Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, genre fiction, history, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on April 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »
What did the futurologists of a century ago think our era would be like? And how close will today’s predictions be in a hundred years?
See predictions for 2023 from 1923 newspapers
“Watch-size radio telephones will keep everybody in communication with the ends of the earth,” they added, hitting the nail on the head.
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Posted in Holidays, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Easter, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers on April 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »
May you have a creative and happy Easter!
Ukrainian newcomers teaching the art of pysanka ahead of Easter
“I think that the main thing for the artists is to show their feelings, express their feelings, with the lines and with the colours and with the style they’re using. When you will be focusing only on the process and just your aim will be to get the perfect pysanka, at the end you can lose something. You have to look inside—what you have inside—what you want to show in your piece. Maybe your feelings, maybe your sadness, maybe your happiness, something to share with people. And you can show it on the surface of pysanka. This is the most important. And we don’t need ten perfect pysankas, we need ten unique pysankas with unique feelings on it.
— Oksana, Ukrainian who came to Canada in 2022, at a pysanky-making workshop in Ottawa
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, genre fiction, inspiration, Murderbot, Writers, writing on April 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »
I have mentioned my love of all things Murderbot before, and I am not alone in that sentiment. Here’s an interview with author Martha Wells, discussing the making of this cranky yet beloved character.
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Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, 25% Canadian, Artemis, free fiction, genre fiction, inspiration, NASA, science, space exploration, Thoughts, Writers on April 4, 2023| Leave a Comment »
NASA recently released the Artemis II roster for the next crewed lunar mission. As one article put it, “this is not your grandfather’s moon mission” and that’s a good thing. The crew is 25% female, 25% African American, and even (gasp!) 25% Canadian! (Think you too have what it takes? Here’s a link to get started: Astronaut Selection Program | NASA. Good luck!)
Why go to space? There are a lot of potential answers. Given the complex, diverse and fascinating future of exploration, here’s a collection of stories and essays that address this very question.
Visions, Ventures, Escape Velocities: A Collection of Space Futures from ASU’s Center for Science and the Imagination
Stories by: Madeline Ashby, Steven Barnes, Eileen Gunn, Ramez Naam, Carter Scholz, Karl Schroeder, Vandana Singh
Essays by: Jim Bell, Lawrence Dritsas, Linda T. Elkins-Tanton, Emma Frow, Roland Lehoucq, Andrew D. Maynard, Clark A. Miller, Deji Bryce Olukotun, Steve Ruff, William K. Storey, Sara Imari Walker, G. Pascal Zachary
Interview with: Kim Stanley Robinson
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Posted in Favorites, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, innovation, inspiration, technology, Thoughts on April 1, 2023| Leave a Comment »
A century ago gasoline-powered cars really came into their own. (In 1920, if memory serves, Ford sold a million Model Ts for the first time.) Now, a hundred or so years after that milestone, we’re living in the midst of another significant change.
Mr Man and I were discussing electric vehicles today. As an example, in the space of a block we spotted half a dozen Teslas. Regardless of what one thinks about the company (or its owner’s shenanigans), it has been a pioneer and visible symbol of the shift from fossil fuels to electrification. Despite decades of resistance from established interests, that change is now happening at a rapid pace.
That also got me thinking about the speed of technological change over humanity’s history, which brings me to this article.
Technology over the long run: See how dramatically the world can change within a lifetime
…we live in a time of extraordinarily fast technological change. For recent generations, it was common for technologies that were unimaginable in their youth to become common later in life.
The graphic captures this well.
It makes me think of my grandparents, born around the time of that Model T milestone. They lived to see the moon missions, internet and cell phones.
It’s been said before but it bears repeating. We’re living our ancestors’ dreams. Let’s make them good ones.
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Posted in Likes, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, innovation, inspiration, problem solving, Thoughts on March 30, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Most mornings I stop by the MIT homepage to see what new projects are in the works. Today I was particularly struck by the sense that these folks are freaking rockstars.
Designing a flexible graphene supercapacitor for solar energy storage?
Rockstars.
Researching cell-based treatment for Type 1 diabetes?
Rockstar.
Advising the White House on space policy?
Rockstar.
