#and then in my head i was trying to categorize the sensor characters. i think. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tessatechaitea · 4 years

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Young Heroes in Love #2

I wonder who's going to fuck the mummy?

My theory is that all of the adventures the Young Heroes will go on will be metaphors for sex. First up, a mummy. Mummy's are obviously phallic symbols because everything is a phallic symbol. Unless it's whatever you call the symbol for a vagina that nobody but Gillian Anderson actually knows. Sure, we could all immediately ask Siri and Siri will be all, "What's your sudden interest in vaginas, virgin?" And then when she gets tired of listening to me...I mean us cry, she'll say, "It's yonic, you stupid baby wanker." So maybe a mummy is a yonic symbol. Mummy is close to mommy and yonis are symbols of motherhood, right? Yonis are used for motherhood and perpetuating the species while phalluses are used to swing in the face of the next guy (as long as the next guy has a tiny phallus. You don't want it to backfire and wind up getting a huge one swung at you!). Maybe I just can't know what a mummy represents since most mummies come from cultures different than mine and what are the chances I know anything about those cultures?! I can't ask Siri because she always sounds disgusted with me. Stupid judgmental technology. If it doesn't want to hear me jerk off, maybe shut its dumb hearing sensors off some time! What I'm trying to say is that I don't actually own a Siri. Why would I let that eavesdropping asshole into the privacy of my home?! I already reveal too much willingly on this stupid blog that I was probably cursed by a mummy to write. There has to be an ancient curse of a reason as to why I'm still writing it. No wait. What I was really trying to say is that maybe I shouldn't jump to any conclusions about what the mummy represents. I should probably read the story first. This issue begins with Thunderhead blaming his own character flaw on all women.

Just because Thunderhead was too dumb and horny to not jump off of a roof because a beautiful woman asked him to doesn't mean he should blame all women for it.

I understand that people will do stupid things to impress a person they want to fuck. But any time anybody decides to do that stupid thing in the hopes of getting a hand down their pants, they need to understand that the consequences are all theirs. Not the person they're trying to impress. And certainly not everybody who just happens to be the same gender as that person. Thunderhead might was well fall to the ground lamenting, "People named Bonfire." It's still his big dumb thick head and possibly his penis with the same adjectives that are to blame for this stupid decision. The giant bandaged genitalia monster doesn't attack in the first half of the comic book because this comic book is about young heroes trying to get laid. So a lot of the plot has one character asking another character, "So? Are you two going to fuck?" And then the other character is all, "Ha ha! Um, well, I mean...." And then Hard Drive uses his psychic ability to stop somebody from doing something he doesn't want them to do. It's all about intrigue and young people in tight and skimpy costumes. It might be the best comic book I've ever read! I feel like this is the kind of comic book a younger me would have been embarrassed to purchase. And yet it was younger me who definitely purchased it and kept purchasing it for nearly a year. And I don't think I stopped reading it based on anything about the comic book. I think I just stopped because I was taking a road trip across the United States and probably forgot about it when scanning the new book racks of strange, new comic book stores. After all the drama reaches all the right climactic tension points to be resolved at a later date, the Young Heroes head out to fight a mummy attacking an army base.

The mummy is an omen which none of the Young Heroes will probably heed! It's representative of unfaithful love! And maybe a big dick!

The team easily defeats the mummy but give no thought to whatever the mummy was rambling about. I'm pretty sure he was after a queen mummy which we all know from mummy chess is the most powerful mummy. Instead of investigating the army warehouse where the mummy was headed, they give interviews to some reporters who just happened to be at the army base, probably hoping for a big mummy attack to help their careers. The issue ends with Monstergirl looking at the reader in a way that says, "I'm also hiding some secrets and boy oh boy is Hard Drive going to be sorry! But not until after he fucks me good!" Young Heroes in Love #2 Rating: A+! This is probably the best comic book I've ever read. I'm not lying. I never lie. I create hyperbolic fictions that somehow speak an innate truth and thus can never be categorized as a lie.

