#10 out of 40 — Plato was a Fantasist

Ever heard of the Gate of the Sun at Tiwanaku, with its alien-like carvings? Sounds like fantasy or sf, but it's quite real. One of the many interesting things to crop up in today's chapter of Silverberg's Scientists and Scoundrels, which chronicles the Atlantis hoax perpetrated by Paul Schliemann, the ignoble grandson of the justly famous pioneer of archaeology and discoverer of Troy, Heinrich Schliemann.

Here's a couple of other recent headlines items, science-related, that I found of interest:

• Herbal extract boosts fruit fly lifespan by nearly 25 percent, UCI study finds
• Particle Accelerator That Can Fit on a Tabletop Opens New Chapter for Science Research
• Past Brain Activation Revealed in Scans
• Disruptions: Medicine That Monitors You

In other non-news, my girlfriend and I continued watching The Hobbit tonight. Excellent production value, but boy does this feel padded. I'm not complaining, really (at least not strenuously), but I couldn't help quip, "What are they leaving for the extended Director's cut?" We're about an hour and ten minutes in--less than halfway through... At this rate we'll probably be done by the end of the week.

Day 25 of writing streak. And more writing-related planning, too. Feels like the new story I've been scoping out and plotting may have some potential.

Fitness goals achieved.

The new issue of Galaxy's Edge, the prozine edited by Mike Resnick, is out! And, as usual, full of goodness. Paul Cook reviewed When the Blue Shift Comes and said nice things, including the following about my contribution:

"Zinos-Amaro picks up the story from there and right from the get-go it’s clear that he is able to resolve the story with all the same stylistic quirks and flourishes found in the opening segment by Silverberg." 

And later in the review:

"Yet the novel reads less like a literary experiment and more like something you’d find in Harlan Ellison’s famous Dangerous Visions anthology or Terry Carr’s Ace Science Fiction Specials. Man, I miss writing like this."

Happy dance.

And, as predicted in yesterday's abbreviated post, the wireless router went kaput this morning, which prompted me to go out and purchase a replacement. Swapping it out was pretty painless, thankfully, and no complaints so far with the new one.