disability at Cons
9.  Draft Post Bingo Winners:  What I'll Be Finishing Next (some of these have been finished!)
8.  Crowdfunding Links of the Week:  Kaleidoscope (a Diverse YA Antho) & War Stories (a MilSF Antho)
7.  The Rubric of Apologies:  Demanded Apologies
6.  Link of the Week:  "Conventions and Authors" by Tobias S. Buckell
5.  Draft Post Bingo:  What should I finish?  You Decide!
4.  Top 10 Blog Posts for August 2013 (this is a hilarious one...)
3.  Oh, John Ringo and Your Silly Fantasies About People (or, I Now Like Redshirts)
2.  Star Trek:  a Worf TV Show? (Some Thoughts)
1.  Movie Review:  Riddick (2013)(or, I'm Going to Mega Rant Now)

Top 10 Posts for October 2013

Here you go:

10.  Crowfunding Links of the Week:  Kaleidoscope (a Diverse YA Antho) & War Stories (a MilSF Antho)
9.  Draft Post Bingo:  What should I finish?  You Decide!
8.  Top 10 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movies Since 2010 (Thus Far)
7.  Ideological Rigidity (With a Side of Genre)(Adventures in Teaching)
6.  Top 10 Cats in Science Fiction and Fantasy
5.  Top 10 Blog Posts for September 2013 (ha!)
4.  Pixar Feature Films (from the worst to the best) -- A List That Will Get Me Killed
3.  Top 10 Overused Fantasy Cliches
2.  Movie Review:  Riddick (2013) (or, I'm Going to Mega Rant Now)
1.  Link of the Week:  Judith Butler Explained with Cats!

Crowdfunding Links of the Week: Kaleidoscope (a Diverse YA Antho) & War Stories (a MilSF Antho)

If you haven't backed these projects yet, you must do so right away.

First, my good friend Julia Rios and Twefth Planet Press ninja Alisa Krasnostein (also of Galactic Suburbia fame) are putting together an anthology of YA fantasy stories with diverse perspectives.  If you know me, I love me some diversity in SF/F, so I really want to see this project get funded.  It's called Kaleidoscope, which is a pretty nifty name if you ask me.  There are only three days left (as of this posting), and several thousand bucks left to go, so please spread the word and throw down some cash!

Here's what the Pozible page says about the project:

Link of the Week: Aliette de Bodard on #DiversityinSFF and Writing About Other Cultures

If you don't already follow Aliette de Bodard's excellent blog, I recommend you do so immediately.  When she's not talking about her amazing writing, she's usually talking about something equally fascinating.  And that's what she's been up to today!

Over on her blog, she has a wonderful post about other cultures, diversity in SFF, and a few other interesting things.  Go check it out!

Link of the Week: "Conventions and Authors" by Tobias S. Buckell

Over at his blog, author Tobias Buckell (Crystal Rain, Ragamuffin, Sly Mongoose, Arctic Rising, The Apocalypse Ocean...and a lot more) talks about his experiences at Worldcon, his thoughts on how cons work for him as a professional writer, and so much more.  It's my favorite post-Worldcon post thus far this year, so anyone interested in a pro-writer's perspective on the value of cons to writers should definitely read his post.

And then you should go buy a whole bunch of his books.  Basically, all of his stuff is amazing.  I won't pick for you.  Just...start somewhere :P

Anywhoodles!

Link of the Week: Speculative Friction

If you haven't seen this already, then you have to look before the whole thing goes kaput.  DMCA notices have been issued (expected really), and it's unlikely the images will remain online in an easily accessible space for long (if I'm wrong about that, please let me know in the comments).

So what is Speculative Friction?  The owner of the page defines the project as a "disinfectant" for the SF/F community.  The tumblr itself contains a number of screencaps from the SFF.net forums, featuring the sometimes sexist, but mostly confused, thoughts on the SFWA fiasco(s) from the last month (I discussed the second fiasco here) from several big-name and lesser-known SF/F authors.  It's quite illuminating, really.  I definitely recommend reading it.

Anywho!

Top 10 Blog Posts for June 2013

A half-and-half list.  Half new stuff, and half retro stuff.  It's really kind of weird how this keeps happening.  Oh well.

Here's the list:

10.  Genre Books for Non-Genre People:  Still Missing the Point, Folks!
9.  Why I Hated Superman Returns
8.  Amal El-Mohtar Calls for the Expulsion of Theodore Beale from the SFWA
7.  Silly Reader Questions:  Super Powers, Magic, Bathrooms, and Poetry
6.  Top 10 Most Ridiculous Moments in Science Fiction and Fantasy Film in the 90s
5.  Dear Regal Cinemas:  Insane People and How Your Staff Responded
4.  Ray Bradbury Predictions Fulfilled
3.  Top 10 Cats in Science Fiction and Fantasy
2.  Top 10 Overused Fantasy Cliches
1.  SFWA, Sexism, and Progress (A Response to Jason Sanford)

Link of the Week: Amal El-Mohtar Calls for the Expulsion of Theodore Beale from SFWA

You've probably already seen it, but if you haven't, here you go.  If you scroll down to the comments section, you can see a lot of other responses to the situation.

In short, Theodore Beale (a.k.a. Vox Day) is our resident loud-mouthed racist and misogynist.  This is not a bit of name calling.  This is just established fact.  The things he's written about women and people of color so clearly define him as among the most vile minds among us that I'm surprised it took until Amal's post to spark serious discussion about expelling him from the SFWA.  Then again, I suppose this is the first time he's explicitly broken "the rules."  And that's the crux of the matter:  Beale/Day used an official SFWA space to increase his readership (as opposed to N.K. Jemisin who gave a speech at a non-SFWA function), and in doing so, he turned SFWA's voice into a loudspeaker for racism.  It's like the guy comes straight out of a D.W. Griffith film...

I may have more to say about this whole thing later, but if not, there's plenty of interesting stuff to read in Amal's post alone.  The links at the bottom of that post add a whole lot more.

Anywhoodles.

Link of the Week: Star Wars + Navajo = Awesome

The Daily Times reports that the Navajo Nation Museum and the Parks and Recreation Department are working with LucasFilm to translate Star Wars into Diné bizaad, the traditional language of the Navajo people.

There's more detail at the link, obviously, but for now, I think it's appropriate for us all to jump up and down in celebration.  Because this is too awesome...

Link of the Week: Strange Horizons' 2012 SF Count!

If you haven't seen it already, Strange Horizons recently released their assessment of the data for books reviewed and reviewers, divided by gender, at major SF review sources.  It's definitely worth checking out.

(Yes, I mentioned this in my post on gender normativity earlier today.)