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Land Mine Clearance Technology Rolls Along

Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

Here’s a link to my latest podcast, “Land Mine Clearance Technology Rolls Along.”

http://laurelannehill.libsyn.com/webpage/landmine-clearance-technology-rolls-along 

 

In this thirteen-minute podcast, I share my experiences as I sought information about the “Mine Kafon,” a wind-powered device for potential use in clearing hidden, unexploded land mines.  The Mine Kafon, created by Massoud Hassani, recently won a London Design Museum Award nomination.  Final winners will be announced in April 2012.  Hassani was born in Afghanistan, which currently has over ten million hidden, unexploded land mines.

For more information about the Mine Kafon, visit Hassani’s blog site, http://minekafon.blogspot.com .  For additional information about other land mine clearance technologies in recent years, go to the links posted on http://www.mindsclearinglandmines.org .

Warm wishes,

Laurel Anne Hill  (Author of “Heroes Arise”)
http://www.laurelannehill.com

Steampunk Laptop Computer (Gestational Stage One: The Prototype)

Thursday, January 5th, 2012

Testing the red mahogany stain

Okay, I did it.  Totally went over the top as 2011 drew to a close.  I ordered an amazing piece of functional art I couldn’t afford.  Oh, but I’m so glad I did.  In this era of iPhones and iPads — neither of which I own — the time had arrived to assert my passion for yesteryear’s technology.  Thus, I contacted artist Richard “Doc” Nagy of Datamancer and put in my request for a steampunk laptop computer: a state-of-the-art electronic marvel in a masterpiece case of wood, brass and clockwork.  Doesn’t everyone want a laptop that turns on by using the equivalent of an old-fashioned skate key?

So now, my “steampunk baby” has entered gestational stage one — the prototype.  I just received photos of Nagy’s red mahogany stain test on a prototype frame.  Check out the Datamancer website (http://www.datamancer.net) to view a picture of the steampunk laptop he created several years ago.  Cool!

Happy New Year!

Laurel Anne Hill  (Author of Heroes Arise)
http://www.laurelannehill.com  

 

 

 

 

HEROES ARISE: Audio of all 25 Chapters Now Available (mp3 format, download for free)

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

I’ve now finished recording my award-winning novel, HEROES ARISE, chapter by chapter.  HEROES ARISE is a parable about breaking the cycle of vengeance, about reaching into our own personal darkness and finding the light of reason.  I’ve set HEROES ARISE in the world of Thard.  HEROES ARISE is an adventure and love story, suitable for ages 9 – 90, and also is available through Amazon and Barnes and Noble, in hard cover, trade paper and as an ebook. 

Jean M. Auel was kind enough to provide the following endorsement for HEROES ARISE.

Heroes Arise by Laurel Anne Hill is a surprisingly exciting and moving story that gripped my attention from the first word and wouldn’t let me put it down. This author’s first work shows a strong talent and a remarkable future. — Jean M. Auel, author of The Clan of the Cave Bear

The download  links to all 25 of my podcasted chapters of HEROES ARISE (on Welcome to my Bedroom Closet) are as follows:

Heroes Arise Chapter 1

Heroes Arise Chapter 2

Heroes Arise Chapter 3

Heroes Arise Chapter 4

Heroes Arise Chapter 5

Heroes Arise Chapter 6

Heroes Arise Chapter 7

Heroes Arise Chapter 8

Heroes Arise Chapter 9

Heroes Arise Chapter 10

Heroes Arise Chapters 11 & 12

Heroes Arise Chapters 13 & 14

Heroes Arise Chapter 15

Heroes Arise Chapter 16

Heroes Arise Chapters 17 & 18

Heroes Arise Chapter 19

Heroes Arise Chapter 20

Heroes Arise Chapter 21

Heroes Arise Chapters 22 & 23

Heroes Arise Chapter 24

Heroes Arise Chapter 25    

I hope you enjoy my story,

Warm wishes,

Laurel Anne Hill (http://www.laurelannehill.com) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heroes Arise: Audio of Chapters 1-10 Now Available (mp3 format for free)

Sunday, September 4th, 2011

I’ve been recording my award-winning novel, HEROES ARISE, chapter by chapter.  HEROES ARISE is a parable about breaking the cycle of vengeance, about reaching into our own personal darkness and finding the light of reason.  I’ve set HEROES ARISE in the world of Thard.  HEROES ARISE is an adventure and love story, suitable for ages 9 – 90, and also is available through Amazon and Barnes and Noble, in hard cover, trade paper and as an ebook. 

Jean M. Auel was kind enough to provide the following endorsement for HEROES ARISE.

