I've written (briefly) before in praise of Jonathan McCalmont's article Cowardice, Laziness, and Irony:  How Science Fiction Lost the Future.  But one passage has stuck in my mind:

The most common account of why science fiction no longer attempts to engage with the future is that the future is now deemed to be out of bounds. The world, we are told ( Read more... )

I am reading Cowardice, Laziness, and Irony:  How Science Fiction Lost the Future, by Jonathan McCalmont, and enjoying it immensely.

This is not because I have any particular yen to see contemporary science fiction get socked in the eye.  It's more because it's such a pleasure to read someone thinking about things.

It's funny how some things that are nominally polite are actually punching offenses in English. "Let me tell you something" isn't inherently offensive, yet it's an invitation to a fight ( Read more... )

You can sing large portions, if not all, of "The Hunting of the Snark" to "The Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request".

I knew I had to tell you guys immediately.

I know Nigella Lawson is loathed by some people, but I have to say I approve of her approach to cakes, which is buttery, damp, and sensual.

The copy of How to be a Domestic Goddess I got out of the library has buttery fingerprints all over the end sheets. Hee.