This week’s stories were Isaac Asimov’s classic “Nightfall,” Paul di Filippo’s “Phylogenesis,” and Tim Pratt’s “Impossible Dreams.” We’re still examining “convergence,” but this week I wanted to focus on the disruptions that sometimes occur when things line up in a certain way, occasionally be design, but more often by chance.
Archive | September, 2010
Dune and the Super Being
The problem with super beings is that they’re super, non-human. This is a problem. This entry looks at Frank Herbert’s epic novel Dune.
Beaten Down
I guess I should face it: I’m a dick. I’m a jerk. I have opinions. I can be overbearing — intimidating, even. I’m not warm-and-fuzzy, but cold-and-coarse. I love a good debate, but I don’t think many of us can detach personal feelings from intellectual exercise anymore. When I think I’m being critical and challenging, [...]
A New Look
I have been ill for the past week. It always seems to happen at the beginning of the semester. Invariably, I touch one of the stinky, virus-infested keyboards and forget to wash my hands. It’s just like a Windoze peecee to give me a real virus. Probably something karmic. Being sick has allowed me to [...]
