A missed opportunity for free speech

(buy the book here)

This is so true, this is so true --- contemporary universities

We've been fans of Ross Douthat for quite a while, and here, from his latest column in the NYT, one quote (he's talking about contemporary universities):

"[Even without Trump,] the humanities would still be in existential crisis and possibly terminal decline. A hedge fund with a library attached model of administration would still prevail. An incoherent mix of ambitious scientism and post-Protestant moralism and simple greed would still be the ruling spirit."

Human rights and connubial bliss

We didn't do our connubial bliss for quite some time, but here we go:

Chang, as a Korean, is of course much-begone with the North-Korean-US-rapprochement. He and I discuss this a lot, and occasionally we agree. We did agree on the fact that Trump's acting outside the box made sense (as a large chunk of political Game Theory has been telling---"proving" by any standard---since more than 50 years). Lots of "games" lock you into a losing position for as long as your adversary can assume that you are a bienpensant-negotiator. But if your adversary has to fear that you don't care much about a few million Korean citizens killed in a war that's ultimately won by your side because you have "the bigger nuclear button on [your] desk," the equation changes, and you may prevail in negotiations that are otherwise lost. The whole North-Korean nuclear armament issue since 1994 is possibly the best example. Trump is not a complete idiot because he understood this. (We would still say Trump is a complete fool, leaning on semantic differences between the terms "fool," and "idiot"). 

And now this Trump-fool, having been promised a meeting with the "supreme leader" (as his own "commemorative medal" of the meeting issued a few days ago calls the Kim Jong-un tyrant), and having been put onto the fawning shield of a Nobel Peace Price by South-Korean president Moon, and then having evoked his Nobel-eligibility on TV, this fool has then his vice-president Pence give a talk in which the latter compares the deal with Kim to the deal with Arab dictator Qaddafi, who gave up on his nuclear prep-work in exchange for nothing and was then swept away by the Arab insurgency of 2011 while the West stood idly by.

Plus, during all of this, Trump cancelled the US deal with Iran, thus putting his country in a position where it may face two major wars of choice at once (from where is Trump to launch his attack against Iran? From Quatar, where he alienated the ruler xxx, and where the US has two military bases, a fact of which the supreme leader (Trump, in this case) was apparently not aware when he did his anti-Quatar twittering? Any other US bases nearby? No.).

So, North-Korea didn't show up during a preparatory meeting three days ago and then didn't even answer the phone. (This is like dealing with local craftsmen on our beloved Cote d'Azur.)

At that point, Trump had maneuvered himself into a position where he needed the meeting more than Kim. Snapping defeat from the jaws of victory---as Trump's erstwhile chum Steve Bannon characterized the Trump's trade negotiations with China a few days ago. The art of the deal.

Connubial bliss...sorry, we'll try again tomorrow.

Supreme little rocket man --- commemorating the US-NorthKorean meeting (update)

Here's a picture of the coin the Trump administration released prematurely in "commemoration" of the historical Trump-Un meeting:

Trump canceled said meeting today. Haha.

Two issues: 

(1) Trump joined the Axis of Evil here, by adopting the tyrant's own terminology ("supreme leader");
(2) Trump was right in cancelling the meeting, because Un had the president ensnared in a nice rope of Machiavellian diplomacy; in the end, Trump needed the meeting more than Kim Jong-Un. 


We do agree on the fact that Trump's acting outside the box made sense (as a large chunk of political Game Theory has been telling---"proving" by any standard---since more than 50 years). Lots of "games" lock you into a losing position for as long as your adversary can assume that you are a bienpensant-negotiator. But if your adversary has to fear that you don't care much about a few million Korean citizens killed in a war that's ultimately won by your side because you have "the bigger nuclear button on [your] desk," the equation changes, and you may prevail in negotiations that are otherwise lost. The whole North-Korean nuclear armament issue since 1994 is possibly the best example. Trump is not a complete idiot because he understood this. (We would still say Trump is a complete fool, relying on semantic differences between the terms "fool," and "idiot"). 

And now this Trump-fool, having been promised a meeting with the "supreme leader" (as his own "commemorative medal" of the meeting issued a few days ago calls the Kim Jong-un tyrant), and having been put onto the fawning shield of a Nobel Peace Price by South-Korean president Moon, and then having evoked his Nobel-eligibility on TV, this fool has then his vice-president Pence give a talk in which the latter compares the deal with Kim to the deal with Arab dictator Qaddafi, who gave up on his nuclear prep-work in exchange for nothing and was then swept away by the Arab insurgency of 2011 while the West stood idly by.

Plus, during all of this, Trump cancelled the US deal with Iran, thus putting his country in a position where it may face two major wars of choice at once (from where is Trump to launch his attack against Iran? From Quatar, where he alienated the ruler XXX, and where the US has two military bases, a fact of which the supreme leader (Trump, in this case) was apparently not aware when he did his anti-Quatar twittering? Any other US bases nearby? No.).

