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In The Dispossessed, the people of Annares—a moon colony founded by exiled anarchists—speak a language called Pravic. It is an invented language, created by the first settlers, who one imagines were interested in the ways in which language both circumscribed and made possible different ways of being with one another. In Pravic, ammar (plural ammari) means “brother” or “sister.” It is genderless, and used to refer to anyone regardless of …

Ten years ago today my astronaut friend Samantha Cristoforetti began her first space flight. On November 23, 2014 she was launched aboard the Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft for a mission to the International Space Station. I had the privilege of helping Samantha with a public outreach project to share this adventure. Shortly after the announcement of her mission in early July of 2013, Samantha decided on a way to tell the …

Little known outside of Italy and Europe, chestnut flour (farina de castagne) has been a staple crop in Northern Italy for thousands of years. At roughly four times the price of wheat flour it's a very special ingredient worth getting to know. Today we'll go over what it is, how homemade flour differs from store-bought,... Read More The post How To Make Chestnut Flour, And What To Do With It …

Brian Collins is among the most provocative bloggers writing about science fiction and fantasy today. They should be considered for a Hugo for best fanwriter.Through their blog, the 28-year-old New Jersey native tackles topics that vary wildly between more staid fare such as the value of reading old science fiction, to more incendiary ideas such as the role that military science fiction has played in rationalizing genocide. Their work tends …

I mean, it’s impossible to write about The Fast Show without quoting it. So let’s get them out of the way. Brilliant. I like this, when comedy worlds collide and remind me that sometimes shows that seem from different eras actually shared a schedule. Which is nice. The Stage – Thursday 13 November 1997 This one is more interesting from a TV history point of view. I’m amazed they were …

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AI Can Now Create a Replica of Your Personality James O’Donnell | MIT Technology Review “Imagine sitting down with an AI model for a spoken two-hour interview. A friendly voice guides you through a conversation that ranges from your childhood, your formative memories, and your career to your thoughts on immigration policy. Not long after, a virtual replica of you is able to embody your values and preferences …

This caught my eye in the New York Times the other day: That word, “cleaner,” wasn’t familiar–I imagined it meant what Americans would call a cleaning lady, a cleaning person, a custodian, a janitor, basically, something that sounded a bit fancier than what the job really is. “Cleaner” felt British to me, along the lines of “carer,” also not found in the U.S. (We would say “companion,” “care-giver,” or, wordiest …

“[45] In India there are wild asses as large as horses, or even larger. Their body is white, their head dark red, their eyes bluish, and they have a horn in their forehead about a cubit in length. The lower part of the horn, for about two palms distance from the forehead, is quite white, the middle is black, the upper part, which terminates in a point, is a very …

According to the multiverse theory, we are likely to find ourselves in a universe particularly suited to the emergence of life. According to a new paper, though, that’s not the case given how it’s expanded over time. But does that mean the multiverse theory has also been invalidated? Let’s take a look.

Murder While You Work by Susan Scarlett aka Noel Streatfield This book is one of twelve written under the Susan Scarlett pseudonym and in some ways it is a romance, but certainly not of the delicate sort. It combines a murder mystery with elements of a domestic thriller, as well as observations of conditions in the Second World War. Bombs do not rain down on this English village, but there …

Third time’s a charm? Not for me when it comes to Point Lobos, the iconic State Natural Reserve just south of Carmel and Monterey. I’ve been there twice in 2013, and didn’t feel like I really got anything substantial from ... Read moreThanks for following Alexander S. Kunz Photography via RSS & keeping independent websites alive. Buy me a coffee? Support @ $3/month. Visit My Print Store. Browse My Photo …

Regular readers might just remember that nine years ago, I posted a brief history of Anne Heap of Frogs, the hard rock band I was guitarist for in 1988. (Astonishing to think it’s nine years since I posted that!) Here once more is the photo of twenty-year-old me, on the left with the white strat; on the right is Andy Charles on bass. And here I am in 2024, playing …

A ‘Why am I reading this?’ post, because this is why I haven’t posted many reviews lately: I keep giving up on books I have nothing much to say about. Benjamin Myers, Cuddy Winner of prizes, lauded indie publisher’s saviour, the subject is a favourite (early medieval English religion and history), and wow was I … Continue reading Did Not Finish →

Twelve Horses and the Hangman’s Noose by Gladys Mitchell published 1956 This Gladys Mitchell book is very unusual indeed – because in terms of plot you could imagine a number of crime authors having written it. The major point of most Mitchell books is that no-one else in or out of their right minds would have tried to build a book round her imaginings. And certainly some readers (me: I …