REVIEW SUMMARY: A time-travel film that leaves the viewer asking questions.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Two engineers accidentally create a time machine in their garage. Things start out all fun and games as they use information from the future to make money in the present, but soon turn sinister.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: I absolutely loved the first four fifths of the film, especially the process of the creation of the device.
CONS: I think it's almost required to watch this movie on DVD (rather than theatre). The film never slows down and doesn't spend much time explaining things. The last 1/5 of the movie is lost on me, even after two viewings.
BOTTOM LINE: Be prepared to be befuddled. I hope someone else watches this movie so that I can talk to them about it.

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Posted by APEGamer at Saturday April 30, 2005 at 9:34 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

On May 14th, The Discover Channel will air Alien Planet, an conceptual exploration of an alien world teeming with life. Apparently, the aliens have been designed by Wayne Barlowe, alien artist extraordinaire. Also, AP will have segments featuring the Official Theoretical Physicist of SFSignal, Michio Kaku and the Official Rapmaster of SFSignal, MC Hawking. It looks cool so fire up your Tivo(-like) devices now!

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Posted by JP Frantz at Saturday April 30, 2005 at 8:59 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Paula Guran has posted an interesting article regarding Print-on-Demand. The slant of the article is setting Locus Magazine straight on the POD issues talked about in a recent issue.

[Link via Locus Online]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday April 30, 2005 at 8:51 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

The local Half Price Books had a copy of The The Making of Star Wars, Episode III - Revenge of the Sith on prominent display, obviously in an effort to cash in on the ever-increasing hype. (I suspect that the movie, in fact, could easily have been called Revenge of the Hype with no decrease in the movie's fanbase.)

Fanboy-in-denial that I am, I thumbed through the pages looking at all the juicy goodness which included shots from the movie as well as behind-the-scenes pix. I must say that they did a nice job of making Anakin look extra crispy. He reminded me of a piece of barbecue chicken. Or should I say barbecue ham? There was also an interesting picture of Amidala that was a spoiler for me. D'oh!

And no, JP, I did not get the book.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday April 30, 2005 at 8:42 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Here's a game that uses Google to fetch images, display them, then asks the player to guess the keyword on which they are based. A simple idea that makes for a surprisingly addictive game.

[via Cynical C]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday April 29, 2005 at 8:45 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Ever watch the PBS series Computer Chronicles? It ran from 1983 - 2002. All the epsiodes are archived to meet all your nostalgic computer needs.

Here's the synopsis for the show titled "Sleeper Shareware", originally broadcast in 1991...

Most popular software titles get there as the result of an expensive sales and marketing campaign. Other programs are so popular they climb to the top of the charts just through word-of-mouth, or BBS chat. This program looks at several of these "sleeper" software programs that are worthy of note. Among the titles demonstrated are Commander Keen, PopDBF, Resident Task Manager, Prism, Pianoman, 4DOS, CommandPost, Windows Wallpaper, LCD 2.0, LJ2UP, MacBillboard, BigCheese, Ripper FKey, TappyType, Fish!, Globe, Solarian II, Melt DA, Address Book, FlashWrite, Stuffit, ToDo!, TidyItUp, DisKeeper, Red Ryder, White Knight, and Vietnam War. Guests include Jim Button, founder of the Association of Shareware Professionals.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday April 28, 2005 at 3:55 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

For all you Firefly fans who've wished you could swear in Mandarin like the crew of Serenity, well, now you can! Rachel Kronick has put together a list of Mandarin phrases (note: not the oranges) that could fit right in with the Firefly universe. She hasn't necessarily parsed the phrases from the show itself, but has used modern Mandarin to extrapolate likely phrases. Now you can cuss up a blue streak and no one will know. Well, aside from the tone of your voice that is.

There are a couple of F bombs tossed around so don't let your kids read it.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Thursday April 28, 2005 at 9:07 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Kevin Smith that is. He's seen Revenge of the Sith and now he's given us his review. Short take: He loved it. And he loved it as a Star Wars geek. He also goes into detail why he thinks this movie blows the first two away. There is some spoilage present, you are warned. If you don't mind that, read away. Mr. Smith is a humorous writer and this review gives me hope for this movie.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Thursday April 28, 2005 at 8:53 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Author Chris Moriarty has an interesting article about hard science fiction.

...hard SF is still going strong, fueled by writers and readers who thrill to that special hard SF combination of visionary speculation backed up by nuts and bolts 'here's how we get there from here' science writing. It's still about the science, and it always will be. But it's also about people and politics and everything else in the known and unknown universe. It's all up for grabs. Just like it always has been. . . .

[Moriarty link via Nightshade Forum via Mumpsimus]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday April 28, 2005 at 8:38 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Since everyone and their mother has a blog, it was only a matter of time before fictional characters started having them, too. And who better to have a blog than Darth Vader? [Link via CNET]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday April 27, 2005 at 3:50 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

It's nice when someone notices a bad idea and does something about it. In this case, it took the efforts of a 12-year old to tone down the menacing look of the upcoming Loonatics, the futuristic "reimagining" of Bugs Bunny and friends.

..."early drawings" have been revised into characters that are softer and less menacing...

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday April 27, 2005 at 3:46 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Here's how I rated the award nominees for 1975:

The Mote in God's Eye - 4.5
The Inverted World - 4
Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said - 3.5
The Godwhale -2.5
The Dispossed - 2
Fire Time - 2
334 - 1

So, if I had a vote for the Hugo and Nebula, my winners would be The Mote in God's Eye (Hugo) and Flow My Tears (Nebula). I'm also struck by the, in my opinion, lack of good stories up for the awards. Was there no other good SF in 1975? I'm also amazed to see how well Mote stands up thirty years later. It feels like it could have been written today, although Niven and Pournelle would have had to pad it out to meet today's exacting space opera/hard SF standards. I'm also glad I had a chance to read The Inverted World. If not for this project, I would never had read it. Of course, I would never have read 334 either.

I know John didn't break his down by award, so I'll take them in the order he listed, and say that, for him, Flow My Tears would have won both awards. So, unofficially, taking both our ratings into consideration, Flow My Tears is the clear Nebula winner, with a three way tie for Hugo among Flow My Tears, Mote, and The Inverted World. We need some other reviewer, aside from Pete Klausner, to cast their votes and break that tie!

