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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday December 31, 2007 at 12:19 AM
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Posted by JP Frantz at Monday December 31, 2007 at 12:12 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
| (95 total votes) |
"Well, it really depends. I read more if we spend the holiday at home or with my in-laws. But it's way less if I spend it with my parents. They spend all year just reading, and when the kids are around they want to talk, talk and talk some more." - Karen BurnhamBe sure to visit our front page and vote in this week's poll about upcoming movies based on comic books?
"I daresay there is scarcely a more beautiful and satisfying thing than to be in your bed till the very late/early hours of the evening/morning on a holiday reading a nice book. Happy holidays to all." - General X
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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday December 31, 2007 at 12:00 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
Those of us of a certain age, which includes all of us here at the big SFS, remember the 'classic' SF movie Tron with at least some fondness. I managed to score the 20th Anniversary DVD edition for my birthday a couple of years back and introduced my kids to Tron, which they then proceeded to watch at least 5 times over the next two days.
Writer/director Steve Lisberger directed two more movies, Hot Pursuit and Slipstream, but nothing that approaches the cult status of Tron. But now, Tom's Games has an interview with Lisberger where he details the new script he's working on called Soul Code. The new movie isn't a sequel, as Lisberger says Tron stopped pretty much at the end of the road, but Soul Code will deal with human interaction with advancing technology. Those of you who want to see more of the Tron story ought to find the PC game Tron 2.0, which is actually a really nice FPS in it's own right, aside from continuing the story.
From what is in the article, Soul Code will deal with the discovery of the ability to 'download' people's memories, presumably into a computer. Nothing really new to us in the SF community, but as far as SF movies go, I'm hard pressed to think of one that deal directly with this. Maybe the Lawnmower Man movies.
It's a long article and I'm officially interested in the movie, which could be ready by late 2009, so set your alarms now.
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Posted by JP Frantz at Sunday December 30, 2007 at 2:53 PM
© 2007 SF Signal
Last week we showed you a bunch of science fiction TV episodes from Hulu. Today we're going to bring you the next episode of one of the best, if shortest, science fiction shows ever produced. I'm talking about, of course, Firefly.
If you've never seen it before, now, and in the coming weeks, you'll have the chance to see it right here. Hopefully you'll be drawn in and become a raving browncoat like many of us. Or possibly you'll be interested enough to purchase the box set of the DVDs so you can see it in it's full glory on the television. In any event, after the break you can watch the second episode Whedon intended.
(See here for the first episode.)
Read more...
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Posted by JP Frantz at Sunday December 30, 2007 at 4:54 AM
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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday December 30, 2007 at 12:15 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
SciFi Wire has been listing 2008 genre movies, though I'm not sure how some of these fall under the guise of sf/f (blame SciFi Wire, not me!)
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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday December 29, 2007 at 12:29 AM
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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday December 29, 2007 at 12:11 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
Today is the birthday of Nichelle Nichols (Star Trek's Lt. Uhura). What better way to do a Friday YouTube than with Nichelle singing "Know What I Mean?" from her 1967 Down to Earth album?
Happy birthday, Nichelle! And what a coincidence...I got tasty-hasty pudding too, if you know what I mean, know what I mean...
This almost makes up for Shatner's early singing career. Or not.
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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday December 28, 2007 at 12:28 AM
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Posted by JP Frantz at Friday December 28, 2007 at 12:25 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
Slice of SciFi looks at The Science of Science Fiction:
Science Fiction involves buying into the premise of a scientific "reality" that often pushes, even shatters, the boundaries of what we know. As fans we accept this. As fans, we realize the vehicle need not be 100% feasible to transport us to good entertainment, with believable characters, and viable plots. I can buy into some things I know are not yet possible within our current understanding of science, and go with it for the sake of a well-told story.What I find increasingly objectionable is the outright violation of science, as we know it. Humanity stands on the shoulders of countless individuals who painstakingly built the foundation for understanding the world around us. We owe them respect, not dismissal. Whatever premise we are asked to accept should build on this foundation, extrapolate it, even stretch it, but not tear it down for the sake of a "cool" visual.
...
I see it as a duty of the science fiction fan to hold sci-fi vehicles to a higher standard. Science is an important part of our lives, and reasonably good science should be the first requisite of "Science" Fiction. Instead, I see science casually tossed aside for the sake of a plot point, or worse, for the sake of presenting a special effect in lieu of a plot. The unintended consequence is that it makes "real" science seem mundane, boring, and lame.
