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NEWS: Here Come the Gender Neutral Emojis!

Gender Neutral Emojis - Apple

Gender-neutral characters are among the new emojis coming in Apple‘s latest update. “Hundreds of new emoji, including more emotive smiley faces, gender-neutral characters, clothing options, food types, animals, mythical creatures and more, are coming to iPhone and iPad with iOS 11.1,” Apple announced on its website. The gender-neutral emojis will come in a variety of skin colors, and in three categories of age: Children, adults, and seniors. By Jeff Taylor – Full Story at LGBTQ Nation

Me Me Monday!

Welcome to M3: ME ME MONDAY at our FB discussion group – your chance to pop in and tell us about your latest success. Have a new book or short story coming out? Let us know. Just sell something? Let us know so we can cheer you on. HOW IT WORKS: I’ll pin this topic to the top of our FB discussion page for the day. –Please post your announcement as a separate post so we can comment on yours specifically –Check out the other posts and congratulate and share them too! And congratulations!!!

COMICS: Iceman Gets His First Gay Kiss

Iceman gay kiss

Comics has had another landmark moment as adult Iceman – Bobby Drake – has had his first gay kiss. But wait, you’re saying, hasn’t Iceman been out and gay with a boyfriend for a while now? To be clear, there are two Icemans currently running around the comics X-Men universe. There is the adult Iceman, the same one that comic fans have grown up with since the 1960s. There is also a time-displaced Iceman, after teenage Bobby was brought from the past to the present. Teen Bobby was outed by psychic Jean Grey, and has since come out, kissed a … Read more

For Writers: Do You Have MD?

I just came across this article on the BBC website. While my cynical side thinks it might be a clever promo for an upcoming book, it is quite interesting and I think it speaks to writers in a very unique way … http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/the_daydream_that_never_stops

TECH: Ride the BFR From New York to Los Angeles in 25 Minutes

BFR

Elon Musk laid out a set of ambitious plans on Thursday for a vehicle he has dubbed the Big Fucking Rocket (BFR). The massive spaceship will not only ferry people around on Earth in minuscule amounts of time compared to modern jet travel. It will one day in the not too distant future (2024, to be exact) ferry humans to a colony on Mars. Wired reports: In a promotional video, SpaceX says the BFR will be able to fly into the planet’s orbit and travel with a maximum speed of 27,000kmh. It says a flight from Hong Kong to Singapore … Read more

Star Trek Discovery Review Redux

OK. I admit it. I’m a hypocrite. One week ago I was vowing to cancel my CBS All Access subscription because the Star Trek reboot sucked. Yet, I watched it again. And I am writing about it again. For me, the new Star Trek is like that six-month old ‘thing’ in the freezer. You know you ought to just toss it in the garbage, but you can’t resist opening that plastic container, sniffing the contents and then defrosting it just to know for sure what it actually is. Well, I defrosted episode three, and I think I know what Star … Read more

Me Me Monday

Welcome to M3: ME ME MONDAY at our FB discussion group – your chance to pop in and tell us about your latest success. Have a new book or short story coming out? Let us know. Just sell something? Let us know so we can cheer you on. HOW IT WORKS: I’ll pin this topic to the top of our FB discussion page for the day. –Please post your announcement as a separate post so we can comment on yours specifically –Check out the other posts and congratulate and share them too! And congratulations!!!

For Writers: Getting Back Into The Groove

That last book or story is finally published. The waiting game is over. The buzz of release day and the subsequent torrent of glowing reviews has worn off. It’s time to move on. Easier said than done? Do you experience ‘post-publication depression’? Are you unpoopular? Do you pop out at parties? Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. Seriously, how do you get back into the writing groove? How do you start a new work, or pick-up on one that’s been percolating? Is it a seamless process or a hurtle to be surmounted?

TRAVEL: Italy Has the Best Spec Fic Condoms

Condoms - Alain

I found these funny condoms in Italy and they never failed to make me smile. In fact, I was laughing hard. I found them in two hostels I stayed in Italy – of all places! Well, it’s not like that I don’t have “hostel experiences” but I was just surprised to find it there. I’m not sure where to commit the “act” because I checked both the laundry area and the bathroom, there’s really no way to do it there. Aside from the fact that there are always people in there (because it’s high season), they are just too small … Read more

Star Trek Discovery: To Timidly Go Where the Franchise Has Gone Over And Over … And Over Again.

I really wanted to love the latest iteration of Star Trek. I’m a huge fan of the original series for its quirky stories and it groundbreaking premise;  and of Voyager for  breaking the glass ceiling over the captain’s chair and for delving into character, motivation and morality in a more realistic way than its predecessors. I was sad when Voyager ended and I had high hopes for  Enterprise. Dashed hopes, as it turned out. Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed once again tonight as I watched the first two episodes of Discovery. My ‘trial membership’ to CBS All Access will be … Read more