StarshipSofa

Tony C. Smith has created a superb audio science fiction magazine with StarshipSofa’s weekly Aural Delights podcast. The Sofa collects poetry, flash fiction, fact articles and short fiction by a wide range of the most important people in the science fiction field: writers and guests have included Elizabeth Bear, Spider Robinson, Cory Doctorow, Tad Williams, Larry Santoro, Jeremiah Tolbert, Gustavo Bondoni, Michael Bishop, Amy H Sturgis, Michael Moorcock, Gene Wolfe, Charles Stross, and Ted Kosmatka.

Escape Pod

“It’s story time,” precedes the featured story of each episode of Escape Pod, and for good reason; the podcast has high production values and the people behind it obviously take pride in great storytelling. Escape Pod doesn’t shy away from challenging science fiction and its creators’ dedication has made it one of the great podcasts of any kind. Be sure not to miss the Union Dues series that is frequently featured on Escape Pod.

Cory Doctorow Podcast

Esteemed “science fiction author, activist, journalist and blogger” Cory Doctorow reads from his stories each week on his podcast. Archives include a complete reading of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town and his recent ‘casts have featured a new short story, “Epoch”. Cory’s science fiction is strange, rooted in concern for our present world and is some of the best being created anywhere.

Spider on the Web

Spider Robinson just might have the biggest heart, warmest voice and best stories of all science fiction writers. He definitely has one of the best podcasts being made. Spider reads his own fiction and essays, sprinkles in exciting music and shares some of the best short fiction written by others on SotW every other week. His reading of John Varley’s “The Persistence of Vision” is a beautiful example of the quality every episode holds.

The Drabblecast

Norm Sherman is a strange host who presents “strange stories by strange authors to strange listeners, such as yourself”. The Drabblecast has unleashed countless weird stories onto the internet and we’re all better off because of the hilarious, bizarre and just plain wonderful speculative fiction that have been narrated through this ‘cast.

Clarkesworld

The Clarkesworld podcast delivers a short story each month from the pages of Clarkesworld Magazine, one of the best science fiction ‘zines being produced. The stories featured in the podcast come from some of the best science fiction writers.

Podcastle

Podcastle presents stories from a wide range of the fantasy field: it’s a mix of high fantasy, dark fantasy, mythic realism, urban fantasy and other aspects of the genre. Rachel Swirsky’s editorial discernment ensures great quality month after month. One of my favourite episodes is Will McIntosh’s “One Paper Airplane Graffito Love Note“, a story that is reminiscent of Haruki Murakami’s work.

Pseudopod

Pseudopod plays in the horrific end of fiction. There is plenty to disturb and startle in these stories, but if horror is something you can stomach, then this podcast pays off with stories from some of the best in the field.

The Vinyl Cafe

The Vinyl Cafe features slice-of-life fiction that captures Canadiana and the humour and sweetness of our peculiarities, missteps and kind gestures. The host, Stuart McLean, brings a warm sincerity to his readings and makes each episode a joy to experience; following the lives of Dave and his family has become an institution though the radio show, live performances, books and, of course, this podcast.

I love a good fiction podcast, so if you have any suggestions for me, please leave a comment. I’ll be sure to share anything I fall in love with in future entries and through my lifestream.

I fell in love with Sera Beak’s take on embodied spirituality when she was interviewed for The New Man Episode 63: “Bust Out of the Cultural BS and Follow Your Own Path” and was drawn in by her energy again when she was featured on Sex, God, Rock ‘n Roll. Her wonderful playfulness and willingness to embrace the fullness of expanded personality are sorely missing in many approaches to spirituality.

Beak’s enthusiasm for living, spirituality and beauty is genuinely contagious. So I felt compelled to share a short video clip recorded with Stuart Davis and some rollicking samples of her words.

Sera Beak from Sex, God, Rock 'n Roll on Vimeo.

Late last year I discovered John Varley’s The Persistence of Vision through a superb reading of the story included in Spider Robinson’s Spider on the Web podcast. The story has become my favourite novella and I am thrilled each time I revisit it.

One of the richest elements of the story is the positive vision of polyamoury that Varley placed at the heart of his community. The non-exclusive intimacy was not merely sexual —though it was sexual— and demonstrated the best of what a pragmatic and enthusiastic community can create.

That one aspect of the community resonated with me, but Varley instilled the story with a genuine sense of realism by developing a fictional culture and society that was both functional and beautiful.

Recognizing elements of Utopian narratives led me to a reading of the story that I think works well: this is a functional utopia, one that recognizes the flaws inherent in any idealism and responds to them. The displaced Other of utopian thought is present here, but it is an other able to form a real community; idealism demands constant rebuilding.

