What's the difference between science fiction and fantasy?  This discussion is one that’s still in progress—and probably will be for some time to come--so the boundaries aren’t clearly marked.  Still, many seem to agree that possibility is a determining factor.  Science fiction explores what is possible (even if it’s improbable), while fantasy explores the impossible.  Of course, possibility comes with some measure of subjectivity, which is what complicates matters.  Let’s turn to Ray Bradbury, author of, among other great novels, Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles, who has written in both genres.  He described science fiction this way:  Science fiction is really sociological studies of the future, things that the writer believes are going to happen by putting two and two together . . . Science fiction is a logical or mathematical projection of the future.  https://www.writingclasses.com/toolbox/ask-writer/whats-the-difference-between-science-fiction-and-fantasy

Science fiction deals with scenarios and technology that are possible or may be possible based on science. Some science fiction such as far-future space opera or time travel stories may seem implausible, but they are still not beyond the realm of scientific theory.  On the other hand, fantasy general deals with supernatural and magical occurrences that have no basis in science.  Fantasy is an older genre of literature than science fiction; in fact, fantasy is arguably the oldest genre.  If we look back at the earliest surviving stories from human civilisation such as the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh or the ancient Greek myths, we find stories of gods, monsters and magic.  Science fiction is a relatively recent genre of the last century or so with origins going back only a few hundred years before that.

http://www.nownovel.com/blog/difference-fantasy-science-fiction/

sett  noun  (1) The system of tunnels that is the home of a badger. (2) The pattern of distinctive threads and yarns that make up the plaid of a Scottish tartan. (3) A small, square-cut piece of quarried stone used for paving and edging.  Wiktionary

Heaven, Hell, or Hoboken  It’s got history, fame, groundbreaking firsts, and a ton of great bars and restaurants packed into one itty-bitty square mile (well, two if you count the area underwater, but nobody does).  Just across the Hudson from Manhattan, Hoboken, New Jersey is the fourth most densely populated area in the United States, and has been newsworthy since before it became an “official” city in 1855.  The first North American Brewery was built in Hoboken at Castle Point.  The modern zipper was developed in Hoboken in the early 20th century.  The first recorded baseball game was played at Elysian Fields between the Knickerbocker Club and New York Nine in 1846.  The first central A/C in a public space was installed in Hoboken Terminal.  The first Blimpie was opened in 1964 by students of the Stevens Institute.  The first electrified train was driven by Thomas Edison from Hoboken to Montclair.  In the early 19th Century, Inventor Colonel John Stevens (whose son, Edwin A. Stevens, left the money for Stevens Institute of Technology) developed it waterfront as a resort for wealthy New Yorkers.  The Colonel, among many other things, is the founder of the Hoboken Land and Improvement Company, which designed the street grid and some buildings which still survive.  By the late 1800s, Hoboken was a thriving port town with shipbuilding and other successful factories.  Through WW I it remained busy with millions of doughboys passing through.  In fact, almost all of the troops sent to Europe went through Hoboken (with the phrase “Heaven, Hell, or Hoboken” their mantra for an early return by Christmas, 1917).  Many films, including Julie and Julia, Funny Girl and, The Station Agent were filmed at Hoboken Terminal.  On the Waterfront starring Marlon Brando was filmed in Hoboken.  Beth Fisher  http://busybethfisher.blogspot.com/2011/01/heaven-hell-or-hoboken.html

George Washington launched a two-pronged invasion of Canada in September 1775 with the goal of bringing the “14th colony” into the revolutionary fold.  Initial hopes were high because British General Guy Carleton had been forced to send two of his four regiments south to deal with the rebels in Boston, leaving only a few hundred men to fend off an assault on Quebec, the capital city strategically located at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River.  Plans called for General Philip Schuyler to advance with 1,700 troops from New York north along Lake Champlain to take Montreal. Then he would meet up outside Quebec with a force of 1,100 led by Colonel Benedict Arnold, who landed at the mouth of the Kennebec River in Maine on September 19 and set out through unsettled wilderness just as winter set in.  Arnold believed the late season would work in his favor, because the St. Lawrence River would soon freeze and prevent the British from sending reinforcements by boat.  He’d badly miscalculated the distance he had to travel, and most of his supplies were ruined in leaking bateaux, the 400-pound, flat-bottomed cargo boats that his men were forced to carry around unnavigable rivers.  Hunger, fatigue and bone-chilling cold took a toll on the men as they wandered through “a direful, howling wilderness,” reported Isaac Senter, a doctor from Rhode Island.  By the time Arnold arrived on the outskirts of Quebec in early November, one-third of his men had turned back and the rest were a sorry sight.  By May 1776, Arnold had to concede defeat. With the spring thaw on the St. Lawrence and 10,000 British re­inforcements headed their way, Carleton himself led a small force to rout the Americans remaining outside the city.  The American army was in full retreat, finally sailing down Lake Champlain in mid-June.  It had been a valiant effort, but the 14th colony was lost for good.  Read more at http://www.historynet.com/americas-disastrous-invasion-of-quebec.htm

In 1792, Congress passed the first presidential succession act.  This act was fraught with political wrangling between the Federalists and Antifederalists, as much early U.S. policy was.  The Federalists did not want the Secretary of State, since Thomas Jefferson held the position, and he was emerging as a leader to the Antifederalist camp.  Some were wary of the President Pro Tem of the Senate, because of the apparent mixing of the branches of government so recently established.  Ditto the House Speaker and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.  The eventual compromise did include two persons to fall in line past the Vice President.  The President Pro Tem of the Senate first, then the Speaker of the House.  The issue was taken up again in 1886, when the Congressional leadership was removed from the line and replaced with the Cabinet, with the Secretary of State falling first in line.  Finally, the 1947 Act added the Speaker of the House and President Pro Tem back in the line (but reversed from the 1792 order).  The 25th Amendment reiterates what is stated in Article 2, Section 1:  that the Vice President is the direct successor of the President.  He or she will become President if the President cannot serve for whatever reason.  The 25th also provides for a President who is temporarily disabled, such as if the President has a surgical procedure or if he or she become mentally unstable.  The original Constitution provides that if neither the President nor Vice President can serve, the Congress shall provide law stating who is next in line.  Currently that law exists as 3 USC 19, a section of the U.S. Code.  This law was established as part of the Presidential Succession Act of 1947.  Find the line of succession at http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_succ.html

Q.  What are the northernmost, southernmost, easternmost, and westernmost cities in the United States?  A.  Barrow, Alaska, is the northernmost; Hilo, Hawaii, is the southernmost; Eastport, Maine, is the easternmost; and Atka, Alaska, is the westernmost city in the country.  https://www.papertrell.com/apps/preview/The-Handy-Geography-Answer-Book/Handy%20Answer%20book/What-are-the-northernmost-southernmost-easternmost-and-weste/001137012/content/SC/52cb016782fad14abfa5c2e0_default.html  See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_extreme_points_of_the_United_States

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1518  August 26, 2016  On this date in 1791, John Fitch was granted a United States patent for the steamboat.  On this date in 1920, the 19th amendment to United States Constitution took effect, giving women the right to vote.  Word of the Day:  yeasayer noun  (1)  One whose attitude is positive, optimistic, confidently affirmative.  (2)  One who habitually agrees uncritically.