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I'm a live-and-let-live kind of person. I accept others may or may not agree with how I look at life. My viewpoints are shaped by my experiences, observable and measurable experimental evidence and logic.

Related link: How Science Really Works

Hello!

Kori Miller Writes is the site for creative writers and newbie podcasters. I accept submissions in the following areas:

Creative Non-fiction, including poetry

Flash Fiction

Newbie Podcasting

Graphic Art

300-500-word, writing-related or podcasting-related, blog posts 

Please review the submission guidelines before sending your information. For articles, please also contact me via the site.

Back Porch Writer is the show for writers, about writers, and writing. It airs, live, every Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. CDT. BPW Special Topics TwitterChat is every Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. CDT, and Catch Up With Kori is live, every Sunday, at 5:30 p.m. CDT. 

Please review the Back Porch Writer site for more detailed information about how you can be a guest, or have your book reviewed. 

The Tuesday show is booked for 2013. I'm booking for first quarter 2014 now. The Wednesday TwitterChat is open for guests as is the Sunday show. I look for SMEs(Subject matter experts) for both of those. Think: What can I teach a fellow writer or podcaster? What do I have to offer them? That's what I'll ask when I follow-up with you.

If you want to get in touch regarding the above, please do it via my sites. It's much easier for me to respond and keep track of show guest requests and submissions that way. 

I hope to hear from many of you. My goal for both sites is to help you spread the word about what you do: writing, pordcasting or both!

Thank you!

KDM

Hey, Black Science Fiction Society! I'm excited to share with you an interview with the Grey Wolf Blog out of Wales/England. I share my inspiration for writing sci-fi drama, my appreciation for the works of Octavia Butler and Samuel Delany, literature in general and, of course, my historical fiction/Affican American murder mystery, Murder on Second Street. Please check it out on this beautiful day at http://greywolfauthor.com/.

Links to my books and all social media outlets are posted as well. Please feel free to leave a comment and/or word of encouragement.

Thanks,

Rebekah

Popular Science: How D-Dalus Flies Like Nothing Else

Science Daily: NASA Mars rover views eclipse of the sun by Phobos

Caveat emptor: do the habitable exoplanets WANT to be found (by what may ubiquitously be called "us")?

Related Link, io9: 11 of the Weirdest Solutions to the Fermi Paradox

It takes place next year on the Big Island of Hawaii with cast members from Stargate: Atlantis, Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5, Xena, Farscape, and more! Cree Summer will be there too!

Discount tickets available NOW through 9/21/13.  Limited quantities, first come, first served.

2014 Con Pass, only $99 total for 3 days of events

2014 Hotel and Con passes for two, only $650 total for 3 nights at the Hapuna Beach plus 2 Con passes for 3 days of events.  

2014 Hotel and Con passes for three, only $725 total for 3 nights at the Hapuna Beach plus 3 Con passes for 3 days of events.

Come join us on the beach! 

http://goo.gl/SzdQZ7

Nature

Nature: Theoretical physics: The origins of space and time

Hey guys my Kickstarter  just went live and I'd love it if you could support, or just spread the word. Thanks everyone.

A long time ago I remember seeing Director Melvin Van Peebles film, 'The Watermelon Man' on some backwater channel. I was a kid at the time but even then I could understand the context of the story. I got the chance to watch it again as an adult and I'm ashamed to say that the film still rings true today.

The film opens with middle-aged and middle-class white male Jeff Gerber performing his daily exercise routine which at first seems admirable until he starts spouting racial cracks about Boxer Muhammad Ali when the speed bag starts getting the better of him. After that, there isn't a moment in which Gerber doesn't spew a racial or misogynistic insult from breakfast until bedtime. About 'bedtime'. After a long day of being the most obnoxious and racist person he could possibly be, Gerber goes to sleep. When he wakes up to do the business in the middle of the night, something new has been added. He has been mysteriously transformed into a Black Man!

As Gerber attempts to calm himself and his white wife of many years, he futilely tries to 'bleach himself' back to normal via various concoctions purchased from the 'Negro Pharmacy'. From there, his life begins to spiral out of control as he is accosted by police for merely running for the bus to work, is barred from his own social club and has trouble at work as he is singled out to get the new 'Negro Insurance Market'.

Throughout the film, Jeff Gerber begins to find out the hard way what life for a black person in his city is like and the attitudes of the people he called friends turn dangerously negative. All while the life he once knew is circling the drain, the one thing Jeff Gerber gains is... perspective.

"The Watermelon Man' (Full Film)

Starring Geoffrey Cambridge

The concept of using implicit knowledge in works of art is nothing new. As early as Herodotus, authors and story tellers were incorporating the implicit knowledge to make allusions, references and comparisons for their audiences. 

The same is true of the arts in the modern era. Books, movies, plays and music all trade in common cultural understandings. If a movie about teen love makes a thin reference to Romeo, the audience gets it. It assumed, and rightly so, that anyone consuming a love story is at least casually familiar with Shakespeare's most famous (currently) work. 

What recently struck me was how a large corpus of Science Fiction knowledge is implicit in modern Hip-Hop. I say appreciation because, as I will show, the reference are not derogatory to Science fiction, instead, they are celebratory, positive.  