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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday December 28, 2007 at 12:22 AM
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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday December 28, 2007 at 12:08 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
Subterranean Press has just started posting the Winter 2008 issue of Subterranean Online. Here's what available now, with more to come in the weeks ahead:
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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday December 27, 2007 at 12:22 AM
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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday December 27, 2007 at 12:11 AM
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Posted by JP Frantz at Thursday December 27, 2007 at 12:02 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
Director Peter Berg confirmed that a new Dune movie is ready to go, and that the writer's strike is the only thing holding it back. Presumably that means there's no screenplay yet.
The question then becomes, do we really need yet another version of Dune? I like both David Lynch's overproduced and overacted silver screen version and the Sci Fi Channel's much lower budget miniseries. Both have their strength and weaknesses and both show just how difficult it is to adapt Dune for a visual medium without compromising the source work in some way. you simply can't film the internal monologues without looking silly (I'm looking at you Kyle MacLachlan) and doing without forces you to find other ways to dispense the information.
And let's not forget the SFX that will be needed to make this look really good. While ok for the movie, I felt the SFX were much better in the miniseries, at least enough to not get in the way. I'd think with today's technology, it ought to at least look really good. In fact, I'd go in expecting to be knocked out. That means big $$$ to do it right.
What do you think, is this a good idea or just another example of Hollywood being bereft of ideas?
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Posted by JP Frantz at Wednesday December 26, 2007 at 7:04 PM
© 2007 SF Signal
REVIEW SUMMARY: Futurama returns in a glorious tour de force! Rivaled by only such classics as Casablanca and To Kill a Mockingbird this seminal film is an instant 'straight to DVD' classic. Er, OK, I'm an admitted raving fanboy of the show, so this might not be an entirely unbiased review. That and a shout out to my new amphibian master, the Hypnotoad.
MY RATING: ![]()
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: The Planet Express package company was 'cancelled' by the idiot executives at the 'BOX Network'. However those folks are gone, and the company and crew are back once again delivering packages. That is, until they are scammed out of their personal information by a bunch of aliens using well known Internet scam techniques who then proceed to take over everything using the same mechanism, eventually scamming President Nixon's head out of the Earth itself. Will the Planet Express crew be able to organize a rag tag fleet of rebels against a planet defended by a ring of solid gold Death Stars?
MY REVIEW:
PROS: The show is back and doesn't miss a beat; liberal bashing of the Fox Network for canceling the show, "Torgo powder - apply directly to the buttocks" homage to Manos: The Hands of Fate, Two fun singing numbers, time travel paradoxes, cameos voices by Al Gore, Coolio, Mark Hamil, appearances by favorites from the show, and lots and lots of Bender.
CONS: Fans of the show will love it. Fans of math too. And science. And this blog. And puppies and kittens. And air. If you don't like those things, then maybe you won't find it to be awesome beyond your ability to think straight. Coming, green master!

BOTTOM LINE: If you don't already have your own copy, check your pulse and click the friggin' link above and have one delivered to you by the fine folks at Amazon already! And no downloading a pirated version either - not if you want more comedy goodness.
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Posted by Scott Shaffer at Wednesday December 26, 2007 at 8:18 AM
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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday December 26, 2007 at 1:11 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
We wrap our Christmas science fiction extravaganza of shows with the poster child for great science fiction killed too early by no nothing execs. I'm speaking, of course, about Firefly.
Below we present the original pilot episode as intended by Whedon, "Serenity". Yes, all (almost) two hours.
I hope you've enjoyed the videos we've brought to you today. You can look for a more in-depth look at Hulu in the near future. For now, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Enjoy the rest of your day!
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Posted by JP Frantz at Tuesday December 25, 2007 at 3:00 PM
© 2007 SF Signal
Hopefully our glimpse at the original Galactica put you in the mood for a little of the new Galactica, which, of course, Hulu has online. Unfortunately, this is one of the shows where there is a lack of episodes to choose from, with only 5 available. All from season 3.
So, if you're one of the haters (looks at John), you may want to move on. Otherwise, we present the episode "Maelstrom".
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Posted by JP Frantz at Tuesday December 25, 2007 at 2:00 PM
© 2007 SF Signal
"There are those who believe that life here began out there.." With those words Battlestar Galactica was launched, and gained quite the cult following, me included, that far outweighed it's campiness.
Still, it led to the new, re-imagined Galactica we have now. So let's return to 1979, and re-live the exciting encounter between the Galactica and Pegasus. Yes, we have both episodes!
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Posted by JP Frantz at Tuesday December 25, 2007 at 12:00 PM
© 2007 SF Signal

Cinematic Titanic, the new brainchild of the comic genuises who originally gave us Mystery Science Theatre 3000 (MST3K), released its first DVD a couple of days back, just in time to save us a long, cold, hard, icy, dark, cold, winter. Pop the little bundle of warmth titled The Oozing Skull onto your viewing device-of-choice and look forward to the funny (I myself have a mega-home-theatre that hoovers so much electricity that every time I power it up, Al Gore cries.). I find it most encouraging that they recorded it in front of a live audience and discussed how much that improved the performance (if only I were an employee of ILM and got to see it live!)
