Amnesia

Haven’t been able to sit down and really watch a movie lately? Well here is a nifty way to catch up! There are some great ones here, but here are a few. Visit the youtube site for more.

Attack of the Clones in 5 seconds

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WjN9eCzpF4]

Read more…

So, I’m officially published. I was even paid for a short story. You could say that I am a professional. Yet, as much as I sit here smiling to myself, I’m reluctant to actually mention it to anyone.

Why?

Well, because my short story was published on an erotica website. I had written it under a nom de plum, but the webmaster goofed and published it under my real name.  This is not a problem really. Everyone tends to find out author’s real names over time anyway.

So why am I so uneasy?

Is it because sex is viewed as taboo? Had I written a war story, vampire fiction or even a murder mystery, I wouldn’t have nearly as many qualms about revealing it to the readers of this site.

I think that’s kind of sad, really. It’s really a lovely little story. Incidentally,  I remember  reading that the genres of speculative fiction and erotica are the most difficult to write, due to their intensely detailed structure. So, I would like to believe that I wouldn’t have been considered had I not had some talent.

If you’d like the link to the webmag, I will be happy to provide it via email or instant messenger, but due to the adult subject matter, I will not be providing the link via this post. Sorry.

Alas, I guess I leave it up to you to decide. Do you view writing a rather elongated sex story where the ultimate purpose of the story is to get you through a lonely night as author prostitution? Or do you view it as an intriguing and stylistic way to enhance an evening?

I guess if I see your email waiting in my box, or I get a ping on IM, I’ll know the answer now, won’t I?

After initial inspection it looks as if the gouge in the heat shield actually did penetrate all the way through. It happens to be on the underside of the wing which is reinforced by aluminium, so NASA is debating whether or not to risk the space walk to fix it as they believe the shuttle will be okay for safe retrieval.

 Uh.

What is to debate here? I mean come on! Draw straws or something to fix it, but do it! Fix the rest while you’re out there. I hate to be a bean counter and figure out the calculated risk, but in this case there is no other space shuttle that can just scurry along side and grab these guys while the other one goes into the shop. There is an actual requirement not just a  need to eventually get these astronauts back.

NASA wouldn’t even be in this position had they had a better shuttle. They shouldn’t even be flying missions until the new tank without the foam is installed! We avid space advocates hold our breath every time the shuttle goes up and then comes down when these cracks and holes are present and the sad part is that it doesn’t even have to be an issue anymore.

This is careless administration on the part of NASA. Sorry for the insult, Dr. Michael Griffin. The team at Canaveral can risk the lives of 7 astronauts every time they launch with such faulty equipment, I don’t understand why fixing the shuttle to bring them safely home would even be under consideration and/or debate.

While our drive for space exploration is at an all time low, if another shuttle falls out of the sky and lands in pieces in people’s back yards again, NASA will crumble under public scrutiny and outcry.