World in the Satin Bag

Question to Readers About Content

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Two things:First, I’ve recently discovered an interesting little widget that allows readers (and presumably passersby) to make suggestions for content. I’m down for it, but I would like your opinions on the matter. The widget is called Skribit and allows for anonymous suggestions and should be relatively unobtrusive. Would you use it to make suggestions for content? Second, are you satisfied with the content on WISB? What could you do without? What do you come here for? Your opinions are welcome. Criticism is good. I want to improve as a blogger and I can’t do that without your thoughts! Thanks!

World in the Satin Bag

Ten Reasons Why SF Is Still Awesome

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Science fiction isn’t dying, contrary to what people are saying (about literature, I mean)–it might be losing some ground, but proclaiming it on the verge of death is like saying books themselves are dying, which is another can of worms that people really need to research before babbling doomsday theories about. With that in mind, however, here are my nine reasons why SF is still awesome (not entirely about literature, I mean): TVSay what you will about some of the garbage on television, but shows like Battlestar Galactica are prime examples of why SF is very much alive and very much filled with awesome. The constant reruns of other classic shows, such as the multitude of Star Trek series, X-files, and even the original Stargate SG-1 have helped make SF television worth watching–you can get the new and the old in one bite. And don’t forget all the other interesting shows floating around (some good and some not so much)! MoviesLet’s just put aside the arguments about whether or not Star Wars is SF and also just put aside the prequel movies altogether. They don’t count. What does count are movies like Pitch Black, Sunshine, X-men (the first two mostly), Evolution, The Matrix (the first one, not the sequels), Terminator 3, “I, Robot,” The Chronicles of Riddick (say what you will about this one, but it was a good movie), The Island, Spider-Man, Children of Men, V For Vendetta, I Am Legend, Transformers, Iron Man, Wall-E etc. Those are just a few of the titles in the last 10 years that we all most likely remember, or should remember. The movies coming out are still good, some of them playing games with the SF elements (Evolution) and others taking them seriously (Sunshine). I love SF movies and thankfully there are plenty to come in the future that will keep me entertained. Cool IdeasYes, science fiction is still pumping out the ideas. Just because it’s not making us go “oh my lord, that is truly the most amazing thing ever” doesn’t mean the ideas aren’t there. It’s just somewhat more difficult to surprise us with technology anymore. Spaceships and nanotechnology don’t make us jump up and down like school children like they used to. But the ideas are still there, and they’re getting more complex and more fascinating and dangerous every year. The best part is that some of the ideas we’re seeing might actually come true because they are based on real science. Take nanotechnology, which might actually create super-humans and what not. Wouldn’t that be cool? I think so. Scifi GeeksOkay, so this is one of those things that is great and utterly crap at the same time. First off, scifi geeks can be a little too obsessed (like those Star Trek fans who actually think it’s real). The thing is, all forms of geekery, even literary geekery, have these overly obsessed types. That’s just the way it is. For the most part, thankfully, scifi geeks are some of the best geeks out there. They don’t always get it right (some shows/books/etc. really aren’t as good as they make them out to be), but at least they’re keeping the genre alive by consuming the hell out of science fiction books, television, movies, comics, etc. Without them, the genre wouldn’t be where it is today. At least that’s my opinion! Comic BooksOkay, so comics have been around for a hell of a long time, and science fiction comics just as long. But comic book movies haven’t been around quite as long, and good ones haven’t started springing up except in the last 10 years–and most of those have been science fiction or at least close. True, not all of these comic book movies have been all that great (some of them have been downright terrible), but the good ones have, in my opinion, revitalized the movie industry, for the most part, and done wonders for science fiction as a whole. Now we’re seeing a lot of cross over in the opposite direction: science fiction shows being turned into comic books and their stories/characters expanded as a result. True, this type of stuff has been going on for a while, but it seems like it’s more popular these days than in days past. And it doesn’t really matter if it’s an old thing or a new thing: it’s working, it’s cool, and that’s all that matters! Non-Genre Authors Driving FocusThe title isn’t clear, primarily because it’s hard to put all of what will be said here into a short title, but it will have to do. Basically, quite a few authors who have received acclaim outside the genre have written books within the genre and embraced them. Michael Chabon, for example, has basically flipped his middle finger off at all those folks that tried to claim he and other science fiction writers were writing crap. We need more folks like him out there, for sure, but thankfully the genre as a whole has been grabbing a lot of non-genre attention as of late. And, it drives genre readers to work outside of their comfort zone. That’s a good thing! Space OperaIt’s been around for a long time, I know, but the subgenre has really blossomed lately (at least that’s what I see). Whether or not it is “new” as the whole “New Space Opera” title suggests, space opera is still kicking. I love me some space battles and interstellar civilizations, even when it’s all blended together in a dark cup (if that makes any sense). Of course, I’ve always loved space opera, so the supposed revitalization of the genre brings a smile to my face. Give me some Tobias Buckell and John Scalzi any day of the week! And, if you’re feeling friendly, toss some Charles Stross and Alastair Reynolds in there too! Science Fiction Becoming RealityWe may not have nanotech-augmented super humans who can heal on command and survive the vacuum of space, or interstellar transports that can take

