#I love you ray bradbury

[the-derpy-duck]

Montag: I don’t think it likes me.

Beatty: Montag it is a fucking door.

[goldkirk]

this was originally meant for my aunt but I want to also recommend it to my fellow friends who love writing and playing with language and grammar and story and sound!

[azure-clockwork]

How Does it Feel to Read Classic Sci-Fi?

Orson Scott Card: Two of the most interesting books you’ll ever read if you’re willing to look past a handful of things. And then you find the planet of Chinese people who worship having debilitating OCD. And the Mormonism. And the fact that the author is wildly homophobic and ought to read his own books.

Robert Heinlein (or at least the Wikipedia Summaries): I guess that’s a neat concept—oh, it’s a sex thing. Um. Gotcha.

Ray Bradbury: Man, I gotta read this thing for class huh. Well here’s hoping it’s good! *three hours later* oh. that’s why he’s famous. this will stick with me forever and I will never look at the phrase ‘soft rain’ the same again. christ. And then repeat 3x.

Isaac Asimov: Wow, this is such an interesting concept! I wonder how the exploration of it will influence the plot! Wait, hey, are you going to add any characters? Any of em? No like, with character traits other than ‘robot psychologist’ and ‘autistic’ and ‘woman’? None of em? No, ‘detective’ isn’t a character trait. Those are all just facts. Aaaand now I’m bored.

Ursula K. Le Guin: Hah, get a load of this guy! He’s never heard of nonbinary people before. Lol, what a riot; how dumb do you have to be to comprehend that these people aren’t men *or* women actually? Oh, wait, what’s happening. Oh shit, it was about society and love and learning to understand each other? And now I’m crying? And perhaps a better human being for it??

Andy Weir: Alright, this guy’s a really good writer. Funny, creative, knows so much engineering stuff…ooh, a new book! …I guess he can’t write women. Well, he wouldn’t be the first sci-fi writer…ooh another new book! And it’s more engineering problem solving and—wow. It’s not just women he can’t write. Please stop letting your characters talk to each other.

Lois Lowry: Oh, I remember this being fun when I was a kid! Wouldn’t it be fucked up to not see color? …upon reread, it would be fucked up to have your humanity stripped away, replaced with a tepid, beige ‘happiness’ for all time. Yeah.

Tamsyn Muir (let me have this ok): Haha, “lesbian necromancers in space” sounds fun. Lemme read this. Oh wow, yeah, this is right up my alley. OH GOD WHAT. NO. FUCK. OH SHIT WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING AND WHY IS IT REFERENCING THE BOOK OF RUTH AND HOMESTUCK BACK TO BACK!!! AHHHHHHHHH!! Now give me more please.

[quotationadmiration]

Anything that makes you feel alive is good.

Ray Bradbury

[waitineedaname]

if an astronaut got stranded in space far from their ship or any solar system but was able to find peace before running out of oxygen because they could see more stars enveloping them and reminding them that they are not alone in the universe than they could ever see from earth's night sky would that be fucked up or what

waking up in the middle of the night and reading this while half asleep made me feel like that astronaut. I Will Cry goddamn you

[runningatypufullspeed]

Guys (HAHAHHAHAHA OH MY. GOOOOOOOOOGGOGOD GUY. LIKE FROM *GETS TORN APART BY A MECHANICAL HOUND*) if I go completely off my rocker and start shitting out scythe content like as in from the book arc of a scythe DONT PANIC I’m still into f451 it’s just that my school’s cruel and unjust hand is FORCING me to move on from my dear late wife also known as my current hyperfixation FAHRENHEIT 451 which to be clear I am NOT READY TO DO but because of HORRIBLE and UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES I will most likely be taking to the LITTLE FREE SPEECH I HAVE and unloading all of my SCYTHE RELATED PSYCHOLOGICAL TURMOIL into the WILDLANDS OF MY SHITTY ACCOUNT. (they’re making me draw something for scythe, but I’m still into f451) so if you see me scytheposting it’s because. It’s because I HAAAAVE TO. I HAVETOI HAVETO I HAVETOIHAVTEOTHAVTEOHAVTEOHAVETO NO CHOICE IN THIS MATTER I HAVE TO I

[here-there-everyfuckenwhere]

So I just finished reading “Dandelion Wine” by Ray Bradbury for the first time and I fucking loved it!! does anyone have recs for what to read next?

