My Writing Post is up.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow creeps in this petty pace.

Some examples of successful fiction that creeps in this petty pace. Pacing

Also more than 500 people have downloaded I KILLED THE MAN THAT WASN'T THERE

By Darrell B. Nelson author of I KILLED THE MAN THAT WASN'T THERE

Fabulous!

Last week's poll was about Gay Marriages, 2/3s agree, “They're Fabuulouus!”. It is impossible to disagree on that. In fact I might actually watch a gay celebrity marriage if they go all out. I avoid hetro celebrity marriages because they bore me to tears.

On to the next poll:

One really hard part of action writing is the bad guy's final words. In just one sentence you have to express all the passion that the bad guy had for doing his evil deeds. To make it worse Shakespeare and Melville really covered revenge and obsession masterfully.

So in the Star Trek movies they took three approaches to the final words.

Melville in Wrath of Khan

Khan: From Hell's heart I stab at thee.

Shakespeare in Undiscovered Country

Chang: I am as constant as the northern star.

Then they went with a totally original line in Star Trek 2009.

Nero: Egah!

Each of these final lines has pros and cons, but I'm wondering, which final words really summed up the bad guy the best.

By Darrell B. Nelson author of I KILLED THE MAN THAT WASN'T THERE

Shut-up Stupid Sunday: Support our Troops

It isn't easy being in the military in the best of times, and these are far from the best of times for the military. We are occupying two countries in the worst way possible, something that most Americans want ended.

But men and women still volunteer, mostly because the military serves a vital role outside those wars. The Navy makes sure overseas trade can be carried out without pirates roaming the seas. The large standing Army means that if a country has a problem with the US it has to try diplomatic channels. The national guard is ready if disaster strikes.

Many progressives like myself don't like how the military is currently being used, but still appreciate the role that the men and women in uniform play in society.

So it sickens me that they are now being attacked by conservatives.

Atheist Veterans were booed in the Annville Memorial Day Parade 2011 in Pennsylvania.

At the GOP debate an openly gay serviceman in Iraq asked a question and was booed by the crowd. Not one of the candidates said anything.

And recently Andrew Breitbart ranted to teapartiers that they should “fire the first shot” and start a civil war, like a real life recreation of the South Park episode, “Grey Dawn”. He continued to say that he wasn't joking when he called for Senior Citizens to start firing on the military.

To anyone with a brain the idea the teaparty, average age 71, arming their electric scooters and going head to head with a tank is ridiculous. But the level of contempt that these people have for the men and women who are ready to lay down their lives to protect the freedoms we enjoy in this country is shocking.

From cutting the budget for the Veteran's hospitals, and cutting veteran's benefits, to now openly booing veterans and active members of the military, conservatives are doing all they can to disrespect the hard work that our servicemen and women do to protect our country.

So to all those conservatives out there who think it is a great idea to boo at veterans and active servicemembers, who think sending dozens of senior citizens in their scooters and oxygen masks to attack them is a good idea, all while voting for more wars to get them killed in, I say, “Shut-up Stupid, those people that you are booing and threatening to attack have vowed to lay down their lives to protect the system of government that allows you say the hateful things you say about them. You might not like the reality's well known liberal bias that means that the military isn't full of cowardly chicken hawks like you and has members from all walks of life, but learn to live with it. These men and women are serving to protect you.”

By Darrell B. Nelson author of I KILLED THE MAN THAT WASN'T THERE

Fantastic Future Friday: I have a formula for my pain and it is E=MC2

One big pain in writing near future science fiction is the slow speed of light.

I have been struggling over a part in my WIP where the hero is traveling from Mercury at the speed that an electron moves through a computer chip and talks to the villainess on the way. But the speed of light is so slow that there is a half hour lag in their conversations.

Imagine Khan was talking to Kirk. “I've done far worse than kill you, I've hurt you. And I wish to go on hurting you. I shall leave you as you left me, as you left her. Marooned for all eternity, at the center of a dead planet. Buried alive.”

