I have received my itinerary for NorWesCon.
Saturday, April 11
The Blogger Effect 11:00 AM Cascade 5
Has blogging ruined the fine art of editing? What do we gain with publishing spontaneous writing? And what do we lose? There is a growing network of SF/F professional and aspiring writers connected via LiveJournal and other blogging communities. Is it breaking down the barriers between pro, amateur, and fan-ficcer? Does it function as an informal online writers' workshop, as a support group, or a black hole of cat-vacuuming?
Josh Palmatier, Mark Henry, Michael Martinez, Gordon Van Gelder
Comparative Study: Elves 1:00 PM Cascade 8
Delicate, beautiful, graceful...deadly. Light Elves versus Dark, Night versus Blood, what is it about these diametrically opposing forces that draw us to them? Is it simply easy storytelling or is it representative of the dichotomy within each of us? Or both? Come ready to discuss elves in context of opposing sides in literature and gaming.
Dave Butler, Michael Martinez, Ciandi Stephens
On the Fringe 3:00 PM Cascade 10
Have the creators of Lost created a new winner?
Chris Nilsson, Ryan K. Johnson, Michael Martinez
Using Fantasy and Science Fiction to Engage the Next Generation 4:00 PM Cascade 7
With the competition presented by computers, TV, and the myriad of animated gaming devices, K-12 educators are intensely interested in finding new ways to engage their students’ interest. Members of SF&F fandom, are invited to take part in brainstorming ways to improve educational approaches for the future using Science Fiction and Fantasy themes as a jumping-off point.
Spring Shoenhuth, Craig Figley, Eva-Lise Carlstrom, Miki Garrison, Michael Martinez
Comparative Study: Orcs 5:00 PM Cascade 5
They are easily recognizable by their green, grey or brown skin, tusks and fangs...not to mention the fact that they are almost definitely trying to kill you. Orcs have haunted our nightmares (and therefore, our stories) for decades, but what do these creatures have in common with each other? Comparing Tolkein, Salvatore and other literary works with games such as Warhammer and Warcraft, this panel analyzes the origins and history of Fantasy's favorite barbarian horde.
Dave Butler, Michael Martinez, Chris Pramas, Dylan S.
Tolkien Has a Lot to Answer For 7:00 PM Cascade 4
With Lord of the Rings, Tolkien established the fantasy genre and many of the current fantasy traditions. Has this now hindered the growth of the fantasy genre?
Michael Martinez, Jeff Grubb, Eric Mona
Sunday, April 12
The Fannish Community On Line 10:00 AM Cascade 8
From parsing every detail of every sci fi and fantasy script out of Hollywood to debates on production stills for movies that don't come out for another year, on-line fandom has become a force to be reckoned with and even courted. With threats of boycott of Twentieth Century Fox over Watchman as an example, how will fandom use its online power to advance the cause of science fiction and fantasy?
Ryan K. Johnson, Michael Martinez, Amanda Cherry, Leo Roberts
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Civilian colonization of the Moon in planning stages
It seems kind of hard to believe, but apparently some private researchers and space corporations are teaming up to colonize the moon.
The press release for Synergy Moon does not go into all the legal barriers such a project will have to overcome. One cannot simply go out and lay claim to the Moon. International treaty law has extended some reservations to Luna similar to those covering Antarctica.
Permanent colonization and nationalistic claims are forbidden, believe it or not. So clearly the people behind this forward-looking project either believe they will be able to resolve the legal complications or else they are not yet aware that you cannot simply start building houses on the Moon.
I did write about a similar topic a few years ago when I proposed how to steal the planet Venus. The international treaty governing our use of the Moon and "other celestial bodies" stipulates that while the U.S. government cannot lay claim to the Moon it can grant you or me permission to go forth and colonize.
What's the difference? Well, legally, the U.S. cannot go to war with other nations over the Moon -- this country has no right to lay claim to the Moon. But we can still go to war with other nations in order to protect our citizens who may be colonizing the Moon.
Moon colonies are still the stuff of science fiction but the fact that anyone is seriously proposing to establish a permanent colony on the Moon raises some interesting issues. International law has been impacted by a small case in the United Kingdom in which the UK courts sided with a family that claimed sovereignty over an abandoned ship -- arguing that the United Kingdom had committed "dereliction of sovereignty".
In other words, the United Kingdom neglected to look after territory over which it originally had sovereign rights -- thus freeing up that territory to claim by any other source. While there probably won't be any intentional dereliction of sovereignty claims made for the Moon, as soon as people have the ability to launch their own space missions they will begin carving up the Solar System in an interplanetary land grab the likes of which will never be seen again.