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Posted by Scott Shaffer at Tuesday December 25, 2007 at 11:40 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
I'm sure you all remember the movie, Weird Science, starring Anthony Michael Hall and the hot, Kelly LeBrock. Did you know it made the jump to the small screen, and actually lasted for five(?!) seasons?
Starring no one you know, but also the hot Vanessa Angel. And we've got the pilot for you. Enjoy!
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Posted by JP Frantz at Tuesday December 25, 2007 at 11:00 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
As our tour of Hulu sci fi goodness continues, we move into the late, late 1970's and land on Buck Rogers, starring Gil Gerard and Erin Gray (you're welcome Tim).
I've selected a very special episode for you. Quite possibly one of the worst ever episodes: "Space Rockers"! No need to thank me, I'm doing this all for you.
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Posted by JP Frantz at Tuesday December 25, 2007 at 10:00 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
We continue our tour through Hulu's science fiction library, stopping on another Irwin Allen classic.
This time, we present the very first episode of Lost in Space, in all it's black-and-white glory!
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Posted by JP Frantz at Tuesday December 25, 2007 at 9:00 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
Recently, I had the opportunity to join the closed beta for NBC's new streaming video service, Hulu. It's been called a YouTube competitor, but that's really an inappropriate description. What it is, is a repository for a ton of TV show episodes, both old and new, that you can stream to your PC or, even cooler, embedded on a website, such as ours. This is awesomeness beyond belief.
So, as our Christmas gift to you, every hour or so for the next few hours we'll be posting an episode, or two, of a classic or influential science fiction TV show. And what we show you is just a taste of the library Hulu has to offer. I'm impressed so far, I think you will be too.
First up, an Irwin Allen classic: Land of the Giants.
(Yes, you'll have to put up with the occasional commercial. Deal with it, it's free! And all videos are after the jump in deference to our readers with slower connections.)
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Posted by JP Frantz at Tuesday December 25, 2007 at 8:00 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
REVIEW SUMMARY: Not your typical fantasy novel that is extremely imaginative, this book falls a little short for me.
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Following a rift in Texas the world we know is joined with 5 other planes filled with fantasy creatures. One of the elves named Zal has become a major rock star whose life is threatened when elements of his home plane move to kill him. Government agent and cyborg Lila Black is sent to help him and ends up with far more than she bargained for dealing with the sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll world that Zal and his pals live in.
MY REVIEW:
PROS: Highly unique fantasy setting, very well written dialog, often hilarious
CONS: Simple in structure, character growth didn't seem genuine
BOTTOM LINE: Justina can write (far better than I ever well) and there are lots of things to like in this book. But the characters didn't seem genuine enough to me and as a result I ended up feeling somewhat underwhelmed with the total book.
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Posted by Scott Shaffer at Tuesday December 25, 2007 at 7:47 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
God Bless WIlliam Shatner, everyone.
Here's a clip from Denis Leary's Merry F#$%n' Christmas Special.
[via Milk & Cookies]
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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday December 25, 2007 at 12:29 AM
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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday December 25, 2007 at 12:10 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
As mentioned in the past three tidbit posts, Artist John Picacio has published the unabridged cover triptych for Jeffrey Ford's Well Built City trilogy, which is being re-issued by Golden Gryphon. Sweet....
Click the image for a larger version.
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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday December 24, 2007 at 3:10 PM
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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday December 24, 2007 at 1:18 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
Christmas is fast approaching, and as the saying goes, it's better to give than receive.
We here at SF Signal receive a lot of books every year. So many, we can't possibly hope to read them all, even with a 'team' of readers (and by team, I don't mean Harriet Klausner). However, as many writers will tell you, getting that first novel published is thrilling, even if it takes a long time to happen. With that said, we do read first novels/first time authors from time to time, so, in the spirit of giving, we'd like to give some props to the first novels/first time authors we've seen this year.
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Posted by JP Frantz at Monday December 24, 2007 at 1:13 AM
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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday December 24, 2007 at 12:11 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
| (118 total votes) |
"No, but I have checked several books out of the library based on online reviews" - Cynthia DaltonBe sure to visit our front page and vote in this week's poll about holiday reading: more or less?
"I read a ton of books and only trust the reviewers I know from the web; SFSignal; Pat's Fantasy Hotlist; Fantasy Book Critic; Bookgasm and a handful of others. You bet they influence my book buying, and I'm glad they do." - David
"I learned about 'Eifelheim' through an online book review." - Gabriel McKee
"Any online review so long as its not Harriet Klausner." - Trey
[John D says: Here, here!]