Spider Robinson’s reading of the story is warm, loving and damn-near-perfect. You can download “Spider on the Web Episode 57 The Persistence of Vision” at Spider Robinson’s website and learn more about John Varley at his own.

The blogosphere is undergoing a shift toward lifestreaming. The efficiency and clarity of lifestreaming offers an alternative and a complement to blogging that enables time-strapped internet content creators and enthusiasts a better way to display, distribute and champion the content that matters to them. It’s a game-changer that also hints at the increasingly seamless way the internet is part of every aspect of our lives.

2008 has been a year of transitioning to lifestreaming for me. An increasingly time-strapped life has left me less time to devote to blogging, but my drive to share content with friends and strangers hasn’t relented. Lifestreaming has allowed me to point out more content and share more pieces of my life than I could have if I focused on longer pieces. I still love and appreciate blogging —I read dozens of blogs each day—, but lifestreaming is the future of how we share on the internet.

One of the clearest signs that ’streaming is becoming a mainstream force on the internet is the inclusion of rudimentary lifestreaming on Facebook and other social networking sites. We are coming to value quick shots from the attention of the people we care about and respect; a photo of a great meal, pieces of political discourse and a fascinating news article do provide real benefits in how we connect with others and how we experience the world. Even with the inevitable filler that comes from the speed of ’streaming, the data we create is going to reshape our interaction with the internet.

Lifestreaming heralds the next leap for the internet, the semantic web, by associating our important data with our online identities. This association enables data to be used to understand our lives, our interests and our social world. Marry this with emergent trends of location-aware software, cloud computing, and the still-rising tide of social networking, and you have a perfect storm of practical, sophisticated and exciting internet tools that will make our experience of the internet seamless within our lives.

Even President Obama will face a different online world during his time in office; Obama, his staff and the public will create and reflect on an endless stream of content and attention.

For the most powerful among us and through to the casual ’streamer, the way we interact with the internet is going to change profoundly.

The future will be astound, but what does lifestreaming give to us today and why commit to it? Without lifestreaming, out identities online are diffuse and not accessible, but merging our strands of activity across the internet into a ’stream provides a solution.

Lea Woodward asserts that it is an enjoyable compulsion to share content and participate in the communities that spring up around lifestreaming. ‘Streaming can also enhance pre-existing relationships that would otherwise be under strain from lack of contact in an environment of increasing stress on social life; Facebook’s lifestreaming aspect alone has allowed me to maintain relationships that otherwise may have waned.

C4Chaos, an integrally-informed and awesome (hyper)streamer and blogger, takes issue with the term lifestreaming but offers some great insight in his posts “Swallowed my blog in a single gulp!” and “Life is But a Stream“.

So, if ’streaming is about consciousness, does refining either one’s consciousness or one’s ’stream influence the other in positive ways? This line of questioning is where I think lifestreaming or (hyper)streaming becomes the most valuable. Assessing what we choose to include in ’streams, what we filter and why we do any of it, when done in a contemplative and open manner, will improve the quality of our lives.

Increasing competency in creation spurs humanity to become more loving, more encompassing, and more wise. Technology is thus inherently good; this novelty is an expression of divinity and essential for improving any aspect of our lives. Technology lifts life above limitations and brings freedom to fruition.

This is a rare view, but an essential one to move us forward. Thankfully, a leading edge of thinkers is offering this beacon of hope amid a seeming void of entropy. Ken Wilber and Kevin Kelly are two thinkers on this edge who are passionate about bringing technology and spirit to the fore of our discussions. In an exciting and compelling dialog, titled “Exploring the Technium: Technology, Evolution, and God“, the two have come together to unreservedly share their profound understanding of the importance of technology, the very structure of the Kosmos and what it means to be part of an evolution that involves technology implicitly.

Kevin Kelly has been producing, in his blog The Technium, a body of work that frames technology as the newest leap in a vast movement of extropy that works against the winding down of the universe. His eloquent entries flesh out a vision of inherently spiritual directionality at work through life and the technology that emerges through it. Optimism of this sort is exciting and certainly uncommon, but apparently more true and more practical than the pessimistic and reductionistic views of technology as merely neutral or evil that prevail in many minds. At the very least, Kelly’s vision is a compelling and satisfying presentation of our role in the universe, as is clear in entries such as “Cosmic Origins of Extropy“.

The discussion begins with talk of The Technium, but moves into a look at Ken Wilber’s AQAL theory as it applies to technology and spirituality. And from this spiritual stream the topic of Kelly’s spiritual experiences emerges. A mystic event of conversion to Christianity informs his work as a futurist and a technologist in a rich way. A merging of spiritual and scientific understanding enriches the work of both men and creates an abundance of enthusiasm and greatness.

