Amy H. Sturgis's Blog, page 145
September 25, 2012
News of the Science Fictional and Fantastical Kinds
I'm pretty much buried under a couple of projects at the moment (including the Secret One of [Temporary] Secretness), so please forgive me if I'm quiet for the next few days. I'll be catching up with everyone ASAP.
A few quick notes of possible interest...
* Wiley now has the official book description and ordering information posted for Star Trek and History (edited by Nancy Reagin), which includes my essay "If This Is The (Final) Frontier, Where Are The Natives?" Here's the tag: A guide to the history that informs the world of Star Trek — just in time for the next J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie!
For a series set in our future, Star Trek revisits the past constantly. Kirk and Spock battle Nazis, Roman gladiators, and witness the Great Depression. When they're not doubling back on their own earlier timelines, the crew uses the holodeck to spend time in the American Old West or Victorian England. Alien races have their own complex and fascinating histories, too.
The Star Trek universe is a sci-fi imagining of a future world that is rooted in our own human history. Gene Roddenberry created a television show with a new world and new rules in order to comment on social and political issues of the 1960s, from the Vietnam War and race relations to the war on terror and women's rights. Later Star Trek series and films also grapple with the issues of their own decades: HIV, ecological threats, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and terrorism.
How did Uhura spur real-life gender and racial change in the 1960s? Is Kirk inextricably linked with the mythical Old West? What history do the Klingons share with the Soviet Union? Can Nazi Germany shed light on the history and culture of the Cardassians? Star Trek and History explains how the holodeck is as much a source for entertainment as it is a historical teaching tool, how much of the technology we enjoy today had its conceptual roots in Star Trek, and how by looking at Norse mythology we can find our very own Q.
-- Features an exclusive interview with Nichelle Nichols, the actress behind the original Lt. Uhura, conducted at the National Air and Space Museum
-- Explains the historical inspiration behind many of the show's alien races and storylines
-- Covers topics ranging from how stellar cartography dates back to Ancient Rome, Greece, and Babylonia to how our "Great Books" of western literature continue to be an important influence to Star Trek's characters of the future
-- Includes a timeline comparing the stardates of Star Trek's timeline to our own real world history
Filled with fascinating historical comparisons, Star Trek and History is an essential companion for every Star Trek fan.
* Daniel Nexon - Potter Pundit, Georgetown Professor of Political Science, and inveterate blogger at "Duck of Minerva" - is now doing New Books in Science Fiction and Fantasy, a most promising new podcast. I look forward to listening!
* It looks like I'll be teaching two graduate courses this Spring. For Mythgard Institute (online and worldwide), "Science Fiction, Part 2: From the New Wave through Tomorrow." For Lenoir-Rhyne University, "J.R.R. Tolkien: Hobbits, History, and Heroism." (The latter will be cross-listed for undergraduates, as well.) I'm delighted!
* I now have a proper Author's Central page at Amazon. You can go there and "like" it... if, you know, you like it.
* As expected, Neil Gaiman and his fellow storytellers were amazing on the Unchained tour. We laughed, we cried... you get the idea.
* I adore the new poster for The Hobbit. Don't miss the alternate endings for the trailer, too!
* Last but not least, happy belated birthday to , happy birthday to , and happy early birthday to and . May all of you enjoy many happy returns of the day!
I'll leave you with my dear niece Kaitlyn, out and about and having grand adventures:
A few quick notes of possible interest...
* Wiley now has the official book description and ordering information posted for Star Trek and History (edited by Nancy Reagin), which includes my essay "If This Is The (Final) Frontier, Where Are The Natives?" Here's the tag: A guide to the history that informs the world of Star Trek — just in time for the next J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie!
For a series set in our future, Star Trek revisits the past constantly. Kirk and Spock battle Nazis, Roman gladiators, and witness the Great Depression. When they're not doubling back on their own earlier timelines, the crew uses the holodeck to spend time in the American Old West or Victorian England. Alien races have their own complex and fascinating histories, too.
The Star Trek universe is a sci-fi imagining of a future world that is rooted in our own human history. Gene Roddenberry created a television show with a new world and new rules in order to comment on social and political issues of the 1960s, from the Vietnam War and race relations to the war on terror and women's rights. Later Star Trek series and films also grapple with the issues of their own decades: HIV, ecological threats, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and terrorism.
