Firefly Archives - Page 3 of 5

Your Personal Anthem

February 27, 2012February 27, 2012 by David Mark Brown

Serenity, Firefly class vessel If nations have anthems, why shouldn’t you? I mean, what’s the difference between a large united aggregate of people organized around something in common and all the united aggregate stuff of you? Very little, if you ask me.

So what’s holding you back? Today is the day, my loyal readers. Focus on that deep internal pool of self-centeredness and pull out your personal anthem. If you’re the type to create something from nothing with musical instruments then take that route.

But for the rest of us, luckily there are plenty of previously created songs for us to ~~steal~~ choose from. (You’re dying to know mine, aren’t you?) First, there are several things to consider when co-opting a musician’s creative endeavor for your own self-indentification. Let’s begin.

Will Amazon Rule the eVerse (of books)?

February 4, 2012December 29, 2011 by David Mark Brown

GreenPorch Winter of eReading Probably, but only in the same way that the Alliance rules the Verse in Firefly. There will always be Independent browncoats and fringe planets. Currently these confederates are as motley as you would expect: Barnes and Noble, Apple, Google and Kobo being the rowdiest.

Barnes and Noble knows how to sell books. They are and have been primarily a bookstore. Having survived the economic downturn and the rise of the e-book, they have advantages over Amazon when it comes to relationships with libraries and book distributors. Plus they have brick and mortar stores, which I hear some people still go to. B&N also makes a mean eReading device, that along with Kobo and Sony will read .epub format (the universal format that Amazon is doing its best to bury like they did to .mobi a while back). The Nook, by most measures, is as good or better than the Kindle. (Their actual eReader software is better, so thhppp!)

Breaking Down the eBook eVerse

December 5, 2011 by David Mark Brown

Let’s crawl before we walk. The eBook eVerse is a dangerous place where the second letters of words are capitalized rather than the first. And if you’re not ready for it, those second letters will pop up out of nowhere and knock the reality right out of you.

So, for lesson one we’ll address the individually orbiting particles that make up the eVerse. (We’ll deal with their complicated interactions over several more posts.) Just like the universe of your favorite sci-fi series, the eVerse consists primarily of 1.) space 2.) navigational systems 3.) vehicles 4.) space ports or home worlds. (Throw in a Klingon or a Reever here and there for dramatic tension, and we’re ready to rip.)

Let’s break it down.