waking from hibernation

Well maybe not from hibernation, but I've been quiet on the blog for quite a long time.
I'm gearing up to have some fun with NaNoMoWri - or whatever it's called. Basically the idea is to write as much as you can in a month, hoping to get to a completed novel.

Right now I'm working on story ideas and concepts, or as it's sometimes known, wasting time on the internet. I'm having a lot of fun with things like this : article on the large hadron collider and the Higgs Boson's plot against it.
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I'm also living the text dream - recently I've moved back from gui programs to shell programs(think old school unix days), and man I'm having fun. This was started by the failure of the mouse buttons on an otherwise decent 7yr old laptop, and has now moved to a whole new computing experience for me.

Anyways that's what I'm up to currently.
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Nutrition vs Taste: The Vampire Dilemma

So I was talking with my new friend Chris» yesterday and I found myself trying to explain Nutrition vs Taste.

Lets back up a little. Chris is one of the creators of P-brane: The Green Man, a graphic novel I intend to talk more about at a future point. Suffice to say Chris and I have mutual interests in Science Fiction and Fantasy (Or Speculative Fiction ;).

One thing we talked about yesterday which wasn't writing related was my health. I'm a sick guy even though I look generally healthy. That's because one of the main symptoms of my disease is weight loss; I don't get full nutrition from eating. So, unlike my schoolmates, as I slip past thirty I'm still the same slender frame I was 10 years ago, no pot belly. This is part of what I explained briefly to Chris about my disease. The other part is that eating food aggravates my disease and makes me feel, in a word, poorly.

I have to eat food to live, so food is good, but I get sick when I eat, so food is bad.

It's actually something I don't think much about after having had this condition for so many years. However, when I was explaining this to Chris, whilst pouring the unhealthily fatty but tasty cream in my coffee, I was struck by the catch 22.

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How is it that I, with my health, still eat anything except the most nutritious, easy to digest foods? Why would I put cream in my coffee, or even drink coffee? Both of which are less desirable options for my health.

I do it because they are the tasty options.

Food is a common experience for humanity. We all enjoy ice cream and chocolate. Okay maybe not all of us, but we do share a common understanding of the enjoyment of food. Just as my body needs the supplements and liquid meals that are easy to digest; another part of me, my soul perhaps, needs doughnuts and cream in my coffee in order to fully share in the human experience.

There is a recurring character from fiction that faces a similar conundrum: The Vampire.

In fact in Mario Acevedo's 2006 vampire detective novel The Nymphos Of Rocky Flats (my review here) the main character struggles with this very problem. He refuses to drink human blood and attempts to subsist on a near normal food diet. This is one of the ways that he clings to his humanity. He fears that if he drinks human blood he will become like other vampires, indiscriminate, uncaring killers. Ultimately however this leads to problems for him, because by not eating the nutrition (human blood) that he required he was weakened by his disease (vampirism).

For Mario Acevedo's Vampire food has become a focal point for his struggle with what he has become. And like the main character in Nymphos Of Rocky Flats food is also a focal point in my struggle with my health.

For both of us peace comes with the realization that accepting the limits and requirements of our diseases doesn't mean we have to give up our humanity.

*I'm not a madman, mostly I use skim milk in my coffee, the cream was a treat yesterday.





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Coming up with Short Story Ideas: Redux

Or: What's with the 'Story Ideas»' tag?

In the original short story ideas post» I talked about my writing group and eventually shared some links I use to find inspiration. Oddly enough it's one of my most popular posts.

A number of the visitors to And The Chain have gone to google and searched for "Story Ideas". I know their story, and I feel for them because it's my story too. They sit in front of the computer, waiting for their muse to appear, awakening the little god within that can create worlds, characters and stories. And all that while still keeping his weekends free.

But eventually comes a day when the muse doesn't appear, and then their fingers tap out 'Story Ideas' into the search box. Perhaps in despair, or frustration, or perhaps just to see what happens.

