[links] Link salad explores obsolete vernacular

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A sample clip of Rene Auberjonois reading my Metatropolis: Cascadia story, “The Bull Dancers” — A teaser clip which was great fun to hear.

The Fantasy Novelists Exam — I think Green only fails one of these questions, and even then it’s more in the letter than in the spirit. (Via barbarienne.)

Why steampunk is important — This may be one of the more sensible things I’ve seen written on this topic. (Thanks to tenacious_snail.)

Is the ebook the new hardback? — Publishers are speculating that they might amplify pre-paperback word of mouth by giving away digital editions. (Snurched from Scrivener’s Error, who has a lot to say about this.)

Genetic Secret to AIDS Immunity Found — Research offers insights into how some HIV-positive people are able to avoid the full-blown disease. Huh. Interesting. “HIV controllers”. And in population terms, this is biodiversity in action.

Dead Quasar Leaves Ghost Behind — One of the most ravenous beasts in the universe has evidently died, leaving behind an optical echo of its former self.

Bacteria ‘R’ Us — The number of bacterial species in the human gut is estimated to be about 40,000. It is to boggle. (Via bram452.)

Bearing fruit — Slacktivist on the eschatology of Tea Party voters, and the role of Left Behind in their current ethos.

1978 Letter from Douglas Fraser Resigning from the Labor-Management Group — A fascinating piece of political and labor history that is also startlingly honest.

Christian Nation: The Other Fundamentalist Perspective, Part 4 — Ed Brayton quotes Christian historian Gregg Frazer on the roots of the Constitution. Interesting stuff.

?otD: Whilom?

11/5/2010
Writing time yesterday: 1.5 hours (3,300 new words, to 14,400 words on Kalimpura — another full Lake and to spare)
Body movement: 30 minute stationary bike ride
Hours slept: 6.5 hours (solid)
This morning’s weigh-in: n/a
Yesterday’s chemo/post-op stress index: 4/10 (fatigue, peripheral neuropathy, emotional distress)
Currently reading: Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold

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One thought on “[links] Link salad explores obsolete vernacular”

  1. Meredith Schwartz says:
    November 5, 2010 at 9:02 am

    I agree that’s a very insightful post about why steampunk is important, and I want to add that I think it also ties into our collective anxiety about the fallout of industrialization — the environmental and societal cost of making it work, and our worry about what happens when it fails, and we no longer have the skills, tools and land to make or grow most of what we need to survive ourselves. I think part of the reason costuming is so central to steampunk is that it is expressing an ideal of post-industrial personalization, that ties into everything from Slow Food to Maker Fair to the resurgence of knitting — not a desire to turn back the clock, but a desire to reclaim the artisan that industrialism displaced before it is lost forever.

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