Neil Armstrong, the Great Hero (Or, What He Means to Me)
The net is abuzz with news that Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the Moon, has passed away after what appeared to be complications from heart surgery. He was 82. Perhaps it sounds silly to some, but I teared up after seeing this on Twitter and realizing it wasn’t a hoax. It’s hard to explain, but Neil Armstrong is one of those people you can’t help but look up to. A person who did something no other human being had ever done before. He fulfilled the dreams of writers and scientists and people sitting around in their living rooms watching black-and-white scifi TV shows. July 20th, 1969 will forever be a reminder of his achievements, and the achievements of his fellow astronauts, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. Like a lot of people, he was, in no small way, an inspiration for me when I was a child — if not directly, then by proxy. I remember watching a live broadcast of a shuttle liftoff as a kid and thinking to myself, “That might be me one day.” There’s something powerful about that kind of reaction, of believing you can do something — that you should do something. Health conditions made sure I would never be an astronaut, but the world Armstrong created by putting his feet into the fine dust of the Moon was one that made me long to go up there and carve out a piece of history for myself, however small. Perhaps that explains my obsession with space, and not just science fiction. It explains my desperate desire to go up there one day, even if only for a few moments. To feel space in my own way. To feel like I’m a part of some grander human experience. Armstrong made all of that possible. And in a weird way, I thought he would always be here. I know that’s insane, since we all must die. He was 82, after all; he lived a lot of years. But he was supposed to be there like some kind of great father, to watch over us as we journeyed further and further out there, to be there for us with all his wisdom. The world does not feel right without him — cannot feel right. There’s an emptiness now. We’ve lost a human being who meant so much to so many. A man who took us where no humans had ever been before, who uttered a line that will echo throughout history forever: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” You will have a special place in our hearts, Mr. Armstrong. One day, when some human being puts his or her feet on some distant rock, like Mars or maybe a planet around another star, they will think of you, your words, and what you meant to the world and mankind. And maybe they too will bask in the glory that you began all those years ago. Sleep well, hero.
Crowdfunding: The Last Day to Help!
Today’s the last day to donate to my crowdfunding venture and get a bunch of free stuff in the process (free fiction, more free fiction, and amusing ways to torture me). If you can spare a few bucks, please consider sending it my way. You can do that by using the little widget on the side. Further details about perks and all that jazz can be found here. Or you can simply ignore all of that and send donations straight to my Paypal: arconna[at]yahoo[dot]com. I’m enormously grateful to everyone who has donated thus far. You are simply wonderful. Thus far, I’ve handed out a whole bunch of personalized ebooks and given dictatorship powers for the Torture Cinema feature of The Skiffy and Fanty Show to a handful of folks. Pretty much everyone who got an ebook says they love their special alt-hist introduction, which makes me happy indeed. However, I won’t pretend to be enthused by all the crappy films I will have to watch… Thanks to all that have helped by giving or spreading the word. Whatever happens today, I’ll at least be closer to getting a new laptop without having to go further into debt. Now back to your regular programming…
Stina Leicht Auction Winner: Brent Bowen! (a.k.a. @daemonrange )
The title says it all. Brent Bowen took the winning bid on a signed/personalized copy of Stina Leicht’s amazing second novel, And Blue Skies From Pain, at a very reasonable $40. That means he gets: Stina’s book A personalized collection of short stories by me A pre-order for Edison Crux’s Tales of the Wisconsin Werewolf An internet hug Congratulations to Brent. And, of course, a huge thank you to both Brent and Stina for the help! A+ If you still want to help out and get some free stuff, that would be awesome. Details here.
The Magic Crowd-Funding-a-Laptop Project
From Google+: All the details are below (what I’m doing, why I need to do it, what happened, etc.). Read through or skip right to the end for info about the cool painting John Ward is putting up for auction to help me out or other ways to donate (and some perks for doing so). What is it? An attempt to raise $482 $306 to replace my laptop without taking out another student loan. I already have $30,000 in student loans for my B.A. and part of my M.A. The only way I can replace my laptop in a timely manner is to take out another loan, or crowd-fund. John Ward, Mike Reeves-McMillan, and Alison Marlowe were kind enough to suggest I try crowd-funding so I can keep doing what I do. I am eternally grateful for their support. Why do you need a laptop? Much of what I do involves being mobile. While I can do most of that work from home on my desktop, it does severely limit me, as I cannot take notes in real time, record podcasts, etc. when I am not at home. It comes down to what enables me to do my PhD and “hobby” work at optimum efficiency. A laptop lets me do it all in one unit. The big issue is that I have my PhD exams this coming spring, which means I have to get a replacement ASAP. What happened? Unfortunately, what happened is more my fault than anything else. I made the mistake of leaving a glass of water too close to my laptop and my new cat (10 minutes before I decided to keep him) knocked it over while I was in the bathroom. After several unsuccessful attempts to fix the laptop, I came to the conclusion that it had died. Luckily, I did not lose any relevant work (Dropbox), but I did learn a valuable lesson. How do I help? There are two ways you can help: 1) You can donate via Paypal using the my email — arconna[at]yahoo[dot]com (see below for a perk for donating) 2) You can head over to John Ward’s page and bid on his amazing zombie painting, which he has kindly offered up to help me out. Details for the auction will be located on that page. To sweeten the auction deal (for me, really), Mike Reeves-McMillan has offered to match the auction up to $250, which is incredible. What are those perks you keep babbling about? Here’s Captain America trying to explain all of this in typical Captain America fashion: Perk #1: Those who you follow