As of right now I have no idea with the state of this year. I hope to see myself in a design firm someplace up north with a steady job in a lively but not too crowded city. Eventually I'd hope to move from an office setting to either starting my own business/design firm, or go completely freelance, and depend on larger clients. I'd like to focus my extra free time into an eco-friendly lifestyle, and own a vegetable garden with a couple dogs to keep me company. I hope to visit lots of places with beautiful views and connect with friends I have made in college/high school again. I'd like to sit down on the hood of my hover car and watch the night sky and reminisce about David Steiling's, Literature of Horror, Fantasy and Sci-Fi class, and say "Those were the days."
Thanks for reading.
Friday, May 1, 2020
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
I've been a huge fan of the nonsense and laughable scenarios presented in Douglas Adam's great world of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy since I was in middle school. I actually preformed in a play based on the first couple chapters of the book. It was good to hear the radio version now because there are a lot of lines in the book that are very dryly presented. It's important to the humor and it definitely helped push it further into the realm of British dry humor.
I am drawn to this story among other sci-fi novels, not just because of the excellent humor, but for the unconventional plot line. Earth is destroyed and there are only but 2 humans living in the galaxy. Arthur Dent is so wrapped up in how amazing Earth is, but soon finds that the galaxy only knows it as a "Mostly Harmless" planet. In the same way many humans feel strongly about how important or how amazing their country is, Arthur defends Earth even if no one cares.
Blowing up the planet in the first 5 minutes of a book is a bold step to take, most books wait until at least halfway, or have moved past the destruction of the Earth with a new hope. There is no new hope for Arthur, he is but a hitchhiker on a wild adventure tagging along a group of criminals. Most books have a pretty good reason for blowing up the Earth as well, but again, in Douglas Adam's mind, he wanted to explore the idea of the Earth being demolished for the sake of an interstellar bypass. This almost knocks us down a peg as Earth-dwellers, and reminds us we are not that important in the galaxy. I absolutely love that. It's interesting to see the human race as but an evolutionary offspring of a giant, super computer planet, holding "the ultimate question."
It makes sense for such events to happen in the form of a British humor novel. I do recommend the first few books in the series, and only really dive into the last half if you're feeling a deep connection to the characters.
I am drawn to this story among other sci-fi novels, not just because of the excellent humor, but for the unconventional plot line. Earth is destroyed and there are only but 2 humans living in the galaxy. Arthur Dent is so wrapped up in how amazing Earth is, but soon finds that the galaxy only knows it as a "Mostly Harmless" planet. In the same way many humans feel strongly about how important or how amazing their country is, Arthur defends Earth even if no one cares.
It makes sense for such events to happen in the form of a British humor novel. I do recommend the first few books in the series, and only really dive into the last half if you're feeling a deep connection to the characters.
Thursday, April 30, 2020
The Aquatic Uncle
The short story, The Aquatic Uncle, by Italo Calvino goes on about a point in evolution where fish are drawn to the land, and start to move there. I really appreciated all the themes of modern society versus traditional values. I also thought it related a lot to the older generation of today, and how they're sometimes less accustomed to what the younger generation chooses to do. The idea of older people using texting was out of the picture 10 years ago. Many preferred making telephone calls to texting. And before that, people were haunted by the idea of hearing someone's voice through a wire, and refused Alexander Bell's invention. There will always be someone who prefers the old fashioned way in every generation. Change is scary, and this short story explains it.
I also thought it was an example of being out of place, as immigrants are when they move to America, sometimes they are shunned by both their native country and Americans. The main character fish is currently dealing with the same struggle as he is somewhere in between land and sea, but master of none. And because of that he is not great at swimming or dwelling on land. He feels like he doesn't fit in. Immigrants today who might have moved from their country at a young age are at a disadvantage in the new country they are in.
And finally, the idea of the grass being greener on the other side can be seen. As the fiancé is transfixed by the idea of living in water. She asks the great uncle to explain the underwater world. The main character is revolted by his persistence and embarrassed that the uncle won't stop praising the aquatic life. History is doomed to repeat itself, so just as fish were drawn to the land, eventually there would be land-dwellers that would be drawn to the sea.
Listen to your elders or they will steal your fiancé.
I also thought it was an example of being out of place, as immigrants are when they move to America, sometimes they are shunned by both their native country and Americans. The main character fish is currently dealing with the same struggle as he is somewhere in between land and sea, but master of none. And because of that he is not great at swimming or dwelling on land. He feels like he doesn't fit in. Immigrants today who might have moved from their country at a young age are at a disadvantage in the new country they are in.
And finally, the idea of the grass being greener on the other side can be seen. As the fiancé is transfixed by the idea of living in water. She asks the great uncle to explain the underwater world. The main character is revolted by his persistence and embarrassed that the uncle won't stop praising the aquatic life. History is doomed to repeat itself, so just as fish were drawn to the land, eventually there would be land-dwellers that would be drawn to the sea.
Listen to your elders or they will steal your fiancé.
