http://handshakemag.com The Guidebook to Modern Geek Culture Fri, 24 Jun 2011 03:09:15 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Handshake charts the future as told through film with a timeline, a video and an in-depth feature. Read on to see what wonders.]]> http://handshakemag.com/new-feature-a-cinematic-history-of-the-future/ http://handshakemag.com/cinematic-history-of-the-future/ our review of Embassytown, by first-time contributor Madison McClendon.]]> http://handshakemag.com/new-feature-handshake-reviews-embassytown/ Embassytown, China Miéville embarks on his first foray into genre science fiction. But instead of battleships and laser arrays, he focuses on the periphery of an empire, on a planet wrapped in a cocoon of volatile interstitial “immer.”]]> http://handshakemag.com/china-mieville-mines-the-brutalities-of-miscommunication-in-embassytown/ C2E2, I was very fortunate to run into the incredibly talented and humble British author China Miéville after his spotlight presentation, which included a reading of his upcoming book Embassytown. Aside from creating worlds that go beyond what any single genre can encompass (in his "asymptotic" quest for the "completely alien Alien"), Miéville is currently slated to publish a new book every year until 2014 and is currently in talks with Marvel Comics to author a graphic novel as well. At the same time, some fans of his work are working to produce an RPG based on Bas-Lag, the semi-fantastic setting for three of his novels (Perdido Street Station, The Scar and Iron Council). But you can't find any of this information on his Tumblr. There Miéville only posts artworks/found items he appreciates, terse observations about British politics and artistic (either drawn or written) renderings of his thoughts. In my interview with Miéville, I attempted to explore the motivations behind his world-building and the RPG influences that go into his works. Here is the result:]]> http://handshakemag.com/interview-with-china-mieville/ http://handshakemag.com/journey-into-c2e2s-second-day/ Quebec Antique plays his musical interpretation of the mathematical constant up to 31 decimal places in this here video. Basically, his sheet music looks like this: 3.1415926535897932384626433832795. Using a piano, a bell set, an accordion, and his own hands, Blake takes the majors and minors at 157 beats per minute to further demonstrate the correlation between math and music. And for those of you who hated math as much as I did, 157 beats per minutes is coincidently 314 divided by two.]]> http://handshakemag.com/playing-pi-just-cause/ William Shatner is. Maybe his rebooted career has already won him your affections.  Maybe you’re a camp aficionado and you laud him for creating so many powerful works. For those of you who are still in the dark, let me clue you in to the awesome side of William Shatner:]]> http://handshakemag.com/the-best-william-shatner-videos-you-will-see-today-possibly/ cofauver's documentary of a man who refuses to shave for an entire year is a brief glimpse into a person's life. The changing scenery, the passing seasons, the questionable wardrobe choices: everything building until the viewers feel as if they've lived the year in three minutes. The idea isn't unique. There is Noah Kalina's Everyday project. In Almost Every Picture #7. Even Homer Simpson got in on the action. Others might have done it before and with better execution, but this video must be commended for the dedication and persistence it takes to pull off such a project. Plus, it has Yeasayer.]]> http://handshakemag.com/the-year-of-living-beardedly/ http://handshakemag.com/felicia-day-announces-dragon-age-web-series/