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 I have created a short six minute video featuring the Alien Ambassador aka Nathan Turner.  This is the beginning of my effort to raise last minute funds to complete my movie which will be released in the summer of 2014.  I wanted everyone to see that we can have a black superhero on the TV, internet and big screens.  I have the actors, screenplay, location sets, but what I need is last minute funds to put everything together.  We as black people have been complaining about the lack of black characters in comic books and movies for a long time.  Nothing is going to change unless WE do something about it.  I'm not producing a blockbuster Hollywood event like The Amazing Spiderman, Man of Steel or the The Dark Knight. What I'm doing is producing a good sci-fi movie for 90 minutes that features a black superhero.  I got a bunch of nerds to help me with editing and special effects because we want to see that a black man and woman can save the day like any one else. All I'm looking to raise is at least $500.00 dollars.  It's relatively small amount of money compared to other budgets.  I have put in my own money and time so  you don't have too.  I can use additional funds to carry me over to the finish line.  Tell others about my project.  Watch the short video and pass it along to see what my vision is.  See if my project is worth helping.  My project is on kickstarter.com at THIS ADDRESS.  I have some cool reward prizes, but 5 bucks and can start it off.

Enjoy the short video and help me put a black superhero on the screen this summer.

Thank you  

FROM: ANALOG SCIENCE FICTION AND FACT

REVIEW: Mothership: Tales From Afrofuturism and Beyond

BY: DON SAKERS
This article was originally published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact 

Edited by Bill Campbell & Edward Austin Hall

Rosarium Publishing, 350 pages, $19.95 (trade paperback)
ISBN: 978-0-9891411-4-7

Genre: Original Anthology

Mothership is billed as presenting “just a part of the changing face of speculative fiction,” and features thirty-nine stories by forty writers of color. Some are familiar names (Tobias Buckell, S.P. Somtow), while others are up-and-comers.

As you might expect from the term “speculative fiction,” not all of these stories are science fiction—there’s fantasy, steampunk, and horror as well. And despite the term “Afrofuturism,” these stories aren’t limited to the concerns of Africa or African-Americans. Frankly, what we have here is simply an anthology of good stories.

Market realities dictate that it’s not enough to have good stories by relatively unfamiliar writers—there has to be a gimmick. In this case, readers need to look past the gimmick at the stories themselves.

Mothership’s keyword is “diversity.” If these stories share anything, it’s that they spring more from the tradition of literary SF than from the Campbell era. To put it in magazine terms, you’d see most of these stories in Asimov’s or Fantasy & Science Fiction before you’d see them in Analog. Not surprising, really—the editors come from academia. Don’t let that deter you.

Among the standouts in this volume are Thaddeus Howze’s “Bludgeon,” a Twilight Zone-ish tale of alien invasion with a surprise ending; Carlos Hernandez’s “The Aphotic Ghost,” in which a father comes to terms with his talented son’s death on Mount Everest; and Nisi Shawl’s “Good Boy,” a parable of virtual reality.

If there’s anything missing from this volume, it’s background on the contributors. Yes, one can always turn to the Internet—but I kept wishing there was an “about the authors” section.

For readers who want to see more diversity in SF, Mothership is definitely worth the price.

Image: NASA/JPL and article link

Scientific American: First Exomoon Possibly Glimpsed

It’s bath day.

My wrist itched from where my voidwatch had been part of my flesh. I rubbed it, missing the tech beneath my skin. Once a transtemporal connection to my voidship, now only flaking skin remained.

I don’t remember the last time we had a bath. I refuse to even attempt the mad rush. Eighty inmates in this section alone, six sinks, we get herded in, naked, filthy and play russian roulette with sinks, each sink may distribute water, this time, maybe not.

Just another psychological ploy, like keeping us dirty, introducing lice into the facility, food just shy of being spoiled and completely unedible.

The real goal is to break us.

To anchor us in time. To make us atone for our sins. To remind us we were not God.

Here away from voidships, away from temporal loci, we were just men subject to the irreversible hands of causality. I remember so many lives being at the center of a temporal locus, so many experiences, cheating the rules of reality.

Sitting on the event horizon of a black hole, I have just this one timestream. Crushing. Heavy. Inescapable.

I know where the nooks and crannies are and I hide when the gulag’s guards come around for bath day.

My guard came and left. I climbed back into the window and waited. Waited for the trail. Waited for the sign the Venture had come for me. She always came for me. But she didn’t come today. Or tomorrow. Or for many days after.

Years passed. I looked less and less. I did what I could to stay physically fit. But conditions in the gulag meant I spent more time sick and more than once I nearly died. But I never stopped looking. Then I realized, without my voidwatch, they would never find me. They needed a sign.

After a decade as a model prisoner, which meant selling out others, killing bastards who tried to kill me first, and providing favors to people I couldn’t kill outright, I became the head of the ship fueling detail. Today, thirty years after arriving in this gulag, I would leave here or die.