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Posted by JP Frantz at Wednesday April 27, 2005 at 1:42 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

MY RATING:
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: (Leveraged completely from John's review) A brilliant physicist named Shevek tries to reunite the anarchist world of Anarres with its sister planet Urras.
PROS: Somewhat interesting exploration of the differences between two politco-social ideologies, the universe the story is set in sounds interesting although we don't get to see it.
CONS: Slow moving, little action, dry writing, unmemorable characters (except Shevek), reads like a political textbook wrapped in a SF covering.
BOTTOM LINE: Much as I felt the first time I read it, I found The Dispossed to be a slow, dreary read, potentially interesting to people who are more interested in society and politics than in SF.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Wednesday April 27, 2005 at 1:13 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

The Simpsons will be airing their 350th epsiode this Sunday. Only 3 series have had more episodes: Dallas (357 episodes - which will be surpassed by The Simpsons this year), My Three Sons (380 episodes) and The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet (435 epsiodes).

Go, go, Homer!

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday April 27, 2005 at 10:59 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Including the Corn Pops from a previous merchandising link, you get them a Cingular Star Wars themed phone. Thanks go to Engadget for bringing this to my attention.

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Posted by Tim Zinsky at Wednesday April 27, 2005 at 9:57 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

REVIEW SUMMARY: A hugely fun and entertaining read.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: The episodic tales of Roxanne Bonaventure, who receives a bracelet that allows her to travel through various timelines (time travel) and worldlines (parallel universes).

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Immersive; page-turning; a quick read; skillfully written; lots of fun!
CONS: None that I could think of.
BOTTOM LINE: Highly recommended.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday April 27, 2005 at 12:47 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

As Tim mentioned earlier, the new Serenity trailer is now online at Apple's site. Prepare to be breathless in anticipation until Sept. 30th, when you get to see River kick some major @$$.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Tuesday April 26, 2005 at 3:19 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Pete will be leaving our hallowed halls soon and what better way to send him off than with a page devoted to the Ladies of Star Trek?

Now if only there were some way I could convince him to turn this galaxy of galactic girlie goodness into a beautiful bag of buttery bagels... :D

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday April 26, 2005 at 10:08 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Slate has an interesting article giving an overview of How To Finance a Hollywood Blockbuster. It seems that, due to tax regulations in other countries, movie studios can use feats of financial legerdemain to almost entirely offset the costs of big budget movies, which, with similar feats of financial legerdemain, almost always 'lose' money for the studio. After reading this article, you'll know why we always get crappy summer blockbusters, SF or otherwise, and why its more difficult to get a modest budget movie made. So the answer is:

Film Consider Phlebas! That would rule. And it's budget would have to be huge.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Tuesday April 26, 2005 at 9:28 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Suffereing an identity crisis? A butt-load of science fiction quizzes are avilable at Quiz Farm that will tell you who you are:

• Which Dune character are you?


• Which Lord of the Rings character are you?


• Which Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy character are you?


• Which StarGate character are you?


• Which Star Trek character are you?


• Which Narnia character are you?


• Which Lost character are you?


• Which Marvel comic character are you?


• Which fantasy character are you?


• Which Harry Potter character are you?

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday April 25, 2005 at 8:39 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

You too can carry the Encyclopedia of All Things on your PDA. Here are some step-by-step instructions for copying Wikipedia to your handheld device. It uses the TomeRaider, a cross-platform reference and e-book reader. Currectly, image support in TomeRaider is spotty, but this is a great start!

[From MobileRead]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday April 25, 2005 at 8:23 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Dark Horizons has the scoop on the upcoming plans to put Star Wars on TV. Currently, two, yes two, shows are in the works; a CGI, half-hour series and a live-action, presumably hour-long series. Too bad. What we really need now is a computer animated Bea Arthur.

Another juicy tidbit in this post related to the long rumored, next Indiana Jones film. It seems Spielberg wants to make it his next movie, after the one he's currently doing. Possible 2007 release date, and starring a retirement-age Harrison Ford as the aging, but still irreverent Indy...

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Posted by JP Frantz at Monday April 25, 2005 at 3:32 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday April 25, 2005 at 12:00 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

As per Joss Whedon and one that I leeched from /. It is going to be available from Apple's movie trailers site and then in theaters the following week.

I just finished watching the 4 DVDs for the series and it was quite good. Far above Fox's level and I understand why they couldn't handle it. I just wish a channel dedicated to Sci Fi might have picked it up - oh wait they don't have one of those...

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Posted by Tim Zinsky at Sunday April 24, 2005 at 10:07 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

It's no surprise to regular readers that I like used bookstores. They're a great way to find out-of-print books, they are fun places to Gather and they are the perfect outlet for my own biblioholism. I have the most luck with the local set of Half Price Books stores - each of the 8 stores offer a great selection (did I mention I'm a Biblioholic?) including tons of science fiction. I also find lots of neat stuff on clearance. I'm not necessarily a bookstore chain lover, mind you. I still hold Mom & Pop used bookstores close to my biblioholic heart. You know, to help the Little Guy.

I had another questionable experience at a bookstore today. We were downtown, coming back from a trip to the Zoo and I passed a bookstore called 1/4 Price Books which was touting their "Best Houston Bookstore" claim in the window. Yeah, whatever. I had been to this store years and years ago and wasn't very impressed at the time. Their prices were great and true to their name but their science fiction selection sucked. Fast forward to today and my accidental drive-by was met with hope that their prices were still as-advertised but their selection would be much improved.

Well, I was right about the selection. They had an impressive array of the old Ace Doubles among other treasures. Not a huge selection, but way better than last time. Curiously, much of the stuff was either price-tagged way above the cover price (forget about one-fourth the cover price) or wrapped in plastic without any price whatsoever. I learned that the unmarked stuff was just newly shelved, so, OK.

