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A Steamfunk Novel concept

I was thinking last night about Steamfunk and California and a bunch of other stuff.
Then I thought about the first Black governor of California (yes, we've already had one -- under Mexico), Pio Pico and how cool it would be to write an alternate history California steamfunk novel with Pio Pico, perhaps as the hero, perhaps as the governor of La Nación Independiente de California (The Independent Nation of California) and its conflicts with Mexico, the French South and the First Nation of the Northeast (cuz they banded together and drove the British into the ocean.)

http://www.aztecclub.com/campo/campo2.htm

THE MEXICAN WAR IN CALIFORNIA
www.aztecclub.com
Pio Pico
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Adam Grey, on human progress:

“Society has to evolve in order for humankind to evolve…otherwise we’re just dependent on outliers, on the occasional outstanding person of genius or conscience, to bring us along. And even then, sometimes the occasional person of genius doesn’t have much conscience…or the occasional person of conscience doesn’t have much genius.”

For more about First Cause, go to:

firstcauseproject.wordpress.com

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Flexible Graphene...

Credit: Article schematic

A team led by Silvija Gradecak [MIT] has succeeded in growing ZnO nanowire arrays on graphene by modifying the surface of the carbon material with conducting polymer interlayers. The researchers synthesized ZnO seed layers on the interfacial polymer layers, which results in well ordered ZnO nanowire growth via a low-temperature hydrothermal process. "The polymer coating process, the ZnO seed layer deposition and hydrothermal ZnO nanowire growth are all possible in solution and under ambient conditions," explained Gradecak. "What is more, the interfacial conductive polymer coating allows for efficient charge transfer between the ZnO nanowires and graphene, so preserving the latter's unique electronic properties."

 

Nanotech web: Graphene optoelectronics goes flexible

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The Secrets of Fuzzy Funk

Fuzzy Funk was one of the original Zonons that came together to form a defense against the ViPrey and the Power That Is Not within the Anii networml to protect the cyphron and zonon populace. Most cyphrons were defenseless against the ViPrey skinks because they knew not how to fight them. There seemed to be two types of ViPrey…. The regular ViPrey that had no enhanced powers (and they were the ones who are mostly helpful to cyphrons); and those that looked like monster skinks and different variations as well. The monster skinks had enhanced powers that would allow them to have outer body experiences, whereas they could transmit a shadowy likeness of themselves out into a geonetric location within a networml and steal cyphron souls. Their actual physical presence would create a stench of hydrogen sulfide gas when they gathered in mass…. A monster skink would also have the strength of a dimming star making it impossible for anyone to defeat them. All, but one…. Fuzzy Funk! The special power of a dimming star would be that of gravitational pull.

Fuzzy was the only Zonon who could fight hand to hand combat with any ViPrey beast and defeat them. He was the only one that they feared in addition to Diamond Blade. Diamond Blade is a teacher within the CyPhron Academy. She also moonlights as a renegade mercenary for CiPher Fire – the legendary stealth cypheron – led by Black Angus. Black Angus is also a Zonon and he is a material science engineer with specialization in dark matter and dark energy. He is secretly known to be a dark matter “blacksmith” for the Nano-Tera. His weaponry and defense gear are known for their tremendous success against the monster ViPrey beasts and the Power That is Not.

In addition to the core of CiPher Fire, there is Rahman. He is their primary networml navigator and secondary code runner. His aircraft of choice is the Veloraptor…. It may not be the fastest Realm class aircraft, but it is the swiftest, most powerful, maneuverable, and stealthy aircraft in existence within the Realm. Rahman has the moves that will make a monster skink pause and think…… if there is such a thing…

Fuzzy Funk had a long successful history with the Anii networml before he moved to the Reality. When he was removed from his position as lead defense minister within the Reality networml of CyPhron Defense, he placed himself into self-exile and created a new cypheron called Virtual-X. He has not been seen since, but Virtual-X is associated with him and this reconnaissance cypheron represents his thinking. The members of this cypheron are on the run, but are very popular within the Reality. They represent that which is good and great and pose a threat to the current players who are wreaking havoc within the Reality.

