Stanislaw Lem is dead. He was an underrated and overlooked genius; it’s not hyperbole to call him the Polish Borges. His body of work included some of the funniest and most inventive science fiction, mysteries, other novels, and essays. He wrote about space exploration, the horrors of war, the mathematical patterns of life, and the [...]
Nick and I talked for about an hour about Orwell and specifically 1984. People use the word “Orwellian” a lot or say “That’s so 1984“, but it’s a lot more than just totalitarianism and the abuse of language. 1984 is rich in detail and just about every single little detail is accurate almost to the [...]
nrrd: Wow, best name for a video game evar: ” Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka 2: Evening on the Eve of Ivan Kupal Holiday” nrrd: And nothing says “mainstream success” like “based on a Nikolai Gogol novel” ignatz: I never beat the end guy in “Dead Souls” nrrd: You have to use the magic [...]
FREE JAMES FREY! In defense of the post-truth memoir Why bother with accuracy when the feelings are real? Was it three hours in an empty office, or three months behind bars? Doesn’t matter! What the writer felt when the stuff that really happened was going on is exactly the same as what his character feels [...]
This article was previously published in the Lifestyle Column of the Gorean Voice. That’s most of what you need to know about Explaining Gor to Loved Ones. The real question that needs answering is: That’s fine if you’re into BDSM, but why do you have to mix up your sex life with boring shitty series [...]
The Exile had James Frey pegged on Day One and even more so on Day Two, even before he was unmasked as a proven fake. just another dry drunk asshole. They’re popular these days. Representative quotes: Rehab stories provide a way for pampered trust-fund brats like Frey to claim victim status. These swine already have [...]
The real reason James Frey and J.T. Leroy are depressing is that they show us once again that we’re unimaginative people who won’t buy a made-up story. It has to be real, just as it happened, and authentic because it was written by the person who was there! And even if the writing itself is [...]
Today’s blogtastic memesplosion is the anti Narnia piece in the Guardian. It’s a crock of shit. As a former Christian I have no brief to defend the faith. However, I loved the Narnia books growing up and I still enjoy them. They’re in the great tradition of English children’s books, presenting a group of kids [...]
Romeo in Juliet in Emoticons