Here is the public link to tonight’s discussion on Escaping Atheism aka Red Pill Religion. Join us live tonight 8.00 to 9.00 Eastern Standard Time.
Tonight: basic answers to atheist questions and assertions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xll1Ki3Medo
Lost on the Last Continent, Episode 38, Death in the Stratosphere, is now posted on Patreon.
Episode 38 Death in the Stratosphere
In this exciting episode, battle erupts between the superhuman machines of the dead immortal and the flying saucers of the Watchers. Colonel Lost finds himself clinging to the hull of a damaged and falling vessel, locked in deadly struggle with a giant.
Jon Del Aroz and John C Wright (two johns with one h between them), host the first annual Ribbit Awards for Science Fiction and assorted calumnies and shenanigans.
This is not just the first Ribbit Awards of this week, season or year, dear friends, but the first of this millennium! Nay, the first of this epoch, era, age, and eon!
The candidates were picked by a blue ribbon panel of impartial if not impenitent judges, and the final voted collected from you, the reading public.
We are not saying that the Hugo Awards have been exposed as a corrupt and pointless exercise of self-interested insiders, social justice warriors, loons, nags, scolds, harridans, pederasts, creeps, fools and liars, granting awards based on pull, insider influence, political utility, or purse-puppy minority status, but never ever granted on merit, craftsmanship, genius, or popularity, whereas this Awards humbly expresses the honest opinions of people who read real science fiction and actually love it. What we are saying is…. well, actually, come to think of it, that is exactly what we are saying.
Up yours, fakers. We are sick of you sucking the fun out of fandom.
The fabulous awards show, hosted with no expenses expended, was captured live on video, and is available for postmortem viewing at this finely handcrafted link:
https://youtu.be/Z762fhk69JE
Being assassinated once may be a misunderstanding. Being assassinated twice shows signs of being a conspiracy.
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Queen of the Tyrant Lizards as red by a red haired man with a knife.
Enjoy!
The man knows more about writing than most writers I have met.
He is spot on correct about Disney movies, about the difference between BEAUTY AND THE BEAST verses FROZEN, about Ayn Rand, and about the one true sin of the artist.
The man has a remarkable mind.
Like many people, when I heard the news that the Disney corporation had purchased the rights to make Star Wars sequels, I feared they might gut the heart of the series, fumble even basic storytelling principles, and insult the viewers with Mary Sue heroines, diversity hire characters, tangled yet aimless plots, deconstruction and desecration of the original fan-favorite heroes, all topped off with heavy-handed political posturing crammed down the throat of the audience, mangling and mutating the most beloved franchise in movie history into an putrid and unsightly sewer fire.
I am glad to report that I need not have fretted. Two films of the new trilogy are out, and the filmmakers avoided all these pitfalls and pratfalls.
In honor of St. Valentine’s Day, here is Planetary: Venus — the anthology edited by Uberfan A. M. Freeman and my lovely and talented wife. This volume also includes a short story that takes place in the Prospero’s Children background and features Miranda and Astreus honeymooning in fairyland.
Venus, the second planet from the sun, a world of sulfurous gas and tremendous temperatures where the landscape features—mountains and valleys—are all named for love goddesses. Venus herself is the goddess most known for allure and romance.
Here are twenty stories featuring Venus, the planet, the goddess, or just plain love—both romantic and otherwise. Planetary Fiction explores the themes associated with these heavenly bodies as well as their astronomical, mythological, and in some cases even alchemical significance.
Just Look, I’ll Be There, by A. M. Freeman —A Gypsy boy leaves Venus for the stars, but his beloved’s eyes shine brightest of all.
Morning And Evening Star, by David Hallquist — A honeymoon among the sulfurous fumes of Venus takes an unexpected turn.
90 Seconds, by Bokerah Brumley — Online video blogger heads to Venus for the ultimate extreme sports, and jumps into something more than just the sky.
The Wrong Venus, by Lou Antonelli — The worst criminals are sent to a high security prison on Venus, but an intrepid criminal might get himself sent to a different Venus.