Fuzzy’s engineering genius and ability to be both mystical and practical was very important in the development of the Ghost Code…… The Ghost Code is central to powering the networml portals… Networml portals are the gateways to and from the infinite networmls of the Realm. Fuzzy is the ultimate leader – he will not lead where he has not followed, and he will always sacrifice himself before he risks the lives of others….. Most important of all, he will find a way to succeed!!!!! His war cry is widely known!!!!

E-e-e-Y-a-a-a-h! E-e-e-Y-a-a-a-h! E-e-e-Y-a-a-a-h! &n bsp; Encoda Moda!

Fuzzy is closely associated also with Betelhem, the current ranking CyPhron CyPher Guardian. There can only be one CiPher Guardian to reign at a time….. Betelhem is the only cyphron who can summon the Remnant… Betelhem is a former code runner who developed the Nano Tera code. It is the code that is protecting the Remnant along with CiPher Fire. No one has broken or come near to deciphering the Nano Tera. It is the hope of the Hordes of BoLoob and the Power That Is Not to capture Betelhem in order to steal the Remnant. Currently the Remnant location is not known to anyone for it became lost during the Zonon Lockdown.

One last thing…. There are two Fuzzy Funk characters….. When Fuzzy Funk became self-exiled, he became the Legend of Fuzzy Funk. Black Angus and then he then mentored a younger CyPhron to succeed him. That apprentice is now known as Fuzzy Funk. The saga continues……

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Perhaps Now...

Global Poverty Project dot com

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW: Amid the crises and battles, both predictable and unforeseeable, that you will face over the next four years, one problem will stand out both for the economic and social dangers it poses and for the difficulty and cost of solving it. Whether you can develop a practical and sustainable strategy to address climate change—specifically, to begin lowering carbon dioxide emissions—will define the success of your new term as president. We do not make such a declaration lightly; we are keenly aware of the many other challenges you face. But the potential for global warming over the next decades threatens consequences so dire that they could overwhelm any progress you make toward other long-term economic, social, and political goals.

 

Altering the course of climate change is a task that will take decades. It will require innovative new technologies and overhauls of the world’s energy, agricultural, and transportation infrastructure. We don’t suggest that you can reverse the warming trend over the next four years, or even that you will be able to significantly decrease carbon dioxide emissions. But with the help of the world’s best economic, technical, and scientific minds, you can formulate a policy that will show the nation—and the world—how we can begin to make the changes necessary to ensure that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere stabilizes at a safe level. Indeed, it is critical that you do so.

 

Telegraph

 

MIT Technology Review: Dear Mr. President: Time to Deal with Climate Change

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List your 7 favorite #scifi movies in any order, with the hashtag #scifitop7 and let’s see what happens! I’m making it 7 because 5 seems too short but 10 won’t fit under the character limit…

My #scifitop7:Alien; The Thing(1982); Blade Runner; Gattaca; Eternal Sunshine/Spotless Mind; 28 Days Later; 2001: A Space Odyssey

In a little while, we’ll continue the hashtag with another scifi category, like movies or books.

Tell us your favorites!

PW

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Of Mice and Men...

...sadly, the effects of cosmic rays are not superpowers and spandex tights:

Comic Book Movie dot com


For the future of manned spaceflight, we have yet another problem to solve...


Senior author of the study, Professor Kerry O'Banion from the University of Rochester Medical Centre (URMC) Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy said: 'Galactic cosmic radiation poses a significant threat to future astronauts.

'The possibility that radiation exposure in space may give rise to health problems such as cancer has long been recognised.



'However, this study shows for the first time that exposure to radiation levels equivalent to a mission to Mars could produce cognitive problems and speed up changes in the brain that are associated with Alzheimer's disease.'