Three items of interest were a set of unpriced, mass market paperback copies of David G. Hartwell's Foundations of Fear horror anthology (all three volumes with a cover price of $6 each). This interested me for a few reasons:

• The author/story selection looked interesting.
• Hartwell knows his stuff.
• I had just picked up one of those volumes just 2 days ago for half the cover price at Half Price Books (Hello...my name is John and...I'm a biblioholic).

Since the books were unpriced, it required a "lookup". Thanks to a beneficially placed portable computer, I was able to see that the "lookup" was nothing more than an Abe Books search. Hmmm...OK. I was then told that these mass market paperbacks were "first editions" and that they were selling for up to $29 each. However, the guy was going to graciously part with them all for the low, low price of $20. I said no, naturally, especially since I just picked up one of them 2 days ago for $3. Then I left the store. (OK, not empty handed. I bought a kid's book for my kid and an old copy of Asimov's Science Fiction for 75 cents. I might not have mentioned this before, but I'm somewhat of a biblioholic.)

Knowing something was fishy with this first-edition/$29 nonsense, I couldn't help but do my own Abe Books web search when I got home. The books are beign sold anywhere from $1 to $6. (That's a concise, but inaccurate, statement. Volume 1 only had a single seller pricing the book for $25!!! The next highest price was $7. The other two volumes are between $1 and $6. There. That's more accurate.) What burned my ass was that I could easily get all three books for three bucks (plus shipping) and he knew that and had the cajones to offer me the low, low price of $20. Grrrr! I understand the concept of profit and I'm all for helping the Little Guy, but come on!

I got the last laugh though. When I got home, I realized that I already had the hardback version of Foundations of Fear already sitting on my bookshelf.

Oh, did I mention I have this biblioholism thing?

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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday April 23, 2005 at 11:32 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Will Ferrell is attached to star in the upcoming movie adaptation of Sid and Marty Kroft's Land of the Lost, which will be re-made as an intentional comedy. No word on who will play the Sleestacks.

What's next? George Michael in H.R. Puffenstuff?

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Posted by JP Frantz at Saturday April 23, 2005 at 9:50 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

See them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women. All this and more in the upcoming Conan the Barbarian MMORPG. They claim it will be a single-player game with a 'brutal' MMORPG endgame.

First, Conan? Is the Conan universe that popular to create Yet Another Fantasy Themed MMORPG (TM)?

Second, who's going to pay a monthly fee to play an online RPG with the hopes of one day joing the MMO part? Seems unlikely to me.

And with no mention of big buttery slabs of Ahhhnold, I don't see this as being even remotely interesting.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Friday April 22, 2005 at 2:52 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

REVIEW SUMMARY: 7 standouts + 14 good stories - 5 losers = one very good collection.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Anthology of 26 sf stories from the year 2001.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: 21 stories good or better, 7 of them near-perfect.
CONS: 5 stories mediocre or worse.
BOTTOM LINE: A very good collection of stories. A worthy addition to a fine series.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday April 22, 2005 at 1:12 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

It's never too late to learn about nanotechnology. Start here, browse a Nanotechnology Now portal or read the brief 7 Things about Nanotechnology.

And, to tie this into science fiction, here's a good starting point for nanotech stories:

• Blood Music, Queen of Angels and Slant by Greg Bear


• Dead Girls, Dead Boys, Dead Things by Richard Calder


• Prey by Michael Crichton


• Metaplanetary by Tony Daniel


• The Nanotech anthology edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois


• Permutation City and Diaspora by Greg Egan


• Kathleen Ann Goonan's Nanotech Cycle (Queen City Jazz, Mississippi Blues and Crescent City Rhapsody)


• The Nano Flower by Peter F. Hamilton


• Beggars and Choosers by Nancy Kress


• The Wellstone and The Collapsium by Wil McCarthy


• Linda Nagata's Nanotech sequence (The Bohr Maker, Tech-Heaven, Deception Well and Vast)


• Factoring Humanity by Robert J. Sawyer


• Snow Crash and The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday April 21, 2005 at 7:54 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

I was walking by the local Bedrock Comics and noticed a sign that this year's Free Comic Book Day happens on Saturday, May 7th. The selection of comics includes those from Gold sponsors (The Simpsons and Futurama, Star Wars Episode III - Revenge of the Sith among others), silver sponsors (Johnny Raygun, Buzzboy, Mortal Coils) and bronze sponsors (previously published comics). Stop by a store near you!

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday April 21, 2005 at 7:26 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Scott S's Axciom: There is no technology sufficiently advanced that it can't be used for pornography.

From Yahoo! News, comes word that Playboy will be offering content especially for the Playstation Portable. They will offer free content (merely PG13-rated) and premium nude content. What's that in your pocket?

I also noticed that they have the ability to download pictures and video to the Apple iPod photo that they call iBod. Not for browsing at work, but the takeoff on Apple's ad campaign is especially inspired. Oh, Playboy indicated that so far iBod has been popular as thousands of users have hammered the site so far.

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Posted by Scott Shaffer at Wednesday April 20, 2005 at 11:36 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

When I was in High School one of my classmates decided to do his annual science fair project on cryogenics. It was a relatively new science in the mid 1980's and a subject of the pop science of the time. He studied this subject by freezing goldfish in liquid nitrogen (surprisingly easy to acquire it turns out) and attempting to thaw them in the microwave - hoping to return them to life.

Needless to say this didn't work - as I remember from his conclusion (a key part of the science fair project) largely because the fish cracked. QED.

However now comes word (courtesy of PBS' Nova) that, while it is unlikely he would have ever succeeded with fish, had he used the common wood frog he would have indeed been able to freeze the frog and return it to life. As you can see on their web site, this frog has the uncanny ability to let itself freeze completely in the winter, only to come back with the spring thaw.

Life truly is amazing.

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Posted by Scott Shaffer at Wednesday April 20, 2005 at 10:51 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Peter Hirschberg has created a home arcade featuring many coin-op and pinball games from the glory days of arcades, only without the gum on the floor or the hordes of loitering teenagers. He's got all kinds of really cool machines, including my favorites, Moon Patrol and Tron. I am now so envious, I fluoresce green in the cool, cool glow of black light.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Wednesday April 20, 2005 at 2:30 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Star Wars: Revelations is an independent fan film set in the Star Wars universe that looks pretty damn good. The trailer sports some way cool sfx. The free movie is 47 minutes long and the story goes like this:

Revelations takes place between Episodes 3 and 4 of the Star Wars Saga. Emperor Palpatine's power has spread throughout the galaxy. Darth Vader is a feared figure. The Jedi are hunted fugitives. Anyone suspected of harboring Jedi or having any information about them is taken into Imperial custody.