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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday December 24, 2007 at 12:00 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday December 23, 2007 at 1:09 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

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Posted by JP Frantz at Sunday December 23, 2007 at 12:17 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday December 23, 2007 at 12:10 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
Once again showing his web savvy, Tobias Buckell has put together a trailer for his upcoming book, Sly Mongoose. He's running a contest for a soundtrack to the trailer, so give it a view and have a go . Oh, and I might add, like the two books set in the same universe that came before this, this one also has a cover made from 100% awesome.
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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday December 22, 2007 at 1:17 AM
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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday December 22, 2007 at 1:15 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
Did you know there was a Jules Verne Adventures Film Festival? Well there was, from Dec. 5 - 15 in Los Angeles. Aside from screening many films and appearances by several notable genre figures, there was also a panel on Heroes. Tim Kring, Jeph Loeb and several of the cast members where on stage to talk all things Heroes. But the most interesting thing they did was to screen a teaser for season 3, called "Villains". Someone in the audience managed to capture the promo on video. See it below (hurry before YouTube yanks it!):
Looks like Sylar is back and just as bad as ever, but, I don't know. This really doesn't do a lot for me. At least there's no evidence of a Nikki revival.
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Posted by JP Frantz at Friday December 21, 2007 at 8:01 PM
© 2007 SF Signal
Here's part one of the 1994 sci-fi comedy pilot Galaxy Beat starring Gregory Harrison, Tracy Scoggins, Roddy McDowall as "Voice of Cod" and Michael Dorn as "Voice of The Chief". Follow the YouTube links for the remaining parts. Or not.
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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday December 21, 2007 at 1:22 AM
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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday December 21, 2007 at 12:25 AM
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Posted by JP Frantz at Friday December 21, 2007 at 12:15 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
The December 2007 issue of Jim Baen's Universe (Issue #10, also known as Volume 2, Number 4) contains 13 pieces of short fiction and 7 non-fiction articles. Eleven of the stories are reviewed below. (I did not partake of the classic reprint "A Holy Terror" by Ambrose Bierce and the "Fish Story" serial by Dave Freer, Eric Flint and Andrew Dennis, now in its tenth episode.)
The issue was good overall, despite the poor impression left by the longest story. This speaks highly of the other stories, I think. That said, the only standout story was "Darwin's Suitcase," perhaps because time travel is a favorite sub-genre of mine and Elizabeth Malartre does it well.
Rounding out the issue were several articles including one by Mike Resnick wondering if there aren't too many Hugo categories, especially when relatively few awards are given to writers, the people for whom the award was created. There's also another "free fiction" article by Eric Flint, who makes a strong case against the naysayers of making science fiction freely available online.
Individual story reviews follow...
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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday December 20, 2007 at 2:24 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
If you're like me, then you're curious as to how film makers actually shoot the scenes that end up on the big screen. I find it fascinating all the mundane hard work that goes into making memorable scenes. Scenes like the opening to I Am Legend, where Will Smith is traipsing around a deserted New York in search of some venison on the hoof.
After seeing just how desolate the New York streets looked, I wondered how they managed to make them look that way. Along comes the New York Times' review of I Am Legend. If you look on the left hand side, about midway down, you'll see a section called 'Multimedia', with an 'interactive' video covering the opening sequence. Or, you can click here to launch the feature. Two tabs allow you to switch between the 'Video' of the scene, and the 'Commentary' by the director, Francis Lawrence. Lawrence goes into some detail on how they achieved the deserted look, which involved CGI and good old fashioned street closings. I can only imagine the traffic nightmare that caused in New York.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this look behind the scenes. Hopefully the DVD will go into more detail.
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Posted by JP Frantz at Thursday December 20, 2007 at 1:22 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday December 20, 2007 at 1:15 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
REVIEW SUMMARY: A schizophrenic, somewhat self-parodying story of parallel worlds, apocalypse and ancient civilizations.
MY RATING: ![]()
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: The Earth of Martin Winters is invaded by an alien species, an ancient civilization from a parallel world entering through gates opened during the 2012 age change, while Wylie Dale in a third parallel world tries to understand how he can know and write about these events without being there.
MY REVIEW
PROS: Imaginative apocalypse; action picks up the pace in the middle and end.
CONS: Starts slow, uneven beginning; little to no science explanations of many phenomena; somewhat contrived ending (could be related to 'no science')
BOTTOM LINE: An intriguing hypothesis of a possible apocalypse at year 2012, slowed down by jumps in point of view, characters that are difficult to care about and lack of hard science.