Heroes Arise by Laurel Anne Hill is a surprisingly exciting and moving story that gripped my attention from the first word and wouldn’t let me put it down. This author’s first work shows a strong talent and a remarkable future. — Jean M. Auel, author of The Clan of the Cave Bear

The links to my podcasted Chapters 1-10 of HEROES ARISE (on Welcome to my Bedroom Closet) are as follows:

Heroes Arise Chapter 1

Heroes Arise Chapter 2

Heroes Arise Chapter 3

Heroes Arise Chapter 4

Heroes Arise Chapter 5 

Heroes Arise Chapter 6

Heroes Arise Chapter 7

Heroes Arise Chapter 8

Heroes Arise Chapter 9

Heroes Arise Chapter 10

Chapters 11-15 will follow soon.  I hope you enjoy my story,

Warm wishes,
Laurel Anne Hill  (http://www.laurelannehill.com)

When a Good Gal Goes Wicked…

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011

Where did I go WICKED?

Okay, I know what my website claims.  Laurel Anne Hill crafts stories with inspirational premises, right?  Worthiness is rewarded, right?  Yet many of my short stories these days lurk in shadows of the horror genre.  In fact, Horror Addicts (http://www.horroraddicts.net) just named me “Most Wicked 2011″ for my entry, Flight of Destiny, in their Wicked Women Writers Challenge.  How can a gal who believes in worthiness be most wicked?

Worthiness has its reward.  Unworthiness does, too.

But wait, I’ve been known to inflict horror upon my characters who try to live decent lives, even let some of them lose their battles against evil.  How do I reconcile that disparity with my website statements?

Bad things happen to good people every day.  They misread situations.  They miscalculate their own abilities.  Sometimes, through no fault of their own, they end up in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Encounters with “the dark” forces characters to find strength within their weaknesses or else succumb.

In other words, the power of love, honor, faith and duty really can surmount daunting obstacles and transform lives.  But sometimes such power fails, leaving characters to fend for themselves whatever way they can.

To listen to Flight of Destiny, go to http://www.mevio.com/episode/287550/horror-addicts-wwwbonus-01-laurel-anne-hill.  Flight of Destiny stirs steampunk, infidelity, jealously, and a radioactive poison into a delicious hot-pot of horror.

Warm wishes,

Laurel Anne Hill
(Author of HEROES ARISE)
http://www.laurelannehill.com

 

Earth’s Cosmic “Groupies” (by Laurel Anne Hill)

Tuesday, August 9th, 2011

EMZ and Laurel (Not in the Van Allen Belt!)

The magnetic nature of the earth, like the personality of some cosmic rock star, attracts followers: radioactive groupies in the form of energetic particles, mainly protons and electrons.  Around 4,000 miles above its surface, the earth traps an inner belt of particles (mostly high-energy protons), discovered in 1958 by James Van Allen of the University of Iowa.  Additionally, electrons and protons with moderate energies orbit in an outer radiation belt.  Some of these electrons hit the upper atmosphere and produce the “Polar lights.”

As with any collection of followers, expect some disruptive forces.  Anti-matter, in the form of anti-protons, join the party, too.

The BBC News contained an interesting article on August 7 about anti-matter in orbit.  The piece is available at
http://www.bbc. co.uk/news/ mobile/science- environment- 14405122? SThisEM.   Earlier this year, the BBC News also published an article about anti-matter streaming from thunderstorms on earth.  Go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/science-environment-12158718.

Have an energetic day, or maybe just a peaceful one.

Laurel Anne Hill  (Author of “Heroes Arise”)
http://www.laurelannehill.com

Renovation (69th World Con) Schedule for Laurel Anne Hill

Monday, August 8th, 2011
Thinking about the Landmine Panel at Renovation

Hello all of you headed for Renovation.  Please note my schedule:

Wed 17:00 – 18:00, Are You as Smart as a Rat? (Panel), A09 (RSCC)
One small idea could potentially prompt one large step for mankind.   For example, wars end but buried land mines become the surprise gifts that keep on giving. Angola alone has six million hidden, unexploded ordnance. It costs $3 to plant a land mine and $300-$1,000 to get rid of it. Rats have been trained to sniff out land mines but additional  low-tech detection solutions are needed. Put on your current and futuristic thinking caps please.  Laurel Anne Hill  (M), Howard Davidson, Dave O’Neill

