-
Well the idea of supemax prisons with indefinite terms of solitary confinement goes in and out of acceptance. At the end of the day the justification is safety and security, not pu…
12 Apr 2012, 18:13
-
Not true Marc. I think your politics are pretty closely aligned with most of mainstream America. My assessment of the problem is that most of mainstream America only thinks about …
12 Apr 2012, 17:43
-
Good point. We think of the prison system as monocultural but it isn't. I once had the assignment to teach a cultural anthropology course in medium security prison. On my first da…
12 Apr 2012, 13:44
-
There is a sociological rule of thumb stating that minority populations don't start trying to exert political power until they approach 10%. Muslim population in the USA is well be…
11 Apr 2012, 19:58
-
Of course I agree that we haven't evolved much as a species in the past 70 years. But I actually think the (usually annoying) pervasiveness of the media has made a positive differe…
11 Apr 2012, 13:02
-
Heh, funny. My own guess is that they had seen the David Lynch movie, Mulholland Dr. since two little used actors from that movie got parts in Lost. But both Mulholand Dr and Twi…
06 Apr 2012, 19:56
-
Well, sure. I didn't imply there were no religious references. I meant references to conflicts between different faiths. I think the church-of-all-faiths, with the stained glass c…
06 Apr 2012, 19:15
-
Well, not just a dream, but a dying man's dream. I'm not sure I can explain it any better than I have. Among the clues given I think the most telling was a shot of a book with the…
06 Apr 2012, 18:49
-
I'm interested in whether that information was volunteered or elicited as a response to a question by in interviewer. Either way I could go so far as to say that was a lie or at l…
06 Apr 2012, 12:01
-
Thanks, Larry. I do appreciate the insider information and it certainly gives me pause. I had the unique experience of watching all 6 years of Lost in 6 months, done after the sh…
04 Apr 2012, 19:38
-
Abrams is jewish, as his name strongly suggests. I was going for the three credited with originating the series, Abrams, Lindelof and Lieber, all jewish as far as I can tell. Who…
04 Apr 2012, 14:22
-
Which conclusion? There was the part about the island's secrets being traced back to an eternal fraternal conflict between Jacob and his "nameless" brother (given that the writers …
04 Apr 2012, 12:42
-
Ah, I see. I'd generally agree with that. Still at the end of UotNS, B, F (and O?) prostrate themselves to Severian to recognize his resurrection power is beyond that of Tzadkiel'…
03 Apr 2012, 19:27
-
In my opinion, "defiance" is an overly strong word. IIRC, Moses had been ordered to strike the rock in the past to get water and it worked. This time he was supposed to speak to th…
03 Apr 2012, 17:46
-
To play devil's (heh) advocate, I don't then see the distinction between magic and divine power. It seems like Moses drawing water from a desert stone or Jesus feeding the masses…
02 Apr 2012, 19:08
-
Unless...going back to previous discussions, unless the text is viewed from a gnostic point of view in which there is a creative demiurge who is at least partially distinct from th…
02 Apr 2012, 16:59
-
I think we are dealing with problems in regard to the definition of the word "magic". There is the meaning which refers to pure illusion and trickery. This is addressed in BotNS …
02 Apr 2012, 13:05
-
And isn't Apu PUnchau really Severian (one of him, anyway)? Severian is raising the dead, travelling through time, causing storms and earthquakes and all by channelling the ener…
01 Apr 2012, 03:40
-
It is during their first real meeting at the end of Claw, at the river at Ctesiphon's Cross. She doesn't say it will be a kiss that does it. But once you know of the legend of und…
31 Mar 2012, 02:31
-
Yes, I certainly wasn't trying to suggest Wolfe is some sort of luddite. As David suggests, my thought was only, as for the Green Man and perhaps Neighbors, that technology simply…
29 Mar 2012, 06:29
-
Oh I meant to respond to Jeff's cogent comment. I would certainly agree that fairies seem to be bound by rules. But far fewer rules than humans. I almost get the sense they are g…
29 Mar 2012, 06:19
-
Ah, okay. For me, the small Tzadkiel is significant enough to qualify. The Armiger's Daughter also seems a nod in that direction. Mentions of kelpies and nixies, etc. also seem to …
28 Mar 2012, 20:19
-
An insightful observation. Is this a departure from a previous position in which it was asserted there are no fairy references in the Sun Series (and 5HoC, i.e. Shadow Children)?…
28 Mar 2012, 16:11
-
Nice summation. Agreed, though I still think the main device Wolfe uses to reveal the validity of the Truth of Christianity is its absence. I could cautiously agree with a few…
21 Mar 2012, 12:56
-
Apologies. You did say Christian worship was better, not that Christians were better people. If so, a shame that better worship doesn't lead to becoming a better person. Which re…
21 Mar 2012, 12:29