Our heroine, Taryn Anwar, has broken way from Imperial control and is searching for an ancient Jedi artifact. Said to contain great power, it could be the key to destroying the Empire -- if she can locate it before Zhanna, the Emperor’s Hand, does. It’s a race between good and evil as the fate of the galaxy hangs in the balance.

[Link via The Presurfer]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday April 20, 2005 at 2:20 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

IDW Publishing is running a four-issue comic set adaptation of Shaun of the Dead starting in June. The comics will tell the same story told in the film, but with the deleted scenes restored.

[Info via Solar Flare]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday April 20, 2005 at 11:21 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

REVIEW SUMMARY: Stylish martial arts film in the tradition of Hero and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon but with several plot twists and a nice love story to boot.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: A blind court dancer is jailed, then broken out by a mysterious warrior. Together they flee from the general's troops to House of Flying Daggers.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Awesome combat sequences, breath-taking sets, plot twists keep you guessing, nice love story.
CONS: I can think of none.
BOTTOM LINE: Wonderful new-school martial arts romance.

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Posted by APEGamer at Wednesday April 20, 2005 at 9:55 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Due to air in the Fall of 2005, a new reality show, Book Millionaire, is seeking people who want to become published authors or those who are published and want to achieve best selling status. Applicants are told:

You can apply if you meet any one of the following criteria:

• You don't need to have written your book or manuscript but you have an idea you feel would be a good book, or...


• You may have been told by people that you should write a book, or...


• You have a desire to become published and to live the incredible lifestyle of a rich, famous author, or...


• You may have started writing your book, but it is not completed yet, or...


• You may have your book written. It is completed but not published, or...


• You may have published your book, but it has not sold like you wanted.

"...you need to become friends with publishing insiders and learn the skills that will help you with the day-to-day excitement as you become accustom to being an author...a best selling author...a Book Millionaire!"

[Link via Grumpy Old Bookman]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday April 19, 2005 at 10:12 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Hitachi has a Schoolhouse Rock-like animation called "Get Perpendicular" which explains how greater areal density is achieved on perpendicular recording technology. Hitachi thinks its new technology can make a 6 gigabyte hard drive store the equivalent of 30,000 songs instead of just 3,000. Can you say "1,500 hours of MP3s?"

[Link via CNet]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday April 19, 2005 at 2:48 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

At the risk of being labeled one of those websites that jumps every time George Lucas farts, here are a few juicy, bite-size Star Wars morsels.

TRAILERS

• Jedi Action 1


• Jedi Action 2


• Unite


• Tragedy


• Dark Side Unleashed

• Part 1: "Two Worlds, One Movie"


• Part 2: "...One World, Two Movies"


• Part 3: "We Still Do A Little Bit"


• Part 4: "Creating General Grievous"


• Part 5: "This Weapon Is Your Life"


• Part 6: "Video Village"


• Part 7: "Epic Designs for an Expanding Universe"


• Part 8: "Behind the Curtain"


• Part 9: "C-3PO: His Moment to Shine"


• Part 10: "Pickups & Reshoots"


• Part 11: "Becoming Obi-Wan"


• Part 12: "The Wookies Are Back!"

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday April 19, 2005 at 8:55 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

From around the web...

• Test your Firefly IQ. I scored 80%.
• Truth, Justice and the American Way is a planned-for-2006 biopic focusing on George Reeves, who portrayed Superman in the 1950s TV series, and the investigation into his mysterious 1959 death. Reeves is portrayed by Ben Affleck. (!)
• Another collection of 50 favorite Science Fiction books

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday April 18, 2005 at 3:42 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Without shelling out $$$$$ for a telescope. You subscribe to the Slooh online observatory. For $50/year, you can access Slooh and participate in unlimited oberservation sessions and save and download pictures of the things you see. You also get 15 minutes of time where you control what the scopes are pointing at. The really cool thing is that the observatory is located in the Canary Islands, so the seeing is great. And with scopes nowadays being controlled by computers, this is a natural fit for the Internet. Sorta like Internet hunting, only without the live ammo.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Monday April 18, 2005 at 2:42 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Big Dumb Object turns one this week. Sing it with me now:

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear Big Dumb Object
Happy Birthday to you

Coincidentally, this is the same song we sing for my uncle.

Congratulations, James! I'm still waiting for the Conservation of Quality graph!

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday April 18, 2005 at 1:12 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Sci-Fi announces that it is working on a TV series based on the d20 Modern system developed by WotC. The name of the series is Urban Arcana, same as the rulebook.

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Posted by APEGamer at Monday April 18, 2005 at 11:15 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday April 18, 2005 at 12:26 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

REVIEW SUMMARY: A fast-paced, immersive space opera that's sure to please.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Lowly hero Tom Corcorigan rises through social ranks to fulfill his destiny.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Excellent world-building; fast-paced; a quick read.
CONS: Staccato writing style made for difficult reading at times; some events happen offstage.
BOTTOM LINE: A very good mix of adventure, sense of wonder and good, old-fashioned fun.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday April 18, 2005 at 12:24 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Atomic Rocket is a very cool site devoted to helping SF writers accurately write about rockets. Of course, you don't have to be a writer to enjoy learning about the operation and physics behind rockets and space travel. The best part of the site is the preponderance of pulp SF book and magazine covers from the '50s and '60s with all the cool retro-rockets we all love. Check it out, you just might learn something!

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Posted by JP Frantz at Sunday April 17, 2005 at 11:13 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Some extremely cool 'sculptures' based on astronomy , stellar cartography and other scientific ideas. This stuff is very cool, if expensive, although I might spring for the DNA keychain.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Sunday April 17, 2005 at 11:08 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Because where else can you see a medley of Nintendo music sung a capella? No where, that's where!

