Resolutely not joining in

The lovely thing about liberalism is that it permits rather than proscribes - better to allow gay marriage / abortion /what-have-you and let those that don't want one opt out, than set strict social norms and ban everything in sight. In utility terms, it just makes more sense. But a weird transformation has taken place such that this free-an'-easy approach, while valuable in relation to important issues, has become almost prescriptive.

Happy Christmas Everybody!

Only three weeks to Christmas! 'Ray 'ray! Christmas wishes to all at the Untrusted and whoever else potters past...

Christmas cards

Aliens have landed!

Or, alternatively, if there are any ento... enty... etomol... erm... bug-people out there who know what this is, I would appreciate it...

The Ownership of Language

In the ongoing debate about ‘hate speech’ and the limits that can legitimately be placed upon freedom of speech, there is a sub-debate about song lyrics.

Earlier this year Deborah Finding wrote about OrelSan(1), the writer responsible for the charmingly named Sale Pute (Dirty Slut), drawing a line to lyrics by other artists such as Eminem, who have exercised both feminists and the right with their musings on life, love, bitches, bling and weaponry. She noted, however, that:

Outrage about violence and misogyny in music is almost always confined to rap and hip-hop, despite there being much to engage with elsewhere.

There are three issues here. The first is the evaluation of different types of lyrics that have a sexist / homophobic / violent edge, the second is to look at why certain styles of music seem more prone to outrage than others, and the third is whether we can differentiate between lyrics apparently similar in content based on the identity of the person delivering them.

Snow Day (short story)

http://rapidshare.com/files/294103340/Snow_Day.pdf

Why I'm confused

Ah, what on earth. Anyway - four hours after querying the deletion of my post on CIF, it has been reinstated. Thank you mods!