Science Fiction

*Really? Well, maybe. News feature: 2013-170 May 22, 2013 Forecast for Titan: Wild Weather Could be Ahead The full version of this story with accompanying images is at: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-170&cid=release_2013-170 Saturn’s moon Titan might be in for some wild weather as it heads into its spring and summer, if two new models are correct. Scientists think that as the seasons change in Titan’s northern hemisphere, waves could ripple across the moon’s hydrocarbon seas, and hurricanes could begin to swirl over these areas, too. The model predicting waves tries to explain data from the moon obtained so far by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. Both models help mission team members plan when and where to look for unusual atmospheric disturbances as Titan summer approaches. “If you think being a weather forecaster on Earth is difficult, it can be even more challenging at Titan,” said Scott Edgington, Cassini’s deputy project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. “We know there are weather processes similar to Earth’s at work on this strange world, but differences arise due to the presence of unfamiliar liquids like methane. We can’t wait for Cassini to tell us whether our forecasts are right as it continues its tour through Titan spring into the start of northern summer.” Titan’s north polar region, which is bejeweled with sprawling hydrocarbon seas and lakes, was dark when Cassini first arrived at the Saturn system in 2004. But sunlight has been creeping up Titan’s northern hemisphere since August 2009, when the sun’s light crossed the equatorial plane at equinox. Titan’s seasons take about seven Earth years to change. By 2017, the end of Cassini’s mission, Titan will be approaching northern solstice, the height of summer. Given the wind-sculpted dunes Cassini has seen on Titan, scientists were baffled about why they hadn’t yet seen wind-driven waves on the lakes and seas. A team led by Alex Hayes, a member of Cassini’s radar team who is based at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., set out to look for how much wind would be required to generate waves. Their new model, just published in the journal Icarus, improves upon previous ones by simultaneously accounting for Titan’s gravity; the viscosity and surface tension of the hydrocarbon liquid in the lakes; and the air-to-liquid density ratio. “We now know that the wind speeds predicted during the times Cassini has observed Titan have been below the threshold necessary to generate waves,” Hayes said. “What is exciting, however, is that the wind speeds predicted during northern spring and summer approach those necessary to generate wind waves in liquid ethane and/or methane. It may soon be possible to catch a wave in one of the solar system’s most exotic locations.” The new model found that winds of 1 to 2 mph (2 to 3 kilometers per hour) are needed to generate waves on Titan lakes, a speed that has not yet been reached during Titan’s currently calm period. But as Titan’s northern hemisphere approaches spring and summer, other models predict the winds may increase to 2 mph (3 kilometers per hour) or faster. Depending on the composition of the lakes, winds of that speed could be enough to produce waves 0.5 foot (0.15 meter) high. The other model about hurricanes, recently published in Icarus, predicts that the warming of the northern hemisphere could also bring hurricanes, also known as tropical cyclones. Tropical cyclones on Earth gain their energy from the build-up of heat from seawater evaporation and miniature versions have been seen over big lakes such as Lake Huron. The new modeling work, led by Tetsuya Tokano of the University of Cologne, Germany, shows that the same processes could be at work on

I’ve been very busy working on a project that I can’t talk about, so I haven’t had time to make a proper post here. I feel like I’m neglecting my blog, and I would hate for it to feel left out, so here’s a picture I colorized with my magic coloring skills: Life is best when you’re easily amused, kids.

The first expansion for Star Trek: Online, The Legacy of Romulus is now available. In Legacy of Romulus, players can now play as either a Romulan or a Reman, with story-driven missions written “exclusively from the Romulan Republic’s point-of-view.” In Legacy of Romulus, Romulus and Remus are gone, and the survivors of the two planets are “struggling to survive in the aftermath of unspeakable destruction. “These are dark and dangerous times for your people, as the Tal Shiar crack down on any dissent and mysterious beings unleash terror throughout the far-flung colony worlds. “You will be the one to reshape an empire. Gather allies, go undercover and find the proof that will rally your people to revolt. “Together, you will rise up against an oppressive regime and demand freedom. You will fight for your people.” Denise Crosby has returned as [Empress] Sela in Legacy of Romulus.

Two new Her Universe clothing items will be of interest to female Star Trek fans. The items are a Command Gold tank dress, and a shirt featuring a quote from The Wrath of Khan. The tank dress is made of 95% cotton and 5% spandex, and runs from small to 4X in size (it’s recommended to buy a size larger than normal as this item runs small). The Command Gold tank dress will sell for $35 and can be purchased here. The Khan v-neck t-shirt features a Federation symbol and the KHAAAAAN! quote (which runs along the bottom of the shirt and continues on the back of the shirt). Selling for $28, the t-shirt comes in sizes from small to 2X. As with the Command Gold tank dress, it’s recommended to go up one size unless a close-fitting shirt is desired. The t-shirt can be purchased here.

