“There is a rumour going around that I have found God. I think this is unlikely because I have enough difficulty finding my keys, and there is empirical evidence that they exist. But it is true that in an interview I gave recently I did describe a sudden, distinct feeling I had one hectic day that everything I was doing was right and things were happening as they should. It seemed like the memory of a voice and it came wrapped in its own brief little bubble of tranquillity. I’m not used to this.

As a fantasy writer I create fresh gods and philosophies almost with every new book (I’m rather pleased with Annoia, the goddess of Things That Get Stuck In Drawers, whose temple is hung about with the bent remains of bent egg whisks and spatulas. She actually appears to work in this world, too). But since contracting Alzheimer’s disease I have spent my long winter walks trying to work out what it is that I really, if anything, believe.”

(via The Daily Mail)

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As a fan of the Myth Adventure series I was saddened to find out that sci-fi, fantasy author Robert Asprin died from a heart attack. He will be missed.

Via his website:

“On May 22, 2008, Bob passed away quietly in his home in New Orleans, LA. He had been in good spirits and working on several new projects, and was set to be the Guest of Honor at a major science fiction convention that very weekend. He is survived by his mother, his sister, his daughter and his son, and his cat, Princess, not to mention countless friends and fans and numerous legendary fictional characters. He will be greatly missed.”

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“Terry Pratchett has sold more than 55 million books worldwide. He was the UK’s best selling author until JK Rowling came along, he’s been awarded an OBE and won the prestigious Carnegie Medal for Literature. He’s a multi-millionaire and his fans love him - and he has an awful lot of them. But he hasn’t got his health. He’s been diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer’s Disease at the age of 60. For this week’s On The Ropes he talks to John Humphries about his life, his work and how he’s coping with a disease that - so far - has no cure.”

(via BBC Radio: On The Ropes. h/t SF Signal. Picture by Josh Kirby)

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Here’s an interesting blog on the esoteric symbolism of Star Wars:

“Star Wars is religion. In many ways it could be said that Star Wars is my religion. I grew up in an environment that fostered free thinking and self-determination on metaphysical matters. I was four years old when the film that became “Star Wars Episode I: A New Hope” was released. Not only is seeing “Star Wars” amongst my earliest memories, but the anticipation of seeing Star Wars, because my older brother saw it first, and his reaction led me to believe it was something very special (he was seven). Maybe the greatest thing ever. And when you’re four its easy to have your expectations met and even exceeded.[..]

[..] I am by no means the first individual to delve into the deeper philosophical aspects of Star Wars. Many have done so and many more will, some from a position of irony and some dead serious, some scholarly and academic. Various insights, observations, interpretations and even parodies will be addressed in what takes place here, those I find interesting, pertinent or otherwise noteworthy that is, and I will always credit and link to my sources to the best of my ability. [..]

[..] If you’re not sure what I mean by “esoteric symbolism”, I use it to refer to symbolism that is hidden, secretive or otherwise not readily apparent. These are my observations and insights, and a lot of what I talk about may not be deemed “canonical”. You very well may disagree with me. Sometimes esoteric symbols are purposeful and sometimes they are a matter of happenstance. It’s not always possible to tell the difference, and to my way of thinking the intent is not the primary point of interest in all cases. What will become clear, and I hope to make this case, is that George Lucas utilized many story telling techniques in crafting his epics, including occult symbolism to a degree that does not allow for the accidental.”

(Esoteric Star Wars. h/t: Dedroidify)

(Related: The occult secrets of “Lost” via Hatch 23)

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via David Pescovitz at Boing Boing

New Scientist has a feature package where seventeen big name scientists recommend books that they considered "life-changing." Here is the list of the scientists and the books they suggest, with each title linking to Amazon. Follow the link at the bottom of the post to the New Scientist article where you can read the scientists’ thoughts on their picks. From New Scientist:

1. Farthest North - Steve Jones, geneticist
2. The Art of the Soluble - V. S. Ramachandran, neuroscientist
3. Animal Liberation - Jane Goodall, primatologist
4. The Foundation trilogy - Michio Kaku, theoretical physicist
5. Alice in Wonderland - Alison Gopnik, developmental psychologist
6. One, Two, Three… Infinity - Sean Carroll, theoretical physicist
7. The Idea of a Social Science - Harry Collins, sociologist of science
8. Handbook of Mathematical Functions - Peter Atkins, chemist
9. The Mind of a Mnemonist - Oliver Sacks, neurologist
10. A Mathematician’s Apology - Marcus du Sautoy, mathematician
11. The Leopard - Susan Greenfield, neurophysiologist
12. Darwin and the Emergence of Evolutionary Theories of Mind and Behavior - Frans de Waal, psychologist and ethologist
13. Catch-22 / The First Three Minutes - Lawrence Krauss, physicist
14. William James, Writings 1878-1910 - Daniel Everett, linguist
15. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - Chris Frith, neuroscientist
16. The Naked Ape - Elaine Morgan, author of The Aquatic Ape Hypothesis
17. King Solomon’s Ring - Marion Stamp Dawkins, Zoologist

A few familiar titles, and I always like to recommend the writings of William James. I look forward to checking into the others!