World in the Satin Bag

Blogging Collab Idea

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It was brought to my attention that some of you out there were curious about my blogging collaboration idea. I’ve actually already started working on this idea with another blogger (Tycho Garen, in specific). Basically it would work something like this:Two or three individuals (or more, I suppose; for the sake of this discussion, though, I will use ) would agree on a topic of discussion, such as a question or a controversial idea or whatever. Someone would agree to start and would thus write his or her response to whatever the topic happens to be. That response would be handed to another person, who would then, in theory,post their response to the topic and then any rebuttals to the first person’s response. Then they would go back and forth in debate style (friendly, of course, because nobody wants to have any of that angry debating crap) until either nothing else can be said or both parties agree that nothing else needs to be said.Responses would be posted in pairs on alternating blogs. In the case of Tycho and I, the first response for our little dialogue is going to be up at on his blog (his response to the question, my response to the question, and a rebuttal). Then, we’ll alternate. In the event that we have nothing else to say after two rounds, then things still alternate and we simply choose another topic.There are plenty of other ways to do this, though. One suggestion was to have it where a topic was chosen and then one person would post on their blog, the next person would post a response on their blog with a link back to the initial response, and back and forth like that (a dialogue between blogs, if you will). I’m still interested in trying this version, which hopefully is clear from my description.And you’re free to suggest different ways to do this. So, if you have suggestions for different formats, then by all means suggest them! So, what do you all think? Any other sf/f bloggers interested in producing cross-blog dialogues? It’d be interesting and would offer a unique way to cross-pollinate readers and do some nifty things withing the blogging world. Let me know what you think.

World in the Satin Bag

New Years Resolutions for 2009 (Writing Edition)

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I’ve never really done the whole “New Years resolution” thing, but I thought it would be fun to do this year for reasons that escape me. So, I’m doing it. The following are what I am going to do by the end of 2009: Write 200,000 words. This will include non-fiction and fiction, but will exclude blog posts (if I added up just my blog posts for the year I imagine it would come to well over 200,000 words). This year, by the way, I came up short by about 15,000 words (the meter on the side is not, at the time of this post, accurate as I’ve been too busy to add up some of the words I’ve written since the last time it was updated). Edit 200,000 words. I hate editing. It’s obvious if you look at my little list on the right sidebar. I’ve edited about 1/4th as much as I’ve written. I imagine if I edited more I’d get more work out the door. Which leads me to part three… Submit 26 new short stories by Dec. 31st. I only really became aggressive with my short stories about halfway through the year. Granted, I’ve been serious for a while, but I’ve only really started hammering down in a serious way in the last six months (give or take a month or two). I want to continue this trend even further by sending out 26 new stories throughout the year. Shouldn’t be too hard, right? Reach a total of 20 short stories in the submission queue at one time. This will probably be an easy goal if I keep up with number three. Right? Someone tell me yes so I feel like it’s doable… Get published (legitimately)! Doesn’t matter if it’s just once, or a dozen times. I just need to get one story published. This is the big goal! And there you have it! What are some of your New Years resolutions?

