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Archive for the ‘Entertainment’ Category

Good news, fellow seekers of good fiction, my fellow Writer of the Future David Hankins has made his award-winning story “Death and the Taxman” available free for this week only! If you haven’t already read it in Writers of the Future Volume 39, I highly recommend it.

Read Death and the Taxman

The story is funny, well-written, and the springboard for his upcoming novel (I supported the highly-successful Kickstarter; the book will be widely released on Tax Day because David’s sense of timing is as on point as his humor!). 

Enjoy!

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Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

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Robert J. Sawyer, Canadian author extraordinaire, has a wide variety of abilities and interests. He also, apparently, liked to watch the Six Million Dollar Man. 

Specifications for The Six Million Dollar Man

There doesn’t seem to be an accurate version of the specifications for cyborg Steve Austin’s bionic parts anywhere online, so I have put one together.

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Photo by Francisco Andreotti on Unsplash

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So there we were, about to turn off the television when Mr Man and I realized that the actor on screen was David Elsendoorn, who played rude Dutch player Jan Maas in Ted Lasso. Upon closer inspection, we realized that the movie was a moderately well disguised promo for the lovely Unesco World Heritage city of Bergen in Norway. 

Having just discussed the clever and funny (and sadly not real) movie Dundee from Tourism Australia, we felt that this was an excellent use of a Hallmark-style movie

A moment later, a shot of the Bergen sign at the city’s airport popped up on screen. By Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson, the sign has letters that are 5.5 meters high and weigh 2.5 tons, and is meant to be “existentialist and poetic.” Competition judges apparently had a healthy dose of Scandinavian wit, because the sign reads “Bergen?” 

Everyone can put what they want in the question mark, and there are no wrong answers

It certainly gave me ideas, the shortest of which is this six-word story:

Stupid unpredictable teleportation. Welcome to Bergen?

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Photo by Carlos Torres on Unsplash

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While I’m more of a written word sort of a person, you may have noticed that this thing called a (checks notes) “podcast” has become something of a trend;) 

If you are a fan of the spoken word, speculative fiction, futurism, African writers, writers in general and interviews with same, this new series from Arizona State University’s Center for Science and the Imagination might be just the ticket.

The Imagination Desk: Introducing Griots & Galaxies

The Center for Science and the Imagination is proud to present the new podcast Griots & Galaxies! This is a ten episode series hosted by Jenna Hanchey, Chinelo Onwualu, and Yvette Lisa Ndlovu that explores the work of ten African speculative fiction authors and imagining new futures for the continent.

Here’s a link to the series page.

Podcasts: Center for Science and the Imagination

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Photo by David Watkis on Unsplash

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I spend a not-insignificant amount of time asking that most critical of reader questions: What should I read next?

Goodreads can be helpful, as can library collections, author interviews and award lists. Even pure chance can lead to delightful finds, and I’m always on the lookout for new and interesting book ideas. 

Enter this website:

What Should I Read Next? Book recommendations from readers like you

I’m having fun sorting through the mix of books known and unknown. Perhaps you will too.

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Photo by Sabina Sturzu on Unsplash

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It’s last call for StoryBundle’s To the Stars Adventure SciFi bundle, featuring Writers of the Future v.39 and so much more!

This new StoryBundle will take your autumn, and your e-reader, to the far edges of the universe. Curated by bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson, this cosmic batch of eighteen books showcases the range of epic science fiction, from galactic empires to time-travel adventures to alien invasions. These books are from classic award-winning science fiction authors and hot new indie authors. 

Only a few hours left to grab this Great Deal on Sci-Fi. Enjoy!

Am I biased? Sure, I happen to think our collection is great. But the bundle is curated by Kevin J. Anderson and also includes books by other names sci-fi/fantasy fans may have heard of, like Todd McCaffrey and Nancy Kress, as well as others I look forward to discovering.

Enjoy!

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Photo by Massimiliano Morosinotto on Unsplash

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Ever wonder where your favorite books, shows and movies take place in space? This person has you covered. Stellar!

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Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash

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What are you doing this weekend? Maybe you have plans for an all-night rave this weekend, but if you’re free at some point between the hours of dark Saturday night and dawn Sunday morning, consider the Perseids.

That’s right, it’s that time again, for one of the best shows in the night sky, the Perseid Meteor Shower. And unlike last year, the Moon won’t be crashing the party.

Here’s a time-lapse video from 2021 to whet your appetite:

How to Watch the Highly Anticipated Perseid Meteor Shower | Smart News| Smithsonian Magazine

The Perseids are known to treat viewers to a fantastic display, and coupled with a particularly dark sky, this year’s show is shaping up to be one you won’t want to miss…

During a meteor shower such as the Perseids, Earth passes through a large cloud of debris in space. Right now, the planet is moving amid the rocks and ice left behind by the comet Swift-Tuttle, which last was seen from Earth in 1992. The 16-mile-long comet orbits the sun over a 133-year period, which means it won’t be seen again until 2125. But every August, its remains create the radiant Perseid meteor shower.