How did Uhura spur real-life gender and racial change in the 1960s? Is Kirk inextricably linked with the mythical Old West? What history do the Klingons share with the Soviet Union? Can Nazi Germany shed light on the history and culture of the Cardassians? Star Trek and History explains how the holodeck is as much a source for entertainment as it is a historical teaching tool, how much of the technology we enjoy today had its conceptual roots in Star Trek, and how by looking at Norse mythology we can find our very own Q.
-- Features an exclusive interview with Nichelle Nichols, the actress behind the original Lt. Uhura, conducted at the National Air and Space Museum
-- Explains the historical inspiration behind many of the show's alien races and storylines
-- Covers topics ranging from how stellar cartography dates back to Ancient Rome, Greece, and Babylonia to how our "Great Books" of western literature continue to be an important influence to Star Trek's characters of the future
-- Includes a timeline comparing the stardates of Star Trek's timeline to our own real world history
Filled with fascinating historical comparisons, Star Trek and History is an essential companion for every Star Trek fan.
* Daniel Nexon - Potter Pundit, Georgetown Professor of Political Science, and inveterate blogger at "Duck of Minerva" - is now doing New Books in Science Fiction and Fantasy, a most promising new podcast. I look forward to listening!
* It looks like I'll be teaching two graduate courses this Spring. For Mythgard Institute (online and worldwide), "Science Fiction, Part 2: From the New Wave through Tomorrow." For Lenoir-Rhyne University, "J.R.R. Tolkien: Hobbits, History, and Heroism." (The latter will be cross-listed for undergraduates, as well.) I'm delighted!
* I now have a proper Author's Central page at Amazon. You can go there and "like" it... if, you know, you like it.
* As expected, Neil Gaiman and his fellow storytellers were amazing on the Unchained tour. We laughed, we cried... you get the idea.
* I adore the new poster for The Hobbit. Don't miss the alternate endings for the trailer, too!
* Last but not least, happy belated birthday to , happy birthday to , and happy early birthday to and . May all of you enjoy many happy returns of the day!
I'll leave you with my dear niece Kaitlyn, out and about and having grand adventures:
September 24, 2012
News of the Science Fictional and Fantastic Kinds
Happy Monday, everyone!
I'm pretty much buried under a couple of projects at the moment (including the Secret One of [Temporary] Secretness), so please forgive me if I'm quiet for the next few days. I'll be catching up with everyone ASAP.
A few quick notes of possible interest...
Wiley now has the official book description and ordering information posted for Star Trek and History (edited by Nancy Reagin), which includes my essay "If This Is The (Final) Frontier, Where Are The Natives?" Here's the tag: A guide to the history that informs the world of Star Trek — just in time for the next J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie!
For a series set in our future, Star Trek revisits the past constantly. Kirk and Spock battle Nazis, Roman gladiators, and witness the Great Depression. When they're not doubling back on their own earlier timelines, the crew uses the holodeck to spend time in the American Old West or Victorian England. Alien races have their own complex and fascinating histories, too.
The Star Trek universe is a sci-fi imagining of a future world that is rooted in our own human history. Gene Roddenberry created a television show with a new world and new rules in order to comment on social and political issues of the 1960s, from the Vietnam War and race relations to the war on terror and women's rights. Later Star Trek series and films also grapple with the issues of their own decades: HIV, ecological threats, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and terrorism.
How did Uhura spur real-life gender and racial change in the 1960s? Is Kirk inextricably linked with the mythical Old West? What history do the Klingons share with the Soviet Union? Can Nazi Germany shed light on the history and culture of the Cardassians? Star Trek and History explains how the holodeck is as much a source for entertainment as it is a historical teaching tool, how much of the technology we enjoy today had its conceptual roots in Star Trek, and how by looking at Norse mythology we can find our very own Q.
-- Features an exclusive interview with Nichelle Nichols, the actress behind the original Lt. Uhura, conducted at the National Air and Space Museum
-- Explains the historical inspiration behind many of the show's alien races and storylines
-- Covers topics ranging from how stellar cartography dates back to Ancient Rome, Greece, and Babylonia to how our "Great Books" of western literature continue to be an important influence to Star Trek's characters of the future
-- Includes a timeline comparing the stardates of Star Trek's timeline to our own real world history
Filled with fascinating historical comparisons, Star Trek and History is an essential companion for every Star Trek fan.
Daniel Nexon - Potter Pundit, Georgetown Professor of Political Science, and inveterate blogger at "Duck of Minerva" - is now doing New Books in Science Fiction and Fantasy , a most promising new podcast. I look forward to listening!
