Tag Archives: desiderium

Going to Worldcon in San Antonio (+Retrofuturist Listmania)

Posted on August 1, 2013 by nathanielwms

Big announcement: I’m going to be able to attend the World SF in San Antonio.  I’ll be helping the current AboutSF coordinators, Meagan Kane and Mackenzie VanBeest, put on the AboutSF Teaching Workshop on Labor Day (Monday, last day of … Continue reading →

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Buddy Holly, Woody Guthrie, and Alternate History SF

Posted on May 7, 2013 by nathanielwms

Quite possibly the best record review I ever read was an alternate history tale in disguise. I’ve spent a decent chunk of free time scouring the online archives of the great Americana magazine No Depression trying to find a reprint … Continue reading →

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Intro to Steampunk Exhibit

Posted on March 22, 2013 by nathanielwms

Earlier this school year, I contributed an introductory essay for “Worlds of Steampunk: Fiction, Art, Fashion, and Culture,” a multimedia exhibit at UC Davis’s Shields Library.  Research librarians Roberto C. Delgadillo and Marcia Meister have created an invaluable resource for … Continue reading →

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George Lucas and Pavement: My Imaginary California

Posted on March 5, 2013 by nathanielwms

When I started dating a girl from the Sacramento Valley, there were only two northern California towns I really knew and cared about. One was Stockton, the town that produced the great band Pavement.  “Cesspool,” the people who’d been there … Continue reading →

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Howard Waldrop Saves the Day!

Posted on February 25, 2013 by nathanielwms

If you know Howard Waldrop’s classic short story “Save a Place in the Lifeboat for Me,” (from his collection, Howard Who?) you know it pulls off a sci-fi/magical-realist blend of the Golden Age of Hollywood and the “Day the Music … Continue reading →

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“…Look, Look. Look Where Your Hands Are. Now”

Posted on February 14, 2013 by nathanielwms

What can I say about Toni Morrison’s Jazz?  It’s great.  I’ve taught it in American Lit surveys.  But this week was the first time I covered it in a special topics upper-division class, which often puts books in a different … Continue reading →

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You Sell Wonderment?

Posted on December 25, 2012 by nathanielwms

I write (mostly) speculative fiction, and I’ve taught science fiction classes at University of California, Davis, including a “Nostalgia and Desiderium” novels class covering pop music and science fiction tropes.  I will intermittently post material that encompasses those endeavors. Posts usually cover one or more … Continue reading →

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