Culture on My Mind
April 16, 2021

It’s time for another round of discussions and mayhem about classic science fiction, brought to you by the fine folks at the Dragon Con American Sci-Fi Classics Track.

On March 25th, the pah-nelists went to bah-tle over which Ah-nold was the best. That’s right, it’s an Arnold Schwarzen-Off. Featuring commandos Jeff Burns, Denise Lhamon, and Darin Bush, this panel won’t give you a raw deal. Getch-yo-ass to YouTube!

On April 1st – no foolin’! – it was time for the championship round of the Battle of the (Fictional) Bands!

So, here’s the story: The winners of the previous three encounters – The Soggy Bottom Boys, Buckaroo Banzai and the Hong Kong Cavaliers, and DethKlok – were joined by a fourth competitor determined by a tournament of 16 non-winners from the previous rounds. The final three non-winners in the other rounds got automatic second chances, consisting of Spinal Tap, The Archies, Wyld Stallyns, Larry Underwood from The Stand, Mouse Rat, The Oneders, The Blues Brothers, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and The Misfits.

The remaining entrants were chosen from a pool of bands that didn’t make it to the finals, and the whole lot was judged by Kevin Cafferty, Chris Cummins, Shaun Rosado, Leigh Tyberg, ToniAnn Marini, Keith DeCandido, and Wrenn Simms.

On April 8th, the track celebrated the rabbit-themed holiday with a discussion of bunnies in pop culture. Kevin Eldridge joins the mayhem as some things lepus in sci-fi, fantasy, and horror were celebrated. 

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We’re all caught up for now. Fun times lay ahead, including a couple of anniversary celebrations. If you want to play along at home, get thee hence to the YouTube channel and the group on Facebook. If you join in live, you can also leave comments and participate in the discussion using StreamYard connected through Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch.

The episode art each week is generously provided by the talented Sue Kisenwether. You can find her (among other places) on Women at Warp – A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast.

Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.