Science/Speculative Fiction Review #3

To view Science/Speculative Fiction Review #1 click here.
To view Science/Speculative Fiction Review #2 click here.



I spend a great deal of my time every day reading speculative science fiction.  The rest of my time is spent asking the questions and questioning the answers that the science fiction I read creates. All of the stories I post contain elements of profound contemplation, varying philosophy, metaphysics, and theoretical pondering. The authors that create these stories are among my heroes in this reality, and I very much want to share them with you.   Although I read a great deal more than the stories I will post in these short reviews, I only want to share those pieces of text/audio that really stick with me and force my mind to ponder life, the universe, and everything. While I am delighted with nearly all that I read in this genre, I will make an attempt to only present the best of the best.

Writing - The quality of the writing.  I specifically rate the writing on how well it is able to convey to me the action, thoughts, emotions, etc. of the story. 

Creativity- Simply put, this rating is a measure of the degree of imagination that exists in the writing.  How unique and new was the story? Is it something I have seen done over and over again? I also factor into this rating category interesting literary techniques such as stylish ways to present chapters or different parts of the story.   

Intrigue- This rating represents the stories ability to keep me interested.  Did I get bored and have to fight my way through to the end?  Or did I lose myself and end up somewhere else entirely?

Overall- My general impression of the story. How much I enjoyed it from beginning to end, and/or how much it affected me.

The Last Question by Isaac Assimov -short story-

Writing 5+            Creativity 5+            Intrigue 5+

Overall 5+

A story spanning the entire life of the universe.  This is my second favorite sci fi story of all time, and Assimov's favorite story that he ever wrote.  Short and sweet.  Really, really sweet! 

Read it here.

"The last question was asked for the first time, half in jest, on May 21, 2061, at a time when humanity first stepped into the light.  The question came about as a result of a five dollar bet over highballs, and it happened this way..."  

Time Again by Tim Maly -flash story-

 Writing 3.5               Creativity 4.5              Intrigue 4.5

Overall 4.5

A 3 minute read that will leave you piecing together a world and romance that no longer has beginning or end. This one made me think, "wow, what an orderly luxury linear time really is!"

Read it here.

"Today, I watched an egg assemble itself on the kitchen floor. It made a strange popping noise as the last bit of eggshell attached itself. It flew into the air up and up and then came to rest on the counter. A helicopter roared overhead and our son came in and told me he was scared. I didn't know what to tell him. The war has begun and no one can say how or when it will end."

The Ultimate Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams -multiple novellas-

 Writing 5               Creativity 5+            Intrigue 5

                                                                           Overall 5

This novel actually contains 6 separate stories that are linked together by the book's central characters and an endlessly zany universe; ours. It begins with the destruction of Earth due to the need for an interstellar expressway. Every page brought another fit of laughter and genius. A book of tragedy, humor, action, romance, intrigue, speculation, and silliness.

 A must read, and remember, "DON'T PANIC!"

All the Things the Moon is Not by Alexander Lumans -short story-

 Writing 5          Creativity 5+        Intrigue 5

Overall 5

The Earth is filled with super intelligent, hyper evolved megafauna, and the moon is used to cultivate and harvest golden seas of moon mold. What happens when you are stuck on the moon as a lunar farmer for a year? You eventually smoke the mold spores. What happens when you smoke the mold spores? You eventually turn yellow and trip balls. Definitely an adult story. One of my favorites! 

Read it here

"Tamsen looks straight into my eyes and says, "You're a lovely man." This has all the meaning in the world, and none of it. "Has anyone ever told you how lovely you are?" I try to forget her moans, the image of her body thrusting under Vinegar Tom's. How she could go for a guy without a nose was beyond me. "I mean it, Murph. You're glorious." She passes the foil to Vinegar Tom and leans back against the wall. "Like a baby's mobile. The kind with the lights and funny animals."

Spitzer laughs at her. I want her to go back to being serious. My wife was serious.

"You want to hear something fucked up?" asks Vinegar Tom."

