Picard Review
PICARD! Immensely, supremely enjoyable. CBS All Access is free until the end of April, so if you enjoy Star Trek, I highly recommend watching it.
More random, spoiler-free thoughts:
It doesn't always feel like "Star Trek" (in fact, it frequently felt like The Expanse). Never fear, many Star Trek species and a number of our favorite characters are present and accounted for, but the show comes with neither an Enterprise-style starship* nor all the StarFleet structural trappings. In DS9, we didn't have a starship (for several seasons), but we still had StarFleet; in Voyager, we had a starship but no StarFleet. Both shows stumbled on occasion for the removal of one pillar. Here, we have neither pillar - and Picard doesn't stumble for it, but it means the show doesn't always feel like Star Trek.
*There is a kick-ass ship; it's just not a StarFleet one.
I wasn't expecting to get so many Mass Effect vibes (albeit with a twist), but here we are. To say more would definitely involve spoilers.
So why was it good? The same reasons all good tales are so: entertaining, engrossing storytelling brought to life by memorable characters who make you care about them. Were there flaws? Certainly, but the characters were compelling enough that I'm happy to let them slide. It handled the AI issue with nuance and appropriate moral quandaries on both sides.
Finally, Seven was absolutely fantastic and utterly badass. #MrJennsen wholeheartedly agrees with this assessment.🙄
Originally posted on Facebook.
Proud Propaganda
Check it out - I found an inch of free wall space for my fictional governmental organizations promotional/propaganda banners.
...(FGOPBs? FiGOBs? FiGoProps? I'm in need of a good acronym here.)
And by "found" I mean "callously took down the perfectly lovely Ansel Adams art that was in that spot."
See all the banners on the Wiki: https://www.notion.so/…/Organizational-Banners-a8b5fb1984c3…
Originally posted on Facebook.
Happy Book Birthday to STARSHINE
Happy SIXTH Birthday to STARSHINE! 💫
Six years and 14 books later, this last week I have never been more grateful and humbled to be able to do this for a living. In the face of the Covid-19 crisis, my daily life has thus far changed very little. I get to keep on writing the next book while helping new readers find the first 14, cozily ensconced at the same desk from where every book has come to life. I'm lucky, and I know it.
But many millions of people are facing personal upheaval, uncertainty, anxiety and in some cases grave illness. As I give thanks for my personal situation, I'm thinking of all of you. I hope you stay safe, healthy and continue to find both solace and joy in stories.
Originally posted on Facebook.
One INVERSION First Draft - Done
New Amaranthe Swag
I got new swag to keep me company during my social isolation! Stickers are going on EVERYTHING.
If you're interested, you can get swag, too.🤗 The stickers are 4.5 x 2.7 inches and come in sets of 4. The keychain is 2 sides of the same keychain - one side is black, the other white - and it's quite lovely.🥰
https://www.zazzle.com/store/aurorarisingapparel/products?dp=0&cg=196071985589797182
Thematic Entertainment
Concord Concept Art
I made art! If you’ve read CONTINUUM, you know that Concord deserves a promotional banner at least as much as the EA, SF, IDCC & AEGIS do. More so, now that Concord is the heavy hitter in town.
See the rest of the banners on the Wiki: https://gsj.space/wiki-banners
I 💖 my org banners. If I had a single inch of free wall space left in my house....🤔
Meet the Mars 2020 Rover - PERSEVERANCE
The Mars 2020 rover has a name - PERSEVERANCE!
And of course now that it has a name, it has a Twitter account, where you can follow along with its future adventures: https://twitter.com/NasaPersevere.
NASA's Perseverance rover is a robotic scientist weighing just under 2,300 pounds (1,043 kilograms). The rover’s astrobiology mission includes searching for signs of past microbial life. It also will characterize the planet's climate and geology, and collect samples of Martian rocks and dust for a future Mars Sample Return mission to Earth, while paving the way for human exploration of the Red Planet.
It’s targeted to land on Mars’ Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021, where it will join the active rovers Curiosity and InSight.
Origiinally posted on Facebook.
