Implausible SF Trope: Freedom in Space
Earth (which sometimes only consists of the United States) is under a tyrannous tyranny. But our heroes escape! They now live in a space habitat/starship/the one habitable part of an extrasolar planet. They have all the freedoms and liberties the author believes all sane people want and deserve.
Really? They're in a fragile environment, which must be protected from damage. There are rules: Smoking (tobacco, marijuana, whatever) is allowed in certain areas, when your name rises to the top of the waiting list. (The atmosphere must be conserved!) Firearms must be kept and used in places where they're not likely to damage the hull/dome.
Of course, your preferred form of government will only infringe on individual or group freedoms when absolutely necessary. Or your preferred form of anarchism, theocracy, or whatever. But are you certain everyone else in your settlement is clear on the concept?
You can leave, if things turn out badly. But it's more difficult than it would be on Earth. You can't walk or sail across the border; you'll need large amounts of money for your fare. And, of course, you'll need permission to migrate -- back to Earth, or onward to a new off-Earth colony.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
SCIENCE FICTION,Today and Tomorrow. Ed. Reginald Bretnor. Harper & Row, 1974. Note that I'm only commenting on the essays which interested me on this rereading.
First section is SCIENCE FICTION TODAY: Ben Bova, Frederik Pohl, and George Zebrowski.
Fred Pohl "The Publishing of Science Fiction" gives a good picture of sf publishing as it was at the time.
His predictions of sf publishing's future? He gives two tentative predictions. The one he considers less likely is people printing out books with their home computers. More likely, he thinks, is microfiche. No mention of reading on a screen.
And no anticipation of fantasy publishing's rise. Fantasy used to be the redhaired stepchild; now it outsells science fiction.
George Zebrowski's contribution should have been rejected. "Science Fiction and the Visual Media" with no mention of television sf? Years after Star Trek came along?
Second section SCIENCE FICTION, SCIENCE, AND MODERN MAN: Frank Herbert, Theodore Sturgeon, Alan E. Nourse, Thomas N. Scortia, and Reginald Bretnor.
Third section THE ART AND SCIENCE OF SCIENCE FICTION. James Gunn, Alexei & Cory Panshin, Poul Anderson, Hal Clement, Anne McCaffrey, Gordon R. Dickson, and Jack Williamson.
Poul Anderson's "The Creation of Imaginary Worlds" and Hal Clement's "The Creation of Imaginary Beings" are both useful for writers.
Anne McCaffrey, "Romance and Glamour in Science Fiction" -- the only contribution by a woman. Much intelligent discussion of female sf writers, and of men writing female characters -- well or badly. But also this passage:
"One top-flight writer of sf has been chided for using only one type of heroine: the sort of earnest, if attractive, females who joined the Communist party in the '30s, the Army in the '40s, did social work in the '50s, and started communes in the '60s. A girl who would 'die' for a principle. Great, but girls don't 'die for principles. Men do. A girl marries the clunk and converts him to her way of thinking later. In bed."
First section is SCIENCE FICTION TODAY: Ben Bova, Frederik Pohl, and George Zebrowski.
Fred Pohl "The Publishing of Science Fiction" gives a good picture of sf publishing as it was at the time.
His predictions of sf publishing's future? He gives two tentative predictions. The one he considers less likely is people printing out books with their home computers. More likely, he thinks, is microfiche. No mention of reading on a screen.
And no anticipation of fantasy publishing's rise. Fantasy used to be the redhaired stepchild; now it outsells science fiction.
George Zebrowski's contribution should have been rejected. "Science Fiction and the Visual Media" with no mention of television sf? Years after Star Trek came along?
Second section SCIENCE FICTION, SCIENCE, AND MODERN MAN: Frank Herbert, Theodore Sturgeon, Alan E. Nourse, Thomas N. Scortia, and Reginald Bretnor.
Third section THE ART AND SCIENCE OF SCIENCE FICTION. James Gunn, Alexei & Cory Panshin, Poul Anderson, Hal Clement, Anne McCaffrey, Gordon R. Dickson, and Jack Williamson.
Poul Anderson's "The Creation of Imaginary Worlds" and Hal Clement's "The Creation of Imaginary Beings" are both useful for writers.
Anne McCaffrey, "Romance and Glamour in Science Fiction" -- the only contribution by a woman. Much intelligent discussion of female sf writers, and of men writing female characters -- well or badly. But also this passage:
"One top-flight writer of sf has been chided for using only one type of heroine: the sort of earnest, if attractive, females who joined the Communist party in the '30s, the Army in the '40s, did social work in the '50s, and started communes in the '60s. A girl who would 'die' for a principle. Great, but girls don't 'die for principles. Men do. A girl marries the clunk and converts him to her way of thinking later. In bed."
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Tuesday January 29, 2013 Minnesota Daily: City Council member Gary Schiff will run for mayor of Minneapolis, largely on his record of support for small business. The story notes that some members of the business community give him low marks because of his opposition to a tax-supported Vikings (American football) stadium. Two reasons for me to vote for him.
I don't want governments subsidizing professional sports. Not with taxes, not with any kind of bonds, not etc. I generally support fewer regulations and restrictions on small businesses; but unlike Ayn Rand and other big-spending advocates, I don't support government subsidization of big business.
***Magus Books. Bought T. M. Luhrmann, Persuasions of the Witch's Craft: Ritual Magic in Contemporary England. I'd decided I needed my own copy.
Also two stones to use for meditation focus.
Magus sells books and other stuff for Pagans. I'm an agnostic and a materialist. (I'm not an atheist mostly because I think being certain there is no God or gods would require godlike powers.) But some things work, even if the theories behind their use are false.