Things could become very interesting over the next 20 years.
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
The press release for Synergy Moon does not go into all the legal barriers such a project will have to overcome. One cannot simply go out and lay claim to the Moon. International treaty law has extended some reservations to Luna similar to those covering Antarctica.
Permanent colonization and nationalistic claims are forbidden, believe it or not. So clearly the people behind this forward-looking project either believe they will be able to resolve the legal complications or else they are not yet aware that you cannot simply start building houses on the Moon.
I did write about a similar topic a few years ago when I proposed how to steal the planet Venus. The international treaty governing our use of the Moon and "other celestial bodies" stipulates that while the U.S. government cannot lay claim to the Moon it can grant you or me permission to go forth and colonize.
What's the difference? Well, legally, the U.S. cannot go to war with other nations over the Moon -- this country has no right to lay claim to the Moon. But we can still go to war with other nations in order to protect our citizens who may be colonizing the Moon.
Moon colonies are still the stuff of science fiction but the fact that anyone is seriously proposing to establish a permanent colony on the Moon raises some interesting issues. International law has been impacted by a small case in the United Kingdom in which the UK courts sided with a family that claimed sovereignty over an abandoned ship -- arguing that the United Kingdom had committed "dereliction of sovereignty".
In other words, the United Kingdom neglected to look after territory over which it originally had sovereign rights -- thus freeing up that territory to claim by any other source. While there probably won't be any intentional dereliction of sovereignty claims made for the Moon, as soon as people have the ability to launch their own space missions they will begin carving up the Solar System in an interplanetary land grab the likes of which will never be seen again.
Things could become very interesting over the next 20 years.
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Plasma rockets no longer just science fiction
Everyone knows our rocket technology sucks big time. How can we expect to go exploring the stars if we can't even efficiently move around the Solar System? Well, science and technology have begun catching up to our imaginations.
Scientists at MIT have developed the Mini-Helicon Plasma Thruster, a propulsion system that produces ten times as much thrust as current rocket technologies using nitrogen instead of oxygen and hydrogen.
Although it would seem like we have an abundance of oxygen and hydrogen to burn in our rockets, two-thirds of our atmosphere consists of nitrogen. We'll be able to produce nitrogen fuels more efficiently than oxygen and hydrogen fuels.
We've only just introduced an Ion Propulsion System which is being used by the Dawn interplanetary exploratory spacecraft. Dawn's Ion drive is actually faster than the chemical rockets we've been using to fling stuff around the Solar System. It sounds like the Plasma drive will be even faster.
Maybe using a hybrid Plasma/Ion drive we'll be able to conduct space missions to the edge of the Solar System and develop a more efficient interplanetary transportation technology -- perhaps even one capable of supporting space colonies.
There is a slight long-term impact on our atmosphere. If we launched 1,000 nitrogen-burning rockets every day, we would gradually reduce our atmosphere, although most scientists would probably argue that we'll have an even more efficient propulsion system long before any significant harm comes of fueling 1,000 rockets a day.
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
Scientists at MIT have developed the Mini-Helicon Plasma Thruster, a propulsion system that produces ten times as much thrust as current rocket technologies using nitrogen instead of oxygen and hydrogen.
Although it would seem like we have an abundance of oxygen and hydrogen to burn in our rockets, two-thirds of our atmosphere consists of nitrogen. We'll be able to produce nitrogen fuels more efficiently than oxygen and hydrogen fuels.
We've only just introduced an Ion Propulsion System which is being used by the Dawn interplanetary exploratory spacecraft. Dawn's Ion drive is actually faster than the chemical rockets we've been using to fling stuff around the Solar System. It sounds like the Plasma drive will be even faster.
Maybe using a hybrid Plasma/Ion drive we'll be able to conduct space missions to the edge of the Solar System and develop a more efficient interplanetary transportation technology -- perhaps even one capable of supporting space colonies.
There is a slight long-term impact on our atmosphere. If we launched 1,000 nitrogen-burning rockets every day, we would gradually reduce our atmosphere, although most scientists would probably argue that we'll have an even more efficient propulsion system long before any significant harm comes of fueling 1,000 rockets a day.
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Remembering Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea
Before we had William Shatner as Captain Kirk we had Walter Pigeon as Admiral Nelson. Before we had the Enterprise's five year mission to seek out new life, new civilizations, we had the Seaview, seeking out new perils under the sea.
I came across this whimsical trip down Irwin Allen lane, a retrospective on the movie ("Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea") that inspired one of the biggest science fiction television shows of the 1960s. My sense of nostalgia could not help but respond.
