Arthur C. Clark Postscript: The Nine Billion Names of God

 This is a something of a postscript to my eulogy for Arthur C. Clark; I happened to stumble across this story hosted online, and thought it would be worth putting a link here, for anyone who hasn't read it.  Or for myself, the next time I want to read it.

The Nine Billion names of God.  It's very short, classic Clarke...

...and has THE best ending line of any story I've ever read.  Period.

A 1980s feminist view of Firefly.

(Courtesy of James Nicoll's blog (and whoever he got it from)

The alternative title is, "Josh Whedon as Rapist" . 

I've actually got mixed feelings about this one, beyond the "OMG, this is SO 1980s".   To be sure, this reminds me of the "academic to the point of sillyness" feminist/deconstructionist  rants I used to read back in college, which these days generally provoke a roll-eye reaction.  But then I have to consider what experiences led to this woman concluding that all relationships between men and women boil down to abuse and rape.

It's not that I actually consider Josh Whedon as much of a feminist, beyond surface "girls kick ass!" elements.  But her view of the man- hell all men- as abusers, and as sex as rape, is not just old-fashioned, it's sad ad disturbing.  And I have to wonder how many people out there have the same viewpoint, and what may have caused them to think that, which is depressing.  And then I start wondering how much progress we as a society have really made...

...and it's time to go do something else.  Because I don't have any answers right now.