Timesink Warning
Read many interesting things this morning, rather than getting up and doing anything.
So I commend these links to you, so you too can waste large amounts of time reading interesting things on the internet.
Ursula Vernon posted a new painting Fishhead Homunculus, with a fantastic accompanying description from the Journal of Post-Diaspora Mythobiology [1]. I can has subscription please?
Neil Gaiman posted a link to Making Light discussing a horrible train wreck of an author attacking negative reviews on Amazon. (I have no interest in viewing the train wreck, but the witty commentary is entertaining).
In the comments thread on that, someone posted a warning (about fandom_wank, in the event): "Timesink Warning: timesink greater than the xkcd archive, less than TVTropes."
Which is a fantastic, and bizarrely immediately useful, warning label.
From there, I went over and checked out recent pieces on the Tor.com website. Including Jo Walton's Holiday Book Guide (and her more in depth review of Brust's The Sun The Moon The Stars), Amanda Gannon's article on the psychological origins tentacle porn (part of the Cthulhumass theme), and a very interesting series on PTSD in fiction by Arachne Jericho, in more depth:
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Fiction, Part 1 talks about real PTSD and the two common ways that fictions tend to fail at depicting it (and trivialize it).
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Fiction, Part 2 discusses a couple of examples of PTSD in fiction that aren't bad: Sinclair (Babylon 5), and Frodo.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Fiction, Part 3 talks about another couple of good examples in fiction: World War Z, and Josh (West Wing).
Finally, Part 4 talks about an entire series in which the main character has pre-existing chronic PTSD, and so gives a persistent look at PTSD as trait which is neither solved, nor the end of a character arc. Lord Peter Wimsey sounds like a fascinating character, in the "his strengths and weaknesses are inextricably bound together" sort of way that's so awesome in Miles.
Other interesting things from not today:
I really liked The Onion's Sumerians Look On In Confusion As Christian God Creates World piece.
A youtube video of Bujold reading from the first chapter of the next Miles book. In begins in media res in a way that oddly slows down the development of interest, but becomes fun and interesting (and the slow part at the beginning would go by much faster in book form than as speech).
Ancient Amazon civilisation laid bare by felled forest. Intriguing in that "more things in heaven and earth" sort of way.
From sometime ago
I adored Scenes From An Alternate Universe Where The Beatles Accepted Lorne Michaels’ Generous Offer on MightyGodKing from a while back. Moving, and subtly drawn.
Oh, and back to today:
I just got my 38th star today: Chi-1 Orionis.
So I commend these links to you, so you too can waste large amounts of time reading interesting things on the internet.
Ursula Vernon posted a new painting Fishhead Homunculus, with a fantastic accompanying description from the Journal of Post-Diaspora Mythobiology [1]. I can has subscription please?
Neil Gaiman posted a link to Making Light discussing a horrible train wreck of an author attacking negative reviews on Amazon. (I have no interest in viewing the train wreck, but the witty commentary is entertaining).
In the comments thread on that, someone posted a warning (about fandom_wank, in the event): "Timesink Warning: timesink greater than the xkcd archive, less than TVTropes."
Which is a fantastic, and bizarrely immediately useful, warning label.
From there, I went over and checked out recent pieces on the Tor.com website. Including Jo Walton's Holiday Book Guide (and her more in depth review of Brust's The Sun The Moon The Stars), Amanda Gannon's article on the psychological origins tentacle porn (part of the Cthulhumass theme), and a very interesting series on PTSD in fiction by Arachne Jericho, in more depth:
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Fiction, Part 1 talks about real PTSD and the two common ways that fictions tend to fail at depicting it (and trivialize it).
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Fiction, Part 2 discusses a couple of examples of PTSD in fiction that aren't bad: Sinclair (Babylon 5), and Frodo.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Fiction, Part 3 talks about another couple of good examples in fiction: World War Z, and Josh (West Wing).
Finally, Part 4 talks about an entire series in which the main character has pre-existing chronic PTSD, and so gives a persistent look at PTSD as trait which is neither solved, nor the end of a character arc. Lord Peter Wimsey sounds like a fascinating character, in the "his strengths and weaknesses are inextricably bound together" sort of way that's so awesome in Miles.
Other interesting things from not today:
I really liked The Onion's Sumerians Look On In Confusion As Christian God Creates World piece.
A youtube video of Bujold reading from the first chapter of the next Miles book. In begins in media res in a way that oddly slows down the development of interest, but becomes fun and interesting (and the slow part at the beginning would go by much faster in book form than as speech).
Ancient Amazon civilisation laid bare by felled forest. Intriguing in that "more things in heaven and earth" sort of way.
From sometime ago
I adored Scenes From An Alternate Universe Where The Beatles Accepted Lorne Michaels’ Generous Offer on MightyGodKing from a while back. Moving, and subtly drawn.
Oh, and back to today:
I just got my 38th star today: Chi-1 Orionis.