Fantasist's Scroll

VR in spaaaaace!

Well, another theme from recent science-fiction seems to be the next step in actual science. At least, according to this article on Space.com. It seems the journey to another star might prove to be a little stressful on humans, so scientists are proposing to send AI (artificial intelligences) instead of, or in addition to, human astronauts. It could be a good thing, considering that it would make it easier to get a craft further faster, but I saw Star Trek the Motion Picture, so I’m leary of a V’Ger coming home to wipe us out! Seriously, there are still a lot of issues to work out, like the intelligence part of AI, but it’s a promising start.

Everyone knows there’s only 36 plots.

Now you can learn them at Calihoo Writing Idea Generators! This mildly interactive page brings you through all 36(+1) plots, highlighting the characters, tensions and motivations involved in each one. So, if you’re like me and have problems with simple things, like plot, you may just find that this little gem of a site helps you get started on that story you’ve always wanted to write. Go check it out!

I’ve always been fascinated with Japanese.

Mainly due to a fascination with the martial arts, but that’s a whole other kettle of fish. In any case, I have several links for you fellow Japanophiles. First, there’s Japanese for the Western Mind. It looks like a good place to start. Of course, I’m biased, I have a Western Mind! And, also there’s The Japanese Language, which is not quite as comprehesnive as it sounds! Though it does look like an excellent second stop for the amateur linguist.
And, lastly, I have a vocabulary builder: the Philippi Martial Arts Glossary page. It’s actually got more than Japanese terms on it, so it might be usefull to conlangers, as well.

In any case, these looked like fun sites to me, but then I’ve been sick, so, what the hell, it’s Friday! Go check them out!

Been a lot of talk about extrasolar planets lately…

In the past week, Space.com has reported about both a “giant Earth” and two Neptune-sized planets being found. So, there’s been a lot of talk about voyages to other planets and finding other Earths lately. I think we’ll eventually go, but it’ll be in generation ships and things on Earth will have to get really desperate first. After all, that would be a “one-way” trip.
That’s nice and all, but I think they’re missing the boat in some ways. I mean, why not inhabitable moons? According to Space.com, they could very well exist. In fact, I speculated on that quite some time ago and I even got a physist to back me up! A very nice man by the name of Sheridan Simon, who’s also done work for Lawrence Watt-Evans, did up a whole planetary system for me. I actually based it around Tau Ceti, which he said was a good choice, actually, since it’s very similar to our own star. Anyway, he did up a whole system for me. I ought to scan it and make it available on-line… Well, we’ll see about that, but it is an interesting line of thought for science-fiction, isn’t it?
Read the articles, think, then write! Go on!

Well, I’m making a bit.

After a couple of exchanges on the Conlang List this week, I realized that I’m growing as a person, and a writer. As the reference to conlanging suggests, I’ve been thinking about created languages again. I was originall inspired by an article in the Dragon Magazine in the days of my youth. It was a very simplistic article aimed at a simple person, namely me and my kind. It was followed by another article which was much more linguistically challenging and completely over my head. That was almost 20 years ago. Just three years ago, that second article was still over my head.
But, then I started reading. I read the conlang list and several groups on Yahoo. I read LangMaker.com and The Metaverse. More importantly, I got several books on linguistics and read them, too. I reread that article which had flummoxed me so many years ago this weekend and the whole damn thing made sense. I’m finally ready to start conlanging again after 20 years.

Look out, Johnny, here I come!

No, really, you can make your own stamps.

And even use them to send mail. Real, regular, normal, “snail” mail. According to this article on Wired News, the U.S. Postal Service is testing out a personalized stamp program that will let you use your own digital photographs or logos to make stamps that have your own message on them. Hmm, I wonder what they’ll censor? And, I wonder how quickly someone will try to make something “naughty”? (Oh, get your mind out of the gutter! I meant something anti-American, you pervert!)

Anyway, it’s Friday, so go have fun with it. Clean fun! (And, yes, this first appeared on my “other” blog.)

Okay, so I’ve been busy!

Whew! Let’s see… I haven’t posted much in the past week because I’ve been adding and updating features on the site. For one, The Alchemist’s Attic is now on the standard menu bar. For another, that standard menu bar is now on the results of all my cgi scripts. (Yes, along with all the nice advertising…) And, I’ve added the Fantasy Pocket “Litter” generator to my Worldbuilding and Resources pages.

I’ve also been working on plugins for the WordPress blog system, which I will eventually be converting to for this section of the site. They’re not quite ready for public release, but when they are, I’ll have a Moon Phase plugin, a Chinese Zodiac plugin and a Forgotten Realms (Dale Reckoning) dates plugin. That last is the really tricky one, but when I’m done it will have all the functions to let you run an entire blog, including the calendar in the Dale Reckoning date system, which is used in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for Dungeons and Dragons.
That last plugin was developed in preparation for my own custom calendar system which I intend to use in a blog set in a fantasy world. The idea being that it would tell a very personal story of one of the inhabitants of said world. Sort of like a fantasy version of the Pepys Diary.

So, as you can see, I really have been busy! But, I promise I’ll post more cool things here soon.

That is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons even death may die.

Ah, if only Lovecraft could live on in that eternal life beyond death. But, alas, he cannot and we have only his tremendous body of work to keep us company. Never the less, knowing that it is his birthday, I feel compeled to mention it.

Also, the Vancouver Gaming Guild is celebrating H. P. Lovecraft’s birthday with a convention! So, if you’re in the area, why not check it out?