@Rhube@wandering.shop cover
@Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

Rhube

@Rhube@wandering.shop

She's just this guy, you know?

I'm a science fiction and fantasy writer. I like robots and dragons, silliness and literature.

Used to be an academic; may get too deep into analytic philosophy unexpectedly.

I'm agender and disabled #MECFS

Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi: http://ko-fi.com/drrhube
Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/rhube

No unsolicited advice.

Not keen on DMs.

Note: CFS drastically reduces my spoons. If I miss an alt description please don't chastise or quiz me about it.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. View on remote instance

Uair , to bookstodon group
@Uair@autistics.life avatar

@bookstodon

Idea:

Bookstores should group fantasy with horror instead of scifi. Both fantasy and horror are purely creations of the author's mind; scifi is tethered to factual information.

If you need to group scifi, I'd put it with mysteries and thrillers.

Rhube ,
@Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

@Uair @bookstodon hogwash.

SF and F are grouped together because they are speculative - they answer the question 'what if?' - which horror can also do, and that's why it is already frequently grouped with them. But SF is not fundamentally more rooted in facts than fantasy. That's a mistake along the same lines as supposing fantasy can't be realistic simply because it contains the fantastic. SF's questions are rooted in science, but it's every bit as capable of becoming divorced from facts.>

Rhube ,
@Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

@Uair @bookstodon >and the idea it's close to mystery is just damn strange.

This is just the weird, gatekeeping idea that SF is somehow 'superior' and shouldn't be sullied by fantasy. It's not just nonsense, it's harmful nonsense.

dickrubin716 , to bookstodon group
@dickrubin716@bookstodon.com avatar

I would love to get your thoughts and feedback on my from my latest book, The Challenges of Being Me. Do you like it? Does it capture your attention? Without knowing anything about the book, what genre would you say this cover best fits? @bookstodon

Rhube ,
@Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

@dickrubin716 @noodlemaz @willaful @benetnasch @bookstodon I wouldn't go with a hand-writing font as they can be difficult to read. The font is a little plain, but not bad. It does come too close to the edges of cover, though - try to give it more space.

You could also use some blending options on the text layer to give it a little distance from the image, such as an outer glow or a drop shadow.

The image could also use a little more contrast to reduce the washed-out effect.

Rhube ,
@Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

@dickrubin716 @noodlemaz @willaful @benetnasch @bookstodon I think people are getting memoir because of the naturalistic photo and the person standing alone. This says that it's very much about one person's journey, rather than a YA romance. If you want to suggest romance, having more than one person on the cover would help. I can see coming of age, but the person looks a little old for that (hard to tell from the back of course, but the B&W also gives this a more mature feel).

Rhube ,
@Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

@dickrubin716 @noodlemaz @willaful @benetnasch @bookstodon your name also looks a little squashed over to the side. I get that you don't want it to interfere with the image, but there's just not enough space for it to sit comfortably beside the figure. I would have it on one line centred (with an outer glow or stroke effect to make it legible).

franciscawrites , to bookstodon group
@franciscawrites@mastodon.scot avatar

Can you name a film that was adapted not from a novel, but from a short story?
Here's one:

The Illusionist (2006)

@bookstodon

Rhube ,
@Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

@franciscawrites @bookstodon The Shawshank Redemption, and I think it benefits from it. King's longer works rarely adapt in a faithful way that's also good, but being shorter enables the story to be told in full, at a good pace, with all the detail.

Jennifer , to bookstodon group
@Jennifer@bookstodon.com avatar

I need some new science fiction to read, who has some suggestions? I don't like military sci-fi. For reference, my favorite series is the Expanse, I also enjoyed Scalzi's Collapsing Empire, I love Robert Charles Wilson's books. I mostly enjoy space operas and unique stories about technology, for example I really liked the recent book Mountain in the Sea about AI and intelligent octopus. Suggestions from the awesome Bookstodon community? @bookstodon

Rhube ,
@Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

@Sablebadger @RHW @Jennifer @bookstodon yesssss, very recommended for this.

weirdwriter , to bookstodon group

Is it just me, or is self/indie publishing having it's midlife crisis tech bro moment? https://robertkingett.com/posts/6564/ @bookstodon

Rhube ,
@Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

@weirdwriter @bookstodon that's not how I would put it. I would say that indie publishing is being buried by grifters churning out millions of stolen words, so that it's harder to find genuine indie books.

