Kate Rauner's Blog, page 42

Cardboard Replacing Plastic? That’s an Improvement #pollution #trash #plastic #environment

[image error]Not long ago I posted about a company trying to replace styrofoam packaging with cardboard. I didn’t think I’d see an example so soon. I just bought a new coffee maker and my spousal unit bought a new shaver. Both had major cardboard and papier-mâché (cardboard mâché ?) packaging.

[image error]They also had some plastic bags, but, hey – this is a step forward. Plastics really are a miracle and our lives are better with them. But our lives are also worse with them in terms of trash to carry around and bury, and in terms of damage to animals and the rest of the environment. I bet I could compost the cardboard here.

So I’m happy to share these pictures of our latest purchases.

 

 

New Horizons Goes Where No One Has Gone Before – for Real #NewHorizons #space #NASA for #pluto lovers

Artist’s concept still more impressive than New Horizon’s images… but there it really is! A Kuiper image! Woo hoo! The probe has such a low power level it will takes many months to transmit all its data – you’d be complaining to customer support if that was your internet speed.

 

 

 

There’s loads of coverage, but here’s one link.

As You Look Back Over the Year, Over Your Life, What Do You Ponder? Star Trek TOS! #StarTrek #lists #TOS #scifi #space

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It’s hard to find free-use images of this episode. This shows fans viewing the Gate, taken by Konrad Summers at a Star Trek Exhibit at Queen Mary Spruce Goose Dome, Long Beach Ca, Feb 2008

The end of the year is a time for lists, and I found this 10 Best and 10 Worst Episodes of Star Trek – referring to the broadcast shows, even Deep Space Nine which I haven’t seen in ages. Any such list is fodder for endless conversations, but I want to discuss The City on the Edge of Forever from The Original Series.

If you haven’t seen it, stop now and go find the episode. Spoiler Alert: Links below lead to plot summaries and I discuss the episode’s pivotal event.

Refresh your memory of the plot here. You may not be surprised to learn that a “Best Of” episode came from a famous scifi writer, Harlan Ellison, or that it’s production ran over budget and over schedule, but did you know that Harlan Ellison hated the episode?

Various rewrites reduced production costs, and if some characters and scenes had not been cut, it would have been a movie instead of a TV episode. (Oh, the loss to humanity!) But the basic moral dilemma remained: if the death of a single, innocent, noble person would save millions, should that person die? Does your answer change if you love that person? It’s a Kobayashi Maru scenario where Kirk can’t cheat to win.

The biggest change was this: Roddenberry had Kirk make the heartbreaking decision. Ellison had Spock make it.

The question of which feels truer to Kirk, and to Trek, serves as a litmus test for fans of the show.

Is it believable that Kirk acted and allowed his lover to die? I can accept that. Kirk was a rather wild blend of traits.

What about the original story? My inner-Spock says, yes, Spock would have acted. So both versions could have been made.

Could Kirk and Spock have developed the relationship they had throughout TOS if Spock had acted instead of Kirk? Could Spock’s shadow have fallen across the Star Trek universe?

I think – No. TOS was made before season-long and series-long character arcs became popular, but even in that environment, characters grew and developed. I don’t believe friendship would have grown or that we would have seen more of Spock’s inner life if Ellison’s version had prevailed.

Star Trek TOS originally came to me as a pre-teen, science-loving, somewhat-awkward geek. Even back then, I could be critical. I cringed at some episodes, like Spocks’ Brain, but it’s all part of me today. So I haven’t read Ellison’s published version of his original script, but you can if you want. I understand the book includes a lot of Ellison’s rants over being badly treated and his negative opinions about nearly everyone involved.

In 1995, four years after Roddenberry’s death, Ellison published “The City on the Edge of Forever” again, this time as a standalone book titled The City on the Edge of Forever: The Original Teleplay.

3.4 stars on Amazon – not overly impressive, but how could it be ranked higher when “this book insults Gene Roddenberry and the entire Star Trek franchise with no mercy. It also sometimes insults the fans.” While some reviewers were annoyed at half the book being an airing of grievances, at least one person thought Ellison’s famous temper was worth the price of the book.

What Books to Add on that New Kindle? Or on any eReader? #giftideas #amreading #books #scifi

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Titan, a #1 New Release on Amazon

What to Add to Something on that New Kindle? Or on any eReader? #giftideas #amreading #books #scifi

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Titan, a #1 New Release on Amazon

Merry Christmas #Xmas #MerryChristmas2018

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Best wishes to you and yours. Soon time to put the decorations away till next year.

Holidays Continue – African heritage enriches the World #Kwanzaa

[image error]Kwanzaa had a radical beginning in 1966, but has gained mainstream adherents and even spread beyond America. Everything started somewhere, so read the history and, if it calls to you, celebrate.

The week traditionally (Yes, I use that word – some people were raised with Kwanzaa) ends with a feast and gift-giving. I always say, books make great gifts

Twas the Night Before Xmas #ChristmasEve #BestWishes

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I hope you and yours are safe and snug, every last one.

THE DAY ROME BURNED – 64 AD – AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT FROM TACITUS

You’ve seen posts about fire here, since I’m a volunteer firefighter. I ran across this great post about one of the most famous fires in history – in ancient history!

THE HISTORICAL DIARIES

Tacitus was a member of this Roman elite, and whether there is a bias in his writing is difficult to know. Indeed, Tacitus was still a boy at the time of the fire. He would have been a young teenager in 68 A.D., when Nero died.

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Never Turn Down a Holiday that Brings Gifts and Parties #happy #holiday #holidayseason #gift #scienceficiton

[image error]Gifts and parties, and role-reversals. Welcome to the Roman week of Saturnalia. If you throw a Saturnalian party, gambling should be included. But I was never much interested in gambling.

I recall, as a kid, going to my father’s volunteer fire department’s fund-raising carnival where there was an oversized version of roulette. I put my penny on a number, the ball rolled down, and the man took my penny away. Why would I do that again?

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Me at a recent book signing for my Colony on Mars series.

Instead, how about little white elephant gifts, wrapped and numbered. Pick a number from a hat.

As to gifts, well, you know I recommend books. At Amazon and all the favorite stores. And this year you can read my new book about a cult colonizing Saturn’s moon Titan. #1 New Release in it’s Amazon category!

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#1 New Release on Amazon

Okay, just between you and me, Amazon categories are weird and sometimes inexplicable. Amazon keeps their algorithms a deep dark secret and rankings don’t last long. But “#1 New Release” is fun to say! And true! Besides, readers have said such nice things. You should read the book. On Kindle Unlimited too.