Making History
RIGHT HERE SHOULD BE A PHOTO OF WHITSON, BUT BLOGGER IS ACTING UP. WILL INLCUDE WHEN ITS SOLVED.
Attired in Russian Sokol launch and entry suits, NASA astronaut Peggy A. Whitson, Expedition 16 commander; cosmonaut Yuri I. Malenchenko (center), Soyuz commander and flight engineer representing Russia's Federal Space Agency; and Malaysian spaceflight participant Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor walk from the RSC Energia Assembly and Testing Facility to report their readiness to the Head of the State Commission.
The crew launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at sunset on Oct. 10, 2007, in their Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft and docked at to the International Space Station on Oct. 12. Whitson and Malenchenko will spend six months on the station, while Shukor will return to Earth on Oct. 21 with two of the Expedition 15 crewmembers currently on the complex.
Photo Credit: NASA/Victor Zelentsov (Copyright free)
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Sunday, October 14, 2007
It Came From Beneath the Sea (1955) Closeups
My second entry in the Oct 12-21, 2007 Close-Up Blogathon, sponsored by The House Next Door.
It Came From Beneath the Sea (1955) with special effects by Ray Harryhausen, features a gigantic octopus heading from the ocean towards San Francisco, and its eventual destruction.
Spoilers below.
The titles and list of credits rise up from beneath the sea.
Like many 1950s science fiction films, It Came From Beneath the Sea opens up in documentary fashion. A "newsreel" type voice tells us about the United States' mosst powerful weapon, the atomic submarine. First we get a closeup of the blueprints, then we see the sub itself in drydock. The voice details everything done to make it the best sub ever.
"The mind of man had thought of everything, except that which was beyond his comprehension."
Within the submarine, this closeup shows how cramped it is within a sub. Note the pipe blocking part of the view.
While on a shakedown cruise, the sub comes into contact with .... something. Something...radioactive. Bits of it are caught in the dive planes, and once the sub gets home, the stuff is brought to the greatest scientific minds in the land.
All new locations are identified by the close up of a sign of some kind.
Most 1950s science fiction films will have one female scientist, amonst the cast of at least two men (love triangle), and the rest of the military, also of course all male. Here - our first look at the female scientist in this film, played by Faith Domergue.
Female scientist emerges after changing out of her radioactive suit, but...wait for it...
Quick cut to a close up of her face. Yes, I am beautiful, aren't I?
Whenever a female scientist is in a 1950s movie, she's generally in a room with a bunch of military men, and its her task to convince the military minds that she knows what she's talking about and that they'd better listen to her about the monster/alien/etc.
What is the creature going around terrorizing the neighborhood? That's the question asked in a great many SF films. There's usually the clue of a footprint or similar... In Them! (1954) it was a single ant print, in ..Beneath the Sea, it's a single tentacle sucker....
One of two subjective closeups in the film, as the Admiral of the atomic sub and Faith Domergue's character watch from within the car as they head towards Golden Gate Bridge.
The octopus reaches the Golden Gate Bridge. One of its tentacles rises up over the bridge. We're shown it in closeup as it rises...and rises...and rises...giving an impression of how large it is, before the camera draws back and we see it in its entirety (except for the two tentacles it persists in keeping beneath the waves).
[Harryhausen had a limited budget and couldn't afford to animate all 8 tentacles. So he only did 6.]
The other "subjective" closeup shots in the film. Two helicopter pilots see the gigantic tentacle of the octopus before it destroys them. This is the final shot of the scene, we don't see a long shot of the copter actually in the tentacle's grasp.
In the finale, the giant octopus has the sub in its grasp. The Admiral (Kenneth Tobey) has gone out in scuba gear to place an explosive charge on the beast. He's knocked unconsious, so the second man of the love triange with Faith Domergue, also goes out in scuba gear and recovers him. But within the sub, the First Officer doesn't know if they're alive or dead. He must issue the order to detonate the explosive charge, but note the distress on his face...
Fortunately, our two heroes managed to surface in time, and are rescued. The octopus is blown to bits, and alls well that ends well.
It Came From Beneath the Sea (1955) with special effects by Ray Harryhausen, features a gigantic octopus heading from the ocean towards San Francisco, and its eventual destruction.
Spoilers below.
The titles and list of credits rise up from beneath the sea.
Like many 1950s science fiction films, It Came From Beneath the Sea opens up in documentary fashion. A "newsreel" type voice tells us about the United States' mosst powerful weapon, the atomic submarine. First we get a closeup of the blueprints, then we see the sub itself in drydock. The voice details everything done to make it the best sub ever.
"The mind of man had thought of everything, except that which was beyond his comprehension."
Within the submarine, this closeup shows how cramped it is within a sub. Note the pipe blocking part of the view.
While on a shakedown cruise, the sub comes into contact with .... something. Something...radioactive. Bits of it are caught in the dive planes, and once the sub gets home, the stuff is brought to the greatest scientific minds in the land.
All new locations are identified by the close up of a sign of some kind.
Most 1950s science fiction films will have one female scientist, amonst the cast of at least two men (love triangle), and the rest of the military, also of course all male. Here - our first look at the female scientist in this film, played by Faith Domergue.
Female scientist emerges after changing out of her radioactive suit, but...wait for it...
Quick cut to a close up of her face. Yes, I am beautiful, aren't I?
Whenever a female scientist is in a 1950s movie, she's generally in a room with a bunch of military men, and its her task to convince the military minds that she knows what she's talking about and that they'd better listen to her about the monster/alien/etc.
What is the creature going around terrorizing the neighborhood? That's the question asked in a great many SF films. There's usually the clue of a footprint or similar... In Them! (1954) it was a single ant print, in ..Beneath the Sea, it's a single tentacle sucker....
One of two subjective closeups in the film, as the Admiral of the atomic sub and Faith Domergue's character watch from within the car as they head towards Golden Gate Bridge.
The octopus reaches the Golden Gate Bridge. One of its tentacles rises up over the bridge. We're shown it in closeup as it rises...and rises...and rises...giving an impression of how large it is, before the camera draws back and we see it in its entirety (except for the two tentacles it persists in keeping beneath the waves).
[Harryhausen had a limited budget and couldn't afford to animate all 8 tentacles. So he only did 6.]
The other "subjective" closeup shots in the film. Two helicopter pilots see the gigantic tentacle of the octopus before it destroys them. This is the final shot of the scene, we don't see a long shot of the copter actually in the tentacle's grasp.
In the finale, the giant octopus has the sub in its grasp. The Admiral (Kenneth Tobey) has gone out in scuba gear to place an explosive charge on the beast. He's knocked unconsious, so the second man of the love triange with Faith Domergue, also goes out in scuba gear and recovers him. But within the sub, the First Officer doesn't know if they're alive or dead. He must issue the order to detonate the explosive charge, but note the distress on his face...
Fortunately, our two heroes managed to surface in time, and are rescued. The octopus is blown to bits, and alls well that ends well.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Close Up Blog-A-Thon: Them! Them! Them!
Them!, (1954) starring James Whitmore, James Arness, Edmond Gwenn and Joan Weldon, was among the first of the "Radiation Theater" films of classic 1950s science fiction movies.
In this, my first entry in the Oct 12-21, 2007 Close-Up Blogathon, sponsored by The House Next Door, I present three photos of "the little Ellison girl."
Found wandering through the Joshua trees in a near-catatonic state.
The audience hears the weird sound of chittering. Within the ambulance, the little Ellison girl sits up...then lays back down as the noise ceases.
Formic acid (the aroma of ants) has been waved under her nose, and the little Ellison girl breaks out of her catatonic state. She lunges towards the stationary camera, screaming "Them! Them! Them!"
In this, my first entry in the Oct 12-21, 2007 Close-Up Blogathon, sponsored by The House Next Door, I present three photos of "the little Ellison girl."
Found wandering through the Joshua trees in a near-catatonic state.
The audience hears the weird sound of chittering. Within the ambulance, the little Ellison girl sits up...then lays back down as the noise ceases.
Formic acid (the aroma of ants) has been waved under her nose, and the little Ellison girl breaks out of her catatonic state. She lunges towards the stationary camera, screaming "Them! Them! Them!"
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Tales of Sci Fi Conventions Past
My own convention activity during the 1980s consisted of going to see a couple of Doctor Who conventions in Chicago, but I love to read stories of the early days, from the first convention in 1939 onward, of all the fans and what they did and how they arranged the cons.
To that end, Michael Sinclair, very active in fandom in the south (Chattanooga, Nashville, Bowling Green, et al) during the 1970s and 1980s, is very kindly writing up reminiscences of those times, and also contributing photos of convention badges, programs, etc. which I've put on Collection pages.
It's a wonderful trip back into the land of Nostalgia.
Check it out at The Commodore's Ramblings.
To that end, Michael Sinclair, very active in fandom in the south (Chattanooga, Nashville, Bowling Green, et al) during the 1970s and 1980s, is very kindly writing up reminiscences of those times, and also contributing photos of convention badges, programs, etc. which I've put on Collection pages.
It's a wonderful trip back into the land of Nostalgia.
Check it out at The Commodore's Ramblings.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Boycott Warner Brothers!
If this story is to be believed, Warner Brothers will no longer make a movie with a female lead.
Deafline Hollywood Daily
I think it's sad that women don't come out and support the movies with women in the lead (although having said that, I have no interest in "chick flicks" and no interest in The Brave One...
But give me adaptions of Honor Harrington's On Basilisk Station, bring back Witchblade, do a decent Modesty Blaise or Lara Croft, and I'm so there...
Deafline Hollywood Daily
I think it's sad that women don't come out and support the movies with women in the lead (although having said that, I have no interest in "chick flicks" and no interest in The Brave One...
But give me adaptions of Honor Harrington's On Basilisk Station, bring back Witchblade, do a decent Modesty Blaise or Lara Croft, and I'm so there...
Friday, October 05, 2007
Terry Pratchett's Nome Trilogy - Truckers
The Nome Trilogy (or the Bromeliad Trilogy, as it is sometimes called) is ostensibly a trio of books for children, but frankly, it can be read with great enjoyment by adults as well. As with the best of animated films, the bits for the adults and the bits for the kids are interweaved so successfully that it's difficult to think how they could have been un-interweaved.
The three books are Truckers, Diggers, and Wings.
Truckers introduces the readers to Masklin and Grimma, two young nomes, and a few older nomes, who have spent all their lives out "in the open" where the 4 inch high human-looking creatures struggle to survive against foxes that eat them, food that won't grow, and so on.
The Nomes live in a faster time than the humans do... the humans are slow moving, unintelligible, but probably intelligent.
Masklin arranges for his small band of nomes to hide away on a truck, which brings them to.... the Store. Arnold Brothers, established 1905. There are nomes there...nomes who have lived there all their lives and regard the Store as their entire world, with various gods (Bargains Galore, a godlike figure just below Arnold Bros (1905) and a devilish figure also known as Prices Slashed) and their own religious caste (the Stationeri).
The Outside nomes have brought with them the Thing, a small box which comes to life when it is held near electricity, and turns out to be the small computer from a crashed spaceship. The nomes's ancestors came from outer space, their scout ship had crashed on earth over a hundred years ago ago...and the mother ship remains in orbit waiting for the nomes to return so it can take them home.
But the Store nomes don't believe this of course. Still less do they believe the Thing's news (it can communicate with the computers in the store) that the Store is closing and will be demolished.
It's up to Masklin to save the day, and the 2,000 nomes in the Store - in a hilarious and thought provoking tale that all will enjoy.
The three books are Truckers, Diggers, and Wings.
Truckers introduces the readers to Masklin and Grimma, two young nomes, and a few older nomes, who have spent all their lives out "in the open" where the 4 inch high human-looking creatures struggle to survive against foxes that eat them, food that won't grow, and so on.
The Nomes live in a faster time than the humans do... the humans are slow moving, unintelligible, but probably intelligent.
Masklin arranges for his small band of nomes to hide away on a truck, which brings them to.... the Store. Arnold Brothers, established 1905. There are nomes there...nomes who have lived there all their lives and regard the Store as their entire world, with various gods (Bargains Galore, a godlike figure just below Arnold Bros (1905) and a devilish figure also known as Prices Slashed) and their own religious caste (the Stationeri).
The Outside nomes have brought with them the Thing, a small box which comes to life when it is held near electricity, and turns out to be the small computer from a crashed spaceship. The nomes's ancestors came from outer space, their scout ship had crashed on earth over a hundred years ago ago...and the mother ship remains in orbit waiting for the nomes to return so it can take them home.
But the Store nomes don't believe this of course. Still less do they believe the Thing's news (it can communicate with the computers in the store) that the Store is closing and will be demolished.
It's up to Masklin to save the day, and the 2,000 nomes in the Store - in a hilarious and thought provoking tale that all will enjoy.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
When an adaption is better than the book
This happens verrrrrrrrrrrrrrry rarely - indeed I can count on one hand the times when the movie or other production has been as good as the material it was adapted from....(and that includes Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings debacle - why the heck did he dismiss Lee's Saruman so stupidly?????)
But one such adaption is The AMazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. The BBC adapted it to radio in 2003, and BBC 7, which I listen to, broadcast it in June 2007, which is when I recorded it... but I didn't have time to listen to it until a few days ago.