Farmer in the Sky by Robert Heinlein -novel-

 Writing 4.5          Creativity 4         Intrigue 3.5

Overall 3.5

A novel meant for teenagers, although certainly not exclusive. It documents, in meticulous detail, the perils and wonders of colonizing another planet, specifically the most hospitable moon of Jupiter; Ganymede. I really enjoyed this novel despite its somewhat narrow scope compared to Heinlein's other novels. If ever there was a guide to planetary/satellite colonization, this is it. Migration, farming, politics, economics, and more. Heinlien doesn't miss a beat.

Ascension to the Buddhist Temple

                                 

Last weekend some friends and I trekked through a quaint village filled with various farms and Koreans busy with rural life. It was at the base of a mountain with a breath taking Buddhist temple near the 

summit. 

      The village!

                       Such appetizing architecture.

 

A man cultivates a field outside his home in preparation for a future rice harvest.

                                  

Much of the mountain trail was filled with tall growing plants and overhanging trees.

                                                                               

On our way up.  Lanterns line parts of the trail as we drew closer to the temple.  

                                                

A man helps another person climb this steep rock face.  I hope he has some experience!

A lovely view from about half way to the summit.

 
A beautiful structure just outside of the temple.
                           







    Overhead oceans of lanterns!


    Hey there, it's us!

                         

I am unsure what each of these statues represent.  I assume the middle statue represents Gautama as the enlightened buddha being.  The statues on the right and left are possibly future and past incarnations.  Just a hypothesis.  Upon entering this part of the temple you are required to remove your shoes and fully prostrate yourself before the statues.

  A smaller shrine outside of the main temple.

The following images were painted on the walls inside the shrine.  They are disturbing to say the least.  My guess is that they are a reminder of the suffering of life, and the necessity of enlightenment.

 

                                                                           

The outside of the shrine on the other hand was quite elegant and warming.  

These figurines were scattered all around the jagged faces of the mountain around the temple. Kids enjoyed playing with them while their parents prayed.  

This is a method of one pointedness meditation.  The idea is to hold one of the smaller, darker rocks seen and grind it against the large boulder beneath it.  There are deep grooves in the boulder from centuries of use. 

 Some pictures of the hike back down to the base.

                                      

                                                                           

A traditional Korean burial site.  On the right you can see the burial mound.

 That is one gigantic beetle! Measuring its body and legs it spanned about the size of my palm.



















 

After the 4 or 5 hour excursion we grabbed some dinner and beers.

Farewell!

English Teaching in Korea Vlog #6

To view Vlog #1 click here
To view Vlog #2 click here
To view Vlog #3 click here
To view Vlog #4 click here
To view Vlog #5 click here


Check out my new vlog about teaching English in South Korea.  Topics include rock-paper-scissors, debate class, scaring Koreans, and cigarette smoking Korean gangs!

WATCH VLOG #6 HERE!!

Science/Speculative Fiction Review #2

To view Science/Speculative Fiction Review #1 click here.

I spend a great deal of my time every day reading speculative science fiction.  The rest of my time is spent asking the questions and questioning the answers that the science fiction I read creates. All of the stories I post contain elements of profound contemplation, varying philosophy, metaphysics, and theoretical pondering. The authors that create these stories are among my heroes in this reality, and I very much want to share them with you.   Although I read a great deal more than the stories I will post in these short reviews, I only want to share those pieces of text/audio that really stick with me and force my mind to ponder life, the universe, and everything. While I am delighted with nearly all that I read in this genre, I will make an attempt to only present the best of the best.   

Writing - The quality of the writing.  I specifically rate the writing on how well it is able to convey to me the action, thoughts, emotions, etc. of the story. 

Creativity- Simply put, this rating is a measure of the degree of imagination that exists in the writing.  How unique and new was the story? Is it something I have seen done over and over again? I also factor into this rating category interesting literary techniques such as stylish ways to present chapters or different parts of the story.   

Intrigue- This rating represents the stories ability to keep me interested.  Did I get bored and have to fight my way through to the end?  Or did I lose myself and end up somewhere else entirely?

Overall- My general impression of the story. How much I enjoyed it from beginning to end, and/or how much it affected me.

Spar by Kij Johnson - short story-

  Writing 5                      Creativity 5+                    Intrigue 5 

Overall 5

Imagine endless, brutal, slimy rape with a totally alien creature in a space the size of a closet without any chance of escape,or even death. This story puts you into the mind of a woman in this exact situation, and leaves you with an awesome sense of wonder and simultaneous filth. You will read nothing else like this one!

