Books book annoucement The Stories in Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity Showcase a Spectrum of Queer Experiences An anthology of queer hope, joy, and triumph. By Reactor | Published on June 4, 2024 Comment 0 Share New Share We are excited to share the table of contents and contributing authors for Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity, an anthology coming next year from Erewhon. Edited by award-nominated writer, critic, and researcher Lee Mandelo, and overseen by editor Diana Pho, this anthology promises stories of queer hope, joy, and triumph. Whether speculating on new technologies and cultural shifts; envisioning social politics through utopias and dystopias; navigating an ever-changing world as well as intimate relationships; or something else entirely: Amplitudes will offer engaged, imaginative perspectives on our lives. The stories inside this anthology contain multitudes—whether playful, serious, sexy, experimental, frightening, hopeful, or all of the above—centering how queer folk are powerful and trans lives matter, and featuring works from current and emerging science fiction and fantasy voices across the spectrum of identities. Amplitudes is a clarion call that readily accepts how we’re here, we’re queer—and we’re fucking used to it!—for today’s readers and beyond. The twenty-two pieces collected in Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity all answer the question “what if things were different?” in their own ways, but they share a resistant, critical belief in the possible futures we can create together. These stories carry a sense of hope—though it might be hard-won, complicated, and partial. Overall, my editorial aim with Amplitudes was to approach queerness and-or transness expansively: as lived politics, experiences, identities, and cultures; as resistance against oppressive systems of power; as sources of self-making and intense connection with others across time and space; as gateways to pleasure, sex, desire, and intimacy; et cetera. And I think these stories do that so well together!—Lee Mandelo, Editor Here, preview the Table of Contents in the authors’ own words: 1. The Republic of Ecstatic Consent by Sam J. Miller Wow, who would have thought, turns out living in a radical queer activist collective in a future moment of massive liberational societal transformation isn’t just tons of fun, it’s tons of work too. 2. Trans World Takeover by Nat X Ray The first guy we decided to trans as part of Trans World Takeover was this older lady from San Antonio who was our school’s trigonometry teacher slash football coach. 3. The Orgasm Doula by Colin Dean What if each orgasm could be your last? 4. The Shabbos Bride by Esther Alter The feminine aspect of the Holy One fucks a closeted trans woman. 5. MoonWife by Sarah Gailey “MoonWife” is about the ghosts we create through our online lives, and the love that can pursue us even into death. 6. Forever Won’t End Like This by Dominique Dickey “Forever Won’t End Like This” is a love letter to all the queers networks have tried to bury, and the fandoms that refuse to let them die. 7. They Will Give Us a Home by Wen-yi Lee The mlm/wlw lavender marriage from attempted-murder hell where they dream about killing each other to claim sole ownership of their dystopian dream apartment. 8. There Used to Be Peace by Margaret Killjoy In the middle of the collapse of the USA, an order of antifascist knights brings both sword and rifle to the cause of protecting refugees. 9. Fettle & Sunder by Ramez Yoakeim The Militia is closing in, neighbors turn their backs, and Juan and Ephraim’s narrow escape path is littered with threats, sacrifices, and revelations that threaten to tear them apart. 10. Six Days by Bendi Barrett Societal collapse, but instead of doom-prepping edgelords, make it loving, emotionally-mature, cooperative queer community building. 11. The They Whom We Remember by Sunny Moraine A person living in a future of wildly malleable bodies and genders struggles to understand their own present self through the hazy lens of the frightening past. 12. When the Devil Comes From Babylon by Maya Deane “You don’t have to be a boy, the Devil tells me. In Babylon, you can be anything you want. I know where I’m supposed to fit into God’s grand design, but my heart rebels against it, rejecting every good thing, longing for wickedness. ” A closeted trans girl lives in fear that a demon from Babylon will save her from her family’s Christian cult. What follows is closer to a CPS visit. 13. Copper Boys by Jamie McGhee Kit understands trees. Easy to plant. Easier to chop down. But her feelings? Not so much. 14. A Few Degrees by Ash Huang What happens when ‘if it fits it sits’ comes up against a multi-million dollar satellite dish—and the narrator’s deep-seated insecurity. 15. Where the World Goes Sharp and Quiet by Ewen Ma A young man from City H tries (and fails) (and tries again) to escape the bleak weather conditions that killed him, and also has to deal with the annoying emotional consequences of coming back from the dead. 16. Circular Universe by Ta-wei Chi, trans. Ariel Chu An excerpt from the sequel to The Membranes, “Circular Universe” asks: what can a lesbian mother under the sea do to save Momo, her trans daughter, across various parallel universes? 