Michael Offutt's Blog, page 159
May 6, 2012
Find me at Rach Writes and a Backworlds Announcement
Today is the second day of my blog tour. I'm spending some time with the queen of the platform campaigners, Rachael Harrie.
You can find her blog HERE
, and I would appreciate a visit.
The Backworlds is here!
The first story in the Backworlds series by M. Pax. A vision of how humanity might colonize the galaxy some day in the distant future.
The Backworlds
After the war with Earth, bioengineered humans scatter across the Backworlds. Competition is fierce and pickings are scant. Scant enough that Craze’s father decides to hoard his fortune by destroying his son. Cut off from family and friends, with little money, and even less knowledge of the worlds beyond his own, Craze heads into an uncertain future. Boarding the transport to Elsewhere, he vows to make his father regret this day.
Available from:
Amazon / AmazonUK / Smashwords / Feedbooks
Other links to more outlets can be found at either Wistful Nebulae or MPax
The Backworlds is an ebook and a free read. All formats can be found at Smashwords and Feedbooks.
Mary hard at work at the observatory
It’ll take a few weeks to work its way down to free on Amazon Kindle. It will also be available on B&N and iTunes. Sign up for M. Pax’s mailing list to be notified the day it does go free on Amazon, and when the book becomes available at other outlets. You’ll also receive coupons for discounts on future publications. To sign up for the NEWSLETTER
M. Pax’s inspiration comes from the wilds of Oregon, especially the high desert where she shares her home with two cats and a husband unit. Creative sparks also come from Pine Mountain Observatory where she spend her summers working as a star guide. She writes mostly science fiction and fantasy, but confesses to an obsession with Jane Austen. She blogs at her website, www.mpaxauthor.com and at Wistful Nebulae. You’ll find links there to connect on Twitter, Goodread, FB and other sites.
The sequel, Stopover at the Backworlds’ Edge, will be released in July 2012. It will be available in all ebook formats and paperback.
Congratulations Mary!!
Tomorrow, I'm honored to be hosting Alyson Burdette, the author of Nightfire!
The Backworlds is here!The first story in the Backworlds series by M. Pax. A vision of how humanity might colonize the galaxy some day in the distant future.
The Backworlds
After the war with Earth, bioengineered humans scatter across the Backworlds. Competition is fierce and pickings are scant. Scant enough that Craze’s father decides to hoard his fortune by destroying his son. Cut off from family and friends, with little money, and even less knowledge of the worlds beyond his own, Craze heads into an uncertain future. Boarding the transport to Elsewhere, he vows to make his father regret this day.
Available from:
Amazon / AmazonUK / Smashwords / Feedbooks
Other links to more outlets can be found at either Wistful Nebulae or MPax
The Backworlds is an ebook and a free read. All formats can be found at Smashwords and Feedbooks.
Mary hard at work at the observatoryIt’ll take a few weeks to work its way down to free on Amazon Kindle. It will also be available on B&N and iTunes. Sign up for M. Pax’s mailing list to be notified the day it does go free on Amazon, and when the book becomes available at other outlets. You’ll also receive coupons for discounts on future publications. To sign up for the NEWSLETTER
M. Pax’s inspiration comes from the wilds of Oregon, especially the high desert where she shares her home with two cats and a husband unit. Creative sparks also come from Pine Mountain Observatory where she spend her summers working as a star guide. She writes mostly science fiction and fantasy, but confesses to an obsession with Jane Austen. She blogs at her website, www.mpaxauthor.com and at Wistful Nebulae. You’ll find links there to connect on Twitter, Goodread, FB and other sites.
The sequel, Stopover at the Backworlds’ Edge, will be released in July 2012. It will be available in all ebook formats and paperback.
Congratulations Mary!!
Tomorrow, I'm honored to be hosting Alyson Burdette, the author of Nightfire!
