lathe_biosas

I just inherited a PS2 and am wondering what game(s) are the best to get into. Obviously it depends on personal taste but if you have any games you'd like to rave about, I'm all ears. Meaningful storylines and strategy make a game enjoyable for me. Here are some of the ones that stick out: Dark Cloud 2 (includes a Town Building element? But might be too cutesy) Beyond Good and Evil (anthropomorphic beasts, plot with depth, sci fi, photography, apparently similar to Zelda) ICO Shadow of the Colossus (looks fun, fight big bosses) FFX (I've beaten at a friends place but worth playing again) Kingdom Hearts (I think I played this while sick once but can't remember how far I got, something about a library) Any other ideas?

Gamer. I don't play much anymore, but it was always fun with friends, on whatever systems were popular at the time. I recently got a hand-me-down PS2 and that will be my first console. Hopefully there will be some PS2 games with interesting story lines that I can scrounge up. Otherwise PC games were the only things that sucked me in for non-social reasons.

Geeky arguments are a great way to test other peoples' passion for a topic while turning something semi-serious into light steam. Pop culture doesn't hook me (except a few robotech animes) but I recommend academic journals for fans of geek arguments - start with anything from www.nature.com

I also think part of being a non-troll is being open to other people knowing things you don't. People get overly focused on proving that their view is correct, rather than honestly incorporating new information into their views, or acknowledging uncertainty where it exists.

Stellar, this plot is engaging because it is so unpredictable! I love the first four chapters, how you don't shy away from complexity and allow certainty to be underlined by the potential that everything on Earth is layers of lies. As ever I'm intrigued by the Song and how the bits of religious fervour expressed by the Arbiter fit into the bigger picture of that species' spread. But like everyone else, I am mostly anticipating Shay/Mira's emergence as a scientific and compassionate balance to the chaos.

Wow, Stellar. What a crisp way you have of setting large stages. I love both of your matriarchs. I agree with what everyone is saying about the excitement of these skirmishes. I for one can be patient as we find out what Shay can do, because the context will be just as important as the actions. And I'm looking forward to learning more about the other chosen. Thank you for sharing your gift!

Excellent, thanks! I am working on the next part now. I have some explaining to do.

Ha, yes, I wondered whether it would be weird once it hopped out of my head. Thanks for the honest review! I have this (unrealistic) expectation that I should be able to explain background while keeping the story moving. I can definitely add more background in the next chapter. EEGi stands for ElectroEncephaloGraphic Interface (I know, that doesn't help much - more to come!) SKEDA is an AI (Artificial Intelligence); it would introduce itself as the SKills and EDucation Assistant.

The Philosopher's Son is a story about the fine line between love and despair, and the consistency of our humanity despite technological transformation. It's also a simple reminder of how love is both a personal illusion and a miraculous door into someone else's senses.

“What’s so hard about giving in for you?” He was kicking at a bed of pine needles, hand firmly planted on a sticky trunk. “The day is perfect. Two hours until you’re expected back. No one around but you, me and the bugs.” His eyes were clear and frustrated. My gut felt hollow. It was hollow. This was inconsequential. I had to keep moving. “I’m detached. Today, anyway.” I stabbed some ants to prove my point, stepping through bracken and branches. “You can’t detach. The fact that I’m here with

Trying to break out of 'work writing' is the main challenge for me, but so satisfying once I get there. My pattern is to write on paper once I'm in bed, when my mind has the whole night ahead to wander. I get some dense, visceral stuff out each night and then type it up on the occasional flexible weekend, adding more as I type. The best ideas happen at work or when hiking out somewhere picturesque. Right now I'm just writing for pleasure and my word count per hour is abysmal. But the feeling of having created something seems to make me happy for days.

I read this a few weeks ago and the characters keep flashing up randomly in my imagination, when driving long boring distances or watching the water. While the characters are kind of dramatic, it's understandable given their histories. It's a sign of good story telling when it pops up in your perception of daily life. Some of the scenes are very memorable and I end up subconsciously juxtaposing them in the places I'm in. Thanks for the wonderful story so far. I'll join the chorus for More, sir!

Thanks for the response Stellar - that helps me not to take Shay's heroism for granted. It does reveal a lot about his character that he was brave enough to forge ahead into the unknown with so much at stake. I will absolutely be here anticipating the sequel. Can't wait to find out what Shay can do on the other side...