Any review of rap lyrics will no doubt point out reams of references to movies and cartoons. However, I want to take a fairly recent, highly publicized example, a take a look at the implicit knowledge being assumed. 

Kendrick Lamar (on the now forgotten Big Sean Song 'Control' ) drops this verse:

Read more at: The Moorsgate Media Blog

BBC: On This Day August 28, 1963
The Guardian: The Story Behind the 'I Have A Dream' Speech
Official Program: The March On Washington
NY Times: On This Day
Politico: Martin Luther King: Too far, Too fast, just right

I'm soo very sorry for  not putting a valid link to purchase my book instead here's another link as to where you can buy my book Fists Of Fury

If you managed to get it feel free to give me your feedback both good and bad :)

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One of the primary reason that stands out for the transistor was driven by NASA and the need to reduce cargo space and increase computing power for orbital and missions to the moon - before that, slide rules. I know I just tweaked the die hard "conspiracy theorists" out there that don't believe we went to the moon, yet ardently believe Area 51 has aliens instead of high tech devoted to aerospace (see: "Zero Dark Thirty" - they mentioned it) and the pyramids couldn't have been built by the same North African Egyptian architects the Romans thought enough of to "import" to the empire and build most of their modern architecture and technology: aqueducts, arches, obelisks (think Washington Monument); plumbing.

1. NY Times: How Technology Wrecks the Middle Class
2. James Boggs: The American Revolution - Pages From a Negro Worker's Notebook

SCI-FI SCHOOL by Odis Chenault

 ep.6 Artificial Intelligence

 Hello and welcome to the sixth installment of SciFi School.

 Artificial intelligence (A.I.) is a common theme in science fiction. I want to talk about the obvious and not so obvious applications of this science in science fiction.

 Artificial intelligence is when a computer or machine becomes aware of its own existence and starts to think. In science fiction, this usually spells trouble. In the Terminator and Matrix series, one of A.I.’s first decisions is to destroy mankind. It seems that thinking machines have little tolerance for our imperfect reasoning.

 A.I. can be a computer network, an android, a robot or all of these. A.I. can be controlled by a main source or a community of individual machines.

 When A.I. is a network, it can hack into and take control of other networks. In the Terminator and Matrix series, A.I. was given control of the nuclear arsenal. A.I. then used it to wipe out a large percentage of the human population. The next step was to build mobile war machines to mop up the remaining post apocalyptic survivors. With the machines growth unchecked, they would build machine cities and continue to evolve into something like Transformers or beyond.

An android is a thinking computer that looks like a human. These machines can operate on a complex series of programmed functions or have a form of positronic brain that allows them to think.

Robots, in science fiction, are usually stand alone machines with some form of mobility. They too can be programmed or think on their own. They can be in any size or shape. Technically, Nano-Bots are robots.

 Nano- technology involves microscopic machines that can reproduce rapidly. Nano-technology and A.I. produce unlimited possibilities. If Nano machines develop“hive level” intelligence, they could become an unstoppable swarm or wave. It would be almost impossible to defend against a swarm of microscopic machines working together. They could go anywhere and build anything.

Scary stuff, but scientists are trying to build this stuff as you read this article. Don’t worry; they’ll keep it all under control. Won’t they?

From Technology Review

Destination: Planet Negro, A Review

Destination: Planet Negro is writer, producer and director Kevin Willmott’s classically-styled, science fiction film, offering a 1930s perspective on the current issues facing black and white America.

Filmed as an homage to the sci-fi films of the 1950s, and perfect in look and feel of the genre of that era, DPN is a brilliant comedic success with a small, but significant, nod to The Wizard Of Oz..

The movie opens with Negro leaders of the 1930s gathered to discuss America’s “Negro Problem” we are witness to a grand design that eliminates everywhere on planet Earth as a home for the country’s Negro population where they can live in peace without the influence, nay, even the presence, of whites.

The conclusion this group of leaders arrive at is that since there’s no place on this planet such a community could be found, they invested all the funds they had collected into building an interplanetary rocket ship with the intention of exploring the planet Mars.

Three intrepid astronauts are tasked with the exploration of Mars to see how suitable it will be for the immigration of all of America’s Negroes.

It is tempting to recount a narrative of the events documented in this story, but suffice it to say that the brilliance of looking at an America with Barrack Obama as President through the eyes of Negroes from the 1930s cannot be understated.

The dialogue is spot on, and is as laugh inducing as it is thought provoking.

For those who, somehow, believe that the election of a bi-racial POTUS somehow signals that the United States of America is in anyway post-racial, the presentation of the contrasts and similarities of the culture of race between the two eras gives spectacularly funny lie to the notion.

Though there is so much sociological fodder for a satirical look at modern urban existence from the past’s perspective, the situations presented in DPN are so carefully crafted, and so well written by Willmott, that the movie forces the enlightened viewer to confront, through tears of laughter the characters so easily invoke, issues the American corporate watchdogs of culture would like us to forget.

DPN is a film well worth seeing. The fact is it hits the sociological, cultural, and racial stereotypes, issues and corporate-sponsored cultural memes squarely on the head makes it work for viewers of all colors and of all ages.

