tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post3744551110448229644..comments2023-10-26T22:06:11.166+11:00Comments on Metamagician3000: Never, never say "sci-fi"Russell Blackfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12431324430596809958noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post-13913383562643131822008-11-24T14:59:00.000+11:002008-11-24T14:59:00.000+11:00Sci-fi will always live because it's catchy, pure ...Sci-fi will always live because it's catchy, pure and simple, Like hi-fi, San Fran, and I'm sure there are many other examples. It's human nature to use abbreviations that are sticky in the mind, and rhyming, in particular, is exceedingly sticky within the mind -- which is why so many educational tales for children are told as rhymes, for example.Scott Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05566257717588564927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post-438161810374700512008-11-08T17:55:00.000+11:002008-11-08T17:55:00.000+11:00Forry is still alive.<A HREF="http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2008/nz13281.php" REL="nofollow">Forry is still alive</A>.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post-8105885495863577742008-11-07T23:57:00.000+11:002008-11-07T23:57:00.000+11:00Sorry to hear that, Terry.Sorry to hear that, Terry.Russell Blackfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12431324430596809958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post-84626020761070938192008-11-07T18:12:00.000+11:002008-11-07T18:12:00.000+11:00Odd coincidence of timing here. Forry Ackerman, wh...Odd coincidence of timing here. Forry Ackerman, who invented the word sci-fi just died.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post-32885760851828567852008-11-07T14:04:00.000+11:002008-11-07T14:04:00.000+11:00We also have Rom-Coms, J-Lo's and Bennifers.At lea...<I>We also have Rom-Coms, J-Lo's and Bennifers.</I><BR/><BR/>At least the latter two of these could be taken as emblematic of a superficial celebrity culture — not exactly the model we'd like to emulate when discussing works of art which try to illuminate the human condition and our place in the Cosmos.<BR/><BR/>And, frankly, I'm not too gear for Rom-Coms, unless they're actually <A HREF="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0365748/" REL="nofollow">Rom-<I>Zom</I>-Coms</A>. But that's just me.Blake Staceyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13977394981287067289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post-72514211914564387522008-11-07T13:49:00.000+11:002008-11-07T13:49:00.000+11:00Oh Noes! Someone's using Sci-fi! Or for the more p...Oh Noes! Someone's using Sci-fi! Or for the more pretentious among us "Skiffy".<BR/><BR/>I'm sure I could easily find "serious scholars" who would say that if you sully your pen with Science Fiction the way it's abbreviated is the least of your worries. <BR/><BR/>It's been pointed out we have Chick Lit. We also have Rom-Coms, J-Lo's and Bennifers. We even have "TASER guns"<BR/><BR/>Is that a cloud I see over your teacup?<BR/><BR/>Paul (since the open ID seems to be broken)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post-50461861151663542532008-11-07T11:10:00.000+11:002008-11-07T11:10:00.000+11:00Lee said, "I don't remember walking into my local ...Lee said, "I don't remember walking into my local bookshop past the rows of Ro-fi or His-fi...<BR/>maybe Romance and Historical writers have better unions :)"<BR/><BR/>Lee, we live in a world where Chick Lit is a perfectly acceptable marketing term.<BR/><BR/>Whenever someone says Chick Lit, I can only think of the <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiclets" REL="nofollow">chewing gum</A> of my childhood, which is also something I'd council against imbibing.Steelmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09612062887585525213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post-54275111210626779162008-11-07T11:00:00.000+11:002008-11-07T11:00:00.000+11:00It seems to me that SF became the de facto abbrevi...It seems to me that SF became the de facto abbreviation decades ago (the covers of even the older paperback novels in my collection bear the mark SF/Fantasy). You'd think they'd know by now...<BR/><BR/>I have a similar problem with another SF: San Francisco. I can somewhat tolerate "San Fran", and locals simply refer to it as The City, but please, don't call it 'Frisco; that's a town in Texas!Steelmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09612062887585525213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post-15412593291715510622008-11-07T10:58:00.000+11:002008-11-07T10:58:00.000+11:00Oh, how I hate the term 'sci-fi'. It automatically...Oh, how I hate the term 'sci-fi'. It automatically diminishes anything serious or worthwhile in the referred text, and drops the whole subject down to the level of "robots and rockets and stuff for children". It shows an unfair and prejudiced bias against the form, and it irritates the life out of me.<BR/><BR/>I don't remember walking into my local bookshop past the rows of Ro-fi or His-fi...<BR/>maybe Romance and Historical writers have better unions :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14168569626904048820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post-26297656966053958882008-11-07T10:57:00.000+11:002008-11-07T10:57:00.000+11:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14168569626904048820noreply@blogger.com