[totallynotpuri]

I love getting hit with a sudden and unadulterated feeling of love and affection for the concept of caring and loving for people while writing an essay about Neil Gaiman

[spritelysprites]

some familiar things I spotted reading Neil Gaiman's short story October in the Chair:

The Waste Land by T S Eliot

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

[trashcanalienist]

You cannot turn the firemen into Nazi cops! That's not the point! Yes, they burn books, and people with them - but they're not the government, they're not law and order, judge and jury. They are not in command of these things, they burn books because the government has told them to. The firemen do not harass citizens, because books are banned in accordance with what people already agree with. It's not that the firemen are burning books. It's that the government is already controlling the information that reaches the masses so effectively (in combination with the public's general distaste for any media which requires them to think or experience unhappy emotions, hence why they are so obsessed with being happy and thus are so deeply unhappy that they must keep having and buying and doing these things, driving beetles at 100, 200 miles an hour because they don't understand that death could happen to them and because they need to feel alive because their lives are so full of everything that should make them happy and yet so very very empty) that the books being burned is seen as a genuine public service by civilians and firemen alike. The firemen are not police, and they are not Nazis. They are simply the men who did their jobs, the ones who followed orders and thus allowed such fascism to shake the world in its teeth.

[thenightling]

I am very disappointed in the people praising the censoring / editing of Roald Dahl's books.   Let me tell you a little story.   About five years ago I decided to re-visit Treasure Island.  I found an unabridged version.   I was surprised to discover that Long John Silver had a black lover.   Because the book used the term "n--ress" the mention of her was removed from many American editions of the book when I grew up.

Note: I am not saying they removed the N word.  I am saying they removed her *all together.* I didn't know Long John Silver had a love interest until I was in my thirties and read an unabridged version of the novel. It revealed so much about the story that I hadn't noticed before. 1.  That Long John Silver believed in love despite what was considered a cultural norm of the time.  He didn't care about what others considered proper and he was in love. 2.   It shows that even Robert Louis Stevenson acknowledged the existence of interracial couples and yet no movie version I can think of addressed this until the TV series Black Sails. 3. It helped remind me of the culture of the era in which Treasure Island takes place and when it was written, the stigma against interracial relationships that existed in America right into the twentieth century and in some places is still a thing. Sometimes books tell us more than just a story.   They show us how a world was once viewed.   I felt like this was an important discovery, that Long John Silver had a black lover (or wife).   And I was even a little angry that I had been robbed of this in previous readings of the book.   I think the removal of words like "Fat" and "ugly" from Roald Dahl's books does us a disservice.   It "cleans up" the past and denies a chance for us to learn some of the less pleasant aspects of the past and how and why language has changed since then.    What should be a teaching point and experience is lost in the name of sensitivity.   I felt cheated and it even felt a little racist that Long John Silver's love interest isn't mentioned in many editions of Treasure Island.  And I feel that one day there may be similar feelings if people discover they aren't reading the original versions of Dahl's books. Try to remember the original reason Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit  451.  It wasn't about an evil government taking away people's blooks. It was about this group and that group getting offended at various titles until they just banned everything to try to make everyone happy.    

[the-derpy-duck]

Fahrenheit 451 is unironically my favorite book. I decided to re read it because when I was a freshman I hated it and I actually love it now

I also chose to take notes, pink is how it started and yellow was me going back over stuff again. Because Montag from the near future has to be the narrator, it would make no sense otherwise especially with how much of a dick Bradbury is with inner monologues. Just italicize Montag’s thoughts damn it. Everyone remembers it was a pleasure to burn but I think that the second line is so much more impactful, especially with the ending bit in mind.

Montag is also surprisingly empathetic, he feels bad for the mechanically hound, guilty over killing his boss who has been shitty to him, and he does feel remorse for his actions. He says that he doesn’t love Millie but his thoughts and actions say otherwise. I think Beaty lied to him about Millie reporting him entirely just to make Montag’s day more shitty because that is the type of person that Beaty is. The book being written also has some great things. Like there is a part where the word was is italicized, which means it’s supposed to be emphasized. But the way in which you do that changes everything about the sentence. It goes hopeless to desperately clinging onto a lie to a weak cry of grief to bitter and angry to poetic. The way the firemen talk to Montag could go from being “Montag are you alright we are worried for you” to “hey Montag, your really scared of a mechanical hound? How fucking stupid” to “what is it now Montag, so tired of this guys shit….”

