A Year of Words

This old blog is a bit quiet, so here’s something of a throat clearing and a summary of my writing of the year. I won’t mention the scientific papers I’m a co-author of – thanks to Herschel and Planck they are too many to mention – but the following pieces of fiction and general non-fiction by me appeared this year:

“The Last of the Guerilla Gardeners” in Nature Futures (Jan 20 2011) http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v469/n7330/full/469438a.html

“Foothills of Shackleton” in Cheer Up, Universe, pub. Whortlebury Press, ed. Ahmed Khan (2011)
http://WhortleberryPress.com

“His Final Experiment” in One Weird Idea (feature story in first issue), ed. Roscoe Mathieu (2011)
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/66590

“Inquisition” on lablit.com
http://www.lablit.com/article/664

“Forgetting to Breathe” in Focus, the writers magazine of the BSFA (this is a reprint of some non-fiction previously published on lablit.com)

Not too shabby a list now it’s all gathered together, and one story already forthcoming in the new year in the ‘Rocket Science’ anthology.

More pro-publications needed, which will be a project for the new year…

Barbarella, science, and science fiction: Please come!

I will be appearing at this on Monday – do come along and join in the fun!

Monday 18 July, 6.30, Greenwich Picturehouse

This special presentation of the cult classic BARBARELLA includes a discussion about the real science behind the film.
As part of our ‘Science Fiction?’ series, BARBARELLA will be followed by a 20-minute illustrated talk on the science behind the movie (and yes, there really is some…). Astronomers from the Royal Observatory and guest scientist Dr Dave Clements will talk about the hunt for alien planets and the weird and wonderful life forms that might live on them. They might even mention sex in space. Then join the experts in the Picturehouse bar to have all your space-related questions answered.

http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/cinema/Greenwich_Picturehouse/News/Item/Science_Fiction_Barbarella/

AA Talk Video now available

See me and Carlos Villanueva Brandt discussing the City as Creative Energy at the Architecture association in this video…

Architecture and Physics

I’m going to be one of the speakers at a discussion on The City as Creative Energy at the Architectural Association tomorrow evening.

http://www.aaschool.ac.uk/VIDEO/lecture.php?ID=1532

I think it’s an open even but check with the AA if you’re planning to come.

A Different Light

One of the nice things about being a scientist is that you occasionally get given unusual toys to play with.

I was recently honoured by being this year’s George Hay Lecturer at the UK National SF Convention. I spoke about far-IR astronomy and results from the Herschel Space Observatory. As part of the show I borrowed an 8-14 micron mid-IR camera to show off some of the things that you can do in the infrared. It’s not quite at Herschel wavelengths, but it does show you some familiar objects in a rather different light…

You can see the effect of the long hair on heat insulation!

I do get a bit worried about the cold nose and the glowing eyes of the short-haired cat…

Just who does my writing think I am?

I decided to put some of my own prose into the ‘Who do you write like’ test machine.

The scientific paper I’m currently working on is claimed to be like Raymond Chandler.

The modern horror/sf/fantasy piece I just submitted to F&SF is apparently like Stephen King.

My most recently submitted piece of hard SF is allegedly like James Joyce!

With the exception of King, which, while not consciously what I was aiming for, is at least in the same department, I don’t really understand the other two, and I’m now rather distracted by the concept of Phillip Marlowe, hardboiled cosmologist working in noir astronomy.

Forbidden Planet Signing

Next Thursday I’ll be signing copies of the Conflicts anthology at Forbidden Planet, alongside various other authors.

I hope I get to see some of you there!

BCA Capitulates

I was lucky enough to be outside the High Court on 1st April to hear the judgement of the appeal court on the British Chiropractic Association’s libel case against Simon Singh. As you’ll have read elsewhere, Simon won the appeal quite spectacularly.

But that was only one battle, the war continued… Until today!

The BCA has issued a Notice of Discontinuance which means that they are ending the case and will pay all Simon’s legal bills, which are quite substantial.

This is utter defeat for the BCA. While Libel Law reform is still much needed in the UK, this defeat serves notice on all those who would wish to use libel law to stifle scientific debate.

Steam in Hyde Park

The Science Museum has set up a short railway track in Hyde Park, just by the Albert Memorial, for a replica of Stephenson’s Rocket to run on. It’ll be open to the public for the next 3 weeks.

I fell over the press launch of this on my way to work. The things you stumble into round here!

Beyond Entropy

I’m spending the weekend in Geneva at a meeting of the Beyond Entropy project. It’s all rather impressive. We had a tour round CERN today, and this evening we had brief discussions about what all of us do. I’ve discovered I’m spending the weekend with people who do such things as building soliton water sculptures or redesign the geography of The Netherlands. It makes me and my little science interests seem quite unimpressive, but these same people are impressed with what I do.

Which is all rather impressive in its own right.

Tomorrow we start to work out what we’re building for the Venice Biennale. Now that will be scary!

Other blog entries about Beyond Entropy can be found here and here.