In a broader sense, all science fiction prepares young people to live and survive in a world of ever-continuing change by teaching them early that the world does change.… In a more specific sense, science fiction preaches the need for freedom of the mind and the desirability of knowledge; it teaches that prizes go to those who study, who learn, who soak up the difficult fields of knowledge such as mathematics and engineering and biology. And so they do! The prizes of this universe go only to those able and equipped to reach out for them. In short, science fiction is preparing our youngsters to be mature citizens of the galaxy… as indeed they will have to be.
— Robert A. Heinlein (in “Turning Points: Essays on the Art of Science Fiction” by Damon Knight, ed., pp. 26-27)
Posts Tagged ‘awesome’
Passport to Galactic Citizenship
Posted in Other, Writing, tagged arts, awesome, creativity, genre fiction, inspiration, literature, Motivation, science, sff, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 4, 2013| 2 Comments »
On Tulips
Posted in Other, tagged awesome, flowers, good neighbors, history, interesting, market crash on May 14, 2013| Leave a Comment »
photo by Chris Willis
It’s Tulip Festival time here in Ottawa, and despite the unseasonably cold weather we’re having right now the flowers are beautiful. They also got me asking questions about the Festival specifically and about tulips in general. (If you are Canadian and a gardener feel free to stop here, you probably already know what I’m about to say. I’m neither and was happy to learn something new.)
Princess Juliana was about to give birth in Ottawa but being born in another country would have affected the child’s succession status. Fair enough, but it’s not like the Princess could go home. So, in typically awesome Canadian style, when Princess Margriet was born in 1943 the Dutch flag was flown from the Peace Tower. Succession issue solved. How neighborly is that?
Wait, you may ask, isn’t this the same flower whose bulbs were once worth more than their weight in gold (and, not incidentally, also sparked the “Tulip Mania” market crash in the 17th century)? How do I get more of them? You may already know this but I didn’t, at least not in detail.
How do tulips propagate? As in, I’ve got this shallot-like bulb I picked up at the store and the package swears that if I put it in the ground I’ll get a tulip next Spring. Great. But what if I didn’t have this little net bag from the supermarket? If the Apocalypse comes tomorrow tulips are on their own. What then?
It turns out that tulips are well positioned to survive a catastrophic event because they are designed to propagate in not one but two ways. If you want to make more tulips, come Autumn you can either dig up the bulb or collect the seeds. The original bulb will have grown a number of little satellites, or offsets. The largest of the bulbs will flower the next year but the smaller ones will need extra growing time. Bulbs are exact genetic replicas of the original, while seeds will give you a hybrid plant with more genetic diversity, and the potential for new colors and characteristics.
This could be critical if the Apocalypse does come and you need new, pretty ways to match your landscaping with brimstone or mask the odor of zombie. Just saying.
Today’s Great Thing of the Day…
Posted in Likes, Science!, tagged awesome, beauty, Chris Hadfield, creativity, home, inspiration, ISS, space, wonder on May 13, 2013| Leave a Comment »
David Bowie’s Space Oddity, as sung by Commander Chris Hadfield on the International Space Station.
Hadfield is returning to Earth today after five months of service in space. Thank you, Commander.
May 13, 2013 Update: Permission to post this version of Bowie’s song was granted for one year. Sadly, that year ends today, but it was great to see.
November 4, 2014 Update: After some legal finagling a new agreement has been reached. It’s back!
Ottawa Comiccon, or, Thanks, Mom!
Posted in Likes, Other, tagged arts, awesome, creativity, entertainment, fun, inspiration, mom, Motivation, OttawaCC, sff, Thoughts, yay on May 12, 2013| Leave a Comment »
Just finished Ottawa Comiccon and it was a blast! Saw LeVar Burton, missed Billy Dee Williams because they moved his panel up at short notice 😦 but did get to see Jewel Staite, hear Summer Glau (lost passport = sad pandas but the apology video and panel call-in were nice touches), Nathan Fillion, and Wil Wheaton, all of whom were terrific.
Tonight, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow…
Posted in Likes, Other, tagged arts, awesome, creativity, entertainment, firefly, fun, genre fiction, inspiration, ottawa comiccon, OttawaCC, sff, star trek, star wars, yay on May 10, 2013| Leave a Comment »
What’s happening? Ottawa Comiccon, that’s what’s happening!
In a few short hours my weekend will start and I’ll be off to bask in the glories of my fellow geeks. Just skimming the headlines, tonight it’s Billy Dee Williams and LeVar Burton, tomorrow it’s Jewel Staite and Summer Glau, then Sunday it’s Wil Wheaton and Captain Tight Pants Himself, Nathan Fillion🙂 And more, so much more, plus a posse of costumed people sure to bring cheer to even the rainiest of days.
Thought for a Busy Day
Posted in Writing, tagged arts, awesome, creativity, finishing, inspiration, Motivation, quotes, Thoughts, work, Writers, writing on May 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »
I’m still busy, mostly with non-writing work, and that makes it harder to focus on being creative than I’d like. That said, you just have to knuckle down and do it. Even when you’re stuck. Even when your work is hard.
Queue this quote. As the Harvard article cited below says, Maya Angelou has been a “cook, streetcar conductor, waitress, singer, dancer, editor, teacher, civil rights organizer, and actress” and oh yes, a writer. If anyone knows how to live a courageous life filled with productive creativity, she’s it.
I realized that one isn’t born with courage. One develops it by doing small courageous things—in the way that if one sets out to pick up a 100-pound bag of rice, one would be advised to start with a five-pound bag, then 10 pounds, then 20 pounds, and so forth, until one builds up enough muscle to lift the 100-pound bag. It’s the same way with courage. You do small courageous things that require some mental and spiritual exertion….I understood early that not everything I did was going to be a masterpiece, but I would try to do it the best I knew how. I’ve listened to an inner voice and had enough courage to try unknown things.
— Maya Angelou
No Excuses!
Posted in Writing, tagged arts, awesome, creativity, finishing, genre fiction, inspiration, literature, Motivation, Thoughts, work, Writers, writing on May 1, 2013| 2 Comments »
Today I’m going to pass along a great piece of advice from Brandon Sanderson, author of the Mistborn series and many other excellent books. It helps when I don’t feel like writing (or more likely this month, when I think I have too much to do).
“Sit in a chair and write,” Sanderson says.“Ignore this thing they call writer’s block. Doctors don’t get doctor’s block; your mechanic doesn’t get mechanic’s block. If you want to write great stories, learn to write when you don’t feel like it. You have to write it poorly before you can write it well. So just be willing to write bad stories in order to learn to become better.”
— Brandon Sanderson (as quoted here)
Worlds Within Our Own
Posted in Likes, Other, tagged awesome, creativity, fun, Google, ideas, inspiration, internet, magic, Random, smiling now on March 26, 2013| Leave a Comment »
Oh, this is wonderful. I’ve just gone to an underground lot in China, a restaurant in India, and an Arctic outpost. Wherever the Secret Door takes you, I doubt you will be disappointed.
Thank you, magic internet!
The Secret Door is presented by Safestyle UK
A Thought for Monday Morning: Keep Going
Posted in Writing, tagged arts, awesome, books, creativity, finishing, inspiration, Motivation, rejection, Thoughts, video, work, Writers, writing on March 18, 2013| 1 Comment »
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