 Thu 11:00 – 12:00, When Faith and Science Meet (Panel), A09 (RSCC)
 Many SF tales, from Arthur C. Clarke’s “The Star” to Walter Miller’s A Canticle for Leibowitz to Mary Doria Russell’s The Sparrow, deal with the intersection of unexpected discoveries on the faith of the characters.  Cultural discourse often presents religious faith and science as polar opposites, and certainly there’s a long history of conflict between them.    But many people of many faiths have happily and successfully reconciled their beliefs with a scientific worldview, and SF/F is no stranger to spirituality, either.  Both Joanna Russ and David Hartwell have described SF/F as essentially religious.  This panel will present a civil conversation — between people who respect both faith and science — about how the two inform each other, both in SF/F and in the rest of the world.  Susan Palwick (M), Eric James Stone, Laurel Anne Hill, Moshe Feder, Norman Cates

    Thu 14:30 – 15:00, Reading: Laurel Anne Hill (Reading), A15 (RSCC) Laurel Anne Hill

   Thu 18:00 – 19:00, Who Was the Most Influential Doctor? A05 (RSCC) Laurel Anne Hill and others

   Fri 13:00 – 15:00, Writers Workshop, Section N
       All workshop sessions required advanced sign-up and are filled.  Laurel Anne Hill, Susan Forest

Sat 12:00 – 13:00, Appreciating Nature in Fiction and Non-fiction (Panel), D04 (RSCC)
       Science fiction can often treat nature, even an intriguing alien environment, in a very sterile manner.  By contrast,
       both fantasy and nature writing often celebrate nature and make the reader want to run outside and explore.  How can
       writers use the language of nature writing to help bring alien countrysides to life? What are some of the good and
       bad examples of writing about the great outdoors in science  fiction, fantasy and nature narratives?
           Kim Stanley Robinson (M), Laurel Anne Hill, Scott Slovic, Takayuki Tatsumi, Ty Franck   

 Sat 14:00 – 15:00, Autographing, Hall 2 (RSCC)

Hope to see some of you.

Warm wishes,

Laurel Anne Hill  (Author of “Heroes Arise”)
http://www.laurelannehill.com

Heroes Arise Chapters 1-5: Now available in mp3 format for free

Sunday, August 7th, 2011

I’m finally doing it, recording my award-winning novel, HEROES ARISE, chapter by chapter.  HEROES ARISE is a parable about breaking the cycle of vengeance, about reaching into our own personal darkness and finding the light of reason.  I’ve set HEROES ARISE in the world of Thard.  HEROES ARISE is an adventure and love story, suitable for ages 9 – 90, and also is available through Amazon and Barnes and Noble, in hard cover, trade paper and as an ebook. 

Jean M. Auel was kind enough to provide the following endorsement for HEROES ARISE.

Heroes Arise by Laurel Anne Hill is a surprisingly exciting and moving story that gripped my attention from the first word and wouldn’t let me put it down. This author’s first work shows a strong talent and a remarkable future. — Jean M. Auel, author of The Clan of the Cave Bear

The links to my podcasted Chapters 1-5 of HEROES ARISE (on Welcome to my Bedroom Closet) are as follows:

 Heroes Arise Chapter 1

Heroes Arise Chapter 2

Heroes Arise Chapter 3

Heroes Arise Chapter 4

Heroes Arise Chapter 5

Chapters 6-10 will follow soon.  I hope you enjoy my story,

Warm wishes,
Laurel Anne Hill  (http://www.laurelannehill.com)

The Perils of Cleaning House (by Laurel Anne Hill)

Saturday, August 6th, 2011

Sometimes we all need to hide in a good book.

 

Okay, my 40-year old Kenmore vacuum cleaner died last week and my husband and I made an emergency purchase of a Miele Neptune.  Oh, if I had only known the trouble we might have caused as a result.

To find out more, connect to the following link:

 
 
 
Happy Rug Sucking!
 
Laurel Anne Hill  (Author of “Heroes Arise”)

Marriage is Between a Man and a Woman…Or is it?

Monday, July 25th, 2011

Quoth the Maven

“To be” lives at the bottom of the power verbs list these days.  Well, sometimes.  No lack of power inhabits “Marriage is between a man and a woman.”  Already, the collective gay-marriage Grinch prepares to seek annulments of the recent same-sex weddings in New York.  A reaction I expected.  Pot holes often litter roads to social change.

Hey, I understand both sides of the argument.  One half of my old-fashioned brain recites the man-and-woman marriage mantra.  The other half would never dream of denying my gay or lesbian friends the opportunity to marry.  Yet I manage to reconcile my inner dichotomy of opinion with the following manner of reasoning.  No man is less of a man because he loves a guy.  No woman is less of a woman because she loves a gal.  People are people.  Their love–their desire to share a committed relationship–should provide the wedding-license meter of measure.

In other words, I don’t focus on the right to gay marriage.  Let others debate that thorny issue.  (And they probably will for a long time to come.) 

I focus on the right thing to do.

Warm wishes,

Laurel Anne Hill  (Author of “Heroes Arise”)
http://www.laurelannehill.com