It was inevitable of course.
The winds and floodwaters of Sandy have barely abated and the usual suspects are out in force scare-mongering.
CNN: Is Sandy a taste of things to come? :>> http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/31/us/sandy-climate-change/index.html
NYT: Did Global Warming Contribute to Sandy's Devastation? :>> http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/30/did-global-warming-contribute-to-hurricane-sandys-devastation/
Since there have never been hurricanes before and they
I have decided to suspend releasing the Cloud in my blog.
I will release the story in its entirety this Halloween!
====================================================
The great observatories have detected an unknown object approaching earth from deep space. Governments prepare for the worst in secret as scientists look for answers.
The Cloud is released in its entirety at:
https://www.gayauthors.org/story/jamessavik/thecloud
World News Network
Pacific Bureau
Sydney, Australia
Kelly Simmons, the Pac Bureau’s science correspondent, had five minutes’ notice that there would be a full staff meeting in the Bureau Chief’s conference room. Everyone that wasn’t in the field or on the air was supposed to be there.
Something very odd was going on even in her little niche of the kingdom. Scientists loved to talk about their work. Many of them saw outreach and education as vital part of their job. They loved to t
University of South Dakota
Vermillion, SD
“Throughout the fossil record we can see that evolution proceeds in stops and starts. It does not and has not proceeded in a straight line.”
Dr. Jerry Cassidy drew a time line on his white board and put five tics on the graph. He knew that half his students were asleep and the rest only cared because they needed a mid-level science elective to graduate.
“The great extinction events have had a major effect on the biological world. Every
The Cloud (Part I)
Paranal Observatory, European Southern Observatory
Cerro Paranal, Chile
October 22, 2016
The European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope Array was focused deep in the blackness of intergalactic space examining galaxies that dated to within a few billion years of the Big Bang when Director Addler's phone began to ring.
The first call came from Dr. Willoby at the Australian National Astronomical Observatory. Old Jack had found something strange and h
You want annoying? Old people who discover email and know your email address. Now- THAT'S ANNOYING!
I am the computer consultant to the old folks at my Mom's church. I advise them on what to get, set it up for them and show them where to go to get free training. I make a little money by fixing things they botch up and keeping them running.
Once they discover how to use email, I get recipes, cute grand baby pictures, forwarded jokes and all sorts of geezerspam I don't want. And I've got t
The film is called the Mudge Boy (http://en.wikipedia....i/The_Mudge_Boy).
It's a highly rated G&L film. It's all very literary and boring and filled with stereotypical characters that you will instantly recognize: the hapless gay youth, the father that doesn't understand, the bullies, the unrequited love... It's the sort of film the critics love.
I hate it! Oh my God is it ever a stinker. Why do you ask? The writing.
This 4 star piece of crap takes all the negative stereotypes a
Insomnia
Insomnia haunts me and taunts me,
Mind racing and chasing details of the day.
Plans of tomorrow, no time to borrow,
Always behind as time grinds,
Past and future together in the breathless present.
I am so lost, I don't know the cost,
Of the things that I've been or the things that I've seen,
In the night they are burning bright,
Restless azure darkness impaled,
By the fires that rend the eternal night.
There is no peace when the wars never cease,
even though its be
Coming Soon in Operation Hammerhead
____________________________________________
Scorpius Sector
Evergreen, Agricultural Colony
Evergreen University Campus
Student Union
Jeff Mason looked across the chess board at his opponent. It was rare that anyone could give him a good game. This kid wasn’t it. Mason's genetically engineered intellect could see twenty moves ahead.
His bishops and knights slashed into his opponent’s flanks, his rooks smashed straight ahead, and his queen po
Pandora
After clearing security and going down two different elevators, I guessed that I was at least 500 meters underground. The corridor had heavy steel blast doors with key card locks and biohazard signs every 50 meters. The deeper into the facility that we went, the higher the biohazard protection level of the labs that lined the corridors.
I asked the guard what the USAMARID needed from the Dept. of Homeland Security and he told me that answer was well above his pay grade.
We fi
The Inquisitor
Anybody who wants this job shouldn't have it. They would just be thugs. The people who should have it burn out or flip out. Philip Baker was just trying to hang on to his retirement and self respect.