17. Blueprint for the Destruction of Solitude by Paul Evanby You make me your weapon, you make me your future, you make me your love. 18. The Garden of Collective Memory by Neon Yang According to the brokers, my most valuable memory is from my sister’s birthday lunch in 2011. 19. Sugar, Shadows by Aysha U. Farah What if the moment you hit rock bottom was crystallized? What if it had a face and a name? 20. A Step into Emptiness by Aiki Mira, trans. CD Covington In a cheap hotel on the moon the worlds of a spacer and an earther collide, bearing love, grief and emancipation. 21. pocket futures in the present past  by Katharine Duckett A ragtag crew of temporal anarchists living in Appalachia try to protect vital portals linking the present and future when one of their founding members goes missing. 22. Bang Bang by Meg Elison Welcome to the last gay club in the galaxy. What’s the password? The post The Stories in <i>Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity</i> Showcase a Spectrum of Queer Experiences appeared first on Reactor.

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Some of the largest and most enigmatic rock art in the world can be found along South America’s Orinoco River, featuring a zig-zagging snake that stretches for more than 40 meters (131 feet) along with human figures and giant Amazonian centipedes.In a new study, archaeologists have mapped the 14 sites that comprise this complex of engravings and conclude that it was created to signal the territorial boundaries of the prehistoric Inhabitants. It also intended to send a warning to people travelling into the territory: don’t mess with us.The engravings are located on high upon the rock faces along the Upper and Middle Orinoco River in modern-day Venezuela and Colombia. Prior to this latest research, archeologists have found and dated pottery in the area that depicts the same motifs in a similar style, indicating that the rock art may have been scrawled at least 2,000 years ago.“These monumental sites are truly big, impressive sites, which we believe were meant to be seen from some distance away”, Dr Philip Riris, lead study author and Senior Lecturer in Archaeological Environmental Modelling at Bournemouth University, said in a statement sent to IFLScience.A map showing the location of the rock art along South America’s Orinoco River.Image credit: P Riris et al/Antiquity (2024)Working with local guides and drone photography, the team mapped the location of the rock art for the first time. Some of the engravings have been documented before, but the latest research identified some that were not yet officially identified. The placement of the engravings might provide some clues as to why prehistoric cultures went to great lengths to create them, the researchers believe.“The engravings are mainly concentrated along a stretch of the Orinoco River called the Atures Rapids, which would have been an important prehistoric trade and travel route,” added Dr José Oliver, Reader in Latin American Archaeology at UCL Institute of Archaeology.“This means it would have been a key point of contact, and so making your mark could have been all the more important – marking out your local identity and letting visitors know that you are here,” Oliver explained.The snake depicted in the artwork is likely to be boa constrictor or anaconda, two giant snakes native to tropical South America that play an important role in local folklore and spirituality. Given their deep cultural significance, it's unlikely to be a coincidence these ferocious predators were chosen as the art's subject.  “We know that anacondas and boas are associated with not just the creator deity of some of the Indigenous groups in the region, but that they are also seen as lethal beings that can kill people and large animals. We believe the engravings could have been used by prehistoric groups as a way to mark territory, letting people know that this is where they live and that appropriate behavior is expected,” said Riris.“Snakes are generally interpreted as quite threatening, so where the rock art is located could be a signal that these are places where you need to mind your manners”, stated Riris.Not just snakes: The rock art sites contain a variety of motifs, including human figures, giant Amazonian centipedes, and other animals.IMAGE CREDIT: P RIRIS ET AL/ANTIQUITY (2024Off the back of the study, the researchers hope the magnificent sites will receive official protection, a process they believe should closely involve the Indigenous peoples of the Orinoco region.“We've registered these sites with the Colombian and Venezuelan national heritage bodies as a matter of course, but some of the communities around it feel a very strong connection to the rock art”, says Dr Natalia Lozada Mendieta from Universidad de Los Andes. “Moving forward, we believe they are likely to be the best custodians.”The new study is published in the journal Antiquity. 

