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| Articles about Fiction |
| Don't buy Gas from Petro Express Because It Belongs to Controversial Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez-Fiction! | | 2008-08-18 04:39:00 | | eRumor: The eRumor warns not to buy gas from Petro Express because it's just another name for Citgo, the oil company owned by Hugo Chavez, the controversial anti-American president of Venezuela.eTruth: It is not true that Petro Express is owned by Hugo Chavez or Venezuela. It is an American-owned company that has been headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina but was purchased in 2007 by The Pantry, a convenience store chain in the southeastern United States.Petro Express sold Citgo gas in the past but phased it out.Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has drawn the ire of Americans for his open opposition to the United States. His most dramatic display was during a fiery speech before the United Nations in September of 2006 in which he called president Bush "the devil" and suggested that the United Nations should move elsewhere, perhaps Jerusalem.Because of Chavez's hatred of the United States, many American motorists have called for a boycott of Citgo, was founded as an American comp | | By: Geeks Undercover | | |
| | Columnist Maureen Dowd Says Obama's Internet Donations are Mostly From Foreign Sources-Fiction! | | 2008-08-18 04:35:00 | | eRumor: An alleged New York Times column by Maureen Dowd quotes Obama campaign sources as saying that Obama's record-breaking fund-raising on the Internet has been from foreigners, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, and China, and that the campaign is not paying attention to whether any donations violate the law.eTruth: This email is a hoax.Dowd told Sam Stein of the Huffington Post that when she saw the email she "got to the second line and knew it wasn't me."There were other clues that it was not authentic. The email claimed that it was a June 29 column In the New York Times by Dowd, but her column on that date was about Hillary Clinton supporters, not Barack Obama.A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet: Obama is raising campaign money handy over fist - Big Time! This is incredible. No wonder Obama is being so generous in helping Hillary with her campaign debts. I am greatly surprised, almost shocked, that | | By: Geeks Undercover | | |
| | Science Fiction Meme | | 2008-08-06 11:30:00 | | This meme apparently was on SF Signal at some point, but I found it here.Consider yourself tagged!Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror?Science fiction and fantasy, rarely horror. It's hard for me to choose. I love science fiction very much, but I also happen to enjoy fantasy quite a bit too. I've read some amazing fantasy novels in my life and I did start with fantasy when I started reading more, mostly because science fiction seems so difficult to me for a long while.Hardback or Trade Paperback or Mass Market Paperback?Mass market, but only because they're smaller and I feel like I've accomplished more reading each sitting.Heinlein or Asimov?I've read little Heinlein, though I plan to read more. So, Asimov.Amazon or Brick and Mortar?Brick and Mortar. Amazon doesn't give the same browsing experience.Barnes & Noble or Borders?Borders. They have a FREE rewards card, and there isn't a B&N here. B&N tends to be more organized and has more discount books (and a better selec | | By: The World in the Satin Bag | | |
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| New Fiction Markets | | 2008-08-05 19:00:00 | | Two new SF fiction markets, which look like they're going to be awesome.First we have Federations from John Joseph Adams:Genres: Science Fiction only. Original fiction only, no reprints.Payment: 5 cents per word ($250 max), plus a pro-rata share of the anthology’s earnings and 1 contributor copy.Word limit: 5000 words. (Stories may exceed 5000 words, but $250 is the maximum payment per story, and stories 5000 words or less are strongly preferred.)Rights: First world English rights, non-exclusive world anthology rights, and non-exclusive audio anthology rights. See my boilerplate author-anthologist contract, which spells out the rights in detail.Reading Period: November 1-January 1, 2009Response Time: Most rejections will be sent out quickly, but stories that I like may be held until January 31 before a final decision is made.Publication date: May 2009Publisher: Prime BooksSubmission Instructions: Email your story in rich-text format (RTF) to John Joseph Adams at federations.anthology | | By: The World in the Satin Bag | | |
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| Katherine Heigl Sexy Science Fiction Babe in Roswell | | 2008-08-03 14:14:42 | | Katherine Heigl, originally uploaded by menter77.
In 1999, Katherine Heigl turned her attention to television when she accepted the role of Isabel Evans on the science fiction TV drama Roswell, a role that was expanded in the show's second and third seasons. Heigl had auditioned for all 3 female leads on Roswell before she was finally cast as Isabel. While Roswell was in production, While | | By: Celebrity Fashion Photos | | |
| | Science Fiction: Sometimes it's wrong. | | 2008-08-02 19:00:00 | | Browsing through today, I discovered a very interesting website that discusses the errors within science fiction, particularly in TV and movies. Some of these errors are, quite frankly, rather stupid on the part of the creators. Such as:In the Star Trek Voyager episode "The Fight", Voyager encounters a Negative Space Wedgie that is "2 light years across". They start "11,000 km" away from it and yet, the whole phenomenon is visible on the viewscreen. As the Agony Booth review of this episode points out, this is exactly like "putting your nose on the ground, and still being able to see the whole landscape from horizon to horizon" except...you know...even worse. The thing also looks about as big as Voyager when it engulfs it, which might make slightly more sense (for a given value of "sense") since Voyager is apparently the size of a planet.Yup, that's Star Trek. There are even a few related to literature. Such as: The original Dune series was set 10,000 years (human history goes back | | By: The World in the Satin Bag | | |
| | Dark Tranquillity - Fiction [2007] | | 2008-07-14 14:49:59 | | TRACKLIST: 1. Nothing To No One2. The Lesser Faith3. Terminus (Where Death Is Most Alive)4. Blind At Heart5. Icipher6. Inside The Particle Storm7. Empty Me8. Misery´s Crown9. Focus Shift10. The Mundane And The MagicGenre: Melodic Death MetalDownload | | By: Ripped Of The Shaken | | |
| | Fiction | | 2008-07-11 22:01:00 | | I just finished reading the book True Evil a few days ago, it was actually a great book. Took me quite a while to get through but as it turned out the ending of the story was really gripping.Right now I've started reading the book Step on a crack by James Patterson. Hopefully it will be just as exciting, I hear the author is good. | | By: Roland's Blog | | |
| | Wayne Weaver "Closer" to selling Jaguars:: Fact or Fiction? | | 2008-07-09 17:33:43 | | [Note by River City Rage, 07/09/08 10:56 PM EDT ]UPDATE: The Florida Times-Union has their article posted on the potential sale of the Jaguars. They add this painful piece to the puzzle.