And I love it. The voices fit the cast perfectly, including David Tennant as Dangerous Beans (Tennant is the new Doctor Who) and Shaun Prendergast as Darktan, and frankly I like the adaption much better than the book - which I read for the first time today.
Maurice is a cat who lived around the garbage heap behind Unseen University - a place where wizards lived. Some of their magic escaped and gave Maurice intelligence...and it also gave intelligence to a lot of rats - now called The Clan.
The Clan wants to find an island where they can live as civilized beings, away from humans. Their leader is Hamnpork, an old rat who isn't in tune with new ways, their spiritual leader is Dangerous Beans, who has read a book called Mr Bunnsy Has An Adventure - about humans and rats interacting, which he regards as true, and therefore, as his Bible, and various others.
Maurice has recruited Keith - the "stupid looking kid", and in order to get the money to buy their island, they go from town to town running the "Plague of Rats" caper. The rats invade, Keith comes in with his pipe and for a fee, plays music that causes the rats to follow him out of town.
Then they come to Bad Blintz. Where things are really, really bad.
The adaption leaves out much (it's only 90 minutes long) and adds a little. My favorite scene, in which Darktan dismantles a trap while new-to-the-trap-squad Nourishing looks on, is great on the radio, not so great in the book.
The only flaw in the radio adaption is a slignt one - the voice of Death, at the end. Death is one of my favorite characters in the Discworld series of Terry Pratchett (indeed, I prefer to think of that Death as Death in the real world, too, very comforting), but in the adaption, in his few lines, he comes across as way too.... avuncular and smarmy...at the very least the voice should have been put into an echo chamber of some kind so you'd know it was Death talking...
BBC Radio 7 repeats things all the time, so make sure you check back periodically for The Amazing Maurice and his educated Rodents, although I'll also let you know when it's being repeated again, here.
But one such adaption is The AMazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. The BBC adapted it to radio in 2003, and BBC 7, which I listen to, broadcast it in June 2007, which is when I recorded it... but I didn't have time to listen to it until a few days ago.
And I love it. The voices fit the cast perfectly, including David Tennant as Dangerous Beans (Tennant is the new Doctor Who) and Shaun Prendergast as Darktan, and frankly I like the adaption much better than the book - which I read for the first time today.
Maurice is a cat who lived around the garbage heap behind Unseen University - a place where wizards lived. Some of their magic escaped and gave Maurice intelligence...and it also gave intelligence to a lot of rats - now called The Clan.
The Clan wants to find an island where they can live as civilized beings, away from humans. Their leader is Hamnpork, an old rat who isn't in tune with new ways, their spiritual leader is Dangerous Beans, who has read a book called Mr Bunnsy Has An Adventure - about humans and rats interacting, which he regards as true, and therefore, as his Bible, and various others.
Maurice has recruited Keith - the "stupid looking kid", and in order to get the money to buy their island, they go from town to town running the "Plague of Rats" caper. The rats invade, Keith comes in with his pipe and for a fee, plays music that causes the rats to follow him out of town.
Then they come to Bad Blintz. Where things are really, really bad.
The adaption leaves out much (it's only 90 minutes long) and adds a little. My favorite scene, in which Darktan dismantles a trap while new-to-the-trap-squad Nourishing looks on, is great on the radio, not so great in the book.
The only flaw in the radio adaption is a slignt one - the voice of Death, at the end. Death is one of my favorite characters in the Discworld series of Terry Pratchett (indeed, I prefer to think of that Death as Death in the real world, too, very comforting), but in the adaption, in his few lines, he comes across as way too.... avuncular and smarmy...at the very least the voice should have been put into an echo chamber of some kind so you'd know it was Death talking...
BBC Radio 7 repeats things all the time, so make sure you check back periodically for The Amazing Maurice and his educated Rodents, although I'll also let you know when it's being repeated again, here.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Comic Book: Retro Rocket
I visited my local comic book shop today... something I do about once a month just to see how much comics have increased in that time (I stopped buying them in the early 1990s when they started charging 75 cents, now you can't get them for less than $2.99 and more likely $3.99)
I bught issues 1 and 2 of Retro Rocket, Retro Rocket is a soldier in a battle suit. I've yet to read them, but browing through them... I'm not surprised that they came out in 2006 and apparently issue 2 was the last issue. Nevertheless I'll read them later on tonight and review them here in the next week or so.
I browsed through the covers, and came across a She Hulk cover that irritated me. I bought the first She Hulk comic way back in the 1990s, and indeed I think I had the first 20 issues before I divested myself of my collection in the early 2000s (much to my regret buy ya gotta do what ya gotta do.)
The She Hulk is supposed to be a super hero, but on this cover she's just standing there, looking bemused, while a pre-teen girl is "all up in her face," about something. Why this girl isn't splattered across the cover by one blow of the She Hulk's hand I do not understand.... I didn't bother to look inside to see if the cover contents was explained in the story... but it reminded me of those 1940s comics of Superman and Batman where, after the war, these characters were ridiculed and set up for comedy stories by a country tired of the rigor of war.
Perhaps understandable then... but today you don't see those in any other super hero comic books... but here we get the She Hulk..
As long as I'm on a feminist rant... I forgot to track down the Archie comics... I used to like those as a kid... not the regular Archie in which Betty and Veronica were always your stereotypical girls.... not doing anything interesting, just shopping for clothes, dissing each other, and trying to attract Archie's attention.
But Archie At Riverdale Heights was a fave, as it seemed aimed at a higher age group and the girls got to do interesting stuff, I used to have the first 20 issues of those as well...
But last time I was at a comic store I looked at an Archie comic and saw the same old stereotypical female stuff and I just wanted to rip the thing to shreds!
Well..end of rant for today.
I bught issues 1 and 2 of Retro Rocket, Retro Rocket is a soldier in a battle suit. I've yet to read them, but browing through them... I'm not surprised that they came out in 2006 and apparently issue 2 was the last issue. Nevertheless I'll read them later on tonight and review them here in the next week or so.
I browsed through the covers, and came across a She Hulk cover that irritated me. I bought the first She Hulk comic way back in the 1990s, and indeed I think I had the first 20 issues before I divested myself of my collection in the early 2000s (much to my regret buy ya gotta do what ya gotta do.)
The She Hulk is supposed to be a super hero, but on this cover she's just standing there, looking bemused, while a pre-teen girl is "all up in her face," about something. Why this girl isn't splattered across the cover by one blow of the She Hulk's hand I do not understand.... I didn't bother to look inside to see if the cover contents was explained in the story... but it reminded me of those 1940s comics of Superman and Batman where, after the war, these characters were ridiculed and set up for comedy stories by a country tired of the rigor of war.
Perhaps understandable then... but today you don't see those in any other super hero comic books... but here we get the She Hulk..
As long as I'm on a feminist rant... I forgot to track down the Archie comics... I used to like those as a kid... not the regular Archie in which Betty and Veronica were always your stereotypical girls.... not doing anything interesting, just shopping for clothes, dissing each other, and trying to attract Archie's attention.
But Archie At Riverdale Heights was a fave, as it seemed aimed at a higher age group and the girls got to do interesting stuff, I used to have the first 20 issues of those as well...
But last time I was at a comic store I looked at an Archie comic and saw the same old stereotypical female stuff and I just wanted to rip the thing to shreds!
Well..end of rant for today.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Time keeps on slipping into the future...
I've been extremely busy the last 3 days, trying to catch up on everything I missed when I was out sick...not even nearly caught up now but hopefully by tomorrow...
If you visit BBC Radio 7 there's lots of Doctor Who to listen to, starring Paul McGann as the Doctor...
and if you live near Manhattan be sure to see The Last Starfighter musical...
If you visit BBC Radio 7 there's lots of Doctor Who to listen to, starring Paul McGann as the Doctor...
and if you live near Manhattan be sure to see The Last Starfighter musical...
Saturday, September 29, 2007
What's the Point?
Today... with the Brain From Planet X having *1* more performance, there's an article in the New York Times that mentions it. (Says the first half is funny, second half too long.)
New York Times article on the festival.
Indeed, I think all the plays the author mentions in this article only have 1 performance left... while plays that are coming up... such as The Last Starfighter, aren't mentioned at all. (Well, of course they can't be as they hadn't been seen, but still...mention that they're about to open or something!)
Apparently there was much drama at the opening night of the Last Starfighter, doubtless of a technical basis behind the scenes, but the guy wasn't explicit...members of the audience seemed to like it, according to posts I've seen...
New York Times article on the festival.
Indeed, I think all the plays the author mentions in this article only have 1 performance left... while plays that are coming up... such as The Last Starfighter, aren't mentioned at all. (Well, of course they can't be as they hadn't been seen, but still...mention that they're about to open or something!)
Apparently there was much drama at the opening night of the Last Starfighter, doubtless of a technical basis behind the scenes, but the guy wasn't explicit...members of the audience seemed to like it, according to posts I've seen...
Friday, September 28, 2007
Last Starfighter/Brain From Planet X
I'll be putting up a page in the Theatre section of The Thunder Child, providing links to all the press that these two shows received, in their appearances not only at the New York Theater Festival but also in other venues where they were produced. (Both shows have been produced before, and indeed, have cast albums available from www.kritzerland.com )
But, since I don't have time to assemble everything today, I'll just start out with the latest Playbill article for The Last Starfighter.
Playbill: The Last Starfighter
If you're in New York and are a fan of SF, go see these shows!
But, since I don't have time to assemble everything today, I'll just start out with the latest Playbill article for The Last Starfighter.
Playbill: The Last Starfighter
If you're in New York and are a fan of SF, go see these shows!
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Women and Saudi Arabia
In Saudi Arabia, Debate on Women’s Right to Drive
This is a must-read article for people living in the USA. Any woman living in a Muslim country - whether that country is secular or ruled by their priests - is in danger of having her freedoms stripped away, her identity as a human being as equal as the next human being stripped away...on the whim of the ruling class...
Don't let it happen here...and let's help the women there. Don't know how to do that yet, but I'll be researching NOW and other women's rights organizations to see what is being done.
This is a must-read article for people living in the USA. Any woman living in a Muslim country - whether that country is secular or ruled by their priests - is in danger of having her freedoms stripped away, her identity as a human being as equal as the next human being stripped away...on the whim of the ruling class...
Don't let it happen here...and let's help the women there. Don't know how to do that yet, but I'll be researching NOW and other women's rights organizations to see what is being done.
The Last Starfighter musical now in New York
The Last Starfighter - info on the show, dates and times: Sept 28 - Oct 7
The Brain From Planet X - info on the show - dates and times. Only two days left, Sept 28 and Sept 30
Is science fiction musical theater dead? If we're to go by the reception of the New York Musical Theater Festival production, The Brain From Planet X, it might be. But there's one more sci fi musical to be seen, The Last Starfighter, which starts tomorrow.
There are 30 productions being put on during this three week Festival, only two of them with a science fiction theme. If I were in New York I'd go see both of them - although I don't care for the type of humor apparently on display in Brain and I didn't particularly like the movie version of The Last Starfighter!
I've been keeping track of the evolution of The Brain From Planet X, because its producer/director/co-writer/lyricist has a blog where he's been detailing this every step of the way, from gathering the money to put the show on, to casting it, to rehearsing, to actually doing the show. It's a fascinating insight into how these things are done, and i must say the level of ineptitude displayed - NOT by the Brain people but by the Festival people, is really shocking. I could think this guy was exaggerating, except I've been reading reviews of the other shows and they comment on show start timess delayed because of sound problems, and mikes not working during preformances - which is what happened to the Brain... and I just don't understand it. I know quality is going down in practically every profession...but the theatre too? [Well, better the theatre than the construction industry, but the quality of work in the construction industry is in the toilet, too. But that's a rant for another day.]
Anyway, the Brain had its opening night, and apparently a critic from the New York Times was there. But, I've yet to see a review from the Times. I have seen some other reviews, which praise the actors but criticize the book and music. [So I found it kind of amusing that when the guy referenced above tried to "shill" his show [his words] on a site called TalkinBroadway, he referenced that the show had gotten mediocre reviews, but that was when the kinks were still being worked out, and now they were solved. Ignoring the fact that the reviews had praised the actors and had not mentioned the technical problems...only criticizing the things that the technical difficulties had had nothing to do with - the book and the music!]
So, I'm surfing the web trying to find comments from audience members who actually saw the show. There are threads for the Festival on TalkinBroadway and at Broadway World...and no one at TalkinBroadway mentions the show at all, but they do mention other Festival shows, and it took the longest time for somebody on BroadwayWorld to talk about the show - and they referenced the humor that I know I wouldn't like...
Upshot of all the above is...The Brain From Planet X does not appear to even be a blip on the radar at the Festival. It had first been staged in Los Angeles, with different actors, and had been "invited" to do the Festival (but they still had to pay to put it on, the Festival just provides the space.)
Anyway, an education into the world of the theatre.
I wish the guy doing The Last Starfighter would have a blog as well, but he doesn't. But I'm sure he's having the same kind of technical problems as the Brain guy. Apparently they rehearse in one location, and only get to see the theater they'll actually be performing in... on the day that that is to occur! No wonder sound problems are a given. Again, the Festival people are to blame for that, not the show itself.
