17 Oct 2006

Way Cool Astronomical Images

posted in: science, space, technology, writing | 0

I’m just poking my head up long enough to point you all toward a couple of images that took my breath away (from Astronomy Picture of the Day):

  • In the shadow of Saturn, from Cassini
  • Orion Deep Field, including both the Horsehead and Orion Nebulas
  • Hubble view of the Great Orion Nebula (M42)

    That last one is the most beautiful view I’ve ever seen of where my motley crew of Bandicut, Antares, Ik, Li-Jared, and various robots are at this very moment. They’ve just crossed from left to center toward the Trapezium, a tight cluster of four bright stars right in the whitest heart of the nebula. That’s where they are, wondering what in the world they were thinking. Here’s the Trapezium in infrared.

And now I must get back to them.

1 Oct 2006

Still Here, Still Pounding

posted in: science fiction, Sunborn, writing | 0

This is about the longest I’ve gone without a post. Yikes! But yes, I really have been focusing on the rewrite of Chaos Book 4, and the rapidly approaching deadline. So it’s going to be like this for a while, I’m afraid. I’ll touch base when I can.

Here are a few highlights of what I wanted to write about, but didn’t have time:

Xena is now Eris, and Pluto is now a dwarf planet. Well, nuts. Still, Eris as goddess of chaos and discord isn’t bad. Sort of describes the current state of astronomy. And the world.

Another family brag: my sister Nancy Lorey and her video production partner Matt Star received three Telly Awards for videos they produced at their I-Conn Video Productions firm in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. There were over 13,000 entries for the award, which recognizes excellence in local, regional, cable, and nonbroadcast video. Way to go, Nancy!

On the national political front…oh, just new legislation abolishing habeas corpus for political and war prisoners, and legitimizing torture any time the prez decides to reinterpret the Geneva Conventions…nothing major (except—doh!—this is not what America is about, guys). Oh yeah, and Senator McCain (for whom I once held some respect) selling out completely to the radical right. Don’t get me started. But do read this New York Times editorial on the subject. Or this from InformationLiberation, which is a little more out there on the edge, but probably not too inaccurate.

On the local front, I am now co-teaching an SF writing workshop in Cambridge, Mass., along with Craig Shaw Gardner, at the Pandemonium bookstore. Depending on how it goes, this may become a regular event.

Also, I’ll be signing books at Pandemonium Books, on Saturday, October 7, from 7–9 in the evening. Stop by, if you’re in the Cambridge area! Craig and two other authors will be signing at the same time.

And now…back to the Chaos!

7 Sep 2006

Family Bragging Rights

posted in: personal news | 0

What’s the point of being related to someone notable and distinguished if you can’t brag a little? (No, this isn’t about my kids.) I proudly direct you to the University of Miami web site, and an announcement about some newly endowed distinguished professorships. The first one on the list is my very own and only brother, known as Uncle Chuck to my daughters and Distinguished Professor of Psychology Charles S. Carver to others. Scroll down a little on that page and you’ll see his picture and credits. There’s a Nobel laureate on the distinguished list, too, but I don’t know him.

Here’s Chuck’s web page, or you can go straight to the pictures of his dog Calvin (be sure and check out the gallery if you’re into silly dog pictures).

I know I’ve been missing from these pages for a turrible long time. I’ve passed up any number of really interesting subjects that I wanted to write about. That’s because I’ve been banging my head against the Sunborn rewrite. I really am going to finish this book by the end of November, or die trying.

And now I must go. I’ll be in the garret, pounding…

18 Aug 2006

Sheesh, What a Ghost Town!

posted in: personal news, science, writing | 0

Man, doesn’t the guy who owns this place ever come in and serve the guests? Or at least turn on the lights?

Oh wait, that’s me. Right, right. And I couldn’t even get in at first; my browser was feeding me the wrong login, and I didn’t see it.

Well, you probably wonder where I’ve been. I’m still here, still working on Sunborn. And finally finished with our local children’s theater’s run of Damn Yankees, which was loads of fun and loads of work and loads of time spent in the theater. I miss it, now that it’s over.

About a year ago, I wrote here that I was acting in a very small indie film being made here by the same guy who operates the theater where we hold our musicals. Pops the bum, if you please. (Take note, Leonard Maltin and Roger Ebert.) Well, I can’t announce yet that the film is finished, because they never got the last scene shot before winter set in. But they’re planning to do that in about two weeks, and that will be my last performance of Pops the bum—at least until the sequel. (The last scene takes place in the street, and requires closing off the street and I believe engaging a few police cars and officers to appear in the scene, also. My part, as I understand it, will involve sitting slumped against a wall looking bewildered. An easy role for me.)

