Terry Goodkind interview

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.

Firefly/Serenity news

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).

Poetic justice

This is too, too funny.

The Edge of Reason

It's going to be a long wait until May 2008, when Melinda Snodgrass's new novel is published. This looks like a killer book. Bigger cover at Snodgrass's web site.

Early jump on nominees

While the winner of this year's Prometheus Award is still touring Japan fresh from receiving his prize at the 2007 WorldCon, Pyr (an imprint of Prometheus Books - no connection) has posted a notice on their blog about the first public nominee of the 2008 Prometheus Award - Adam Roberts' Gradisil.

Charles Stross wins Prometheus Award

Direct from Yokohama, Stross's Glasshouse garners the 2007 Prometheus Award (a real gold coin). When I mulled over my vote a couple of months ago, this was the novel I placed first.

Dystopian books

The Guardian (UK) posts a list of it's top 10 dystopian novels. I have read eight of the ten, the only exceptions being the Meg Rosoff novel, of which I've never heard, and the James Clavell book. I've read several of his novels, but never heard of this story.

This is all the constitution we need

I wanted to link to the image from BBC to give proper credit, but couldn't figure out how. Here's comrade Hugo talking about changes to Venezuela's constitution.

Deep liberty

Over at Deep Genre, a long essay on libertarian sf by Lois Tilton. The essay is somewhat shallow, thinking that libertarian utopia can only be achieved by an army of Robinson Crusoes dropped on their own planets.

A single, naked libertarian dropped onto a virgin terrestrial planet with nothing more than a Swiss Army knife or stone hand axe would indeed enjoy the absolute liberty that he [it is usually he] can only dream of on today’s Earth. Happily unencumbered by bureaucrats or environmental regulations, he would be free to carve his way through forests, dig his way through mountains, plow his way across the plains, fish his way through the seas, and otherwise plunder his world to his heart’s content without let or hindrance.

Unfortunately, no works or authors are cited, so Tilton can make brazen statements without having to worry about any proof, or face any refutation. Consider her concept of freedom. Confusing it with the absence of cost, she can say something like this: "On the mythical frontier, everything is free, and here we can see the double meaning of the term. In this idealized setting, the air is free, and the water; meat is free for the hunting, wood is free for the hewing, minerals free for the mining." I wonder if she has read Robert Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, or remembers Heinlein's TANSTAAFL?

But the main thrust of the essay is that libertarian sf writers and fans believe they only can achieve freedom in space, that they have abandoned Earth to the collectivists. Bosh and piddle, I would say. Libertarians are as passionate about freedom right here, right now, as they are in space. But many libertarian sf fans and many writers firmly believe that humans should get into space to because we can't put all our eggs in one fragile, blue basket.

I wish Tilton would provide us concrete examples to back up her thesis. Still, her essay has already generated some interesting comments.

New political label: techie/libertarian

I have not read the subject of this brief review, but the blog called The Stars my Destination speculates about the politics of Matthew Jarpe's novel, Radio Freefall. The verdict of the reviewer is that's somewhat libertarian, so it might be worth while for me to check out in the context of the Prometheus newsletter, as well the Prometheus Awards. Anyone who has read this rock 'n roll inspired book is welcome to post comments in the affirmative or negative.

Libertarian sf at LRC

An all too brief overview of recent movies and books in the sf genre that contain elements of liberty. No mention of Babylon 5, however.

The libertarian divide

Randy Barnett's recent Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal appears as a modern pro-war libertarian manifesto. Quite a few libertarian commentators have responded to the effect that a pro-war libertarian is a contradiction in terms. Barnett's original thesis, that Ron Paul's anti-war stance vis a vis Iraq is not the only view in the libertarian movement, is probably true. I certainly don't agree with Barnett's theories on libertraianism and war. Also, not every libertarian supports Paul, but that doesn't meant they don't agree with his views on the war. Ron Paul has some libertarian qualities, but quite a few other bizarre and statist views (immigration, for example). This doesn't stop the minarchists from beating loudly on the Ron Paul drum. Lew Rockwell's web site and blog usually contain several Paul stories a day. And while Justin Raimondo makes some good points in this essay, I strong disagree with his concluding words, that "Ron Paul is the authentic voice of the libertarian movement." Paul, running as a Republican, is the authentic voice of the libertarian movement? Give me a break. Sure, Paul probably will be the last nail in the coffin of the Libertarian Party (a good thing, really), but by the end of 2007 he will be a non-candidate, and the libertarians hooked on politics will need to find a new fix.

Latest edition of Prometheus nears completion

Little posting of last due to work on the current issue, plus being knocked out of commission for over a week due to a bad cold. Right now I'm making final edits to a couple of stories. I'm starting to look ahead to the next issue, which is a temptation I need to resist until this one is in the mail.

I've stubbornly stuck to a 12-page format the past year, but find that I'm writing 60-80% of the more recent issues. So, after cutting the page count down from 16 to 12 for the same reason last year, I may now need to drop the issue down to 8 pages, until I can get more contributions. I might as well look into moving everything online otherwise. That's where all the action is these days anyway, and people writing about liberty and science fiction can get their bylines out faster via the internet, along with the options of commentary, linking, and a massive audience. Why should an organization with the word "futurist" in its name stick to a print newsletter? Anyway, the current issue currently contains these items:

Matthew Gaylor, RIP
Book Reviews:
The Guardener’s Tale, by Bruce Boston
The Mount, by Carol Emshwiller
Giant Lizards from Another Star, by Ken MacLeod
Brasyl, by Ian McDonald,
Glorifying Terrorism, edited by Farah Mendelsohn
Mappa Mundi, by Justina Robson
Empire, by Orson Scott Card
The Jack Vance Treasury, by Jack Vance
Off Armageddon Reef, by David Weber
Movie Reviews:
Sophie Schöll: The Final Days
Army of Shadows
Letters, plus news of the LFS Community on Live Journal

Zimbabwe: Death of a Nation

If this wasn't so sad, it would be almost funny, a perfect exercise in planned chaos. By waving the legislative pen to slash prices, the Mugabe government shows yet again reckless disregard for human life. Stop the government money press, boot out that thug in power, and bring about some genuine reforms. Otherwise this country will vanish into a whirlwind of destruction.