#Young Heroes in Love #DC COmics #DC #Dev Madan #Keith Champagne #Dan Raspler

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giorgospiros · 7 years

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Perceptive Functions Extroverted Intuition (Ne) Ne is about seeing all the possibilities, all the possible endings and directions of a situation. It synthesizes abstract ideas and easily understands connections between everything. People using Ne are able to connect up things, people, cases etc, that you would never imagine they would fit together. What is more, Ne takes one thing and it analyzes into many different things. Extroverted intuition is capable of entertaining multiple contradictory ideas simultaneously as it sees almost every side to every situation. It is predominantly a future-oriented function that examines all the possibilities of what could happen next. Those people are usually excitable (especially by the unknown or the totaly new) and highly creative. Ne people, can change the subject of a conversation so easily that you won't even notice. They intrinsically enjoy debating ideas, exploring various interests and they view almost everything in life as challenging or fun. They also have vivid imaginations. They are constantly thinking about what to do or experience next, but have a difficult time sticking with just one idea or plan long-term. They get bored easily and they always need something different and new in order to keep up with. Example: Someone gives to a Ne the word ''Life''. Ne will act like: Life. Life is colour. Flowers have many colours so life is flowers. Flowers mean spring. My grandma loves spring. In spring I have my birthday. Spring is my friend's Zoe (Zoe means Life in Greek) worst season. Birthday? Birthday is the best day in the world for each person. Did you know the world's population is 6,5.000.000 +.... etc. That's because Ne loves analyzing things in all possible ways and then connecting those things together. Introverted Intuition (Ni): Ni forms a framework of how the world works based on thorough, abstract analysis of past and current events. It aims to identify the ''essence'' of ideas, theories, people and situations in order to fit them into a larger schema. Introverted intuition is a forward thinking function that seeks to identify the optimal or most likely outcome of future events. People who lead with introverted intuition always try to find the most possible end in situations etc. They are usually intense people, focused and highly perceptive of inconsistencies that arise in their external environment. They enjoy riddles, puzzles and wordplay. When they end up in a conclusion, it's really hard to make them change their minds because they think that what they guessed it's the only right thing. They often experience ''hunches'' or ''aha'' moments that they may identify as epiphanies. They are excited by the unknown. They usually need time when forming an answer and often, they will return days after your last conversation in order to tell you something they thought or they learned during this period. While Ne is all about seeing all future possibilities (even the wrong ones), Ni is about seeing the one most sure/obvious possibility. Their intense foresight is a product of their future-oriented introverted intuition subtly pairing with their low extroverted sensing. Example: A Ni is watching a complex movie with friends. One of the characters keeps saying that they feel alone, they don't know or care about the future, they never smile etc. The Ni user will automatically conclude that this character will die or commit sucide eventually and they will probably be right. That's because Ni knows to take in information from patterns, symbols, behaviour, unnoticed things etc and then to sum all those things up and find the final result. Extroverted Sensing (Se): Se is focused on taking in the world as it exists in the present moment. It is highly in tune with the sights, smells, sounds and general physical stimulus that surrounds it. Extroverted Sensing lives and thrives in the moment, more so than any other function. People who lead with Se are often naturally athletic, highly impulsive, observing and enjoy ever-changing stimuli. They place a high value on aesthetics and lust after the ''finer things in life''. Extroverted sensors usually aren’t interested in over-analyzing a situation. They simply see what they want and they go for it. These types tend to exude a natural sense of confidence, as they are usually quite sure of who they are and what they want. If they want to say something, they say it. If they want to hear something in a noisy room, they will tell others to stop talking. They like doing sensory activities (or sports). Example: When you try to read a book or do your homework or a project and you automatically turn your head and look at a butterfly out of the window, it's your Se function noticing an external sound, figure etc and it wants you to stop doing what you're doing and just keep looking at that butterfly. Se users would also want to go outside and touch the butterfly. Introverted Sensing (Si): Si is a detail-oriented, information storage function. It takes note of facts, events and occurrences exactly as they happen and categorizes them, somewhat like an internal filing system. This is a past-oriented function that dwells predominantly on what has been and it often gives way to nostalgia. People who lead with Si are organized and structured, as they believe in being prepared for any potential problem. They hold tradition in high esteem and believe that the tried and true method is always the best way of getting things done. Introverted sensors believe that the future will repeat the past, more so than any other type. They hate the unexpected and they always want to feel secure about anything. They hardly ever try new things or different methods of doing something because they see the good - old method as the best one. They also connect things that are happening now, with similar things that happend in the past. They are really good at remembering details such as names, numbers, dates, street names, adresses etc. Example: A Si person looks at a red dress. The way they react will be like: Wow look at that dress. It reminds me of a longer, red dress my second cousin, Mary, was wearing four years ago in a school party next to that street at 8:30 PM, and she was so beautiful with that dress and I remember a tall, thin boy called Bob telling her... etc. Decision - Making Functions Introverted Feeling (Fi): Fi is about deep analysis of personal emotional