Breaking News & Random Musings on Space, Technology, Sci-Fi & the View From A Writer’s Window
OMG. This is easily the most insane thing I've ever seen - and that's just the trailer. Science? What science! Doesn't matter. I cannot overstate how excited I am to see this absurdity we call a "film."
”NEW MOONFALL TRAILER COULDN’T BE MORE PERFECTLY RIDICULOUS”: https://nerdist.com/article/moonfall-movie-trailer-halle-berry-patrick-wilson
“Moonfall” trailer on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ivIwdQBlS10
Originally posted on Facebook.
Guys, "Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir is an amazing book.
I realize I might be late to the party here. What can I say - it was a busy year. But here's my endorsement, tardy or otherwise.
Is it as good as The Martian? Maybe, maybe not. Probably not quite. Doesn't really matter.
Is it the same as The Martian? In several ways, yes. There's no question that Weir writes with a very strong "voice" and a very distinctive style; this means that PHM often "feels" like The Martian. In fact, this might be the only type of book that Weir ever writes. But that will be okay, because it's an excellent type of book to write. One way it *isn't* like The Martian, though is the addition of a second, very unique and interesting character for the main character to interact with (I don't think I'm spoiling much here, and I won't say more on it). And that does make all the difference.
No dissertation here. No intellectual analysis or critique. I'm simply of the opinion that this is an excellent book, and as fellow sci-fi lovers, I thought you might like to know.
“Project Hail Mary” on Amazon: https://amzn.to/34lXoau
Originally posted on Facebook.
50% update on CHAOTICA!
Just kidding. No way am I 50% finished with this book. You all totally knew I was joking with that 120K target, right?
Originally posted on Facebook.
Had an awesome weekend playing in the snow with rock star fantasy author and dear friend Katie Cross. Magical portals and quantum wormholes alike were carved through the ice (but, strangely, it was still snowy on the other side...).
Who's very nervous about this launch? I am very nervous about this launch. Next Friday, Christmas Eve, is the moment of truth....
“5 critical moments will determine the success or failure of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope”: https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/5-moments-nasas-james-webb/.
“NASA confirms next Friday for Webb Space Telescope launch”: https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/nasa-confirms-friday-webb-space-telescope-launch-81816784
JWST has been so expensive and delayed so many times, and it's so important (Hubble is on its 18th life now), and it's such a complex yet delicate device.... The article points out 5 big things that can go wrong, but so can 1,000 smaller ones. And if it does fail, will we build another one? Will it take another 20 years to do so? Will we have to wait until one of the billionaires takes pity on the scientists and builds one on the moon?
But I also realize that, excepting the exorbitant cost and absurd delays, these risks apply to every launch. We've lost several rovers to Mars on the landing attempt, but we keep going back. We thought we'd lost Hubble not long after launch, but we fixed it, and look what it's done. So, yes, I'm always nervous at big launches.
Originally posted on Facebook.
This video of the Parker Solar Probe's dive through the sun's corona is absolutely mind-blowing. It's only 13 seconds, so take those seconds to watch it - you won't regret it: https://youtu.be/IQXNqhQzBLM
And look at the Milky Way in the background! WOW. I am amazed and humbled at these incredible images.
More info on the event:
"For the first time ever, a spacecraft has flown through the Sun’s outer atmosphere. The Parker Solar Probe passed through the out portion of the Sun’s corona in April of 2021, passing directly through streamers of solar plasma. Not only are the solar particles and dust visible streaming past the spacecraft, astronomer Karl Battams confirmed that other objects visible in the video are Mercury, Venus, THE MILKY WAY (the large vertical structure seen in the video, which is stunning/jarring when you realize it) then Saturn, Earth and Jupiter. https://www.universetoday.com/.../parker-solar-probe.../
(Note: this video is actually from the probe's previous pass - data from its most recent dive will begin arriving Dec. 23. Might it include an even *more* astounding video?)
Originally posted on Facebook.
NASA’s Curiosity rover captured a remarkable image from its most recent perch on the side of Mars’ Mount Sharp. The mission team was so inspired by the beauty of the landscape, they combined two versions of the black-and-white images from different times of the day and added colors to create a rare postcard from the Red Planet.
More about how the image was created here: https://mars.nasa.gov/news/9080/nasas-curiosity-rover-sends-a-picture-postcard-from-mars/
Originally posted on Twitter.
Now that the season has concluded, I suppose I have to talk about “Foundation,” don’t I? *sigh*
You all know I favor an optimistic, positive outlook whenever possible. So here’s the positive! The production values are incredible, and the show is visually stunning. Several of the performances are very compelling (Lou Llobell as Gaal, Lee Pace as Day, and Jared Harris as Hari Seldon, in particular). More sci-fi on TV is always a good thing, and I give the showrunners props for spending a lot of money to tell a complex, long game story in a thoughtful manner. Also, Seldon’s “crisis” appearance was definitely more exciting than it is in the books!