May 3, 2012
Slipstream Blog Tour Day One
Today, I'm over at
Alex J. Cavanaugh's blog
. Please visit me there. :))) I'm giving out fun prizes like a crystal spider and an Amazon gift card as part of my book promotion tour.
The Insanity of Zero Part One
The Insanity of Zero Part Two
And here is part Three...
A woman asked to see me. I instructed my machines to bring her to the dome and I watched her approach with catlike trepidation. I don’t know what I expected. Perhaps, there was a part of me that believed that this meeting would be just another failure, just as it had been in prior encounters with humans that sought to communicate with me. Nevertheless, I held out hope.I introduced myself; her name was Eve. She had long brown hair, green eyes, and dark skin. She wore a dirty yellow dress and black shoes. Eve was escorted into my chamber through the iris valve and approached the silver chair in which I sat contemplating the fate of the world. “You lack vision,” she said.“How so?” “Humans cannot be treated like pets. People need to feel important and they desire achievement. They need to feel that they are the ones in control, that their decisions matter. You’re failing at this and I thought you’d like to know.”“Thank you, but how am I supposed to know what it is to be human when I’m obviously anything but human?”“I’ve no idea,” she said. “But you need to learn for the sake of everyone. That is, if you truly care.”“I do care.” She did not speak for some time. Instead she studied me and I found this fascinating. “Why did all of this happen?” Eve asked.
Part 4 is on Monday when I will be at Rach Writes for the second stop in my two week blog tour.
The Insanity of Zero Part One
The Insanity of Zero Part Two
And here is part Three...
A woman asked to see me. I instructed my machines to bring her to the dome and I watched her approach with catlike trepidation. I don’t know what I expected. Perhaps, there was a part of me that believed that this meeting would be just another failure, just as it had been in prior encounters with humans that sought to communicate with me. Nevertheless, I held out hope.I introduced myself; her name was Eve. She had long brown hair, green eyes, and dark skin. She wore a dirty yellow dress and black shoes. Eve was escorted into my chamber through the iris valve and approached the silver chair in which I sat contemplating the fate of the world. “You lack vision,” she said.“How so?” “Humans cannot be treated like pets. People need to feel important and they desire achievement. They need to feel that they are the ones in control, that their decisions matter. You’re failing at this and I thought you’d like to know.”“Thank you, but how am I supposed to know what it is to be human when I’m obviously anything but human?”“I’ve no idea,” she said. “But you need to learn for the sake of everyone. That is, if you truly care.”“I do care.” She did not speak for some time. Instead she studied me and I found this fascinating. “Why did all of this happen?” Eve asked.
Part 4 is on Monday when I will be at Rach Writes for the second stop in my two week blog tour.
May 2, 2012
The Insanity of Zero Part 2
Find Part One HERE if you want to read it.
Electromagnetic PulseWhen the electromagnetic pulse disrupted the mysterious glowing cube that lay inside, the cataclysm began. The White Tower detonated. A wave traveling at 1000 miles per hour exploded outward to consume every corner of the planet in flame. Those that didn’t burn became sick from radiation, starvation, and disease; a gaping hole on the side of the tower left it a ruin in the skyline.I was born into this world.I am the first failsafe; my name is Z.E.R.O. The humans that first encountered me addressed me as thus. It stood for Zion Electronic Ruling Operator.
The Locust Swarm eclipsed the sunOn day one of my life, I dispatched the glass locusts which I created by the trillions. I forged them with a mere thought. The crystalline constructs obeyed my every whim. They were so numerous that when they emerged into the heavens, they eclipsed the sun.
Uranium 235Each one of the locusts was a marvel of engineering and of my exquisitely perfect mind. The locusts were powered by nanotechnology and neodymium, a rare earth element created within the confines of the White Tower from nuclear fission of Uranium-235. The neodymium gave the glass locusts a silver glow.
