Via Phil Plait, this stunning image:
Wow.
There are more wonderful images, and a lot of explanation of what you’re seeing, there in the post. Check it out.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Astronomy, Babylon 5, Bad Astronomy, Carl Sagan, J. Michael Straczynski, JMS, Phil Plait, Science, Space, Writing stuff, YouTube
Via Phil Plait, this completely wonderful clip from Carl Sagan’s intellectual heir:
It *is* an excellent answer, and one I have discussed previously. Tyson does an excellent job with it, and had I been writing Communion of Dreams now, I certainly would be happy to reference him.
Perhaps for the next book . . .
Jim Downey
*Wherein I display not only my geek cred, but also my intellectual rigor. Ain’t you impressed?
Filed under: Amazon, Feedback, Press, Promotion, Religion, Science, Science Fiction, Society, Space, Writing stuff
As part of the ongoing series, here is today’s entry. The referenced review by ‘writercop’ is new, and if you’d take a moment to go rate it on Amazon, I’d appreciate it very much.
3. In writing about the book, you’ve discussed ways in which you’ve approached psychological, spiritual and religious issues within the narrative. You said you hope “Communion of Dreams” appeals to a wide variety of readers. If someone doesn’t see themselves as “the science-fiction type,” what do you feel like the book still has to offer them? How can a story divorced from our present world sometimes illumine current tensions or concerns better than something set in modern times?
Well, that’s what all fiction does, isn’t it? Through a story we get to see with the eyes of others, live their lives, maybe even learn things we may not otherwise know. That’s true whether the stories are from another culture or another time, whether it is historical fiction or Greek mythology. Science fiction does the same thing, though perhaps it gives us a little more distance for perspective. The world of Communion of Dreams is just 40 years away, putting it considerably closer than the world of Jane Austen or even F. Scott Fitzgerald. Just putting a label on a book that calls it ‘science fiction’ doesn’t necessarily mean that only those who are fans of that genre will enjoy the book. Quite the contrary, as you can see in this review by ‘writercop’ on Amazon’s page for Communion of Dreams:
As someone who hasn’t frequented the science fiction genre for some years, I would be hard-pressed to consider myself an enthusiast. Jim Downey might have single-handedly changed that; at the very least, he has re-introduced me to the possibilities of the genre away from the tropes of Geo. Lucas and company. The narrative of Downey’s “Communion of Dreams” is suffused with with a variety of concerns. At one level, it is the story of a group of explorers investigating a deep space artifact whose unknown origins carry grave implications for mankind. On another, it touches upon the ethical concerns of science – both contemporary and not; both real and imagined – and explores the sometimes unanticipated paths our knowledge takes us.
I should hear later today whether CoD made the cut for the next round of judging for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, and will post something here one way or the other.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Art, Artificial Intelligence, Expert systems, Marketing, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction, Space
Heading out here in a bit for a weekend of mixed business and pleasure, so I won’t be posting until early next week. But a couple of quick notes before I go . . .
A reader passed along a note that the webcomic Questionable Content has been running a sequence for the last couple of weeks which includes a hologram-manifesting AI (actually, two different ones) very much like the ‘experts’ in Communion of Dreams. I really like the rendering, and it is exactly how I envisioned Seth and the other experts manifesting in the book. The sequence starts here, and is quite fun (I’m just a sporadic reader of QC, but enjoy it when I do get to reading it). Perhaps I should send J. Jacques a copy of the book and see if we can get a graphic novel of the book going . . .
Well, sales of CoD have finally gone from a trickle to drought. Haven’t sold any for the last couple of days. Not too worrying, since I have been busy setting up things for the next promotional push (hope to have some news on the scheduling of that next week). But still, if you’ve read the book, do me a favor and just tell a friend about it. Help get the word out. And take a moment to go ‘rate’ the book on Amazon, perhaps even write up a review (or say whether one of the other reviews were useful). Oh, and if you’re an Amazon Prime member, *please* take a moment and ‘borrow’ the book – costs you nothing, and helps me out in several ways.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Jim Downey
Filed under: Amazon, Feedback, ISS, Kindle, Marketing, Promotion, Publishing, Science, Science Fiction, Space, YouTube
Ah, fun with physics up on the ISS:
Very cool.
Book update: if you ordered a signed copy of Communion of Dreams prior to February first, you should have received it in the last day or two. The next batch of books will be going out the middle of next week – so there is time to get in your order!
Actual sales of the book continue to plug along as well, 3-4 per day. Not stunning, but steady. And I keep hearing from people how much they have enjoyed it – that’s always great, thanks! Please, if you have read the book, go write a review and help spread the word to your friends and any forums you participate in.
Sometime later this month I’ll probably offer another one-day promotion when anyone can download the Kindle edition for free – watch for it!
Jim Downey
Filed under: Astronomy, Light pollution, N. Am. Welsh Choir, New Zealand, Science, Space
They say on a clear night you can see forever. But would the clouds ruin everything?
That was the forecast.