No one asked what I was doing onboard the warden’s yacht. It was my job. No one knew what I did before I came here, so reprogramming its navigation was child’s play. I waited until the fuel depot was completely full before enacting my scheme. The fuel was stored beneath the prison.

I watched the warden take off, he and most of his administrative detail were taking a vacation to someplace warm and beautiful. I had forgotten warmth and eschewed beauty. I had forgotten having been the master of my fate and the captain of my voidship.

I had become mean and petty. The truth was I had given up on rescue. This was now, just revenge. I watched the yacht arch into the heavens, its drive supplementing its antigrav, then I imagined their inability to control it as it dived toward the fuel depot.

I laughed maniacally as I saw them plunging into the atmosphere, heating up, knowing they would survive until impact.

I thrilled to the fuel explosions as they spread across the prison faster than they could be suppressed. I tossed the fire suppression module out the window of my cell.

My vanity fell away. We weren’t gods. We hadn’t the right to change reality to our whims. I made peace with my end.

As the fireball consumed the prison below me, I saw the arc of the voidship Venture as it fell from the heavens. Not in time enough for me. Fire became my world.

At this distance, I could hear her in my mind, again. That familiar song as she bent time and space. “You came.”

“I will always be there for you.” Her voice soothing, filled my consciousness, became all consuming, my death fell away.

“You’re late.”

“A timeship is never late, my love. Regulations notwithstanding, I will rescue you.”

“I know.”

I fall away into the darkness, away from her light, and I died. Again.

But not alone this time.

It’s bath day. Its been a month since I’ve been clean, but I know she will come for me.

She would move a universe.

Never Late © Thaddeus Howze 2014, All Rights Reserved

Source: Article link below

IEET: #3 Parallel Worlds exists and will soon be testable, expert says

Source: Link "From last summer"

Web site: Stephon Alexander, Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy

The first story I wrote was published when I was five years old. Technically, it was a contest for the local paper where you had to finish the prompt. Something about finding a treasure chest in an attic and what was in it.

From what I remember, I wrote something like it was a TV and we all watched Bugs Bunny because it was Saturday! That’s not verbatim, of course. For that, you’d have to ask my Mother; I think she still has the newspaper clipping somewhere.

Now, ahem, several years later, my writing has progressed. I can also say that I’m a full-fledged geek as well. (It wasn’t long after that “publication” that I moved from watching Bugs to watching reruns of Star Trek and playing video games on the computer.)

Being both a writer and a Geek places me in an interesting position.  And certainly in a different headspace when creating fiction. The writing process can be challenging in general. Just ask all of the frustrated authors out there. 

But it’s different for us Geeks. We’re special. And that has good and bad implications.

The good part includes the fact that we’re natural storytellers. We love to take an ordinary situation and add our own spin to retelling it. Even adding our own “what if” scenarios to make that book more awesome.

Also, most of us have an encyclopedic knowledge of our chosen object of geeky affection. References from comics, movies, books can weave their way into our lives so easily and deeply that they become part of us. It can create and fuel ideas. Like that time I wanted to translate “99 Luftballons” into Klingon.

But it’s also a challenge when writing.  It can make us think, “This will never be as good as insert author’s name here.” That can stymie us into only reading, watching, experiencing our faves and not creating our own work. Comparison can be detrimental to any author, but we Geeks have such love and respect for the creators of our books and movies and such, that they reach cult status. And we hesitate to toss our own work out to the public.

It can make us question our astounding creativity.  Is this too much like episode 25 of that show? I have it on DVD; I’ll watch it to be sure. Didn’t they already make something like this into a movie?  Even other Geeks may tell us this. “You know, this sounds like…” Geekiness can make us second-guess the ability of our work to stand out among the crushing amounts of awesomeness out there. But no one can write a story exactly the way you can. So stop worrying. Even if your lead character’s name sounds strangely like that starship captain’s. It’s okay, really. Finish writing and change it later. Maybe.

We as Geeks can also get caught up easily with other pursuits. Heated Internet debates about the newest video game, introducing the uninitiated to our favorite TV series, watching someone else’s favorite TV series… The list can be endless.

While there’s a lot of shiny for Geeks to get distracted by, in order to effectively create our own awesome writing, we must do the unthinkable:

Take a break from our favorite things.

I know, I know. The thought of not watching the next episode, or of not making it to the next level up is torture. (“I’ll write after I finish this” is all too common.) But making this sacrifice will help you reach the goal of finishing a first draft of that short story or creating your RPG for the contest. Don’t give up your pursuits completely; just lessen the hours you devote to it for a short time. If it’s really a hardship, cut back on certain days or make a schedule you can live with that includes your writing and your Geek love.

Sometimes, I don’t even take my own advice. The lure of another Firefly marathon is too strong. Or I’m determined to beat the next boss without losing another life point and that takes me… some time. So I have to continually remind myself of the goal: Get the story done.

