The Lensman's Children

2012-02-02T19:30:00.001-05:00

Is There An Echo In Here?In the inbox today:emma@amplifiedmedia.org via www.amplifiedmedia.org 5:32 PM (1 hour ago) to meHi Fred,My name is Emma with Amplified Media. We loved theeternalgoldenbraid.blogspot.com. Thanks to your sharp powers of observation and dry wit, your zingy one liners are invariably hilarious! Moreover, you are a reliable source of greatlinks to the latest astronomy news and pictures.Please email me at emma@amplifiedmedia.org if you are interested in learning more about opportunities to work together. I look forward to hearing from you.Best Regards,Emma PetersAmplifiedMedia.orgemma@amplifiedmedia.orgHmmm...

http://cbcpforlife.com/?p=1125"My name is Emma with Amplified Media. We were impressed with the quality and scope of cbcpforlife.com. Your site is truly a comprehensive resource portal of digital materials on life and the family. We enjoyed learning more about the RH symposium, and how it really inspired youth."http://bitsnbobsshowntell.blogspot.com/2012/01/zebra-in-tijuana.htmlHi Chris,My name is Emma with Amplified Media. We were impressed with the quality andscope of bitsnbobsshowntell.blogspot.com. The Christmas advent series youfeature on your site is a great way to really get into the holiday spirit. Weenjoy your selections, and appreciate you sharing them with your readers!Please email me at emma@amplifiedmedia.org if you are interested in learningmore about opportunities to work together. I look forward to hearing from you.Happy Holidays!http://fasstyle.blogspot.com/2011/12/loved-your-site.htmlLoved Your Site!Hi, My name is Emma with Amplified Media. We were impressed with the quality and scope of x-loan.blogspot.com. Finding insurance and loan information has been made simple with the helpful assistance of your fantastic site. The Google alerts you share are a great way to keep up with the latest news! Please email me at emma@amplifiedmedia.org if you are interested in learning about opportunities to work together. I look forward to hearing from you. Happy New Year!Best, Emma Petersamplifiedmedia.org

IS THERE AN ECHO IN HERE?Pass. As Cordwainer Smith almost said "Spammers live in vain."

2012-02-02T16:45:00.001-05:00

Desk SetTwenty minutes into the future with William Gibson.

2012-02-02T10:17:00.000-05:00

Star Trails!Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows star trails over the La Silla Observatory. Dizzy!

2012-02-02T10:14:00.000-05:00

What Does Jonathan Franzen Hate?Apparently: eBooks, smartphones and other gadgets, the internet, cats, fiction variants, critics, Broadway, and self-promotional author videos.Hilarity ensues.

2012-02-01T14:45:00.000-05:00

That Time of the MonthAnsible 295. That is all.
Thog's Second Helping. Headdesk Dept. 'Syme struck the table with a radiant face.' (G.K. Chesterton, The Man Who Was Thursday, 1908) [JDB]

2012-02-01T10:48:00.001-05:00

Cat on a Hot Alien RoofSpew-worthy cat's-eye view of Alien. Thanks, Winch!

