Science Fiction

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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.

Blog Posts

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.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

235. Irish SF w/ Maura McHugh, Gareth Kavanagh, Michael Carroll, & Ruth Frances Long (The World SF Tour)

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http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode235IrishSFPanel/SandF%20–%20Episode%20235%20–%20Irish%20SF%20Panel.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSGhosts, fairies, and the Emerald Isles, oh my! Gareth Kavanagh, Ruth Frances Long, Maura McHugh, and Michael Carroll join us to discuss Irish SF.  We tackle Ireland’s relationship to expatriate literature, the character of Irish writing, favorite reads, and much more. 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 235 — Download (MP3) Show Notes: The Panelists Gareth Kavanagh’s Twitter Octocon Maura McHugh’s Website Maura’s Twitter Maura’s Work: Witchfinder: The Mysteries of Unland (w/ Kim Newman) Twisted Fairy Tales Twisted Myths Laydeez Do Comics Michael Carroll’s Website Michael’s Twitter Michael’s Work: Judge Dredd Year One Omnibus Hunter (book seven) Ruth Frances Long’s Website Ruth’s Twitter Ruth’s Work: A Crack in Everything (O’Brien Press) The Big Fat List of Stuff (note:  some of these are not of Irish origin; I’ve included everything the panelists mentioned): ArcadeCon Dublin International Comics Expo Eirtakon (anime convention) MCM Expo (London Comic Con) GaelCon British Comic Awards Irish Science Fiction Association Film: Song of the Sea (Will Collins; Tomm Moore)(Cartoon Saloon) The Secret of Kells Showrunners (Des Doyle) Irish 19th Century Gothic Tradition Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu James Joyce Flann O’Brien Anne McCaffrey Harry Harrison Diane Duane Morgan Llewellyn Michael Scott — Nicholas Flamel Eoin Colfer — Artemis Fowl Ian McDonald James White C.E. Murphy Sarah Rees Brennan Lynda E. Rucker Celine Kiernan Derek Landees — Skulduggery Pleasant series Kate Thompson Oisin McGann Lord Dunsany Garth Ennis Steve Dylan Will Simpson (Game of Thrones storyboard artist) Will Sliney Leeann Hamilton Anthea West Darrin O’Toole Maeve Clancy John Connolly Len O’Grady Meeting the Other Crowd Stephen Mooney Steve Walsh Susan Connolly Paul Anthony Short Peter O’Fallon Jordie Bellaire 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.

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!

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

234. Ann Leckie (a.k.a. Singularitrix) — Ancillary Sword (An Interview)

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http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode234AnInterviewWAnnLeckie/SandF%20–%20Episode%20234%20–%20An%20Interview%20w%20Ann%20Leckie.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSSpace voyeurs, interstellar empire shenanigans, and tea, oh my!  The always incredible Ann Leckie takes over the show once more to discuss Ancillary Sword, the much anticipated sequel to the multi-award winning Ancillary Justice.  We discuss writing sequels and handling audience expectations, the changes in the Ancillary “universe,” gender and sexuality, empire (duh), and, well, a little bit of cannibalism.  What more could you ask for during Thanksgiving? 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 234 — Download (MP3) Show Notes: Ann’s Website Ann’s Books Ann’s Twitter Ancillary Sword (Orbit Books) Imperial Radch Tea Line (Adagio Teas) 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.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

#28. Interstellar (2014) — A Shoot the WISB Subcast

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http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/ShootTheWISB28Interstellar2014/ShootTheWisb28–Interstellar2014.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSBlack holes, space love, and robot buddies, oh my! Shaun, Rachael, Mike, and Paul join forces to tackle the much-discussed Christopher Nolan space epic, Interstellar (2014).  From the plot to the science to the timey wimey ending, we cover it all! We hope you enjoy the episode! 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. [audio http://archive.org/download/ShootTheWISB28Interstellar2014/ShootTheWisb28–Interstellar2014.mp3] Show notes (info about our contributors can be found on the about page): Interstellar (2014)(IMDB) “The Lost Chapter of Interstellar” (Comic) The Science of Interstellar by Kip Thorne Interstellar Soundtrack by Hans Zimmer Comment away!

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