So...the tickets are only $20, as compared to $50 or more for regular productions...and at only $20, why not go out and see these shows?
I hope to have better news to report on the reception of The Last Starfighter. It'll be interesting to see if it gets any reviews!
Adverising?
The theme of this entry is to wonder whether an SF musical is viable in New York. However, it must be remembered that the Festival allows these shows NO advertising budget... so if people aren't a fan of theatre/musical theatre to begin with..chances are they will never even learn about these shows...
If advertising were available...who knows?
The Brain From Planet X - info on the show - dates and times. Only two days left, Sept 28 and Sept 30
Is science fiction musical theater dead? If we're to go by the reception of the New York Musical Theater Festival production, The Brain From Planet X, it might be. But there's one more sci fi musical to be seen, The Last Starfighter, which starts tomorrow.
There are 30 productions being put on during this three week Festival, only two of them with a science fiction theme. If I were in New York I'd go see both of them - although I don't care for the type of humor apparently on display in Brain and I didn't particularly like the movie version of The Last Starfighter!
I've been keeping track of the evolution of The Brain From Planet X, because its producer/director/co-writer/lyricist has a blog where he's been detailing this every step of the way, from gathering the money to put the show on, to casting it, to rehearsing, to actually doing the show. It's a fascinating insight into how these things are done, and i must say the level of ineptitude displayed - NOT by the Brain people but by the Festival people, is really shocking. I could think this guy was exaggerating, except I've been reading reviews of the other shows and they comment on show start timess delayed because of sound problems, and mikes not working during preformances - which is what happened to the Brain... and I just don't understand it. I know quality is going down in practically every profession...but the theatre too? [Well, better the theatre than the construction industry, but the quality of work in the construction industry is in the toilet, too. But that's a rant for another day.]
Anyway, the Brain had its opening night, and apparently a critic from the New York Times was there. But, I've yet to see a review from the Times. I have seen some other reviews, which praise the actors but criticize the book and music. [So I found it kind of amusing that when the guy referenced above tried to "shill" his show [his words] on a site called TalkinBroadway, he referenced that the show had gotten mediocre reviews, but that was when the kinks were still being worked out, and now they were solved. Ignoring the fact that the reviews had praised the actors and had not mentioned the technical problems...only criticizing the things that the technical difficulties had had nothing to do with - the book and the music!]
So, I'm surfing the web trying to find comments from audience members who actually saw the show. There are threads for the Festival on TalkinBroadway and at Broadway World...and no one at TalkinBroadway mentions the show at all, but they do mention other Festival shows, and it took the longest time for somebody on BroadwayWorld to talk about the show - and they referenced the humor that I know I wouldn't like...
Upshot of all the above is...The Brain From Planet X does not appear to even be a blip on the radar at the Festival. It had first been staged in Los Angeles, with different actors, and had been "invited" to do the Festival (but they still had to pay to put it on, the Festival just provides the space.)
Anyway, an education into the world of the theatre.
I wish the guy doing The Last Starfighter would have a blog as well, but he doesn't. But I'm sure he's having the same kind of technical problems as the Brain guy. Apparently they rehearse in one location, and only get to see the theater they'll actually be performing in... on the day that that is to occur! No wonder sound problems are a given. Again, the Festival people are to blame for that, not the show itself.
So...the tickets are only $20, as compared to $50 or more for regular productions...and at only $20, why not go out and see these shows?
I hope to have better news to report on the reception of The Last Starfighter. It'll be interesting to see if it gets any reviews!
Adverising?
The theme of this entry is to wonder whether an SF musical is viable in New York. However, it must be remembered that the Festival allows these shows NO advertising budget... so if people aren't a fan of theatre/musical theatre to begin with..chances are they will never even learn about these shows...
If advertising were available...who knows?
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Women's college basketball discussed on PTI!
Discussion of women's sports is not a thing you normally see on any major sports station, be it radio or TV, so I was pleased to see this:
Pardon the interuption link
The PTI folks discssing Pat Summitt's cancellation of The Game. The rivalry game between UConn and Tenn that had been going on for 9 years at least.
I'm a fan of Pat Summitt's, but I was a bigger fan before she did this. Not so much because she cancelled The Game... but because she won't say why! Thus leaving it out there for people to gossip and spread rumors....Oh, he must have done something terrible, when more than likely it's just because she "hates Geno's guts" (he is sarcastic) and doesn't want to play him any more.
If that's the case, just say so. But to leave everyone hanging, and free to gossip and speculate... not good.
Pardon the interuption link
The PTI folks discssing Pat Summitt's cancellation of The Game. The rivalry game between UConn and Tenn that had been going on for 9 years at least.
I'm a fan of Pat Summitt's, but I was a bigger fan before she did this. Not so much because she cancelled The Game... but because she won't say why! Thus leaving it out there for people to gossip and spread rumors....Oh, he must have done something terrible, when more than likely it's just because she "hates Geno's guts" (he is sarcastic) and doesn't want to play him any more.
If that's the case, just say so. But to leave everyone hanging, and free to gossip and speculate... not good.
American Apartheid?
Now that my Seattle Mariners are out of the race, I've begun to look at the other teams, whom I hope will kick Yankees butt!
And I've settled on the Red Sox.
The Red Sox have a rookie outfielder named Jacoby Ellsbury, who played during September when Manny Ramirez was out with an injury. Since I've got MLB.TV and watch the games on my computer, I've been able to see those games.
The first game with Ellsbury that I saw, just a week or so ago, the announcers of course mentioned his Navajo heritage, and that he was the first Indian of Navajo descent in the major leagues. So, without even knowing anything else about him, I automatically wanted him to do well.
Then I actually saw him play - the way he covers the field with abaondon, is willing to sacrifice his body (i.e. running over a few chairs) in order to catch a ball, etc. and I became a fan of his as a baseball player, as well.
And put together a biography and a newstracker page. You can find the biography here.
Jacoby Ellsbury bio
But in doing this research I found some troubling and depressing things.
Now, I'm from Minnesota which has a couple of Indian reservations, and money pours into those reservations from casinos... and apparently the only money-making thing that Indians can do on the worthless land that makes up these reservations is casinos. [why else were they moved to them in the 1800s, eh? You think if the land was good for anything they'd've been allowed to have it?] As the old joke was, "White folk took away the land, and now the Indians are getting it back a nickel at a time."
But I digress.
The point is Jacoby, who is only half Navajo - his mother married a white man - was brought up IN American society, not segregated away in a reservation. And that's why he's succeeding.
According to one article I read, Billy Mills calls reservations American apartheid - and indeed there is a book out, published in 1997, with that title ...about the white man's practice of segregating the Indian away from the whites. [Now there's issues there that I can think of...but I haven't read the book and I expect it's too depressing for me to want to read, but...]
But , for whatever reason the Indians were sent to reservations then, it's still going on today, and that's what's troubling. The Indian Nations are sovereign countries, and I'd have not word one to say about them if these reservations were prosperous [and the top people are, thanks to that casino money], their people well-educated and well-employed, with school drop-outs and alcoholism not a major problem.
But the opposite, unfortunately, seems to be the case. The average Native American, of any tribe, seems to be set up for failure from the get go... which is *not* the same as the blacks and latinos in ghettos and the barrios, because there the children grow up integrated into American society - and should they get a good education and a good job they could get out of those poor areas and into better ones with no "culture shock" except the one we all go through when we can live a life of luxury! But Indians are raised differently on reservations... they can't get out.
Okay, that's an observation from just a couple of days quick research, but that seems to be the case. Whether the fault lies within the Tribal Leadership, or the American government's propensity to turn thriving, active people into welfare recipients and then make sure they stay that way, I'm not sure.
But I hope Jacoby Ellsbury can be a standard bearer for all Native Americans - get an education, get a job you like and be happy, and be proud of your roots. And, while it's not necessary to "get off the reservation,".... lose the reservation mentality. Whatever the tragedies of the past, it's now the 21st century and time to move into the future and integrate with the rest of the country.
And moreso than that, he must be a standard bearer to Majority America - that when people are not held down by prejudice, either overt or covert, they can all reach the heights.
That's a lot to put on one man's shoulders. I hope he can do it. I hope they can do it.
And I've settled on the Red Sox.
The Red Sox have a rookie outfielder named Jacoby Ellsbury, who played during September when Manny Ramirez was out with an injury. Since I've got MLB.TV and watch the games on my computer, I've been able to see those games.
The first game with Ellsbury that I saw, just a week or so ago, the announcers of course mentioned his Navajo heritage, and that he was the first Indian of Navajo descent in the major leagues. So, without even knowing anything else about him, I automatically wanted him to do well.
Then I actually saw him play - the way he covers the field with abaondon, is willing to sacrifice his body (i.e. running over a few chairs) in order to catch a ball, etc. and I became a fan of his as a baseball player, as well.
And put together a biography and a newstracker page. You can find the biography here.
Jacoby Ellsbury bio
But in doing this research I found some troubling and depressing things.
Now, I'm from Minnesota which has a couple of Indian reservations, and money pours into those reservations from casinos... and apparently the only money-making thing that Indians can do on the worthless land that makes up these reservations is casinos. [why else were they moved to them in the 1800s, eh? You think if the land was good for anything they'd've been allowed to have it?] As the old joke was, "White folk took away the land, and now the Indians are getting it back a nickel at a time."
But I digress.
The point is Jacoby, who is only half Navajo - his mother married a white man - was brought up IN American society, not segregated away in a reservation. And that's why he's succeeding.
According to one article I read, Billy Mills calls reservations American apartheid - and indeed there is a book out, published in 1997, with that title ...about the white man's practice of segregating the Indian away from the whites. [Now there's issues there that I can think of...but I haven't read the book and I expect it's too depressing for me to want to read, but...]
But , for whatever reason the Indians were sent to reservations then, it's still going on today, and that's what's troubling. The Indian Nations are sovereign countries, and I'd have not word one to say about them if these reservations were prosperous [and the top people are, thanks to that casino money], their people well-educated and well-employed, with school drop-outs and alcoholism not a major problem.
But the opposite, unfortunately, seems to be the case. The average Native American, of any tribe, seems to be set up for failure from the get go... which is *not* the same as the blacks and latinos in ghettos and the barrios, because there the children grow up integrated into American society - and should they get a good education and a good job they could get out of those poor areas and into better ones with no "culture shock" except the one we all go through when we can live a life of luxury! But Indians are raised differently on reservations... they can't get out.
Okay, that's an observation from just a couple of days quick research, but that seems to be the case. Whether the fault lies within the Tribal Leadership, or the American government's propensity to turn thriving, active people into welfare recipients and then make sure they stay that way, I'm not sure.
But I hope Jacoby Ellsbury can be a standard bearer for all Native Americans - get an education, get a job you like and be happy, and be proud of your roots. And, while it's not necessary to "get off the reservation,".... lose the reservation mentality. Whatever the tragedies of the past, it's now the 21st century and time to move into the future and integrate with the rest of the country.
And moreso than that, he must be a standard bearer to Majority America - that when people are not held down by prejudice, either overt or covert, they can all reach the heights.
That's a lot to put on one man's shoulders. I hope he can do it. I hope they can do it.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Why I disliked Stardust (2007) - the wrong story told
I went to see Stardust yesterday. My reviewer had seen it a few weeks ago, and indeed, her favorable review appears here:
Stardust review by Kristie Groves
I'd also read about the movie on a feminism in science fictin blog, which took issue with the typical stereotypes - the men in the story are going after a kingdom, the women - i.e. Michelle Pfeiffer - just want to be young again... [I had intended to share the link of that blog here as something well worth reading at anytime, but I can't find the link though I thought it had it bookmarked and I don't have time to search for it right now!]
Anyway, for me, the movie was spoiled from the get-go, for a reason that I haven't seen anyone else complain about (not that I've read more than two pieces on it, but still...)
The opening of the movie is a prologue of something that had occurred 18 years before. A young man sneaks through "the Wall" into a magic kingdom, where he meets a woman who is enslaved to a witch. He tries to free her by cutting the silver chain that binds her to the witch's caravan (the witch being absent), but it reforms. The woman will be free only when the witch is dead.
But, she draws the young man into the caravan, they have sex, and nine months later, a baby is delivered through the wall to the young man -- who has returned to his own world -- who raises it. And it is that baby grown to manhood, who is the hero of the story.
And I'm thinking to myself...what the hell? Why was the young woman left a slave to the witch? Why didn't the man do a leetle bit more to try to rescue her - like killing the witch, etc. Why is she left a slave for 18 more years???
Of course she has to be, because it's the boy's desire to see his mother which helps draw him into that world... but still...I was just enraged from the beginning and I never did un-enraged.
As a whole the movie is... all right. An annoying love story, with the hero taught a lesson. I love the Lightning Catching balloon and the Robert DeNiro interlude, Michelle Pfeiffer was certainly having fun and made a good and powerful villainess... but yes, the stereotypes about women were in full force.
And yet... my young reviewer saw nothing of that.... only us middle-aged women do... scary, that!
Saturday, September 22, 2007
The Women Behind the Men
Another article of interest:
The Women Behind the Men
Daisy Bates had to march with the wives.