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Posted by JP Frantz at Saturday April 16, 2005 at 3:59 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

As seen in Entertainment Weekly, the Superman Cinema website has made available a freely downloadable "Restored International Cut" of Superman II.

Although Richard Donner filmed Superman II I and Superman II simultaneously, he was let go after the premiere of the first film. Fans who demanded a Donner-restored version of Superman II were somewhat appeased in the '80s when Warner Bros. put together an extended international TV version containing the extra Donner footage. The Restored International Cut is the result of patching togerther videotaped clips of that TV braodcast sent in from fans around the globe.

I just went to the website. The Restored International Cut has been removed at the "request" of Warner Bros. The DVD artwork is still downloadable, though.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday April 16, 2005 at 3:45 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

	SUNSTORM by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter Grade: B+ Upshot: Though Clarke and Baxter have mastered the art of saving the world in blockbuster style, the climactic finale is clouded by a tangential subplot about insidious aliens.
	WELL OF STARS by Robert Reed Grade: A Upshot: Babylon 5 and Deep Space Nine put together don't add up to the epic geekiness of Reed's follow-up to 2000's Marrow
	HERE, THERE & EVERYWHERE by Chris Roberson Grade: B Upshot: Roberson's irreverent alternate histories of the Beatles, Sherlock Holmes, and H.G. Wells are a welcome stitch in the age-old time-travel tradition.
	MINDSCAN by Robert J. Sawyer Grade: B Upshot: Sawyer lucidly explores the fascinating philosophical conundrums, but the courtroom drama reads too much like jury duty.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday April 16, 2005 at 3:29 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

MY RATING:
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Paul Atredies leads a Freman uprising on the planet Arrakis, in an attempt to free Dune from Imperial control.
PROS: Incredible worldbuilding, sympathetic characters, great storytelling.
CONS: A couple of would be mysteries are spelled out near the beginning, Herbert dwells a bit too long on the religious aspects surrounding Paul Muad'Dib.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Saturday April 16, 2005 at 11:59 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Everything Sterling, from his online fiction, non-fiction (including the text for The Hacker Crackdown), Wired articles and more.

[Link via False Positives]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday April 15, 2005 at 11:49 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

TV Guide is featuring Star Trek in light of the recent cancellation of Enterprise.

In and of itself, this is only marginally interesting. However, it did bring to my attention to this 1967 TV Guide cover of a crazed James T. Kirk.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday April 15, 2005 at 10:57 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

New Scientist reports that the US Military is investigating a user interface based on hand gestures simlar to the one used by Tom Cruise's character in Minority Report. Raytheon is working on it and has even employed the researcher who proposed the interface to the makers of the film, John Underkoffler.

The system under development at Raytheon lets users don a pair of reflective gloves and manipulate images projected on a panoramic screen. A mounted camera keeps track of hand movements and a computer interprets gestures. "Your hand becomes a Swiss Army knife," says Underkoffler.

[Link via DefenseTech.org]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday April 15, 2005 at 9:50 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Nicholas Cage will star in Next, the film adaptation of Philip K. Dick's short story "The Golden Man," about a man with the ability to see short distances into the future. The movie is to be filmed this summer and is planned for a 2006 release date.

A promising quote: "We don't want to turn this into a science-fiction movie without the science fiction." - Director Lee Tamahori.

[via Sci Fi Wire]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday April 15, 2005 at 8:22 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

The Electronic Text Center is like the eBook version of Project Gutenberg. All freely available classsic texts can be downloaded in eBook format.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday April 14, 2005 at 4:47 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Well, ten potential ways anyway. The Guardians What a way to go covers several potential threats to Earth, and then attempts ascertain the likelyhood of them happening, much like the How to Destroy the Earth website, only not as funny. Personally, I've always had a soft spot for #10, whereby a wandering black hole swallows the Earth without so much as a burp. For a more rational response to the article, see here.

Then I thought it would be fun to list SF stories that could fit into each catergory!

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Posted by JP Frantz at Thursday April 14, 2005 at 1:43 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

...but here's the blurb they have for Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith:

The galaxy is weary after three long years of war. Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi have become legendary heroes in their campaigns against the droid forces of the evil General Grievous. Anakin and his secret wife, Padme Amidala, have been separated for months, and he finally reunites with her to learn that she is pregnant. He is plagued by visions of her dying in childbirth, haunting images of a possible future. Anakin is determined to stop her from dying--no matter the cost. This leads Anakin down a dark path to commit terrible deeds. Obi-Wan Kenobi must face his former apprentice in a ferocious lightsaber duel on the fiery world of Mustafar.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday April 14, 2005 at 10:03 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Cyber criminals are starting to use fake blogs to infect visitor's machines with keylogging software or viruses. Of course! Free blogs, free disk space and many times no scanning. What's an ass-clown to do? Pass it up?

There are an estimated 200 bogus blogs. I have noticed a proliferation of spamming blogs lately. They post a variety of keywords that are picked up by RSS sniffers like Feedster. And although the article cites social engineering as the proliferator of bogus blog URLs, I'm guessing that newsfeeds also spead them quite a bit.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday April 14, 2005 at 9:11 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

The film industry has filed hundreds of lawsuits, including three against individuals in the Houston area, claiming they illegally downloaded and distributed films on the Internet. The suit marks the first time that the Motion Picture Association of America has named local individuals in a film piracy case.

Here's the funny part: The suit accuses two of them for illegally downloading and file-swapping White Chicks. Man, if you're gonna go down, don't do it stealing White Chicks.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday April 14, 2005 at 8:00 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

BooksPrice is a free website that searches for the best deal when buying multiple books online. You can even specify the multiple books from an Amazon wishlist.

[Link via MobileRead]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday April 14, 2005 at 12:00 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Test your science fiction knowledge with a 130 SF quizzes!

Subject matter ranges from the general (like the beginner sf classics quiz or the much tougher and poorly named SF Quiz #1) to the the themed (like the Star Wars Quiz [not that I troll Star Wars quiz sites or anything] or the book-specific Stranger in a Strange Land quiz).