Tests on mice with models of Alzheimer's showed that after they were exposed to various doses of radiation, including levels comparable to what astronauts would be experience during a mission to Mars, they were far more likely to fail these tasks - suggesting neurological impairment - earlier than these symptoms would typically appear.


The brains of the mice also showed signs of vascular alterations and a greater than normal accumulation the protein 'plaque' that accumulates in the brain and is one of the hallmarks of the disease.



'These findings clearly suggest that exposure to radiation in space has the potential to accelerate the development of Alzheimer's disease,' said Professor O'Banion.

 

Daily Mail:
Space travel under threat as scientists find cosmic radiation could cause Alzheimer's in astronauts

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Check out my Review of Nowhere Men.

(RRR) NoWhere Men issues 1 & 2

Writer: Eric Stephenson

Art: Nate Bellegarde & Jordie Bellaire

Publisher: Image Comics

"Science is the new rock and roll." Or what would happen if three of the four Beatles and Jim Hendrix decided to reshape the world with science instead of music. That is the impression I got from NoWhere men originally and with high hopes I picked up a copy of issue 1. Here we're introduced to the main characters Emerson Strange, Dade Ellis, Simon Grimshaw and Thomas Walker who got together and formed World Corps, which propelled them to rock star status on the world stage. I love the way Stephenson uses little articles in the back of the story to create the notion that these men could just as easily be on the cover of rolling stone as they could popular science. What I don't particularly like is the fact that I really am not sure where the story's going and maybe that is by design but it feels like there are things that we should know and don't. A perfect example of this is a scene in, which the group is talking about the morals and ethics of their scientific ventures and then we are introduced to a whole new group of characters almost out of nowhere. Which brings me to my next issue with the story, we are introduced to the characters in the space station we aren't given any real reason to care about. Sure there is a possible romance blooming somewhere in there, but other than that if these people died I couldn't see why that would matter and that is a key element of storytelling in my eyes. Maybe I have to keep reading to gain that sense of connection with the characters but I don't know if I'll be around long enough to get there. On the plus side I'm a sucker for superscience and I like Stephensons notion to turn into pop culture. The Art by the Bellegrade and Bellaire does a really good job at setting the feel for the comic, everything is clean and and the use of colors do a good job at maintaining a Sci-fi pop culture look. This is Comic gets 3 R's out of 5.

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FRINGE SPACE

So, for some years I wrote STAR TREK fiction for POCKET BOOKS.

It was great fun and I learned, really, how to be a novelist in that time working with and getting advice from some of the best writers and editors in the business.

For various reasons I stopped writing STAR TREK stuff (though I don't rule out a return; there are lots of stories to tell in that universe) and, in fact, science fiction altogether.

I got into Urban Fantasy and Crime writing and, really, never looked back.

But, recently, I've been feeling the scifi bug biting me again. More and more of the stories that have come to me have been science fiction or, even better, some sort of mash-up of scifi and fantasy.

In looking over my work I realized I'd written a couple of stories for anthologies that were set in the same universe- the one where humanity is at war with brutal alien race we call the Mercanti.

This was my stab at so-called "SPACE OPERA", the genre that includes STAR TREK, ROBOTECH, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, STAR BLAZERS and lots more. One of the only drawbacks of writing tie-in fiction (and there aren't many) is that you ave to stick closely to what has been established by the original creators of whatever universe you're working in.

If you LOVE that universe, this is minor because, as a fan, you know it inside and out. But, SOMETIMES, there are stories you just can't tell.

FRINGE SPACE isn't exactly my version of STAR TREK. There is no Federation; there are no alien species (no intelligent ones anyway) except the Mercanti and they are trying to kill us.

But, if you like my STAR TREK work, you will find yourself very much at home in FRINGE SPACE.

The first two FRINGE SPACE stories are available in these anthologies for now if you can't wait (and want to read some other REALLY good stories).

SPACE GRUNTS - Truth Metric (Fringe Space #1)

WORDS TO MUSIC - Thanks to Captain Go (Fringe Space #2)

But I will be releasing them as individual yarns over the next few weeks.

