stbenge <stb### [at] hotmailcom> wrote:
(quoted out of order)
....
> Poll: What do you like more?
> a) hard science fiction
> b) fantastical sci-fi
> c) space operas

Sort Answer: a) & b)... NOT c)

I enjoy works that creatively explore the realm of possibilities, especially
those that provide a brief excursion, albeit an imaginary one, outside the
sphere of the mundane.  Generally, I'm a fan of "The Classics": Asimov,
Bradbury, Heinlein, Clarke, Pohl, Kornbluth, del Rey, and the rest of that
beloved old rouges gallery.  Doug Adams was a true genius and any zarking
turlingdrome who says otherwise is full of jujuflop and can go straight to
Belgium!  Interesting ideas can come out of either the "hard" or "fantastical"
styles, so I like them both.  Generally, mixing the two styles is a bad idea,
but a truly inventive writer just might create an exception to just about any
rule.

I find "Space Opera" wholly repugnant.  The same modern pop culture mass
marketing mindset that gives us fat-free ice cream and decaffeinated coffee
brings us idea-free science fiction... "all the spaceships, explosions and
blinky lights that the public loves, with none of those annoying challenging
concepts to dilute the nonstop ACTION!"

....
> How about a nice redirect of attention? Something to take your minds off
> of possibilities which may or may not exist. A good read.... something
> about.... well, possibilities which may or may not exist :) Of course
> I'm talking about Science Fiction.

Like many who have read Heinlein, I often find myself thinking "That's really
clever!" one moment and "How can you say THAT!" the next. This having been
said,  I present the following excerpts to bridge the gap between threads:


From: "Notebooks of Lazarus Long" By: Robert Heinlein



"History does not record anywhere at any time a religion that has any rational
basis. Religion is a crutch for people not strong enough to stand up to the
unknown without help. But, like dandruff, most people do have a religion and
spend time and money on it and seem to derive considerable pleasure from
fiddling with it."

"Men rarely (if ever) manage to dream up a God superior to themselves. Most Gods
have the manners and morals of a spoiled child."

"God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent-it says so right here on the
label. If you have a mind capable of believing all three of these divine
attributes simultaneously, I have a wonderful bargain for you. No checks,
please. Cash and in small bills."

"The most preposterous notion that H. Sapiens has ever dreamed up is that the
Lord God of Creation, Shaper and Ruler of all the Universes, wants the
saccharine adoration of His creatures, can be swayed by their prayers, and
becomes petulant if He does not receive this flattery. Yet this absurd fantasy,
without a shred of evidence to bolster it, pays all the expenses of the oldest,
largest, and least productive industry in all of history."

(end quotations)
=========================================

Best Regards,
Mike C.

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