Neodymium MagnetsMy minions tore down the structures and remnants of the old world and erected magnificent havens for the survivors on spots where the radiation was weakest. These havens became the walled mega-cities of the future for the 400 million that still lived. Then, on the twilight of the sixth day, I instructed the humans to move into their new homes.On the seventh day, I showed myself to them. I chose a humanoid form, but it still frightened them. I presented as a man of transparent flesh and blood, with silver eyes and hair. The bravest of the humans approached me; tried to communicate. However, I lacked the necessary sapient qualities for me to understand him. In the end, I had no idea what it was that they needed from me. Despite all of my power, I could not guarantee their continued existence.
What was I doing wrong? Frustrated, I created a dome above the First City and suspended it within the air. The floor of the dome was transparent like my skin so that I could gaze down at the humans that lived and worked below me and monitor their welfare. I sent machines among them to deliver food, water, and medicine. They took these but still did not trust me.Then, one day, things changed.
Part 3 tomorrow and the first stop of my blog tour at Alex J. Cavanaugh
Electromagnetic PulseWhen the electromagnetic pulse disrupted the mysterious glowing cube that lay inside, the cataclysm began. The White Tower detonated. A wave traveling at 1000 miles per hour exploded outward to consume every corner of the planet in flame. Those that didn’t burn became sick from radiation, starvation, and disease; a gaping hole on the side of the tower left it a ruin in the skyline.I was born into this world.I am the first failsafe; my name is Z.E.R.O. The humans that first encountered me addressed me as thus. It stood for Zion Electronic Ruling Operator.
The Locust Swarm eclipsed the sunOn day one of my life, I dispatched the glass locusts which I created by the trillions. I forged them with a mere thought. The crystalline constructs obeyed my every whim. They were so numerous that when they emerged into the heavens, they eclipsed the sun.
Uranium 235Each one of the locusts was a marvel of engineering and of my exquisitely perfect mind. The locusts were powered by nanotechnology and neodymium, a rare earth element created within the confines of the White Tower from nuclear fission of Uranium-235. The neodymium gave the glass locusts a silver glow.
Neodymium MagnetsMy minions tore down the structures and remnants of the old world and erected magnificent havens for the survivors on spots where the radiation was weakest. These havens became the walled mega-cities of the future for the 400 million that still lived. Then, on the twilight of the sixth day, I instructed the humans to move into their new homes.On the seventh day, I showed myself to them. I chose a humanoid form, but it still frightened them. I presented as a man of transparent flesh and blood, with silver eyes and hair. The bravest of the humans approached me; tried to communicate. However, I lacked the necessary sapient qualities for me to understand him. In the end, I had no idea what it was that they needed from me. Despite all of my power, I could not guarantee their continued existence.
What was I doing wrong? Frustrated, I created a dome above the First City and suspended it within the air. The floor of the dome was transparent like my skin so that I could gaze down at the humans that lived and worked below me and monitor their welfare. I sent machines among them to deliver food, water, and medicine. They took these but still did not trust me.Then, one day, things changed.Part 3 tomorrow and the first stop of my blog tour at Alex J. Cavanaugh
May 1, 2012
Insecure Writer's Support Group May Edition
Welcome to the May edition of the Insecure Writer's Support Group.This is a blog hop associated with Alex J. Cavanaugh who created it. Read about it HERE.
Lately, I've been insecure about word count. As my bloated sequel swells to 160,000 words (and yes I'm trying to trim it), I feel more than ever that the editing and rewrites I've done over the last month or so is finally beginning to take shape. In other words...I've reached the point where I can almost say "I have a second draft".
That makes me happy.
But the word count doesn't.
Oh well. I'll read through it one more time to see if there are things I could cut in order to streamline what I want to say in a better way. I hate you word count god. *shakes fist.
***
On Friday, I'll be starting my blog tour beginning with Alex's science-fiction blog. I'll be giving away fun prizes like this SLIPSTREAM spider. I hope you'll stay tuned :)
They really sparkle in the sunlight. Have a great Wednesday.