If you enjoyed the show on its own merits, that’s awesome. I’m not here to harangue you in any way. Continue loving it.
BUT.
Someone on Twitter said, “They’ve always said that Foundation is unfilmable. It still hasn’t been.” I am forced to agree. I knew going in that there were going to be significant differences, but…damn. (Note: I don’t have a problem with the gender-swapping, as a rule; the cast of the first three novels is 99.9% male, so something had to change.)
But…damn. It’s as if they plucked a bunch of character and location names from the novels, threw them all into a blender, dumped the results out onto the counter, and stitched them all back together into something I like to call, “Not Foundation.”
But it’s not really about all the (many) discrete plot changes. It’s that the show doesn’t “feel” like Foundation in any discernable way. In a thousand small ways but two really big ones:
(1) In rereading the series recently (obviously), I was struck anew at how colorful and vivid Asimov’s writing is. His dialogue is over-the-top, often veering into purple prose. The characters are overdramatic, cocky and confident, making grand declarations with a flourish of a hand and a swish of a sash. It’s wonderful.
The show, though? It’s so…heavy. Ponderous. Weighted down. The dialogue is Very Serious, always. This frankly feels like an adaptation of an Arthur C. Clarke story, not an Asimov one (though they were relative contemporaries and share space on the Great Sci-Fi Masters shelf, their writing styles are very different). They should have gotten someone like Joss Whedon to write the dialogue—his style isn’t a perfect match, but it would have gotten much closer to the feel and dynamic of Asimov’s writing.
I hope they never bring in Arkady Darrell, because the writers have shown themselves completely incapable of capturing her ridiculous spirit, gumption and spunk.
(2) The story violates the fundamental underpinnings of psychohistory. At least twice, someone declares that the fate of the Seldon Plan rests on a single, special individual. Hari himself says this!
Look, we all love the “Chosen One” trope (well, some people do), but the Foundation novels do not. It’s stated repeatedly—really, ad nauseum—in the books that psychohistory only predicts the behaviors of great masses of people. It can’t predict the actions of a single person (this is why the Mule nearly wrecks the whole thing).
Because I’m such a ridiculous nerd and always have been, I wrote my AP English paper on the tension between free will and determinism in the Foundation series. And it isn’t only a tension—it’s arguably a fundamental flaw in the books. It IS individuals who solve the Seldon Crises. The main character of each story arc saves the day because they’re clever and smart and think their way through a seemingly unwinnable situation. Psychohistory posits that it was inevitable that someone would do so, but it doesn’t care who it would be.
This contradiction(?) is a totally reasonable criticism of the novels—but it IS what the novels say. The show abandons an excellent opportunity to play with this tension in favor of going all in on the “Chosen One.”
So, yes, I’m disappointed. I’m disappointed at the stories that aren’t being told here, and at the opportunities being passed by. Honestly—and I hate to say this—the experience makes me even more reluctant to option Amaranthe for the screen (should the opportunity ever arise). I’ve always been terrified of what Hollywood might do the characters, the story, the soul of Amaranthe. This show embodies exactly why I’m right to be worried. On the other hand, Dune is a beautiful adaptation of the source material, so I’m not saying never. It can be done—which is why it’s so disappointing it wasn’t done in this case.
(By the way, I could have written another 1,000 words here. In fact, I did, but #MrJennsen came over, put his hand on the keyboard, and said, “It’s time to stop posting.”)
Originally posted on Facebook.
Perseverance has captured its first Mars sunset in a compelling panoramic image. Such serene, yet lonely, beauty.
https://twitter.com/NASAPersevere/status/1461486482573512704
Originally posted on Twitter.
The weather + launch time combined to create some uniquely stunning images of this week’s SpaceX Falcon9 launch of additional Starlink satellites. Head over to their Flikr page to download high-res versions: https://www.flickr.com/photos/spacex/with/51676136282/
Originally posted on Facebook.
Alex's analysis of mysterious portals (and everything else) in a nutshell. Am I right, or am I right?
Motto: Always go through the portal.
Thanks to Angeliki Zafeiropoulou for the find!
Originally posted on Facebook.
We've got so much further we want to go and so much more we want to explore, but look what we've done already. My goodness.
"Space can be a cruel mistress, but she is a beautiful one.
As we await the launch of ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer and the return of Thomas Pesquet, let us marvel at the fact that humans live and work in space, an environment so inhospitable to us.
As Thomas nears the end of his six-month mission Alpha on the Space Station, he took this image, noting that living on the International Space Station “really feels like flying on a spaceship into the cosmos… or wait… that’s what we do.”"
Read more and download the high-res image: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2021/11/Mind_the_stars#.YYQCdwJtqh8.link
Originally posted on Facebook.
