On the topic of comic books

Since we have been reading and discussing comics for the last couple of weeks I thought I would share this. http://collider.com/dc-comics-universe-reboot/93845/

DC Comics is rebooting most of their heroes and it begins this month. This s a great chance for people who were never really into comics to get a start at the very beginning or for fans to get a new take on their favorite hero.

Gray Characters

I highly enjoyed It's Superman, which I had not anticipated. Superman is probably my least favorite superhero. He's just too.....perfect. But in this novel, we get to see his internal struggles, how he doesn't always make the best choices, and that adds so much depth to his characters. That being said, he's still the most boring character in the book. I found myself loving the sections that featured Lex more than the ones with Clark, even thought Lex Luthor is pretty far from being a gray character.

The story was woven together wonderfully, and I very much enjoyed seeing how the author introduced new characters and brought them into the storyline seamlessly.

And to answer a previous post, Batman would definitely win a fight. He's willing to kill, and Clark tries his hardest not to. And that is why Batman is a more interesting character than Superman.

I wish I was Harry Potter...

I have always loved the fantasy/sci-fi genres but when I read these stories I always get jealous of the cool things the characters can do! Come on, it's not fair that Harry can clean his room with a wave of his wand, and it would be so cool to change the weather at will like Storm from X-men (no more crazy hot football games at Bryant Denny...). Reading all these Superman stories made me curious to examine (for the 100th time) which super power I would want...

I am too scared of heights for flying, I wouldn't want giant claws coming out of my hands like Wolverine, nor do I want any powers that would remind me of spiders. I know there is a character in X-Men that can (forgive the Harry Potter term here) apparate. As a college student, this power appeals to me because I would no longer have to worry about the evil parking at this university. I could wake up 5 minutes before class, get dressed, and will myself to physically be in class. I would never get caught by the train, rain wouldn't effect me in any way, and gameday would be SO much more relaxing. I would be so much more relaxed: no more road rage! There are so many AWEsome possibilities with this power.

Your turn: which super power would you want?

After reading It's Superman, I found that I enjoyed quite a bit. The writing style and time period reminded me of Hardboiled detective novels that I have read in the past where violence is a constant. I also really enjoyed the clash of personalities between Clark and Lois. Clark's "farmboy sweetness" and Lois' cut throat characteristics amused me throughout the novel. Clark's personality as a whole interested me, because I had never taken into account of the internal struggle that he constantly had- he was a superhero to himself and an average country boy to everyone else. I have always dreamed of having super powers, but I have never really thought of what it must feel like to have to hide a huge part of yourself from the world. Has anyone else ever had thoughts on the repercussions of having a "secret identity"?

Superman or Batman

In preparation for our discussion on Superman, I have to ask. If Superman and Batman were to fight to the death, who would win? I think that Superman is more powerful, but if it came down to it, he could not kill Bruce. It isn't in Kal-El's personality to do that to a friend. Also, Batman carries Kryptonite with him, and he wouldn't be afraid to use it if he thought he had to. So my answer is Batman. What do you think?

Ender's Game

I was at Barnes & Noble, and I impulse-bought Ender's Game, since I've never read it.

Looking forward to finally reading such an important piece of sci-fi.

The Founding Fathers

OK, first a big shout-out to Jennifer for the comment on my post, it worked and I am now fully capable of writing on this blog again. Thank you.

And this may have nothing to do with science fiction, which is why I kept it to myself in class, but the Founding Fathers were not all deists, nor mostly deists. I don't have time for a huge post as of yet due to homework constraints, but here's just a few simple things to help yall understand where I'm coming from.

For now, just to get the discussion going, I will present a few simple facts. The point is not to call anyone out or say someone is outright wrong, but to get people to actually read and research about the men who founded the country. As long as it sparks your interest and gets a conversation going, my job is done.

Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin are the big-hitters who are typically described as deists. There are others, but I'll start with these two. Neither man would fall into mainstream Christianity by any means (Jefferson wrote a Bible that omitted all the miracles); I am saying that to be completely honest and fair, I let the facts fall where they may.