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Many of them read that post on my writing group and short stoy ideas, and maybe it has value for them, but few ever go on to explore this blog. That original post on coming up with Short Story Ideas was the first one to receive the Story Ideas» Tag. But now it shows up all over the place on this blog. Once the tag existed, it seems I couldn't stop using it. And I want people to use it as well. In fact I'm adding a link to the original article specifically to encourage people to use it.

When I throw the tag on an article it's because I see an idea there, maybe for me, maybe for someone else. It may not be highlighted with arrows, but it's there for those that are looking.

This blog is about ideas, finding them, developing them, and sharing them. So use the Story Ideas Tag and if anything inspires you, let me know.



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Just how did we get this wasteland?

I love a good post-apocalyptic story, living by your wits, outracing death, and searching for survival. Many stories set in these fallen worlds are focused on restoring what came before. The idea is that before the 'fall' everybody was much better off. Well is that true? Or is it a mistaken assumption by the survivors or author? What if the reality is that the world that came before is the one the precipitated the fall?

There is a fascinating article over at COSMOS Magazine entitled Civilisations: why they fail». What is interesting about the article is the examination of the role of self-deception in the failure of civilizations. The ability for a group of people to ignore an obvious problem, even one that will threaten their survival.

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Somewhere in the middle of the Pacific is a small island with big heads. It's arguably one of the most famous islands in the world but the people responsible for that fame are gone. Their civilization long since failed.

As the COSMOS Article asks:
What did Easter Islanders say as they were cutting down the last palm tree? Were they saying, "Think of our jobs as loggers, not these trees?" Were they saying, "Respect my private property rights?" Surely Easter Islanders must have realised the consequences of destroying their forest. One wonders whether people of the next century – if there are still people alive – will be equally astonished about our blindness today.

I ask, do we look back on the Easter Islanders as a great civilization, one that we would aspire to recreate? How about the Mayans? The Vikings on Iceland? *Maybe* the survivors looked back on those civilizations as something to recreate? If that was the case than they were themselves practising the same self-deception that led to their respective falls to begin with.

Are your post apocalyptic characters deceiving themselves? Do they perceive the world that came before as the paradise they must regain? Civilizations fail for reasons, those reasons don't just disappear after the fall. If your computer crashes and you reboot it, is the problem *really* fixed? Are your characters wise enough to recognize this? What does that recognition do to your story?




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Where's the Basement?

Proof that children the next generation of adults can read, write, and dream is found in the NASA Space Settlement Design Contest». Eric Yam from Northern Secondary School in Toronto, Canada, was one of the Grand Prize Winners»

Eric's winning proposal was for an Orbital Habitat that he named ASTEN (Right click here to save the 12mb PDF) one of the alternate names for the Egyptian God Thoth.

I am amazed by the breadth of thought that has been put into this document. Issues ranging from immigration through to nutrition are addressed. In the context of World Building this is a great example of what can be done if you are motivated.

Congratulations Eric Yam, the First Canadian to win the Grand Prize in this contest in the 16 years that it has been run.



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Lost in Space (well on the Moon at least)

I've had one of those days. A day where you start reading about the biology of Star Trek» and by the end are poring over transcripts of Astronauts lost on the moon». Too bad those astronauts didn't have this Google Moon Map» showing exactly where they were.

Here are some of the highlights from my trip across the web this morning.

Making Aliens: The Repercussions of Planetary Settlement»

Seven ways to control the Galaxy with self-replicating probes»

The Physics of Extraterrestrial Civilizations»

How did that trip bring me to the Moon and a couple of astronauts arguing over a map?
That's where the story idea exists.

Story ideas can be found anywhere, and often by combining different ideas. Just reading and letting your unconscious mind guide you across the web can be a great way to find inspiration.



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Mind Meld of the Gods

I'm doing it again, I'm linking to another Mind Meld over at SF Signal. This one is about Gods in Speculative Fiction».