2012-02-01T09:01:00.000-05:00

SoundtracksAnother fifteen picoseconds of fame! An appearance in an SF Signal Mind Meld!In the Beginning was the WordMy first encounters with soundtracks was on a grainy black-and-white television in the early 1960's. I can still recall being creeped out by the music and the sound track (the sound effects) of such Outer Limits episodes as Demon with a Glass Hand, Soldier, and more. Outer Limits was not only some of the earliest science fiction that I remember, but my first encounters with how music and sound effects can work together to make a story better.Forbidden Planet featured "electronic tonalities" with a completely synthetic soundtrack. In here the noise of the ship, the sound of the weapons, the scream of the Monster from the Id, all combined as one. You can't dance to it, you can't hum it, but it was one of the best aural environments in the film that I experienced.A few years later came Star Trek. Again, an interesting mix of found music and sound environment. The music, especially in the space scenes (oh, that Doomsday Machine was a real thriller!), was stirring but can you imagine life on the Enterprise without the sounds of the computers, the turbo-lift, the engines, the transporter?The sound track that affected me the most, and which is still a favorite to this day, was the music for 2001: A Space Odyssey. While there was an original music score done for the film (by Alexa North, which was released as a soundtrack on its own several years ago), seeing the movie on the big screen (during its first release) not only confirmed me as a lover of classical music, but introduced me to the wild edges of orchestral works (and probably led me to all sorts of "experimental stuff" or "electronic stuff" that I still listen to today). Whether it is the marrying of Also Sprach Zarathustra (Strauss) to several key scenes (such as the triumphant tossing of a bone into the air), or Ligeti's music on the approach to Jupiter and the journey Beyond the Infinite, this soundtrack was the key for years.After 2001: A Space Odyssey, I can think of several soundtracks that in whole, or in part, remain favorites. The Planet of the Apes, with Jerry Goldsmith's occasionally odd-sounding score affected me but, alas, I did not have the actual record (later CD) for years after seeing the film (once!) on the big screen. Silent Running, with a mixture of both a orchestral score and a more poppy collaboration between Peter Shickle and Joan Baez remains one of the few scores where I think either a rock or folk approach works with science fiction. It All Started With a Big Bang!I'm sure that other contributors to this installment will talk about Star Wars. So, while a favorite (actually, I like the soundtrack to The Empire Strikes Back better), I'll talk about the post Star Wars soundtracks instead.Star Wars was both a blessing and a curse. It opened the floodgates to many more SF/F productions, but that meant we were seeing a lot more dross along with the gold (Adventures of Stella Star, anyone?) The same went with the music: everybody and their brother and sister were doing big special effects productions with bigger and bigger orchestral numbers. I'm sure that the studios would have been happy if they had been able to clone John Williams, but it lead to a certain sameness (and dullness) in the soundtracks.Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Alien, both born in the post Star Wars-glut managed to avoid this for the most part. Both scores were courtesy of Jerry Goldsmith and featured the non-standard orchestration that attracted me to Planet of the Apes. While I might find some sequences of Star Trek: The Motion Picture tedious, I've never found the music to be tedious. Alien manages to creep me out, with or without the film as a back drop.Another effort that stands out for originality was the Vangelis score for Blade Runner. Marrying sound effects, visuals, and a sweeping electronic score made a lasting impact on me. I cannot see a clip or still without thinking of the music or vice versa.Along the cyberpunk end was the soundtrack to the animated film Ghost in the Shell and the soundtrack to the series of the same name. The film's score is odd and atonal, the series features a lot of rock and jazz. Both have been permanently loaded on my iPod since I first bought it. The first Matrix movie (are there any others?) mixed both orchestral and rock to a good effect (I love watching the DVD with the music-only option, great pacing all the way through!).I could mention many more: Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Battlestar Galactica (the reboot), Star Gate (any version) and more, but those are my key listens.

2012-02-01T06:14:00.001-05:00

Southern SkyglowNot your ordinary light pollution over Australia in today's Astronomy Picture of the Day. What a special effects show!

2012-01-31T17:21:00.002-05:00

The Blame GameWe may never know what doomed Phobos-Grunt, but the blame game continues.

2012-01-31T14:48:00.004-05:00

Greetings, Comrades!According to my stats, most people find this site via a Russian domain name. Hoookay...

2012-01-31T14:48:00.000-05:00

Music Hath CharmsThe oddest looking set of stereo speakers out there? Maybe not, if you have a classical bent.

2012-01-31T14:45:00.001-05:00

Winning!The rest of you can go on home. I think we have the Hugo winner RIGHT HERE.

2012-01-31T07:15:00.001-05:00

Eye of the HelixToday's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows NGC 7293, the Helix Nebula. The Eye of Sauron?

2012-01-30T07:25:00.000-05:00

Pale Blue DotToday's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows our home planet from the recently-launched Suomi NPP satellite.

2012-01-30T07:19:00.000-05:00

Last StandHaving consumed independents (for the most part), Barnes & Noble scrambles to find a way forward.

2012-01-30T07:15:00.000-05:00

SETI Begs for MoneyAn interesting article about a private search for aliens and how if obtains funds. Maybe a Kickstarter campaign should be done?

2012-01-29T10:47:00.002-05:00

Great Dismal's EDCWhat is in William Gibson's pockets? Or what does he use for pockets?

2012-01-29T10:45:00.001-05:00

Thoughts from the Ambient HotelM. John Harrison and "...what he said..."

2012-01-29T10:44:00.000-05:00

Thoughts from the Ambient HotelM. John Harrison and "the implication of form"...

2012-01-29T10:07:00.003-05:00

The Economy Still SucksNow, maybe it is those horrid eBooks, or those horrid games or that horrid new-fangled television...but another bookstore in the area is closing.

2012-01-29T07:59:00.000-05:00

There's A Hole In Your SkyToday's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a dark molecular cloud known as Barnard 68. Do the Moties hide behind such a cloud?