It looks like I'll be teaching two graduate courses this Spring. For Mythgard Institute (online and worldwide), "Science Fiction, Part 2: From the New Wave through Tomorrow." For Lenoir-Rhyne University, "J.R.R. Tolkien: Hobbits, History, and Heroism." (The latter will be cross-listed for undergraduates, as well.) I'm delighted!
I now have a proper Author's Central page at Amazon. You can go there and "like" it... if, you know, you like it.
As expected, Neil Gaiman and his fellow storytellers were amazing on the Unchained tour. We laughed, we cried... you get the idea.
I adore the new poster for The Hobbit. Don't miss the alternate endings for the trailer, too!
Last but not least, happy belated birthday to
shagungu
, happy birthday to
xanath
, and happy early birthday to
curtana
and
litlover12
. May all of you enjoy many happy returns of the day!
I'll leave you with my dear niece Kaitlyn, out and about and having grand adventures:
I'm pretty much buried under a couple of projects at the moment (including the Secret One of [Temporary] Secretness), so please forgive me if I'm quiet for the next few days. I'll be catching up with everyone ASAP.
A few quick notes of possible interest...
Wiley now has the official book description and ordering information posted for Star Trek and History (edited by Nancy Reagin), which includes my essay "If This Is The (Final) Frontier, Where Are The Natives?" Here's the tag: A guide to the history that informs the world of Star Trek — just in time for the next J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie!
For a series set in our future, Star Trek revisits the past constantly. Kirk and Spock battle Nazis, Roman gladiators, and witness the Great Depression. When they're not doubling back on their own earlier timelines, the crew uses the holodeck to spend time in the American Old West or Victorian England. Alien races have their own complex and fascinating histories, too.
The Star Trek universe is a sci-fi imagining of a future world that is rooted in our own human history. Gene Roddenberry created a television show with a new world and new rules in order to comment on social and political issues of the 1960s, from the Vietnam War and race relations to the war on terror and women's rights. Later Star Trek series and films also grapple with the issues of their own decades: HIV, ecological threats, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and terrorism.
How did Uhura spur real-life gender and racial change in the 1960s? Is Kirk inextricably linked with the mythical Old West? What history do the Klingons share with the Soviet Union? Can Nazi Germany shed light on the history and culture of the Cardassians? Star Trek and History explains how the holodeck is as much a source for entertainment as it is a historical teaching tool, how much of the technology we enjoy today had its conceptual roots in Star Trek, and how by looking at Norse mythology we can find our very own Q.
-- Features an exclusive interview with Nichelle Nichols, the actress behind the original Lt. Uhura, conducted at the National Air and Space Museum
-- Explains the historical inspiration behind many of the show's alien races and storylines
-- Covers topics ranging from how stellar cartography dates back to Ancient Rome, Greece, and Babylonia to how our "Great Books" of western literature continue to be an important influence to Star Trek's characters of the future
-- Includes a timeline comparing the stardates of Star Trek's timeline to our own real world history
Filled with fascinating historical comparisons, Star Trek and History is an essential companion for every Star Trek fan.
Daniel Nexon - Potter Pundit, Georgetown Professor of Political Science, and inveterate blogger at "Duck of Minerva" - is now doing New Books in Science Fiction and Fantasy , a most promising new podcast. I look forward to listening!
It looks like I'll be teaching two graduate courses this Spring. For Mythgard Institute (online and worldwide), "Science Fiction, Part 2: From the New Wave through Tomorrow." For Lenoir-Rhyne University, "J.R.R. Tolkien: Hobbits, History, and Heroism." (The latter will be cross-listed for undergraduates, as well.) I'm delighted!
I now have a proper Author's Central page at Amazon. You can go there and "like" it... if, you know, you like it.
As expected, Neil Gaiman and his fellow storytellers were amazing on the Unchained tour. We laughed, we cried... you get the idea.
I adore the new poster for The Hobbit. Don't miss the alternate endings for the trailer, too!
Last but not least, happy belated birthday to
shagungu
, happy birthday to
xanath
, and happy early birthday to
curtana
and
litlover12
. May all of you enjoy many happy returns of the day!I'll leave you with my dear niece Kaitlyn, out and about and having grand adventures:
September 22, 2012
An Update on Virginia
Thanks to everyone for being so kind about our sweet girl. I'm most grateful for the good wishes you've been sending in her direction.
Here's a quick update: three days ago she had the fourth of her six chemotherapy treatments. Thus far, with the exception of sleepiness for a couple of days after each treatment, she's suffered no side effects. She's monitored carefully with weekly blood tests. Last week the oncologist also gave her an added battery of tests, including an echo-cardiogram, to make certain the chemotherapy wasn't damaging her internally, and the results showed her to be in very good health with no cause for concern.