If you are unfamiliar with a SF Signal Mind Meld let me give you a heads up: This is not an experience for the unprepared. Brew some coffee, find a comfortable seat and settle in for an intimate look into the minds of some of the greatest SF writers out there. People like Elizabeth Bear, Gregory Frost, and L.E. Modesitt Jr.

I have some thoughts of my own as to the nature of religion in stories.

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Religion in real life (there's a mindbender) is something that comes easy for some, hard for others and not at all for the rest. In Fantasy it seems to generally be an expected and active component of the world and in Science Fiction an invisible or non-existent force. I'm not saying that those are the rules for all, in fact there are some fantastic stories that defy my above statement. And how do you really classify A Canticle for Leibowitz or The Algebraist?

In world building and writing I struggle to find the difference between a god and superhuman. What makes one divine and the other merely impressive? I don't believe there is a hard line, no simple criteria or checklist. On a bell curve I would place normal man at one end, and the monotheistic omniscient god at the other end. Then on the hump I would look for my stories. To me that space is where men can achieve greatness and where the gods can falter.

Ultimately given the role faith and religion has in the real world, and the influence it has on the lives of so many, it is a mistake not to give it some thought when world building. You don't need gods with winged horses and lightening powers, just a conscious knowledge of the role religion plays in your characters lives. Some of the most powerful stories written never show the gods, or their motives, but without the characters faith there would have been no story.


For more on the religions in the two books I mentioned check out this review of A Canticle for Leibowitz from SF Reviews.net and this article on The Algebraist from Gordon's Notes





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13 Things that Do Not Make Sense

I'm sure there's more than 13 things that do not make sense », but New Scientist had to end the article somewhere.
(I'm trying something new: the '»' symbol is a link that will open the preceding link a new window.)

The 13 things they list are:

1 The placebo effect
2 The horizon problem
3 Ultra-energetic cosmic rays
4 Belfast homeopathy results
5 Dark matter
6 Viking's methane
7 Tetraneutrons
8 The Pioneer anomaly
9 Dark energy
10 The Kuiper cliff
11 The Wow signal
12 Not-so-constant constants
13 Cold fusion


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The article gives an explanation for each item on the list, briefly explaining some of the questions that surround them. It's a pretty good look at some of the mysteries that are still unexplained by science. Personally I wouldn't advise attempting the experiment they describe to demonstrate the placebo effect. In most jurisdictions that would be considered torture and in others (cue the rim shot) marriage. Hiiyooo!!, I'm here all week folks.

No seriously now, there are legitimate questions in science and, unlike the article I reviewed yesterday, this article does a little bit better at approaching the subject. And these articles are about the same subject, bad science, fringe science, wacky science, it all is the same thing. The unexplained and unexplored.

In my readings I've encountered many of the items on the list and have my own conclusions. To preface: I'm not a scientist, nor am I accredited by any institution that would give me any credibility. (heh) However I can read and follow many arguments in physics and chemistry thanks to a decent education. Yay Canada

Most of the items on the list are acknowledged mysteries of astrophysics and particle physics. Things ranging from Dark Matter to Tetraneutrons. And Most have little impact on life. Impact or not though, the Pioneer Anomaly is pretty cool. It just feeds the imagination to wonder why the probes are moving faster than they should as they exit the solar system.

Also on the list were a couple of the items dealing with health and biology. A subject I only know really through, well, being a biological sometimes healthy being.

The first, #1 (Placebo Effect), is a psychological/physiological mystery, and fascinating to behold. How it works is still unquantified, but the fact it works is well documented and accepted.

The other, #4 (Homoeopathy), I had always thought of as bad science. I'm sure that others disagree, and this is one of those subjects I railed about yesterday as something that needs to be treated seriously. So Seriously, it may make for good medicine, but the chemistry doesn't make sense so it's bad science.

