Links for 2009-12-10

"EVERYONE THINKS they are open-minded. Scientists in particular like to think they have open minds, but we know from psychology that this is just one of those attributes that people like to apply to themselves. We shouldn't perhaps have to worry about it at all, except that parapsychology forces one to ask, "Do I believe in this, do I disbelieve in this, or do I have an open mind?"

The research I have done during the past ten or twelve years serves as well as any other research to show up some of parapsychology's peculiar problems and even, perhaps, some possible solutions."

"We do a lot of handselling at our store, and not just in the children's section. People who shop at independent bookstores generally enjoy talking about books, and many become used to getting a bookseller's imprimatur on a novel or nonfiction title before they commit to buy it. While the reasons people choose books surprise us occasionally, the reasons they reject them are infinitely various. "

"Like many scifi writers, his inspiration started with Star Trek, which though Sigler admits to loving he says "annoyed the hell out of me: We have all this incredible racism on a planet where everybody looks almost exactly the same, then we're supposed to believe that in the happy far future everybody's just going to get along?" The solution, Sigler realized, was sports, which he considers the primary integrative force in Western culture -- the thing that broke down most racial barriers in the U.S. "Sports is a complete meritocracy," Sigler explains, "and no one really gives a crap what you look like as long as you can run the football."" (I think this almost qualifies as "charmingly naive"...)

"If you're writing short stories to "get your name out there", let me assure you that there are many many easier ways unless your short stories are superlative. (And yes, plenty of people publish some stories and then some novels, but that is not the same as saying that the publishing of stories contributed to the publication of the novels.) If you're writing short stories to "practice" writing novels, please stop right now as this practice tends to lead to both mediocre stories and mediocre novels. (Which doesn't mean you won't make money or get awards or have little fanboys or anything, but you will stink up the place, regardless.) If you don't like writing short stories and don't like reading them, the benefits you can even hope to gain from publishing them will be even slimmer than otherwise."

"Gear is very important below the Red Line. Caps, shirts and outerwear identify us as mid-people in a short-attention span world, where nobody has time to hear our long explanations about where we went to school. Our colors are our code. And now that Steve & Barry'sno longer find our gear at truck stops. It's time to hit the web."

"I'm reminded once again that conflict and drama make popular blog topics. Therefore, I feel it's time for me to announce my newest project, an unauthorized anthology of Twilight fiction titled Fuschia Eclipse."