http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Fri, 22 Oct 2004 10:23:45 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/10/22/102345.php N.Z. BearThis past week The Truth Laid Bear has been promoting a "blogburst" where individual bloggers channel their favorite heroes of fiction and reality to state why those heroes are voting for President Bush. It's called Heroes for Bush, and the response has been great: over 25 heroes have appeared on weblogs across the Blogosphere to endorse President Bush's re-election thus far, including such widely diverse notables as King Henry V, The Tick, Captain James T. Kirk, Rhett Butler, and even Rin Tin Tin! The effort continues through end-of-day Friday, November 22, so there is still time left to send in a submission if you so choose. Drop by, and check it out! Politics21280@blogcritics.org Fri, 22 Oct 2004 10:23:45 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/10/17/121705.php N.Z. BearThere are many serious issues which face us now. Fanatics threaten civilization across the globe. A war rages, while some refuse to even acknowledge that anything more than more thorough police action is necessary. And we are confronted an election that, without exaggeration, may well decide the fate of our nation and of the world.But sometimes, you just have to ignore reality, and indulge in some fantasy.Tonight, the Sci-Fi channel will broadcast Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars. For those unfamiliar with the backstory, Farscape ran four seasons on Sci-Fi before being abruptly cancelled, with the heroes of the story in, to put it mildly, a deeply unsatisfatory situation. After tremendous fan efforts, led by the folks at SaveFarscape.com, the show has been resurrected with a four-hour miniseries, the first part of which will be shown tonight. I came late to Farscape. I never watched during its original broadcast run, and dismissed it out of hand the first time I viewed it. But I gave it a second chance, and I am very, very glad I did. Four seasons worth of Netflix DVDs later, I've seen every episode, and I'm grateful that tonight, the characters I've grown to love will begin their final journey to a proper ending. To celebrate the moment, my site, The Truth Laid Bear belongs to Farscape today: drop by and enjoy the new decor. And if you wish to induldge a simple bear: spread the word. Tune in tonight for a grand adventure."Look upward. And share the wonders I've seen." Video21075@blogcritics.org Sun, 17 Oct 2004 12:17:05 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/09/18/181156.php N.Z. BearHere's a blogging first, at least in my experience: use of a "blogger" as a main character in a science fiction novel:"Ah! Hmm." A thoughtful look creased the short guy's face. "You a journalist, then?""No, I'm a warblogger," Frank admitted, unsure whether to be irritated or flattered......"You're a fucking anarchist, and your next drink's on me, right?""Um." Svengali sighed. "You're making presumptions on my honesty, and I've only known you for five minutes, but I thank you from the bottom of my bitter and twisted little ventricles. What kind of blogger are you, to be giving precious alcohol away?""One who wants to get drunk as a skunk, in company. Hard fucking editorial, the copy fought back, and there are no politicians to beat up on until we get wherever it is that we're going..." That's from Charles Stross' fine novel, Iron Sunrise, which I'm about halfway through and enjoying quite a bit. Iron Sunrise is a sequel to Singularity Sky, which was also quite good; I recommend them both. Stross reminds me of Ken MacLeod at MacLeod's better moments, with a bit of Iain Banks thrown in for good measure. And did I mention that Iron Sunrise has Space Nazis? It's true. Future-bloggers and Space Nazis --- it's got everything, I tell you. Given that Iron Sunrise has a warblogger as a main character, it should be no surprise that Stross himself has a blog. Although I think we may have to hold a template design intervention for him sometime soon... Originally posted at The Truth Laid Bear Books19977@blogcritics.org Sat, 18 Sep 2004 18:11:56 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/04/20/084641.php N.Z. BearSo the Apprentice is done, and Bill is The Donald's guy. Expecting some great philosophical discussion of the significance of The Apprentice in our culture or the impact of reality television on civilization? Nah. It entertained me, and that was enough. But I did have one closing thought. As expected, last Thursday Trump finally said the words "You're hired". But the interesting thing is that he did not say the words "You're fired" to Kwame Jackson, the runner-up. So, I claim that by the Strict Laws of The Apprentice Universe, Kwame is now existing in some odd state of limbo. Not fired --- but not hired! It's like he's some kind of undead reality show zombie, doomed to walk the earth eternally unresolved. 