SciFiMonthly No. 9
The Science-Fiction-Create monthly newsletter
In this month's issue:
Welcome | YouTube Primer | Science-Fiction-Create Recap | More in SciFiNews | The Goods
Welcome
I hope you made the best of the season this weekend. Halloween, after all, is the greatest holiday! This year, we celebrated as usual by dressing up and watching scary movies. But we didn't go trick-or-treating like most years (cursed, COVID-19). We did walk the neighborhood in our costumes for a while. It was fun, and we enjoyed the SoCal weather. Our sunset was amazing - my son described it as “how Dr. Seuss would paint a sky." And the blue moon! A great night, it was.
Happy Halloween!
The big news this month is, of course, the launch of J ROBERT CLARK - Science-Fiction-Create on YouTube. The teaser trailer is up now. And the first episode premieres on November 12th.
In this November's SciFiMonthly, I'll start with a little YouTube primer and a request. I know many don't subscribe on YouTube, but most of you watch YouTube videos. Subscribing upgrades the utility and fun, however. So I'll get you up-to-speed on how to join and take part.
As for the rest of SciFiMonthly - the usual. I'll re-cap my stories from last month and share a few happenings in science. And provide a couple of new likes in "The Goods." As for the last part - The Goods - get ready for more scary. Halloween is not only a single day - it's to be celebrated year-round!
Let's get started.
YouTube Primer
Anyone online has watched videos on YouTube. If you search for a how-to-fix something, usually the first few hits on Google are YouTube videos. Before I try anything new, I do a quick search to see if someone has posted a video on it. But YouTube is more than how-tos. There is so much entertaining content available. And many talented people have created channels to share their ideas.
Anyone can browse YouTube without an account. But by creating one, you can subscribe to content you like. Best of all, having an account gives you the ability to interact with channel hosts and viewers. I've gotten to know a few great people through YouTube. Some, I even call friends. It's a wonderful thing, and I recommend getting more involved.
Since Google owns YouTube, most people already have an account - it's the same as your Gmail. All others will need to create one.
Here's a quick video provided by Google on how to set it all up.
And a brief step-by-step:
Go to YouTube.
In the top right, click Sign in.
Click Create Account.
Choose For myself or To manage my business.
Follow the prompts after that.
With a YouTube account, you can like and subscribe to channels. I follow several, including Adam Savage's Tested - a big inspiration for me. I also follow a few other makers like Fix This - Build That (woodworking) and This Old Tony (metalworking). As for entertainment, one of my current favorites is Monster Movie Happy Hour on YouTube. I've written about their fun channel in a past newsletter.
As for my videos, here's a link: J ROBERT CLARK - Science-Fiction-Create. Please check it out.
Thanks for logging in and subscribing to my channel. It's going to be fun!
Okay, now for the rest of today's show.
Science-Fiction-Create Recap
My stories cover the gamut - from making and how-to stuff to science and philosophizing. I'm writing about things that matter to me. And I'm encouraged by all your comments telling me they matter to you too. Thank you for sharing. It keeps the wind in my sails.
Here are details on a few this last month.
I started October reflecting on "measures" in a story titled, Is it me, or is the inch the problem? After a lot of recent fine-scale work, smaller units seem bigger to me. It has something to do with familiarity - I am comfortable working with tiny fractional sizes now. But a problem remains - that pesky "Imperial" system messes with my brain. Ah, the beauty of metric - a savior, if only we could be saved.
In a subscriber-only post, I further mused on that mid-century color of old - hospital green. I've tweaked the formulation now and am calling it SciFiGreen. It's #84C19A, to be specific. The color adorns my website, among other applications. And I'm in love with the hue. It's odd in that I used to be such a grayscale kind-of-guy. But my foray into green-cyan has expanded not only my color pallet but also my horizons. It's a colorful world, ScifiFriends.
Order. Cleanliness. These, I appreciate. More so, a tidy space lets me breathe and think. It seems I need simplicity to help tame my cluttered mind. So I clean. And I organize. Incessantly. It's an obsession. And perhaps even a pathology. But it keeps me going and helps make room for my imagination. That can't be all bad. Can it? Decide for yourself and read my story, Inspiration awaits, but I have to do the dishes first.
I let down my hair - and armor - in "'You look like a guy who cuts his own hair,' she said." Like many of us, it's taken years to know myself. And, I've learned, I am a guy who cuts his own hair. It's a valuable skill, and along with any number of other DIY abilities I have, they make me a handly guy to have around. I'm proud of this and proud of my haircuts, even if they look a little home-done.
