Month: June 2010

A New Kind of Fiction?

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Probably not, just as Stephen Wolfram’s book A New Kind of Science doesn’t really seem to have launched a new kind of science into being.  (From the condition of the copy I have on hand, I’m apparently the only person ever to have signed it out of my university’s library — though perhaps that’s because it’s available online for free?) In any case, I don’t know how well-explored this field is, but it seems to me the logical extension of the online treatment of SF — moving from short stories to flash fiction and then to twitterfiction — might lead …

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Five More on Kick-Ass, Part 1.

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This entry is part 1 of 5 in the series Five More on Kick-Ass: A Response to Criticisms of the Film

A response to my post on Kick-Ass showed up on the LJ mirror of this blog, and I decided I wanted to respond to it here, where it could be more widely seen. The comment went like this: You’re the third person I’ve heard or seen recommend this movie (hadn’t looked at any reviews). The others were [my friend] and Peter Watts. What I want to know is your response to criticism like this: “Kick-Ass” is violence’s answer to kiddie porn. You can see it in Hit Girl’s outfit when she cons her way past security guards—white blouse, hair in …

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Another Draft Down… EDIT: Two, Actually!

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Well, I’m pleased… I cranked out another 2,500-odd words today, bringing the total wordcount for “Capped” to 10,600 words. It will need some trimming, of course, and I hope I can get it down to at least 9,000 words, maybe 8,000 or 7,500 even. But it’s another story drafted, and I am pleased. Next up is a very short piece I’ve been thinking about drafting for a few days now. I should be able to pump out a draft of that tonight, too, if I can keep focus. If not, well, I won’t feel badly. I got 2,500 words written …

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More Nigerian 419-Scam-Related Pop Songs

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I posted yesterday about 419 scams and a pop song related to the topic, and after a little more poking around, I found a talk discussed here, in which a few more 419 scam-related songs are mentioned. Here they are: and: The first song “Yahoozee,” by Olu Maintain, while the second is “No More Yahoozee [The Reply],” by Harri Best Moradiyo. Both songs seem to be related to the travails and legalities of being a 419-scammer, in roughly the same way that being a business exec is glamorized, or criticized, in the American media. Which gives me an idea for some deep-future …

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