processes and morality. It seeks to break down emotions to their core and understand them as wholly as possible. It also develops a strong internal value system of right and wrong, which the Fi user employs to make decisions. Fi searches for the deeper meaning behind everything. Introverted feelers are highly aware of their own emotions, and when they put themselves in the shoes of others, they can often feel their pain or joy on a personal level. That means they cannot feel in the same way what others feel. They are sympathetic (understand the pain/joy), but not empathetic (feel the pain/joy of others). People who lead with Fi are compassionate, analytical and often highly concerned with moral issues. It is very common for them to be self-conscious because they find it hard to understand how others may react to something they do or say. They are usually highly creative or artistic, and may feel as though nobody else truly understands who they are deep down because their feelings are introverted, so they aren't comfortable expressing how they feel outwardly. They express their passion through art, music, poetry etc. They have a rich inner world that they want to guard. They mainly advocate for staying true to yourself and do what makes you happy. Example: In a survivor game, there is a Fi user that has to do something they don't like/want to. Fi users would never do something they'd feel it's wrong. Let's suppose that someone tells them to kill an animal (a turtle, a fish etc). The Fi person will probably not do it because this is what their moral/ethic code of right-wrong tell them to do, even if that means they will not eat. Extroverted Feeling (Fe): Fe is highly concerned with maintaining social norms and keeping the peace. It is a decision-making function that strives to do what is best for the group and picks up naturally on the emotions of others. It is a mirroring function that may cause the user to have trouble deciphering and understanding their own feelings without the input of others. Extroverted feeling requires social interaction to stay fulfilled, more so than any other function. People who lead with Fe are highly reactive and sensitive to the feelings of others. They seek out social interaction relentlessly, as they feel the happiest and most alive when they are in the company of loved ones. They seek to maintain harmony and keep the peace at all costs – they cannot fully enjoy themselves unless the people around them are healthy, happy and comfortable. Although they do have personal moral standards, they usually try to create harmony and peace, even if that means sacrificing a part of their individuality. Warning! People who use Fe, will not feel healthy and happy, until everyone they care about is happy. If you see someone feeling sad by keeping harmony, it means they are not Fe. Maybe they are Fi. Fe is happy when everyone is happy. Fi wants everyone to be happy, but only if it is happy first. Example: Five friends plan to go out for food and everyone wants to eat pizza except from a Fe user who wants Italian. The Fe user probably won't tell what they really want to eat and they will agree with others on pizza, since they don't want to ruin the atmosphere. This is what makes them happy, so they won't feel sad for not eating pizza. Extroverted Thinking (Te): Te seeks to impose order on the external environment as efficiently and logically as possible. It's about doing what you know and using your knowledge and information. It values productivity above all else and is a results-based, action-oriented function. Te wants to see results, it doesn't care about the process or the system behind it. It naturally implements concrete plans for accomplishing goals and is quick to make decisions. People who lead with extroverted thinking are frank, decisive, calm, ambitious and highly productive in every capacity. They are natural leaders, goal-oriented in the workplace as they are quick to take charge and give orders. Extroverted thinkers may come across as bossy, hard, or opinionated to those who lack the function, but in reality they are simply pointing out what they believe to be the most efficient course of action for everyone involved. Te will ask ''how the system works and what else can be done?'' while Ti will ask ''why the system works that way and what else is happening behind it?''. Te will not learn something they think it's not useful or something that will not help them achieve. Example: Te is given a program about a project that must be done. The schedule is like: First, we need to do x. After, we should tell y to do z so after these and these courses of action, the result should be like this. Te will probably not care about the process. They will overlook it and they will keep in mind just the result of the project. They will work the way they want in order to logically achieve their final goal, without showing importance on the process and the schedule. Introverted Thinking (Ti): Ti is an information-gathering function that seeks to form a framework for how and why the world works on a concrete, tangible level. It is adept at understanding systems and naturally notices inconsistencies within them. Ti seeks a thorough understanding of how things work as a whole. It wants to deconstruct things to look at the individual parts and see how things function together. Ti will also ask why, when etc. It cares about the process of things and not so much about the result. They cannot be satisfied with just a small answer or just what the goal is. They want to know everything about the process, about the idea behind it. They are logical, systematic and objective to a fault. Introverted thinkers will learn something for knowledge's sake. It doesn't matter if they will never use the information. They just want to know. Even if it's useless. They ask a lot of questions about everything they think it's questionable. They enjoy finding ''short-cuts'' that increase efficiency within a given system. Ti users are often heavily introverted, as they take a great deal of time to understand how things work before they feel comfortable sharing or acting on their knowledge. They prefer not talking about what they have in mind and they hate it when others think out loud. Example: Ti is given a mathematical exercise which goes like: A=E. Ti will be annoyed by the exercise and the person that created it. That's because Ti wants to see all the process. It doesn't care that A equals E. They want to know the whole action. So they correct the exercise and they make it look like: A=B, B=C, C=D, D=E, so A=E. Hope this helps ☺