So-called 'generative-AI' isn't indie publishing - it's scam artists stealing from indie publishers, writers, and artists.

tomkindlon , to MECFS group
@tomkindlon@disabled.social avatar

New Leicester (UK) & study that is recruiting

Investigating the impact of ME/CFS & on visual perception & sustained attention using Pupil Frequency Tagging & EEG

https://dougiebarrett.github.io/Lab/pages/ME_CFS.html
ME Research UK-funded

Not a biopsychosocial study

@mecfs

Rhube ,
@Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

@tomkindlon @mecfs @longcovid shame you have to go to the university for it - that's very limiting.

notes , to Random
@notes@social.coop avatar

I got COVID-19 back in mid-February for the first time. I'm feeling a lot better, but I have strange lingering symptoms. It's April 7th. Tired and loss of focus by 2pm, and ever since I got infected, I've been smelling weird odors and having similar aftertastes. Not consistent at all. Has anyone else experienced these symptoms?
@@a.gup.pe

Rhube ,
@Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

@Frieke72 @notes @longcovid yeah, it's really hard, because if you work, they probably won't give this to you, but by the time you're feeling tired and losing focus you have already pushed yourself too far. You need more rest. If you are working, see if you can switch to part-time as a temporary adjustment. It is so much better to take time out now, before you get as bad as I am, and maybe recover, than it is to push through and get worse.

When you are getting symptoms, meditation can really>

Rhube ,
@Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

@Frieke72 @notes @longcovid >help. It lowers your heart rate and helps to regulate your vegus nerve, which the symptoms you mention suggests is disregulated. I recommend yoga nidra or Shabayatra, which involve thinking about parts of the body in turn, and I find much easier and more beneficial than trying to empty my mind or affirmations. Insight Timer app have hundreds of free guided meditations and soothing soundscapes (including caps purring).

Even a ten minute break to meditate can help.

Rhube ,
@Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

@graviton @Frieke72 @notes @longcovid big time sympathy, I find rest unutterably boring.

Meditation can help as a guided activity where you're kind of letting someone else do the thinking for you, but I do struggle to not get bored of doing that. It can help to have several reliable ones you like in rotation.

I've also got an Audible subscription and have taken to listening to audiobooks. I prefer non-fiction to fiction as I don't have to follow a plot. Great Courses lecture series from>

Rhube ,
@Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

@graviton @Frieke72 @notes @longcovid >the Teaching Company are usually pretty good in that I feel that I can learn things without taxing myself too much. It's a good compromise between complete , but excruciatingly dull, rest, and something more active or too stimulating.

Rhube ,
@Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

@MxVerda @graviton @Frieke72 @notes @longcovid I like video games as a distraction, but they are overstimulating 😩

CultureDesk , to bookstodon group
@CultureDesk@flipboard.social avatar

In celebration of the 50th birthday of Stephen King's first novel, "Carrie," NPR polled its readers on their favorite King books. Here's what they chose. Which is your top pick? Tell us in the comments if there's a gem that didn't make the cut.

https://flip.it/f9sriI

@bookstodon

Rhube ,
@Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

@CultureDesk @bookstodon lol - The Stand is a Dark Tower book.

Rhube ,
@Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

@dfrancis @CultureDesk @bookstodon tbf, I said that and realised most of the list were. But I would argue that The Stabd has the most direct Dark Tower content. I mean, the Ageless Stranger is there as the main antagonist.

tomkindlon , to MECFS group
@tomkindlon@disabled.social avatar

🧵
"Why it's important that PEM is not fatigue"

https://mecfs.substack.com/p/why-its-important-that-pem-is-not

"*PEM is post-exertional malaise, also known as post-exertional symptom exacerbation. It is a symptom of ME/CFS and is also found in many people with "

@mecfs

1/

Why it's important that PEM is not fatigue K. JOHNSTONE MAR 29, 2024 I've heard from a few people recently that, when they pointed out to a healthcare practitioner (HCP) that PEM* is not fatigue, the HCP felt that they were just being pedantic. It seems many HCPs believe that, even if there is a difference between PEM and fatigue, the difference is just a matter of terminology and detail, not a matter or any real-world significance.
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    • Rhube ,
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    @tomkindlon @longcovid @mecfs Bahahaha, what utter bollocks. Fatigue rarely if ever lasts as little as 24 hours for me.