The skeleton of a female warrior who appears to have been slain in battle has been discovered at a cemetery for Medieval knights in central Spain. According to the authors of a new study, the ancient soldieress may have been a member of the Order of Calatrava, which defended the kingdom of Castile from North African invaders between the 12th and 15th centuries.Researchers made the surprising discovery while analyzing the remains of 25 individuals interred at the Zorita de los Canes castle, which was taken over by the Order of Calatrava in 1174. Located in the province of Guadalajara, the castle stood on the banks of the Tagus River and became a major stronghold for the religious order, which buried its knights within the fortress’s cemetery.“Most of the individuals display a significant number of penetrating stab wounds and blunt force injuries, suggestive of violent episodes,” write the researchers. “We observed many lesions on the upper part of the skull, the cheeks and the inner part of the pelvis, which is consistent with the hypothesis that we are dealing with warriors," added study author Carme Rissech in a statement.Interpreting these war wounds, the researchers speculate that the knights may have been killed in the battles of Alarcos in 1195 or Navas de Tolosa in 1212 CE, both of which were pivotal in establishing Zorita de los Canes as the Order of Calatrava’s primary fortress.Isotopic analyses of the bones also indicated that these slain warriors consumed large amounts of poultry such as red junglefowl, as well as lots of marine fish, despite being based far from any coastline. These findings indicate that the soldiers were all members of the social elite, reinforcing their suspected status as knights.Astonishingly, however, morphological analysis revealed that one of the 25 skeletons belonged to an infant, while another was a woman. Exactly how the baby ended up in the cemetery is unclear, although isotopic data suggest that the youngster’s mother consumed a high-class diet and may therefore have been connected to the Order of Calatrava.The adult woman, meanwhile, did not share this rich diet. “We observed a lower level of protein consumption in the case of this woman, which could indicate lower status in the social group," explained Rissech.And yet, her injuries suggest that she probably participated in battle before being laid to rest with the knights of the order. "She may have died in a manner very similar to that of male knights, and it is likely that she was wearing some kind of armor or chain mail," continued the author.One hypothesis is that the woman was a servant who was called up to fight and defend the castle, although Rissech is skeptical of this theory since her bones don’t show the kind of wear and tear that is usually seen on Medieval lackeys. In contrast, the woman’s skeleton demonstrates characteristics typical of well-trained warrior monks."I believe that these remains belong to a female warrior,” concluded the researcher, who added that the lady of the order would probably have been pretty handy with a sword.The study is published in the journal Scientific Reports.

