This is a nice list of films, one that begs to be the subject of a meme. The bold film titles are the ones I have seen. You know the drill: your turn.
Robocop (The Musical) & Terminator (The Opera)Because, dammit, there's just not enough music in SciFi...
All three parts are serialized here and make for riviting listening...
- @Amazon: "The Dangerous Dimension" by L. Ron Hubbard
- @Suvudu: "The Literomancer" by Ken Liu
- @brain harvest: " Princess" by Jeremy C. Shipp
- @Weird Tales: "Mr. Nine and the Gentleman Ghost" by Aidan Doyle
- @StrangeHorizons: "Aphrodisia" by Lavie Tidhar
- @The Chain Story: "An Ancient Key" by Rigel Ailur
- Port Iris Magazine #3 has fiction by Megan Arkenberg, Aidan Doyle, and Jeremy C. Shipp
- Crossed Genres Issue 22 has fiction by Tom Barlow, Kater Cheek, Clifford Royal Johns, Deirdre M. Murphy, V. Edward Gordon, Justin Howe
- @Cosmos: "Songs of a Dead Earth" by Don Norum
- @BEAT to a PULP: A Rip through Time: The Dame, the Doctor, and the Device" by Chris F. Holm
- Audio:
- Serialized: Kat & Mouse: "With Cat-like Tread", Part 11
Spider-Man Theme Song + Tap Dancers = Hypnotically Surreal
Call me crazy, but I'm digging the smoky nightclub version of the Spider-Man theme.
[via Forces of Geek]
SF Tidbits for 9/4/10
Interviews & Profiles
News
Articles
More Fun Stuff
Want More? See SF Signal's Twitter and Facebook pages for additional tidbits not posted here!
Crowdsourcing the Convention: What Do You Love (and Hate) About WorldCon, DragonCon and PAX?
This weekend, three major geek conventions throw down all at once: PAX, DragonCon and WorldCon. Short of the Hollywood-infused spectacle that is Comic-Con, this will be the biggest convention weekend of 2010. As a rookie programming director for ConGlomeration 2011, it's also my most hyperconcentrated research opportunity -- so , of course, I'm unable to attend any of the trio of A-list conventions. (Stupid adult obligations)
That's where you guys come in. Roughly 60,000 people attend PAX. Another 40,000 attend DragonCon. WorldCon averages something in the neighborhood of tenth of either previous figure. In any case, about 100,000 geeks -- professional and otherwise -- will be at a convention this weekend, and a bunch of you read SF Signal, too.
So spill it.
I want to know:
- What rocks and what sucks about each convention?
- What makes DragonCon so special?
- How did PAX double in size every year for the last seven?
- Are the Hugos really as awesome as we imagine?
- Who's the geek ubermensch: Nathan Fillion or Wil Wheaton?
Cite specific examples and show your work.This is your giant global gripe session and shout-out venue. We can't leave it all to Cheryl Morgan; not even she can simultaneously cover three cons on two continents.
Last week, we asked what makes a science fiction convention worth going to. Regardless of the answers (which we'll discuss next week), DragonCon, PAX and are WorldCon clearly doing something right. Now's your chance to explain exactly what that is -- and perhaps change the fate of ConGlomeration in the process.
See you in the comments section.
Help Send Algis Budrys' ROGUE MOON to the Big Screen
Kickstart is looking for development funding for the science fiction feature film Rogue Moon, based on the acclaimed 1960 Algis Budrys novel of the same name. The goal is to create a low budget, high-concept SciFi film that's "inspired by classics such as Metropolis, 2001 and Bladerunner, using the expressive filmmaking methods seen in films such as Sin City and 300."
Here's a synopsis of the film:
2053. The oil has run out. A decaying world is on the brink of total energy war - but there is a glimmer of hope. Obsessive military scientist Dr. Edward Hawks believes a rare fuel found only on the surface of the moon can avert the crisis. Since traditionally fueled rockets are no longer viable, the only hope of reaching the fuel is his unfinished Quantum Displacer - a prototype human teleporter. As each volunteer is transported to the moon he remains trapped in an inter-dimensional Rift- a place where death has many dimensions. As time runs out Hawks is locked in a battle of wills with his final candidate, war hero and legendary test pilot Al Barker - unpredictable, violent and harboring an unsettling but necessary lust for death.
Kickstart is looking to develop the current script even further and is loking for additional writing talent. I hereby nominate Alastair Reynolds, whose awesome story "Diamond Dogs" is the logical successor to Rogue Moon.