World in the Satin Bag

Misconceptions About Star Wars

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One of the things that I find interesting about the criticisms of Star Wars is when people tend to misunderstand or misrepresent what the series is about or what happens within the series. Sometimes this has to do with people over analyzing or simply people being idiots.Mulluane of Dragons, Heroes, and Wizards recently brought to my attention this post by Richard Risch that somewhat irritated me with the ways in which Risch criticized Star Wars for its failures to succeed as a piece of science fiction–he argues that Star Wars is more of a science fantasy than anything else.Now, to be fair, I have little argument against Risch’s points. He is correct in placing Star Wars in the science fantasy category. Lucas’s series is not at all a true science fiction story and is a prime example of why the “just because it has spaceships doesn’t mean it’s science fiction” rule is a good one to follow. What I take issue with are the examples Risch uses and the fallacies in logic that come with them. I suppose the best way to go about this would be to go one piece at a time.First this: Sadly though and even more important, authentic fighter tactics were lacking, and at times, … purely ignored. This was made quite evident by the attack on the exhaust port via the death trench. Using your fighter to block an enemy fighter (on your six o’clock), is suicidal in real warfare. That is in reality how most fighters get shot-down. A logical tactic would have been to keep a circling flight of fighters above, waiting to engage any bandits making a run for your dive-bombers. But then, that would have not lent well to the story, would it? My initial contention with this part of his argument is his reference to the suicidal tactic of blocking an enemy fighter with your own fighter. If you’ve seen the movie it’s pretty darn obvious that the folks doing the blocking are, in fact, being suicidal. They’re there to basically be annoying. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, sure, but I don’t think Risch really addresses the reality of the setting. Perhaps this all isn’t much of a contention, but from the start I already had issues with the assumption that the rebels in Star Wars were doing anything other than being suicidal decoys…I think a far more accurate criticism, one which Risch only touches on briefly here, would be to point out the idiocy behind the whole idea of having to travel down a long trench. The film never mentions any rational behind this tactic and really, as Risch says, it’s there for the pretty-fying of the story.Then there’s this: Added to this, was the attack on the exhaust port (which was purportedly ray-shielded) with photon torpedoes (borrowed from Star Trek). Funny thing, a mass of photons is considered ray. (Photon energy is produced by an electron dropping from a higher orbit to a lower orbit as it travels around in an atom.) Therefore, how could photon torpedoes be realistically considered the weapon of choice for this attack? Well, as was mentioned in the comments of his post, the Star Wars folks used proton torpedoes, not photon torpedoes, meaning that no actual “stealing” was involved (in theory). But regardless of the name, Risch’s point is one worth taking up. Why must we assume that the names for all things within a fictional universe have to be related to the things they represent? For example, if I have a fish torpedo, does that mean the torpedo has to be made out of fish? Or shaped like a fish? Does it have to smell like a fish or make a fish sound when it’s shot? No, it doesn’t. It could be called a fish torpedo for a lot of reasons. Maybe it’s called that because when the fighter pilots who shot them saw them moving through deep space they came up with a new slang term in which space became the ocean and torpedoes became fish. Who knows. Just because something is a photon or proton torpedo doesn’t mean that the torpedo has to be made out of photons or protons or anything, or even resemble those things, or be made of photons or protons as we know them in our reality. It doesn’t really matter what they are called. Star Wars also has ion cannons, by the way, and I imagine there are all sorts of scientifically incorrect things about those too. Let’s face it, Star Wars isn’t exactly the most realistic universe out there as far as science is concerned. But do any of us expect it to be? No. It’s Star Wars. There are lightsabers and people who have magic powers and aliens that drool and evil guys that breathe funny. Then: All well and to the good except for one minor problem, it took the samurais and ninjas many years to develop their bodies and skills through training, discipline, and actual combat. I ought to know, I trained at and taught Karate for over twenty-five years. For Luke Skywalker to become an accomplished Jedi Knight (under several weeks of Yoda’s tutelage and training) is laughable and cannot possibly happen even with most gifted human beings. Again, you are expected to accept this with blind faith. Let’s take this one apart piece by piece. TimeIt’s never indicated with any certainty how much time passes between the separation of Luke Skywalker/R2-D2 (traveling to Dagobah) and Han Solo/Chewie/Leia/C-3PO (running from the Empire). The most we can assume is that it didn’t take more than a few years lest we might have seen some drastic changes in the physical appearances of the characters (as in someone getting old all of a sudden). It’s likely, however, that the second film spanned only a few months. Remember, Han Solo gets tortured during this period. I can think of a lot of real world examples where tortures took place for

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