She's being such a trooper about this. All the staff members at the hospital are wrapped around her little paw.
I took this picture of her this morning:
Here she's settling in for her late-morning nap.
More pictures are here.
We're very optimistic about how her treatment is going. Thank you again for keeping her in your thoughts!
Here's a quick update: three days ago she had the fourth of her six chemotherapy treatments. Thus far, with the exception of sleepiness for a couple of days after each treatment, she's suffered no side effects. She's monitored carefully with weekly blood tests. Last week the oncologist also gave her an added battery of tests, including an echo-cardiogram, to make certain the chemotherapy wasn't damaging her internally, and the results showed her to be in very good health with no cause for concern.
She's being such a trooper about this. All the staff members at the hospital are wrapped around her little paw.
I took this picture of her this morning:
Here she's settling in for her late-morning nap.
More pictures are here.
We're very optimistic about how her treatment is going. Thank you again for keeping her in your thoughts!
Long Live the Halflings! Praise Them with Great Praise!
Yesterday was the 75th anniversary of the publication of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.
Today is the anniversary of the Long-Expected Party celebrating Bilbo's eleventy-first birthday and Frodo's coming of age in The Lord of the Rings. Happy birthday to Bilbo and Frodo Baggins! It was on this day that Bilbo gave his infamous birthday speech, saying "I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve," before disappearing from the Shire forever.
Also on this day, according to the Appendices of The Lord of the Rings, 99-year-old Samwise Gamgee rode out from Bag End for the final time. He was last seen in Middle-Earth by his daughter Elanor, to whom he presented the Red Book. According to tradition, he then went to the Grey Havens and passed over the Sea, last of the Ringbearers.
And now, in honor of the Baggins Birthdays, the departure of Samwise, and Hobbits in general, here are a few of my favorite quotes from The Hobbit:
Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick.
***
To say that Bilbo's breath was taken away is no description at all. There are no words left to express his staggerment, since Men changed the language that they learned of elves in the days when all the world was wonderful.
***
It was at this point that Bilbo stopped. Going on from there was the bravest thing he ever did. The tremendous things that happened afterward were as nothing compared to it. He fought the real battle in the tunnel alone, before he ever saw the vast danger that lay in wait.
***
“I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led. And through the air, I am he that walks unseen.
I am the clue-finder, the web-cutter, the stinging fly. I was chosen for the lucky number.
I am he that buries his friends alive and drowns them and draws them alive again from the water. I came from the end of a bag, but no bag went over me.
I am the friend of bears and the guest of eagles. I am Ringwinner and Luckwearer; and I am Barrel-rider.” (Bilbo Baggins)
***
“There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” (Thorin Oakenshield)
Today is the anniversary of the Long-Expected Party celebrating Bilbo's eleventy-first birthday and Frodo's coming of age in The Lord of the Rings. Happy birthday to Bilbo and Frodo Baggins! It was on this day that Bilbo gave his infamous birthday speech, saying "I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve," before disappearing from the Shire forever.
Also on this day, according to the Appendices of The Lord of the Rings, 99-year-old Samwise Gamgee rode out from Bag End for the final time. He was last seen in Middle-Earth by his daughter Elanor, to whom he presented the Red Book. According to tradition, he then went to the Grey Havens and passed over the Sea, last of the Ringbearers.
And now, in honor of the Baggins Birthdays, the departure of Samwise, and Hobbits in general, here are a few of my favorite quotes from The Hobbit:
Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick.
***
To say that Bilbo's breath was taken away is no description at all. There are no words left to express his staggerment, since Men changed the language that they learned of elves in the days when all the world was wonderful.
***
It was at this point that Bilbo stopped. Going on from there was the bravest thing he ever did. The tremendous things that happened afterward were as nothing compared to it. He fought the real battle in the tunnel alone, before he ever saw the vast danger that lay in wait.
***
“I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led. And through the air, I am he that walks unseen.
I am the clue-finder, the web-cutter, the stinging fly. I was chosen for the lucky number.
I am he that buries his friends alive and drowns them and draws them alive again from the water. I came from the end of a bag, but no bag went over me.
I am the friend of bears and the guest of eagles. I am Ringwinner and Luckwearer; and I am Barrel-rider.” (Bilbo Baggins)
***
“There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” (Thorin Oakenshield)
September 19, 2012
September 15, 2012
Fringe! And a TV question...
