UFOs behind the perception filter, SFOO growing

The National Press Club held a news conference Monday on eyewitness accounts of UFO activity around nuclear missile sites.

My husband sent me a NPC link, which had no links to the conference, so I googled for it. This was the next day, and I found nothing. How weird is that? Admittedly, I was busy and didn't persist for long, but it should have been at the top of the heap. I'm not one for conspiracy theories and I don't spend a lot of time thinking about UFOs or the possibility of intelligent life out there among the stars. Or hovering over our planet. And I'm a sci-fi writer!

Why did the press conference get buried? Why don't we think about UFOs more?

I have a theory. First of all, if all the eye witness testimony is false, if there really are no ETs, well, wouldn't we look stupid for being taken in by another hoax? We hate being duped. On the other hand, if they're real, what then? What can we possibly do about it? What defense could we possibly have that could compete with an intelligent species that has achieved space travel and is able to observe us for so long without interference? If they're hostile, it's just all over. It's just too scary. We don't like feeling vulnerable. It's like the perception filter on Dr. Who. Our eyes slide away. We can't see the evidence in front of us. We don't want to.

If they're not hostile, well, we can try to find them and communicate with them. But who represents our world? What do we say? As Robert Hastings pointed out in the conference, they may not want to interfere. Maybe they have something akin to the prime directive. Maybe we're just being observed by scientists as interesting specimens for study.

The former USAF officers and other professionals delivering testimony in the news conference believe that these extraterrestrials, or perhaps people from another dimension, may be sending us a warning to steer clear of nuclear weapons. That other dimension theory is interesting. What about from another time? Could it be humans from our future in which we have to flee our planet after destroying it with nukes?

SFGate has a lot of links, including a video of the press conference. I highly recommend watching it. You can also check out UFO Digest's report.

In the advances in science column, imagine paralyzed limbs able to move again because of light! Check out Light stimulation could restore movement to paralyzed limbs over at Gizmag. And NASA is working on a new launch system.

My review of Android Karenina is now available at Mostly Fiction.

I wrote a flash memoir (using my way-back machine) for our local YWCA's Changing Hurt to Hope program and will be reading it on one to three Fridays in October. Writing that piece was hard, but healing. It's only three pages, but it felt like thirty. My hope is that it will help someone else still struggling in the cycle of abuse. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Science Fiction and Other ODDysseys is climbing in ranking all the time. I'm currently interviewing staff bloggers to help me keep the content going. One feature I will be introducing is small press and self-published sf book reviews. We're talking slush pile here. But if I have reviewers wading through the slush, they're bound to find a gem or two. I would also like to have Indie and feature film reviews. Since both hold their screenings and premieres in NY, LA and generally where I'm not, having staff bloggers in those cities can make those reviews happen.

In addition, I'm seeking a SF news blogger who can devote more time to bringing you the best and most current sf news. If any of my readers are interested in helping out or know someone who might be interested, shoot me an email. I can only pay in free books, passes to advanced screenings and exposure. Staff members will have their pic and profile in the blog's right-hand column or possibly on an About Us page.

Published again! and media magnetism

I've obviously managed to get on a sci-fi media database. I received two emails in one day this week from TV station marketing people. TLC and Comedy Central both have new shows they'd like me to tell you about.

The Comedy Central show, Ugly Americans, may appeal to the young male audience. It's on the Comedy Central station after 10:30 PM for a reason. Ugly Americans is an animated show featuring various, somewhat less than human (or more than human?) creatures like zombies, devil women and vampires who all invade New York City. Well, invade is not really the right word. They act like freakily dysfunctional New Yorkers who can't last 60 seconds without alluding to sex. It premieres on St. Patrick's Day, believe it or not. It's very much like an animated, but smutty, Men in Black. Trailers can be viewed here.

TLC sent me a press release about Paranormal Court, their one-hour program in which psychic medium, Robert Hansen, helps families who have lost a loved one gain justice and closure. Hmmm. Sounds like Judge Spooky. March 27, 10 PM on TLC.

Now to MY news! A short memoir that I wrote about finding my sister, entitled "The Rosary" has gained new life. After a very long wait, the second anthology to pick it up is now available. The volume is called The Mystery of Fate: Common Coincidence or Divine Intervention? Read more about it and purchase it from Amazon or on the publisher's website. Can't wait to get my copy!

