The Sunday Re-Blog – Science Fiction versus Fantasy

I’ve explored definitions of Science Fiction and Fantasy from their modern fathers. And I’ve pitted two of the heaviest hitters against each other. Now… time to rethink? Enter George R.R. Martin!

I have given a definition of both Science Fiction and Fantasy before, and I love both, so I care. If you look back at our Liebster Award nomination, I said that one of the more important things to me is Science Fiction being taken seriously. And I think I would happily include Fantasy in that as well. There are a lot of other causes out there, and things to be done – I’ve talked about Geeks and Charity as well – but the discussion about Science Fiction, and its place in thought, in learning, in the classroom… That seems like something I can influence a bit, right?

So recently we listened to George R.R. Martin on the Nerdist Podcast. And first off, if you like George R.R. Martin, it was a lot of fun. It was right after he destroyed the guitar (which we talked about before) at Comic Con. He talks Game of Thrones, and conventions, and writing, and, to the point here and now, he talks Science Fiction and Fantasy.

If part of the reason I like the quotes from Frank Herbert and J.R.R. Tolkien is because they are the fathers of the genres. However, George R.R. Martin is something of a current crown prince, or some other metaphor, in Fantasy. So what does he add to my thought? And where do we draw the lines? Read more of this post

The Sunday (Tuesday) Re-Blog – Joss Whedon and the Golden Age

In honor of Agents of SHIELD debuting tonight, here is one of the most fun posts I’ve written over on Comparative Geeks. Check out the original and all of our stuff on Comparative Geeks here: http://wp.me/p35Pkn-oR

Alright, so I have to say: I think we are entering into a Golden Age of creativity in our world today. A world where we are running into new technologies, new ways of doing entertainment, new ways of approaching storytelling. A world where there is so much quantity, but we still value the quality so much.

I submit to you that this, the world we are moving into, the Day and Age, the Zeitgeist – for the geeks, the barometer of this has to be the success of Joss Whedon.

The shirt is from pvponline.com, but it's all over the Internet by now...
The shirt is from pvponline.com, but it’s all over the Internet by now…

A man who, constantly, has been shut down by the establishment. And who, when given the chance, creates the most beloved pieces of geekdom being produced today, outside of perhaps Doctor Who. Perhaps.

So join me for a few moments to consider where Joss Whedon has been, and where he has gotten to now, director of one of the highest grossing movies ever made. Read more of this post

Internship: Done! Now what?

Hello dear readers!

I have completed my Internship in Library Science, and am pretty proud of the final product. I built the base of a virtual collection of materials about the Treadwell Mines here in the Juneau area, and it now looks pretty excellent. You’re welcome to check it out and give me feedback in the comments below!

http://treadwellsociety.com/home/

Meanwhile, that means I am trying to get back to the rest of everything in my life, because I am now done with my Master’s in Library and Information Science! So I have some things I want to talk about, things I want to explore, so let me lay out some of what’s on my mind! Read more of this post

The Sunday Re-Blog – The Hero’s Progress

So last week, I did a re-blog of a list I had written, but I used the PressThis share feature, and that really does not give you much to work with as far as a post. It’s basically a one-liner link. I think you should check it out, it’s a good list of epic scifi and fantasy series.

This week, I will try to use this again, only this time by adding this text, and we’ll see how that works.

As explanation, this post was called The Hero’s Progress, and it was a theory based on plots and how we overuse some. Also check out the one I link to early on, my wife’s post about the recent controversies about the Damsel in Distress trope.

If you’re writing, think twice before falling for: The Hero’s Progress.

The Hero’s Progress.