Karlo Yeager Rodríguez

The Get Down is the Best Netflix Series I’ve Seen All Year

If you haven't seen The Get Down, you're missing out. This series is so much fun, and unapologetic about how brash and hopeful its story is. I also have to say that the cast is almost entirely brown and black, with all the colors between, which is such a refreshing thing to see. I watched the first 10 minutes of the first episode with a smile on my face because the show knows exactly what it wants to do. The series takes place in a mythic version of 70's Bronx, mixing together references to Blaxploitation and Kung-Fu movies, along with a dash of The Warriors and West Side Story. Add to this amazing, soaring musical numbers, and you realize this series doesn't care about naturalism. The storytelling is crafting a world that is epic and operatic, and I'm along for the ride. Go see The Get Down. Seriously. ...

September 12, 2016

Series

Colonial Mindsets and Ancillary Sword

I came to the U.S. from Puerto Rico because of the economy, a slo-mo apocalypse that many people I know here can't begin to understand. I have family and friends who still live there, and I've been following how it's been reported in the U.S. as a result. $72 billion is an astounding number, and is a debt the island will likely never be able to repay in full. However, the U.S. government appointed a group to preside over Puerto Rico's economy. The Junta wasn't voted for, yet they will have the power to override the democratically elected government of Puerto Rico whenever payments to service the debt are endangered. This could mean pension plans and other welfare could be slashed to ensure the debt is serviced. It also means that young people (up to 25 years of age) can be subject to a minimum wage of $4.25. I've seen many articles which...

September 6, 2016

Latino, Science Fiction

The Use of AI in Science Fiction Stories Has Changed

One of the first science fiction books I read which seemed to make my synapses fire off all at once in a cognitive supernova was William Gibson's Neuromancer. In it, Gibson presents both AIs Wintermute and Neuromancer as complementary halves of one family's mega-corporation. In essence, by unifying both the AIs the corporation started by the Tessier-Ashpools, their corporation--and by extension, their family influence--would become immortal. Sort of like the literalization of a corporation's "going concern." As can be expected, the AIs here are vast demi-godlike entities, alien and threatening by turns. Re-reading Naomi Kritzer's "Cat Pictures Please" the AI there is more interested in finding ways to please or help different people who post cat pictures online. It's a cute and very positive story. It also offers a clever explanation for why cat pictures are one of the currencies of current internet culture. The story is told from the point of view of the AI...

August 29, 2016

Science Fiction, Writing

So, the Hugos. . .

While I enjoyed reading Chuck Tingle's posts, I must admit that I'm not at a point in my writing career where I followed all of the ups and downs. I also realized that the one thing I read was Naomi Kritzer's award-winning story, "Cat Pictures Please." What I'm getting at is that I'm woefully behind on my reading. ...

August 24, 2016

Fantasy, Science Fiction

Trying My Hand at Interactive Fiction

I worked on converting my story "Choice, In Sequential Order" into an interactive fiction story using a program called Twine. It was somewhat easy to learn the basics, but I want to learn more about both Twine and Inform. I would love to be able to create something as complex as the old Infocom games using Inform. I remember countless hours in our school's computer lab, either typing in commands, or huddled around three or more friends watching the story unfold in all its green-screen glory. This dynamic continued with stuff like Ultima III. I was the cartographer, pushing pins into the cloth map "gimme" the game included to mark locations of secret places, dungeons, etc. I still have a soft spot in my heart for interactive fiction. I learned that I was not alone. Every year, there are the XYZZY Awards to honor the year's best in that field. There's also a new...

August 21, 2016