For all the Homoeopaths and their followers out there if you are healthy, or improving then ignore my opinion. I wish you all the best in health and happiness. And really the only problem I have with Homoeopathy is the dilution theory. The idea that you can start with a mixture of water and a substance (ie:nightshade, or charcoal) and dilute it enough that there is nothing left of the substance. Essentially just water is left but that water still has the healing powers of the substance diluted out of it. Crazy enough for me, and a challenge to my preconceptions is the Belfast Study. Here is a controlled scientific study that seems to indicate some basis of truth to the dilution theory.

Two final items on the list that caught my eye were #6 (Viking's Methane) and #11 (the Wow signal). Both offer little in evidence, but they inspire hope in me that there really may be life out there. This is my own little bastion of bad science. I know that there is no evidence in support, and many logical arguments against, but I still believe, even if the only aliens I meet exist in the pages of my library.





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Coffee and Cigarettes

I'm a hedonist at heart. If it wasn't for the adverse effect alcohol has on my health I imagine I would be comfortable in France. Probably not real France, real France is likely full of normal people, but Hedonist France. Where it's like a Roman Orgy with better food and clothing. Perhaps Pre-Katrina New Orleans fits the bill (maybe even post, I certainly hope so).

Cigarettes. There's something for a hedonist to enjoy. I don't smoke them, I did once, but again that whole health thing. A few years ago I was in New Orleans, or 'NuhOrLens' as I was taught to say it, during Mardi Gras. I remember drinking coffee in the streets of the French Quarter, looking at the aftermath of the night's festivities and nursing a hangover. The air was so thick with moisture that with each exhale I had to push the smoke away from me. Long thick ropes of smoke that I directed toward objects of interest, watching as the smoke curled around another victim. I was no Gandolf, but I did managed to spear a ring or two even.

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I got a number of free meals in New Orleans. Not because the food was bad, but because it was fantastic! And I told the wonderful people that were serving me how much I enjoyed their food, city and atmosphere. I also made a point of bringing my friends back to those places and dropping some coin, repaying their generosity in multiples. That's the beauty of the Hedonist Life, share and share alike. There is nothing more satisfying than introducing someone to a new pleasure for a hedonist.

That's part of what makes New Orleans tick I think. The people I met there were warm and welcoming. They wanted to share their culture and history with visitors. I would have happily stayed forever in the warm fragrant embrace of that city had it been possible. What a contrast from where I lived at a time. The almost sterile mix of steel, water, and mountains that makes up Vancouver. A city where women in business suits and Nikes powerwalk the Stanley Park Seawall during their lunch hour. Holding a Starbucks latte with one hand, and a bottle of water with the other.

What does this have to do with Speculative Fiction? Very little other than colour, but colour is what gives a story texture and depth. Where do your characters come from? What is the nature of the place that they are? Do they have cravings? or passions? These details, perhaps never fully explained in an infodump, will influence your story in every area. Each interaction your characters have beyond their brain will be based in the details of the world around them. Being able to visualize that world, to understand what motivates the characters in that world, will lead to more believable fiction.



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Random Darwin

Been doing a lot of reading on Darwin recently. Fascinating dood. Witty, intelligent and at times charming in his 19th century naiveté. Though I should point out that he could be devastatingly direct and painfully insightful

Some Quotes from Darwin on religion:

Letter to Asa Gray September 17, 1861

Your question what would convince me of Design is a poser. If I saw an angel come down to teach us good, and I was convinced from others seeing him that I was not mad, I should believe in design.

Autobiography of Charles Darwin (1958) p.87

Thus disbelief crept over me at a very slow rate, but was at last complete. The rate was so slow that I felt no distress, and have never since doubted even for a second that my conclusion was correct. I can indeed hardly see how anyone ought to wish Christianity to be true; for if so the plain language of the text seems to show that the men who do not believe, and this would include my Father, Brother and almost all of my friends, will be everlasting punished.
And this is a damnable doctrine.

From his earliest writings to the end of his life religion played a role in shaping how he presented his theories and how they were received. Early on Darwin made a conscious decision to 'Stick to the Facts' in presenting his notes and theories. To avoid colouring his work (in particular the reception of it) with any religious interpretation, positive or negative. The above quotes were from personal letters and notes, but not from the scientific papers he published.

