After so many weeks of focusing on negative story reviews and broken canon, I need a week to cleanse my palate; and nothing cleanses the palate like cake. A new cake shop opened up near my place, and when we went to check it out, I thought how interesting it would be to write a story review of a cake.
Asimov, when writing his doctoral thesis, wrote a paper called “The endochronic properties of resublimated thiotimoline,” a parody of a scientific paper to blow off a little steam. It was supposed to be submitted under a pseudonym, but due to an error, it was published with Asimov’s name. When he had to present his actual doctoral dissertation (for the record: The Kinetics of the Reaction Inactivation of Tyrosinase during its Catalysis of the Aerobic Oxidation of Catechol.), one of the examiners asked, “What can you tell us about the thermodynamic properties of thiotimoline?” Asimov was relieved that the examiners had taken the spoof paper in the jest that it was meant, and not held a little comedy against him.
Thinking of the thiotimoline paper, I wondered if I could have a little fun myself and try out something similar. Being that I then bought a cake and spent several hours, with the help of Kris Pronk from PronkyTech.com and the ProkyTech YouTube channel, taking photos of a cake in various states of nakedness, I figured what the hell, let’s make it cake week.
This week will have stories about cake in science fiction, a review of a cake’s story, and a podcast dedicated to it; I’ll get back to ‘regular programming’ next week.
Right now it’s time for some cake.