Metropoulos, according to the report, is interested in a 100 percent purchase of the Jaguars immediately, though unnamed sources told the paper he would keep Weaver on for two years while he learns how to operate an NFL franchise. The sources told the newspaper that Metropoulos would bring in minority partners with him, and that the Jaguars would be a candidate to move to Los Angeles, which is seeking an NFL team.
The key part of this is the "keep Weaver on for two years" part. The LA Stadium, as currently planned, would not be complete until 2011. Infer from that what you will. Also, some have noted the significance of Metropoulos using the first person "I" when denying the interest in the team. Is he giving himself "wiggle room" if the story changes, or is he shutting | | By: Big Cat Country - An Unoffical Jacksonville Jaguar | | |
| | The ’sandbox’, fact or fiction? | | 2008-07-02 09:48:53 | | I see the “sandbox” as being a term that some person working in SEO derived to explain why so many of his client’s new pages appeared in Google’s search results for about one month, before the pages disappeared into the deep recesses of the Google index.
In absence of a better explanation, some SEO person coined [...] | | By: SEO Authority | | |
| | Non-fiction: Commerce, California - Water Polo City | | 2008-06-23 12:22:37 | | This is a great article on water polo from the New York Times. It also happens to be the first article about water polo since the last one was published over a year ago. I am interested in the suggestion that the city’s major water polo facility as a factor in the low crime [...] | | By: Pan 2007 | | |
| | Sometimes Nature is Stranger Than Fiction | | 2008-06-23 11:30:00 | | (Stealing this from Mike Brotherton)Apparently scientists are giving added attention to a frog from Cameroon and realizing just how crazy nature really is. The frog not only grows sideburns, but also has the ability to project its bones through its hands like claws.Apparently the frogs have bones inside the tip of their phalanges, and these bones are sharp, covered by another bony nodule, and suspended inside the skin of the frog’s toe with a suspendatory sheath, and padded on the bottom of the toe with lots of tissue. The bone is connected to an extensor muscle. When the frog is stressed or caught (they don’t know what triggers it yet), the extensor muscle contracts, and the sharp bone BREAKS away from the nodule covering it, and then tears open the tissue of the frog’s toe to come out. The bony claw remains anchored via strong collagen fibers, and might be able to retract once the extensor muscle relaxes. This is the only species found so far with claws that do not have a | | By: The World in the Satin Bag | | |
| | The News Media: NBC Furthering Fiction...NBC Furthering Lies=Propaganda 101 | | 2008-06-18 00:55:00 | | "I think the questions were asked. I think we pushed. I think we prodded. I think we challenged the president. I think not only those of us in the White House press corps did that, but others in the rest of the landscape of the media did that. … The right questions were asked. I think there’s a lot of critics-and I guess we can count Scott McClellan as one-who think that, if we did not debate the president, debate the policy in our role as journalists, if we did not stand up and say, ‘This is bogus,’ and ‘You’re a liar,’ and ‘Why are you doing this?’ that we didn’t do our job. And I respectfully disagree. It’s not our role."That was NBC correspondent David Gregory, appearing on MSNBC’s “Hardball With Chris Matthews.” He was responding to former White House press secretary Scott McClellan’s new book, “What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception.” McClellan has challenged the role of the U.S. media in investigating | | By: VioletPlanet | | |
| | The Dystopian Fiction Database | | 2008-06-16 23:15:00 | | John Joseph Adams is at it again (I don't know what that means, it was just fun to say). He's put together an amazing new concept: The Dystopian Fiction Database. To view the entries, go here, and if you want to add your own entries, go here. This could prove to be tremendously useful for those of us who are big fans of the Dystopian subgenre!(Don't click the read more, there isn't any more after this!)
| | By: The World in the Satin Bag | | |
| | Tentang Buang Angin (fact or fiction???) | | 2008-05-19 11:16:00 | | Alkisah menurut seorang ilmuwan yang mengadakan penelitian tentang kentut mengatakan, Kita jangan cuma tahu bau dan suaranya saja, (tetapi juga hakekatnya) 1. Dari mana asal kentut? Dari gas dalam usus. Gas dalam usus berasal dari udara yg kita telan, gas yang menerobos ke usus dari darah, gas dari reaksi kimia & gas dari bakteria dalam perut. 2. Apa komposisi kentut? Bervariasi. Makin banyak udara anda telan, makin banyak kadar nitrogen dalam kentut (oksigen dari udara terabsorbsi oleh tubuh sebelum sampai di usus). Adanya bakteria serta reaksi kimia antara asam perut & cairan usus menghasilkan karbondioksida. Bakteria juga menghasilkan metana & hidrogen. Proporsi masing-masing gas tergantung apa yang anda makan, berapa banyak udara tertelan, jenis bakteria dalam usus, berapa lama kita menahan kentut. Makin lama menahan kentut, makin besar proporsi nitrogen, karena gas-gas lain terabsorbsi oleh darah melalui dinding usus. Orang yang makannya tergesa-gesa kada | | By: Geeks Undercover | | |
| | Fiction Made of Wood | | 2008-05-17 21:09:55 | | Sculptures made out of wood, things that could be and some that are.These are the creations of Michael T. Rea, owner of a MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.His works have been exhibited in several states and his name is mentioned in some publications and on a podcast from Bad At Sports.Michael also shares his knowledge and talent by teaching. | | By: The Art Inquirer | | |
| | | Guest Post: When Does Fiction Become Unbelievable? | | 2008-03-28 11:41:00 | | Firstly, I'm honoured to guest post here, while, ahem, some people get to go away on holiday! ;) I struggled to think what to post about, and then I saw a film trailer...When does fiction become unbelievable?I haven't seen 10,000 BC yet, but I gather that the mammoths play a large part in the creation of the Ancient Egyptians' pyramids. Fine, I'll accept that: it's fiction, a ridiculous premise, but it sounds quite fun. A strange alternate history. What still bugs me is that the mammoths gallop at speeds of upwards of 60 kilometres per hour. What?! I can accept that they hung around several tens of thousands longer than in actual reality, but during that time, they also devised some way to motorise themselves?! Perhaps in hundreds of thousands of years worth of evolution, they developed little natural rubber wheels? Nooo.But in SFF, a certain suspension of disbelief is often required. In all imagination, really. We are quite prepared to accept the Chosen One, spoken of in prophecies wr | | By: The World in the Satin Bag | | |
