Hello there, {$name|default:'reader'}. I hope you're having a great week.

Writing continues as normal, slowly but (fairly) surely. I'm getting a good feel for the shape of the final Martians book now, and at least at the moment I do feel like I'm running downhill. The end is in sight (though still quite a long way off) and that can be incredibly motivating.

Of course, that means that my mind is already pondering the next thing. Which is a problem, since I have a number of ideas percolating, and am already feeling pressure to try and decide on which of them gets its time in the sun first.

Luckily, I'm used to this happening. Any time an idea strikes I make a note of it, and permit myself no more than five minutes to explore the area around it before I come back to the work in progress. I find that works well as a way to both capture the idea before it escapes, and also get back on track before I run off chasing the next plot bunny.

It doesn't help that I've got ideas for all sorts of stories. Some are pure Sci-Fi, some are more Urban Fantasy, there's even a cosy mystery sitting in there somewhere. And that's not even counting the supernatural horror idea I got about 5 chapters into before deciding I needed a better plot. Even within the bounds of Sci-Fi, there are space stations, generation ships and future climate-disaster dystopias I want to explore.

So running out of ideas isn't a concern, let's say.

This week I have mostly been listening to this album - the band describe it as 'InterGalactic Post-Rock', but I'd just say it's great music to write to. theancientsmusic.bandcamp.com

Space News

90-minute warning of a meteorite strike

NASA and ESA are watching the skies at all times for any space debris that might impact the Earth. Should something large enough to be a real threat appear, they would spot it a long way out, confirm the orbit, and (so far at least) confirm that it isn't actually going to hit us.

But 50 tons of meteors enter the atmosphere every day - and we never hear about them. That's because most are too small to even track, barely more than dust. If you look up at the night sky long enough, you might catch the fiery trail left behind as a tiny rock incinerates in the upper atmosphere. Shooting stars might be a misnomer, but it's exactly what they do look like.

Then there are the regular meteor showers that come predictably as the Earth passes through the debris left by comets; the Perseids are the best-known, coming every August.

But in January, a rock large enough to reach the surface of the Earth was spotted just 90 minutes before it impacted in Germany. About the size of a beach ball (while in space) it shattered as it plummeted down, scattering debris across a wide area outside the town of Ribbeck.

Volunteers and scientists went looking for the pieces, a task complicated by the fact that the meteorite was a rare form called 'aubrite' - which is almost indistinguishable from a normal Earth rock. Many fragments have been found, the largest of which is about the size of a baseball.

A word on the naming, too - when a rock is in space, it's called a meteoroid. When it enters the atmosphere, we call it a meteor (that's the 'shooting star' phase). The rare ones that reach the ground are called meteorites.

Source: Atlas Obscura

Other Books To Check Out

I've gathered a few great books from independent authors like me, I hope you'll check them out.

And let me know if you have any books to recommend! I'm particularly interested in indie authors, but anything you've read and loved would be awesome.

https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/1aa3a930-d4bc-11ee-9b7f-8f917f850ad7

Free

Clayton 5 is risking it all - his dream job, his friends, his entire life. But is it worth it?

As he always wanted, Clayton 5, Alex 9's first love, was accepted into the elite world of Takahashi-MacNamara's Recon Unit, ready for any assignment on or off the planet Earth. But as the unit arrives at a training site in Australia, Clayton is confronted by his past and has to risk it all to find the remnants of his family. What will he find?

A story from the Alex 9 Saga universe.

It's the 22nd century and the Corporate Wars rage through our Solar System. Alex 9, an elite commando on a crucial mission, finds herself in Deep Space. Something went wrong with her ship, and she ended up on a planet much like Earth - a world at war where Humanity is still in the Middle Ages. Armies of knights, bowmen, and spearmen clash as empires fight to the death and alliances are stretched to the limit. But is Alex there by accident? A mysterious prophecy seems to have predicted her coming. And why is she in possession of the deadly Japanese Sword of the Dragon, once the prize of the Takahashi-McNamara Corporation? What secret powers are at work? In this new world, she will have to find a new family, a new mission, and her own destiny.

https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/eacc03cc-c0e5-11ee-b502-2b0faab32730

You'll never see history the same way again.

