Monthly Archives: January 2015

An Apology, a Request and an Announcement

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My apologies for the lack of poem this week, my youngest son has a minor case of pneumonia (not the first time, it’s a lot milder this time). He’s not had to be hospitalised, he’s taking antibiotics which seem to be kicking in properly, he’s regained his taste for food and had his first calm night in about a week, so things are looking positive. This has meant a lack of restful nights for the whole of this past week, so I haven’t gotten much written. I would appreciate people’s prayers for Timmy that he would continue to recover well and that we could get some quality rest.

I did manage to write a poem, but that will be used in chapter 11 or 12 of Beyond the Mist, so I can’t post it until that is published (which will probably be in Sci Phi Issue 6). Sci Phi Issue 4 is on schedule for the end of February/beginning of March, and the cover art for that by the ever Awesome Cat Leonard has just been released, so take a look and imagine the possibilities…

Sci Phi Journal Issue 4

Sci Phi Journal Issue 4

Beauty’s Message

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To what does purest beauty bear witness in its prime?

What message does it send to us that transcends space and time?

That we are not the pinnacle of all there is to be;

There are higher things than us, a land beyond the sea;

 

That greater things await us than the universe contains,

Sights and joys that will outmeasure all our trials and pains;

Deeper truths and loves than we could dare to dream,

Resplendent life abundant by a holy healing stream.

 

All flowing from the source of all, who we’ll see face to face

Where holiness is merged with love as justice is with grace.

There is our true purpose, there is our true home,

That is why down here on earth our hearts will always roam.

Spreading the Word about the Sci Phi Journal

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I trust that at least some of my fine readers and followers have taken a look at an issue or two of the Sci Phi Journal and have liked what you saw there, I certainly have. It is showing a lot of promise, but the economic realities of publishing mean that in order to be sustainable in the long term, its readership will need to keep on growing, as the editor outlines at the link below:

http://www.sciphijournal.com/how-sci-phi-is-going/

I am sure that there are plenty of other people out there who like depths to their stories and to explore the depths of the stories they like, and so would love the journal if they knew about it. The next part of Beyond the Mist will be appearing in the next issue, which is in the works, but how long it will take until it and subsequent issues appear will depend on the level of readership. So, my discerning friends, I would ask if any of you are part of a community of science fiction fans or writers, or of philosophers; or know anyone in a philosophy department, or in the media, please consider suggesting to them to take a look, every little increase in the potential audience will help.

Nothing Good Ever Happened At the Point of a Gun – SuperversiveSF

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Over at Superversive SF, Amy Sterling Casil weighs in on the recent massacre in Paris:

 

All I will add is that this is yet another reminder, for those that need to be reminded, that freedom is neither free nor the default state of mankind. It is immensely costly, and those who enjoy the benefits of freedom the most are often the most isolated from and unaware of the daily sacrifices needed and made to preserve and defend it.

There are and have always been entities, groups and philosophies that hate freedom and given the opportunity will gleefully slaughter or crush the rest of us underfoot, whether we are innocent or not, and silence all dissent. My own father-in-law was imprisoned for handing out leaflets in favour of free elections, a friend of the family was imprisoned and tortured for close to a decade for being ‘too great a religious influence’. That regime is now thankfully gone, but there are many others like it, and many who pine for it to come back or for something similar to ‘succeed’ where it failed.

My gratitude and utmost respect goes out to those who each day put their lives on the line and do all they can to not give such people the opportunities they crave.

Meet (or Hear) the Man Behind the Curtain

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Last month I was interviewed for the Sci Phi Journal in connection with my ongoing contribution in the form of the serial Beyond the Mist. Be amazed at my boring voice and semi-coherent ramblings!

http://www.sciphijournal.com/meet-the-contributor-ben-zwycky/

(This was the first audio interview I have ever given, so hopefully I will get better at it with practice, assuming there will be a next time)