Spoiler Alert: It's okay for movies to be fun!

 

I've had a busy summer, starting with a trip to India in May and then a few trips visiting family in Minnesota (including CONvergence, where I was on a panel on the Foundation TV show) and some fun witch tourism in Salem, MA with friends. I don't want to be that asshole who complains about having too many travels, so instead I'll say that I haven't had much time or energy for blogging as of late. I haven't made a post in about two months!

To rectify this horrific calamity, I thought I'd write about something that has been rattling around in my head as I've tried to keep up with this summer's busy movie season: it's okay for movies to be fun! 

I've seen a lot of excellent "serious" movies (especially Disclosure Day, The Amazing Digital Circus, and the horror movies grinding up records and getting actual young people into theaters: Backrooms and Obsession). I'll have more to say about those in another post. I also want to get this out there before The Odyssey takes over the summer blockbuster space (I've heard a lot of hype for it, and it will probably live up to it).

These summer 2026 movies have reminded me that movies can be fun: The Mandalorian and Grogu, Masters of the Universe, and Supergirl. (Special mention of one I saw at this year's Chattanooga Film Festival: Jump Scare).

Tenth Blog-aversary! Ten Years of Examined Worlds!

"Welcome to Examined Worlds: Philosophy and Science Fiction! This blog will consist mainly of my ruminations and explorations concerning two of my favorite things: philosophy and science fiction."

With these words, Examined Worlds was brought into this universe ten years ago today! The inaugural post on Tues. Dec. 23, 2014 was called "Philosophy as Science Fiction; Science Fiction as Philosophy."

Birthday Reflections 2024: Eldritch Eons and Birthday Drinks on a Wednesday

 

Credit: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/580823683164479108/ 

As has become tradition on this blog, I’m making a post for my birthday! 

Birthdays, of course, remind us that we’re closer to death, but they are also a good excuse to celebrate life—while we have it. I can no longer pretend I’m a young person. As of today, I can’t even pretend that I’m in my mid-40’s anymore.

To loosely paraphrase Gandalf, I’m at an age where it’s becoming increasingly obvious that I can’t choose how much time I have left, but I can choose what to do with the time that is given to me. 

New Little Kings: You Like It Darker by Stephen King

 

Stephen King has been publishing short story collections since the 1970's, and they often include some of his best work (my favorite is "The Jaunt" from Skeleton Crew). I don't know if any of the stories in You Like It Darker are destined to rank among my favorites, but I really loved a few of these stories and I think they're all at least pretty good. I'm happy to report that Uncle Stevie has not lost his Shine when it comes to short stories. 

Birthday Report: 2023

 

Every year I've had this blog, I've written a little something for my birthday. And this year is no different!

But aren't birthdays for kids? First of all, why should kids have all the fun? If being an adult requires draining life of all fun, wonder, and joy so you can pay bills and work until you die, well, then, what's the point of that?

I've always liked the message of Ferris Bueller's Day Off (yes, I am that old!): "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." And birthdays are great days to do that!

Upcoming Talk and Recent Indian Philosophy Blog Posts

 

I'm on sabbatical this semester, which means I'm spending more time on the research side of my job. Here are a few professional happenings on that front.

• I will be giving an online talk tomorrow for Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata, India (details above; the talk is online, so I will be in my home office). The talk is called "Classical Indian Skepticism: Lessons for the 21st Century," and it will be on a lot of the topics I discussed in the conclusion of my book Three Pillars of Skepticism in Classical India: Nāgārjuna, Jayarāśi, and Śrī Harṣa.
• I recently published a few blog posts over at the Indian Philosophy Blog praising recent work by Sonam Kachru and questioning some of my own previous interpretations of the Buddhist philosopher Vasubandhu.
• "Vasubandhu's Twenty Verses and Comparative Philosophy, Part One"
• "Vasubandhu's Twenty Verses and Comparative Philosophy, Part Two"

I have a few other things coming up in the new few months, including in-person conferences in Denver and San Francisco. The San Francisco conference will include the inaugural panel of the new Science Fiction and Philosophy Society!

I had to promise my university I would produce a book proposal for a new book project during my sabbatical (likely focusing on Vasubandhu and Ratnakīrti), so I may have details on that in a few months. Stay tuned!

MLK Day and Kindred: History is Still With Us

MLK mural at the MLK Day Parade and March, Chattanooga, TN (Jan. 16, 2023)

 

Today has been another Martin Luther King, Jr. Day here in the United States. In the past I've written posts including "MLK Day 2020: Labor, Love, and Community" and "So You're Going to Quote MLK?"  I thought of the former post a few weeks ago when Republican Congressman Chip Roy quoted King during one of the tragicomic votes for US House Speaker.

This year I attended the 2023 MLK Day Parade and March here in Chattanooga, Tennessee with my union, United Campus Workers. (See photo above).

Hugo Results 2022!

 

I didn't make it to Chicago in person for Worldcon this year, but I did watch most of the Hugo ceremony online. You can find the results here.

It looks like I did pretty well this year picking winners. You can see my picks here and here. I picked the winner for Best Short Story, Novelette, and Novella. 

I was starting to feel like I had my finger on the pulse of the Hugo voters, but then I didn't pick the winner for Best Novel. I really liked all the novel nominees so I can't complain. While I personally didn't like A Desolation Called Peace quite as much as its predecessor A Memory Called Empire, I'm glad to see Arkady Martine win another Hugo.

