Ever since I started using my RSS newsreader to keep up with SF/F writers in the blogsphere, I've been pleasantly surprised by the calibur and depth of various opinions.

I caught a recent post from Cheryl where she sums up the problem with the ultra-polarized American electorate: we've been watching too many movies, and the wrong ones, it seems:

The Republicans have been watching a Mel Gibson production of the Book of Revelation, in which George Bush single-handedly defends the gate at Helm's Deep against ravening hordes of rabid gay Muslim clones, and then leads a fleet of helicopter gunships in battle against The Beast.

The Democrats, on the other hand, have been watching a strange amalgam of Dr. Strangelove and The Day After Tomorrow, in which George Bush doesn't just ignore global warming, he actively encourages it (by exploding nuclear weapons in the Alaskan National Wildlife Reserve) in the hope of hastening Armageddon and the Second Coming. Meanwhile we all wait patiently for the Lost Prince to come and save us all (non-violently of course).

An excellent summation, IMHO. Me? Oh I've been watching bad 70's porn sprinkled with Python reruns, what else?

The news sites and blogs are all abuzz to day, recounting the story of a man jumping into the lion's den at the Taipei Zoo.

I heard the news on the radio during the drive home from my son's hockey practice. Perhaps due to my recent proximity to a sporting event, a mental audio track formed in my mind:

?After a 2000 year work stoppage, the two sides met again to continue this time-honored tradition. From the first whistle, it was obvious which side continued to hone their skills during the break and which side decided to catch up on their reading. Spectators say it felt as if it was over as soon as it began, bringing the all-time score to Lions 6,952 ? Chrisitans 0.?

It helps if you read that in a Howard Cosell voice. Oh, and have you seen my Howard Cosell impersonation? All-time classic...

OK. I've tried to raise Tee via AIM for several days to no avail. This news report from 1010 WINScould be why.

An emotionally disturbed man in a wet suit tried to seize Governors Island by hoisting a pirate's flag. The incident caused a massive response by the U-S Coast Guard and New York City police.

Shit. Now I gotta go to NYC and bail the pirate-boy out of jail. Again!

I'm so sick of news right now it's making my head hurt. I've subscribed to like 25 RSS feeds from SF/F related sites. Many are news sites, like SciFi Wire and Fark, where others are blogs from authors such as Wil Wheaton and from cool folks like photographer and homebrewer Chris.

You know what I've discovered? That's I'd rather read about and talk about what authors and creative people have to say. And I'm betting you'd like that, too.

So yes, you'll still see the occaisional link to a news story which is worth of your time or one that made me pee my pants. Sorry for the visual. But the lions share of posts from this point forward will be true discussions, opinions and new ideas from me and the gang.

OK... mainly from me.

Jeff VanderMeer (who I gues was at WFC but somehow we missed running into or meeting) has an interesting post today regarding the parallels to fiction and the current state of affairs by those who are and those who would have been in charge in this country. Political? Sure. But also non-partisan and about fiction:

There are two essential elements to good fiction. A good imagination, and the ability to tie that imagination to some element of the real world in such a way that we care about the fiction we read as if it were part of the real world.

Politics today takes advantage of the fact that many of us in America apparently have what I would call deformed imaginations, in that they are not tied to the real world or real people in any meaningful way. In a sense, what is happening is that a bunch of bad writers are writing an ugly reality for this country, using the worst attributes of our imaginations to do so. A high capacity for belief, a high capacity for imagining, is not at issue. But the ability to dream well, to see beyond rhetoric and deception into the real world, where facts exist with cold, sharp edges...this ability has been dulled in some of us, for whatever reason. And as a result, the ability to reach toward some kind of truth has also been dulled.

He's got some books out now. Fiction: Veniss Underground and City of Saints & Madmen Non-Fiction: Why Should I Cut Your Throat?

The general consensus on the blogs and news feeds I read is that a) the whole contry is butt-hurt as a general rule and b) the rest of the world is point their fingers and laughing.

I have a story which naturally puts this all in perspective: BLOODSUCKING MONKEYS ATTACK CHILDREN!

"They hide in trees and swoop on unsuspecting children loitering about in the temple premises or walking by, clawing them and even sucking a bit of blood," a priest at the temple told The Associated Press. The temple, one of the most famous in India, is located in Gauhati, Assam's capital.

So when someone tries to tell you that you're a) screwed by living here or b) screwy for living here, think about how safe we are from bloodsucking temple monkeys from hell.

Rather than email everyone with this link, it makes sense just to post the damn thing here. The funny part is that most of these folks work at the local grocery store down the street. I won't mention the name, but it ryhmes with "Flies".

I'll never shop there the same again...

Frys.com Halloween Party 2004

FotDP Lejon created this masterpiece while we were at the World Fantasy Convention. His significant other Michelle has the writing talent, while he's the visual one obviously! Hey, this gives me an idea... we've passed out tons of these little sticky-notes. What a great medium for artists!