Author Archives: evilrooster

Babylon 5: The Geometry of Shadows

Posted on July 30, 2011 by evilrooster

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. —Worstward Ho, Samuel Beckett You know the trope. Young Trainee goes to Hidden Monastery in the Mountains (or functional equivalent) to learn Obscure Art. There follows a montage … Continue reading →

Posted in Babylon 5 | 24 Comments

De Nieuwe Batavia: Reduce

Posted on July 1, 2011 by evilrooster

I recently cleaned out my T-shirt drawer, which had slowly gone from “full” to “overflowing”. What you see is the culled, tidied version. There are 41 T-shirts in there, 12 of which are black. Why do I own 12 black … Continue reading →

Posted in De Nieuwe Batavia | 42 Comments

Worldbuilding

Posted on June 24, 2011 by evilrooster

It might be useful, considering how much I discuss worldbuilding on this blog, to define exactly what I mean by the term. Why am I banging on about it? Why do I think it’s important, particularly for science fiction and … Continue reading →

Posted in Allochthonia, De Nieuwe Batavia, Worldbuilding | 18 Comments

Babylon 5: Revelations

Posted on June 19, 2011 by evilrooster

Ostensibly, this is an episode where Things Are Revealed1. I recall it being very effective at the time. But watching it again, knowing most of its secrets already, I found this episode interesting in other ways. For me, Babylon 5 … Continue reading →

Posted in Babylon 5 | 14 Comments

Babylon 5: Points of Departure

Posted on May 29, 2011 by evilrooster

Nothing’s the same any more. —Commander Jeffrey Sinclair The last line spoken in Chrysalis is the lament of anyone whose old certainties—some so solid they weren’t even identifiable as certainties—have passed away. It’s an excellent summing-up of the end of … Continue reading →

Posted in Babylon 5 | 24 Comments

Typography and Languages Redux

Posted on May 28, 2011 by evilrooster

The city of Amsterdam’s current publicity campaign is “I Amsterdam”, printed in black and red. There is a certain irony in using a pun-derived slogan in English to advertise a Dutch city. There is even more irony in then translating … Continue reading →

Posted in Allochthonia | 11 Comments

Allochthonia: Typography

Posted on May 22, 2011 by evilrooster

In the same way that a variety of languages gives texture to a world, so too does a variety of ways of writing within a single language. Typography, at least in the West, varies slowly over time. And this long … Continue reading →

Posted in Allochthonia | 40 Comments

Babylon 5: Chrysalis

Posted on May 15, 2011 by evilrooster

Babylon 5 came about by working on two different ideas for series. One was a vast, galaxy-spanning, huge show following the rise and fall of empires. The other show in the back of my head was about a small space … Continue reading →

Posted in Babylon 5 | 16 Comments

Bab5: This is Just to Say

Posted on May 11, 2011 by evilrooster

I have not forgotten the rewatch that I promised here and which you were probably giving up on as abandoned. forgive me I had house guests so entertaining and so analog. – o0o – I need to watch the episode … Continue reading →

Posted in Babylon 5 | 9 Comments

Allochthonia: Taboos

Posted on May 1, 2011 by evilrooster

How do you talk about what you can’t talk about? How do you explain, or even refer to, something you’re not supposed to know? How do you ask someone else not to discuss such a thing? What do you do … Continue reading →

Posted in Allochthonia | 47 Comments