This later went on to become a large part of the modern approach to scientific research. Not only is it politic and somewhat sensitive and respectful of others beliefs, it also makes for better science. Clear, unambiguous documentation of experiments. Theories based only on repeatable, demonstrable evidence from those experiments. This is the foundation of trust and verification that enables science to work. Everybody can read the documentation and repeat each step if they have doubts. There is no need for a 'Leap of Faith'.

I doubt Darwin envisioned the scientific future he created with that simple political decision. I also find it sadly ironic that he and his work, more than a century after his death, is at the centre of the debate(battle) between religion and science. A conflict he consciously tried to keep from being a part of.


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The Readers Voice

There was a post over at SF Novelists discussing a Post Modernist concept Marie Brennan called "Reading In". The idea is that different people will find their own themes and meanings within a story, regardless of the authors conscious intent.
Here is her description of this, minimally edited and I encourage you to read her words for yourself.

...in the context of the type of story with an element that might or might not be fantasy. Me? I say screw the hedging and the ambiguity; I read that type of story as fantasy, and I do so willfully...It happens with other things, too. I willfully read strength into characters (especially women) that aren’t given any, or sympathy into characters the story wants me to demonize. And I choose that phrase for it because this isn’t something I think is in the story at all; I’m adding it wholesale, entirely against any reasonable interpretation that would pass muster with a decent literature professor.

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It's an intriguing idea that I fully agree with slash understand. What Marie Brennan calls "Reading In" I call the "Readers Voice". As a reader we are actors in our own stories. Rather than allowing the story as written to remain static words on a page a reader provides the hundreds of little details that breath life into the story. The hidden beliefs of the characters, the emotions in their voice, the humour or irony in comments that may read stale or sad. This is the same thing that a good actor does as they turn a page of words from a script into a compelling performance.

In my last writing group meeting the Readers Voice came up, though we didn't discuss it directly, it was forefront in my mind. The nature of a writing group meeting is for the members to share their views and impressions of each others work. This is the time for us as writers to find out what our readers see in our work, and use it to strengthen our stories, or to even take them into entirely new directions.

With one story in particular we all had different reactions. The Author meant for it to be a two part story, but the readers were happy with it ending in one part. While one person saw it as a mythical quest for meaning, another read it as an elaborate suicide note. Both interpretations are valid, even though one is more in line with what the author intended than the other. So to sum: Be consciously aware of the Readers Voice, use it to shape the editing of your stories (which means you need Readers). And of course it's ok to disagree with the author if it makes the story more enjoyable for yourself (though there are many 'Egos' that would disagree).



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Data Visualization Ohhhhhh Pretty

Over at SF Signal there was a post that brought to mind all the cyberpunk I read as a, well, punk kid. The visuals are spectacular, works of art that are also full of information. In an odd way it brings to mind Leonardo da Vinci's drawings and technical schematics. It was impossible for him to separate the artist from the designer, the art from the information. This also occurs here to eye pleasing effect.

The videos were taken from a BBC Show called Britain From Above and on their site you can find more videos and photos. When I think of people surfing the datastreams, this is the vision I see, not some blocky digital junk that seems to be most prevalent in the film versions of those books. When it comes to putting my own characters into a cyberworld this is the standard that I'm going to reach for.


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Writing Group Wrap Up

So last night was the second organized meeting of the writing group, and as before everyone had something to share. This week our stories had immortal body snatchers, the melusine and alien fairies by firelight. So a pretty wide collection of stories all falling within the speculative fiction definition. One thing that was surprising to me was the similar darkness to all of our stories. Nobody seemed depressed, so I'm gonna chalk it up to a reflection of the winter, or the current economic climate.

On that note, over at SFNovelists S.C. Butler has posted an article entitled The Happy Place. The article (and associated comments) explores the recent trend of what he calls the Pessimistic Fantasies garnering greater attention over Optimistic Fantasies. Pessimistic Fantasies are stories that start in a dark place, a cruel world so to speak, where characters struggle to bring positive change. Whereas Optimistic Fantasies start in a idealized place, and typically characters attempt to protect this world.