Nevertheless, when asked, Thomas Jefferson said, "The Bible is the cornerstone of liberty...students' perusal of the sacred volume will make us better citizens, better fathers, and better husbands." http://www.quotesdaddy.com/quote/353844/thomas-jefferson/the-bible-is-the-cornerstone-of-liberty-students

I had to hand-type that link because it won't let me paste anything in here. Moving on, Benjamin Franklin rejected the deist notion that God does not interfere with the workings of the Universe. After weeks of tense arguments that got them nowhere, the Constitutional delegates were very frustrated. Benjamin Franklin stood up and called for prayer immediately. The whole speech can be found online, but here is a small excerpt from the official proceedings, as confirmed by James Madison: "I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth that God Governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid?"

Just some things to think about. Once again, this is just to let you know why I think the way I do. There are literally volumes of other materials that have convinced me on the subject as well, as I used to be very political. So let me know what you think.

Hope all of you have a wonderful two weeks!

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

I think it is incredibly fitting that we read Little Brother this week, considering that the tenth anniversary of 9/11 was Sunday. It is a good reminder that, yes, the government has the responsibility to protect us, but it also is a reminder that some of our First Amendment rights have been encroached upon in the process. This book got me really angry. I mean pissed off because I made me think about things that I had started to just accept as part of life today. Where do we draw the line between security and freedom? And who has the right to draw that line? Just something to think about.

Recreation of Star Wars

http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/2011/03/15/watch-simon-pegg-and-nick-frost-attempt-to-recreate-star-wars

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are so funny in this. Watch and enjoy.

On an unrelated topic...

So my roommate recommended this book to me, "Unwound." It's the story of a future where instead of abortion, parents can choose to "unwind" their kids by a certain age. Basically unwinding is completely erasing a person and using what was their body to benefit others. It's considered more humane because every body part is donated or used in some way, and parents are freed of what may have been considered problem children. I'm not saying it was the most well-written book I've ever read, or even all that well developed, but the basic idea presents an interesting concept. In this future, an unwanted baby could be "storked" at someone's doorstep. If you didn't want your baby, all you had to do was leave it at someone's door without being caught and you were home free and that person was responsible for raising it as their own. It's crazy to imagine a reality like that, with limited responsibility and the constant knowledge that you could be destroyed at any moment.

So Frustrating...

I'm really frustrated, I keep trying to comment but it's not letting me. I've been trying different browsers and that's not working. I do care what you guys are syaing, just trying to figure out how to get this stuff to work.

Digients and Their Feelings

I wanted to discuss the part of Lifecycle of Software Objects where the characters are considering allowing their digients to be used as sexual objects. Now, I know we discussed in class the concept of digients being different from people, in the sense of maturity. A child can think it knows what it wants and be completely wrong, which is how I felt Marco was represented to an extent.

However, the part I want to ask you guys about is the actual plan that Binary Desire had in mind. All they planned on doing was reprogramming the digients' data maps so that they would understand to enjoy sex, and attempt to sell them to consumers as not just "sex dolls," if you will, but as potential partners for actual relationships.

To be blunt, enjoying sex does not necessarily equate to emotional attachment. An artificial emotional attachment generated by the digients in response to having their rewards maps properly "stimulated" would be more akin to something like lust than love. I feel like, as artificial intelligences, the concept of love would never be able to properly align to something a human was actually seeking.

Does anyone else think that maybe there would be a way to program love, if you will? To be able to write a program that has those sorts of genuine feelings for something? I find the concept to be a little far-fetched, and I think Ana and the others were right to doubt Binary Desire's intentions. On that note, do you think Binary Desire even believed what they were saying? That by wiring the digients to enjoy sex, they could forge actual relationships?

"America's Four Gods"

Here's a link to a 74-page PDF of the 2006 Baylor Religion Survey that I talked about in class, in connection with Ted Chiang's "Hell Is the Absence of God."  The title of the report is American Piety in the 21st Century.  Note especially the chapter beginning on Page 26, titled "America's Four Gods."  This would be terrific source material for any number of papers in this class.  The links between science fiction and religion are many.

Reflections

Ten years ago today, George W. Bush proclaimed, "Freedom itself was attacked this morning by a faceless coward, and freedom will be defended. " I must say that it has been defended and it is all too true that "We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail." I am damn proud to be an American, especially on this day. For all of the lives lost on September 11th, 2001 and for all of the lives that have been lost since, you are forever in my heart.

