Yesterday, Andrew Sullivan‘s blog at The Atlantic linked to an essay at The American Prospect by Monica Potts on how civ-building computer games don’t really allow for liberal-progressive solutions to life’s problems. Games like The Sims and Civilization model a rightward ideology, if not by design then certainly by practice. There are many ways toContinue reading “On Civ-Builders and Authoritarianism”
Monthly Archives: February 2011
On the Future of Health Care Reform
I have been thinking about health care reform and what the future holds if, as the Teahadists want, President Obama’s signature achievement is thrown out in the courts in its entirety. Consider the individual mandate. Proposed in the mid-90s by Republicans as an alternative to Bill Clinton’s plan, the individual mandate is a profoundly conservativeContinue reading “On the Future of Health Care Reform”
On a Calendar in the Mail
An unexpected package arrived in the mail today. “The Hidden History of the United States 2011 Calendar,” courtesy of The Progressive. I subscribed to The Progressive for a few years, from ’98 to ’02. What soured me on the magazine was Howard Zinn’s response to 9/11, which I seem to remember as a “We broughtContinue reading “On a Calendar in the Mail”
On Purchasing a Smartphone
“I’m an eejit, Ted.” How many times did Father Dougal McGuire exclaim that in Father Ted? No, don’t tell me. It may be something like, “Quick, Watson, the needle!” A line that Sherlock Holmes never ever said, yet everyone thinks he did. Still, I felt a bit like Dougal today. Not without reason, mind you.Continue reading “On Purchasing a Smartphone”
On Smartphone Musings
A few days ago, while reading Slate, an thought popped in my head. Why don’t I get a smartphone? It was this article, on the MetroPCS Samsung Craft, which the writer for Slate called “the worst cell phone on Earth,” that made me think about it. Maybe I should get a mobile phone. I hadContinue reading “On Smartphone Musings”
On Metrifying the United States
I had an interesting thought this morning — and it’s probably because I haven’t yet had my first cup of coffee. The metric system. We don’t use it here in the United States. There was some effort in the 1970s to metricify the United States and join the rest of the world in solidarity, butContinue reading “On Metrifying the United States”
On Allyn’s Farpoint 2011 Schedule
Yesterday, Farpoint released their preliminary schedule. Farpoint is a science-fiction convention held outside Baltimore every February, and this year’s convention falls from February 18th to 20th at the Crowne Plaza in Timonium, just off Interstate 83 at exit 16. This year marks my fourth year attending Farpoint as an author guest and my sixth FarpointContinue reading “On Allyn’s Farpoint 2011 Schedule”
On Volkswagen’s Star Wars Commercial and the Girl Vader
I drive a Volkswagen Beetle. It makes me very happy, though I’d be happier if the CD player didn’t skip. Volkswagen has always made fabulous commercials. I remember vividly the Cabrio commercial that introduced millions to “Pink Moon” and the work of Nick Drake. And, of course, there’s this one. Many people have seen thisContinue reading “On Volkswagen’s Star Wars Commercial and the Girl Vader”
On Beatles Archeology
Last summer, I read Michael Moorcock’s Doctor Who novel, The Coming of the Terraphiles. Set about 50,000 years in our future, the novel concerns itself with the Doctor and Amy’s adventures with a group of Earth re-enactors, the Terraphiles. They think they know what Earth, circa 1900, was like, but what they have to goContinue reading “On Beatles Archeology”
On Writing Political Tracts
Recently, I’ve been thinking of writing a book on politics. I go in the bookstores, and I see lots of books in the politics/current affairs section on being a libertarian or being a conservative, and how the future is with the Republican Party and its conservative/libertarianism. I see fewer books from the other side ofContinue reading “On Writing Political Tracts”