It’s that time again! You get to select the next bad movie we’re going to have to watch and review… So vote away: Just remember that everyone vote earns our hatred and scorn. You’ve been warned…
Have you heard? NPG, the folks behind Nature, the scientific journal, have banned Homo sapiens from submitting to their magazine: To the dismay of many (yet to the delight of a few), Nature Publishing Group announced today that its flagship journal, Nature, will no longer accept submissions from humans (Homo sapiens). The new policy, which has been under editorial consideration for many years, was sparked by a growing sentiment in the scientific community that the heuristics and biases inherent in human decision-making preclude them from conducting reliable science. In an ironic twist of fate, the species has impeached itself by thorough research on its own shortcomings. The ban takes effect on 12 September and will apply to those who self-identify as human. Authors will be required to include, in addition to the usual declaration of competing financial interests, the names of all humans consulted in preparation of the submitted work. Other journals are likely to adopt a similar policy. Of course, the above is all a bit of humor, but can you blame them? When you read the whole thing, it starts to make a lot of sense. Why are humans doing all the science? We’re faulty fleshbags, after all! But the real question is this: Will we ever see a future in which machines/robots/half-humans/non-humans do all of the science for us? I suspect yes, but it probably won’t be in my lifetime. Non-humans have been playing a major role in science for a long time, but humans have always been needed to parse out the details. We have to do the interpretation. But our reign will be short lived. Eventually someone will invent an AI or robot or not-quite-human who can do roughly the same work — only better. That will be an interesting day, no?
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/www.archive.org/download/TheSkiffyAndFantyShow5.1–AnInterviewWNickMamatasa.k.a.Master/Sandf–Episode5.2–InterviewWNickMamatas.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSYou read that right. Nick Mamatas, author of the recently released Sensation and The Damned Highway (w/ Brian Keene) and editor for Haikasoru, joins us to discuss Japanese science fiction and fantasy fiction, parasitic organisms and our innate fears, and much more! Plus, there’s an amusing story involve green tea buried in there somewhere… Tune in and enjoy below! 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 65 — Download (MP3) Intro and Interview w/ Nick Mamatas (0:00 – 43:26) Nick’s Livejournal Nick’s Website Haikasoru (Japanese SF/F!) Don’t forget to check out Sensation and The Damned Highway (and all the awesome work Nick edits at Haikasoru). 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.
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/www.archive.org/download/TheSkiffyAndFantyShow–MonthlyMovieMadness3–Sept.2011/Sandf–MonthlyMovieMadness3–Sept2011.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSThis month seems to be a great month for movies. Some really awesome flicks are coming out and MMM is all about letting you all know what we think about them. Listen to the episode to find out which ones we are looking forward to the most! What do you think? Let us know! Here’s the episode: MMM #3 — Download (MP3) The Movies: Apollo 18 Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame InSight Contagion Creature Shaolin One Fall The Treasure Hunter Abduction Humans vs. Zombies Take Shelter Tucker and Dale vs. Evil Dream House Bunraku The big question: which movies do you want to see and which would you rather throw in the dumpster?
A very interesting anthology is coming out from Tachyon Publications this November. We’ve put all the information below, but we want to start this all off with a few questions for all of you: What do you think of the book? Are you looking forward to it? Why or why not? Here’s the back cover blurb (ToC to follow): Franz Kafka died in obscurity in 1924, having published a handful of odd stories in little-known central European literary magazines. Yet modern culture has embraced the stark ideas and vivid imagery of his work. Even those who have never read a word of his fiction know enough to describe their tribulations with bureaucracy as “Kafkaesque.” Kafkaesque explores dystopian, comedic, and ironic fictions inspired by Franz Kafka’s work. In Philip Roth’s alternate history, Kafka survives World War II and immigrates to America, Jorge Luis Borges envisions a labyrinthine public lottery that evolves into bureaucratically-mandated mysticism. Carol Emshwiller invents an exclusively male society faced with its first (mostly) female member. Paul Di Filippo’s journalist by day, costumed crime-fighter by night, copes with the bizarre amidst the mundane. Also includes Kafka’s classic story “The Hunger Artist,” in a brand-new translation, as well as an illustrated version by legendary cartoonist R. Crumb (Fritz the Cat). Additionally, each author discusses Kafka’s writing, its relevance, its personal influence, and Kafka’s enduring legacy. The table of contents are as follows: “A Hunger Artist” (translated by Kessel) by Franz Kafka “The Drowned Giant” by J.G. Ballard “The Cockroach Hat” by Terry Bisson “Hymenoptera” by Michael Blumlein “The Lottery in Babylon” (tr: Hurley) by Jorge Luis Borges “The Big Garage” by T. Coraghessan Boyle “The Jackdaw’s Last Case” by Paul Di Filippo “Report to the Men’s Club” by Carol Emshwiller “Bright Morning” by Jeffrey Ford “The Rapid Advance of Sorrow” by Theodora Goss “Stable Strategies for Middle Management” by Eileen Gunn “The Handler” by Damon Knight “Receding Horizon” by Jonathan Lethem & Carter Scholz “A Hunger Artist” by David Mairowitz & Robert Crumb “I Always Wanted You to Admire my Fasting”, or “Looking at Kafka” by Philip Roth “The 57th Franz Kafka” by Rudy Rucker “The Amount to Carry” by Carter Scholz “Kafka in Brontëland” by Tamar Yellin (Talk about a who’s who of weird writers, right?)
One of our favoritest authors in the whole wide world, Celine Kiernan, has a new novel coming out this month! Which means we’re going to have to interview her again soon (*hinthint* Celine). Into the Grey is a YA novel about a boy who is losing his twin brother to a ghost: ‘The scream was awful – a horrible desolate cry…the child led my unresisting brother up the path and further into the tangled garden. Out of my sight’. My name is Patrick Finnerty. I am fifteen and I’m losing my brother. A ghost is stealing him away. I know how crazy that sounds. But my brother, my twin, is going to die; I’m watching him die. No one else can see what’s happening. What can I do? The answers seem to lie within the memory of a dream – between this world and the next. Within The Grey. But I don’t want to go into The Grey. I don’t want to. I’ve seen what it’s like! In honor of the upcoming release, Celine is hosting a competition to win a copy of the book! You should head over to her blog and check things out. All she is asking for is a simple, up to 200 word, description of what it would be like to be a ghost! Sounds positively spooky. So go to it! For a recap of how much we love Celine and how wonderful she is, please feel free to check out our Interviews with her over here: The Skiffy and Fanty Show #28a: An Interview w/ Celine Kiernan The Skiffy and Fanty Show #28b — An Interview w/ Celine Kiernan (part two)