'Course, being an undead reality show zombie seems to be a pretty good gig for Kwame, so hats off to him... Video14910@blogcritics.org Tue, 20 Apr 2004 08:46:41 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/11/16/163923.php N.Z. BearBy now most everybody knows that Paris Hilton, heiress, socialite and --- well, not much else --- is the web's latest amateur video star. I take as a given that Ms. Hilton's recent escapade, as noted at Fleshbot (not work safe) and elsewhere, does not represent any fundamental new ground for the young lady. When you devote your life to being watched: to being observed, the step that you take when finally allowing that observation to extend to your most intimate --- or at least, most explicit --- moments is not a particularly bold one. When put in the context of her past behavior, the act is different only in degree, not in kind. But observing Ms. Hilton (no, not observing her do that, but more generally) makes me wonder about a personality so in need of attention from others. She yearns for the spotlight; for the eyes of the world to focus on her for a moment, and, if possible, longer. She seeks notice wherever she can find it; basking in the radiance of strangers' gazes and thoughts. Where once, we can assume, she sought such attention a source of approval, a validation of her own worth, now, the notice itself has become the end. Positive or negative; embarrassing or flattering, whatever keeps her in the spotlight is by definition good.She almost acts like a blogger. How different, really, is the desire of Ms. Hilton to be noticed --- to see her name in the tabloids, to have her visage streaming into our living rooms --- from the desire of a blogger to be heard? To get that big link from Glenn or Andrew; to see their blog sit atop the Ecosystem? Not very, I submit. Any blogger who tells you they don't care at all about links, or stats, or being read by others --- well, that blogger is either lying or wasting their time. Because they have a name for weblogs written by people who don't want other people to ever read them. They call them diaries, and they don't go on the Internet.So if you find yourself tsk-tsking at the foolish escapades of Ms. Hilton in between checking your Ecosystem ranking and polling your SiteMeter stats --- pause for a moment. And ask yourself whether, perhaps, you might suffer from the same need for notice that drove that young lady to conclude that making a home movie while getting boffed was a splendid idea. Again: it's a matter of degree, not kind. Ms. Hilton has the celebrity press corps to do her dirty work for her: here in the blog world, we do it differently. In the blogosphere we are all each other's paparazzi. Stalker and stalkee; celebrity and gossip --- we each play both parts in our turn, and in the end we are all attention-addicts and enablers both. And sometimes, I fear, we need to stage our own interventions and stop our own madness.The question to ask is whether the attention is a goal in itself, or a means to an end. Attention for its own sake is a hollow victory; if that is what you seek then you are indeed no better than poor foolish Paris. But if that desire for attention drives you to do great work; to inspire others with a turn of the phrase or a clever remark; to create something --- then embrace that desire. Let it fuel your work and drive your writing; let that yearning for the Big Link push you to scour the web just one more time to find that missing story that nobody else is noticing, but everyone should be. Accept your inner Paris Hilton, and let her have her fun. But please: try to keep your clothes on. Culture10177@blogcritics.org Sun, 16 Nov 2003 16:39:23 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/09/07/164412.php N.Z. BearWell, this is astounding news: As of this writing, August 31, 2003, there are only about half a dozen people in the entire known universe who can accurately claim that they have read every novel Heinlein has written.For those of us who thought there would never again be another new Heinlein novel, the impossible has become reality . "For Us, the Living," is a brand new, never before published novel by Robert A. Heinlein. It is going into print now for the first time and will be in bookstores by the end of November, 2003."For Us, the Living" was written by Heinlein about 1938-9, before he wrote his first sf short, "Lifeline." The novel, "For Us, the Living," was deemed unpublishable, mainly for the racy content.I find it difficult