It will be many months before we have The Great Library v2.0, but as of today, we DO have the carefully curated, hand-picked and lovingly placed His & Hers Living Room Library!
(If you see a first-in-series book on the shelf, rest assured that the rest of the series is sitting in a box downstairs, waiting impatiently for TGLv2.)
(His on the left, Hers on the right, obviously - though we fought over who got to claim several of the books. I'm glaring at you, Neuromancer....)
(Also, I daresay this probably represents a higher percentage of signed books than any other room in Montana.)
In ALL OUR TOMORROWS, our old...not friends, exactly...the Ruda return to play an important role. (As a reminder, since it's been a while, the Ruda are the synthetic intelligence that Alex and Caleb met while touring the Mosaic in Sidespace.) Their entire planet has been covered by the Ruda Supremes' metallic footprints, creating quite an unusual landscape.
When imagining strange alien worlds, I tend to meld together several visualizations I've encountered, and this is true when it comes to the Ruda homeworld. Together, these two pieces capture perfectly the image of Rudan in my mind, and I thought you'd enjoy seeing them!
"Assembling Artifact" by Spiraloso: https://www.deviantart.com/.../Assembling-Artefact-890640977.
"Origin of Civilization" by Aeon Lux: https://www.deviantart.com/.../Origin-of-Civilization...
(Basically, impose the etched patterns and light of the first upon the surfaces of the second.)
Originally posted on Facebook.
Solar particles crashing into our planet's atmosphere create these beautiful, swirling auroras. This view from the International Space Station was captured in August by ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet.
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2021/10/Calm_above_the_storm
Originally posted on Twitter.
TL;DR: Go watch it!
I don't think it's possible to spoil a story that's 56 years old, but I'll speak in generalities. To say this film is visually stunning is to minimize the world 'stunning.' Denis Villeneuve took everything he learned making Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 and elevated it to an entirely new level. The sense of atmosphere, of mood, of otherworldliness, is as remarkable and all-encompassing as any film I have ever been privileged to see.
It is sci-fi in the best ways possible, full of worlds and ways and technologies that are alien and foreign to us. But they are presented so subtly, and the worldbuilding is so fully realized, that it all feels utterly natural. This is the world of Dune, and we are simply living in it.
I'm not sure that Jason Mamoa is the embodiment of Duncan Idaho, but he is awesome regardless, chewing up every scene he's in. Oscar Isaac is...underutilized; he never really gets a chance to shine, and it feels like the Duke exits the stage too soon. Josh Brolin isn't particularly likeable, but he is well-cast as Gurney. Rebecca Ferguson turns in a fine performance, but Jessica isn't quite as forceful of personality (or cunning) as I would prefer. Sharon Duncan-Brewster is a pleasant surprise and very compelling as Dr. Liet Kynes. Zendaya as Chani looks great, but she doesn't really factor into the story yet and spends most of her screen-time staring *meaningfully* into the camera.
Some may fairly disagree, but I thought Timothée Chalamet was excellent. Yes, he's young, quiet and scrawny (even waif-like). But he has tremendous charisma (or maybe it's just the hair? IDK) and powerful screen presence.
The underlying plot is a bit thinly developed (particularly the motivations of various players) - I rarely say this, but I would have been totally fine with the film being 3 hours long (rather than its 2h 35min runtime). There was still room for diving deeper into the story. But at the end of the day, you're not watching it for a dissertation on imperial politics - you're watching it for a visual spectacle. And my goodness do you get that!
Yes, the ending is...unfulfilling, I suppose? But you go into this knowing it's only half the story. As one of the characters says, "This is only the beginning." And this beginning was such a joyful experience to watch. Also, Dune Part Two has now officially been greenlit, so we will get the rest of the story (in 2023….).
One pet peeve: I said this about Blade Runner 2049, and I'm saying it again now, with the caveat that as someone who is sensitive to loud noises, this might just be me. But Villeneuve always feels like he is using the audio to brutally beat you into submission! I was left feeling a little like I had a case of PTSD after the auditory abuse I took (metaphorically, of course). And the next time I hear a foghorn, I'm liable to cower in the corner and cover my ears....
Originally posted on Facebook.
All Our Tomorrows is out in the world, and I so hope you're enjoying it. Now, it's time for some #MontanaAdventures.
Captain Kirk has finally made it to space and come home again! (Or if he's in a time loop, gone to space for the first time of many?).
His words on returning are for the ages. “That was unlike anything you’ll ever feel, ever.”
"Everybody in the world needs to do this. Needs to see this. It was unbelievable."
"What you have given me is the most profound experience you can imagine. I hope I never recover from it. What I feel right now, I don't want to lose it."
...and now I'm bawling. Who wants to go? #ToBoldlyGo
Also, how incredible does Shatner look? 90 years old, seriously? He doesn't look a day over 70.
Originally posted on Facebook.