2012-01-28T08:25:00.002-05:00

Referencing the CanonA place that appears in Patrick O'Brian's H.M.S. Surprise is stumbled upon while cruising the internet.

2012-01-28T07:50:00.000-05:00

Joining MarketsWhat do you get when two brands beloved by misbegotten youth (or those trying to hang on to that youth) everywhere get together?

2012-01-28T07:47:00.002-05:00

It's Klaus, BabyKlaus Schulze performing in 1977. That would be about a year before I discovered his musical moves.

2012-01-28T07:31:00.001-05:00

All Around the PlanetToday's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows auroral activity in Sweden. It also uses one of those odd camera tricks that have been showing up of late: the person in the picture could be standing on a very odd little asteroid!

2012-01-28T07:16:00.002-05:00

50

Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time turns 50 this year. That was one of my favorite reads in my misbegotten youth. I'll have to give it a try again (and maybe The Young Lady will finally try it).

2012-01-27T21:16:00.000-05:00

Run, Come, See Jerusalem!

The SFE is back baby. Long may it grow and expand!

2012-01-27T21:11:00.002-05:00

Atomic Rockets

Hmmm...I sense a pattern in this Slash Dot posting. Do you think maybe you should consult the Atomic Rockets site if you are writing a Hard SF tale?

2012-01-27T21:04:00.000-05:00

Smith

Virgil Finlay contributes to Cordwainer Smith's Instrumentality of Mankind.

2012-01-27T20:49:00.002-05:00

Remnant Population

An article on what the Bible brings to literature. One could expand this to what much of literature has brought forward to newer literature. A good education is never wasted. And don't throw the baby out with the bath water.

2012-01-27T20:47:00.002-05:00

The Madness of Rocks

The geology of the Mountains of Madness. I'm still awaiting our first big blizzard. Then I'll do my semi-regular re-read of H.P. Lovecraft's classic.

2012-01-27T08:10:00.001-05:00

Field of Dreams

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a beautiful rich field of galaxies, including a nice irregular in the forefront.

2012-01-26T20:39:00.001-05:00

Cold as Ice

Vesta is probably "dry" but is cold and dark enough for ice. Given recent data from Mars and our Moon (let alone the moons of the outer planets), I'm willing to bet there will be more ice there than we expect.

2012-01-25T15:33:00.001-05:00

Dogs and Cats Living Together

So a bunch of fantasy writers walk into a convention...no, seriously, a bunch of fantasy authors walk into a convention...

2012-01-25T09:58:00.002-05:00

Crystal Ball

William Gibson can't really predict the future. What's wrong with science fiction writers these days?

2012-01-25T08:30:00.001-05:00

Eight Years On

A ninety-day mission now enters its eighth year of continuous operations. Way to go, Opportunity! (Also today's Astronomy Picture of the Day...)

2012-01-25T08:24:00.000-05:00

I've Been Reading Waaaaaayyyy Too Much "Schlock Mercenary"

A dream I had this morning, right before waking...

"Hey, Mikey, watcha got there?"

"It's a death ray!"

"A death ray? Where'd ya get a death ray? Who are you? Cap'n Future?" (snorts)

"I got it from a cereal box, after sending in box tops!" (defensively)

"Sure, it's a neat toy."

"It ain't no toy!"

(laughter)

(ominous hum)

2012-01-25T08:23:00.000-05:00

Prime Mover

Hey you! You behind me! You with the "Live Free or Die" license plate and the "Yes We Can" bumper sticker!

Guess what? There's a reason I'm doing 35 MPH. You might be in a hurry, but this is a residential area with heavy pedestrian traffic. There's a reason there's a double yellow line so you can't pass me. Oh, look, there are about 75 cars in front of me, all also doing 35 MPH, so how far will you get?

Oh, look, utility vehicles along the side of the road, so you can't pass me on the right either. Want to try driving on the sidewalk maybe?

Putz. Go back to the shallow end of the gene pool.

2012-01-25T08:17:00.000-05:00

Politics

'I know they do: we have some hands from Shelmerston, decent men and prime seamen, who are little better than democrats - republicans, if you follow me - and would easily be led astray by a clever political cove with a fine flow of words: but the man-of-war's men, particularly the old Surprises, do not like him. They call him Monsieur Turd, and they will not be won round by smirking and leering and the brotherhood of man: they dislike his notions as much as I do.'