| | Global Warming - Fact Or Fiction? | | 2008-03-14 13:30:26 | | Some people who have studied global issues would say there was no such thing as global warming and it is all a big hoax. However, others disagree and believe that since the industrial revolution, we are having a negative affect on our environment.The best place to start is to look at what we have already been led to believe.The Greenhouse effect is the relationship between the earth and the sun. The sun provides the earth with the heat and energy it needs and the earth releases back that energy into space.The greenhouse effect comes into play as the gases in the earth trap that energy so that it cannot be released back into space therefore, warming the earths environment.The greenhouse effect is a natural process and vital to our survival, without it, the earth would be too cold to live in.Gases such as Methane, Carbon dioxide and water vapour all trap energy from the sun and enable the warming of the earth.It is commonly known that plants provide Carbon dioxide, but not so commonly kn | | By: Global Warming Articles - Information on Global Wa | | |
| | Favourite Fiction Couple: Trip & Lux (The Virgin Suicides) | | 2008-03-02 14:07:43 | | A little homage to one of the best couples in films...images from here & here & hereThe Quotes:(in the hospital)Doctor: What are you doing here, honey? You're not even old enough to know how bad life gets.Cecilia: Obviously, Doctor, you've never been a 13-year-old girl.Narrator: So much has been said about the girls over the years. But we have never found an answer. It didn't matter in the end how old they had been, or that they were girls... but only that we had loved them... and that t | | By: Miss at la Playa | | |
| | Ricin Scare in Las Vegas: Facts and Fiction | | 2008-03-02 02:58:14 | | The investigations into Las Vegas Ricin poisoning continue since last Friday, the mystery over two vials of poison found in the Von Bergendorff’s Motel room still haunts Police, FBI and U.S. Homeland Security agents. Police claimed to have found guns, "anarchist-type" fiction (with the ricin section highlighted) and castor beans from Bergendorff’s room who has been under medical supervision since mid February. Apparently, there is no indication of any link to terrorist activity or any...(read more) | | By: An American Warning | | |
| | half fiction, half truth. | | 2008-02-26 20:41:22 | | The first day after break always goes like this:
Students trudge into school sleepy-eyed, with glazed expressions. Most have a coffee cup surgically attached to one hand with enough caffeine to get them through first period. Maybe second too, if they’re lucky.
Our heroine notices a few people sporting envy-worthy tans but decides that jealousy is [...] | | By: the cloudy dreamer/stacy | | |
| | Studying Science Fiction Politics: Perhaps | | 2008-02-20 11:04:00 | | I'm considering doing an independent study course next quarter. My reasoning is this: I already have to take one course that is required that I really don't care about and since the number of modern literature courses offered (seeing how I'm a modern lit major) are rather crappy, I don't want to have to take three courses that I hate. So I've resolved to considering independent study as an option to do something interesting. I don't want to discuss race because, quite frankly, I'm not that interested in any subject of race within science fiction beyond tropes of racism and the data I'm collecting for the project I'm working on for this blog (which serves no academic purpose other than to educate myself and anyone else interested on what minority categories look like in the spectrum of science fiction and fantasy). My interest, I think, is in politics. Now, when I say politics I don't mean in the same sense of the types of politics we en | | By: The World in the Satin Bag | | |
| | [original fiction] clean slate | | 2008-02-09 17:21:39 | | It only occurs to her then.
When she’s sitting in that seat (third class, she’s a student now) waiting for takeoff,her iPod on shuffle. It’s not until Brand New’s “The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows” starts that she’s hit with a wave of nostalgia.
She remembers V, whose caustic sense of humor came with a [...] | | By: the cloudy dreamer/stacy | | |
| | Firefly - Free Fan Fiction Novel | | 2008-02-09 07:01:31 | |
I am a big fan of the sci-fi movie Serenity, which was based on the short-lived Firefly series on Fox network. The movie gave a new meaning to the term ‘ space western’, and I, for one, especially enjoyed the adventures of the various characters that made up the Serenity’s motley crew. Disappointingly, the director of the film has hesitated to make a sequel to the movie, citing various reasons.
Though a sequel to the original movie seems distant at the moment, there is a flourishing base of fans who create their own fan fiction to feed the addiction. As most of it is not very good for average people like us, here is a good quality, free e-book by fantasy and science fiction author, Steven Durst, released under a creative commons licence. You can download it in a pdf and/or doc format.
My Own Kind of Freedom - Firefly Novel by Steven Durst.
© 2007 JazJaz.net. This RSS Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this mater | | By: JazJaz | | |
| | An Example of Jewish Fiction Writing in Antiquity | | 2008-02-04 05:01:24 | | Question: If the Gospels are literary fictions, can you give us any other examples of a fictitious narrative written by Hellenized Jews to reflect reinterpretation of scripture with Greek influence? Atheist Answer ANSWER FROM ROOK HAWKINS: Yes. There are quite a few examples I could give, but because I’m short on time because my book demands so much from me, I’ll use the most simple example with the most groupings I can list without having to go into a whole lot of details. The book of Tobit. Tobit is, for lack of a better way to put it, edifying fictions. The story uses very specific literary motifs and tropes, as well as Greek folklore (the dangerous bride, the greatful dead, etc…). Nothing in this story is meant to be taken as historical narrative. I’ll lay out some basic bullet points for you concerning Tobit and Homer. There are four main characters in both the Odyssey and Tobit (Mainly books 1-4 of the Odyssey). HOMER (1) Odysseus (father) (2) Telem | | By: Rook Hawkins - Critical Historian | | |
| | The 100 Best Works of Fiction (Updated) | | 2008-02-03 19:00:06 | | Halfway through Cervantes’ Don Quixote - at last done with its voluminous first part - I’m now putting the book down to read the equally voluminous second part for a later time.
