AFTERPARTY: Truly Mind-Bending Science Fiction
Spike Jonze’s “Her” and Other Human-Computer Stories
Robot: mechanical or virtual agent, usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by a computer program or electronic circuitry
Cyborg: (short for cybernetic organism) being with both organic and mechanical parts
Android: robot or synthetic organism designed to look and act like a human, especially one with a body having a flesh-like resemblance
2013’s “Her” is a softly-spoken, gently filmed look at artificial intelligence set in a post-Macbook-empire LA. The operating system Samantha (referred to colloquially in the film as an “OS”) is voiced with great care by Scarlett Johansson. This is one of Johansson’s most engrossing performances, rivaled by her turn in 2013’s “Don Jon,” as a fake-fingernailed Jersey princess. Both Samantha and Barbara, Jonhanssen’s character in “Don Jon” are female love interests for their soul-searching, confused male counterparts. The only difference is, Samantha is a computer program designed to facilitate and enhance a human life.
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Lady Cordelia #CBR5 Review #69: Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
I tried to give everyone I knew a copy of this book over a decade ago. It’s incredible–The Diamond Age may be better. And then of course, there are die hard Baroque Cycle fans. But Snow Crash is certainly the most accessible of his works.
Snow Crash is one of the best books I have ever read. I feel like buying a copy for every single one of my friends, forcing them to read it while I sit and watch their faces. THAT’S how much I loved this book. Yes, I was the annoying person on the train during the morning commute laughing out loud, and if any of those poor bastards had dared make eye contact with me, I would have probably insisted on reading entire sections out loud.
I didn’t initially think it was going to be for me. I’m not a huge sci-fi fan, particularly futuristic technological stuff, but this story is all about people. Okay sure, a lot of the story was set in the virtual reality Metaverse, but I actually understood what was going on. And why isn’t more sci-fi funny like this? Stephenson obviously loves a good pun and…
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Neuromancer: More Resources
Following-up on my last post, this would be a great one to re-read. Must check out the extra resources listed here as well.
“Going Native” in Steampunk: James H. Carrott and Brian David Johnson’s Vintage Tomorrows on Tor.com
Recently, everyone and their grandmother are trying to place steampunk in the grander scope of things. Most of pop culture has poked at it at this point. Many in the SF/F community gives the subculture a passing nod (or are slowly edging away, since, being early adapters by nature, quite a few in sci-fi are tired of it already).
Still, questions about steampunk have set people in pursuit of the deeper meanings behind the aesthetic movement. Two years ago, Intel’s futurist Brian David Johnson wanted to answer the biggest one about steampunk’s rise: “Why now?” He was joined by a cultural historian James Carrott and they filmed a documentary, which permutated into a book by the same name: Vintage Tomorrows (or two books, actually. Steampunking Our Future: An Embedded Historian’s Notebook is the free e-book companion you can get online).
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Amber Nicole Brooks 