Old School Wednesdays Old School Wednesdays is a weekly Book Smuggler feature. We came up with the idea towards the end of 2012, when both Ana and Thea were feeling exhausted from the never-ending inundation of New and Shiny (and often over-hyped) books. What better way to snap out of a reading fugue than to take a mini-vacation into the past? Logo designed by the wonderful KMont In March 2013, we asked YOU for your favorite old school suggestions – and the response was so overwhelmingly awesome, we decided to compile a goodreads shelf, an ongoing database, AND a monthly readalong/book club. This month, for the second ever Old School Wednesday Readalong, we’re discussing The Naming by Alison Croggon! For every readalong book, we’ll structure this a little bit differently than our usual Joint Review faire – first, we’ll give our (brief!) opinions regarding the book, then we’ll tackle some discussion questions. Finally, we’ll ask YOU to join in. Title: The Naming Author: Alison Croggon Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult Publisher: Candlewick Publication date: March 2006 Paperback: 492 pages In the classic spirit of epic fantasy comes this glittering saga of a young girl who learns she possesses an uncanny gift—and is destined to use it to save her world from a terrifying evil. Maerad is a slave in a desperate and unforgiving settlement, taken there as a child when her family is destroyed in war. She doesn’t yet know she has inherited a powerful gift, one that marks her as a member of the noble School of Pellinor and enables her to see the world as no other can. It is only when she is discovered by Cadvan, one of the great Bards of Lirigon, that her true identity and extraordinary destiny unfold. Now, she and her mysterious teacher must embark on a treacherous, uncertain journey through a time and place where the forces of darkness wield an otherworldly terror. The first book in a projected quartet, Alison Croggon’s epic about Maerad and her remarkable yet dangerous gift is a beautiful, unforgettable tale. Presented as a new translation of an ancient text, The Naming evokes the rich and complex landscape of Annar, a legendary world just waiting to be discovered. Stand alone or series: Book 1 in the Books of Pellinor series How did we get this book: Bought Format (e- or p-): eBook REVIEW & DISCUSSION Ana’s take: I’d seen The Naming around Goodreads and was intrigued by it but not enough to actually pick it up. I was glad when this showed up in the OSW recommendations. The Naming was a weird book for me to read. It had tons of potential: tropes and scenarios I am familiar and comfortable with plus the fact that the main character was a girl (when often boys happen to be Chosen Ones). But I had a really hard time with the book because it was so boring and I just couldn’t get into it exactly because it was so familiar to the point of being derivative. There were things that could be considered “subverting” these familiar tropes (more on that later) but they were perhaps too minor or too superficial to mean anything of substance. That said, The Naming was an important read for me because it served to highlight and reinforce what I kind of already knew: how tired I am of the Chosen One trope, how much I dislike overly descriptive books and how I am might be over Epic Fantasy for now. Thea’s Take: Like Ana, I’ve had my eye on The Naming for a while now. This is a book I frequently see lurking on shelves at my local bookstores and across the interwebs, and until recently, it has been one of those pick-it-up-read-the-blurb-put-it-back kind of books (love the cover and title, but there was never anything particularly OOMPH-y about the book that compelled me to buy it in the past). When this book surfaced on our OSW readalong poll list, I was thrilled because finally I had a reason to get into the Pellinor series. And…I’m a little ambivalent when it comes to the actu

When it comes to writing a novelization of a movie, for author Alan Dean Foster, it’s about “filling in the blanks.” Foster is no stranger to Star Trek novels, having written the Animated Series Star Trek Log novelizations as well as the story for what became the first Star Trek movie, but after thirty years, he had thought that his Trek days were behind him. When asked to pen the novelization for Star Trek (2009), Foster was “was surprised because it had been so long. I was not surprised because I’d been doing book versions of movies all through those decades right up and through to films like The Chronicles of Riddick,” he said. ” So it’s not like I’d been away from the work, but I’d just been away from Star Trek.” Foster explained what he felt was the core of Star Trek into Darkness. “It’s all about personality conflicts,” he said. “There are people who love science fiction who will say it’s insufficiently science fiction, and there are people who will say that’s what makes Star Trek great, and always has. For me, good writing and good story has always been centered on characters and everything else, however well developed, is window dressing. Certainly, Star Trek Into Darkness, if anything, is even more character-centric than the previous film.” Being able to add to the story, showing more of the characters’ thought processes during events is enjoyable for the author. “People think that one of the main things that novelizations do is to expand existing scenes,” he said. “That’s true to a certain extent, but the fun part of it, and the important people of it, I feel, is to fill in the blanks. One of the biggest blanks in any existing film, assuming it isn’t fifteen hours long, is to show what the characters are actually thinking. When they’re doing something on screen it’s just, well, ‘Sulu moved the lever forward.’ That’s about as short a sentence as you can come up with. But I get to show what he’s thinking, why he’s moving the lever, what’s going on in his head while he’s moving the lever, what the possible consequences might be for moving that lever, and on and on and on. To me, that’s one of the joys of doing it. I get to make my own director’s cut, in other words.” The Star Trek into Darkness novelization came out yesterday.

