Book thirty-seven of 2019: Fall, or Dodge in Hell, by Neal Stephenson. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Still top of my favorite current authors list, Stephenson once again keeps my mind churning with a huge, complex, fascinating SF/F mishmash of VR worlds and religion.
Geekery
Whatever I’m geeking out about at the time.
In memory of Mad magazine and Alfred E. Neuman, 1952-2019. What, me worry?
The one issue I keep is part of my Star Trek collection; the bust I inherited from my dad, and dates from around 1960.
Book thirty-six of 2019: How the White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back, by Diana Rowland. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
These continue to be fun, as the world and the conspiracies grow in scope. Some things have improved, but some continue to go downhill….
BHOF, not BOFH
Odd/amusing side effect of having been interested in geeky things for decades, and also having a number of friends and acquaintances in the local burlesque scene:
Though greatly separated both temporally and contextually, about half the time I see someone post about the BHOF (Burlesque Hall of Fame), my brain first sees BOFH (Bastard Operator From Hell) and takes a brief moment to recalibrate.
Status check: I’m now 20% of the way through my project of reading (or re-reading, for those I’ve read before) every Hugo Best Novel award-winning book. 📚
Book thirty-five of 2019: Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1960 Hugo Best Novel
Finally, a Heinlein Hugo winner I enjoyed! He still has issues with women’s roles, and I’m not on board with all the political philosophy, but it’s still a good read.
Book thirty-four of 2019: Sex Machine, edited by Amanda Lafrenais. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The latest in the Smut Peddler series of erotic comic anthologies, which are always entertaining. If you’re into stories about getting it on with artificial beings, this is for you!
Book thirty-three of 2019: A Case of Conscience, by James Blish. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1959 Hugo Best Novel
Kept my interest, though I’ve read other SF dealing with the intersection of religion and SF that I enjoyed more. Almost two separate stories; the first section was the better.
Hear what a genderless AI voice sounds like—and consider why it matters. This is really neat, both in the science of how it was created, and in its potential for broader applicability if the companies behind voice assistants adopt it.
The rust upon
the roof of tin
shall see your heart
and know your sin.
(I absolutely love this.)