A review over at the Washington Post of the Library of America’s two volume collection of some early science fiction novels. Most were published in the middle of the 20th century, and include authors like Robert A. Heinlein, Theodore Stugeon, Alfred Bester, and others. Catch it before the paywall rises.
Page 28 of 81
New company called Golden Spike wants to land people on the moon. Details still forthcoming.
In an episode of the TV show Bewitched, George Washing is transported from the 18th century to the 20th, and runs afoul of the law when he speaks to people in a park, for not having a permit. After the recent Occupy protests, cities are now cracking down on the right to protest in the US.
Across California and the nation, Occupy protests have prompted cities to tighten restrictions on protesters and behavior in public space in ways that opponents say threaten free speech and worsen conditions for homeless people.
Governments now regulate with new vigor where protesters may stand and walk and what they can carry. Protest permits are harder to get and penalties are steeper. Camping is banned from Los Angeles parks by a new, tougher ordinance. Philadelphia and Houston tightened restrictions on feeding people in public.
It seems like the US is becoming more and more like Putin’s Russia, or worse, as police make up their law on the spot. As George Washington said in Bewitched, quoting Thomas Jefferson, “What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?” A further Jefferson quote appeared in the show as well, from the Declaration of Independence, “all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.”
Tragic tale of Chinese Nobel Peace Prize winner, Liu Xiaobo, and his wife; the former resides in prison, the latter isolated under house arrest. The rule of law is often synonymous with liberty, but that is far from the case here. As once Chinese official said, “China is a country under the rule of law. Liu Xiaobo was sentenced to imprisonment by China’s judicial authorities for violating the law.” Law is what people make it.
From the BBC, a report about the systematic and brutal crackdown on any dissent in Putin’s Russia. This isn’t just about the band Pussy Riot, but anyone who protests organizes protests. And Putin’s response? Mockery and further arrests. The people arrested? “Almost all of them appear to be rank-and-file activists or ordinary protesters.” At least the Gulags are gone… Oh, wait, not so fast!
Released last week (November 26), Robin Guthrie’s latest solo album, Fortune, showcases 10 new instrumental songs. Whereas many of his songs sounds like they flow from one album to the next, Fortune actually differentiates itself from earlier albums. I’m not exactly sure why, but several songs from this great album sounds crisper and livelier in mood, though some songs, like “Tigermilk,” fall into the earlier category. Here is an iTunes link to check out the album.
A nice look back at one of the most under-rated SF shows on TV – Babylon 5. Great stories, great sources, and a large canvas.
From IO.9, the second essay in an on-going series, this one dealing with science fiction in the Soviet Union.
Long article at National Geographic about Tibetans setting themselves on fire to protest Chinese rule.
A distressingly all too true perspective on Thomas Jefferson and his thought on slavery. Perhaps early in his life Jefferson was somewhat more open, but failed to live up to his own ideals.
