SF Tidbits for 4/6/06

By John DeNardo | Thursday, April 6th, 2006 at 12:45 am

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Ian MacLeod Ken MacLeod talks to SciFi Wire about his award-nominated book Learning the World.
Andrew Wheeler re-posts an old but interesting piece on space opera.
Asking the Wrong Questions reviews the 2006 Hugo novella shortlist.
New SF reference book explores “Old West” themes in sf: Science Fiction And The American West. [via patahistory]
Michael A. Burstein has created LiveJournal communities for the sf magazines Analog, Asimov’s and Fantasy and Science Fiction.
Nick Sagan’s favorite drama TV shows. [via Chris McLaren]
From 1975: Stanislaw Lem on Philip K. Dick. [via Cynical-C]
Wired gives an update on the missing head of the Philip K. Dick android. [via Gravity Lens]

SF Tidbits for 4/4/06

By John DeNardo | Tuesday, April 4th, 2006 at 11:44 pm

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SciFiWeekly interviews James Morrow, author of The Last Witchfinder and This is the Way the World Ends.
Jeff VanderMeer interviews John Scalzi. [via Locus Online]
Far Sector’s Shaun Farrell interviews Vernor Vinge. [via Locus Online]
New MemeTherapy episode on Transhumanism featuring Dr. James Hughes, the executive director of the World Transhumanist Association.
A list of fictional diseases, many from science fiction. [via Gravity Lens]

SF Tidbits for 4/3/06

By John DeNardo | Monday, April 3rd, 2006 at 12:51 pm

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Markosia Comics is publishing his Starship Troopers: Blaze of Glory, a four-issue miniseries based on Robert A. Heinlein’s classic SF novel Starship Troopers. [via SciFiWire]
Casting suggestions for Wonder Woman: Top 5 Choices to Play Wonder Woman by GeekZine and 7 Actresses who Should Not Play Wonder Woman via Cinematical.
Counting Heads author Dave Marusek will be getting a collection of short fiction published.
A survey from Claw of the Conciliator blog: “Science Fiction, Fantasy and Faith” parts one, two and three.
A couple of SF/F articles from Publisher’s Weekly: Fantasy Goes Literary and Too Geeky for Its Own Good? (this second one on the Itzkoff flap) [Links via Mumpsimus]

SF Tidbits for 4/2/06

By John DeNardo | Sunday, April 2nd, 2006 at 1:39 pm

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SciFi Dimensions profiles Harlan Ellison.
SF Crowsnest interviews Peter F. Hamilton.
The April 2006 Runcible Ansible.
William Shunn sees some parallels between sf and Steinbeck’s East of Eden.
How to write alternate history like Harry Turtledove.

SF Tidbits for 4/1/06

By John DeNardo | Saturday, April 1st, 2006 at 12:01 am

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Superman goes 3D-IMAX.
First there was the parody called the The Mootrix. Now there is the educational/propagandish The Meatrix. [via Future Fire]
Legendary visual-effects guru Ray Harryhausen will receive the George Pal Memorial Award at the upcoming 32nd annual Saturn Awards. [via SciFi Wire]
Website exhibit: 2001: A Space Odyssey.
John announces that he’s given up on his New Year’s reading resolution, instead deciding to devote himself to planting as many plants as possible. He’ll get 1 point for an annual, 2 points for a perennial, and 3 points for a shrubbery.
SF Author Tobias S. Buckell wants to know your favorite book title.
More Buckell news: he serves as editor to the health-related blog Health Tracker. [via PR Web]

SF Tidbits for 3/30/06

By John DeNardo | Thursday, March 30th, 2006 at 7:51 pm

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A Gallery of Sound Effect Balloons from the Batman TV series.
Genetopia author Keith Brooke reminisces about John Christopher’s Tripods Trilogy.
Humor piece from the Onion: Science-Fiction Novel Posits Future Where Characters Are Hastily Sketched.
SciFi Fembot’s Must-See Sci-Fi TV.
Walter “Chekov” Koenig’s gets his book, Buck Alice and the Actor-Robot, published after 18 years. [via Slice of Sci-Fi]
Free Online Story: “The Chiaroscurist” by Hal Duncan.

SF Tidbits for 3/29/06

By John DeNardo | Wednesday, March 29th, 2006 at 7:02 am

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It’s the 50th anniversary of the film Forbidden Planet.
Vernor “Singularity” Vinge considers the Internet of 2025. [via The Other Here]
Richard Dean Anderson will make a return appearance on StarGate: SG1.
Are you an Iain M. Banks fan? Check out notes on Banks’ Culture novels. Or, see a list of Culture ship names.
A PDF interview with Ellen Datlow from Shimmer magazine. [via Locus Online]
Analog Science Fiction and Fact will serialize Robert J. Sawyer’s 17th novel, Rollback, in four installments, beginning with the October issue. [via SciFi Wire]
Here are some artistic representations of cyberspace.

