No, not the Jules Verne novel.

In this case, it's actually someone going into the deepest cave on Earth. At least, according to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/08/27/1093518087377.html?oneclick=t… article on the Sydney Morning Herald</a>, it's the deepest cave known to mankind. (Based on <a target="_blank" href="http://politiken.dk/VisArtikel.sasp?PageID=337830&TemplateID=16245">this article over at Politiken.dk</a>, I'd be impressed if they found something deeper!) It's a cave in Georgia, the former Soviet block country, not the American State. And, the current expedition is going further down than anyone has before. They're litterally miles down into the Earth where the whole ecology is different and sunlight has never penetrated. Cool. Of course, when I posted the <a href="http://www.fantasist.net/scroll/archives/000330.html">review of Descent</a>, it should have been apparent that I dig strange stuff like this. If the articles on the real cave intrigue you at all, get <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/051513175X/fantasistnet/104-1041…;. You'll love it!

Wow, there's been a lot of space-travel news lately.

And, that's a good thing, I think. It means people are talking about it and doing things about it. Yesterday, I posted a story about India's moonshot and last week I mentioned a couple of things about the X-Prize and SpaceShip One. Well, now I've read about Bigelow Aerospace and their work on inflatable space modules. <a target="_blank" href="http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0409/27bigelow/">The article is over at Spaceflight Now</a> and is worth the read. One of the things that is mentioned is that Robert T. Bigelow, founder of Bigelow Aerospace, says that he's planning to announce a new $50-million space launch contest called America's Space Prize. That's five times the size of the current X-Prize.
What I think is cool about all this is that it's about private industry working on getting into space. It's something we really need to do. We're slowly choking this planet and pushing her resources to the limit, so we need to find more room to expand. And, before everyone starts sending me nasty e-mail, that will also teach us conservation and better resource management. How? A space mission has to use its very limit resources extremely carefully or everyone dies. The improvements in technology will spill over into the private, non-space, sector, just as they've done since the first launch.
Also mentioned on the same page as the article is a book that looks quite good: <A target="_blank" HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1894959108/fantasistnet">Moonrus… Improving Life On Earth With The Moon's Resources</A>. It certainly seems like an appropriate topic based on all these news stories. All you budding science-fiction writers better bone up on this stuff!

The Indians are making a moonshot.

No, not the American Indians! The <i>Indian</i> Indians! According to <a target="_blank" href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-09/26/content_2025654.htm">this article on XinhuaNet</a>, in English, the Indian space agency is planning an unmanned moon mission, called Chandrayan. Chandrayan is expected to take place in 2007-08 if everything proceeds as planned, which it seems to be. If they do it, India will be on the cusp of being a real world power on the scale of the US, China, and Russia. As few ethnicities as we've seen in science-fiction, other than WASPs, that is, it's interesting to me that the Chinese and Indians have become so space oriented lately. I really hope that writers take note of this and alter their views accordingly. One of the notable exceptions has been <A target="_blank" HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312860986/fantasistnet">China Mountain Zhang</A> by Maureen F. McHugh and <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0440207614/fantasistnet">Chung Kuo: The Middle Kingdom</A>, which is the first in a series by the same name, all by David Wingrove. I'd love to see more of it.

This was a GREAT book!

Okay, regular readers of this blog know that I'm an amatuer writer with delusions of granduer. But, for those of you who are new, I want to write. What that means, though, is that I'm always reading books to help me with my writing, in one way or another. This past week I read <a Target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312150946/fantasistnet">Creating Short Fiction : The Classic Guide to Writing Short Fiction</a>, by Damon Knight. This book is an all-around, kick-ass writing book. Damon Knight, though famous for his science-fiction writing, really hits all the bases in this one book. He covers, if lightly, everything from the creative process to editing to submitting your work. If it relates to writing, it's in there.
I admit, I got this book because it was: a) on sale, b) short, and c) written by Damon Knight, who's a great science-fiction author. But, this book only touches on science-fiction, as well as several other genres. Mainly this is just a really good book on writing short fiction. And, let's face it, most authors start in short ficition before they get anyone to look at their longer work. It's just how it is. So, writing short fiction is something that almost every fantasy or science-fiction writer will do at some point in their career.

