Copies of my comedy rejection letters

Hello all,

I thought it would be fun to post the rejection letters for my recent fiction submissions on my blog. I really enjoyed getting these comments, so hopefully no one is offended. However I also found humour in the the overly serious dissection of Wizardo and Doctor Magnificant not being thematically appropriate. I have blanked out peoples names so as not to reveal private information

Hope you enjoy....

Hey Luke,

Thanks for sending this. It generated some positive editorial response, but not quite enough for acceptance, so we're going to pass.

Here are the relevant comments...

Tyler Sm*th:<<>>

M*ll*e W*lson O'R**lly:<<>>

M*ke Richards**n-Bry*n:<<>

Punctuation: "…by years end…" needs a possessive apostrophe.
Punctuation: "…subject to managers approval…" needs a possessive apostrophe.
Punctuation generally needs improvement, especially use of commas.

Consistency: first it's "Personnel Defence Laser", then it's "Personnel Defense Laser".Also, "Personal Defence Laser" would make more sense than "Personnel Defence Laser".

Unless it's some peculiar usage, "neither world" should be "netherworld".

Thematically, it's a little fuzzy. He's clearly going for a G.I. Joe vibe, but both Wizardo with his dimensional vortex and a character with a name like Doctor Magnificent seem more suitable for a superheroic setting. Never quite captures the disconnect between the exciting and exotic world of super soldiering and the banality of bureaucracy. I would expect much of the humour in a piece like this to come from the villains, the outlandishness of the villains' evil schemes, and the extravagant deaths of both heroes and villains, but none of those areas is explored. It's a no for me. >>

Hopefully these comments may be of some use if you think of sending this piece elsewhere. If nothing else they will tell you how we think and respond to material. Better luck next time.

Best,
K*rt L*chs
Editor - TheBigJewel.com


Also stay tuned from some David Harvey inspired ramblings about rent/real-esate in Vancouver! (Half -done)

Seven Small Changes Required to make the World a Better Place

The David Harvey love fest continues...this link is very exciting if a tad long. I really like the concept of a "co-revolution" and the comparison of the shift from capitalism to "something else" to that of feudalism to capitalism.

http://davidharvey.org/2009/12/organizing-for-the-anti-capitalist-transition/

In short, creating a society designed to meet human need would invole significant changes to all of the following items:

a) technological and organizational forms of production, exchange, and consumption
b) relations to nature
c) social relations between people
d) mental conceptions of the world
e) labor processes and production of specific goods, geographies, services or affects
f ) institutional, legal and governmental arrangements
g) the conduct of daily life that underpins social reproduction.

If one thinks of the transition from feudalism to capitalism, or even the changes that have taken place in the last thirty years one can easily see that all of the above items have changed significantly.

They key remains to change these in a way that promotes meeting real human need and not in a way that only serves to maintain a dynamic status quo. More on this later....

Awesome Harvey Quote

here is a great quote from David Harvey's "Limits to Capital".

"...the theory of crisis formation under capitalism is a mixture of acute incite, muddled exposition and intuitive judgment, all spiced with a dash of that millennial vision to which Marx was prone. But the account, though incomplete, is of compelling power, at least in terms of the social consequences of the devaluation of capital that it depicts. We can begin to see how, why ,and according to what rules capitalists fall out with each other at times of crisis. How each faction seeks political power as a means to shove off the damage on to others. And we can begin to see the very human tragedy of the working class consequent upon the devaluation of variable capital.

The inner logic that governs the laws of motion of capitalism is cold, ruthless and inexorable, responsive only to the law of value. Yet value is a social relation, a product of a particular historical process. Human beings were organizers, creators and participants in that history. We have, Marx asserts, built a vast social enterprise which dominates us, delimits our freedoms and ultimately visits upon us the worst forms of degradation."

Two Cents on Prorogation

The debate about the prorogation of the Canadian Parliament, the second in a year and a half, represents a new low in Canadian political discourse.

While, state relations are beholden to corporate interests, and the state operates as much as a facilitator of capitalist accumulation as it does a representative of any real democratic interest the state and functional liberal democratic institutions remain important. With appropriate pressure the modern state can create material improvements in people's lives and the programs it maintains (health care, welfare, unemployment insurance) are important and need to be maintained and protected.

However, the recent move by Steven Harper regarding prorogation and the backlash/discourse surrounding it shows how far the discourse concerning liberal democracy in Canada has fallen. It has become a near radical position to assert that the Government of Canada should function according to the rules it sets for itself. The fact that we must protest and demand of Steven Harper the minute level of accountability afforded by a 19Th century elite focused institution is absurd.

While I do not support the prorogation of Parliament, and the avoidance of any measure of responsibility by Steven Harper and the Government of Canada, the proper functioning of Parliament is as much an absence of politics as it is a democratic expression of people.

While banal, the benefit of the debate over prorogation is that through its very absurdity (thank you prorogation for being such a foolish and esoteric word) it exposes the inadequacy of liberal democratic institutions more generally.

So as you protest against Steven Harper and the prorogation of Parliament keep in mind what you are supporting:

• the continuation of ineffective committees. Committees that legitimate torture through its very discussion, and continue to deflect against the daily violence in Afghanistan.
• A "question period" that is largely ignored and does nothing to hold the government to account and much to inflate the egos of politicians
• A weekly meeting of 73 "businessmen", 51 lawyers, 46 "managers", 34 "consultants" and a host of other occupations meant to represent Canadian society at large
• A list of Conservative Legislation that aims to among other things substantially increase prison sentences, remove Canada Posts exclusive privilege on foreign mail (that's for you Aaron), institute free trade agreements with Jordon, Columbia, Peru, and a number of other nasty things I'm to lazy to research at this time.

Now join that facebook group!