Read it here. 

"The alien is not humanoid. It is not bipedal. It has cilia. It has no bones, or perhaps it does and she cannot feel them. Its muscles, or what might be muscles, are rings and not strands. Its skin is the color of dusk and covered with a clear thin slime that tastes of snot. It makes no sounds. She thinks it smells like wet leaves in winter, but after a time she cannot remember that smell, or leaves, or winter.

Its Ins and Outs change. There are dark slashes and permanent knobs that sometimes distend, but it is always growing new Outs, hollowing new Ins. It cleaves easily in both senses.

It penetrates her a thousand ways. She penetrates it, as well."

The Star by Arthur C. Clarke -short story-

 Writing 5                   Creativity 3.5                 Intrigue 4 

Overall 4

A classic, quick read that includes a powerful mix of star flight and religion.  In the midst of religious ideology, a priest travels thousands of light years to discover the remains of a species not so different from our own.  The ending is what truly hits home for anyone who has ever had any dealing with christian ideology, even if only remote.

Read it here.

"The pylon must have been a mile high when it was built, but now it looked like a candle that had melted down into a puddle of wax. It took us a week to drill through the fused rock, since we did not have the proper tools for a task like this. We were astronomers, not archaeologists, but we could improvise. Our original purpose was forgotten: this lonely monument, reared with such labor at the greatest possible distance from the doomed sun, could have only one meaning. A civilization that knew it was about to die had made its last bid for immortality."

Time Enough for Love by Robert A. Heinlein -novel-

 Writing 5+                      Creativity 5+                     Intrigue 5+

Overall 5+

In the 20th century a wealthy and intelligent family, through selective breeding, prolongs the average length of their lives to 150 years, though some live well over 200. After a mass exodus from the war-torn planet Earth (documented in the book Methuselah's Children) the Howard family, led by Lazarus Long (born in the early 1900's as Woodrow Wilson Smith) spreads across the galaxy, eventually followed by the rest of humanity who have developed rejuvenation techniques so that once a person becomes old, they can become young again. Nearly three thousand years later, Lazarus Long is sick of life, and attempts to die dirty and alone in a flop house. He is picked up by one of his progeny (Lazarus Long is directly or indirectly related to most of humanity due to his...well, his libido and ability to 'get around.') who keeps Lazarus alive for the sake of the continuity of the Howard family. An extraordinarily epic tale that involves time travel, riches, loss, entire life spans, and computers turned into true humans.  One of the best, most well rounded and well written pieces of literature I have ever laid my hands on. Perfect score and then some! 

FYI- Lazarus Long appears in other Heinlein stories as well.  He is easily one of the most memorable characters ever created by a human mind.  

"Beware of altruism. It is based on self-deception, the root of all evil." -Lazarus Long

The Last Answer by Isaac Asimov -short story-

 Writing 4.5               Creativity 5                Intrigue 5+

Overall 5

This story is driven entirely by a dialogue between two characters, a dead man and... something that has always existed. A haunting, chilling philosophical discussion that will adhere to your thoughts for days, weeks, maybe forever.  How long is forever anyway?  

Read it here.

"The Voice said, “You have promise. You answer my paradox with a paradox – except that mine is not a paradox. Consider. I have existed eternally, but what does that mean? It means I cannot remember having come into existence. If I could, I would not have existed eternally. If I cannot remember having come into existence, then there is at least one thing – the nature of my coming into existence – that I do not know."

Hello Said the Gun by Jay Lake -flash story-

Writing 4.5            Creativity 4            Intrigue 4

  Overall 4

A charming, quick read set in a desolate and vague world with a cold present and persistently grim past. This story actually leaves you feeling sympathetic toward a talking tool of destruction. I thought the author also did a great job of conjuring a fictional world in such a short amount of space.

Read it here.

"The Girl began to back away, stepping into her own footprints with the automatic caution of anyone who'd survived long enough to be twelve years old. "I don't know who 'Username Here' is, but that's not me."
The Gun's tone changed. "Please don't go. I have been neglected for so long." Almost whining now, it said, "I believe you would say I am lonely.""

Science/Speculative Fiction Review #1

First of all, I love to read!

