Vera Rubin (b. 1928)

This week’s recommended book has been brought to you by Dozmjir’s entire council of brethren. Not Dozmjir himself, just the council. “So You Want to Be a Wizard” by Diane Duane is the first book in the rather lengthy Young Wizards series. It reminds one at first of one of those light reading books meant to encourage reading in the reluctant. Yet it has a depth to it. Philosophy and religious discourse, magic, the power of friendships, and even the nature of fear and despair. These books are quite heavy for the age group they are marketed for, and yet somehow it is that very quality which makes them so interesting.

SO YOU WANT TO BE A WIZARD HEARNSSEN PUBLISHED BY PHOENIX PRESS 793.4

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Claiming there is no other life in the universe is like scooping up some water, looking at the cup and claiming there are no whales in the ocean.

Neil deGrasse Tyson in response to “Aliens can’t exist because we haven’t found them yet” (via meggannn)

Young Wizards will always be the best YA series because you’ll fall in love with and cry about sentient tears in spacetime, sharks, amalgamations of spheres, computers, gods, macaws, and most importantly you’ll begin to believe fiercely in the beauty and heartbreak of the universe.

‘In Life’s name, and for Life’s sake,I say that I will use the Art for nothing but the service of that Life. I will guard growth and ease pain. I will fight to preserve what grows and lives well in its own way; and I will change no object or creature unless its growth and life, or that of the system of which it is part, are threatened. To these ends, in the practice of my Art, I will put aside fear for courage, and death for life, when it is right to do so—till Universe’s end.’

Top Ten Female Characters from Books or Television

2) Nita Callahan

Favorite quote: “Wow, who sold you that one? I think I’ll go ennoble a couple waffles.” (And basically all of books 6 and 9 where she saves the day)

Nita is my favorite book heroine ever. From the very beginning, I related to her completely for her love of reading and learning, and for being made fun of for it. She is one of the most relatable characters I’ve ever come across. She’s young, but seems so much older- whether because of the wizardry and the responsibility that comes along with it, or because everyone always feels like they’re more mature than the world thinks they are. She shows us that you don’t have to be a respected adult to change (or to save) the world. She’s insecure, selfish, moody (like when she snaps at Kit for no reason), but she also can admit when she’s messed up and learns from her mistakes. She considers giving up wizardry and her best friend to save her mother. She almost goes through with sacrificing herself to save the world (even though she wasn’t too happy about it when she first found out that’s what she got herself into) when she was what, 12/13? She’s quick in a crisis, and very smart. In A Wizard Alone, she taught me so much about grieving, and I wished those books had been there for me when my own mom passed away (though I was probably a bit too young then). Not to mention that in A Wizard Alone she singlehandedly saves the day, using what the Lone Power tried to use to bring her down to bring It down, and save Darryl and Kit. She also nearly singlehandedly saves the day in A Wizard of Mars, not letting her jealousy or anger get in the way of what needed to be done, while also being rather bad ass about it. Nita taught me that it’s okay to be angry- you can use it to your advantage. She helped to teach me that what people think of you doesn’t matter. The people who made fun of/beat up Nita didn’t know that she helped save their lives more than once, and she never let them color her view of humanity. She never once doubted that their lives weren’t worth saving, despite how they treated her. She showed me that being a good sister doesn’t mean you can’t fight and tease each other sometimes.  She went from being very dependent on Kit- always giving her power to him, helping him rather than the other way around- to being a very good, independent wizard who stands on her own and stands tall.

‘fairest and fallen, greetings and defiance’ is still the best Stock Greeting For Our Ancient Enemy ever. it’s got everything. (1) you’re hot (2) you’re evil (3) respect tho (4) anyway i’m here to kick your ass

What are white holes? Many people are familiar with black holes as a 3-D hole that alters time and space where not even light can escape. However, what is our knowledge on white holes? Well, as your might suspect, white holes are the exact opposite of black holes. They expel matter into space at intense speeds with immense energy. Some cosmologists believe that on the other side of a black hole is a white hole. An interesting point that can either excite or disappoint you is that white holes cannot be entered from the outside. This means that there may never be physical proof of a white hole and will only stay in theories and mathematics.

Nevertheless, there is a paper written in 2012 that argued that the Big Bang was a white hole itself. Unlike black holes, white holes cannot be observed continuously and can only be observed at the time of the event. It also connects a new class called y-ray bursts to white holes. If you would like to read this interesting paper check out http://arxiv.org/pdf/1105.2776v2.pdf. Hopefully one day we can learn more about white holes and the mysteries they hold. The universe is fascinating and has secrets that are waiting to be unlocked the question is how much money are we willing to spend on the universe?

Take action today: http://www.penny4nasa.org/take-action/