It’s been a few weeks since we’ve done one of these, but the weather has taken a sharp turn towards winter, so this seems a good day to stay inside and try to get caught up on correspondence. If you’ve been awaiting my reply to one query or another, seriously, it’s not you, it’s me. I’ve been extremely busy lately with things that must be done before the snow flies—oops, too late—and/or before the end of the 2024 tax year, so all less-than-critically-urgent email has been back-burnered.
My eagerness to answer email and engage on social media has not been helped any by the events of the past month. We’ll get to that in a moment, but first, the most urgent news as far as Stupefying Stories is concerned is this. Note the change in deadline.
» Pete Wood Challenge #36, “Pick Two,” is now open for entries.
The Challenge: Write
a story of up to 150 words in length using at least two of the
following prompts. The story cannot be holiday-based and it cannot
concern a meal or a gathering of relatives. Any genre is fine.
turkey
parade
football
fir tree
stocking
cranberry
Prizes:
1st place $20.00 USD, 2nd place $15.00, 3rd place, $10.00, Honorable
Mention(s), (1-4) $5.00. The winning entries will be published online by
Stupefying Stories.
Who can enter: The contest is open to Codexians and the general public. At least two slots will be available to Codexians.
How to enter: Send your entry in the body of an email to:
southernfriedsfwriter@gmail.com
Include
the words “Submission Pick Two” in the subject line. It wouldn’t hurt
to include “Pete Wood Challenge 36” or “PWC 36” in your email, too.
Deadline: 7AM EST, December 10th, 2024
Why the change in deadline? I dunno. The first rule of the Pete Wood Challenge is, “Pete Wood makes the rules,” so if you’re wondering about it, ask him. If instead your reaction is, “Oh boy, I get another week to work on my entry!” — that’s the spirit! As soon as you recover from tomorrow’s tryptophan coma, get writing!
Moving right along, then…
Q: What do you think of the election?
A: Thank God it’s over.
Love or hate the results—and I’ve heard plenty of both, from people who think this is either The End of World As We Know It or some sort of remake of The Return of the King—it’s over. The decision is made. You can Monday-morning quarterback it all you like, and either wallow in despair or dance in the streets with joy as suits your nature, but my attention is on getting 2024 wrapped up and and looking ahead to 2025, so do your wallowing and dancing somewhere else, will you?
If you think this election was a catastrophe and can’t stop obsessing over the horror of it all, talk to your doctor about XANAX®. If you think this election was a blessing from God and are suffering from irrational exuberance, start work now on your 2024 taxes. I guarantee that will take you down a few pegs.
Seriously, I’m beginning to look forward to hearing from Canadians and Brits. At least they aren’t utterly consumed by all the minutiae of American politics.
Q: Are you kidding? We care about you Americans, but we’re consumed by our own terrible political scandals! Like this!
Q: In the wake of the election, are you planning to get rid of your X/Twitter account and move to Bluesky, like everyone else?
A: My initial answer was, “No.” But then I was advised to get an account on Bluesky simply to protect my name, to keep some squatter from getting on Bluesky and pretending to be me. (Apparently that’s a thing, these days.) So I am now, reluctantly, on Bluesky, @brucebethke.bsky.social.
In the meantime, the StupefyingSF account remains on X/Twitter. I don’t expect my Bluesky account to be any more active than the StupefyingSF account. We get so few new readers coming in from social media, it seems an unproductive use of time.
After dipping my toes in Bluesky—I suppose that would require laying on my back, wouldn’t it?—I can’t say I’ve noticed any improvement in the level of discourse. Everything posted on Bluesky seems to be political. E.g.,
Q: When you eat a hamburger, do you prefer Heinz or Hunts ketchup?
A: Actually, I prefer Del Monte.
Del Monte? You bastard! Don’t you know that Del Monte exploits and abuses the workers on its pineapple farms in Kenya?!?!?!
Yeah. It’s like that.
Q: For someone who strives to keep Stupefying Stories free of politics and to maintain an apolitical public face, how do you explain your relationship with Vox Day?
