Mark R. Kelly
» Founder in 1997 and site-runner for 20 years of Locus Online (Hugo Award winner in 2002). Founder in 2012 and still site-runner of sfadb.com (Science Fiction Awards Database). Retired in 2012 after 30 years as a software engineer for a certain rocket engine factory.
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Meta
Monthly Archives: June 2023
The Supreme Court’s Conservative Rollback
Topics today: This week’s Supreme Court decisions on affirmative action and discrimination against gays; My wondering why such discrimination against, say, mixed-race couples, and people of other religions, isn’t also OK (or maybe it is?) Republican hysteria about immigrants, whom … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics, science fiction
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Conceptions of Aging, and of Traveling
The South Korean tradition of aging is giving way to the tradition of the rest of the world; The many ways traveling is problematic; And the idea of virtual traveling. Here’s a fascinating example of how different cultures think differently … Continue reading
Stomping the Floor and Deafening Applause
Let’s see how my thesis of yesterday might inform some of today’s news. How Republicans don’t want to solve problems, they want to stomp the floor to protest people they feel threatened by; How Republicans define crime; Shifting the goal … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics, Psychology
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Savannah Morality and Conservative Values
Thinking about the morality of primitive humans living on the Savannah, tens of thousands of years ago — apparently the basis for conservative morality unto this day; How DeSantis, authoritarian, is worse than Trump; How MAGA women reject modern options … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Morality, Politics
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Trip Report: Preservation Park and the Locus Awards
No blog post yesterday; I was busy from about 2pm to around 8pm attending one day of the Locus Awards Weekend (this link might expire soon) in downtown Oakland, about 10 miles down the hills from our house.
Posted in Personal history, science fiction
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Summer Solstice; Reality and Illusions
The summer solstice is a consequence of basic facts about the Earth and the solar system, which apparently few people understand; Another example of how debates are usually pointless, including political debates; Another take on the false idea that people … Continue reading
Debate Is Not the Way to Do Science
Because debate is all about winning an argument toward a preconceived conclusion, not trying to identify truth. Vox, 22 Jun 2023: Joe Rogan wants a “debate” on vaccine science. Don’t give it to him., subtitled “How to have better conversations … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics, Science
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Primitive Priorities of Survival: The Conservative Mindset
There’s something going on with the conservative mindset that isn’t what they say it is. Salon, Amanda Marcotte, 21 Jun 2023: “Too stupid to know better”: MAGA eats up Trump’s idiot president defense, subtitled “Evangelicals, in particular, feel a flock … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Evolution, Politics
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The Biggest Thing Conservatives Believe That Is Wrong
That there was a golden age. NY Times, Adam Mastroianni, 20 Jun 2023: Your Brain Has Tricked You Into Thinking Everything Is Worse
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Psychology
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Recent Headlines
Let’s round up some recent headlines, with minimal comments and quotes. LA Times, LZ Granderson, 29 Jun 2023: Column: Sure, people are moving to Texas. But not for the reasons Gov. Greg Abbott claims