This month in Blasphemous Geometries: has the intentional fallacy had its day as a critical tool? Should we roll back the stone from the tomb of The Author?
Jonathan McCalmont suggests that genre fiction fan-writers and critics should cautiously embrace biographical criticism, and examine books and other works in the context of their creator’s mindset.
Continue reading How to Dismantle the Wall Between an Author and Their Work
Via Charlie Stross, who isn’t entirely over the moon to see a trope from one of his novels coming true, we hear that the state of Vermont has passed a bill allowing the creation of limited liability corporations that are almost entirely virtual:
… up until now, U.S. law required LLCs to have physical headquarters, in-person board meetings and other regulations that have little relevance in the digital age.
No longer. Under the new law, for example, a board meeting may be conducted “in person or through the use of [an] electronic or telecommunications medium.” A ‘virtual company’ will be, as a legal matter, a Vermont limited liability company,” said Johnson. And other states are required to recognize the corporation as a legitimate LLC.
Interesting news. Hell knows that with the economic downturn, it’ll be a much more sensible idea to operate from coffee shops and build your swanky futuristic-looking headquarters in Second Life… even though the rent there isn’t as stable as its residents would like. [image by Zesmerelda]
Following the crash of a chrome-dome B52 bomber near a Greenland air-base in 1963 one of the aircraft’s complement of four nuclear bombs could not be found amidst the wreckage:
…declassified documents obtained by the BBC under the US Freedom of Information Act, parts of which remain classified, reveal a much darker story, which has been confirmed by individuals involved in the clear-up and those who have had access to details since.
The documents make clear that within weeks of the incident, investigators piecing together the fragments realised that only three of the weapons could be accounted for.
…
As well as the fact they contained uranium and plutonium, the abandoned weapons parts were highly sensitive because of the way in which the design, shape and amount of uranium revealed classified elements of nuclear warhead design.
[story at the BBC, via Slashdot][image from TMWolf on flickr]
Every year since 1985 the editors of the Futurist magazine have selected their top ten predictions for the future:
1. Everything you say and do will be recorded by 2030. By the late 2010s, ubiquitous, unseen nanodevices will provide seamless communication and surveillance among all people everywhere. Humans will have nanoimplants, facilitating interaction in an omnipresent network.
…
6. Professional knowledge will become obsolete almost as quickly as it’s acquired. An individual’s professional knowledge is becoming outdated at a much faster rate than ever before. Most professions will require continuous instruction and retraining.
You’ve heard of patent-trolling, right? The process whereby one business finds another company that has protected an invention as a trade secret, then reverse engineers that secret, patents it and sues the original inventors?
Well, those lovely folk at Halliburton have attempted to patent that patent-trolling process. This is surely where zen, irony and corporate chutzpah meet.