In particular the whole of American life was organized around the cult of the powerful individual...
Following yesterday's post, it occurs to me that this post has aged remarkably well.
- Sid
Comments and observations on science fiction and fantasy.
In particular the whole of American life was organized around the cult of the powerful individual...
Following yesterday's post, it occurs to me that this post has aged remarkably well.
- Sid
WAR IS PEACE.FREEDOM IS SLAVERY.IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.
One of the interesting things about George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four is that we do not witness the transition to the totalitarian state of affairs described in the book. We enter the dystopian future of Winston Smith in medias res, rather than observing the process whereby the world of Newspeak and Ingsoc comes into being.George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four
The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.As with the government of Oceania, one-time allies become foes, and foes become allies. Members of the inner circle are cast out and demonized: a role played in Nineteen Eighty-Four by Emmanuel Goldstein, once a member of the government and now the Enemy of the People, accused of crimes such as "advocating freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of thought”. (Remember Trump's announcement that the media is "an enemy of the people"?)
In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they should make that claim sooner or later: the logic of their position demanded it. Not merely the validity of experience, but the very existence of external reality, was tacitly denied by their philosophy. The heresy of heresies was common sense.It seems unlikely, but then, they've certainly managed to nail the "ignorance is strength" part - once you have that, the rest must be easy.
Earl Bassett: We gotta run. We've got a schedule to keep.
Valentine McKee: Yeah. See, we plan ahead, that way we don't do anything right now. Earl explained it to me.
- Tremors
We are an odd rocket, veering our way through a universe full of epic fantasy rereads, lists featuring our favorite musical horse videos, deep dives into the history of military fantasy, nakedly open personal essays, Game of Thrones recaps, rankings of the kloo horn players in Star Wars, and more. How do you contain that into a singular voice?In my eagerness to post about my friend Joe's Apollo 11 gift, I have been remiss in not acknowledging - and celebrating - the 10th anniversary of tor.com, which also took place on July 20th.
We needn't have worried.
- Batteries: Yep, but we don't know what kind yet.
Thinkgeek Plasma Rifle Replica product specifications
“Space is our future - Canada is a spacefaring nation.”
- Dr. Dafydd Williams
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Okay - Bob, Vicky, Dave, let's talk space. |
"When it comes to defending America, it is not enough to merely have an American presence in space. We must have American dominance in space...We are going to have the Air Force and we are going to have the Space Force, separate but equal."
- POTUS Donald J. Trump
"I hope that you enjoy the following presentation, and if you don't, I shall be terribly disappointed."
It's Doctor Who movie night: I change into my TARDIS t-shirt and leave work to head out to the Park Theatre on Cambie Street.-Tom Baker, introduction to Genesis of the Daleks
HAL: I'm afraid. I'm afraid, Dave. Dave, my mind is going. I can feel it. I can feel it. My mind is going. There is no question about it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I can feel it... I'm a...fraid. Good afternoon, gentlemen. I am a HAL 9000 computer. I became operational at the H.A.L. plant in Urbana, Illinois on the 12th of January 1992. My instructor was Mr. Langley, and he taught me to sing a song. If you'd like to hear it I can sing it for you.
Dave Bowman: Yes, I'd like to hear it, HAL. Sing it for me.
HAL: It's called "Daisy."
HAL: Daisy...Daisy....give me your answer ... do. I'm ... half crazy all for the love of you... It won't be a stylish marriage... I can't ... afford ... a carriage. But you'll ... look sweet ... upon the ... seat ... of ... a ... bicycle ... built ... for ... two...Opportunity, NASA's long running Martian rover, is in deadly peril. A gigantic Martian dust storm*, spanning a quarter of the planet, has enveloped the solar-powered explorer and forced it into low-power mode, which shuts down all of its systems except for a mission clock that will periodically check on power levels to see if they're sufficient to resume operations.
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
"Revolution is everywhere, in everything. It is infinite. There is no final revolution, no final number.
- Yevgeny Zamyatin