We all know Godwin’s Law, about the overuse of Nazi analogies. I propose my own. Vivier’s Law: As a debate progresses, the likelihood of somebody comparing somebody else to a Communist approaches one. If you’re against a war, you must be a member of ANSWER. If it doesn’t quite feel right when a man bankrupts a company while making millions, you clearly work for the downfall of capitalism. Dislike gas prices, and surely you must want public ownership of all natural resources. Have any problems with school, you’re ready to join a commune farm. If you’re concerned about both people and owls, you might just have a secret manifesto in your desk drawer. And all atheists worship at the shrine of Trotsky. By that time, you’re stuck explaining why your beliefs are not, in fact, anything at all like Communism, instead of why you believe your points make sense. All further intelligent debate at that point is almost impossible. As a corollary, anyone may now declare “Vivier’s” and win the debate.

I just read the comments section of Amazon for Ann Coulter’s new book, Godless. Some idiot said that separation of church and state is not in the Constitution. It, in fact, comes from Communism!

Great link for fellow trekkies.

What does history look like if all movies are true? The Movie Timeline answers that question. It’s especially fun when it tries to put together all the sci-fi futures (some of which are now actually the past).

If a werewolf bites a wolf, does the wolf become a human on the full moon?

It begins and ends on Guy Fawkes Day. You be the judge.

(more…)

Tonight at 7 PM EST, Sci Fi Channel will begin re-airing every episode of Joss Whedon’s “space western” Firefly, even the ones Fox never aired, in the proper order. Come for the witty dialogue and quirky characters. Stay for the well-developed, believable world and the great plot.

I know some reporters are averse to the term “terrorists.” I thought I’d offer some possible alternatives: (WARNING: Heavy swearing follows. In two languages.)

(more…)

Did I ever mention I was almost a history teacher instead of a Spanish teacher for awhile there? No? Anyhow…

The Founding Fathers meant impeachment as a guard against the worst of Presidents, the ones so corrupt the rot could only be expunged by ridding the country of him. Remember, monarchy (ie dictatorship) was fresh in their minds. They didn’t trust people with power; Washington didn’t even trust himself to be called “Your Majesty,” and thus was born “Mr. President.” Since then, impeachment has been used exactly twice. (It might have come up thrice, but a certain fellow had the smarts to resign first.) It was used on monsters, dictators waiting to happen, right? Nope. It was used for partisan hackery, over trivialities. Johnson selected a Cabinet member that Congress didn’t like. And Clinton got an extramarital blow job and - nobody saw this coming, really - lied about it. The fact that Clinton started a war to distract from it, that his war forced the UN inspectors to leave Kosovo which allowed the worst of the genocide in the first place, the fact that he helped the mujahadeen, precursors to al Qaeda, to go global; none of these were impeachable offenses. But a BJ! Lord help us all, that we may survive such malicious and devastating evil!

Not once has impeachment ever been used for its intended purpose: to rid ourselves of criminals in power, especially those who threatened our security and our freedom. Just sayin’…

Maddox writes a screed against blogs, apparently unaware that his site could pretty much be called a blog. (I do recommend reading his other stuff, in the same way I recommend listening to an angry, insane old man. You know his opinions are worthless, but they’re just so fun to watch.)

I was just telling Brendan when he visited that all I need to find is a straight edge atheist libertarian fangirl. Now it looks like at least part of my dream can come true. Witness: The Girls of Geekdom. (SFW, just.)

I haven’t been happy with SciFi lately. First, they cancelled Farscape. That was anathema. Then they ruined the character of Starbuck on the “reimagined” Battlestar Galactica. I like the idea of strong female characters. But create a NEW strong female character, don’t destroy an old one, especially a fan favorite. I also don’t so much like Stargate SG1, which makes only one show on SciFi Friday of any real quality.

Which is why this latest development surprises me. They, unlike Fox, are going to re-air episodes of Joss Whedon’s Firefly in order starting July 22 at 7. Joss Whedon is most famous for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, both the 1992 movie and the long-running TV show. He also wrote Toy Story and Alien Resurrection, did Angel and Firefly, and will soon premiere Serenity, a movie that finishes what Firefly started, before moving on to write and direct Wonder Woman. Sort of a book end there. First he turned a failed movie into a succesful TV show, now he’s turning a failed TV show into a movie. Oh, yes, and he also writes the Astonishing X-Men comic book, wherein he brought back one of my favorite characters, Colossus. He’s well-known for his dialogue and his casts of memorable characters. Unfortunately, Fox, after horrendous scheduling decisions, decided to ax Firefly. I recommend all the sci-fi fans give it a try. Then, if you like it, go see Serenity and make the likelihood of a trilogy even more likely.

But anyway, I can finally have some faith that the execs at SciFi maybe do care about quality science fiction, and not just a quick buck.

You ever notice that any time somebody starts talking about the “greater good,” an atrocity is about to happen?

What, precisely, is a “holla back girl”? And why would one not wish to be such?

I think some of the regulars here could use an introduction to the concept of false generosity. Paolo Freire coined the term in his book Pedagogy of the Oppressed. It’s the way people can give you something you never wanted, alongside cruelty, and then demand your gratitude. When he said it, it referred to education. The way teachers and administrators can put you in a class that does not interest you, while keeping you from your pursuits and putting you down and offering only threats and bribes to get you to do what they want. Then they demand to know why you aren’t grateful. But it goes beyond the classroom walls. I’m sure Freire saw that, too. He was a radical, after all, even exiled from Brazil to Chile for the dread crime of teaching peasants to read.

False generosity was on full display during slavery. We saved them from their savage lives in Africa and gave them Christianity, so why do they take so little pride in their work? It’s more modern, too. We bombed your house into ruin, killed your wife, and arrested your son without telling you where he is or what he did. Where’s the thanks for the sacrifices we’ve made for your freedom? Or the favorite of modern-day torture apologists: We gave them chicken dinners. What’s the problem? False generosity all.