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Posted by Larry Ketchersid at Wednesday December 19, 2007 at 2:25 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday December 19, 2007 at 2:15 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

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Posted by JP Frantz at Wednesday December 19, 2007 at 12:35 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
Here's yet another look at some of the trailers I've encountered on these here intertubes.
First up, we have the trailer for Prince Caspian, the second movie in the Narnia franchise. I've always felt that the Narnia books aren't really 'widescreen' fantasy, but smaller, more personal stories. So it's interesting to see how the filmmakers are trying to make them epic in look and feel. I saw the first movie with my kids, and I know they'll want to see this one too.
Next up, a movie I had no idea was being made, 10000 B.C....
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Posted by JP Frantz at Tuesday December 18, 2007 at 10:58 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
It's Tuesday, so that means it's time for another Mind Meld question, where we grill those in the science fiction community on a question of interest. This time, a we ask a cross section of authors and editors our question.
Recently, Reuters ran a story (article here) about the internet and traditional book publishers. This gist being that, despite the easy availability of used books, the internet has actually helped publishers sell more new books.
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Posted by JP Frantz at Tuesday December 18, 2007 at 6:14 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
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Posted by JP Frantz at Tuesday December 18, 2007 at 12:54 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
I saw this trailer on the big screen when I saw I Am Legend. I'm kinda stoked to see it. Heath Ledger's Joker looks cool.
Anyone else think that instead of saying "Then you're gonna love me", Batman should have said "Wait'll you get a load of me" as a nod to Jack Nicholson's Joker?
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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday December 18, 2007 at 12:26 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday December 18, 2007 at 12:15 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
I got a chance to see I Am Legend on opening day. It was a work event that took place at Movie Tavern, one of those places where they serve you a meal while you're watching the movie.
Before I talk about the movie, I thought I'd talk about the venue because, well, it took away from the movie-going experience. I like to watch movies with no interruptions. (That's right guy-who-forgets-to-turn-off-cell-phone...I'm talking to you, too.) It's all about the immersion and I can't do that when I'm giving my order, keep looking at my plate, worrying about cutting my grilled chicken (tasty though it may be), looking for refills (stop watching the movie, hand the cup to the waiter, tell him what I'm drinking), etc. "Wait, did I just miss something on screen? Bah!" The reverse is also true - it's hard to appreciate a meal when you're trying to blindly shovel it in so you don't miss the movie. The bottom line, I suppose, is that meals are much more complicated than popcorn! Each experience (eating a meal, watching a movie) takes away from the other. You would think that the two experiences would complement one another, but it turns out they don't.
This is not a formal review of I Am Legend. There are a bazillion of those already. However, taking a cue from Peter Watts, I did think it was worthwhile to list my impressions.
*** SPOILER WARNING ***
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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday December 17, 2007 at 12:49 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday December 17, 2007 at 12:35 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
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Posted by JP Frantz at Monday December 17, 2007 at 12:27 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
Here are the results of the latest SF Signal poll.
QUESTION
Who's your favorite Joker?
RESULTS
| (94 total votes) |
"It's not fair to Heath Ledger on there when we haven't seen him yet-except for the lucky few who've seen the extended preview-and so we can't judge until after the movie is out. Repoll then!" - RachelBe sure to visit our front page and vote in this week's poll about online book reviews!
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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday December 17, 2007 at 12:00 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
Posthuman Blues uncovers the website Flying Saucers in pop culture, which features great cover scans of 4100+ books, comics and magazines...not to mention toys and other merchandising saucer images.
Simply awesome...
More after the jump...
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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday December 16, 2007 at 1:36 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday December 16, 2007 at 12:03 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
Let the hype begin...
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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday December 15, 2007 at 12:29 AM
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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday December 15, 2007 at 12:15 AM
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Posted by JP Frantz at Saturday December 15, 2007 at 12:02 AM
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Bonus: Shatner's quick jab at Buddy Hackett.
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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday December 14, 2007 at 12:28 AM
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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday December 14, 2007 at 12:16 AM
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Posted by JP Frantz at Friday December 14, 2007 at 12:10 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
We here at SF Signal love us some cool SF book covers, so should it be surprising that we (and by we I mean 'me') like cool SF movie posters? No! Recently we mentioned the worldwide posters for I Am Legend, which I thought were pretty cool.
In the past couple of days I've seen posters for three upcoming genre related movies, and I thought I'd look at them from the perspective of making someone interested in seeing the movie.
Read more...
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Posted by JP Frantz at Thursday December 13, 2007 at 7:04 PM
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Orbit is running a contest with this juicy 6-book prize to celebrate the release of the latest in the series, Metal Swarm. (Read an excerpt from chapter one of Metal Swarm right here.)