You can read #3, FINA SILENTO, now with no problem because the stories do not connect directly.

Seller Text

Fringe Space is Geoffrey Thorne's galaxy-spanning tale of humanity's first contact with a REAL alien species, the MERCANTI, and the often brutal and bloody events that follow.

The Mercanti are truly alien and seem to have one goal: expand and kill anything that in any way blocks that expansion. Humanity's far-spanning civilization is in their way and we're not stepping aside for the Mercanti.

Told from various points of view, FRINGE SPACE is a space opera of galactic proportions that also manages to be personal and very very human.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 

FINA SILENTO (FRINGE SPACE #3)

It's the long dark night of the soul for APEX's newly minted First Engineer. Can Cimarron Bell's genetically enhanced mind take the pressure or will the Construct crack?

SMASHWORDS edition    AMAZON

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Nerd Watch 2013...

 

  • Regina Dugan, former director of DARPA, now at Google overseeing advanced product and research for Motorola
  • Babak Parviz, nanotechology, founder of Google Glasses
  • Andreas Raptopoulos, Matternet
  • Gina Bianchini, Mitghybell, co-founder of Ning
  • Eddy Cue, Software and Internet services, Apple: responsible for iTunes and the App Store

The nerd...pays!



"You should be nice to nerds. In fact I'd go so far as to say if you don't already have a nerd in your life you should get one." Regina Dugan at TED


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Subject82-42BN

Subject 82-42

By: Ronald T. Jones 
Price: $4.99 
Genres: SfSuspense
Subject 82-42
Annan, a war hardened Ashanti commander, is a captive onboard a slave ship. In the midst of a horrific journey, he leads a revolt that’s interrupted by a descending alien vessel. Annan and his fellow Africans find themselves confined on another ship, far from Earth, sharing a common captivity with the European sailors who formerly held sway over them. The ship is commanded by a ruthless warlord who uses the captive humans as unwilling soldiers in a savage war against the inhabitants of a distant world. Annan is as intolerant of servitude to nonhumans as he was to humans. Neither his captors’ unearthly origins nor their deadly high technology will prevent Annan from attempting to seize his freedom. But if his rebellion is to succeed he must first unlock a secret that may very well give him and the other humans a fighting chance.
Same revolt, different skies. Blood will flow!

http://mochamemoirspress.com/subject-82-42/

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The Danger of Created Realities...


Reality-based community is an informal term in the United States. In the fall of 2004, the phrase "proud member of the reality-based community" was first used to suggest the commentator's opinions are based more on observation than on faith, assumption, or ideology. The term has been defined as people who "believe that solutions emerge from judicious study of discernible reality." Some commentators have gone as far as to suggest that there is an overarching conflict in society between the reality-based community and the "faith-based community" as a whole. It can be seen as an example of political framing.


The source of the term is a quotation in an October 17, 2004, The New York Times Magazine article by writer Ron Suskind, quoting an unnamed aide to George W. Bush (later attributed to Karl Rove[1]):

The aide said that guys like me were "in what we call the reality-based community," which he defined as people who "believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality." ... "That's not the way the world really works anymore," he continued. "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors…and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."[2] See Wikipedia

M. Schatzman, an American psychiatrist, has conducted extensive psychological experiments with a subject named Ruth. Ruth is perfectly sane but is apparently able to create vivid hallucinations at will. Neither the experimenters nor photographic film detect these apparitions, but they are very real to Ruth. See Scientific Frontiers, 1981

I have mentioned Neil Postman in the following posts (pun intended), here, here and here. "Amusing Ourselves to Death" is almost prophetic oxymoron (see links).

