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Benjamin Espen

The Long View 2008-03-13: Mamet & Hobbes; Decanting the Future; Basic Plots; Burleigh's Trilogy; Enceladus or Bust

John J. Reilly wrote some fascinating science fiction about gas giant moons, but it is rather unlikely that we would find life there, as there is very little energy available, even if there is liquid water and suitable chemicals. I like that story more for the Toynbee-style macrohistory. Mamet &

The Long View 2008-03-10: Tax Farming & Health Insurance; Obamalypse; Islam an Empty Vessel?

John J. Reilly was a long-time advocate of a single-payer healthcare system in the United States. His view was predicated upon healthcare being a public good, not a public right, and frankly acknowledging that it is a system of transfer payments from the young and healthy to the unwell. However,

Hopi Tales of Destruction collected by Ekkehart Malotki Book Review

HopI Tales of Destruction [Amazon link] is a collection of legends narrated by Michael Lomatuway’ma, Lorena Lomatuway’ma, and Sidney Namingha Jr, and translated by Ekkehart Malotki. As you might guess from the title, each story features some dramatic act of devastation. Malotki has also provided helpful commentary before

Pirates of the Electromagnetic Waves Again

I just wrapped up a re-read of Fenton Wood’s Pirates of the Electromagnetic Republic [Amazon link]. It was just as good as the first time, and maybe even more so. One of the things I enjoy so much about Fenton Wood’s series is the little tidbits of facts

The Long View 2008-03-07: Nuclear Apocalypse; Threatening Choirs; The Documentary of Doom; New Jersey; Motorcycling

John’s comment here is apt: The Nuclear Apocalyptic Novel is culturally important in a way that Hitler Wins Alternative History never will be. The Cold War made an impression on the psyche of the West. An absolutely enormous amount of popular art is an attempt to think through the

Fenton Wood's Yankee Republic

Fenton Wood says that the omnibus print edition of his Yankee Republic series [Amazon link] should be out to backers by February, so I’ll be re-reading all five individual volumes, and filling in the reviews I haven’t done yet. Pirates of the Electromagnetic Waves reminds me of my

The Long View 2008-03-04: Jesuit Subversion; Cold Snap; Daylight Saving; Northern Mystery

John J. Reilly was always a fan of Fortean phenomena. The Salish Sea human feet certain fall in that bucket. Jesuit Subversion; Cold Snap; Daylight Saving; Northern Mystery We have already noted the Turkish project to subject the hadith to the "higher criticism," thereby, it is alleged, sparking