Science Fiction

Announcements and Errata

Announcement: Torture Cinema Halloween Special Live!

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Once a year, we dedicate our Torture Cinema feature to Halloween.  And this year, we’re tackling a classic in live format on Google+ on Oct. 31st at 8:30 PM EST.  What are we watching?  Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)! (Correction:  the link in this post was originally incorrect.  I have no corrected it so it takes you to the proper event page.) Join us for an adventure of epic proportions, with jokes, a skit written by listener Samuel Becker, and just a few too many laughs. Additionally, we’ll dedicate a section of the podcast for your questions (you can Tweet us or use the G+ live comments feature).  Watch the movie and make us relive your favorite moments! The crew this time around:  Paul Weimer, Julia Rios, Shaun Duke, and Rachael Acks! On the docket: –Alcohol –Our 5-by-5s –A monstrous 50s B-movie radioplay skit! –Listener questions –Lots of arguing –And the grades! RSVP, folks.  This is going to be a lot of fun!

Blog Posts

My Superpower: Matthew David Goodwin (Latino/a Rising)

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My Superpower is a regular guest column on the Skiffy and Fanty blog where authors and creators tell us about one weird skill, neat trick, highly specialized cybernetic upgrade, or other superpower they have, and how it helped (or hindered!) their creative process as they built their project. Today we welcome Matthew David Goodwin to talk about how the power of passionate social justice relates to Latino/a Rising. —————————————————– If I had to be a superhero, it would be the Batman kind of superhero.  When thrown against a wall, I would break.  When cut, I would bleed.  Hopelessly human.  But I’m much more sympathetic to the 1960’s campy version of Batman than the Batman of late.  I wouldn’t erase the dark undertones, just splash them with color. Sometimes it’s hard to know what Batman’s superpowers actually are.  One is hidden (his passion) and the other is disguised as an accessory (the weirdly enormous bright yellow utility belt).  But together, his passion and utility belt make up for his lack of superhuman strength. Like Batman, I’m drawn into my work with a passion for social justice.  I worked many years in the Latino/a community in various non-profit organizations dealing with migration, domestic violence, and worker rights.  When I went to study for my doctorate in literature, I wanted to find a way to discuss the complex experiences of Latinos/as in the United States.  And I found that science fiction and fantasy is a potent way to express issues of race, gender, and migration.  And it is the best way for my daughter to imagine herself as part of the future.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

228. Tobias Buckell (a.k.a. Captain Planet) — Hurricane Fever (An Interview)

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http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode228InterviewWTobiasBuckell/SandF%20–%20Episode%20228%20–%20Interview%20w%20Tobias%20Buckell.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSSpace cannons, Caribbean spies, and hurricanes, oh my!  Tobias Buckell returns to the show to discuss his new novel, Hurricane Fever.  We discuss the history of space exploration in the Caribbean, writing spy thrillers, the nitty gritty of Buckell’s characters, and 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 228 — Download (MP3) Show Notes: Tobias Buckell’s Website Tobias’ Books Tobias’ Twitter Hurricane Fever (BUY IT!) Interview w/ Tobias about Arctic Rising Tobias on the HARP gun project (space cannons!) Project HARP (wiki) Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0).  Additional music from “Black Vortex” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. That’s all, folks!  Thanks for listening.  See you next week.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

#25. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) — A Shoot the WISB Subcast (w/ fixed audio file)

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http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/ShootTheWISB25GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014/Shoot%20the%20WISB%20%2325%20–%20Guardians%20of%20the%20Galaxy%20%282014%29.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSSpace rodents, emo fanatics, and dancing Groots, oh my!  In her first episode as an official member of the crew, Rachael Acks joins Shaun, Paul, and David to discuss the smash hit, Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). We hope you enjoy the episode! (Note:  a previous version of this post contained two different mp3 files:  one for Sherlock and one for Guardians of the Galaxy.  That has been corrected.) 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/ShootTheWISB25GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014/Shoot%20the%20WISB%20%2325%20–%20Guardians%20of%20the%20Galaxy%20%282014%29.mp3] Show notes (info about our contributors can be found on the about page): Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)(IMDB) Comment away!

Blog Posts

Z Nation and “A Chick Thing”

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While I was counting down the hours before the return of The Walking Dead, I took the opportunity to write down some thoughts about Z Nation. Sure, it’s no Walking Dead, but it does have its moments. ————————— Last weekend, my sister visited, and, among other activities, she took a break from her TV-less lifestyle. After I got to show her the wonderful “Manhattan,” she found that SyFy was starting a four-episode marathon of “Z Nation.” I had previously caught the last 20 minutes of that show’s premiere, been annoyed by a stupid decision to needlessly pursue a zombie into a clutter-filled deathtrap, and decided just to wait a few weeks for TWD. But my sister wanted to try Z Nation, so we watched for a couple of episodes, and I kept it on after she went to bed.

Blog Posts

Book Review: Black and Brown Planets: The Politics of Race in Science Fiction edited by Isiah Lavender III

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In his introduction to this collection of essays, Isiah Lavender III explains that Black and Brown Planets continues a conversation started in the science fiction community with Elisabeth Leonard’s 1997 anthology, Into Darkness Peering: Race and Color in the Fantastic. The cultural and literary criticism found here in looking at works of the recent past become particularly significant as we comprehend a future where, as Lavender III puts it, “the Western world ceases to be dominated by the white majority”: SF has charted a few of the alternatives for this unknown territory, and the change presents both opportunities and challenges for society to establish new values. In short, skin color matters in our visions of the future…[To] transcend various repetitions of the color line – black, red, and brown – we must be conscious of these repetitions.

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