Um, yes, well.

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones finds the Illuminati in last year's famous ad for Virgin Atlantic. Time to up the dosage, Alex.

Fossil Poetry

How English keeps evolving.

China bans English words in media.

Anti-tech: some suggested neologisms for the digital age, and some better ones here.

Friday short fiction #2: dystopias

Daniela Munoz-Santos  Eventide  2008
Three brief dystopias I've read this week:

Shirley Jackson, 'The Lottery'  (THE NEW YORKER, 26 JUNE 1948)
One of the most famous short stories in American literature and taught in schools for decades, although perhaps not so well-known in the UK (and it was even once banned in South Africa). This can still pack a hefty punch despite its dystopian aspect being 9/10ths invisible. I'd love to see the two film versions.

Joe R. Lansdale, 'Surveillance'  (SUBTERRANEAN PRESS, WINTER 2007)
Something that invokes the famous quote by Benjamin Franklin about those trading liberty for safety deserving neither. Short, a little extreme but sharply to the point.

Ursula Le Guin, 'The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas'  (ROBERT SILVERBERG, ed., NEW DIMENSIONS 3, 1973; 1974 HUGO AWARD)
Every time I've read this Le Guin has put me in a particularly melancholy mood. It's Taoist in structure – a big plus point – but also unashamedly preachy and cunning with the way she gets readers to ask themselves, would you too walk away from Omelas?

Favourite short story of the week: Bud Sparhawk's 'Astronomic Space, Geologic Time', in the March 2011 Analog. A story covering millions of years and light years, aimed perfectly at my sensawunda button.

no subject

A Very Happy Fannish Birthday to pwilkinson.