The Numinous World of Jo Graham
Historical fiction is not my thing and neither is historical fantasy but, then Jo Graham’s books are not simply tales set in ancient times, they’re something more. I first came across her debut novel, a […]
Read More
The Apollo Program, A Personal Journal: Reentry Simulation Programs
Once I’d written a set of FORTRAN programs (yes,. paper and pencil) to model an array of Apollo reentry profiles, I sat down at a punched card machine and typed them in. This device was basically a desk with a built-in typewriter keyboard
Ten Pieces of Evidence that We’re Living in the Science Fiction Future
This will display my age, now 45, as I compare the world I live in now with the one I grew up with. I am inspired this week by a number of news stories that […]
A Fan’s History — Fanzines, Continued….
Fanzines, continued: Okay, Mr. Smartypants, what’s a “sercon” zine? Actually, I’m glad you asked that question. It’s another of those annoying (well, to an outsider) fannish neologisms and acronyms. In this case, we have “serious” […]
First Contact: First Interests in Science Fiction
Recently a thread passed around on Facebook asked various writers what books mattered to them most when they were young, starting out with an interest in science fiction. One writer said she was reading all […]
No. 20 – Philip K Dick – “Where’s My Head?”
Angst is a modern condition that few of us can escape. How many people, I wonder, wake up each day and ask themselves: “How did I get into this situation? How can I fix my […]
ABSOLUTE ZERO: Cool Sites – Very Cool
Science Fiction Television Gerry Anderson Official Website Fanderson Site Anderson Encycliopedia Neil Gaiman Sings XL5 Theme Song Irwin Allen Irwin Allen Irwin Allen News Website Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Lost in […]
IT’S (NOT) ROCKET SCIENCE: Does Science Fiction Matter?
It sure does to me. It’s the reason I worked on Apollo. When President John F. Kennedy gave his “We choose to go to the Moon” speech at Rice University in Houston, Texas in September of 1962, […]
Discovering the Invasion
The Invasion by Robert Willey takes us back to the era of a war torn United States fighting the good fight. At the same time, the story also opens the reader’s mind to some of the most fantastic speculations in space travel of the period.
Frank Kelly Freas
Science fiction is a literature of ideas. It is also a literature that tries to show us the future, although it is not often directly predictive, it tries to look ahead to show us the […]
The Pale Blue Dot
I learned of this comic book style rendering of Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot soliloquy from The Huffingtonpost. I immediately got in touch with its creator – Gavin Aung Than to ask permission to reprint […]
A Fan’s History – Fanzines
Fanzines: What the heck is a ‘zine, anyhow? Well, ‘zine (usually abbreviated without the apostrophe) is short for fanzine, which should be self-explanatory. Unless I’m very much mistaken, SF fans were the first ones to […]
The Apollo Program, A Personal Journal: Ground Computers
>With limited computer resources onboard Apollo, the real “heavy lifting” had to be done on the ground, in Houston’s Mission Control Center.
Clemente Palma, el Hugo Gernsback peruano
Si hay un autor injustamente maltratado en el Perú es Clemente Palma (1872-1946). Dos hechos de su prolífica carrera intelectual fueron escogidos por sus enemigos para desacreditarlo ante las generaciones posteriores. Uno de ellos, un […]
Absolute Zero – Cool Websites, Very Cool
Today’s round-up of very cool websites has a theme: online resources created by fans and pros for the fannish community (and those few hardy explorers of the infinite who may wander in from time to […]
We Went to the Moon Once
4:18 today, July 20th, 2013, will mark the 44th anniversary of Apollo 11’s moon landing. Forty four years ago today I sat in front of a Black and White RCA television and watched the by […]
A Fan’s History – Part 4 – A Visit with Heinlein
Let’s give cons a rest for a bit and talk about one of science fiction’s greatest writers. Terms like “greatest writers” are usually somewhat subjective, but in this case my opinion is backed by a […]
Our Ansible is Missing – Intellectual Property Theft in Science Fiction
In 1985, Orson Scott Card published Ender’s Game, a book that relied heavily on the use of a faster-than-light communication system called the Ansible. Card needed the Ansible (or something like it) because through this […]
The Man From Mars Fails as Biography
The Man From Mars: Ray Palmer’s Amazing Pulp Journey Fred Nadis Tarcher Penguin Hardcover $28.95 ebook Kindle $12.74 Nook $14.99 Ray Palmer was a major figure in the science fiction field, and to my knowledge, […]
The Apollo Program, A Personal Journal: Apollo Guidance Computer
The first task I was assigned in October of 1968 was to determine exactly how the onboard autopilot was supposed to operate during reentry, and that meant digging through the inner workings of the Apollo Guidance Computer itself.
A Fan’s History – Part 3
And I’m still not done talking about cons! Continuing with our talk about cons that have grown out of the SF con, we have things like Steampunk and Anime cons. Steampunk arose from the idea […]
Weeaboos of the Renaissance
Weeaboos? Weeaboos? If you don’t know what a weeaboo is, you probably aren’t one. If you’d rather be quite sure, visit this link and play weeaboo bingo with yourself! The checklist to the right is […]
Are You Excited About Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary?
November 23rd, is the date that every sci-fi fan is eagerly waiting to see what the BBC has in store for us with its celebratory episode of 50 years of the world’s most famous Doctor. In my […]
Interview with SFWA Grand Master James Gunn
Today we are joined by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) Grand Master James Gunn (also James E. Gunn). James writes, edits, and anthologizes science fiction and related scholarly books. In 1969, Paramount […]
Gigantes: Una huella en la literatura
Por Ricardo Acevedo Esplugas Imagenes: CRSignes y Alberto Arribas Al principio solo había oscuridad… En ese vacío primigenio surgieron dos mundos: uno de fuego, y el otro de hielo, que comenzaron a expandirse lentamente. […]
You Might be Interested in This…
I have hardly had time haven’t quite finished the novel I was reading to review, so this is going to be a short post this week. One of the things that’s great about blogging for […]
A Fan’s History – Conventions (Part 2)
This blog is not a fan history, although I will cite some fan history. There are actual fanhistorians who guard our culture. If you want to read about early fan history, see the following books: […]
SWORD & SORCERY & J. R. R. TOLKIEN
In September 1937 an English Don named John Ronald Reuel Tolkien published a children’s book called The Hobbit. Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan, had been dead for fifteen months. In 1950 Gnome Press […]
Do You Think the Martians will be Free?
It’s July 4th, the American Independence Day, as I write these words. The word “Freedom” is often heard in connection with the holiday. Essentially every permanent colony ever instituted on our planet has ended in […]
About Author
Latest Posts
Recent Comments