I’ve began reading Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment again, starting where I left it unfinished two years ago. And I also plan to try [...] | | By: Postcard Headlines | | |
| | | Weight Lifting Programs - Fact VS Fiction | | 2008-01-28 12:01:26 | | According to research by Dr. Janne Sallinen, of the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland, eating enough proteinand moderate amounts of fat help boost testosterone and improve the effectiveness of strength training. But what’s “enough”?
More: continued here
If you like my blog, buy an ad and drive visitors to your site. | | By: Online Business Alliance & Niches | | |
| | Starcrash - Trailer of the Campy Science Fiction Classic | | 2008-01-17 11:41:54 | | Star Crash, a 1979 science fiction film, was originally released in Italy as Scontri stellari oltre la terza dimensione and later in the US as Star Crash. The movie was one of the many ’space operas’ that followed in the wake of the incredible success of Star Wars.
The film combined the sci-fi elements of Star Wars with the fantasy theme of Barbarella, packaging it into a teen-friendly, PG rated science fiction film. The director/writer Luigi Cozzi was told by the producers to make his movie’s storyline as close to that of Star Wars as possible. Hampered by a low budget, tight schedule and a greenhorn technician, the director was forced to include some of the cheesiest special effects to ever hit the screen. He compensated for this by dressing up (ha ha) his female characters in some the skimpiest clothing in this side of the galaxy.
The movie featured former Bond girl Caroline Munroe as the sexy heroine who is sent on a rescue mission by the Emperor (Sound of Music’s Christopher Plummer to save his son - Prince Simon. The prince was played by a young, androgynous looking David Hasselhoff. If that isn’t a reason to watch and enjoy this camp classic, then I don’t know what is.
Now, through the power of the Internet and web 2.0, here is the trailer of Star Crash a.k.a. The Adventures of Stella Star.
© 2007 JazJaz.net. This RSS Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement.
Related Posts:Watch 10 Classic Films Online Korkusuz - Turkish Ripoff of RamboPaper Craft Site Has DIY Instructions For Star Wars MachinesDarth Vader Falls in LoveTop 50 Dystopian Movies Of All TimeSoundwagon Record PlayerStar Wars Reverse References
| | By: JazJaz | | |
| | Pulp Fiction Writer Arrested For Manslaughter | | 2008-01-15 04:55:41 | | Should have called Winston Wolf. VENTURA, Calif. (AP) - Oscar-winning screenwriter Roger Avary has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and driving under the influence after a Ventura County car crash that killed a man and injured Avary's wife, authorities said. Avary, 42, was the driver in the single-car collision... | | By: Outhouse Rag | | |
| | 'Pulp Fiction''s Roger Avary Arrested | | 2008-01-14 07:03:35 | | Roger Avary arrested after fatal crash."The Insider" has confirmed that Writer/Producer/Director ROGER AVARY was arrested for felony D.U.I. and booked into the Ventura County Jail.According to the media release, shortly before 1 a.m. Ojai deputies arrived at the scene of an injury traffic incident in front of Ojai Lumber, in Ojai, CA.The crash claimed the life of ANDREAS ZINI, a resident of Italy and seriously injured Avary's wife who was ejected from the car. Zini was apparently visiting the couple in Ojai said coroner's officials."The Insider" has just learned that Roger Avary "was supplementally booked for a charge of vehicular manslaughter" according to the Ojai Police Department.Avary has been released on $50,000 bail.Link
| | By: Goss INDIA | | |
| | How does cinematic fiction render the ordinary world intelligible? | | 2008-01-08 14:10:51 | | Narrative is one of the fundamental ways in which we organnize the world. In recent years the study of narrative has acquired a new and prominent role in theorizing film theory.How do you study narratology?You should study theories about the nature of those patterns and structures, which are created while consciuonsly reading a text;You should look at the concept of causality, space and time and how they have been perceived as data in an imagined story world;You should ask yourself how to represent a particular event within a narrative schema;You should also expand the concept of the spectator's knowledge beyond immediate seeing to include other influences: cultural expectations, memory of previous scenes and the sound track;You should create a hierarchy of roles or levels which describes the typical ways in which a reader participates in a novel.It isn't a simple task, but Edward Branigan has done it in his Narrative Comprehension and Film. His principal references are Todorov's causal-transformation theory of narrative and Stephen Heath's theory of displacement.Edward Branigan offers us a great deal of substance and a range of attractive speculative insights. The book explain us how to relate the double argument about narrative in film and human perception as interpretive construals.
| | By: Mellart | | |
| | Social Science Fiction | | 2007-12-29 12:40:41 | | My first article for the eXile is now online. Here is an excerpt from “A Russian-Watcher’s Fairytale“:
Russia and the world were stunned by the assassination of Vladimir Putin as he walked out of a midnight mass at the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow on January 7, 2008.” This line is not out of Brad [...] | | By: Sean's Russia Blog | | |
| | | Caption Contest: Pulp Fiction | | 2007-11-30 13:36:00 | | So I decided to go with a Pulp Fiction theme this week. At first I thought I'd use a pic of Samuel L. Jackson interrogating that kid, but I didn't have a picture of myself that really worked with it. I did, however, have a nice profile of Climber that worked fairly well. Look at how cute he is.Stop yelling at Climber, you chia-pet gangster!Anyway, I didn't want to subject Climber to your captions, so I did another one with me. You know the drill. Submit your captions in the comments. Mrs. Diesel and I will pick our favorites and I'll post a poll on Tuesday.And remember, you're captioning the second picture with the ugly guy, not the first one with the adorable blond kid.Oh, and in case you missed my pathetic and semi-delirious book-hawking yesterday, here's a recap: Until December 14 you can order my book, Antisocial Commentary, for $9.95 with free shipping. I'll even sign it if you want. After that, the price goes back up to $11.95 + $3 shipping. Go here to order it. | | By: Mattress Police - Antisocial Commentary | | |
| | fact or fiction? guess. | | 2007-11-21 00:59:37 | | Unwritten Note #1
You’re unconventionally pretty. Oftentimes adorable, sometimes attractive but always– always striking.
