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Star Trek: Discovery and the Clueless

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We’re getting a new Star Trek series!!! It’s called Star Trek: Discovery, and I’m excited for multiple reasons. We haven’t had a new Trek series in quite a while, and Michelle Yeoh is going to be a starship captain. I’m a big fan of Michelle Yeoh. She’s an amazing martial artist and an incredible actor. Sonequa Martin-Green (see below) will be her first officer. A Trek series piloted by women of color?!?! In addition, this will be one of the few SF properties wherein the women of color are not covered in makeup which hides their race. Also? A black woman with Vulcan training? (I can’t decide if she’s part Vulcan or a Federation ambassador’s kid or someone sent to Vulcan by the Federation to learn as much as possible.) That is wonderful. I can only imagine how affecting it is to see this kind of representation as a black woman who is also a Spock fan. (Hey, it only took a bunch of women pilots in the background of a Star Wars movie to bring me to tears.) Holy crap, I’m so proud to be a Trekkie at this moment, but I’m also disappointed.

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Guest Post: Religions on Mars, according to Me, by Mary Turzillo

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I truly don’t know if human beings need religions or ideologies, but history seems to indicate that we do. Every time a culture attempts to base its social values on entirely non-spiritual things, that very agnostic value-system becomes a new religion. People from England, France, Germany, etc. migrated to North and South America and to Australia in order to practice religions that were banned or looked down upon in Europe. Once they got to the New World, some of them started religions that did not harmonize with the social mores of their neighbors. Animal sacrifice, child marriage, and polygamy were three of the customs sanctioned by various religions that caused them to be ostracized. So the devotees moved further west, into less populated territory. I think this will happen when humans begin to migrate to the moon and Mars. I don’t discuss this much in Mars Girls, although I’m building another novel (Isidis Rising) where dissidents sequester themselves in a Martian enclave.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

Signal Boost #7: Ashlee Blackwell (Graveyard Shift Sisters) and Carrie Patel (Pillars of Eternity/Recolleta Series)

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http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFSignalBoost7AshleeBlackwellAndCarriePatel/Sandf–SignalBoost7–AshleeBlackwellAndCarriePatel.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Ashlee Blackwell, founder and editor of Graveyard Shift Sisters, joins Shaun to talk about the goal of her website, #FridayNightHorror, and some recommendations for essential Black horror films. Then Paul is joined by Carrie Patel, author and game designer, to discuss the narrative design of DLC & sequels for computer games and expanding the world of Recoletta in the final book of her trilogy, The Song of the Dead. 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):

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Movie Review: “Wonder Woman” (See it!)

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I grew up reading Marvel comics, not DC, so most of what I know about the lore of Wonder Woman is what I absorbed from the 1970s Lynda Carter TV show plus vague memories of the Super Friends. I’m aware that the character has had many reboots and reinterpretations, but my perspective is that of many viewers who come to the movie with only a small amount of background knowledge. I think most of them, like me, will love it. (Spoilers, with a warning, appear about halfway through this review.) “Wonder Woman” is a very satisfying film, even if it isn’t perfect. I have some logical quibbles with some of its elements in the beginning, and it is not exactly subtle; however, the notes it hits ring true all the way through. By the end, tears of both sorrow and joy were trickling down my cheeks. There’s a lot of building up and following through, from the quiet, simple, opening narrative to the firm statement of purpose at the end. It doesn’t have the snappy patter of many Marvel movies, but the emotional payoffs are pretty great.

Torture Cinema Polls

Torture Cinema Poll: June Classics

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Even though you probably haven’t even had the pleasure of listening to Shaun’s singing in our Queen of the Damned episode yet, it’s time to pick our torture for June! This time, we’ve decided to force you to torture us with a classic… Ok, so ‘classic’ is probably being too kind to the utter drek that you get to pick from this month. May Cthulhu have mercy on our souls.  

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

325. Queen of the Damned (2002) — A Torture Cinema "Adventure" w/ Megan O'Keefe

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http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode325TortureCinemaMeetsQueenOfTheDamned/Sandf–Episode325–TortureCinemaMeetsQueenOfTheDamned–Fixed.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSScientology theories, nipple jackets, and, oh my god, is that Shaun singing?! This month, we honestly don’t know how to describe the bizarre twists and turns the conversation takes as Megan O’Keefe joins Shaun, Paul, and Jen to discuss the fairly maligned 2002 goth-wet dream, Queen of the Damned. Basically, the only reason to watch this movie is Aaliyah, because Lestat is an anemic, no-chinned creeper. 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 325 — Download (MP3) Show Notes:

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