Coral Alejandra Moore's Blog, page 3

Memories

In case you missed it, one of my stories is available to read for free on Diabolical Plots this month. “Sustaining Memory” is a science fiction short story about a woman losing her memories one at a time to power a machine that could restore life to her dead planet.

Memories are an interesting subject to write about because there are so many aspects of them that lend themselves easily to fantasy or science fiction stories. What I chose to examine was the impact memories have on our sense of self. The main character of the story must feed her memories into a machine that might make her desolate planet habitable for life again, but as she performs this action she loses her sense of self one piece at a time. Duty to her mission drives her to commit this act of self-destruction, but she is acutely aware of what it means.

I hope you enjoy the story, it’s one of my favorites.

-C

Making the Case for Empathy

Over the last few weeks I’ve been thinking a lot about empathy. The catalyst for all of this pondering was Pam Bondi speaking at the Republican National Convention. She said this:

Hillary believes our enemies deserve our respect and empathy.

The crowd booed.

This reaction really got under my skin. The idea that we should treat our enemies without respect and empathy is monstrous. Full stop.

Empathy is what makes us human. If we discard empathy, we lose an integral piece of our humanity. We lose the ability to understand the plight of others. We lose the ability to connect with others on an emotional level.

Empathy is at the heart of The Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have them do to you. This concept is so important that it is a major theme in most of the world’s religions and is the cornerstone of civilizations around the world. Peace can only be maintained, at the micro level and at the macro level, when we understand each other and when we treat each other with respect.

One of the most rewarding things about reading is that books allow us to empathize with people very different from us and people we might never encounter in our lives. This is also the reason accurate, diverse representation is so important in all media.

I’ll leave you with Mark Ruffalo talking with Murray on Sesame Street about empathy, because adorable. Watch to the end if you want to see a happy dance.

Be kind. Be Respectful.

-C

Science Affliction #18

Some cool science news this week and I hadn’t done a science roundup in far too long anyway, so here you are!

The Juno Spacecraft entered Jupiter’s orbit on July 4th. If you have time watch some of the videos. I just love watching space nerds celebrate. In the coming weeks and months we should get some really exciting discoveries out of the Juno team. Much excite!
Scientists use tiny solar panels and bacteria to produce fuel from sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide and water, with higher efficiency than plants. A huge leap for truly sustainable energy on a massive scale, and hopefully one day personal sustainable energy. I wrote a story about this one a few weeks ago, but it has so much story fodder potential I wanted to share this gem.
Large scale DNA data storage is now a reality. It’s still hideously expensive and a little impractical, but it’s a step in the right direction toward true micro-computing for sure.
This one is a few months old, but still cool. A 12,000 year old dog was found frozen in permafrost in Russia. The genetics of the prehistoric pup will have lots to tell us about domestication and human evolution, and how the two are intertwined.
The very coolest news in teeny-tiny robots is a microscopic stingray made out of live rat heart muscle cells. Once in a while I see science news and I wonder why the heck anyone would do that. This was a case where I wondered why anyone would build a stingray out of heart cells and then I watched the video of the little thing moving on its own guided by light an I knew. The future is an awesome place.

Bonus: Here’s some eye candy of Juno’s approach to Jupiter which shows the motion of Jupiter’s moons in spectacular detail. I love seeing the moons wink out as they pass behind Jupiter’s shadow.



Many hearts and the cutest of puppies,

-C

Writing Tools #1

One of my favorite things about writing is the huge variety of tools and gadgets that you can use in the act. Everyone has their own favorites, and I thought I’d share some of mine over the next few weeks, along with a little bit about why I like them.

Like most writers, I have about four hundred pens squirreled all around my house and in a shocking number of containers.  Of all these pens, I have a few I dearly love, but my absolute favorite is the TWSBI Diamond 580AL Purple.

I got into fountain pens last year, after an acquaintance of mine Christie Yant was looking for a new home for her first fountain pen. She had found [image error]her forever pen and wanted to pass some of her collection along to other people who might want to try. (I paid that good deed forward earlier this year when I rehomed that pen and another one after I’d found the TWSBI.) I’d been interested in fountain pens for a while, but I thought it was a little too intimidating to jump into with no experience. Long story short, I found a love for fountain pens that has turned over time into a full-on addiction. That brings me to where I am today.

Through all my research, the TWSBI is the best pen for the money. This pen retails around $50, but writes nicer than many much more expensive pens. The steel nib is buttery smooth, and I’ve yet to have the pen clog or malfunction in any way. I use a medium nib on mine, and I find that I like the thick and fluid lines the slightly fatter nibs give me.

I love the aesthetics of this pen too. The clear ink reservoir means that you can always see how much ink you have left and what color you have loaded. The beveled edges of the pen give it a distinct crystalline profile. Aluminium accents and striking coloration give the pen a sleek look.

[image error]The TWSBI has a nice weight and thickness, which I prefer in my pens but other people might find troublesome. The heft of the pen makes posting the cap a little unwieldy, but I don’t mind leaving the cap to the side as I write.

One negative that might be of interest to newer fountain pen users is that the piston refilling mechanism means you can’t use cartridges with this pen, only bottled ink. It is very easy to refill though, compared to many fountain pens, and I don’t think that should stop anyone from using this pen. I’ve used quite a few different types of inks in the TWSBI and have had no problems with any of them, though with the thicker nib some more watery inks can run a bit.

All told, I love this pen and use it daily for everything from journal entries to shopping lists. I highly recommend it to everyone, from novice fountain pen users to those who have used them for years.

Hearts and puppies,

-C