-
First of all, nice overall post, James. My point about Christianity remains implicit in your answer (and Gerry's). We don't question the surgical removal of legs because of an i…
20 Mar 2012, 21:04
-
Sorry Gerry, I didn't mean to offend you. You have to admit that your choice of listing Knowledge of God, Science, Economics and card playing was an interesting collection of acti…
20 Mar 2012, 19:57
-
You got me right, Antonin. I think the misunderstanding came from Gerry, perhaps due to a certain anti-relativist position he may share with many Americans of my acquaintance. Wi…
20 Mar 2012, 19:35
-
Thanks, I appreciate the rephrasing. It can help sometimes. Yes, surely Severian, Silk and Horn have undergone massive personal, spiritual changes during the course of the story.…
20 Mar 2012, 18:53
-
I agree about the fascination. And Wolfe's use of a first person narrator throughout the Sun Series ensures we understand that all we are hearing is filtered through human percep…
20 Mar 2012, 16:45
-
I had the impression but in a quick search I didn't find any of the passages I thought I'd find. Fair enough. But God is jealous of idols his followers might worship and He is ev…
20 Mar 2012, 02:04
-
I agree. I suppose the main difference in our views is that I see an evolution of God from being more like a powerful person in the OT to being more infinite as we move to Christ a…
19 Mar 2012, 20:21
-
Yes, exactly. I am suggesting that God seems to change through the course of the Bible (OT and NT). Anthropologically I certainly accept that this could be the result of changes …
19 Mar 2012, 20:12
-
David Stockhoff: What's the evidence that Typhon is bisexual? Yep, you guys did a good job listing the evidence. The erection in Severian's presence, the tribute, the painting. A…
19 Mar 2012, 19:50
-
I appreciate these suggestions. I'm not happy either with using the term "gnostic" but it still seems to come closer to what I mean. The Catholic Encyclopedia calls gnosticism: …
19 Mar 2012, 14:34
-
Like Pig? Argh, surely not so low on the totem pole. Unlike our modern Christian world where only God and Man exist, the Sun Series seems to have a rather well-stocked hierarchy …
19 Mar 2012, 04:04
-
Yes, I was jealous also. Only a 6 hour drive too. But a family with small kids can make such a trip difficult to arrange. If only it had been a week later... Ah well. Thanks for…
19 Mar 2012, 03:57
-
Sorry I didn't meant to be oblique. Summing up the evidence, I think Jurupari is a reference to Abaia and generally signifies (like the chicken with needles through the eyes) an …
17 Mar 2012, 23:10
-
Aren't all Wolfe motifs scattered far and wide, inhabiting the interstices of the text like white wolves in the Secret House? True, fish themes are splashed across the Sun Series…
16 Mar 2012, 19:31
-
Heh, funny. I do picture Dr. Crane as jewish. Edward G. Robinson would play him in the movie. Anyway, I purposefully only said that SF is a genre highly populated by atheist though…
16 Mar 2012, 14:15
-
Heh, yep. Reminds me of David and my discussions on author as demiurge. You can create everything in a world but you can't control the free will of the residents/audience. Hm,…
16 Mar 2012, 00:42
-
Funny, I had a similar experience. Actually I never read Narnia (still true) because my first exposure to Lewis was around age 12 when I was given The Space Trilogy as a gift. Out …
15 Mar 2012, 19:47
-
Daniel, there has been much militant atheism found in the media in the past few years so I understand your concern. I don't think it is has a good basis when it comes to the Lupive…
15 Mar 2012, 19:30
-
I tend to agree. I wish Wolfe had gone a little further to explain exactly why he thinks such creator gods were not deserving of worship. I think that would reveal his personal be…
15 Mar 2012, 19:16
-
Sheesh. For me this is such an incisive question. I think showing Tzadkiel evolving through so many phases including different levels of beast, levels of man and levels of angel i…
15 Mar 2012, 16:37
-
But, heresy aside, can such views be considered as leaning toward gnostic? I had a discussion/debate with James Jordan a long time ago and he professed a personal belief in "mode…
15 Mar 2012, 12:56
-
I don't think that's true. Perhaps you could post my inane rant to remind me? Perhaps that's so but then it applies to all those others with whom I happen to agree with. You do…
15 Mar 2012, 11:59
-
Yes. Or you could argue that earth culture such as Catherine's story, Frankenstein and the Rubiyat have echoed down the corridors of time back to Urth, as Dr. Talos describes. Yo…
15 Mar 2012, 11:46
-
Agreed. Good points. In truth I don't understand the arguments of those who insist Briah can only be described as a christian place. It seems like a stubborn attempt to cling t…
14 Mar 2012, 19:55
-
Craig Brewer: I disagree. In the Master Ash episode, he makes it clear to Severian that almost the entire population was rescued from the freezing Urth. Making it clear to the …
14 Mar 2012, 19:03
Urth Net