[SF/F/H Link Post] Disney Star Wars Land Coming; Kazuo Ishiguro; Why Star Wars Still Matters
Interviews & Profiles
- The Cosy Dragon interviews Piers Platt, author of Rath’s Deception.
- Dab of Darkness interviews Michelle Murrain, author of Friends with Wings.
- Examiner interviews Russell James, author of Q Island.
- Indie Author News interviews John Gaiserich, author of The Prelapsarians.
- Lawrence M. Schoen interviews Lawrence M. Schoen, author of Barsk.
- My Bookish Ways interviews Jonathan Green, author of Ulysses Quicksilver.
- My Writer’s Journey interviews Laura Woodswalker, author of Tesla’s Signal.
News
- Disneyland to temporarily close 14% of attractions to build Star Wars land. More.
- John Scalzi explains why his next novel won’t be out until 2017.
- NASA’s Mars 2030 virtual reality software to put users on the Red Planet.
Events & Event News
- Actor Mike Mundy will appear at Nerdtropolis Comics in Ormond Beach, FL on Saturday January 9th from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM. Mike Mundy played a walker/zombie in Season 2 and Season 3 of The Walking Dead and will appear in the upcoming movie “Keeping Up With The Joneses.”
- PartyCon in Breinigsville, PA is half convention, half social meetup, and 100% rockin’ New Years celebration! In addition to the New Years party essentials like live music, tasty food, drinks, and dancing, we’ve added tabletop gaming, video game tournaments, anime screenings, and of course, lots of cosplay. You’ll also be able to meet comic artists, sci-fi authors, and buy awesome merchandise from dozens of vendors.
Crowd Funding
- Deus Hex Machina – A devout hacker collaborates with a streetwise gang leader to investigate magic in dystopic Orange County.
- Kirk Lindo’s VAMPRESS LUXURA: THE MONSTER’S GAUNTLET – Luxura must battle Zombies, Werewolves, Amphibian Creatures and the Reanimated in order to remain the ruling Vampress of New York!
- The Reaper Event – The Reaper Virus has unleashed a zombie apocalypse of unimaginable horror. This is the most frightening zombie novel you’ll ever read.
Articles
- TV Review: The Expanse Is More Exciting Than Leviathan Wakes.
- 7 Reasons Why Star Wars Still Matters.
- 9 things Starship Troopers totally nailed about today’s technology.
- 10 Things We Would Like To See In Star Wars Episode 8.
- 13 Story Ideas That Were Dropped from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
- Admit it: Star Wars: The Force Awakens stinks — and here’s why.
- The Best Science Fiction Writers on Earth May Be Chinese Scientists: The world’s most populous country is obsessed with promoting incredibly speculative research.
- Blastr on The best movies of 2015: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Mad Max: Fury Road, Ex Machina and more
- Can Hermione be black? What a stupid question. The Guardian on Harry Potter and the contradictions about racial justice.
- Cinelinx on Science Fiction and the Best Picture Oscar.
- CinemaBlend on The 5 Best Sci-Fi Movies Of 2015.
- The Confused Notes of a Star Wars Newbie Compelled to See The Force Awakens.
- Drones, the Robot Revolution and a Star Wars Society.
- How Hayden Christensen Was Supposed to Appear in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
- How Star Wars Shaped the U.S. Military according to The Daily Beast.
- The Importance of Diversity Even in A Galaxy Far, Far Away.
- Kazuo Ishiguro: roaring giant or sleeping dragon?
- Pop Matters argues that The Year’s Best Science Fiction Movie Wasn’t Star Wars
- A Rey of Sunshine: HuffPo on the female lead of The Force Awakens.
- Scientists on their favourite science fiction.
- Sky readers: For most of human history, the stars told us where we were in space and time. Have we forgotten how to look up?
- What Science Fiction Movie or Novel Is Most Prescient Today?
- Who Star Wars’ Supreme Leader Snoke Might Actually Be.
Art
- An assortment of awesome Star Wars: The Force Awakens Posters by Aleksandr Kuskov, Carlos Lerma, Eric Tan, Kaz Oomori, and Nestor Marinero.
- Check out this painstakingly assembled Gingerbread BB-8.
- Hubert Rogers’ Astounding Covers — And His Fascinating Correspondence with Robert A. Heinlein and L. Sprague de Camp.
- This Boba Fett Xbox One Controller by End of Line Designs sold for $500 on eBay.
More Fun Stuff
- Here’s How Captain Phasma Got Her Silver Armor.
- “It’s OK to Put Star Wars Toys on Your Desk When They’re Fancy $2,000 Pens“… is a sentence that will absolutely never come out of your wife’s mouth.
- The Models and Miniatures of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner: A Behind-the-Scenes Gallery.
- This one-minute visualization on space junk reveals a serious problem.
- Watch the New X-Files Footage that’s making us forget all about Star Wars.
Two comments since comments are not allowed beyond their respective links.
1. I understand Hilzik’s point about Star Wars as commodity, but in the end, it’s about entertaining people, not creating “art”. In any case, art is in the eye of the beholder. I don’t think Mr. Hilzik has been elected the decider for all people.
2. I suppose if Alexander Hamilton can be Hispanic, Hermoine can be black. Then again, I’m working on a script about Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Both will be played by Swedes.