The Disquieting Guest — Readerly, Writerly and Malevolent
In the last week or so, there have been interesting discussions about the pros and cons of “cozy” fiction by Justin Landon (here) and on Sam Sykes (here). Those exchanges made me think of Roland Barthes’ distinctions between the “readerly” and the “writerly” text. Said distinction is summarized here. According to Barthes in S/Z, the readerly […]
This Katamari Feels Ghostly, and Also Netflixish
(That’s probably because you rolled up nothing but spooky things on Netflix streaming!) This is my LAST chance this year to write about Halloween before the actual day arrives, and if you know me at all, you know I’m taking advantage of that! This week, I’ve been browsing Netflix instant viewing, and here is a […]
Mining the Genre Asteroid: Time Out of Joint by Philip K Dick
Mining the Genre Asteroid is Paul Weimer’s look at the history of the science fiction and fantasy field, bringing to light important, interesting and entertaining books from science fiction and fantasy’s past to you. A seemingly ordinary 1950’s slice of Suburbia. Ragle Gumm spends his days working on the “Where will the Little Man be […]
Adventures in SF Parenting: Retro Playtime
Technology is awesome, just sayin’. As I explained in my post “Video Games are Edumacational,” I fundamentally believe that video games can be a wonderful educational tool for children. Beyond that, merely interacting with technology actually gives children a leg-up in our tech heavy environment. With schools utilizing iPads, Smart Screens, and computers on a […]
My Superpower: Betsy Dornbusch
My Superpower is a regular guest column on the Skiffy and Fanty blog where authors and creators tell us about one weird skill, neat trick, highly specialized cybernetic upgrade, or other superpower they have, and how it helped (or hindered!) their creative process as they built their project. Today we welcome Betsy Dornbusch to talk […]
Genrelogues: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Episodes 1-4)
Genrelogues Shaun and Jen’s new column about new and old SF/F television, film, and literature. This week, Shaun and Jen tackle the first four episodes of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., airing every Tuesday (8/7c) on ABC. Though we will try not to ruin whatever we’re talking about with a lot of detail, you should be warned that […]
