Discovery’s Final Mission in Pictures
As space shuttle Discovery prepares to return home from its final mission to space, let’s take a look back at the STS-133 mission, an historic “last” for the program’s most-traveled shuttle. “I think the legacy that this shuttle has made for herself is just nothing short than cause for celebration,” said mission specialist Michael Barratt…
An Appreciation of Lord Bulwer-Lytton
One generation’s master is the next generation’s hack. One generation’s classic is the next’s punch-line. Witness the case of Edward George Earle Bulwer, Baron Lytton of Knebworth–or, as he became known to later generations, Bulwer-Lytton. Though Guardian columnist Edward Docx recently inveighed against readers wasting their time on bad novels and authors when they could…
10 Reasons Why Alien Invasions of Earth Always Fail
If aliens ever appeared in our skies, you’d think the human race would be screwed. After all, any species that’s smart enough to travel faster than light would have technology beyond our imagining. But somehow, alien invaders always lose. At least, in science fiction stories, they almost always fail. (With a few notable exceptions, like…