I'm currently hard at work on a Secret Project of (Temporary) Secretness, but I wanted to resurface for a quick note...
First, in honor of Fringe 's return for the fall television season, Fringe Science: Parallel Universes, White Tulips, and Mad Scientists (2011), which includes my essay "In Search of Fringe's Literary Ancestors," is on sale for 99 cents in Kindle format through September 23. Here it is!
Speaking of the fall season, which new programs do you intend to "audition"? We plan to give Revolution , Last Resort , and 666 Park Avenue a try. Each looks promising: here's hoping one or more delivers! (I've already seen the Elementary pilot, and I definitely will not be going back for seconds.)
What about you?
Walter: Hello, I'm Dr. Walter Bishop. This is test subject number six.
Peter: What happened to subjects one through five?
Walter: I believe the university settled with them out of court. They probably never had to work again. Not that they could.
- "Unearthed," Fringe
First, in honor of Fringe 's return for the fall television season, Fringe Science: Parallel Universes, White Tulips, and Mad Scientists (2011), which includes my essay "In Search of Fringe's Literary Ancestors," is on sale for 99 cents in Kindle format through September 23. Here it is!
Speaking of the fall season, which new programs do you intend to "audition"? We plan to give Revolution , Last Resort , and 666 Park Avenue a try. Each looks promising: here's hoping one or more delivers! (I've already seen the Elementary pilot, and I definitely will not be going back for seconds.)
What about you?
Walter: Hello, I'm Dr. Walter Bishop. This is test subject number six.
Peter: What happened to subjects one through five?
Walter: I believe the university settled with them out of court. They probably never had to work again. Not that they could.
- "Unearthed," Fringe
September 12, 2012
Just for Today - A Free Essay!
Every day Smart Pop Books puts an essay from one of its published collections online as a free view/download. Today it's one of my pieces: "Reimagining 'Magic City': How the Casts Mythologize Tulsa" from the 2011 book
Nyx in the House of Night: Mythology, Folklore, and Religion in the P.C. and Kristin Cast Vampyre Series
.
If you read it, I hope you enjoy!
If you read it, I hope you enjoy!
Just for Today (Free Essay!)
Every day Smart Pop Books puts an essay from one of its published collections online as a free view/download. Today it's one of my pieces: "Reimagining 'Magic City': How the Casts Mythologize Tulsa" from the 2011 book
Nyx in the House of Night: Mythology, Folklore, and Religion in the P.C. and Kristin Cast Vampyre Series
.
If you read it, I hope you enjoy!
If you read it, I hope you enjoy!
September 11, 2012
My MuggleNet Academia Interview Is Live!
I'm the scholar guest on the latest episode of the MuggleNet Academia podcast. The show's theme is "Fairy Stories: Comparing Tolkien and Rowling Literature." I had a most fantastic time. Many thanks to Keith, John, and Amy!
If you listen (here it is), I hope you enjoy!
Oh, and as expected, Rupert Graves was fantastic in Doctor Who. Yay!!!
The Doctor: I'm a Sagittarius. Probably.
"Dinosaurs on a Spaceship," Doctor Who
If you listen (here it is), I hope you enjoy!
Oh, and as expected, Rupert Graves was fantastic in Doctor Who. Yay!!!
The Doctor: I'm a Sagittarius. Probably.
"Dinosaurs on a Spaceship," Doctor Who
September 10, 2012
My MuggleNet Academia interview is live!
I'm the scholar guest on the latest episode of the MuggleNet Academia podcast. The show's theme is "Fairy Stories: Comparing Tolkien and Rowling Literature." I had a most fantastic time. Many thanks to Keith, John, and Amy!
If you listen (here it is), I hope you enjoy!
In other news, happy early birthday wishes to
ekeppich
,
jinxed_wood
,
princeofcairo
,
chickenfried_jo
, and
llembas
. May all of you enjoy many happy returns of the day!
Oh, and as expected, Rupert Graves was fantastic in Doctor Who. Yay!!!
The Doctor: I'm a Sagittarius. Probably.
"Dinosaurs on a Spaceship," Doctor Who
If you listen (here it is), I hope you enjoy!
In other news, happy early birthday wishes to
ekeppich
,
jinxed_wood
,
princeofcairo
,
chickenfried_jo
, and
llembas
. May all of you enjoy many happy returns of the day!Oh, and as expected, Rupert Graves was fantastic in Doctor Who. Yay!!!
The Doctor: I'm a Sagittarius. Probably.
"Dinosaurs on a Spaceship," Doctor Who