If I were to evaluate the stories presented in the meeting last night I would characterize them as pessimistic, however this is not meant as an insult. Our choices of dark worlds for our stories gave us the freedom to explore the ramifications of our characters decisions, and in a sense let them define Good or Evil, instead of their world defining it. This is one of the strengths of a short story where world building, must by necessity, be a distant second or third to the character development. There simply isn't time to waste filling in all the details of a world when an actual story must unfold. Ultimately it's easier and faster to describe Dystopia over Utopia, because the former doesn't require you to have all the answers.

Next month, new meeting, new stories. Tick Tock goes the clock, time to get writing.


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The Future is ?

Yesterday I talked about the future of the writing industry. So today it seems appropriate to talk about the future described by the writing industry. Over at Locus Online is an interesting piece titled: Pitfalls of Prophecy: Why Science Fiction So Often Fails to Predict the Future by Gary Westfahl. It's an interesting read that looks at some of the basic fallacies often made when predicting the future. I would like to note that it's not only Science Fiction authors that fall into these traps, plenty others predict the future and get it wrong. We just seem to expect the SciFi doods to get it right, perhaps unfairly.

Seriously, Science Fiction is about story telling, and while science has a role in shaping a plausible scenario, few stories can stand alone with just science. It's in the human interactions that Science Fiction excels. In the relationships and decisions that are shaped and forced by the backdrop of the (science) fictional reality. This is why I use the term Speculative Fiction. It frees me from having to defend the science (real or imaginary) in my stories.

The reality is that most of the best science fiction ever written has zero chance of ever being plausible. Hyperdrive? Alien Warfare? Robots using Humans as Batteries? If you look at the science behind those ideas it doesn't make sense. I don't know if there are aliens out there, but it really doesn't matter because the science is pretty clear on extra solar travel. It's SLOW. Lightspeed is a great speed limit, but it's also irrelevant. The energy requirements alone to bring a manned vessel to a fraction of the speed of light (1 or 2 percent) are high enough as to render it effectively impossible. So science tells us that we aren't going anywhere, and it's unlikely we're going to meet others along the way. The human battery thing just falls because it's a dumb idea, you don't really need to understand science to get that one. But Hyperdrive and Aliens and Human Batteries all make great backdrops to compelling stories.

Here is a great Mind Meld from SF Signal that looks at the predictions from Science Fiction and what has occurred and what has not. As with all Mind Melds a lot of the value is in the discussion by the participating authors as they present their own take on the question. James Gunn, Adam Roberts, and others being some of the participants.


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Happy Birthday Darwin: You haven't changed a bit

Today is the 200 year anniversary of Darwin's (and Lincoln's) Birth. There are celebrations going on all over the world, and some great collections of information on Darwin are out there.

One little known commonality between the two great men, beyond their birth, was their view on Slavery.
To Quote Darwin.
“I thank God, I shall never again visit a slave country. To this day, if I hear a distant scream, it recalls with painful vividness my feelings, when passing a house near Pernamabuco, I heard the most pitiful moans, and could not but suspect that some poor slave was being tortured, yet knew that I was as powerless as a child even to remonstrate."
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Lincoln is famous for his role in ending slavery within the US, and now the impact of the slave trade on Darwin's theories is examined in a recent book.

While Darwin hasn't changed much since his death (funny that), Evolutionary Theory certainly has grown since he first proposed it. The addition of Genetic Science has taken our understanding of Evolution to places that Darwin never suspected. On that note, here is some of the latest Science on the Evolution of Humans (Homo Sap) and the disappearance of the Neanderthals. Through reconstruction of the Neanderthal genome researchers have determined that there was little, if any interbreeding between the two species.