"My Favorite Posts" Page Updated

 

Sometime in 2015 or 2016 I started a "My Favorite Posts" page here on the blog. And every few months ever since I've thought, "I should update that one of these days." And then I never did. Until the last few weeks, anyway.

So check out my newly updated "My Favorite Posts" page!

Pandemic Journal, Part 22: Pandemic... Ugh...

My ever-expanding pandemic journal continues, now with Part 22. I guess a lot of people have decided the pandemic is over, but alas, it is not. And now we're having a new school year with a worse pandemic and fewer protections, so that's... great. But at least the memes continue. In fact, this post is overstuffed with memes, so ... enjoy!

 

Narrative Dimensions: Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straub

 

Black House is a 2001 sequel to King and Straub's 1984 novel The Talisman. It has enough fun Dark Tower connections for me and my fellow Tower-junkies, but it's also an interesting read in its own right.

There's too much going on in Black House to discuss in this humble review, so let me focus on two main things: the narrative style and the connections between other works and worlds, with a bit about the plot sandwiched between.

Thoughts on the Pandemi-versary: Will we really learn anything?

 

Sign of the times: the collection of masks I've accumulated over the last year

Today is the anniversary of the day when the COVID-19 pandemic was declared. Here's an entry from my pandemic journal on the topic. I'll keep posting that journal, but I thought excerpting this entry would be a good way to commemorate our pandemi-versary.

Review of Reviews: Recent Science Fiction TV

 

Have I been watching more TV during the pandemic? Maybe. I've never been good at binge watching, though. I'm re-watching Star Trek: The Next Generation, but a lot more slowly than the first time I watched it in syndication in the early 90's (every night at 9pm!). Disney+ has 31 seasons of The Simpsons, which makes for a nice thing to watch while eating lunch or when I don't know what else to watch (a conundrum: they have an option to "skip intro"... what kind of monster would skip the intro to The Simpsons?). I've also been enjoying WandaVision lately, and I just started Truth Seekers.

I might say more about those shows another time. But I thought it might be good to do a review of reviews of recent science fiction TV! So here are a few thoughts about recent seasons of The Mandalorian, Star Trek: Discovery, and The Expanse and two other shows: Raised by Wolves and the new adaptation of The Stand.

Later Explorations of Earthsea: Tehanu and Tales of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

 

I've been a huge fan of Le Guin's science fiction for about 20 years, but I didn't start reading the Earthsea books until a few years ago. I recently moved these two later books in the series --Tehanu and Tales From Earthsea--to  the top of my list to prepare for an online discussion of the Earthsea books (info here).

Le Guin's Earthsea on Worlds of Speculative Fiction

I'm excited to be a guest for Dr. Greg Sadler's Worlds of Speculative Fiction tomorrow (Sat. Dec. 19, 2020). We'll be discussing Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea series.

Here's the Facebook event, video link, and Zoom link. This is free and open to the public, so feel free to attend virtually.

HBO's Lovecraft Country: A Non-Review

From HBO's Lovecraft Country

I reviewed Matt Ruff's novel Lovecraft Country about a month ago, and I told myself I'd review Misha Green's HBO adaptation once the season was complete.

My analogy of the relation between the book and the show is like the relationship between Bob Dylan’s and Jimi Hendrix’s versions of “All Along the Watchtower.” All the versions are good and technically the latter things are adaptations of the former, but the adaptations in both cases explode the original ideas into higher, mind-bending dimensions. (Misha Green's adaptation plays with this idea in interesting ways that I won't spoil).

I enjoyed the book, but I loved the show. Sometimes the show moved so fast it was hard to keep up, but... I'm not sure the world needs another white dude's opinion. Definitely not about this show.

So, instead, here are some resources from Black academics, creators, and critics that can help to explore the multi-layered dimensions of HBO's Lovecraft Country.

Pandemic Journal, Part 13: 13 is Still Luckier than 2020

 

My longtime pandemic journal continues with Part 13 (well, it feels like a long time, but it hasn't even been six months...). You can see some of my previous entries here and here.

What do I think about the new school year in these strange days, the 2020 US Presidential election, reading Frankenstein, the labor movement, and other things? Read on to find out!

And of course there's the real reason most of you are here: the memes! Enjoy!

2020 Hugo Ballot, Part One: Novel, Novella, Novelette, and Short Story

I started voting for the Hugos in 2016 for two main reasons. I wanted to take more part in science fiction fandom, and I found the Sad and Rabid Puppies to be really obnoxious. Luckily the Puppies have since taken their pack elsewhere, but I'm still excited about taking part in fandom and being part of science fiction history and all that.

Pandemic Journal, Part Seven (Now With More Memes!)

I've done it. I changed the name of this series to "Pandemic Journal" as threatened in the previous entry. We're on to Part Seven, which covers some of what I've been thinking about April 18-May 9, 2020. Also, this part is chock-full of even more memes that have amused me recently. Enjoy!

Indian Philosophy Blog: "Indian Philosophy During the Pandemic: A Call for Examples and Ideas"

I recently wrote a post over at the Indian Philosophy Blog (where I am one of the administrators). I thought this might be a good chance for some cross-blog meta-blogging! (You can read the whole post here).

I start the post by explaining my current situation given the pandemic: