Mirror, Mirror

The image above was created when I fired up my prototype hyperdrive and accidentally sent my camera (briefly) to a point somewhere near the galactic core. The camera came back intact, which is great because I'm pretty sure the warranty doesn't cover damage caused by hard vacuum and intense gamma radiation.

I kid, of course. That is a genuine image, but I created it in my mirror-box, which I played with earlier today for your viewing pleasure. Those lens reflections were created when I took the image below.

Here's the same shot, as the hyperdrive engages:

That really is a rugged little camera. Also, the galactic core is full of tee-shirt shops ("I traveled a hundred thousand light years and all I got was this lousy thorax covering") and souvenir stands, just as I suspected. Hardly worth the trouble.

Mug and Meralda Update

The most difficult book I've ever written continues to churn along. Still more work to do, but I promise I'm doing it as fast as I possibly can. 

I need more hours in my day. The hyperdrive camera passed a couple of Earthlike worlds that sported 30 hour axial rotation periods, and I'm thinking of moving my writing space onto one of them via a wormhole door. All I need is 30 million kilograms of superconductive iridium and a pair of D-cell batteries, and at least one of those items is probably available from Amazon.

I already tried cloning myself so the copy could write, but all the lazy slug did was goof around on social sites and download old games. He's on the couch now, engrossed in Planescape: Torment, and promising to 'really hit the manuscript hard tomorrow, dude.'

He's lying, of course. I should know. 

Yeah, I know it doesn't tie into the text, but it's pretty.

Movies You Should See

If you only see one movie this summer, may I suggest you make that movie Guardians of the Galaxy?

I finally saw it. And it was an absolute blast. I remember seeing the original Star Wars back in '77, and this movie took me right back to that moment, when I was a kid enjoying the perfect frickin' movie.

It has everything -- humor, heart, excitement, and gorgeous visuals. Yeah, okay, it's also cheesy as Hell, at times, but you won't care because at its core its a movie about people who've lost everything coming together to find each other.

Find each other, and KICK ASS.

That's a potent combination. Also, I was told that Rocket Raccoon's character is very much mine, and I heartily approve of that sentiment. 

I believe movies that show the good guys coming from behind to win the day are so powerful because life doesn't work that way. It ought to, but it seldom does, and that's a shame.

Go see Guardians. Leave your inner critic at the door. I swear you'll lose thirty heavy years, at least for an hour or two.

Worth the ticket price, and then some.

Rowr.

What is that, portrayed above? 

I have no idea. Best I can figure, the image was taken about 23 thousand light years from Earth. Not a world I'll be visiting. Long on claws and fangs, short on eateries and theaters. 

It's a dangerous cosmos out there, fellow humans. Remain vigilant, and of course purchase fine reading material on a regular basis.

Brown River Queen available here!