Rochita Loenen-Ruiz's "The Song Of The Body Cartographer" Shortlisted at the BSFA Awards

I am so pleased and so happy to announce--rather belatedly, but better late than never--that Rochita Loenen-Ruiz's PGS story, "The Song Of The Body Cartographer", is shortlisted at the British Science Fiction Association Awards. It is a wonderful story, and for those of you who haven't read it yet, head on over now and spare it some of your time. Rochita herself shares some of her thoughts about the nomination.

Would it be boastful of me to say I am so proud of all the praise this story is getting? If so, forgive me, but ever since the announcement I haven't stopped smiling, and I've been talking about it with my relatives and friends incessantly. I hope I'm not driving them nuts (but I probably am).

PGS has ceased to publish for a bit now, but this is only a temporary stop as I deal with some personal matters with regard to my work and my family, matters that need my undue attention for the moment. That, plus--and this is something you will have to bear with me as a given--I will always spare some of my time for the major tennis tournaments: Wimbledon, the French Open, the U.S. Open, and the ongoing Australian Open. Whatever passion I have for reading, for stories, for books, is equally rivaled by the enjoyment I get for tennis. Call it a fatal flaw. So, I know that my work and family issues are very valid (and personal) reasons for the stop, but you will have to accept that tennis, for me, is just as valid (and personal). Hehe.

Thank you very much, Rochita, for sharing your story with genre readers through PGS. I am so glad for you, and glad that PGS could be the publisher of your tale.

Stay tuned, folks! The winner will be announced by the BSFA in about three months!

"The Proper Princess Protocols" By Kate Osias

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"The New Daughter" By Dean Francis Alfar

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The Philippine Senators Who Passed The Cybercrime Law

Mr. Noynoy Aquino, who currently holds the position of Philippine president, signed into law the Cybercrime Prevention Act (click on the link to read it). It was passed in the Philippine Senate by the following:

Mr. Tito Sotto
Mr. Bong Revilla
Mr. Manny Villar
Mr. Lito Lapid
Mr. Koko Pimentel
Mr. Jinggoy Estrada
Ms. Loren Legarda
Mr. Chiz Escudero
Mr. Ping Lacson
Mr. Gringo Honasan
Ms. Pia Cayetano
Mr. Bongbong Marcos
Mr. Ralph Recto
authored by Mr. Edgardo Angara

Only Senator Teofisto Guingona III opposed it.

There are elections coming soon, and there will be more elections after that. Let's keep these names in mind, and let's vote wisely all the time.

On The Current Version Of The Philippine Cybercrime Law

                                                                                                   

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Warp Drive May Be More Feasible Than Thought, Scientists Say

And on a related note to the previous blog entry: Warp Drive May Be More Feasible Than Thought, Scientists Say. An excerpt:

A warp drive to achieve faster-than-light travel — a concept popularized in television's Star Trek — may not be as unrealistic as once thought, scientists say.

A warp drive would manipulate space-time itself to move a starship, taking advantage of a loophole in the laws of physics that prevent anything from moving faster than light. A concept for a real-life warp drive was suggested in 1994 by Mexican physicist Miguel Alcubierre, however subsequent calculations found that such a device would require prohibitive amounts of energy.

Now physicists say that adjustments can be made to the proposed warp drive that would enable it to run on significantly less energy, potentially brining the idea back from the realm of science fiction into science.

"There is hope," Harold "Sonny" White of NASA's Johnson Space Center said here Friday (Sept. 14) at the 100 Year Starship Symposium, a meeting to discuss the challenges of interstellar spaceflight.

White and his colleagues have begun experimenting with a mini version of the warp drive in their laboratory.

They set up what they call the White-Juday Warp Field Interferometer at the Johnson Space Center, essentially creating a laser interferometer that instigates micro versions of space-time warps.

"We're trying to see if we can generate a very tiny instance of this in a tabletop experiment, to try to perturb space-time by one part in 10 million," White said.

He called the project a "humble experiment" compared to what would be needed for a real warp drive, but said it represents a promising first step.

And other scientists stressed that even outlandish-sounding ideas, such as the warp drive, need to be considered if humanity is serious about traveling to other stars.

"If we're ever going to become a true spacefaring civilization, we're going to have to think outside the box a little bit, were going to have to be a little bit audacious," Obousy said.

Why Humanity Needs To Travel To Other Stars

Sounds good to me: Why Humanity Needs To Travel To Other Stars. An excerpt:

Launching a mission to another star could teach us not just about space, but about Earth as well, experts argued here today at the 100 Year Starship Symposium.
 

"I believe space exploration is a human imperative," said Mae Jemison, the first female African American astronaut. "It didn’t begin in 1957 with Sputnik, it's been a part of us" all along.

Jemison is heading the 100 Year Starship initiative, which aims to mount a mission to another star within 100 years. Toward that end, scientists and thinkers from a variety of disciplines gathered for a public symposium here from Sept. 13 to 16 to discuss the motivations, challenges and possible solutions for pursuing interstellar spaceflight.

"Divine Light" By Nikki Alfar

The latest from Philippine Genre Stories: "Divine Light" by Nikki Alfar.