The percentage of cases where this phrase is not redundant…
… is small enough that one may safely round it to zero –Bob Mike
I’ll just come out and say it: I really like Spider Robinson. Misogynist, yes, but wonderful. As in what? Well, dedicating a book about a brothel to Heinlein and wishing that all prostitutes — “artists” — had a place as wonderful to practice their art as his fictional parlor.
But as embarrassed as I am to mention the book, and mortified that it will seem I’m recommending it, I have to quote a couple of lines:
[I]f there is any way that you can arrange your affairs so as to avoid dropping into whorehouse garbage from a great height, naked in February, then that is almost certainly the course your life should take.
and
A command is really just a request you don’t bother to phrase politely.
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The rampant misogyny in the field has more or less killed my ability to read science fiction. I tried reading Robinson for the first time a couple of years ago, and although I think the man has a clever way with words, I wasn’t able to enjoy the misogyny. I was unaware of the Heinlein connection at the time, but now that you’ve pointed it out I’m not sure how I managed to miss it.
I should probably temper my dislike of Heinlein with my gratitude for his introducing me to the concept of poly relationships, but somehow I just can’t seem to do it.
I tried reading Robinson for the first time a couple of years ago
What did you read, may I ask?
I spent an afternoon browsing Off the Wall at Callahan’s at the library, largely because I’d heard that the artwork was provided by Phil Foglio, who I generally enjoy.
Coincidentally, a Robinson thread just popped up on MetaFilter. Heinlein also.
[link]
That was pretty funny.
MetaFilter is a strange place. Sometimes the things that I think will generate a lot of notice get no play, while the things that I expect people to skim go fucking gangbusters.