oetry featuring SF and fantasy themes is flourishing like never before, thanks to the relatively low cost of setting up specialized journals on the Internet. Sidereality is one of the newest of these 'zines, a low-key and attractive site that is gradually building itself into an archive of appealing offbeat poems and related non-fiction.
So far this magazine has published six issues, each filled with a complex range of poems with titles like "Vigils of the Fire," "Down in Tampa, Wine Intoxicated," and "Kali Appears With a Necklace of Flavored Heads." There are reviews, articles and interviews to read on the site, too. And—a mandatory perk with online journals—everything is archived. Each new issue adds depth to the still-evolving identity of Sidereality, while the forums allow readers to engage in conversation about works already published.
For those who like some visuals with their verse, Sidereality features an entire sequence of poems linked to the artwork of Matthew P. Schuster. Schuster's 10 pieces, co-written with poet Michael Arnzen, are entitled "Gentle Monsters," and each is presented with one of his illustrations. Additionally, the cover art for each issue of Sidereality is weird, delicious and thought-provoking—not the point of the magazine, to be sure, but not to be overlooked either.
— A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—June 30, 2003
F fans looking for a new perspective on the literary universe would do well to take a look through the Russian Science Fiction and Fantasy site, an archive of documents and images pertaining, naturally, to Russian SF and the people who write it. The page offers a first-rate opportunity to get to know some writers who aren't the household names of American-British SF—the Strugatsky Brothers, for example, or Marina and Sergey Dyachenko.
The English-language version of this site is a spinoff of a larger Russian archive, but it offers an interested visitor many delights and surprises: translations of stories by Russian authors, links to their Web pages, a couple of interviews and information about the Russian Science Fiction Award. (Check out the photo of the award, a fabulous sculpture that is delightfully ambiguous in its look. Is it a warped computer keyboard? A skyscraper?) The Russian Science Fiction and Fantasy site is a proud sponsor of this award, whose initial list of potential winners is derived from votes submitted by regular visitors to the Web page.
The makers of the site are well aware that they are but one fragment of a written tradition spanning the globe, and their links page is a gateway to SF written by Indian, German, Hungarian and other international authors. They also have listings of some of the better-known genre resources and other Russian SF-themed sites.
Despite a plain-Jane graphic design sensibility, Russian Science Fiction and Fantasy is a heady and entertaining reminder that the SF genre is a vast and exciting place, covering more territory than even the most dedicated fan has time to explore.
—A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—June 23, 2003
s ever-increasing amounts of spam clog up the world's in-boxes, some denizens of the Web seek to ensure that they are not adding to the deluge. One of the best ways to ensure that an apparently important message is worthy of spreading to your friends and acquaintances is Snopes.com, a site that compiles urban legends and Web hoaxes.
An index to various falsehoods making their way around the Web, Snopes is definitely a first stop for any person considering whether to forward an e-mail to everyone they know. But more than that, the page is entertaining. Have you heard the one about Fidel Castro having a tryout with the Washington Senators baseball team? Sadly, it's not true. Neither is the one about the aircraft carrier ordering a lighthouse to change course if it wants to avoid a collision. Less amusing but more useful is the Snopes index to virus warnings, a handy guide that clarifies which warnings are about actual computer viruses and which are hoaxes intended to gum up the Web with spurious traffic.
While this site clearly offers an important public service, browsing its archives can make for hours of fun. Some of the rumors are the stuff of SF, tales that claim eating turkey can make a person drowsy, eelskin wallets will demagnetize credit cards or the average person swallows eight spiders per year. There are dozens of urban legends relating to categories or corporations including Disney and Coca-Cola, as well as topics like the Titanic, pregnancy and holiday myths. Photographic fakery, in all its various forms, is covered too. And if a popular Web rumor happens to be true, Snopes will say so, writing it up in as much detail as any of the tall tales.
For those who see cutting down the amount of extraneous traffic on the Web by a tiny amount as a pointless exercise, consider this: by choosing not to forward illegitimate e-mails, one can avoid the dreaded consequence of same: the condescending response from an acquaintance who wishes to inform you that you have been duped.
— A.M. Dellamonica
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