February News

* We're very sorry to report that author and editor Storm Constantine has died at age 64: https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/storm-constantine-fantasy-author-passes-away-aged-64-news/

* Someone created a computer graphic of what a Culture ship, from Iain Banks' novels, might look like: https://vimeo.com/184041325

* I completely lost myself in this totally fascinating (Very geeky! Very academic!) blog series by historian Bret Devereaux, excoriating George R. R. Martin for his portrayal of the Dothraki.  (Thanks to Fazal for letting us know about this one!): https://acoup.blog/2020/12/04/collections-that-dothraki-horde-part-i-barbarian-couture/.  

* Thanks to Jordan for letting us know about this extensive (and in-progress) Historical Science Fiction Dictionary: https://sfdictionary.com/. (From https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/26/arts/science-fiction-dictionary.html)

* Legend Ursula K. Le Guin gets a postage stamp! https://www.cnet.com/news/pioneering-sci-fi-author-ursula-k-le-guin-gets-her-own-us-postage-stamp/

* A really interesting article on the 1960's concerns about "alien microbes" and the extreme (and massively flawed) steps NASA took to avoid a possible "lunar pandemic": https://aeon.co/essays/what-can-we-learn-from-the-lunar-pandemic-that-never-was

* Netflix's "Sandman" series has its main cast (ohmigosh, Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer! But where/who is Death?!): https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/sandman-netflix-series-cast-1234894383/

* LeVar Burton (<3!) has been named the inaugural PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion: https://locusmag.com/2021/02/levar-burton-named-inaugural-pen-faulkner-literary-champion/

* Yes, the title of this article from the Guardian UK is, in fact, "Texas Sorry After Mistakenly Sending Emergency Alert for Cursed Chucky Doll": https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/03/texas-emergency-alert-chucky-doll

* Serious issues with AI and the "new" phrenology: https://aeon.co/ideas/algorithms-associating-appearance-and-criminality-have-a-dark-past

* The first successful face and double hand transplant has been completed: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/03/first-successful-face-double-hand-transplant-completed-joe-dimeo

* Nice article about how the "The Expanse" shows (mostly) accurate science: https://www.sfgate.com/tv/article/We-asked-a-Bay-Area-astrophysicist-if-Amazon-s-15919191.php

* Somewhat unsurprisingly, the galaxy is larger than we thought.  Check out this article just for the phrase "galactic cannibalism"!: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/feb/01/discovery-of-outer-stars-of-dwarf-galaxy-sheds-new-light-on-dark-matter

* Locus Magazine has published their "Recommended Reading" List for 2020 - lots of fabulous stuff to check out: https://locusmag.com/2021/02/2020-locus-recommended-reading-list/