In this time when the word “hero” is used so often, let’s not forget the original heroes, those individuals who made the ultimate sacrifice to keep America safe and free. They did this not for Democrats or Republicans; they did it for all Americans and others yearning for freedom. Their graves fill Arlington and other cemeteries across this land and overseas where the battles were waged. This day is more than just part of another three-day holiday weekend filled with BBQs, car and furniture sales, and the “unofficial beginning” of summer. Let’s give thanks to the souls of the brave and courageous who fought and died for freedom. It’s their day. Let’s honor them.

…is about to be realized! Readers, celebrate with me! I’ve been selected by NASA to go to ISS and test the effects of space travel on older men. They called me this morning. I celebrated at breakfast with a wee bit of Jameson in my coffee. Maybe more tonight! (Jameson, that is.)

St. Paddy’s Day is here! While many celebrations would (and should) remain at home, this is the day when everyone becomes Irish, enjoying real whiskey that’s thrice-distilled, and avoiding that twice-distilled and smoky-flavored Scotch or the mouthwash-tasting bourbon; a Guinness stout, Killian’s or Smithwick’s red ale; corn beef and cabbage (although that’s basically an American invention); and tea, neither high nor low, and pastries. Let’s forget about the ethnic stereotypes—Irish cops and drunks, for example. You’ll find Irish people all over the world doing multiple things. And let’s learn a bit o’ Irish history, which is long and complex, with Celts, Normans, Britons, and Vikings contributing to it.

The Irish musical heritage is also rich. Consider this a poor review of that wonderful tradition. I’ll refer to my own music collection in the following. Readers can add their favorites in the comments. First some artists:

Máire Brennan

Celtic Women (when they sing Irish songs!)

Phil Coulter

Turlough O’Carolan

Next some songs:

The Fields of Athenry

The Star of the County Down

The Wild Rover

The Rare Old Times

Danny Boy

Black Velvet Band

Goodbye Johnny Dear

Seven Drunken Nights

Liverpool Lou

This music isn’t all jigs and ballads either. Some Irish music is mystical or religious (Brennan’s, for example). Some are bawdy or raunchy and might remind US tourists of pubs they visited in Eire. They all are examples of the Irish’s love for song, music, and dance.

Happy St. Paddy’s Day! Stay safe; drink responsibly.

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Comments are always welcome.

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!

We have a representative democracy. The only effective, legal way to let our representatives know how they should be running our country is by voting. Those who represent us well should be voted in. Those who don’t should be voted out. It’s as simple as that.

If you don’t vote, you are dissing that sacred trust and helping to kill democracy in America. So please vote. It’s late for mail-ins, but if you have a ballot, fill it out, and put it in the nearest drop-box. If you plan to vote in person, do so…but safely by wearing a mask. Tomorrow is Election Day! (In case you didn’t know.)

Because of the election, there are no other posts this week. The next one will be Wednesday, November 11, which is Veterans’ Day. Irrespective of political proclivities, let’s remember all those who have defended our country…and allowed us to continue as a democracy when the forces of evil in the world try to destroy us.

Carlos, this day when you perished at the hands of radical Muslim fanatics will never be forgotten. We miss you!

Chadwick Boseman, RIP. While Thurgood Marshall, Jackie Robinson, and other great historical figures you played would have established you as a great actor and sensitive man, your Black Panther portrayal inspired many. It also became a symbol for what we need to be in these troubling times: Resistant, resolute, and resilient agents for change. The big C often takes young victims and those in the prime of their lives. It’s always sad when it takes anyone. That other big C in our lives right now will be a thing of the past soon enough, so we must continue with our long battle against cancer…and the inequities in our societies, perhaps the most insidious diseases of them all.

Chadwick, you will be missed.,,but never forgotten!

Ah, spring!

The flowers sprinkled around this post prove spring has sprung. I hope they improve your mood. They improved mine, which has been slapped around a bit after the pandemics caused by COVID-19 and the murder of George Floyd. That first pandemic is dwindling here in the NYC area, which is no longer the world’s epicenter—Brazil is. That second pandemic is still going on as I write this.

Spring always makes us feel good. The changes in the sun’s angle causing the dark days of winter to morph into bright spring days are exhilarating. Leaves come back on the trees; flowers start popping. (There are three kinds in the pics. Can you name them?) There’s a pleasant buzz to life as Gaia takes her perennial bow.