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“This week’s question was suggested by Lou Anders, who not only received extra Mind Meld credit redeemable at imaginary nerd shops everywhere, but who also must serve penance by answering his own question:
Q: Two of the most highly regarded fantasy authors - Tolkien and Lewis - were also Christians, whereas the fathers of science fiction were atheists, and SF itself, it could be argued, grew out of Darwinism and other notions of deep time. Is science fiction antithetical to religion?”

15 science fiction writers answer the question.

(via SF Signal)

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“As men age, their brain editors start to disappear and they blurt out whatever pops into their mind. They don’t care if they insult someone in the process. Nowhere is that phenomenon more evident than with enfant terrible (or is it grand-père terrible?) Harlan Ellison. The problem is I don’t think he ever had much of a brain editor.

A documentary about the man’s life, Dreams with Sharp Teeth, was screened at the SXSW festival and it’s been garnering some attention, although the reviews have been tepid. The bottom line seems to be if you like Ellison, you’ll find the movie interesting. If you don’t know who he is or don’t care about him, it’s not going to change your mind about the guy.

Here’s a typical Ellison rant that appears in the film. My favourite quote from it is “everybody else may be an asshole, but I’m not.”

(via The Website @ The End of The Universe)

(Harlan Ellison Webderland)

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For all you aspiring writers out there, there’s a great project going on via LiveJournal with various authors who are posting their plot synopsis that they sent along with their pitches to sell their novels. Via Joshua Palmatier (jpsorrow):

“A few weeks ago, after I posted the question/interview about plot synopsis and my answers, Chaz Brenchley, desperance suggested that perhaps someone should post examples of the plot synopses they used to sell their novels, the ones that were for books already published and out there. I thought this was a great idea and with his permission (and participation) I set up what I’m calling the “Plot Synopsis Project”. Essentially, I gathered together a group of authors who were willing to post an entry about their own plot synopsis writing technique as well as a sample copy of one of their own plot synopses OR post an entry about how they got published without using a plot synopsis, to show everyone how different people write their synopses, and that it isn’t necessarily required to get published. There are other routes. I would say that MOST people have to write a plot synopsis in order to get published though . . . and most of us hate doing it. I personally do.

And just to clarify, by plot synopsis, I mean the (usually) 3-5 page summary of the book that is (usually) included in a submission package to the agent or editor, along with a cover letter or query letter, and sometimes with the first few chapters of the novel. This is not the one paragraph pitch, or even the one line pitch. Some of the other authors will talk about these other things as well in their discussion, but the main thrust of these posts is the 3-5 page synopsis.

So, what you have here is my entry in the Plot Synopsis Project. At the end of every participating post in the project, there will be links to the other authors’ blogs and their posts there. So take a moment to read through what I have to say, and then at the end, click on one of the links to find out what some other authors have to say about the subject. Hopefully, this will help all of the aspiring writers out there.”

Here’s a link of the writers involved separate from any plot synopsis, in case one wants to avoid an accidental spoiler, via Tobias Buckell’s site.

(Related: “Plot Synopsis Project, and the Problem with LiveJournal” via Uncertain Principles)

(Thanks Smoking Pigeon!)

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Arthur C. Clarke, a visionary science fiction writer who won worldwide acclaim with more than 100 books on space, science and the future, died Wednesday in his adopted home of Sri Lanka, an aide said. He was 90.

Clarke, who had battled debilitating post-polio syndrome since the 1960s and sometimes used a wheelchair, died at 1:30 a.m. local time after suffering breathing problems, aide Rohan De Silva said.

Full Story: MSNBC.

(Thanks Brenden).

Clarke’s three laws:

1. When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.

2. The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.

3. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

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“I recently mentioned a new book that looked very interesting to me, Sith, Slayers, Stargates and Cyborgs: Modern Mythology and the New Millennium (Peter Lang Publishers, 2007), edited by David Whitt and John Perlich. Dr. David Whitt is Associate Professor of Communication at Nebraska Wesleyan University, and Dr. John Perlich is Associate Professor of Communication at Hastings College in Nebraska. I contacted David and John and they were were all too willing to discuss this fascinating book. After reviewing some of the chapters we had an opportunity to discuss aspects of the book.”

(via TheoFantastique)

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“A rare documentary of science fiction on American television. During half an hour you will watch a synthesis of what was the first forty … all » years of the science fiction production for television. From precursors as “Rocky Jones, Space Ranger”, “Space Patrol” and “Flash Gordon”, to cult series of Irwin Allen (”The Time Tunnel”, “Lost in Space”, “Journey to the Botton of the Sea” and “Land of Giants”). The documentary will glimpse at the best of the genre and bring a surprise that will please very much the fans of “Star Trek”. The phenomenon is remembered through a 14 minutes special tribute with a collection of hilarious out-takes of funny goofs made by the actors that was wonderfully edited and given to the cast members as souvenirs. The scenes had been selected from all the three seasons.”

(via Voodoo Who Do)

(Star Trek Inspirational Poster courtesy of Ecosphere)

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