Monday, April 20, 2020
Bloodchild
This book follows a settlement of humans on an alien planet. The most interesting aspect of the story is that the alien planet is populated by intelligent lifeforms which are able to be political and have different worldviews. The main character is forced to accept the agreement, which is unfair and unconventional, but it was necessary for both to survive. The author seemed to want to depict a symbiotic relationship between an alien and human race.
Throughout the book we can see the immediate connection of childbirth and how it's a terrifying it can be. In our world childbirth is dangerous and painful for women, and children are usually hidden from this procedure. In the short story, the roles are flipped and the male is forced to take on the role of carrying an alien child. The author also wanted see what it would take for a male to have maternal feelings for the life in their abdomen.
I also see a connection to afro-futurism through the group of people in this book. The humans fled from their world, and came to this new world. I can assume that space travel to a new planet would cost a considerable amount of money, and I could imagine that only the wealthy and important humans were the ones who boarded this ship to this planet. As soon as the humans came to the planet they were enslaved and held on reservations. I believe this could be considered a role reversal, where the wealthy and in power are now second to an entire species. One could also go as far as to say this settlement of people could have been the ones who caused their world to fall apart in the first place.
This short story was an interesting one and I believe made the reader think more about the history of our world in respect to this short story. It's very important not to forget history, or you are doomed to repeat it, so the author was saying: "Here look this is your world's history from a different perspective." Sci-Fi shouldn't be something left to the white heterosexual men to write.
Throughout the book we can see the immediate connection of childbirth and how it's a terrifying it can be. In our world childbirth is dangerous and painful for women, and children are usually hidden from this procedure. In the short story, the roles are flipped and the male is forced to take on the role of carrying an alien child. The author also wanted see what it would take for a male to have maternal feelings for the life in their abdomen.
I also see a connection to afro-futurism through the group of people in this book. The humans fled from their world, and came to this new world. I can assume that space travel to a new planet would cost a considerable amount of money, and I could imagine that only the wealthy and important humans were the ones who boarded this ship to this planet. As soon as the humans came to the planet they were enslaved and held on reservations. I believe this could be considered a role reversal, where the wealthy and in power are now second to an entire species. One could also go as far as to say this settlement of people could have been the ones who caused their world to fall apart in the first place.
This short story was an interesting one and I believe made the reader think more about the history of our world in respect to this short story. It's very important not to forget history, or you are doomed to repeat it, so the author was saying: "Here look this is your world's history from a different perspective." Sci-Fi shouldn't be something left to the white heterosexual men to write.
Sunday, April 19, 2020
Fragments of a Holographic Rose
There is a lot of symbolism in this short story: Fragments of a Holographic Rose. The rose is a metaphor for the life that is being lived. The fragmentation illustrates a world where when we lose something dear to us and it's been shattered into pieces, we are constantly looking through the shards to see the beauty it once held. Parker had his life shattered when his girlfriend left him so he is sifting through the remnants of their relationship and reliving her memories through the use of the ASP tapes.
The ASP is a new technology which has totally changed the future of the world. Parker, the main character, has shifted his life dramatically from a steady job to a life in the slum suburbs. In a world where jobs are rare, it makes sense that people have these tapes to rely on as a way to soak up all their free time. In much as Ready Player One has a less dystopian, but more functional society where people don't have jobs, but do spend all their free time playing the VR game, Fragments of a Holographic Rose has these sensory tapes that people can turn to for comfort. This is another cautionary tale of a writer who is predicting a fictional but not entirely impossible future. It sounds like the main character made a choice to leave his job and promised fiscal security in a post apocalyptic world. He did this because of the alluring temptations of the ASP tapes which he could cybernetically lose himself.
The life he chose to live in the shantytown, versus the life he could have had with a stable paying job, would confuse most people. Why wouldn't Parker choose to live in the higher society? I think this choice illustrates the power and grip of the new scary technology of total immersion into recorded memories. The sadness of being lost to the technology of the future can lead people to avoid similar possible mistakes, or make them too afraid of change and making it harder for mankind to progress.
Sunday, April 5, 2020
COME TO VENUS MELANCHOLY
Today I read Come to Venus Melancholy by Thomas M. Disch. The very "Melancholy" idea of the cyborg trapped alone for eternity with only a few books to read caused me to sympathize with the main character. This story acts as a cautionary tale, if mankind ever created immortality through cybernetics, they should know of the consequences. Considering a lot of test subjects who gave their lives to live forever cybernetically went psycho or died in the transformation process, it should be avoided. Although one last problem which this story focuses on, shows what would happen if the science of cybernetics was too successful.
The idea of putting a human mind full of emotions and personality into a machine room with another human and have the two depend on each other fascinates me as a future possibility. The tension between the two would have to be high when topics arose. The example of sex being one of those topics makes sense the cybernetic being would be uncomfortable conversing about. One other topic of sensitivity for the cybernetic being was the sacredness of poetry, specifically works by John Milton. She loved John George Clay, the man who was stationed with her, and believe he loved her back. There was a sense of anger when Clay attacked one of the only things she held dear: Poetry. His parody of a simple phrase by her favorite poet caused her to lash out and leave him alone for five full days. This abandonment would be a foreshadowing for her own destiny. For who knows what a human would go through being alone, locked in a room with no food.
