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Now I’m even writing in my sleep
Just before I woke this morning, I was dreaming in an unusual fashion: in my dream, I was disembodied and observing other people, writing a running commentary in my head, very much like the process of writing fiction when I'm awake. I can't remember ever doing that in my sleep before, but of course we only remember bits of what we dream.Anyway, when the alarm woke me, I was watching a woman, dressed in brightly colored clothes, leaving some sort of grungy-looking train station, and, mentally contrasting it with the bridge of the Enterprise from Star Trek: The Next Generation, my dreaming brain constructed this sentence (or something very like it):"It was a shame, she reflected, ...Like, wow, man: "White Rabbit" Star Trek
Classic Trek scenes set to Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit". Jimi and Janis would both approve. (Via SF Signal.)A real-life light saber?
Sounds more like a Star Trek phaser set on stun, to me:The LED Incapacitator works by emitting a strobe of ultra-bright, multicolored, pulsing light. Once pointed at an individual, the built in range finder measures the distance to the nearest set of eyes and then adjusts the level, output and frequency of this beam, to unleash an optimal and continuously changing pulse. This results in giving the eyes and the brain no time to adapt, and whilst temporarily blinding the subject, it also causes a disorientating effect. Hence, the subject is overwhelmed by the strobe both physiologically and psychophysically. Inventors of the LED Incapacitator, Bob Lieberman and Vladimir Rubtsov, say that the effect of having the light shone ...Me, singing Star Trek
I'm not going to make it to ConVersion, Calgary's science fiction convention, this summer: the timing just didn't work out. But I'll still be present when the Imaginiative Fiction Writers' Association (a.k.a. "IFWits") perform their becoming-a-tradition musical (this year: The Phantom of the Space Opera). At their behest, I have recorded a rather frightening version of the theme song for Star Trek (the original series). Yes, it has lyrics! Yes, it's WAY too high for me! Yes, you can listen to it here!Enjoy! (Or not, as the case may be.)From Babel Fish to Woohoo!
Today's Web column for CBC Saskatchewan's Afternoon Edition...*********If you've ever watched Star Trek, you've heard of the Universal Translator. The Universal Translator is a computer device that is able to instantly translate almost any alien language, no matter how bizarre, into American English.Of course, the Universal Translator doesn't exist...yet. But all over the Web you can find sites that offer you free online translation of selected text or entire Web sites. Do they work? How well do they work?Computer translation is more properly called machine translation, probably because the field is a lot older than you might imagine: in 1954 a successful experiment in machine translation was carried out in which ...This looks…interesting
It's The Shatner Show at Uppercase Gallery in Calgary:Get ready for the summer of Shatner! An exhibition and publication of artwork depicting William Shatner, featuring the work of over seventy artists of diverse illustrative styles from Canada and the US. The caliber of participating artists is outstanding.Ohhhhhkay...What is "Spock" up to these days?
Taking beautiful photographs of large nude women, of course.Spock’s home planet in our sights?
I haven't posted anything Star Trek-related in, oh, days, so here's something:Science fiction may soon become science fact. Astronomers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have recently concluded that the upcoming planet-finding mission, SIM PlanetQuest, would be able to detect an Earth-like planet around the star 40 Eridani, a planet familiar to "Star Trek" fans as "Vulcan." 40 Eridani, a triple-star system 16 light-years from Earth, includes a red-orange K dwarf star slightly smaller and cooler than our sun. Vulcan is thought to orbit that dwarf star, called 40 Eridani A.No, I don't own a pair of pointy plastic ears. Why do you ask?I am a strong black female role model…
...and proud of it!You are Uhura You are a good communicator with a pleasant soft-spoken voice. Also a talented singer.Uhura - 65%Beverly Crusher - 65%Jean-Luc Picard - 55%Worf - 55%James T. Kirk (Captain) - 50%Will Riker - 50%Chekov - 45%Leonard McCoy (Bones) - 35%Deanna Troi - 35%Spock - 34%Data - 32%Geordi LaForge - 30%Mr. Scott - 25%Mr. Sulu - 25%An Expendable Character (Redshirt) - 15% Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Quiz(Via The Antick Musings of G.B.S. Hornswoggler, Gent.)One step closer to a cloaking device…
A computer model developed at Liverpool University has shown that it's possible to make objects appear invisible at close range:Dr Guenneau, at the University’s Department of Mathematical Science, explains:“A cloak, such as the one worn by the Harry Potter character for example, is not yet possible but it is a good example of what we are trying to move towards. Using this new computer model we can prove that light can bend around an object under a cloak and is not diffracted by the object. This happens because the metamaterial that makes up the cloak stretches the metrics of space, in a similar way to what heavy planets and stars do for the metrics of ...
