BOOK REVIEW: Light of Impossible Stars by Gareth L. Powell

Light of Impossible Stars is the third and final book of the Embers Of War trilogy by Gareth L. Powell. A nice feature of the series is that although each book advances the overarching story, they are also readable on their own with each having self-contained plots. Even so, they should still be read in order (because Powell is ruthless about killing off major characters): Embers Of War, Fleet of Knives and Light of Impossible Stars.

In the third book we are introduced to a new major character, Cordelia Pa, and her brother Michael Pa (among others). It’s an interesting choice to have the third book in a trilogy revolve around a new character that didn’t appear in the first two books. Happily, Cordelia is a great character so it’s fun to spend lots of time with her.

The central character of the trilogy as a whole is Trouble Dog, the sentient spaceship that is used to transport the other main characters: Sal Konstantz (the captain of the ship) and Druff (the many-limbed alien who is the primary engineer/mechanic on the ship) among others. The other main character is Ona Sundak (a former space ship captain who ended an interstellar war by committing a horrific act of genocide).

The overarching narrative tension in the entire trilogy is between Sundak’s vision of the future and Konstanz’s (and Trouble Dog’s) opposition to this vision. It takes awhile but eventually we find out what role Cordelia Pa plays in resolving the conflict.

Another feature of the books in the trilogy which is also readily apparent in Light of Impossible Stars  is that they are fast-paced and action-packed. They are also fun to read and great diversions, exactly what good science fiction should do. Additionally, Powell is able to include a diverse cast of characters and present thought-provoking situations for the reader to ponder and reflect on, even after the book is over.

Overall, I would strongly recommend the series as a whole, even though I don’t think the last book is the strongest entry in the trilogy. That said, Light of Impossible Stars is a fun and exciting read in its own right.

Title: Light of Impossible Stars.
Author: Gareth L. Powell.
Paperback: 400 pages.
Publisher: Titan Books.
Date Published: February 1, 2020.
Date Read: April 4, 2020.

GOODREADS RATING: ★★★★☆  (4.0/5.0).

OVERALL GRADE: A- (3.67/4.0).
PLOT: A-.
IMAGERY: A-.
IMPACT: B+.
WRITING: A.

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: WATCH How Neil DeGrasse Tyson Explains His Godlessness

Neil deGrasse Tyson on God, religion and reality pic.twitter.com/aedtBERl7O

— Atheist Republic (@AtheistRepublic) February 6, 2018

Today's Godless Wednesday post is just a short video of Astronomer and Science evangelist Neil DeGrasse Tyson explaining why a lack of evidence explains why he is godless.

Pres. Obama Invites L.A. Teen With Perfect AP Calc Score To White House Science Fair

Cedrick Argueta, 17, is in the news this week because the Lincoln High School senior was one of barely a dozen students to earn a perfect score on his Advanced Placement Calculus AB exam. This is quite an achievement, since over 300,000 students take the exam every year. Even President Obama noticed and invited Cedrick to the White House Science Fair.

The Los Angeles Times reports about the reaction to Cedrick's achievement:

Cedrick — a quiet, humble student who is quick to thank his teachers and parents for his success — said he'll join the president at the fair “if his offer still holds.”
The White House Science Fair, hosted by the president, features projects, designs and experiments from students across the country and celebrates students who excel in science, technology, engineering and math.
Cedrick's story has made headlines around the world since his score was announced by the Los Angeles Unified School District last week. He is the son of Lilian and Marcos Argueta, both of whom came to the United States as young adults — she from the Philippines, he from El Salvador. Lilian, a licensed vocational nurse, works two jobs at nursing homes, and Marcos is a maintenance worker at one of those nursing homes.
“I'm speechless,” Lilian Argueta said Sunday. “I can't believe this is happening.”
Lincoln High School Principal Jose Torres said Cedrick's achievement was inspiring.

I love this story! Lincoln High School is roughly 2 miles from my house and as a professor of Mathematics I interact with students who have taken AP Calculus exams before coming to my college. And I have taught the material on this exam to my students many times. That Cedrick got every single point on the exam is quite amazing, and inspiring!

Merry X-Mas!

This is a fun (mathematical) way to wish everyone Merry X-Mas!

STUDY: 52% Of Tweets Against SCOTUS Obergefell Ruling Were Religion-Based

An analysis of over 25,000 tweets by Crowdflower in response to the June 26th United States Supreme Court ruling Obergefell v. Hodges striking down state-based bans on same-sex marriage indicate that the majority of opposition is based in religion. Of course, the decision was about civil marriage licensed by the state, not religious marriages but people who believe in a mythical, omnipotent, omniscient "sky god" are not exactly the same group of people to recognize reality or reason.