* * * * * * *
We breakfasted, then loaded onto the bus for the airport. A quick and easy jaunt through the security checkpoint (the agents knew we were Americans, made quips about how we didn’t have to act like cattle in their country) and then a 45 minute flight south to Christchurch.
We met our new bus driver there – like the one on the North Island, he was friendly, knowledgeable, personable. We got a brief drive around Christchurch, a chance to see some of the damage and rebuilding going on from the earthquakes earlier this year. The choir had originally been scheduled to perform in Christchurch Cathedral. We went by to see it. Or, I should say, what is left of it. There’s still a big debate going on in New Zealand over whether it is practical to salvage *any* of the structure.
After that drive-around, we went to the Canterbury Museum and the adjacent Christchurch Botanic Gardens. Martha and I opted to walk the gardens, which was wonderfully relaxing and beautiful. Many of the plants were in full bloom, it was sunny and warm, ducks were in and out of the Avon River, there were families with children and school groups.
Then it was on to Lake Tekapo, located in the center of the South Island, up in the Southern Alps.
* * * * * * *
It was a wet and rainy drive, very spring-like, but colder than it had been up on the North Island. The landscape reminded me very much of the inter-mountain area of western Colorado, between the different ranges of mountains. We stopped for snacks along the way, and Martha discovered the joy of hokey-pokey.
We rolled into Lake Tekapo, out the other side in an instant. There’s not much there. To our hotel, an odd sort of place called Peppers Resort. Oh, it was nice enough, but the place is sorta like an apartment or condo, with a bedroom downstairs and then a large family room and fairly complete kitchen upstairs. Which was fine, except that a second bedroom was glommed-on to some of the units, and the people in that bedroom would have to access the upstairs by going through the bedroom-bathroom hallway of the other one.
Further, the units were all scattered in clusters over a fairly large campus, meaning that you had to walk outdoors for long stretches, and most of them were some distance from the meeting areas and clubhouse. It wouldn’t be bad for someplace where the weather was always warm and nice, but here it had us scratching our heads a bit.
* * * * * * *
Martha and I got settled in, then decided that since the weather was clearing, we’d walk the short distance into the small town, have a look around.
Lake Tekapo is quite lovely, and the small town is pleasant enough. Here’s a good shot of the lake, just behind the small commercial strip:
* * * * * * *
We had a large buffet dinner that evening with other members of the tour. It was quite good.
Then after, the reason we were there: the Mount John Observatory.
It’s New Zealand’s premier observatory, operated under the auspices of the University of Canterbury. Mount John isn’t all that tall – just about a thousand meters above sea level at the top – but it is located in one of the least light-polluted places in New Zealand. The lack of other ambient light sources means that it is easier to see the stars.
They took us to the top of the mountain in vans, handing out loaner parkas. Because it is bloody damned cold up there, and the wind is always intense. One of the guides said that the location held the record for highest wind speed in NZ – some 250 km/h (150 mph), and that sent the domes of the observatory tumbling.
We spent several hours with the different guides, all grad students and staff of the observatory, looking through 16″ and 9″ telescopes and with the naked eye. Unfortunately, there was a quarter-moon up, so it was harder to see the Milky Way, but it was still some of the best sky viewing I’ve had anywhere in my life, and of the Southern Hemisphere. Wonderful!
It was getting on to midnight when they bundled us back in the vans and down to our rooms.
Jim Downey
Do yourself a favor, and watch this:
(Remember to run it full screen, in HD, for best effect.)
Jim Downey
OK, so I’m back from my Great New Zealand Adventure with the choir and assorted groupies. Watch this space in coming days for images and blog eruptions about it all (it was fun! Exciting! Beautiful! And I didn’t even strangle anyone!)
But speaking of space, thought I’d share this item I came across while trying to recover from jet-lag yesterday:
That’s a shot of a room at the New York Hall of Science in Queens. If you look closely, you’ll note the size of the door – the ceilings are 100 feet tall, to give you some idea of the scale of what you’re seeing. It’s a huge room, designed to simulate the experience of being in space.
Check it in full at this most excellent blog post: The Most Amazing Room In Queens.
More when I have recovered sufficiently to actually write…
Jim Downey
NASA Spacecraft Data Suggest Water Flowing on Mars
PASADENA, Calif. — Observations from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have revealed possible flowing water during the warmest months on Mars.
“NASA’s Mars Exploration Program keeps bringing us closer to determining whether the Red Planet could harbor life in some form,” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said, “and it reaffirms Mars as an important future destination for human exploration.”
Dark, finger-like features appear and extend down some Martian slopes during late spring through summer, fade in winter, and return during the next spring. Repeated observations have tracked the seasonal changes in these recurring features on several steep slopes in the middle latitudes of Mars’ southern hemisphere.
One thing we know from extremophiles on Earth: if there’s water, life will somehow manage to survive there, no matter how hostile the conditions are.
Will that apply to Mars as well?
We’ll see.
Jim Downey
Communion Of Dreams 