Author name: Skiffy Fanty

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Short and Sublime: The Awakened Kingdom by N.K. Jemisin

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The Awakened Kingdom, a 2014 fantasy novella by N.K. Jemisin released both as part of The Inheritance Trilogy omnibus and as a standalone e-book, is told from the point of view of a baby god. And as adorable as the central premise is, the execution is enough to sorely tempt me to quote large swaths of the text in lieu of a real review. The novella opens thus: I am born! Hello! Many things happen! The end! Hello again! How are you? I am fine. I have learned more about the Proper Ways from Papa Tempa. Papa said that what I did before is not the Proper Way to tell a story, so I will do it over. I do not like the way he says I should tell it, though. That is BORING… What follows is the coming-of-age story of Shill, a god newly born following the death of another god, in which she tries to find her purpose and her nature. Shill isn’t born knowing how to god, so to speak; her first attempt to interact with mortals results in, um, an accident:

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Indy Genre: Shorts Directed by Women

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I thought I’d start off this year with a few short films — and since we’re doing women and non-binary people in genre, how about some short films directed by women? Well, my friends, easier said than done. It probably shouldn’t be a surprise (consider for example that only 6% of top Hollywood features were directed by women in 2013, and films with female directors are often chronically underfunded) that it’s already slightly more challenging to find films directed by women, let alone trans-women or non-binary people. But most of those short films tend to be documentary (women filmmakers often gravitate toward documentary, actually), drama, or romance. Looking specifically for sci-fi and fantasy short film — already only a small percentage of all short films made — directed by women is even more challenging. I actually had a much easier time finding genre short film done by African directors. After a mighty amount of googling, I’ve found a couple of excellent full short films for you, and two trailers that I wish I had the full films for!

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The Disquieting Guest — Ruth Rose

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February is Women in Horror Month (details about which can be found here), and in the spirit of that celebration, let me say a few words of appreciation for Ruth Rose, the screenwriter to whom all giant apes owe a great debt. Her most celebrated contribution to horror film is her re-writing of the script for King Kong, though she also wrote Son of Kong (1933) and Mighty Joe Young (1949). I want to pause on her contribution to King Kong, though, because what she did with an already existing story gave it a sophistication and a depth that the film’s remakes, no matter how ambitious, have failed to equal. King Kong’s original script was by the mystery novelist Edgar Wallace, who died before he could revise the initial draft. This was extensively reworked by James A. Creelman, and then his script was, in turn, reworked by Rose. Ray Morton’s King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon from Fay Wray to Peter Jackson describes Ruth’s specific contributions, such as streamlining the plot and improving the dialogue, but what I find most interesting is this:

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My Superpower: Kristi Charish (Owl and the Japanese Circus)

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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 Kristi Charish to talk about how the power of molecular biology relates to Owl and the Japanese Circus. Don’t worry, I’ll save you! I’m a Molecular Biologist. That’s right. Sit back and let me tell you about the highly underrated profession known as molecular biology. First and foremost, our degrees start with a modest BSc — note the B and S are capitalized (as Erik Williams pointed out while back, an expert ranking in BS is an essential skill set for becoming a writer). Want to survive the imminent apocalypse burgeoning on the horizon? While everyone else is stockpiling weapons, ammo, and canned goods us molecular biologists have everyone beat. We’ll be figuring out how to purify water, grow food, and synthesize antibiotics…Heck, with our collective minds, we’ll have a fully functional biodome up and running in no time, distillery and all (we’re talking about molecular biologists after all). A collective of highly educated researchers and molecular engineers living in peace and harmony while the apocalypse rages on outside…

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Around the Podosphere #6: Podcasts of Note for 2/23/15

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As always, a lot of nifty stuff is going on in the podcasting world.  Below, you’ll find some of the things our crew has been enjoying in the last few weeks! On Television: In the latest episode of StarTalk Radio, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Leighann Lord answer questions about Star Trek.  Previously, Tyson had talked to Travis S. Taylor about the Rocket City Rednecks! On Movies: What did the Sci-Guys think about Gattaca (1997)?  Well, their 170th episode is all about it! Have you seen Seventh Son (2015)?  You may not have to if you listen to the We Hate Movies crew discuss it.  Then again… The Incomparable crew are on a movie binge, too, it seems.  First, they covered the absurdist disaster comedy, The Core (2003).  Then they talked about Hitchcock’s “Shadow of a Doubt” and “Rope.” Enjoy! How Did This Get Made takes a stab at Zardoz (1974).  Of course, we covered that one a long time ago… On Writing: The last two Coode Street Podcast episodes have featured discussions on writing inside and outside genre w/ Eileen Gunn, William Gibson, and Chris Brown and on writing for young readers w/ Joe Abercrombie and Sean Williams. The Outer Alliance Podcast talks to Cat Rambo about being Vice President of the SFWA, her new novel, and more. On Literature: Terminator: Salvation (2009) may not have been a great movie, but was the book adaptation worth reading?  Find out in the latest The Book was Better podcast. The fine folks at Sword and Laser Podcast talk to Brian McClellan about his latest novel, The Autumn Republic. Justin Landon of Rocket Talk interviewed Myke Cole, Daniel Polansky, and Elizabeth Bear about their most recent work.  Two of these amazing people will be on our show, too! On Conspiracies: Kevin Lux is at again.  This time, he’s got a lot to say about population control conspiracies.  Tune in to find out more! The New: There’s one really cool new podcast in town:  The Fangirl Happy Hour.  Go on, subscribe! What have you been enjoying?  Let us know in the comments!

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

#30. Jupiter Ascending (2015) — A Shoot the WISB Subcast

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http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode256JupiterAscendingShootTheWISB/Shoot%20the%20WISB%20%2330%20–%20Jupiter%20Ascending.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSSpace princesses, dog boys, and capitalism, oh my!  The crew conspires together to discuss the latest Wachowski film, Jupiter Ascending.  We tackle the good and the bad and even have a little fun with impersonations. 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! 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. Show Notes:. Jupiter Ascending (2015; dirs. the Wachowskis)(IMDB) Mike recommends the following videos on action, comedy, and the problem with action movies today: 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.

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