The object above washed ashore in the Hawaiian district of Ka’u last month, and has remained immobile ever since—no great surprise, perhaps, given that it weighs an estimated seven tons. State authorities are now in the process of two vital tasks: Figuring out how to dispose of the monstrosity, and figuring out what the heck […]
Entries Tagged as 'sci-fi'
Exit the Tripods
February 8th, 2012 · Comments Off on Exit the Tripods
Saddened to hear of the passing of John Christopher, creator of one of my formative sci-fi experiences: the harrowing Tripods Trilogy. As I discussed nearly two years ago, Christopher’s tale of alien overlords was far more than crackling adventure yarn; it also centered on a powerful metaphor for parenthood that I admire to this day. […]
Tags:books·comics·John Christopher·sci-fi·The Tripods Trilogy·writing
Sci-Fi in the DDR
May 14th, 2010 · Comments Off on Sci-Fi in the DDR
The Stasi was hardly the only important East German institution to leave behind a wealth of archival material. Deutsche Film Aktiengesellschaft, better known to Western film buffs as DEFA Studios, also preserved its documentary heritage upon Communism’s collapse. The state-run movie producer has since bequeathed much of its vast archives to the University of Massachusetts, […]
Tags:East Germany·Eolomea·movies·sci-fi
A Metaphor for Parenthood
April 7th, 2010 · 8 Comments
Last night, we attempted to offer a pal of ours some reassurance. He’s expecting his first kid this summer, and he naturally has mixed feelings about what the future holds in store—the unabashed joy of ushering new life onto Planet Earth, of course, but also the loss of a whole bunch of personal autonomy for […]
Sunsets in Outer Space?
October 20th, 2009 · Comments Off on Sunsets in Outer Space?
We’re off taking advantage of our Stanford library privileges, in order to flesh out a few big-picture ideas. The wannabe emperor in the clip above, by contrast, could certainly do a better job of paying attention to the small picture—say, for example, by noticing that there are no sunsets in space. (Unless he has a […]
The Stuff of Kiddie Nightmares
June 9th, 2009 · 9 Comments
We’re dog tired today due to Microkhan Jr.’s recent sleep woes. He woke up screaming at an ungodly hour, obviously having suffered through a terrible nightmare. And as we rocked him back into the Sandman’s embrace, we got to thinking—in our Reagan-era days as a wee bairn, what caused us to suffer similar night terrors? […]
Tags:Jane Badler·sci-fi·TV·V