If you've read any of  my books, you'll know that I'm one of those science fiction authors with a non-traditional perspective that comes through loud and clear. In some cases, the worlds I build (Castiti is a good example) are basically the kinds of worlds I'd love to live in. In the Casitian Universe series in particular, the core of the conflict has to do with the conflict between different ideas of how human beings should live. I try my best to have the complexity come out (like the Casitians get very annoying at some points...

I love making stuff up. I guess that's why I'm a science fiction writer. It really makes me really happy to think about new ways the world could be, or new worlds that are completely different than the one we live in. I have as yet to write a novel that has no human beings, but perhaps that will happen.

I've been a blogger consistently almost 10 years now. That's a long time - longer than most bloggers have been around. I have had a lot of different blogs, too. In 2005, I actually had 3 blogs going: a regular blog, a technology blog, and a ministry blog. I retired the ministry blog when I left seminary, and retired the technology blog last year, and replaced it with an author blog, which I write in now and again. But I felt like I wanted a place to write a bit more deeply, to delve into the issues of the day in a balanced, reflective, and sometimes spiritual way.

I moved to Oakland in September of 2008, for a number of reasons. Some were very clear to me, others didn't become clear until years later. I'd learned a little about Oakland in my 18 months in seminary in Berkeley, from forays to Oakland for hanging out, events and the White Horse, of course. I met Ruth in Oakland - she is a long-time Oaklander.

Yesterday, I'm sitting in my room in Oakland, and I hear a series of gunshots very close to my house. I look out of the windows, but don't see much. The police block off the street, and apparently, someone was at least gravely injured, but I haven't heard details. But of course, this was only one of many incidents of gun violence, in Oakland, in Californai, and in the United States. 

This blog entry comes from an interesting discussion (both on and off-list) that has been going on the Broad Universe email list. It started with someone posting about a site that pirates ebooks. I'll start out by saying that I am not trying to make a living as a writer, and making money at writing was never my goal or intent. This is not to say that I would mind making a living being a writer. In fact, I'd very much like that.

I don't usually review movies on my blog, but here's a second in a row. I think if I'd seen a more balanced set of views on this movie before I saw it, I'd not bother to write this (then again, I probably would not have bothered to see the film.) So first, let me get some things out of the way.

I was reading this op-ed peice about the tragedy in Colorado. It's a good and balanced view of the politics around gun control. I think it's reasonable, and deals with the fact that for the most part, both sides talk past each other. But he mentions, then sort of discards something important. A quote:

I'm one of those people, you know, the people with a "country home."  Of course, my primary home is a room in a collective house, and I share the cute, little "country house", but still. Right now, I feel like I'm living a bifurcated life.

Since I've been a sci-fi fan for a long time, and since I've actually been a scientist, I've always been interested in the relationship between science and science fiction. An old colleague of mine from Hampshire thought we should do a course on this, and I'm sure it would have been a great course. As a science fiction writer, I generally try really hard to follow basic science, even when it might be inconvenient.