A speculative mind

  There is a term when a science fiction writer pulls something out of their butt to explain how the hero can solve an unsolvable problem. The writer will invent some hither-to-unknown substance, technology, or device that magically solves the problem. The idea is that he can just wave his hands and the problem goes away. When a writer does this s/he is employing “handwavium.” In the movie Thank You for Smoking , a cigarette executive played by Aaron Eckhart,   is talking with a movie executive played by Rob Lowe, about how to get smokers on screen in a more favorable light. The movie exec is open to this and says, “How do you feel about the future?” “The future?” “Yeah, after all the health thing’s blown over . . . Sony has a new sci-fi flick they are looking to make. Message from Sector Six . All takes place in a space station.” “Cigarettes in space?” “It’s the final frontier Nick.” “But wouldn’t they blow up in an all-oxygen environment?” “Hmm . . . Probably . . . but

  I have just finished reading Carrying the Fire by Michael Collins. Collins, one of the Apollo 11 Astronauts, died a few weeks ago. Hearing the commentators talk about his death, they also mentioned his book and I was intrigued. I was a child of the 1960’s and astronauts and all things space, were my bread and butter. When I was about 8 or 9, I could have named most of the astronauts who had flown. I watched the moon walk on TV with my family. So did everyone who had access to a TV. It was an activity that almost everyone around the world was doing at the same time. I am not sure there has ever been an event watched by so many people simultaneously. The irony is that the man who helped Armstrong and Aldrin get to the moon, could not watch it himself. He had no TV monitor and even if he had, there would have been no way to transmit it to him when he was going around the far side of the Moon. Michael Collins was a good writer. He could have had a cowriter or a ghostwriter, but he cho

                                                                                                                                   Image by  klimkin  from  Pixabay   A lot of writers are good at writing fight scenes. For my money, one of the best is Lois McMaster Bujold. It doesn’t matter whether it is swords and arrows, or plasma arcs and laser cannons. She writes engaging and logical action that is easy for the reader to follow. Yet her attention to detail about the logistics of a fight makes one wonder if she has had training in military tactics. I have also read fight scenes written by authors who are not as skilled as Lois McMaster Bujold, and some of them are cringe-worthy. I have written a few fight scenes myself, and it seems to me there are a few guidelines a writer should keep in mind when writing action sequences. Do you have to be an expert in the style of combat you are engaging in? No, but you should have a basic understanding of the skills and tactics. If you are using

  Ever wonder what other animals are thinking when they see a human? I was considering this as I was running this morning. From the corner of a driveway a cat was watching me with an air of distain only a cat can muster. So here is my guess at what a cat might be thinking. “Huh. It’s one of those big human things (not mine), running from a predator. They aren’t very fast. The predator should have no trouble catching and eating this one. It must be why there are so many of them, because they are so poor at running away. I don’t see what is pursuing him, but I don’t have to worry about myself. Big fat meal like that; why would a predator bother with me? Besides, I can out run, out jump and out hide the human. Let’s face it, humans may make a lot of noise, but they are pretty worthless when it comes to being hunted. Oh-oh. I see the predator coming now. They are always so much bigger than the humans and faster, and they have these big bright glowing eyes at night. That’s it. I am out of