Author name: Skiffy Fanty

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Why the Internet Can Occasionally Bring Me Joy by Michael J. Martinez — #monthofjoy

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There are definitely times when being on the Internet is the antithesis of joyful. Yes, I’m looking at pretty much everyone who ever thought “social justice warrior” was A) an epithet, and B) something that should have an acronym. Sheesh. That said, I make it a policy never to argue on the Internet – not because I don’t have opinions I’m passionate about, but because I think taking all the cash out of my retirement account and setting it on fire would be a more productive use of my time and energy. At least the fire would provide light and heat. Arguing online drains both. But the Internet, believe it or not, can be a force for good. And as an author, I get to participate in a few joyful things that I wasn’t able to before I got published. To wit:

Announcements and Errata

Top 10 Episodes and Posts for November 2014

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November should have been more eventful than it turned out, what with the Month of Joy and all that.  But a combination of travel, illness, endless mountains of grading, and Gremlins kept me from doing what needed doing around here.  In any case, these are the things the readers and listeners enjoyed throughout November. Top 10 Episodes: #08 — The Riddick Trilogy (2000, 2004, & 2013) — A Shoot the WISB Discussion 234. Ann Leckie (a.k.a. Singularitrix) — Ancillary Sword (An Interview) 190. Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (2009): A Torture Cinema “Adventure” #28. Interstellar (2014) — A Shoot the WISB Subcast 231. City Building in Urban Fantasy (CONvergence Panel w/ Emma Bull, Tania Richter, Kathryn Sullivan, and Christoforo Pasquarette) 233. Alma Alexander (a.k.a. The Tree Shifter) — Random (An Interview) 230. Celine Kiernan (a.k.a. the Ghost of Nimh) — Into the Grey (An Interview) 229. Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) — A Live Torture Cinema “Adventure” (Halloween Special) 192. Australian Speculative Fiction w/ Tansy Rayner Roberts & Marianne de Pierres (the World SF Tour) 193. New Zealander Speculative Fiction w/ Helen Lowe, Norman Cates, & Stephen Minchin Top 10 Posts: “The Mysterious Appeal of Tintin” by Jonathan Wood Mining the Genre Asteroid: A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny (by Paul Weimer) Squeeing About Superheroines by Tansy Rayner Roberts — #monthofjoy A (World) SFF Film Odyssey: Mutant Girls Squad (2010) and Anime’s Excesses (by Shaun Duke) Women Destroy Reviewing! (by Cecily Kane) “Dying is easy. It’s comedy that’s hard” — Willful Child by Steven Erikson (by Paul Weimer) A World SF Reading List (by Shaun Duke) On the Joy of Battlestar Galactica (by Shaun Duke) Metropolis (1927), Feminism, and Influence (by Stina Leicht) My Superpower: Benjanun Sriduangkaew Enjoy!

Blog Posts

Book Review: The Blood of Angels by Johanna Sinisalo

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Most readers could fly through Lola Rogers’ translation of The Blood of Angels by Finnish author Johanna Sinisalo in a handful of hours. Yet, as the relatively brief enjoyment of a spoonful of honey belies the phenomenal labor of countless bees, so too does consumption of this novel’s simple, flowing prose hide the rich, complex depth of its construction and significance. Sinisalo’s novel captures an apocalyptic, large-scale focus on humanity that is typical of speculative fiction, yet keeps a keenly literary focus on the psychological trials of an individual and family. In a near future of worldwide catastrophic ecologic change and economic crisis, apiarist Orvo finds his life personally shaken when his long-absent, inattentive father, Ari, returns from the devastated United States and when his activist son, Eero, tragically dies. Ari had taken over Hopevale Meats slaughterhouse, putting him in opposition to Eero’s dedication to animal rights and leadership in organized disruption of industries that utilize – and in Eero’s mind exploit – animals. Eero’s activities and passionate beliefs are only fully revealed to Orvo after his son’s death and discovering Eero’s posts in a personal blog and on the extremist Animalist Revolutionary Army website Eero ran.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

234. Ann Leckie (a.k.a. Singularitrix) — Ancillary Sword (An Interview)

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http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode234AnInterviewWAnnLeckie/SandF%20–%20Episode%20234%20–%20An%20Interview%20w%20Ann%20Leckie.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSSpace voyeurs, interstellar empire shenanigans, and tea, oh my!  The always incredible Ann Leckie takes over the show once more to discuss Ancillary Sword, the much anticipated sequel to the multi-award winning Ancillary Justice.  We discuss writing sequels and handling audience expectations, the changes in the Ancillary “universe,” gender and sexuality, empire (duh), and, well, a little bit of cannibalism.  What more could you ask for during Thanksgiving? We hope you enjoy the episode! Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 234 — Download (MP3) Show Notes: Ann’s Website Ann’s Books Ann’s Twitter Ancillary Sword (Orbit Books) Imperial Radch Tea Line (Adagio Teas) Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0). That’s all, folks!  Thanks for listening.  See you next week.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

#28. Interstellar (2014) — A Shoot the WISB Subcast

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http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/ShootTheWISB28Interstellar2014/ShootTheWisb28–Interstellar2014.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSBlack holes, space love, and robot buddies, oh my! Shaun, Rachael, Mike, and Paul join forces to tackle the much-discussed Christopher Nolan space epic, Interstellar (2014).  From the plot to the science to the timey wimey ending, we cover it all! We hope you enjoy the episode! Spoiler Alert:  the following podcast contains spoilers for the film being reviewed; if you wish to see the film without having it ruined for you, download this podcast and save it for later. Download the episode here. [audio http://archive.org/download/ShootTheWISB28Interstellar2014/ShootTheWisb28–Interstellar2014.mp3] Show notes (info about our contributors can be found on the about page): Interstellar (2014)(IMDB) “The Lost Chapter of Interstellar” (Comic) The Science of Interstellar by Kip Thorne Interstellar Soundtrack by Hans Zimmer Comment away!

Blog Posts

On the Joy of Battlestar Galactica

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I came to Battlestar Galactica (the reboot) quite late.  In fact, I think I finally got into the show near the end of its second season.  Something about that first season didn’t grab me the first time I watched; the same happened to the first season of Doctor Who.  But for some reason, I went back to BSG to see if I could figure out what everyone loved about the thing…and in a handful of episodes, I was hooked.  Not just hooked.  Obsessed.

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