The Cambias Digression

Notes and thoughts on everything from what I had for breakfast to the fate of the Universe.

  • Ozblogging: The Scarecrow of Oz, Part 2

    (Sorry for the delay: in retrospect I shouldn't have started this series right before a pair of back-to-back trips. Thanks for your patience.) The Ork doesn't like being stuck in any cave, even one with a couple of humans in it for company, so he insists on exploring the dark tunnel at the back of…

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  • Ozblogging: The Scarecrow of Oz, Part 1

    Well, it has been more than six years since I blogged about one of the Oz books, so it's time to head down the Yellow Brick Road again and tackle a new one. This time we're looking at The Scarecrow of Oz, the eighth of the Oz novels written by L. Frank Baum. It was…

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  • Cinematic Note

    Bonnie Chagneau-Ravoire is the greatest actress in the world, and I will fight anyone who disagrees.

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  • Notes on Worldbuilding, Part 17: Aliens!

    We've finally arrived at discussing actual intelligent extraterrestrial beings. I'm going to come at this concept from two directions in separate posts. This entry will discuss the science of alien beings — what they might be like, based on all the previous worldbuilding entries in this series. My next entry will look at aliens from…

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  • Boskone 61!

    On February 9-11 I'll be at the fabulous Westin Waterfront hotel in Boston for the 61st BOSKONE! The venerable New England convention is back again and I'll be part of it. Come on down and see some of the best writers in the U.S. talking about science fiction. And me. Here's my schedule:   Friday,…

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  • There Is No Fermi Paradox

    The famous Fermi Paradox is one of the central concerns of research on the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI). Just to summarize quickly: we know of no good reason why technological civilizations can't emerge on other worlds in our Galaxy, but we see no signs of any. Paradox! "Where is everybody?" Enrico Fermi asked plaintively.…

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  • Notes on Worldbuilding Part 16: Alien Reproduction

    All living things reproduce. Organisms on Earth have evolved a dizzying array of reproductive habits and anatomy. I'm just going to look at the very basics in this post, and next time we'll look at how reproduction might affect the mentality and society of alien beings. Strategies: Biologists have identified two basic reproductive "strategies" for…

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  • The Zoo Hypothesis: Objections

    Recently the magisterial Centauri Dreams 'blog ran a post by Paul Gilster about the "Copernican Principle" and how it conflicts with the observed facts about life in the Universe. (Short version: the Copernican Principle says Earth should be an average world, but if that's the case, why don't we see more signs of life elsewhere?…

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  • Why I Didn’t Do It This Year

    Long-time readers of this blog (all three of you) may remember that in December I usually include a link to one of my favorite Web sites: the NORAD Santa Tracker. Why didn't I run it? Blame the Task & Purpose blog, a very interesting Web zine about military matters. This December they ran a very entertaining…

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  • Christmas Dinner Bragging

    The menu for this year's Christmas dinner (with photos when I remembered to take them): Smoked Whitefish    Pickled Herring in Sour Cream    Vermont Camembert Cremant de Loire Prosciutto-Wrapped Shrimp Braised Beef Brisket    Sauteed Potatoes    Roasted Brussels Sprouts Medoc Poached Salmon    Mixed Green Salad Christmas Pudding    Ice Cream

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