I still remember where i was when i heard the news. I was in class, and school had just been canceled. My mother came to get both me and my brother from school. I was still young enough that i did not fully understand what had just happened. All i knew at that time was that my father may have to go fight this war. I remember crying for days and days; i could not imagine life without my father, but he has his duties. Fortunately, when he was recalled, my father was sent to Pearl Harbor to head PACOM (The Pacific Command for The United States of America). The situation could have been much worse than it was, and i am forever grateful.

For anyone interested, Fox News has already made me cry twice because the programming is very moving. Please, observe this day and remember all of those who lost their lives.

Opinions on Ted Chiang

After the past two weeks, I can definitely say that I thoroughly enjoy Ted Chiang's writing. A lot of people said they were a bit put off by all the technical details he includes in his stories, but to be honest, they were my favorite part. Reading that really felt like discovering an entirely new world, and the feeling at the end of a story was much like that of finally understanding the solution to a difficult problem. Whether he was describing a possible version of our world or a new one entirely, I always came away from his stories feeling like I had really learned something, invigorated with the spirit of exploration and discovery. Ted Chiang doesn't write to tell a story so much as to explore an idea, and if you go into his stories with the same attitude, they will be extremely rewarding. It will be interesting moving on to Cory Doctorow, who similarly writes to explore the implications of an idea, but with more of a focus on narrative and more of an influence from current or likely near future events.

Let's all say a big Happy 45th Birthday to Star Trek: TOS! Where would science fiction be without it?

The Lifecycle of Software Objects cont.

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Is Ender's Game immoral?

Fans of Ender's Game will be interested in John Kessel's 2004 essay "Creating the Innocent Killer: Ender's Game, Intention, and Morality." An excerpt, from Kessel's conclusion:

"Ender gets to strike out at his enemies and still remain morally clean. Nothing is his fault. Stilson already lies defeated on the ground, yet Ender can kick him in the face until he dies, and still remain the good guy.  Ender can drive bone fragments into Bonzo’s brain and then kick his dying body in the crotch, yet the entire focus is on Ender's suffering.  For an adolescent ridden with rage and self-pity, who feels himself abused (and what adolescent doesn’t?), what’s not to like about this scenario?  So we all want to be Ender.  As Elaine Radford has said, 'We would all like to believe that our suffering has made us special—especially if it gives us a righteous reason to destroy our enemies.'

"But that’s a lie.  No one is that special; no one is that innocent.  If I felt that Card’s fiction truly understood this, then I would not have written this essay."

Opinions of Liking What You See

While I was reading this story, I could not help but become increasingly frustrated. Though I understand that people can be cruel and they sometimes judge others based off of their appearances, I do not think that the best way to solve this is to reprogram people. The idea of removing recognition and appreciation of beauty is absurd to me. What is to stop scientists from creating technology that eradicates people's appreciation of music, simply because they lack musical talent themselves. I feel like this is a step down the slippery slope. If this bill were to pass, the government could force people to have this surgery done. I am curious as to what other people's views are on this subject. I also want to know what everyone thinks Chiang's point is in writing this story.

Town of 35000- no residents

I just clicked one of the links at the top of the page and came across a pretty interesting article: http://www.techzone360.com/topics/techzone/articles/215574-town-built-35000-people-with-no-residents.htm

It's about a planned town in New Mexico that will be strictly for the purpose of testing new technology. No one will live there, but it will look like people do. How weird is that? It's taking the idea of a ghost town to a new level. The best part is that they refer to it as "The Center." How much more creepy can the story get before it becomes the plot to the next science fiction movie? It probably already half exists!

Few people realize this, but EPCOT actually stands for Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow. Walt wanted EPCOT to be an actual community where people lived and worked that was on the cutting edge of science. Obviously people don't actually live there, but there is still a big emphasis on science throughout that park. Maybe "The Center" can fulfill Walt's dream.

While you were reading "Hell Is the Absence of God" do you think that it was Chiang's way of saying that religion is not important or do you think he was trying to show that you must have the right reasons to truly believe in something. I personally believe that he used one of the fallen angels to say his true meaning which was to choose for yourself what you believe in. I'm not if i phrased this correctly but I was just wanting to see what others thought of this story.

