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Sex and the Scientist
Nov. 21st, 2012 12:20 amThe New York Times has embarrassed itself again.
Not that The Boston Globe (unfortunately owned by the Times) does any better. Today, one of the sections had a front page article about how daring it was that a woman went a whole year wearing no makeup and only getting cheap haircuts, and how despite this the writer thought she was beautiful. (Mind you, the photos were all of her looking sad and worried in harsh lighting because of this daring brave somber thing. Ignore that the only people I know in Massachusetts who wear makeup and get good haircuts are not from Massachusetts.) The woman's no-makeup rules thoughtfully included that one could use nail clippers but not a nail file, and that even though you can't wear lipstick you are still allowed to floss your teeth. Because I guess you might be confused if you floss your teeth for cosmetic reasons, like no one on earth?
I spent the weekend in New York for my old friend Kristina's engagement party, which was a trek but I like the person she's engaging with. Not that I could spend time with either of them aside from a "hi I made it" hug because of course not, not ever; that is not how big parties with lots of out-of-town guests go. Expected. Which afforded me the opportunity to stay at James's new place after two years of not getting to hang out with James - who looks great and is writing things that excite me. Also much swanning about town with C. Blacker, a timelessly favorite activity.
Meanwhile, a science fiction short story of mine won a competition by Arc Magazine and The Tomorrow Project, sponsored by Intel, about the future of pleasure. It's a magazine I respect a lot, the fiction arm of New Scientist. They've been trying to bring the science back into science fiction - science fiction as an attempt to actually think about the future, rather than a metal-electric arm of fantasy.
The story is up on the Tomorrow Project website and will be in Arc 1.4.
I'm pleased to finally have a home for this one. As Ciro observes in more detail, this was something I wrote a few years ago with the idea that it was broadly approachable, which was not an idea that received universal agreement.
Not that The Boston Globe (unfortunately owned by the Times) does any better. Today, one of the sections had a front page article about how daring it was that a woman went a whole year wearing no makeup and only getting cheap haircuts, and how despite this the writer thought she was beautiful. (Mind you, the photos were all of her looking sad and worried in harsh lighting because of this daring brave somber thing. Ignore that the only people I know in Massachusetts who wear makeup and get good haircuts are not from Massachusetts.) The woman's no-makeup rules thoughtfully included that one could use nail clippers but not a nail file, and that even though you can't wear lipstick you are still allowed to floss your teeth. Because I guess you might be confused if you floss your teeth for cosmetic reasons, like no one on earth?
I spent the weekend in New York for my old friend Kristina's engagement party, which was a trek but I like the person she's engaging with. Not that I could spend time with either of them aside from a "hi I made it" hug because of course not, not ever; that is not how big parties with lots of out-of-town guests go. Expected. Which afforded me the opportunity to stay at James's new place after two years of not getting to hang out with James - who looks great and is writing things that excite me. Also much swanning about town with C. Blacker, a timelessly favorite activity.
Meanwhile, a science fiction short story of mine won a competition by Arc Magazine and The Tomorrow Project, sponsored by Intel, about the future of pleasure. It's a magazine I respect a lot, the fiction arm of New Scientist. They've been trying to bring the science back into science fiction - science fiction as an attempt to actually think about the future, rather than a metal-electric arm of fantasy.
The story is up on the Tomorrow Project website and will be in Arc 1.4.
I'm pleased to finally have a home for this one. As Ciro observes in more detail, this was something I wrote a few years ago with the idea that it was broadly approachable, which was not an idea that received universal agreement.