On to Southeast Library. Picked up book on hold: The Ultimate Guide to Sex and Disability.
***Met with my ACA sponsor at Muddsuckers Coffee. [ACA: Adult Children of Alcoholic and Otherwise Dysfunctional Families.]
I don't want governments subsidizing professional sports. Not with taxes, not with any kind of bonds, not etc. I generally support fewer regulations and restrictions on small businesses; but unlike Ayn Rand and other big-spending advocates, I don't support government subsidization of big business.
***Magus Books. Bought T. M. Luhrmann, Persuasions of the Witch's Craft: Ritual Magic in Contemporary England. I'd decided I needed my own copy.
Also two stones to use for meditation focus.
Magus sells books and other stuff for Pagans. I'm an agnostic and a materialist. (I'm not an atheist mostly because I think being certain there is no God or gods would require godlike powers.) But some things work, even if the theories behind their use are false.
On to Southeast Library. Picked up book on hold: The Ultimate Guide to Sex and Disability.
***Met with my ACA sponsor at Muddsuckers Coffee. [ACA: Adult Children of Alcoholic and Otherwise Dysfunctional Families.]
Monday, January 28, 2013
Monday December 31, 2012 New Year's Eve
Moving to a new neighborhood means relearning travel habits. In my case, becoming familiar with new regular bus routes. Plus knowing when the most convenient light rail stop is less convenient because there's a Vikings game (American football.)
Getting to the Mnstf New Years Eve party at Richard Tatge and Sharon Kahn's was easy but tedious. Easy: the #3 and #18 buses both run frequently. Tedious: the #18 runs on Nicollet Avenue, which goes through Downtown Minneapolis. On New Year's Eve, Downtown is congested.
Partial compensation: I'm near the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campus, and students ride the #3. Some female students wear skirts or near-skirts shorter than 1960s miniskirts, and have the figures for it. (Unlike the 1960s, they also wear tights or some equivalent. Sometimes people do get smarter over the decades.)
It was a good party. (Quieter than what many people would consider necessary to a party.)
Moving to a new neighborhood means relearning travel habits. In my case, becoming familiar with new regular bus routes. Plus knowing when the most convenient light rail stop is less convenient because there's a Vikings game (American football.)
Getting to the Mnstf New Years Eve party at Richard Tatge and Sharon Kahn's was easy but tedious. Easy: the #3 and #18 buses both run frequently. Tedious: the #18 runs on Nicollet Avenue, which goes through Downtown Minneapolis. On New Year's Eve, Downtown is congested.
Partial compensation: I'm near the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campus, and students ride the #3. Some female students wear skirts or near-skirts shorter than 1960s miniskirts, and have the figures for it. (Unlike the 1960s, they also wear tights or some equivalent. Sometimes people do get smarter over the decades.)
It was a good party. (Quieter than what many people would consider necessary to a party.)
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Major updates:
Moving. As of January, I'll be living at 1720 Como Ave SE, #A, Minneapolis MN 55414. The local big industry for that area is the University of Minnesota.
Looking for a place, mostly through Craigslist ads, taught me things I hadn't known about Minneapolis and the rest of the Twin Cities Metro. Also, I learned a new-to-me slang term: "420 friendly." (Marijuana user.)
The people placing ads were more diverse than I had anticipated. I would've been content to remain ignorant of the "free rent for a liberal female" guys. (I suspect it would make better economic sense to hire prostitutes.) But the pregnant lesbian sounded like a fairly nice person.
What got me an offer was mentioning on the mailing list for Mnstf (my local science fiction club) that I was looking. And the offer came at an author reading which I'd almost decided I was too tired to attend. And which was in conflict with meeting my Adult Children Anonymous sponsor, till the sponsor needed to change the date of the meeting.
Medical stuff. I have a mild case of cerebral palsy; hadn't had any treatment for it in decades. I decided to find out if there was any medication or therapy that would be useful to me.
The neurologist referred me to a speech therapist and a physical therapist.
She also referred me to an audiologist. He cleared up much of my recent hearing difficulty increase by tinkering with my hearing aid. (One hearing aid; my right ear doesn't have enough hearing for a second aid to be useful.) And by cleaning something I hadn't realized needed more than minimal cleaning. (It was embarrassing to find out that what I'd thought was a rivet was the microphone.)
Moving. As of January, I'll be living at 1720 Como Ave SE, #A, Minneapolis MN 55414. The local big industry for that area is the University of Minnesota.
Looking for a place, mostly through Craigslist ads, taught me things I hadn't known about Minneapolis and the rest of the Twin Cities Metro. Also, I learned a new-to-me slang term: "420 friendly." (Marijuana user.)
The people placing ads were more diverse than I had anticipated. I would've been content to remain ignorant of the "free rent for a liberal female" guys. (I suspect it would make better economic sense to hire prostitutes.) But the pregnant lesbian sounded like a fairly nice person.
What got me an offer was mentioning on the mailing list for Mnstf (my local science fiction club) that I was looking. And the offer came at an author reading which I'd almost decided I was too tired to attend. And which was in conflict with meeting my Adult Children Anonymous sponsor, till the sponsor needed to change the date of the meeting.
Medical stuff. I have a mild case of cerebral palsy; hadn't had any treatment for it in decades. I decided to find out if there was any medication or therapy that would be useful to me.
The neurologist referred me to a speech therapist and a physical therapist.
She also referred me to an audiologist. He cleared up much of my recent hearing difficulty increase by tinkering with my hearing aid. (One hearing aid; my right ear doesn't have enough hearing for a second aid to be useful.) And by cleaning something I hadn't realized needed more than minimal cleaning. (It was embarrassing to find out that what I'd thought was a rivet was the microphone.)
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