Writing while geeky is tough, but without a doubt worth the sacrifice to bring your vision to life and make your mark on the Geek world. Just think: It may be your work the future Geeks are debating via their neutral implants. 

Hello everyone!

Happy New Year! 2013 was a great year and now 2014 holds many more possibilities for creative thought and development. We’re excited about getting things going. We want to ramp up our efforts to really make a greater impact in the realm of creating independent videos, games and animations. 

OK NOW WHAT DO YOU REALLY WANT?

We need your help with developing our digital production facility pipeline to make this first 3D animated feature length film, “Earth Squadron” a reality.  Earth Squadron is a film about what happens when planet Earth's rejects are the only ones that can save them from an unknown alien foe bent on world domination.

WHY SHOULD I TRUST YOU WITH MY MONEY?

We have a proven record of successes. Here are a few of our previous projects:

2008 Creates Science Fiction Social Networking Site with over 3500 registered members to date

2010 Published Genesis Anthology of Science Fiction Book I

2011 Published Genesis Science Fiction Magazine

2012 Created Genesis Science Fiction Radio Show

2013 Published Genesis Anthology of Science Fiction Book II

WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO WITH THE MONEY?

We’ve already made substantial investments in software, computer equipment and movie making equipment and now we are asking for your help in the form of donations to raise $25,000 to cover production facility, production and marketing costs. Help us help others to turn dreams into realities.

Please make your contribution now.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/earth-squadron-movie-project/x/328798

From Technology Review's "Best of 2013":

Credit: footnote (1) link

1. Technology Review: Government Lab Reveals It Has Operated Quantum Internet for Over Two Years
2. Physics arXiv: Network-Centric Quantum Communications with Application to Critical Infrastructure Protection,
Richard J. Hughes, Jane E. Nordholt, Kevin P. McCabe, Raymond T. Newell, Charles G. Peterson, Rolando D. Somma

Ok, don't get all zoomie on me. Back there in the past from the late 1940s to the mid 1960s there was an style of architecture called Googie. Look it up on Wikipedia, has to do with when the world culturally entered the space-age, mid-century modern. Building had wings, geometric shapes and bright colors. Yeah, like the Jetsons cartoon. Wings boomerangs, spaceships, flying saucers. Anyway, there was a brother named Paul Williams who designed the Theme building for the Los Angeles International Airport. Here's a picture so there's no mystery:

And if you are so inclined, look up about the black atomic scientist at Los Alamos, we were in the spaceage fever. There are stories to be told, yep, stories. (Blacks on the dark side of the moon, lol, probably true).

Isaac Asimov's Predictions For 2014 From 50 Years Ago Are Eerily Accurate

{Click on the Link for the Full Article}

Fifty years ago, American scientist and author Isaac Asimov published a story in The New York Times that listed his predictions for what the world would be like in 2014.

Asimov wrote more than 500 books in his lifetime, including science fiction novels and nonfiction scientific books, so he was well-versed in thinking about the future.

In his article, called "Visit to the World's Fair of 2014," Asimov got a whole bunch of his guesses right -- and his other predictions are making us a little envious of his imagined future.

They were:

• Four-Quark Matter
• Strangers from Beyond our Solar System (Neutrinos)
• Dark Matter is Still Obscure
• Light Stopped for One Minute
• Telescope Detects Twist in Ancient Cosmic Light
• Lasers of Sound
• Microscope Spies on Hydrogen
• Facilities in a Box
• Majorana Fermions Annihilate in Nanowires
• A Year of Quantum Victories—But No Quantum Computer Yet
• What’s Inside a Black hole?

Compiled by Matteo Rini and Jessica Thomas

APS: Highlights of the Year

However, there is an architectural mode well suited for this type of circumstance; the Arcology.  One of the problems with co-opting this architectural form is that Arcology construction is generally considered monumental. It would be hard to marshal the resources to build an Arcology in normal times, it would be reckless to consider it after the fall of modern society. 

However, not all forms of arcologies are necessarily of the type and variety requiring a high-tech infrastructure.

As I've written in a previous blog, 'nothing makes a great story like a good villain.' So when spinning your tale for readers or the screen, what do you do when there's more than one bad guy? There are a number of scenarios in which a story will have more than one villain. Often, it will be a series of villains the hero(es) must work their way through to get to the main 'baddie'.

But what about when there's two prominent villains? How do they interact? Are they 'Master and Servant?' What about siblings or parent and child? How volatile is their alliance if any? Most important, what personality type of villain are they? Plotter, Strategist, Butcher or Nihilist?

Once you've figured those elements out, what are the villain's goals? Great villains may have intricate or no goals at all save to just be 'in the game'. Getting all that hashed out and integrated into your story in a compelling way is where the real work comes in. Here's a good article concerning who's 'Eviler than Thou' when it comes to writing multiple villains in a story....

Eviler than Thou