John Anealio Gives Guitar Lessons to Geeks
Check out John Anealio over at his new gig, Geek Dad, where he dispenses with the musical tutelage in a series of post called GeekDad Guitar Lesson.
Top 20 SF Signal Posts for August 2010
In case you missed them, here are The Top 20 SF Signal Posts for August 2010:
- MIND MELD: SF Books That Will Stand The Test of Time
- Tuesday Tune Bonus: 'F**k Me, Ray Bradbury'
- MIND MELD: Fantasy Books That Will Stand The Test of Time
- Lost Rod Serling Video Interview
- MIND MELD: Comics For Science Fiction Fans
- MIND MELD: Our Favorite SF/F Settings
- 3 Never-Before-Seen Scenes From The Original 'Star Wars' Trilogy
- A Jaw-Dropping Rendering of Our Solar System
- CONTEST: Win 1 Matthew Hughes Prize Pack or 1 of 3 Hughes Books!
- REVIEW: How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu
- FREE AUDIOBOOKS: 'The Hunger Games' by Suzanne Collins & 'The Lottery and 7 Other Stories' by Shirley Jackson
- Donating Books for a Library in Kabul
- Can You Name This Story? (Part 19)
- The SF Signal Podcast (Episode 001): Interview with Lou Anders
- Movie Trailer Poll: Which Alien Invasion Movie Do You Most Want to See?
- Friday YouTube: Darth Schwarzenegger Is Straightforward (+ Bonus!)
- Free Fiction for 8/14/10
- Crowdsourcing the Convention: What Makes a Convention 'Worth Going To'?
- Did James Cameron Just Slam Media Tie-In Novelists?
- REVIEW: Ark by Stephen Baxter
SF Tidbits for 9/3/10
Interviews/Profiles
News
Articles
More
Fun Stuff
Want More? See SF Signal's Twitter and Facebook pages for additional tidbits not posted here!
SF Fanatic: A Look At The Upcoming Fall SF/F TV Scene
The crisp, cool evenings, trees exploding into color and kids back in school all make you think of fall. But fall is also the time when network TV decides to unleash a barrage of new shows on the unsuspecting viewing public. This year is no exception and there are plenty of genre related shows, both new and returning, for the SF/F fan.
But will there be any worth watching?
Monday
Chuck (NBC)
Status: Returning
Premiers: Sept 20, 8/7pm
Chuck returns for a fourth season with big changes in store, considering all deaths, explosions and mayhem from last season's finale. You can expect to see 100% more of Chuck's mom and, hopefully, the same goofy, silly, geeky humor that makes Chuck a fun show to watch.
The Event (NBC)
Status: New
Premiers: Sept. 20, 9/8pm
Billed as "an emotional, high-octane conspiracy thriller that follows Sean Walker, an Everyman who investigates the mysterious disappearance of his fiancee, Leila, and unwittingly begins to expose the biggest cover-up in U.S. history. Conspiracies, shadowy groups, an an "event", looks like NBC is going after the LOST crowd. Will it be a hit or the next Jericho?
Tuesday
No Ordinary Family (ABC)
Status: New
Permiers: Sept. 28, 8/7pm
After a plane crash in the Amazon, the Powell family discover they each have a unique superpower. They also have to discover how to enjoy being a family with superpowers. Sounds a lot like The Incredibles only a live action version.
Stargate Universe (SyFy)
Status: Returning
Premiers: Sept. 28, 9/8pm
Stargate Universe returns for season 2 with the promise of an interesting dynamic existing on Destiny as the Lucian Alliance and Rush and company struggle for control of the ship. The promo shows a lot of intriguing storylines and as the only SF show with spaceships, I'll definitely be watching.
Sanctuary (SyFy)
Status: Returning
Premiers: Sept. 28, 10/9pm
I had no idea this show had been renewed for a season 3. I never go into it and it hasn't done anything to change that, but if you like it, there's more for you this season!
Wednesday
Undercovers (NBC)
Status: New
Premiers: Sept. 22, 8/7pm
Not really a SF show, but it's J.J. Abrams, billed as Alias meets Mr. & Mrs. Smith (isn't that Chuck?) and we know Abrams had SF elements in Alias. Probably worth a look.
Thursday
The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Status: Returning
Premiers: Sept. 23, 8/7pm
The Big Bang Theory may not be the best sitcom on TV, but when it's on, it's hilarious. And they must be doing something right as Jim Parsons just won the Emmy for Best Actor in a Comedy Series, and deservedly so. His portrayal of Sheldon is awesomely terrific.
