Published in Views of Other Planes·3 hours agoMember-onlyHope on CatNet — Naomi Kritzer’s CatNet BooksNaomi Kritzer’s wonderful YA books start with the premise of CheshireCat. (Disclaimer, copies received as part of the Hugo voters packet). CheshireCat is, as far as they know, the world’s first truly sentient AI. And they want two things: Cat pictures. To make people happy. Their mechanism for achieving #2…Science Fiction3 min read
Published in The Illusion of Choice·3 days agoMember-onlyCould the Supreme Court Weigh In on School Dress Codes?At issue, the dress code at Roger Bacon Academy in Leland, North Carolina. This is a charter school, meaning that it receives funds but is independently run. Republicans love charter schools, seeing them as ways to give parents more choice. …Dress Cod4 min read
4 days agoMember-onlyNo, Total Abortion Bans Do not Turn Women into Broodmares…no breeder would treat broodmares like that. Some of the abortion bans being put forward in red states allow abortion only in the case of a full blown medical emergency. You have to be actually dying. People are saying this is treating women like broodmares. I’d like to set the…Abortion5 min read
Published in Views of Other Planes·5 days agoMember-onlyThe Dark Answer to Harry Potter — the First Two Books in Naomi Novik’s The Scholomance TrilogyAt one point a lot of us were waiting for our Hogwarts letter. Then J.K. Rowling turned out to be a transphobic asshole and some of us tore them up (My Ravenclaw pin is now hiding in a drawer). Naomi Novik was almost certainly waiting for hers, because she was…Fantasy5 min read
Published in Views of Other Planes·6 days agoMember-onlyReview: Swordheart by T. KingfisherA romance between a woman and a magic sword is something I should absolutely be there for (it’s a long story, but…) Unfortunately, I found Swordheart a little disconcerting. It also wasn’t quite as original as some of Kingfisher’s other work. …Hugo Awards3 min read
Published in Views of Other Planes·Aug 1Member-only“There’s a Black Woman on Television — and She Ain’t No Maid” — the Life and Inspiration of Nichelle NicholsThe headlines mostly say the same thing. We have lost the original Uhura (the character was recently recast and is now played by two wonderful actors — Zoe Saldana in the Kelvin Timeline movies and Celia Rose Gooding in Strange New Worlds). The focus is on that one role from…Nichelle Nichols4 min read
Published in Views of Other Planes·Jul 29Member-onlyReview: The Family Trade by Charles StrossDisclaimer: I received a copy of this book free in the Hugo packet. Different authors give you different expectations. I know Mercedes Lackey is going to give me a light, straightforward read. I know C.J. …Fantasy3 min read
Published in Views of Other Planes·Jul 28Member-onlyWombling Free — The Wombles and the Origins of Climate FictionIn February, 1973, a new kids’ cartoon aired in the U.K. The cartoon was incredibly simple…a stop motion animation with a narrator who said everything (so, it wasn’t even full cast). The episodes were only five minutes long. The narrator was the late, great Bernard Cribbins. …Environment3 min read
Jul 27Member-onlyDisabled People Need to Exist in the FutureScience fiction has a long term ableism problem. I’m ashamed to say I haven’t always been the best at dealing with it myself. There tends to be an attitude that in “the future” there won’t be disabled people because, well, we’ll have fixed those issues. …Disability4 min read
Published in The Illusion of Choice·Jul 26Member-onlySatanic Temple Fights Elementary School Dress CodeSatanist kids face discrimination.Dress Code1 min readPhoto by freestocks on UnsplashSatanic Temple Fights Elementary School Dress Code----