All long limbs, alabaster skin, large brown eyes framed by incredibly long, thick eyelashes. There are enough imperfections (the stubborn set of your chin, the scatter of freckles down your back) but they only make you seem human and unapproachable all at [...] | | By: the cloudy dreamer/stacy | | |
| | New Boeing 797 Giant "Blended Wing" Passenger Airliner-Fiction! | | 2007-11-14 03:45:00 | | Summary of the eRumor: The story says that the Boeing Company is developing a radical new passenger jetliner that will carry 1,000 passengers. It's designated the 797 and is a "blended wing" design looking a lot like the old flying wing experiments of the 50's. The Truth: TruthOrFiction.com went straight to the source, the Boeing Company. A spokesperson said that it is not true that Boeing is developing a commercial blended wing aircraft. He asked that we help stop the perpetuation of the story. What is true, according to Boeing, is that Boeing Phantom Works, the company's advanced research and development organization, is doing research on the blended wing body design as a potential military aircraft. Boeing has built a scale model to test its low-speed flying characteristics in a wind tunnel. There are also plans (as of 7/13/07) to flight test a scale model. Updated 7/14/06 A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet: Subject:: Boeing 797 Boeing to take on Airbus with (1000 seat) giant 797 Blended Wing plane Boeing is preparing a 1000 passenger jet that could reshape the Air travel industry for the next 100 years.The radical Blended Wing design has been developed by Boeing in cooperation with the NASA Langley Research Centre.The mammoth plane will have a wing span of 265 feet compared to the 747's 211 feet, and is designed to fit within the newly created terminals used for the 555 seat Airbus A380, which is 262 feet wide.The new 797 is in direct response to the Airbus A380 which has racked up 159 | | By: Geeks Undercover | | |
| | Help Find Ashley Flores-Fiction! | | 2007-11-14 03:42:00 | | Summary of the eRumor: The eRumor includes a picture and says it is of a 13-year old girl named Ashley Fores who has been missing for two weeks. She is said to be the daughter of a deli manager for Acme markets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The Truth: TrtuthOrFiction.com has not been able to find any evidence of a missing 13-year old named Ashley Flores. The Philadelphia police department says it knows nothing of her. A spokesperson for Acme Markets in Philadelphia says people have been contacting them to offer help, but they know nothing of a missing Ashley Flores either. This eRumor not only has all the ingredients of a hoax but even uses some of the wording from two other widely circulated eRumors about missing children that are also hoaxes. We're looking into reports that Ashley Flores is real and that this may have originated as a joke. Last updated 5/22/06 A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet: please look at the picture, read what her mother says, then forward his message on. Maybe if everyone passes this on, someone will see this child. That is how the girl from Stevens Point was found by circulation of her picture on tv. The internet circulates even overseas, South America , and Canada etc. Thanks Please pass this to everyone in your address book. We | | By: Geeks Undercover | | |
| | Enter your ATM Pin Number Backwards to Summon Police-Fiction! | | 2007-11-13 01:46:00 | | Summary of the eRumor: An alert that if you ever find yourself in a scary situation at a banking ATM machine, such as a thief forcing you to withdraw cash, just enter your personal identification number (PIN) backwards. That will automatically send a message to the police that you are in trouble and they will respond to the machine. The eRumor says that most people don't know about this. The Truth: The eRumor is false because there isn't anywhere that we could find where this emergency procedure at ATM machines is actually being used. There is a seed of truth to it, however, in that the idea has been floating around for a while. One of the biggest proponents has been in Illinois attorney named Joseph Zingher. He says the notion came to him when he was a law student at the University of Illinois and one evening was withdrawing money from an ATM in a scary part of town. He patented his concept in 1998 and has been trying to talk banks into using it ever since. Under Zingher's system, every ATM account would have two PIN numbers---the normal PIN used to withdraw money and what he calls the "ATM SafetyPIN" to alert police that something bad was happening at the ATM. It has also come to be popularly called the "Panic PIN." The SafetyPIN would typically be the reverse of the normal PIN number or some other variation that would be easy to remember. Legislation was passed in Illinois that would allow banks to adopt the system, but did not mandate it. So far, no banks or financial institutions have done so. Zingher has offered to let Illinois-based banks to use it for free but some of them have said they think it would be too expensive and that ATM crime is not frequent enough. Zingher says that ATM | | By: Geeks Undercover | | |
| | Forward an Email for Polish Burn Victim Alexandra-Fiction! | | 2007-11-13 01:33:00 | | Summary of the eRumor: A picture of a burned infant girl with the story that her name is Alexandra and she was injured in a house fire in Poland. She's being cared for in Cracow but her care is expensive and her parents are not able to keep paying. You are asked to forward the email and they will receive 3 cents for each forwarded email to apply to Alexandra's care. The Truth: This is a hoax. There is no system being used on the Internet that traces the pathways of forwarded emails to compensate anybody. Additionally, if this is a patient from Poland she is probably receiving treatment through the government's National Health Fund. We don't know where the picture came from or who the girl is in the picture, but whoever decided to fabricate this eRumor apparently doesn't care that she is being dishonored and put on display for sake of a joke. If anybody knows who is in this picture, let us know so we can give her the dignity of a name and correct information about who she is and what happened to her. Updated 12/12/06 A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet: Dear All, Alexandra came out of a rigging fire alive, but now has to fight for her life and a normal future. She is 14 months old and she has burnt skin all over her body, damage facial bones (as a result of very high temperature). She does not have half of her face. She is in hospital in Cracow - Poland and one of the best specialist is looking after her. However she still has to go through many surgeries and then long rehab. Unfortunately her parents do not have any more money. Therefore we are asking for your | | By: Geeks Undercover | | |
