As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Topics

There’s a Screenplay of The Princes and the Treasure!

by

A few days ago, we published the story that the rumors going around of a Disney adaptation of a children’s book about two gay princes were sadly untrue. But there is a silver lining. This week, the author of the book “The Princes and the Treasure”, Jeffrey A. Miles, contacted me: “I am the author of the children’s picture book with a gay marriage titled “The Princes and The Treasure.” You wrote a very nice article about the book. However, there is a movie screenplay adaptation of “The Princes and The Treasure” children’s book with the title “Princes.” The screenplay … Read more

A Gay Messiah

by

Today’s topic comes from QSFer Jim Comer: “Do we need a gay messiah? Do we want one? Basically, despite all of the “Jesus-was-gay” stuff, what would a QUILTBAG messiah be like? What would an LGBT Buddha be like? Do we want a queer Muhammad? Can we tell this kind of story? SF is fill of messiahs, such as Phil Dick’s VALIS books and Heinlein’s ‘Stranger in a Strange Land.’” Jim supplied this link to Rufus Wainwright’s video for the song “Gay Messiah”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV7UGntnEks So let’s tackle this from a sci fi angle – there are many religions in the world … Read more

Climate Change Makes for Crazy Winters

by

Let the sci fi plot bunnies proliferate (and maybe a few plot squirrels too): It may be the timeliest — and most troubling — idea in climate science. Back in 2012, two researchers with a particular interest in the Arctic, Rutgers’ Jennifer Francis and the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Stephen Vavrus, published a paper called “Evidence linking Arctic amplification to extreme weather in mid-latitudes.” In it, they suggested that the fact that the Arctic is warming so rapidly is leading to an unexpected but profound effect on the weather where the vast majority of us live — a change that, if … Read more

Me Me Monday!

by

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

Alexander the Great’s Lover Found?

by

For all you lovers of historical fantasy – release the plot bunnies: A skeleton has emerged from the Alexander the Great-era tomb in Amphipolis in northern Greece, according to a news announcement by the Greek Ministry of Culture on Wednesday. At least one archaeologist has suggested that the remains, if male, could belong to Hephaestion, a close friend and possible lover of Alexander the Great — or someone like him. Archaeologists led by Katerina Peristeri found the human remains in a box-shaped grave. The 10.6 by 5.1-foot limestone burial was found at about 5.3 feet beneath the floor of the … Read more

Building Your Own Religion

by

There’s an old story that goes something like this (via StackExchange): It is widely believed that L. Ron Hubbard and Robert A. Heinlein made a bet in a bar one night either than L. Ron could not create a religion, or to see who could create a religion first. (In the second case, Stranger in a Strange Land is often cited as Heinlein’s effort.) The story has been widely debunked, but it is a fact that sci fi author L. Ron Hubbard came up with Scientology. I often struggle with the role of religion in my sci fi stories – … Read more

Sustainable Condoms?

by

“We want to educate and help people connect the dots between condoms and hunger, health care, poverty, and climate change.” These words are taken from the website of Sustain, a new, eco-friendly condom company founded by a board member of Greenpeace and his daughter. That’s right, there is one product that impacts all of the issues aspiring beauty queens hope to change, and that is a thin piece of rubber used for protected recreational sex. The website proclaims, “[Our] goal is to get people to think about sustainability, justice, and equity every time they open a condom, even though they’re … Read more

Sadly, The Rumor That Disney Would Make Gay Prince Movie is Not True

by

Is Disney really making an animated feature film about two gay princes that fall in love? Sorry, but no. The false story is circulating this week, raising the hopes of many that everyone’s favorite children’s filmmakers will show gay characters on screen. The ‘report’, which has so far been shared 60,000 times on Facebook, claimed it would be adapted from Jeffrey A. Miles’ children’s book The Princes and the Treasure. While the book is real, the adaptation isn’t. In the very modern fairy tale, two very dashing princes set off to rescue a princess… and unexpectedly fall in love with … Read more

A Cyber(netic) Lover

by

“When I started out,” says David Levy, international chess champion and expert in artificial intelligence, “I didn’t know anything about artificial vaginas. It is quite extraordinary how much interest there is in that subject.” Levy’s book, Love and Sex with Robots, is perhaps the fullest exploration of the future of humans and robots, especially their interaction in the bedroom. It explores the details of internet-linked devices that transmit real physical contact. And Levy is no fantasist. He is the only person to win the Loebner prize – an annual competition to determine which chat software is the most realistic – … Read more

Science To The Rescue: Where Do Penises Come From?

by

As if men need another reason to pay close attention to their penises, apparently the mystery of how they’re formed at the cellular level is the “key to much of life on earth.” So how are they formed? And why do males have them? These are questions asked by many an inquisitive 8-year-old and distinguished scientist alike. Two teams of researches have come to some fairly conclusive results that begin to tell the origin story of one of life’s little origins. If penises were Batman, this would be Batman Begins. Not only because the research reveals the roots of the … Read more