One thing we did have in common, however, was the same variant of the FOXP2 gene known to play a role in speech. So it's possible that we communicated, but in the end, some 30,000 years ago, they ended as a race and we remained. Intellectually it's easy to say our ancestors (Cro-Magnon) were smarter, more able hunters, and better suited to the environment than Neanderthal was. Emotionally though I have to wonder what the reality of "Survival of the Fittest" was between two species so similar that they may have shared languages or even cultures if not beds.



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Fetters, Shackles and other chains

Fetter (noun )
Etymology: Middle English feter, from Old English; akin to Old English fōt foot
1. A chain or similar object used to bind a person or animal by its legs (usually in plural).
2. Anything that restricts or restrains in any way.

I came across a word in conversation today that I had to pause and think about. "Fetters". This is a word that has a historical context going back as long as we have been restraining people. Not a positive word in most associations, fetters have a long dark history. They were used in Roman Gaols, in Slave Ships leaving the Ivory Coast, and even today in places like Guantanamo Bay.
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Fetters in a metaphorical sense can be the things that restrain us. Many good stories have been written about characters breaking free of shackles. In terms of a fictional character that can be oppression, captivity, duty, debts and more. Identifying and addressing these ideas in your stories can turn a good story into one that inspires.

As a writer fetters can be defined as all the barriers to your writing. I don't mean making supper for the family, I mean lack of confidence, a lack of knowledge or vision. Don't beat yourself up if you are fettered, do something about it. Read, learn, dream and above all write. The best way to escape any prison is with time and effort. So go chain yourself to a keyboard and know that the only way out is to write that story.




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The Dream Machine

So I've been out of the game for a day or two, I may have mentioned the chronic pain thing before. But today I'm back and with a look at a little bit of 1960's literature, art, science and drug free Hallucinations.

FLicKeR is a documentary film about Brion Gysin and the Dream Machine. The film explores Gysin's, and others belief, that a state of transcendence could be reached through a combination of science, art and magic.

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What is the Dream Machine?

It's a lamp on a record player covered by a cylindrical shade with a repeating cut out pattern. Or it's the key to tapping into the time space continuum. Take your pick.

Brion Gysin was an artist who experimented with many mediums, and is credited with discovering the 'cut up' method that was used by Williams S. Burroughs in the 'Naked Lunch'. He also was a pioneer in Machine Poetry. You can listen to some of Gysin's work at UbuWeb Sound. I recommend the poem "I Am".

The Film, FLicKeR, focuses principally on the Dream Machine, but through interviews with artists and former acquaintances a vision is built of a wanderer. Gysin is a man who never stayed in one place for too long, the list of countries he lived in is lengthly. Gysin spent his days in a quest of self exploration, his goal to discover new territory in art and literature, using science and the occult. The 'Occult' could also be substituted for '1950's/60's Psychology' with little change to the meaning. Heck even '50's/60's Drug Culture' would work as a substitute.

The Dream Machine can induce hallucinations in people, creating a high like experience. All you have to do is get close to it and shut your eyes, the flickering lights do the rest. Drugs are not required, and could even make the experience dangerous. The idea of a machine that can cause hallucinations through flickering light is straight out of Science Fiction (and fact!).

Musicians like Iggy Pop and Kurt Cobain have used Dream Machines; famous writers, painters, poets, the list goes on, have also used them. Many of those artists even make an appearance in the documentary (though not Kurt, RIP). Some are still espousing the virtues of the Dream Machine while others have moved on. All of them speak highly of the talent and vision of Gysin.

Brion Gysin was just one of many artists on a quest for transcendence and the tools they used were drugs, science and magic. Whether or not any of them found it isn't a judgement made by the filmmakers. What the film does show is how Gysin's and others efforts led to some of the most radical/craziest concepts of the 20th century. Surrealism, Machine Poetry, the Beat Generation, Cultural Terrorism, to name just a few.

A compelling image is created of the lives these people led, of the passions and failures that drove them. One lesson of this movie is that the limits of the mind, of imagination and creativity, are far beyond what many of us accept them to be. If you can handle the potentially seizure inducing lights and images, then there is a lot to be found in this documentary.

