It’s been a little while since I’ve done a Freestyle Friday, so I figured I’d better get back at it.
For my part, I’m knee-deep in the writing. I’m about 3/4ths the way through the first draft of Scarlet Phoenix. However, I paused a little bit so I could put out a few short stories. The first, called Supermoon, is edited and I think it’s just about ready to send off to potential anthologies. The second is written, and I’m just getting into the editing on it. These are both scifi pieces centering on ship captains who are pretty much ripped from everything they know. Also, if you’re into super-short fiction, I encourage you to check out #VSS365 hashtag on Twitter. I’ve been participating in it for a while and I’m always impressed with some of the great tweet-fiction I find there.
Anyway, on to the goodies, eh?
Web Comic Highlight:
XKCD is always great at pointing out how humans are kind of assholes sometimes. There’s a bit of a running joke in regards to us finding new species of creatures. Basically, when we discover a new species, the first two questions are how to kill it and would it taste good fried with butter. While this comic isn’t specifically about that, it is related in that humans are so often interested in trying to blow up things they don’t understand, all while screaming about how patriotic we are. I’d say this is a uniquely American thing, but I think it’s, sadly, more universally human than that.
I also really liked this one from Poorly Drawn Lines. There’s not a whole lot to say about this, other than I feel like it embodies most of social media.
Poorly Drawn Lines: Nothing to Say
Free Books!
How about some free books for Freestyle Friday? The following books are available on Amazon for free from today through March 26th, courtesy of the publisher Creativia!
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Kraken’s Keep by Jean Kilczer
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The Spirit of the Age by David Melville Edwards
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The Siege of New Terra by Jean Kilczer
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Under A Dark Sky by Johan M. Dahlgren
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Grass Grows In The Pyrenees by Elly Grant
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Thalia and Earth by Mari Collier
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The School of Dreams by Julia Sutton
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Birth Donna Russo Morin
This Week’s Science:
Here’s a bit of science for your Freestyle Friday!
Scientists have a way to turn off alcoholism: Blasting the brain with lasers
This could be a good thing for addicts when the research progresses to humans. When we do get there, though… I’m curious if it’s about addictive behaviors in general or just alcohol.
White dwarfs crystallize as they cool
This is some serious exotic stuff here. And some pretty interesting story fodder. I mean, what could you do with a hyper dense, hyper energy dense grain of sand that weighs 50 pounds?
Lithium-Ion Battery Inventor Introduces New Technology for Fast-Charging, Noncombustible Batteries
Safer batteries? Yes. Higher capacity? Yes. more charge cycles? Yes. Less use of Lithium (reducing harmful mining) Yes please!
Does alcohol consumption have an effect on arthritis?
This is a thing? Well shit! Spoiler, though… probably not. It’s kind of a chicken and egg thing, which one comes first. Apparently people who don’t physically feel well, don’t drink as much. That’s a shame. I was looking for a savior on this.
NerdArt:
Here are a few pieces of cool #NerdArt that I liked.