To enter for a chance to win, just send an email to [orbit at hbgusa dot com] with the words "The Saga of Seven Suns" in the subject line. A winner will be randomly chosen from eligible entries on December 17th.
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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday December 13, 2007 at 12:28 AM
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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday December 13, 2007 at 12:05 AM
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Author Terry Pratchett has been diagnosed with a rare form of early onset Alzheimer's. He posted the news in an open letter to fans at Paul Kidby's Discworld News:
Folks,[via Boing Boing and elsewhere]I would have liked to keep this one quiet for a little while, but because of upcoming conventions and of course the need to keep my publishers informed, it seems to me unfair to withhold the news. I have been diagnosed with a very rare form of early onset Alzheimer's, which lay behind this year's phantom "stroke".
We are taking it fairly philosophically down here and possibly with a mild optimism. For now work is continuing on the completion of Nation and the basic notes are already being laid down for Unseen Academicals. All other things being equal, I expect to meet most current and, as far as possible, future commitments but will discuss things with the various organisers. Frankly, I would prefer it if people kept things cheerful, because I think there's time for at least a few more books yet :o)
Terry Pratchett
PS I would just like to draw attention to everyone reading the above that this should be interpreted as 'I am not dead'. I will, of course, be dead at some future point, as will everybody else. For me, this maybe further off than you think - it's too soon to tell. I know it's a very human thing to say "Is there anything I can do", but in this case I would only entertain offers from very high-end experts in brain chemistry.
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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday December 12, 2007 at 3:38 PM
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Posted by JP Frantz at Wednesday December 12, 2007 at 12:59 AM
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REVIEW SUMMARY: A fine collection that surpasses most anthologies in entertainment value.
MY RATING: ![]()
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: 13 short stories, 9 of which are set in Hughes's Archonate universe (comprised of 6 Henghis Hapthorn stories and 3 Guth Bandar stories).
MY REVIEW:
PROS: 11 stories good or better, 5 of them outstanding; the Hapthorn stories make me want more.
CONS: 2 stories in the mediocre range.
BOTTOM LINE: A very good collection of science-fantasy stories that offers an enjoyable introduction to the Archonate universe and its creator.
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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday December 12, 2007 at 12:22 AM
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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday December 12, 2007 at 12:08 AM
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ManyBooks.net's latest batch of science fiction titles includes some revered classics:
Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon
At a moment when Europe is in danger of a catastrophe worse than that of 1914 a book like this may be condemned as a distraction from the desperately urgent defence of civilization against modern barbarism.The Ultimate Weapon by John W. Campbell, Jr.Year by year, month by month, the plight of our fragmentary and precarious civilization becomes more serious. Fascism abroad grows more bold and ruthless in its foreign ventures, more tyrannical toward its own citizens, more barbarian in its contempt for the life of the mind. Even in our own country we have reason to fear a tendency toward militarization and the curtailment of civil liberty. Moreover, while the decades pass, no resolute step is taken to alleviate the injustice of our social order. Our outworn economic system dooms millions to frustration.
The star Mira was unpredictably variable. Sometimes it was blazing, brilliant and hot. Other times it was oddly dim, cool, shedding little warmth on its many planets. Gresth Gkae, leader of the Mirans, was seeking a better star, one to which his "people" could migrate. That star had to be steady, reliable, with a good planetary system. And in his astronomical searching, he found Sol.Read more...With hundreds of ships, each larger than whole Terrestrial spaceports, and traveling faster than the speed of light, the Mirans set out to move in to Solar regions and take over.
And on Earth there was nothing which would be capable of beating off this incredible armada--until Buck Kendall stumbled upon THE ULTIMATE WEAPON.
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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday December 11, 2007 at 1:30 PM
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Welcome to what we hope is a long-running feature of SF Signal: The Mind Meld!
In this series of posts, we pose a single question to a slice of the sf/f community and, depending on the question, other folks as well. The idea is similar to the Brain Parade posts that used to appear on the long-defunct Meme Therapy blog. What we hope to get is an interesting cross-section of views and opinions that open a particular topic up for discussion. We'd love to hear what you think!
For now, let's begin this post's question:
Online reviewing at this point is a hopeful mess, rather than a hopeless one. A majority of it still has the validity of a late night bar conversation, or an offhanded phone call, blurting out undefended opinions, to which everyone is entitled. The hopeful sign is that a small portion of it is written to publishable print standards, and an even smaller portion is actually edited. That small portion is what publishers and sensible writers pay some attention to. Readers tend to find their own level, and as in contemporary politics, go where their own opinions are reflected back at them. That's the real mess part. So no one learns anything.
Read more...