| | Don't Write Speculative Fiction If... | | 2007-11-09 11:35:00 | | ...any of the following things are true.Science Fiction:You can't handle the idea that your audience is smaller than fantasy and more specific.You think science fiction is retelling Star Wars or Star Trek ad naseum.You believe that FTL travel is logical and implies 'hard' science fiction.You think populating all alien planets with human-like, intelligent, spacefaring peoples, but giving them different cultures, is good creature building.You think that sound actually travels through the vacuum of space and so your characters can hear distant explosions through the hull of a ship.You think that info-dumping in science fiction is normal. Alternately, you believe that it's okay to confuse the reader by using science that most people wouldn't understand in such a way that the reader still doesn't get it.You can't take criticism of your science or of your story itself.You think it's okay for your main character to be completely awesome and not have flaws.You believe that your family | | By: The World in the Satin Bag | | |
| | Injuries on Children Caused by ScotchBrite Easy Eraser or Mr. Clean Magic Eraser-Truth! & Fiction! | | 2007-11-09 06:05:00 | | Summary of the eRumor: There are apparently different versions of this but they all warn that children can experience injuries on the skin from the ScotchBrite Easy Eraser or the Mr Clean Magic Eraser. One of the eRumors says that Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is being removed from store shelves because of containing formaldehyde. The Truth: The bottom line is that there is a first-hand story of a child who experienced skin irritation from a ScotchBrite Easy Eraser but there is dispute about whether it was from chemicals or the abrasive action of the product from being rubbed on the skin. The story about Mr. Clean Magic Eraser being removed from the market is not true. Procter & Gamble Mr Clean Magic Eraser The eRumor claims that the Magic Eraser contains formaldehyde. If you review the government-required Material Safety Data Sheet, you see that one of the ingredients is "Formaldehyde-Melamine-Sodium Bisulfite Copolymer." That's the name of the entire ingredient and it's different than if the product had formaldehyde alone, according to Procter & Gamble. A company release said that "...the word 'formaldehyde' is in its chemical name. However, this ingredient is not formaldehyde and poses no health or safety risks. (Think of this name like 'sodium chloride', which is table salt. Sodium by itself can be dangerous, but sodium chloride - salt - is safe.)." The company said that any formaldehyde found on its product would be in tiny amounts and a result of the manufacturing process and would be "actually less than what is found in indoor air." Procter & Gamble denies that there is any danger from the product and adds "In fact, no ingredients | | By: Geeks Undercover | | |
| | Will Science Fiction Die? | | 2007-10-16 19:36:00 | | The short answer is yes. But I'm not here to give a short answer. Instead, I intend to try to explain why science fiction will find itself in a terrible bind at some point in the future. The sad part of this is that many of us may watch science fiction die, or perhaps our children will witness that, and for those of us who are in love with the genre it will come as a crushing blow.The sad truth is that science fiction cannot survive forever as it sits right now. There may come an opportunity to change directions, but when that happens it ceases to be science fiction and becomes something else. Science fiction is not dead now, and isn't dying now, and issue I've already addressed. The fact of the matter is, science fiction is surprisingly fascinating right now not because it's necessarily predicting unimaginably beautiful futures, like in the Golden Age, but more or less taking the world as we know it and bending it to give a new perspective on our species and the complex issues that plague us. But that cannot hold forever. It's disturbing, considering how science fiction has come from nothing to what it is today. It started as novels of truly imaginative appeal, an appeal that found itself attacked by academics everywhere. Science fiction has struggled and fought tooth and nail to get where it is today and it still has one good fight left in it--the fight that will bring it permanently into the literary canon and ultimately into the academic world.There will, unfortunately, come a time when science fiction will not have a future to talk about. Once we, as a species, figure out how to go to the stars, begin creating vast interstellar empires, and meet aliens, all the stories that once addressed those subjects will either become fascinating reality, or forgotten relics, much as it seems the Golden Age of science fiction has. Science fiction writers will not longer be writers of science fiction, but simply writers of fiction. It's unavoidable. This truth must be realized by all of us. While the literary academia fights hard to keep science fiction out of classrooms, the world around us is changing. One day we'll be telling fictional tails of space battles from a realistic perspective--because in reality, it might have already happened. What will the literary academia do then? The death of science fiction, whether that be in one hundred years, or two hundred, or more, will also be the rise in its acceptance. To deny its acceptance would be paramount to blinding oneself of truth, an idea that seems to permeate the fabric of our society as we continuously make uneducated decisions in regards to laws and politicians.I do wonder what will become the new genre of fascination when science fiction loses its status as a precursor to the future. What sort of novels will we see that break the conventional mold that will be created? Who will be the new voices of that future? Will there be a future literary form as distinct as science fiction or fantasy, or will literature find itself in a bind as technology and the death of the genre push it into the background? | | By: The World in the Satin Bag | | |
| | The Literary Nazis (Against Science Fiction) | | 2007-10-13 22:33:00 | | I wrote the following as a journal entry for one of my literature classes this year. It came up during class really, the idea that the literary world considers science fiction, and fantasy, to be either not really literature at all, or lesser literature. This has become a sort of campaign for me now--attempting to change the minds of people about science fiction. Someone also brought up the idea that the novel is dying. I decided to address the issues in a journal entry. Keep in mind, I may not be right, and this was somewhat of an emotional response. Here it is:Something I am finding rather difficult to deal with and accept lately is this somewhat negative concept in the literary world that books like The Immoralist and similar ‘classics’ are significantly better literature than books that hold somewhat more higher prestige with the majority, such as Harry Potter. It was brought up in class today whether it is true that the importance of the novel is dying. I think the problem isn’t that the novel is dying, because in reality, it’s not, but rather that the rigid and sometimes rather close-minded idea of what constitutes as true literature is no longer something that any significant majority of people are interested in. Certainly people read the occasional classic, and perhaps it is because those classics are somewhat simplistic, or perhaps it has more to do with the fact that people, in general, want to be entertained, and some classics still seem to do that. 1984 by George Orwell is a great example of a novel that still manages to captivate people. Even if you’ve already read it, another reading proves even more insightful than the last. So in reality, I don’t think that the novel is becoming less important, but more that there