Other key findings in the CrowdFlower report include:

SUPPORT OUTWEIGHED CRITICISM 4 TO 1 

Although overall Twitter sentiment was 55% positive, 32% neutral, and 13% negative, with neutral tweets excluded, positive opinions outweighed negative opinions 80% to 20%. 

WOMEN WERE MORE SUPPORTIVE THAN MEN 

While 86% of women and 72% of men were in favor of the Supreme Court ruling, 14% of women and 28% of men opposed it. 

THE EAST COAST HAD THE MOST SUPPORTERS 

Massachusetts (96% approval), New Jersey (87.3% approval), and New York (86.8% approval) were most vocal in their support of the Supreme Court ruling. 

SOUTHERN STATES HAD THE MOST OPPONENTS 

Although these three states still had more supporters than detractors, Alabama (50% disapproval), North Carolina (35.1% disapproval), and Virginia (31.5% disapproval) had the most naysayers. 

OVERALL SENTIMENT WAS POSITIVE IN ALL STATES 

For all states with a significant volume of tweets, the majority of sentiment was positive.

Are the heterosexual supremacists in theGOP looking at these numbers? Read 'em and weep! EVERY state was positive:

Boom!

Celebrity Friday: Tweet With @IanMcKellen Today 1PM EDT About #ViciousPBS

Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Derek Jacobi are starring as a longtime same-sex couple in a British comedy airing on PBS called "Vicious." You can tweet with Sir Ian (@IanMcKellen) at 1pm EDT today using the hashtag #ViciousPBS. It should be fun!

GRAPHIC: Map Shows Location Of Racist and Homophobic Tweets

Racist tweets according to their geo-location tags

Homophobic tweets according to their geo-location tags

Courtesy The Root

Saturday Politics: President Obama Highlights Need For ENDA On Social Media

President Barack Obama posted on Twitter  and Facebook last night a link to the above image of the 29 states that right now have no statewide legal protections against being fired for being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. The name of the pending federal legislation that would protect LGBT people everywhere in the United States from employment discrimination is called the Employment Non-Discrimination Act or ENDA and it is expected to come to a vote in the United States Senate by the end of the year. However, it is not expected to become law any time soon because the measure is opposed by the vast majority of Republicans, especially those who are in control of the United States House of Representatives.

Here's the exact tweet:

It's 2013, and millions of LGBT Americans still lack basic protection from discrimination under the law. http://t.co/sMoKVqELMV #ENDA
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) September 6, 2013

It is interesting to see the President (or more accurately, the president's outside organizing arm, called Organizing for Action) using social media to call attention to and promote ENDA in this way.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

Delaware Becomes 11th State To Enact Marriage Equality!

Today is a pretty historic day in Delaware! The marriage equality bill HB 75 passed the state senate 12-9, with the two last undecided senators, Bethany Hall-Long (D) and Catherine Cloutier (R) both voting in favor of expanding the right to marry to same-sex couples.

Governor Jack Markell (D) signed the bill into law a few hours later. It goes into effect on July 1, 2013, so Delaware will actually leap frog Rhode Island as the 10th state where same-sex couples can get married in the United States.

And then this happened during the debate:

BREAKING: Delaware Sen. Karen Peterson comes out as gay during marriage debate #lgbt
— Victory Fund (@VictoryFund) May 7, 2013 

For the second time this year, a state senator has used the debate over the civil rights of LGBT citizens to reveal that they are part of the LGBT community themselves.

Obama Tweets Supports For Marriage Equality

President Obama tweeted the above picture to his nearly 29 million followers:

RT if you stand with same-sex couples around the country fighting for the right to marry who they love. twitter.com/BarackObama/st…
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 19, 2013

Retweet it yourself!

Serena Becomes Oldest Woman To Reach #1

Serena Williams beat Petra Kvitova in a tough 3-set match at the Qatar Tennis Open quarterfinals to reclaim the World #1 ranking on the WTA Tour. By doing so, Williams will become the oldest woman to be ranked #1 at age 31, 4 months and 24 days. Previously Chris Evert was #1 at 30 years, 11 months and 3 days way back on November 24, 1985. Victoria Azarenka relinquished the #1 ranking because she was defending championship points from winning this tournament in 2012 during her amazing winning streak last year.

Serena tweeted her reaction:

Thanks everyone for all the support. Back to number one. #1 and it feels so good. Serena #1
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) February 15, 2013

Serena will start her 124th week at #1 on Monday February 18. Congrats, Serena!

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: #IfAtheistsTalkedLikeChristians

Hemant Mehta over at Friendly Atheist started this cool Twitter meme #IfAtheistsTalkedLikeChristians.
There are many more, you should check out the hashtag, or the blog post!

Feel free to add your own, I did:

And that's Godless Wednesday for today!