my podcasts will know that my friend and I do a special segment for The Skiffy and Fanty Show called “Torture Cinema,” in which we review bad science fiction and fantasy movies (sometimes books) while drinking alcohol. Anyone who donates $50 or more (including via the auction) will get to pick a movie for us to watch starting in August. No voting. You get to be dictator for the day. There are only two rules: 1) the film must be SF/F (broadly defined) 2) it must be something we haven’t reviewed yet. You can find the list of previous Tortures here. Perk #2: I’m giving away a small collection of short stories for donations $10 and up (whether direct to me or through John’s zombie painting auction). The stories will include: –“Burned by Sol’s Rain” (high-octane military SF involving time dilation and human/machine hybrids, among other things) –“Irlgem” (sword and sorcery story about a female knight and a murder and a dangerous magic item) –“Dear [Redacted]” (a humorous letter explaining why a planet has been marked for extermination, more or less) –“Interstellar Realty” (a humorous far future tale about customer service, real estate, mortgage payments, and robotic dogs) Perk #3 (alternate to #1): If you’d like to torture me in a more direct way, I will read the first chapter of any crappy SF/F book of your choice. It will be on video, and it will involve drinking. Yes, I am aware this may give me a brain disease, but sometimes pleasing others is worth it. Same donation level as #1. Perk #4: Anyone who donates (or has donated) $20 or more will receive a copy of Crux’s upcoming novel at release. The novel is based on urban legends from the Elkhorn, Wisconsin. Sounds pretty interesting to me. Is that all? For now. If you’ve got other ideas, such as forcing me to read from a really awful book while doing an impression (a bad impression), I’m not against the idea. You just have to let me know. As long as it’s reasonable, I’ll do it for $50. Call it whoring myself out for your entertainment, only I’ll have my clothes on and we won’t be in a cheap pay-by-the-hour hotel. If you have any questions, let me know. And feel free to share the word!
Google+ Writing Hangouts Coming: Who’s wants in?
I’ve decided that I’m going to start hosting a regular Google+ Hangout for the purposes of stimulating writing — technology permitting, of course. How regular these will be depends on a lot of factors, such as who is interested, schedules, and so on. These hangouts will be done alongside my live writing feature, both of which I’ll announce on Twitter when it goes live. For those that don’t know anything about the writing hangouts, they are pretty simple: for about 15 minutes, everyone talks about whatever floats their boat, giving people time to get into the room and settle into their writing mode; after that, everyone writes, usually for 15 to 30 minutes, sometimes more. The hope is that these little hangouts will progress into cyclical writing binges for an hour or so, but we’ll see. If you’re interested in participating, leave a comment with your weekly schedule!
WISB Shorts: Which do you want first?
I’m starting up the WISB Project again. This year, I am going to finish it. Through and through. That means four new short stories set in Traea, and a full novel podcast, with an ebook release. And to make up for life’s complexities, I will give anyone who donated $5 or more a copy of the ebook for The World in the Satin Bag (and the deal applies to anyone else who decides to donate in the future). I won’t be pushing for donations this time, around, though. Donate if you want. All I really want is to hear from people. If you like a story, or a chapter, leave a comment. But for now, I need some direction. I have four short stories in the works for the project, ranging from pre-WISB eras to distant futures (though still very much in the realm of fantasy). Based on the following descriptions, which would you want to read first? You can leave extended answers in the comments, if you are so inclined. Here goes: “Suckled at the Edge of Flesh” A prequel to The World in the Satin Bag. Fagan Tarceron rides the seas to map the unknown stretches beyond the shores of Elithae and the Black Gap. But when the many ships under his lord’s command discover a massive continent covered in abandoned cities, Fagan knows they should turn around before it’s too late. What could empty entire cities without leaving a trace? The real question: Is it worth finding out? The Girl Who Flew on a Whale Set several hundred years after the events that take place in The World in the Satin Bag. In the long-forgotten city of Arlin, the Dreamer imagines riding the seas and the skies, having grand adventures with brigands and pirates and all manner of strange creatures. Most of all, she dreams of the flying whales who have become the great myths and legends of the sailors and seafolk at the edge of the long-forgotten city of Arlin. But the Dreamer is a young lady. She’s destined for courts and finishing schools and all manner of obscure tortures her mother can dream up. And when the Royal Archbombasin of Cagerock convinces the Dreamer’s mother to send her to his special school for special children, where it is rumored that he feasts upon young flesh, the Dreamer can take no more, fleeing into the city to discover the adventures she’s always dreamed of… (Probably more like a middle-grade novel, to be honest.) “Murder in Hodgepodge Alley” Set in a pre-industrial city several hundred years or so after the events of The Girl Who Flew on a Whale. Harper is one of the many who occupy the winding alley of monstrous houses and board-bridges called Magpie City. One of the Prolet. The lesser folk. Life isn’t terribly hard there. They have food. They have water. And they can build up and up and up almost without limitation. But the city of Bifur does have its limits, with strict security forces to keep those limits enforced. When Harper finds the body of a member of a royal house, he knows that things will not go well for Hodgepodge Alley or the residents of Magpie City. Not well at all… “Lendergross and Eaves” Set in the same city as the previous story, and in roughly the same era. The Anurians of Bifur live out their toad-like lives in the slums, eking out an existence while the city finds new ways to exploit them. Except for Terk. He’s cornered the Eaves market, pushing illicit drugs as high as the elite circles. That is until someone important is murdered with Terk’s calling card all over him. Except Terk doesn’t kill people. Maims? Sure. But never kills. Which means someone is trying to set him up to ruin him. Unless he can figure out who’s behind it all and clear his name. Well, mostly clear his name, that is… Have at it, folks!