Trying to get a book about burning books banned during Banned Books Week. Priceless.

"The book had a bunch of very bad language in it. It shouldn't be in there because it's offending people. … If they can't find a book that uses clean words, they shouldn't have a book at all."

But check it out: the father "looked through the book and found the following things wrong with the book: discussion of being drunk, smoking cigarettes, violence, "dirty talk," references to the Bible and using God's name in vain. He said the book's material goes against their religions [sic] beliefs."

So no real profanity for the most part, just stuff that they don't do. That's offensive. Things different than what they believe = offensive. Are you getting this? If you can't have a book without drinking, smoking, violence, and using the Lord's name in vain–then you shouldn't have a book. At all.

Can we just put all of these people in a walled community somewhere where they can be safe from…you know, real life?

Honestly, think about it: who's going to be the first people to retreat into cyberspace and establish their own version of Second Life where they can be free to interact with one another in a godly fashion? The religious whackjobs. There's a short story in there for somebody. I don't feel like writing it, but somebody run with it, would you?

Found via Boing Boing.

Rox of Spaz-House points out that today is Uncle Ray's birthday. The majority of my short fiction I owe to him and this book. There are few things I can say about writing with certainty that I think are universal, and one of them is this: I haven't met the writer who I think couldn't benefit from Ray's wisdom in Zen in the Art.

This shmoe wishes him all the best. I owe him much.