We have simplified reality: point-and-click downloads, "Google it" post Dewey Decimal System; so-called "reality TV" requiring the slimmest bit of conceptualization, hollow actors with no chop or skill,  no paid writers or imagination. We've made testing a pseudo-science of near telepathic proportions, training our youth not in exploration and curiosity  but prognostication (a, b, c, d or e: all of the above), despite the reality that Finland has "kicked our collective assets" educationally by NOT following this draconian model pushed by for-profit testing services, resulting in "reverse Robin Hood" of poor school districts that desperately need the help.

I sincerely wish I could ignore ignoramuses, yet they manage to get themselves elected to public office, serve on science committees and through the process of redistricting, leave themselves nearly impenetrable to replacement until 2022. Through the process of magical thinking, they convince themselves election results can be ignored, and their ideas and ideals are popular, and worth pursuing.

Thomas Jefferson, lawyer, scientist (and sadly, slave owner) based our form of government on Sir Isaac Newton (founder of Physics); Sir Francis Bacon (Inductive Reasoning) and Sir John Locke (Empiricism). He called them his "trinity of three greatest men."
Newton, Bacon, Locke from Biography.com

The danger of created realities is we begin to "believe our own press," and make things that are immutable pliable, and things pliable immutable. Thus, we now have an incumbency that does not have to "listen to reason," or science.
Rational actors like Bruce Bartlett and David Frum are largely silenced; and one party holds itself not to the Constitution, but to Grover Norquist and other pledges.

There are no Venn diagrams of intersecting ideas: only "us" versus "them," and "we the people" never win.

The danger of created realities is the empirical evidence of experience contradicting [for some] belief systems (and, that threat is made up as well as faith can be informed by science), the complete misunderstanding and misrepresentation of the words "theory" and "hypothesis"; that our thoughts are most certainly NOT things, that such pop/poop culture warping the understanding of quantum mechanics cum metaphysics is dangerous, and does not create a single job in this or any other nation.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident" (Abraham Lincoln). For some who rail against science and the Theory of Relativity, truth is pretty relative now. Without trial, jury or standard, anything can be claimed and posted to the Internet: "hits" don't mean facts.

This blog is open to critique: you can list it, and I'll post it (anonymous, misspelled or otherwise). I really don't have to agree with you, but I do sensor abusive insults and advertisements. That is how we all learn: that is what a rational, thinking species does.

The Lincoln-Douglas debates were much longer and far more detailed than our current 90-minute infomercial reality shows by comparison. Sorry for the rant, but this massive, national "dumb down" cannot continue and we resemble a democratic republic for very much longer.


For advances in science, for a functional democratic republic, we need both parties grounded firmly in reality.
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A Short Review of Lightweightz

I like this. The art is very cool, well drawn and evocative of each character. The teens are all facing personal crisis and angst. The introductory sketch of each teen gives us just enough to know that they're going through it, but there's more going on than it appears to the outside world. There's a message of Faith, but the author doesn't beat you over the head with it, it's a natural part of their lives. I'm eager to see what happens in the next volumes.

I highly recommend this series, especially for teens and adults of Faith. Unlike most comics (even the ones I like), there are no inappropriate or disrespectful images or concepts. (RDJ)

FYI: I don't do spoiler reviews. You get what I think and what I like about it and if I would've liked to see more of something, I say so. But no giving away the entire story!

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Russian Reboot...

Credit: Astroprof's Page

MOSCOW, Dec 27 (Reuters) - The country that oversaw the launch of the world's first artificial satellite hopes to regain some of its former glory with a big boost in space spending announced by Russia on Thursday after a series of failures.


Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev approved a plan to spend 2.1 trillion roubles ($68.71 billion) on developing Russia's space industry from 2013 to 2020, state-run RIA news agency reported.

"The programme will enable our country to effectively participate in forward-looking projects, such as the International Space Station (ISS), the study of the Moon, Mars and other celestial bodies in the solar system," Medvedev was quoted as saying.

Despite the launch by the former Soviet Union of Sputnik 1 in 1957, triggering the Cold War space race, Russia's space programme has suffered a series of humiliating setbacks in the past year.

