Locus on video gaming.
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Faraway Places
General Chang famously referred to the future as "the undiscovered country."
Actually, in Hamlet, that phrase refers to death, rather than the future (which explains why The Undiscovered Country was actually the original working title of Star Trek II), but that's another story: Presumably either Shakespeare wasn't quite as fluent in Klingon as he thought he was (like Utada Hikaru, perhaps he should have gotten some help from more experienced translators), or General Chang majored in something other than Literary Criticism at the Klingon Warrior Academy.
L. P. Hartley similarly observed that "The past is a foreign country."
Doubt it? Read Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael novels; or read either Master and Commander, or Patrick O'Brian's other Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin novels. See if they don't feel like Science Fiction to you. Kirk and crew may have cruised around the galaxy finding planets that looked strangely like historical Earth with the serial numbers filed off, but look backwards in our actual history a few centuries, and you will find societies and modes of thinking at least as strange and alien as anything portrayed by actors with putty on their noses on a Hollywood sound stage.
Sometimes, you don't even have to go back all that far.
When my sister was born, polio was a ubiquitous spectre haunting everyone's childhood (indeed, just after my sister was born, my mother contracted, and was partially paralyzed by, the disease); by the time I was a child, a few short years later, polio was a funny little sugar cube and some pink liquid I had to drink on vaccination day. It was no more relevant to my life than was the Black Death.
When I was born, before Loving v. Virginia, anti-miscegenation statutes had overwhelming support — as high as ninety percent in some polls — among white Americans. Today, the very idea seems so obviously wrongheaded that it is used as the ad absurdum end point of a slippery slope analogy by proponents of same-sex marriage who want to sway opinions to their side.
A while back, I had a sudden disorienting shock while perusing an ancient black and white skin flick. It was shot without sound, and didn't even have dialog looped in after the fact; instead, the entire thing was narrated, with an ambivalent female MC setting each scene, describing each character's thoughts and motivations, and providing a modicum of play-by-play. The overall effect was quite peculiar, to say the least, but my moment of complete disconnection came when the narrator explained that the protagonist was going to visit a prostitute because prosititutes knew where to get illegal drugs, like marijuana!, or... contraceptives.
Contrawhaahaaa?
And then it hit me: Never mind Roe v. Wade; this was before Griswold v. Connecticut! When I was born, even talking about contraceptives was against the law in parts of America.
Let's say that again: When I was born, even talking about contraceptives was against the law in parts of America.
Still think that The Handmaid's Tale is as exaggerated and improbable as Waterworld or Damnation Alley? More to the point, now you know why, despite the fact that humans have obviously been having sex for a long, long time, the constellation of effects which followed in the wake of Griswold, Kinsey, Hite, and The Pill, deserved to be called a "Revolution."
The world has ended many times, in many places. Look across the world, and you can see back into the distant past, and perhaps, here and there, into the future. Look into the past, and you can see alien worlds populated by completely alien people who are just like us anyway.
There are almost five million Americans who were born in a time when women could not vote for President (almost half of you out there were born before Switzerland, of all places, followed suit). There are nearly one hundred and ten million Americans who were born in a time when hurricanes could sneak up on America with as little warning as the tsunami gave to people in the Indian Ocean. My sister was one of them. A couple of decades later — only a few years after Swiss women were finally allowed to vote in Federal elections — she was flying into hurricanes for a living.
"History," as Ken MacLeod observed, "is the trade secret of science fiction."
We are standing here, on the cusp, in the border lands. At our back are foreign countries of the past; in front of us lies the undiscovered country of the future. It's just up ahead — if you look right over there, you can see it. And even if we have to wait until dark and swim across the river when the border guards aren't looking, by God, we're going to get there.
Together.
Actually, in Hamlet, that phrase refers to death, rather than the future (which explains why The Undiscovered Country was actually the original working title of Star Trek II), but that's another story: Presumably either Shakespeare wasn't quite as fluent in Klingon as he thought he was (like Utada Hikaru, perhaps he should have gotten some help from more experienced translators), or General Chang majored in something other than Literary Criticism at the Klingon Warrior Academy.
