September News

* Mapping Earth's eighth continent, which is almost entirely under New Zealand: https://www.livescience.com/lost-continent-zealandia-new-tectonic-map.html

* An AI wrote this opinion piece on why we shouldn't be afraid of AI: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/08/robot-wrote-this-article-gpt-3

* National Geographic discusses "declinism" (decline bias), news and social media consumption, and why 2020 isn't _actually_ the Worst Year Ever: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/09/why-2020-feels-like-the-worst-year-ever/

* Author Judith Tarr on horses, metaphors, and accurate worldbuilding: https://www.tor.com/2020/09/08/writing-horses-those-handy-equestrian-metaphors/

* Brandon Sanderson will be offering a free YouTube lecture series on writing science fiction and fantasy: https://www.deseret.com/entertainment/2020/9/2/21417196/brandon-sanderson-free-creative-writing-class-youtube-science-fiction-fantasy

* This was fascinating; mystery writer Gabriel Cohen moved into a New York apartment that seemed too good to be true, and ended up both captivated and haunted by the real-life murder he found out had taken place there: https://narratively.com/a-splash-of-red/

* For fans of Seanan McGuire's "Wayward Children" books, a side-quest novella with Lundy from IN AN ABSENT DREAM: https://www.tor.com/2020/07/13/juice-like-wounds-seanan-mcguire/

* A bit click-bait-y, but still good for providing perspective on our place (and importance) in the Universe: http://justsomething.co/these-25-pictures-will-make-you-completely-re-evaluate-your-existence/

* "Scientists were convinced that biological clocks are predominantly driven by internal rhythms. There was just one problem --involving some mollusks and the moon." https://www.wired.com/story/oysters-that-knew-what-time-it-was/

* "A working class hero/is something to be. . ." Tor.com celebrates the unsung cooks, clerks, janitors and freelance bards of science fictions and fantasy media: https://www.tor.com/2020/09/04/celebrating-the-working-class-warriors-of-sff/

* 17 of the most devious sci-fi and fantasy villains, according to BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/blog/most-devious-sci-fi-and-fantasy-villains

* "The Future is Fungal" -- why the science of mycology is on the rise: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/aug/23/the-future-is-fungal-why-the-megascience-of-mycology-is-on-the-rise

* For the home that has everything, "broken", cartoon-y fantasy furniture from artist and woodworker Henk Verhoeff: https://mymodernmet.com/amazing-woodworking-projects/

* The 60-year-old teenage lie that became "The Creature From the Sand Pits":https://narratively.com/the-teenage-prank-thats-lasted-60-years/

* "Comics Open Up The Idea Of What A Story Can Be": A Conversation With Tom Gauld: http://www.tcj.com/comics-open-up-the-idea-of-what-a-story-can-be-a-conversation-with-tom-gauld/

* Move over, Spinal Tap -- one man's dream of an Arthurian rock opera on ice is stranger: https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2020/06/the-stranger-than-fiction-secret-history-of-prog-rock-icon-rick-wakeman

* August 21st, 2020 was the 50th anniversary of the original fanzine publication of "The Eye of Argon" by Jim Theis, which in later novel form is frequently considered to be one of the worst fantasy novels ever published: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eye_of_Argon

* "There are hundreds of thousands of absolutely incredible creatures in the World Ocean that keep surprising even the most experienced marine biologists." Here are some of them, gorgeously photographed by marine biologist and photographer Alexander Semenov: https://mymodernmet.com/alexander-semenov-underwater-photography/

* C'mon, you know you want to hear "Bohemian Rhapsody" in the original Klingon: https://www.ajournalofmusicalthings.com/heres-bohemian-rhapsody-performed-in-the-original-klingon/

* Best cure for your fear of bugs?  Become an award-winning macro insect photographer like Mofeed Abu Shalwa: https://mymodernmet.com/macro-beetle-photography-mofeed-abu-shalwa/

* Useful dinosaur survival information for time travelers: https://www.wired.com/story/how-outrun-dinosaur/