GAIL COLLINS
When the nation observes the 50th anniversary of the Little Rock school desegregation on Monday, there will undoubtedly be a great deal said about Bates, who was head of the city’s N.A.A.C.P. chapter. She helped recruit nine black teenagers and escorted them through irate mobs of white adults and into their first classes. As a result, she and her husband, Lucius, lost their business. She was jailed, threatened and the Ku Klux Klan burned an 8-foot cross on her lawn.
Bates was invited, of course, to the famous March on Washington in 1963, when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. Rosa Parks was invited, too, and Pauli Murray, the lawyer and feminist who had staged the first sit-in at a Washington restaurant during World War II.
When they got there, they were all assigned to walk with the wives of the male civil rights leaders, far away from the cameras. “Not a single woman was invited to make one of the major speeches or be part of the delegation of leaders who went to the White House. The omission was deliberate,” Murray said later.
See link for complete article
The Women Behind the Men
Daisy Bates had to march with the wives.
GAIL COLLINS
When the nation observes the 50th anniversary of the Little Rock school desegregation on Monday, there will undoubtedly be a great deal said about Bates, who was head of the city’s N.A.A.C.P. chapter. She helped recruit nine black teenagers and escorted them through irate mobs of white adults and into their first classes. As a result, she and her husband, Lucius, lost their business. She was jailed, threatened and the Ku Klux Klan burned an 8-foot cross on her lawn.
Bates was invited, of course, to the famous March on Washington in 1963, when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. Rosa Parks was invited, too, and Pauli Murray, the lawyer and feminist who had staged the first sit-in at a Washington restaurant during World War II.
When they got there, they were all assigned to walk with the wives of the male civil rights leaders, far away from the cameras. “Not a single woman was invited to make one of the major speeches or be part of the delegation of leaders who went to the White House. The omission was deliberate,” Murray said later.
See link for complete article
Gerda Taro - first female war photographer
Okay, not SF, but I find it interesting.
A Wartime Photographer in Her Own Light
Sometime in the spring of 1936, the lovers and photographers André Friedmann and Gerta Pohorylle changed their names and, in the process, the history of photography. To distinguish themselves from other Jewish émigrés in Paris at the time, Mr. Friedmann, a Hungarian Jew, took the name Robert Capa; Ms. Pohorylle, also Jewish and born in Poland, became Gerda Taro. Working at times as “Capa,” an imaginary American photographer, they began documenting the Spanish Civil War, capturing the ruined towns and devastated civilians and soldiers on the Republican side.
Gerda Taro Mr. Capa went on to become one of the world’s greatest war photographers. But Ms. Taro, seen by many as the first woman known to photograph a battle from the front lines and to die covering a war, survived in the public eye mostly for her romance with Mr. Capa.
SEE LINK FOR COMPLETE ARTICLE
A Wartime Photographer in Her Own Light
Sometime in the spring of 1936, the lovers and photographers André Friedmann and Gerta Pohorylle changed their names and, in the process, the history of photography. To distinguish themselves from other Jewish émigrés in Paris at the time, Mr. Friedmann, a Hungarian Jew, took the name Robert Capa; Ms. Pohorylle, also Jewish and born in Poland, became Gerda Taro. Working at times as “Capa,” an imaginary American photographer, they began documenting the Spanish Civil War, capturing the ruined towns and devastated civilians and soldiers on the Republican side.
Gerda Taro Mr. Capa went on to become one of the world’s greatest war photographers. But Ms. Taro, seen by many as the first woman known to photograph a battle from the front lines and to die covering a war, survived in the public eye mostly for her romance with Mr. Capa.
SEE LINK FOR COMPLETE ARTICLE
Friday, September 21, 2007
Books, Books, Books everywhere
Here are the books that *I* am personally trying to read and review. I don't count the many books that my two reviewers have outstanding...
Hispanic-American Scientists, by Walter Olesky. Not a new book, 1998 copyright. But I do retro-reviews and there's a chapter in this book on astronaut Ellen Ochoa, as well as Adriana Ocamo - planetary geologist, snd physicist Luis Alvarez among others.
Directed by Steven Spielberg, by Warren Buckland. New book on Spielberg. Academic rather than "popular" writing.
Storms of Vengeance, Book 1 of the Lorrada Stone, by John Beachem.
Hal Spacejock, by Simon Haynes. A book from Austrakia that Simon was good enough to send me for review. "Better thn Red Dwarf" is the blurb on the cover.
The Electric Church, by Jeff Somers.
Swords and Sorcery: How to Draw Fantastic Fantasy Adventure Comics, by Bryan Buagh.
Fast, Cheap and Under Control, by John Gaspard. A book about independent movies and how they're made. Only a couple of mentions of science fiction movies, but I think it's worth reviewing.
Hispanic-American Scientists, by Walter Olesky. Not a new book, 1998 copyright. But I do retro-reviews and there's a chapter in this book on astronaut Ellen Ochoa, as well as Adriana Ocamo - planetary geologist, snd physicist Luis Alvarez among others.
Directed by Steven Spielberg, by Warren Buckland. New book on Spielberg. Academic rather than "popular" writing.
Storms of Vengeance, Book 1 of the Lorrada Stone, by John Beachem.
Hal Spacejock, by Simon Haynes. A book from Austrakia that Simon was good enough to send me for review. "Better thn Red Dwarf" is the blurb on the cover.
The Electric Church, by Jeff Somers.
Swords and Sorcery: How to Draw Fantastic Fantasy Adventure Comics, by Bryan Buagh.
Fast, Cheap and Under Control, by John Gaspard. A book about independent movies and how they're made. Only a couple of mentions of science fiction movies, but I think it's worth reviewing.
Musical Science Fiction Theater in New York right now
Here's the link to a Broadway page that has a clip of an interview with the creator of The Last Starfighter musical, now playing on Broadway as part of the New York Theater Festival. Only has a run of a couple of weeks.
http://www.broadwayworld.com/videoplay.cfm?colid=21527
There's also a musical called The Brain From Planet X, which opened yesterday and will also run for a couple of weeks.
Tickets to the festival only cost $20, for good seats in a small theater, rather than Broadway's traditional $50 for nosebleed seats at the back of the auditorium.
So check 'em out!
http://www.broadwayworld.com/videoplay.cfm?colid=21527
There's also a musical called The Brain From Planet X, which opened yesterday and will also run for a couple of weeks.
Tickets to the festival only cost $20, for good seats in a small theater, rather than Broadway's traditional $50 for nosebleed seats at the back of the auditorium.
So check 'em out!
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Journalistic ethics
On my desktop newsfeed today, from CNN, was this headline:
Bush: MoveOn's Petraeus 'disgusting'
This headline puzzled me, as I thought Petraeus was on Bush's side, and did not "belong" to MoveOn...and why would Bush think Petraeus was disgusting...had Petraeus "betrayed" Bush and gone over to MoveOn???
So I clicked on the link, and was brought to CNN's article, where the headline said: Bush: MoveOn.org ad on Petraeus 'disgusting'
That little word, that key little word, "ad" had been left out of the desktop headline - the headline that everyone would see - not just those who took the time to look further.
Now, somebody with not a lot of time, looks at that headline but doesn't bother to read it, is only going to see that "Bush thinks Petraeus is disgusting" and that's going to prejudice their minds against either Petraeus, Bush or both.
Now, was this a legitimate oversight on somebody's part, or was it done deliberately?
I must say that I am pretty much in despair about the political climate in the good ol' US, anyway. I've always maintained that all politicians - Republican or Democrat - are crooks, and that's pretty much being proved day after day. From the Republicans who say they stand for family values and then turn around and have gay sex with people in bathroom stalls...to Democrats who take campaign contributions from felons... they're all the same.
(And as an aside, I have no problem with gays getting married, for example, - there's so much hatred in this world that if two people want to commit to each other formally, more power to them! And I'd hope that their marriage is more successful than the majority of straight marriages.)
If you study the history of journalism, it's really rather sad, as the myth about journalistic ethics, journalistic fairness is pretty much stripped away from the get go. And it's only getting worse... you can't really trust any newspaper - paper or online... to tell you the truth about anything. Each one has its own agenda, it's own political party it supports, and its reporting style is biased in that direction.
And I don't think people realize this. Otherwise it wouldn't still be going on, surely! Surely people, if they'd cared, would have revolted before now and said, "Hey, stop with the biased reporting already. Fair and balanced, that's what we want."
Another example, something that always gets my knickers in a twist, is when the news media reports poll results. "A majority of Americans say they want to impeach So and So." or "Americans think So and So is the sexist person on earth." Then you go to the small print at the very bottom of the article, and this "majority" or these "Americans" turn out to be a grand total of 1,000 people that the media talked to.
What the media will tell you is that the opinions of one person can be extrapolated to be the opinions of 1,000, but that's not really the case. I think it's more accurate to say that 1,000 people read that "A majority of Americans think that So and So should be impeached," and believe the headline and decide that that's what they'll think, too. Subtle difference.
Anyway, end of rant. I've got to go read some books.
Bush: MoveOn's Petraeus 'disgusting'
This headline puzzled me, as I thought Petraeus was on Bush's side, and did not "belong" to MoveOn...and why would Bush think Petraeus was disgusting...had Petraeus "betrayed" Bush and gone over to MoveOn???
So I clicked on the link, and was brought to CNN's article, where the headline said: Bush: MoveOn.org ad on Petraeus 'disgusting'
That little word, that key little word, "ad" had been left out of the desktop headline - the headline that everyone would see - not just those who took the time to look further.
Now, somebody with not a lot of time, looks at that headline but doesn't bother to read it, is only going to see that "Bush thinks Petraeus is disgusting" and that's going to prejudice their minds against either Petraeus, Bush or both.
Now, was this a legitimate oversight on somebody's part, or was it done deliberately?
I must say that I am pretty much in despair about the political climate in the good ol' US, anyway. I've always maintained that all politicians - Republican or Democrat - are crooks, and that's pretty much being proved day after day. From the Republicans who say they stand for family values and then turn around and have gay sex with people in bathroom stalls...to Democrats who take campaign contributions from felons... they're all the same.
(And as an aside, I have no problem with gays getting married, for example, - there's so much hatred in this world that if two people want to commit to each other formally, more power to them! And I'd hope that their marriage is more successful than the majority of straight marriages.)
If you study the history of journalism, it's really rather sad, as the myth about journalistic ethics, journalistic fairness is pretty much stripped away from the get go. And it's only getting worse... you can't really trust any newspaper - paper or online... to tell you the truth about anything. Each one has its own agenda, it's own political party it supports, and its reporting style is biased in that direction.
And I don't think people realize this. Otherwise it wouldn't still be going on, surely! Surely people, if they'd cared, would have revolted before now and said, "Hey, stop with the biased reporting already. Fair and balanced, that's what we want."
Another example, something that always gets my knickers in a twist, is when the news media reports poll results. "A majority of Americans say they want to impeach So and So." or "Americans think So and So is the sexist person on earth." Then you go to the small print at the very bottom of the article, and this "majority" or these "Americans" turn out to be a grand total of 1,000 people that the media talked to.
What the media will tell you is that the opinions of one person can be extrapolated to be the opinions of 1,000, but that's not really the case. I think it's more accurate to say that 1,000 people read that "A majority of Americans think that So and So should be impeached," and believe the headline and decide that that's what they'll think, too. Subtle difference.
Anyway, end of rant. I've got to go read some books.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Doctor Who: Sword of Orion
Another Paul McGann Doctor Who serial, also 2 episodes aired every day:
Doctor Who: Sword of Orion
Sword of Orion: The Doctor and Charley set off to the Garazone System bazaar, but instead discover a deadly enemy on a derelict star destroyer. Episode 1 of 4.
Doctor Who: Sword of Orion
Sword of Orion: To prove that he and Charley are innocent of murder and get the TARDIS back, the Doctor must face the deadly Cybermen. Episode 2 of 4.
Doctor Who: Sword of Orion
Sword of Orion: The Doctor and Charley set off to the Garazone System bazaar, but instead discover a deadly enemy on a derelict star destroyer. Episode 1 of 4.
Doctor Who: Sword of Orion
Sword of Orion: To prove that he and Charley are innocent of murder and get the TARDIS back, the Doctor must face the deadly Cybermen. Episode 2 of 4.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Paul McGann's Doctor Who returns to BBC 7
Thursday - 2 episodes of Storm Warning
Friday - final 2 episodes of Storm Warning
The actor who played Roj Blake in Blake's 7, Gareth Thomas, has a guest-starring role.
Doctor Who: Storm Warning
It's 1930, and the airship R101's first flight. Who is the odd passenger in cabin 43? And why is a sixties police box on board? Episode 1 of 4.
Doctor Who: Storm Warning
The R101 is under attack, the storm is breaking, and the passenger in cabin 43 needs to see the Doctor. Episode 2 of 4.
Doctor Who: Storm Warning
While the Doctor makes a journey into the spaceship interior, Rathbone prepares to carry out his mission. Paul McGann stars. Episode 3 of 4.
Doctor Who: Storm Warning
The Doctor and Charley help the R101 crew escape from the aliens, only to run into more problems closer to home. Episode 4 of 4.
Friday - final 2 episodes of Storm Warning
The actor who played Roj Blake in Blake's 7, Gareth Thomas, has a guest-starring role.
Doctor Who: Storm Warning
It's 1930, and the airship R101's first flight. Who is the odd passenger in cabin 43? And why is a sixties police box on board? Episode 1 of 4.