There is adult language and some sexual innuendo in the movie, but nothing a teenager today hasn’t heard, or said, in spades.

It is this reviewer’s hope that Destination: Planet Negro is able to pick up a distributer and be seen by general audiences in theaters everywhere.

It’s a great shared experience.

Disclaimer

     I would like to start by saying I bear no ill will toward any independent creators, black or otherwise. Along the course of this article, some may assume I have the ‘crabs in a barrel' mentality, but that is the furthest from the truth. My only wish is to see my fellow creators succeed and tell the stories that need to be told.

Building a Better Brand

     Comic book companies, such as Marvel and DC hire up incoming talent to write monthly books, which allows them to churn out a decent living by doing what they love. I'm not going to talk about why no people of color write for either company, but I will pose the question, why can't they, people of color, have a piece of the pie? Besides them having larger marketing machines, they have familiar stories, and characters so beloved, that fans of the old stories end up becoming writers of the new ones. Despite the tales being similar, they assure that the same fun had in the past by most fans is enjoyed in the present. So what can the independent creator of color do to even things out, how can we possibly compete with 75-60 years of familiar storytelling? The answer is telling better stories, and no matter how good an idea you have, everything is in the way you share it. As with all groups, the world tends to associate black people with certain behavioral patterns, and those associations begin to stick over time. There are a number of good black writers, but a number of other would be writers who have great ideas, but poor delivery. This coupled with mediocre art, in some cases land black comics in the dark corners of local shops, if at all. If we want top shelf visibility, you need to produce top shelf quality and though the color of your skin shouldn't matter as far as the product goes, it does.

Buying Black Because…

     Buying black is the practice of purchasing goods and services from people of color because; the consumer is a person of color. While a great show of solidarity, a problem emerges when the producers of products take their consumers for granted and expect them to buy anything, regardless of quality. If a creator expects anyone to spend their hard-earned money on a comic then it is that creator's job to show their best work. I don't want to spend 2.99-3.50 on a story riddled with exposition and poor character development. Black creators have it especially hard because no one expects us to have literary ability, we don't benefit by proving the stereotype right. The difference between our counter parts and us is, unless we're stellar, our work is considered bad, they're mediocre work can convince readers to buy another issue. What's worse is that our penchant for creating stories and characters, which resonate with us often gives the comic book buying majority an excuse to dismiss our work as stereotypical or culturally alien. When other black people refuse to buy black they are usually said to be self-hating or unsupportive, which can be true sometimes but other times we're not humble enough to smell what we're shoveling.

We’re Not Crabs, We’re People

     Sometimes people say or do things to undermine our progress. As black people we've gone through this in and outside of our community for many years, but we can't always be the victim and in some instances must shoulder blame. No one who is black, white or otherwise deserves anything. We sometimes think that the world owes us something because of how our people were treated, but the universe is indifferent in most matters and everything has to be earned. I learned this first hand when veteran writer, Karl Bollers tore one of my scripts to shreds. It was the first time it had happened, and I couldn't be more thankful that it did. A pat on the back is nice, but can lead to a false sense of accomplishment and stroke the ego. This bolstered pride can make a creator resistant to constructive criticism regardless of the source. Saying that people do not ‘hate' on the dreams of others would be a bold lie, however that can't always be true. If someone who has more experience in a particular field than you do offers advice, listen to them. There's a reason we take writing classes in college and it's not to pass the time, writing is a craft that must be studied, tested and honed. If a veteran writer reads your work and tells you, it could be tighter, test the observation and look at your story. When you're writing, things make sense to you the writer, but the rest of the world isn't behind your eyes, and they can be left confused. A good idea is worthless if it's not conveyed properly and remember; you're writing isn't just a critique on you, but every other black comic writer out there. Read a book on writing, take a class, remember that all characters need an arc, and to show not tell. Take it from me, it's better to learn your mistakes now and correct them, than to make a habit of it later. Lastly, having an editor is always a good thing, especially if they're a writer themselves.

Haste Makes Waste

     One of the most important things I've learned in my experience as a comic writer is, take your time. Black folks are a show me people, whether it be money, clothing or cars we always have to look like we're about it. However, when it comes to writing, everything you do should be drafted and redrafted. Something's make sense years after you think about them; others seem like the stupidest idea in the world once you give them some thought. Take my first published comic "The Hierophants", I wanted it out so bad, to prove to myself that I was a writer, the main character's first name wasn't even mentioned in the issue. Looking back at it, I shudder to think that I was so oblivious of my own mistakes, but I was, and I've learned from them making me a better writer all around. There is no shame in taking your time and reviewing your work, because though quick release maybe satisfying in the short-term, it's often hollow in the long run.

The Race Yet to Run

     While many of us are still finding our way in the world of comic book writing, trying make a dollar out of fifteen cents, we need to make sure we're above-board. We know we have to work three times as hard and twice as long to get anywhere near the other half. I won't say we should beg for jobs, but I will say we need to give them some competition. I believe we can do it with a little care and a standard, one we create, by which our work can be judged.

Original source : The Nelo Maxwell Experience