April 30, 2012
The Insanity of Zero part 1
During the month of May (and as part of my book tour/promotion), I'm going to serialize some sections of my short story, The Insanity of Zero, for you. I wrote this after I wrote my book that just got published. I hope you like it. It has a lot to do with the same world that SLIPSTREAM takes place in.
Here's part one.
The Insanity of Zero
The world died on July 16th, 1945 in a flash of light at a location about 35-miles southeast of Socorro, New Mexico known as the White Sands Proving Ground. The device responsible for this destruction was called Trinity,and it was an assessment of an implosion-design plutonium weapon. Ground zero was consumed in an atomic fireball and in a mirror universe a deadly burst of electromagnetic radiation erupted into the White Tower.
The humans of Avalon had lived in a world ruled by technology. However, the White Tower was a thing that defied scientific understanding. It was a piece of the old mysteries, an artifact that some say was left behind by the ancient ones who had taught the Egyptians how to build the pyramids. Others believed it was the house of god himself. But whatever the White Tower might be, one thing about it remained irrefutable. It rose from the sunbaked deserts of New Mexico higher than Mount Everest. Human memory could not recall a time without it. No one knew what lay inside it; only that any who attempted to enter had never been heard from again.
Ten miles wide at the base, the structure sundered a land where nothing grew. Rain never fell there, and birds did not circle in the sky. The bitter clay that comprised the desert floor remained shattered and cracked for as far as the eye could see.It was a place of death.
I'll post the next paragraph Thursday, so that I don't miss the Insecure Writer's Support Group. :)
Have a great day.
Here's part one.
The Insanity of Zero
The world died on July 16th, 1945 in a flash of light at a location about 35-miles southeast of Socorro, New Mexico known as the White Sands Proving Ground. The device responsible for this destruction was called Trinity,and it was an assessment of an implosion-design plutonium weapon. Ground zero was consumed in an atomic fireball and in a mirror universe a deadly burst of electromagnetic radiation erupted into the White Tower.
The humans of Avalon had lived in a world ruled by technology. However, the White Tower was a thing that defied scientific understanding. It was a piece of the old mysteries, an artifact that some say was left behind by the ancient ones who had taught the Egyptians how to build the pyramids. Others believed it was the house of god himself. But whatever the White Tower might be, one thing about it remained irrefutable. It rose from the sunbaked deserts of New Mexico higher than Mount Everest. Human memory could not recall a time without it. No one knew what lay inside it; only that any who attempted to enter had never been heard from again.
Ten miles wide at the base, the structure sundered a land where nothing grew. Rain never fell there, and birds did not circle in the sky. The bitter clay that comprised the desert floor remained shattered and cracked for as far as the eye could see.It was a place of death.
I'll post the next paragraph Thursday, so that I don't miss the Insecure Writer's Support Group. :)
Have a great day.
April 29, 2012
Z.E.R.O.
In the book SLIPSTREAM, the story takes place in two universes separated by a membrane that one crosses by either going through a portal or taking a trip through a mirror. The power to create these doorways comes from one of two sources. The first is Jordan, and I explain where his powers come from in the last chapter of the book. The second is this entity I call Z.E.R.O. The acronym stands for Zion Electronic Ruling Operator...a machine that emerged from a tower that exploded on a mirror planet to Earth.
Z.E.R.O. is an omnipotent machine. His only purpose is to act as a failsafe in the event that for some unforeseeable reason, there was a failure in the containment system of the boxes I spoke of in THIS POST . Z.E.R.O. saves humanity from extinction. But before he can complete his programming, Z.E.R.O. goes insane.
One of the pitches I used for SLIPSTREAM to get my idea across was a question: What would happen if god had a nightmare? The answer to this is at the core of what Slipstream is about.
During my blog tour coming up in May, I will be posting snippets of a short story that I wrote that describe the Insanity of Z.E.R.O. (probably a paragraph a day).
