Geek Fu #67 - Guest Essay (Home for Firefly)
Hello all!
No Heaven this week, but a guest essay about Firefly. I have made the move to Farpoint Media and therefore had to rename all the files and make sure all the ID3 tags were happy. This… took a long time. During this tedium, I discovered that three podcasts are outside the normal numbering mechanism. So in order to make the track numbers and episode numbers match up, I’ve leapt ahead in the numbering to cause this to be #67. You haven’t miss anything. Trust me.
My mom, Donna, joins me to discuss Passover, sci-fi, and she wants podcasting and sci-fi book recommendations.
Wendell sends us a Firefly essay!
More Heaven next week.
13 Comments
1. Rob Ritchie replies at 14th April 2006 um 7:48 am :
Hey, your Mom sounds pretty cool, and has a nice voice. Heck, I’d listen to her podcast if I knew anything about it.
Is a bag o’ plagues similar to the bag o’ zombies you were going on about a few podcasts back? 100 Glow-in-the-dark Plagues?
2. Shannon replies at 14th April 2006 um 1:56 pm :
Another great podcast. I look forward to the links for your mom’s podcast. Also, any chance to get some links or more info on the novel panel at BaltiCon? I can’t make it, but would like to know more about what you talked about in your podcast.
Lastly, Mur, I wholeheartedly agree with you about HBO and Firefly. While I’m not entirely sure it can work again as a series, I’d be sure to watch it. As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t have cable, but if HBO picked up Firefly (or even a spin off, following a different crew, just as long as Joss Whedon continues to be the big cheese on it), I’d get cable and HBO in a heartbeat.
3. Ken Gunter replies at 18th April 2006 um 6:00 am :
Firefly on HBO…. *wicked Grin*
Plus we might get to see more naked Mal, Jayne, and Simon
HBO, HBO, HBO
4. Mur replies at 18th April 2006 um 7:11 am :
n-n-naked Simon…
*faints*
5. hugh replies at 18th April 2006 um 9:24 am :
Donna sounds great. I look forward to hearing her first show.
Donna: Go ahead, hit that record button. Your audience awaits you.
6. djaysnider replies at 18th April 2006 um 9:28 am :
I’d be interested in hearing your take on the rest of “Pattern Recognition.” Like you, I was completely hooked by some of the conceptual branding and viral marketing stuff he talks about, and as a travelouge it was fascinating. I felt a bit let down by the ending, however. Somehow, I just expected a bigger payoff.
My picks for essential Sci-Fi reads…
1. “Childhoods’ End” and/or “Rendezvous with Rama” by Arthur C. Clarke
2. If she’s into the murder mysteries, you can’t go wrong with Asimov’s Robot Series (even though they’re more logic puzzles than mysteries)
3. Stephen Baxter’s “Manifold” series is among the best of the new, hard SF I’ve read.
4. David Weber’s “Honor Harrington” series is great space opera with a classic “Hornblower motif.”
7. Ralf replies at 18th April 2006 um 5:03 pm :
So your Mum, sorry Donna Smith, is going to be a podcaster now too? How many of your family members do you want to convert into podcasters? Well I give her podcast a shoot, as soon as I know what it is called.
AS for the reading list, check out the books of Peter F. Hamilton, or like djaysnider suggested “Manifold” by Stephen Baxter. Or an easy read, but quite entertaining, the “Otherworld” series by Tad Williams.
Regarding the essay and this is besides the point that I want more Firefly on TV, Video, DvD or whatever format it comes out. This is to inform you about the differences in the TV schedule/program oversees (Europe – UK/Ireland).
Although I ‘m not watching it myself, Deadwood is airing here quite successfully on the same channel that shows Stargate, CSI, Star Trek, Law & Order, 24, The 4400, The Simsons, Buffy, Angel, Coldcase….etc…. The list goes on and on.
My point is? Hell, I don’t know. Seams like TV ain’t the same over here and they aren’t so much afraid of showing TV-shows that aren’t always following the “political correctness policy”, it’s just TV.
8. Michael replies at 19th April 2006 um 9:09 am :
‘Firefly’ on HBO? That would probably be enough to make me get off of my cheap ass and actually pay for HBO…
As for essentials (and especially since your mom said she likes Michner), I’d suggest at least the original portion of Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy. Definitely epic on a grand scale, and meaty enough to keep one busy for quite awhile.
And no, I haven’t forgotten that I’d promised to send you the “longer version” of why I had to give up my blog and would-be podcast, but that’ll still have to wait — life continues to intrude, though the next week or two should see it slow down enough for me to oblige…
Michael in Atlanta
9. Donna replies at 19th April 2006 um 8:54 pm :
(gasp!)
web site and podcast is coming, promise.
Thanks . I have written all the names of the books…and will place them on a stack. (I love book stacks.}
Asimov!!! will love sitting on top of the stack. (Under Chekhov)
Thanks to Mur for the guest interview.
(Today I gave a booK {magic realism}) Marquez. to someone who was looking for a “genre”.
I have printed the titles of all that you have suggested. I will stack them up and read.
But I will not marry them.
“Coffe,coffe,coffe…”
Some girl named Loreigh
10. phazedout replies at 21st April 2006 um 7:20 am :
Hi Mur,
came to your show after hearing a promo on the babylon cast. Can I recommend Alistair Reynolds to Donna? I found it quite recently and have gobbled up “revelation space” and am happily munching my way through Chasam City to the exclusion of unread pratchett (almost unheard of in my case). Keep up the goo dwork and if I can’t find a decent Irish-based podcast I may start one.
Phaze
11. Donna replies at 21st April 2006 um 8:39 pm :
Hi, phazedout,
Reynolds, Alistar has been added to my list. I finished recording my first podcast last night…so now it it is in post-production and I will surely add your recommendation, as I have mentioned all of the people who have helped me compile my list.
My thanks to all.
Tell..what is a “decent Irish-based podcast?) Are you in Ireland and can’t podcast? I’ve been having my own problems in USA. Tis a wonderment.
d
12. Ralf replies at 23rd April 2006 um 1:27 pm :
Yeah right, what do you mean by decent Irish podcasts?
I know ours is in hiatus at the moment, due to various reasons. But some podcast shows even get mentioned on the radio here. If that’s makes them are good is another story, well some are, but most aren’t. Ricky Gervais has a funny one, go figure. Even Gerry Ryan has one of some sort (don’t bother listening, it’s the same crap as he usually does, and it’s not really a podcast).
It’s your job to find out. Tell them if they suck or not, leave comments on there website, send them emails, tell them what you liked or not.
13. JonathanInCalifornia replies at 25th April 2006 um 1:12 pm :
Great podcast, glad to have you back on a regular schedule!
First - I really like Heaven so far. I can see the potential for the serial, and look forward to seeing where you take it. (Loved Merry Chrismas from the Hearbreakers).
Couple thoughts on the serialized story title… I like “heaven”, so take these as just some alternates… (comments are me thinking out loud about why I thought these might make good titles)
- On the Road to Heaven (sort of reverse of road to perdition, a little bit about the journey vs. the destination, though now that I see it in print I immediately think of a Hope/Crosby movie, so maybe not so much)
- My Final Reward (it is in first person, and really the final reward again isn’t the obvious one in the first chapter, but could really be said to be out beyond the horizon of where we start…)
- Where Everybody Knows Your Name (though that seems familiar :))…
Anyway, great show, thanks for putting the time in… I look forward to seeing what Donna’s got on her mind as well
J
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