“In his introduction to the collection [“Beyond Armageddon”], Miller noted that the stories shared a nostalgia for things that have been lost. “Post-Megawar stories are about an afterlife,” Miller wrote. “Survivors don’t really live in such a world; they haunt it.””
– Jon Michaud, A Science-Fiction Classic Still Smolders (The New Yorker)
Death to Humans! Visions of the Apocalypse in Movies and Literature: Scientific American via @johnjosephadams — though I take issue with: [1] how many movies there are (since so many movies are usually so bad); [2] The Andromeda Strain (whose scale is hardly apocalyptic); and [3] that Adams' The Wastelands collection is missing! (tagged: film […]
More school: Obama would curtail summer vacation short version: I would support this if we did not ONLY emphasize traditional academics; when we're talk about lengthening the school day, let's keep in perspective that kids need to be kids, too—more hours and more days is only part of the answer, we also need to make […]
Fifty Books for Our Times at Newsweek.com — actually not a bad looking list (tagged: todo literature fiction history culture ) There, I Fixed It. Dumb? or "ZOMG so true!"? (tagged: blog hack creativity humor fun ) The Happiness Project Toolbox via A. — indeed: intriguing (tagged: blog lifehacks productivity GTD goals inspiration ) Abandoned […]
These are my links for January 25th through January 30th:
Almost half of tested samples of commercial high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) contained mercury, which was also found in nearly a third of 55 popular brand-name food and beverage products where HFCS is the first- or second-highest labeled ingredient, according to two new U.S. studies.
Coffee reduces Alzheimer’s risk: study via /.: Best news ever? *bzzz*bzzz*bzzz* (tagged: coffee news health science ) Circuit City fails to be wanted, will now be liquidated via Engadget – this is what happens when your recovery strategy includes firing your best retail employees and replacing them with greenhorns who, while paid out at â…“-½ […]
found_objects: The Recently Deflowered Girl 1 W? T? F? (tagged: art entertainment humor fun parody illustration humour surreal ) 21 Free Apps For Mac OS X That Are Absolutely Useful There are a few apps on here that I use, a few of heard of, and a few I'm now interested in checking out. That […]
Third person, fly-on-the-wall type P.O.V. A Handmaid’s Tale-style near apocalypse. An evangelical Christian school; a real house on the hill sort of thing. No one knows how they’ve kept this thing a secret, this sprawling multi-wing complex. It’s the eve before the unveiling; the board of directors is giving a tour to some media folks […]
A tightly themed, well executed collection: Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse captures our apocalypse fears and fantasies equally well and sometimes even simultaneously. Adams wisely chooses Stephen King’s “The End of the Whole Mess” as an opener and moves into all manner of exciting territory from there. Wastelands is the expected mix of strong (and […]