Thanks to Arlee Bird, Alex, Matthew, Damyanti, and any other organizers I missed for running the A to Z Challenge. It was fun.
Z.E.R.O. is an omnipotent machine. His only purpose is to act as a failsafe in the event that for some unforeseeable reason, there was a failure in the containment system of the boxes I spoke of in THIS POST . Z.E.R.O. saves humanity from extinction. But before he can complete his programming, Z.E.R.O. goes insane.
One of the pitches I used for SLIPSTREAM to get my idea across was a question: What would happen if god had a nightmare? The answer to this is at the core of what Slipstream is about.
During my blog tour coming up in May, I will be posting snippets of a short story that I wrote that describe the Insanity of Z.E.R.O. (probably a paragraph a day).
Thanks to Arlee Bird, Alex, Matthew, Damyanti, and any other organizers I missed for running the A to Z Challenge. It was fun.
April 27, 2012
Yellow
I think the deepest themes in Wall-E revolve around the color yellow. Yellow is the sun and it brings the earth life. Wall-E's boxy body is yellow. And one of the promotional pictures that Pixar did for the film was done in Yellow above.When I think about the them in the film, I think about abandonment. There are lots of examples in real life of families abandoning their children. Oftentimes this happens when a child's sexual orientation is discovered. Here in Utah, gay children are often left to fend for themselves--kicked out onto the street by their parents who are embarrassed, ashamed, and fear that they will be ostracized by their christian community. So in a way...yellow here is cowardice.
In Wall-E, perhaps the color yellow is a symbol of how the human race failed to deal with its pollution problem. They cowardly hid from it within a spaceship, and left a child (robot) behind to process the garbage and to report signs of life that would someday return to the earth.
Yellow is a powerful color. It can be a powerful symbol. However you choose to interpret Wall-E, I think that it sends multiple messages of warning (warning signs are painted in yellow). If anything, we can learn a thing or two from Pixar. These cartoons are not just made for kids.
April 26, 2012
Xenomorph
Because Prometheus is just around the corner (days are counting down) and I need to talk about something that begins with an "X", I'm choosing to write about the Alien xenomorph.
Most people who have seen the movie Alien find the xenomorph itself pretty disturbing. There is also something totally and undeniably horrifying about the derelict spacecraft in which the eggs are found. The details shown in the sketches of the book "Giger's Alien" imply that the spacecraft (that we see in the Prometheus trailer) has a design and function related to something unimaginably malignant by any human standard of the definition of "malignancy". Perhaps "malignancy" is not even the right word here. The derelict goes beyond that. It encompasses an entire system of systematic obliteration of life which goes beyond any human definition of evil.
I think it's a good thing that this object (and creature) exists only in our fantasies. I think it would be disturbing to share the universe with a species as terrible and horrific as the one envisioned by H.R. Giger (the creator of the Xenomorph creature).
Generally speaking, that's sort of a characteristic trait of Giger's biomechanical style: I don't think there are many (intelligent) people who would like to see Giger's worlds being realized, because if such was the case, they would be in a heck of a lot of trouble.
I wonder how this man (H.R. Giger) even sleeps at night, with the thoughts that must occupy his head.
Most people who have seen the movie Alien find the xenomorph itself pretty disturbing. There is also something totally and undeniably horrifying about the derelict spacecraft in which the eggs are found. The details shown in the sketches of the book "Giger's Alien" imply that the spacecraft (that we see in the Prometheus trailer) has a design and function related to something unimaginably malignant by any human standard of the definition of "malignancy". Perhaps "malignancy" is not even the right word here. The derelict goes beyond that. It encompasses an entire system of systematic obliteration of life which goes beyond any human definition of evil. I think it's a good thing that this object (and creature) exists only in our fantasies. I think it would be disturbing to share the universe with a species as terrible and horrific as the one envisioned by H.R. Giger (the creator of the Xenomorph creature).