Listen to Exploring the Technium: Technology, Evolution, and God for free from Integral Life.

One of the most exciting movements in technology is the boom of cheap, efficient, small and robust laptops that are forcing a sea change in the market, bringing better products to more people. We are being offered computers that are more affordable than ever and this is sending waves through the industry as the ultra-portable goes from niche device to a mainstay of professionals, students, and families.

Since March of this year my main computer has been a tiny Asus EeePC, a computer that is as close to my ideal laptop as I’ve yet encountered. It is genuinely portable in a way that is startling in comparison with the bulky conventional laptops I’ve had in the past. Even better is the fact that it is capable of doing everything I use a computer for, from internet surfing to video and music management, at least as well as the larger computers I have used. The small package has left me wanting little more in my daily work and play. At $350 before tax, it was the best investment in technology I’ve ever made.

Asus has taken the market by storm, selling millions from their EeePC line and generating a slew of imitations from Dell, HP and other manufacturers. A surprisingly broad range of people have picked up on the trend, putting pressure on the big players in the industry to deliver options that best suit our needs. I personally know of a businessman who runs his small business with an EeePC and similar stories are popping up every day. The buzz generated by the laptop always surprises me; everyone I show my EeePC to and share the price with are excited by the prospect of an affordable and capable laptop.

We are already reaping tangible benefits from the ultra-portable trend, but this is just the beginning of the escalated push for cheaper, smaller and better computers. Apple, known for expensive hardware, is rumoured to be considering lowering their MacBook line below $1000 USD. Asus is promising EeePC battery life that will last “a whole day“. The Indian government is, astonishingly, planning to create $10 laptops, according to recent reports, for use in higher education settings. The market-driven push by companies like Asus, non-profit initiatives such as One Laptop Per Child and governments like India’s, are creating a perfect storm to deliver computers (and the internet) to a much larger percentage of the global population.

5 Key Advantages Common in the Ultra-Portable Space:

• 1. Size
  Laptops that easily fit into a purse or pocket are clearly more portable than laptops that demand their own bags.
• 2. Durability
  Laptops like the EeePC are made to endure the stress of real use. Solid state hard drives keep data safer through drops, bumps and crashes, and the casing of these computers tend to be rugged.
• 3. Cost
  As wealthy as we are in developed nations, there are still many of us who can not afford a laptop capable of delivering a quality experience, and those numbers rise when we consider other nations or if we enter a recession. Putting good technology into as many hands as possible is important in growing a global culture that embraces the many benefits technology can bring to our lives.
• 4. Ease of Use
  Ultra-portables tend to have simple, robust and capable interfaces that are very easy for people who aren’t computer-savvy to pick up and are refreshing for many advanced users (who can easily activate more complicated interfaces). We should want the elderly, children and others who may not have learned to interact with more complicated interfaces to still have the benefits of technology, and ultra-portables are one good avenue to introduce programs that can change lives for the better.
• 5. Linux
  Some ultra-portables are bloated with a Windows operating system, but most are offered with a flavour of Linux. Linux is a free family of operating systems that tend to be faster, more robust and safer than proprietary operating systems like Windows and Mac OS X. The open source movement provides a rich and responsive collection of software that, for the most part, is better than what is offered for proprietary operating systems and usually entirely free. Linux helps to make computers cheaper by cutting out hundreds of dollars needlessly spent to buy operating systems while providing a better experience for computer users of all skill levels.

Now and then an album that thrills with every track and enchants with every listen emerges as an instantly recognizable landmark. One of the great joys in music listening is when an artist consistently produces stellar albums of that caliber and then astounds with a masterwork that goes beyond even that. With Sunshine Lies, Matthew Sweet has delivered such a masterwork and cemented his place as a true master of songcraft.

I’ve followed Matthew Sweet’s career since my musical interest started to mature and have counted him among the greats for as many years. Matthew’s 1990 breakthrough, Girlfriend, still stands today as one of the most important pop albums that decade held, the follow-up Altered Beast was an alternative scorcher that showcased his wide pallet, 100% Fun and Blue Sky on Mars rolled out with dynamism, In Reverse was a wall of sound masterpiece and the sparse collections Living Things and Kimi Ga Suki were heart-felt meditations on nature and living. His collaborations as part of The Thorns and with Susanna Hoffs are superb and his contributions to numerous compilations and soundtracks are always highlights. Simply, Matthew Sweet is a master who has created a musical legacy that is enduring, staggering and open-hearted.