I spend a great deal of my time every day reading speculative science fiction.  The rest of my time is spent asking the questions and questioning the answers that the science fiction I read creates. All of the stories I post contain elements of profound contemplation, varying philosophy, metaphysics, and theoretical pondering. The authors that create these stories are among my heroes in this reality, and I very much want to share them with you.   Although I read a great deal more than the stories I will post in these short reviews, I only want to share those pieces of text/audio that really stick with me and force my mind to ponder life, the universe, and everything. While I am delighted with nearly all that I read in this genre, I will make an attempt to only present the best of the best.   

I have created a rating system that helps me to place the stories I read into varying degrees of awesome.  It is quite simple.  I rate the stories based on their writing, creativity, intrigue, and overall enjoyment on a 5 point system.  You may notice that I haven't rated anything below a 3.  There may come a time, but like I said, all of the stories I read are just so damn spectacular.  Try them out, and you will see what I mean! 

Writing - The quality of the writing.  I specifically rate the writing on how well it is able to convey to me the action, thoughts, emotions, etc. of the story. 

Creativity- Simply put, this rating is a measure of the degree of imagination that exists in the writing.  How unique and new was the story? Is it something I have seen done over and over again? I also factor into this rating category interesting literary techniques such as stylish ways to present chapters or different parts of the story.   

Intrigue- This rating represents the stories ability to keep me interested.  Did I get bored and have to fight my way through to the end?  Or did I lose myself and end up somewhere else entirely?

Overall- My general impression of the story. How much I enjoyed it from beginning to end, and/or how much it affected me.

I will also let you know if the story is a novel, a novella, a short story, or a piece of flash fiction (something that only takes a few minutes to read).

Most importantly, I'll include a link to where you can read the story if it is available online for free.

This post is the first of many to come.  My plan is to present 5 brief story reviews per post.  

26 monkeys, Also the Abyss by Kij Johnson  -Short Story- 

  Writing 5                        Creativity 4                         Intrigue 5  

Overall 5

A story split into 24 quick fragments that documents the strange experience of a woman who becomes the owner of 26 monkeys. All 26 monkeys amazingly disappear during an act on stage and reappear with strange artifacts. Where do they go? A charming and satisfying tale.

Read it here.

"No one knows how the monkeys vanish or where they go. Sometimes they return holding foreign coins or durian fruit, or wearing pointed Moroccan slippers. Every so often one returns pregnant. The number of monkeys is not constant.

"I just don't get it," Aimee keeps asking Geof, as if he has any idea. Aimee never knows anything any more. She's been living without any certainties, and this one thing - well, the whole thing, the fact the monkeys get along so well and know how to do card tricks and just turned up in her life and vanish from the bathtub; everything - she coasts with that most of the time, but every so often, when she feels her life is wheeling without brakes down a long hill, she starts poking at this again.

Geof trusts the universe a lot more than Aimee does, trusts that things make sense and that people can love, and therefore he doesn't need the same proofs. "You could ask them," he says."

Prayer by Robert Reed -short story-

                                        

                
                   Writing 4.5                       Creativity 5                         Intrigue 4.5  

                                                                              Overall 4.5

Talking guns, wildly alternate history, world at war, pre teen female soldiers, and prayers that are actually answered in ultra real ways.  The story switches between the perspective of a young girl and the powerful rail gun she wields.   This one was a really wild ride. 

Read it here.

"To me, guns are just another layer of clothes, and the best day ever lived was the day I got my hands on a barely-used, cognitively damaged Mormon railgun. They don't make that model anymore, what with its willingness to change sides. And I doubt that there's ever been a more dangerous gun made by the human species. Shit, the boy grows his own ammo, and he can kill anything for hundreds of miles, and left alone he will invent ways to hide and charge himself on the sly, and all that time he waits waits waits for his master to come back around and hold him again.

I am his master now."

A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick -novel-

  Writing 5+                          Creativity 5+                            Intrigue 5+  

Overall 5+

A chilling, dystopic story that will leave you as paranoid and depressed as the central characters in the most thrilling way. I know it sounds paradoxical, but Dick pulls it off.  I actually listened to the audio version of the story which was put together in 2008 and read by Paul Giamatti.  Turn off your lights and tune in to a tale of a downward spiral that starts and ends with 'D.'

