I’ve been going back and forth on this post for almost a year now, wondering how exactly to express my thoughts. Some of the positive reviews on my fiction have expressed that I write “libertarian fiction,” and in some ways, I think that’s accurate: certainly, I value liberty very strongly, and support those government policies… Continue reading Why I no longer consider myself to be a libertarian
Tag: culture
Thoughts on the 2023 Hugo Awards
This video gives a pretty good recap of the endless fountain of scandals surrounding the 2023 Chengdu Worldcon and Hugo Awards. Larry Correia also gives an interesting take on it on his blog, and in his writing podcast. My initial thoughts: Laying aside all of the knee-jerk internet outrage (and schadenfreude), though, I do find… Continue reading Thoughts on the 2023 Hugo Awards
In response to “A Crippling Realization”
I got a lot of feedback on my last blog post, and rather than respond to it one at a time, I thought it would be better to just write another blog post and respond to it here. First of all, thanks for all of the support. I really appreciate it. I’m not going through… Continue reading In response to “A Crippling Realization”
A Crippling Realization
I have come to realize something that is, in some ways, making it very difficult for me to keep writing. Not in the short or the medium term—I’m actually making quite good progress on my current novel WIP, and am optimistic about finishing my three unfinished trilogies in the next couple of years. But when… Continue reading A Crippling Realization
Do trans people exist?
There’s this video clip currently making the rounds where Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) confronts a crazy-eyed law professor from Berkely and gets called out for, among other things, saying that trans people “don’t exist.” It’s a highly partisan exchange that I’m sure will be used by both sides to rally the base, but it also… Continue reading Do trans people exist?
#GiveThanks Day Seven
(87) I’m grateful for my pilgrim ancestors who came to this country seeking to build a more godly community, and gave us a heritage of self-government and self-sufficiency. (88) I’m grateful that my pilgrim ancestors actually survived, which was not at all a foregone conclusion, or even likely. (89) I’m grateful for the native Americans… Continue reading #GiveThanks Day Seven
Of pioneers and politics
Today is Pioneer Day here in Utah, where we celebrate the achievements and heritage of the Mormon Pioneers. One hundred and sixty-eight years ago today, Brigham Young looked over the Salt Lake Valley (a barely hospitable desert at the time) and declared “this is the place.” I feel a great deal of pride for my… Continue reading Of pioneers and politics
W is for Wagon Train to the Stars
When Gene Roddenberry pitched the original Star Trek series back in the 60s, Westerns were all the rage. Consequently, he pitched his show as a “wagon train to the stars,” where a bunch of quirky characters on an awesome starship travel from adventure town to interstellar adventure town, exploring and pioneering the final frontier. Sound… Continue reading W is for Wagon Train to the Stars
U is for Universal Translator
In science fiction, whenever two characters from different planets or different alien races have to interact with each other, they almost always speak the same language or have some sort of universal translator that magically makes them able to communicate with minimal misunderstandings. This is especially common in Star Trek, though it happens in just… Continue reading U is for Universal Translator
T is for Terraforming
[NOTE: this post is a reprint of an earlier post from the Trope Tuesday series, which you can find here.] One of the problems with interplanetary colonization is that Earth-like worlds are fairly rare (though possibly not as rare as we once thought). In our own solar system, the only other world that comes anywhere… Continue reading T is for Terraforming