I thought this was a really good episode, though I’m not convinced that it’s better (or even possible) to lead through ideas rather than charisma. You need both, and I would argue that principles are more fundamental to human society than ideas. But still. The part about the Harkonnens ruling through decadence and indulgence was… Continue reading Extra Sci-Fi S3E8: Dune – Maud’dib
Tag: Thoughts and Reflections
Extra Sci-Fi S3E7: Dune – Wandering in the Desert
So the problem I have with most “ecological science fiction” is that it draws almost exclusively on the ideas of Malthusian economics—essentially, the argument that Thanos was right. The problem with this is that Malthusian theory has been disproven by every generation of humans to live on this planet for the last 150 years. It’s… Continue reading Extra Sci-Fi S3E7: Dune – Wandering in the Desert
Extra Sci-Fi S3E6: Dune – Plots and Plans
In Future Mrs. Vasicek’s writing group, we were talking about plotting and I remarked that plotting didn’t seem to be one of Frank Herbert’s strengths in Dune. Looking back on it, though, I think that the plot was pretty solid, but he chose to focus on other things instead—such as all of the machinations and… Continue reading Extra Sci-Fi S3E6: Dune – Plots and Plans
Extra Sci-Fi S3E4: The Return of the King
Okay, I think the folks at Extra Credits got it wrong with this one in a really big way. Gollum didn’t redeem himself. That’s the entire point. Redemption is an important and very Christian theme of Lord of the Rings, but so is the problem of evil. Several comments on the video point this out:… Continue reading Extra Sci-Fi S3E4: The Return of the King
Extra Sci-Fi S3E3: The Two Towers
This episode of Extra Sci-Fi got me to thinking about a speech that Orson Scott Card gave when he visited BYU back in 2007. He said a bunch of interesting things that have stuck with me over the years, including (to paraphrase) “conservatism is the new counterculture.” He was probably ten to fifteen years before… Continue reading Extra Sci-Fi S3E3: The Two Towers
Pros and Cons: Print Books vs. Ebooks vs. Audiobooks
One of the long-term things I want to do is build a home library. Last weekend, I started cataloging my books and putting together plans for how to do that. I’m sure I’ll be posting more about that in the future, but the big question at the start of it was this: What are the… Continue reading Pros and Cons: Print Books vs. Ebooks vs. Audiobooks
Larry Correia on Sensitivity Readers
Larry Correia just came out with another highly entertaining rant, this time on sensitivity readers. In case you don’t know, “sensitivity readers” are people that publishers hire to go through an unpublished manuscript to make sure that there’s nothing that could offend any marginalized groups. Larry sums it up quite well: A Sensitivity Reader is… Continue reading Larry Correia on Sensitivity Readers
And you call yourself a writer??
So I got into another online political debate on a writer’s forum last month. Shocking, I know. This one started with a discussion of political correctness and an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal, and quickly devolved into an argument about corporate censorship, gun control, Trump, and every other controversial issue in politics. Needless… Continue reading And you call yourself a writer??
Extra Sci-Fi S3E1: Tolkien and Herbert, the World Builders
So I really enjoyed the first two seasons of Extra Sci-Fi, and since they’ve just started up with season three, I’d like to do a blog series where I react to the episodes. From the first episode, it looks like the main focus of this season is on Lord of the Rings and Dune, two… Continue reading Extra Sci-Fi S3E1: Tolkien and Herbert, the World Builders
Politically incorrect thoughts on intersectional authorship
I’m subscribed to six or seven short story podcasts, and I’ve noticed a trend on them recently. Before they start the story, they introduce the author by first listing all of the intersectional minority identities that the author qualifies for, like “queer,” “transgender,” “immigrant,” “disabled,” “person of color,” etc. Whenever story starts off like this,… Continue reading Politically incorrect thoughts on intersectional authorship