And yes, outside of all that, I’m plowing ahead through the hardest part of the rewrite—the long middle—which was the biggest mess in the first draft, and requires the most rethinking in the second. Making good progress. Not as fast as I would like, but steady.

So…I gotta get back to it. But first I have to say…

Twelve planets in the solar system? You’ve got to be kidding. (The International Astronomical Union, as you probably know, is proposing just that.) Ceres a planet? Anyone who read SF in the 50’s and 60’s knows perfectly well that Ceres is an asteroid, and very important to the economy of the future asteroid belt civilization. Planet, indeed. And Pluto and Charon both planets? Come on. Xena, now—I can see calling Xena a minor planet. But not opening up the Pandora’s box of a hundred planets called “plutons.”

Reconsider, guys. Everything Pluto-size and up should be a planet. Smaller stuff should be minor planets. Wouldn’t that really just be a heck of a lot easier? And think of this: we could keep the name Xena, and it wouldn’t be breaking with tradition on the naming of major planets. Go for it!

2 Aug 2006

Still here…working on book

posted in: personal news, science fiction, Sunborn, writing | 0

No, I haven’t died, though it might seem that way. There have actually been a number of things I’ve wanted to write about, but haven’t had the time. Ah, most of the ideas have fled now. I should give one update, though—my friend got out of Lebanon pretty early on and in good shape, for which I’m deeply grateful. She got a ride out on a U.S. Marines helicopter, so a big thanks to all of you involved in the evacuation. (No connection, but shortly after that, I got a nice email from an army sergeant who discovered one of my books while stationed in Bosnia, of all places. He said that later, while stationed in Iraq, he was always looking for good SF to read. That gave me great encouragement.)

I’ve been working hard on Sunborn, trying to beat down a group of chapters that just wouldn’t shape up. I think I’m getting a handle on it now. Also, it’s summer musical time at Arlington Children’s Theater, which one of my kids is in, and for which I’m once more helping out on the sound board. We’re in dress rehearsals for Damn Yankees right now, and have performances starting this coming weekend and going right through the next. (Fortunately—given that we’re in the middle of a heat wave—the theater has upgraded its air conditioning!)

Listen, I’d love to stay and have a drink and chat, but I’ve got to get back to the book! See you later!

18 Jul 2006

Neil Armstrong Interview Clips

posted in: space | 0

Thanks to the tip from reader Tim, I browsed to CBS News online and watched some video clips recently taken with Neil Armstrong, interviewed by Ben Bradley. It’s interesting to see the thoughts of the first human on the moon, a very private man, several decades later. (The commercials before the clips get pretty tiresome, though.)

P.S. Kudos on Discovery‘s safe landing today!

17 Jul 2006

Danger in Lebanon

posted in: personal news, public affairs | 0

There are a number of things I’ve been meaning to write about, including progress on my book, but right now my thoughts keep going to Lebanon. I have a friend named June, who traveled to Beirut last week, in fulfillment of long-laid plans to reconnect with separated relatives. Shortly after her arrival, Israel started bombing the city—starting with the airport, cutting off travel.

It is a testament to the internet—and email—that I know as much as I do about what’s happening. With the city in upheaval, there’s not much she can do except go to internet cafes and let people know what’s happening.

At first, she felt reasonably assured of her safety, being in the same neighborhood as the British Consulate and American University. And then a lighthouse two blocks away was bombed. It is her belief, and, she says, that of everyone she talks to, that these air strikes have nothing to do with trying to keep the captured Israeli soldiers from being moved out of Lebanon and everything to do with an intended much larger war. She is not even confident that the U.S. Navy, if and when it arrives to evacuate U.S. citizens, will be immune to attack by either side. Hezbollah has Iranian missiles, and Israel has deliberately attacked U.S. ships before (U.S.S. Liberty, 1967, in an incident that is shocking to read about even today).

And so, she waits. No doubt the situation is much worse for many innocent Lebanese people who are being targeted, intentionally or not. (And, presumably, for many members of Hezbollah, who are not innocent at all.)