    Rhube ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    @tomkindlon @longcovid @mecfs JUST ludicrous. Like yes, of course, PEM isn't just fatigue, but this minimising of fatigue as a symptom that I see everywhere makes me furious. It is far and away my worst symptom and it is far from fucking brief.

    Rhube ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    @JetlagJen @tomkindlon @longcovid @mecfs ' if I do too much lots of symptoms get worse, including the fatigue.' That's PEM. And it sounds like you already know how to distinguish what fatigue is.

    It matters what it's called because fatigue is an extremely debilitating element that is often dismissed. As it was in this case.

    I'm not willing to be quizzed any further on a sensitive matter over a week after I was talking about it. I do not have the spoons.

    DenisCOVIDinfoguy , to AusCOVID19 group
    @DenisCOVIDinfoguy@aus.social avatar

    🇬🇧Britain faces worst sickness crisis since 1990s as millions quit workforce | http://telegraph.co.uk

    ‘Legacy of pandemic’ blamed as illness-related inactivity climbs to 2.7 million.

    #COVID19UK #sickness #workforce @auscovid19

    Source: https://telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/03/23/britain-worst-sickness-crisis-1990s-millions-quit-workforce/

    This is the second-longest sustained rise in sickness-related inactivity on record and just one month shy of the record set in the 1990s. The think tank described the sharp rise in the number of people who are neither in work nor looking for a job as the “legacy of the pandemic”. Louise Murphy, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, said Britons were getting older and sicker, which did not bode well for reversing the trend. She added: “We can’t be sure of what the future will hold. But we definitely don’t see any indication that this is starting to turn a corner and go down. “So, all that it would take is another couple of months of increases and things will be looking even worse than in the 1990s.” The UK is still the only G7 economy where employment is yet to recover to pre-lockdown rates, and a total of 9.25 million people of working age are now classed as economically inactive. The Resolution Foundation noted that 90pc of the increase in overall economic inactivity had been driven by younger adults aged between 16 and 24 and older adults aged between 50 and 64 since the start of the pandemic.
    It said the rise in ill-health had a “knock-on impact” on welfare claims. “There has also been a rapid rise in the number of working-age adults claiming sickness and disability-related benefits,” the Foundation said, adding that people in their early 20s are now more likely than those in their 30s or early 40s to be claiming benefits related to a health condition or disability. Official projections by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published this week show spending on health and disability benefits is expected to rise by more than a third over the next five years from £65.7bn in 2023-24 to £90.9bn in 2028-29. The Foundation said the most “striking” increase in benefit claims related to personal independence payments (PIP), which is now the main non-means-tested benefit for those with health conditions or disabilities. The benefit can be claimed by people both in and out of work, though OBR analysis suggests just 16pc of those who claim PIP are in work. New PIP claims have increased 68pc between early 2020 and early 2024, according to the Foundation. Adults aged between 55 and 64 are the most likely group to be claiming PIP, with the most common conditions including osteoarthritis and anxiety. However, the Foundation highlighted that the number of new PIP claims in England and Wales is up 138pc for 16-17-year-olds, and up 77pc for 18-24-year-olds
    Ms Murphy said: “What’s striking is that on one end, we’ve got more young people out of work, particularly due to poor mental health. And we’ve also got a big number of older people aged 60 and over who again are struggling with poor health. “I think that U shaped trend by age is what is worrying because for young people, we’re concerned that this will have a knock-on impact on their future career trajectory and earnings. And at the other end, if we have lots of people in later life who are not able to work, they are therefore at risk of having low incomes. “There is also the risk that we are then writing off people in their 50s and 60s.”

    Britain faces worst sickness crisis since 1990s as millions quit workforce ‘Legacy of pandemic’ blamed as illness-related inactivity climbs to 2.7 million Szu Ping Chan 23 March 2024 • 6:00am Britain is on the cusp of the worst sickness crisis on record following a post-lockdown surge in worklessness that is driving a “rapid rise” in benefit claims. Analysis by the Resolution Foundation showed the share of working-age people who are economically inactive owing to long-term sickness had climbed “consistently” over the past four-and-a-half years from two million in the summer of 2019 to 2.7 million today.
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    • Rhube ,
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    @DenisCOVIDinfoguy @auscovid19 love how they say 'quit' - like I had a fucking choice. Like I didn't have to go through an excruciating process that made my health even worse just to ensure I DIDN'T quit and retained my eligibility for benefits.