From ancient times forward, human beings have celebrated the coming of spring. What’s more, the plants and animals seem to join in that celebration…or even lead it. Hazel, the groundhog who lives under our shed every spring, uses our yard to feed, preparing for the little groundhogs who are on their way. (I’m sorry I don’t have a pic of Hazel. She’s a shy critter.)

As a kid, I often wondered why the ancients didn’t celebrate New Year in spring…and I grew up in California where winters aren’t that bad. I learned why that wouldn’t work for both the northern and southern hemispheres even before I started in school, but it was still a nice thought because spring seems to make the world seem better.

These are good thoughts to have in these troubled times. Spring is full of hope. We called it an Arab spring because there was hope for democracy in the Middle East; we now call what’s happening there the Arab winter. Darkness and despair are associated with winter; lightness and hope with spring.

Of course, spring is really the opposite of fall, summer of winter. Those oppositions don’t detract from my belief that spring is the real beginning of the year. It just occurs at different times in the northern and southern hemispheres, but it’s still a beginning. Life seems to rev up again each spring for all of us.

I’m sorry that victims of COVID and Mr. Floyd can’t see another spring. Or maybe they can…somewhere it’s eternal spring?

Today is the traditional day for remembering all those who have given their lives defending America in foreign wars, those courageous members of the armed forces who have made the ultimate sacrifice. We tend to confuse this day a bit with Veterans’ Day, which is fine—coming from a family of veterans, there’s nothing wrong with also recognizing those who returned. All members of the Armed Forces should be recognized and applauded for their service.

However, we are now at war within our borders and throughout the world, a war against an invisible enemy, COVID-19, so today we should also remember those healthcare workers, first responders, and all the support staff who have made the ultimate sacrifice in that war, along with those who have fought valiantly and are still fighting this pandemic.

Both groups mentioned above have tirelessly worked to keep us safe. In these trying times, we must remember all the heroes. They’ve all made America great and been tireless warriors in the battles that threaten the U.S. and the world.

Be smart…and stay safe. We will get through this.

I’ll admit it—I’ll miss pro football. Yes, I know, football widows have already realized that greedy NFL owners, to salvage something, are willing to risk players, sportscasters, and support staff’s health to create an anemic season, even if it means playing to empty stands. What’s Bob Kraft going to do? (I won’t mention what first comes to mind—this is a PG-13 rated blog.) If players refuse to play, will he fire them? Will he fire Tom Brady, that chap who put the I back in TEAM? (In spite of that, Brady showed, in spite of himself, that football is indeed all about TEAM.) Oh, right, the GOAT won’t be playing for the Patriots this season…or probably any other! But the Pats’ team play is why I’ll miss football.

As an old chap myself (older than Brady, and on a par with Coach B and Kraft), it was always fun to watch Brady make do with the players he had, Gronk or no Gronk, and shred the opposition’s defenses. (He’ll have the big G as a target at Tampa Bay, though, if they ever get to play a game.) Brady’s not bad for a forty-plus-year-old. I’ll miss him showing the world that getting old can mean getting better, even in the toughest sport there is. (Although Irish rugby might come close—look Mom, no pads!).

But Brady has betrayed the Pats’ fans. I’ve never liked his politics—Brady and Kraft (and Coach B?) are far too cozy with Trump and his policies (although all three are probably a lot smarter). Brady might just run for president someday; he couldn’t be any worse than the current POTUS. But he’s followed the money to Tampa Bay along with Gronk. New England’s fans don’t count for these two, just playing more football to make more truckloads of dollars keep arriving. (Not to mention the free Cads and trips to Disney World for Brady—when will Gronk get his due?)

I no longer live in the Boston area (I did, which is why I’m a Pats, Celtics, Bruins, and Red Sox fan—I’ve been a Celtics fan ever since Bill Russell and Casey Jones went there from USF). But I imagine the folks up Boston way aren’t too happy with either Brady or Gronk “retiring” to Florida. The Pats’ dynasty is over, and Coach B and Kraft don’t have a handy replacement for the GOAT, as far as I know. And with no fans because of COVID-19, who gives a rat’s ass about what happens to the Pats? Or pro football in general? The rest of the country hated the Pats anyway. You can bet I won’t be rooting for Tampa Bay. In fact, I won’t be watching NFL football at all. I’m becoming a football widower!

Maybe UCSB, my alma mater, will finally build a competitive football program? Probably not happening!

***

Comments are always welcome.

