"Troi is cheating on Bashir with Chakotay!"

I am off to PhreakNIC 8 to give a couple of talks about science fiction. Before I go, though, I have to applaud Joe Crowe, the "emperor sleestak" of Revolution Science Fiction, for his review of the most recent episode of Enterprise and his revelation that Boston Legal = "KIRK VS. ODO! EVERY WEEK!"

From his review:

This gives me a brilliant idea. A series, set in a law firm, or a hospital, or in an office, it doesn't matter. The ENTIRE CAST should be former Star Trek actors. There are dozens of them. Four series, four huge stacks of resumes. These people can act with makeup on their foreheads; this would be no problem. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US would watch. I guarantee it.

"Troi is cheating on Bashir with Chakotay! I'M FREAKING OUT!"

I, too, am freaking out. Believe it or not, Joe has a point.



And now for the quote of the day:

Science-fiction is the law-abiding citizen of imaginative literature, obeying the rules, be they physical, social, or psychological, keeping regular hours, eating punctual meals; predictable, certain, sure.

Fantasy, on the other hand, is criminal. Each fantasy assaults and breaks a particular law; the crime being hidden by the author's felicitous thought and style which cover the body before blood is seen.

Science-fiction works hand-in-glove with the universe.

Fantasy cracks it down the middle, turns it wrong-side-out, dissolves it to invisibility, walks men through its walls, and fetches incredible circuses to town with sea-serpent, medusa, and chimera displacing zebra, ape, and armadillo.

Science-fiction balances you on the cliff. Fantasy shoves you off.

-Ray Bradbury, from the Introduction to The Circus of Dr. Lao