    Rhube , to Random
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    Apparently it's day. I wasn't aware of that.

    I talk about this regularly as it dominates my life, preventing me from doing nearly everything else, so I don't want to bore you.

    I also filled in a lengthy description of my illness progression 2 days ago for yet another assessment of whether I'm sick enough to need support. It is exhausting.

    I had ME/CFS before I had COVID and it was no life, but at least I could work. I can't now. You need to NOT GET COVID

    Rhube OP ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    Do you want to lose your job, your friends, your family, your ability to read and write and do art and play games and jump on zoom calls and make dinner and clean the house and garden and sleep deeply and clean yourself and generally be an interesting person whose life is worth living?

    No?

    Wear a mask. Ask others to wear a mask. Ventilate. Avoid crowds. Champion working from home. Stop going to concerts and pubs.

    Just because you probably won't die doesn't mean you'll be living.

    Rhube , to longcovid group
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    I just completed the Patient-Led Research COVID-19 Patient Experience Survey https://patientresearchcovid19.com/

    Be warned, it took a lot longer for me to complete than they advised, I guess because I had a lot to say in the free-text fields, but I imagine we all would. You can stop any start at any time as long as you finish in 2 weeks, though.

    Towards the end I found some of the questions enraging, but that's the norm when they talk about mental health.

    @longcovid

    Rhube OP ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    @longcovid If you're anything like me you'll probably find it fairly triggering in places, but that's par for the course. At the end of the day they can't act on our evidence if we don't tell them, so if you are able to do so, it's valuable, and I generally respect the work Patient-Led Research are doing in this area.

    Rhube OP ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    @longcovid Worth noting: they don't just allow or suggest you take breaks. The questions are interspersed with a reminder that it's OK to take a break if you need to and how to get back to the survey (just save the link in your browser). Many questions are also optional if you don't want to write an essay in a free-text field. I just really wanted to do that because my experience as a patient has been so, so bad.

    Rhube , to bookstodon group
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    This is a shot in the dark, but I'm looking for an audiobook on the history and archaeology of Troy/Hisarlik, preferably reflecting more recent academic work than 2011 (the date of the work I've just been listening to). I'm interested in a work by an academic who really knows what they're talking about, not popular history with unexamined bias.

    It's OK if it's situated within a broader history of Ancient Anatolia or similar, as long as it covers Troy in detail. Any recs? @bookstodon

    Rhube OP ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    @athena_rising @bookstodon Thank you! These sound good!

    classy_aardvark , to longcovid group
    @classy_aardvark@mastodon.online avatar

    I’m having a really rough time right now. I’ve spent four years doing everything in my power to not catch this fucking thing. Now my husband is being forced to travel for his job and have dinner with bosses.

    It feels like all of that work and sacrifice means nothing. That I gave up spending time with loved ones for no reason. I missed birthdays and holidays so he could get a promotion, I guess.

    @longcovid

    Rhube ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    @classy_aardvark @wendynather @longcovid you protected yourself better than most. Each infection increases the risks. Those sacrifices were not wasted, and you've protected other people.

    I got COVID in April 2020, despite being an early adopter of masks. It intensified my ME/CFS so I eventually had to give up work. I'm furious with everyone not taking it seriously. Everyone who doesn't mask, so I can no longer go out at all. You did the right thing. It's the bad behaviour of others that got you

    Rhube ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    @classy_aardvark @wendynather @longcovid that's really hard.

    My family won't mask anymore and spend a lot of time out with other people who don't mask or self-distance, so I just haven't been able to see them at Christmas. My mum just won't understand it, even though she knows how sick I am. It's very hard.

    kimlockhartga , to bookstodon group
    @kimlockhartga@beige.party avatar

    @bookstodon Do you own any autographed books? If so, did you personally meet the author at a signing?

    Rhube ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    @kimlockhartga @bookstodon Yes, several, and in most cases I was there at the signing. But when I got Robin Hobb to sign my book I was gushing too much about Alien Earth (a different book she wrote under Megan Lindholm) and she was distracted and wrote 'Wishes best' instead of 'Best wishes' and this is why I can never meet my heroes I am SO EMBARRASSING.