Matthew describes Sunshine Lies as “power-pop-folk-rock-psychedelic-melodic-singer-songwriter-type stuff” and any less broad genre classification wouldn’t do justice to the expansiveness of this album. “Time Machine” is one of the messy, beautiful pop rock gems, while “Room to Rock” and “Flying” are raging rockers that bookend the folk rock of “Byrdgirl”, contrasting with the Buddha-tinged ballad “Feel Free” and setting the mood for the pinnacle of the album, The-Who-meets-Neil-Young blazer “Let’s Love”. Not only are the songs finely made, they’re also inherently fun; this is an album that brings the summer alive and invites listeners to soak up some roaring bliss.

The music is beautiful enough to make Sunshine Lies irresistible, but the album art inspires awe as well. Brian Valentine has provided macro photography for the packaging that showcases his prolific and magnificent body of work. You can find thousands of his photographs in his Flickr account.

Sunshine Lies will be released on August 26.

Roughly one in five people who access the internet already use Firefox, and today’s launch of Firefox 3 takes the browser to new levels of speed, ease of use, security, functionality and expandability that should only increase those numbers. I’ve been using beta and release candidate versions leading up to Firefox 3 and can say with certainty that it is leaps and bounds ahead of all the other major browsers and even its predecessor, Firefox 2.

A quick look at the new features gives a glimpse of the power Firefox 3 packs, but the fact it uses your hardware better than before with better memory use and page rendering means the experience is noticeably better than before for every task we do online.

If you download Firefox 3 in the next day you will be taking part in setting a Guinness World Record for the most software downloaded in 24 hours while improving your internet experience. As I’m writing this, 1,891,865 have already downloaded it today.

For more on Firefox 3, check out the following links:
Power User’s Guide to Firefox 3
Why You Should Download Firefox 3 Right Now
Top 10 Firefox 3 Features

Paul Chadwick’s Concrete: The Human Dilemma is one of the most accessible, balanced and finely crafted stories we have that explores the problems of overpopulation. The storytelling is superb – Chadwick consistently produces emotive art and compelling narratives that are exemplars of sequential art – and provides a magnificent framework for making sense of such a complex subject.

Overpopulation is a critical issue that we face as a world. Even a casual look at the state of the world reveals that the pieces vital for building the kinds of civilizations we can thrive in are being sapped, in large part, because we fail to limit reproduction. Our staggering numbers have helped turn things such as space, food, fuel and infrastructure into scarce resources. When we consider the complexities of disparities in development, quality of life and consumption we are faced with an overwhelming challenge.

Chadwick points out complications of motivation (baser tendencies, higher ideals and transcendent awe) and cultural momentum alongside statistics about overpopulation and possible strategies for combating it throughout The Human Dilemma. He presents an appropriately nuanced perspective of the issue, acknowledging conservative concerns, possible harmful extremes and obstacles in the way of implementing programs while being steadfast in the conviction that we must act to reduce our numbers.

One of the most important aspects of the overpopulation problem comes to the fore early in the book. The main character, Concrete, becomes involved in a program encouraging couples to opt for sterilization rather than contribute to overpopulation, thus creating role models and acceptance for life without reproducing. Creating public acceptance of not having children and forging new stations of life that embrace this will be incredibly hard to do. There is so much momentum in our cultures and biology that embeds the process of having biological children with a sense of obligation and benefit, and this will be challenging to counter.

Looking at the positive implications of fewer humans on Earth reveals a lot of promise. Imagine a world that is environmentally healthier, with abundant resources, greater wealth, more opportunity for individual and cultural growth, more people freed to contribute their greatest potential to the world rather than struggling just to create the necessities to sustain us and with space to build societies of great dignity. Those children we would choose to create would have better, happier, more rewarding and meaningful lives in a world with the kind of freedom we deny ourselves, in part, through overpopulation. If it comes down to a question of quantity of lives versus quality of lives, I think it’s clear we should work to create less lives and less suffering.

Ken Wilber, the leading voice in the integral movement and founder of Integral Institute, was interviewed by Salon about his work and that interview, “You Are the River“, graces the site’s main page today. Ken has worked with tremendous insight and love to craft the finest maps of our experiences and his integral framework is a tremendous treasure. The interview has been linked to throughout the integral community today and is a nice introduction to Ken and and his integral philosophy.

In the interview Ken touches on the limitations of scientific materialism, the absurdities of the new age movement, the relationships the founders of quantum mechanics had with mysticism, human development, and facing death. Ken, as always, presents his work with a rare humility and eloquence.

For more on Ken Wilber and the integral movement, take a look at “Your Four Quadrants“, “The Perspective-Taking You“, “Spiritual Agreement” and “The Integral Vision“.