Victor D. López's Blog: Victor D. Lopez, page 11

Free through March 10 – Mars: Genesis 2.0

Free through March 10 – Mars: Genesis 2.0

An asteroid much larger than the one that killed off the dinosaurs is headed our way and will strike Earth in two years. The most technologically advanced countries launch massive efforts for an expanded space station and moon bases to save some vestiges of humanity from total extinction. The U.S. opts for a riskier but potentially more viable mission to Mars as a long shot for reseeding humanity.

You can download this short story in all major ebook formats through 3/10/22 free, bjut only at ...

In Praise of Dandelions

In Praise of Dandelions

We love roses best,
Sweet smell, glorious petals,
We ignore the thorns.

Weeds are flowers too,
Saffron dandelions bloom,
With edible leaves.

Children’s sweet delight,
Summer’s snowflakes their blown seeds,
Gathered gifts for mom.

We protect the rose,
And poison dandelions,
Their beauty unprized.

Nature provides both,
Without judgment as to worth,
It is we who judge.

So with people too,
Flamboyant facades we praise,
Plain, true worth we shun.

In Spring I Dreamt of Summer’s Sun

In spring I dreamt of summer’s sun,
And all the things that I’d get done

In summer I did dream of fall,
And lovely times we would have all.

In fall I dreamt of winter’s due,
When rest and travel would come true.

And now that winter’s finally here,
I dream of all the wasted years.

I dream of times we should have shared,
When all were still alive who cared.

I dreamed away my life it seems,
Instead of living it, I dreamed.

Longed for tomorrow every day,
And now I long for yesterday.

I...

I Grieve for the Ukrainian People

I grieve for the losses of the Ukranian people–and the innocent Russian recruits sent to kill them. I grieve for the consequences that will be visited on both the brave Ukranian people when the dust settles, and on the innocent Russian civilians who will bear the consequences of the incomprehensible aggression of their leader in the form of further economic hardship. I grieve for the loss of our humanity.

At the end of the Fall semester, a student in one of my graduate classes who would often...

Free ebook download of my science fiction short story, End of Days

You can download my short story End of Days only at the following link through March 3, 2022: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/428812.

This is one of the 13 short stories in my Echoes of the Mind’s Eye collection which previously alo appeared in the print and audiobook versions of my previous short story collection, Mindscapes. The short story poses a novel theory of cosmology involving the role of black holes in the creation and extinction of a limitless number of multiverses including ...

How to Be a Fanatic (or Just Rant Like One)

Given that so many people today are enamored by the prospect of embracing fanaticism at the extremes of the political spectrum, I am pleased to present crash course on embracing your inner extremist. There’s no need to go through the troublesome and time-consuming process of getting convicted of a crime in order to be radicalized in prison, join a cult, attend classes at your local college or vacation in The twilight Zone. You just need to faithfully follow the principles outlined below to becom...

Avoiding the Legal Landmines Attendant to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Form I-9 Compliance

My latest article has just been published in Volume 42 of the North East Journal of Legal Studies. The print version will be out later this spring, but the online version is now available online through Digital Commons at https://lnkd.in/dXF5sM-c. The title of the article is “Avoiding the Legal Landmines Attendant to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Form I-9 Compliance”, North East Journal of Legal Studies: Vol. 42, Article 2 (Spring 2022).

The federal government has opte...

The Day the Dolphins Vanished – Free through 2/26/22

Human beings are not the only intelligent life forms on Earth and possibly not the most intelligent. Efforts at communicating with marine mammals such as wales and dolphins whose brains are larger than our own have had very limited success to date, less so than the success we’ve enjoyed in teaching some gorillas and chimpanzees to communicate using sign language despite the fact that their brains have less capacity than our own. This short story explores the possible consequences of bridging...

All ebook versions of my novel (Hire Lernin’) 50% off for one week only (Ends 2/20/2022)

My novel is available until 2/20/2022 at 50% off the usual retail price in any ebook version, but only at the following link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1071699

This novel involves the bittersweet journey of a young, idealistic, naïve attorney who takes on the role of academic dean at a for-profit business school in New York City in the late 1980s knowing very little about the industry. Unable to accept the way things are, he immediately launches into a personal quest to change liv...