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Posts Tagged ‘inspiration’

For dinner-related reasons, Mr Man and I were recently discussing the humble fish finger. What were they like in childhood, which were the best now, and how does a “fish finger” get made, anyway? Imagine my surprise when I ran across this article on that exact topic. It’s interesting and full of supply-chain related surprises (that “30,000 mile” bit isn’t a typo!).

The 30,000-mile fish finger – by Ed Conway – Material World

This journey, a journey about which most people tucking into their fish fingers today are almost completely oblivious, tells you rather a lot about the way the modern world – what I like to call the Trade World – really works.

I find stories like this fascinating, and they’re also an interesting window into ideas for fictional worlds. If your fantasy kingdom has been around for a couple of centuries, it’s probably part of an international trading network. And that network would be rife with all kinds of history and conflict, complications and opportunities, legal and otherwise.

Just a thought!

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“Inspiration usually comes during work, rather than before it.” — Madeleine L’Engle

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This week marked the 60th anniversary of Star Trek (it was Tuesday, actually, but alas! I was distracted by the whole “return to work” thing). And the show almost didn’t make it at all.

How ‘Star Trek’ almost failed to launch

“The Cage” – a complicated story about alien mind-control – was an ambitious pilot. When Roddenberry presented it to NBC, the programming executives were blown away. But the sales and marketing department wasn’t convinced. Not enough action, they thought. It would be hard to promote. Pass.

“Star Trek,” it seemed, was dead.

Fortunately, there’s more to that story, and the show not only got off the ground but became the entertainment juggernaut it is today.

I wasn’t a Trek fan growing up, in large part, I think, because my parents had made the conscious decision not to have a television. Now that I’m all grown up and have a TV of my own, though, I appreciate the ideals and more behind the sometimes campy but always fun franchise. So inspiring, and not just for everyday fans. 

‘Star Trek’ and NASA have intertwined legacies – the show championed diversity and inspired generations of real space scientists

When it premiered in 1966, no one could have predicted that it would lead to more than a dozen spinoff shows, more than a dozen movies and one of the most enduring fandoms in popular culture.

“Star Trek” is also unusual for its close connections to NASA, both in its storylines and in the real world. Decades of “Star Trek” adventures have ignited a love of spaceflight across generations, inspiring many who now work as space professionals.

Let’s hear it for the real-world powers of fiction. And now, in life and the imagination, go boldly!

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Why write? It’s a question writers get asked a lot. There are a lot of challenges to writing, both internal and external, and overcoming them can take persistence and focus and a good handle on what and why. So I periodically ask myself just that: why write? 

Here’s one author talking about her history with writing: Patricia Cornwell, novelist: Imagination saved me

Jamie Coomarasamy speaks to Patricia Cornwell, one of the world’s best-selling crime writers, whose books have sold more than 120 million copies worldwide… Her imagination became a refuge during difficult years, shaping the stories and characters she would later create.

Ann Patchett’s The Getaway Car is another interesting look into the author’s development as a writer, but everyone’s answer is different.

My version of why tends to revolve around an essential truth: I want to be part of the worlds I’ve loved since I was a child. I want to be a book in the library of life.

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“Because nerds like us are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff… Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-the-chair-can’t-control-yourself love it. Hank, when people call people nerds, mostly what they’re saying is ‘you like stuff.’ Which is just not a good insult at all. Like, ‘you are too enthusiastic about the miracle of human consciousness’.” ― John Green

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It’s a beautiful day here, all blue fall skies and fluffy white clouds, and birds singing in the back yard. What, one might wonder, did the landscape sound like in eons past? Before technology? Even before humans? 

There are still a lot of questions to answer, particularly about dinosaurs and other creatures with soft tissue that has not traveled to us through time, but insects? That, we now have a better handle on.

What Did Jurassic Forests Sound Like? Like This.

Scientists spent over a decade reconstructing the calls of nine species of ancient insects to create the first accurate Jurassic soundscape.

Something to think about if you are a writer building a soundscape for your world. And having spent much of the weekend with mosquitoes buzzing in my ears, I can only say that insects certainly can make an impression!

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What Happens When You Put an AI-Powered Banana Casino in a Monkey Reserve?

The team started by building a homebrew AI-powered facial recognition program called CapuchinAI. They then installed it on a computer outfitted with a camera and touchscreen, loaded it in a protective DIY box, and included a dispenser to dole out dried forest banana slices. When CapuchinAI detects a monkey’s face, the touchscreen turns on. If the monkey triggers it, the machine dispenses a tasty banana slice. Simple as that. 

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Every hour in every life contains such often-unrecognized potential to affect the world that the great days and thrilling possibilities are combined always in this momentous day.” — Dean Koontz

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“I could tell you my adventures—beginning from this morning,” said Alice a little timidly: “but it’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.” — Lewis Carroll

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Do you like your fiction with a whole lot of responsibly deployed science? Seven Rasmussen, astrobiologist and author, has some suggestions for you! 

An Astrobiologist’s Guide to the Best Sci-Fi Reads

Flex your mantle cavities over here, because I’m going to tell you about my favorite books and the science in them, from the astrophysics of Gideon the Ninth to the evolutionary biology of Children of Time. Please bear in mind that my choices (in no particular order, mind you), while they are technically opinion, they are absolutely correct, written in stone, and enforceable by federal law.

In case your to-be-read list needs a bit of a boost:)

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