A personal note: An album of songs I’ve written for February Album Writing Month (FAWM) is up on Bandcamp. It’s living room recordings, so payment is optional. All the money that I get on Bandcamp through the end of March 2023 will go to Doctors without Borders.
Monthly Archives: February 2023
Penguin Random House announces unbowdlerized Dahl books
Penguin Random House, which holds the publishing rights to Roald Dahl’s books, had replaced Dahl’s texts with bowdlerized versions. They wanted to “make the books suitable for modern readers,” who evidently have reverted to the Victorian era. They discovered, though, that a lot of people today aren’t “modern readers” and can stand to read what an author actually wrote. As a result, Random Penguin has announced it will issue editions with the original text along with the sanitized versions.
Perhaps I should mention I’m not a fan of Dahl as a person. His reaction to Khomeini’s murder contract on Salman Rushdie was “This kind of sensationalism does indeed get an indifferent book on the top of the best-seller list — but to my mind it is a cheap way of doing so.” He characterized himself as antisemitic and said, “There is a trait in the Jewish character that does provoke animosity.” The portrayal of the Oompa Loompas is creepy, no matter how movie makers dress it up. For that matter, the punishments inflicted on the “bad” children in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are rather horrible. They didn’t do anything that bad!
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CBP grabs Nigerian science fiction author
Mike Glyer reports on File 770:
Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki was reportedly detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection authorities at the Los Angeles Airport on February 23. LA author Woody Dismukes has been asking people to signal boost this message:
Thursday afternoon @naacpimageaward nominee @Penprince_ was detained by @CBPLosAngeles at @flyLAXairport . He has not been heard from in 48 hours and we are concerned for his safety. Please share this message widely so we can ensure his safe release.— Woody Dismukes (@WoodyDismukes) February 25, 2023
Jason Sanford noted on Twitter: “Ekpeki has a valid visa and was on his way to a high-profile award ceremony where the Africa Risen anthology was being honored.”
As of my writing this, there are several comments expressing concern, but none of them have any information about what his current situation might be.
Update: A new post says he was reportedly sent back to Nigeria, probably for exceeding his visa limits. We don’t have to like this, but at least he isn’t locked away somewhere.
Lully and music under Louis XIV
Here’s my latest for the Online Library of Liberty: “The Politics of Music Under Louis XIV.” Under Louis, successful art was art which he liked, by people he liked. In music, that meant Jean-Baptiste Lully, who got monopoly privileges from the king.
There are lots of famous German and Italian composers from that period, but French composers who weren’t Lully didn’t have much of a chance. Lully finally killed himself by conducting too vigorously.
A Worldcon in Egypt?
The Chengdu Worldcon is collapsing from lack of organization, likely made worse by the need to satisfy the governmental authorities. A bid for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, has fortunately been withdrawn. It’s hard to say whether China or Saudi Arabia is worse on human rights, but Saudi Arabia holds a clear edge in sheer brutality. Replacing the JeddahCon bid is one for PharaohCon in Cairo.
You don’t have to be a flaming libertarian to recognize that every country in the world has human rights issues. The question is how serious they are and how they would affect people attending the convention. Egypt isn’t as bad as Saudi Arabia or China, nor as good as the United States or Canada. How concerned should potential supporters be about what it is doing and might do?
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New article: “Bach’s Ode to Caffeine”
I’ve got a new article up on the Liberty Fund website: “Bach’s Ode to Caffeine.” Johann Sebastian Bach’s cantata, “Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht,” more often known in English as the “Coffee Cantata,” was likely first performed at Zimmermann’s Coffeehouse, where he was a regular performer. It’s a miniature comic opera in which a father wages a one-man War on Coffee.
If you’d like to hear the cantata, I highly recommend this performance on YouTube: