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For all you Steampunk or Historical Fiction writers, check out the BBC series "COPPER". Set during Civil War era New York City in the 'Five Points District', Copper deals with an Irish American Union Veteran turned detective. Copper delivers a surprisingly unflinching look at the time as Detective Kevin Corcoran takes extraordinary steps to find the real causes of murders in the '5 Points'.
Copper has a similarly gritty feel as 'Deadwood' with the depiction of the absolute squalor of the 5 Points coexists with the opulence of 5th Avenue. Among the characters are Corcoran's blood-thirsty henchmen, a conniving wealthy ally from his Civil War days and a surprising Black American Doctor named Matthew Freeman.
Woven amidst the main characters are whores, socialites, greedy politicians and crooked policemen. The show is well done and its characters drive the plot. Every action has a reaction and vice versa. There are plenty of surprises and the pacing of the show is well measured. It is intended for mature audiences due to graphic violence, some harsh language and sexual situations. If you're looking to get the feel for writing during this particular era, Copper is a very good reference.
Here's a link to 'Behind the Badge' a behind the scenes look at the show. It's about 24 minutes long, but worth the watch. Pick the 'Free User' button to watch. If using Firefox or Chrome and you want to get rid of the ads, download the 'AdPro' plug-in from either browser's website add-ons.
Starting today, a web preview of my new serial novel, GALATEA'S CROSS will be available to read and discuss.
It is absolutely free and introduces (to most of you) the character of Tim Cross, HCA.
Here's a little background:
]In the future the world is dominated by gigantic mega corporations that rule the markets like high tech feudal kingdoms. The only protection humanity has against the whims and machinations of the Megas is the Human/Corporate Advocacy, the HCA.
Of the HCA's many agents, Tim Cross is one of the best. Smart, shrewd, incisive, he's a man cut from a cloth woven in a bygone era- an old-school private dick forced to live in a pristine, almost antiseptic future.
When the teenaged murder suspect Cross has been assigned to protect turns out to be more than anybody expected, what follows is a high-speed, high casualty race to solve the mystery of the girl before the powerful forces out to kill her get their wish.
You can find out more and get access to the preview by checking in HERE.
After the preview begins there will be regular updates, including art, character breakdowns, quotes from the series and more.
What is a serial novel?
Well, in this case it's like a bi-weekly TV series with each chapter being like an episode. There's mystery, action, scifi, politics a TINY amount of sex and all for 99c a pop, beginning in October.
Come on down and tell a friend. It starts here.
Researchers in the US have invented a new nanofabrication technique that can generate 2D patterns with very high rotational symmetries over large areas. Until now, only spatially repeating structures – which have sixfold or less rotational symmetry – could be patterned over such large areas using industrial photolithography techniques.
Dubbed moiré nanolithography, the technique can produced patterns with rotational symmetries as high as 36-fold – something that has never been observed in nature. Such high rotational symmetries could prove useful for a huge range of applications, from making better photonic crystals to boosting the performance of photovoltaic devices.
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| Quasicrystal on a wafer - see link below |
Physics World: Complex quasicrystals created using new nanofabrication technique
Dope video from the amazing Flying Lotus (LA) and Khalil Joseph (Seattle), you can hear Erykah Badu singing in the first few minutes too.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pVHC1DXQ7U&feature=share&list=UUvbd4lVoe8ur0zJJRuuhC_Q
2064 THE DAWN OF UNITY
Are we being hypnotized by technology while artificial intelligence is tempting us down a road that will lead us in over our human heads?
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| Memory-built-in quantum teleportation between photonic and atomic qubits |
I could have easily discussed the anniversary of 9-11, my recollection of the celebrations that broke out spontaneously last year (my neighbors made it quite hard to sleep); my shear luck of being in New York as those infectious celebrations happened.
No...instead I'm in a Trekkie mood, looking forward to the future; hopeful. We started the 21st Century on a sour note to say the least.
From the 100 Year Starship Symposium in Houston I blogged on yesterday, I stumbled on this item. The paper is at the link below. It took me aback that the Air Force commissioned the research, but I guess you have to study these things...even if we ultimately can't, what will we learn from the effort?
Lest you think that our friends at DARPA are the only ones interested in science-fictional possibilities, the USAF recently took delivery of a new study regarding the military potential of teleportation.
The Teleportation Physics Study was done by Eric Davis of Warp Drive Metrics. Its purpose -
"This study was tasked with the purpose of collecting information describing the teleportation of material objects, providing a description of teleportation as it occurs in physics, its theoretical and experimental status, and a projection of potential applications. The study also consisted of a search for teleportation phenomena occurring naturally or under laboratory conditions that can be assembled into a model describing the conditions required to accomplish the transfer of objects."
Federation of American Scientists: Teleporation Physics Study
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| Credit: Adrian Mann. Daedalus was conceived as a two-stage vehicle, which would attain a speed of 12 percent of the speed of light, for a 50-year voyage to reach Barnard's Star |
Scientists, visionaries, entertainers and the public will gather in Houston this week for the 100-Year Starship Symposium, a meeting to discuss space travel to another star.
...at its farthest, Mars is about 20 light-minutes away from Earth, and even Pluto is only about 4 light-hours distant. But the nearest star to the sun, Proxima Centauri, is more than 4 light-years from Earth, meaning a vehicle traveling at light-speed would take 4 years to arrive.
Since the fastest spaceships ever built can't even approach light speed, a probe or manned vessel would take many, many years to reach even the nearest stars.
That's why the 100-Year Starship initiative, a project started with seed money from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA ), has targeted the goal of developing a vehicle that could reach another star in 100 years.
Toward that end, the independent, non-governmental 100 Year Starship organization is hosting its public symposium Sept. 13 through Sept. 16 at the Hyatt Regency in Houston. Speakers include symposium chair Mae Jemison, the first female African American astronaut, as well as astronomer Jill Tarter, a co-founder of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute, Johnnetta B. Cole, director of the Smithsonian Museum of African Art, space journalist Miles O'Brien, and photographer Norman Seeff.
"Star Trek" actors LeVar Burton and Nichelle Nichols will also participate. The event is backed by former President Bill Clinton, who will serve as the symposium's honorary chair.
"Taking place the week of the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's speech delivered at Rice University challenging America to send a man to the moon, the symposium will hold a salute to fifty years of human space flight and NASA's Johnson Space Center," symposium officials wrote in an announcement.
The meeting will feature presentations on spacecraft propulsion and technology, as well as discussions on the social, psychological and religious implications of space travel to other stars.
"The symposium's technical session will include scientific papers on topics such as time-distance solutions; life sciences in space exploration; destinations and habitats; becoming an interstellar civilization; space technologies enhancing life on earth; and commercial opportunities from interstellar efforts," conference organizers wrote.
This will be the second 100-Year Starship Symposium; the last meeting was held in Orlando in October 2011.
This year, DARPA awarded seed money to the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence to found the 100 Year Starship organization, with the goal of encouraging research that will enable interstellar flight. "100 Year Starship will bring in experts from myriad fields to help achieve its goal — utilizing not only scientists, engineers, doctors, technologists, researchers, sociologists and computer experts, but also architects, writers, artists, entertainers and leaders in government, business, economics, ethics and public policy," officials wrote.
Space.com: Interstellar Starship Meeting Warps Into Houston This Week
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| BBC Science News - Artist's conception of White Dwarf pair and Gravity Waves |
...and, actually finding them! D.E. Winget - on of the investigators on the paper - is a professor at UT Austin Astrophysics. It's a small club...we kind of all know each other.
Researchers have spotted visible-light evidence for one of astronomy's most elusive targets - gravitational waves - in the orbit of a pair of dead stars.
Until now, these ripples in space-time, first predicted by Einstein, have only been inferred from radio-wave sources.
But a change in the orbits of two white dwarf stars orbiting one another 3,000 light-years away is further proof of the waves that can literally be seen.
A study to be reported in Astrophysical Journal Letters describes the pair.
Gravitational waves were a significant part of Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, which viewed space itself as a malleable construct, and the gravity of massive objects as a force that could effectively warp it.
BBC Science News: Gravitational waves spotted from white-dwarf pair
Granted, no metals or weapons, but the Prada 2012 Men's Fall Collection has grasped the Edwardian theme (which is a major touchstone for the fashion of steampunk) and pushed it to its most "fabulous" exteme.
The stills located at http://www.tomandlorenzo.com/2012/01/prada-fall-2012-menswear-colle... are incredible.
I can imagine Peter Mensah, Denis Haysbert, Roger Cross and even l'il Don Cheadle rockin' this look!
The actual runway show is equally impressive.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1YpD0tnGotE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
So if you are going to dress "steampunk" or "steamfunk" in the coming months - Prada has got you covered!
Check out my older bro's comic book novel the DS418
DS418: The worlds most dangerous graphic novel
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| A marble mosaic of Greek goddess Minerva in the Library of Congress symbolizes the preservation of civilization as well as the promotion of the arts and sciences. |
Earth’s climate is warming, and destructive weather is growing more prevalent. Coping with the changes will require collaborative science, forward-thinking policy, and an informed public.
I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them but to inform their discretion. Thomas Jefferson
The first sentence is from an article in Physics Today: "Predicting and Managing Extreme Weather Events" (link below). Yet, we question science as if it has a despicable political agenda; a conspiratorial, nefarious, dastardly plot.
Most scientists are in the Myers-Briggs INTJ category: Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging. The personality page for it is titled "The Scientist." The description: As an INTJ, your primary mode of living is focused internally, where you take things in primarily via your intuition. Your secondary mode is external, where you deal with things rationally and logically. It's probably not a good fit to make such a person a salesman, a politician, nor a "mad scientist" bent on taking over the world (Pinky and the Brain; Dr. No). Simply put, too busy with intellectual interests; without that kind of ambition or guile.
But our leaders aren't answering questions on science; candidates obfuscate climate change to please a dogma-driven "base," building a coalition of disparate parts into a missive mass of confusion. They fear citizenry and moneyed sources alike (well, probably the moneyed sources more so).
Judging from the LA Times, the reason for the tepid jobs numbers yesterday was because "OGs" are being called back to the work force, or not leaving it for younger workers, more apt to purchase stuff in our consumer-driven economy. So they stay home longer, having as much sex as before and procreating less (and those that do bring the bundle home), mooching off mom, dad cable TV and Internet access. So much for Carrousel. A simple math question: is 96,000 greater than zero? It's not ideal, but far better than where we've been.
I fear our ignorance, our worship of without-flaw market deities and hostility to reality will not lead to a blissful end.
This is a challenging time for the US and for US science. The economy, though it is beginning to show some positive signs, is still in bad shape. Extraordinary numbers of Americans are without jobs. The public holds a record-low opinion of government. The integrity of the scientific process is being questioned, and pressure to reduce federal spending is fierce.
The irony is that the demand for services provided by agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is at an all-time high and growing. Our ability to deliver those services depends in part on our scientific enterprise. One significant reason why demand for services is growing is the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Last year, new records were set in the US for tornadoes, drought, wind, floods, and wildfires. Heat records were set in every state. At one time last summer, nearly half of the country’s population was under a heat advisory or heat warning. In late November, hurricane-force winds hit parts of Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and California, with winds reaching 97 mph in Pasadena.
Another quote from Jefferson before I go:
I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country.
Physics Today: Predicting and Managing Extreme Weather Events
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| American biologist James Watson and English physicist Francis Crick and their contribution to the discovery of the DNA structure, photo and article in Nature |
Scientists unveiled the results of a massive international project Wednesday that they say debunks the notion that most of our genetic code is made up of so-called junk DNA.
The ENCODE project (Encyclopedia of DNA elements), which involved hundreds of researchers in dozens of labs, also produced what some scientists are saying is like Google Maps for the human genome.
"So the most amazing thing that we found was that we can ascribe some kind of biochemical activity to 80 percent of the genome. And this really kind of debunks the idea that there's a lot of junk DNA or really if there is any DNA that we would really call junk," NHGRI's Feingold said.
What has been called junk DNA is actually teeming with an intricate web of molecular switches that play crucial roles in regulating genes. The ENCODE project scientists found at least 4 million of these regulatory regions so far.
NPR: Scientists Unveil 'Google Maps' For Human Genome, Rob Stein
Technology Review: Quantum Entanglement Holds DNA Together, Say Physicists
You Tube Channel: Space Lab
Interestingly, they have a list of banned books (1990 to 1999) written by POC authors: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedauthors/authorsofcolor
When I perused the list of banned books, I was really surprised at a couple. The Lord of the Rings? Really? Yep, burned as being satanic, despite the fact that Tolkien was a devout Christian. And the Call of the Wild by Jack London? REALLY? Are they kidding?
Sadly, no they're not. It seems that ignorance is bliss in some places.
The list of the most banned classics: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedclassics/reasonsbanned
like the title says im a manga writer looking for an artist to collaborate with i am in college for creative writting and i am a nurses assistant i have income and i am willing to pay i need a partner not only that i need a partner who can also be my friend i understand this is business but stil im the type who needs someone i can get along with. even if we dont i dont care im really looking and needing to find an artist
i have several projects, i do my research and i am very serious about this email me, Facebook me or write me on here
email:amukamara44@gmail.com
facebook:phillips nkemakolam amukamara
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| Dr. Z - MySciNet |
From her website: Dr. Aziza is a physicist by training and currently works as a science media producer in affiliation with AZIZA Productions, a science media production company she established in the year 2000. She has always been interested in communicating science to the lay public through television.
While working on her Ph.D. in theoretical nuclear physics at the University of Maryland at College Park, Dr. Aziza received a Mass Media Science & Engineering fellowship from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and was assigned to CNN’s science and technology unit in Atlanta Georgia. During her fellowship, she gained hands-on experience producing science news video segments which aired on CNN’s newscasts. This experience launched her career as a TV science producer and on-air correspondent.
From MySciNet: Aziza Baccouche—Dr. Z, as she calls herself—has made a career connecting scientific research to the people it could affect, such as informing patients about medical developments and getting more minority students interested in science. Her medium is the screen, and she tells the stories of science through documentaries. But Baccouche, a Ph.D. physicist-turned-filmmaker, will likely never clearly see any of her finished products: She became legally blind at the age of 8, and ever since she's relied on her wits, passion for science, excellent memory, and what she calls her vision to achieve success.
"We know power is work over time, that strength is endurance over time. So I endured a lot of obstacles, but at the same time I created strength and vision and wisdom and endurance."
When you delve into the world of Facebook or other such social links, you come to notice, at least I did, anyway, that there are blinded cullerds and out and out fools in great numbers. The ingrained hypocrisy of this joint doesn't matter to them, because they have been Accepted.
The reason? They have Accepted everything put out by the oligarchs. When the actor Terry Crews indulges in tomfoolery, 'Oh quit being so touchy!' When some obscure pol from the South shouts a disparaging remark during the President's State of the Union, 'He was just expressing his right of free speech!' And, 'Treyvon Martin should not have scared that poor misunderstood armed bullyboy!' These are the people who nod their heads when cloaked foul remarks are made and then say 'I understand what they meant'. One of the ironies of the Civil Rights Movement has been the rise of the House cullerds. 'Well, well, being conservative is part of our group character!'
It is what led to our ancestors enslavement. It is why some stay in positions of authority long past they're effective expiration date. It is why too many embrace such negative and denying thoughts, 'All that stuff in school don't mean nuthin', because they have no desire to "change and challenge" their place.
At the opposite end is the group who wallow in the mire of socalled 'Accepted' attitudes. "I'm a member of the country club, and my wife wears big hats for the Kentucky Derby, and it has been because of those rowdy nonrestrained others, that we are not welcome to the class reunion, but I understand, because I have gone out of my way to show I'm on their side. And the business I work for smiles when it denies another a raise or a loan, because there can be only so many of us succeding else it might cause trouble."
The Atlanta Compromise's line "...cast your bucket where you may!" was not answered with "What if you pull up a bucketload of shit?" The Talented Tenth ideal reeks of a placid elitism. Yet in some circles that is an ideal that has taken hold. Aren't the Accepted Talented Tenth the Howards, Allens, and Condis?
I almost turned around and walked away from Dragoncon. I waited for three hours in a line wrapped around the Sheraton Hotel. Both my husband and I were exhausted, hot, and tired. What kept me going were the energetic people around me. They were dressed in costumes, laughed loudly, and were there to have a great time.
I'm so glad that I stayed. Dragoncon was an amazing adventure. I enjoyed meeting all those neat weirdos, hanging out with my fabulous writing buddies, and participating in the State of Black Science Fiction author panel. I was proud and excited to be seated with LM Davis, Alan Jones, Wendy Raven McNair, and Milton Davis. I think we shared our viewpoints and opinions well. What I enjoyed was that we each had our own unique ideas and were able to share our diverse opinions. If you'd like to take a look, here's the Youtube video. BTW, feel free to leave a comment or post, if something about the panel made you think.
Like it? Share it!
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| Simulated valence-charge density from x-ray and optical wave mixing shows the nuclei of carbon atoms as dark spots revealed by diffracted x-rays and the peaks of some of the bonds between them as white and blue spots induced by the polarized optical pulse. In diamond, the optical pulse primarily wiggles the charge that makes up chemical bonds. |
Light changes matter in ways that shape our world. Photons trigger changes in proteins in the eye to enable vision; sunlight splits water into hydrogen and oxygen and creates chemicals through photosynthesis; light causes electrons to flow in the semiconductors that make up solar cells; and new devices for consumers, industry, and medicine operate with photons instead of electrons. But directly measuring how light manipulates matter on the atomic scale has never been possible, until now.
An international team of scientists led by Thornton Glover of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) used the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to mix a pulse of superbright x-rays with a pulse of lower frequency, “optical” light from an ordinary laser. By aiming the combined pulses at a diamond sample, the team was able to measure the optical manipulation of chemical bonds in the crystal directly, on the scale of individual atoms.
The researchers report their work in the August 30, 2012 issue of the journal Nature.
Lawrence Livermore Laboratory: Synchronized Lasers Measure How Light Changes Matter
