I own Newt Gingrich’s 1945. Confession time. I paid full price for it. On the day it came out. 1945. It’s legendary in science fiction circles. Then-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich made a deal with Baen Books for a series of alternate history novels. Co-written with William Forstchen, 1945 posited a world where AdolfContinue reading “On Newt Gingrich’s 1945”
Tag Archives: science-fiction
On H+ Magazine
When I was a junior in high school, I had to write a major research paper for my English class. Semester long project, that sort of thing. What did I want to write about? I pondered this. I pondered this some more. And then I read a review of Hans Moravec’s book, Mind Children. TheContinue reading “On H+ Magazine”
On Re-Reading VALIS
A discussion on TrekBBS a few days ago prompted me to pull out some of my Philip K. Dick books and take a look at them. Dick was one of the authors I discovered in college and went on a “binge” in reading everything by Dick that I could possibly get my hands on. InContinue reading “On Re-Reading VALIS”
On Unmade Science-Fiction Films
It’s odd. I’ve just read a book that I generally enjoyed, but it was a book that annoyed me to no end. The book? David Hughes’ The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made. Getting a movie from pitch and script to screen is a bit like running a gauntlet, and the book chronicles some twenty-odd science-fictionContinue reading “On Unmade Science-Fiction Films”
On Search Engine Stupidity
When I was younger, back in high school no less, I read Hans Moravec. Mind Children, an amazing book. Verner Vinge, the Singularity. I’m there. The technological trends are there. Teilhard de Chardin, the noosphere. Got it. Human knowledge will become so massive, technology will be able to create minds better than ours, the nextContinue reading “On Search Engine Stupidity”
On Outline Writing
I spent the weekend working on a novel outline. It’s not quite finished. Right now it’s at 2,500 words. I think it’s going to finish up about a thousand words from now. I’ve just blown up something very big. There are other things to blow up, too. Not quite as big. The story is aboutContinue reading “On Outline Writing”
On Thursday’s Quick Hits
Today, a round-up of things on my mind. The Olympics begin in a day or two. That I don’t know exactly when they begin is a sign of how much I care. Which is to say that I care about the Olympics not at all. I’ve no intention to watch them. When I was eleven,Continue reading “On Thursday’s Quick Hits”
On Free eBooks
Tor is making available a number of their books as free eBook downloads. Science fiction and fantasy, they have both. The selection is interesting. Some stuff I’ve heard of. Some stuff I’ve not. Also, they have a nice selection of desktop wallpapers based on covers and other sfnal art. Check it out, before it’s gone.Continue reading “On Free eBooks”
On Winston Churchill, Astronaut
I thought American schoolchildren were muddled in their historical thinking, believing that Abraham Lincoln was at the first Thanksgiving, or that George Washington delivered the Gettysburg Address. (For the record, neither of those are true. Just so we’re clear.) It turns out that factual mistakes of historical knowledge aren’t limited to children on this sideContinue reading “On Winston Churchill, Astronaut”
On the Poly Sci-Fi Meme 2008
I was tagged last night with a political/sci-fi meme by Valley of the Shadow, a Doctor Who fan. So, let’s have some fun. 🙂 1} President George W. Bush or President William Clinton? You must answer 1a and 1b.President Clinton. 1a} Give 3 issues why you support your guy:a) Balanced the budget and oversaw theContinue reading “On the Poly Sci-Fi Meme 2008”