Science fiction/fantasy author Ray Bradbury died Tuesday at age 91, but the fire he kindled since writing "Fahrenheit 451" will never burn out. You see, Bradbury was always writing, even when he used a wheelchair after suffering a stroke in 1999. I find this tremendous passion for writing inspiring. Even after his death, his flame has not burned out; it has only sparked the fiery passion for writing in people across the world.
From that library he spent about 49 hours writing his famed "Fahrenheit 451" novel (at 10 cents each half-hour for renting a typewriter) to about 600 short stories later, Bradbury has captured the imagination of scores of people and will live on as long as his stories do. It's unfortunate that he died but fitting that he did so during the rare transit of Venus, which won't occur again for 105 years.
I recently watched "The Hunger Games" movie and wasn't that impressed. I may be in the minority with that opinion, so read on and enjoy a trailer of the movie at the end.
The Republican presidential hopefuls have been in the news for quite some time now (minus the lesser known ones: Fred Karger, Andy Martin and Jimmy McMillan), and the media coverage certainly has been hectic.
Photo of Ron Paul's from Wikipedia.
Image from Wikipedia.
The newest media craze is Super Tuesday on March 6, and one of the states -- Virginia -- only has two of the hopefuls on its ballot: former governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney and Congressman Ron Paul (sorry Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich). Of them, Paul is considered by many in the media as an outcast. Although he is a Republican (he has been elected as such 12 times), he differs from them on issues such as his nonintervention stance (not isolationisim as many people claim).
Have you read any of them? The stories are usually about an individual seeking liberty from a suppressed society. Although societies in the stories often are taken to the extreme for readership appeal, the libertarian philosophy is prevalent among science fiction stories, and you may not have even known it.
So what do you think about libertarian science fiction? Do you like it, hate it or don't care as long as you're entertained?
The movie is acknowledged (even by creator George Lucas) as the worst one in the film series, but I may be a sucker to watch it again since I didn't mind watching it on VHS back in the day. Although I usually skip out on watching the modified versions of the Star Wars films (even the one with CG Yoda in this film, which is welcomed), I'm interested in seeing how Lucasfilm handled the 3D effects (woe is me).
To be honest, I was more interested in seeing Lucas' Red Tails movie, but after reading the reviews (in which the movie was rated lower than the Phantom Menace), I may just wait until it comes to DVD (yeah, I don't have Blu-ray player) or just watch The Tuskegee Airmen (1995). I can't do the same for Phantom Menace in 3D, though, unless I buy a 3D TV (not likely for years!).
So, anyway, do you think The Phantom Menace is worth watching in theaters in 3D?
Below is a 2D trailer of the film. It shows the good parts and mostly leaves Jar Jar Binks out of it (he makes an appearance very briefly, but can you find him?).
The blog Rambles & Randomness recently posted a "Well I Never Blogfest" so I'm going to give it a try with experiences related to science fiction (better late than never!).
Well ...
I never bought a copy of the Battlefield Earth movie after watching it in theaters, but I did buy the book and read it.
I never knew thata 32X game I own called Spider-Man: Web of Fire is worth more than $100 until today.
I never read Isaac Asimov's Foundation books although own some of the books and want to read them someday (I have too many books to read as it is).
I never could get into Dune. I'm sorry.
I never dressed up as a character at science fiction conventions, although I did enjoy seeing Darth Vader.
That's all I can think of right now. Also, as a reminder, December is "Reid Kemper's Blog Swap Month," so check out my previous post to learn about it and sign up!
Do you have great blog posts that are buried in your blog and deserve more attention? Or do you have a new post that you think will be great for a wider audience? Or perhaps you want variety on your blog by sharing a post someone else wrote -- minus any hassle? If so, I designed this blog swap to help you out.
How it works:
1. Enter your website URL in the list below to create a link.
2. Grab a post from my list of blog posts and use it for your blog.
3. Mention in the comments below which post you want to share in return.
Alternatively, if you want to swap with other bloggers, you may:
1. Enter your website URL in the list below to create a link.
2. Post your own blog swap on your blog.
3. List on your blog which posts you want to swap with those who participate.
You can swap on any day. Think of it as reciprocal guest blogging.
Enter here:
If you swap posts with me, I'll pick out one of your posts you listed and publish it on my blog. You may even write a new post meant for swapping. I'll credit you for writing the post I share and will link to your blog, so be sure to do the same.
I will not publish any posts that have obscenity, controversial topics or anything else I don't feel comfortable sharing. Please provide a variety of posts that are not time sensitive to choose from. For instance, if you have a post promoting a book you published, this would be a great way to promote your work. It's also great to spread helpful tips or resources for others. You can choose which day to participate.
You may use any post of mine before Dec. 1, 2011, for swapping, but below is a list of posts I recommend that are not time sensitive or are, to my knowledge, still relevant. Feel free to change any timely information (such as "today") and make edits.
You can find free science fiction e-books on many websites, but if you want some top-quality e-books, I recommend the Baen Free Library located at www.baen.com/library. Baen Books is a leading science fiction book publisher known for it's military science fiction novels. It also provides dozens of e-book versions of its published novels.
Image from Wikipedia.
So why does the publisher offer free e-books? One of the reasons is that if you read the first book of a series and like it, you may want to buy the other books. It's also compared to reading books for free at a library. If you like what you read, you may tell your friends and buy the books.
There are many Baen authors who participate, so I've narrowed the list to ten authors who are among the best. They are in alphabetical order, and I've included quotes about the authors from the site (click on their names in large print to go to their page with free books).
