Fantasist's Scroll

Can an artist do more than survive?

I’ve often wondered if I could survive as an artist. Of course, I’ve often wondered if I am an artist at all. But, once upon a midnight dreary, I was a fairly good writer. I had a sense of the art that’s involved with writing. In fact, I think I turned out a fairly good piece, or two, that could have sold. Ah, and therein lies the rub, “could have sold”. If I’d kept submitting them, or reworked them again and again, or just wrote more, something “could have sold”. Instead, crass commercialism took over instead and I focused on making money. That took me into another field altogether. In fact, it lead me to get a technical certification and dive deep into the uncharted waters of IT industry. And, my art, such as it was, suffered for it.

So, during one holiday dinner, as I sat in a cold-medicine and Scotch haze, listening to relatives, mostly my wife’s family, chatter away about their lives and careers, I began to wonder why my professional life had become somewhat “lack-luster”. I found myself wondering what would have happened if I’d only followed through on the promise of my writing. Would I have become a Clive Barker? Or, a Frank Herbert? Somehow, I doubt it. But, still, I might have made a living at it. Mightn’t I? I mean, can one actually make a living at writing if one is not a Clive Barker or a Michael Crighton? Is it even possible? I’d like to think so, but I’m afraid that it’s not.
I think that is the pipe-dream that fed so many of us as we sat in our English classes or read Interview with a Vampire or did whatever we did that set us dreaming of literary greatness. But, honestly, I don’t think it’s possible anymore. I don’t think that a normal person living in our possession-oriented society could actually be satisfied with a writer’s salary. Maybe a Buddhist monk, but not a normal American boy like me.

But, you know, I think I’ll keep trying. Why? Because it sure beats the alternatives!

I say, “Yes”!

And, apparently, so do a group of scientists and researchers. According to this article on Space.com, mining specialists, space engineers, and energy strategists who attended the Space Resources Roundtable V held at the Colorado School of Mines thought that mining space was a good investment. Of course, they acknowleged that there some issues that needed to be dealt with first. Little details like food, water and air. All things that Earth has in abundance, but that are lacking on the moon and other “hot” mining sites. Getting resources in space is a big issue.
But, what I found most interesting was some of the new legal concepts that came up. For instance, the idea of how to “take possesion” of asteroids for mining via remote robots. What’s more, who will have rights when? How will claims be managed? Unfortunately, there’s plenty of room in space for lawyers. And, of course, legal disputes. Well, I guess all those lawyers better start reading up on their science-fiction! And, I better start writing a intergalactic courtroom drama….

Get a degree in game design.

Well, a minor, anyway…. According to this story on Wired News, USC is now offering a minor in game design. They picture it as an “add-on” to a more serious degree, like, say art. (Actually, they interviewed an engineering student who was looking at taking the minor next year, too.) Anyway, I guess it just goes to show how enormous the gaming industry has become! So, think of all those video games you buy college-age people at Christmas not as “entertainment” so much as “research”.

It’s here!

Good or bad, biometrics has hit the retail markets. I’m not talking about those keyboards that have a thumbprint reader to unlock your PC either. I mean that there are retail establishments that are testing pay-by-thumbprint, right now! There’s an entry on Slashdot that has links to both the good, and the bad, side to this technology. Frankly, it’s the dark side that I find the most interesting.
Ever seen Minority Report? If not, you need to see it for just this. Picture being tracked through a shopping mall via biometrics, with advertising targeted to you and calling you by name. To borrow an overused marketing phrase, it’ll take spamming to a “whole new level”. Ubiquitous computing? Forget that. Ubiquitous advertsing. That’s a more likely scenario by far. I shudder at what this will do to our world. And, I can already see a steep rise in amputation related crimes. You thought identity theft was bad in our time? Wait until people are stealling thumbs!

(And, yes, I posted this on my other blog first.)

Starting yesterday you can keep your cell number when you change plans.

At least, in some metropolitan areas. The rest follow on May 24th. Unfortunately, the article on Wired News doesn’t say which areas start getting this option today. Still, it’s nice to know. I know that I have hesitated to change plans because of the hassle of getting my new number to everyone. I mean, I have a lot of people who contact me via my cell phone. Not least of which is my wife and recruiters!
I wonder how long it will take before we’re assigned phone numbers at birth, like Social Security numbers…

(Oh, and yeah, I posted this at my other blog yesterday.)

Yep, you can bid on a space mission on eBay.

Seriously. Of course, I’m not sure what the average Joe would want with a satellite, but you never know. It does have a camera, according to this article on Wired News, but is it really worth the price? Well, I guess we’ll see.
Personally, I like it. Sure, I’m not going to bid on it, but I like the idea of privitizing space this way. After all, how else are we going to get out there? What’s more, how else are we going to make it cheap? Cars and planes used to be horribly expensive, until everyone started using them. Now, almost every family owns a car and everyone flies somewhere. Okay, maybe not in their own plane, but still… Combine this with a little space tourism and we might actually start to get out into space!

Okay, this rocks!

According to this article on IGN.com, Farscape is making a comeback. There’ve been rumors, but now the production office “down under” has actually opened up again and work has started. Now, rumor has it that the new project is a mini-series, not a full-blown series, but still, it’s something! I mean I really hated how the series just ended without resolving anything.
Another interesting tidbit is that this will be a project totally independant of the SciFi Channel, who broadcast the original series. That, of course, begs the question: Where will the series run? If it runs on the SciFi Channel, I hope they get gouged on the price. It would be poetic justice if they spent more on the mini-series than it would have cost to finish the last season. In any case, it’ll be cool to see the show again.

Asian History for Sale!

According to this article on Time.com, local villagers are raiding tombs and selling their ill-gotten gains to the highest bidder! They seem to feel that it’s okay to trade their heritage for a few Western conveniences and toys. How sad, really. But, that’s their culture, so who am I to judge?
In any case, it was an interesting article. It sparked some ideas for stories about modern tomb raiders and grave robbers. Possibly even some modern horror stories or ghost stories, or even just an adventure story or two. Might make some cool movies! I hear Thailand is pretty this time of year…