"How'd you like to gaze at a beer can throughout eternity? It might not be so bad. There'd be nothing to fear."


"What does a scanner see? he asked himself. I mean, really see? Into the head? Down into the heart? Does a passive infrared scanner like they used to use or a cube-type holo-scanner like they use these days, the latest thing, see into me - into us - clearly or darkly? I hope it does, he thought, see clearly, because I can't any longer these days see into myself. I see only murk. Murk outside; murk inside. I hope, for everyone's sake, the scanners do better. Because, he thought, if the scanner sees only darkly, the way I myself do, then we are cursed, cursed again and like we have been continually, and we'll wind up dead this way, knowing very little and getting that little fragment wrong too."


"Sometimes I wish I knew how to go crazy. I forget how."

The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov -novel-

Writing 5+                         Creativity 5+                         Intrigue 5  

Overall 5+

One of Asimov's most notable pieces.  A captivating journey through various centuries of human history spanning 100's of millenia after the 20th century. Eternity, an organization and place created by early humanity that exists outside of time, initiates trade between varying centuries and alters reality for the betterment of the objective whole of humanity across time.  As seemingly perfect as Eternity is, it may have/has/had potentially/possibly caused an end to eternity.  Hah!  This is such an awesome story!

"Harlan felt his annoyance to be quire reasonable.  The 2456th Century was matter-oriented, as most Centuries were, so he had a right to expect a basic compatibility from the very beginning.  It would have none of the utter confusion (for anyone born matter-oriented) of the energy vortices of the 300's, or the field dynamics of the 600's.  In the 2456th, to the average Eternal's comfort, matter was used for everything from walls to tacks.

To be sure, there was matter and matter.  A member of an energy-oriented Century might not realize that. To him all matter might seem minor variations on the theme that was gross, heavy, and barbaric.  To matter-oriented Harlan, however, there was wood, metal (subdivisions, heavy and light), plastic, silicates, concrete, leather and so on. 

But matter consisting entirely of mirrors!  

That was his first impression of the 2456th."

For Want of a Nail by Mary Robinette Kowal -short story-

     Writing 5                  Creativity 4                   Intrigue 3.5  

Overall 4

A futuristic tale about a robot in Victorian style dress who is responsible for recording every moment of every person's life in a family whose size fills an entire intergalactic ship. One day, the robot's handler, a young girl, asks the robot to dance, and accidentally drops it. The simple mistake could be fatal for many.

Read it here. 

"“In your room? Why is she with you? Why do you have Cordelia?” His voice rose, cracking on the AI’s name. She and her uncle had disagreed on Cordelia’s maintenance before, but this was all out of proportion to what was happening. Mostly. “She should be with me.”

Rava swayed as if her uncle had struck her. He’d resigned from his post as the AI’s wrangler and of all their relatives, Rava had been the one Cordelia had chosen to take over. If the AI didn’t blame Rava for dropping her, then Uncle Georgo had no room to. “Hey. I’m her wrangler now and I’m capable of dealing with this. I just need the cable.”

“Where is she? I want to see her.”

Rava had to f ight the urge to yank her glasses off. Clenching her f ists so hard her fingers ached, Rava said, “I told you, she’s in my room.”

“Your room . . . But I don’t understand. Who are you?”"

That is all for now.  I'll post 5 more reviews in a few days or so.  I hope you enjoy these stories as much as I did.  

Thanks for taking a look.

Throw Away

your television.

You will become infinitely more productive!

                            Trust me, once it's gone, you won't look back...

Do it now! 

Music Video : Crush The Alchemy

My friends Marcin Tendera and Juan Aviles directed, filmed and edited a music video of the very first rap I put together.  We had a ton of fun, despite the intense cold (they filmed it before I left for Korea in February).  Even if you don't enjoy rap, they did an amazing job making the video.  Check it out.

