Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

He really is that stupid.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

It’s time for the GOP to dust off that post-2012 autopsy, completely ignore it, and light the party on fire again.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

The words do not have to be perfect.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Let there be snark.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

You are here: Home / Authors In Our Midst / Congrats to Tom! (Open Thread)

Congrats to Tom! (Open Thread)

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Our own Tom Levenson’s “The Hunt for Vulcan” has been short-listed for the Royal Society prize for science books. As Joe Biden might say, that’s a big fucking deal!

Tom, to say you class up this joint is an understatement on the order of calling Donald Trump “mildly disagreeable.” Congratulations, man!

H/T: Valued commenter Scav.

Reader Interactions

80Comments

  6. 6.

    SFAW

    Congratulations, Tom! Great job!

    If/when you win, try to resist the urge to say — if they let you talk — “e to the u, du dx, baby”

  9. 9.

    Thoroughly Pizzled

    It’s a great book, Tom! Should anyone ever ask me to explain general relativity to them, I will sound a little less foolish.

  12. 12.

    SiubhanDuinne

    This is the best news! Big congratulations, Tom! Very happy for you and proud to know you even a little bit.

    Please tell us all about how you found out that THfV had been shortlisted. How did the RS notify you, what was your immediate reaction, who was the first person you told, what are you going to do with the prize money, etc etc etc?? We want to know all!

  13. 13.

    Emma

    Just finished the audio version of Hunt for Vulcan (I also have the hardcover, a thoughtful gift). I just started Newton and the Counterfeiter. Fascinating stuff!

  17. 17.

    The Dangerman

    Sounds like an interesting read; perhaps it can explain some of life’s mysteries (for example, what happened to the damned mustard).

  19. 19.

    Calouste

    Some of the past winners of the Royal Society Prize for Science Books:

    Roger Penrose
    Stephen Jay Gould
    Jared Diamond (twice)
    Stephen Hawking
    Bill Bryson

    People almost worthy to be seen in the company of a nearly top 10,000 blog front pager.

  21. 21.

    rikyrah

    Libertarian Gary Johnson Is Very Confused About Student Loans
    by Alexander Holt
    August 3, 2016 3:54 PM

    Do the stated positions on higher education policy from both major presidential candidates leave you feeling sad, and like you are choosing between two bad options? Maybe you could vote for Gary Johnson, candidate for the Libertarian Party and former governor of New Mexico. Yes you would throw away your vote, but perhaps he has some smart things to say about higher education.

    He does not.

    Johnson is deeply confused about higher education policy. He believes that the reason college costs are so high is because of the “guaranteed government student loans.”

    Linking college costs to federal aid is not a fringe theory—it’s called the Bennett hypothesis, named after Ronald Reagan’s education secretary, and there’s some evidence that federal student loans may lead to increased tuition (although it’s not the main reason costs have increased). But what’s worrying about Johnson’s statement is that he called federal student loans “guaranteed.” That word has a very particular meaning in federal student loan policy, and it refers to a program that was abolished in 2010.

    Before 2010, banks would issue student loans and the federal government would “guarantee” those loans. That program was wasteful corporate welfare, and the government saved billions of dollars per year when it switched to loans issued directly by the federal government.

    Granted, new federal loans are still “guaranteed” by the government, but that’s a very strange word to use in light of the program’s history. Why not call them “government” or “federal” loans? It suggests that Gary Johnson silly hasn’t read up on the federal student loan program since 2010. Which is… concerning.

  28. 28.

    chopper

    if he wins it, will the blog post be “pretentious art douche to receive prize”?

    i kid, i kid.

  29. 29.

    redshirt

    Great book. Bought a copy for my Father and he liked it too.

    Also, at my book club last night, in a bookstore in Portland ME, there was Tom’s book prominently displayed on the front table – a clear marquee position. I got a book club member to buy a copy!

    I’ll take that percentage, Tom. ;)

    Congrats! Well deserved.

  38. 38.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Mike J:

    I’m pretty sure they send an owl.

    Could be a bit perilous. I don’t think they’ve reckoned with Tikka.

  40. 40.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    Many congratulations! From someone who is not surprised.

  41. 41.

    Brachiator

    Fantastic. Congratulations! Some of the other books look like tasty reads. I think my reading list pile will be getting higher.

  43. 43.

    Schlemazel

    Congrats Tom! I am not the least bit bitter that my book was once again passed over. The intellectual elite feel that simply because i didn’t color within all the lines I should be disqualified! Some of those pictures wereHARD!

  45. 45.

    Mnemosyne

    Congratulations, Tom! I’ve seen it on display at Vromans in Pasadena (which is one of our last remaining indie bookstores).

  46. 46.

    Hildebrand

    Congratulations! Tom’s writing is excellent – I now assign Newton and the Counterfeiter for my Early Modern Europe course, because it so effectively adds both depth and life to someone who has had all the fun and interesting bits bled out of him by the vast majority of textbooks and monographs.

  48. 48.

    scav

    @Schlemazel: The Sri Lankan judge did grade you a little overly hard for that small wrinkle in the gold leaf you went with on page 47. One could hardly see it next to the edgy chartreuse. But Tom’s application of gilt stars in a gravitational lens around a mythical planet was flawless. So again! We are not worthy but appreciate the glow and the occasional help hauling us out of the moderation pens below decks.

  50. 50.

    burnspbesq

    This is so frakkin’ good.

    The Missouri public defender’s office is chronically underfunded, to the point that it can’t handle its caseload properly. State law allows the public defender to assign cases to private members of the bar in emergency situations. So guess who gets the first assignment? The governor.

    link

  56. 56.

    M31

    Congrats!

    Newton and the Counterfeiter is a great book, and I’m looking forward to Vulcan immensely.

  58. 58.

    Humboldtblue

    Absolutely fantastic, congratulations science dude! I am slowly adding your titles to the kindle and you deserve all the plaudits that come your way!

  62. 62.

    WaterGirl

    @burnspbesq: It gets even better when you see that the reason he chose the governor was that the governor has been refusing to do nothing about the severe underfunding of the office.

    Awesome move.

  63. 63.

    Miss Bianca

    @PaulWartenberg2016: It’s available in our library system, but I just requested my library to purchase the audiobook version, which is how my best reading gets done these days!

  67. 67.

    Cermet

    Wow! Congratulations! Hope you win but being on the shortlist is an honor recognizing your accomplishment!

  76. 76.

    Dee Loralei

    Kudos Tom. I loved Newton and would go see the movie. Can’t wait to read Vulcan. Congrats again!

Comments are closed.