So, North-Korea didn't show up during a preparatory meeting three days ago and then didn't even answer the phone. (This is like dealing with local craftsmen on our beloved Cote d'Azur.)

At that point, Trump had maneuvered himself into a position where he needed the meeting more than Kim. Snapping defeat from the jaws of victory---as Trump's erstwhile chum Steve Bannon characterized the Trump trade negotiations with China a few days ago. The art of the deal.

The latest from the White House (artist's impression)

...and arriving...(in Switzerland)

This is, as always, Bürchen. It's dandelion season:

Off to Switzerland again

We're back in Switzerland. We left early on Tuesday morning, and here's a picture of the Cannes Film Festival Chang took along the way (the Bay of Cannes, the chartered yachts for the festival parties):

Michael's birthday

Well, Michael's birthday is always on January 1 (easiest when one has to complete forms), but he adjusted it recently from 1/1/1980 to 1/1/1990.

Before, his birthday was on May 8, which is a holiday in France (end of WW2 in Europe). In the year Michael was initially born, it was also a Sunday, and Mother's day, and only 3 days removed from Karl Marx's birthday (May 5). Nobody knows what happened to Karl Marx, but here you can see what happened to Michael yesterday (we went for dinner to St. Raphael).

St. Tropez on the horizon

Oysters, foie gras, Chateau Minuty

Lamb, marmite de poisson

Cheese, Tiramisu

Sparrow

Later

Michael

(Tjüüs)

Jamie and Dex

Cool, folks, we have a new story out in Gay Flash Fiction, which is an installment of the growing, yet somewhat incoherent Jamie & Dex saga. Yours truly and his lovely boyfriend have somehow relocated to Guerneville, a small town on the Russian River 1.5 hours north of San Francisco. They move into a small place in the poor area of town (the part that gets flooded when the river overflows) and get sucked into the trouble of the neighbor's household---a mother and her adolescent son. The mother is gradually turning into a lunatic and dies eventually. We take Jamie in. He's damaged goods now, can't go to school, or to sleep, until he discovers an abandoned math-book on Michael's bookshelf. He reads it, reads all of Michael's math books (Michael, the failed mathematician), and starts to solve the "open problems"---conjectures that are yet unproven---which math-book-authors add to their books as a tease. Now Dex, a school friend from Santa Rosa Highschool shows up and eventually manages to convince Damie to return to school. Dex sleeps over, eventually moves in for all practical purposes. This being California, nobody really asks questions...Here's the link.

The second story---forthcoming in Cleis's anthology "Best Gay Erotic Fiction" but somewhat out of sequence---has the two boys traveling to Florence, where the expected-unexpected is going to happen amidst the "tiny willies on the marble statues." Here's a picture that might give you an idea: 

The third story, the one which is out today, is back in Guerneville, and in time. Both Dex and Jamie have acquired dogs that need to be walked every day, and since Jamie is busy solving open math problems, Michael and Dex take the pooches for a walk along the beach where Dex asks a funny question: "Do you think Jamie is gay?" Here's the link. Enjoy.

A new five-star review of the GREEN EYES

"What struck me the most, as it did with the sequel, was the plethora of vocabulary, both English and foreign, that truly made the novel unique."---M.D. Prier on Amazon, April 20, 2018

(Want to read the book? Get a free copy of the Kindle edition through May 3:)

This can't be right

We've arrived

We arrived in Bürchen, CH, three hours ago, and it was 20° centigrade outside (27° below in the valley). The Alps looked like the Himalaya. Still do. Never seen so much snow in April. Happy to be here.

Off to Switzerland for a few days

Auguste Baud-Bovy (1848-1899)

Brexit means Brexit

Yesterday

(Summer has arrived unexpectedly:)

This is on our beach, La Figueirette

Did you know...

Above the clouds: the view this afternoon

Very low clouds moving in this afternoon---feels like San Francisco:

It happens rarely, and when it does, it's typically in late April; possibly something to do with the contrast between water- and air temperature. Not photo-shopped, folks, NOT.

Comey compress

Our take from the previews of  James Comey's book A higher Loyality:

Most damaging for Trump is the observation that The Donald never laughs. He is unable to laugh.  And second, obviously, is the recurrent, and convincing comparison of Trump's behavior with that of a Maffia boss.

Not a Godfather movie...(update)

...the man in the middle is actually Michael D. Cohen, Donald Trump's personal lawyer:

And here, a quote from "slimeball" Comey's book: “I once again was having flashbacks to my earlier career as a prosecutor against the Mob. The silent circle of assent. The boss in complete control. The loyalty oaths. The us-versus-them worldview. The lying about all things, large and small, in service of some code of loyalty that put the organization above morality and above the truth.”

