Today is Frank Sinatra’s 100th birthday.
He was my mother favorite singer.
So here’s Frank Sinatra, live at the Sands in 19661.
Backed by Count Basie.
Arranged by Quincy Jones.
What else do you want?
Ada Lovelace’s birthday
Today is the 200th birthday of Countess Ada Lovelace, widely recognized as the world’s first computer programmer.
So here’s (not the usual) picture of lovely Ada.
Ada Lovelace’s insights on possible applications for the Charles Babbage engine anticipated modern computer developments, and fired up science-fictional dreams and steampunk imagination.
That’s why we love her – and we are ready to forget about her bad temper, her manipulative character, her drinking, carousing, adultery and opium addiction.
For all her flaws, she was a swell girl.
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Season’s ailments
Even the best laid plans…
I was looking forward at the long weekend of the 8th of December – four days and then some of highly productive writing.
Everything was nicely laid out, and my health gave away – which means I went down on Friday and only this morning I emerged from four days and then some of warm soup and aspirin, coughing and generally feeling miserable.
I wasn’t even able to spend the time reading.
What a waste.
But now things are looking up again, and I started working on a new story – my first ever gaming tie-in fiction project1.
I’ve got the characters, the story, a soundtrack and the first 2000 words of what’s planned as a 15.000 words novelette…
Things are looking up.
Later!
- well, not exactly – my contribution to the Delta Green anthology Extraordinary Renditions was a gaming tie-in, but it was part of an anthology, so… ok, I’m cheating. ↩
The Queen of Space Opera
The Queen of Space Opera was born 100 years ago, on December the 7th 1915, in Los Angeles, California.
Her name was Leigh Brackett.
When I started reading science fiction, back in 1976, I started with lots of Golden Age of Science Fiction space opera – Jack Williamson, Edmond Hamilton, and Hamilton’s wife, Leigh Brackett.
My schoolmates were reading Isaac Asimov, and yes, I read his books too – as I read all the SF I could lay my hands on.
But those earlier books, often fix-ups or expansions of stories and novellas originally published in pulp magazines, remained with me for a long time.
I read her books in Italian, and later got me copies of the originals, and re-read them in English. Continue reading
Swashbucklers (again)
Last night I found this great, old documentary about swashbucklers movies.
Maybe it gives too much screen time to Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Errol Flynn – but there’s good reasons to.
Interesting detail – the short is narrated by Joseph Cotten.
Enjoy!
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Robert Loggia and T.H.E Cat
I’m very saddened by the passing away, at the age of 85, of Robert Loggia, one of the most recognizable faces of both cinema and television.
When I was a kid, Loggia was one of my personal heroes as the titular character in T.H.E. Cat, an old TV series (1966-1967) I used to watch on some local station. Continue reading
Before MacGyver: Roman Army Knife
Looks like the Swiss Army Knife was actually invented in the times of the Roman Empire.
Found in the Mediterranean a few years ago, this Ancient Roman multi-tool includes a three-pronged fork, spatula, pick, spike and knife, 3rd century AD.
It’s made of iron and silver, and it probably belonged to a traveler of the time (and so the definition of “Roman Army Knife”, while fun, is probably incorrect).
This object is part of the collections of the Cambridge Fitzwilliam Museum.
This is another one of those things that, should I put it in an Aculeo & Amunet story1, would be probably criticized as unlikely or “wrong”.
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- and I will! ↩
Karavansara 