Rogue Planet. A murdered king’s son fights to free his people from an oppressive religious tyranny. An epic military and romantic sci-fi novel with Game-of-Thrones and Star Wars fantasy elements awaits you. Set in the same universe as The Chaos Chronicles Trilogy Collection and A. B. Carolan’s sci-fi mysteries for young adults, this book is available at Amazon in print and ebook versions, and at Smashwords and its affiliated retailers (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc.) and lending and library services (Scribd, Overdrive, Baker&Taylor, Gardners, etc.).

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!

Note from Steve to Cupid’s minions: Tomorrow is St. Valentine’s Day. Help guide the little cherub’s arrows (Cupid, not the saint) to their targets. Don’t disappoint your significant other. Fair warning!

***

Czech writer Karel Čapek’s 1921 R.U.R. (“Rossum’s Universal Robots”) was the first story about robots (it introduced the word, in fact), published long before Isaac Asimov made robots and androids famous in his novels. They are good and bad guys in sci-fi and hated by union workers and everyone else who fear the loss of their jobs to automation. They’ve even become comedy figures: “Danger, danger, Will Robinson!”

I don’t have a good name for it (perhaps the psychiatrists who psycho-analyzed Donald J. Trump can help here), but there exists a phobia about robots. I’d guess androids have a worse rep—they look and often act too much like humans! Blade Runner, one of two of the greatest sci-fi movies ever made (the other is Alien), plays on that fear (so does Alien, in fact). (Maybe that’s why Hollywood shortened Phillip K. Dick’s title, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” to the ambiguous Blade Runner.) I, Robot, the movie that has little to do with Asimov’s story, almost made robots into evil Nazi mobs…or mechanical zombie hordes. Hollywood just loves to ruin good literature.

I have robots and androids in some of my sci-fi tales. Their roles are mostly to serve man (without the meaning of the classic short story “To Serve Man” by Damon Knight, which is about that other phobia, evil ETs). In fact, my AIs are a bit more iffy (HAL started that trend in 2001, I suppose, but redeemed itself in 2010, by far the better movie). There’s no reason an AI can’t be a demagogue that wants to be king and control an army of robots and androids to the detriment of human beings. US presidents shouldn’t have a monopoly on that.

But back to my oeuvre: From the automated bar at the beginning of Sing a Zamba Galactica to a rebel leader in Rogue Planet, my androids mostly work for humanity or are indifferent, neither bad nor evil. In a sense, the cyborgs in the “Mary Jo Melendez Mysteries” (the “Mechanically Enhanced Cybernetic Humans,” or MECHs) are just androids with human brains (that might be a better solution than Asimov’s positronic brains)…and good guys too. Yet, to make robots and androids more human, I wanted to create some who can either be good or bad characters in a story.

As many of you know, my alter-ego A.B. Carolan is in charge of my YA sci-fi mysteries now. The latest entry, the third book in the “ABC YA Sci-Fi Mysteries” series, is titled Mind Games. That robot/android phobia is an important theme. As in most of my treatments of themes, A.B. covers both sides: There’s a good android, a cop (not all that different from Asimov’s Daneel Olivaw). There are bad androids too, but humans made them that way (that’s usually the case—someone writes the programs!). But the central question is a bit more than robot/android phobia: What could possibly go wrong if androids had ESP? (That’s another theme in A.B.’s book, of course.) Not even Data had ESP.

R.U.R.’s legacy will continue long into the future as sci-fi continues to use robots, androids, and AIs as characters, reflecting their importance for our future lives and well being. I’m not sure they’ll be equipped with ESP, but what if future soldiers are no longer human but invincible robots with ESP who can read the thoughts of their human adversaries? Now there’s a tale of military sci-fi for you that moves far beyond Terminator and I, Robot. (Maybe Trump will populate his Space Force with them around his fifth term?)

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Comments are always welcome!

Mind Games. In this third book in the “ABC YA Sci-Fi Mysteries” series, A.B. Carolan’s main character finds her adopted father murdered. She’d agreed to hide her ESP powers, but she breaks that promise to find his killer. The pursuit involves three planets and requires many friends who comes to her aid. In uncovering the extent and perpetrators of the conspiracy is a sci-fi thrill ride you won’t want to miss, whether you’re a young adult or an older sci-fi addict who’s young-at-heart. Available in print and ebook formats from Amazon, and in ebook format from Smashwords and all its affiliated retailers (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc.) and lenders and library services (Scribd, Overdrive, Baker & Taylor, Gardners, etc.).

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!