One of the stories I bookmarked some weeks ago I read in the print edition of Time. The headline virtually sneers: “Elitist, Moi?” The face that gazes back you in the photo is one a rumbled but fashion-conscious European. The story itself is far more interesting, as it profiles Tom Stoppard, who sees himself as a “timid libertarian.” I first encountered his work in college, when I read his play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and watched film and live play versions. Stoppard’s also written screenplays, most notably Terry Gilliam’s dystopian movie, Brazil. This libertarian leaning might explain some of the content and themes of his plays, such as “The Coast of Utopia, his nearly nine-hour trilogy about Russia’s radical political thinkers of the 19th century.” Being located far from New York (though ten minutes walking distance from San Antonio’s own Broadway Ave), I have slim chance of attending any of his plays, but I’m going to have to try to located published versions of the same.

Here’s another recent interview with Ken MacLeod, conducted a couple of weeks ago. In this one MacLeod discusses politics and sf in great detail. I’m behind on my reading of current books, and have not yet read The Execution Channel, but I find myself agreeing with his sentiments about the war on terror.

A slightly different version of David D. Friedman’s paean to his favorite poet will appear in the next print issue of Prometheus, which currently nearing completion. Here is the original entry at Friedman’s blog.

I’ve been collecting links of interest over the past month or so, but my computer bought the farm last month. Or rather, the hard drive itself died. The rest of the now four-year-old computer is fine. I managed to get the computer to Apple one day before my extended Apple Care ceased, and so they took care of it, replacing the entire drive. I had a back-up plan, but it seems to have been so fragmented that it took me a few weeks to re-assemble everything, and I think an item here or there vanished into the ether. I think a better and more cohesive plan is required for the future…

An audio version of F. Paul Wilson’s very libertarian short story, which was released last year as short film on a DVD by someone unrelated this project.

Here’s a interview at IO9 with last year’s Prometheus Award-winner, Charles Stross.

This new SF blog site rocks.

Over at the new SF blog IO9, an interview with multiple Prometheus Award winning writer, Ken MacLeod. Dare I say he might be the front runner again this year with The Execution Channel? What libertarian can’t help cheering at a quote like this? (“Whoops, my own ‘litmus test’…” he says with a sardonic smile)

in my own case, the political philosophers whose ideas most directly give rise to SF are the libertarians. Robert Nozick’s Anarchy, State and Utopia more or less compels you to think science-fictionally: how would this work? (Or not work, as the case may be.) You start imagining a crazy quilt of societies, and for me it was not far from there to something like Norlonto in The Star Fraction. Then there are the ecologists, but I can only imagine dystopias about them …

Via Ken MacLeod’s blog, word that David D. Friedman is writing a book on the future.

I must confess I have not been able to make it through any of Goodkind’s massive fantasy tomes. When the first book I received was volume seven or eight in an on-going series, it’s tough to get into the plot. However, Goodkind has been nominated several times in the past for the Prometheus Award, and his books are deeply influenced by Objectivist ideas. Fans of Goodkind (or those interested in individualism in fiction) might be interested in a new and lengthy interview published online yesterday.

1. No excuses. The new Special edition DVD of Serenity is on sale at Amazon for the sweet price of $8.99

2. Dark Horse Comics announces a new set of Serenity comic books.

3. Firefly/Serenity themed lunchboxes (again, from Dark Horse at same link as above).

This is too, too funny.