Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler

Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler Over the next five months, I’m reading and reviewing ten pioneering works of science fiction written by women. This is my third pick. Stay tuned for more. Parable of the Sower is the haunting tale of twelve year old Lauren Oya Olamina growing up in the United States in 2024. Read More …

Aotearoaconf 2017 — AKA Christine and Casey got married.

Two years ago — to this day — my now-husband Casey Handmer and I started dating. This month we got married in a conference celebration! In this post, I’ll share the what a conference wedding is and what we learned from holding one. a conference/wedding in the Auckland rainforest Conference Wedding Casey, myself, and our community, are lifelong learners. Read More …

A Description of A New World, Called the Blazing-World, Margaret Cavendish

Over the next five months, I’m reading and reviewing ten pioneering works of science fiction written by women. This is my second pick, check out my first. Stay tuned for more. In 1666, the same year that Newton graduated Cambridge, Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle, wrote A Description of A New World, Called the Blazing-World, Read More …

The Female Man, Joanna Russ

Over the next five months, I’m reading and reviewing ten pioneering works of science fiction written by women. This is my first pick. Stay tuned for more. The Female Man is a science fiction novel about the interaction of four women from parallel universes, each with different gender roles. These women travel between their respective Read More …

What Makes a Good Science Fiction Story (in my humble mathematical opinion)

The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 2016 (Edited By Rich Horton) was the ideal selection to quantitatively examine factors which contributed to my having a high opinion of a science fiction or fantasy short story and the range and frequency of these factors considered appropriate for the short fiction market. I read all the Read More …

When Antarctica Just Isn't Cold Enough: South Pole Telescope (SPT) Fridge Cycle

As you might have heard on my website, my newsletter, my Twitter, or, if we’re colleagues at Caltech, at work, I am currently working on the South Pole Telescope (SPT) onsite at the South Pole in Antarctica for January-November 2016 (I am employed by the University of Chicago). I have taken a sabbatical from my NSF Astronomy Read More …