The Music Video

Just the Song

Lyrics:

break beats and melodies streaming right in front of me

my eyes the hieroglyphic treble clef translate topography,

and honestly, without a beat at 23,

I can free a stanza of its syntax and still be 120 b-

pm, the night threatens to never end,

it’ll lend some labor toward the sky

and we can start again,

pretend it all depends on how you tend to make friends

and count the third as real since the pineal still has a lens,

then,

the jetty eddy in a stream full and steady, cause

mystical and mythical I know that they’ll let me,

grab a mic and stay tight under the spotlight cause

fixed on my flow, you know that everything will be alright

My centerfold is six fold, too bold, stars glow,

truth be told its all soul,

trees bend don’t mend

even nature can’t ignore this shit...

paralytic rhetoric rapidly rolling off his quick lip,

he’s hip,

and pays close attention

to them others rapping but he stays in the back laughing

picking up his ego cuz he threw it in the trash bin

quasi holy with a bit of sin, he’ll always win

Get him pinned and you put him in attack mode

consciousness expansion the objective

not given a shiny shit the goal, yo,

welcome to my strong hold

a hole filled with meta anticipatory strong joe

spiked with jolly molly augmented espresso

its gold

meaning that I’m hype from the get go,

ladies and gentlemen please let go of your halos

and find the meaning

of the supersonic hyperbolic metatronic payload, it's

only far away cause you proclaim so,

I’m only here to bring you closer so you may know

the drift pinch is a cinch that you don’t have to

k-hole to be shown.

so get blown, or hone your skills

just keep in mind, its life that kills

who was it catching blind daily grind to pay the bills?

who was it perma-gathering chills and frills? That's right

you, the entity you dream will ensue beyond the death hue

what a damn fool,

and everything and everyone and every place you think you knew,

yeah well me too!

so even though I’m almost outta body

spit these lyrics knotty knuckled fists

with more power than Gatti with a triple shotty,

hotty with the body let me meet ya

I can make ya naughty any party

with a proper beat and getting real rowdy

call me if you’re looking for a fan

of the fun fodder, flows that go boom boom

and range from hot to bothered,

if you want it louder

introduce ya to my megaphone

and call reptilians to beam me up

and leave my world alone!

my theta waves are universally known,

and university grown,

stardom a stones throw from being a dead zone,

on a mission from annihilation

to have my break beats shown

and crooked beats evolve to satiation

the soul,

hello,

you may remember me,

I’m called your inner enemy

shape and form identical to third eye physiology,

its all in me, the history and present tense

its got to be without a doubt the alchemy of love

and staying free,

now, take eternity and find a seat beneath

the bodhi tree.

SHROOOOMS!!!!

Here are two TED talks that discuss different ways we can incorporate the use of simple mushrooms into our lives, and eventual death, to improve the state of the world.

Click  Click

Both videos are practical, highly entertaining, and mind blowingly interesting!

The second video, discussing how mushrooms can be used to decompose bodies, reminded me of something that has bothered me about humanity since I was very young.

There are so many of us, billions, and we all die.  We spend our entire lives consuming the Earth, growing and devouring species to the point of extinction.  And at the end of it all, we are so selfish that we do not give our dead, useless bodies packed full of nutrients back to the Earth.  We wrap ourselves in metal and even in death take up some space in the already crowded Earth.  And then, we carve a stone with our name on it and put it over the ground marking the spot where our rich nutrients are safely being stored and wasted away.

Why?

Are we so selfish and destructive that even in death, when we don't know the difference, we clear an entire area, fill it with lifeless rocks, and let ourselves go to waste?  A poetic ending denoting our wastefulness in life that continues to the grave.

Guess what? Our species is growing!  There are more of us on this planet now then there has been in the entire history of the world! North America will be one giant prison.  South America will be one giant cemetery.  And we can all just live in Europe/Africa/Asia right?

Beautiful future.

I have heard so many minds bring up the idea of planting a tree instead of a stone.  Can you imagine endless forests supported by the nutrients of our dead?  Or orchards; every family can have their own apple trees, so that visiting grandma and grandpa with the kids at the cemetery can be a joyous event filled with delicious fruit instead of boredom filled with solemn memories.

What better way to honor our dead than with life?

Also, the second video also commented on the toxins in our body, a major argument for why a deceased body should not be placed directly into the ground.  The use of mushrooms filters the toxins into non harmful organic matter, quite rapidly I should add!

                                                  When I die, give me back to the Earth that bore me.

                                                                    Grind my body up and use it to grow a garden.

Vlog #5 Nazis and Playboys

Vlog #5 of teaching in Korea.  I talk about racism, plastic surgery, playboys, and nazis.

Check it out here!