* Overheard in the Store:
"Don't worry, it only _looks_ haunted."
"It didn't actually end, it just ran out of chapters.”
"Like I'd let some wimpy ghost best me in a fight. I will die by the hands of Al Capone's fat ghost or I will NEVER DIE."
"There are two kinds of people in the world: those who can extrapolate from incomplete data."
"I really wish there was someone smarter than me around to deal with it."
"I understand, but sometimes being a grownup means you're all the smart you’ve got, and you just have to do your best."
* Dell Magazines has elected to change the name of the John W. Campbell Award to The Astounding Award for Best New Writer, following Jeannette Ng's award acceptance speech at the Hugos, and much discussion in the field: https://theastoundinganalogcompanion.com/2019/08/27/a-statement-from-the-editor/ . (The full text of Ms. Ng's speech is here, if you missed it: https://medium.com/@nettlefish/john-w-campbell-for-whom-this-award-was-named-was-a-fascist-f693323d3293)
* Congratulations to all of the Hugo Award nominees and winners! http://www.thehugoawards.org/
* A crashed Israeli lunar lander accidentally scattered microscopic "water bears" on the moon: https://www.wired.com/story/a-crashed-israeli-lunar-lander-spilled-tardigrades-on-the-moon/
* Thanks to sponsor Gary C. for sending the link to this fascinating article about feminism in the 1905 science fiction short story "Sultana's Dream": https://www.ladyscience.com/features/feminist-visions-science-fiction-utopia-rokeya-hossain
* Last month we asked if you have suggestions for science fiction television shows to watch since "Westworld" is drawing to an end. Reader AL responds: "I would suggest DARK, having recently finished watching its second season. It pushes all of my Twin Peaks/X-Files/Lost/Fringe/Westworld/The OA buttons, but does a better job than any of those, I feel, at answering the questions it poses. (But it still keeps asking more, which is all to the good.)"
* If you happen to be in Boston and can splurge a bit for a good cause and a fascinating evening, Maggie Schpak -- emeritus Star Trek jeweler and prop-maker -- will be making a rare public appearance discussing her career and telling stories. Proceeds benefit Artisan's Asylum. The event will be followed by a reception and raffle for Star Trek collectibles! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/talk-alien-adornment-50-years-of-star-trek-jewelry-tickets-67601284261
* Bookselling This Week reported that N.K. Jemisin will be the spokesperson this year for Indies First, the campaign supporting independent bookstores that takes place on Small Business Saturday (November 30th, 2019): http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3508467Biz41565009
* While we're discussing the fabulous Ms. Jemisin, check out an early peek at her new novel THE CITY WE BECAME: https://www.tor.com/2019/08/29/heres-a-first-look-at-n-k-jemisins-new-novel-the-city-we-became/
* All the states of matter we didn't know existed, according to Popular Mechanics: https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/g28728445/other-states-of-matter/
* The magical phone of the future that never was, or, a cautionary tale about crowdfunding: https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/13/20758599/idealfuture-dragonfly-futurefon-indiegogo-crowdfunding-phone-scam-fraud-case
* Bookstores to visit on your next road trip: https://www.outsideonline.com/2344391/adventure-town-bookstores
* Living longer, and possibly forever: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/614078/transhumanists-live-forever/
* Do your books spark joy? (Gosh, we hope so!) https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/marie-kondo-bibliophiles-books-decluttering-tidying-a8864926.html
* Zeppelins! https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/zeppelins-stopped-flying-after-hindenburg-disaster-now-scientists-want-bring-ncna1043911
* Developing technology for older people that's not "beige and boring": https://www.technologyreview.com/s/614167/why-are-products-for-older-people-so-ugly/
* An interesting article from The Guardian on social media, attention, and addiction: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/aug/23/social-media-addiction-gambling
* The future of AI & the importance of storytelling: http://nautil.us/issue/75/story/the-storytelling-computer
* Perhaps tangentially related; universities are using science fiction to teach ethics to computer scientists and engineers: https://www.wired.com/story/how-we-learn-computer-science-ethics/
* Another trailer from "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker"! - https://www.wired.com/story/star-wars-rise-of-skywalker-trailer-d23/
* Good news: there's a release date for Black Panther II! Bad news: it's really, really far away! https://www.inverse.com/article/54692-black-panther-2-release-date-trailer-cast-plot
* A brief interview with Alan Bradley (author of the beloved Flavia de Luce mysteries): https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2019/01/25/to-alan-bradley-flavia-is-very-much-real.html
* An article on the comfort of reading the same book (or watching the same media) repeatedly: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/8/22/20826617/harry-potter-the-office-netflix-rewatching-binge-comfort-show
* NASA is investigating allegations of the first crime in space: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-49457912
* Potential life on Proxima B (and similar planets) -- spoiler: it might glow!: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/08/alien-corals-exoplanet-stars/596854/
* Gizmodo asks experts which animal they believe most likely to develop human-level intelligence: https://gizmodo.com/which-animal-will-develop-human-level-intelligence-in-t-1837573694
* The Mandelorian Trailer and details! https://www.cnet.com/news/star-wars-the-mandalorian-release-date-plot-cast-disney-plus-pedro-pascal-jon-favreau/
* Just when we thought it was over, there's more American Horror Story! Check out the trailer and details for American Horror Story: 1984 - https://io9.gizmodo.com/a-maniac-heads-to-summer-camp-in-the-screamingly-great-1837586511
* Astrophysicists are still trying to figure out what's going on with these weird gravitational waves: https://gizmodo.com/mystery-deepens-around-newly-detected-ripples-in-space-1837581646
* Kit Harrington will play Marvel's Black Knight: https://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/marvel/283025/eternals-who-is-black-knight
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