Fringe (Fox)
Status: Returning
Premiers: Sept. 23, 9/8pm
I've had my issues with Fringe, but it got a lot better once they dropped the 'monster of the week' storylines. And with the war between realities verging on the hot and Faux-livia running around in 'our' universe, things could get really, really interesting.
The Vampire Diaries (CW)
Status: Returning
Premiers: Sept. 9, 8/7pm
It's Twilight for the small screen and I'm so not in their target audience. Do we need any more info? No, no we don't.
Nikita (Fox)
Status: New
Premier: Sept. 9, 9/8pm
Yet another remake of La Femme Nikita. The movie with Bridget Fonda (Point of No Return) was pretty good, but this isn't really SF at all. So why is it here? For the completely gratuitous picture of Maggie Q. You're welcome.
Friday
Human Target (Fox)
Status: Returning
Premiers: Oct. 1, 8/7pm
Based on the comic of the same name, Human Target may not be a stellar show, but it's cheesy fun and any show that lets Lee Majors exercise his acting chops again is alright by me.
Smallville (CW)
Status: Returning
Premiers: Sept. 24, 8/7pm
The soap opera version of the Men of Steel's early life. It's so not my thing, yet it keeps getting more seasons. Someone must be watching, must be those whippersnappers I've seen in my lawn.
Supernatural (CW)
Status: Returning
Premiers: Sept. 24 9/8pm
Yet another show on the CW I'm proud to say I've never seen, though I've heard it's not a bad show. Whatever. I get the feeling the CW isn't the network for middle aged white guys.
Sym-bionic Titan (Cartoon)
Status: New
Premiers: Sept. 17, 8/7pm
Genndy Tartakovsky (worth it right there) brings us the tale of "three alien teenagers who crash-land on Earth and must protect their new home from alien invaders while navigating the perils of high school life." Tartakovsky has made a living of Westernizing the 'anime' look and feel and Sym-bionic Titan is no different, being his take on the popular high school/giant mech genre of anime.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Cartoon)
Status: Returning
Premiers: Sept. 17, 9/8pm
The Clone Wars just keeps chugging along on Cartoon Network and really, why shoulnd't it? It has the awesome Star Wars flavor with liberal amounts of Jedi and action thrown in for good measure. I may need to catch up with this.
Sunday
The Walking Dead (AMC)
Status: New
Premiers: Oct. 31, 10/9pm
I'm not a zombie guy but this looks really good and with only six episodes, the time investment, and potential gross out factor, is minimized. When is Halloween again?
So let's see, Chuck, Stargate Universe and Fringe are definite watches. The Event and The Walking Dead are the new shows I'm most interested in, which really says something about the rest of the genre shows here. Of course, my preference is for space based SF, which only SGU and a the two cartoons fit, but I really, really don't like the vampire stuff or the more fantasy oriented shows, though the zombie show looks promising. I'll still take a gander at most stuff just to check them out.
TOC: Clarkesworld #48
Clarkesworld #48 is now posted:
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Podcast
- "The Cull" by Robert Reed, read by Kate Baker
[Cover art: "Honeycomb" by Julie Dillon]
Get Your Teddy Bears Out of My Bookstore
This post is about book stores - I swear.
I don't go to BestBuy looking for advice. I know that BestBuy has spent a good deal of time and money attempting to brand themselves as being quite knowledgeable about the products that they sell and I salute them for that effort, but it has never been my experience that their general employees are particularly knowledgeable. This is not necessarily their fault, and I'm not trying to be mean or slam them - I know they try. But I liken it to multiple levels of tech support; you have your ground floor grunts who wander around the store looking quite aimless who are more than capable of pointing out to you where something is in the store or how much it costs, but beyond that, they aren't particularly helpful. Above them is the next tier, people who have a bit more knowledge and the power that comes with it. You rarely see them wandering the floor. Above them are the true techies and they are around but you will have to stand in line for a long time to chat with them (which I have done - don't get me wrong here!). They tend to be overworked and underpaid, which can make them grumpy. Just sayin'...
So, when I walk into a BestBuy and some random employee on the floor asks me if they can help me with something, I smile and tell them no and go about my business.I admit that I might be above the curve on technology stuff - just a bit. I also tend to do all my research before I ever step into one of their locations. Maybe that's why I don't feel these folks can help me.
Now, flip this and say I'm walking into a book store...
