The Falling Skies TV series is coming June 19 on TNT, and here's a new video of it. It's a science fiction series by Robert Rodat and Steven Spielberg for TNT.
The TV series also has a Web comic here:
http://www.tnt.tv/series/fallingskies/webcomic/?oid=74248-75558
It looks like Falling Skies is going to focus on family relationships, and apparently the aliens only want the kids, so children will likely play a major role. The series doesn't seem very original, but we'll see how the show progresses when it comes out.
What are your impressions?
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Reid Review: CassaStar by Alex J. Cavanaugh
I recently read Alex J. Cavanaugh's debut novel, CassaStar, so I am going to give an honest review. Although Alex is a member of this blog, I was not asked to review the book, and I avoided reading reviews of the novel so I'd have a fresh perspective.
Imagine Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game
with a young adult protagonist instead of a child and starfighter training instead of zero-gravity drills, and you have the basis of CassaStar. They both are about a tactically brilliant person who feels discredited by his instructor despite being the best there is. From there, the books differ in many respects, and CassaStar has a different edge that makes it unique.
Before I proceed, be warned that this review will contain some spoilers. Ultimately, I recommend the book, but it's not without its flaws. If you plan on buying it and don't want spoilers, stop reading this review and visit http://dancinglemurpress.com/id19.html for the book's blurb. Otherwise, continue at your own risk. Perhaps you'll want to read the book after learning more about it.
Here is the book's trailer:
with a young adult protagonist instead of a child and starfighter training instead of zero-gravity drills, and you have the basis of CassaStar. They both are about a tactically brilliant person who feels discredited by his instructor despite being the best there is. From there, the books differ in many respects, and CassaStar has a different edge that makes it unique.Before I proceed, be warned that this review will contain some spoilers. Ultimately, I recommend the book, but it's not without its flaws. If you plan on buying it and don't want spoilers, stop reading this review and visit http://dancinglemurpress.com/id19.html for the book's blurb. Otherwise, continue at your own risk. Perhaps you'll want to read the book after learning more about it.
Here is the book's trailer:
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Hubbard Would Be 100, Writers of the Future Contest Lives On
Today is Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. and what would have been science fiction writer L.Ron Hubbard's 100th birthday.
Although he's the controversial founder of Scientology, he's written many bestselling science fiction stories such as his Mission Earth
series and Battlefield Earth
(the movie is horrendous, though). He also started the Writers of the Future contest for new writers, which has great judges such as Kevin J. Anderson
, Gregory Benford
, Anne McCaffrey, Orson Scott Card, Eric Flint
, Brian Herbert
, Larry Niven
, Jerry Pournelle
, Robert J. Sawyer
, Robert Silverberg
, and Dave Wolverton
.
Here's a video of Card talking about the contest:
If your interested, judge Dave Wolverton (pen name David Farland) offers daily writing tips through his website: www.davidfarland.net.
Although Hubbard died in 1986, I'm glad the Writers of the Future contest has continued to help many great writers become successful. What are your opinions?
Although he's the controversial founder of Scientology, he's written many bestselling science fiction stories such as his Mission Earth
series and Battlefield Earth (the movie is horrendous, though). He also started the Writers of the Future contest for new writers, which has great judges such as Kevin J. Anderson, Gregory Benford, Anne McCaffrey, Orson Scott Card, Eric Flint, Brian Herbert, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Robert J. Sawyer, Robert Silverberg, and Dave Wolverton.Here's a video of Card talking about the contest:
If your interested, judge Dave Wolverton (pen name David Farland) offers daily writing tips through his website: www.davidfarland.net.
Although Hubbard died in 1986, I'm glad the Writers of the Future contest has continued to help many great writers become successful. What are your opinions?
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Alien Bacteria Found. Do Aliens Exist?
Unfortunately, I was unable to attend a science fiction convention (ShevaCon or StellarCon) this weekend because my car unexpectly needed a new radiator, which zapped my finances. I had planned to blog about the convention I was going to attend, but, alas, I am unable to, so I present you with something entirely different: whether aliens exist.
I found an article today posted on Yahoo News strikingly interesting. It's from Digital Trends and titled "NASA scientist finds evidence of alien life," written by Andrew Couts. Here is the Web address: http://news.yahoo.com/s/digitaltrends/nasascientistfindsevidenceofalienlife.
Alien life up to now has been a thing of science fiction, but now it is claimed as fact. Although, I am under the personal belief that mankind is the only intellectual life form in the university due to the sheer complexity needed for that development, I believe alien bacteria is plausible.
It is claimed the fossils of bacteria were found in a meteorite, and scientists from around the world are studying it. Naturally, there will be cries of a conspiracy or other explanations to debunk the finding, but I'm not going to get into that. This discovery is even more important than last year's reports of finding ice on the Moon and the discovery of planet Gliese 581 g (nicknamed Zarmina) in the "Goldilocks" habitable zone. But it could very well turn out like the thought-to-have-been-alien-related GFAJ-1 strain of bacteria reported last year.
So what do you think? Do aliens exist?
I found an article today posted on Yahoo News strikingly interesting. It's from Digital Trends and titled "NASA scientist finds evidence of alien life," written by Andrew Couts. Here is the Web address: http://news.yahoo.com/s/digitaltrends/nasascientistfindsevidenceofalienlife.