Enemy Beloved, by Monalisa Foster — Love is blind. But what will happen when the blindness ends and the terrible truth is reveled?
Texente Tela Veneris, by Edward Willett — If you could change the history of your love life, would you? That is the question a pair of tourists on a remote Grecian island must answer.
Happiest Place On Earth, by Misha Burnett — A story of pure love in an unexpected place.
Love Boat To Venus, by Declan Finn — On a tour around the solar system, elite fighters pause to give marital advice, until they are interrupted.
Venus Times Three, by Vanessa L Landry — Two lawyers travel to Mars to settle a will that, inexplicably, involves Venus. Will they be able to untangle this complicated web?
Avalon, by Dawn Witzke – A new school on Venus brings new opportunities for a young man to escape the shadow of his childhood friend.
The Rituals Of Venus, by Joshua M. Young — A hero fights cultists among the jungles of Venus for the sake of his love. Can he save her?
First Cat In Space, by Dana Bell — Some cat has to be lucky enough to be the first cat in space.
Venus Felix, by W. J. Hayes — A routine day at the bar turns into anything but for this gumshoe, when robots begin shooting at a newcomer.
The Rocket Raising, by Frederic Himebaugh — A young girl must choose between marrying her love and venturing to a new world for the sake of her people.
Star-Crossed, by Julie Frost — A werewolf detective helps an unlikely client in her revenge after her lover is murdered, but old memories aren’t the only thing that comes back.
Honeymoon In Fairland, by L. Jagi Lamplighter — Can love and trust be rekindled between a betrayed husband and his wife? Even when they are as powerful as Gods?
37 Shades of Yellow, by J.D. Beckwith — The new Venus base is up and running, but what does it take to live there when your wife is homesick for Earth?
The Fox’s Fire, by Danielle Ackley-McPhail — A spirited fox spirit seeks love in ancient America.
Smiley The Robot, by Amy Sterling Casil — An old woman living alone on Venus finds herself falling for Smiley, the police robot.
Stones In High Places, by Jane Lebak — A dying world watches with anguish as a young one awaits its demise, until one man conceives of a way to save them, but it will take an act of unprecedented love.
In the absence of Ambrose Bierce, allow me to offer a definition to his dictionary:
INTELLECTUAL — A man so in love with his brain that he talks himself out of his mind.
Lost on the Last Continent, Episode 37, Dead Summon Living, is now posted on Patreon.
In this exciting episode, a voice inaudible to Colonel Lost utters the fate of the Final Men, and Lost finds unlikely allies.
A personal note: I heard an interview with Andy Weir, where he mentions that he had posted his novel THE MARTIAN one chapter at a time on the internet long before he thought of selling it. Apparently his readers acted as beta readers, and gave comments, advice, and suggestions, even on previously published chapters, which he said were not set in stone.
In that spirit, I invite any and all who care to participate to comment on LOST ON THE LAST CONTINENT, only because this kind of story, a planetary romance, is something of a departure for me, unfamiliar territory, and I would welcome the help.
Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and St. Valentine’s Day.
Go to confession, and be shriven for your sins. Get flowers for your girl.
I wrote this to a regular reader, always polite, who has a particular fixed idea. His idea is that IQ tests prove certain races to be superior to others, ergo identity politics and collectivism must govern human polities. This is used as a basis for rejecting Christian notions about equality in the eyes of God, and republican notions about equally protecting the natural rights of man.
As politely as I can, I would like to dismiss any eager missionary of this collectivist cult of eugenics, unless and until one of you comes up with an argument or bit of evidence that is not a mere tired repetition of talking points long ago exploded.
So allow me to use the same words in an open letter to all member of the Junk Science cult of IQ as I used to him.
Dear True Believer,
I would venture to say that your attempts to argue me out of the Christian, American, and healthy worldview which judges each individual by his individual merit in order to adopt your pagan, uncivilized and sick worldview of punishing the innocent who are members of disfavored groups and rewarding the guilty who are members of favored groups has exactly zero chances of success.
To restate your conclusions over and over and over again, without ever once examining the flawed premises on which they are based, is not persuasive.