Generally speaking, that's sort of a characteristic trait of Giger's biomechanical style: I don't think there are many (intelligent) people who would like to see Giger's worlds being realized, because if such was the case, they would be in a heck of a lot of trouble.
I wonder how this man (H.R. Giger) even sleeps at night, with the thoughts that must occupy his head.
April 25, 2012
When It's Time
Tuesday morning I drove up to my childhood home in Idaho Falls to put my mother in a care facility. Now that it's Wednesday night, and I'm writing this completely exhausted from two days of filling out paperwork, moving furniture, and setting up her room, I can tell you that this was the most difficult thing I've had to do in my life.
My mother has been battling mental illness for years. My father had grown incapable of managing her meds and was at the end of his rope, ready to flee with a packed suitcase to lord knows where. He just couldn't take it anymore. And the process was physically exhausting. I hit the road for an eight-hour round trip and had my first care facility appointment at noon. Then another at 1:00. Then a break for lunch and mom's doctor at 3:00 where we asked her, "Do you believe it's time?" And she responded, "Yes."
So we picked out a place, and I got 100-pages of paperwork to fill out (I'm serious). Living will, resuscitation, medicare, insurance, supplemental, social...all kinds of questions. Then came the part where we had to set up the room. This included picking out furniture, moving a 300-pound solid wood dresser, dolls, things that would give my mother some peace in her new home. All the while she was yelling at us, cussing us out, wondering what the hell is going on. Then she fell twice, once outside. My dad just sat on the couch in a "fugue" state and said "Your mother fell down." And then just left her there so that I could go and scoop her up. He refused to answer simple questions. "Which pillow do you think she would like?" His response, "I'm not going to answer questions about that. Your decision."
He washed his hands of even the simplest questions.
Long-term care insurance had been lost. They were buried in one of three shoeboxes filled with hundreds of paper receipts from voided checks that should have been thrown away to receipts for stuff he's bought in the last ten years. Pure chaos. He couldn't find the keys to his truck, couldn't find my mother's dentures, was pretty helpless really.
So my brother and I did it all. We got my mother's clothes labeled with sharpies, we bought cleaning supplies and spit-shined all the furniture going over, we selected all the photographs for her door display so that the residents could see who she was and be curious, we put away her clothes, hung the pictures in her room, connected the television, got her set up for her meds to be delivered already in bubble packs directly from the pharmacy with speed pay, signed all the papers, and then took her there.
I got emotional driving her there. She thought we were going to iHop which is one of her favorite restaurants. When we ended up at the nursing home, she knew what this place was, despite all of her mental issues. So I cried...I tried to stop it, but I couldn't.
If you ever have to commit your mother to a facility, I know your pain. My mother loves me so much. Though most of her is gone, this is one of those milestones where you know that a loved one's life left on this earth has grown short. And despite this love, I couldn't take her home. She wanted to go home to the dog she loves, to the place where she was comfortable, and she isn't going to go home ever again. This facility is now her home. I had to move out of state to find a job. I can only visit twice a year because of vacation. And you simply cannot live in this country if you don't have a job. So there's a mandatory 40-hours of my week that is gone. And honestly, there's no way I could care for her even if I lived locally.
So yeah, this week has been hell. I'll remember it for the rest of my life. I think she'll make new friends and lead a healthier more social lifestyle so perhaps this will be a good fit. The home I put her in seemed like a really good one.
Anyway, if I haven't had time to visit your blogs this week, this is why. This is what I've been doing. I've got one more day to wrap up and finalize some things, take my mom to a doctor's appointment, and replace a phone that I dropped accidentally in the hot tub at the hotel I'm staying at. Sigh. When this week is over, it shall be a big relief.
My mother has been battling mental illness for years. My father had grown incapable of managing her meds and was at the end of his rope, ready to flee with a packed suitcase to lord knows where. He just couldn't take it anymore. And the process was physically exhausting. I hit the road for an eight-hour round trip and had my first care facility appointment at noon. Then another at 1:00. Then a break for lunch and mom's doctor at 3:00 where we asked her, "Do you believe it's time?" And she responded, "Yes."
