My wife Arlys and I are long-time anime fans, but it’s become difficult for us to find something we like. Like American TV networks, Japanese animation studios produce many series that are maudlin and unoriginal. We prefer shows that are out of the ordinary, generally with a sci-fi, supernatural, or crime element. Recently we encountered […]
I almost never reread a book, no matter how much I like it, because I always have new ones on my list. Recently, however, the popularity of audiobooks has made it easier to revisit them. In May I listened to Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age and found it to be even better than I remembered […]
I met Saul Garnell at a sci-fi convention in Phoenix a few years ago. We had lunch and an interesting discussion. Shortly thereafter, I bought his newly published e-book Freedom Club, but as I had a lot on my reading list, I didn’t get to it until several years later. I should have gotten to […]
I’ve always been a sucker for silly public art pieces like these. There are probably a dozen or so of these human-sized metal statues standing along Dunlap Street in Central Phoenix. Two of my favorites are this cowboy and this dapper-looking steampunk fellow. There are also “footprints” and tools (hatchets, picks) embedded in the sidewalks. […]
The renowned British engineer George Stephenson was born on this day in 1781. Few people may recognize the name today but during his lifetime he was called the “Father of Railways.” He was instrumental in the advancement of rail transportation, a key component of the Industrial Revolution. The standard rail gauge, with its 4-foot 8.5-inch […]
For the last two years, I’ve made it my personal quest to discover and promote the most interesting specimens of steampunk fiction. Though there have been fewer published since the peak of the movement’s popularity around 2010, the demise of steampunk has been greatly exaggerated. One of the more interesting works I’ve encountered is Eric […]
This interesting historical display is located in the Food Court area of Phoenix’s Metrocenter Mall near Dunlap and I-17. Since the photo can’t do it justice, I’ll just say that the map shows Phoenix as a small town 80+ years ago. So much has changed, including Metrocenter itself. Founded in 1973, Metrocenter was the area’s […]