L. P. Hartley similarly observed that "The past is a foreign country."
Doubt it? Read Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael novels; or read either Master and Commander, or Patrick O'Brian's other Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin novels. See if they don't feel like Science Fiction to you. Kirk and crew may have cruised around the galaxy finding planets that looked strangely like historical Earth with the serial numbers filed off, but look backwards in our actual history a few centuries, and you will find societies and modes of thinking at least as strange and alien as anything portrayed by actors with putty on their noses on a Hollywood sound stage.
Sometimes, you don't even have to go back all that far.
When my sister was born, polio was a ubiquitous spectre haunting everyone's childhood (indeed, just after my sister was born, my mother contracted, and was partially paralyzed by, the disease); by the time I was a child, a few short years later, polio was a funny little sugar cube and some pink liquid I had to drink on vaccination day. It was no more relevant to my life than was the Black Death.
When I was born, before Loving v. Virginia, anti-miscegenation statutes had overwhelming support — as high as ninety percent in some polls — among white Americans. Today, the very idea seems so obviously wrongheaded that it is used as the ad absurdum end point of a slippery slope analogy by proponents of same-sex marriage who want to sway opinions to their side.
A while back, I had a sudden disorienting shock while perusing an ancient black and white skin flick. It was shot without sound, and didn't even have dialog looped in after the fact; instead, the entire thing was narrated, with an ambivalent female MC setting each scene, describing each character's thoughts and motivations, and providing a modicum of play-by-play. The overall effect was quite peculiar, to say the least, but my moment of complete disconnection came when the narrator explained that the protagonist was going to visit a prostitute because prosititutes knew where to get illegal drugs, like marijuana!, or... contraceptives.
Contrawhaahaaa?
And then it hit me: Never mind Roe v. Wade; this was before Griswold v. Connecticut! When I was born, even talking about contraceptives was against the law in parts of America.
Let's say that again: When I was born, even talking about contraceptives was against the law in parts of America.
Still think that The Handmaid's Tale is as exaggerated and improbable as Waterworld or Damnation Alley? More to the point, now you know why, despite the fact that humans have obviously been having sex for a long, long time, the constellation of effects which followed in the wake of Griswold, Kinsey, Hite, and The Pill, deserved to be called a "Revolution."
The world has ended many times, in many places. Look across the world, and you can see back into the distant past, and perhaps, here and there, into the future. Look into the past, and you can see alien worlds populated by completely alien people who are just like us anyway.
There are almost five million Americans who were born in a time when women could not vote for President (almost half of you out there were born before Switzerland, of all places, followed suit). There are nearly one hundred and ten million Americans who were born in a time when hurricanes could sneak up on America with as little warning as the tsunami gave to people in the Indian Ocean. My sister was one of them. A couple of decades later — only a few years after Swiss women were finally allowed to vote in Federal elections — she was flying into hurricanes for a living.
"History," as Ken MacLeod observed, "is the trade secret of science fiction."
We are standing here, on the cusp, in the border lands. At our back are foreign countries of the past; in front of us lies the undiscovered country of the future. It's just up ahead — if you look right over there, you can see it. And even if we have to wait until dark and swim across the river when the border guards aren't looking, by God, we're going to get there.
Together.
Last Day of The Past, Part II
Making up for lost time due to unavoidable technical difficulties...
The Falsies Awards. This is really the best and only link I have for you today. I'm inclined to call it "must reading." And if you wonder how it relates to fantasy and science fiction, you're not thinking about it hard enough.
The Falsies Awards. This is really the best and only link I have for you today. I'm inclined to call it "must reading." And if you wonder how it relates to fantasy and science fiction, you're not thinking about it hard enough.
Today is the Last Day of the Past
What better way to ease into things and to note the dying of the days of 2004 than to fill in some gaps around previous entries?
First, having noted Gollum's vitamin deficiency, it would be remiss of us not to mention that the gentle magic of repeated blows to the head seems to have kept Tintin youthful and spry. Furthermore, heavy metal poisoning gave him his lustrous red hair, and gastroenterocolitis is responsible for his fox terrier, Milou.
Maintaining an incredibly tenuous link to an earlier mention of the Japanese SF spectacular Casshern, Japanese pop superstar Utada Hikaru (whose husband, Kazuaki Kiriya, wrote and directed Casshern), put her native command of the English language to work by translating the perkygoth quasi-comic Emily the Strange into Japanese. The book became a bestseller, despite grumbled complaints from professional translators about the quality of her effort.