I’m not going to get into a big discussion of who is right or wrong in the Arab/Israeli conflict. Both sides seem ready to seize any excuse for war. But I am worried about my friend, and wondering why it’s taking so long for the U.S. military to get our people out of there. According to June, the Italians and French have begun evacuating their citizens already.

I’m also wondering why, according to the Boston Globe, the State Department “warned that citizens would have to pay the cost of their own evacuation.” What, are they going to sell tickets to get onto Navy choppers? Really—is this how we take care of our people? As a taxpayer, I say this is one of the things I willingly pay taxes for—to help people when they’re in bad straits. These people have enough to worry about with bombs raining around them, without wondering if they can afford the bill to be airlifted to Cyprus.

13 Jul 2006

Movie of Discovery Nearing Orbit

posted in: space | 0

Okay, this is cool. Astronomy Picture of the Day has an animated GIF of Discovery flying away from the spent solid rocket boosters, taken with cameras mounted on the boosters themselves.

There’s a smoother version of it, but with less supporting text, on NASA’s site. You can see some other videos, as well, including the external tank falling toward the atmosphere. Oh, and be sure you watch the one called “STS-121 Right Forward Solid Rocket Booster Video” for a rocket’s-eye view of the liftoff, followed by a long, graceful fall back into the ocean.

By the way, having spent last weekend at Readercon, I’m now really burrowing into work on Sunborn. I’ll post an update soon.

7 Jul 2006

New Manned Spacecraft Named Ares

posted in: writing | 0

According to Astronomy Magazine, NASA has announced a name for the replacement to the space shuttle:

As the space shuttle Discovery prepared for launch Friday, NASA announced the name of its replacement. The Crew Launch Vehicle, which will ferry astronauts to Earth orbit as early as 2011, is now called Ares I. The monstrous heavy-lift rocket, designed to loft cargo headed for the Moon later in the decade, is called Ares V.

Ares, the Greek word for Mars, is a nod to the agency’s vision of one day sending astronauts to the Red Planet. The numerical designations salute the Apollo-era Saturn I and Saturn V rockets, the first large U.S. launchers specifically designed for human spaceflight.

Ares. That’s way better than CLV. And I like the “I” and “V” designations in salute to the Saturn that took us to the moon, my favorite of all rockets. Pictures and more details at astronomy.com.

7 Jul 2006

Religion and Politics

posted in: public affairs, religion | 0

A friend emailed me a speech by Barack Obama, Senator from Illinois. It was his keynote speech to the Call to Renewal Conference sponsored recently by the Sojourners, a Christian organization. I found what he had to say rather important. He talked, in part, about the need for Democrats to speak meaningfully about the connection between progressive politics and religious faith, and also about the need for all sides to engage less in pigeon-holing and more in listening and genuine communication. He began:

During the 2004 U.S. Senate General Election I ran against a gentleman named Alan Keyes. Mr. Keyes is well-versed in the Jerry Falwell-Pat Robertson style of rhetoric that often labels progressives as both immoral and godless.

Indeed, Mr. Keyes announced towards the end of the campaign that, “Jesus Christ would not vote for Barack Obama. Christ would not vote for Barack Obama because Barack Obama has behaved in a way that it is inconceivable for Christ to have behaved…”

I was urged by some of my liberal supporters not to take this statement seriously, to essentially ignore it. To them, Mr. Keyes was an extremist, and his arguments not worth entertaining…

But perhaps Keyes’ arguments did need to be entertained, and discussed. And that, in part, is what the rest of Obama’s speech was about. He continued:

I think it’s time that we join a serious debate about how to reconcile faith with our modern, pluralistic democracy.

And if we’re going to do that then we first need to understand that Americans are a religious people. 90 percent of us believe in God, 70 percent affiliate themselves with an organized religion, 38 percent call themselves committed Christians, and substantially more people in America believe in angels than they do in evolution…

[Conservative leaders] need to understand the critical role that the separation of church and state has played in preserving not only our democracy, but the robustness of our religious practice. Folks tend to forget that during our founding, it wasn’t the atheists or the civil libertarians who were the most effective champions of the First Amendment. It was the persecuted minorities, it was Baptists like John Leland who didn’t want the established churches to impose their views on folks who were getting happy out in the fields and teaching the scripture to slaves. It was the forbearers of the evangelicals who were the most adamant about not mingling government with religious, because they did not want state-sponsored religion hindering their ability to practice their faith as they understood it.

Read or listen to the whole speech at obama.senate.gov.

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