to discuss Heinlein without falling into superlatives; suffice it to say that yes, I've read just about everything he's ever written (or so I had thought!), and yes, I borrowed many of my core moral and political beliefs from what I found in his work. To find that after so many years we have a fresh opportunity to hear one last tale from the old man is simply extraordinary. Hat tip: Ambient Irony Books8181@blogcritics.org Sun, 7 Sep 2003 16:44:12 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/06/01/152120.php N.Z. BearI haven't seen Bruce Almighty yet, but boy, this sounds pretty dumb:A lot of mortals who happen to share God's telephone number - or at least the one He uses in the new movie "Bruce Almighty" - have spent days now taking calls from curious dialers, snickering cranks and desperate souls...Usually, movies and TV shows use the telephone exchange 555, which is not used for homes and businesses. But "Bruce Almighty" used a seven-digit number valid in many parts of the country.Ok kids. Any marketing whiz worth their expense account could have figured out what the right way to do this was. You set up a full, real telephone number to be used in the movie, then use the "calls to God" as part of the marketing campaign. Heck, make it a 900 number!Do I have to think of everything around here? Video5789@blogcritics.org Sun, 1 Jun 2003 15:21:20 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/02/03/174726.php N.Z. BearThis week's Booknotes from PBS is an excellent interview with Stephen Schwartz on his new book, The Two Faces of Islam: The House of Sa'ud from Tradition to Terror. Schwartz emphasizes the severe distinction between the the radical Wahhabism of Saudi Arabia and the vast array of more moderate and diverse strains of Islam that are threatened by it. The program is available via streaming RealVideo by the link above: a must-listen for the "anti-idiotarian" crowd. Books2999@blogcritics.org Mon, 3 Feb 2003 17:47:26 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/01/27/184818.php N.Z. BearWow. I think I'm in love: The idea of absolute state sovereignty is relatively new, and it derives from agreements among kings, emperors, kaisers, and czars for their mutual benefit. What we're left with from the state making of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Europe is a legacy that tells us we cannot intervene in states as they slaughter their own citizens because they're sovereign. By that logic, Hitler would have been perfectly legitimate as long as he killed only German Jews. It's patently flawed logic. Any state that benefits only a dictatorship, oligarchy, or clique, that oppresses, brutalizes, and even massacres elements of its own citizenry, has no legitimate claim on sovereignty--period. Sovereignty is fine for contemporary Japan, the European states, or, for that matter, India. Mexico is now coming along and trying very hard. But states like Iraq, Milosevic's Yugoslavia, and a number of African thugocracies have no legitimate claim on sovereignty.That's from an interview with military historian Ralph Peters, who up until today, I had never heard of. As should be obvious, he says what I've tried to say myself, but far more eloquently than I've yet managed to achieve. After reading his thoughts on world affairs, I'm now going to go head off to find some of his books, and fast. Added bonus points: Peters refers to the House of Saud as "the Arab world's Beverly Hillbillies... (a group of) malevolent hicks"Priceless!Read the whole interview --- it's absolutely full of intelligent, moral commentary on how we should face the world, and our place in it. Thanks to Meryl for the link (who in turn got it from LGF). Books2887@blogcritics.org Mon, 27 Jan 2003 18:48:18 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2002/12/17/115618.php N.Z. BearI walked into Nemesis with mixed expectations. Over at Ain't it Cool News, the pudgy demigod that is Harry Knowles had declared it to be an unmitigated disaster. But I had seen other reviews that suggested it might be semi-decent. So, I was hoping to at least get some nice Enterprise-porn (those lovely CGI shots) and a few hours visiting with the old friends who were the crew of 1701-D (and now -E). But it turns out, I was pleasantly surprised: Nemesis kinda rocked. No, not Wrath of Khan rocked; not even Undiscovered Country rocked. But probably about First Contact rocked; which puts it ahead of most of the films in the series. I won't bother with plot summaries; nor will I give you spoilers. But I wanted to at least toss out a positive vote: if you're even a casual fan of the series, yes, this one is worth seeing in the theatres. Video2303@blogcritics.org Tue, 17 Dec 2002 11:56:18 EST