    CultureDesk , to bookstodon group
    @CultureDesk@flipboard.social avatar

    "Gen Z is bringing back reading," says The Week, which leads us to wonder what the heck it is we've been doing all these years. But, the publication explains, it's not just reading — it's real books, made of paper. Per research published in @TheConversationUS: "Gen Zers and millennials prefer books in print over e-books and audiobooks" which has manifested in an "unlikely love affair with their local libraries." Here's a breakdown of what might be happening. We want to know: How do you like to read these days?

    https://flip.it/zJEJAK

    @bookstodon

    Rhube ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    @CultureDesk @TheConversationUS @bookstodon as a Millennial I massively prefer print. As someone with sensory issues I can only really do print or audio books. Ebooks are actively bad for me.

    dbsalk , to bookstodon group
    @dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

    At the end of Song of Susannah (Dark Tower VI), Stephen King includes a series of diary entries, purportedly his own but there's discussion among fans if they're real or fictionalized. In one, he writes "Meanwhile, I have an idea for a novel about a lady who buys a picture in a pawnshop and then kind of falls into it."

    Help me, fellow Constant Readers: was that story ever written? The plot is not familiar, but sounds like one I'd enjoy. @bookstodon

    Rhube ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    @dbsalk @bookstodon It's Rosemadder - not one of his best,but worth a look! Content Warning: very much about domestic violence and trying to escape it.

    adriano , to bookstodon group
    @adriano@lile.cl avatar

    I think it’s finally time to read Pride and Prejudice @bookstodon

    Rhube ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    @adriano @bookstodon it is a good'un.

    Rhube ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    @adriano @bookstodon lol 😂 I've seen the film of that - fun, but a little different in places.

    Rhube ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    @adriano @bookstodon Like, not in as many scenes, for sure.

    chelming , to bookstodon group
    @chelming@social.sndevs.com avatar

    I have a goal of turning every book I read this year into an earring. I got started a little late in Jan so I missed about 5 of them and have ~5 made so far. I'm not sure that I'll go back and do the ones that I missed.

    @bookstodon

    Rhube ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    @Jennifer @BZBrainz @chelming @bookstodon Murderbot ftw!

    bibliolater , to reading group
    @bibliolater@qoto.org avatar

    What is the most difficult or you have ever ? What made the so difficult for you? Would you others that ?

    @reading @bookstodon

    Rhube ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    @bibliolater @MarianHellema @reading @bookstodon when I was doing my PhD another grad was German and she said she preferred to read Kant in English because it was even harder in German - at least with the translation someone had already tried to work out the meaning of the words.

    But for me, Kant was nothing to Hegel. My lowest marks of my undergrad were for the Hegel course. I needed Peter Singer's Very Short Introduction to Hegel to explain it to me 🤣

    Rhube ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    @bibliolater @MarianHellema @reading @bookstodon it's kind of fascinating, because he was writing under heavy censorship and trying to obscure some of his rlmeaning from the authorities. But even so...

    Rhube ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    @MarianHellema @bibliolater @reading @bookstodon Well, it's just the truth, not really a story.

    kimlockhartga , to lgbtqbookstodon group
    @kimlockhartga@beige.party avatar

    @bookstodon @lgbtqbookstodon

    Did your parent(s) try to hide certain books from you, while you were growing up?

    I think my mom would have done better to just mix Rubyfruit Jungle in with all the other books, instead of putting it by itself on top of the bookcase. Curious teenaged me found it.

    Rhube ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    @kimlockhartga @bookstodon @lgbtqbookstodon Not to my knowledge. There were weird random films my dad wouldn't let me watch alone (Trainspotting and Repulsion) but not books. Random considering some of the films he was perfectly fine with me watching.

    To my knowledge, my parents didn't police what I read at all, they only cared that I did read, and I'm glad of that.

    ahimsa_pdx , to MECFS group
    @ahimsa_pdx@disabled.social avatar

    "Life derailed: Long COVID still gnaws at Victoria long after pandemic fades"

    (at least headline says "fades" vs "over")

    "Long, slow path of a constrained self facing thousands dealing with lingering effects of the virus"

    https://www.vicnews.com/local-news/life-derailed-long-covid-still-gnaws-at-victoria-long-after-pandemic-fades-7299085