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writerproblem193 · 7 years

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Okay so here’s a long and probably rambling meta on Julian Bashir because I have a lot of opinions and emotions about the genetic engineering plotline and I want to sort them out

if any of you haven’t watched Star Trek: Deep Space Nine then you’ll have no idea what I’m talking about have a great day whoo

Specifically right now I want to ramble about what I feel over his (apparently controversial) “I was actually genetically engineered” plot line.

It’s been the major focus of two episodes so far — Doctor Bashir, I Presume where it was introduced, and a season six episode where he works with other genetically engineered people. I just watched that episode today, it’s the most recent one I’ve watched. After both those episodes, I had to pause watching for a while just to ruminate on the episode. I do love all of Deep Space Nine’s complicated complicatedness.

Honestly, Julian is one of my favourite characters on the show. I’ve tried to describe why before, but it really hit me during an episode ostensibly about Jake Sisko — he was reporting on how Bashir was being a doctor in a war zone and he was having Problem. Anyway, Jake’s great, but there was a little cascade of moments with Julian in the episode that really hit me.

the complete transition from goofy to professional with brushing Jake off when the casualties started coming in

and him sitting on the floor with the other medical personnel after everyone was stitched up and jokingly (and kinda not jokingly) asking Jake to carrying him to the replicator to get something to eat

Because before he’d been totally relatable with his general failure at life. He’s a total dork. His favourite pastime is like, dressing up in furs and reenacting weird history stuff with his best friend. But there’s something else about him, too.

I described it later as “being able to stand on his own, but not having to”.

That’s something that I very much want in my own life. The ability to not need the support from people around me (my mother is flaming hellpit of emotional abuse, that’s gonna be relevant later). When the casualties were flooding in, he knew exactly what he was doing. He was an expert. He didn’t have to rely on anyone. He knew what he was doing.

But then, after, he sat in a pile on the floor with friends and was clearly metaphorically leaning on them too. And again, I wish I had that too. The network of support around me when I need it. That’s not a dig at any of my wonderful friends — I just wish there were more of them, and that they were physically all around me too.

Anyway now that I’ve gotten incredibly personal, time for Doctor Bashir, I Presume?

I have to say that I knew that he was genetically engineered going in, and so I was able to wince at all the hints as it went along, instead of being confused.

Julian had troubles with his parents. For a good reason, it turned out. He legitimately feels like they murdered him, replacing the (implied autistic/developmentally disabled) ‘Jules’ with the person he is now. And that’s a hell of a lot of baggage, alright?

I was uncomfortably feeling with him all through the episode. Here’s a quick bullet list.

when his parents came to see him in Sisko’s office and he had to hug them and make nice and he looked so awfully uncomfortable and Sisko didn’t notice at all and cheerily gave him some time off to have them around

the dinner they had together that was so awful and it was meant to be a little but since my mother is fucking horrible it was hitting way, way too many manipulation and icky buttons with me. The don’t-talk-about-it. The don’t-speak-to-us-like-that. The I’m-an-adult-why-won’t-you-treat-me-like-one. The way he was holding himself, with them in HIS home. The way they berated him for moving so far away from home so they can’t come see him

when he went out into the hall because he couldn’t stand talking to them anymore — out of his own space because they’re in there and he has nowhere else to go — and slid to the floor with his head in his hands. I’ve been there. Achingly, been there.