Finally, speaking of Akira Toriyama, I felt compelled by a power beyond understanding to mention that Iron Chef's ubiquitous and harried floor reporter, Shinichirô Ôta, was a regular in the anime TV series versions of both Dragonball GT and Doctor Slump. Of course, Chairman Kaga starred as the villain, Jiraldan, in Pokemon the Movie 2000: The Power of One, and, as we all know, Doc Hattori narrowly missed getting the part of Michiru Kaioh, Sailor Neptune, in Bishôjo senshi Sailor Moon S: The Movie. Cheer up, Doc! You've still got your Nutrition College.
First, having noted Gollum's vitamin deficiency, it would be remiss of us not to mention that the gentle magic of repeated blows to the head seems to have kept Tintin youthful and spry. Furthermore, heavy metal poisoning gave him his lustrous red hair, and gastroenterocolitis is responsible for his fox terrier, Milou.
Maintaining an incredibly tenuous link to an earlier mention of the Japanese SF spectacular Casshern, Japanese pop superstar Utada Hikaru (whose husband, Kazuaki Kiriya, wrote and directed Casshern), put her native command of the English language to work by translating the perkygoth quasi-comic Emily the Strange into Japanese. The book became a bestseller, despite grumbled complaints from professional translators about the quality of her effort.
Finally, speaking of Akira Toriyama, I felt compelled by a power beyond understanding to mention that Iron Chef's ubiquitous and harried floor reporter, Shinichirô Ôta, was a regular in the anime TV series versions of both Dragonball GT and Doctor Slump. Of course, Chairman Kaga starred as the villain, Jiraldan, in Pokemon the Movie 2000: The Power of One, and, as we all know, Doc Hattori narrowly missed getting the part of Michiru Kaioh, Sailor Neptune, in Bishôjo senshi Sailor Moon S: The Movie. Cheer up, Doc! You've still got your Nutrition College.
Monday, December 27, 2004
You Gotta Find First Geeeear... In Your Auto-Flamethrowing Caaaaar...
South African inventors come up with the craaaaaaaziest things. Among them, a "smart gun" not entirely unlike the one featured in an old Fans story.
Michio Kaku is a theoretical physicist and science writer with a new book out whose title is of some relevance to SF: Parallel Worlds.
Michio Kaku is a theoretical physicist and science writer with a new book out whose title is of some relevance to SF: Parallel Worlds.
Sunday, December 26, 2004
Got Some Holiday Spirit Left Over?
I just got word that Will Eisner is recovering from quadruple-bypass heart surgery. This man, one of the most important living figures in comics, deserves your recognition and support. Send any messages to:
Will Eisner Studios, Inc
8333 W. McNab Road
Tamarac, FL 33321
Will Eisner Studios, Inc
8333 W. McNab Road
Tamarac, FL 33321
Friday, December 24, 2004
Merry Christmas To All...
This looks good. Time travel with a mild seasoning of Christianity that doesn't use belief as a substitute for thinking. At least, that's how it sounds.
We approach the surface of Titan.
Sometimes an SF comic, sometimes a Latino slice-of-life comic. Always fascinating. And you'll probably never get a better price per page.
Oh, and don't panic. There's still a better than 98% chance the asteroid won't hit us and destroy all life on Earth. Happy Holidays!
We approach the surface of Titan.
Sometimes an SF comic, sometimes a Latino slice-of-life comic. Always fascinating. And you'll probably never get a better price per page.
Oh, and don't panic. There's still a better than 98% chance the asteroid won't hit us and destroy all life on Earth. Happy Holidays!
Not A Creature Is Stirring.
You know the news of the day is pretty quiet when the best SF thing I can find on short notice is this L. Ron Hubbard contest. You guys know my feelings on Hubbard. However, if there's one Hubbard book actually worth the time, it's probably this one, which made his reputation years before Dianetics.
Taking a bit of a break from the project I told you about yesterday to whip up a guest strip for an old friend, and rework some of tcampbell.net (it's long, loooong overdue).
And what are you still here for? Go! Do last-minute shopping, spend time with family and friends! Time disappears out from under you before you know it...
Taking a bit of a break from the project I told you about yesterday to whip up a guest strip for an old friend, and rework some of tcampbell.net (it's long, loooong overdue).