You can watch the original trailer for the movie here:
The television show starred Richard Basehart as Admiral Nelson and David Hedison as Captain Lee Crane (hm...reminds me of Lee Adama in David Moore's re-imagined Battlestar Galactica). I loved watching this show almost as much as I loved watching Star Trek. Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea ran from 1964 to 1968 so there was some overlap between the two shows (and with Lost In Space).
During those happy childhood years my brother and I watched The Green Hornet, Batman, and Bonanza faithfully every week. We also loved F Troop and Gilligan's Island. Most of these shows only lasted 2 or 3 seasons, if even that long. It was tough, being a science fiction TV fan in the 1960s.
I never even knew about blooper reels until the late 1970s. I found some VTTBOTS bloopers on YouTube, naturally:
David Hedison was one of those actors who seemed to turn up as a guest star on every possible show in the 1970s and 1980s. He appeared in six episodes of Fantasy Island and even made a guest appearance on Knight Rider. Richard Basehart also had a connection with Knight Rider -- he played Wilton Knight, the dying millionaire who gave David Hasselhoff a kickstart as the first Michael Knight. Basehart did the voiceover for the opening credits of the show ("One man CAN make a difference").
Well, I'm sure there are Voyage fans who are far more hardcore than me. Submarine science fiction is not exactly a huge sub-genre but there have been a few movies and television series that might have appealed to the same crowd: Seaquest 2020 (a Saturday morning cartoon from 1973 or thereabouts), Sequest DSV (a live action television series), and "Around The World Under The Sea" (a movie starring Lloyd Bridges, who had starred in the scuba diving television show Sea Hunt).
Bridges, you may recall, played the original Admiral Cain on the first Battlestar Galactica series. Another science fiction star appeared in six episodes of Sea Hunt: Leonard Nimoy (Spock on Star Trek) had a recurring role as Indio. Larry Hagman (I Dream of Jeannie's Major Nelson and Dallas' J.R. Ewing) appeared in 3 episodes of Sea Hunt. Okay, a LOT of people appeared on Sea Hunt. No need to name them all.
It's been a fun walk down memory lane, but if I stray too far I may never come back.
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
I came across this whimsical trip down Irwin Allen lane, a retrospective on the movie ("Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea") that inspired one of the biggest science fiction television shows of the 1960s. My sense of nostalgia could not help but respond.
You can watch the original trailer for the movie here:
The television show starred Richard Basehart as Admiral Nelson and David Hedison as Captain Lee Crane (hm...reminds me of Lee Adama in David Moore's re-imagined Battlestar Galactica). I loved watching this show almost as much as I loved watching Star Trek. Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea ran from 1964 to 1968 so there was some overlap between the two shows (and with Lost In Space).
During those happy childhood years my brother and I watched The Green Hornet, Batman, and Bonanza faithfully every week. We also loved F Troop and Gilligan's Island. Most of these shows only lasted 2 or 3 seasons, if even that long. It was tough, being a science fiction TV fan in the 1960s.
I never even knew about blooper reels until the late 1970s. I found some VTTBOTS bloopers on YouTube, naturally:
David Hedison was one of those actors who seemed to turn up as a guest star on every possible show in the 1970s and 1980s. He appeared in six episodes of Fantasy Island and even made a guest appearance on Knight Rider. Richard Basehart also had a connection with Knight Rider -- he played Wilton Knight, the dying millionaire who gave David Hasselhoff a kickstart as the first Michael Knight. Basehart did the voiceover for the opening credits of the show ("One man CAN make a difference").
Well, I'm sure there are Voyage fans who are far more hardcore than me. Submarine science fiction is not exactly a huge sub-genre but there have been a few movies and television series that might have appealed to the same crowd: Seaquest 2020 (a Saturday morning cartoon from 1973 or thereabouts), Sequest DSV (a live action television series), and "Around The World Under The Sea" (a movie starring Lloyd Bridges, who had starred in the scuba diving television show Sea Hunt).
Bridges, you may recall, played the original Admiral Cain on the first Battlestar Galactica series. Another science fiction star appeared in six episodes of Sea Hunt: Leonard Nimoy (Spock on Star Trek) had a recurring role as Indio. Larry Hagman (I Dream of Jeannie's Major Nelson and Dallas' J.R. Ewing) appeared in 3 episodes of Sea Hunt. Okay, a LOT of people appeared on Sea Hunt. No need to name them all.
It's been a fun walk down memory lane, but if I stray too far I may never come back.
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
Monday, March 9, 2009
New Star Trek trailer now online
This one was worth waiting for. We get to see a lot more action, hear a lot more dialogue, and understand the basic storyline a little bit better.