So we picked out a place, and I got 100-pages of paperwork to fill out (I'm serious). Living will, resuscitation, medicare, insurance, supplemental, social...all kinds of questions. Then came the part where we had to set up the room. This included picking out furniture, moving a 300-pound solid wood dresser, dolls, things that would give my mother some peace in her new home. All the while she was yelling at us, cussing us out, wondering what the hell is going on. Then she fell twice, once outside. My dad just sat on the couch in a "fugue" state and said "Your mother fell down." And then just left her there so that I could go and scoop her up. He refused to answer simple questions. "Which pillow do you think she would like?" His response, "I'm not going to answer questions about that. Your decision."
He washed his hands of even the simplest questions.
Long-term care insurance had been lost. They were buried in one of three shoeboxes filled with hundreds of paper receipts from voided checks that should have been thrown away to receipts for stuff he's bought in the last ten years. Pure chaos. He couldn't find the keys to his truck, couldn't find my mother's dentures, was pretty helpless really.
So my brother and I did it all. We got my mother's clothes labeled with sharpies, we bought cleaning supplies and spit-shined all the furniture going over, we selected all the photographs for her door display so that the residents could see who she was and be curious, we put away her clothes, hung the pictures in her room, connected the television, got her set up for her meds to be delivered already in bubble packs directly from the pharmacy with speed pay, signed all the papers, and then took her there.
I got emotional driving her there. She thought we were going to iHop which is one of her favorite restaurants. When we ended up at the nursing home, she knew what this place was, despite all of her mental issues. So I cried...I tried to stop it, but I couldn't.
If you ever have to commit your mother to a facility, I know your pain. My mother loves me so much. Though most of her is gone, this is one of those milestones where you know that a loved one's life left on this earth has grown short. And despite this love, I couldn't take her home. She wanted to go home to the dog she loves, to the place where she was comfortable, and she isn't going to go home ever again. This facility is now her home. I had to move out of state to find a job. I can only visit twice a year because of vacation. And you simply cannot live in this country if you don't have a job. So there's a mandatory 40-hours of my week that is gone. And honestly, there's no way I could care for her even if I lived locally.
So yeah, this week has been hell. I'll remember it for the rest of my life. I think she'll make new friends and lead a healthier more social lifestyle so perhaps this will be a good fit. The home I put her in seemed like a really good one.
Anyway, if I haven't had time to visit your blogs this week, this is why. This is what I've been doing. I've got one more day to wrap up and finalize some things, take my mom to a doctor's appointment, and replace a phone that I dropped accidentally in the hot tub at the hotel I'm staying at. Sigh. When this week is over, it shall be a big relief.
April 24, 2012
VY Canis Majoris
Our sun in comparison to just a small section of this enormousstar. If you were to carry it out past the edge of the screen, you'd
see how ridiculously huge this star happens to be.VY Canis Majoris is the largest star ever discovered. I was watching this show called "How the Universe Works" narrated by Mike Rowe, and I really enjoyed the explanation they had of VY Canis Majoris. Basically, it's a dying star. What keeps it burning at its center is a fusion reactor. Think of hydrogen bombs going off and you essentially understand the reaction taking place in the heart of stars.
So the thing that keeps a star from just flying apart is gravity. In the case of VY Canis Majoris, there is so much mass that when the fusion stops going, gravity is just going to kind of take over and crush the core of the star into a black hole. Black holes are things that our brightest physicists don't really understand. Places where infinite gravity takes over and time stops and light can't even escape.
So in the center of VY Canis Majoris, a black hole will eventually form. When that happens, it will consume the star from the inside. But it will do so incredibly fast, like a glutton, too fast that all of the colliding matter will explode in this thing called a hypernova. A hypernova produces more energy in a second than our sun will produce in its entire lifetime. That's just mind-boggling.