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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday December 11, 2007 at 12:25 AM
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Posted by JP Frantz at Tuesday December 11, 2007 at 12:21 AM
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Bookslut has an interesting post asking the question: Where's the Sense in Sensawunda?:
I'm not sure what the point of science fiction is these days...
...
Sensawunda really needs both the awe and the comprehension, it needs both sides of the equation that links the fantastic and the real; but more and more we are looking for the wonder above the sense. That has always been a part of literature. Fantasy has its own rationalisations, its own rules and perspectives, but if the story in the end gives you that thrill of amazement it doesn't really matter if it doesn't make sense in terms of the world as we understand it. Indeed, it is often the point of fantasy that it should not conform to any expectations of our mundane reality. But science fiction isn't like that.Unfortunately, as we successively try to achieve that ever bigger hit of wonder, it's all too easy to throw in a god or a demon or a mystery man was not meant to know. Or we go the other way, we want to avoid the contention that sf is crossing over into fantasy, so we try to make it purely realist. We invent things like Mundane SF which is full of sense but has very little wonder.
Science fiction is a spectrum, it stretches between fantasy and realism and needs to be anchored in both. But more and more we see at one end of the spectrum fantasy and sf merging seamlessly, while at the other end realism appropriates, quite legitimately, the tropes of sf. In other words that unique affect that once upon a time made us love science fiction is now equally the province of fantasy and of realism. I'm not complaining, I've always loved the margins of genre precisely because of the productive way that different modes can feed upon each other. But still, science fiction's old unique selling point seems to have been lost, and I'm not altogether sure it has yet managed to find a new one.
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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday December 11, 2007 at 12:20 AM
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Oh boy do we have a doozy for you, right out of the gate. Machine Girl is a Japanese horror/action flick, with lots of yakuza, ninja and bllod. Warning! The trailer is very gory, if really cheesy. Think Kill Bill meets Grindhouse.
Next up, the new trailer for Jumper. I'm still undecided about this one.
And lastly, a fan made 'trailer' for The Dark Knight. Part of a viral campaign? You decide.
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Posted by JP Frantz at Tuesday December 11, 2007 at 12:10 AM
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The fascinating transcript of Doris Lessing's acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize is online. In it, she warns of a detrimental effect of the Internet:
We are in a fragmenting culture, where our certainties of even a few decades ago are questioned and where it is common for young men and women who have had years of education, to know nothing about the world, to have read nothing, knowing only some speciality or other, for instance, computers.What has happened to us is an amazing invention, computers and the internet and TV, a revolution. This is not the first revolution we, the human race, has dealt with. The printing revolution, which did not take place in a matter of a few decades, but took much longer, changed our minds and ways of thinking. A foolhardy lot, we accepted it all, as we always do, never asked "What is going to happen to us now, with this invention of print?" And just as we never once stopped to ask, How are we, our minds, going to change with the new internet, which has seduced a whole generation into its inanities so that even quite reasonable people will confess that once they are hooked, it is hard to cut free, and they may find a whole day has passed in blogging and blugging etc.
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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday December 11, 2007 at 12:06 AM
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You may have heard of Logorrhea, an anthology whose 21 stories are based on spelling bee words. Contributors include Tim Pratt, Daniel Abraham, Hal Duncan, Theodora Goss, Clare Dudman, Matthew Cheney, Jay Caselberg, Neil Williamson, Michael Moorcock, Michelle Richmond, Liz Williams, Paolo Bacigalupi, Anna Tambour, Leslie What, Alex Irvine, Marly Youmans, Alan DeNiro, Jay Lake, Elizabeth Hand, and David Prill and Jeff VanderMeer.
Jeff VanderMeer's contribution, the story "Appoggiatura", is special in that it also uses the other 20 words that for the basis of the other stories. Even better: "Appoggiatura" is now available as a serial podcast, with Jason Erik Lundberg reading each of the sub-entries. The book's editor, John Klima, has the handy index.
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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday December 11, 2007 at 12:04 AM
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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday December 11, 2007 at 12:02 AM
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REVIEW SUMMARY: A thrilling science fiction tale of eco-terrorism, Darkness Falls could be ripped from the headlines.
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Erin Neal is the world expert on using biotechnology to clean up a mess - especially oil. He's also become a hermit after his ex-girlfriend and now lives entirely off the grid in a remote part of New Mexico. When the US government comes asking for help he isn't interested, until it seems somebody has taken one of his ideas and twisted it to attack the world's dependence on oil.
MY REVIEW:
PROS: Thrilling plot; flawed characters
CONS: Not every action is believable; villain is merely pathetic and not evil
BOTTOM LINE: Fun pulp fiction that can help pass the time during the cold winter months.