FLicKeR was awarded a Special Jury Prize at the 2008 Hot Docs Festival, and has wowed audiences at festivals in Canada and around the world. Currently it is showing on Bravo.



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Botox, Loss of Empathy and Darwin

There's an article about the evolution of facial expressions published in 2008 at Discover Magazine. The Article (3 decent pages) goes into detail on Darwins fascination with human and animal facial expressions. The author (Carl Zimmer) traces the early studies of Darwin in this field through to the understanding of modern science. It's fascinating stuff, especially when they start talking about the Botox.
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According to science a good part of our ability to understand facial expressions, to empathize with people, depends on our ability to mimic the expression. When we mimic someone's expression, we actually experience the emotion. As Darwin discovered even understanding the snarl of a dog is easy once you writhe your own lips and expose teeth (which makes me wonder about mimicking alien faces).

In different studies researchers paralysed or otherwise limited people's ability to smile. They found that this inhibited the test subject's ability to understand/recognize a smile in a picture. Using brain scans researchers have actually mapped a direct link between facial muscles and brain activity in the emotion centres.

Fascinating stuff. But where is the Botox? Well it so happens that not only are researchers paralysing facial muscles, but so are plastic surgeons. And the muscles they tend to paralyse the most? Frown lines.

People are unable to frown, and thus are less able to understand/empathize with the emotions that produces those frowns. Emotions like anger and sadness. It can be theorized that this is leading to a happier population. Fewer people frowning, triggering few empathetic frown responses, and the spiral goes down to zero. It may even explain why the Stars seem to have a better life than the rest of us. They do have a better life. They can't get sad or feel the pain of others as easily.

However the article finishes with this comment on our Botox Culture:
"But for all the Botox youthfulness plastic surgeons may want to think about, neuroscience raises a darker possibility. Making faces helps us understand how other people are feeling. By altering our faces we’re tampering with the ancient lines of communication between face and brain that may change our minds in ways we don’t yet understand."


Now that could be an interesting story.



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Coming up with Short Story Ideas

The first submission for my writing group is due on the last Tuesday of the month. The first meeting is the following Tuesday. This is going to be the pattern going forward with the group. That way everybody has a week to read all the submissions and prepare their comments. This is an important part of the writing group. In a previous writing group I was a part of there was one member who would not read the submissions before the meeting. This led to a lot of awkward moments where he expected us to simultaneously accept his excuses for not reading our work and provide comments on his material. This kind of thing can act as a poison to the writing group. People resent the member for not doing the same 'work' as the rest of them. This is why the deadline is set a week before the meeting for this group. There should be few excuses with a week and weekend to read the submissions. That's all that is really needed too. Read the submissions and comment on what feelings the story inspired in you, and what you liked or disliked.

Of course all of the above on being a good group member is useless if you don't have a submission to begin with. This month and most months my group will be working on short stories. When writing a short story the first step is coming up with the idea. The idea doesn't have to be a completely plotted ready to write story, it can just be a scene you wish to write, or a vision of some new technology, or magical wonder. The point of the idea is that it gives you a place to start (or finish) and the other stuff is just words on paper that will eventually be a story. I find many times that as I begin to write I really don't know what my story will be about or how it will end, but as long as I keep exploring the idea the story will reveal itself.

Where to get ideas? I have a few places I like to go for inspiration.
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First off by just paying attention to the news, any news, provides all sorts of fuel for the idea machine. I tend to mix my reading between technology news, political and legal news, and oddball stories - 'Man bites dog' sorta thing. Beyond the news there are some tried and true places for inspiration. One I particularly like, more so because it helps me refine ideas, rather than generate them is The Grand List of Overused Science Fiction Cliches.


Some of my inspirational links:


Biology in Science Fiction


Daily Space


NewsNow Science


MIT Technology Review

*added May 15th 09
I also suggest browsing the articles on this blog tagged Story Ideas», they don't always explicitly spell out ideas, but can be great for inspiration.

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