Blood Lite 3: Aftertaste

Well, Blood Lite 3: Aftertaste, edited by Kevin J. Anderson, has come out. Eleven pages of it are graffitied by me. But just in case you don't think that's enough to squander your shekels, there's a new Harry Dresden story by Jim Butcher; a story by the king of all horror comedy, Jeff Strand; something by the person who has too many awards but deserves more, Lisa Morton.

Check out how some of the authors answered four essay questions here: http://www.dlsnell.com/#feature-18

I am a-flutter being amongst these giants. Even though my story is the funniest*.

*this claim is roughly equivalent to nutrition statements on Twinkies.

The Liberty Scam from Slate, June 2011

I'm not entirely happy with my last post, and now I've found a long article from Slate that explains a little better what I was trying to get at. The Liberty Scam by Stephen Metcalf. If you've got the time, there's a nice slam of Ron Paul's anarchic form of Libertarianism What is Austrian Ecomomics? also on Slate.

Two types of liberty

Part of freedom is responsibility, and I think there's a large segment of the country forgetting that. I split the libertarian people of the US into two camps: 1) those who understand that their freedom depends on their responsibility towards others with a a reciprocal responsibility from others. By being socially responsible, we protect each others' freedom of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And the other kind are 2) the ones who don't give a damn.

Dumb Things I Wonder About (an ongoing series)

When I read a book that is the same old thing as the last book I read, I wish there was a better term for it than "novel".

Rep. Allen West announces even more subversives in congress.

After US Representative Allen West claimed 78-81 members of Congress were in the Communist Party, his spokesperson clarified his remarks. "He also thinks there are 12 vegans, 47 tree-huggers, and 3 that shop at K-Mart." Rep. West has had quite a bit of trouble over his bomb-throwing remarks in the past. After declaring at a rally in Fort Walton Beach, Florida that he was no longer black, several members of the Congressional Black Caucus commented that the African-American community had long ago kicked him out, but had kept the information quiet out of respect for his family.

Fellow Representative Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) commented that at this point she wants to join the Communist Party just to wave the card in his face and watch his head explode. "Though he falsely claims he was a demolitions expert, it is true that his entire brain can be considered a hurt locker."

A poll in Rep West's district found 40% support for him, against 60% who want whatever medication the first 40 are taking.

World Horror 2012 - the aftermath

There are times in one's life where almost everything goes right. It seems that last weekend the laws of probability decided it was going to happen to a whole bunch of people at once. I'm pretty good with words, but I can't quite get it down. I do know that I heard person after person say that this was the best con they've ever been to. I also know that I'm one of those. Were I to even thank the individual people who made it a great time for me, the number would go way past thirty, and I'm sure I'd leave people out. Besides, you don't want to read about how Norm Rubenstein, Steven Booth, Leya Booth of Genius Publishing were the first people ever to make me feel comfortable in my own writer's skin rather than having to steal someone else's. Or how Brian Knight became my biggest advocate almost immediately upon meeting him. I'd be boring Hell out of you if I mentioned Chris Payne, Brad Carpenter, and Brett Talley of JournalStone taking me under their wings and giving me some good lessons on how to talk to editors, plus actually asking my advice on a cover design. I'll be damned by you all if I have to talk about how Gabrielle Faust actually knocked through a long-running brick wall in a novel I couldn't finish, or how Don D'Auria of Samhain went through the rest of the novel with me. Plus there's Martel Sardina, my new friend. Uh, oh, they're playing me off, so... J. Skipp, J. Strand, D. Fitzgerald, J. Wagner, N. Grabowski, A.L. McCoy, you were all great. M. Marano, M. Rowe, I miss you when we can't talk. ROCKY WOOD FOREVER!!!

Dumb Things I Wonder About (an ongoing series)

I feel I should have better luck explaining the fallacy of the excluded middle to my cat.

One of the worst jokes I've written

I study Arthurian legends out of Mordred curiosity.

Remember, they laughed at the Wright Brothers,

 but I think it was the clown suits they wore in their facebook pictures.


(Really wanted to use Google+ in this joke.C'mon, get more people to sign up!)

Existentialist Seuss

Mr Brown Camus, Can You?

motto

read fast, write young, leave a geeky-looking corpse

Short quote

He is third person omniscient, and everyone knows it. - me writing about me

An internet opinion template

(Something) is a plot by (insert bogeyman) to make us all (insert irrationality), but (insert institution) wants us to believe (insert fact)

People who shoot themselves while cleaning their guns

I laugh at their stupidity while simultaneously admiring their hygiene.

Dumb things I wonder about (an ongoing series)

Plato never said if the people in the cave were standing or sitting.

World Horror 2012 -- the anticipation

Very wired up about going to World Horror. My usual plan is to go to two cons a year, my local and one of the following World Horror/World Fantasy/World Science Fiction. The overlap between the groups is quite high. I have nothing huge I want to accomplish -- with one exception that will or will not be talked about in the sequel -- so it's all gravy from here. I get to hang with friends, as well as getting tips and encouragement.

On being a nerd

My Mom recently said, "Honey, you were never a nerd," so I fired up my lightsaber...