    @mecfs
    @longcovid

    For Mason, the biggest struggle is with fatigue. A five-kilometre walk now feels more like a 10-km run. She is frequently short of breath. If she increases her activity, she then endures severe fatigue and neurological symptoms like brain fog for several days. This is a phenomenon called Post Exertional Malaise (PEM), which the CDC describes as an onslaught of symptoms that can follow even minor activities. Symptoms typically worsen 12 to 48 hours after activity and last for days or even weeks. This phenomenon is not actually new and is a hallmark of chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), a central nervous system disorder that commonly occurs in people following a viral infection. Some studies estimate the number of people with long COVID that have chronic fatigue syndrome is around 50 per cent.
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    • Rhube ,
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    @dom_mecfs @maggiejk @robotistry @Cetraria @ahimsa_pdx @mecfs @longcovid fistbump to all of this. I kept working long after I should have stopped, and unfortunately both doctors and work were ganging up on 'staying in work is good for you'. It wasn't. It was damaging me. The only good thing it did was enable me to save up to be off work now.

    WFH only does so much. When talking/thinking/even passively watching something for more than half 20mins causes PEM what you need is complete rest.

    Rhube ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    @dom_mecfs @maggiejk @robotistry @Cetraria @ahimsa_pdx @mecfs @longcovid It also doesn't help that the first clinic I went to - 4 years ago - didn't fully explain that complete rest isn't watching TV or reading, it's complete destimulation.

    I really struggle with the boredom of that. Meditation helps a bit, but I still often get bored, fall asleep, or am vulnerable to anxiety when I try.

    Currently having some success with audiobooks, but that's still too stimulating a lot of the time.

    Rhube ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    @dom_mecfs @maggiejk @robotistry @Cetraria @ahimsa_pdx @mecfs @longcovid I struggle. I need to balance the distraction I need for my mental health with the rest I need for the ME/CFS.

    These days I mostly try to alternate light activities (watching TV, doing some embroidery) out of bed with bed rest throughout the day. I'm doing better than I was, but progress is so slow...

    Rhube ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    @robotistry @dom_mecfs @maggiejk @Cetraria @ahimsa_pdx @mecfs @longcovid sometimes I don't mind when I fall asleep because I need it - and I definitely use meditation to help me fall asleep at night! - but too much sleep in the day can disrupt your sleeping patterns at night.

    I let myself do it when I feel I really need it, but the intended goal of the yoga nidra/non-sleep deep rest meditation I do is to get the healing without disrupting your sleeping patterns.

    KitMuse , to bookstodon group
    @KitMuse@eponaauthor.social avatar

    I need your help . One of the classes I'm taking at the graduate level this semester is Religion & Science Fiction. I read more fantasy, and would like to do my research paper on something that's not obvious (like ST/BS5/Matrix/etc.) & I'd love to use more modern sf rather than the golden age classics.

    Anyone have any interesting ideas for my research paper on regarding the intersection of religion and science fiction?

    @bookstodon

    Rhube ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    @KitMuse @bookstodon there's some discussion of religion in Stand on Zanzibar, where John Brunner correctly predicts the rise of right-wing Christian extremism in the US as a counter to the hippy movement and rejection of religion, although he focuses on extreme right Catholicism (Right Catholics) rather than the evangelical and extreme puritanism we're seeing now. The book's theme is overpopulation, with Right Catholics being against birth control in an already overpopulated world.

    Rhube ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    @KitMuse @bookstodon it's a complicated book with a lot going on, but that is one of its themes. Also interesting from the POV of drawing on fictional sociologist Chad C Mulligan to provide commentary. I can't remember if he directly discusses the Right Catholics in the extracts from Mulligan's work, but I'm sure he does at some point, and it would be interesting to explore the layers of commentary in this as a presentation of religious tensions.

    Rhube ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    @kitoconnell @KitMuse @bookstodon Yes!! That's one of the quotes that stuck with me - my dad (who got me into Brunner) was always quoting that.

    Context for those who haven't read it: said by a junkie staring at a screen tuned to white noise. There's definitely a lot of people searching for meaning in other ways.

    I take the perspective that the science in Stand on Zanzibar is sociology, more than anything, and the ultimate conclusion of the book can be seen as finding alternative sources of>

    Rhube ,
    @Rhube@wandering.shop avatar

    @kitoconnell @KitMuse @bookstodon >meaning in loving one another, rather than fighting against overpopulation as such. The problem is not that there are too many people, but in how people relate to each other - and to a large extent, colonialist attitudes to how people occupy space.

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