On CBS News Sunday Morning, Ted Koppel visited the Civil War battlefield of Gettysburg and urged Trump critics to “consider the consequences of another Trump defeat” rather than only fearing his win. He compared the celebrations following Fort Sumter being surrendered to Trump rallies and not-so subtly suggested another civil war was on the horizon. Seemingly walking back some of the media’s hyperbole, Koppel described January 6 as a “mini insurrection” and noted there has never been one that was “more recorded.” He asked Chris Gwinn, Gettysburg Chief of Interpretation and Education, if he had seen some similarities between what happened in Gettysburg and what has happened up to today. Gwinn answered that seeing the Confederate flag in the halls of Congress was something he thought would never happen.     Wanting more details, Koppel asked the park service official if that bothered him. Gwinn responded that “to see that symbol, that flag, utilized in that way, and to see it in that building was something that I think if you could go and reincarnate some of these union soldiers, these United States soldiers buried in that cemetery, they would be aghast at the sight of that.” Koppel compared this to the beginning of the Civil War when Fort Sumter was surrendered. “And yet, when the Civil War began with the surrender of Fort Sumter in 1861, there was throughout much of the land wild celebration and no inkling of the price to be paid. Wars rarely begin in a climate of foresight,” he remarked. He went into further detail as he noted that “there was throughout much of the land wild celebration and no inkling of the price to be paid.” Seemingly looking to stoke fear, Koppel hinted that the “chest beating” at Trump's rallies could be an indication of what could follow a potential Trump defeat. He showed clips from these rallies as people cheered “we love Trump” and participants shared what they would do if Trump were to lose his reelection. Koppel noted that “President Trump`s critics and their legion are fearful of what his victory in the election might mean for the country. And he might do well to consider the consequences of another Trump defeat.” The segment concluded with cherry-picked and ominous soundbites of just a couple of men in the crowd: MAN #2: We will not go another four years at the pace we`re going. Our side will fight back then. TED KOPPEL: Tell me what that means. MAN #2: It means our freedom will not be stolen anymore. TED KOPPEL: What if it happens again? MAN #3: Be ready. Just be ready for war. KOPPEL: Really? MAN #3: I think some of us are going to go and be a little nuts over it. Click "Expand" to view the transcripts: ​​​​​​CBS NEWS SUNDAY MORNING 06/02/2024 9:58:18 a.m. Eastern TED KOPPEL: I don`t think there has ever been a more recorded mini- insurrection, than what happened on January 6th, and yet we`re still arguing about what happened. Are you seeing some of the same similarities that I`m seeing in what`s happening today? CHRIS GWINN (GETTYSBURG CHIEF OF INTERPRETATION AND EDUCATION): To a degree. KOPPEL: I mean, you don`t have to, if it`s too hot a potato. GWINN: It`s a little hot. It`s a little hot for the park service. What I remember from the January 6th riot, insurrection, is I saw Confederate battle flags in the halls of Congress for the first time. They achieved something that Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia never even got close to. They`re physically in the halls of Congress with the same battle flag that Virginia units on this battlefield carried. And that`s something I never thought I`d see. KOPPEL: Does it bother you? GWINN: Deeply. Profoundly. KOPPEL: Because? GWINN: We fought a four-year war that cost 700,000 lives. And to see that symbol, that flag, utilized in that way, and to see it in that building was something that I think if you could go and reincarnate some of these union soldiers, these United States soldiers buried in that cemetery, they would be aghast at the sight of that. KOPPEL: And yet, when the Civil War began with the surrender of Fort Sumter in 1861, there was throughout much of the land wild celebration and no inkling of the price to be paid. Wars rarely begin in a climate of foresight. ALL: We love Trump. KOPPEL: So could the chest beating at a political rally provide real insight as to what could happen in the event of another Trump defeat? DONALD TRUMP: We have to get Biden the hell out of office and send him back to wherever he comes from. MAN #1: Condition one, be ready. KOPPEL: Which is what -- MAN #1: I don`t know. I think there`s going to be some real unrest in this country. I think everybody will step up now. In condition one, be ready. Just be ready. That`s why, sir. KOPPEL: Condition one refers to a firearm with the safety on -- ALL: We love Trump. We love Trump KOPPEL: -- a live round in the chamber and the hammer cocked. MAN #1: Condition one. TRUMP: We will never, ever, ever, ever back down. KOPPEL: President Trump`s critics and their legion are fearful of what his victory in the election might mean for the country. And he might do well to consider the consequences of another Trump defeat. DONALD TRUMP: He`s the most corrupt president -- MAN #2: We will not go another four years at the pace we`re going. Our side will fight back then. KOPPEL: Tell me what that means. MAN #2: It means our freedom will not be stolen anymore. KOPPEL: What if it happens again? MAN #3: Be ready. Just be ready for war. KOPPEL: Really? MAN #3: I think some of us are going to go and be a little nuts over it.

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