was awesome. that goes almost without saying, i thought I’d have a great time, and I did once I got past my nervousness. i’m already looking forward to next year and I’m still in the hotel. One great thing that’s already come out of this is something I think will happen with increasingly regularity: I stumbled across a review looking for books by Steve Eickson and came across a review of Allistair Reynold’s most recent book by one of of the people who’d told me I should read Erickson. He also suggested a very smooth, smokey scotch to me. Anyway, this confrence was great and I think I’ll be gearing a lot more free time [once I have time that isn't free] toward scholarship and helping out the organization. Great fun will be had. More on that later. I must remember to look around at Drupal when I get a chance.
Archive for the ‘academics’ Category
this confrence
Monday, July 14th, 2008lapsed futures, genres, etc:
Friday, February 1st, 2008To consider lapsed futures, that is, futures whose time has come and speculation beaten out by reality you have to consider your approach, as I’ve noted earlier. You have to decide how much of the shell of lapsed future you want to hack through to get at the universality in the core of the fiction. You have to decide if that husk is what you’re after, if you’re looking for a history of how the author thought it would turn out.
Is the genre fiction to be analyzed too dependent on cultural/technological/social conditions? If plot wholly impossible without speculative elements are there enough remaining elements in the text to justify a critical reading via a search for recognizable elements of conflict, characterological development etc. (those elements which make a work more than simply entertaining, and perhaps thus worthy of criticism and serious study. See Chabon’s writing (intro to Best American Short Stories 2005) on pleasure of fiction and stigmatizing of pleasure/enjoyment in reading/lit/short stories.)
Horror as further relegated from prestige of SF/F under Speculative umbrella. A step up from Erotica in prestige ignoring Lovecraft, Shelly, Stoker etc classics.
Look into genre categorization, conventions thereof, nomenclature. notably: coinage by Heinlein of Speculative Fiction as umbrella term.
These are unfinished notes clearly in need of elaboration, they’ll be razed when the time comes.
a proposal for content to be included
Friday, February 1st, 2008I’d like to read the better-regarded, prestige riddled stories dating back to before the inception of the Nebulas and Hugos as corner stones of S.F. recognizing itself as a genre of value, a genre where good work was being done and would be acknowledged. I wonder if there is a similar genre award in the Crime Novel genre, the kind of thing you give to Chandler and Hammett. I’d like to put up on here notes on my reading of the stories, just 500 words or so on the work and what I thought of it, how I think it holds up over the years and whether I’d recommend reading it. This will involve a very careful approach to reading the texts though whose methodology I’ll have to carefully consider before beginning in earnest.
never
Monday, January 21st, 2008say to yourself “stop buying books.”
say instead: “start reading them faster.”
also:
New Things
Thursday, January 17th, 2008In case you hadn’t noticed, there’s a number of new things over there in the sidebar to look at. Horray. Though they’re mostly concerned with my media inputs for the year, they’ll also cover past and present output of writing and crap like that.
good morning from Boston University
Thursday, January 10th, 2008Today (January 8, 2008) The Boston Globe reported a wave of vomiting and diarrhea which has swept through three of Boston’s major hospitals over the past month leaving more than 70 patients and staff workers ill. A similar outbreak has also been reported in the United Kingdom. Both outbreaks are being attributed to the Norovirus.
…
No medicine is available to prevent or reduce the duration of the infection.
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Please remain at home or in your dorm until your symptoms have resolved, as this will help prevent the spread of the infection to others.
This was in an email I got today. Horray. I needed more things to worry about. Also, today is the 10th, not the 8th. It’s good to know that the bureaucratic apparatus takes 2 days to get information about infections out to the students. Awesome all around. You can’t do shit and you better not spread it around. At least it’s not fatal.
mmrwaw.
Thursday, January 3rd, 2008headed back to Boston, at least I’ll sleep plenty on the bus. rather tired. glad to be headed back though. must order textbooks soon.