And that’s great! That’s what makes books so so cool, the fact that everyone will read it a bit differently. 451°F also isn’t really shitting on TV or even the occasional mindless show, it’s warning you to be critical of what you consume and to THINK about it. The characters aren’t thinking they are just mindlessly consuming things that say and do nothing. TV isn’t the problem, the problem is the fact that these people don’t think at all. And it’s not even their fault. They aren’t stupid they were forced into this roll. Given Montag said about being a fourth generation firefighter nobody in his generation even had the chance to read or consume something that wasn’t just mindless. They were born into a broken world and that’s not their fault. Millie and her friends are just existing in the only way they know how, no one has shown them an alternative that actually makes sense to them or makes them WANT to live a different way. Revolutions happen because the people are discontent and you can’t be discontent if you know no other way of life. You need good for something to be bad.

Anyway here’s 9 notes on two pages I’m so normal about this thing.

[neil-gaiman]

hi neil! sorry to bother you with an ask you probably get a lot, but how do you make your writing captivating to read? I have a decent plot and some nice characters, but i feel like my writing is still very bland, and it's not doing the concept justice. there are a lot of books that are an absolute joy to read because of how wonderful the actual writing is, and i'm wondering how one goes about adding that element to their writing.

neil fans pls don't angry dm me like last time, that was really weird

A lot of it is experience. Do it enough and you will. As with anything— learning to play the piano, say — you are going to get more accomplished as you do it. That being said, some things you can learn. And one way to learn those things is to copy.

Find authors with recognisable and delightful styles, whose work you love, reread them and then try writing a paragraph in their style. Pretend to be Dickens or Ray Bradbury, PL Travers or e e cummings and see what happens. See what you do with words.

My first book (unpublished and not very good) doesn’t read like me at all. It reads like a weird mixture of Noel Langley and Hugh Lofting and Roald Dahl. But there is a page about 3/4 of the way through that reads just like me.

[coffeebeanwriting]

15 Writing Tips from Authors

1) “You take people, you put them on a journey, you give them peril, you find out who they really are.” - Joss Whedon

2) “First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow them.” - Ray Bradbury 

Coffee bean’s analysis: Letting your characters lead the story can result in an authentic, character-driven story, full of real conflicts and natural emotion.

3) “Turn up for work. Discipline allows creative freedom. No discipline equals no freedom.” - Jeanette Winterson

4) “Show up, show up, show up, and after a while the muse shows up, too.” - Isabel Allende 

Coffee bean’s analysis: In order to write or eventually share your story with the world, you have to sit down and do the work, even if your brain is empty. Once you show up, the creativity has a chance to spark.

5) “All bad writers are in love with the epic.” - Ernest Hemingway

6) "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." - Leonardo Da Vinci

Coffee bean’s analysis: Being able to turn a complex idea into simple words is harder than one might think— but can elevate your writing. Not everything needs to be epic or overly flowery.

7) “Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life.” - Anne Lamott

8) “I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged.” - Erica Jong

9) “Don’t write at first for anyone but yourself.” - T.S Eliot

Coffee bean’s analysis: Perfectionism will kill any chance you have at having fun and finishing your novel. Let go of that pressure of being perfect and do not worry about being judged. Write for you.

10) “Forget the books you want to write. Think only of the book you are writing.” -Henry Miller

Coffee bean’s analysis: Don’t overwhelm your schedule with trying to write a ton of projects at once. Focus your energy into one (or two) at a time.

11) "A short story must have a single mood and every sentence must build towards it." - Edgar Allen Poe

12) “Every sentence must do one of two things— reveal character or advance the action." - Kurt Vonnegut

Coffee bean’s analysis: Even if you’re writing a novel, this advice is brilliant. Whether it’s a sentence, paragraph or whole chapter... make sure they are meant to be in your story. Keep your scenes tidy and thematic, building towards something.

13) “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” - Anton Chekhov

Coffee bean’s analysis: When writing a novel, give your reader details so that they can picture the scene in their head. Don’t do too much telling (though it has it’s places).

