Author / Edward Champion

Posts by Edward Champion

Edward Champion is the Managing Editor of Reluctant Habits.
by Edward Champion

Needless Quasi-Mandarin Acrobatics

Scott McLemee offers an excellent column in response to the Encyclopedia Brittanica brouhaha, pointing out:

But no such ambiguity colors the scenario we find in Gorman’s commentary.For the digital boosters, the problems will all repair themselves over time. For the neo-Luddite quasi-Mandarins, by contrast, the new-media matrix is a catastrophic force so devastating that its effects may well contaminate human consciousness for centuries to come.

by Edward Champion

The Laryngitis Roundup

I have lost my voice. And while the coughing still irritates (but shows definite signs of abating), this has made me feel delightfully anonymous and humble. I have become more attuned to verbal and visual cues, in part because I cannot respond to them. Socializing feels like facing an incomplete Jumble puzzle in the newspaper, and I do my best to quell these impulses to fill in the blanks. If I had my voice and if I was operating anywhere close to my full energy, I’d do it.

I am wondering if I should keep one of my Moleskines on me and draw funny pictures for people. I feel like a friendly stranger. I divagate through a world often asking me questions and receiving only smiles, woozy shuffling, and raspy whispers as answers. The people at my new neighborhood cafe have been very kind, with the friendly woman leaning in close to hear my order. She seems alarmed to see me out and about. Finding the balance between resting and working has been a challenge. I cannot commit myself to either antipodean variable. In the meantime, I drink enough daily water to rival an ungulate.

I feel compelled to step in here, even when I know I shouldn’t, for a very quick roundup:

  • Salon’s Pryia Jain conducts some reporting on what the AMS fallout means for today’s indie publishers. There are quotes from Eli Horowitz and Richard Nash.
  • There’s some great stuff over at Colleen’s, along with links to other blogs, including this interview with Eddie Campbell.
  • I have little to say about the tone-deaf Hillary Clinton Sopranos finale spoof, except to respond to the ridiculous claim that America is apparently concerned with what Hillary’s campaign song is. Really? More than Iraq? More than the issue of universal health care that Hillary waffled on? More than the lack of a safety net (e.g., welfare to work) or affordable housing? More than the disparity between the rich and the poor? At least the people who cooked up this campaign had the smarts to respond to David Chase’s onion rings symbol, suggesting that Hillary would not represent an interminable cycle of corruption extending to all in the family. But when cultural appropriation, particularly of the clumsy variety, replaces engagement on the issues, I’m troubled by the referential depths that next year’s candidates will sink to in order to woo voters. Lest we forget, homage’s original meaning involved a vassal demonstrating fealty to a lord. What of the Clintons showing some deference to the voters? Is this not what a constitutional republic is all about?
  • I hope that the clip is eventually made available online. At his new digs, Jeff VanderMeer reports that Greg Bear was interviewed on The Daily Show.
  • David Orr is under attack for allegations concerning his Dana Goodyear essay.
by Edward Champion

Idle Speculation

The Independent: “There is a rule in America that states employers must make up the difference in pay if any member of their staff earns below the minimum wage when their pay is added to their tips. This might mean customers in the US fear people will lose jobs if they don’t tip heavily.”

Mr. Welch, we tip because we know how little those working in the service sector actually make. We tip because they often don’t have health care and we know that they might be working a second job to make ends meet. We tip because the government’s answer to providing for the unemployed is welfare-to-work.

Instead of silly speculation, why not simply ask us why? Is this not, after all, what a journalist does?

by Edward Champion

Blogging In Sick

I’ve had a mean spot of bronchitis. I could describe to you the Quincy Verdun-like phlegm patterns I’ve been coughing up. Or the mighty rattling coughs that jerk me out of bed at 2 AM. Or the troubling fact that I cannot laugh without coughing, making me wonder if I have a temporary future as a humorless accountant. Or the pleasant dizziness actuated by my shots of Robitussin. But instead I’ll simply bid a momentary adieu to this blog until I feel better.