Author Archives: Lee J. Russell

Still feel sad that this fantastic machine isn’t flying any more….     STS-4 / Columbia moving from VAB and heading for Pad 39A. Crew of Ken Mattingly and Hank Hartsfield would launch on June 27, 1982.

“Young star offers a glimpse of the Sun’s past” – interesting news story from NASA/ESA at http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2016/06/Young_star_offers_a_glimpse_of_the_Sun_s_past “… Located 1800 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus, V1331 Cyg… may look like a star, it may be called a star, but it does not yet generate energy like a normal star. This is because this starContinue reading “From 13/7/16: “”Young star offers a glimpse of the Sun’s past” – interesting news story from NASA/ESA…””

Lovely feature called King Arthur’s Beard that we saw at Wookey Hole today – apparently the flutes were carved by glacial meltwaters carrying grits & pebbles – pretty cool You can leave a comment on this post, or anything else on my website, with this form.

Fantastic image of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko from the Rosetta spacecraft. Rosetta was just 12.8 km from 67P when the picture was taken – the scale is 1.18 m/pixel and the image spans about 2.4 km. Our week through the lens: 8-12 August 2016 esa.int|By esa http://www.esa.int/Highlights/Week_In_Images_8_12_August_2016/

How the Sun took us to the brink of nuclear war on 23rd May 1967, just six days before I was born – makes you think, doesn’t it? 1967 Solar Flare Nearly Took U.S. and Soviets to Brink of War http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/1967-solar-storm-nearly-took-us-soviets-brink-war/ An historical study from former U.S. military officials found that a solar flare wasContinue reading ““1967 solar flare nearly took U.S and Soviets to the brink of war…””

Saw the RSC’s wonderful current production of Cymberline at Vue last night. A fantastic performance of an under-rated Shakespeare play!

Just had to shout out about Michelle Paver’s diary-form ghost story called “Dark Matter”. I don’t usually read this genre but the book is very well-textured with a ring of authenticity about 1930’s polar exploration. Paver’s homework shines throughout the book and I couldn’t put it down. My favourite line occurs near the beginning, whenContinue reading “From 30/9/15 – “Review of ‘Dark Matter’ by Michelle Paver…””

Just finished watching all 30 episodes of Twin Peaks from 1990-91 and what can I say? Weird, whacky, stylistic, very different, rubbish, brilliant, thoughtful, mindless… very engaging! Don’t expect to understand who did what to whom and why – but do expect to be entertained!

Finally, after 5 years of writing, editing and researching what to do with it, I have self-published this novel. All the learning about how to publish the book with the best chance of success was new to me. I’ve learnt a lot about producing physical copies, cover design, editing and marketing. I found getting toContinue reading “‘An End of Beginnings’ was published on 1st June 2016.”