From the first flickers of ingenuity, humankind has excelled in civilization-defining inventions and innovations. Lightbulb Moments in Human History takes a playful and perceptive look at how these big ideas have driven humanity's inevitable rise.

Be astounded by the accidental invention of writing

Be amazed at how beer kick-started civilization

Be appalled by Zeus' shape-shifting bestial dalliances

Enjoy irreverent, yet affectionate, glimpses into the lives of ancient peoples... Discover binge-drinking Egyptians, sacrifice-obsessed Mayans, and kama sutra-inspired Indians. Explore the evolution of sciences, religions, technologies, and social systems.

Lightbulb Moments in Human History is perfect for history buffs, trivia nuts, and anyone seeking a cheeky perspective on our collective journey. It sheds humorous and thought-provoking light on our common heritage.

You'll never see history the same way again.

Strange News

A Failed Modernist Utopia

I've long had a soft spot for 'constructed towns' - rather than a couple of houses springing up near a river, gradually attracting more and more people over the years, the idea that we can design, build and then live in a completely planned urban setting is one that has always appealed.

Of course, the reality is often far from ideal. 'Company towns', such as those built to house the workers at mills and factories in the early days of industrialisation might have been designed to provide safety and a decent standard of living for their inhabitants, but often ended up exploitative. When the company owns all the shops, it's hard to argue they don't have an unhealthy level of control over their employees.

And that's before we consider some of the less overt manipulation. Bournville was created by the owners of the Cadbury family to house their workers, but the sale of alcohol was prohibited due to their Quaker beliefs. Other towns tried to impose 'middle-class values' on the working class residents; encouraging, if not outright requiring, attendance at 'uplifting' and 'improving' social events and entertainment.

So when an earthquake devastated Gibellina Vecchia in Sicily in 1968, planners were sure they could learn from the mistakes of the past and create a utopia. Inspired by the British success of planned 'Garden Cities', and experiments into creating artist colonies around the world, a new town of modern art was envisioned.

Being the 1960s, there was a lot of Brutalist brushed concrete, a design element that remained even as alleged corruption and building delays pushed construction into the 1980s. By then, residents of the original town were dismayed by the focus on artists who didn't live there, and they ousted the mayor who had been the driving force behind the project.

While the old town had housed 6,000 people, the new utopia was planned for 50,000. With fewer than 3,500 people actually living there, buildings fell into disrepair almost before they were completed. The town was declared a failed experiment in the 1990s, a 'euthanised utopia'.

But in the 2010s, interest was revived. Artists have returned, photo exhibitions have been held, and there is a renewed push to build tourist infrastructure (right now there is space for fewer than 70 visitors in local bed and breakfast places). Perhaps this failed experiment will discover a new life accidentally, like the vast majority of our towns and cities have.

Source: Atlas Obscura

Other Books To Check Out

Miscellany

Another adaptation of 'The War of the Worlds' - a recent project to create scenes from an imaginary 'lost film' from 1934.

Source: youtube.com

The language of Easter Island might well be unrelated to any other.

Source: Atlas Obscura

When horses almost vanished from the streets of America.

Source: daily.jstor.org

And Finally

A little unseasonal, but we have snow falling again today.

Lola (the cat) is distinctly unimpressed. She views litter trays as an absolute last resort, and would rather go out in a howling gale than wee indoors. But snow, it seems, is a deal breaker for her. That's not to say she doesn't protest - she will cry at us, lead us to the front door and shout for us to fix the weather, please. When we manage to convince her we can't, she heads to the patio doors and howls at those instead. I think she knows we open them up when the weather is nice and warm, so she has confused cause and effect. In her mind, opening them makes it sunny and dry, and she simply can't believe we don't do that and help her out. Eventually she'll retreat to the litter tray, shouting all the way, and do her business.

She doesn't appreciate that the snow makes everything pretty.