Too many TV shows have come and gone. Some of them never should have been killed. These are the five I wish hadn't been cancelled.
In no particular order:
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Friday, July 13, 2012
Retro Nostalgia: The Bourne Identity (2002) and the Politics of Amnesia
One of the things that fascinates me about the Bourne movies is the question raised by his amnesia within the ideology of terrorism (read: War on Terrorism, etc.). To think about Bourne's amnesia as a symptom of a particular form of national ideology is to understand that his amnesia is not simply a convenient plot device (though it is one), but also a symptom of a public amnesia. In other words, just as Bourne's condition enables him to alter the real by making it imaginary -- i.e., changing one's identity entirely -- so too do the cast of characters who use ignorance (or willful amnesia) to wipe themselves clean of culpability (ex. Ward Abbott). The public does not know, and those that do know fulfill one of three identities: 1) true amnesiac; 2) willful amnesiac; and 3) maintenance amnesiac (Conklin, who maintains the barrier between those that don't need to know (the public) and those that don't want to know (Abbott)).
Bourne's identity, however, is split by a seeming contradiction. On the one hand, his amnesia defines him as one who does not know himself; on the other, he is defined by what he does not (or cannot or will not) remember, but about which others have profound knowledge. To not know
Bourne's identity, however, is split by a seeming contradiction. On the one hand, his amnesia defines him as one who does not know himself; on the other, he is defined by what he does not (or cannot or will not) remember, but about which others have profound knowledge. To not know
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Crowd-funding Update of Doom (New Perks)
For those following my progress on G+, this will not be news to you. If you're not, then lots of news to come. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then you should probably read this.
Currently, things rest as follows:
--Straight donations: $145
--Zombie Painting Auction: $25 (+$25 match)
The big update for the project is that there are now two official perks (one you've already seen, and one new one):
Perk #1: Those who you follow my podcasts will know that my friend and I do a special segment for The Skiffy and Fanty Show called "Torture Cinema," in which we review bad science fiction and fantasy movies (sometimes books) while drinking alcohol. Anyone who donates $50 or more (including via the auction) will get to pick a movie for us to watch starting in August. No voting. You get to be dictator for the day.
There are only two rules: 1) the film must be SF/F (broadly defined), and 2) it must be something we haven't reviewed yet. You can find the list of previous Tortures here: http://skiffyandfanty.com/torture-cinema/
Perk #2: I'm giving away a small collection of short stories for donations $10 and up (whether direct to me or through John Ward's zombie painting auction). The stories will include:
--"Burned by Sol's Rain" (high-octane military SF involving time dilation and human/machine hybrids, among other things)
--"Irlgem" (sword and sorcery story about a female knight and a murder and a dangerous magic item)
--"Dear [Redacted]" (a humorous letter explaining why a planet as been marked for extermination, more or less)
--"Interstellar Realty" (a humorous far future tale about customer service, real estate, mortgage payments, and robotic dogs)
There are only two rules: 1) the film must be SF/F (broadly defined), and 2) it must be something we haven't reviewed yet. You can find the list of previous Tortures here: http://skiffyandfanty.com/torture-cinema/
Perk #2: I'm giving away a small collection of short stories for donations $10 and up (whether direct to me or through John Ward's zombie painting auction). The stories will include:
--"Burned by Sol's Rain" (high-octane military SF involving time dilation and human/machine hybrids, among other things)
--"Irlgem" (sword and sorcery story about a female knight and a murder and a dangerous magic item)
--"Dear [Redacted]" (a humorous letter explaining why a planet as been marked for extermination, more or less)
--"Interstellar Realty" (a humorous far future tale about customer service, real estate, mortgage payments, and robotic dogs)
Sound cool? I sure hope so...
Anywho!
English Majors Study Creative Writing (or, How to Look Like an Idiot)
Apparently some people read "getting a PhD in English" as "getting a PhD in creative writing." I find this hilarious because it demonstrates a profound ignorance of what studying English entails.
Things I don't do as a PhD student in English (that is as a necessary part of getting my degree):
--Meet up for weekly book clubs
--Join critique groups
--Learn how to write fiction
--Read fiction and nothing else
--Make up imaginary interpretations for books so that I can sound smart
What I actually do:
--Read fiction with the intention of understanding its impact on culture (vice versa) or its critiques or its various other components, which are important as product of culture
--Read philosophy, theory, history, politics, science, and other types of texts which are relevant to a cultural understanding of literature (in other words, everything relevant to a particular field)
--Write essays which incorporate these elements as part of the same argument. (Basically, almost all English studies are Cultural studies these days.)
--Anything related to these topics and not related to writing fiction, creative non-fiction, or other forms of non-argumentative of writing.
Odd how different they are, no?
What would you add to the lists?
