labingi

I've been so remiss with DW. It's due to being overwhelmed with real-life work. But here's a brief rundown on stuff.

Been Watching...
Star Trek: Discovery and wish I had time to do a post, and may make time. I both enjoy it and don't really like it. Yet we're paying to watch it, and may even pay if it gets a season 3.

Game of Thrones: Three episodes in and I'm enjoying this season more than the last. Still not what it was, but much more engaging than S7. I'm glad it's back for a little longer.

Sapphire and Steel (rewatch): My partner has never seen it before, so that's fun. I had forgotten how much I love this sort of X-Files precursor show. My mom once described it as "soporific" and I think that's kind of fair, but I love sitting back and watching it go through its very slow paces, a bit like 2001 (only in the sense of pacing). The titular leads are the heart of the show and so great.

Russian Doll: Partner had to cajole me into this one, because I'm a stick-in-the-mud and tend to be unenthusiastic about new stuff, but this is an amazing show! The nearest comparison I can make in terms of "genre" is The Prisoner. Their metaphors, societies, and mise en scène are very different, but I think their underlying psychological purpose is kind of the same.

Been Reading...
Tons of stuff for the science fiction class I'm teaching.

The Left Hand of Darkness umteenth reread: I still love this book; it will always be one of my favorites, but doubtless informed by the paper I'm writing on Le Guin for a conference, I keep seeing the white privilege, which is interesting--never saw it before. I'm also noticing its age more (of course, it keeps getting older). Also noticing the craft more, including bits that feel rather heavy handed. Still love it though. Still a work of genius. Still needs to be made into a TV series, which they keep threatening to and then not.

Short stories: highlights include...

"'All You Zombies--'" (1959) Heinlein's famous time travel story. I consider myself to not like Heinlein (based on little reading), but this is good. I consider him to be sexist but--for an American guy in 1959--this wasn't; it's actually quite insightful.

Sam Delany: "Aye, and Gomorrah" (1967): my only complaint is that it ended. I really enjoyed these characters and this gender bendy story. I really like Delany overall, and I need to read more of his work.

Been Busy With...
Organizing adjuncts for our faculty union. I feel like I've been doing more of that than teaching. It's a whirlwind. I was also recently made an "associate," which means I get to be an adjunct with benefits and a year-long contract. I'll still only make about $20,000/year teaching, but it's a huge step up from where I was, which was looking at losing benefits and having my teaching restricted to about $12,000/year because of American health benefits crazy. I'm honestly very relieved. (Still looking for work at other schools though. Applications go out this summer...)

Writing papers: finished draft on Jeff VanderMeer and the Anthropocene, only to hear that the book it was for may not be published after all. Waiting on that.

Working on my paper for the Le Guin conference in Paris this June. Actually a bit less terrified than I was a week ago because I've made some headway. Need to knuckle down though.

Got a short story accepted to Spoon Knife 4, a sci-fi anthology with neuro-atypical characters.