Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Google's April Foolie and my lame foray into literary criticism
http://www.google.com/virgle/index.html
An invitation.
Earth has issues, and it's time humanity got started on a Plan B. So, starting in 2014, Virgin founder Richard Branson and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin will be leading hundreds of users on one of the grandest adventures in human history: Project Virgle, the first permanent human colony on Mars.
A timely one this year, as I'm right in the middle of reading Red Mars. It's good, but I have definitely mixed feelings about it. Many of KSR's short works have affected me the same way - good, but with a vague dis-ease, which I suspect comes from serious underlying philosophical differences. I have the same issue with Clarke and some of Asimov. It's like when I went through my infatuation with Wells' SF - gotta love the giant chickens, but a comet turning everyone into socialists? Puh-leeze. At least Red Mars is a bit more sophisticated than that, but I'll probably have to dig up some more Vinge to counteract its effects :)
Speaking of Wells/socialism/SF, I meant to mention my experience reading Doris Lessing's Canopus novels. Wow. Just. Wow. It was Wells all over again, though that could be considered damning with faint praise. I loved them! But! She's certainly past Boomfood and comets by a bit... well, not comets so much, actually. For Wells, socialism could only happen through a cosmic humanity-altering event. With Lessing, a cosmic humanity-altering event has knocked humans out of the socialist Eden they inhabit. I may be the only person to associate Canopus with In the Days of the Comet. Some literary critic I am! :-/
¶ 5:20 AM
An invitation.
Earth has issues, and it's time humanity got started on a Plan B. So, starting in 2014, Virgin founder Richard Branson and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin will be leading hundreds of users on one of the grandest adventures in human history: Project Virgle, the first permanent human colony on Mars.
A timely one this year, as I'm right in the middle of reading Red Mars. It's good, but I have definitely mixed feelings about it. Many of KSR's short works have affected me the same way - good, but with a vague dis-ease, which I suspect comes from serious underlying philosophical differences. I have the same issue with Clarke and some of Asimov. It's like when I went through my infatuation with Wells' SF - gotta love the giant chickens, but a comet turning everyone into socialists? Puh-leeze. At least Red Mars is a bit more sophisticated than that, but I'll probably have to dig up some more Vinge to counteract its effects :)
Speaking of Wells/socialism/SF, I meant to mention my experience reading Doris Lessing's Canopus novels. Wow. Just. Wow. It was Wells all over again, though that could be considered damning with faint praise. I loved them! But! She's certainly past Boomfood and comets by a bit... well, not comets so much, actually. For Wells, socialism could only happen through a cosmic humanity-altering event. With Lessing, a cosmic humanity-altering event has knocked humans out of the socialist Eden they inhabit. I may be the only person to associate Canopus with In the Days of the Comet. Some literary critic I am! :-/
¶ 5:20 AM