is a shift in what constitutes importance now. We’re a money driven society, and in some ways you could say that money tends to drive people as much as it drives the market. A book that sells is a book that gets heard about more often and is more likely to continue selling.Granted, I will admit that there must be more than a fair share of novels that have no literary merit, but of the ones that do have some significant importance socially and culturally seem to get shunned away by the literary crowd as simplistic or lower literature. Science fiction, for example, is one of the most influential genres in the history of literature. The computer, cell phone, space shuttle, moon missions, the Mars missions now and in the future, are all products of science fiction thinking. Science fiction’s influence is so great that there are actually websites devoted to keeping track of the technologies created in science fiction books that have become reality. And there is a stigma with science fiction that I would say exists due to the rise of the pulp magazine and pulp SF books in the early age of science fiction. Often people think of it as wild fantasy in space. They think green aliens that are evil with super spaceships, interstellar wars, hot babes in skimpy clothes, and suave Captains who always get the girl. In reality, the bulk of true science fiction is well-thought and more relevant now than it probably was during the early 20’s and 30’s. Many SF novels deal with real world concepts set in obviously futuristic landscapes. When you look right down into the bare bones of these novels, you realize that they are as complex and revealing as the classics. They deal with politics not only on an external scale, but on the internal as well. They deal with concepts such as stem cell research, genetic manipulation, nuclear war, global warming, and the like. These are issues that are strikingly strong in our society today. The stigma also extends to the authors themselves. On one side people think of these authors as the dork living in a basement—likely a relative—writing silly stories about stuff that isn’t real. The ironic part of the last part of that stereotype is that all writers write stuff that isn’t real, even literary fiction writers. The reality of the situation is that the majority of SF writers don’t fit into the stereotype at all. Isaac Asimov, who may very well have paved the way for true, gripping, and relevant science fiction, was a degree holding scientist who went off to write many papers and books on legit subjects. SF writers are biologist, astronomers, astrophysicists, sociologists, teachers, and political scientists, just to name a few. Carl Sagan was a scientist renowned for his representation of the cosmos and for writing many wonderful books on scientific subjects—a book of note would be the Dragons of Eden which, despite its fantastical name, was actually a study about the evolution of human intelligence that delved not only into the structure of our brains, but into the structure of our mind and the evolving nature of our psyche. But Carl Sagan also wrote science fiction. He wrote Contact, a novel that was eventually turned into a movie with Jodie Foster, and his son has continued the family trend.So, I continue to question this somewhat ignorant stance that science fiction is lower literature. And I also really question the notion that the novel is losing importance. Perhaps there is a hint of truth to this if you were willing to say that the novel is changing on an individual level, which would account for the flood of young adult fiction in the market and the surging sales and surplus of paranormal style fiction novels. But really the novel is doing just fine. As of yet the idea of eBooks has not quite caught on, and I don’t know that they ever will, though perhaps that will change in the next generation or two. Many of us cannot stand to read a book on the computer. Some of us reason this by saying that it hurts our eyes, and the rest of us just really want paper in our hands. But I just don’t think the novel itself is losing importance. I think it’s simply a shift in where that importance lies. In years to come we can expect to see probably the most influential book of the last ten years—Harry Potter—being analyzed in classrooms. Certainly Tolkien has had this luck, as well as C.S. Lewis, both authors who deserve that sort of respect. | | By: The World in the Satin Bag | | |
| | Cosmetic Surgery - Fact vs Fiction | | 2007-10-09 09:06:00 | | By Vasdev RaiWith all of the hype on TV and in magazines about cosmetic makeovers and who’s having what done, it’s hard to keep in mind that cosmetic surgery is indeed surgery and not something to be taken lightly. In one hour-long television show, you can witness a person’s complete transformation and it all looks so easy. The good thing about TV shows like Extreme Makeover is that they have “ | | By: Beauty & Personality Grooming | | |
| | Fact Or Fiction? The Truth About Weight Loss | | 2007-10-03 16:33:49 | | Fiction: High Protein/Low saccharide diets are the businessFact: These diets trust on getting most of the needed calories from nutrients high in proteins, these nutrients include:- Meat
- Dairy
- EggsThese diets also minimise the amount of saccharides that you eat, including:- Bread
- Pasta
- Potatoes
- FruitThese diets certainly work, however they forestall you eating | | By: Fat loss | | |
| | | | Gimme Fiction (2005-16) | | 2007-08-29 03:05:51 | | Gimme Fiction by SpoonI Turn My Camera OnSister Jackhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9_Lqo-qACUJan added: The Beast And Dragon AdoredMy personal favorite from this album..2 choices: long version - bad quality, or short version - good quality:More info (wiki)Official siteMySpace
| | By: The Music Vlog. | | |
| | | Recensione: Pulp Fiction | | 2007-08-13 16:48:25 | | TITOLO ORIGINALE: Pulp FictionNAZIONE: USAGENERE: CommediaDURATA: 94 min.DATA DI USCITA: 1994REGIA: Quentin TarantinoCAST: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. JacksonComincia in una tavola calda, con una coppia di fidanzati un po' scoppiati che discutono sulla maniera migliore di far soldi; e, visto che le rapine agli spacci di alcolici sono diventate troppo pericolose, i due si guardano teneramente, si baciano e, pistola spianata, saltano in piedi urlando come assatanati e rapinano la tavola calda. Prosegue con due killer, un nero e un bianco che è appena tornato dall'Olanda, che disquisiscono sulla maniera europea di mangiare gli hamburger, poi regolano i conti con una banda di pivelli, e uno dei due (Travolta, con l'anellino all'orecchio) porta a ballare la ragazza del suo capo (Uma Thurman, con la pelle più bianca e i piedi più belli della storia del cinema). Flashback su un ragazzino che riceve da un militare pomposo l'orologio d'oro lasciatogli dal padre (conservato pe | | By: Recensioni Film | | |
| | O’Leary busts another materialist fiction | | 2007-07-12 06:13:10 | | Humans not 99% chimpanzee? Who would have guessed?
Who would have guessed? Well anyone familiar with the damned science, for starters. Maybe that’s why O’Leary was taken aback?
From 2005, 96%. Before that the number I remember hearing was 98%. The folks at AiG heard the same.
But I have a confession. I’ve been a crushed darwinomaterioathieophile ever since hearing that chimps aren’t quite kissing cousins, because, well, now my whole worldview has collapsed.
