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Lois McMaster Bujold Listen to this show
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On Monday - May 17th, 2004 - our guest was author Lois McMaster Bujold, chatting with us about her newest book Paladin of Souls. Authors who write genre fiction face an almost irresistible temptation. Having created an entire world so they can tell a single story, what are they to do with that world after the first book ends? Some authors pull out their cookie-cutters and proceed to commit an unending series of 'hard to tell apart' stories. But not Lois McMaster Bujold. In her Miles Vorkosigan series she chose to follow a single man - with the occasional excursion to tell tales about other family members - as he grows from a young boy to an adult. In this way we get to explore her fictional world through one set of eyes, albeit a set of changing and growing ones. |
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But in Lois's newest book, Paladin of Souls, she does something different. Here she takes a character from a previous book, The Curse of Chalion, and makes her the focus of the new story. This gives us a new viewpoint and a different set of challenges. {And quite neatly avoids the 'cookie-cutter' problem.} In this book the widowed Dowager Royina Ista, now released from the madness that had caused her to be imprisoned in her family's castle, seeks a bit of freedom. But her place in society, to say nothing of her history, makes that goal one that is difficult to achieve. So she seeks her freedom with a simple pilgrimage accompanied by a few fellow travelers. But nothing in this book is as simple as it might seem, as secrets and unspoken plans become impossible to avoid. Someone, or something, is guiding the events in Ista's life; but who and for what purpose? Lois McMaster Bujold's books never disappoint and this one is no exception. Enjoy. |
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Godzilla Uncut
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I'm sure that most of you know that the version of Godzilla that has been seen in the United States is significantly different from the original version shown in Japan. Many scenes were deleted and sub-plots were changed, softened or even removed. Scenes featuring the character of Steve Martin, played by Raymond Burr, were added to make the movie more appealing to Western audiences. And despite those changes Godzilla remains a surprisingly good film. But with those changes excised and the film restored to its original form it becomes an example of the power of science fiction to tell stories that are too uncomfortable or distressing to tell using a conventional medium. For Godzilla is an allegory about atomic war and technology run amok. |
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Godzilla was, and remains, a work of entertaining fiction. However its lasting appeal is that it does more than just entertain. It shows us what it is like to be the victim of an uncontrollable force. But more than that, it shows us that without the the leavening of conscience and responsibility, we will become the very force we have been taught to fear.
And now - for a short time - you can see this film as it was meant to be seen.
The deleted scenes have been put back in, the extra scenes removed and the bad dubbing replaced by sub-titles.
In honor of the 50th anniversary of the film's release the good folks at Rialto Pictures have made arrangements to get a fresh print of the original version of Godzilla and are showing it in selected theaters across the United States.
Now this isn't some mass release where the film is showing in thousands of theaters at the same time. Instead the film is slowly moving its way across the country, showing in a single theater in each U.S. city as it tours.
If you live in Los Angeles it will be showing at the Nuart in Santa Monica until May 27. After that it will leave LA and go to other cities. The schedule for the tour can be found at the Rialto Pictures Web Site.
If you have never seen this film in its original form, then you are in for a treat of first magnitude. If you are lucky enough to have seen this version before, then you know why you'll want to go back and see it again.
Most highly recommended!
Dateline: Mars
NASA is releasing all of the images from the two Mars Exploration Rovers almost as soon as they arrive at JPL. The raw images for the Spirit rover can be found at this Web Page and raw images for Opportunity can be found here. The images that have been released to the press, along with animations and explanatory text, can be found here. You can find larger versions of the images shown below at that last NASA Web Site.
Opportunity |
Image Credit: NASA/JPL
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Shown above is the first color picture of the interior of Endurance Crater. To say that scientists are excited by this image would be an understatement. This crater reveals rock layers that would otherwise be unreachable and may contain clues to the history of water on Mars. The scientists want to send Opportunity down into Endurance Crater to see what they can find. The slopes of the crater walls are shallow enough that there should be no problem in doing that. But they are not sure that the rover would be able to later drive back out of the crater. You will recall that previously they had some problems in getting Opportunity out of the crater where it had landed. {The Martian sand and rocks were loose enough that as the rover tried driving out of the crater it kept slipping backwards into the crater. They were only able to get out by finding a path that would let them cut diagonally across the crater wall. The scientists are not sure they will be able to find such a path leading out of Endurance Crater.} Opportunity will spend the next few days or weeks scouting out Endurance Crater from its rim. It might then turn its back on this target and go off to explore other parts of Meridani Planum. But the scientists' plan would be to later return to Endurance Crater when the rover is reaching the end of its mission. Then they would risk going down into the crater to examine its mysteries and wonders. I can hardly wait!. You can find much{!!} larger versions of these images of Endurance Crater at the following JPL Mars Rover Web Page. Some of those images are over 20Mb in size, so they can take a bit of time to download. But if you have a high speed Internet connection, or a lot of patience, you should download the highest resolution versions. They will take your breath away. |
   Images Credit: NASA/JPL |
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The images above show the left, center and right parts of the preceding panoramic image. Much more detail can be found in the full resolution version of that picture, which you can download from the previously mentioned JPL Web page. |
 Image Credit: NASA/JPL |
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This true color image shows some details of the rock layers on the rim of Endurance Crater. Studies of these features will provide important clues concerning the geologic history of Mars. This feature is called "Burns Cliff" and is named after the late Dr. Robert Burns who was one of the first scientists to realize the importance of sulfate and jarosite to the study of Martian history. |
 Image Credit: NASA/JPL |
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And here is a rock found near the rim of Endurance Crater. Perhaps it was excavated by the impact that formed Endurance, or maybe it was tossed here by some other impact. The scientists will be using the instruments on Opportunity to study this rock and see what it has to tell us about events happening on Mars in years gone by. |
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Spirit |
 Image Credit: NASA/JPL and Ohio State University |
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The image above shows the traverse route that Spirit has followed across the floor of Gusev Crater as well as the route it will follow as it heads for the Columbia Hills region of Mars. This map was created using images taken from spacecraft orbiting Mars. |
 Image Credit: NASA/JPL |
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Here is Missoula Crater as seen from the ground. |
 Image Credit: NASA/JPL |
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And here is a blow up of the left portion of the preceding image. |
 Image Credit: NASA/JPL |
 Image Credit: NASA/JPL |
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The above two pictures were taken by Spirit as it drove across the floor of Gusev Crater, showing the tracks behind the rover and the route ahead. The differences in brightness of the two pictures is caused by the ways that the Martian soil reflect the light from the Sun. When looking directly 'down Sun' the particles in the soil strongly reflect the light back toward the camera making the scene look exceptionally bright. When looking in other directions the soil appears much darker. Scientists are able to deduce much about the nature of the Martian surface, such as the size distribution of the particles that make up the Martian soil, from simple observations such as this. |
 Image Credit: NASA/JPL |
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The image above was synthesized from pictures taken from orbit and elevation data also obtained by an orbiting spacecraft. The two data sets were combined to produce this picture of the Columbia Hills. Spirit is driving across the sands of Mars enroute to those hills. Who knows what surprises await us there? |
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Lois McMaster Bujold
Space News Space Related Organizations If you are interested in learning more about current space activities there are many local and national organizations you might want to know about. Joining these organizations and taking part in their activities is a good way to stay abreast of things going on in space as well as a way to show your support for those activities. Listed below are some of those organizations. Space News - Mars For On-Going Updates on Space News ISS News |
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