And what are you still here for? Go! Do last-minute shopping, spend time with family and friends! Time disappears out from under you before you know it...
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Quick Note...
Rylen D. suggests SCI FI repair some of the damage to its cred by airing Ursula le Guin's other movie, the one she likes, The Lathe of Heaven.
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Don't Mind the Steam Coming Out My Ears...
Hard at work (and I mean *hard* at work) on another guest script, this one for one of the BIG boys of online comics. Definitely one of the more challenging stories I've done this year. More on this as I can tell it.
Today's Narbonic has a letter-perfect Fans guest appearance.
Stargate SG-1 spoilerama.
Although SCI FI doesn't provide great links to it any more, you can still find "Michael Swanwick's Periodic Table of Science Fiction" on Google. Correction: You can get the full periodic table here. Free association and short-short SF at its best (Krypton's got a one-of-a-kind take on Superman)...
Today's Narbonic has a letter-perfect Fans guest appearance.
Stargate SG-1 spoilerama.
Although SCI FI doesn't provide great links to it any more, you can still find "Michael Swanwick's Periodic Table of Science Fiction" on Google. Correction: You can get the full periodic table here. Free association and short-short SF at its best (Krypton's got a one-of-a-kind take on Superman)...
Monday, December 20, 2004
My Life Is A Croc.
For those who missed the announcement elsewhere, I'm writing the next thirteen episodes of Life's A Croc, a lovely little story called "Shitheap."
Huh. Apparently, Biff was right in Back to the Future Part II when he said he had nothing to worry about from ballistics fingerprinting.
A nice coffee table book for the fan who has everything.
And say goodbye to the BBC's science-fiction webpages, except those for Doctor Who.
Huh. Apparently, Biff was right in Back to the Future Part II when he said he had nothing to worry about from ballistics fingerprinting.
A nice coffee table book for the fan who has everything.
And say goodbye to the BBC's science-fiction webpages, except those for Doctor Who.
Friday, December 17, 2004
Moneymoneymoneymoney...
The Baltimore Science Fiction Society has won a property tax exemption. Curiously, I now live only 90 minutes from their headquarters, so I may stop by and check them out at some point.
And Anarchy Online is playing with videogame economics.
Oh, and incidentally, Penny and Aggie is coming into comic book stores, May 2005.
And Anarchy Online is playing with videogame economics.
Oh, and incidentally, Penny and Aggie is coming into comic book stores, May 2005.
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
The Best Week for Webcomics Reportage, Ever.
Yours truly participates in a roundtable discussion of the future of webcomics, just one of the many offerings from the Webcomics Examiner's December smorgasbord. Best comics of 2004, reviews and more.
Comixpedia's year-end volume is also fantastic, with a "25 Most Powerful People" article, a "Year in Review" piece co-authored by our own Wednesday White (who also has a review in the Examiner), a couple of wonderful interviews, a farewell column and one of its better reviews. Was it really only a year ago that I fretted the flap over negative reviews would kill the 'Pedia before its time? That time is now.
Comixpedia's year-end volume is also fantastic, with a "25 Most Powerful People" article, a "Year in Review" piece co-authored by our own Wednesday White (who also has a review in the Examiner), a couple of wonderful interviews, a farewell column and one of its better reviews. Was it really only a year ago that I fretted the flap over negative reviews would kill the 'Pedia before its time? That time is now.
Friday, December 10, 2004
Thursday, December 09, 2004
From The World of Webcomics...
Jamie Robertson has gotten a success he richly deserves-- his 200-subscriber goal has been achieved, meaning we will get to see more COTC in the coming year.
And Maritza Campos is preggers!
Feed the baby.
And Maritza Campos is preggers!
Feed the baby.
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
What I'm Up To...
If you're wondering why this blog hasn't heard from me much, it's because:
a) Yesterday, I had nuthin' that could top Wednesday's Matrix news and I wanted everyone to see it. You should scroll down if you haven't seen it yet. I'll wait.
b) Comixpedia is running Part 7 (revised) and Part 8 of "The History of Webcomics."
c) Tonight's the big meeting for WASHINGTON WEBTOONISTS. If you're in the area, stop on by at 11054 Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA at 7 PM. It's the big ol' BORDERS. I'll be in the cafe and a red jacket will be on my chair. We'll be deciding activities for the coming year, and if you're a webcartoonist looking to improve your hits and profits, you don't wanna miss this.
