“One Drink Before You Go” just received a Fictionwise Recommendation:
Michael Spence’s “One Drink Before You Go” is an ancient tale as current in appeal as it is age-old. Another gem from Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Fantasy Worlds.”
— Eugen Bacon, Fictionwise Recommender
Meanwhile, check out another response to President Tilghman’s anti–Intelligent Design speech.
Clerk’s Log, MJD 53817.9: Continuing our discussion on naturalistic evolution and Intelligent Design, we present the following letter by John Teevan (who graciously agreed to share it with us), a condensed version of which was published in the 5 April 2006 Princeton Alumni Weekly. It addresses Princeton University president and molecular biologist Shirley M. Tilghman’s 1 December 2005 Romanes Lecture at Oxford University, entitled “Strange Bedfellows: Science, Politics and Religion,” in which she comes down rather hard on ID.
President Tilghman is obviously intelligent, and her Oxford lecture on science’s search for origins as compared to intelligent design was excellent. It was as clear as anything I have read on the topic, but I have two comments.
In case you didn’t see last February’s article on Joan Winston, it’s relevant again: she’ll be at Shore Leave 28 (7–9 July 2006), along with Peter David and — can it be true? — Susan Shwartz. Get acquainted with these people. You won’t regret it.
…Brad Guigar (of the comic strips “Evil Inc.,” “Courting Disaster,” and “Phables“) issues you your Forum Powers!
Behold and tremble:
Or at least swallow that mouthful of coffee first.
Today’s quotation from A.Word.A.Day:
The problem with being sure that God is on your side is that you can’t change your mind, because God sure isn’t going to change His.
— Roger Ebert, film-critic (1942– )
I’ll give that an Amen! and a thumbs-up. ’Tis far safer to enlist on his side, rather than vice versa.
Here’s to a New Year with boldness and humility, laughs and sobriety, zeal and optimistic realism. Cheers!
Clerk’s Log, MJDate 55179.26: They say, “Don’t mess with success,” and it’s true that this is the most heavily commented article at the Scriptorium. But I’ve made some revisions anyway, for reasons I’ll report shortly. In the meantime, enjoy — and applaud scientists who search for the truth.
It’s like watching one of those sitcoms where the lead buffoon is running around making lives miserable because he/she is working from a false premise. Frustration is sure to ensue, for him/her because a facial egging is inevitable, and for the viewer because you really hate to see someone screw up so badly, especially when it just isn’t necessary.
Continue readingThere was, for a while, a nicely-done television series on Friday nights in the USA entitled Threshold, about a quasi-invasion strategy being implemented by extraterrestrials, and the “homeworld security” task force that was working to foil it. The extraterrestrials’ tool was an audible signal that altered listeners’ DNA — and the structure of organic life in general — to match the ETs’. Humans who couldn’t endure the process died horribly; others in effect became the aliens.
Hm. Y’know, Threshold could be taken as an allegory about television viewing and the New York/L.A. entertainment industry.
“The signal is turning us into them ….”
(Note: Fear not — I hate spoilers as much as you do, and if I’ve done this right there aren’t any here.)
One person with a belief is equal to a force of ninety-nine who have only interests.
— John Stuart Mill
It arrived, and it delivered as promised.
One of Joss Whedon’s strengths as a scriptwriter is that he is not afraid to take a problem to logical extremes. If his characters find themselves in a “one false move and it’s all going to hell in a handcart” situation, likely as not somebody will make that false move and leave the viewer wondering how in bloody blue blazes are they going to get out of this one? During the course of the remarkable SF television series Firefly, the crew of the good ship Serenity found themselves in more than one hell-in-a-handcart fix; in the long-awaited film sequel Serenity they do so again.
In the process they teach us one heckuva lesson about faith.
… Celestial Seasonings puts a quotation from your novel on a bag of its throat lozenges (T.A. Barron).
… your music is used as the background for an erotic film festival (Milton Babbitt.1)
… Reverend Fun uses your suggestion for its daily cartoon.
So here you are. You’re getting older, and what’s happened to your life? Precious little, that’s what.
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]The TREASURES OF ALBION series (with Elisabeth Waters):
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