(Patrick O'Brian; The Wine Dark Sea)

2012-01-25T08:16:00.000-05:00

FRAGO: Bad Hair Day

As the enemy Sparhawk broke up in a expanding cloud of gas and debris, Major Scott Gordon knew he was in trouble. There was no way he was going to be able to maneuver his spaceplane out of the path of fragments without taking some hits. His vehicle might be a "fighter", but it wasn't armored (otherwise it would never get into orbit).

2012-01-25T08:14:00.000-05:00

The Boss

It reminded her of the time their soundman, Ritchie Nagel, had dragged a militantly disinterested Inchmale to see Bruce Springsteen at Madison Square Garden. Inchmale had returned with his shoulders hunched in thought, deeply impressed by what he'd witnessed but uncharacteristically unwilling to talk about it. Pressed, he would only say that Springsteen, onstage, had channeled a combination of Apollo and Bugs Bunny, a highly complex act of physical impression.

(William Gibson, Spook Country)

2012-01-25T08:13:00.001-05:00

Stream

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows intense star creation in a dwarf galaxy.

2012-01-25T08:11:00.001-05:00

Black Hole Region

"And yet we have all known flights when of a sudden, each for himself, it has seemed to us that we have crossed the border of the world of reality; when, only a couple hours from port, we have felt ourselves more distant from it than we should feel if we were in India; when there has come a premonition of an incursion into a forbidden world whence it was going to be infinitely difficult to return. Thus, when Mermoz first crossed the South Atlantic in a hydroplane, as day was dying he ran foul of the Black Hole region, off Africa. Straight ahead of him were the tails of tornadoes rising minute by minute gradually higher, rising as a wall is built; and then the night came down upon these preliminaries and swallowed them up; and when, an hour later, he slipped under the clouds, he came into a fantastic kingdom. Great black waterspouts had reared themselves seemingly at the immobility of temple pillars. Swollen at their tops, they were supporting the squat and lowering arch of the tempest, but through the rifts in the arch there fell slabs of light and the full moon sent her radiant beams between the pillars down upon the frozen tiles of the sea. Through these uninhabited ruins Mermoz made his way, gliding slantwise from one channel of light to the next, circling round those giant pillars in which there must have rumbled the upsurge of the sea, flying for four hours through these corridors of moonlight toward the exit from the temple. And this spectacle was so overwhelming that only after he got through the Black Hole did Mermoz awaken to the fact that he had not been afraid."

(Antoine de Saint Exupery, Wind, Sand and Stars")

2012-01-25T08:10:00.000-05:00

Anabasis (Xenophon)

It was agreed that this was the most barbaric and outlandish people that they had passed through on the whole expedition, and the furthest removed from the Hellenic customs, doing in a crowd precisely what other people would prefer to do in solitude, and when alone behaving exactly as others would behave in company, talking to themselves and laughing at their own expense, standing still and then capering about, wherever they might chance to be, without rhyme or reason, as if their sole business were to show off to the rest of the world.

2012-01-24T17:54:00.002-05:00

Shelving Matters

I think I've found a bookshelf solution for me. Maybe Neil Gaiman will be nice enough to sell me his house, cheap.

2012-01-24T17:50:00.002-05:00

Distribution Modes

Ever comes across this quote?

The future is already here—it's just not very evenly distributed

So who said it?

2012-01-24T08:20:00.001-05:00

Aurora

With the news that multiple CME's have headed towards our pale blue dot, today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is very appropriate.

2012-01-23T17:38:00.001-05:00

Year of the Dragon

Drag, zoom and flip around in this panorama of the SpaceX Dragon Capsule, getting ready for a flight to the ISS.

2012-01-23T09:11:00.001-05:00

Blazing Skies

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a beautiful long-exposure shot of the winter skies ("mouseover" the picture to see the constellations highlighted). If our skies looked like that to our naked eyes, would we pay more attention to the universe around us?

2012-01-22T08:29:00.002-05:00

Hexagon

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows one of the stranger features of the Saturnian system. No, not the rings, not the braiding of the rings even...a hexagonal cloud system at Saturn's north pole.

2012-01-21T07:13:00.001-05:00

Sunstreaks

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a year in the life of the Sun.

2012-01-20T14:50:00.002-05:00

MilSF

It's Military SF week at Tor Dot Com! Here's David Drake's contribution to the line-up.

2012-01-20T14:36:00.003-05:00

Dreams of Flight

Depictions of space travel, from Saturn V on up. I especially love the Saturn V vs. the BIS Daedalus!

2012-01-20T09:52:00.001-05:00

Earth and Milky Way

Video from the ISS. There have been several of these posted and they are amazing. Wish NASA would do a better job of promoting them!

