The Middle of the Dark

Endeavour returns to Earth earlier tonight.

1) Finish that novel. That dim light at the end of the tunnel? That's the end! 2) Get back on track with Fables, easy to do with covers like this: I've liked James Jean, who does nearly all the Fables covers, for a long time. I think he'd be perfect to do the cover for The Book of Elizabeth. You can see more upcoming Jean/Fables goodness here and here . You can check out his website too. 3. Start thinking about that next novel! That dark tunnel ahead? That's the start! 4. Listen to lots and lots of Kathleen Edwards. 5. Get out of town. Chicago in three weeks...

Just like Jupiter's moon of Europa, Saturn's moon of Titan likely has an underground ocean. Given how much Titan already resemles primordial earth, this is a huge revelation, and bodes well for the prospect at least of some kind of life.

The director of The English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Truly, Madly, Deeply among other wonderful films, has died at 54.

The Earth and the moon, as seen from Mars: Also, they're not wasting any time planning a trip to Alpha Centauri, where scientists now believe Earth-like planets reside.

Endeavour lifts at 1:28 A.M. local time. Other space goodies: Scientists have found a once-habitable lake on Mars. And maybe coolest of all, Alpha Centauri, the nearest star to the sun, the same size, age and color as the sun, may have its own earth.

The last episode of The Wire aired tonight on HBO. I don't know how much I've mentioned the show before here on the blog, but I have loved it since the beginning and I agree wholeheartedly with the notion many have that it is the greatest TV show ever. You hear this kind of thing a lot. "It's the best ever." I say it a lot. About all kinds of things. The truth is, The Wire is the best TV show ever, because of its depth, its subtlety, its five year examination of a single American city, Baltimore, that stands now, and may for all time, as a living document of 21st century American society. In its five years, the show tackled a different aspect of the city with each new season, from the corners to the docks, the schools to city hall, and finally to the news room. I enjoyed the way they integrated the paper into the storyline, but it could have been a show itself; if the show had one failing this year, it was not maximizing this plotline. The Baltimore Sun w

SPOILER WARNING (If you have not read Buffy Season 8 #12 - Ben - DO NOT READ) So. Wow. Where to start. Um, how about with the begining: I picked up my issue of Buffy Season 8 #12 today, expecting no less than my monthly dose of amazing and this month doubled down. No shit wow. So that's Buffy there on the right. And that's another girl on the left. So this is a big deal. So I'm saying so a lot. First off, the New York Times has a big article on the event. Joss Whedon talks there and also at Newsarama which is a much longer and interesting interview. I believe Whedon when he says it's not a stunt. Buffy has never been about stunts, or 'this week, on very special episode of Blossom...'. And this series has moved the landscape enough through its sheer existence to not require any gimmick to draw readers to it (any Buffy die-hards put off by the comic, and there are some, will certainly not come back for this). Joss says its an evolution of the character, except

One of NASA's many robotic probes caught this amazing image of an avalanhce of ice and dust at Mars northern pole. One wonders if this isn't something that happens with every spring thaw there. Here on earth, snow and ice continue to bombard us. Somedays it feels like Stalingrad in World War II or something. It's neverending. Every once in a while it warms up to 40 or 50 and then immediately after that we're slammed with rain, snow, or both. It wears you down. I woke up this morning to yet another snow shower and realized it's affecting my mood. I cannot wait for spring, to be back on the bike. Every day feels longer and longer than the last. Anyways, it's Wednesday, which means a new issue of Buffy. I shall be delivered yet.