You know you’ve REALLY made it when …

Posted on 13 January 2006 by Michael Spence

…Brad Guigar (of the comic strips “Evil Inc.,” “Courting Disaster,” and “Phables“) issues you your Forum Powers!

Behold and tremble:

Power ring around the collar. Wielder of the Punglasses.

Or at least swallow that mouthful of coffee first.

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God on our side in Twenty-aught-six?

Posted on 5 January 2006 by Michael Spence

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!

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Unguided Evolution vs. Intelligent Design: Paradigm Smackdown!

Posted on 30 November 2005 by Michael Spence

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.

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Posted in General, Theology | 52 Comments

THRESHOLD: A really extreme makeover

Posted on 9 November 2005 by Michael Spence

There 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 ….”

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SERENITY and faith

Posted on 7 November 2005 by Michael Spence

There’s power in the ’verse — and the verse is Revelation 3:15

(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.

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You know you’ve made it when …

Posted on 28 September 2005 by Michael Spence

Reverend Fun cartoon 'Too Sexy'… 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.

  1. No, he had no idea that had happened until another Princeton music prof told him. I doubt it made his day. [↩]
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When life didn’t go according to plan

Posted on 27 September 2005 by Michael Spence

So here you are. You’re getting older, and what’s happened to your life? Precious little, that’s what.

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Reflecting on Hurricane Katrina

Posted on 12 September 2005 by Michael Spence

My boss returned yesterday from Shreveport, Louisiana, where he helped to organize relief operations in Hurricane Katrina’s wake. Like other experiences of extreme conditions, the aftermath of the hurricane has shown us humanity at its best and at its worst.

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A weak moment

Posted on 21 August 2005 by Michael Spence

I can, therefore I am.
— Simone Weil

I once knew a woman like that. Man, the amount of zucchini, mincemeat, and rhubarb preserves she had stashed away in her cellar …

What?

Oh.

Never mind.

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Bad reasons not to write

Posted on 12 August 2005 by Michael Spence

Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.
— Salvador Dali

Would that I knew the context of this line, found in many quotation lists. In isolation it’s a good thought, enough so that I’m willing to risk ripping it out of context thus:

I happen to be (gasp!) over fifty. That in itself is no scandal: so is Robert Silverberg. So is Harlan Ellison. So is Ursula K. LeGuin. And so forth, and so on. What is regrettable is that my creative output isn’t even a bare fraction of theirs. And why is this? Because for the longest time I refused to write anything, convinced that whatever I did was either (a) “too much like …” or (b — et pardonnez-moi mon français) crap.

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Posted in SFF: Writings, Writing: The process | Leave a comment