Exit Thatcher

Former Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher has died "peacefully" at the age of 87 after suffering a stroke, her family has announced.

Successor David Cameron called her a "great Briton" and the Queen spoke of her sadness at the death.

Interesting Cameron is so keen on her, as I was thinking about similarities between her poll tax and his bedroom tax. They both seem to be about as popular, for one.

The Nebulas: 1972

In general, I'd say if you wanted a Nebula nomination in this period, getting edited by either Damon Knight or Terry Carr would be a good first step. That said, the selection editors behind the nominated works is fairly diverse; there's nothing like Orbit's domination of the short story in the 1971 Nebulas.
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Annette Funicello dies at 70

Annette Funicello, the family-friendly actress and singer known for her time with Disney's Mousketeers and in the Beach Party films of the 1960s, has died at the age of 70.

Dimension X: The Man in the Moon (by George Lefferts)

The Man in the Moon

The Federal Bureau of Missing Persons gets clues to a years-long conspiracy behind a plague of disappearances, not that they get to do much with them.

This was a bit Rocketship Galileoy. On listening to it a second time, it occurs to be the radio signal in the beginning had to be reasonably powerful and spread over a fair territory.I wonder how many people heard it. Although it is supposed to a restricted frequency.

I guess this makes sense

But I expected more of a bump for Trek in the 1960s.

Dimension X: Beyond Infinity (Villiers Gerson)

Beyond Infinity

When the secret police come calling, revolutionaries hoping to use a shrinkinator in service of the Revolution are forced to seek refuge in the sub-atomic realm, a realm from which no entity has ever returned. Whether this ends well depends on your time scale.

I think the original author was Robert Spencer Carr. Hmmm,.except the Carr seems to post.date this episode. I am confused.

I would have expected this to be a 1920s or 1930s story, not one from 1950.

The 2013 Prometheus finalists for Best Novel

The finalists are:

Arctic Rising, by Tobias Buckell (TOR Books) is about a near future in which global warming has made the Arctic region livable and allowed an economic boom based on its nearly ice-free ocean. The treatment of the effects of global warming appears realistic, showing some of the benefits, and that even the negative effects are not the total disaster that supposed authorities are presently using to scare us into giving up freedom. While the protagonist works for the UN Polar Guard, which enforces what little law exists in this mostly ungoverned region, the novel depicts government organizations as either corrupt or completely ineffective. The story shows (a little too briefly) many ways to organize society on a voluntary basis. Buckell makes this potential pro-government authority setting into a very libertarian story.

The Unincorporated Future , by Dani and Eytan Kollin (TOR Books) covers a fateful fight for liberty and the tragic consequences of tyranny and war, with casualties on a staggering scale, marks the sobering conclusion of this suspenseful and intricate four-novel series about a solar-system-wide war between statist Earth and the more libertarian human traders (and A.I. intelligences) in the asteroid belt and outer planets.

Pirate Cinema, by Cory Doctorow (TOR Books) educates the audience on current issues of copyright and government surveillance; advocates for a change in policies and attitudes toward transformative works; and explain ways in which the next generation can work around current obstacles and agitate for change. In a young adult novel that's unapologetically optimistic and political, Doctorow gives his characters, led by the young pirate filmmaker "Cecil B. DeVille," the opportunity to make a difference and fight back against entrenched interests and outdated forms of control. Audiences have been given a particular view of art and intellectual property day-in and day-out for many years from the government, and the media industry; in Pirate Cinema, Doctorow spins an often charming and compelling story around a different perspective, and in doing so he offers a challenge to all lovers of personal expression and artistic freedom.

Darkship Renegades, by Sarah Hoyt (Baen Books) is an enjoyable sequel to the fascinating story begun with Darkship Thieves, involving a virtually government-free society, Eden, hidden among the asteroids from tyrannical Earth. When an unexpected problem erupts in the small community on Eden, a heroic foursome flees coercive forces on Eden to seek data on Earth that can reduce the power wielded by the cabal running Eden. Well-drawn, interesting characters and lots of clever plotting keep the reader turning pages.

Kill Decision, by Daniel Suarez (Dutton - Penguin) delivers an international, multi-ethnic thriller that's remarkably relevant to current developments in technology and policy, and well grounded in compelling science - not just about unmanned, weaponized drones and what they might mean for future warfare, but also about key characteristics of ant behavior (and how they might be used as a basis for warrior drones). In so doing, Suarez acknowledges that contemporary governmental power ultimately rests on coercive force and discusses how modern technology undermines and skews the democratic dialogue and process. Kill Decision stands as an action-packed adventure of particular interest to those interested in potential threats to human liberty that are disguised as protection and defense.

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Apocalyptic News from FASS!

QWP

IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD!  That's right, folks, FASS 2014 will be positively apocalyptic!  We have the unique privilege of finding out just what's so darn funny about Armageddon.  Ragnarok.  Gotterdammerung. Entropy's victory through the inevitable heat death of the universe.

So if you'd like a side order of eschatology with your FASS, or want to explore the vast irradiated wastes with Mel Gibson, or just feel like having a meal at the other Mel's, i.e., the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, come on out for brainstorming!  We'll hunker down in the bomb shelter and earnestly discuss the fate of humankind. 

The first brainstorming meetings:
Tuesday, April 16
Thursday, April 18
7-9 p.m. in Hagey Hall 119.

Can't make it?  Worried you might miss out on the rapture if you're holed up in a meeting at a lousy building on campus?  That's just fine!  Send your ideas--any kind of ideas, from jokes and one liners to songs, characters, scenes, and plot structure--to csw@fass.uwaterloo.ca. 

See you at the end times!

Sincerely,
Kit Kreider
FASS 2014 Chief Script Writer

(Don't want to receive any more messages from me?  Well, I might be a little hurt, but I promise to help you out.  Email me at csw@fass.uwaterloo.ca.)