Eldorado, free will is a myth, dark heroes, 'Alif the Unseen' and what is possibly the most mind-numbingly revolting medical transplant imaginable...
Stories for stories
The good news is that the US is not building a Death Star. The deliberations could be a part of a techno-thriller. If you have the staying power for the details, new research shows that free will may be a bit of a myth. And, here's something for an action adventure in the form of a BBC piece on the idea of Eldorado.
Reading and writing
This week brought a very welcome surprise in the form of G. Willow Wilson's 'Alif the Unseen'. The premise of the story is a hacker teaming with jinns to take on a repressive Middle Eastern state. On first opening, it wants comparison with 'Perdido Street Station' and 'Diamond Age'. It's a wonderful story. Unfortunately it is too short and I get the sense that the author rushed it. I wish she had spent more time sidetracking and going into details. I am really looking forward to more from her, though hopefully longer and more fleshed out.
Here's some goodies. HP Lovecraft gives advice to aspiring writers, and IO9 has a cool take on the 'dark hero's dark journey into darkness'.
Mother Nature and other terrifying things
After all the editing by the Bush administration, and the nurturing environment for deniers, the US is finally beginning to come to its senses. Soot, or 'black carbon' is a major problem. It's the byproduct of many fuels, including the fires that cook food on the African continent. Take a look at the problem... The issue of nuclear power arises again. The solution seems to be combinations of renewables to deal with the problem of power on demand, but for now, nuclear power is still being debated as a quick way to deal with carbon emissions.
And finally...
It may be a cure for the trots, but yuck nonetheless...
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