Finally, I learned of this article on writing, Writing a story - 12 important elements of dialog, by A. J. Barnet, on a LinkedIn group and thought it worth sharing. Barnet encourages the use of dialog and gives many basic tips on writing and dialog. I'm a dialogaholic. I still think I need to try screenwriting...



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Festivals, Mixed Up Senses and Mars

This weekend I'm doing the unthinkable. I'm sneaking away from the festival that I've been coordinating for several years to attend the book festival. I've always lamented the fact that they are always on the same weekend. Well, now that I have a book of my own, it's a no-brainer. I have to sneak over there.

For all you folks that are local, listen up! The Sonoma County Book Festival is this weekend in the Old Courthouse Square in Santa Rosa, CA. It's the literary place to be this weekend. But when you're hungry or you want to dance, well, that's when the Glendi comes in. Glendi is an ethnic food festival held in Santa Rosa with live bands, dancing and food from Eritrea, the Balkans, Russia and the Middle East. It's the best party in town. It's open 11-9 Sat and noon-6 Sun.

The following weekend, Sept. 27, I'll be reading from the new RWC (Redwood Writers Club) anthology, Vintage Voices: Four Part Harmony at North Light Books and Cafe in Cotati, CA. My piece in the anthology is "The Rosary", the true story about finding my sister. It's the two-for I mentioned a while back. It will also be included in a themed anthology about fate.

I don't have any more appearances after that until November, unless I crash an open mic around here. I have to stay close as I have a new grandson making his debut toward the end of October. :)

I just watched a show on the science channel on synesthesia called When Senses Collide. I'm fascinated by synesthesia. I read a story some time ago, probably in Asimov's, in which the protagonist was a synesthete. I think it was set in Brazil. I can't remember what particular senses were crossed with him, but the whole idea really got me thinking.

Synesthetes can hear colors, taste words, see numbers suspended in air, associate color to numbers, etc. This is more prevelant in novelists, poets and artists. Do you know someone who has mixed up senses? Do you have mixed up senses? I'd love to hear about it.

I'm reading Ben Bova's Mars Life and lovin' it. I got to wondering today whether we'll always be looking to change our environment to suit our needs or whether we'll some day be able to change ourselves to adapt to the environment. Why not? What with global warming, sun dimming, super volcanoes, meteors, etc., we may have to adapt to our own changing environment. Maybe we'll have to become Martians to live on Mars instead of Terraforming every planet we settle.

Contracts, Dates and Deadlines

Just signed the author agreement for "The Rosary" to appear in a new fate anthology. They haven't named it yet, but it's really happening. It's also appearing in the upcoming RWC anthology: Vintage Voices: Four Part Harmony. So, I get a "two-for". "The Rosary" is a memoir about finding my sister.

If you're in the area, I have two more appearances this month. I'll be emcee and a reader at RWC's Odd Month Reading, "Heatwave", in Sonoma at Barking Dog, by Sonoma Mission Inn at 2PM on the 26th. More details at the RWC site here. Next night is Finbar's in Petaluma for Poetry, Pints, and Prose at Finbar’s Irish Pub emceed by Michelle Baynes. My friend, and 2006 Poetry Slam champ, Juanita Martin will be the featured reader. Finbar Devine’s Irish Pub and Restaurant, 145 Kentucky St., Petaluma. Phone (707) 762-9807 or (707) 762-9800.

August brings SpoCon in Spokane, WA the first through third. I'll be reading Friday, on a panel and signing Saturday. Then it's back to CA for the next RWC meeting on August 3rd.

August also looms large with a personal writing deadline. I have to get that PBR (professional bull riding) story whipped into shape by August 31 for the contest deadline. I'm also developing an interactive thing for kids to present for free at libraries and a talk for high schoolers to take on the road to area schools in September. It's back to Toastmasters I go for help in developing and honing my presentation. I love to talk to groups. I'm a ham.

Great news for Awesome Lavratt fans! I've started a sequel! A standard-sized novel with more adventures of Horace Whistlestop. So many people expressed a desire for more, I didn't want to disappoint. ;) And I have such fun writing it.