Where ya been?

Ah, the wonders of the kidneys. For the last few months, I've gone back and forth with the one on the right, as it screamed for attention (or maybe that was just me screaming). The difference between a kidney and a child is that the kidney won't stop annoying you if you ignore it.

So, it put me in the hospital. Lots of nice hallucinations with a 104 fever (40 for you who use a real measuring system). And it's more than a week since I got out, and I still feel stupid. Not stupid in an "oh, I shouldn't have done that" way, but stupid in a "Sarah Palin makes a lot of sense" way. Getting better, though. I had a "Romney tied to Santorum's car roof while Santorum is making out in the back seat" article I wanted to do, but chances missed are gone forever.

Meantime, I'm heading to Salt Lake City for World Horror Convention 2012 week after next. Hopefully the drooling will have stopped.

It can't love. I can't build cars. So we're even.

Whenever I think I'm getting too full of myself, I will interject into the conversation, "Because, of course, you are all robots sent here to test me." Amongst friends and family, they know I know when I'm being an ass. As for the robot sentiment in general, there is an actual term for it in philosophy and psychology: The Illusion of Central Position. Hence the name of my blog.

Santorum: Parking Meters "Satan's Collection Plates"

In a startling press conference, former Senator Rick Santorum has called parking meters "Satan's collection plates". The claim was made that parking meters are only found in cities, which is also where the majority of colleges in this country are located. "Therefore by the mass transitive property," he said, "it's either pay up to the Satanic dark lord, or be forced into such liberal activities as taking the bus or even walking. Michelle Obama has advocated walking, and we all know she wants to run our lives. In fact, she wants us all to run for our lives." In point of fact, the First Lady has said we should be active for at least a half an hour a day, including running. Previously, Senator Santorum has said, "That's eight minutes, five times a day [sic], and you know what activity she means. Seriously, you don't? You know, a prayer rug, bowing... C'mon people, this is code. You should know it by now." Some of the traveling press corps have speculated that his high poll numbers may be an actual sign of diminishing educational standards in this country. But, as Santorum has said, people who learn stuff are "snobs".

Intentions to the Gates of Hell (original demo song)

This was originally called "Love is Not Enough", but there are way too may songs with that name. The audio file was lost in a virus, so this is all I've got left. Close your eyes while listening.

Attacks paid for by big business are 'driving science into a dark era'

Over on One Good Move, an atheist/liberal/science blog I follow (ahem) religiously, they had a link from an article in The Guardian that disturbed me:

Most scientists, on achieving high office, keep their public remarks to the bland and reassuring. Last week Nina Fedoroff, the president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), broke ranks in a spectacular manner.
She confessed that she was now "scared to death" by the anti-science movement that was spreading, uncontrolled, across the US and the rest of the western world.

Go here for the rest of the story.

So here are some questions on the works of Ayn Rand

1) How many backers did they have to go to for the movie version of Atlas Shrugged? And
2) are they all being paid the same? In gold?
Side note: The only things I learned from AS are that "please" and "thank you" are signs of moral weakness, and that she *really* hated Frank Capra movies.
Wait, I have more questions:
3) If Howard Roark is allowed to blow up the building he designed (previous book, The Fountainhead), then is Dagny Taggart allowed to wreck the rails going through liberal cities?
4) Dagny slept with a couple of guys, one of whom slept with an unfaithful wife. If she had gotten an STD, would it be okay if she used a cure developed by the CDC?
Last: 5) Why are any Ayn Randians on the US government-created internet?

I have more, but they'll wait. For the record, I did watch the movie, because I have a pretty good life and I wanted it to suck more.

A lot of blogs attract attention

by the bloggers being all over the net and commenting on everything. Unfortunately (?) I keep a low profile, since most of the time what I have to say won't add anything to the conversation.

My one exception is when Ayn Rand followers stick their heads out of their little corners of the Internet. She is my bete noir, the person who has done more to ruin this country than any other. I half-believe the Russians sent her here as a sleeper to take us out from within.

There's nothing in Jane Austen...

... that couldn't be improved by the addition of a werewolf.

I have the patience of a saint...

Well, a Saint Bernard...
Well, Cujo, in fact.

So they get the right ads

By the way, I'm a member of the Horror Writers Association (HWA for short), a fine group of writers, both professional and working towards being professional. If you are a writer of Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Horror, or bloody-minded Science Fiction, check it out. http://www.horror.org

They didn't ask me to do this. Clickable is in the links. I'll get a banner there as soon as I figure out how.

A laughing streak ended

I have trouble writing funny. Were you to meet me, and you could get over the fact that I'm an arrogant elitist, you would find me extremely funny and smarter than you. See, that wasn't funny. Told you so. My type of humor is reactive, dependent on another to make the first move.

On most days, it's my goal to make everyone I meet laugh at least once. One day last month, I had a streak going. 13 in a row! Just one more, an extremely friendly cashier. While in line I busied myself trying to read him, trying to write the perfect line that would have him howling. And I utterly failed. I was so busy trying to play the game that I forgot the players. It would be nice to stop trying so hard and just be.

But I'm suffering Early Onset Asshole.