Things I don't do as a PhD student in English (that is as a necessary part of getting my degree):
--Meet up for weekly book clubs
--Join critique groups
--Learn how to write fiction
--Read fiction and nothing else
--Make up imaginary interpretations for books so that I can sound smart
What I actually do:
--Read fiction with the intention of understanding its impact on culture (vice versa) or its critiques or its various other components, which are important as product of culture
--Read philosophy, theory, history, politics, science, and other types of texts which are relevant to a cultural understanding of literature (in other words, everything relevant to a particular field)
--Write essays which incorporate these elements as part of the same argument. (Basically, almost all English studies are Cultural studies these days.)
--Anything related to these topics and not related to writing fiction, creative non-fiction, or other forms of non-argumentative of writing.
Odd how different they are, no?
What would you add to the lists?
Monday, July 09, 2012
Survey Says: My American Lit Course Reading List
I've finally finished my bloody syllabus for the survey in American lit that I will be teaching this fall. Since some folks expressed interest in what I will be forcing my little college students to read, I've compiled the list in no certain order here (mostly chronological, though it may be). The theme of the course is "labor and race," though that is loose theme since the course is a survey, not a special topics. But you'll notice that the majority of the texts have to do with the working class, the Great Depression, race, Civil Rights, and so on.
Anywho. Here's the list:
Suggestions and thoughts welcome!
Anywho. Here's the list:
- (1901) "Old Rogaum and His Theresa" by Theodore Dreiser
- (1915) "War Brides" by Marion Craig Wentworth
- (1918) "Mine Eyes Have Seen" by Alice Dunbar-Nelson
- (1901) Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington (selections)
- (1926) "Smoke, Lilies and Jade" by Richard Bruce Nugent
- (1931) Black No More by George Schuyler
- (1922) "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- (1930) As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
- (1933) "Miss Lonelyhearts" by Nathanael West
- (1935) "The Grave" by Katherine Anne Porter
- (1939) Christ in Concrete by Pietro di Donato
- (1955) "The Artificial Nigger" by Flannery O'Connor
- (1965) "Going to Meet the Man" by James Baldwin
- (1977) "Advancing Luna--and Ida B. Wells" by Alice Walker
- (1990) "The Death of the Last Black Man in the Entire World" by Suzan-Lori Parks
- (1968) "Lost in the Funhouse" by John Barth
- (1972) "When it Changed" by Joanna Russ
- (1969) Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
- (1987) Dawn by Octavia Butler
- (1973) "The Girl Who Was Plugged In" by James Tiptree, Jr.
Suggestions and thoughts welcome!
The Magic Crowd-Funding-a-Laptop Project
From Google+:
All the details are below (what I'm doing, why I need to do it, what happened, etc.). Read through or skip right to the end for info about the cool painting John Ward is putting up for auction to help me out or other ways to donate (and some perks for doing so).
What is it?
An attempt to raise$482 $306 to replace my laptop without taking out another student loan. I already have $30,000 in student loans for my B.A. and part of my M.A. The only way I can replace my laptop in a timely manner is to take out another loan, or crowd-fund.
John Ward, Mike Reeves-McMillan, and Alison Marlowe were kind enough to suggest I try crowd-funding so I can keep doing what I do. I am eternally grateful for their support.
Why do you need a laptop?
Much of what I do involves being mobile. While I can do most of that work from home on my desktop, it does severely limit me, as I cannot take notes in real time, record podcasts, etc. when I am not at home. It comes down to what enables me to do my PhD and "hobby" work at optimum efficiency. A laptop lets me do it all in one unit.
The big issue is that I have my PhD exams this coming spring, which means I have to get a replacement ASAP.
What happened?
All the details are below (what I'm doing, why I need to do it, what happened, etc.). Read through or skip right to the end for info about the cool painting John Ward is putting up for auction to help me out or other ways to donate (and some perks for doing so).
What is it?
An attempt to raise
John Ward, Mike Reeves-McMillan, and Alison Marlowe were kind enough to suggest I try crowd-funding so I can keep doing what I do. I am eternally grateful for their support.
Why do you need a laptop?
Much of what I do involves being mobile. While I can do most of that work from home on my desktop, it does severely limit me, as I cannot take notes in real time, record podcasts, etc. when I am not at home. It comes down to what enables me to do my PhD and "hobby" work at optimum efficiency. A laptop lets me do it all in one unit.
The big issue is that I have my PhD exams this coming spring, which means I have to get a replacement ASAP.
What happened?
Wednesday, July 04, 2012
Top 7 Science Fiction and Fantasy Musicals
I love musicals. And I'm sure some of you love them too. If you need a pick-me-up, sometimes a musical is just the right thing.
These are what I consider to be the best SF/F musicals, selected by a jury of 5,000 Americans kept in an underground bunker for six weeks (part of the previous sentence is untrue -- also, the following are not in any particular order):
These are what I consider to be the best SF/F musicals, selected by a jury of 5,000 Americans kept in an underground bunker for six weeks (part of the previous sentence is untrue -- also, the following are not in any particular order):
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