To say this movie is looking better than ever is to make the proverbial understatement. I am so pumped and ready for the new Trek movie. It doesn't have to answer any great questions. It doesn't even have to follow any fan-guided canonical paths.
All it has to do is deliver a new vision of Star Trek that makes sense and entertains.
Yes, it would be nice to have William Shatner involved -- but there's nothing we can do about that now (unless J.J. Abrams asks Shatner to do some sort of voiceover, which would be nice).
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
To say this movie is looking better than ever is to make the proverbial understatement. I am so pumped and ready for the new Trek movie. It doesn't have to answer any great questions. It doesn't even have to follow any fan-guided canonical paths.
All it has to do is deliver a new vision of Star Trek that makes sense and entertains.
Yes, it would be nice to have William Shatner involved -- but there's nothing we can do about that now (unless J.J. Abrams asks Shatner to do some sort of voiceover, which would be nice).
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
SF-Worlds relaunched with new design, expanded content
SF Worlds is returning to its roots. Years ago when I created the SF-Worlds.com domain I wasn't sure what to do with it. I didn't need another Web site for science fiction FAQs and essays but the name just seemed too cool to pass up.
In the late 1990s Netscape began experimenting with XML files in a format they called Rich Site Summaries (an early form of today's common RSS feeds). The Netscape format was intended to help sites publish news headlines and lists of recently updated pages. The format eventually merged with blog structures but for about two years many Web sites published custom news stories and distributed links to those stories through RSS feeds.
I built SF-Worlds into the Web's largest source of science fiction and fantasy news headlines covering dozens of topics. Unfortunately, the dot-com meltdown of 2000 burned out many of the experimental companies that were pushing out XML feeds. My headlines either turned stale or became completely inaccessible as sites disappeared. I eventually settled on creating a few essay sections to populate SF-Worlds.
But I've always wanted to do more with the domain. The news format still intrigued me but I just didn't have time to dig up new XML news feeds and, quite frankly, there are not that many dedicated science fiction and fantasy news sources anyway (at least not like the old ones).
After several experiments I've settled upon a new format for the domain that makes the pages more attractive, easier to read, and easier to update (I hope). I've also been able to add a Science Fiction News page that makes liberal use of video news channel feeds to cover topics related to science and science fiction.
I invite you to check out the new SF-Worlds. Oh, yes, the old essays are still there, somewhat revised, in some cases expanded, and updated where I could find time to update them.
But I think it's the new content you'll be most interested in. I certainly hope so.
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
In the late 1990s Netscape began experimenting with XML files in a format they called Rich Site Summaries (an early form of today's common RSS feeds). The Netscape format was intended to help sites publish news headlines and lists of recently updated pages. The format eventually merged with blog structures but for about two years many Web sites published custom news stories and distributed links to those stories through RSS feeds.
I built SF-Worlds into the Web's largest source of science fiction and fantasy news headlines covering dozens of topics. Unfortunately, the dot-com meltdown of 2000 burned out many of the experimental companies that were pushing out XML feeds. My headlines either turned stale or became completely inaccessible as sites disappeared. I eventually settled on creating a few essay sections to populate SF-Worlds.
But I've always wanted to do more with the domain. The news format still intrigued me but I just didn't have time to dig up new XML news feeds and, quite frankly, there are not that many dedicated science fiction and fantasy news sources anyway (at least not like the old ones).
After several experiments I've settled upon a new format for the domain that makes the pages more attractive, easier to read, and easier to update (I hope). I've also been able to add a Science Fiction News page that makes liberal use of video news channel feeds to cover topics related to science and science fiction.
I invite you to check out the new SF-Worlds. Oh, yes, the old essays are still there, somewhat revised, in some cases expanded, and updated where I could find time to update them.
But I think it's the new content you'll be most interested in. I certainly hope so.
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Dennis McKiernan may write another Mithgar novel
In the 1980s I could not find enough Middle-earth books by J.R.R. Tolkien. They simply had not yet been published by Christopher Tolkien or his designees. Like so many other Tolkien fans I bought The Sword of Shannara and was about as disappointed as anyone. It was badly written, horribly plotted, and looked way too much like a Tolkien ripoff.
The amazing thing about The Sword of Shannara is that it topped the New York Times Bestseller list despite being one of the worst written books in the fantasy genre. Many a better-written book has never even appeared on the list.
Dennis McKiernan's Mithgar books openly acknowledged a Tolkien influence (although McKiernan claimed other influences that I always felt were sincerely evident in his stories). In some ways he sought to rewrite themes Tolkien introduced in off-handed ways and I appreciated his writing much more than I could have appreciated Brooks' early writing (although I feel Terry Brooks improved drastically over time).