So, if you're looking for a refresher, or if you're just getting started writing short ficiton, this is a great place to start. In fact, I got so excited about this book, I wrote a "So you'd like to..." guide over at Amazon.com, called <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/guides/guide-display/-/2TBIO57TLXF… you'd like to write "speculative fiction"</a>. Check it out!

Today is <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Herbert">Frank Herbert's </a>Birthday.

Of course, we haven't had him with us since 1986, the year I graduated from high-school, but his work lives on. Mr. Herbert is primarily known for his seminal work, Dune, and the Dune books that followed. Though, interestingly enough, he never intended to write sequels.
Often refered to as the science-fiction Lord of the Rings, Dune and the books that followed detail an amazingly rich science-ficiton culture. The novels are some of the first to have detailed political and sociological sub-plots, not to mention ecological sub-plots! The way Mr. Herbert used religion in his work is quite interesting as well. In a genre that often avoids discussing religion, he explored the topic in detail and with a depth that was personally inspiring.

There hasn't been anyone else quite like Frank Herbert and I am in awe of the ways in which he influenced the genre.

Three-dimensional books. Cool.

There's a project afoot that makes 3-d books a reality. It's called <a target="_blank" href="http://www.hitlabnz.org/blackmagic/index.htm">Black Magic</a>. So far, they're still in the experimental stage, but it looks good. They've done a story about America's Cup in 3-d and have a "simulation" that can be downloaded to a PC. The viewer itself seems to be a set of googles or eyepieces on a handle, not unlike the Victorian stereoscopic viewer. I guess everything old is new again. In any case, it seems like an interesting technology and I'll be watching to see where, or if, it goes.

Space tourists.

Well, if Richard Branson is as spot on as he's been, we may be flying Virgin Galactic into space for our vacations. Okay, so, maybe that's a little "forward thinking", but, according to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wired.com/news/space/0,2697,65098,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_10">… article on Wired News,</a> he's made a deal to to build an "aircraft" based on Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne craft. (Mr. Rutan, and company, is a contender for the<a target="_blank" href="http://www.xprize.org/"&gt; X-Prize</a>.) Apparently, Branson's plan is to start making regular "flights" into space, one assumes with profit in mind. So, in spite of the flamboyant and sometimes downwright strange stunts he's pulled, Branson may just fullfil the promise of the X-Prize: regular, commercial space-flight.

Cool.

A new age has dawned for spaceflight!

According to numerous sources, my favorite being <a target="_blank" href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/1004_041004_spaceshipon… Geographic </a>in this case, SpaceShipOne has won the X-Prize. What does that mean? It means that a privately built single-stage-to-orbit spacecraft has been built and successfully launched into space twice within a week. And, if you don't understand the implecations of that, well... Well, I can't imagine anyone who could find this blog on the web and not have some idea what that accomplishment means. Maybe I will see a mission to mars succeed in my lifetime. I might even see extraterrestrial mining. The possibilities are limitless.

Wow.

At least, more about the man who cracked it.

<a href="http://www.fantasist.net/scroll/archives/000332.html">Back in June</a>, I mentioned that someone had uncovered the secret of the Voynich Manuscript. Well, to be more precise, he uncovered the fact that it was a fake. This past month, there was <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.09/rugg.html?pg=1&topic=rugg&topi… article on Wired News</a> about that man. he's quite interesting, really. From what I read, he's basically in the business of, well, thinking about thinking. He looks at how various professionals solve problems and tries to improve their process. He seems to be quite good at it, too! Anyway, read the article.

Okay, this tickled my funny-bone.

This website, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.xibalba.demon.co.uk/jbr/lingo.html">A Primer in SF Xenolinguistics</a>, really made me chuckle. It's really a what NOT to do guide. In a nutshell, it lists all the things that begining writers make when dealing with language in science-fiction and fantasy. Actually, it's a bit frightening how many people who should know better make these mistakes, too, but I digress.
It's a fun read and, heaven help me, it's informative, too.

Hey, it's Friday, go check it out!