So was there someone in the room with her this whole time? If they were, did they stay the entire time? Were her speakers even in tact? There's a lot of reasons why she shouldn't even bother trying, but given she had simply nothing else to do but hope for rescue, it made sense for her to give it a shot. The sadness and melancholy comes from these questions, and leaving it to the reader to imagine a figure coming back and interacting with the cyborg. Did the figure experience pity? sympathy? vengeance? interest? disgust? I'd like to picture perhaps there was a figure, who sat and listened to the poor cyborg. Who maybe tried to fix her microphone or visuals, but when they couldn't they gave up. Finally when the cyborg let them out, they couldn't bring themselves to destroy her. They left. It's a possible scenario, but an even more possible one would be no one was ever there. That seems to be the most fitting for the theme of the story.
The idea of putting a human mind full of emotions and personality into a machine room with another human and have the two depend on each other fascinates me as a future possibility. The tension between the two would have to be high when topics arose. The example of sex being one of those topics makes sense the cybernetic being would be uncomfortable conversing about. One other topic of sensitivity for the cybernetic being was the sacredness of poetry, specifically works by John Milton. She loved John George Clay, the man who was stationed with her, and believe he loved her back. There was a sense of anger when Clay attacked one of the only things she held dear: Poetry. His parody of a simple phrase by her favorite poet caused her to lash out and leave him alone for five full days. This abandonment would be a foreshadowing for her own destiny. For who knows what a human would go through being alone, locked in a room with no food.
So was there someone in the room with her this whole time? If they were, did they stay the entire time? Were her speakers even in tact? There's a lot of reasons why she shouldn't even bother trying, but given she had simply nothing else to do but hope for rescue, it made sense for her to give it a shot. The sadness and melancholy comes from these questions, and leaving it to the reader to imagine a figure coming back and interacting with the cyborg. Did the figure experience pity? sympathy? vengeance? interest? disgust? I'd like to picture perhaps there was a figure, who sat and listened to the poor cyborg. Who maybe tried to fix her microphone or visuals, but when they couldn't they gave up. Finally when the cyborg let them out, they couldn't bring themselves to destroy her. They left. It's a possible scenario, but an even more possible one would be no one was ever there. That seems to be the most fitting for the theme of the story.
Artemis
"She looked at him like he put the Earth in the sky"
Absolutely loved this book. I wanted to know more about the city of Artemis from page one. As the story progressed I felt the city becoming more and more a possibility in the near future. Andy Weir takes the idea of lunar colonization to a new level and drops us in the shoes of a blue-collar working smuggler who's goal is to make it to the top.
Starting at the bottom rungs of this lunar society helped the reader feel like they are getting the real view of the city. And there is a lot of science and technology which is explained to really make the moon feel a reachable goal for mankind. I have read Andy's The Martian a few years ago and could feel similar world building with science and just out of reach technology. Artemis is the the same attempt of world building times 100. There are hundreds of roles required for a city to function properly. It honestly felt like Weir created the city before creating the characters. There is opportunity for entirely new books written on the same book.
The humor keeps the reading light and interesting, and the first person point of view keeps the story linear and easy to follow. This is important for a book that is world-building so hard, and I think Andy knows how to balance the two. If the book followed multiple characters, and had too much long drawn out dialogue, and talked largely about lunar/rocket science, the reader would be lost. I greatly appreciated this pacing and I know Andy has learned from his previous book, and will continue to write stories such as these.
Absolutely loved this book. I wanted to know more about the city of Artemis from page one. As the story progressed I felt the city becoming more and more a possibility in the near future. Andy Weir takes the idea of lunar colonization to a new level and drops us in the shoes of a blue-collar working smuggler who's goal is to make it to the top.
Starting at the bottom rungs of this lunar society helped the reader feel like they are getting the real view of the city. And there is a lot of science and technology which is explained to really make the moon feel a reachable goal for mankind. I have read Andy's The Martian a few years ago and could feel similar world building with science and just out of reach technology. Artemis is the the same attempt of world building times 100. There are hundreds of roles required for a city to function properly. It honestly felt like Weir created the city before creating the characters. There is opportunity for entirely new books written on the same book.
The humor keeps the reading light and interesting, and the first person point of view keeps the story linear and easy to follow. This is important for a book that is world-building so hard, and I think Andy knows how to balance the two. If the book followed multiple characters, and had too much long drawn out dialogue, and talked largely about lunar/rocket science, the reader would be lost. I greatly appreciated this pacing and I know Andy has learned from his previous book, and will continue to write stories such as these.
The genre of "Space Opera" handles a lot of challenges by simply suggesting "science has advanced." Much like our past reads, the genre has epic missions and usually follows an underdog character who's traveling through space, unlocking mysteries, or saving space colonies. We've seen this before in genres of Magical nature. Simply replacing that magic with "science" and you have space opera.
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