And though I enjoyed the fun parts of the episode (the spliced interviews were amazing), near the end it started hitting wrong notes for me. Whatever, they had to keep him on the show I don’t care but

He hugged his parents. He agreed to visit and to keep in touch. He basically forgave them. And it infuriated me. So much of the episode was showing and implying the emotional (and you could probably argue physical with the whole ‘rewriting his genetic structure to the point where he feels like the child he was no longer exists’ thing) abuses that he endured at his parents. The whole episode, his interactions with his parents felt like a SciFi Scaled Up Metaphor™ interaction of me with my parents.

The way they’ve ‘built’ me. How my mother takes responsibility for the fact that I write so much and so well because she read to me and instilled a love of reading and that gave me the tools to start writing. She believes that she was my ‘architect’, to put it in Julian’s words, and it is painful. Just like Julian. And that’s where I got angry with the episode, for dismissing what for me was a nuanced depiction of emotional abuse with a haha he forgives them everything is happy!

Most of the rest of what that episode dealt with in terms of his genetic engineering, I liked. I liked the way it built another level to him. I am all about this character in so many ways.

(Also I appreciated O’Brien’s reaction being “hey! Play at your actual level! ….in the corner so it’s fair then asshole”. Because he just accepted it and made their interactions more genuine and agh)

Side note: my sibling is autistic, I probably have autism and/or ADHD, and I’ve been categorized as ‘Superior Gifted’ so everything else w/Bashir’s intelligence/outsider status thing also resonates with me. You know, because he wasn’t hitting literally every other button I had.

My problems with the second episode was more about the writing and the actual show than it was my personal issues, though those are never gone lmao.

It started off pretty cool, even if the ‘mutant’ characters were a little too mental illness coded for my taste. Everything can be done well — and for a while, it looked like they might have been going there!

Bashir had some awesome moments connecting to those other characters, and actually getting to be understood. He was able to bounce ideas back and forth with them in a way he was never able to do with anyone else (*cough* me and my sib *cough*) and generally got to know himself better and unwind. And that was cool.

Something probably about halfway through really dinged all those little sensors in me though. Like his parents. Without warning, super subtly, the framing of the episode changed. Instead of the ‘mutants’ being super cool and #relatable and helpful, the narrative had stopped endorsing it and was showing them as hahah off the rails.

Oh boy, did that bug me. Ohhhhh boy.

And it was lumping Bashir in with them too. And even besides my immense problems with that (and even setting aside the gross ableism with all the mental illness coding), the way he was throwing in with them? Completely out of character. This is a guy who has-

Listen, if you’ve watched the show, you know. Bashir will 100% throw himself into danger against awful odds. He’s brave. His entire character development up to this point has been about that! What the fuck ds9!!!!! Why are you suddenly making him say ‘we should surrender to The Great Evil™ bc Stats Say So’. Besides all the icky ableism and reframing the narrative to make him look like he’s in too deep with the off the rails mutants, it’s literally nothing like him!

I am still really bitter about this, if you couldn’t tell.

And then, the episode framing gets even shittier as all the mutants decide to commit treason. Except Julian, who has suddenly regained his senses, and is like “um. NO??????”

And here the narrative flips again. It’s showing off how Bashir is the exception to the genetic engineering rule, how he’s better than all these crazy people around him, that he’s Not Like That, he’s Better. And I’m just so furious because that’s so clearly how the narrative was positioning him, and it could have been done so much better.

And then in the end, he stops them, is the Neurotypical Passing Hero™, and then just ushers them off to be somebody’s else’s problem again, basically. And doesn’t get that sweet, sweet feeling of belonging and understanding again.