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Posted by Scott Shaffer at Monday December 10, 2007 at 8:25 PM
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Pop Quiz: What does this commercial for Fruity Oaty Bars have to do with science fiction?
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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday December 10, 2007 at 12:54 AM
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Posted by JP Frantz at Monday December 10, 2007 at 12:38 AM
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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday December 10, 2007 at 12:11 AM
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| (140 total votes) |
"I only go green." - Christian J.Be sure to visit our front page and vote in this week's poll about your favorite Joker!
"A while back there was a porno called "Project Uranus" and it featured, among other things people having sex with blue women. How come they are not on the list?" - GeneralX
[John replies: Had I known about it, General X, I would have. Do you think I would intentionally miss the opportunity to put Uranus on a poll, as it were?]
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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday December 10, 2007 at 12:00 AM
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Apologies in advance, but there is a price to pay for having us troll the web for tidbits. Now it's time for you to pay the piper, so man up and take your medicine like a good little geek...
Most fans remember the monstrosity that was The Star Wars Holiday Special, but how many remember a Star Wars Christmas album?
In 1980, someone had the audacity to release Christmas in the Stars, a painful sound assault by Meco & the cast of Star Wars. Feast your ears on "What Can You Get a Wookie For Christmas (When He Already Owns a Comb)". And, if you're still alive afterwards, check out R2D2 singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". Listen to more samples at Amazon. I bet it will have you wishing you were in a galaxy far, far away.
In all my life I thought I would never actually prefer listening to Leonard Nimoy.
[via About:Blank]
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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday December 09, 2007 at 1:23 AM
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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday December 09, 2007 at 12:05 AM
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A trio of Thomas Tidbits for ya'...Earlier this year, I read Deadstock by Jeffrey Thomas, a book whose setting (the "crime-infested future city" of Punktown) makes you want more. In March of 2008, Solaris will be making Deadstock available as a free download just in time for the release of the sequel, Blue War.
Fantasy Book Critic interviews Jeffrey Thomas:
Anything can happen in Punktown. Behind every window of every apartment there is someone plotting a murder or mourning a loved one, beginning a romance or contemplating a crime. So many different alien races coexist there with the Earth colonists who established that vast city, and their cultural interactions are a fascinating topic for me. Punktown is ultimately a distorted mirror reflection of our own world, today, and how can one tire of that? I don't want to be constrained to only my Punktown setting, but if I was forced by some ironclad (and lucrative) contract, I could still deal with it easily. I can set any type of story within Punktown's borders.
Jeffrey Thomas was also interviewed by SciFi Chick:
My experiences in Vietnam inspired me greatly through the writing of Blue War, as will be very apparent to its readers. The similarities to Vietnam of the novel's setting are not a lazy device I'm trying to sneak past the reader, but something I chose very deliberately to do for thematic reasons. And you know, in the end I just want to share my great enthusiasm for that country. I want to shake your arm and say, "Hey, I saw this place that's so different from here -- let me tell you about it!" It's that impulse that makes me a writer in the first place.
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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday December 08, 2007 at 7:09 AM
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Amidst another controversy, Andrew Burt has stepped down as head of SFWA's Copyright Committee, to be replaced by Russell Davis. (See also Davis's statement on the matter.)
Many have been vocal about Burt's removal, so I found interesting this perspective from Peter Glaskowsky at CNet, who likens Burt to the persecuted Spiderman:
So there we have it. Burt doesn't look anything like Spider-Man, but he's had about the same effect--the streets get cleaned up at the cost of a few sticky bits left hanging around. And what's his reward? A few loudmouths are demanding his arrest and summary execution.[Initial links via John Scalzi and Andrew Wheeler]If you aren't impressed by this analogy yet, you have to compare this drawing of J. Jonah Jameson with this photo of Cory Doctorow.
Doctorow ought to know better. Even if he prefers to distribute his writings free of charge and make his living another way, he should show more respect for the right of other writers to sell their work. He should be supporting SFWA, not book pirates and those who protect them. And that goes for all the other SFWA members who've been giving SFWA grief over Burt's actions, too.
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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday December 08, 2007 at 1:08 AM
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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday December 08, 2007 at 1:07 AM
© 2007 SF Signal
We now have our two winners for the I Am Legend premiere tickets for Tuesday evening. They are:
Andrew W.
Joshua L.
Congratulations guys, your tickets should be winging their way to you very shortly. Have fun at the premiere and if you take pictures, let us know where they are so we can all oogle them.
I want to thank everyone who participated. Hopefully we'll have more of this sort of thing in the future.
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Posted by JP Frantz at Friday December 07, 2007 at 10:56 AM
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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday December 07, 2007 at 1:22 AM
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