These have mostly involved unmanned missions such as satellite launches, that industry veterans blame on a decade of crimped budgets and a brain drain.

Reuters: After setbacks, Russia boosts space spending

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Lightness of Being...


German material scientists from Kiel University and the Hamburg University of Technology have created the world’s lightest material, dubbed aerographite.

One cubic centimeter of aerographite weighs just 0.2 milligrams, which is four times lighter than the previous record holder, 5,000 times less dense than water, and six times lighter than air. Aerographite is so light that it is difficult to work with it in a normal lab. Any small movement in the lab can create winds that blow the material around.

Euro News Sci-Tech: Lighter-than-air material discovered

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There is a stunning review of The Switch featured in The Spelman Messenger! I'm so, so hyped! The reviews are right after an interview with none other than Oprah Winfrey. God is good.

The Switch was originally published by Mocha Memoirs Press, but I republished books I & II together as the Switch II: Clockwork.  Here's sample and the link:

The Switch II: Clockwork

(Including “The Switch I”)

by Valjeanne Jeffers

(CreateSpace Independent

Publishing)

The future, according to

author Valjeanne Jeffers,

C’84, consists of a world

filled with futuristic transportation

pods that shoot across

town on compressed air and

are self-cleaning, as well as

mechanical hover crafts that

whisk you to your door...

Spelman.edu

 

Purchase The Switch and my other titles at my site

 

Amazon

 

Barnes & Noble

 

Eljay's Used Books Pittsburgh PA

 

The Wild Fig Lexington KY

 

The Nubian Bookstore Morrow GA

 

Cover art and design for The Switch II: Clockwork by Quinton Veal. 

 

 

 

 

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Dark Hat Noir is coming...

            Author Jemir Johnson has been working on his crime fiction series
            for a good while. He first did 5 shots in 2007 and his upcoming
            collection is going to be even better.

            I'm proud to be a part of this series and here's the logo
            that we came up with to  introduce the movement
            of this genre to you.  

           Although shrouded in secret for now...
           it will be well worth the wait, with

          all the bells and whistles that one came muster.


           As a brief flash back, here's a link to 5 shots.

        http://www.amazon.com/5-Shots-Jemir-Johnson/dp/0615161405/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356935427&sr=1-2&keywords=5+shots

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Sesquicentennial...



A tradition began Dec. 31, 1862, as many black churches held Watch Night services, awaiting word that Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation would take effect amid a bloody Civil War. Later, congregations listened as the president's historic words were read aloud.

Last night (other than fiscal cliff theatrics) was the 150th anniversary, or sesquicentennial, of that tradition; today the same for the Emancipation Proclamation.

It formed the world George Washington Carver would enter a year later: From 1915 to 1923, Carver concentrated on researching and experimenting with new uses for peanuts, sweet potatoes, soybeans, pecans, and other crops, as well as having his assistants research and compile existing uses. This work, and especially his speaking to a national conference of the Peanut Growers Association in 1920 and in testimony before Congress in 1921 to support passage of a tariff on imported peanuts, brought him wide publicity and increasing renown. In these years, he became one of the most well-known African Americans of his time. (Wikipedia)

It enabled Edward Alexander Bouchet to enter Yale in 1870, complete his dissertation in geometrical optics in 1876 becoming the first African American to earn a PhD in physics and the sixth American at that time to do so (see link at Edward's name).

There are many more that I could name, many names of note since. They exist because of an innate curiosity of the world around them, and an opportunity courageously presented; a freedom of simply being counted as part of humanity extended: to learn about it.

It was, and is, a world worth creating.

Hmm: ...my 1,013th posting for this blog, on 01/01/2013. Interesting.

National Society of Black Physicists:
NSBP Member Stephon Alexander Wins 2013 Edward Bouchet Award
NSBP Member Hakeem Oluseyi selected to be a TED Global 2012 Fellow

Read more:
Emancipation Proclamation anniversary: Watch Night ceremony held at National Archives
National Archives: The Emancipation Proclamation

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