(I did like the one moment where he’s trying to explain the super science analysis reports to his friend and genuinely offers “I-I-I’d love to explain it to you if you didn’t understand it!” and O’Brien is so offended and thinks it’s because Julian thinks he’s stupid. I’ve done that a thousand times and it’s not because I think people are stupid — I just like knowledge and facts and sharing them so much I want to explain it over and over and make sure everyone is on the exact same page. It’s not that I think you’re stupid, it’s that I recently didn’t know this myself and want to share it! And I could see that in his tone and expression and this is why I love him.)

I’m still so furious at the way the episode kept flip-flopping on how it framed the mutants and Bashir’s actions and everything. Super manipulative. Super shitty. I know the show could have done better. I was extremely disappointed.

So anyway. That’s what I think of Julian Bashir, in excruciating detail. I love the plotline, I wanna fight some of the details. tl;dr: I love him and this plot line on my own terms, in my own biased and revisionist interpretation, but the way the show treated some of it was disrespectful, ableist, and ignorant. I am glad to have had the experience of watching and thinking about it, though. Because now I can articulate some things that I experience with examples, and also I have a new life goal. To be able to stand on my own, but to be supported if I want it.

#star trek #ds9 #deep space nine #star trek deep space nine #mine #personal #abuse #emotional abuse #I mention it so I should tag it #Julian Bashir #meta #its midnight I should sleep #but I'm awake #and as far as I'm aware this is coherent #as much as I ever am lmao #anyway if anyone's watched the show and has Opinions about this plot line or whatever #hit me up #ableism #my meta

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hermanwatts · 5 years

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Sensor Sweep: Sword and the Sorcerer, Henry Kuttner & C. L. Moore, Ian Fleming, Appendix N

Cinema (1000 Misspent Hours): Albert Pyun is another one of my great cinematic nemeses; if you watch anywhere near as many low-budget movies as I do, he’s probably one of yours, too. Pyun’s big claim to fame is his nearly sure-fire touch with what ought to be a categorically impossible subgenre, the action-less action movie. No filmmaker I know of, living or dead, can match Pyun’s ability to drag out a fight scene until the audience loses all interest, or to craft a maddeningly convoluted story that never develops even the faintest hint of forward momentum.

Pulp Science Fiction (SF Magazines): I suspect that this was a fragment that Moore started and abandoned, and which Kuttner largely or entirely completed (compare the amount of description versus incident in the first quarter against that in the remainder, and you will see what I mean). Whatever, it is the worst thing of theirs I’ve read, and certainly not up to the quality of their other 1943 work. To that latter point—how on Earth did this become a Hugo finalist when Moore’s Judgement Night was overlooked? What on Earth were the Retro Hugo nominators thinking?

Paperback Science Fiction (Rich Horton): On to Beyond Earth’s Gates. This is bylined “Lewis Padgett and C. L. Moore”, which is curious because “Lewis Padgett” is generally regarded as a collaborative pseudonym for Moore and her husband Henry Kuttner. I do suspect, though, that the Padgett pseudonym was probably more often used for stories in which Kuttner was the primary author (while I suspect “Lawrence O’Donnell” stories were more often primarily by Moore.)

Art (DMR Books): Over the years, Finlay illustrated stories by most of the top writers in the field, including H. P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert Bloch, Edmond Hamilton, Henry Kuttner, C. L. Moore, Seabury Quinn, Jack Williamson, Carl Jacobi, Robert E. Howard, August Derleth, A. Merritt, George Allan England, John Taine, H. Rider Haggard, H. G. Wells, Talbot Mundy, Arthur Conan Doyle, Murray Leinster, Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Collier, E.F. Benson, Manly Wade Wellman, Stanley G. Weinbaum, James Blish, Frank Belknap Long. The list is almost endless.

Robert E. Howard (John C. Wright): This yarn truly merits the nickname later invented by Fritz Leiber for the genre of Sword and Sorcery. There is a more sword and a lot more sorcery than any Conan story to date.

The energy and action, the clash of steel on steel, so evident in his shorter works, here loose no tension on the larger canvass. Some authors who show admirable economy in the short story betray a lack of discipline in their novels, indulging in digression and needless ornament. Not so here. The rapidfire pace the Conan reader has come to expect is maintained.

