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.
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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.
Clarke and Asimov Audio
I recently returned from a multi-day journey on which I was able to listen to science fiction classics on audio. Science fiction audio and travel just seem to go together for me.
Frames in Kafka’s Metamorphosis
In reading Kafka’s Metamorphosis for class last week, I noticed that the novella is framed in a way that highlights one of its central — if not the central — thematic concerns of the text. Figuratively, frames are a way to organize and structure reality. If you consider a photograph, it is framed or composed in such a way as to present the real world in an organized and predictable fashion.
The Gents
The Norman Mailer Society is now a Pro. On Flickr, that is. As a part of the new-and-improved web site, we purchased a Flickr account where we’ll be posting our photos from the conferences, of the man himself, and other apropos events. This photo is by Mark James, and shows the Executive Board at Mailer’s [...]
Goethe’s Faust
Goethe’s Faust is a complex work of literature that is concerned with the place of humanity in the cosmos, the striving of its protagonist beyond his human confines, the implications of his going too far, and the consequences that his quest have on his community.
Molière’s Tartuffe
An overriding theme of Molière’s Tartuffe is not one of religion directly, but of that age-old concern of comme il faut, propriety, and appearance versus reality. The central problem that the play confronts is not with Tartuffe’s being a religious hypocrite, but with the fact that he uses his powers to manipulate others and — perhaps most importantly — the fact that his hypocrisy becomes known.