AMAZING NEWS: 10/20/24

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AMAZING PEOPLE NEWS

Michael Walsh reports that bookseller and Fan Art Henderson has passed

Nnedi Okorafor is pleased that the host of Jeopardy pronounced her name correctly and that her work Binti was correctly identified as Africanfuturism.  AND that the contestant got the questions right!

Scott Edelman will be speaking at PSFS on October 25th.

Sara Felix and David Thayer announce that LACon V (the 2026 WoldCon) has asked David to design their mascot.  See it here.

Events

Lisa Hertel reports that SMOFcon has cancelled its remote programming owing to low demand

There will be a multi-author reading of stories from Ruth and Ann’s Guide To Time Travel at the upcoming Philcon.  You’ll need to register.  (Yours truly wrote the introduction to this anthology of time travel stories.)

Petrea Mitchell announces that Warhorn, an event scheduling site, has finally found new ownership in SMOF News.  Sign up here.

Space

A test to destruction of an inflatable space habitat

Maybe you can’t see the comet, but you ought to be able to catch some Cometary Detritus tonight (Orionids)

Science

Fabian Cousteau, Jacque’s son, has plans to conquer the undersea kingdom

Fossils reveal the “eating” parts of an ancient millipede ancestor that grew to the SIZE OF ALLIGATORS!

Industry

Haute Couture teams up with NASA to design the next moonsuits.  Very fetching.  What color heels go with that? 

Reviews

Black Gate tackles Chess in Sword and Planet fiction 

Literature

I came upon this article from a few years back and found it a decent piece on the subject of rights and licensing.

Found this interview with Bill Campbell of Rosarium Publishing (Lloyd & Yvonne Penney visited Rosarium’s table at WFC)

Alex Ink writes about Military SF and offers a suggested reading list

Retro

You can read the EC Comics Science Fiction titles here  (Not sure of provenance)

Social Commentary

Astronomers say we live in a bubble.  A familiar statement to most these days as a lot of political commentary accuses different individuals of doing just that.  But these astronomers mean we ALL live in a galactic bubble, formed by two ancient nova that led to the creation of our solar system.

Just For Fun

A very cool desktop toy and “singularity” demonstration

Mini-Editorial

The election is fast approaching those of us who live in the US.   This is a consequential election.  We urge you to be engaged and to vote.  Register to do so if you have not.  Double-check your registration status if you have.  Vote EARLY if you are able. And, above all KNOW who and what you are voting for.  These links from Ballotopedia can help you do all of those things.  Polling Places. Candidates. See your Ballot here.

In the Future

Monday – Counting the Holdouts by Todd C. Honeycutt – FREE STORY
Tuesday – The Big Idea: Heather Tracy
Paul Levinson interviews Gerrit Van Woudenberg about his new movie Quantum Suicide
Wednesday – Unexpected Questions with Pete Aldi
Thursday – What Happened to the TIME TUNNEL?
Excerpt: Just in Time for Halloween: A. M. Shine’s Stay in the Light, sequel to The Watchers
Friday – Matt’s Reviews: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Saturday – PETER S BEAGLE TALKS I’M AFRAID YOU’VE GOT DRAGONS – UPCOMNIG EPISODE PROMO ON ABOUT THE AUTHORS TV

Featured Image

A depiction of contestants in Edgar Rice Burroughs Martian Chess game Jetan, from the ERBzine website