Yesterday night

We're renting our house during Easter and stay with friends higher up on the hill. This was the view yesterday evening (around 10 PM). On the horizon, to the left, Cannes and its Croisette.

If looks could kill

More praise for This Is Heaven

A new review of This Is Heaven, on Amazon:

5.0 out of 5 starsYou know you want to be bitten

March 16, 2018

Format: Kindle Edition

This is Heaven. Yes it is. The sequel to GREEN EYES. I'm a big fan of Ampersant. I've read a lot of his work. Let me tell you that I read this book slowly and took my time. Actually the story was so good I wanted to just keep reading. The reason. He uses action and thrills and you want to savor the sex scenes and learn from them. Especially getting bitten. Come on, admit it, you want to be bit too. What I also like about the book that it continues from the Green Eyes. It's a month later or ten years later. It's the next day, of sorts. I wasn't expecting that and I'm happy it was that way. I am happy with this book and waiting for the next one.

(We're working on it)

The sequel to the Green Eyes---available now


("click")

Fill in the blanks

If utilitarian calculations are to be applied, they need to be fully applied. For a package of political benefits, these evangelical leaders have associated the Christian faith with racism and nativism. They have associated the Christian faith with misogyny and the mocking of the disabled. They have associated the Christian faith with lawlessness, corruption, and routine deception. They have associated the Christian faith with moral confusion about the surpassing evils of white supremacy and neo-Nazism. The world is full of tragic choices and compromises. But for this man? For this cause?

---Michael Gerson in the Atlantic.

White House update

Happy Pi-Day again

(Pi: the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter)

This morning...still raining

When I woke up, during dawn, the clouds were still touching the top of the rock across the bay. 

We all know Goodreads has had it's share of drama

 (Fragment of a page recently found on Goodreads:)

Mona > Goodreads Status Update

Mona added a status update

We all know Goodreads has had it’s share of drama. We’re battle-scarred & throw up our hands saying “we just want to read books”. 

So, I, too, got the message from the troll "Tammy". But, unlike some, I believe what she posted is true. And IF any of it’s true, it isn’t just drama. It is HUGELY problematic, potentially illegal, and has the power to really hurt people. 

Please, just think through a few of these things:

— Mar 11, 2018 01:57AM

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message 1: by Mona (last edited Mar 11, 2018 02:03AM) (new)

Mar 11, 2018 01:58AM

Recently the author MA posted on his blog an entry showing pictures of himself. He said it was because anon trolls were trying to dox him and out his personal information - something he’s long said he’s tried to keep private, though much of which he himself has shared online. *shrug*

In this post he himself admitted to sending fake pictures in the past to people in his readership and friend circles. He admitted to this lie. It hurt a lot of people, people who trusted him. That sucks. But maybe, for some of you, that doesn’t sound like such a big deal…fake pictures? Meh. But it’s the lie that sets this stage. 

You and me

GFF logo

GAY FLASH FICTION

"ADDICTIVE. UNIQUE. SPECIAL. Witty. Philosophical. Extraordinary." --- another review of the Green Eyes

Gay Book Reviews has a new review of the GREEN EYES, by Lena Ribka. Enjoy:


THIS BOOK IS DIFFICULT TO REVIEW/RECOMMEND…

WHY:

1. GAY EROTICA.

This book was a nominee for LAMBDA 2016 in the category Gay Erotica. It is not a genre that can compete with MM Romance. Yes, I know, the majority of MM Romance Readers want a lot of SEX scenes in their books, but not THE KIND of Sex Gay Erotica offers. Gay Erotica is not about the romance between the two. It is about libido in the first place. Sex in the genre is often dirty, unclean, rough, aggressive and reeking. Are you ready for it?

2. A VERY UNUSUAL WRITING STYLE.

For me it was a winner. But I’m aware that the style Michael Ampersant delivers/offers is not everyone’s cuppa. Do you understand THIS KIND of humor?

WHY this book is ingenious:
You treasure all LAMBDA nominees. You have just to know them.
You estimate a SPECIAL writing style. I assure you, you won’t come across SOMETHING like this BEFORE. Michael Ampersant’s style is UNIQUE.

The inimitable style: 5 stars.
The story itself:doesn’t matter.

It is one of those books where the writing and the way of telling is much more interesting than the story itself. I think that it could have at least 50 pages land some long-winded observations less. But the way the WHOLE package is made is so unusual and ridiculously delicious, the humor is so profound, that in spite of all my complaints, I need just to read more by the author.

Honestly, I wanted to DNF it more than once during reading, it was mostly WTF-“eye-rolls”. BUT. I. JUST. COULDN’T. I had to come back. AGAIN and AGAIN. I don’t know, but it is something about this book that difficult to explain, difficult to describe and difficult to separate from.

ADDICTIVE. UNIQUE. SPECIAL. Witty. Philosophical. Extraordinary.

The Lambda Literary Award finalist

"Click"