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday April 13, 2005 at 9:18 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

It's the middle of the night. You're tossing, turning. You just can't get it out of your head. "Stop messing with my mind!" you yell, waking your significant other shortly before they hit you over the head with the pillow. Sheepishly, you apologize. "Sorry, honey. I just can't think of the name of that science fiction book I read when I was ten."

Before your meet Mr. Divorce, allow me to introduce All Experts' Science Fiction book experts. A panel of self-proclaimed sf experts eager to answer any and all science fiction related queries. Or, if you don't have a specific question, you can troll previously asked questions and test your own science fiction knowledge.

I wouldn't call it a hugely popular site - there are only about 50 questions asked in the last 5 years, but some of them were at least recently asked.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday April 13, 2005 at 9:07 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

If only Lucas had the guts to subtitle the Ep. III trailer in l33t speak. The result is hilarious, but you really out to know a thing or two about l33tspeak and online role playing games.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Wednesday April 13, 2005 at 6:18 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Are you wondering "Gee. I wonder if they'll ever film a sequel to The Librarian?" Yeah, me neither but that hasn't stopped TNT from announcing the sequel. I wonder how enamoured they are of their own movie since I can't find any mention of it at the TNT website. If only I can erase it from my memory so completely. On the other hand, it would be nice to see Bob Newhart kick some more ass.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday April 13, 2005 at 2:32 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Add another adaptation to Philip K. Dick's credits. This time it's a play based on his excellent novel Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said.

[Link via Big Dumb Object. I'm not sure how I missed the announcement when I visited the PKD site earlier this week.]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday April 13, 2005 at 1:45 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

As hoped for, free versions of Hugo-nominated short stories are begiining to appear online (thanks, to Free Specualtive Fiction for the tip). If more becone available, I'll update this post.

Novellas

• "Sergeant Chip" by Bradley Denton


• "The Concrete Jungle" by Charles Stross


• "Elector" by Charles Stross


• "Time Ablaze" by Michael A. Burstein

• "The People of Sand and Slag", Paolo Bacigalupi


• "The Clapping Hands of God" by Michael F. Flynn


• "The Faery Handbag" by Kelly Link


• "Biographical Notes to 'A Discourse on the Nature of Causality, with Air-Planes' by Benjamin Rosenbaum" by Benjamin Rosenbaum


• "The Voluntary State" by Christopher Rowe

• "Decisions" by Michael A. Burstein


• "The Best Christmas Ever" by James Patrick Kelly


• "Shed Skin" by Robert J. Sawyer


• "A Princess of Earth" by Mike Resnick


• "Travels With My Cats" by Mike Resnick

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday April 13, 2005 at 1:38 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

A recent article features Hugo/Nebula-winning author Robert J. Sawyer (and his new religious-rights novel Mindscan) and his take on why science fiction reflects the present as well as the future. Some interesting blurbs from the article:

The worst thing that ever happened to science fiction occurred in May 1977 when Star Wars premiered

"You can't read science fiction in any kind of deep meaningful way without understanding that it's a commentary on the present."

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday April 13, 2005 at 9:39 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Find out by taking OKCupid! The General Astronomy Test. 20 questions, no waiting. Score poorly and be labled a SF geek by the rest of us.

Me? Glad you asked:

You scored 4 of 5 background knowledge, 6 of 8 solar system, 5 of 6 stars, and 5 of 5 galaxies!

That's it! Thanks for taking the test and please take a moment to rate it. This test samples your knowledge of contemporary topics in astronomy. It is by no means comprehensive. If you did well on it, you're pretty well versed in astronomical knowledge. If you didn't do so well, but would like to know more, your local university may have a course in astronomy just for you! A complete answer key is available at http://www.livejournal.com/users/wcg/198998.html Keep looking up! BillG

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Posted by JP Frantz at Wednesday April 13, 2005 at 9:21 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Whew, it took me a while, most of the afternoon, but I finally polished off all the books. John, mark me complete!

I've collected all their reviews here in a single post for everyone to enjoy...

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Posted by Peter at Tuesday April 12, 2005 at 5:22 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

MY RATING:
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: A cyborg plankton harvester helps the rebel Benthics in their fight against the continent spanning Hive cities.
PROS: Interesting setting.
CONS: Dry writing style, jumps in the story with little warning, uninteresting characters.
BOTTOM LINE: An interesting premise that doesn't live up to expectations.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Tuesday April 12, 2005 at 3:16 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Paramount has declined to accept money raised by fans of the canceled Enterprise for purposes of continuing the show. The fan base - I mean "corporation" - has raised $3.14 million (!) in pledges and donations. (As a comparison, the Vice President of The CMT Dukes of Hazzard Institute would have to watch Dukes of Hazzard for 31.4 years! That's a lot of Hogg!)

Does anyone else find this amazing? That people would pony up money for a TV show to continue shooting? That's what commercials are for, right? I mean, I loved Firefly but I just don't see myself paying a studio to produce it just so I can spend 20 hours a year in front the TV. Don't get me wrong - I applaud the determination of these folks but I just can't help thinking that the energy would be better spent on something more productive. Like installing a sprinkler system at my house.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday April 12, 2005 at 3:02 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

In theaters later this year: Zathura.

It's billed as a "heart-racing sci-fi adventure". It's the story of two squabbling brothers alone in their home which is somehow hurtling through space. The trailer is already up and it looks sort of like Jumanji...in spaaace! Oh look, it's based on the book written by Chris Van Allsburg, author of Jumanji and The Polar Express. That explains it.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday April 12, 2005 at 1:45 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

I saw the trailer up for the animated adaptation of Philip K. Dicks A Scanner Darkly.

Looks interesting, animation-wise. Although it looks like the style might get on my nerves if watching it for too long. The realism of the movements is just too creepy.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday April 12, 2005 at 1:31 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle have been named recipients of this year's Robert A. Heinlein Award for outstanding published work in hard science fiction or technical writings inspiring the human exploration of space

[Link via Locus Online]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday April 12, 2005 at 12:56 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

SciFi Weekly columnist (and author) Michael Cassutt looks at what it takes to act in a science fiction film or series.

What are some you your best and worst choices for SF (or fantasy) acting?

