Unintended Break

I did not mean to take such a long break from reading the Chinese magazine, Science Fiction World, but it has just sort of worked out that way. I intend to get back at it over the next few days, though, and will have more updates then.



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Bill and Ted

I recently caught a showing of Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey on cable. This movie isn't nearly as good as the first Bill & Ted installment, but it was a lot of fun watching it again and laughing at the old, lame jokes. They are lame as ever, and still crack me up. (Does that make my sense of humor lame?)

One of the things I like about these movies is how they explore a very silly sort of sci-fi film. In the Bill & Ted movies, there is an appreciation of the genre that underlies the silliness, I think. It seems to me that someone who doesn't understand how sci-fi films work probably couldn't make or appreciate the humor of Bill & Ted, even for as much as sci-fi comes in for a bit of mockery in the movies.

One aspect that is easily missed in the films is how well-rounded their targets for mockery are. While there seems to be a base in rock music and pop culture, the films also take us back to important historical figures (or in the case of the second, mythological figures), and expect the audience to know something about each of them. Without a well-rounded knowledge, the films aren't funny, really.

It's funny, when I look back, how even these sorts of cheesy, pseudo-sci-fi movies can capture so much. It reminds me why I like the genre so much.

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Richard Kearney's Strangers, Gods, and Monsters

Richard Kearney's Strangers, Gods, and Monsters is a very well-written work of literary and cultural criticism. I finished the book about a month ago (after taking a month or two to read it), and am still enjoying mulling over the ideas he presented. I loved how he used contemporary fascination with figures of science fiction and fantasy to explore the role of the Other in our lives. He notes that we have traditionally tended to break our understanding of others down into two distinct groups, those who are shunned (scapegoats and monsters) and those who are exalted (gods). He then moves on to the call of many postmodern thinkers that we have heard for many years now — that we cease to impose our judgments on strangers and take the sting out of Otherness. I liked the move that Kearney suggests that we make, though. He points out that tolerance actually requires a more not less judicial approach to the Other. While it is true that we don't want to force a single culture's standards on everyone, Kearney recognizes that we need to be able to judge when we meet Others which ones are friends, and which seek to harm us. Very intelligent and very convincing, this book is one that I think is worth taking a good long time to read and ponder.

Included in the discussion are many science fiction and fantasy texts (the Alien movies gets a whole chapter, and is quite central to the first half of the discussion). While this is not the type of speculative fiction book I normally discuss at this blog, it is one that should be of interest to fans of the genre.


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Sci Fi Channel Series: Tinman

I recently finished watching the Sci Fi Channel's series Tinman on DVD. I was impressed with the series overall, and found several of the actors especially pleasant. By the time the series ended, I found myself quite attached to DG and all those around her.

The series is set in the O.Z. (the Outer Zone), a land that DG finds she has to help save. It is inspired by The Wizard of Oz, and I found the connections throughout the series to be quite fun. It was amusing to see how the characters were brought to a new sort of life in this sci-fi world.

I first thought that this was planned as an ongoing series, but it seems now that it is more intended as a miniseries, a one-off sort of thing. I think that is good, because the way the whole is packaged now is just right. It begins well, progresses quite nicely, and then wraps it all up effectively. I think it is great that it looks like it is not going to be something that is dragged out beyond where it can effectively sustain the story. As it is, it is good, and is worth watching.

I hope the Sci Fi Channel comes up with more series like this. It's a good one, and I'd happily watch more things in this vein.

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Tin Man

I have recently picked up the first season of Sci Fi Channel's Tin Man on DVD. I haven't actually seen any of it, being that there is no Sci Fi Channel where I live, but I saw it in the DVD shop and thought it looked like the kind of thing I like. I'll be watching it soon, and will probably have lots to comment about it here.

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I am excited

I just got some good news! Two of my poems have been accepted for publication in Aoife's Kiss, a magazine which focuses on sci-fi poetry. Both are a part of a collection I have been working on, largely dealing with sci-fi related themes. I am pleased that they have been accepted.

Actually, I sent 5 poems, each quite different from the others, in order to test the market and see if I had anything that might fit. It's nice to know that something does.

The poems will be appearing in September, one in print and one online. There are several publications put out from Sam's Dot Publishing, who produces Aoife's Kiss. If you think you have something that might fit there, do drop it to them. I think you will find their feedback helpful.

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The Dreams Our Stuff is Made of

I am having some trouble logging into my main blog site, so am unable at the moment to post the last of The Matrix blogs. It was my favorite post in the series back when I first posted it, but oh well. I'll get it up here eventually.

So, in the meantime, let me recommend this title: Thomas Disch has written an amazing study of the science fiction genre. It is a very insightful read for scholars who have an interest in genre, but also for sci-fi buffs. I ordered it many years ago, and have often referred back to it for some bit of information on sci-fi or genre studies. It's a handy little resource to have on the shelf.



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