This week in The Friday Challenge...
Henry Vogel discusses a few of his verbal pet peeves, updates us on ReConstruction, introduces his new favorite online comic strip, asks why geeks in general look down on team and spectator sports, decries the dearth of new SF releases in his local bookstore, and begs for better cell phone commercials—in short, it's the sort of scattershot ADHD-inspired column you'd expect from someone who was trying to write a column while watching the NFC Championship game on TV. Join the discussion...
Bruce Bethke dishes up his first impressions of the new Apple iPad. Is it a big fat iPhone, a cool new toy, or the stake in the heart that will kill off independent bookstores? Join the discussion...
Ultimate Geek Fu needs to catch its breath after last week's discussion of 24, so we take up the topic of NBC's recently uncanceled again action-comedy-spy-superhero-whatever series, Chuck. Why are all female spies sexy beauties with brains? And What Would Maxwell Smart Do? Join the discussion...
Kersley Fitzgerald takes us on a story-by-story tour of the latest issues of Analog and Fantasy & Science Fiction. Is it true that Christianity and SF don't mix? Join the discussion...
Also, Kersley explains the difference between science fiction and fantasy (2010 calendars
With all of that said, we move on to new business.
A Clean, Well-Lighted Place
As you might remember, the 1/22/10 challenge was to write a description of a setting in 500 words or less. As of the deadline, we have received the following entries:
Patrick Henry, untitled
The Bandit, "A Drift on a Bay"
The Bandit, "Winter Has Come" (and now we all know the bandit's posting handle on The Twisting Nether Gazette, heh heh heh!)
The Bandit, "Settings #3 & #4"
Watkinson, "The Friday Challenge - A Clean, Well-Lighted Place"
Torainfor, "Steam Punk Bookstore"
Miko, "Spectral Shadows"
Arisia, "The Room of Reflection"
If I've missed anyone's entry, please let me know. I must admit to being a little disappointed that Vidad did not spot the obvious Hemingway reference and turn in a paragraph of truly awful Imitation Hemingway in response, but so be it.
As always, even if you haven't submitted an entry this week—even if you've never submitted an entry in any week—you're invited to read, comment on, and vote for your favorite. Don't be shy about leaving feedback on the authors' sites, either. Writers thrive on knowing that someone out there is actually reading their words. The winner will be announced on Sunday, January 31.
And now for this week's challenge.
Wii for Geezers
We were in a nursing home recently—never mind why, it's not a happy story—and one of the things that astonished us was to see all the geezers eagerly queuing up for their turn at Wii Bowling. The assistants explained that they love it; it's a game they understand, being Wii it doesn't require actual upper-body strength, and it fits in well with their often-limited range of motion.
So that got us thinking: why should the kids have all the fun? There is an enormous untapped market of seasoned citizens out there that is being completely ignored by today's game makers. They have the leisure time. They have the money—or if they don't, the government will give it to them to buy their votes. They have short memory spans, so every day the game will seem exciting and fresh all over again. After the obvious Wii Shuffleboard and Wii Miniature Golf, what other games really need to be in the Wii CodgerSports product line?
That's your assignment for this week. Imagine a Wii game that could be played pleasurably by your 92-year-old grandmother, and then name it and sell the idea to the rest of us.
As always, we're playing by the badly out-of-date Official Rules of the Friday Challenge and playing for whatever is behind equally badly out-of-date Door #3. The deadline for this challenge is midnight Central time, Thursday, February 4.
And also as always: remember, the objective here is to have fun!
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