For me there's...

The Good: The entire cast of Firefly; Tom Cruise in Minority Report; Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Carribbean.

The Bad (too numerous to mention really, but off the top of my head): Just about anyone in the original Dune; Whoever played King Arthur in Excalibur; Hayden Whatsisname in Star Wars I, II and undoubtedly III (His acting is so course...like sand. OK, Lucas gets the raspberry for poor writing on that one, but still.)

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday April 11, 2005 at 5:38 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

And he gets a PG-13 for Revenge of the Sith. Not sure what this will really mean, but hey maybe we can get some good ole fashioned beheadings...

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Posted by Tim Zinsky at Monday April 11, 2005 at 9:50 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

The latest beta version (3) of the Google Toolbar has a new feature that will excite our Spellcheck Nazi group of readers [looks at Pete]. A spellcheck toolbar button will now check spelling in form elements, eliminating any excuse (besides laziness) to comment with incorrectly spelled words.

Oh...another new feature of the Beta: turn street addresses listed on any page into links to online maps.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday April 11, 2005 at 7:18 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday April 11, 2005 at 12:02 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

"My God! It's full of minutia!"

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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday April 10, 2005 at 7:36 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

It's just a simple Bartleby search away...

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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday April 10, 2005 at 7:16 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Having read all the books in our 1975 Do-Over Reading Project, I now feel qualified to determine if anyone got robbed. Here's how I rated the nominees for the Hugo and Nebula Awards, from best to worst:

Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said by Philip K. Dick
The Inverted World by Christopher Priest
The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
334 by Thomas M. Disch
The Godwhale by T.J. Bass
Fire Time by Poul Anderson

Given that The Dispossessed won both the Hugo and the Nebula, I can honestly say that Philip K. Dick was robbed. So there.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday April 09, 2005 at 1:47 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

REVIEW SUMMARY: A political book that appeals to apolitical readers.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: A brilliant physicist named Shevek tries to reunite the anarchist world of Anarres with its sister planet Urras.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Thought-provoking; alternating story lines were both interesting.
CONS: Writing sometimes dry; some parts slower than others; other than Shevek, characters were not very memorable.
BOTTOM LINE: A thought-provoking tale of politics and change.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday April 09, 2005 at 1:26 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

I like old science fiction art as much as I like old science fiction.

There are plenty of sites that show off vintage covers, too. Galleries range from visual indices of cover art to images from famous pulp magazines. For the true fanboy, you can purchase CD-ROMs full of the covers. Other sites target a more specific audience. Say, that of a specific artists or a specific author (this last one, for Philip K. Dick, has to be the most comprehensive collection I've ever seen).

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday April 08, 2005 at 3:50 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Finally, an answer to the question "Where can I go to see a collection of guttural moans from comics?"

[Link via Cynical-C]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday April 08, 2005 at 2:58 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

The good news: A new "definitive" set of volumes are being produced showcasing all of Robert A. Heinlein's books, stories, letters and other writings.

The bad news: It's a limited edition of 5,000 sets and are only sold in sets.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday April 08, 2005 at 2:53 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Jus ran across the The Speculative Literature Foundation. They have a bunch of lists that I thought were interesting.

• Recommended Children's SF and Fantasy
• Intro to Hard SF for the non-SF Reader
• Fish Out of Water Stories

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday April 07, 2005 at 4:10 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

SF Site is now offering newsfeeds. Take your pick:

• Summaries of each issue.
• A PodCast newsfeed which offers audio reviews accompanied with audio book snippets. The only entry to this new feed is a positive review of Lemony Snicket which has some great things to say about Tim Curry's performance.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday April 07, 2005 at 11:25 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

I used to whine about the lack of good science fiction on TV. Of course, back then, I hadn't watched Firefly. Having seen the DVDs, I can now say that it was a hugely entertaining show.

What about current shows? I very much like the new Battlestar Galactica, but other than that, I cannot say there's anything that really captures my attention. Even Stargate: SG1 and SG: Atlantis, both of which I like, fail to draw me in these days.

So what do others think of the current Science Fiction TV landscape? What are the shows on now (no reruns) worth watching?

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday April 07, 2005 at 10:45 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Google Maps have a new feature. View any map and click the satellite link (@ page top right) to see the satellite version. Cool!

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday April 06, 2005 at 10:29 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

From Hack-a-day, somebody has built a way to search both Yahoo and Google using a single search line. It then launches a window with two frames with the left being yahoo and the right being google. Its probably a novelty, but then you can at least search both entities without having to cut and paste.

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Posted by Tim Zinsky at Wednesday April 06, 2005 at 10:11 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

As the self appointed Fanboy and /. troll, I have found this link that demonstrates that no matter how zealous we are as Star Wars Enthusiasts (aka Fanboys) - these guys have us beat.

And Target has a whole subsite dedicated to all things Star Wars. Its got some cute web things like a Star Wars name (I am Commander Zintim Evilkaraoko.)

Enjoy.

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Posted by Tim Zinsky at Wednesday April 06, 2005 at 10:02 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

I was in the cereal aisle of the grocery store last night (not that I troll grocery stores looking for Star Wars merchandising or anything) and saw the Mace Windu version of Corn Pops. How the heck did Samuel Jackson go from Pulp Fiction to Corn pops? [See more]

Sigh. Oh well, I guess it's only slightly more embarrasing than the Mace Windu mini-bust.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday April 06, 2005 at 9:20 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

SF Crowsnest has a brief interview with David Gerrold.

[Link via The Eternal Golden Braid]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday April 06, 2005 at 8:16 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

The latest issue of Internet Review of Science Fiction (still accepting free subscription) is noe available. Contents:

• Editorial: The Critical "I": self-bias in review and analysis


• Feature:Is Slipstream Just a Fancy Word for Voice?


• Essay: Reviving Literacy through Science Fiction and Fantasy by Heidi Kneale


• Essay: Dangerous Visions and Feet of Clay


• Review: The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson: A Review in Three Acts: Part Three: Tertium Non Data


• Review: In the Night Room by Peter Straub


• Review: Short Fiction Reviews, April 2005


• Review: The Cup of the World by John Dickinson

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday April 06, 2005 at 8:06 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Gateworld somehow managed to get episode summaries for the first two episodes of season 2 of Battlestar Galactica. No spoilers, just two sentences of crunchy BG goodness. My, doesn't the second episode sound cool....

