Herschel crater

This is the Herschel crater on Mimas, one of Saturn’s moons. A close-up version of this photo was on the Astronomy Picture of the Day earlier this week. It amazes me that it’s possible to see such a distant object in such sharp detail. 

Nana Brew-Hammond and Binyavanga Wainaina

Last night I had the pleasure of visiting the Studio Museum in Harlem to see Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina talk to Ghanaian-American author Nana Brew-Hammond about her first novel Powder Necklace.

Wainaina is the founding editor of the influential magazine Kwani? and the author of the essay How to Write About Africa (quoted in my review of Gods and Soldiers, where an excerpt from his memoir-in-progress was published). Brew-Hammond’s novel focuses on the cultural challenges that face a somewhat spoiled young woman whose mother sends her to Ghana in order to protect her (I gathered) from the same kind of personal behavior that she wants more freedom to indulge in herself.

I joined the authors and several others for a drink afterwards at the pleasant (but pricey) Mobay restaurant on 125th Street, where I also got to talk with Billy Kahora, currently the editor of Kwani?

Essential science fiction

My partner Jenn Brissett has weighed in at SF Signal on the question ”What science fiction books should be in every fan’s library?”

The first commenter, John Ginsberg-Stevens (The Erudite Ogre) says he was “pleased to see Jennifer Marie Brissett’s and Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s inclusion of multiple story collections in their lists.  Acknowledging the place of short fiction is necessary to any imaginary SF bookshelf.”

Canada geese and muskrat lodges

I didn’t know that Canada geese sometimes build their nests on muskrat lodges, but apparently it’s a scientifically proven fact. My mother took this photo at Vischer’s Ferry, New York. 

Why it’s still tough to find a job

The picture really says it all, but here’s the discussion that went with it.