After reading The Evolution of Human Science, I wondered as to how far into the future man would gain the ability (if ever) to genetically alter a developing human and turn it into the meta-human genius described in the story. It was while I was thinking about this that I found a really cool info-graphic. Give it a look, it provides an interesting perspective on science fiction works that everyone has grown to love.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2JEGKU/infographipedia.com/watch/infographic/photo-twitpic-login-future-28theyE28099re.jpg

Just handed The Lifecycle of Software Objects off to a friend. I have it as an eBook on my Nook, so I didn't need the hard copy I ordered. So, if my recommending it to friends is any indication of how much I liked the book... :)

DragonCon

So my family was at DragonCon this weekend. I was planning on meeting them in Atlanta after the game, but, sadly, I wasn't able to go because mono kicked my butt. They told me some pretty awesome stories though. My mom is going to send some videos from the William Shatner panel (they had third row seats!) and maybe some pictures too. Hopefully I will have those in the comments of this soon!

When I was reading Exhalation I was a little disgusted at how overly appalled the inhabitants were at the idea that they only had a few centuries left to live. A few centuries?? Please, we're lucky if we even get one. But when I thought about it, it was completely understandable. For one, they thought they were more or less immortal so a revelation that they weren't would be quite disturbing. In further defense of the people in this story, they had lived for countless centuries so how they think of time is different from how I would equate that expanse of time as well. Anyhow, the story mentioned how people were freaking out and doing silly things which made me wonder... what would I do if I knew I wasn't going to live much longer?

I would go to Spain. It's number one on my bucket list (it is part of my major after all). I want to see all the different parts of the country from Andalucia to Madrid to the cliche Barcelona. I would want to live there, meet the people, see how they did things, etc. I am so fascinated with Spanish culture.

I would also like to live long enough to see them take the Heisman from Cam Newton. That would be number two on my bucket list...

What would you do?

Story volunteers for Sept. 7

Correct me, please, if I wrote these down wrong.

• Allen Head, "The Evolution of Human Science"
• Blake Dunn, "Hell Is the Absence of God"
• Kelsey Dueland, "Liking What You See: A Documentary"
• Jennifer Palm, "Exhalation"
• Andrew Bersson, The Lifecycle of Software Objects

As before, each volunteer simply will start us talking about the story: what you found interesting or confusing or unexpected or problematic or marvelous, and what questions you have for your classmates about it.

Any context you might be able to share would be helpful, too, especially if you have some expertise or personal experience in the stuff being written about.  Material from your other classes is welcome.

Note also that a number of interviews with Ted Chiang are linked from the right-hand column of this blog.  Those would good to mine for insights.

You also can start blogging your reactions to these stories at any time.  You needn't wait for Wednesday's class, and you needn't be one of those volunteers listed above to wade in on any of these points.

BIG. NEWS.

Well, sort of. If you're me. Anyways, check out this link!

YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE WHAT YOU'RE ABOUT TO READ.

It will take you to an article about A POSSIBLE NEW STAR TREK TELEVISION SHOW. I would not be nearly as excited as I am about this if it wasn't going to be based off of the newest movie, which, as I discussed with Mary Grace after class the other, I thoroughly enjoyed. A moment I did NOT thoroughly enjoy, however, is learning that Zachary Quinto (a.k.a., new Spock) was homosexual. Alas, he doesn't bat for my team. Though it took me a minute to get over the fact that the 2009 movie so easily deviated from the standard plot line due to the flagrant use of an alternative timeline, I eventually convinced myself that, because no one can redo the awesomeness of TOS, they had to do what they could to make the movie a) legit and b) profitable, I had to let it go. So, if this new show is based on the black hole-induced alternate timeline from the 2009 movie, a revamped Original Series could be seriously legit! I wonder if they'll keep the same actors. Probably not. Let's find a Spock that's less homosexual and more available, shall we?

Editor's note (again): I don't have anything against gay people. I just mean that gay people don't generally want to be in love with me, which is the problem in Zachary Quinto's situation.

Our two absentees Wednesday ...

... have dropped the class, FYI.