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Book Review: Zombies & Calculus by Colin Adams

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If you’re looking for a good zombie novel, then just keep looking. But if you’d like a light refresher on mathematical principles with a side of peril, or if you need a gift for somebody taking calculus or pre-cal who doesn’t mind a sprinkling of gore, then Zombies & Calculus may be a good pick. The author, Colin Adams, is a professor at Williams College and the humor columnist for the Mathematical Intelligencer. He has written several other math-related books; this is his latest (published in September). A couple of videos starting here illustrate some of the scenarios in Zombies & Calculus, in case you want to get a sense of the book’s tone.

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Around the Podosphere #1: Podcasts of Note for 12/8/2014

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All the genre-friendly podcasts recommended by your Skiffy and Fanty robogoblins in one convenient place! Interviews: The Agony Column interviews Anne Rice about her upcoming vampire novel, Prince Lestat. On Books: The Book Was Better takes a stab at the movie tie-in novel for Batman Returns. Galactic Suburbia has a recommendations for the year episode. Midnight in Karachi has its debut episode as Mahvesh Murad talks to The Time Traveler’s Wife author Audrey Niffenegger On Movies: Last Month, We Hate Movies covered Johnny Mnemonic, starring Keanu Reeves. The Incomparable crew dedicate an episode to Mystery Science Theater 3000, which will certainly make folks who were around in the old days very happy.  They also spend over an hour talking about the recent Star Wars VII:  The Force Awakens trailer, which is moderately insane, to say the least. The folks at Read It and Weep discuss the film adaptation of Mockingjay (part one). On Podcasting: The recent episode of Speculate! features Patrick Hester and Anton Strout on the subject of podcasting (dos, don’ts, etc.).  Obviously, the entire S&F crew should have been there, but it’s still worth listening to (:P). On Conspiracies: Taking a cue from our Torture Cinema review of Omega Man, Kevin Lux dedicates an entire episode to the CDU.  There’s also an episode on the history of cannabis, which is totally full of truth. On Conventions: The Three Hoarsemen discuss World Fantasy Convention in Arlington/D.C.; apparently, Shaun is mentioned more times than Paul in this one, which means something to someone somewhere…They also talk about some of the media they’ve been consuming, which should give you lots of ideas for things to buy. On History: Stuff You Missing in History Class discusses Henry Hudson in a two-part history adventure!  This might be of interest to anyone writing fantasy with seafaring peoples.

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Zork and the Great Underground Empire — #monthofjoy

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West of House You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. There is a small mailbox here. >open mailbox Opening the small mailbox reveals a leaflet. >take leaflet Taken. >read leaflet “WELCOME TO ZORK! ZORK is a game of adventure, danger, and low cunning. In it you will explore some of the most amazing territory ever seen by mortals. No computer should be without one!” Some of the earliest computer games had no graphics whatsoever. With a strictly text based interface, interactive fiction games by companies like Infocom defined a stratum of adventure games in the early and mid 1980’s. The Zork games were set in a fictional fantasy universe revolving around the Great Underground Empire — a civilization built in the ruins of an old, fallen civilization which colonized the realm underneath the earth. With manuals that extended the playground of the imagination, the Zork games were a highlight of Infocom’s worldbuilding in the midst of providing text adventures and puzzles that encouraged the imagination to bring the worlds to life.

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Ursula K. Le Guin: A Wellspring of Hope and Joy by John E. O. Stevens #monthofjoy

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The literature of imagination, even when tragic, is reassuring, not necessarily in the sense of offering nostalgic comfort, but because it offers a world large enough to contain alternatives and therefore offers hope.” – Ursula K. Le Guin Joy is not something we feel in a vacuum; joy relates us to things, anchors us, unmoors us and sends us off on long voyages. Joy connects and energizes, ensorcels and inspires. It is the result of a powerful instance of interaction; a moment of encounter kindles a feeling of happiness, wonderment, and rejoicing. I can think of many joys I’ve encountered in reading fantastic literature:  authors who have invigorated me; ideas that have provoked me; and works that have shattered me. But for persistent joy, for great moments of ecstasy and small moments of guidance, and for a deep feeling of satisfaction, Ursula K. Le Guin remains a primary source. And what makes that joy so special, what often makes the joy I find in fantastika so dynamic, is that it gives me hope.

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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:

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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!

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