MetaFilter posts tagged with sf

U.K. science fiction Golden Age?

zardoz — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:31:10 -0800

The stories of now. An essay by Kim Stanley Robinson on the remarkable pool of SF talent currently working in the U.K.

Science Fiction VS Scifi

GavinR — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 03:34:03 -0800

Harlan Ellison tears up the debate and J. Michael Straczynski speaks up on the topic. Oh, yeah there is also Herb Solow as well and his wife Yvonne (WTF) speaking on the subject "Science Fiction" over "SciFi". None of them saw SyFy coming back in 1997, that's for sure! (SLYT) Also, here is the Newsweek article mentioned at the start of the segment.

Alien Resurrection?

Mintyblonde — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:31:35 -0800

Fox have offocially announced that Ridley Scott has officially signed on to direct the new 'Alien' prequel. He certainly did a great job on the original but can he match his previous truimph? Given the number of projects he has in gestation (heh) maybe any celebration is premature...

Yellow becomes intelligent

The Whelk — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:05:37 -0800

Drop the acid just before the bus leaves the station: In this January 14, 1967 broadsheet, probably distributed along the Haight on telephone polls, walls, and in windows, ComCo passes on some learned tips on good Bay Area headventure trips. ( Via digaman's twitter )

When Steam Wasn't Punk.

The Whelk — Tue, 19 May 2009 11:41:54 -0800

The Brazen Android by William Douglas O'Connor, is a 19th century science fiction story based on the myth of the Brazen Head, a steam-powered head that told fortunes. It's available as an audio book from the Internet Archives. (Via)

Rules for Time Travelers

BitterOldPunk — Thu, 14 May 2009 10:07:57 -0800

Rules for Time Travelers [Spoiler? alert.]

Classic Covers of Penguin Science Fiction Books

Kattullus — Thu, 07 May 2009 19:22:02 -0800

The Art of Penguin Science Fiction is a historical guide to the design of book jackets in the Penguin SF line by James Pardey. But before reading the essay I recommend looking at some of the wonderful cover designs, for example We, Deathworld, Rork!, The Drowned World, Star Maker, The Evolution Man, Fifth Planet and Alternating Currents. They certainly don't make SF book jackets like they used to. All hundred plus covers can also be browsed alphabetically by author. [via The Guardian Books Blog]

Nebula Best Short Story Nominees 2008

Artw — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 08:29:41 -0800

StarshipSofa has podcasted all of the Nebula Best Short Story Nominees for 2008, following on from podcasting all but one of the 2008 BSFA short story nominees. Previous StarshipSofa.

Engaging Design

digaman — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 08:05:15 -0800

Captain's Log, supplemental.

R.I.P. Philip Jose Farmer

Guy_Inamonkeysuit — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 08:40:07 -0800

Pioneering science fiction writer Philip Jose Farmer, who won a Hugo in 1953 for Most Promising New Talent for his disturbing story, The Lovers, died today at age 91. Best known perhaps for his Riverworld series (winning the Hugo in '72 for the first volume, To Your Scattered Bodies Go), he's also known for his World of Tiers stories and for the Wold Newton sequence (previously), in which he tied together pulp heroes such as Tarzan and Doc Savage and even Sherlock Holmes to the same genealogy. His exploration of sexuality helped elevate the field above its pulp origins. Good entry about him at Wikipedia.

Special-snowflake Bots: A List

taz — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 01:36:27 -0800

60+ One-Of-A-Kind Robots From Science Fiction. "You'd think a major advantage of robots is you can mass-produce them. They're just metal-and-circuit bodies. But science fiction is full of one-of-a-kind bots. Here are all the bots for whom they broke the mold."

spammen all over you

mwhybark — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 07:54:43 -0800

overclockblocked , by Sumit Dan. short story told in speculative chippy dialect. Fucken AIbrid think he so fucking cool with he retrofleshy stylen. Like you don’t already know he dealin double-helix, not just some two-bit qubit.

Some articles about Blade Runner

nthdegx — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 10:17:55 -0800

Some articles about Blade Runner

Clarkesworld science fiction magazine

Kattullus — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:49:00 -0800

Clarkesworld Magazine has been serving up new science fiction and fantasy short fiction monthly free of charge since October of 2006. The current issue has a story by Robert Reed. Among the authors who have been published in Clarkesworld Magazine are Mike Resnick, Elizabeth Bear, Jeff VanderMeer and Sarah Monette. Clarkesworld has a podcast of readings of selected stories from the magazine. The magazine also publishes non-fiction, separated into two categories, commentary and interviews. Among those interviewed are Gene Wolfe, Kage Baker and Steven Erikson. There is also a covers gallery and a discussion forum.