Doctor Who: Storm Warning
The R101 is under attack, the storm is breaking, and the passenger in cabin 43 needs to see the Doctor. Episode 2 of 4.
Doctor Who: Storm Warning
While the Doctor makes a journey into the spaceship interior, Rathbone prepares to carry out his mission. Paul McGann stars. Episode 3 of 4.
Doctor Who: Storm Warning
The Doctor and Charley help the R101 crew escape from the aliens, only to run into more problems closer to home. Episode 4 of 4.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Shada on BBC Radio 7
Shada is the famous Tom Baker Doctor Who serial that went unfinished because of a BBC strike. It has been redone for radio. Lalla Ward reprises her role as Romana, and Paul McGann does the Doctor. It's quite good, although of course I longed to hear Tom Baker in the role.
Anyway, first time I heard it, last year, it was 30 minutes once a day. This time around, they're playing two episodes a day, so you can hear the whole thing in just 3 days.
Also on offer, on Tuesday, is:
The Cabaret of Dr Caligari
The Homeless Who Ate London: London is in crisis as a people-eating Blob is let loose on the rampage. With Sylvester McCoy and John Woodvine.
The Cabaret of Dr. Caligari is an actual horror anthology...so even though this might be interesting, I ain't gonna listen to it. (And of course Sylvester McCoy played a Doctor, but that's not enough to make me want to listen...I can take tongue-in-cheek horror, but I kind of think this is serious...)
Anyway, first time I heard it, last year, it was 30 minutes once a day. This time around, they're playing two episodes a day, so you can hear the whole thing in just 3 days.
Also on offer, on Tuesday, is:
The Cabaret of Dr Caligari
The Homeless Who Ate London: London is in crisis as a people-eating Blob is let loose on the rampage. With Sylvester McCoy and John Woodvine.
The Cabaret of Dr. Caligari is an actual horror anthology...so even though this might be interesting, I ain't gonna listen to it. (And of course Sylvester McCoy played a Doctor, but that's not enough to make me want to listen...I can take tongue-in-cheek horror, but I kind of think this is serious...)
My rant of the day
If there's one thing that annoys me more than anything else, when it comes to reading non-fiction...it is books that don't have indexes. How can a non-fiction book not have an index??? It is an affront before god and man, if I may paraphrase William Daniel's John Adams.
I've got a handful of non-fiction books in front of me, most of which I do not have time to read. I'm trying to do research on specific topics -- All I'm interested in is certain portions of the books, therefore. They may or may not even talk about the period of time/people I'm interested in... but since they don't have indexes I can't find out in a mere 30 seconds, I'm forced to read each book.
Annoys me no end.
Some time ago I started putting together indexes of non-fiction books, for my own use. I'm going to revive that practice and put these indexes on my website (Ghost Guns Virginia) for everyone's use. So at least future researchers won't have to go through this!
I've got a handful of non-fiction books in front of me, most of which I do not have time to read. I'm trying to do research on specific topics -- All I'm interested in is certain portions of the books, therefore. They may or may not even talk about the period of time/people I'm interested in... but since they don't have indexes I can't find out in a mere 30 seconds, I'm forced to read each book.
Annoys me no end.
Some time ago I started putting together indexes of non-fiction books, for my own use. I'm going to revive that practice and put these indexes on my website (Ghost Guns Virginia) for everyone's use. So at least future researchers won't have to go through this!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Tough days...
I was sick all day yesterday, and am not feeling too well today, so I'm behind on my reading and reviewing.
In addition to several fiction books I've got, I'm expecting reviews from my reviewers, and I today got Into the Unknoown, the fantastic life of Nigel Kneale (creator of Quatermass).
In addition to several fiction books I've got, I'm expecting reviews from my reviewers, and I today got Into the Unknoown, the fantastic life of Nigel Kneale (creator of Quatermass).
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Is there nothing original on TV these days??
I've been watching football most of the day...and I keep seeing ads for a show called Journeyman..in which a guy (why is it women never get to be the heroines of these kinds of tv shows?) travels back in time to fix other people's problems.
My that sounds kind of familiar. Kind of like Quantum Leap, eh? Except instead of being in someone else's body he just knows what's going to happen and saves the day. Kind of a combination of Quantum Leap and... was it called Front Page, where a newspaper delivered every day tells a guy what he has to do to fix other people's problems.
I wouldn't mind it so much if they'd give a woman a chance to do these heroic things - but the closest we ever got to that was Touched By an Angel - a copy of Michael Landon's show...
A show called Chuck...Saving the World at $11 An Hour might be kind of cute. From the ads it looks like we've got a karate chopping female secret agent, and a male geek with the brains and, I think, a photographic memory, who saves the day for her on a regular basis.
I don't have a lot of time to watch TV these days...indeed I cringe to think how much time I've wasted watching football today, and will undoubtedly waste on subsequent Sundays...but hey, it's football.
My that sounds kind of familiar. Kind of like Quantum Leap, eh? Except instead of being in someone else's body he just knows what's going to happen and saves the day. Kind of a combination of Quantum Leap and... was it called Front Page, where a newspaper delivered every day tells a guy what he has to do to fix other people's problems.
I wouldn't mind it so much if they'd give a woman a chance to do these heroic things - but the closest we ever got to that was Touched By an Angel - a copy of Michael Landon's show...
A show called Chuck...Saving the World at $11 An Hour might be kind of cute. From the ads it looks like we've got a karate chopping female secret agent, and a male geek with the brains and, I think, a photographic memory, who saves the day for her on a regular basis.
I don't have a lot of time to watch TV these days...indeed I cringe to think how much time I've wasted watching football today, and will undoubtedly waste on subsequent Sundays...but hey, it's football.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Madeleine L'Engle (88) has died.
Author Madeleine L'Engle dies at 88
By CARA RUBINSKY, Associated Press Writer
HARTFORD, Conn. - Author Madeleine L'Engle, whose novel "A Wrinkle in Time" has been enjoyed by generations of schoolchildren and adults since the 1960s, has died, her publicist said Friday. She was 88.
L'Engle died Thursday at a nursing home in Litchfield of natural causes, according to Jennifer Doerr, publicity manager for publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
FULL ARTICLE AT LINK ABOVE
She was the author of A Wrinkle in Time, one of my favorite books as a child, and indeed I still read it occasionally today. I didn't really like the rest of her books..although it's been a long time since I tried to read them... but
A Wrinkle in Time is a classic. And you need to read this and NOT mess with the bad TV adaption they did a few years ago. Why do the nimnuls who do TV and movie adaptions always try to "improve" what doesnt' need to be improved????
By CARA RUBINSKY, Associated Press Writer
HARTFORD, Conn. - Author Madeleine L'Engle, whose novel "A Wrinkle in Time" has been enjoyed by generations of schoolchildren and adults since the 1960s, has died, her publicist said Friday. She was 88.
L'Engle died Thursday at a nursing home in Litchfield of natural causes, according to Jennifer Doerr, publicity manager for publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
FULL ARTICLE AT LINK ABOVE
She was the author of A Wrinkle in Time, one of my favorite books as a child, and indeed I still read it occasionally today. I didn't really like the rest of her books..although it's been a long time since I tried to read them... but
A Wrinkle in Time is a classic. And you need to read this and NOT mess with the bad TV adaption they did a few years ago. Why do the nimnuls who do TV and movie adaptions always try to "improve" what doesnt' need to be improved????
Isaac Asimov's prediction...
Many years ago, Asimov wrote an essay in which he predicted that one day, half the population would be entertaining the other half. Well, that day is here, now.
There's all sorts of videos on Youtube, MySpace and Google now, of people doing really, really stupid things which they think are clever (I'm not talking about the cute videos of animals doing funny things, but the disgusting videos of people getting drunk and vomiting, etc. etc.)
But what's got me a bit upset this morning is the fact that, on the ABC News website, there is a video of some woman being questioned about the death of her daughter, whom she had left strapped in a car seat for 7 hours last month while she was at her work as a principle in some school. Videos of grieving parents outside their home shouldn't be shown, but videos of people being interrogated in police stations certainly shouldn't be shown! Whatever happened to people's privacy?
As for moms or dads who leave their babies strapped into cars on hot days... don't people ever learn???? Not a summer goes by where this doesn't happen at least once! Since people are too stupid to look after their own kids, time for the government to step in and make it mandatory that cars put in some kind of alarm system that will ping very loudly if there's a weight in a car seat when the car door is closed, and there's no corresponding weight in the driver's seat.
I joke - I don't think the goverment should get involved. But perhaps baby seat manufacturers could do something along those lines...
And don't even get me started on the cop who left his police dog in a hot car for 11 hour. I hope he's sentenced to have to stay in a police car in the same conditions for 11 hours (wearing a fur suit, not allowed to pee) and see how he likes it.
Well, sorry for the off-topic rant, but people are getting to me today.
There's all sorts of videos on Youtube, MySpace and Google now, of people doing really, really stupid things which they think are clever (I'm not talking about the cute videos of animals doing funny things, but the disgusting videos of people getting drunk and vomiting, etc. etc.)
But what's got me a bit upset this morning is the fact that, on the ABC News website, there is a video of some woman being questioned about the death of her daughter, whom she had left strapped in a car seat for 7 hours last month while she was at her work as a principle in some school. Videos of grieving parents outside their home shouldn't be shown, but videos of people being interrogated in police stations certainly shouldn't be shown! Whatever happened to people's privacy?
As for moms or dads who leave their babies strapped into cars on hot days... don't people ever learn???? Not a summer goes by where this doesn't happen at least once! Since people are too stupid to look after their own kids, time for the government to step in and make it mandatory that cars put in some kind of alarm system that will ping very loudly if there's a weight in a car seat when the car door is closed, and there's no corresponding weight in the driver's seat.
I joke - I don't think the goverment should get involved. But perhaps baby seat manufacturers could do something along those lines...
And don't even get me started on the cop who left his police dog in a hot car for 11 hour. I hope he's sentenced to have to stay in a police car in the same conditions for 11 hours (wearing a fur suit, not allowed to pee) and see how he likes it.
Well, sorry for the off-topic rant, but people are getting to me today.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Killer Asteroid Traced in Space
Killer Asteroid Traced in Space
Richard Ingham, AFP, Discovery News
Sept. 5, 2007 — The extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago can be traced to a collision between two monster rocks in the asteroid belt nearly 100 million years earlier, scientists report on Wednesday.
The smash drove a giant sliver of rock into Earth's path, eventually causing the climate-changing impact that ended the reign of the dinosaurs and enabled the rise of mammals — including, eventually, us.
Other asteroid fragments smashed into the Moon, Venus and Mars, pocking their faces with mighty craters, the researchers believe.
SEE LINK FOR COMPLETE ARTICLE
Richard Ingham, AFP, Discovery News
Sept. 5, 2007 — The extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago can be traced to a collision between two monster rocks in the asteroid belt nearly 100 million years earlier, scientists report on Wednesday.
The smash drove a giant sliver of rock into Earth's path, eventually causing the climate-changing impact that ended the reign of the dinosaurs and enabled the rise of mammals — including, eventually, us.
Other asteroid fragments smashed into the Moon, Venus and Mars, pocking their faces with mighty craters, the researchers believe.
SEE LINK FOR COMPLETE ARTICLE
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Luke Skywalker's light sabre will go to the space station
News Bytes of the Week—Lightsaber to fly on shuttle
from Science News
a photo-op plucked straight from nerd heaven, a phalanx of Stormtroopers converged this week on Houston's William P. Hobby Airport to escort a NASA official carrying the lightsaber prop wielded by actor Mark Hamill in the 1983 movie Star Wars. The event was hatched to drum up press for the geek icon's scheduled flight to and from the International Space Station on board the shuttle Discovery in October, in celebration of the movie's 30-year anniversary, according to news reports. Chewbacca the Wookie jumped through hyperspace to California, where he handed the Jedi weapon to Roger Bornstein, director of marketing for NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, who then rendezvoused with representatives of the Dark Side in Texas. No word on whether space traitor Lando Calrissian was involved in the transaction. (NASA shuttle to launch Luke's lightsaber | collectSPACE.com)
from Science News
a photo-op plucked straight from nerd heaven, a phalanx of Stormtroopers converged this week on Houston's William P. Hobby Airport to escort a NASA official carrying the lightsaber prop wielded by actor Mark Hamill in the 1983 movie Star Wars. The event was hatched to drum up press for the geek icon's scheduled flight to and from the International Space Station on board the shuttle Discovery in October, in celebration of the movie's 30-year anniversary, according to news reports. Chewbacca the Wookie jumped through hyperspace to California, where he handed the Jedi weapon to Roger Bornstein, director of marketing for NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, who then rendezvoused with representatives of the Dark Side in Texas. No word on whether space traitor Lando Calrissian was involved in the transaction. (NASA shuttle to launch Luke's lightsaber | collectSPACE.com)
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Re-create a famous 1950s sci fi film moment, win $$$
Film-makers and artists are invited to enter a contest to recreate any moments they please from any 1950s sci fi film!
http://thethunderchild.com/Triskelion/50sFilmReenactment.html
Top prize $100, second prize $50, third prize $25, and of course all entries are profiled at The Thunder Child so that all contestants will get exposure for their work.