Glasshouse redux

In a comment thread below on Glasshouse, Sunni Maravillosa (whose blog and Salon I regularly read), talks about the criteria that "Prometheus finalists' content [be] firmly in the pro-freedom camp," and whether or not Glasshouse fits this recipe. I'd like to think that it does fall into this camp, as the protagonist holds very individualist view about life and self-defense. Also, the villains in the books are mind-controllers who spread their views via worms and viruses that re-write how people think, and they eradicate those who they believe are not susceptible to such a virus (which is basically identity theft on a large scale). In the experiment that is the glasshouse itself, you can also see how the protagonist, Robin, reacts to the conformism of the people in the village as well the those running the experiment. There's a mini-revolution within the glasshouse experiment, and in Robin's flashback as well as the events prior to him entering the experiment we see a post-human society where freedom to remold your self exists almost totally. That this society at one time almost was wiped out points to conflicts being eternal. Government is hardly present in the post-human society, and no one forces you to back your self up should you chose this.

As far as The Prisoner, I have only seen it on VHS tapes from a few years ago, and remember the fake village where Patrick McGoohan's character wakes up. It was a bizarre, self-contained place of happiness and conformity, much like in Glasshouse. Everyone talks about "the village," and in Glasshouse there's a sign that says "Welcome to the village," which to me is a very direct allusion. The taxis in Glasshouse also seem to mirror those in The Prisoner. I probably am reading too much into this allusion.

"I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered. My life is my own."

Out Stealing Horses

A Norwegian writer wins one of the richest literary prizes available, for the translation of his 2003 novel. I happen to have the Norwegian version right next to me. Admittedly it was third in line of the Norwegian books on my list to read (my small library is augmented once or twice a year), but it sounds enticing enough to bump it up to next in line.

Glasshouse review

Sunni Maravillosa posts her review of Charles Stross' novel Glasshouse. I did note some similarities between Stross novel and John C. Wright's The Golden Age while reading the former, as she also notes, but then again these are now almost standard sf tropes. Glasshouse is also a sequel of sorts to Accelerando, which was based on several short stories and novellas, and many of these deal with the same themes. Despite its shortcomings, I do believe Glasshouse is the best of the five Prometheus Award finalists. I have now read all the nominees, and I believe the choice comes down between Glasshouse and Vernor Vinge's Rainbows End. I am still mulling my vote, but see no clear cut winner yet. As far as nominees for the 2008 Prometheus Award, I'm firmly behind Adam Roberts' Gradisil, which (as Bruce Sterling would say) rocks hard.

A Scanner Darkly

In my quest to present the entire run of Prometheus online in PDF format, I need to find a tool that allows merging of PDF single PDF files into one document. Today I found a link to a solution on Max OS X hints. This involves using Image Capture (which comes with every new Mac), plus loading a freeware app called Combine PDFs. Simple enough. I install the new app, and open Image Capture. Hmm, no scanner drivers on my Mac. I move onto Vuescan, an application I bought a few years ago to scan images. I proceed to scan three pages of an old issue as a test. Scanning these as B/W images involves adjusting the page on the flatbed scanner just so a few times. After a few minutes of clicking through each step and saving the files, I have three .jpg files to merge. Hmm, will those convert into a PDF? I drop the files, each around 500-600k, into Combine PDFs, and click on Merge. The process seems to work, but the resulting file is 4.2 Mb, quite massive considering it is only three pages. I must have done something wrong.

Back to the instructions from Mac OS X hints. They suggest installing SANE, and so off to that web page, locate the files, and download them. Install three elements (in proper order, if you please), and open Image Capture again. Browse for devices, and SANE appears. Cool. Follow the directions in the hint, but wait, the Scan button is grayed out. At this point take a deep breath and walk away. After a while to cool down, I will try Google for other options to reduce the size of the end product. I can't see anyone downloading 12-15 Mb files at this point.

This is a conference I'd almost like to attend. Well, probably more than almost.

Safari 3 and Blogger

Apple debuted Safari 3 beta today. The big news: it runs on Windows Vista and XP. I believe it's the second Apple application to run on Windows (after iTunes), and a bold move in trying to extend market share in the browser wars. Is it just a matter of time before the full-blown Leopard (or the cat after that) runs on any Intel computer, and not just an Apple controlled Intel machine? What then will happen to the more expensive hardware line Apple produces? How far will Apple have extended into the consumer market by that time (iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, er, scratch that last one)? Lots of questions, as the former computer company continues to slowly re-invent itself. In the meantime, I had bemoaned Safari 2's lack of compatibility with Blogger, and while it seems the Ctrl-keystrokes still don't work, at least the new version does display icons for the shortcuts. A small step forward, I suppose.

Update: I neglected to mention QuickTime, which has been around for Windows for probably a decade or so, and still going strong.