2012-01-20T08:38:00.002-05:00

Wolf Moon

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the "wolf's moon" over the winter landscape of Sweden. Brrrrrr!

2012-01-19T13:51:00.001-05:00

End of an Era?

Is the mysterious visitor to Poe's graveside no more? The end of a tradition?

2012-01-19T09:27:00.002-05:00

Crouching Engineer, Rolling Rover

Engineers with three generations of Mars rovers. My, how they grow up!

2012-01-19T09:24:00.000-05:00

Eagle

A spectacular view of the Eagle Nebula.

2012-01-19T09:18:00.001-05:00

First Sight

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the constellation Orion. That's usually the first place I visit if I am out with my telescope.

2012-01-18T11:52:00.001-05:00

Star Stuff

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a large star-forming region known as Cygnus X. Click and enlarge and be amazed.

2012-01-18T11:51:00.001-05:00

Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee!

Can't NASA just buy an off-the-shelf coffeemaker at, say, a store?

2012-01-17T08:48:00.001-05:00

Witch Head

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is of the Witch Head Nebula. Sppooookkkyyyy!!!!

2012-01-16T20:40:00.002-05:00

The Space Review

In the current issue of The Space Review, a couple of articles of interest. Jeff Foust looks at the deadly dance between tightening budgets and growing instruments. Michael Listner looks at the recent distancing of the US from the proposed EU "Space Code of Conduct". A new plan in the works? A realization that the proposal was too restrictive? Or joining the bandwagon of other nations that have already shown disinterest? Jeff Foust jumps in with a book review (the wallet cringes!) on unmanned space probes. Looks like a good look at these workhorses. Finally, postcards from space. Andre Bormanis looks at the impact that photography from space has had.

2012-01-16T07:15:00.003-05:00

The False Dawn

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows something that I've only seen once or twice, and something you'll never see from a city (if even a suburb): a vast cloud of interplanetary dust, lit by the Sun, and appearing in the sky as if dawn were approaching; the zodiacal light.

2012-01-15T07:31:00.001-05:00

New Light

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the Large Magellanic Cloud as imaged by the Spitzer Space Telescope in infrared light. A vastly different view!

2012-01-14T08:37:00.003-05:00

Little Ghost

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows NGC 6369, discovered by Sir William Herschel, and quickly dubbed by amateurs everywhere as "The Little Ghost Nebula". Of course, this Hubble Space Telescope image is more detailed than any of us small instrument views can obtain...but it is still an odd sight in any instrument.

2012-01-13T15:20:00.001-05:00

Moon Shot

You can build anything with Lego. Anything.

2012-01-13T13:46:00.001-05:00

An Ocean of Glass

Following upon a story that reminded me of a certain story by Samuel R. Delany, Rudy Rucker posts a site with glass jellyfish and more!

2012-01-13T12:58:00.002-05:00

Help the Author!

Diane Duane gets the BoingBoing effect. Hopefully enough will respond to help!

2012-01-13T12:50:00.001-05:00

Last Call

Last Call by Tim Powers is featured at BoingBoing. I was there first!

2012-01-13T09:38:00.002-05:00

Long Distance Runner

Over at Neil Gaiman's "Tumblr", the Evolution of a Time Lord.

2012-01-13T09:24:00.002-05:00

Paint Your Wagon

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a Cassini orbiter image of Saturn's enigmatic moon Iapetus. I prefer Japetus. Why enigmatic? Go back to Sir Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey!

2012-01-12T14:14:00.002-05:00

Help the Writer

Genre author Diane Duane was robbed. Seriously. She needs to raise funds, and she's putting her eBooks up for sale. Use coupon code DDGOTSKIMMED .

2012-01-12T07:34:00.004-05:00

Locked Room Mystery

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows us "planetary nebula" SNR 0509-67.5. Where is the companion star? Did Professor Plum do it with a wrench in the library?

2012-01-11T14:19:00.003-05:00

Thumb Piano

William Gibson: Distrust That Particular Flavor (Penguin Books; 2012; ISBN 978-1-101559-41-3).

Made up of: Introduction—African Thumb Piano; Rocket Radio; Since 1948; Any 'Mount of World; The Baddest Dude on Earth; Talk for Book Expo, New York; Dead Man Sings; Up the Line; Disneyland with the Death Penalty; Mr. Buk's Window; Shiny Balls of Mud: Hikaru Dorodango and Tokyu Hands; An Invitation; Metrophagy: The Art and Science of Digesting Great Cities; Modern Boys and Mobile Girls; My Obsession; My Own Private Tokyo; The Road to Oceania; Skip Spence's Jeans; Terminal City; Introduction: "The Body"; The Net is a Waste of Time; Time Machine Cuba; Will We Have Computer Chips in Our Heads?; William Gibson's Filmless Festival; Johnny: Notes on a Process; Googling the Cyborg.

