Let’s Review!

My review of Sandra McDonald’s Diana Comet and Other Improbable Stories is up at Lambda Literary. Go check it out!

Also, AC was looking for reviews of local bookstores this morning, so I gave them a little something as well. You can read it here. For the record, when I’ve got disposable income, I hit all three of these places monthly.

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I have an uneasy relationship with reviews.

I prefer to take things on their own terms. It brings me more happiness than going in with a set of expectations ripe for dashing, or a load of preconceived notions that I’m going to spend the duration proving. I don’t actively seek out things not to like, because I feel like that’s a waste of my time. And really, I think I enjoy finding the good in things more than being critical. I have to be careful sometimes because I like things by default.

But I’m also a big fan of discernment, which is that ability to separate one thing from the other, and to take stock qualitatively and quantitatively, and forge reasoned conclusions and opinions. I’m not above a good sporking when something deserves it. It just really has to deserve it.

Reviewing is good exercise. I don’t do it for a living, so when I indulge it’s either because I’ve spotted an opportunity to check something out, or because I’ve got a strong enough opinion on something to put it out there. Either way, it’s that discernment piece that gets a workout. I think this is part of why I’m having such a blast with Win But Fail. It’s excellent practice.

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An interesting article from NPR’s Morning Edition about growing acceptance for gay marriage among the Indian diaspora.

Offered without comment: Naked Girls Reading. (Semi NSFW.)

Remember Constance McMillen, the teenage lesbian who was barred from prom, then sent to a fake prom, touching off legal battles and national scrutiny? She’s won. The Itawamba School District will be updating its non-discrimination policy, paying McMillen’s court fees, and awarding her $35,000 in damages. Frabjous.

According to the good people of MIT, postselection may hold the key to time travel without risking the grandfather paradox. Of course, you do need to have a quantum teleporter first…

From the Department of Fuck You, the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida plans to burn copies of the Quran on 9/11. Yeah, I think the symbolism of the dove and the words “world outreach” do not mean what these folks think they mean. Christians? This would be a fantastic opportunity to prove your good faith by publicly repudiating hate speech.

From the Department of Fuck Yeah, counter-protests v. Fred Phelps & co at San Diego Comic Con.

According to PopSci, Dick Cheney no longer has a pulse.

The Onion reports that spending cuts in the UK are forcing the closure of a mysterious seaside village. Nicely played, The Onion. Nicely played.

400 parents have demanded that a school stop using The Simpsons in its media modules instead of Shakespeare. Here’s a post from Innovation Unit about why Shakespeare himself might well have been in favor of teaching Matt Groening instead.

I am deeply conflicted about this article from Daily Kos about why liberals should love the Second Amendment.

This post has been mirrored from Christian A. Young's Dimlight Archive. To see it in its original format, visit dimlightarchive.com