Pulp Adventure (DMR Books): The fifth installment in the serialized version of Tros of Samothrace is titled “Admiral of Caesar’s Fleet” and consists of what would become chapters 52 – 66 of the novel published in 1934. Set in the spring of the year 54 B.C., this story tells of the aftermath of Julius Caesar’s first invasion of Britain and was first published in the October 10th 1925 issue of Adventure magazine. It is available in a number of editions in book form or you can read it here at the invaluable library of Roy Glashan.

Culture Wars (Jon del Arroz): What it comes down to is Wikipedia trying to erase mention of any of its political opponents because of its extreme left-biased agenda. It’s not enough for them to just hate and try to attack us anymore, they’re trying to erase everyone from existing — complete dehumanization — because they’ve lost all semblance of argument for their horrific behavior they’ve foisted upon us for daring disagree with their politics.

Weird Tales and History (Tellers of Weird Tales): This week, I finished reading D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II by Stephen E. Ambrose (Simon & Schuster, 1994). While reading, I ran across the name of a teller of weird tales, R. Ernest Dupuy (1887-1975), who, as General Eisenhower’s press aide, was first to confirm to the press that the invasion had commenced by reading the following communiqué at about 9:30 a.m. London time: “Under the command of General Eisenhower, Allied naval forces, supported by strong air forces, began landing Allied armies this morning on the northern coast of France.”

Reading (Black Gate): It may seem a bit peculiar to write an article about the decline in reading for a site that has done so much to promote the works of writers past and present. Most assuredly, regular visitors to this site are readers. Unfortunately, they are the exception and not the rule in the present day.

During the pulp era, writers were sometimes referred to disparagingly as the Penny-a-Word Brigade. Flash forward to the end of the second decade of the 21st Century and you’ll find far too many pulp writers who would salivate at the thought of earning a penny a word for their efforts. Far too many receive no financial compensation at all, some do not even receive comp copies of their own titles.

Robert E. Howard (National Review): Cross Plains, Texas — We start where it ended. “The car would have been sitting just about here,” says Jack Baum, a few feet behind the Robert E. Howard Museum. A small group of us take it in. Several of us squirm. This is the spot where the pulp writer put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. When he killed himself in his car in 1936, the creator of Conan the Barbarian — one of the most iconic characters to spring from American fiction — was 30 years old.

Edgar Rice Burroughs (Erbzine): Of the several books Edgar Rice Burroughs consulted in his research on Apaches, one bore the rather cumbersome and dry sounding title: Ninth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 1887-’88. This five-pound plus tome (first published in 1892) was part of an ongoing set of matched volumes bound in dark brown cloth, with gilt spine lettering, bearing the imprint of the Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.

RPG (Bloomberg): On a recent Friday evening, Devon Chulick stood in the kitchen of his San Francisco apartment brewing potions. A dry-erase game board with a grid of black squares to assist in drawing maps was laid neatly across the coffee table in the living room, along with a dozen or so miniature elves, wizards, and drow rogues, which had been released from their Tupperware prisons.

Ian Fleming (Elgin Bleeker): A lot of years have gone by since I last read anything by Ian Fleming. The last was Thrilling Cities, a non-fiction collection of travel essays. I found a paperback copy in a used-book store in the 1990s. But I could not tell you the last time or title of one of Fleming’s James Bond stories.

Something on-line triggered an urge to dig out my paperback copy of From Russia With Love.

Michael Crichton (Western Genre Musings): Here we have Michael Crichton’s only Western novel published posthumously. The timeline has it written perhaps in the 1970’s and it still has the mark of his trademark blending of science and narrative, here in the form of the Dinosaur Bone Wars of Professors Cope and Marsh, actual feuding personages.

Will follow our naïve young protagonist Westward and watch him mature and learn more than a good deal along the way.

Appendix N (Ken Lizzi): With few reservations, I applaud the list and recommend at least some of the works by the included authors. Notably excluded is Margaret St. Clair. Others (Gary Gygax, obviously) enjoy her writing. But otherwise, Appendix N gets the Ken Lizzi seal of approval. The material is primarily pulp; a good thing from my perspective. It runs the gamut from rather disposable, light entertainment to quality work of rather high literary value. Let’s call it a Fox to Vance scale, but don’t let that lead you to believe I am disparaging Gardner Fox. I like disposable, light entertainment.

Sensor Sweep: Sword and the Sorcerer, Henry Kuttner & C. L. Moore, Ian Fleming, Appendix N published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/

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