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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:

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.

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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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