IQ is junk science because it pretends to measure an imponderable, which is impossible by definition; and because it does not and can not control its variables.
IQ tests, like beauty contests, takes a quantitative measure of what amounts to the number of instances a judge makes a judgement call about an imponderable. It does not measure the imponderable. A girl who has won the local, regional, state, and national beauty contest, and who is crowned Miss World and Miss Universe may indeed be more winsome than a girl who has only won two local beauty contests: but she is not more beautiful in the ratio of 6:2.
Beauty is not a thing that comes in units. It is not a measurable quantity. Likewise for intelligence.
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Here is a flattering review from 2016 I do not recall seeing. I share it with my readers in hopes of generating additional interest in the work.
Allow me to say how refreshing it is to read words by someone who does not share an artist’s worldview, but can still judge his art as art. Objectivity was the norm one generation ago, not the exception.
From http://aetherczar.com/?p=3808
While a modern-day feudal lord prepares for marriage, his best man wrestles with his feelings for his friend’s bride and struggles to unravel the mystery of the cryptic room which is the only place in which they all can remember their true selves.
In The Iron Chamber of Memory, John C. Wright cooks up a complicated love triangle in the context of a work spanning fantasy and mystery and spiced with a healthy dose of history, myth, and legend. Wright’s tale exploits an ingenious gimmick – the concept of a secret room being the only place in which his characters can remember their true selves. They then must struggle to influence their outside selves to act so as to maintain and achieve their goals and values.
I’m not deeply religious, but I nevertheless respect the craftsmanlike way in which Wright delivers an intriguing tale drawing on English history, Arthurian legend, and Christian belief. His work is reminiscent of C.S. Lewis. As in his also excellent recent novel, Somewhither: A Tale of the Unwithering Realm, Wright draws heavily on Christian themes and ideas, to deliver a solid story that stands well on its own merits. I was particularly delighted by the skillful way in which Wright wove the real-world, real-life history of the Island of Sark into his fantastical tale. A talented prose stylist, Wright’s intricate command of language may sometimes fall short of sublime, but the joy lies in observing the master at work.
Wright’s entertaining tale is well-worth the price.
A reader named Dave asks
This might sound horrible to ask, but when did White become the new Black? I mean, people today talk of being white the way the KKK talks about being black. White as a racial description has become almost exclusively derogatory. I don’t see this as good, or am I missing something?
My answer:
It happened in the 1990s with the rise of a philosophy called postmodernism also called nihilism in our college campuses. Christ-hating Intellectuals grew enamored of the idea that, if there is no such thing as truth, no grand narrative, no one model of the universe preferred over any other model, then no one could criticize an intellectual for being godless, i.e., an ignoramus.
Intellectuals (I speak as one myself) do not mind being accused of vice. But being accused of ignorance is hateful to us.
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Nancy Pelosi stood up for many hours in the House of Representatives in order to support the interests of non-English speaking and illiterate foreigners in our country illegally. Technically, it was not a filibuster, because it was not a delaying tactic being used to hinder or delay a vote, and the House rules do not permit filibusters.
NANCY PELOSI: I’m reminded of my own grandson. He is Irish, English, whatever, whatever, and Italian-American, he is a mix. But he looks more the other [Italian] side of the family, shall we say.
And when he had his sixth birthday… he had a very close friend whose name is Antonio, he’s from Guatemala. And he has beautiful tan skinned, beautiful brown eyes, and this was a proud day for me, because when my grandson blew out the candles on his cake, they said did you make a wish?
He said yes, he made a wish. What is your wish? I wish I had brown skin and brown eyes like Antonio.
So beautiful. So beautiful. The beauty is in the mix. The face of the future for our country is all-American. And that has many versions.
My humble prediction is that the Republicans will not loose seats in the midterm election in 2018, and Trump will be elected in 2020.
Perhaps I am being hasty and this prediction is rash. Perhaps. But I do not believe telling a majority of voters that they are evil and ugly is a winning strategy, if at the same time you are promising to raise taxes, flood their cities will illegal aliens, burn the flag and trample the cross.
