Iain M. Banks reacts to the symposium on his book, The Hydrogen Sonata.
The Hydrogen Sonata Forum: Iain M. Banks Replies
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science fiction
Podcasts and Space Hamsters and Shoulder Dragons, oh my!
The very first Duck of Minerva podcast. Featuring PTJ and Dan.
HP Lovecraft and Theosophy
Some years ago I finally got around to reading Goodrick-Clarke's The Occult Roots of Nazism: Secret Aryan Cults and their Influence on Nazi Ideology. Reading Goodrick-Clarke's description of various...
Academic Rigor in the Classroom: Time to Get Serious?
Charli, Dan and Patrick at ISA 2013? The academics/educators who write this blog often locate their research and teaching interests in texts from popular culture. Dan has co-edited a book on Harry...
More science fiction Posts
Serenity Now
At the urging of a friend, I have recently finished consuming the complete box-set of Joss Wheddon's now-defunct Firefly TV series plus the feature film Serenity. (Totally missed this show in 2002 while writing my dissertation.)Though my partner can't quite see what I like about Firefly/Serenity(and didn't accept my claim that I was viewing it as a mere artifact of popular culture - really), truth is it's a damn cool series that should have survived beyond one season.If you're unfamiliar with Firefly, here's the premise: humankind has colonized a new solar system, characterized by a strong,...
Political Metaphors Not Firing on All Thrusters?
Some commenters on my recent post about emotions in IR are a little flustered over the difference between Klingons and Vulcans in Star Trek. Representative David Wu of Oregon offers a clarification from the floor of Congress:
Oh, my
Anyway, the end begins tomorrow. I'm sure the political-science/science-fiction nerds that dominate the international-relations blogsphere will have much commentary.The main question: will it be like the first half of Season 2, or the second half of Season 3? Ah, the difference between greatness and farce....
The Convenant as Idrians? Cortana as a Mind?
It has been a busy week in world politics, but despite finishing my book I've been too squeezed to provide insightful commentary. A bit of geek-blogging, on the other hand, takes far less energy. While I was trolling around Gamespot this discussion of Halo's influences caught my eye:GS: With Halo, you've succeeded in creating a unique sci-fi setting and storyline in a rather overcrowded genre. What were the inspirations for the game's mythology?Jaime Griesemer: That's tough. Halo was created by a group of people, all with their own personal flavors and influences, so the end product is the...
Random pop-culture notes
• The Crane Wife is, as my friends predicted, growing on me. The prog-rock turn worked much better in The Tain, and I don't think I'll ever find the Decemberists' fourth LP superior to their prior three, but there's still a lot to like about their first major-label offering.• Jonah Goldberg's the worst kind of sci-fi geek: one who doesn't know a whole lot about the genre . I actually agree with him about Dean Stockwell's line in the premiere of Battlestar Galactica, but he's wrong about everything else. The writers of BSG understand the fragility of goodness in the face of difficult...
Isn’t it Ironic?
Glenn Reynolds asks for science fiction suggestions from his readers. Top of the list?Lots of readers have been writing in with suggestions as to authors. Iain M. Banks -- whom I've never read -- seems a favorite, particularly his Use of Weapons.To paraphrase Wanda Gershwitz:"Otto, you’re a conservative.”“Aha! Conservatives don’t read Banks!”“Yes, they do—they just don’t understand it."Filed as: Iain M. Banks, science fiction, and instapundt