Glenn Fleishman had me on his New Disruptors podcast and we had a great conversation! (MP3)

The things you should read edition: “‘We Have Always Fought’: Challenging the ‘Women, Cattle and Slaves’ Narrative” by Kameron Hurley BOOKISH TURN-OFFS? 10 Novels That Are More Action-Packed Than Most Summer Movies The Nina Allen 101 Women to Read Meme M.L. Brennan Looks Beneath the Veneer of Escapism 2013 Hugo Voter Packet Now available 2012 Nebula Awards winners announced MIND MELD: What is the Literary Appeal of Gods, Goddesses and Myths? Amazon to start selling licensed fanfiction

Last night, Alice Eve was on Conan and two short clips featuring the actress on the show have been released. In the clips, Eve reveals that she was attracted to performing from a young age, had a teacher whose negative comments made her determined to succeed in school, and was initially a bit confused during a call from J.J. Abrams to her regarding Star Trek into Darkness.

The Twitters are abuzz today about Amazon’s new “Kindle Worlds” program, in which people are allowed to write and then sell through Amazon their fan fiction for certain properties owned by Alloy Entertainment, including Vampire Diaries and Pretty Little Liars, with more licenses expected soon. I’ve had a quick look at the program on Amazon’s site, and I have a couple of immediate thoughts on it. Be aware that these thoughts are very preliminary, i.e., I reserve the right to have possibly contradictory thoughts about the program later, when I think (and read) about it more. Also note that these are my personal thoughts and do not reflect the positions or policies of SFWA, of which I am (still but not for much longer) president. 1. The main knock on fan fiction from the rights-holders point of view — i.e., people are using their characters and situations in ways that probably violate copyright — is apparently not at all a problem here, since Alloy Entertainment is on board for allowing people to write what they want (within specific guidelines — more on that in a bit). Since that’s the case, there’s probably a technical argument here about whether this is precisely “fan fiction” or if it’s actually media tie-in writing done with intentionally low bars to participation (the true answer, I suspect, is that it’s both). Either way, if Alloy Entertainment’s on board, everything’s on the level, so why not. 2. So, on one hand it offers people who write fan fiction a chance to get paid for their writing in a way that doesn’t make the rightsholders angry, which is nice for the fan ficcers. On the other hand, as a writer, there are a number of things about the deal Amazon/Alloy are offering that raise red flags for me. Number one among these is this bit: “We will also give the World Licensor a license to use your new elements and incorporate them into other works without further compensation to you.” i.e., that really cool creative idea you put in your story, or that awesome new character you made? If Alloy Entertainment likes it, they can take it and use it for their own purposes without paying you — which is to say they make money off your idea, lots of money, even, and all you get is the knowledge they liked your idea. Essentially, this means that all the work in the Kindle Worlds arena is a work for hire that Alloy (and whomever else signs on) can mine with impunity. This is a very good deal for Alloy, et al — they’re getting story ideas! Free! — and less of a good deal for the actual writers themselves. I mean, the official media tie-in writers and script writers are doing work for hire, too, but they get advances and\or at least WGA minimum scale for their work. Another red flag: “Amazon Publishing will acquire all rights to your new stories, including global publication rights, for the term of copyright.” Which is to say, once Amazon has it, they have the right to do anything they want with it, including possibly using it in anthologies or selling it other languages, etc, without paying the author anything else for it, ever. Again, an excellent deal for Amazon; a less than excellent deal for the actual writer. Note that on its page Amazon makes a show of saying that the writer owns the copyright on the original things that are copyrightable, but inasmuch as Amazon also acquires all rights for the length of the copyright and Alloy is given the right to exploit the new elements without further compensation, this show about you keeping your copyright appears to be just that: show. The argument here could be, well, you know, people who were writing fan fiction weren’t getting paid or had rights to these characters and worlds anyway, so only getting paid for their work once is still better than what they would have gotten before. And that’s not an entirely bad argument on one l