Khan then walks around the bridge, chit-chats with the ten members of his crew that aren't doing anything. Plays computer solitaire for awhile until the signal returns so he can hear, “Khaaaaaaannnnnn!”

It loses it's dramatic touch a little.

However there is a possibility that the time lag could be shortened. At CERN they have reported that they may have gotten a neutrino to move faster than the speed of light. It will be years before this is confirmed. Only two other labs can test it and one was damaged by the earthquake in Japan. But if it is true it is great news for Science Fiction writers.

Oh, and the fact that once we figure out how it is done we will have a much greater understanding of the universe which will lead to breakthroughs in all areas of science giving us technology we can't even begin to imagine, will be nice as well.

I hope that they are on to something as Relativity is fine for making the Universe behave in an orderly fashion, but it really plays havoc with dialog in science fiction.

If CERN has found a way to break the light barrier, it will lead to a Fantastic Future.

By Darrell B. Nelson author of I KILLED THE MAN THAT WASN'T THERE

Writing Gay Characters

My latest writing post is up, I talk about How to write Gay Characters.

By Darrell B. Nelson author of I KILLED THE MAN THAT WASN'T THERE

Back to the 90s

In my poll as to the best Star Trek captain, it was split between Kirk – Shatner and Picard. These two have dominated that question since the late 80s and a lot has been written about why. So I give my ideas about it.

Those two represented their eras more than the other captains.

Kirk was the bold captain of the late 60s. A time when we were going to the Moon. The world was engaged in a new type of war. A war of ideals, with America pushing Democracy and well regulated capitalism as the way to help the most people and Soviet Union pushing planned economics and communism as an alternate way.

It was a time when new bold ideas were encouraged and Kirk personified that.

In the late 80s the war of ideals was over and no one cared about helping the most people. Picard represented the voice of stability. The Enterprise D wasn't going where no one had gone before, it was tying together the edges of the expansion made in Kirk's era. Just like how America wasn't boldly expanding into new markets and new research.

Sisko was a Captain that was aired too early. I watched DS9 when it first ran, then again in 2004 when the US was at the height of occupying Iraq and Afghanistan. Watching the Federation rebuild a world that had been badly occupied for years took on a whole new meaning while we badly occupied two nations. DS9 wouldn't have been allowed on the air during that time.

Janeway was taken out of the Federation space and they didn't even try to have her reflect society of the time.

Archer, Enterprise didn't know what it wanted to be until the 4th season. By then it was too late. I never watched the last season until it was in reruns.

Kirk – Pine: The theme was fortune favors the bold, at a time when banks are stealing peoples homes, the social safety net is all but destroyed. A failure in a non-traditional industry is headline news and given as a reason to abandon the entire industry. Kirk- Pine was almost the exact opposite of today's society.

There are millions of other reasons TOS and TNG were the fan favorites but those are my reasons.

On to the next poll:

Today “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” ended.

I never saw the reason for it in the first place. I was 13 when two men that went to our church got married. When I was 14 my sister was shocked that two women that were friends of my mom only had one bed in their home. My reaction was, “So?”

So what do you think about Gay Marriage?

It's Fabulous!

The Decorators have their work cut out for them.

Damn, more wedding invitations.

By Darrell B. Nelson author of I KILLED THE MAN THAT WASN'T THERE

Shut-up Stupid Sunday: Main Stream Media

Did you know that thousands of people marched on Wall St yesterday? Not if you watched or read any of the Main Stream Media.

You have to get coverage here http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/occupywallstreet

By Darrell B. Nelson author of I KILLED THE MAN THAT WASN'T THERE

Surprised by my Poll

When I raised my poll last week I really expected the results to be skewed. After all a lot that I talk about on this blog the value of government in as a engine for technological progress. The video I posted was about infrastructure. So I really expected the majority of votes to be for one of those.