INVERSION Update
RIP Freeman Dyson
Dyson’s contributions to the fields of physics, astronomy and mathematics are numerous and significant, but his proposition of Dyson spheres and their variants has forever changed the way we think about alien civilizations and the possiblities for our own future.
https://www.mainepublic.org/post/renowned-mathematician-and-physicist-freeman-dyson-has-died-age-96
Originally posted on Facebook.
Boom
The biggest cosmic explosion on record has been detected – an event so powerful that it punched a dent the size of ⚡️15 Milky Ways⚡️ in the surrounding space. Even on a cosmic scale, that's a *big* dent!
Scientists' current working theory is that a massive plasma jet shooting out of a supermassive black hole in the Ophiuchus galaxy cluster slammed into *something* and went boom [the technical term].
Thanks to Rebecca Hammond for the tip!
Originally posted on Facebook.
The 100 Best Space Images of 2019
An Update on the CONTINUUM Audiobook
❓❓ Where, oh where, is the CONTINUUM audiobook ❓❓
What an excellent question. Unfortunately, ACX has picked this month to suffer a massive slowdown in their production and distribution process. The underlying cause of this slowdown has not been shared with their clients - the authors - but it is affecting numerous audiobooks, possibly every audiobook currently in production at ACX.
I really hate this. Pyper worked her ass off recording the audiobook in record time so we could get it to the ears of all you lovely audiobook listeners as quickly as possible. Though it's out of my hands, I want to apologize to everyone who's excited for this audiobook.
So when WILL it be available? Well, under ACX's current estimates it could be delayed until mid-March. I deeply, *deeply* hope it doesn't take that long, and I'll update everyone as soon as things start moving along.
In meager compensation: ⭐️⭐️ the first five people who comment below will receive an Audible code to download CONTINUUM for FREE when it becomes available (Audible US and UK only) ⭐️⭐️. I'd give codes to every single one of you, but I'll only receive a limited number of codes at release.
The Next NASA Discovery Mission - Where To Go?
Where do you think we should go? 4 teams have reached the final selection round for the next 2 NASA Discovery missions (“small” planetary science missions costing no more than $450 million, intended to complement NASA’s larger Solar System exploration missions).
Venus, our engimatic neighbor? We should definitely check to make sure the protomolecule hasn't set up house there, right? Two of the finalists would go to Venus, one to study the surface, the other the atmosphere.
Io, a Jupiter moon with the most frenetic volcanic activity in the solar system?
Or Triton, the former dwarf planet captured by Neptune, with its frozen surface and possibly not-so-frozen oceanic interior?
Originally posted on Facebook.
Did You Know Writing Is Hard On the Eyes?
Allegedly, these glasses are going to help my eyes not (almost) literally bleed by the end of heavy writing days...or generally the last month of working on a book...or definitely while formatting. The yellow tint takes a little getting used to, but the glasses are super light and comfortable. Time will tell!
https://gunnar.com/
#amwriting #amseeingsofar
Originally posted on Facebook.
Phobos Over Mars
Afternoon shot of Phobos over the northern limb of Mount Sharp on Mars. Taken by the Curiosity rover on Sol 613 of its stay on Mars.
From Kevin M. Gill: https://twitter.com/kevinmgill/status/1225106090196492288
Originally posted on Twitter.
Hills, Ridges and Tracks on Mars
From Astronomy Picture of the Day: “Sometimes, even rovers on Mars stop to admire the scenery. Just late last November the Curiosity rover on Mars paused to photograph its impressive surroundings. One thing to admire, straight ahead, was Central Butte, an unusual flat hill studied by Curiosity just a few days before this image was taken. To its right was distant Mount Sharp, the five-kilometer central peak of the entire Gale crater, the interior of which Curiosity is exploring. Mount Sharp, covered in sulfates, appears quite bright in this colorized, red-filtered image. To the far left, shrouded in a very dark shadow, was the south slope of Vera Rubin ridge, an elevation explored previously by Curiosity. Between the ridge and butte were tracks left by Curiosity's wheels as they rolled forward, out of the scene.”
Originally posted on Twitter.
Imagine
From Sarah Cruddas on Twitter: “Imagine one day it is people on the surface of Mars, taking in this view. We owe it to all the pioneers who came before us to keep exploring.”
Originally posted on Twitter.
