Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #45 - HUGO AWARDS
Hi Mom, And now for something completely different. HUGO AWARDS!!
For those not in the know, check out HUGO AWARDS WIKIPEDIA. The Hugo Award is best described as a popular vote (as opposed to Nebula, which is given by the SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America), which is an organization exclusive to those with suitable publishing credits in the field). The Hugo Award collects the votes of fans who attend (and/or register to attend or just register with rights to vote) the World Science Fiction Convention, known as SASQUAN this year due its location in Spokane. Washington.
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| picture taken by Liesel at Seattle's SF museum |
The SASQUAN convention at which the Hugos will be given starts today. I have been posting about the Hugos and following the controversy for some time. I have also been cobbling together this blog post for some time. I had wanted to post this before voting for the Hugos ended as it did on July 31st. But then it seemed more important to write about you, Mom, at least more often than not. And yet today also seems like a good day to unleash this content as it's the first day of SASQAUAN, and now I can post about winners after the awards are given on Saturday night.
The links I provide here do a great job of giving a tour of the controversy regarding the Hugos if you want to really dig into it.
I am going to crib George RR Martin's summary of the Sad Puppies issues as it is the bets on eI have seen to encapsulate the controversy. In a nut shell, the story goes like this.
The actual Sad Puppies opposition to the Hugo Awards ballots and method for granting one of SF's two most presitigious awards goes back three years. Some fans have argued that the Hugo Awards have been "taken over" by SJWs (Social Justice Warriors). Those arguing this supposition feel that the awards have become rigged so that only left-leaning, liberal, SJWs win Hugo, while those who are not part of that clique are left out or even black-listed.
Originally, when sad for not being nominated, the self-proclaimed Sad Puppies argued that the Hugo exclusion is political while others claim that it is religious in nature. Others decry the SJWs for racial prejudice, claiming that "straight (cis) white males" are excluded from the awards to promote an SJW agenda. And lastly, many Sad Puppies argue that the Hugo nominees represent boring stories and works of art unpopular with the masses whereas Sad Puppies write good old, entertaining SF and Fantasy yarns in the tradition of great masters like Heinlein.
Thus, these Puppies vowed to take back SF by creating slates of works for people to nominate to effectively "take back" or even "take control" of the Hugo ballot. Some people associated with Puppies have claimed that if SF fans ever want to re-claim their precious awards that they will have to accede to the demands of the Sad Puppies (or Rabid Puppies which is another group).
Those are the bare bones of the issue, though it's detailed in grander scope and breadth in the following links, some of which are from mass media outlets. You can find George RR Martin's comments via a link, too. If you do not know, as I know you may not, Mom, George RR Martin is the author of Game of Thrones and its series known as The Song of Ice and Fire.
And that's about it. Read on if you wish. I will be back later, maybe next week, with who wins the Hugo.
Voting ended on July 31st but if one was inclined to vote in the future, information could be found here: Voting for the Hugo Awards via SASQUAN
Original declaration of the 2015 PUPPY SLATE
ROUND-UP OF PUPPY AND NON-PUPPY LISTS
VOTE YOUR CONSCIENCE - Scalzi
PRETTY much EVERYTHING Puppy related and on "Hugo Neepery" can be found here:
The Compleat Litter of Puppy Roundup Titles
GOOD DUO TO READ
STARTER -
Destroy the myth, destroy the culture by Patrick Richardson
RESPONSE -
You Can’t Take Back What You Already Have by John Scalzi
GOOD COLLECTION OF QUOTES AND STUFF
The Left Paw of Darkness 5/16
FROM A SAD PUPPY - why-sad-puppies-3-is-going-to-destroy-science-fiction
ON DROPPING THE NOVELETTE CLAUSE - An open letter to the WSFS about unintended consequences
PUPPY HISTORY AND COMMENTARY - WHY PUPPIES ARE SAD AND ALWAYS WILL BE
MAJOR MEDIA
WSJ - The Culture Wars Invade Science Fiction - Online campaigners are pushing to give SF’s annual Hugo Awards to popular space yarns, not more literary fiction or tales of diversity
San Francisco Book Review on Puppygate
NEW REPUBLIC - Science Fiction's White Boys' Club Strikes Back
BIG THINK - Sci-Fi Hugo Awards Controversy Is a Cultural Proxy War
LOTS OF HUGO STUFF - Various
GEORGE RR MARTIN ON PUPPIES
CORREIA RESPONDS TO MARTIN
Some fantastic data analysis with actual charts and graphs!
Some Sad Puppy Data Analysis
MORE HUGO AND HUGO RELATED STUFF
This next link is one of the best on the whole puppies situation. However, to read David's remarks you have to have Facebook.
DAVID GERROLD ON HUGOS AND PUPPYGATE
Some rhetoric by a blogger casting John Scalzi as a bully. Not directly Hugo related but in the same vicinity.
John Scalzi and the Bully Kool-Aid
The next five links are all HUGO related and additional information on the entire conflict if you are REALLY interested.
Puppies in Their Own Words
Two from Eric Flint:
WHAT THE HELL, LET’S DO IT AGAIN – STILL MORE ON THE HUGO AWARDS
AND AGAIN ON THE HUGO AWARDS
Puppygate – Winners and Losers | Cheryl's Mewsings
The Latest Hugo Conspiracy Nonsense Involving Me | Whatever
Not at all about Hugos, but since so much ire is directed at Scalzi, when he signed his big deal with Tor, there was lots of of complaining from Scalzi opponents on the Internet. Here's some smart reaction to all that hoopla.
My Inevitable and Utterly Redundant John Scalzi Multi-Million-Dollar Deal Hot Take | Matt Wallace
I figured this post should have a picture of my Mom in it. This seems like a fitting enough picture. Here's our family (minus my Dad) on our trip to Europe in 1986.
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| Paris - 1986 |
Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you.
Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.
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- Days ago = 46 days ago
- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1508.19 - 12:04
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