Alien life up to now has been a thing of science fiction, but now it is claimed as fact. Although, I am under the personal belief that mankind is the only intellectual life form in the university due to the sheer complexity needed for that development, I believe alien bacteria is plausible.
It is claimed the fossils of bacteria were found in a meteorite, and scientists from around the world are studying it. Naturally, there will be cries of a conspiracy or other explanations to debunk the finding, but I'm not going to get into that. This discovery is even more important than last year's reports of finding ice on the Moon and the discovery of planet Gliese 581 g (nicknamed Zarmina) in the "Goldilocks" habitable zone. But it could very well turn out like the thought-to-have-been-alien-related GFAJ-1 strain of bacteria reported last year.
So what do you think? Do aliens exist?
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
'Tis the Season for Science Fiction Conventions
'Tis the season for science fiction conventions in Virginia, North Carolina and elsewhere.
In September, I posted two blogs -- one was a list of science fiction conventions in Virginia and the other was a list for North Carolina. The newly created MystiCon in Roanoke, Va., just was held this past weekend, and coming up this weekend will be two more conventions -- ShevaCon in Roanoke and StellarCon in High Point, N.C. I attended both last year, but this year, I must make the difficult choice of picking only one to attend since they will be held on the same days.
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| Dragon's Fire (Wikipedia) |
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| Virginia Hey (Wikipedia) |
In September, I posted two blogs -- one was a list of science fiction conventions in Virginia and the other was a list for North Carolina. The newly created MystiCon in Roanoke, Va., just was held this past weekend, and coming up this weekend will be two more conventions -- ShevaCon in Roanoke and StellarCon in High Point, N.C. I attended both last year, but this year, I must make the difficult choice of picking only one to attend since they will be held on the same days.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Will Image Projection Glasses Be The New Future Crave?
I've been looking at a variety of diverse blogs and noticed a video on 2000ah.blogspot.com that caught my attention. Essentially, a Japanese company has developed glasses with a mount that projects images directly on the retina. This is another case where science has caught up to science fiction.
You can watch the video of the device below.
Although the Japanese glasses seem more technologically advanced, an Israeli company had previously developed glasses in 2006 that projects videos on the lens.
Here's the video:
As I dug deeper into when this technology came about, I found out that a U.S. company developed head-mounted displays in 2002.
The article can be found at pcmag.com here
Even before that, in 1993, a patent was filed for fiber-optic video glasses, which can be found at the U.S. Patent website here.
So if this technology has been around for so long, what's taking it so long for it to be mass marketed? It's expensive to make, so we probably have wait a long time. When the crave for this technology matches the price customers are willing to pay, then perhaps we'll see these glasses next to the 3D TVs for sell.
You can watch the video of the device below.
Although the Japanese glasses seem more technologically advanced, an Israeli company had previously developed glasses in 2006 that projects videos on the lens.
Here's the video:
As I dug deeper into when this technology came about, I found out that a U.S. company developed head-mounted displays in 2002.
The article can be found at pcmag.com here
Even before that, in 1993, a patent was filed for fiber-optic video glasses, which can be found at the U.S. Patent website here.
So if this technology has been around for so long, what's taking it so long for it to be mass marketed? It's expensive to make, so we probably have wait a long time. When the crave for this technology matches the price customers are willing to pay, then perhaps we'll see these glasses next to the 3D TVs for sell.
Monday, February 14, 2011
What Is Your Favorite Science Fiction Love Story?
We're likely all familiar what Valentine's Day means (unless you are Arthur Dent's friend Ford Prefect who just arrived on Earth to do research for an entry in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
), so let's do a science fiction spin on the day of love.
If I was asked to choose my favorite science-fiction-related love story, my selection would be the romance between hotshot pilot Rick Hunter and high-ranking officer Lisa Hayes from the animated TV series Robotech
. In a nutshell, the Macross saga is a space opera about giant aliens arriving at Earth to find out their sought-after spaceship is in possession of the humans. The humans, using the ship, try to fold (hyperspace jump) to the Moon but end up near Pluto and must make a long journey back to Earth with the aliens in pursuit.
In the Macross Saga
, there is a love triangle between Rick, Lisa and singer Lynn Minmei, which gives the show depth. Ultimately, Rick marries Lisa.
Below is a fan-made comic panel of Rick proposing to Lisa. You most likely will need to click on the image to read the text.
What is your favorite love story from a science fiction movie, book, TV show, comic book, or any other medium?
), so let's do a science fiction spin on the day of love.If I was asked to choose my favorite science-fiction-related love story, my selection would be the romance between hotshot pilot Rick Hunter and high-ranking officer Lisa Hayes from the animated TV series Robotech
. In a nutshell, the Macross saga is a space opera about giant aliens arriving at Earth to find out their sought-after spaceship is in possession of the humans. The humans, using the ship, try to fold (hyperspace jump) to the Moon but end up near Pluto and must make a long journey back to Earth with the aliens in pursuit.In the Macross Saga
, there is a love triangle between Rick, Lisa and singer Lynn Minmei, which gives the show depth. Ultimately, Rick marries Lisa.Below is a fan-made comic panel of Rick proposing to Lisa. You most likely will need to click on the image to read the text.
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| Photo from photobucket.com under username jasonuep. |
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