Author Archives: JD DeLuzio

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Black Widow and the Fake Geek Girl:

You can’t take the ‘verse from me….

The entire Firefly cast will be reuniting for the forthcoming Firefly Online videogame.

And don’t forget to check out the free candy

Eight young Orange County girls found creepy doll doppelgängers outside their homes this week. Police have discovered the source of the unexpected gifts, apparently offered with good intentions.

Not to mention the hopes for fun-filled alien beaches

Extrasolar planets may contain less water than expected, problematizing the search for life elsewhere.

Don’t send Mark Wahlberg after them. You might not like what he finds.

Russians have lost contact with a spacecraft carrying sexually active geckos.

IDW and Boom! have announced a (classic version) Planet of the Apes / Star Trek crossover comic series. The Klingons back the gorillas; Kirk emotes with Taylor.

Several 2014 San Diego Comic Con videos follow (with updates all weekend), below:

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Summer Reading: Bimbos of the Death Sun

(and Zombies of the Gene Pool)

Sharyn McCrumb is best known for the Ballad Novels, historical Appalacian stories that touch on the folkloric and mythic, and the Elizabeth MacPherson Novels, mysteries that involve an amateur detective. She won the Edgar Award back in 1988, however, for a tongue-in-check mystery set at an SF convention. Bimbos of the Death Sun retains a significant following, as does its 1992 sequel, Zombies of the Gene Pool. Fen have had mixed reactions—but these twisted tales make for amusing summer reading.

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Novel Review: My Real Children

Sometimes she knew with solid certainty that she had four children, and five more stillbirths: nine times giving birth in floods of blood and pain, and of those, four surviving. At other times she knew equally well that she had two children, both born by caesarian section late in her life after she had given up hope. Two children of her body, and another, a stepchild, dearest of all. When any of them visited she knew them, knew how many there were, and the other knowledge felt like a dream (11)

A woman’s decision sets her life on two separate paths, and she appears to recall both in old age. Is one real? Are both? Is it better to find personal happiness in a hostile world, or a less satisfying life in a happier world? Does the acceptance of a lover’s proposal in Britain set off an assassination in Dallas? Award-winning author Jo Walton’s most recent novel quietly explores these questions.
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Newspace

Go a round with cosplayers:

Hula Cam at Anime Expo 2014

The, uh, birds of various species have “landed”

Privately-made Cygnus took off yesterday for the ISS (its arrival will test some new Canadian-made space parking/docking tech).

While SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launched six Orbcomm satellites.

The Red Cabbage of Mars

Developments continue that will optimize plant growth: even on other worlds.

What did you do last month?

Twelve-year-old Lauren Arrington completed a breakthrough study on Lionfish

Update: Or, perhaps she had help from elsewhere.

Honey, have you seen the remote?

Wirelessly-operated birth control could be in your near future.

0.035 per cent of visual light is the New Black

Not dark matter, but a British company has developed the darkest material known.

Searching for Laughs

This week sees the third (and best?) installment of CollegeHumor’s “If Google was a Guy.” This perceptively-funny series (below) may not be entirely safe for work:

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Newspace

The first Newspace of the summer arrives a bit late, and we have a mish-mash of items from the last few weeks, including this new behind-the-scenes Flash promo:

Russia’s next attempt to launch a post-Soviet-era rocket will take place on July 9.

NASA’s Mars-and-Beyond rocket passed a critical design review.

Bell’s Brewery, MI, will market planetary beer beginning this August through to July 2015. While Holst’s music, in fact, inspired the series, I still have to wonder what the relative gravity of each beer will be.

(Or how many jokes will be made at the expense of the fact that Uranus will be a Black Double).

Trending chimps, fracking earthquakes, autistic genes, Fantasy Con highlights, role-playing fantasy characters, League of Legends cosplay, prosthetic-wearing dwarves, and student zombies follow:

(Breaking item: Superman [‘s copyright holder] is a dick).
UPDATE: DC has changed its corporate mind and will allow the statue to feature the logo.

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Novel Review: Lockstep

The continent was a collision of lanterns, or a surf of glowing pearls hanging untroubled amid Wallop’s storms. The cities’ curving sides cradled the white of towers and the green of cultivated jungles that raveled them like verdigris staining a glass ball.

Wisps of dark cloud began drifting across this vision as the airship picked up speed.(126)

In Lockstep, Hard SF shakes hands with Space Opera and YA. The tropes may be familiar, but the underlying concept proves mind-bendingly original. Schroeder has crafted a great new universe. Does the novel live up to premise and promise?

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