There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." - Isaac Asimov (1980)
Tyler K. Nothing

Tyler Knows Nothing

All the nothing Tyler knows in one place!

Listening

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BLAME! 1

Tsutomu Nihei

    ...

    television

    NBC's Grimm is freaking amazing

    " “>

    Peg me as a media nerd, and I'll nod and thank you for the compliment. I love media. The various types of media I consume are just different methods of telling stories. I love books and music and anime and comics and movies and television, but more specifically what I really love is a good story. 

    NBC's Grimm is a good story.

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    In a nutshell, Grimm is a supernatural crime drama that is based on the simple premise that all of the monsters of worldwide myth are real and living among us. In the first seasons, Nick Burkhardt discovers from his aunt that he is an heir to the generations old mantle of monster hunters called …

    ...

    Instantiation, a short story

    " “>

    The area around me is dark, but there is enough ambient light to see that there is nothing around me. When I breath out, I can see the vapor. It's cold, but I can't feel it. I touch my left forefinger to my right arm and I can feel the hairs rise to meet the fingertip. I think that means there's a slight static charge in the atmosphere. I can't wrap my mind around the idea that it can be cold enough to see my breath, but not cold enough to discomfort me. 

    "Hello," I call out in a normal, conversational tone. 

    There is no echo, but my voice isn't tight and small. I'm in a large, open space. How large is anyone's guess. Well, my guess, at least. Nobody answers. I opt not to try louder for fear... of. I'm not sure. I dwell …

    The best Science Fiction is on TV right now

    " “>

    Science fiction has been on a downturn over the last decade. Sure, we get event movies a few times a year, but a lot of that audience has been taken over by tales of comic book heroes. Marvel is a hugely dominating force in film these days, but the real core audience for science fiction used to be found on the small screen. Science fiction fans demand longer, more complex stories, deeper character development, and to have their thoughts poked. Star Trek is most commonly trotted out as prime exemplar. 

    Aside from the original series which was ended prematurely, there have been five other series, the animated one most people don't recall, three huge series with seven year runs, and one aborted attempt at going back in time …

    There is only one option. Vote.

    " “>

    I've been struggling against the Right for months now, and I'm already feeling burnt out by all the hate and subterfuge. While it would be enormously fulfilling to me to find my words having an affect on a single, solitary conservative, I am convinced that day will not come. If I might use a regional metaphor, we are the coast of Southern California fighting against The Wedge of the Right Wing. The Pacific may be vast, but those who spend their entire days railing against positive human progress are the most entrenched of radicals. They will never be turned, but... you might find this amazing, they don't need to turn.

    We simply need to vote.

    It doesn't matter what the issues are, who the candidates are, which side you're …

    writing

    Dwelling inside the persistent shadow of creativity

    " “>

    I am a writer. 

    This is what I do. For a living. Well, not so much lately, but it's the single most salient job I identify with. Back when I was a kid, being introduced to new stuff like Brave New World and Dune and Catcher in the Rye, I fell madly in love with the idea of becoming a writer. 

    It didn't take long to discover that it wasn't going to be easy. 

    In fact, it wasn't until 1996, when I was a mere 27 years old, that I started writing professionally. It was work, not something I wanted from writing. With my new wife, before our daughter was born, I edited and updated technical books for a publisher named Sybex. The imprint still exists, but the company is long gone, absorbed into another, larger publishing group. …

    ...

    Linux, as a desktop, missed its window of opportunity

    " “>

    Don't troll me, bro. I'm no Linux hater. I used Linux for years. I started with Caldera back when we didn't know that SCO was evil. Despite lacking coding skills of any kind, I hand-crafted my system from the ground up. At that time I was so tired of Windows that I ran Windows apps from a server to my desktop machine just so I could use Linux as my daily driver. 

    Linux is a fantastic OS. It's powerful, capable, efficient, and dynamic. You can make it do anything you want, as long you A) have the nerd chops and B) you don't work a job which requires mainstream applications. There are the standard arguments, though. Linux has plenty of apps that are like Photoshop/Microsoft Word/whatever. Linux has peerless security. Linux …

    ...

    Blogging is a lot like... well, something, I can tell you!

    " “>

    I don't know why, but it always seems like when I'm confronted with the need to develop an idea for a post, I think about blogging. 

    Weird. 

    When I write, especially here, I am blogging, so what's the point of writing about blogging as I write on a blog? Not sure, really, but it seems like the thing to do. So, here's some writing about blogging. First, though, an image for no real reason.

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    For some reason, I collect images like these. I like them. When …

    Making a murderer making me mad

    " “>Binge TV. yay. Thanks Netflix. Yesterday, nothing better to do, I fired up the first episode of Netflix’s Making A Murderer documini-series.


    OMG!

    So, ludicrously engrossing, engaging, frustrating. You should watch it if you haven't already. Just be prepared for frustration. Without giving away anything, I can say that there is no resolution at the end. Nothing is solved. The Avery's aren't made whole. You will likely be disgusted and pray you never end up with the American justice system being charged with your well being. 

    I think what really upsets me, though, is that people can be so swayed by the media that they appear to simply abandon even the suggestion of independent or critical thought. Broken people and …

    music

    XTC. You know. The band...

    " “>

    I'm not a music critic, and I have a shitty memory, but there were some really interesting bands coming out of the late 70's and 80's. One of them was a little group called XTC. You likely know them for this...

    It's just the audio version, so feel free to keep reading. When I was sort of growing up in Pasadena (long story) I spent many years listening to the then influential KROQ 106.7 FM. Back then KROQ was probably the single most powerful New Wave/Alternative station, driving much of what was getting heard back in the 80's. I was certainly tired of the pop and junk and had gotten into Progressive Rock with albums like Yes' Fragile, Jethro Tull's Aqualung, and Rush in general. 

    From the New Wave perspective, there were …