“Where the f(#k is my jetpack?” Essay. 1100 words, 6-minute read. Jetpack Dreams By Ray Tabler “🎶Where the f(#k is my jetpack?🎶” – Tim Wilson, singer/songwriter, troublemaker. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brr4RNGlts0 There is no more iconic sci-fi icon than the jet pack. Followed closely by the flying car, which is simply a jetpack…
Category: Uncategorized
The In-Between Time
Happy new year! Essay. 500 words, 3-minute read. The In-Between Time By Ray Tabler. The ancient Roman year only had 360 days in it. We enlightened people of the modern era know that there are actually 365.25 days in our year, which also needs periodic adjustment via leap years, leap…
Planets 4 $ale Postmortem
Accidental honesty. Essay, 1000 words, 5-minute read. In case you didn’t know, I serialize novels on my Substack. Recently completed was Planets 4 $ale, the tale of McGee, an interstellar con man, who plays three-card-monte on a planetary scale. You can read the whole serial here: https://raytabler.substack.com/s/planets-4-sale-serial Below is retrospective…
Sci-Fi Spinoffs
More story to tell. Essay. 700 words, 4-minute read. Sci-Fi Spinoffs By Ray Tabler Television production must be a funny place. There seems to be a sort of schizophrenia involved. The same people who will roll the dice on a totally unproven concept are the ones who will cling tenaciously…
Novel Lengths of Sci-Fi Greats
Essay. 1000 words, 5-minute read. Novel Lengths of SciFi Greats By Ray Tabler This essay is the latest in a series wherein I indulge my near obsession with the various aspects of novel lengths over the years. Two previous pieces looked at book lengths of “most read () and best-sellers…
Penny for Your Thoughts
Money in speculative fiction. Essay. 1200 words, 6-minute read. Penny for Your Thoughts By Ray Tabler The looming demise of the penny from US currency threw a switch in my chaotic mind, shunting my thoughts to rumble down an unanticipated track. At a coffee shop, the change back from a…
Lies and Logistics
Details, details. Essay. 1000 words, 5-minute read. Image: https://www.dla.mil/About-DLA/News/News-Article-View/Article/1404556/replenishment-at-sea-aboard-uss-san-diego/ Lies and Logistics By Ray Tabler I saw a post online about how the US Navy manages resupply of ships, while at sea. There’s a lot of high-tech, specialized equipment involved. Fuel hoses, pallets zip-lined from ship to ship and slung…
Audible Adventures
Great Horny toads! Essay. 700 words, 4-minute read. Audible Adventures By Ray Tabler Recently, inspiration of questionable quality struck, and I promptly posted a question on a FaceBook group (The Writer Dojo). I asked group members (many of whom are reported to be writers) to suggest what fictional character(s)…
Chasing Rainbows
Tally ho! Essay. 900 words, 5-minute read. Chasing Rainbows By Ray Tabler Recently, I was at an author’s event at a local library. About 20 local writers were there, displaying their works and meeting fans. There was a festive atmosphere, with authors visiting other tables during lulls in traffic. The…
Everyone’s a Critic
Fiction. 100 words, 1-minute read. Image: https://share.google/images/0SAkpJ9FDX6R0rbf1 This one popped into my head, fully formed. Thought I’d share. Everyone’s a Critic By Ray Tabler Death perched on a windowsill, watching the writer pecking away on his keyboard with agonizing slowness. This was taking too long. A long list of souls…