Monthly Archives: December 2017

Link and Comments: UFOs and Other Fairy Tales

Posted on Tuesday 26 December 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

No I don’t “believe” in UFOs, in the sense of believing them to be evidence of extraterrestrial visitors, because I’ve long been too familiar with the many ways human perception can go awry and of the many ways reports of … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology, Religion | Comments Off on Link and Comments: UFOs and Other Fairy Tales

Link and Quote: Hitchens on Christmas

Posted on Tuesday 26 December 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

Slate reposts a 2008 essay by curmudgeon Christopher Hitchens: ’Tis the Season to Be Incredulous: The moral and aesthetic nightmare of Christmas. Aesthetics aside; whether Jesus existed or not, was the Son of God or not… Suppose we put the … Continue reading →

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Link and Comment: Evangelicals Embrace Trump Because They’re Frightened in a Big World They Don’t Understand

Posted on Tuesday 26 December 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

NYT, from Dec. 15th. Amy Sullivan, who describes herself as “a progressive evangelical and journalist covering religion”, wonders “how white conservative evangelicals could support Mr. Trump, who luxuriates in divisive rhetoric and manages only the barest veneer of religiosity.” And … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance | Comments Off on Link and Comment: Evangelicals Embrace Trump Because They’re Frightened in a Big World They Don’t Understand

Links and Comments: Regulations; Science on Sundays; How to Talk to Someone in a Conservative Bubble

Posted on Tuesday 26 December 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

Slate: Trump’s quiet attack on the regulatory state is another part of his broader class war The conservatives’ simplistic rebellion against “regulations” will have consequences, and costs. Regulations are there for a reason. Yes, these rules and regulations might technically … Continue reading →

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SFNF: Heinlein addenda from The Science Fiction Novel

Posted on Saturday 23 December 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

Addenda to previous post. Every time I write up notes based on my reading, something else lingers in the back of my mind that seems especially significant a day or two later. Here’s a couple from the Heinlein essay in … Continue reading →

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SFNF: The Science Fiction Novel

Posted on Friday 22 December 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

The Science Fiction Novel: Imagination and Social Criticism is, like Of Worlds Beyond, another slim volume of essays. It was published by Advent (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/advent_publishers, stylized as Advent:Publishers), like Fantasy Press an SF small press, that specialized in critical and bibliographical … Continue reading →

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SFNF: Eshbach, Of Worlds Beyond

Posted on Wednesday 20 December 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

I’m revisiting some classic critical nonfiction books about science fiction, beginning with Lloyd Arthur Eshbach’s OF WORLDS BEYOND, a collection of essays by Heinlein, Campbell, Williamson, and others. This is the book where Heinlein identifies 3 basic plots and his … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: SF, fantasy, and SF cinema

Posted on Monday 18 December 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

» io9: 10 works of science fiction that are really fantasy I love lists like these, and I still mean to compile many of them. Still, I’m not sure I agree with some of the selections on this list. This … Continue reading →

Posted in Films, science fiction | Comments Off on Links and Comments: SF, fantasy, and SF cinema