Many Tolkien fans have ripped into McKiernan's Mithgar books without really understanding that he wasn't trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes. Lester del Rey reportedly greenlighted Sword of Shannara with minimal editing (if any) simply because he knew there was a huge demand for a book like The Lord of the Rings. I like to think the Iron Tower Trilogy was published at least in part because of the quality of the writing.
The Arizona Daily Star interviewed McKiernan, who is still writing (he is circulating three mystery novels). McKiernan mentions there are 18 Mithgar novels so far. Okay, I lost track of the series and didn't realize it had progressed so far. I know that at one time I had 5 or 6 books in the series, back when I was faithfully trying to buy as many series as I could.
I invested my discretionary income in Darkover, Gramarye, CoDominium, Witch World, Middle-earth, Pern, and maybe a dozen other series but I rarely managed to acquie all the books in any one series. When some of my favorite authors began allowing other writers to share their worlds I stopped buying the books, often because they were coming out too fast for me to keep up.
Nonetheless, long before Robert Jordan began amazing people with long cycles and story arcs other authors were well on their ways to topping 20 books in a series (an idea that I raised in one session at the 1992 World Fantasy Convention which brought gasps and moans of disbelief from the audience). McKiernan may break the 20-book barrier yet. We'll just have to wait and see, but he did mention that he is thinking about writing a new Mithgar book.
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
The amazing thing about The Sword of Shannara is that it topped the New York Times Bestseller list despite being one of the worst written books in the fantasy genre. Many a better-written book has never even appeared on the list.
Dennis McKiernan's Mithgar books openly acknowledged a Tolkien influence (although McKiernan claimed other influences that I always felt were sincerely evident in his stories). In some ways he sought to rewrite themes Tolkien introduced in off-handed ways and I appreciated his writing much more than I could have appreciated Brooks' early writing (although I feel Terry Brooks improved drastically over time).
Many Tolkien fans have ripped into McKiernan's Mithgar books without really understanding that he wasn't trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes. Lester del Rey reportedly greenlighted Sword of Shannara with minimal editing (if any) simply because he knew there was a huge demand for a book like The Lord of the Rings. I like to think the Iron Tower Trilogy was published at least in part because of the quality of the writing.
The Arizona Daily Star interviewed McKiernan, who is still writing (he is circulating three mystery novels). McKiernan mentions there are 18 Mithgar novels so far. Okay, I lost track of the series and didn't realize it had progressed so far. I know that at one time I had 5 or 6 books in the series, back when I was faithfully trying to buy as many series as I could.
I invested my discretionary income in Darkover, Gramarye, CoDominium, Witch World, Middle-earth, Pern, and maybe a dozen other series but I rarely managed to acquie all the books in any one series. When some of my favorite authors began allowing other writers to share their worlds I stopped buying the books, often because they were coming out too fast for me to keep up.
Nonetheless, long before Robert Jordan began amazing people with long cycles and story arcs other authors were well on their ways to topping 20 books in a series (an idea that I raised in one session at the 1992 World Fantasy Convention which brought gasps and moans of disbelief from the audience). McKiernan may break the 20-book barrier yet. We'll just have to wait and see, but he did mention that he is thinking about writing a new Mithgar book.
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Sneak peak behind Half-blood Prince
They don't want people embedding the video so you'll have to click on this link in order to watch a 2-1/2 minute preview of "Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince" which includes some previously unreleased material.
The kids are growing up in this movie but I have to admit that the special effects are looking pretty good, too.
I'm looking forward to seeing this film in the theater when it comes out.
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
The kids are growing up in this movie but I have to admit that the special effects are looking pretty good, too.
I'm looking forward to seeing this film in the theater when it comes out.
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
NASA interplanetary mission on schedule
Scientific American provides a timely update on NASA'a Dawn mission. Dawn is the first multi-destination probe to conduct missions of exploration within the Solar System.
What about the Voyager missions? Well, apparently since they headed out toward the interstellar regions of space, their missions don't count.
NASA launched the Dawn mission in September 2007. The probe just made a flyby over Mars in February, using Mars' gravity to slingshot itself toward the asteroid belt, where Dawn will explore two large bodies: Vesta and Ceres.
Dawn will actually orbit Vesta for six months starting around August 2011 before departing and moving on to Ceres, where it should arrive in 2012. After mapping Ceres Dawn will remain in orbit around the small planetoid/asteroid until some new mission can be devised for it. If left alone, the probe might orbit Ceres for up to 20 years.
