Holy crap! I just tried a virtual reality rig for the first time. My friend Simonas has a complete set up and has been asking me to come try to out for a while. He’s been telling me about VR truck driving and air traffic controlling but honestly, I didn’t really get what all the fuss was about. Continue reading “Virtual Reality is really real (but not really)”
Category: Science Fiction
One of the greatest science fiction magazines is now available for free online – The Verge
I love that all these great magazines are finding new homes online (that said, I do own several of the original copies, including the three part series of Bester’s The Demolished Man). I’ve even noted it before, specifically when IF magazine, Galaxy’s sister publication, went live online and when Omni hit the digital archives.
So now, most of Galaxy is available online for you to read and enjoy. I suggest you do.
Source: One of the greatest science fiction magazines is now available for free online – The Verge
Roll the d20 for damage…
So I just read this book – Empire of Imagination: Gary Gygax and the Birth of Dungeons & Dragons by Michael Witwer and my initial thought was that it “Makes me long to find my dice and get a campaign up and running…”
This got me thinking about D&D and role-playing and creative endeavors and all that stuff.
May the Fourth Be With You: Princess Leia’s Stolen Death Star Plans
Palette-Swap Ninja, whom I have never heard of before, is a parody band who focus on geek culture. This year, in honor of the 40th anniversary of Star Wars: A New Hope and the 50th Anniversary of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band they did what anyone would naturally do — mashed up the two.
That’s right, it’s Princess Leia’s Stolen Death Star Plans! #PLSDSP Continue reading “May the Fourth Be With You: Princess Leia’s Stolen Death Star Plans”
My summer reading list
Last year, Best SciFi Books.com published a list of the top 17 pulp science fiction novels. While I may or may not agree these all qualify as “pulp” they are certainly a great list to get you started reading. In fact, the site has some other great lists, all of which are perfect for fostering the kind of geeky debates I sorely miss. For example, here’s their top 10 underwater SF books (of particular interest to me) as well as the 29 Best Alien Invasion Science Fiction Books and The 23 Best Science Fiction Books by Female Authors!
Of course, if all you’re interested in are the covers, check out this Pinterest page! I wish they were still honestly putting out books with these covers, as opposed to doing it self consciously or with a wink, nod and tongue firmly planted in cheek. Maybe I should write one?
Either way, though, there’s some mighty fine books for summer.
Let the debates begin!
Anthems for the Moon: David Bowie’s Sci-Fi Explorations | Pitchfork
From “Space Oddity” through “Blackstar,” David Bowie was pop music’s ambassador to the realms of science fiction and fantasy. Jason Heller explains how the shapeshifting Starman was inspired by the dark sci-fi experiments of the space age.
Source: Anthems for the Moon: David Bowie’s Sci-Fi Explorations | Pitchfork
How Syfy is Leading The Charge With Imagining Diverse Futures
With a new season of The Expanse starting soon and having just finished watching the two existing (and impatiently awaiting the third) seasons of Killjoys, I found this an great article on where televised science fiction is heading. (Seriously, if you haven’t watched Killjoys, it’s pure pulp SF fun!)
Over the last couple of seasons of television, critics and audiences have begun to pay a considerable amount of attention to the role of women and racial diversity on their favorite shows. Despite being set in the future, science fiction television has often been stubbornly stuck in the past. With its latest lineup, however, the Syfy channel has demonstrated that a proactive approach can create lasting change.
Source: How Syfy is Leading The Charge With Imagining Diverse Futures
SPACEDOCK on Vimeo
Review: Keller’s Fedora, Difficult Men, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and others
So here’s the deal: I’m slacking on my book reviews. Not that I haven’t been reading (or listening) to lots of books – in fact, I’m one book ahead where I need to be to complete my 70 book Goodreads challenge.
But I’ve bean bad about doing weekly reviews of individual books so I’m giving myself a break and allowing for Short Book Reviews of an assembled grouping. Without further ado, then, here’s the latest batch of books. Continue reading “Review: Keller’s Fedora, Difficult Men, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and others”
Soviet science fiction movies in English online
Reviews: Spiders and Dreams and Rocket Ships
Medusa’s Web by Tim Powers
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Okay, so I’m a Tim Powers fan. I will read everything the man writes and eagerly anticipate the next one. That said, this isn’t the book to start with. The plot, as Powersian as ever, involves a brother and sister who stand to inherit the home which belonged to a relative who raised them after their parents passed away some years earlier. The house has connections (literal and figurative) to the golden years of Hollywood and, like all of Powers’ books of the last couple of decades, involves real life figures and events weaved into an intricately plotted web of fantasy and magic.
Continue reading “Reviews: Spiders and Dreams and Rocket Ships”
Jules Verne’s Tomb | Atlas Obscura
Science fiction’s grandfather has a fittingly marvelous tomb
Olivia Munn and The Threat of the Fake Geeks – Paging Dr. NerdLove
Cliff Breczinski accused Olivia Munn of being a fake geek girl and of appropriating nerd culture. Why are we inventing new boogeymen to “oppress” nerds?
This is a long read, but well worth the time. It points out how everyone is looking for someone to hate, to pick on, or otherwise make feel bad for some reason. In this case, it’s the love of geek things.
Source: Olivia Munn and The Threat of the Fake Geeks – Paging Dr. NerdLove
IF Magazine: Internet Archive
One of the things I love about the Internet is the amazing amount of things which would be nigh on impossible to find elsewhere. For example, the Internet Archive, which collects and stores vast quantities of really stuff has just released the complete run of IF Magazine (1952-1974).
I absolutely dig living in the future only written about in these magazines!
Review: Web
Web by John Wyndham
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I’ve become a bit of a John Wyndham enthusiast ever since I became a bonafide book collector with the addition of a first edition of Wyndham’s The Kraken Wakes to my library. So now, I’m on the lookout for affordable first editions of his work, and while I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to afford a copy of The Day of the Triffids or The Midwich Cuckoos, there are others out there I can get…Web being one of them – one which I happened to find on sale in the first edition. Since I’m also trying to read or re-read all of the collectible books I get, just to keep them fresh in my mind, this one came up in rotation and so I was able to enjoy it. Continue reading “Review: Web”
Getting the Hang of Thursdays 