Wednesday, June 9, 2004

Where are the heirs of Dick? I have often wondered where the next Philip Dick is and what's taking him or her so long to appear on the scene -- although I can't say that I'm an expert on contemporary fiction. I have even asked clerks in bookstores who among contemporary writers do they think is most like PKD? They invariably respond that there is no one like him, but suggest the latest Pomo science fiction -- which totally lacks Dick's humanity, political sensibility, and philosophical insight. At any rate, it was with some excitement that I discovered a writer working in the Dick tradition. His name is Richard Raymond and his PKD-inspired novel is Dreambox Junkies: THE NEAR FUTURE: A dizzy Philip K Dick-style world of Mindseye implants, Maternosuppressor pills, Psychotrichology and the notorious, vicious virospook Sick Nick. And the DREAMBOX - the ultimate in electronic entertainment, harnessing the power of the human psyche to transport you to your personal paradise. As the morphomercials proclaim: THE ONLY LIMITATION IS YOUR OWN IMAGINATION For a hard-headed career woman like Sesha Roffey, all this lying around dreaming your life away is strictly for losers and nerds. And for a struggling young mother like Ruth Deitch, hooking up and tripping is hardly an option. Ruth's boyfriend, though, is hopelessly addicted. Except that Paulie Rayle is no ordinary Dreambox junkie: he aims to dream into being a whole new world - kinder, gentler and more real than this one. Like down-to-earth Ruth and no-nonsense Sesha, Paulie is in for some horrible shocks ... Dreambox Junkies is available as an e-book at Fictionworks.com. You can read an excerpt from chapter one here. I look forward to reading it. 1:56:57 AM    comment [] Rapture Index The Rapture Index offers a weekly rating on our proximity to the Rapture -- the day when true believers will be whisked off the Earth by Christ before the final tribulations. The Index scientifically rates 41 categories related to the Rapture -- everything from oil prices to false Christs -- on a scale of one to five (from low to high prophetic resonance). Here's how its creators describe it: You could say the Rapture index is a Dow Jones Industrial Average of end time activity, but I think it would be better if you viewed it as prophetic speedometer. The higher the number, the faster we're moving towards the occurrence of pre-tribulation rapture. The Rapture Index is currently reading at 146. How are we to interpret this rating? Rapture Index of 85 and Below: Slow prophetic activity Rapture Index of 85 to 110: Moderate prophetic activity Rapture Index of 110 to 145: Heavy prophetic activity Rapture Index above 145: Fasten your seat belts So clearly there's not much time left to let your Lord and Savior into your heart. See you soon in the clouds. And bring some beer. Postscript: Funny thing about the Index: it tends to be lower under Democratic presidents. Is that supposed to be a good or a bad thing? 1:07:23 AM    comment [] Commencement Addresses: An American Tradition Ah, yes, 'tis the season for commencement speeches, chock full of quotations from Twain, Shakespeare and Ralph Waldo Emerson to enlighten the graduates and show off the erudition of the speaker. On June 2nd, President Bush gave the commencement address at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He peppered his speech with four quotations. The first was from Eisenhower's message to his troops on the eve before D-Day. Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force, the eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. Near the end of the speech, he saved his last quotation for President Reagan. The future belongs to the free. Whom else do you think the President quoted? Thoreau? Tolstoy? Jesus? Give up? Our President quoted two terrorists. First, al Qaeda's alleged military spokesman in Europe: We choose death, while you choose life. If you do not stop your injustices, more and more blood will flow and these attacks will seem very small compared to what can occur in what you call terrorism. Second, Suleiman Abu Gheith, another al Qaeda spokesman: We have the right to kill four million Americans -- two million of them children -- and to exile twice as many and wound and cripple hundreds of thousands. Furthermore, it is our right to fight them with chemical and biological weapons. As a professor, I may some day be called to give a graduation speech. I'll be sure to add these to my repertoire. Postscript: It is a very strange speech. Read it for yourself. He spends quite a bit of time in two different points in the speech explaining the supposed ideology of our terrorist enemies. It captures the narrow ugliness of our time. I also can't help but wonder whether the Air Force is more helpful than harmful in our GWOT. 12:46:55 AM    comment []

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