Monday, April 11, 2016

I: A to Z Blogging Challenge

For my 2016 A to Z Challenge, I’m sharing three facts for each letter. The genres I write and love to read are mostly science fiction and high or epic fantasy. In fantasy, there is often magic associated with crystals or metals. They also used herbs both for medicine and for magical spells. Each day I will post a short description of an herb or a mineral you might find in medieval or fantasy writings. For the record, most of the herbal remedies I’ve investigated are not recommended by the FDA. Many are actually poisonous and dangerous. As tribute to my second love, I will post a scientific fact that may deal with physics, biology or health science. And because another name for a writer is wordsmith, each day I’ll share a strange word that I would probably never use in my writing, but that amuse me in some way. So enjoy my trio of quick facts. And don’t forget to visit the IWSG site where we’ll share a writer’s resource for every day of the challenge.

Impavid: Not afraid, fearless

Indigo is used to make a blue dye and has been known to man for hundreds of years. It is also an ancient Chinese medicine used to treat disease.

Interstellar travel is not something humanity has conquered despite the success of the book and film The Martian. When writing space opera or other science fiction taking place in space, the propulsion method needed to make such travel possible needs to be part of your world building. Another trope you could use is the 'ark' idea where generations of people live and die on their journey to the stars.

Are you facing the upcoming tax deadline as an impavid citizen? Do you like the color indigo? How many years do you think it will take before we figure out how to travel to Mars or outside the solar system?

"It is better to deserve without receiving than to receive without deserving." Robert Green Ingersoll


26 comments:

nashvillecats2 said...

I love the word"IMPAVID" and it's meaning.
Great "I" post.
Yvonne.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Well, they do have a flight to Mars scheduled already. Good chance we'll see it in our lifetime.

Nilanjana Bose said...

Great I-post, and brilliant quote there. Loved it. Indigo used to be a major crop in Eastern India during British rule.

Maria Zannini said...

We are doing taxes today, the latest we've ever done them, but we're not worried. It won't be terribly complicated this year.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Must be why indigo is a shade of blue, too.

betty said...

I do like the color indigo :) I am impavid about taxes this year since we got them done so early :) I don't know about space travel; it would be fascinating to see and discover what is on other planets, but I often wonder if the money would be better spent here on our planet helping others, etc.

betty

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

I knew about indigo re the color/dye but not that it's used medicinally. I wonder if it's still used and to treat what exactly?

Pat Hatt said...

Interstellar travel will come to pass at some point, probably another 50 years or so.

Tasha Duncan-Drake said...

Impavid - a new word to me :) I keep reading the last bit as vapid though, which is kind of the opposite :) I don't think it'll be long before we figure out how to go interstellar - we're due for the next big leap and I think that might be it.
Tasha
Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

M.J. Fifield said...

Impavid is a new word to me, too. I can't wait to use it in a story somewhere.

Indigo has long been one of my favorite colors.

cleemckenzie said...

I seem to be in the same group of never having heard impavid before. I love it when I learn a new word. Thanks.

Robin said...

Impavid. I like it as a word. Somehow I don't see it becoming part of our mainstream usage, though. How can we remedy this???

Deborah Weber said...

I'm impavid in my quest to learn new words - thanks for this one. And I didn't know indigo was used medicinally. I'm glad it didn't take interstellar travel to pop by and find your delightful blog.

Anonymous said...

Green in my favorite color, but indigo is a beautiful shade.

~Ninja Minion Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author

Nicola said...

Another new word for me today. My vocabulary is certainly being expanded with each visit. Thank you!!

Unknown said...

Interstellar travel. Hm. Now, how should one pack for that? :)

Julie Valerie - "An I for an I"
http://www.julievalerie.com/thesaurus-tyrannosaurus-i/

Ava Quinn said...

Impavid is a new one to me! Thanks for the new info. :)

Melissa Sugar said...

Impavid is a new word for me also ( and apparently for Siri or my auto correct) because I'm having a hard time typing it, I've had to type over the word that auto correct *thinks I want to say, several times, LOL, always looking out for me. I like the word. I also like the color indigo, but only on certain things. I've seen. a handful of people with that rare shade of indigo blue eyes and they are mesmerizing, magical ... beautiful. But, I'm not carried away with Indigo as a fabric color or clothing color. Weird I know . As for interstellar travel, pretty sure it's impossible. I read an article once about sending frozen embryos ahead along with robots (robots we have not made yet) so the robots could raise the children. I believe the term was embryo space colonization. I'm sure if we ever advance that far scientifically, we'd have one hell of an ethics and moral dilemma fight on our hands. Can't you see the opponents argument to the idea. Robots raising children. And how would the embryos be selected? I suppose from the discarded embryos that couples signed away their rights to. Or the government would keep the entire experiment a secret because it would probably fail so why even alert the public to something that would fail?
Another very interesting post Susan, thanks for shaing your daily tidbits of things to ponder.

J E Oneil said...

Impavid...what a weird word. I might have to look up where it came from. And I really like the color indigo :)

Joanne said...

indigo is a cool word and color. We are not impavid about taxes at our house - all squared away. I'm fine with staying on earth I think. Others can go intergalactic. I'll hold down the fort.

mshatch said...

I recently read something about a mission mars that might only take 30 days to get there using a new propulsion system. It could possibly be ready the next time we're ready to go which I think is in 2021. Wouldn't that be cool?!

messymimi said...

Tax season always leaves me a bit fearful, because you never know! Indigo is beautiful.

Jo said...

Love the word Impavid. I already have my refunds back thanks. Being retired it doesn't take long to do our taxes. I think the ark is more realistic for interstellar travel but I like to think we could shoot around the stars as described in all the books.

Stephen Tremp said...

Blue is my favorite color and indigo is one of my favorite shades.

Tyrean Martinson said...

Your posts and Alex's posts are inspiring my writing! Thank you, Susan!

Denise Covey said...

I love the colour indigo, especially in men's shirts and jeans.