Dawn uses a new Ion propulsion system that will accelerate the probe to a speed of about 11km/sec (about 6.6 miles/sec, I think). How fast is that compared to things we know about? Well, it's faster than a speeding bullet -- perhaps 10 times as fast as a speeding bullet, for what it's worth.
BTW -- that Scientific American article contains a fascinating video which reminds me of the "Genesis Project" video from the movie "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan". The article compares the Dawn probe's mission to Star Trek's missions of exploration. What really distinguishes Dawn from previous interplanetary missions is the fact that the probe will enter into orbit around more than one body -- that has never been done before.
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
What about the Voyager missions? Well, apparently since they headed out toward the interstellar regions of space, their missions don't count.
NASA launched the Dawn mission in September 2007. The probe just made a flyby over Mars in February, using Mars' gravity to slingshot itself toward the asteroid belt, where Dawn will explore two large bodies: Vesta and Ceres.
Dawn will actually orbit Vesta for six months starting around August 2011 before departing and moving on to Ceres, where it should arrive in 2012. After mapping Ceres Dawn will remain in orbit around the small planetoid/asteroid until some new mission can be devised for it. If left alone, the probe might orbit Ceres for up to 20 years.
Dawn uses a new Ion propulsion system that will accelerate the probe to a speed of about 11km/sec (about 6.6 miles/sec, I think). How fast is that compared to things we know about? Well, it's faster than a speeding bullet -- perhaps 10 times as fast as a speeding bullet, for what it's worth.
BTW -- that Scientific American article contains a fascinating video which reminds me of the "Genesis Project" video from the movie "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan". The article compares the Dawn probe's mission to Star Trek's missions of exploration. What really distinguishes Dawn from previous interplanetary missions is the fact that the probe will enter into orbit around more than one body -- that has never been done before.
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
WonderCon 2009 Star Trek Panel review
No, I didn't get to go to the convention. IGN published a review of the WonderCon Star Trek panel with J.J. Abrams and crew.
This article follows upon their recent interview with William Shatner, who still laments the fact he was not involved in the project.
Not being deeply immersed in the world of Trek fandom, I don't know the ins and outs of these things but I've always felt that Shatner had irritated enough people he would eventually find himself on the outside looking in.
Don't get me wrong -- Captain Kirk was my favorite television character when I was a kid and I gratefully watched every episode of "Barbary Coast" that one season it aired. I even enjoyed watching "T.J. Hooker" before it was cool to complain about all the car hoods he landed on.
William Shatner brought a spirit to Star Trek that no other actor could have contributed -- and I can easily say the same thing about Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Jimmy Doohan, etc. They all brought something unique to the franchise. Time and death have seen to it that some voices are forever frozen in the past, and we have to let go of those jolly days when Kirk, Spock, and McCoy express themselves through Shatner, Nimoy, and Kelley.
Nonetheless, it does seem like the excuses for not including Shatner in some capacity are pretty lame. They could have offered him something. Cameos are pretty easy to engineer. Does anyone remember Grace Lee Whitney silently participating in a Trek movie or two? Yeah, I thought so.
I'm pumped about the new movie and looking forward to it, but I'm sorry to see that Shatner and Abrams have not found a way to kiss and make up. Whatever the problem is, the art is suffering. Maybe no one will care because they are "relaunching" the franchise.
That's the big thing in Hollywood these days, isn't it? Playing it safe by re-engineering a time-tested concept. Is that really what Star Trek was all about?
You make the call.
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This article follows upon their recent interview with William Shatner, who still laments the fact he was not involved in the project.
Not being deeply immersed in the world of Trek fandom, I don't know the ins and outs of these things but I've always felt that Shatner had irritated enough people he would eventually find himself on the outside looking in.
Don't get me wrong -- Captain Kirk was my favorite television character when I was a kid and I gratefully watched every episode of "Barbary Coast" that one season it aired. I even enjoyed watching "T.J. Hooker" before it was cool to complain about all the car hoods he landed on.
William Shatner brought a spirit to Star Trek that no other actor could have contributed -- and I can easily say the same thing about Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Jimmy Doohan, etc. They all brought something unique to the franchise. Time and death have seen to it that some voices are forever frozen in the past, and we have to let go of those jolly days when Kirk, Spock, and McCoy express themselves through Shatner, Nimoy, and Kelley.
Nonetheless, it does seem like the excuses for not including Shatner in some capacity are pretty lame. They could have offered him something. Cameos are pretty easy to engineer. Does anyone remember Grace Lee Whitney silently participating in a Trek movie or two? Yeah, I thought so.