The post I had expected to write has been done really well over at Truth Out, 9 Government Investments

It turns out the Social Safety net was by far (60%) more popular.

Let me say that I am a big fan of having a good social safety net, and not out the selfish reason that after being knocked down so many times I know I'll need it many more times in the future. Not even out of sympathy for the less fortunate in society, although that is a powerful reason.

One thing that a good social safety net does is encourage risk.

Would Steve Jobs have left Atari to form Apple if healthcare was as tough to get then as it is now?

Would Bill Gates use the money that his parents gave him to go to Harvard to start Microsoft if failure meant living on the street? Although in his case his parents could have supported him.

Small businesses are the backbone of this country, they are also risky to start. Most small business start ups fail. When they do take off they more than make up for the failures. Having a strong social safety net means those people that want to go out on limb, can without worrying about having to living on the street if they fail.

A strong social safety net fosters innovation and change by not only helping those less fortunate, but by allowing those who dream big to act on their dreams knowing if they fail they won't be out on the streets.

So I look at a strong social safety net as not only the right thing to do for our citizens, but an investment in the entrepreneurial spirit that makes this country great.


On to the next poll:

Can't really think of any Earth Shattering question today, so I'll totally geeky:

Who was the best STAR TREK Captain?

Kirk – Shatner

Kirk – Pine

Picard

Sisko

Janeway

Archer

Like always vote on the upper left corner of the page.

By Darrell B. Nelson author of I KILLED THE MAN THAT WASN'T THERE

Shut-up Stupid Sunday: 9/11

It's been 10 years. 10 of the worst years in American History.

If there is something worth remembering about 9/11 it is not that we were attacked, but that the attack brought out the worst in us.

At the time of the attacks we were at the tail end of prosperity brought on by the “Peace Dividend” to continue that we would need to stop our endless meddling in other countries to secure resources like oil. We were in the perfect position to do that.

The Internet boom had burst and we needed something new. The attacks could have been a call to arms for peace. We could have invested in a green revolution that would free us from foreign oil. We could stop the blood money we pay for oil from getting funneled into the hands of the very people that attacked us. We could have funded a huge drive to get off foreign oil. That funding would have paid for itself as we wouldn't need as many troops overseas securing our access to oil.

We could have used the attacks to restructure our military, more highly trained tactical strike forces like SEAL team six, that are most effective against terrorist cells.

We could have doubled down on our ideals, done everything we could to make America the land of opportunity, made sure every American could get a quality education, insure that we had a strong middle class in this country, and done everything to make sure that those who were victims of bad luck weren't victims for long.

We could have shouted, “This is America! You can destroy our buildings and kill innocents, but you can never destroy our spirit and ideals. We will overpower tyranny through the force of freedom. We will set an example of how our way of life, granting opportunity and freedom to our citizens is a greater force than terrorism funded by our oil addiction.”

We could have done all that, but instead we gave into our most primal instincts.

Lashing out in blind rage, wanting an eye for an eye, letting our bloodlust for revenge turn our backs to our most prized ideals. Torture, imprisoning people without a trial, turning our own citizens into suspects. That is what we became.

We turned over the handling of our economy to multi-national corporations that have no stake in the health of our country, we let the fear-mongers turn us against our neighbors when they want to build a place of worship.

We have let ourselves become the same type of evil empire that we despised in the 20th century.

So to everyone who says, “Never Forget.” I say, “Never forget how we let blind fear and bloodlust for revenge make us abandon all the spirit and ideals that made America the envy of the world.”

By Darrell B. Nelson author of I KILLED THE MAN THAT WASN'T THERE

Writing post a day late.

My latest post on writing is up a day late. Life sometimes gets in the way of my plans.

Here it is: George Lucas- Finish Already

By Darrell B. Nelson author of I KILLED THE MAN THAT WASN'T THERE

Poll: What has the Government ever done for us?

In my last poll it turns out that my readers are polar opposites of our leaders in Washington and 100% use reality to base their decisions.

So on to my next poll, and my first video poll.

The following clip is what would happen if a bunch of reality based people attended a tea party meeting:



Substitute the word “Romans” with “Government” and it is pretty much what the teabaggers talk about. So I am wondering what is the top thing the Government does that you like?

Infrastructure:

Roads, Clean Air and Water, Police, Fire Depts, Education, and all the other things that make modern life possible.

Technological Investments:

Things made by Governments Investments: Jet Airplanes, Microchips, Duck Tape, the Internet, Telecommunication Network, GPS, Cell Phone Technology, Fuel Efficient Cars (Japanese Government Funded Research) pretty much every new technology.

Military:

I like not being invaded.

Social Safety Net:

Not having Seniors die in the street, Not turning the poor into disease incubation factories, ect.

Like always vote on the upper left hand corner of the page.

By Darrell B. Nelson author of I KILLED THE MAN THAT WASN'T THERE

Shut-up Stupid Sunday: Mark Burnett

In 2000 Mark Burnett aired “Survivor” which changed the way game shows were played. Formerly a contestant would win a game show by having the most skill at whatever task the game required. “Survivor” changed that, in “Survivor” the winner didn't have to have any skills in surviving, or even win the challenges. They just had to convince the rest of the people to not vote them off.

It was a novel idea, and if it had stayed in just one TV show it would have been fine. However, Mark Burnett pushed the concept onto a dozen other TV shows. It is now the standard for Reality TV. If it stayed there we would just have horrible TV and more and more people would tune out until a new model of TV shows came along. But Fox News picked up that model and applied it to politics, and the other networks followed along.

The candidates for President aren't being covered on what they want do as President, but how their campaign strategy is working.

If a candidate like Rick Perry, P-Rick, takes a pants crapping insane stance on an issue, like saying Climate Change is a conspiracy of scientists, the news reports on how the issue is working for his campaign and if it will help his run. They don't report on the fact that 97% of climate scientists believe global warming is man made, the other 3% argue over how much is natural vs. man-made, and 98 (not percent, 98 people) that are in a field relevant to climate science believe it is all due to nature.

If the news reported on how batshit crazy the P-Rick's stance is, they would report that the roughly 50,000 living scientists in fields related to climate science is nearly four times the amount of people that had direct knowledge of the Manhattan Project the biggest secret project ever carried out. If you add in all the scientist that have been studying it for the last 60 years that's well over 100,000 scientists.

They would also report that those 100,000 scientists need the support of colleges and universities around the world to carry out this “hoax”. The research done on non-secret science in universities is made to be super redundant to catch errors, so it would take several million people to be in on this “hoax”.

In the last century you could get away with just a few million people to carry this out, but now the evidence of global warming is easily noticeable in most areas. Plants that could barely survive as they were at the edge of their cold tolerance are blooming and growing like weeds.

The amount of people that it would take to sneak into everyones gardens and flower beds to warm these plants up so they bloomed unnaturally would be in the billions.

Some the effects of global warming could be achieved by just paying off the people involved. The western ranchers could be paid to make it look like they are suffering billions of dollars in damage from the drought for an amount two or three times that.

The news could also report on P-Rick's reason why they are doing it, to get that sweet, sweet, grant money so they can travel to exotic locations like Antarctica and go out in small research boats to the north Atlantic in the winter. With that type of reward it is no wonder they would get billions of people involved and spend trillions of dollars.

But instead of reporting on how a conspiracy that the people who think NASA faked the moon landing would shake their heads at and say, “That's f-ing crazy”, the news talks about if this is a good issue for Rick Perry to run with.

So to Mark Burnett, I say, “Shut-up Stupid, by expanding your concept of making a game show where the focus is not on the results but how the contestants play the game far beyond where it should ever go, you have made it so the most pants crapping insane, batshit crazy, loony conspiracy theory can be looked at as a legitimate political issue.”

By Darrell B. Nelson author of I KILLED THE MAN THAT WASN'T THERE