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Magebane
“Spectacular” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Evil wizards, multi-level conspiracies, hidden kingdoms…Lee Arthur Chane…has done a marvelous job…Magebane is a very entertaining book and well worth the time.” – A.M. Donovan, Night Owl Reviews
I happily recommend Magebane and I’ll certainly give Chane’s next novel a try based on this one.” —Bill Capossere, Fantasy Literature
“…an original and delightful tale of epic fantasy and magic, steampunk science, adventure, tragedy, and love…” – Errant Dreams Reviews
Eight centuries ago, the world changed. A devastating war swept the lands, and the MageLords, who had long ruled by virtue of their spell powers, were driven to a distant place, separated from those they had ruled by a magical Barrier. With magic banished from the rest of the world, the MageLords became mere legend and people turned to science to improve their lives. But if one man has his way, all that is about to change….
Written as Lee Arthur Chane (the middle names of my older brothers, Jimmy Lee and Dwight Arthur, and myself, Edward Chane Willett).
Marseguro
Winner of the 2009 Prix Aurora Award for Best Long-Form Work in English
Water world Marseguro is home to the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from human DNA. When an unmodified human seeks revenge on a Selkie by activating a distress beacon taken from the remains of the original colony ship, a strikeforce is sent from Earth to eradicate the genetic abomination. Yet Marseguro will not prove as easy to conquer as the Earth force anticipates…
Terra Insegura
Finalist for the 2010 Prix Aurora Award for Best Novel in English
Marseguro, a water world far from Earth, is home to a colony of humans and the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from modified human DNA. For seventy years the colony has lived in peace. Then Earth discovers Marseguro, and a strike force is sent to eradicate this “abomination.” But Marseguro has created a genetically tailored plague to use against Earth’s Holy Warriors. With the enemy defeated, the people of Marseguro feel they are safe. But Chris Keating, the traitor who signaled Marseguro’s location to the Holy Warriors, has fled to Earth, unknowingly carrying the deadly plague within him. The people of Marseguro feel they must send a ship to Earth with a life-saving vaccine. Only time will tell what awaits them when they reach their destination.
Lost in Translation
Kathryn was a human empath whose world and life had been destroyed when the alien S’sinn slaughtered her parents before her very eyes. Jarrikk was a young S’sinn, an unproven warrior who’d seen his flight mates slaughtered by the humans who’d sought to colonize his world.
As humans and S’sinn found themselves on the brink of war, these two Translators had to work together to find a common ground and avert catastrophe. But whether their Translators’ oath and training could overcome the enemies leagued against them was very much in doubt…
Archives
Song of the Sword
My new YA fantasy novel from Lobster Press
Before the Lady called her, Ariane’s life was a mess. Two years ago, her mother disappeared. She bounced around different foster homes until her aunt finally took her in. The meanest clique at her new high school has decided to make Ariane their prime target. And to top it all off, she is having frightening premonitions, and they are becoming more intense. The moment water touches her skin, she sees visions of a lake, a lady, and a sword. When a staircase opens up in the middle of Wascana Lake and the water begins singing to her, she has no choice but to answer the call….
Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw
Ten walks to points of historic and architectural interest in the cities of Regina and Moose Jaw (eight walks for Regina, two for Moose Jaw).
Johnny Cash: The Man in Black
When country music legend Johnny Cash took the stage at Folsom State Prison in 1968, he solidified the public’s perception of him as a rebel who followed his own path. Born in Arkansas during the Great Depression, Cash endured poverty, the death of his older brother, and a difficult relationship with his father. He turned to gospel and country music to express the pain, and after many years of struggling, his songs of hardship and hope would finally reach the ears of those waiting for an artist who represented them, ordinary people fighting to survive.
Andy Warhol: Everyone Will Be Famous for 15 Minutes
“Paintings are too hard. Machines have less problems…” In the 1960s, Andy Warhol became the most famous creator of a new style of art called pop art, which transformed mass-produced items of popular culture into fine works of art. From Campbell’s Soup cans to photographs of Marilyn Monroe, Warhol’s willingness to use anything and everything from the mass media in his work expanded the range of subject matter available to artists. His avant-garde films, artistic usage of American icons, and unconventional social life made him a controversial figure, both greatly admired and deeply reviled. A trendsetter rather than a trend-follower, a dispassionate observer of both the seamy and celebrity sides of life, Warhol was a true American rebel.
Disease-Hunting Scientist
The true stories of six real disease hunters. Epidemiologists travel the world trying to keep us safe from deadly diseases—from high-tech labs in Canada to remote villages in Africa. Learn how these “disease detectives” are coming up with new ways to fight disease, and find out if you have what it takes to become an epidemiologist, too!
The Bounty Mutiny
The Bounty was a British ship visiting Tahiti in 1789 when some of the crew overthrew the captain, William Bligh, and set him adrift in a tiny boat with sailors loyal to him. The mutiny resulted in a number of trials–both of the men who mutinied and of Bligh for losing command of his ship. These fascinating events have been the source for numerous Hollywood movies, most recently The Bounty. The Bounty Mutiny: From the Court Case to the Movie explores the famous case and the movies it inspired.
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