I'm pumped about the new movie and looking forward to it, but I'm sorry to see that Shatner and Abrams have not found a way to kiss and make up. Whatever the problem is, the art is suffering. Maybe no one will care because they are "relaunching" the franchise.
That's the big thing in Hollywood these days, isn't it? Playing it safe by re-engineering a time-tested concept. Is that really what Star Trek was all about?
You make the call.
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Capital One, Citigroup ripping off customers with credit card APR hikes
You would think the banking industry would have learned a few lessons from their bad policies of the past several years.
You would think the banking industry would be gracious enough not to spit in taxpayers' faces by taking our money AND by raising interest rates on credit cards.
Last year the government proposed new guidelines to protect consumers from predatory banking credit practices but the banks were given 18 months before the new rules take effect in 2010.
Now that the Obama administration has orchestrated the largest bank bailout in U.S. history, companies like J.P. Morgan Bank, Citigroup (Citibank), and Capital One are going to take the money and raise interest rates anyway.
If you've been enjoying a 9.9% interest rate or lower on your credit cards, say good-bye by low rates. Even though the Federal Reserve is keeping interest rates low for banks, the credit card issuing banks like Capital One, Citibank, and J.P. Morgan have decided to raise interest rates (doubling or tripling them for all customers).
Some banks are also announcing new payment terms -- changing due dates, increasing minimum payments, and otherwise making it more difficult for their customers to pay off their credit cards. Quite a few people speculate the banks are doing this to drive away consumers who keep high balances.
You do have the option of rejecting the higher interest rate and closing your account. If you do so, however, you will hurt your credit score because you'll be reducing your available credit without reducing the amount of money you owe.
It would be better to find another bank willing to give you a balance transfer and low introductory interest rate. Moving your debt to a new credit card will help protect your credit score. It will also punish the bank that raised your interest rate.
But you can do more than that to hurt the banks like Capital One, Citibank, and J.P. Morgan. You can complain to your U.S. Representatives, your Senators, and your states' Attorney General and ask them NOT to help banks that have raised interest rates for their customers.
The banks are handing consumers a TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT ultimatum. They are not willing to negotiate or work with the general public. They clearly are too stupid to act in the economy's best interest by keeping interest rates low. So the banks don't need our sympathy or our help OR our money.
Demand that your U.S. Representatives and Senators take back whatever Federal aid was given to the banks in the bailout if the go through with the rate hikes and other plan changes.
Demand that President Obama take punitive action against any bank that alters its credit terms in this usurious fashion while accepting Federal bailout funds.
Help promote any lower interest rate bank card that is accepting new customers, especially if people can get the cards without having pristine credit.
And here is another way you can help yourself: pay off your high interest rate card as soon as possible. While it's a very bad idea to sell off the mutual shares in your 401(k) plan for an emergency loan, if you have adjusted your regular contributions so they go to the Money Market or Liquid Asset fund in your plan you may have enough money to borrow against your 401(K) and pay off at least some of your credit card balance.
If you have a Universal Life policy, you may also be able to borrow money against that to pay down your credit card debt.
The good thing about borrowing from your 401(K) or Universal Life policy is that the interest rates will be lower than most credit cards and you pay the money back to yourself. The bad thing about these kinds of loans is they can cause you more financial distress if you are not careful.
Whatever you do, don't take these rate hikes and changes in payment terms just sitting down. Take action. Do something to let the Congress and the President know you're not happy about the cheating, swindling behavior of the banks. They should not be bailed out if they are going to raise interest rates on their customers like this.
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
You would think the banking industry would be gracious enough not to spit in taxpayers' faces by taking our money AND by raising interest rates on credit cards.
Last year the government proposed new guidelines to protect consumers from predatory banking credit practices but the banks were given 18 months before the new rules take effect in 2010.
Now that the Obama administration has orchestrated the largest bank bailout in U.S. history, companies like J.P. Morgan Bank, Citigroup (Citibank), and Capital One are going to take the money and raise interest rates anyway.
If you've been enjoying a 9.9% interest rate or lower on your credit cards, say good-bye by low rates. Even though the Federal Reserve is keeping interest rates low for banks, the credit card issuing banks like Capital One, Citibank, and J.P. Morgan have decided to raise interest rates (doubling or tripling them for all customers).
Some banks are also announcing new payment terms -- changing due dates, increasing minimum payments, and otherwise making it more difficult for their customers to pay off their credit cards. Quite a few people speculate the banks are doing this to drive away consumers who keep high balances.
You do have the option of rejecting the higher interest rate and closing your account. If you do so, however, you will hurt your credit score because you'll be reducing your available credit without reducing the amount of money you owe.
