Reallocating time

Dropping cons is part of a general re-allocation of time I plan to 2013, anyway. They've not been very useful in recent years. When I first started out, I learned a lot, but I have a lot more experience under my belt now. The social aspect is useless to me. Science fiction is an inbred clique and I don't fit in. The SFWA has the same problem at the national level. That's why Lone Star Con would be so unpleasant for me. It will be the usual bunch of Austin Assholes chumming up with SFWA Snobs.

Membership in the con costs hundreds of dollars, so it's not really readily available to the normal working guy and gal. That's going to drive down attendance, and draw the circle of exclusivity tighter.

I also don't have a real good feeling about the con in general. The Texas s-f community is so inbred with a narrow social base that I really wonder whether there are the numbers of volunteers there to run such a large undertaking. I had extreme difficulty communicating with the group. Of course, I may be overthinking the issue. It may simply be blackballing. There are many zines and outfits where I can't even get a rejection or reply to a query anymore, where I have been blackballed because I'm not PC. This widespread blackballing is the genre's dirty little secret. I know another author who doesn't even submit to U.S. mags any more. The PC Nazis have been especially emboldened since their Messiah in the Rose Garden got re-elected. John Salzi, the SFWA President, even has a PC hitman, Jim Hines, whom he sends after people who refuse to toe the party line. So much for tolerance and the so-called Big Tent.

One thing that will be taking more of my time in 2013 is the Texas Nationalist Movement. I joined up after the general election in November. Actually, I've been a big supporter for years, but after the election my wife agreed to let me pay the dues. Texas will be having a Constitutional amendment election in 2013, and I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't something on the ballot regarding Texas independence. By the time Lone Star Con rolls around over the Labor Day Weekend, it will probably be a hot topic. I'd like to spend some time in 2013 helping the TNM.

Here is another example that highlights the elitist hypocrisy of the PC Nazis who have the whip hand in the U.S. now. The America Left supports the right to self-determination and autonomy of all oppressed peoples across the world - unless they are Christian and/or Patriots.

SASS - the Society for the Advancement of Speculative Storytelling - was incorporated this year and is ready to start taking members and becoming an active, public organization. This is also a project where I want to invest a lot more time.

On a personal level. plans are to have my 81-year old mother come and live with me and Patricia after Christmas. That will also be taking up my time, in a nice way.