Friday, October 19, 2012   In a bit, I'll tell you about some
way cool interviews and podcasts about science fiction and the
future.  But first --  Jonathan McCalmont is a critic of popular
culture and science fiction whom I'll be watching. Not because I
especially liked or agreed with his lengthy and rather
incoherent screed: "Cowardice, Laziness and Irony: How Science
Fiction Lost the Future." In fact, I found his arguments
dyspeptic and chaotic, cherrypicking examples in order to
complain about this or that pet peeve.    Nevertheless, while
constantly aggravated I was also amused or fascinated often
enough to keep reading and enjoying a chain of insightful
snarks, some of which are extremely on-target.   "Contemporary
science fiction is not interested in science, culture, history,
ideas or real human psychology. Not really. To be interested in
such things requires engagement not only with the world but also
entire bodies of knowledge generated by hundreds of fevered
human minds. Incapable of taking anythin