lots of wow's

The Void Captain's Tale, by Norman Spinrad. Now, this is what science fiction should be. A wonderful creation of an expanded world, intriguing and very original ideas explored, layers and layers of dualities and symbols and semantic webs, it's got all of it. I'll admit - I bought the book for two reasons: one, that it can only be bought used, but for about a dollar or less. And two, for the base reason that I was led to believe it would basically be science fiction with a veneer of erotica. Instead, I'd rather say that if I were to go back to the idea of teaching English, and were to be so lucky as to teach a rare science fiction class, this book would certainly be in the curriculum for everything from general semiotics to gender studies to cultural sexuality. Like the interesting film Code 46, there's also an interesting note of the multiplicity of languages used, in this case various smatterings of German, French, Spanish, and Sanskrit, and mirroring that last language, it would help (but not be necessary) to have a solid understanding of classical Indian conceptions of consciousness. Of course, on the other hand, this story would be a great, if disguised, introduction to the same. Seriously, great stuff, for less than a dollar, people!

Agustina de Aragón - wow, an interesting historical figure

and Aleksandr Suvorov, a guy who did some amazing things, in my opinion

if this meteor video is real, just...wow