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The Bible
“To learn that people not in power will do all they can to acquire it, and people in power will do all they can to keep it,” stated Tyson in a 2011 Reddit chat.
The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine
Tyson encourages individuals to read this book in order to “learn how the power of rational thought is the primary source of freedom in the world.”
Martha Jones, Doctor Who and Torchwood
She is one of the few Black women to be a companion to the Doctor. Jones was spunky and took nothing from any threat that came her way.
Michonne, The Walking Dead
She is one of the coolest characters from the show. She kills zombies with her handy-dandy samurai sword.
Steel Pulse, Jamaica
A Jamaican-born skilled metallurgist, Desmond Negril’s past is a mystery. He is identified as “Rastafarian,” meaning he believes in the divinity of Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie.
He was put in charge of a $2 million private research facility, Allotech, located on Strong Island. His life changed the day he was in the middle of an experimental liquid metal bonding process. His complex was attacked and exposed to his liquid metal chemicals. This changed the chemical composition of his body into a malleable liquid metal, yet still alive, form.
Aizan, Barbados
Hela St. August, also known as Aizan, is a self-taught practitioner of parkour and breakdancing, making her extremely agile and coordinated. Through a special ceremony of the Aizan Clan, some of her mentor’s abilities were passed to her, allowing her to absorb some of his martial arts abilities. Aizan is now skilled in the clan’s martial arts system “Anansea Vita Saana.” With all of these elements, she has created a new hybrid, unorthodox fighting style all her own.
It is thought that Aizan is able to cast a psychic aura or “web” that allows her to perceive parallel realities. This allows her to see through illusions, to the “truth” of reality. Aizan can “read” body movements and actions, giving her the ability to anticipate attacks or even tell when someone is lying.
Sci-fi and fantasy are two genres dominated by white, male voices. It can be extremely exhausting to see the same themes written by people with the same or similar perspectives. Here are seven prominent African-American women working in these two genres who have made a name for themselves by telling unique stories.
N. K. Jemisin
Jemisin found acclaim after the release of her first novel The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. She has been short-listed for major awards in such a young career and was awarded the Locus Award for Best First Novel.
Nnedi Okorafor
Okorafor writes African-based science fiction stories and children’s books. Her novel Who Fears Death won the World Fantasy Award for best novel. Her works include Akata Witch, Zahrah the Windseeker, The Shadow Speaker and a children’s book Long Juju Man. She is a professor of creative writing and literature at the University of Buffalo.
Smartwatches
Perfect for business professionals operating on the go, this lightweight, flexible smartwatch takes the power of the iPhone and puts it right on the wrists of wearers. With rumors that Microsoft, Apple and Google have all been working on their own watches to work with their respective smartphones, we’re bound to see some of that hard work in the next year. Word is, Apple has hired a number of fashion executives in recent months, including former Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve, who joined the tech company this year to work on “special projects,” one of which is the rumored iWatch, according to Snap Fulfil.
Compact Projection
Travel presentations will be transformed in 2015, thanks to the world’s smallest projector. The tiny keychain projector eliminates the need for heavy equipment or the expense of having to pay for projection equipment to be delivered. This Sekonix DLP Keychain Projector works with smartphones, tablets and personal computers through a USB connection, as reported by Forbes. Not only can compact projection transform the business world, it can also truly innovate our educational system if it is provided in classrooms around the country.
In horror and sci-fi films, there are very few minority characters. The few who are part of the cast tend to be used as a plot device or are killed off. The term “cannon fodder” literally means cannon food. Soldiers are the metaphorical food for enemy cannon fire, or, in this case, they are the reason other characters fight on in sci-fi films. Here are characters who go against the trend:
Selena from 28 Days Later
Selena was the smartest person in the film. She managed to escape the fastest zombies up to that point by not being stupid.
Zoe Washburne in Serenity and Firefly
Washburne is one of writer Joss Whedon’s underrated female characters. She is the most resourceful and reasonable character in Firefly, and her death would have only ruined the show.
Lorna Rutto, Kenyan, 28 years old
Green tech entrepreneur, founder of EcoPost
EcoPost is a company that produces environmentally friendly fencing posts. The company collects plastic waste to create the fencing posts.
Patrick Ngowi, Tanzanian, 28 years old
Ngowi set up Helvetic Solar Contractors Limited, a company that installs and maintains solar power systems throughout the northern circuit of Tanzania.
Evans Wadongo, Kenyan, 26 years old
Chairman, Sustainable Development for All Kenya
Wadongo, an engineer, designed a solar-powered LED lantern called MwangaBora (Swahili for “Good Light”). It replaces dangerous kerosene lamps and firelight in rural Kenya. His company also helps people sell the lamps.
Luke Cage
Luke Cage, wrongly convicted and unjustly imprisoned, was altered in a failed prison experiment that granted him bulletproof skin and superhuman strength. With his street smarts, and unending determination to do right, he fights for the common man. He also has a wife and child, showing his nature as a family man.
James Rhodes (Iron Patriot)
James Rhodes is Tony Stark’s personal pilot and one of the playboy’s oldest friends. Rhodes has often donned the Iron Man armor when the burden has been too much for his friend, but has also established his own identity as the Iron Patriot.
Star Trek is a science-fiction franchise spanning comics, books, film and television. These are some of the main Blerd figures from the Star Trek saga.
Nyota Uhura
Nyota Uhura is a character in Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Animated Series, the first six Star Trek films, the 2009 film Star Trek, and its 2013 sequel Star Trek Into Darkness.
In 2266, Uhura (played originally by Nichelle Nichols and later by Zoe Saldana) began her Starfleet career as a communications officer aboard the USS Enterprise with the rank of lieutenant in the command division.
In the following years of that vessel’s historic five-year mission, she was transferred to the operations division where she proved to be a proficient technician and was considered by Captain Kirk to be a capable and reliable bridge officer, manning the helm, navigation and main science station when the need arose.
Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge
In Star Trek: The Next Generation, which aired from 1987 to 1994 and was the basis of four Star Trek movies, Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge is the chief engineer of the Starship Enterprise.
In Star Trek: First Contact, La Forge (portrayed by LeVar Burton) and the Enterprise-E travel back in time to the 21st century to stop the Borg from preventing mankind’s first warp space flight. The inventor of the warp drive is a financially motivated, white alcoholic named Zefram Cochrane who lives in Bozeman, Montana. La Forge has to hold his hand to get him to launch the Phoenix and make “first contact” with the Vulcans.