Bloody hell!
Here is yet another example of the creationists disrespect for real science. As I’ve explained before and as ought to be be brutally obvious, scientists work with the information available. As new information becomes available theories must be altered. It is a process called progress, or, colloquially, “living and learning”. Now, as AiG has just noted, new information has become available. Unlike real scientists and in opposition to common sense, they conclude that the science is all wron | | By: Hell's Handmaiden | | |
| | In Wireless, Truth Often Stranger than Fiction | | 2007-07-06 15:52:00 | | I couldn't make up this story...honestly.It seems a particular wireless carrier has decided that a segment of its customers have spent too much time in the past year calling customer service to address issues regarding their wireless service.What to do? Well, CAN the customer, of course (tongue placed firmly in cheek)!Read the entire (amazing) story here at Olga Kharif's The Tech Beat (BusinessWeek). Olga will even show you a copy of the letter received by the rejects customers. | | By: WirelessJobs.com | | |
| | Fiction, From A Friend...... | | 2007-07-01 20:34:00 | | My good friends, you can call her N. She wrote this...and I enjoyed. I hope you do too. And again, the Sox, that team from Boston, are stuck on one run on this Sunday afternoon. SO FAR! Don't forget!! Stay away from the woods....read on...............INTERLOPERSOnce upon a time, there were two very good friends.The boy’s name was Robby and the girl's name wasAmanda. They were only 5 years apart. Hope was just10, and Robby was 15. They both liked to play hide andgo seek outside, in the lush green meadow rightoutside of Robby’s house. There was a dark forestsurrounding the field they loved to play in, and theforest, as some village people believed, was haunted.But as kids were those days, they always liked scaryand mysterious things, and stories that were told bytheir grandfathers and grandmothers late at night,when the wolves howled and the moon was full and high.As children do sometimes, they always dared each otherto do the most dangerous things, so Robby dared Hopeto go into | | By: Peter's Red Sox Forever | | |
| | Wil Wheaton inducts Gene Roddenberry into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame | | 2007-06-22 10:04:32 | | Wil Wheaton's Geek in Review: "Saturday night, I was given the tremendous honor of inducting Gene Roddenberry into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in Seattle. For the three of you [who dont know], Gene created Star Trek. I was lucky enough to know him,
Evolutionary biologists: Allstar atheists, apparently, or very occasionally teddy bears for Jesus In Evolution, Religion and Free Will (American Scientist, Volume 95, 294ff), Gregory W. Graffin and William B. Provine found that, of 149 eminent evolutionists polled, 78% were pure naturalists (no God) and only two were clearly theists (traditional
Naked Scientists 07.06.17 - Forensic Science Show Under the microscope this week, the science of forensics. We find out how scientists have exploded the myth about old aged whales thanks to a piece of shrapnel, about a new rice-based vaccine for cholera, and 'whey' to go, how scientists have made edible
Earn Your Science Degree Online - Spo | | By: Doktertomi.com | | |
| | [Original Fiction/Short Story] Waiting for Life to Begin | | 2007-05-26 08:12:12 | | Waiting for Life to Begin
I’m the first to know,
my dearest friends,
even if your hope has burned with time,
anything that’s dead shall be re-grown,
and your vicious pain, your warning sign,
you will be fine
–Angel and Airwaves–”The Adventure”
You have a crick in your neck from spending the night in your office chair. It’s no one’s fault but your own, although you’re disgruntled that a company that boasts of making chairs for three generations isn’t really all that impressive after all. Stifling the childish urge to make an official complaint, you try to iron out kinks from your shoulders; to release tension that’s been building up for weeks– or since whenever you last visited your massage therapist. You’ve been busy.
Even without seeing your reflection bounce off the glass windows, you know that you look like shit. There’s no mistaking your slightly wrinkled dress shirt and trousers, and you&rsquo | | By: the cloudy dreamer/stacy | | |
| | From Star Wars to the Battle of Ideas : Is science fiction good for public debate? | | 2007-04-28 18:21:00 | | Science fiction often tells us more about social attitudes and anxieties than science itself, and can be a spur for debate about everything from genetics to consciousness, from war to climate change. Sci fi can move people to engage in science, inspiring young people to become scientists, and encouraging the general public to debate the consequences of science for society. It can also frighten us, making us wary of new technology and its unintended consequences. Is this all to the good, or does sci fi skew our understanding of science? | | By: Mums in Science | | |
| | Pulp fiction Podcast | | 2007-04-16 12:29:58 | | BoingBoing reports about a new, cool podcast, called "Well Told Tales". It has nothing to do with the original film. The makers offer a very nice collection of audio plays/readings (everything from high fantasy to horror to time-travel) . Sounds like new food for my iPod. | | By: Zlurp! | | |
| | I, uh, write fiction | | 2007-03-15 19:49:00 | | Rene had an interesting post about her secret identity—being a writer—the other day. She came up with some good reasons why writers might avoid telling people about their writing. At the same time, she understands why people might not take her writing seriously, “because they have no idea how important it is to me.” She says, “I can't expect people to appreciate my being a writer until I appreciate it myself.”I suppose I’m lucky in that I write for a living, so I have no issue with calling myself a writer. However, I do hold back about my fiction writing except to those closest to me. I remember how I hated telling people I was a waitress back in the days. I’d tell them I was in “public service.” So, when the opportunity came up to call myself anything but, I took it. Now I’m working on the novelist part.Chrys, in her post ‘Own It,’ talks about how calling herself a writer was a freeing experience. She says, “You ARE a writer. Don't dismiss it. Don't shov | | By: The Writing Life | | |
| | Self-Liquidating Loans - Fact or Fiction? | | 2002-05-09 06:50:00 | | FICTION! There is no such thing as a self-liquidating "LOAN." If you walk into a bank and ask for a self liquidating loan, they'll look at you as though you were nuts!
You may see ads promising -
- Self-Liquidating "LOANS!" - Investment Capital Overnight! - Your "LOAN" has been Approved! - BORROW Money And Never Pay Back! - etc.
A self-liquidating "LOAN" is fiction. You will never get a
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