It was also the first time that the Provost and I really had a good talk. I've been doing this for 3 years, and I knew he was shy, but I figured he just didn't warm up to me. But I guess it takes a couple years before he warms up? Who knows. Anyway, it was nicely affirming.

I was supposed to be doing freelance work this weekend but I sadly spent far too much time kibbitzing on the amazing meltdown involving the Hugo nominations. It's a complete fucking trainwreck, and I feel sorry for just about everyone except the assholes who brought it about (and the trolls who signed up to make it happen).

I loved Goblin Emperor and enjoyed Ancillary Sword, but if Lock In or The Three-Body Problem were better novels, they'll never now get a chance to compete to find out.

And I'm actively pissed off that Yoon Ha Lee didn't make the nominations list because of that bigot John C. Wright.

Yeah, the Hugos are a mess this year. If you haven't read about Sad Puppy, dig around and read about all the controversy.

I loved Goblin Emperor and enjoyed Ancillary Sword, but if Lock In or The Three-Body Problem were better novels, they'll never now get a chance to compete to find out.

City of Stairs deserved to be on that fucking list. It's not even on the Nebula list, which surprised me. I thought it would do better come awards season.

And I'm a Dresden Files fan who can't even be happy for a Skin Game nomination because it certainly didn't come about naturally.

It's a giant clusterfuck.

I've been super-busy moving, so I've only skirted the edges of the Sad Puppy controversy, but it's a hot mess, for sure. I'm volinteering at and attending CONQuest in KC this May, (G.R.R. Martin and Brandon Sanderson! Mark Oshiro, whom I hope to meet since he's a hell of a lot of fun) and I am sure I will get an earload.

I loved Goblin Emperor, but I haven't read Ancillary Justice yet, and I haven't read the others on the list.

I have to do some more poking when I have more time, because I;m curious.

What a world we live in, that Social Justice Warrior is a *pejorative*. So, fighting for social justice is BAD?

What a world we live in, that Social Justice Warrior is a *pejorative*. So, fighting for social justice is BAD?

My understanding of Social Justice Warrior as a pejorative is that it's similar to "Happy Holidays" apparently being a tool to destroy all of Christianity (i.e., we don't like that you're supporting something other than old white straight conservative men, so you are history's greatest monsters).

Social Justice Warrior as a pejorative, in my experience, is the kind of person who will take every chance to unpack a person's behavior in search of privilege and cultural exploitation and everything else, to an excessive degree. Rather like radical vegans who will not miss an opportunity to point out your exploitation of animals. All good things can be taken to a bad extreme. The point at where that extreme occurs is up for debate.

Social Justice Warrior as a pejorative, in my experience, is the kind of person who will take every chance to unpack a person's behavior in search of privilege and cultural exploitation and everything else, to an excessive degree.

Where have you encountered these people? That's not accusatory; I'm genuinely curious, because I spend way too much time on the internet, and haven't come across people who are deliberately looking for chances to bust on people for privileged opinions/behavior.

(As an example, when K.T. Bradford brought up the idea of not reading straight white cis male authors for a year, the internet lost its damn mind. To my eye, all she was saying was, hey, there are a LOT of authors who don't get the kind of exposure that straight white cis male authors get, and making it a point to seek out those authors can be pretty rewarding. But people acted as though she was saying we should go kill Neil Gaiman and Jim Butcher, and she was going to personally show up at your house and burn all your Game of Thrones and Discworld books.)