Monthly Archives: July 2017

The 6 Basic Characters and the 5 Basic Settings

If you have delved into writing for any large degree you must have come across the idea (or the book) that there are seven basic plots. Now I am not going to tell you what these seven are (some have … Continue reading

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SETI: Dumb Isn’t Dumb

SETI is of course the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligences. Now I have no problem with listening for interstellar messages. That actually seems prudent and quite bright. But earthlings should only listen and never speak. That is, we should never … Continue reading

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The Thousand Year Connoisseur

There is no doubt that becoming an expert takes a lot of time and effort. To become a connoisseur is almost like becoming an expert’s expert. There is a lot of knowledge involved – look no further than the wine … Continue reading

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Why Do Extreme Right Wing Authors Glorify the Left?

Robert A. Heinlein was an extreme right wing author with his assertion that he was libertarian. Some of you may correlate libertarians with liberals but there is no real connection. Libertarians largely believe that the government should provide a military … Continue reading

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Be Careful Little Mars

Fragile is a classic album by the band Yes and illustrated by Roger Dean. The front of this cover has an idyllic looking miniature world with a “wooden” spaceship with jagged edges and curved wings flying above and is pictured … Continue reading

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