It would be better to find another bank willing to give you a balance transfer and low introductory interest rate. Moving your debt to a new credit card will help protect your credit score. It will also punish the bank that raised your interest rate.
But you can do more than that to hurt the banks like Capital One, Citibank, and J.P. Morgan. You can complain to your U.S. Representatives, your Senators, and your states' Attorney General and ask them NOT to help banks that have raised interest rates for their customers.
The banks are handing consumers a TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT ultimatum. They are not willing to negotiate or work with the general public. They clearly are too stupid to act in the economy's best interest by keeping interest rates low. So the banks don't need our sympathy or our help OR our money.
Demand that your U.S. Representatives and Senators take back whatever Federal aid was given to the banks in the bailout if the go through with the rate hikes and other plan changes.
Demand that President Obama take punitive action against any bank that alters its credit terms in this usurious fashion while accepting Federal bailout funds.
Help promote any lower interest rate bank card that is accepting new customers, especially if people can get the cards without having pristine credit.
And here is another way you can help yourself: pay off your high interest rate card as soon as possible. While it's a very bad idea to sell off the mutual shares in your 401(k) plan for an emergency loan, if you have adjusted your regular contributions so they go to the Money Market or Liquid Asset fund in your plan you may have enough money to borrow against your 401(K) and pay off at least some of your credit card balance.
If you have a Universal Life policy, you may also be able to borrow money against that to pay down your credit card debt.
The good thing about borrowing from your 401(K) or Universal Life policy is that the interest rates will be lower than most credit cards and you pay the money back to yourself. The bad thing about these kinds of loans is they can cause you more financial distress if you are not careful.
Whatever you do, don't take these rate hikes and changes in payment terms just sitting down. Take action. Do something to let the Congress and the President know you're not happy about the cheating, swindling behavior of the banks. They should not be bailed out if they are going to raise interest rates on their customers like this.
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Jerry Pournelle wants to lob rocks at Earth
Jerry Pournelle is one of my favorite science fiction writers. He is closely connected to H. Beam Piper and Larry Niven. While I've never really been a big Niven fan, I've really enjoyed many of the collaborations that Niven and Pournelle have published, including Footfall, The Mote In God's Eye, Lucifer's Hammer, and The Gripping Hand.
AMC TV interviewed Jerry Pournelle about their new book, Escape From Hell (a sequel to Inferno).
The most interesting comment comes at the end of the interview:
I was never able to collect them all but I really got into Pournelle's CoDominium/Empire of Man stories. The Mote In God's Eye and The Gripping Hand are both set in that universe, which also includes the Falkenberg's Legion stories. I stopped buying the books when I realized Pournelle had opened up the universe to other authors.
The shared universe concept became very popular in the 1980s and lasted through the 1990s. Quite a few authors got into the concept but for me it diminished the value of the original author's art. Which is not to say I didn't appreciate all the great stories that other authors contributed to the shared universes -- it's just that each writer brings his or her own perspective to the imaginary timelines, altering social and chronological themes irretrievably.
Some good writers got their breaks in shared worlds. Some writers I feel couldn't put two sentences together with string and superglue managed to get into those universes, too. Pournelle's militaristic fiction was always sharp and compelling for me, even when he was collaborating with other writers. One of the few really well-done transitions in a shared universe, in my opinion, came when Pournelle let S.M. Stirling take over the Falkenberg/Empire of Man series.
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
AMC TV interviewed Jerry Pournelle about their new book, Escape From Hell (a sequel to Inferno).
The most interesting comment comes at the end of the interview:
Q: What's your next project with Larry going to be?
A: We're negotiating another one now. Probably the most lucrative thing we ever did was hit the Earth with a great big rock, so we may try that again.
I was never able to collect them all but I really got into Pournelle's CoDominium/Empire of Man stories. The Mote In God's Eye and The Gripping Hand are both set in that universe, which also includes the Falkenberg's Legion stories. I stopped buying the books when I realized Pournelle had opened up the universe to other authors.
The shared universe concept became very popular in the 1980s and lasted through the 1990s. Quite a few authors got into the concept but for me it diminished the value of the original author's art. Which is not to say I didn't appreciate all the great stories that other authors contributed to the shared universes -- it's just that each writer brings his or her own perspective to the imaginary timelines, altering social and chronological themes irretrievably.
Some good writers got their breaks in shared worlds. Some writers I feel couldn't put two sentences together with string and superglue managed to get into those universes, too. Pournelle's militaristic fiction was always sharp and compelling for me, even when he was collaborating with other writers. One of the few really well-done transitions in a shared universe, in my opinion, came when Pournelle let S.M. Stirling take over the Falkenberg/Empire of Man series.
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
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