Although Donald Trump has signed a bill authorizing money to fund future exploration of Mars,tourism to the Red Planet is still a long way away. Still, a person can dream, and one Finnish filmmaker is making that dream look like reality. Jan Fröjdman spent three years turning photos taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter into a four and a half minute travelogue of the planet’s surface. By David Moye – Full Story at The Huffington Post
Marvel has launched a kick-ass LGBT superhero to lead her own comic book – and fans are applauding the move. America Chavez, a queer Latina teenager with lesbian parents, debuted in comic books in 2011, but with the character winning rave reviews as part of a group, she has taken the spotlight for herself. The comic, called America, debuted earlier this month, prompting an outpouring of support from readers who were overjoyed to finally see an LGBT Latina superhero lead her own comic. Writer Gabby Rivera, herself a queer Latina, said Chavez is “a foxy, badass, hard femme Latina who … Read more
Filmmaker Brandon Zuck has created a sexy post-apocalyptic thriller about five people who share an abandoned desert motel for the night, and are forced to choose between love and survival. While walking along a remote, desolate highway, twin-brothers Max (Joshua Smith) and Liam (Zachary Smith) hitch a ride with the trio of Lila (Shalini Bathina), Bobby (Maverick McConnell), and Jagger (Brandon Harris). The five of them take refuge for the night in an abandoned motel. However it’s a night that forces them to make choices from which there is no going back. We spoke with filmmaker Brandon Zuck for a … Read more
FOR WRITERS Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Jordan Marshall: We often talk about the architect/gardener dichotomy, but with the advent of story games, I’m wondering if a thrid option has opened up. Do you ever use some sort of game in your plotting/writing process? Scott adds: “And if you do, please, oh please, can it be Super Mario Brothers???” Join the chat
Mass Effect: Andromeda has got an incredibly sweet, a very sexy and incredibly rewarding gay romance. In one of the most LGBTI inclusive moves we have seen in a video game, the game allows you to start a rainbow family of your own. As Scott Ryder (you can also play twin sister Sara if you like) in the year 2163, you meet chief engineer on the Tempest – Gil. You can flirt with him over a poker game, and the two of you enter into a relationship. First off there’s a kiss. By Joe Morgan – Full Story at Gay Star … Read more
Two Harvard University scientists are suggesting that mysterious fast radio bursts, detected in faraway galaxies, may be evidence of aliens traveling through the cosmos. FRBs are extremely bright flashes of radio waves that last for only a thousandth of a second and are detected by earthbound telescopes. Since the first one was observed 10 years ago, 17 have actually been reported, although scientists think there are thousands of them a day. At first, Abraham “Avi” Loeb said, he took a conservative approach to explaining them. “It looked like the simplest explanation would be flares from stars in the Milky Way … Read more
In Beyond Earth: Our Path to a New Home in the Planets, Charles Wohlforth and Amanda R. Hendrix propose colonizing Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, and the second largest moon in the solar system. They reject constructing colonies on Mars and the Moon, claiming Titan offers the most resources for creating a permanent human settlement. Even though I don’t buy their premise, Wohlforth and Hendrix have written a book that nicely sums up the current knowledge on human space travel. What’s damning and depressing is their long litany of obstacles we face living in space. Over the years I’ve … Read more
How many of you have wanted to go to the moon? Everybody? Well, we’re all nerds here so I’m not surprised. What is a surprise is NASA’s announcement that there is the possibility of astronauts returning to the moon as early as next year. 2018 is the fiftieth anniversary year of Apollo 8, which was the first spacecraft to reach and orbit our natural satellite. Commander Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders left Earth’s orbit, circled the moon a few times and returned home safely. Acting NASA administrator Robert Lightfoot said last month he wants to fast-track the heavy-lift … Read more
A lone little robot roamed California’s Sonoran Desert for a week this month. Its only mission: Avoiding humans. “Shybot” was part of a weirdly mesmerizing art project in early March. It was designed by the Italian artist Norma Jeane and engineers for the Desert X Biennial, which uses the “canvas” of the Coachella Valley in southern California and its desert landscape. It’s one of several projects ongoing through the end of April. The rover’s camera streamed its experiences back to The Lab art gallery in San Francisco, which presented the work in collaboration with the city’s Italian Cultural Institute. The … Read more