Stories are about people

fearfulsymmetry — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:02:26 -0800

John Wyndham: The Invisible Man of Science Fiction (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) - documentary about the British science fiction writer best known for The Day Of The Triffids

Post(modern)-Apocalypse

fearfulsymmetry — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:50:34 -0800

'We are in (a period of) intense turbulence - fasten your seatbelts,' Gonzalez-Foerster told reporters. So why not shelter from the coming apocalypse in the Turbine Hall of Tate Modern, lying back on a bunk bed, listening to the rain, reading or watching some SF, looking at art.

While I lay dreaming of you...

KokuRyu — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:36:08 -0800

The Earth Dies Screaming [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6] [Part 7] (IMDB listing) As the film opens, people all over Britain are mysteriously collapsing, apparently dead: Trains careen off their rails; cars crash into walls; commuters drop to the ground where they stand. One blogger's opinion... Directed by Terence Fisher Score by Elisabeth Lutyens UB40 Tom Waits/28 Weeks Later mashup

Rosenbaum, The Plausible-Fabulist

ninebelow — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 07:13:41 -0800

Like others before him Benjamin Rosenbaum is making his debut short story collection, The Ant King And Other Stories, available from his publishers, Small Beer, as a free download. More than this though, he is holding a competition to find the best derivative work inspired by it. These include "translations, plays, movies, radio plays, audiobooks, flashmob happenings, horticultural installations, visual artworks, slash fanfic epics, robot operas, sequels, webcomics, ASCII art, text adventure games, roleplaying campaigns, knitting projects, handmade shoes, or anything else you feel like." Benjamin Rosenbaum is not a character from The Scarlett Pimpernel, a poet or a writer of children's books as 'Biographical Notes to 'A Discourse on the Nature of Causality, with Air-Planes', by Benjamin Rosenbaum' makes clear.

The Who we never knew

Artw — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:39:46 -0800

The Russell T. Davis papers – As he prepares to leave the role of Doctor Who show runner (previously) he’s releasing a book of email exchanges with Doctor Who Magazine writer Benjamin Cook about his time on the longstanding British SF series, revealing the younger face of Who he’s like to see, and plans for a Doctor Who/Harry Potter crossover which never materialized.

Too bad the guy was only thirty eight - just two years older, he'd have been worth three times the points...

Artw — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 13:43:52 -0800

Did you grow up anticipating sports where death would be likely, if not certain? Almost certainly played by convicts, possibly with robot limbs? And which would be even more likely to have chainsaws and flamethrowers not usually found in the sports of today? Those We Left Behind’s look at Future-sports of the past, in videogames, movies and comics is for you!

Gentlemen, We Have Wood

DU — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:51:04 -0800

Johnna Klukas makes science fiction wood carvings, sculpture and furniture. She has also detailed her techniques (with more "coming soon").

How renters work the system to live for free in one of America's most expensive cities

geoff. — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:47:17 -0800

"In fact, [Getzow] was one of the most successful 'serial evictees' in San Francisco, a select group of tenants who take advantage of the city's lenient courts and tenant-support nonprofits to tie up landlords in court for months while they live practically rent-free in one of the most expensive cities in the country."

The Walking Dead

Artw — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 17:20:59 -0800

Warren Ellis on the grim future of science fiction magazines. Some of the previous posts he mentions, and response to one from Cory Doctorow (unsuprising short summary: Blogs!). Jason Stoddard on 5 small things and 5 big things Science Fiction can do to improve its image.

Speaker for Himself

Artw — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 22:43:03 -0800

Orson Scott Card on gay marriage, which he says "marks the end of democracy in America". Not everyone is too happy about that.

A Web of Geeks, Every One of Which Knows a Lot about Something

Navelgazer — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:32:38 -0800

Vegging Out vs. Geeking Out. Romance as the MSG of film. The bifurcated careers of Lucy lawless, Sigourney Weaver, and Hugo Weaving. Characters making smart decisions vs. stupid decisions. Neal Stephenson discusses Sci-Fi/Speculative Fiction as a literary genre at Gresham College. (Warning: requires Flash 9)