Fantasist's Scroll

NASA’s gotten into the comics business.
No, really, according to Manga News, NASA scientists commissioned a “space comic book” to explain their new satellite program to school kids. It’s pretty neat, actually, that they’re reaching out to that kind of audience. Science has been neglected in school here in the States for a long time, so, anything they can do to raise awareness and make it fun is great. (Though, I’m not sure I would have gone with that dog-catcher theme…) Anyway, you can check “Cindi in Space” out for free here.

C’mon, it’s Friday, don’t you deserve to look at comics, too?

Ever had the urge to create a fictional world?
Maybe even just a country? Well, over at Everything2, there’s an article on just that called, ironically enough, Designing a Fantasy World. The article takes you through the basics of what one needs to consider when putting together a fantasy world, if you want it to be believable. They touch on most of these subjects lightly, but there’s enough there to take you through the physical forms of your world, as well as the mythology behind that, and all the way on through the society that might develop in such a place. They’ve got plenty of links and Everything2 is sort of like Wikipedia, so there’s a lot of information there to browse through and digest. The article has lots of helpful suggestions in addition to those links, too!
But, for my money, the best thing in the article is:

The cardinal rule in all of this is to preserve mimesis – that is, the apparent reality of your world. You don’t need to have volumes of abstractions like language and geology if you don’t think you’ll use them. But a little care can give the reader the pleasing illusion that such things could exist, and that there are no glaring contradictions lurking just below the surface. A little thought about the points mentioned can lead to an altogether more pleasing experience for the player or reader.

Remember that, and you’ll do just fine creating your own fantasy world.

Today is Frank Herbert’s 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, which is why I celebrate this every year.

How cool is this?!
The H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society has produced a “silent” film, much like would have been produced in the 1920’s, of Lovecraft’s most famous work, The Call of Cthulu. The movie is done in the classic style of the silver screen and has “mood” music background. Also, the DVD has a “making of” documentary and other bonuses. I can’t believe I haven’t heard about this soon, considering how much I love HPL and his work. Anyway, it exists and now the word is out.
The trailer is here and the DVD available for purchase is here.
Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn!

Not “laws of magic” but laws governing magic.
I’m reading a book called Industrial Magic at the moment and the author has some interesting ideas that she tosses around. What interested me the most, however, was a secret justice system for magic. Well, more specifically, for people who use magic or “are magic”. And that really makes sense. After all, would a “normal” court, who has no real concept of how magic works or what is magically possible, be able to effectively render judgements that involve magical crimes? I don’t think so.
So, if you have magic in your created world, whatever its purpose, have you thought about this issue? How do courts deal with curses? Or the withholding of a blessing? Or “unfair competition” that was aided by magic? How about murder that involves magic? These are important issues. And, of course, all potentially important plot devices. Do lawyers have to go through a special school before they can work in courts that involve magic? Does every court use magic to determine the facts of even mundane cases? A little truth spell goes a long way! Are spells a closely guarded asset that one can sue someone for stealing, like intellectual property is today?
So many issues to think about. And every issue can be a potential story. Dealing with any of these problems, or any others in this vein that you might think of, can produce any number of good stories. Just remember what Lawrence Watt-Evans said about magic, “If a story can be written without a fantasy element, then don’t bother with the fantasy element.” It’s a good rule.

So, now I’ve given you some ideas, go! Write!

Again.
Yep, someone’s on the three-dimensional television kick again. According to this article on News.com, Japanese researchers are predicting fully interactive television by 2020. By that they mean a remote experience that the home user can see in three dimensions, hear, touch and smell. Yes, smell. Though, frankly, why anyone would want to smell something like a football stadium is beyond me. That’s 3/4 the reason to stay home! Well, that and the always superior view on TV.
I’m sure that it won’t take long for some enterprising young lad to pervert this medium, too. I’ll let you fill in the blanks there, but, well, you get the idea.

This is funny to me.
The daughter of a favorite author of mine has written an entry in her blog about writing a “literary” novel that’s good enough to sell. Sadly, I’m afraid that she may well be right!
According to the entry in her father’s blog, this was inspired by the fact that she was forced to read a “literary” novel that didn’t agree with her mental digestion. And, interestingly enough, the author himself got started in response to the statistic often quoted about authors getting a “mere” $2000 for their first novel. Apparently, his thought was “For two grand, I could do something that bad. In fact, I think I could so something a little better.” And, I can think of worse ways to get inspired. After all, $2000 not bad, frankly, for a kid in high school with literary aspiration and some free time.
Hmm, maybe I could do better, if I follow her formula and put out a little effort…

Well, maybe tomorrow. Today, though, I revel in the fact that it’s Friday. Enjoy the link!

This seems like a problem…
Over two years ago, I noted a little news article about dolphins geared-up and trained for combat. Well, it seems that not only do they exist, but they may have been released into the Gulf of Mexico, by accident, due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina. At least, according to this news article at the Guardian, that’s quite likely. The US government will neither confirm, nor deny, the veracity of this story, but sources close to the military indicate that as many as 36 bottle-nose dolphins that have been trained by the Navy to attack terrorists compromising ocean vessels may be loose in the Gulf. These sources say that divers and surfers may be in actual danger from these swimming mammals who have been armed with some kind of “poison dart gun”. The concern, according to the article, is that these dolphins “have learnt to shoot at divers in wetsuits who have simulated terrorists in exercises” and could attack innocent bystanders who fit the profile.
The good news is that the “poison” darts are designed to put their target to sleep for later interrogation, but a lone swimmer or diver could find themselves in trouble. And, again, the Navy will not confirm or deny this story. It could be nothing, but…
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water!