See the link for complete details!
If you're a film-maker or an artist, this contest is for you!
And yes, I did get the idea from the contest the MLB is running right now, for people to recreate famous moments from baseball history. Why should MLB fans have all the fun?
And on a similar note...heads bowed and pray to whatever diety you hold dear that Seattle Mariners Coach McLaren gets a clue and never, ever uses pitcher Rick White again, and platoons Ben Broussard with Richie Sexson for the rest of the season, if not benching Sexson altogether!!!!
http://thethunderchild.com/Triskelion/50sFilmReenactment.html
Top prize $100, second prize $50, third prize $25, and of course all entries are profiled at The Thunder Child so that all contestants will get exposure for their work.
See the link for complete details!
If you're a film-maker or an artist, this contest is for you!
And yes, I did get the idea from the contest the MLB is running right now, for people to recreate famous moments from baseball history. Why should MLB fans have all the fun?
And on a similar note...heads bowed and pray to whatever diety you hold dear that Seattle Mariners Coach McLaren gets a clue and never, ever uses pitcher Rick White again, and platoons Ben Broussard with Richie Sexson for the rest of the season, if not benching Sexson altogether!!!!
A shift in the kaleidoscope - Larry Craig
I have not been paying a great deal of attention to the scandal unfolding around Senator Larry Craig, the senator who pleaded guilty to "lewd behavior" in a bathroom... in a Minnesota airport, I believe, and yet says he did nothing wrong. [And from one standpoint...he didn't. Touched shoes, gave a 'signal' that could be interpreted that he wanted sex - but didn't have sex or even show any of his organs to the cop!)
Nevertheless, just a typical hypocritical politician, I thought.
But then today I was listening to the Tom Hannity show, and Hannity played the tape of the police officer interrogating Craig...and the officer is asking leading questions, assuring Craig (and I paraphrase) "I don't go to the media, you pay a fine, that's it, but if you plead innocent your name will be dragged through the mud."
It's a very enlightening tape... but not strictly about the Craig case.
Craig is an old guy, an experienced guy. He should have known better than to let himself be buffaloed into pleading guilty to something he didn't do. (Although perhaps that line, "It won't get into the media," had him fooled.)
But what about young men and women - in any instance of contact with police, not just acting stupidly in a bathroom - is this how the police treat them? Coercing them to confess to things they didn't do because then it'll be just a lot easier on them, than if they do try to prove their innocence?
The officer on the tape had his patter down pat, he'd obviously been carefully trained on how to handle suspects/the public, and he knew how to manipulate the conversation so that it would go the way he wanted it to go. He also sounded like an arrogant, condescending creep whom I'd have loved to slap!
Life as a police officer is hard, of course. You have to deal with all kinds of criminals these days who would just as soon shoot you as look at you, and many people can look you in the face and say it's Sunday when it's Monday and look innocent doing so - I don't deny it.
But I just wonder how many innocent young teens, trusting in the police, have been turned into fearful, distrusting "ex-cons" because they were promised a quick and easy solution to their problem if they pled guilty, only to find out that the cop was less than straightforward when the chips played out.
The only solution of course is for teens not to use fake IDS (I used to work with a woman - white, middle class, whose daughter had been arrested because she had a fake ID, although she had not attempted to give that ID to the officer. I won't go into details on it, but that's how I know these things happen.)
Kids also should keep their feet to themselves in bathrooms, and if they drop a piece of toilet paper on the floor, leave it there. For hygenic reasons if nothing else!
And if you must have sex with someone whom you met like 5 seconds ago in a bathroom stall, at least have the good sense to use a condom! Better still, have some respect for yourself and just say no...you're a human being, not an animal.
End of rant.
Nevertheless, just a typical hypocritical politician, I thought.
But then today I was listening to the Tom Hannity show, and Hannity played the tape of the police officer interrogating Craig...and the officer is asking leading questions, assuring Craig (and I paraphrase) "I don't go to the media, you pay a fine, that's it, but if you plead innocent your name will be dragged through the mud."
It's a very enlightening tape... but not strictly about the Craig case.
Craig is an old guy, an experienced guy. He should have known better than to let himself be buffaloed into pleading guilty to something he didn't do. (Although perhaps that line, "It won't get into the media," had him fooled.)
But what about young men and women - in any instance of contact with police, not just acting stupidly in a bathroom - is this how the police treat them? Coercing them to confess to things they didn't do because then it'll be just a lot easier on them, than if they do try to prove their innocence?
The officer on the tape had his patter down pat, he'd obviously been carefully trained on how to handle suspects/the public, and he knew how to manipulate the conversation so that it would go the way he wanted it to go. He also sounded like an arrogant, condescending creep whom I'd have loved to slap!
Life as a police officer is hard, of course. You have to deal with all kinds of criminals these days who would just as soon shoot you as look at you, and many people can look you in the face and say it's Sunday when it's Monday and look innocent doing so - I don't deny it.
But I just wonder how many innocent young teens, trusting in the police, have been turned into fearful, distrusting "ex-cons" because they were promised a quick and easy solution to their problem if they pled guilty, only to find out that the cop was less than straightforward when the chips played out.
The only solution of course is for teens not to use fake IDS (I used to work with a woman - white, middle class, whose daughter had been arrested because she had a fake ID, although she had not attempted to give that ID to the officer. I won't go into details on it, but that's how I know these things happen.)
Kids also should keep their feet to themselves in bathrooms, and if they drop a piece of toilet paper on the floor, leave it there. For hygenic reasons if nothing else!
And if you must have sex with someone whom you met like 5 seconds ago in a bathroom stall, at least have the good sense to use a condom! Better still, have some respect for yourself and just say no...you're a human being, not an animal.
End of rant.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Rocky Jones, Space Ranger photobook
So, any SF televisions fans out there, have you ever watched Rocky Jones, Space Ranger? (1954) Probably not. After all it's over 53 years old, filmed in...gasp...b&w, and doesn't have the sophistication or special effects that today's SF TV has.
And that's true, but there's a lot of fun in these old programs. First off, of course, is the fact that shows like Rocky Jones, Tom Corbett, and Space Patrol, filmed in the early 1950s, long before the space race began in 1957, show us what those early 1950s Americans expected life a few decades later to be like. We were in space, and we had heroes to protect us from the villains, etc.
Also there's lots of "tropes" that are now commonplace that were original back then, but of course a lot of cliches as well, for example, the female characters always had to get in a scream or two...
I'm putting together a "photobook," for one episode each, of several of the 1950s space tv shows, starting with Rocky Jones, Space Ranger. If you want to decide if you want to use 30 minutes of your time watching these shows, check out
Rocky Jones photobook
first to decide. It's the episode "Escape Into Space".
All the Rocky Jones eps are available on DVD...most of 'em are in pretty good shape, viewing quality wise...
And that's true, but there's a lot of fun in these old programs. First off, of course, is the fact that shows like Rocky Jones, Tom Corbett, and Space Patrol, filmed in the early 1950s, long before the space race began in 1957, show us what those early 1950s Americans expected life a few decades later to be like. We were in space, and we had heroes to protect us from the villains, etc.
Also there's lots of "tropes" that are now commonplace that were original back then, but of course a lot of cliches as well, for example, the female characters always had to get in a scream or two...
I'm putting together a "photobook," for one episode each, of several of the 1950s space tv shows, starting with Rocky Jones, Space Ranger. If you want to decide if you want to use 30 minutes of your time watching these shows, check out
Rocky Jones photobook
first to decide. It's the episode "Escape Into Space".
All the Rocky Jones eps are available on DVD...most of 'em are in pretty good shape, viewing quality wise...
Monday, August 27, 2007
Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen
Eine Junge ueberlebt
Mr. und Mrs. Dursley im Ligusterweg Nummer 4 waren stolz darauf, ganz und gar normal zu sein, sehr stolz sogar. Niemand waere auf die Idee bekommen, sie koennten sich in eine merkwuerdige und geheimnisvolle Geschichte verstricken, denn mit solchem Unsinn wollten sie nichts zu tun haben.
That's the first paragraph of the very first Harry Potter book by JK Rowling, or Joanne K. Rowling as she's credited on her books in Germany.
My parents just returned from Germany and brought me, at my request, an audio book of this, as well as the German translation of this, which is called : Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen (Harry Potter and the Stone of Knowledge).
My German is not such that I'll readily be able to understand what I'm reading, but I intend to learn.
Rather unfortunate, though, as Harry Potter is not my favorite series. But it was the only one I could think of that my parents could easily find in Germany. I'd rather have an Honor Harrington book and audio book, for example, or a Discworld one..
But, I'm pleased with what I've got.
It'll be interesting to see how all the magical words are translated, or if they're just used verbatim.
Mr. und Mrs. Dursley im Ligusterweg Nummer 4 waren stolz darauf, ganz und gar normal zu sein, sehr stolz sogar. Niemand waere auf die Idee bekommen, sie koennten sich in eine merkwuerdige und geheimnisvolle Geschichte verstricken, denn mit solchem Unsinn wollten sie nichts zu tun haben.
That's the first paragraph of the very first Harry Potter book by JK Rowling, or Joanne K. Rowling as she's credited on her books in Germany.
My parents just returned from Germany and brought me, at my request, an audio book of this, as well as the German translation of this, which is called : Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen (Harry Potter and the Stone of Knowledge).
My German is not such that I'll readily be able to understand what I'm reading, but I intend to learn.
Rather unfortunate, though, as Harry Potter is not my favorite series. But it was the only one I could think of that my parents could easily find in Germany. I'd rather have an Honor Harrington book and audio book, for example, or a Discworld one..
But, I'm pleased with what I've got.
It'll be interesting to see how all the magical words are translated, or if they're just used verbatim.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Reclaiming the Blade
Reclaiming the Blade is a documentary on a history of swordfighting throughout the years in real life and in the movies. Totally cool!
Yeah, I know it's not science fiction, but sword fighting/fencing has long been one of my interests (I'm probably the only one who ever watched Basil Rathbone fencing with Errol Flynn in various classic movies, wishing Rathbone would just skewer Flynn!).
So if you've ever watched the Star Wars light sabre duels with interest, check out the "real thing" via this documentary.
Yeah, I know it's not science fiction, but sword fighting/fencing has long been one of my interests (I'm probably the only one who ever watched Basil Rathbone fencing with Errol Flynn in various classic movies, wishing Rathbone would just skewer Flynn!).
So if you've ever watched the Star Wars light sabre duels with interest, check out the "real thing" via this documentary.
Where do you get *your* info from?
or, if you read something on the internet that isn't backed up by references, page numbers, and proof, don't believe it!
I have "Google Desktop" as my desktop, with several newsfeeds on it from various organizations. Occasionally I get logged out so that when I sign on to my computer, all I get is the "generic" Google desk top, and one of the features of this thing is called "How To Of The Day, a selection where people write and give advice on everything under the sun, from "How to Make a Bead Bugland (for Kids)"
to "How to Change a Bicycle Brake Cable" (those are today's selections) to how to avoid being bitten by a rattle snake, ya da ya da ya da.
And I look at those headlines and I just cringe. Just who are these people writing as if they are experts on the subject, and does anybody really believe they know what they're talking about? I like to think that anyone who, at the time of this writing, is over 30 will be too smart to trust anything written on the Internet, but today's generation, and generations to come, will look at the offerings on the internet, think "Well its in print so it must be true" and not realize that the material they're looking at was written, more likely than not, by some nebbish off the street and not some professional who gets paid to write what he or she knows.
There are plenty of places on the web where aspiring writers can publish their work instantaneously - because they're not paid for it. And if the website isn't paying them for their work - then what they're writing probably isn't any good. Sure, there are exceptions, but more often than not that's the case. Yet I have a sinking suspicion that anyone reading these sites takes anything said there as gospel... Frightening.
Frankly if I want to know how to avoid being bitten by a rattle snake I'm not going to trust what someone on the web says about it, I'll go to a library and get a print book on the subject. Unless I'm visiting not a "generic information" website but one that is devoted to herpetolpgy and one in which every writer has a bio that lists a university degree after the name, or at least decades of experience in the field.
Today, I'm finally able to post to groups at My Space. I was reading through various groups and, in my "Rockets Away! Space Travel Group" someone had posted a definition of a "sounding rocket." And this "someone" knew absolutely nothing about sounding rockets, but stated definitely what they were - rockets where loud noises were made by grenades or other instruments, and the sound and how long it traveled was measured from the ground- some nonsense like that. (The word "sound" in sounding rocket comes from the nautical term to "sound" or take measurements, and has nothing to do with noise as such, and certainly not measuring how long it takes the noise of a grenade exploding on a rocket to reach the ground.)
No one had bothered to respond to this person's post, even to point out that it was nonsense - until today when I did so.
I have "Google Desktop" as my desktop, with several newsfeeds on it from various organizations. Occasionally I get logged out so that when I sign on to my computer, all I get is the "generic" Google desk top, and one of the features of this thing is called "How To Of The Day, a selection where people write and give advice on everything under the sun, from "How to Make a Bead Bugland (for Kids)"
to "How to Change a Bicycle Brake Cable" (those are today's selections) to how to avoid being bitten by a rattle snake, ya da ya da ya da.
