The Book Of Lost Things
The dedication of The Book of Lost Things
Super 8: A Review
Super 8 is a fun-filled and action-packed superhero summer blockbuster. After eight superscientists are exposed to experimental hyper-nano radiation, each one manifests incredible superpowers. There’s Trickle, with the power of incessant dripping, Luminesca, who can always set a room to mood lighting, The Leveler, bringing your frames to straightened justice, Standoffish, always keeping evil to one side…
TalkCast 87 – L. Neil Smith
Sweeter Than Wine by L. Neil Smith
Author L.Neil Smith talks about his life, his writing, his philosophy and how it relates to his work and his new book, Sweeter Than Wine.
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Roundup: Shows We Love That Love Sci-FiVery occasionally on the podcast we get to talk about shows that are not technically speculative fiction, but really like to reference it. Some of these shows, like The Big Bang Theory, we can talk about a lot, because they reference geek culture almost constantly, but there are many shows out there worthy of watching that have some special references just for us nerds. Here is a roundup of my top six referential shows on TV right now (or on hiatus but coming back):
Exterminated
I’ll be honest, when I first started watching Doctor Who reruns as a kid, I was a bigger fan of the human(ish) villains than the monster types. The Valeyard, the Rani, the Master (RIP Anthony Ainley), these characters were fascinating, oozing schemes out of their ears, a true mental match for the Doctor, right up to their rapier wits for verbal sparring. And since they are so smart, they always have an ace or two up their sleeves, a back door from which they shake their fists to scream “You haven’t seen the last of me!” so the battle of wills is never really over, not that we really want it to be. Read More
Miracles
When the regular TV season ends, I start digging out old favorites on DVD. This week’s pick is Miracles
The series follows Paul Callan (Skeet Ulrich) and his search for miracles in the modern world. After his own miracle experience is dismissed by the Church, he joins up with a group called Sodalitas Quaerito, Latin for “Brotherhood in search of truth” led by Alva Keel (Angus Macfadyen). Paul has seen his blood form the words “God is Now Here”, and Keel explains to him that this has happened before, but everyone else has read the words as “God is Nowhere” a small but significant difference. This story line forms the backbone for what is otherwise a mystery of the week type show.
The Crow Graphic Novel Revisited
Originally released in 1993, this classic urban gothic tale of tragedy and revenge came from a personal loss of artist/writer/creator James O’Barr. The Crow
The Multiverse – Physics Catches up with Sci-FiIn earlier pieces here I’ve talked about the Heinlein “multiverse” and how I consider the idea of parallel universes one of the successful predictions of science fiction. Along comes physicist Brian Greene to support that assertion in a far more elegant way than I could. His book The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos
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Isaac Asimov’s “Nightfall”: The Triumph of IgnoranceIn honor of the special tribute to Isaac Asimov on the podcast this week I thought I’d share some thoughts on one of his superlative short stories (almost always ranked as one of the top sci-fi short stories all time), “Nightfall”. Although written when he was only 21, it captures two of the key elements that would pervade most of his writing from that point on. It is a sci-fi story based on a single out-of-the-box idea supported by common elements, and it incorporates the rationalist belief that knowledge is far more effective at solving problems than is ignorance.
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Harlan Ellison’s Phoenix Without Ashes Review
Harlan Ellison’s graphic novel Phoenix Without Ashes