Once being a special agent for the Bureau was a respectable job. That was the job he had signed on for twenty-seven years ago. That seemed like a long time ago. Before the wars. Before the genetically engineered plagues were released. Before the Night of the 13th Prophet when
The War Inside
Stardate 43887.3
Dr. Walter Ingalls, Starfleet Medical
Personal log.
At the request of the Angosian government, Star Fleet has dispatched a team of doctors and other specialist to help rehabilitate veteran's of the Tarsian War.
When I first got this assignment, I thought that we would make quick and easy progress. Nothing could be further from the truth. What I first thought were symptoms of severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a much more complicated condition
Most of them were disasters. A couple of good ones were Earthquake and the Towering Inferno.
You can catch both of them on http://youtube.com
Brought to you by the 70's Preservation Society: yes, we did in fact drink the bong water.
In 1970 Black Sabbath released their self-titled album, established Ozzy Osborn as an artist and became one of metals premier and most influential bands.
During its time, Black Sabbath was highly controversial because of its dark imagery. Their music was widely criticized by evangelicals of all sorts on several continents. When asked about this Ozzy said, "It's not about evil love. It's about selling albums,"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCjspyo-_aI
http://www.youtube.com/
Rush's breakout album came in 1976. 2112 was the paragon of the power trio. Inspired by Anthem, a novella by Ayn Rand, 2112 explored a dystopian future where collectivism had run amok and individuality was so dangerous that there was no word for "I" or "me".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQEgZNqa8jE
1972 marked the breakout year for the band Deep Purple. Their album Machinehead became something of the beginning of the metal genre. Their contemporaries Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin continued to add the power, volume and edge that defines metal.
The following songs became the noise that drove a generation of parents to drink.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ-lSTlUnfA
The first giant hit from Yes was the Yes Album in Feb. 1971. It hit no. 4 on the UK charts, #40 on the Billboard 200 and certified platinum.
The Yes Album was so unique and different from what was being done that it would stop people in their tracks. It's rare when a new sound comes along and even rarer still when its allowed to flourish by an industry that is traditionally known for me-too sound-a-like whoredom.
In 1966 a rock manager impressed by the young guitar genius Jimi Hendrix, helped him form his band, the Jimi Hendrix Experience and record the album Are You Experienced.
The chemistry was magic. The album exploded on the UK charts and soon made inroads into the US market which finally accepted a rock band with a black front man.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vqf9FxaMIsI
Because of his unique style, the combination of blues, jazz, funk and pioneering new techniques wi
Supertramp c.1978- Doug Thompson, Rick Davies, Roger Hodgson, John Helliwell and Bob Siebenberg
In 1979 Supertramp, an established British arena rock band, released their sixth album. Breakfast in America became an instant hit providing three hit songs in the US and two top 10 hits in the UK.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k3JVfxluFU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0VjNxQgxNU
Well some they do and some they don't,
Some you just can't tell.
Some they will and some t
What happens when you put together a group of classically trained and very talented musicians? You get Yes.
Yes was, at its high water mark, Jon Anderson(vocals), Chris Howe(lead guitar), Chris Squire(bass), Rick Wakeman(keyboards) and Alan White(percussion).
Yes circa 1972 left to right: White, Howe, Wakeman, Squire, Anderson
In 1971 Yes was flying high. Their breakthrough album the Yes Album was gathering fame and awards for the band. When they released Fragile in November, th
There is an eternal debate: who is the best guitarist ever.
Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix get a mention. So does Jimmy Page and others.
Only one has actually been deified by their fans.
Eric Clapton is certainly one of the most influential guitarist of all time. He has been inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame three times: once as a Yardbird, once as a member of Cream and finally as a solo artist. His career began in the sixties and continues.
My favorite alb
It's 1978. Punk bands are singing about the death of rock. Disco is a huge media creation and corporate move to take over radio.
So what happens? Rocks old guard steps up and blows them the fuck away.
In June of 1978 the Rolling Stones released what many people think is their best single album: Some Girls. Even for a band that had been around forever and done everything, it was a tour de force.
The original album contained 10 tracks: all of them were hits.
Miss You
There is music that moves you. Then there is music that is fun.
the Cars are, from the left: Benjamin Orr, Ric Ocasek, Elliot Easton, David Robinson and Greg Hawks.
The Cars were fun packaged in a jam-tastic new age sound that tore up the charts with their debut album in 1978. You weren't looking for the meaning of life listening to the Cars. You were probably driving around, smoking weed and looking to get laid. That's what their songs were about.
It wasn't just their char
