The Weekend Mailbag

We had a fairly uneventful week in the mailbag.  I received a ton of emails regarding the podcast, a few regarding the “deep” piece, and a few more about Spiderman 3.  Here are the best:

Podcast 

Samuel T. Anders wrote:

Great piece, Kate!  Pete wrote it, but you made it sing!

Nice name, there, BSG rip-off boy.  Thanks for the compliment(s), though.  (I’ll leave the whole “piece” thing alone, since that can be taken in a myriad of different ways.)

Arthur of the Mice wrote:

Wow.  The podcast was great.  Is this going to be a weekly thing?  Do you have something that leans more sci fi since that’s the thrust of your site?

As I mentioned earlier, we’re going to do it on a weekly basis, with new releases on Tuesday.  My hosting costs are going to go up (only the graciousness of the hosting company have allowed me to continue at the download rate I’m going now), so we’ll see how we do over the next several weeks.  I have the option of banner ads (bleh), Google Ads (which I will only do as the last and final resort), or of subscription-based content.  We’ll see which option pans out.

Cameron writes:

Kate, you have a wonderful voice.  I’m a broadcast journalism major, and I can only say that I wish I had your range and sincerity.  Peter, you write as though you have a photographic eye/memory.  I wish you the best of luck.  I just know I’m going to be reading your novels on the beach one day.

Awww!  Thanks.  I’m sure Kate will comment below, but as for me, my memory is NOT photographic.  I just observe things well (scientific training) and sling the BS like there’s no tomorrow. 

TurboChargedTrouserSnake writes:

Your nightmares are scary stuff.  A word to the wise, though…nightmares do not a good story make.  You could do with a little less melodrama and a bit more visceral writing.  It is an easy temptation for beginning writers to fall into, using vivid imagery to achieve the effect that stronger prose would could do in fewer words.  Kate, your voice is great, but you sound hesitant and unsure of yourself in several parts.  The only bad thing about your reading is that you amplify the melodrama in Peter’s work.  I found myself giggling when I should have been riveted.

That’s certainly constructive criticism.  I feared that the drama was a bit much in parts, but I was still trying to capture the over-exaggerated feel of a nightmare.  I think if you read it through that lens, it works well.  (And what’s up with that name, dude?)

The Soul

Frakenburn writes:

Braaaaains!

Uh, okay.  We’re just the physical.  I get it.

Wicked Wendy writes:

I think the soul provides the context for our moral choices above and beyond the physical.  Without a soul, we just have the drives to secure resources and reproduce. 

What is the human race doing now?  Except in the first world countries, where we don’t reproduce, we just secure resources.  If this is evidence of a soul, I’m going to start popping happy pills.  The human race is doomed.

Spiderman 3

Wilting Turnip writes:

Great movie, but drags in the middle.  I can see why it went overbudget.  The effects were incredible.

Josh T. writes:

I never pegged you for a comic book fanboy.  I’ll be skipping on this one and waiting for a good, hard-sf release or the new Die Hard movie.

Howard the Ugly Duckling writes:

The humanity of this story is diluted by too many effects and inconsistent characters.  I had high expectations that were dashed by the constant whining of MJ.

Thanks for a great week, all.  We’ll resume normal coverage tomorrow, with the podcast on Tuesday.