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Spoilers aplenty! But the plots changed so they no longer happen…or do they? We want to know if George R.R. Martin has a huge empty warehouse whose walls are dotted with Post-Its detailing the relationships in his expanding fictional universe.

Arya Stark and Jon Snow fall in love and are tormented by their passion–always the incest angle huh, George? Tyrion Lannister is not a dwarf, Sansa Stark marries Joffrey “Baratheon”, Robb Stark and Joffrey meet in battle, Catelyn Stark is killed by the Others and Jaime Lannister becomes king.

Read about it in Paste.

As pretentious students we attempted to pronounce Leguin “le-GAHN” like Gauguin, only to find that it’s “le-GWIN” (Our classmate tried the Marquis de “shar-DAY” like the singer).

In Ursula K. Le Guin’s science-fiction classic The Left Hand of Darkness, there are no women or men, only people. The natives of the planet Winter possess both female and male attributes, but they only become one or the other at certain times in the biological cycle—mating season, which they call “kemmering”. Anyone can get pregnant and give birth, depending on their hormone levels. Sometimes, they’re female, sometimes they’re male. Once a month, people get into kemmer and get time off from their jobs to fulfill their biological urges. The rest of the time, they’re not interested in sex at all. Humans from earth (Terrans, us) with their permanent genitalia, who can have sex whenever they feel like it, are considered perverts. “Pervert” is not a condemnation, just a statement of fact.

Read our column at InterAksyon.com.

Mila Kunis’s Jupiter in a gown designed by Michael Cinco

The reviews are so terrible, the box-office so bad (The Spongebob movie kicked its ass) that we had to see for ourselves if the Wachowskis’s Jupiter Ascending deserved such general excoriation, and we found ourselves enjoying the movie.

True, we saw it in 4DX and the constant rumbling and shaking of our seats probably made it more fun than the regular cinema experience (Will 50 Shades of Grey be available in 4DX?), and our sister’s screen saver is the Magic Mike XXL trailer so she can’t really comment on Jupiter’s aesthetic qualities. However, we were greatly entertained by the space adventures of cleaning lady Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) who, unbeknownst to herself, is the reincarnation of the queen of the universe.

With the help of disgraced space-cops Caine (Channing Tatum with prosthetic ears) and Stinger (Sean Bean, whose character we expected to get killed any instant because he is played by Sean Bean), she must face the galactic ruling family Abrasax, which has nasty plans for earth. The dynasty is represented by evil capitalists Balem (Eddie Redmayne) and Titus (Douglas Booth) who regard earthlings as a resource to be harvested and sold (Like in the Wachowskis’ The Matrix, where humans are batteries). We know they are evil because they are very pretty, fine-boned Brits, and because Eddie can only speak in a whisper-shout.

The sets are gorgeous and the action sequences are spectacular; it’s a thrilling ride, which in 4DX is literally that. We were delighted to see James D’Arcy and other cast members of the badly-treated Cloud Atlas (We assume that Hugo Weaving played all the spectators), and Terry Gilliam as a bureaucrat in a nod to Brazil.

Douglas Booth engages Mila Kunis in a beauty contest.

Why all the hate for a big, silly spectacle which does not pretend to know the meaning of life? Because the Wachowskis’s movies are expected to answer all the cosmic questions (or at least ask you to choose between a blue pill and a red pill), and because the Matrix movies were over-praised and too successful. Also it doesn’t have that “Yeah! Woo! Who’s the queen of the universe, bitch?” ending that audiences demand.

TKAM covers

Harper Lee’s entire reputation is based on one novel, the American classic To Kill A Mockingbird. She never put out another novel…and then her publisher announces that a “sequel” to Mockingbird will be released this summer.

For decades she refused to have that novel published, and her wish was honored and enforced by her lawyer Alice Lee, who was also her sister.

Three months ago Alice Lee died. Then the publisher announced that the novel Go Set A Watchman would hit stores.

Of course To Kill A Mockingbird fans are thrilled, but is this what Harper Lee really wants? She has always been reclusive. She was cheated of the proceeds of Mockingbird. She is reportedly senile.

What is the truth here?

More: An earlier story about the disputed Mockingbird royalties in Vanity Fair.

Another angle: Don’t do it, Harper Lee, by Jessa Crispin of Bookslut

We just finished our Short Story Writing Workshop at Ayala Museum last night. The workshop took place over three night sessions and consisted of lectures, with participants reading what they’d written so far. The goal was to finish a short story by the end of the workshop, and nearly everyone completed their drafts. (The rest will be laughed at not be taken seriously until they cough up finished product.)

The Story Writing Workshop went well, so we’re going to do three more for the rest of the year. The schedule (to be confirmed):

July 9, 16, and 23: Personal Essay Writing Workshop. Lectures, discussions, homework. For people who are working on memoirs, travel essays, and other autobiographical pieces.

September 3, 10, and 17: Creative Writing Workshop. Participants do 3 or 4 writing exercises per session. It’s like mental parkour.

October 15, 22, and 29: Advanced Story Writing. Readings, discussions, exercises. At the start participants should already have a draft, which will be taken apart in the sessions.

Sessions are held at the Ayala Museum from 630 to 830pm.

For more information, visit the Ayala Museum Facebook page or join their mailing list, education@ayalamuseum.org.

We have seen philanthropists Thomas and Martha Wayne gunned down in an alley so many times that at this point, we are Bruce Wayne. Wayne, the orphan billionaire who, fueled by his bottomless rage, puts on a mask and tights and fights criminals. Not ordinary thugs and maniacs, but kooks with their own traumas and outrageous behavior patterns, and fashion choices to match.

Read our TV column The Binge at BusinessWorld.