And I look at those headlines and I just cringe. Just who are these people writing as if they are experts on the subject, and does anybody really believe they know what they're talking about? I like to think that anyone who, at the time of this writing, is over 30 will be too smart to trust anything written on the Internet, but today's generation, and generations to come, will look at the offerings on the internet, think "Well its in print so it must be true" and not realize that the material they're looking at was written, more likely than not, by some nebbish off the street and not some professional who gets paid to write what he or she knows.
There are plenty of places on the web where aspiring writers can publish their work instantaneously - because they're not paid for it. And if the website isn't paying them for their work - then what they're writing probably isn't any good. Sure, there are exceptions, but more often than not that's the case. Yet I have a sinking suspicion that anyone reading these sites takes anything said there as gospel... Frightening.
Frankly if I want to know how to avoid being bitten by a rattle snake I'm not going to trust what someone on the web says about it, I'll go to a library and get a print book on the subject. Unless I'm visiting not a "generic information" website but one that is devoted to herpetolpgy and one in which every writer has a bio that lists a university degree after the name, or at least decades of experience in the field.
Today, I'm finally able to post to groups at My Space. I was reading through various groups and, in my "Rockets Away! Space Travel Group" someone had posted a definition of a "sounding rocket." And this "someone" knew absolutely nothing about sounding rockets, but stated definitely what they were - rockets where loud noises were made by grenades or other instruments, and the sound and how long it traveled was measured from the ground- some nonsense like that. (The word "sound" in sounding rocket comes from the nautical term to "sound" or take measurements, and has nothing to do with noise as such, and certainly not measuring how long it takes the noise of a grenade exploding on a rocket to reach the ground.)
No one had bothered to respond to this person's post, even to point out that it was nonsense - until today when I did so.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Musical sci fi in New York in September
In September, 2007, two sci fi musicals will be in New York at the New York Musical Theater Festival.
The Brain From Planet X written by Bruce Kimmel and first produced in Los Angeles last year, will be on offer, as well as...
The Last Starfighter, last staged in 2004.
The Thunder Child reviewed the Last Starfighter soundtrack (produced by Kimmel's Kritzerland label) here.
Interestingly - just to show what a small world musical theater is, Noel Katz, whom we interviewed about his (and Tom Carrozza's) musical Area 51 , is also putting on a show there, although his isn't an Sci fi related one.
I'll be doing research on these shows for my sci fi musical theater database, and post that URL here later.
The Brain From Planet X written by Bruce Kimmel and first produced in Los Angeles last year, will be on offer, as well as...
The Last Starfighter, last staged in 2004.
The Thunder Child reviewed the Last Starfighter soundtrack (produced by Kimmel's Kritzerland label) here.
Interestingly - just to show what a small world musical theater is, Noel Katz, whom we interviewed about his (and Tom Carrozza's) musical Area 51 , is also putting on a show there, although his isn't an Sci fi related one.
I'll be doing research on these shows for my sci fi musical theater database, and post that URL here later.
Rocky Jones, Space Ranger
Several months ago I picked up a dollar DVD at Walmart called Space Adventures, featuring 2 episodes of Rocky Jones (Escape into Space and Kips Private War) and Flash Gordon (The Lure of Light and The Subworld Revenge.)
And I've finally started watching them, beginning with Escape into Space.
It's an interesting episode, for all that it's obviously cheaply made - heck, it was 1954. But the principles involved... the criminal escapes into space where Rocky has no jurisdiction over him, and so - halfway through the episode - is letting him go his way, meantime Winky - Jones' sidekick - wants to knock him out, break a few laws, and bring him back to Earth.
What I thought was a hoot and a half was that in this episode, filmed in 1954, the ship has to outrun a meteor storm, so there's to be turbulence...so the crew fasten their seat belts!!! Common sense, eh? Yet in Star Trek, 12 years later, the crew do not have the luxury of seatbelts, and so when we get the turbulence they're always falling out of their chairs, or falling over the corridors (I hope in the re-digitized Star Treks that they change those "crew rolling first left and then right" shots to shots of the crew hanging on to rails or handholds alongside the corridor walls...it would make so much more sense...
And I've finally started watching them, beginning with Escape into Space.
It's an interesting episode, for all that it's obviously cheaply made - heck, it was 1954. But the principles involved... the criminal escapes into space where Rocky has no jurisdiction over him, and so - halfway through the episode - is letting him go his way, meantime Winky - Jones' sidekick - wants to knock him out, break a few laws, and bring him back to Earth.
What I thought was a hoot and a half was that in this episode, filmed in 1954, the ship has to outrun a meteor storm, so there's to be turbulence...so the crew fasten their seat belts!!! Common sense, eh? Yet in Star Trek, 12 years later, the crew do not have the luxury of seatbelts, and so when we get the turbulence they're always falling out of their chairs, or falling over the corridors (I hope in the re-digitized Star Treks that they change those "crew rolling first left and then right" shots to shots of the crew hanging on to rails or handholds alongside the corridor walls...it would make so much more sense...
Thursday, August 23, 2007
First Damon Dark book, Biodome, published!
Some months ago, I interviewed Adrian Sherlock, an actor and entrepreneur over in Australia who as produced and starred in several independent TV shows featuring the character of Damon Dark, Oz's answer to the X-files.
Adrian Sherlock Interview
Adrian has just informed me that he's published his first book about Dark, and it is now available from Lulu here:
Biodome link:
I'll be getting a review copy in a couple of weeks and will review it then.
Adrian Sherlock Interview
Adrian has just informed me that he's published his first book about Dark, and it is now available from Lulu here:
Biodome link:
I'll be getting a review copy in a couple of weeks and will review it then.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Endeavour Safely Back Home
I have to admit I was extremely worried about the safety of the heroes aboard the Endeavour, but they have returned home safely today.
Pop quiz - can you name the astronauts aboard the Endeavour?
For that matter, can you name all the astronauts that have ever flown aboard all the space shuttles?
Pop quiz - can you name the astronauts aboard the Endeavour?
For that matter, can you name all the astronauts that have ever flown aboard all the space shuttles?
Monday, August 20, 2007
The Spaceship once again at BBC 7
I'm pretty sure there's a complete episode to this program here on this blog somewhere, but I don't have time to look for its so I'll just share it all again.
It's an amusing program.
The Spaceship
Comedy sci-fi series by Paul Barnhill and Neil Warhurst. An alien princess proves to be problematic for the crew. Episode 1 of 5.
It's an amusing program.
The Spaceship
Comedy sci-fi series by Paul Barnhill and Neil Warhurst. An alien princess proves to be problematic for the crew. Episode 1 of 5.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Micromegas
I've started an account at MySpace, just to see if there's any way to parlay the vast amount of people there into readers for The Thunder Child.
It's quite an education experience...MySpace is a social utility, i.e. a place for people to meet each other. The color on the pages is predominantly pink, so I assume the users are predominantly women? (Although my own favorite color is blue)... and the ads that you see are all devoted to the male/female sexual experience. (Do guys like it when women make the first move? We asked the guys, see what they had to say!)
However, unlike FaceBook, MySpace has thousands of groups to join, including several that are science related - marine biology, astronomy, etc. I can't do any posting to them for 7 days, however.
I joined up as Visitor X from Sirius... because I'm not really interested in using MySpace to meet people face to face...
I've started a blog called Micromegas, Micromegas Blog, which I will write in the guise of a visitor from Sirius to Earth, looking on at the follies of mankind. (A less sophisticated version of what Voltaire did with his short story Micromegas written several hundred years ago, in which a visitor from Sirius and Saturn came to earth to laugh at mankind's follies.)
I'm not quite sure how their blog function works... I shall post the link here and then see if it works...
Micromegas Blog
It's quite an education experience...MySpace is a social utility, i.e. a place for people to meet each other. The color on the pages is predominantly pink, so I assume the users are predominantly women? (Although my own favorite color is blue)... and the ads that you see are all devoted to the male/female sexual experience. (Do guys like it when women make the first move? We asked the guys, see what they had to say!)
However, unlike FaceBook, MySpace has thousands of groups to join, including several that are science related - marine biology, astronomy, etc. I can't do any posting to them for 7 days, however.
I joined up as Visitor X from Sirius... because I'm not really interested in using MySpace to meet people face to face...
I've started a blog called Micromegas, Micromegas Blog, which I will write in the guise of a visitor from Sirius to Earth, looking on at the follies of mankind. (A less sophisticated version of what Voltaire did with his short story Micromegas written several hundred years ago, in which a visitor from Sirius and Saturn came to earth to laugh at mankind's follies.)
I'm not quite sure how their blog function works... I shall post the link here and then see if it works...
Micromegas Blog
Friday, August 17, 2007
Galaxiki: A fictional web 2.0 galaxy
I just received this press release, for a website which sounds pretty cool. I'll be doing an article about it later on for The Thunder Child:
A fictional web 2.0 galaxy created by its own community
EHLERANGE, Luxembourg, August 14th, 2007 - Only seven weeks after its
official launch the Galaxiki website (www.galaxiki.org) is on its way
to become a highly successful web 2.0 site. Galaxiki is a new kind of
wiki based community portal that allows its members to edit stars,
planets and moons in a virtual galaxy, creating an entire fictional
world online. It already got a lot of positive coverage in the
blogosphere and in the media, Linux Journal (www.linuxjournal.org)
even named it "dot org website of the week" on July 11th.
"It's very exciting to see how many people like Galaxiki! We got a
lot of positive feedback and many suggestions within the past few
weeks", said Jos Kirps, the creator of Galaxiki. "The site is being
updated on a regular basis, new features emerge nearly every day:
improved galaxy exploration tools, search tools, planetary editors or
translated contents for example. We now just launched the movies and
books section, a completely new site area where community members can
manage their private collections of DVDs or books and share
information about them. And we still have a lot of new stuff in the
pipeline."
Galaxiki combines well known web 2.0 features in a revolutionary new
way. Millions of stars, planets, moons, pulsars and black holes can
be explored using an intuitive 2D map. The idea behind Galaxiki is
that community members can create fictional life forms and write
about their histories on their planets. The ease of use attracts all
kinds of users, so that the target audience is not limited to science
fiction and astronomy addicts.
"We're now looking for people willing to help us with translations -
german and french versions of the site are already partly available,
other languages are being prepared", explains Jos Kirps. "Just like
any other community site we heavily rely on active users, and we're
looking forward to see people from all over the world become part of
our world!"
Galaxiki membership and editing community stars is free, but it's
also possible to purchase your own solar system that only you will be
able to edit. Galaxiki also features an online shop offering
astrononmy, science and science fiction related articles; such as
DVDs, books or T-Shirts for example.
About the Galaxiki Project
Launched in July 2007, the Galaxiki Project offers a unique surfing
experience on its Galaxiki community portal. The Galaxiki Project is
headquartered in Ehlerange, Luxembourg, Europe and is currently run
as a private project by its creator Jos Kirps, although it shall be
transformed into a company in the near future. For more information,
visit www.galaxiki.com.
THE FINE PRINT
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This document includes certain forward-looking statements, including
statements regarding The Galaxiki Project's ability to run and
improve it's services, or to create new business models. These
statements are based on the current expectations or beliefs of The
Galaxiki Project, and are subject to uncertainty and changes in
circumstances. Actual results may vary materially from those
expressed or implied by the statements herein. The Galaxiki Project
is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any such
obligation to, update or alter their respective forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or
otherwise.
A fictional web 2.0 galaxy created by its own community
EHLERANGE, Luxembourg, August 14th, 2007 - Only seven weeks after its
official launch the Galaxiki website (www.galaxiki.org) is on its way
to become a highly successful web 2.0 site. Galaxiki is a new kind of
wiki based community portal that allows its members to edit stars,
planets and moons in a virtual galaxy, creating an entire fictional
world online. It already got a lot of positive coverage in the
blogosphere and in the media, Linux Journal (www.linuxjournal.org)
even named it "dot org website of the week" on July 11th.
"It's very exciting to see how many people like Galaxiki! We got a
lot of positive feedback and many suggestions within the past few
weeks", said Jos Kirps, the creator of Galaxiki. "The site is being
updated on a regular basis, new features emerge nearly every day:
improved galaxy exploration tools, search tools, planetary editors or
translated contents for example. We now just launched the movies and
books section, a completely new site area where community members can
manage their private collections of DVDs or books and share
information about them. And we still have a lot of new stuff in the
pipeline."
Galaxiki combines well known web 2.0 features in a revolutionary new
way. Millions of stars, planets, moons, pulsars and black holes can
be explored using an intuitive 2D map. The idea behind Galaxiki is
that community members can create fictional life forms and write
about their histories on their planets. The ease of use attracts all
kinds of users, so that the target audience is not limited to science
fiction and astronomy addicts.
"We're now looking for people willing to help us with translations -
german and french versions of the site are already partly available,
other languages are being prepared", explains Jos Kirps. "Just like
any other community site we heavily rely on active users, and we're
looking forward to see people from all over the world become part of
our world!"
Galaxiki membership and editing community stars is free, but it's
also possible to purchase your own solar system that only you will be
able to edit. Galaxiki also features an online shop offering
astrononmy, science and science fiction related articles; such as
DVDs, books or T-Shirts for example.