Late tomorrow: perhaps some links about things other than me.
a) Yesterday, I had nuthin' that could top Wednesday's Matrix news and I wanted everyone to see it. You should scroll down if you haven't seen it yet. I'll wait.
b) Comixpedia is running Part 7 (revised) and Part 8 of "The History of Webcomics."
c) Tonight's the big meeting for WASHINGTON WEBTOONISTS. If you're in the area, stop on by at 11054 Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA at 7 PM. It's the big ol' BORDERS. I'll be in the cafe and a red jacket will be on my chair. We'll be deciding activities for the coming year, and if you're a webcartoonist looking to improve your hits and profits, you don't wanna miss this.
Late tomorrow: perhaps some links about things other than me.
Saturday, December 04, 2004
So.
So I've been kind of distracted, what with a major announcement about Penny and Aggie's future plans, a change in work situation that wouldn't interest anyone, and a move. But let's just take a few minutes here...
Article discusses how e-books may yet be the future of publishing after all.
Closer is the kind of movie that makes singles glad to be single. It's also a bit of a mind-blower for people who've only seen Natalie Portman as Amidala and a) think of her as Princess Perfection and/or b) didn't realize she could act.
Oh, and for those who haven't seen it already, the Zoomquilt!
Article discusses how e-books may yet be the future of publishing after all.
Closer is the kind of movie that makes singles glad to be single. It's also a bit of a mind-blower for people who've only seen Natalie Portman as Amidala and a) think of her as Princess Perfection and/or b) didn't realize she could act.
Oh, and for those who haven't seen it already, the Zoomquilt!
Friday, December 03, 2004
Behind the Scenes of SF Media...
Future Publishing has an aggressive new marketing manager. And you care because... Future publishes a wide array of geek-friendly magazines, including SFX, Britain's #1 magazine, which is to hold a major film festival next year. Which is... a marketing activity. And the more aggressive the marketing, the better the festival. I'm sure you can connect the dots from here.
Thanks to Locus Magazine for finding this poem about the end of Edgar Allan Poe.
Thanks to Ravenswood. I didn't even know about the "Casey and Andy Mad Science Award" (scroll down).
And thanks to Muttley for recommending Space Odyssey, one of those shows that makes you glad TV does nonfiction.
Thanks to Locus Magazine for finding this poem about the end of Edgar Allan Poe.
Thanks to Ravenswood. I didn't even know about the "Casey and Andy Mad Science Award" (scroll down).
And thanks to Muttley for recommending Space Odyssey, one of those shows that makes you glad TV does nonfiction.
Thursday, December 02, 2004
The Ahhht Just Hasn't Been The Same Since The iMac.
News roundup:
The latest misunderstood and underappreciated creative medium is the case mod. One man's account of his SF-themed venture into high, invisible art.
Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle's Mote in God's Eye featured ground-based lasers that propel spacecraft. NASA is toying with this idea now, yet Niven and Pournelle didn't invent the idea. Who did?
I don't link too many "who's playing who" rumors, but Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor?
Jeopardy-watchers may find this amusing. Kneel before the Zerg!
Speaking of naming synchronicities, didjaknow tasers were actually named after an SF children's book character?
Nice piece on the irony of ultra-conservative Heinlein becoming a 1960s hipster icon.
J.G. Ballard: Quotes sounds like an interesting experiment, as so many Ballard things do. Although you can get a free sample here.
And finally, it's that time of year again for aspiring manga-ka...
The latest misunderstood and underappreciated creative medium is the case mod. One man's account of his SF-themed venture into high, invisible art.
Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle's Mote in God's Eye featured ground-based lasers that propel spacecraft. NASA is toying with this idea now, yet Niven and Pournelle didn't invent the idea. Who did?
I don't link too many "who's playing who" rumors, but Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor?
Jeopardy-watchers may find this amusing. Kneel before the Zerg!
Speaking of naming synchronicities, didjaknow tasers were actually named after an SF children's book character?
Nice piece on the irony of ultra-conservative Heinlein becoming a 1960s hipster icon.
J.G. Ballard: Quotes sounds like an interesting experiment, as so many Ballard things do. Although you can get a free sample here.
And finally, it's that time of year again for aspiring manga-ka...
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