Counts as twenty-six (26) entries in the 2012 Year in Shorts (collection completed).

2012-01-11T09:00:00.001-05:00

Strange Sight

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a strange view of our home planet and Comet Lovejoy.

2012-01-10T15:52:00.001-05:00

Star Wars

That's no Moon, that's a space...oh, wait...that's a Moon and a space station!

2012-01-10T15:50:00.001-05:00

App

Hey, kids, remember when NASA used to launch people to the Moon? Now all they seem to do is make slides and produce "smartphone apps".

2012-01-10T13:13:00.001-05:00

In Deepest Night

What happens in bookstores at night?

2012-01-10T11:39:00.003-05:00

Man's Best Friend

A moving posting about a dog by a recently-discovered (by me) author, Tim Akers.

2012-01-10T09:35:00.002-05:00

RETCON

The first SF convention? The first SF convention in the UK? The first SF convention in Europe?

The debate rages...

2012-01-10T09:02:00.001-05:00

Dwarf and Star

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Regulus in Leo nearly overpowering the dwarf galaxy Leo I. Poor Leo I!

2012-01-10T08:44:00.002-05:00

NASA is Clueless

NASA has sued, or publicly attacked, a number of Apollo astronauts over the years regarding the possession or sale of items that they carried on their flights. Considering how long these "artifacts" have been in the personal possession of these astronauts, it is ludicrous that NASA never came up with a coherent policy about the artifacts.

The most recent situation should not have gotten to the point where it did. It is nice to see that NASA's Administrator is finally acting, but i should not have gone this far. Get a clue, NASA.

2012-01-09T12:23:00.001-05:00

Launch Code

Hey, anybody have a couple of spare million they can give me so I can buy a new house (with a missile silo)?

2012-01-09T10:20:00.001-05:00

Chasing Salandar

A new "chapter" about the Dragon Girl. Publisher mines the tailings for a few bits of silver.

2012-01-09T10:19:00.001-05:00

More Reading

Or rather, places to read in!

2012-01-09T09:57:00.000-05:00

A Fine Dry Place

Where William Gibson likes to read. A well-lighted place.

2012-01-09T09:55:00.001-05:00

Double Vision

"Jack" Schmitt looks at the country's space policy and it's (lack of) vision. (And amusingly, he is the "last man on the Moon"...didn't his crewmate write a book with that name?)

2012-01-09T09:52:00.001-05:00

Bookshelf P0rn

Oh. My. Oh, so beautiful!

2012-01-09T08:54:00.001-05:00

Another Great Spiral

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is another fantastic spiral galaxy: NGC 6946 in Cepheus.

2012-01-08T06:36:00.001-05:00

Two Lights

Two lights highlight today's Astronomy Picture of the Day: one falling, one protecting.

2012-01-07T07:02:00.001-05:00

Grand View

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is spiral galaxy NGC 1232. What a view!

2012-01-06T15:50:00.001-05:00

Lego-Mania

You can build anything with Lego. Including the LHC.

2012-01-06T12:40:00.001-05:00

Cover Story

This looks interesting. The titles are mostly (all?) public domain works, but I like the covers and the interior artwork!

2012-01-06T12:34:00.001-05:00

Military Industrial Complex

The Girl Who Snuck Into the Rocket Factory. If she snuck in...how many have snuck into steal technology?

2012-01-06T12:33:00.003-05:00

Phone Home!

Signs of E.T.? Probably not, but it'll be something to watch as they look at these signals.

2012-01-06T12:31:00.001-05:00

Aother Candidate

Another addition to Mount Toberead! So many books, so little time, so many ex-lover's to bury...

2012-01-06T12:30:00.001-05:00

Hind Commander

A review of a miniatures game for helos. Only helos. All that ground-pounding and treadhead stuff is just incidental. Could be interesting!

2012-01-06T10:08:00.002-05:00

THEY'RE...BACK...

Hey, we poor deprived colonials finally get to see the AbFab reunion show. Now I only have to wait until May to see the second series for Sherlock!

2012-01-06T08:29:00.001-05:00

GalCen

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows us our galactic center. Can you see the Mantis?