/rubs hands in anticipation

This weekend’s Perseid meteor shower is ‘worth staying up for’ | CBC News

While there’s a major meteor shower every month, there’s nothing quite like the Perseid shower for those in the northern hemisphere, with the warm summer nights and better chances of clear skies. And this year, Canada is in a particularly favourable position for the peak night of Aug. 12–13.

And what do you know? I’m in Canada!

Perhaps you’re interested in a bunch of complicated graphs and a cool “activity level” dial? The Global Meteor Network has you covered. 

Meteor shower flux

The dial shows the peak sum of activity from all currently active showers and the sporadic background in the next 24 hours.

More interesting background information:

The 2023 Perseids Meteor Shower – YouTube

Sky & Telescope gives advice on how to watch the 2023 #perseids and explains how the #Perseids are formed in this video. 

Not into staying up late? In that case, I recommend looking for new time lapse video of the weekend event on Monday morning. 

Because this weekend, the best show in the solar system will be right on our doorstep.

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Photo by Michał Mancewicz on Unsplash

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Spotted on the drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco.

I thought that company was Terminated.

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Photo by Jan Antonin Kolar on Unsplash

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Today is the day: Volume 39 of Writers of the Future is live!

Where to buy: Amazon | Apple Books | Audible | B&N | BAM | Bookshop | Google Play | Indigo | Kobo | OverDrive Libraries | Powell’s | Vroman’s

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Here’s the synopsis:

In the world of speculative fiction…

Your favorite authors…

Have selected the best new voices of the year.

24 Award-winning Authors and Illustrators 

3 Bonus Short Stories by Kevin J. Anderson • L. Ron Hubbard • S. M. Stirling 

Art and Writing Tips by Lazarus Chernik • L. Ron Hubbard • Kristine Kathryn Rusch 

Edited by Dean Wesley Smith • Jody Lynn Nye 

16-page color gallery of artwork • Cover art by Tom Wood

Check out the stories Brandon Sanderson, Orson Scott Card, Nnedi Okorafor, Robert J. Sawyer, Kevin J. Anderson, Jody Lynn Nye and others chose as the best of the best.

Be amazed. Be amused. Be transported … by stories that take you by surprise and take you further and deeper into new worlds and new ideas than you’ve ever gone before….

Twelve captivating tales from the most exciting new voices in science fiction and fantasy accompanied by three from masters of the genre.

A miracle? An omen? Or something else? One day, they arrived in droves—the foxes of the desert, the field, the imagination….—“Kitsune” by Devon Bohm

When a vampire, a dragon and a shape-shifting Chihuahua meet on a beach in Key West, fireworks go off! But that’s just the background. —“Moonlight and Funk” by Marianne Xenos

Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I., faces one of his funniest and most perplexing cases ever—an enlightened ogre, a salamander with low self-esteem, and a raging fire dragon terrorizing the Unnatural Quarter! —“Fire in the Hole” by Kevin J. Anderson

The Grim Reaper, trapped in an IRS agent’s dying body, must regain his powers before he dies and faces judgment for his original sin. —“Death and the Taxman” by David Hankins

In a metaverse future, a woman who exposes falseness in others must decide what is real to her—the love she lost or the love she may have found. —“Under My Cypresses” by Jason Palmatier

Vic Harden wasn’t lured by glory on a daring mission into the reaches of outer space—he was ordered out there by his editor.—“The Unwilling Hero” by L. Ron Hubbard

Dangerous opportunities present themselves when an alien ship arrives in the solar system seeking repairs. —“White Elephant” by David K. Henrickson

With her spaceship at the wrong end of a pirate’s guns, a former war hero must face down her enemies and demons to save Earth’s last best chance for peace. —“Piracy for Beginners” by J. R. Johnson

Years after the Second Holocaust, the last surviving Jews on earth attempt to rewrite the past. —“A Trickle in History” by Elaine Midcoh

When I said I’d do anything to pay off my debts and get back home to Earth, I didn’t mean survey a derelict spaceship at the edge of the solar system—but here I am. —“The Withering Sky” by Arthur H. Manner

High-powered telescopes bring galactic life to our TVs, and network tuner Hank Enos figures he’s seen everything—until the day an alien boy stares back. —“The Fall of Crodendra M.” by T. J. Knight

Knights, damsels and dragons, curses and fates foretold—the stuff of legends and stories, but unexpectedly perverse.—“Constant Never” by S. M. Stirling

Determined to save his wife, Tumelo takes an unlikely client through South Africa’s ruins to the heart of the Desolation—a journey that will cost or save everything. —“The Children of Desolation” by Spencer Sekulin

When a terrorist smuggles a nuclear weapon into London, a team regresses in time to AD 1093 to assassinate a knight on the battlefield, thereby eliminating the terrorist a millennia before his birth. —“Timelines and Bloodlines” by L. H. Davis

The Grand Exam, a gateway to power for one, likely death for all others—its entrants include ambitious nobles, desperate peasants, and Quiet Gate, an old woman with nothing left to lose. —“The Last History” by Samuel Parr

You will love this collection of the best new voices because, as Locus magazine puts it, “Excellent writing…extremely varied. There’s a lot of hot new talent.”

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