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How Great Science Fiction Works – A Course in SF by Gary K. Wolfe

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If you’ve ever wanted to take a course in the history of science fiction, The Teaching Company has just released How Great Science Fiction Works by Gary K. Wolfe, as part of The Great Courses series of video and audio lectures. Members of Audible.com can snag a copy for just one credit. The 24-lecture series lists for $149.95 to $269.95 at The Teaching Company, but as fans of that company knows, it’s best to wait for their regular sales. The course comes with a 215-page pdf ebook that works as a textbook. Wolfe’s knowledge of science fiction literature is wide-ranging … Read more

The Oldest Living Creature on Earth?

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Chinese scientists say they have discovered a nearly 5-foot-long Giant Salamander in a cave in southwestern China which may be close to 200 years old, which would make it the oldest living creature on Earth (besting a tortoise, which is said to be 183). The creature, a species which is critically endangered, was transferred to a facility for observation. It’s unclear what affect removal from its natural habitat may have on its health, but our guess is not great. By Andy Towle – Full Story at Towleroad.com

Me Me Monday

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Me Me Monday

Welcome to ME ME MONDAY at our FB discussion group – your chance to pop in and tell us about your latest success. Have a new book or short story coming out? Let us know. Just sell something? Let us know so we can cheer you on. HOW IT WORKS: I’ll pin this topic to the top of our FB discussion page for the day. –Please post your announcement as a separate post, so I can also share it over to our FB page (as opposed to this discussion group). –If you want, send me your book announcement info at … Read more

News: Stunning Photo of Pluto

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Pluto

This ethereal scene captured by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft tells yet another story of Pluto’s diversity of geological and compositional features—this time in an enhanced color image of the north polar area. Long canyons run vertically across the polar area—part of the informally named Lowell Regio, named for Percival Lowell, who founded Lowell Observatory and initiated the search that led to Pluto’s discovery. Full Story at Joe.My.God

Star Wars to Get LGBTIQ Characters

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JJ Abrahms

The director behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens has told The Daily Beast that there will indeed be openly gay characters zapping through the galaxy far, far away — in relatively near franchise installments. Making the rounds at a pre-Oscars event at his Bad Robot HB in LA, J.J. Abrams said it’s time that the Star Wars universe becomes more inclusive, referencing the LGBTQ community, and thankfully making no mention of Jar-Jar Binks: “To me, the fun of Star Wars is the glory of possibility,” he said. “So it seems insanely narrow-minded and counterintuitive to say there wouldn’t be a … Read more

Kris Jacen from MLR Press Joins Us For an Interview

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Kris Jacen

We are excited to have the executive editor for MLR Press, Kris Jacen, with us for an interview about the new collection Storming Love: Meteor Strike, a five book series by five different authors, including some QSF folks. Kris will also answer our questions about what MLR is looking for in submissions, and what they might be planning in the near future. Join us on the QSF FB discussion group. Angel and I will moderate the interview, and will open it for questions near the end. https://www.facebook.com/groups/qsfdiscussions/

The Milky Way’s Photo Close-Up

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Milky Way

If you’re wondering what sort of psychedelic visuals we’re looking at here, it is the Milky Way in amazing detail. The European Southern Observatory (ESO) made these pictures public announcing the completion of its huge galaxy survey, with the help of a really strong telescope in Chile. “The APEX telescope in Chile has mapped the full area of the Galactic Plane visible from the southern hemisphere for the first time at submillimeter wavelengths — between infrared light and radio waves — and in finer detail than recent space-based surveys,” the ESO’s release says. “The pioneering 12-meter APEX telescope allows astronomers … Read more

Is This The End for Bananas?

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I love stories like this – what happens if bananas go extinct? Plot bunnies released into the world… In the mid 1900s, the most popular banana in the world—a sweet, creamy variety called Gros Michel grown in Latin America—all but disappeared from the planet. At the time, it was the only banana in the world that could be exported. But a fungus, known as Panama Disease, which first appeared in Australia in the late 1800s, changed that after jumping continents.The disease debilitated the plants that bore the fruit. The damage was so great and swift that in a matter of … Read more

Is This Robot Cool? Or Scary as Shit?

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Boston Dynamics has impressed the internet for years by showing off its robot technology which is stunningly and sometimes terrifyingly lifelike. Its mechanized canines and big cats have been shown prowling the forests and running in unison, allowing us to imagine a someday era when these robots will be regular inhabitants of our world. Their latest creation Atlas, is shown in a new video in which it navigates a treacherous outdoor wintry landscape and is then put to the test lifting boxes. This time, one of Boston Dynamics’ employees tests the robot by knocking the boxes out of its clutches … Read more

News: Seas Rising Faster Than In 2800 Years

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A group of scientists says it has now reconstructed the history of the planet’s sea levels arcing back over some 3,000 years — leading it to conclude that the rate of increase experienced in the 20th century was “extremely likely” to have been faster than during nearly the entire period. “We can say with 95 percent probability that the 20th-century rise was faster than any of the previous 27 centuries,” said Bob Kopp, a climate scientist at Rutgers University who led the research with nine colleagues from several U.S. and global universities. Kopp said it’s not that seas rose faster … Read more