A sweep of the (original) Cylon eye to the Unofficial Battlestar Galacita Blog for the link.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Tuesday April 05, 2005 at 11:24 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

The Riddler is 71 years old today.

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Posted by APEGamer at Tuesday April 05, 2005 at 10:48 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Will the $100 laptop computer be as common as a cell phone?

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday April 05, 2005 at 10:14 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Earthcore is billed as the first podcast only novel. Its not available in book form or in audiobook form. You can only get it by going to the site or subscribing to the podcast. And yes, its free. I haven't listened yet, but free SF goes a long way with me.

So, is this the start of a new way to distribute SF or books in general? I suspect the next step is to serialize these stories, then start charging for them. A return to the thrilling times of yesteryear, or an idea way ahead of (or behind?) the times? Are you interested in this type of podcast? For me, if its interesting, I will listen. If it isn't, then, no.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Monday April 04, 2005 at 10:39 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

SF Signal's comment system is down. Working...

[UPDATE]
...and fixed. My bad. When I attempted to make poll posts easier by including a JavaScript file, I made a typo somewhere. Damn these gargantuan digits! (That one for the ladies. ;-))

We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog. And by "we" I mean "I". And by "blog" I mean "posts about science fiction". And by "science fiction" I mean "supermodels".

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday April 04, 2005 at 9:43 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Lou Anders, sf editor and editorial director of Pyr Books, has an interesting article at publisher's Weekly titled A Hobbit Takeover? in which he examines the answer to the question: Has fantasy overtaken science fiction?

The thrust is in sales numbers, of course, and the ever-popular "Is science fiction dead?" question is raised. Again. It's an interesting read. And maybe even the basis for a poll...

Free registration is required.

[Link via Locus Online]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday April 04, 2005 at 5:48 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Here's another Listology list of Science Fiction Websites. Oh, look! There's us!

Thank you, we're marvelous.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday April 04, 2005 at 1:17 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Like Mailinator, PookMail offers disposable email accounts to use with untrusted sites. There's no setup; they just catch everything and create a corresponding email account. At any untrusted site, just leave a pookmail or mailinator address, then if you need to see what they send (such as an account activation email), shot over to the pookmail or mailinator site, type in the email prefix and get the mail.

[Link via MobileRead]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday April 04, 2005 at 1:14 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Online in this web game from Irrational Software as part of thier launch for Freedom Force versus the Third Reich. So now you can get your superhero fix at work and at home...

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Posted by Tim Zinsky at Monday April 04, 2005 at 10:44 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday April 04, 2005 at 12:00 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

A Houston Chronicle article talks about how the used bookstore business is changing, thanks (or, thanks for nothing) to the Internet. Since many used book stores list their catalog online, the serious collector's no longer have to physically troll the aisles. And why should they when they can do so virtually quicker and, many times, cheaper? Stores are having to change their business models to survive.

I understand the desire and to stay in business, but targeting your wares to serious collectors seem to me (not a collector but a hoarder) is a bummer. I've visited Becker's Books in the past and found them to be a charming store, even with the poor lighting. When they went Internet, their prices shot through the roof. Sure, to cover the Internet sale they need to charge more. But the jacked-up price only served to screw the local shopper. The last time I visited Becker's I found an old sf anthology. Most local stores would sell it at $1 tops. The local half Price Books chain would have sold it at 35 cents. When I asked how much it was, I was told it was $8. (!) My reaction was met with a terse, "Dude (yes, Ms. Becker actually called me 'Dude'), what do you think this this is? Half Price?" To which I said "Yes, actually. Why would I buy this for $8 when I can get it for under a buck at any other local store?" The reply was "And I can get $8 for this over the web." I said "Well, good luck." and walked out the door, never to return.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday April 03, 2005 at 11:35 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

MY RATING:
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Three storylines from the first Sin City comics interleave in a very stylish, noir film.
PROS: Great looking film, fun stories, lots of star power, dark & gritty - like I like 'em
CONS: Two of the storylines seemed rather similar to each other, none of the stories really overlapped, use of color not consistent
BOTTOM LINE: This is my favorite of all comic books brought to the big screen. If you like film noir, this is for you.

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Posted by APEGamer at Sunday April 03, 2005 at 7:01 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Two TV ads for Star Wars Episode III at the recently redesigned Star Wars site: "Dark Side Unleashed" and "Tragedy".

Not that I troll Star Wars sites at 2AM or anything...

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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday April 02, 2005 at 2:15 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

So, I wound up watching all 5 hours of Invasion Iowa this week. This even after scoffing at the premise. (Duping the townspeople for laughs? It's all too easy to trick someone and could come scross as just mean.) The trailer made me come 'round.

I have no formal review - the review at SciFi Weekly is dead-on. My initial misgivings about the premise were off-target as the show proved to exemplify the kind-heartedness of the people of Riverside. As far as people's reaction, the mini-series showed only one immediate and understandably negative reaction (farmer Wayne) that evntaully gave way to an attitude of acceptance. (Maybe after going home and seeing the check?)

In the end, I was glad I got to see it. And the whole "Love Bomb!" bit, I think, is going to be a recurring thing at the lunch table.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday April 02, 2005 at 12:53 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

The last US episode of Battlestar Galactica Season 1 aired tonight. I thought I would start a discussion for folks who have seen all of the epsiodes. Before reading any further, be warned:

SPOLIERS AHEAD!

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday April 01, 2005 at 11:59 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

MY RATING:
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: 334 follows the lives and interactions of a group of people living in a housing project at 334 East 11th Street in a future, dystopian New York City.
PROS: Unique storytelling, using intertwined stories, especially over the last half of the book.
CONS: Unrelentingly grim. Unsympathetic characters. Jumps in story time make this a tough read.
BOTTOM LINE: Another book considered to be a classic that I just don't like.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Friday April 01, 2005 at 1:18 PM
© 2005 SF Signal