We're talking about a different animal here. These people, for the most part and in my experience, know what they are about. They know authors and titles in addition to where stuff is. A lot of them are working there because they love books. It's almost a calling for them. Heck, it was almost a calling for me. I toyed with the idea of working for a book seller for years but it was always something that I thought about and never followed through on. (Money/pay was a factor.) But as a result of this calling, a lot of the time they can say to you with absolute conviction, "Oh, if you liked such 'n such, you should check out..." and give you recommendations that are wildly more informed and qualified versus the so-called 'auto recommendations' you receive from various online book sellers who shall remain Amazon (Barnes & Noble's recommendations in my email are horrid, too).
In contrast to the person working at a BestBuy, I actually rely on the people at the bookstore for their knowledge and expertise.
Why bring this up? Well, there's this story out there about Borders bringing a build a bear kiosk / thing into their stores. There's also a great piece from a former Borders employee with some nice thoughts on the subject that you should check out.
The idea is that they need to bring more people into the store to buy books and boost sales, so they want something else in the store that will bring the people in. This is not a new concept.
Have you ever heard the term 'anchor' with regards to a strip mall or regular old mall? Anchors are the big brand-name places, in some cases, that drive traffic to the mall and, therefore, into the other, surrounding businesses. JC Penny is an excellent example of one of these anchors, as would be Macy's, BestBuy or Bed, Bath & Beyond, to name just a few. In smaller strip malls, you tend to see a lot of liquour stores or convenience stores as 'anchors' because these, too, bring in foot traffic that can spill over into the other businesses down the line.
So, like I said - not exactly a new idea.
But the idea that a book store in and of itself must diversify in order to compete boggles the mind. I mean, it's a book store. It's where you go to buy books. The melding of bookstores with coffee shops was brilliant; get a book and a cup of joe - they go together, they work, they complement each other. When you are in the book store and you are shopping around or sitting cross legged on the floor in front of a shelf full of goodies trying to decide which books from the four piles you've built up around you like a fort you can actually afford to buy today and which ones need to wait for the next paycheck, and that smell of fresh roasted coffee wafts over and you find the need to make your picks suddenly more urgent because, damn, that smells good... that works.
Uh, not that I've ever done that or anything. Nope. Not me. Uh-uh...
Calendars work too. So much so that when I think about calendars or needing a calendar or general calendar type STUFF, where do I think of going? The book store. I can even get on board with music CDs in the book store because that can go hand in hand with a good book. DVDs, not so much. Isn't the DVD sort of the supervillain to the book's superhero?
But the worst has to be this teddy bears thing Borders is proposing. Really, Borders? Teddy bears? I mean, this ranks right up there with the games thing that I don't understand; tons and tons of board games in the middle of a section of books. You're winding your way through the stacks and suddenly you come across a clearing full of... Monopoly? It's like the worst jungle book type safari reward ever... I'm surprised they haven't taken a page from the casino handbook where all paths lead to the board games.
Diversity of product can be a great thing, but it can also be wildly inappropriate if done wrong. Some things just don't mix or don't make sense. Like when they combine Kentucky Fried Chicken with Taco Bell all in one restaurant - that's just wrong. Diversity of product, when done wrong, can actually lead to an exponential loss of focus and as a result, expertise. Consider the difference between asking someone at the locally owned Ace Hardware for help versus someone at Lowes or Home Depot; the Ace Hardware person tends to be more focused on a smaller amount of inventory, which means that they can actually know more about little, if that makes sense. The Home Depot person can point you at whatever it is you need but nine times out of ten, they can't tell you how it works/how to install it/what else you'll need - You need Ray for that, but Ray's not here right now... The Ace person, nine times out of ten, knows what Ray knows and is actually there and can help you right now.
Apply this to a company like Borders who is supposed to be a book seller, and what you find is that the more they try to diversify their products in order to bring people in to buy their books, the less focus there is on the actual books and the harder it is to find that knowledge and expertise we're looking for. Especially if someone has to spend their time learning how to work a build a bear kiosk instead of reading books.
Not to mention that something has to go; in order to make room for the board games and the build a bear kiosk and the Red Box DVD rental kiosk and the popcorn maker - something has to be removed, stock has to be decreased. Who gets to decide what stays and what goes? Can YOU guess which section of the store will get trimmed first, Science Fiction & Fantasy fans?
Remember the bit about 'anchor' stores above? Well, guess who else is considered an anchor store - Borders. So is Barnes & Noble. They are considered anchor stores with identifiable brands that will pull in shoppers.
Why? What is their brand?
Books.
Imagine how successful they could be if they actually focused on that...
