When the President Talks to God Sun. Apr 1st, 07

Check out this dandy of a youtube treasure: Bright Eyes on Jay Leno. This song is wonderfully subversive because it goes boths ways (it jibes at the president and god). I wish I had an mp3 to share, but I’ve only got this little video. I love the ending, “mish, mish.”

Bad Call, Cory Fri. Jul 28th, 06

Dear Cory Doctorow,
WTF? I thought you *cared* about the state of SF and its perception in the world?
I am referring here to Alanya to Alanya. You posted a review of this L. Timmel Duchamp novel. You said,

Alanya to Alanya does just what a political sf novel should do: it leavens its political message with first-rate futuristic extrapolation, chilling dystopianism and a breathless adventure story that keeps you turning the pages. It was a refreshing read and a rare example of deft political storytelling.

What the fuck are you talking about? I’m 60 pages into it and I can’t see why you would recommend it to anyone.
First off, this story is set in 2076, yet tech-wise seems like it could take place in 2012. Perhaps that’s because, while the novel was just released last year, it was written in 1984! I was wondering why, as I read it, the “Executives” seemed liked characters out of American Psycho. Even the description of the preferred hairstyle of the “Executives” is strikingly similar. It’s because they are. They are 1980’s Wall Street executives. This was written in the midst of the “Backlash“* days, and you can tell. “First-rate futuristic extrapolation” my ass. The political message is a retired clunker and the tech a repainted tired old clunker. The dystopianism is chilling, for sure. Chilling as a Southern Baptist rapture movie flickering on a church basement wall. It’s so heavy-handed, as I was reading it I thought it was written by a college-aged girl. But, she was 34 when she wrote this. The only thing that could lighten the political message in this book is an editor with a week’s supply of coke and a “do not disturb” sign. Who are you kidding? You called it a “refreshing read”? You weren’t agonized by the stale, groan-inducing language which comprises the majority of the text? Tell me you didn’t laugh out loud at all the eyes that crawled and slid all over the place. You’d think the people she was describing had eyeballs with little legs and wings that flew out from their owner’s head to explore. Some of the bugs were even like “ice-cold razor blades”. I’m not sure what the difference is between an ice-cold razor blade sliding across ones face and that of a plain-old room temperature razor blade, but I sure don’t want to find out.
C’mon, Cory, you’re a dotCommunists, right? Sometimes you achieve “deft political storytelling” in your works. You can admit it. Then why can’t you recognize its absence? OK, as I only read the first 60 pages, I’ll give you that. Maybe she totally switches gears and the novel leaps out of the eighties and gets relevant. It could happen.
Winding down the rant, I’m left to wonder what the motives were for such a review. I know what the results are: people won’t read books solely on your recommendation.
I know you’re a feminist. I like to think I’m a struggling feminist (it’s the ex-Christian in me constantly framing things so ridiculously). It’s OK to criticize another feminist. It’s OK to say that another feminist’s work stinks. You can stand in solidarity with the woman and still be honest about her work. So, why did you do it? Did you meet her at a conference and feel obligated? Were you trying to score points with someone special? I’ll never know, I guess. Maybe you never even read it. Anyway, shame on Aqueduct Press for this. And congratulations to L. Timmel Duchamp for managing to get paid for this. If there are enough Cory Doctorow’s out there you may even see all five of them published.
* Susan Faludi’s Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women is a must-read for anyone aspiring/claiming to be a feminist. As a bonus, the book sheds light on a process that is fascinating and frightening to watch. Understanding how a backlash works arms you against unwittingly becoming its agent. As a bonus bonus I just noticed that a fifteenth anniversary edition is coming out next month, “with a new preface by the author that brings backlash consciousness up to date.” (I adjusted the links to point to this upcoming edition.)

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