Dr. Shaun Duke, Professional Nerd

Announcements

2022 is Here (or, Hell, I Need a Different Year…)

1. 2021 is a Thing That Happened, But Nobody Wanted It 2021 is gone. It’s back there. Submitted to the book of time for appraisal, and it will be found guilty of being largely a miserable affair. Some scholars might even say it was an avoidable mistake. Now, we’re in 2022, and unlike 2021, when I thought that maybe we’d get our shit together and push forward to some new future worth living in, I just don’t have a lot of good things to say about 2022. Omicron is here, and if Google statistics are anything to go by (pulled from NYT), we’re looking at yet another year of this shit. 824,000 people dead. Possibly as many as 50% of COVID survivors get some version of “long COVID,” which can, in some cases, be debilitating for months or life. I mean, just look at it…

January 2, 2022 3 Comments

My Worldcon 79 / DisCon III Schedule

Welp. In 14 days, I’ll be off to D.C., where I hope I’ll get to have a good time while avoiding COVID. *crosses fingers* And since I’ll be in D.C., I think it’s worth noting that I’m on programming because apparently people mostly like me! Here’s what I’m up to (all times are in EST): Wed 4:00 PM (Older; Virtual): Not Just D&D: Great Tabletop RPGs Wed 5:30 PM (Calvert; Mod): What Makes a Classic a Classic? Wed 7:00 PM (Lobby): Sip with the Stars Thu 5:00 PM (Ambassador Ballroom): Public Hugo Finalists Reception Thu 7:00 PM (Lobby): Sip with the Stars Fri 7:00 PM (Calvert): Teaching and Analyzing Genre Fiction Fri 8:30 PM (Blue): The Work of Nalo Hopkinson Sat 11:30 AM (Blue): Is the Genre Too Big for Meaningful Hugos? Sat 2:30 PM (Regency Ballroom): Hugo Finalist Rehearsals Session Sat 5:30 PM (Congressional Room; Virtual): How to Star

December 1, 2021 No Comments

Podcasts

A New Joy Factory Monthly Podcast: Discussion w/ Alex Jennings on The Immortal Hulk!

A brand new episode of JFM just dropped. I’m joined by author Alex Jennings to talk about Marvel’s The Immortal Hulk! Together, we discuss this rendition of the Hulk, some of the series’ themes, and more! You can find the episode on Acast, iTunes, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts. You can also stream the episode below or right here on my website!

July 29, 2021 No Comments

Podcasts

A New Joy Factory Monthly Podcast: Interview w/ Sarah Nicolas on Podcasting!

A brand new episode of JFM just dropped. I’m joined by Sarah Nicolas to talk about why we love podcasts, why we keep making them, what we’re listening to, and much more! You can find the episode on Acast, iTunes, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts. You can also stream the episode below or right here on my website!

July 5, 2021 No Comments

Podcasts

A New Joy Factory Monthly Podcast: Interview w/ The G on Synthwave and Wanderers!

A brand new episode of JFM just dropped. I’m joined by The G to talk about the joys and wonders of synthwave AND his new album, Wanderers. If you’re at all a fan of the genre (or you’re curious), check it out!! You can find the episode on Acast, iTunes, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts. You can also stream the episode below or right here on my website!

June 28, 2021 No Comments