About the Galaxiki Project
Launched in July 2007, the Galaxiki Project offers a unique surfing
experience on its Galaxiki community portal. The Galaxiki Project is
headquartered in Ehlerange, Luxembourg, Europe and is currently run
as a private project by its creator Jos Kirps, although it shall be
transformed into a company in the near future. For more information,
visit www.galaxiki.com.
THE FINE PRINT
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This document includes certain forward-looking statements, including
statements regarding The Galaxiki Project's ability to run and
improve it's services, or to create new business models. These
statements are based on the current expectations or beliefs of The
Galaxiki Project, and are subject to uncertainty and changes in
circumstances. Actual results may vary materially from those
expressed or implied by the statements herein. The Galaxiki Project
is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any such
obligation to, update or alter their respective forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or
otherwise.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Three rants/ Stardust review
Before I get into my rants, not all of them SF related, here's the URL to the review of the new movie, Stardust.
Stardust review by Kristie Groves
The rants
Polls
The headline said:
"Poll: Majority mistrustful of upcoming Iraq report"
The first paragraph said:
A majority of Americans don't trust the upcoming report by the Army's top commander in Iraq on the progress of the war and even if they did, it wouldn't change their mind, according to a new poll.
Now, who is this "majority of Americans"?
10,000 people polled? 50,000 people polled? NO
"The poll was based on interviews of 1,029 Americans by telephone between August 6 and 8. The sampling error was plus or minus 4.5 percentage points, except for the questions based on the respondents' support or lack of support of the war, which was plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
Where the heck does the news media get off saying "a majority of Americans" when they talked to all of 1,029 people? No one talked to me - did anyone talk to you? They can't talk to me because I've got caller ID and don't answer any phone calls - I'm sure most people have the same thing. So the people these pollsters are talking to are not "representative" of the rest of the US.
Now having said this, I will say that I am not sanguine about the situation in Iraq. Poorly handled from the get go, I don't deny it. But these poll things are said with such confidence about any subject under discussion, with "the majority of Americans think this" being the party line, and it's always buried at the very bottom that the "majority" turns out to be the "majority" of a wopping 1,029 people. Useless! Except to persuade others, who don't have time to read the entire article, to believe what the news media wants it to believe.
Lost Educational Opportunities
I went into a Toys R Us today. I visit this store every few months, just to see all the new toys and see if any are science fiction or fantasy related. I'd buy some, too, if I had room to display them, not to mention the discretionary funds to buy them...
I picked up a coloring book on dinosaurs - 400 pages worth of dinosaurs, and was surprised and somewhat annoyed to see that not a single dinosaur was identified. Why not? I just don't understand it. If you've got kids interested enough in dinosaurs to want to color them, why not provide the kids with the names so that they can take them as a starting point to learn more about the creatures? Even if only one child out of a thousand paid attention to those names, that would be better than nothing.
Casual rudeness
Then I went to my local Walmart to do a bit of shopping. It was the middle of the day so of course the parking lot was packed. And, despite the fact that there are "cart corrals" placed periodically along the rows of cars, it sems like at least half of the carts seem to be just left where the shopper wants to leave 'em, cuz he, she or they can't take 30 extra seconds to run the cart over to one of the corrals.
Now, that's nothing new, of course. Ever since I've been going to grocery stores I've seen that kind of thing and I'm sure you have too. As a matter of fact, I always do my good deed of the day and gather up one or two of the carts - if they've just been left in the middle of one of the parking spaces - on my way into the store, just running them into one of the corrals. Doesn't take me any extra time and I admit, I hope it'll have a "pay it forward" effect - other people will see it and do likewise. Probably never happen, but...
Anyway, today, I came across not one but two carts, left in a parking space, just one space over from the cart corral itself. It would have taken the shopper just a second! to put that cart in the corral, but they just couldn't be bothered...
Such rudeness has always boggled my mind...you know that if, on a windy day, one of these carts ran into one of their cars, they'd be the first to sue the store for carelessness for letting the carts sit out there where they could scratch someone's car...
Stardust review by Kristie Groves
The rants
Polls
The headline said:
"Poll: Majority mistrustful of upcoming Iraq report"
The first paragraph said:
A majority of Americans don't trust the upcoming report by the Army's top commander in Iraq on the progress of the war and even if they did, it wouldn't change their mind, according to a new poll.
Now, who is this "majority of Americans"?
10,000 people polled? 50,000 people polled? NO
"The poll was based on interviews of 1,029 Americans by telephone between August 6 and 8. The sampling error was plus or minus 4.5 percentage points, except for the questions based on the respondents' support or lack of support of the war, which was plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
Where the heck does the news media get off saying "a majority of Americans" when they talked to all of 1,029 people? No one talked to me - did anyone talk to you? They can't talk to me because I've got caller ID and don't answer any phone calls - I'm sure most people have the same thing. So the people these pollsters are talking to are not "representative" of the rest of the US.
Now having said this, I will say that I am not sanguine about the situation in Iraq. Poorly handled from the get go, I don't deny it. But these poll things are said with such confidence about any subject under discussion, with "the majority of Americans think this" being the party line, and it's always buried at the very bottom that the "majority" turns out to be the "majority" of a wopping 1,029 people. Useless! Except to persuade others, who don't have time to read the entire article, to believe what the news media wants it to believe.
Lost Educational Opportunities
I went into a Toys R Us today. I visit this store every few months, just to see all the new toys and see if any are science fiction or fantasy related. I'd buy some, too, if I had room to display them, not to mention the discretionary funds to buy them...
I picked up a coloring book on dinosaurs - 400 pages worth of dinosaurs, and was surprised and somewhat annoyed to see that not a single dinosaur was identified. Why not? I just don't understand it. If you've got kids interested enough in dinosaurs to want to color them, why not provide the kids with the names so that they can take them as a starting point to learn more about the creatures? Even if only one child out of a thousand paid attention to those names, that would be better than nothing.
Casual rudeness
Then I went to my local Walmart to do a bit of shopping. It was the middle of the day so of course the parking lot was packed. And, despite the fact that there are "cart corrals" placed periodically along the rows of cars, it sems like at least half of the carts seem to be just left where the shopper wants to leave 'em, cuz he, she or they can't take 30 extra seconds to run the cart over to one of the corrals.
Now, that's nothing new, of course. Ever since I've been going to grocery stores I've seen that kind of thing and I'm sure you have too. As a matter of fact, I always do my good deed of the day and gather up one or two of the carts - if they've just been left in the middle of one of the parking spaces - on my way into the store, just running them into one of the corrals. Doesn't take me any extra time and I admit, I hope it'll have a "pay it forward" effect - other people will see it and do likewise. Probably never happen, but...
Anyway, today, I came across not one but two carts, left in a parking space, just one space over from the cart corral itself. It would have taken the shopper just a second! to put that cart in the corral, but they just couldn't be bothered...
Such rudeness has always boggled my mind...you know that if, on a windy day, one of these carts ran into one of their cars, they'd be the first to sue the store for carelessness for letting the carts sit out there where they could scratch someone's car...
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Lost Rocket Summer
That's the title of a short story by Ray Bradbury, and it's also going to be the title of my article on the history of space exploration, which I'm currently working on, simultaneously with an article on Walt Disney's Tomorrowland programs, which I've been watching over the past few days.
Two of these programs were aired in 1955, and two in 1957... indeed Mars and Beyond was aired on December 4, 1957...two months after the Soviets had stunned the US by putting a satellite, Sputnik, into orbit, which effectively derailed the US's exploration of space into a propaganda race to be the first to reach the moon. The hopes of building a space station and doing methodical exploration fell by the wayside... as I'll cover in my article.
Anyway:
Man in Space - March 9, 1955
Man and the Moon - Dec 28, 1955
Our Friend, The Atom - Jan 23, 1957
Mars and Beyond - Dec 4, 1957
Eyes in Outer Space - theatrical short, released in 1959, shown on TV in 1962
NOTE: I can't get Blogger to get the captions correct, sorry about that. So just note that each caption refers to the photo BELOW, not to its side!
Ward Kimble: one of the writers, and the producer
Willy Ley: Rocket scientist who left Grrmany before Hitler came to power:
Werner von Braun: Rocket scientist who worked on the V2, etc, fled to the US side after the war (as opposed to other rocket scientists captured by the Russians)
Heinz Haber
Science populist in both US and Germany
Two of these programs were aired in 1955, and two in 1957... indeed Mars and Beyond was aired on December 4, 1957...two months after the Soviets had stunned the US by putting a satellite, Sputnik, into orbit, which effectively derailed the US's exploration of space into a propaganda race to be the first to reach the moon. The hopes of building a space station and doing methodical exploration fell by the wayside... as I'll cover in my article.
Anyway:
Man in Space - March 9, 1955
Man and the Moon - Dec 28, 1955
Our Friend, The Atom - Jan 23, 1957
Mars and Beyond - Dec 4, 1957
Eyes in Outer Space - theatrical short, released in 1959, shown on TV in 1962
NOTE: I can't get Blogger to get the captions correct, sorry about that. So just note that each caption refers to the photo BELOW, not to its side!
Ward Kimble: one of the writers, and the producer
Willy Ley: Rocket scientist who left Grrmany before Hitler came to power:
Werner von Braun: Rocket scientist who worked on the V2, etc, fled to the US side after the war (as opposed to other rocket scientists captured by the Russians)
Heinz Haber
Science populist in both US and Germany
Monday, August 13, 2007
Earrings of Ixtumea
My new reviewer, Kristie Groves, recently reviewed Transformers, and now has a book review of Earrings of Ixtumea. I had interviewed the author of that book, Kim Baccellia, a few days ago. Now, here's the URL to the review of her book.
Earrings of Ixtumea
Earrings of Ixtumea
New book at The Science Bookshelf Blog
The Science Book Shelf is my new blog, in which I will list information and reviews about various science books that I read or intend to read. (The latter does not always match the former, I'm sorry to say.)
Anyway, the next book on my list is The Outlaw Sea, by William Langewiesche.
I've been watching Walt Disney's Tomorrowland 2-disc set, preparatory to writing an article about the space dreams of the 1950s. They're kind of fun but depressing, too, as there were such high hopes back then...none of which have really been achieved.
But I'll be doing further research into Willy Ley, Werner Von Braun, etc. Indeed, I've picked up a few of Ley's books on Amazon, for extremely cheap prices (the cost of postage 3 times the price of hte books themselves!), and am looking forward to them.
Anyway, the next book on my list is The Outlaw Sea, by William Langewiesche.
I've been watching Walt Disney's Tomorrowland 2-disc set, preparatory to writing an article about the space dreams of the 1950s. They're kind of fun but depressing, too, as there were such high hopes back then...none of which have really been achieved.
But I'll be doing further research into Willy Ley, Werner Von Braun, etc. Indeed, I've picked up a few of Ley's books on Amazon, for extremely cheap prices (the cost of postage 3 times the price of hte books themselves!), and am looking forward to them.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Jim Dale Photo Tribute
Jim Dale will be famous to fantasy fans as the reader of the Harry Potter novels for the American audiene. (Stephen Fry reads the books over in England.)
I've liked him ever since the 70s, when he made 3 Disney movies - Pete's Dragon, Hot Lead and Cold Feet, and Unidentified Flying Oddball, and I saw him live on Broadway in Barnum and, a few years later, Me and My Girl (well, in a sense. I was right back at the very rear of the theater and didn't have opera glasses. He was a blur. But still, I saw him!)
I'm listening to Dale read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and will share thoughts on that later, but for now I'll just share all my photos I'd once collected of Jim Dale.
I've liked him ever since the 70s, when he made 3 Disney movies - Pete's Dragon, Hot Lead and Cold Feet, and Unidentified Flying Oddball, and I saw him live on Broadway in Barnum and, a few years later, Me and My Girl (well, in a sense. I was right back at the very rear of the theater and didn't have opera glasses. He was a blur. But still, I saw him!)
I'm listening to Dale read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and will share thoughts on that later, but for now I'll just share all my photos I'd once collected of Jim Dale.
Harlan Ellison at BBC Radio 7
Beginning this Sunday, a two-parter
Soldier
In Harlan Ellison's innovative precursor to The Terminator, a strange warrior appears on a 1964 railway platform. But who is he? Episode 1 of 2.
Soldier
In Harlan Ellison's innovative precursor to The Terminator, a strange warrior appears on a 1964 railway platform. But who is he? Episode 1 of 2.
New Blog for Science Books
Rather than post the details of science books on this blog, I've decided that here I'll just list their titles, and I'll talk about them at my new blog:
http://sciencebookshelf.blogspot.com/
Except of course there's always something. I posted an entry about the book An Ocean of Air early this morning there, and it shows up fine. Just now I made a new post, addressing one of the figures mentioned in the book, Oliver Heaviside, and that doesn't show up! It shows up in my list of posts that I can edit, etc., but when I go to the blog itself it isn't there.
Well, we'll give it a day to see if it's just blogger being funny...
http://sciencebookshelf.blogspot.com/
Except of course there's always something. I posted an entry about the book An Ocean of Air early this morning there, and it shows up fine. Just now I made a new post, addressing one of the figures mentioned in the book, Oliver Heaviside, and that doesn't show up! It shows up in my list of posts that I can edit, etc., but when I go to the blog itself it isn't there.
Well, we'll give it a day to see if it's just blogger being funny...
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