Stellar.. I just spent the last two nights soaking in this treasure through midnight eyes. Thank you so much for all the work you put into Hidden Sunlight. I had to go to work half way through, but I went through my day feeling strengthened at the idea of such noble characters, facing such dark challenges, and the possibility of love and hope prevailing against all odds. The way you paced the chapters was riveting, with big gulps of despair and bright hopeful hooks. Thank goodness I found Hidden Sunlight in complete form. I found it hard to stop reading. It is fascinating how human colonies might evolve around different cultural and environmental factors. While the whole book is about one such story, your Epilogue opened up that kind of exploration for 13 other colonies and the sketches of your larger Universe get me excited to read more. Your description of characters and settings came alive from the way you described them (in fact it triggered video game memories - Metal Gear? Silent Hill clues? Haven't played Half-life...). It's easy to get attached to Mira and Shay from the way you dive into their emotions, but even better, the emotions of Mira and Shay are a crucial part of the solution to a scientific puzzle; it would have seemed a bit too alien-programmed if they had just fused together with no resistance but Shay's shyness provided that. I did think a few times that Shay comes close to taking Mira's devotion for granted, but he never fully loses his wonder about it, and why begrudge him the love and confidence that supernatural-dom brings him? The first few times that Mira speaks are moving because of their rarity and brevity ("we", "no", etc.) The revelation that Mira and Shay are some kind of defiling force for the virus, its Song, its arbiters and its hinted evolutionary architects is a gritty anti-hero move which made me grin. Konstantin Is my favourite character because of his humanity, principles, fearlessness, platonic/paternal love, and kick-butt abilities. That he would choose a farm, not a fortress, as a haven is logical and personally endearing. At the beginning of Leagues of Night, Shay says he would leave Memorial Accession Plaza with a concrete lesson: "Power - real power - shows a person's true nature". I'm curious what you believe that whole episode shows about Shay's true nature. Perhaps that he is still a bit immature, even as he realizes he is an adminstrator to the core? I kept on wondering why he didn't try to heal everyone by burning away the virus, instead of throwing buildings around and setting off orbital nuclear detonations. I'm glad to have discovered your creation here. It's inspiring. I vote for sequel next. Lathe

The characters in this story are endearing. I really wanted Blake to stop medicating and that's what makes this chapter so satisfying. Thanks for an enjoyable read.

Last week I made a new (to me) kind of frozen cake for my sister`s birthday. It was a layered raw lemon-carrot cake with cashew icing and honey-walnut crust. Everyone had a good laugh when I unveiled it, since I only had enough ingredients to cover half the pan.

Merely for the shock factor, I give you the cheapest way to turn down Earth's thermostat: sulfuric aerosol clouds (i.e. imitating a volcanic eruption). Robock et al. 2009. Benefits, risks and costs of geoengineering. Geophysical Research Letters. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2009GL039209/pdf Note that the risks include: ozone depletion, reduced solar power, ruining terrestrial astronomy, military or rogue abuse, commercial profiteering and an overall blow to humanity's drive to prevent the problem in the first place (moral hazard). Something of a Pyrrhic victory. Other geoengineering options include giant solar mirrors and seeding the ocean with micronutrients to encourage biological carbon sequestration. I agree with the researchers that (surprise!) more research is required. Wouldn`t hurt to know how to do this in a pinch. In the meantime, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and shifting to more sustainable technologies would be much safer.

Interesting portrayal of brain-in-a-vat. I agree that the finite makes life worth living, but that's a hard pill to swallow. The half sandwich gave me a lump in the throat. Thanks for the intriguing read.

Homeworld (+ Cataclysm and Homeworld II but Homeworld was the best. It was otherwise dubbed as 'homoworld' in my house). SimCity (keeps getting better and now being used in classrooms and public engagement)

My favorite book series is the Mars trilogy, Kim Stanley Robinson (Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars). 12 years of research, serious ethical/political/scientific dilemmas, a zillion distinct, well developed characters that interact and transform, and a fun romp through some of the most epic moves humankind could make in the coming centuries. Bonus for queer heroines.

My first thought is that creativity is unlimited, regardless of defined universes, genres, or reader cultures. There is the very old, Ecclesiastical lament that 'What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun'. But thebrinkoftime makes a better argument: I'd say philosophy and art also contribute to the newer forms in which we reinvent the traditions. In this sense creativity is unlimited, and speculative/science fiction is the best way to creatively explore the massive array of possible futures. After reading these posts however I understand that the more specific problem is whether unlimited creativity has unlimited entertainment value. Is SF running out of plot lines that the masses can understand and haven't heard before? I don't think we are running out of science, technology, philosophy or art. I think that the bizarre pace of technological and social change in the daily lives of people all over the world provides ample lived experience that can feed fresh, relevant SF plot lines. The entertainment comes from people seeing themselves or something they love in the stories, experiencing emotions, and feeling as though they've gained insight, if only momentarily. Even if the basic story was told 60 or 600 years ago, as long as the creative retelling plucks those emotional strings, it can be entertaining without limits. There are still creativity barriers running rampant, as identified by jamessavick and Daddydavek. I'd also add the following creativity barriers to avoid: - political correctness and generally avoiding anything risque can make for a boring story - over-reliance on violence, sex and world-shaking events kills creativity and desensitizes your audience.