Did "We" Go to the Moon?

Despite massive international proof, many Americans are still tempted by the conspiracy theory, notably represented by the 1977 film Capricorn One, that manned space missions were staged simulacra rather than real events.  How, scientifically-oriented people ask, can such attitudes persist and grow?  There are several reasons for this that are worth noting, mostly having to do with a sense that many Americans did not have much skin in the game.

1) "We" did not go to the moon.  The humans who did were an exclusive group of white, male, military, "well-rooted" Americans.  The "right stuff" was too restricted.   Although NASA has made considerable efforts to represent a wider population base since the moon landings, female, non-white, and foreign-associated Americans remain a minority that cash-strapped NASA has done little to publicize, as Hollywood movies have recently stepped up to emphasize the ground-based contributions of minority women in the space race.  This exclusivity promises to become more exaggerated again as NASA is replaced by the military Space Corps that has just been founded.  Meanwhile women, African-Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos and others have grounds to feel "left behind" in the race to the stars.

2) The devaluation of corporate-controlled American mass media has caused an erosion of confidence in traditional sources of public information.  It's no secret that the owners of TV and newspapers -- an increasingly restricted group -- exercise censorship of all kinds over daily events, while flooding the airwaves and print pages with Happy Talk delivered by smiling faces and would-be pundits who often have little idea what they are talking about, or else too much prejudice from a set of political and financial agendas.  This bombardment of mush saps the public trust in a system funneled mainly through the AP wire service and forces citizens to open up to a wider range of true or false information spread on the Internet.

3) The secretiveness of our space program encourages doubt and disbelief.  The fact that our govenment maintains unapproachable bases, unadmitted types of aircraft, black ops missions in space, dubious financial transparency, and so many other veils to truth makes many in the public wary of accepting even those bits of information that are factually supported.  Of course, some secrecy within the heart of the military will always be present.  However, the sheer volume of undercover activity and the flimsiness of the cover stories, going all the way back to Roswell, makes it difficult for the public to fix the boundaries of what is real, plausible, or possible.  Obfuscation of programs like the X-37B can only add to simultaneous skepticism and gullibility to unlikely fantasies.

There may be additional factors, but we feel these are among the most prominent.  In short, it lies within the government's range of options to address this area or to provide even cloudier information in the realm of space.  If it chooses the latter, it is inevitable that the American public will become more dis-invested in space programs and less willing to give them wide support.

Free Audio Access Codes

We have some free audio access codes to the Audible edition of Life Sentence read by the Hollywood actor Andrew Thacher.  All we ask is that you give us an Audible review when you've heard it.  If you want one, you have to COMMENT on this post, indicating whether you want a US or UK code and I will send you one on Facebook Messenger.

READ OUR LATEST

Hey, sci fi fans!  Our latest short story has been published in the journal El Portal.  It involves a first contact a bit unlike most you've seen and read about.  Check it out beginning on page 63 at this link: https://elportaljournal.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/el-portal-2019-fall-final-web.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1SEnp5AHxWOPOGqjmq4mcNgHiy3_BdPuEABXPPhLIRVG3dNww-8a2NFdY

We're on our way to Mysticon 2020!

This is one of our favorite annual events, held for 3 days in February each year in Roanoke, Virginia.  This will be our fifth year in attendance and we look forward to a great time with the panels and the featured guest, Larry Niven.  Mysticon also features lots of gaming and cosplay and fun in general.  Stay tuned for big promotional savings on our novels after we return.

A Great Time at Marscon

We're just back from Marscon 2020 at Williamsburg, where we had lots of fun interacting with fellow authors and fans.  We hosted a launch party for the audio edition of Life Sentence where several folks won free Audible access codes in the drawings and were able to listen to selections from the book read by our stalwart producer Andrew Thacher, while munching on cheese, cold cuts, and brownies and enjoying some beverages.  Marscon had loads of activities, from cosplay and gaming to readings and panel discussions.  Our panels included the following: Why We Love Antiheroes, Philosophy of Science, Pseudo-science of Dr. Who,  and Binge Watching.  We're looking forward to the next one.  Our favorite costumes?-- probably a GIGANTIC Wompah and a terrific Chewbacca.

Spotlight on Joker!

John has done an impressive article on the film Joker for Librarypoint.  See it here: https://www.librarypoint.org/blogs/post/jokers-wild-history/

NOW AVAILABLE IN AUDIO !

Our science fiction thriller, first book of the Forlani Saga, is just out on Audible and you can read it for free if you have an Audible subscription or try a free 30 day trial.  Just go to this address and start to enjoy the adventures of Klein and Entara from a dystopian Earth on the prison colony Domremy, the female-dominated world of Forlan, the space hospital at Coriolis, the parasite-plagued space station of Clavius and the savage water planet of Song Pa.  Click the link below and get started.

https://www.audible.com/pd/Life-Sentence-Audiobook/B07X2ZTDLJ?asin=B07X2ZTDLJ