Science fiction is scared of language. It’s practitioners come, in bulk, from the numbered disciplines. Physicists. Engineers. Coders. The number is absolute. Seven is seven is seven is seven. It’s not six and it’s not eight. This is the whole point of whole numbers.
Author Archives: Damien Walter
Is another world possible?
I grew up with these words, “another world is possible”. On the two council estates I lived on until I was 18. At the radical bookshops I found in my late teens. In the ant-capitalist protests I joined in my 20s. Working for New Internationalist, then Amnesty. And now, I see the idea has madeContinue reading “Is another world possible?”
DAMO: Rebranded
My general approach to productivity is: if I don’t remember to do it, it’s probably better undone. But I do handwrite a ToDo list every couple of weeks. Not to remember things, but to forget them. A swirl of tasks in the mind gets in the way of more creative thinking. Writing them out asContinue reading “DAMO: Rebranded”
The trouble with intersectional political alliances as illustrated in Star Wars
Intersectionality is a powerful idea conveyed in an overcomplicated word. But Star Wars is a great way to understand it better. One thing I love about scifi? It provides all the best metaphors to help folks understand the fierce complexities of contemporary politics. Mid-way through the snap UK general election a lot of Harry-Potter-as-political-metaphor memesContinue reading “The trouble with intersectional political alliances as illustrated in Star Wars”
Rhetoric of Story weekend sale!
A year ago I began recording a set of 7 talks for the Rhetoric of Story. This week I recorded the seventh. The large gap between the 6th talk, recorded last September, and the 7th talk, came for a simple reason. I got very sick in January. I’m fine now, but while I was recoveringContinue reading “Rhetoric of Story weekend sale!”
Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it.
A good friend needed help facing the blank page. I found this quote for him. Now I present it too you. (It’s often attributed to Goethe, but in fact the authorship is unknown.) Please share with anyone you think might love it. “Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back –Continue reading “Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it.”
Yes, Corbyn can win. Here’s how. #GE2017
We live in strange political times. Around the world far right leaders are adopting traditionaly socialist policies to get elected. Trump promised huge public spending on infrastructure. Le Pen is promising a huge rise in social benefits. What’s going on? The bottom line is, working and middle class people in America and Europe are poorerContinue reading “Yes, Corbyn can win. Here’s how. #GE2017”
Scarlet Johansson’s star quality makes her all wrong for Ghost in the Shell
Cyberpunk’s literary roots have always dug deep into themes of self destruction…both our terror of losing, and lust to be liberated from, our self. No comments here, but come talk to me on @damiengwalter. It’s hard for a human as universally recognised as Scarlet Johansson to pass as a nobody. But Major Motoko Kusanagi, theContinue reading “Scarlet Johansson’s star quality makes her all wrong for Ghost in the Shell”
Yes, I will be at WorldCon 75 in Helsinki
I’ve never done a WorldCon, and I’ve never been to Helsinki, so damn it I’m going to tick off both these ambitions in a single weekend! I’ll be at WorldCon 75 in Helsinki, 9-13 August of 2017. And I’d like you to be there also. So if you’re hesitating (I know it’s a reasonably majorContinue reading “Yes, I will be at WorldCon 75 in Helsinki”
Trump voters are socialists. They just don’t know it yet.
Trump voters. Brexit voters. The AltRight. The people who read Infowars, and Breitbart, and the Daily Mail. They’re all early stage socialists, who just haven’t figured out that’s what they are yet. Here’s why. For most of the 20th century, global capitalism was a pretty good deal. If you were a white western citizen. MostContinue reading “Trump voters are socialists. They just don’t know it yet.”
Olaf Stapledon on how science fiction defeats fascism
With fascism growing at a terrible pace today, Olaf Stapledon’s words from 1937, written at the height of the Nazi menace, hold meaning for all sci-fi fans, readers, and writers. This post could not have been written without the support of my patrons. “Perhaps the attempt to see our turbulent world against a background of starsContinue reading “Olaf Stapledon on how science fiction defeats fascism”
Viking myths made men fearless. What do our myths make us?
A myth is more than just an old story. In their day, hundreds or thouands of years ago, myths shaped reality. WOAH! That’s a big claim, right? That the Ramayana actually shaped the reality of the people who read it two thousand years ago? That’s like saying Star Wars: Rogue One is shaping our realityContinue reading “Viking myths made men fearless. What do our myths make us?”
Damien Walter 