sf's

Time travel fiction quickly begat and/or blended into and enhanced 'alternate history', which is to my mind very closely related to Singularity/metaverse fictions (a post-Singularity or metaverse setting implies a completely new rule-set in the same way that a branched-reality setting does, though by leaping forwards instead of sideways or backwards) as well as being, in some respects, modern written sf's baseline mode.

MIND MELD: The Tricky Trope of Time Travel 2009

Most people know Don A. Stuart's novella "Who Goes There" through John Carpenter's 1982 adaptation titled The Thing (not to mention the 1951 adaptation Thing From Another World), but it's usually sf fans who know that Stuart was the pen name of one of sf's most influential editors, John W. Campbell.

REVIEW: Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell 2009

Using the imaginary world as a vantage point to critique society has long been sf's claim to seriousness.

MIND MELD: What You Should Know About Speculative Fiction and Mainstream Acceptance (Part 2) 2009

Myself, speaking as a writer, movies like Avatar are nails in sf's coffin.

Will You Go See Avatar? 2009

And, not incidentally, they show that you can challenge sf's assumptions without giving up sf's heritage: mundanes take note.

MIND MELD: Who Are Tomorrow's Big Genre Stars? (+ The Top 18 Genre Authors To Keep an Eye On) 2008

Additional recordings made at Penguicon 6.0 feature John Scalzi, talks about sf's cultural relevance, Self-Promotion, and Podcasting. [via SFFaudio]

SF Tidbits for 11/17/08 2008

A more serious answer is that written sf's past will determine its future, so I see more of the same.

MIND MELD: The Future of Written Science Fiction 2008

Additional recordings made at Penguicon 6.0 feature John Scalzi, talks about sf's cultural relevance, Self-Promotion, and Podcasting. [via SFFaudio]

November 2008 2008

Now we should be strengthening arts education programs, rather than cutting them (the state of ca [sic] has made elementary arts education funding flexible at the local level - though still present in school budgets; the city of sf's [sic] arts commission just tried to eliminate the only full-time arts education position they have).

Lucia Brawley: Part II - Why Arts Education is a Matter of Social Justice and Why it will Save the World 2009

Dripping with sense of wonder, Implied Spaces is a fast-paced, mind-stretching romp that's thoroughly fun and totally thought provoking, as well as a worthy homage to one of sf's greatest masters.

Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror: Analog 937 - Stanley Schmidt Blue Tyson 2009