I finished up October by sharing a story with pics on my first lab release - Hero prop build - the 'Evil Dead' chainsaw. I'm kicking off my YouTube channel with this build. And it's a big one.
Here it is - Ash’s power ax.
I started with only an idea and a few screenshots from the 'Evil Dead' movies. No plans. No how-tos. The final product is all my own. "VERY convincing," a colleague shared on Twitter. You be the judge. Tune in on November 12th on YouTube to watch me build it - and see it run!
There's more from October, but I'll let you check out Substack for that. The complete archive of my writings is always available. Do take some time and read a few past stories. And please share with others. It makes all the difference when you click like - and send a link to a friend.
More in SciFiNews
The biggest news in science last month was the sample collection from an asteroid by a NASA spacecraft. That's right - scientists conducted a remote sampling from a distant asteroid - and it all worked! The craft is OSIRIS-REx, and the asteroid is Bennu. It all went well aside from a minor glitch - the greedy little probe grabbed too much sand, and it jammed the door. But OSIRIS successfully stowed the sample, ready for the return trip. But not so fast - the spacecraft isn't due back until 2023. At 200 million miles away, it's a long trip - and there's more work to do before then. This mission primes us to begin harvesting resources in space - a vital step towards the solar system's future colonization.
The Goods
Here are a few of my likes as a fan of science, sci-fi, horror, and creating.
TV Shows - Ratched (2020; 8 episodes), by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, available on Netflix. From the show's synopsis: "RATCHED is a suspenseful drama series that tells the origin story of asylum nurse Mildred Ratched. In 1947, Mildred arrives in Northern California to seek employment at a leading psychiatric hospital where new and unsettling experiments have begun on the human mind. On a clandestine mission, Mildred presents herself as the perfect image of what a dedicated nurse should be, but the wheels are always turning and as she begins to infiltrate the mental health care system and those within it, Mildred's stylish exterior belies a growing darkness that has long been smoldering within, revealing that true monsters are made, not born." Why I like it: Let me be honest - this is a qualified "like." The show is criticized for its grievous plot holes and cartoonish characterizations. It's based on the character in "One Flew Over the Cookoo's Nest," but very loosely. More 'inspired by' than 'based,' I would say. Regardless, the show is undeniably stylish. The cinematography had me watching intently, even when the story wandered. Ratched uses color to great effect. For example, when evil intent wells up, the screen drifts from a noirish tint to a vivid green. Or sometimes red. Whatever color that best sets the mood in this horror-thriller-sci-fi series. Well-acted with Sarah Paulson as Nurse Ratched and excellent portrayals from Sharron Stone and Rosanna Arquette, it's worth a look. Even if you keep one eye closed. Ratched is a trainwreck and overly gory throughout, but it's beautiful, to be sure.
Movies - The Evil Dead Trilogy - The Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead 2 (1987), and Army of Darkness (1992). Directed by Sam Raimi. From Wikipedia: "Evil Dead is an American supernatural horror film franchise. The series revolves around the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, an ancient Sumerian text which wreaks havoc upon a group of cabin inhabitants in a wooded area in Tennessee in America. The protagonist, Ashley Joanna "Ash" Williams (Bruce Campbell) is the only character to appear in every installment of the original trilogy. The franchise has since expanded into other formats, including video games, comic books, a musical, and a television series." Why I like it: This film series changed the face of horror - and movies - forever. The first two are classics, and all three are a must-see for anyone remotely interested in the genre. But fair warning - the first two films are wicked dark and gory. If that's not your thing, do look elsewhere. But the humor is great and keeps all the demonic happenings in check. If you only watch one - and can't handle the extreme gore, watch Army of Darkness. It's rated R, but aside from some brief nudity (breasts) and a few F-bombs, it's really PG-13. I let my son watch it, and I protect him from a lot out there. In 'Darkness, the stop motion is fantastic. When the skeletons rise from the grave, it gives me chills - not because it's scary, but because it's so well done.
Learn what all the fuss is about. Watch some Evil Dead.
That's it for this November's SciFiMonthly. As always, thanks for reading. And let me also thank all in advance for watching - SciFiCreate goes "video" this November 12th.
Subscribe, like, and share!
As always, I appreciate you. Be good and be kind, everyone.
Looking forward to November. Keep us on the edge of knowledge.