Reducing concrete emissions, making affordable air quality sensors, supporting collaborative action, and addressing disparities in health care?
Rockstars all.
As someone who imagines the future, I love to see it being built.
And it’s not just MIT, of course. The world is full of creative innovators at all levels, from cutting-edge research to finding solutions to everyday issues. Scientists or not, that’s kind of humanity’s thing.
Take a moment to remember a time when you identified a problem and worked to fix it. Have you ever soaped a sticky drawer, had a stoplight installed at a dangerous intersection, added pollinator-friendly plants to your garden, or tackled any of the many (many) problems we face every day?
Then you’re a rockstar too.
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, cli-fi, climate change, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, inspiration, sff, Writers, writing, writing contest, yay on March 23, 2023| Leave a Comment »
It’s that time again, when Grist rolls out its annual climate fiction short story contest! Have something to say about the future, and how we might win it? This could be the contest for you!
Imagine 2200 climate fiction contest 2023: Submit your story
We’re looking for stories of 3,000 to 5,000 words that envision the next 180 years of climate progress – roughly seven generations – imagining intersectional worlds of abundance, adaptation, reform, and hope.
Hopeful doesn’t mean “fatuous” or “unrealistic” or even “easy.” It does mean light at the end of this particular tunnel. If you’re wondering what a winning entry looks like, here are stories from previous iterations of the contest:
Here’s the listing on The Submissions Grinder (best submission tracking platform out there and did I mention it’s free?).
All genres welcome, no cost to enter, submissions close June 13, 2023. Head to the link for more details and the submissions portal.
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Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, carl sagan, inspiration, learning@lunch, science on March 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Today, a short but earth-shaking bit of science, from over 2000 years ago.
The story of Eratosthenes and Earth’s circumference, as told by Carl Sagan
After hearing that the shadows disappeared at noon in the town of Syene (now known as Aswan), Eratosthenes achieved his understanding of our planet’s size by comparing the angle of the sun’s rays in the port city of Alexandria-at the same time.
The Sagan video won’t post for whatever reason, but this is the link:
Carl Sagan – Cosmos – Eratosthenes
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on March 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »
The power of the word to help transform our own emotions and our own belief in what’s possible for us? I don’t think anything transcends that.
— Oprah Winfrey
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Posted in Favorites, Holidays, Likes, Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, history, inspiration, Thoughts on March 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Today is Harriet Tubman Day. Who was she and why do we celebrate her?
Harriet Tubman: Facts, Underground Railroad & Legacy
Harriet Tubman was an escaped enslaved woman who became a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, leading enslaved people to freedom before the Civil War, all while carrying a bounty on her head. But she was also a nurse, a Union spy and a women’s suffrage supporter.
When I was young we lived across the street from a mansion. A massive Victorian from the 1870s, it had a wrap-around porch and beautifully kept grounds. Flowers bloomed behind wrought iron fences and mulberries spilled over onto the sidewalk. One Halloween, the woman who owned the house took at look at my ghost and my brother’s Batman and invited us inside. (Don’t worry, this isn’t a scary story.)
We were greeted by a wide foyer, elegant wooden paneling, high ceilings and chandeliers. Our neighbor gave us a brief tour and then, perhaps looking through our costumes to the skin underneath, said, “Once upon a time, this house was part of the Underground Railroad.”
Based on the age and location of the house I don’t think that’s likely to be true,* but I didn’t know that at the time. The story helped bring to life the books I’d read about runaways, slave catchers and the transformation of a young girl with a disability into a savior of her people.
How to Experience the Lasting Legacy of Harriet Tubman
Pressing my hands against the bricks of the home Harriet Tubman built, I closed my eyes and listened to the wind rustling between the leaves of the trees surrounding this place where she lived and worked as a free woman, awaiting a message from the Underground Railroad conductor and Union spy.
She continues to be an inspiration and so to her, to my ancestors and all those who braved so much during that frequently harsh and terrible time: thank you.
“If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If there’s shouting after you… Don’t ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.”
— Harriet Tubman
* The specifics of this particular house aside, there was an active spur of the Underground Railroad running through the region. The Bellefonte Art Museum down the road hosts a permanent exhibit showcasing its operations.
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