Steven M. Moore's Blog, page 174
February 4, 2014
A winter from hell…
Not even the Southeast has avoided this winter from hell, although the low temperatures probably provide an alibi for old Lucifer. Records have been broken, but records are nothing compared to human pain and suffering and the immense cost. On the other hand, the West Coast’s winter, complete with drought and fire scares, do remind us of Lucifer’s work. Funny thing, though, is that not even the weather can be discussed in a bipartisan fashion.
In the Southeast, inept pols pointed fingers at the...
January 30, 2014
Nuclear proliferation and nuclear responsibility…
Nuclear technology is with us to stay…well, as long as we don’t destroy the Earth! On one hand, we have the frightening scenario of a nuclear exchange; on the other, we have the possibility that nuclear power plants can contribute as alternate energy sources. Somewhere between these polar opposites, one finds nuclear medicine. I’m a person that believes that nuclear technology is not inherently good or bad, but human scientists and engineers who handle it need to ensure its safety. More than...
January 28, 2014
Pop idols behaving badly…
Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, A-Rod, Richard Sherman…you have to wonder what they’re thinking. Narcissism seems to be a natural product of pop cultural fame leading to some pop stars thinking normal rules of genteel behavior don’t apply to them. Andy Warhol’s fifteen minutes of fame seems to have a corollary: bad behavior comes in direct proportion to fame. I’m sick of it.
The first two cases are just examples of immature brats acting up. While their antics testify to this immaturity, the media...
January 23, 2014
Liking Europe, but…
Readers familiar with this blog know I have admiration for many things in Western Europe compared to the U.S.—world view, mostly multiparty systems, cultural traditions, historical perspectives, more reasonable socialism, and general joie de vive. We Americans tend to be provincial, glum, and downright obnoxious at times, especially when we’re tourists in Europe. The phrase “ugly American” isn’t used much anymore, but I have sympathy for the Parisians as another onslaught of American tourists...
January 22, 2014
Pre-release excerpt from my new novel, Aristocrats and Assassins…
[Note from Steve: Here is an excerpt from Aristocrats and Assassins, Copyright 2014, by Steven M. Moore. Detective Castilblanco and the American Mossad agent Epstein, who pretends to be a reporter, are searching a house in the Munich suburbs, looking for Castilblanco's wife, who has been kidnapped. The ebook will be released in the first quarter of 2014.]
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I hammered on the door with a doorknocker that reminded me of Dickens’ The Christmas Carol—I expected Marley’s ghost to open the heavy oa...
January 21, 2014
Pasticcio Putinesco anyone?
Vladimir Putin, the virtual dictator of Russia and wannabe star in an Old Spice commercial (I’m referring to his riding that horse shirtless), is either an idiot or completely living in the Dark Ages. (This isn’t an exclusive or—he could be both.) In press conferences referring to Sochi, he talked about Russia’s treatment of LGBT people in a manner that is not much more enlightened than Uganda’s. Moreover, he seems to think gays are pedophiles—“Just leave our children in peace,” he says.
This...
January 16, 2014
Afghanistan, Iraq, and all that…
[TANSTAAFL: Do you read this blog? I’m not asking if you like the posts, just whether you read them! If so, don’t be passive. React. Write a comment—chew me out if you like (no foul language, please). You can even receive a free ebook—see the bottom of the “Free Stuff and Contests” webpage; or write an honest review of one of my ebooks in exchange for the ebook. In general, buy, read, and review some of my books. Your participation motivates me and helps defray the costs of this website and m...
January 15, 2014
An interview with Mr. Paws…
[If you don’t know it already, Mr. Paws, a super-intelligent cat who does mathematical research, is a main character in my YA novel The Secret Lab (adults have also found it enjoyable). He visited me from his parallel universe recently to talk about “The Chaos Chronicles” and sci-fi in general. I include here only the pertinent parts. We were sidetracked at times by unsolved mathematical conjectures about gaps between primes and whether there’s just one Higgs boson or many, but I’ll spare you...
January 14, 2014
Are we seeing the dark side of Christie?
[TANSTAAFL: Do you read this blog? I’m not asking if you like the posts, just whether you read them! If so, don’t be passive. React. Write a comment—chew me out if you like (no foul language, please). You can even receive a free ebook—see the bottom of the “Free Stuff and Contests” webpage; or write an honest review of one of my ebooks in exchange for the ebook. In general, buy, read, and review some of my books. Your participation motivates me and helps defray the costs of this website and m...
January 9, 2014
Was Huxley correct?
[TANSTAAFL: Do you read this blog? I’m not asking if you like the posts, just whether you read them! If so, don’t be passive. React. Write a comment—chew me out if you like (no foul language, please). You can even receive a free ebook—see the bottom of the “Free Stuff and Contests” webpage; or write an honest review of one of my ebooks in exchange for the ebook. In general, buy, read, and review some of my books. Your participation motivates me and helps defray the costs of this website and m...
