Ted Rabinowitz's Blog, page 13

Free Stuff on Amazon: The Experiment Begins

As of today, and going through Tuesday, I'm offering two FREE pieces of flash fiction on Amazon: The Commencement Speech and Aunt Helen Explains New York.

They are SHORT.
And they are FREE.

It's a little "Thank You" for that TWS enthusiasm. (Really, you guys make me blush!)

If there's enough interest, I'll make it an ongoing thing.

Releasing Free Stuff on Amazon

Hey, Gang-

I'm publishing some short bits and pieces on Amazon; as soon as they go live, I'll make them free-free-free!

Right now, we're looking at the world's worst Commencement speech, and an old lady who explains the secret history of New York; I'll be adding more over the coming months as time and fortune permit.

Enjoy, enjoy.

Do-Over: Another Goodreads Giveaway!

So, the Goodreads Giveaway for The Wrong Sword ended last week. (Congratulations, you lucky winners! Keep your eyes on the mailbox!)

BUT-

It was pointed out to me on the 28th that the cover art hadn't been visible on the Giveaway!

SO-

We're running this sucker again.
This time, with the cover art.
And MORE BOOKS AVAILABLE.
And FOR A LONGER TIME.
And it starts OCTOBER 13, AND RUNS UNTIL NOVEMBER 2.


Stay tuned.

Florida Friday

Facebook has Throwback Thursdays. Now TWS offers you Florida Fridays - where we post something that could only have happened in Florida. Let's start off with lizard men:


http://cryptozoologynews.com/florida-man-claims-spotting-reptilian-humanoid-inside-vehicle-takes-pictures/

Ladies and Gentlemen - Two Announcements:1. "The Wrong Sw...

Ladies and Gentlemen - Two Announcements:

1. "The Wrong Sword" is now available on Amazon as a lovely 5"x8" paperback. It has a glossy, coffee-resistant cover and an impressive heft - perfect for killing spiders and acting as a coaster substitute. Buy it for someone you love: Me.

2. In a month's time, I'll be having an enormous super-giant (that's the technical term) ebook promotion in which the TWS ebook will be roughly half off. I will, of course, let you know when.

3. Finally, if you know of anyone who might enjoy TWS and hasn't heard about it, please pass the word along. God will surely smile upon you and grant you the winning lotto numbers.

The Rummy Centenary of Old Bertie

Today is the centennial anniversary of Bertie Wooster and his effortlessly superior manservant, Jeeves. For those of you clued in to PG Wodehouse and his comic masterpieces, here's a link to a few real-life Drones' Clubs around and about...

Star Trek, Kirk and Shatner

So here's the thing: Over the past few decades, it's become traditional to deride Kirk and William Shatner, if we discuss the original Star Trek at all. The Christopher Walken pauses, the hordes of alien women, the swagger.

Partially that's because fandom tends to be a young person's world, and if you're under the age of 40, the first "new" Star Trek you saw was Next Generation [shudder]. The original series, if you've seen it at all, looks cheesy, campy, very '60s, and most importantly - completely, exuberantly over the top. (Or at least, that's what fans of ST:TNG have told me.) And the first things that come to mind for younger fans are what Shatner, the working actor, has done since Star Trek - the Priceline commercials, the spoken word albums, the "evil" convention appearances, the toupee.
It's no coincidence that the one character of the original Star Trek that is universally popular, even with younger fans, is Spock, the reserved, detached, "cool" character, rather than Kirk, the scenery-chewing cowboy. Spock's hallmark is that he lacks exuberance, after all. (Which is not to say that Leonard Nimoy, in playing Spock, lacked exuberance - his enjoyment shines through, or Spock would never have been as memorable.) When it comes to mass entertainment, reserve travels through time better than excitement. And after Star Trek, Nimoy's career followed a different trajectory, ultimately to directing and then photography.

But there are a lot of reasons to like, if not love, Captain James T. Kirk, above all the other Star Trek captains out there - especially if one remembers the context of the original show. This excellent article from David A. Goodman tells you why.

Chimps With Sticks

Now, I already tweeted about this, and put a quick post on G+, but...damn it! This is great.

Apparently, a troop of chimpanzees in the Netherlands didn't want strangers invading their air-space with drones. So when a TV crew buzzed the chimps with a drone for the second or third time, the apes were ready.

They literally, genuinely planned things out ahead of time. (Their handlers testified to this.) They marked the drone's track. They predicted where it was going to appear next. And then they used items in their enclosure as tools to bring down that pesky drone and study it as it lay on the ground.

I had to post about this. After all, how many science fiction tropes does this one episode embody?

1. Low technology vs. high technology/"primitive" vs. "advanced"
2. Confronting the unknown.
3. Intelligence across species.

and, of course-

4. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

Am I missing any tropes?

Apparently-

- The Wrong Sword is #15 in Canada - that is, on Amazon-Canada's Bestseller list of Books > Literature & Fiction > Women's Fiction > Single Women.

Yes. Women's fiction for single women.

I'm baffled. No, even better, I'm NONPLUSSED.

Don't get me wrong - I'll take it. I'll TOTALLY take it. But still...nonplussed.

Anyone out there care to explain it?

A New Greenhouse Catalyst - No, That's a GOOD Thing!

Scientists at the Argonne National Laboratory have designed a new material that speeds up the conversion of greenhouse gas CO2 into methanol fuel. Best of all, the catalyst's primary ingredient isn't something rare and expensive (e.g. platinum). It's copper.

Here's the article.