Listen to the Drabblecast

I always laugh when I listen to The Drabblecast. There aren't many podcasts out there that can do that.

The Drabblecast is about 80% flash fiction -- one to two thousand word stories. The tales are generally weird, sometimes gleefully repulsive. Norm Sherman performs all the narration himself, which is part of the appeal. His voices and sound effects are great.

Norm's commentary makes up the remaining 20% of the show. Following the theme, the commentary is also about the weird and absurd. Norm's take on "current events" is a riot, as are his reenactments. My favorite segment of all time has to be his coverage of the gruesome death of a duck in the lobby of an Embassy Suites. Listen to episode 35.

If you cherish the absurd and strange, give the show a listen. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Link.

Film: Solaris (2002)

Unless you don't mind taking some time to think about a film, don't watch Solaris. I really enjoyed it, but not everyone likes having to work for their films.

Don't get me wrong. The film has a lot going for it: great visuals, nifty ideas, tense pacing, and good (but minimal) music. I think the look and style of the film is great. It conveys lots of careful craftsmanship.

Just the DVD's title menu completely hypnotized me. I would really like to have a screen saver that just featured an evolving view of Solaris and a loop of the score by Cliff Martinez. Of course, then I'd spend my days drooling into my keyboard rather than getting stuff done.

But the film doesn't end with an explanation of what just happened. You won't find any explosions or even any loud noises. We're talking about science fiction on the 2001: A Space Odyssey side of the genre. Events revolve around people (or at least characters), not around gadgets or dogfights. This is the sort of film that will keep you up for the rest of the night discussing what happened.

I think I'll put the Stanislaw Lem story and the 1972 film on my to-do list.

Podcast Watch: Singularity

Technically, Bill DeSmedt's Singularity probably should get classified as an audio book. Professional narration of a novel doesn't quite meet my notion of a podcast. Still, the work is available on Podiobooks.com as an iTunes compatible or RSS podcast feed. For free too (with a suggested donation).

I started listening to the book on my last trip to Corpus Christi. It worked great. The fast pace and nearly constant excitement made the four hour drive go by in a flash.

The book is science fiction, but think Robert Ludlum meets Michael Crichton. Events hinge on speculative science, but it mostly occurs in the near future (well, the past's near future... the 1990's) with plenty of explosions and fights. It's full of crazy science, but most of it explained so that a layman can follow easily.

There are some anachronisms in the novel. Technology evolved a little differently in our future than what was expected when the book was written. Some of the computer science and hacking stuff seems a little off too. Still, it's worth cutting the book some slack.

And that professional narration? It seems to have been done by the author personally. Color me impressed. The accents and voices are all done quite well -- I swear he sounds like a professional narrator. Link.

Podcast Watch: TAGBBTNITBTOYL

Cory Doctorow has been podcasting his fantastic story in progress, There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow/Now is the Best Time of Your Life. If you enjoy Mecha battles, Disney lore, paleo-futurism, immortality, and the ethics of technology and progress, you'll probably enjoy this. In fact, your head will explode. Link.