SF Tidbits for 3/27/06

By John DeNardo | Monday, March 27th, 2006 at 10:32 pm

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RIP: Stanislaw Lem. [via Locus Online]
Wired list the The Best Sci-Fi Concept Albums. [via Big Dumb Object]
A history of the British Science Fiction Book Club. [via HubBub]
Joss Whedon wouldn’t mind putting TV Wonder Woman Lynda Carter in his upcoming Wonder Woman movie, but only if it’s right and doesn’t pull viewers out of the movie.
Stephen King likes Battlestar Galactica, saying it’s “a beautifully written show, driven by character…there’s not a better acting troupe at work on television” and it’s “far better than Star Trek, in any of its incarnations.” Hmmm, I’m sure that sits well with Trek fans.
Ed Gorman offers a piece on Richard Matheson.
HomeVideo.com’s list of Great Sci-Fi Movies.
Listen to the original radio broadcast adaptation of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds. [via del.icio.us]

SF Tidbits for 3/24/06

By John DeNardo | Friday, March 24th, 2006 at 3:48 pm

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Peter Jackson’s King Kong will be the first title available from Universal Pictures’ upcoming download-to-own service. [via SciFi Wire]
Minnesota Stories video-interviews Bruce Sterling who talks Spime. (Relatively long download.)
Locus Online offers an excerpt of Gary K. Wolfe’s Hugo Award-nominated Soundings: Reviews 1992-1996.
Paizo Publications announces the official cancellation of Amazing Stories. [via Locus Online]
Voting begins for the Spaceys, Canada’s only sci-fi and fantasy television awards show.
SFRevu interviews Ken MacLeod, author of the Hugo-nominated Learning the World.
Wikipedia’s List of Fiction Inspired by Dune.

SF Tidbits for 3/23/06

By John DeNardo | Thursday, March 23rd, 2006 at 3:51 pm

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According to Variety, Universal has picked up the rights to adapt Alfred Bester’s sf classic The Stars My Destination. [via Cinematical]
A Serenity system map.
42 Things You Should Know About The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Ray Bradbury’s favorite Bradbury book is Dandelion Wine.
H.P Lovecraft’s fantasies (including Cthulhu) have been turned into “a baroque musical cabaret named Mountains of Madness.” [Link via Mumpsimus]
Alan DeNiro reviews Cordwainer Smith’s “Mother Hitton’s Littul Kittons” [See SF Signal's reviewlette. Link via Mumpsimus]

SF Tidbits for 3/22/06

By John DeNardo | Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006 at 4:02 pm

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Sci Fi meets Shakespeare in Return to the Forbidden Planet.
Listen to Cory Doctorow’s Guest of Honor speech from Boskone.
Firefly‘s Nathan Fillion and Elizabeth Banks talk about their new movie Slither. Cookies required. [via Whedonesque]
Radiohead is contributing to the soundtrack for Richard Linklater’s upcoming Philip K. Dick adaptation, A Scanner Darkly.
In response to Itzkoff, The Slush God asks “What are your top ten SF novels written by women?” and “What are your top ten SF novels written by people of color?”
Entertainment Weekly works towards a unified theory of Lost.

SF Tidbits for 3/21/06

By John DeNardo | Tuesday, March 21st, 2006 at 1:12 am

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The Top 6 Groovy Sci-Fi Movies from the Age of Aquarius from About.com.
SciFiWeekly site of the week: Emerald City.
Tobias S. Buckell (author of Crystal Rain) interviews Chris Roberson (author of Here, There & Everywhere. [via Locus Online]
The Dragon Page podcast-interviews Jeff VanderMeer. [via Locus Online]
Popcorn Picnic show George Lucas’s interpretation of Serenity and the real reason for changing the “Han shoots Greedo” scene. [via Club Jade]

SF Tidbits for 3/20/06

By John DeNardo | Monday, March 20th, 2006 at 11:28 am

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Underground Online’s Top 11 Spaceships. [via Cynical-C]
M. John Harrison, author of the well-received Light, has a sequel coming: Nova Swing. [via Jonathan Strahan]
Walter Jon Williams is auctioning a part in his next book.
A brief history of Doctor Who from the LA Times.
SFFWorld interviews Ken MacLeod.
Tune into I-Sci-Fi Internet radio on Thursday 3/23/2006 at 9:30 EST to hear an interview with Sten co-author Allan Cole about Lords Of Terror, which he co-authored with Russian fantasy master, Nick Perumov. [via SFWA]
A new eZine on the horizon: Frozen Star SF. [via specficmarkets]
The Speculist interviews Tobias S. Buckell, author of Crystal Rain. [via the author's blog]