A:
I don’t. At least, not in public fora. If it really concerns you, and particularly if you’re one of those benighted souls who still seems to think I had something to do with that whole Sad Puppies / Rabid Puppies fiasco, you can write to me and ask, but whether I answer will depend entirely on the attitude with which you approach me.
I’m beginning to think J. D. Salinger had the right idea.
» On a tangentially related topic…
The power supply in my ten-year-old 48" flat-screen TV gave up the ghost recently, and it turned out to be cheaper to buy a new TV than to fix the old one. When I plugged in the new one and switched it on, though, it instantly became obvious that it was not so much a TV as an Internet appliance, as the first thing it did was demand my wi-fi password, after which it spent two hours downloading and installing software patches and updates and repeatedly rebooting itself. In the fullness of time, however, I did eventually get the thing configured—
TV: “You just want to watch the weather forecast on a local broadcast channel? How… quaint. Are you absolutely certain you wouldn’t really rather be watching Dawn of the Revenge of the Return to the Battle for The Planet of The Apes? It’s streaming now on six different premium services, with prices starting at just $2.99 a month with a six-month enrollment…”
When it detected the presence of my Mac on the house network and demanded my user name and password, so that it could connect to the Mac via AirPlay and share files with it, that’s when I started figuring out how to lobotomize and disable the remainder of its various “smart TV” features.
Imagine my surprise, then, at finding out that my name is a searchable term on YouTube, and that there are quite a few videos out there that mention me. Aside from the Storypunks podcast, and a few short clips I put out there myself to test various things, none of the rest of them were made with my knowledge or permission.
Wow. People are talking about me and what I’ve written.
I wonder if any of what they’re saying is true?
Q: As long as we’re talking about cyberpunk, I’m curious. What does cyberpunk mean to you? What in your opinion makes for a good cyberpunk story?
A: I began to write a thoughtful answer to this question, then realized it was turning into a “GET OFF MY LAWN!” screed. I wrote the original story nearly 45 years ago. I wrote the Baen-damaged novel more than 35 years ago. I wrote Headcrash 30 years ago. I’m not sure that what I think cyberpunk means matters anymore. What do you want it to mean?
I ask this question with some trepidation. One of the more peculiar things I’ve seen lately is people wanting to embrace cyberpunk as a lifestyle, and sometimes criticizing me for not being eager to endorse that. This expectation stems, I think, from the original story being written in first person. I’ve noticed that when I write something in first person, fans tend to confuse me with the character whose story I’m telling. I’ve never been a robot, a cat, an alien, or a genetically engineered manatee, either, but I’ve published stories told from their points of view. What makes you think Mikey is any different?
I’ve always said “Cyberpunk” was meant to be a cautionary tale. I think Mike Pondsmith really nailed it with more clarity when he said “Cyberpunk was a warning, not an aspiration.” Nonetheless, if you want to talk about it, we can do so. It’s been a while since I’ve written an Ask Dr. Cyberpunk column. Perhaps it’s time to resume doing those.
If you think it is, let me know.
Let me close this up for now with a few quick thoughts. My first is that, pared down to its absolute core, cyberpunk is fiction about high technology in the service of anomie.
The second is hidden in this picture:
And anyone who tries to tell you that punk ever had a coherent political philosophy behind it is retconning you.
3 comments:
I've always like the word "retcon"...no idea why. Maybe I just like the sight of it...
I always have to laugh when I hear somebody pining away for Canada to escape toxic politics. Are they kidding? I lived in Ottawa from 1966 to 1978 and the Great White North has its share of problems, trust me. Google Rene Lesvesque if you need to be convinced.
Canadian update: the Nova Scotia candidate won her seat for a second term. Her party, the Progressive Conservatives, won a huge majority. Her campaign manager resigned in disgrace, claiming that the candidate knew nothing about the gift cards. Ah, the power of free coffee. BTW: I remember Rene well: I was born and raised in Montreal and he came to power while I worked on a student newspaper in college. Fun times!
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