14) “It is perfectly okay to write garbage— as long as you edit brilliantly.” - C.J Cherry

15) “If it sounds like writing … rewrite it.” - Elmore Leonard

Coffee bean’s analysis: Allow yourself to write messily and worry about editing later. Once in the editing phase, if your writing sounds stiff, rewrite it so that it sounds natural.

Instagram: coffeebeanwriting  

[fortheloveoflatinum]

Rewatching Star Trek DS9: Past Tense (The Bell Riots)

The thing I love most about time travel episodes is that the future hangs in such delicate balance. Also - the gentle reassurance that we matter. You matter. I matter. This isn't utilitarian calculus; it's a philosophy that holds that we all have immense intrinsic value and are all capable of shifting and shaping the course of the future.

Spock: [to Kirk] Save her, do as your heart tells you to do, and millions will die who did not die before. - Spock in the TOS Episode, "City on the Edge of Forever."

And Kirk, despite everything - despite his love for this woman, despite what his heart tells him to do - knows that in order to save the Federation and the future he has had such a magnificent hand in creating; if he wants a just and equitable future to be forged, it all hinges upon one small, 'insignificant' woman - it serves to show that the good of the many outweighs the good of the few - Kirk lets her die to save those millions of people - but also proves that the good of the few - or the one - can indeed outweigh the good of the many.

It's a simple, human truth that we are all significant in some way. When we go, it's not what we leave behind that matters - it's how we lived.

Captain Picard: Someone once told me that time was a predator that stalked us all our lives. But I rather believe than time is a companion who goes with us on the journey, and reminds us to cherish every moment because they'll never come again. What we leave behind is not as important how we lived. - Picard in the movie Star Trek: Generations.

And in the DS9 episode Past Tense: Parts I and II, this fundamental truth is also proven true. That one person - any person, every person - matters. Not because of the wealth they've accumulated, not because of their fancy house or their six-figure salary or their corner office - but because they smiled at a crying child, because they sparked hope in the hopeless, because they were kind, because they were generous with their time and because they lived to serve the greater good.

Life. It's not about what you own - it's about who you touch. Even transported to a barbaric 21st century too much like our own - with just the clothes on their back - even their combadges stolen - Doctor Bashir and Captain Sisko touch people. Their presence changes things. So much so that the ripples of their actions change the future for every Federation member, because Starfleet is gone and all that remains of it is the crew of the Defiant.

I remember the Ray Bradbury story, "The Sound of Thunder," with its eminent metaphor of stepping on a butterfly and altering the future. But what if we step on a butterfly in the present? Surely, the future is altered. Everything we do - matters. Everything we do has ripples across the timeline of the future. None of us are islands unto ourselves. This tangled web we weave, it's a tapestry and its threads are those of the people we've loved, everyone who we've ever known and whether we were cruel or kind to them matters.

What can you do? Start by smiling. A smile from a friendly stranger can save a life.

Michael Burnham [to Spock]: “There’s a whole galaxy of people out there who will reach for you. You have to let them. Find that person who seems farthest from you and reach for them.” - Michael Burnham in that one Discovery episode where they go to the future and also there's an epic war going on in the background

Reach for someone, anyone; everyone. Only then can they reach back for you.

Be kind, to the Earth, to each other, to all creatures. Don't step on butterflies or kill bees.

What can you do? Watch Star Trek, and live by Starfleet values. Find a moral compass, and let it guide you. Remember that science and education are the answer, just as much as peace on Earth and - eventually - beyond.

[ourobores]

OCTOBER

l.m. montgomery, anne of avonlea / claude monet, autumn on the seine at argenteuil / carol bishop hipps / maryanne nguyen, ...and i don't know who i am anymore / sarah guillory, reclaimed / f. scott fitzgerald, the great gatsby / girl in red, we fell in love in october / jacqueline woodson, if you come softly / leon spilliaert, october evening / w.s. merwin, the love for october / richard o. moore, a reminiscence / when harry met sally (1989), dir. rob reiner / ray bradbury, long after midnight / ted kooser, a letter in october / victor charreton, la terrasse, automne / richard shelton, october / katherine blower / oamul lu / anne sexton, a self-portrait In letters