SF Tidbits for 3/18/06

By John DeNardo | Saturday, March 18th, 2006 at 5:54 pm

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Fictional character Dr. Susan Calvin (from Asimov’s robot stories) has a wikipedia entry.
Oh look! So does R. Daneel Olivaw and R. Giskard Reventlov and Hari Seldon and Elijah Baley and The Mule as do a host of Asimov’s Robot Stories.
The creators of Family Guy get an OK from LucasFilm before doing Star Wars jokes on the show. [from Club Jade]
Article digitizing books: What Do You Do with a Million Books? [via O'Reilly Radar]
A list of Sci-Fi Channel blogs.
Here is a list of Science Fiction and Fantasy set in Ireland. (This might have been better to post yesterday on St. Patrick’s Day itself. Oh well, better late than never!)

SF Tidbits for 3/17/06

By John DeNardo | Friday, March 17th, 2006 at 12:45 pm

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Casting begins for the adaptation of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy.
Three interviews in one podcast: Timothy Zahn, Aaron Allston, and Mike Stackpole. [via Club Jade]
Philly.com interviews John Scalzi.
SF Site interviews Keith Brooke, author of Genetopia.
A compendium of Analog‘s Alternate Views column by sf author John G. Cramer. [via del.icio.us]
Dark Horizons interviews Nathan Fillion (Slither, Serenity).
Daily Kos looks at SETI and extra-terrestrials.

SF Tidbits for 3/15/06

By John DeNardo | Wednesday, March 15th, 2006 at 5:52 pm

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Albert Einstein hated science fiction.
Far Sector [formerly Deep Outside SFFH] interviews Timothy Zahn and interviews Martha Wells. [via Locus Online]
Robert J. Sawyer’s Hugo Award-winning Hominids is nominated for Ontario Library Association Award. [via Sawyer's blog]
Arthur C. Clarke urges Sri Lanka not to revert time.
Bruce Sterling laments the state of the world.

SF Tidbits for 3/14/06

By John DeNardo | Tuesday, March 14th, 2006 at 5:02 pm

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The Washington Post looks at Weird Tales magazine. [via Emerald City]
A collection of online fiction from Steampunk.com.
Cory Doctorow is podcastng his short story “Nimby and the D-Hoppers”. Here’s Part One.
Holtzbrinck Podcasts this week: Titan by Ben Bova and Xenocide by Orson Scott Card.
Producer Rick McCallum on Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

SF Tidbits for 3/13/06

By John DeNardo | Monday, March 13th, 2006 at 4:10 pm

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Reminder: Friday 3/17 is the 2-hour U.S. premiere of Doctor Who on the Sci-Fi Channel.
SciFi Wire has an interview with Chris Roberson and his upcoming novel Iron Jaw and Hummingbird.
Slush God provides some cutting-room-floor extra juicy bits from his SciFi Wire interview with Ian McDonald.
Joss Whedon’s Wonder Woman script is nearing completion.
One for Pete: Women of Sci-Fi Calendar. [via SciFi Scoundrels]

SF Tidbits for 3/10/06

By John DeNardo | Friday, March 10th, 2006 at 12:54 pm

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Ian McDonald talks about his Hugo Award-nominated book River of Gods, whose first U.S. edition appears this month.
An update on the Star Wars TV projects.
Wired magazine has a feature, Trouble in Toontown, on the upcoming Philip K. Dick adaptation A Scanner Darkly. And then there’s 10 Reasons Keanu Rules.
Today marks the anniversary of the day that Amazing Stories went on sale. (Coincidentally, I found a few old issues at the local bookstore this week that I scooped up.)
The next Hellboy movie will be called Hellboy 2: The Golden Army.
Season 3 of Battlestar Galactica will begin in October and have 20-episodes.

SF Tidbits for 3/8/06

By John DeNardo | Wednesday, March 8th, 2006 at 12:52 pm

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Does the world really need another Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie?
New X-Men trailer. [via Club Jade]
Young SF imprint Pyr is celebrating its first birthday.
Universal has released an expletive-laden behind-the-scenes preview of their upcoming horror/comedy movie Slither. Bothe Both the movie and preview feature Firefly‘s/Serenity‘s Nathan Fillian. [via Cinema Blend]
In the Asimov’s Forum: The Greatest Sci-Fi FIlms of All Time.
PopSci’s Movie Awards: The Good, the Bad and the Highly Implausible.