We’ve seen SF you people wouldn’t believe. To Read stacks teetering off the side of the bookshelf. We watched WorldCon attendees glitter in the dark near the dealers’ room. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to quit….

This blog has been tottering along for five years now, but lately it’s suffered from shifting priorities and lack of time. It’s probably time to pack it in, so this, our 1,445th post, will be the last.

Thanks to all of the visitors who’ve stopped by to read or comment.

So long, and…well, you know the rest.

1. The title of George Lucas’ first movie is usually alluded to in all of his other films. What was its title?
2. Where was the HAL 9000 computer developed, according to the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey?
   A) University of Illinois-Urbana
   B) Virginia Polytechnic Institute
   C) University of California-Los Angeles
   D) Massachusetts Institute of Technology
   E) Steve Jobs’ garage
3. The laissez-faire capitalist bad guy in The Fifth Element, played by Gary Oldman, is Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Who?
4. A For Andromeda was a collaboration between John Elliot and this controversial British astronomer.
5. Who coined the term “robot,” based on the Czech word “robotnik,” slave?
6. In one of his short stories Isaac Asimov described a world surrounded by 6 stars. With so many stars, one of them is almost always in the sky, and night comes but once in a thousand years. What would a people do, upon their first sighting of thousands of points of light in the sky? In which 1941 story did Asimov attempt to answer this question?
7. Who was the pilot of Fireball XL5?
8. The couplet “They ride the sky-train SHENSHI from Azul to Santa Beth. The driver’s name is Silver and the fireman’s name is Death” starts the first book of what unusual series?
9. Brian Aldiss’ short story “Super Toys Last All Summer Long” was the inspiration for what Kubrick/Spielberg film?
10. In Star Wars, which character was originally going to be a “huge green-skinned guy with no nose and large gills”?

(Answers below the fold)

Read the rest of this entry »

Transformers Producers Secure Rights to Space Invaders – I think this line from the article sums it up: “The Hollywood Reporter has claimed that the pair are trying to find a suitable writer to create a script, which we simply cannot fathom.”

Alien Facehugger Pillow Set – Tutorial for making plush xenomorphs. Not bad for a human.

SF Furniture – A roundup. The H.R. Giger chairs are kind of awesome.

Space Shuttle Discovery – A 360-degree view of the Discovery’s flight deck. This is just gorgeous.

Dalek Dress – Instructions for making a cute Dalek-inspired cocktail dress.

Cathedral with Star Destroyer – What can’t star destroyers improve?

First and Last Shuttle Launch – Chris Bray and his father were at both the first and the last space shuttle launch and they took photos at both. More at Reddit.

The Fine Brothers somehow manage to summarize almost 50 years of Who history in six minutes. Whoa.

A comic by Adam McCauley. Also see his Other Vaders.

(via Blame it On the Voices)

The BBCAmerica’s Anglophenia blog is running a series of “how to dress like the [X]th Doctor” posts, offering guidelines for dressing like the various incarnations of Doctor Who. So far the First Doctor and Second Doctor are up, with the Third and subsequent coming soon.

The suggestions are rather general–along the lines of “find a white shirt” rather than “here’s the exact brand of shirt you’ll need”–so serious cosplayers might be disappointed, but for casual hall costume or Halloween party wear, they’ll be just fine.

I’ll be curious to see what they suggest as a substitute for Tom Baker’s scarf.

1. What SF author has played onstage with Pink Floyd?
   A) Neil Gaiman
   B) Terry Pratchett
   C) Douglas Adams
   D) China Mieville
   E) Pat Cadigan
2. In which planetary system did Luke take his Jedi training with Yoda?
3. Boris Karloff has portrayed Frankenstein’s monster, the Mummy, and Dr. Fu Manchu. What other screen star–who also had a part in the Star Wars cycle–has also played those three roles?
4. Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger wrote science fiction under what pseudonym?
5. In Memory Yet Green is the first volume of what author’s autobiography?
6. What were the leaders of the “dark city” called in the futuristic movie Dark City?
   A) The Humanoids
   B) The Strangers
   C) The Decepticons
   D) The Visitors
   E) The Greys
7. This planet is home of the Time Lords.
8. In Ringworld, a Falan is a measurement of time equal to 10 rotations. How long is that in days?
9. Woody Woodpecker is alluded to, or can be seen, in almost every post-1950 film made by what noted producer of SF classics?
10. Which author coined the term “worm” to describe a type of computer virus:
    A) John Brunner
    B) Neal Stephenson
    C) Bruce Sterling
    D) Vernor Vinge
    E) William Gibson

(Answers below the fold)

Read the rest of this entry »

Man, do I love me some Ray Harryhausen. I’ve seen occasional comments–largely from people too young to remember what movie special effects looked like before the advent of CGI–that his creatures look rather clunky, and they are admittedly not as smooth as today’s computer animations. What makes his work so amazing, though, is not only the technical artistry (you guys, stop-motion animation is hard) but also how memorable his characters were. The bit in Jason and the Argonauts when the skeletal Children of the Hydra attack (around 3:25 in this clip) haunted my childhood.

Some kind soul has compiled a collection of all of Harryhausen’s stop-motion work in chronological order, from harpies to giant walruses. They are just splendid.

(via BoingBoing)

I think it would be fun to watch vegan college students rationalize eating roadkill during the Apocalypse.
– robdelaney

Stupid zombies won’t stay inside their chalk outlines.
– JerryThomas

Japan also has Amish people; they drive around in cars instead of teleporting in giant robots.
– OuterJohn

Too bad if 90 percent of it is stupid. That’s how creativity works.
– Linus Torvalds

Natalie Portman had a son. In unrelated news, everyone here on the Death Star is suddenly looking a little nervous. #StarWars
– DeathStarPR

If I was Indy, I would’ve totally boned the “love you” eyelids chick.
– thesulk

Nobody ever thinks it’s their monster that’ll end up in a burning windmill.
– hotdogsladies

What I love about the internet is if my leg fell off, I’d get a lot of messages going, “Poor you!” but at least one saying, “Can I have it?’”
– shoesonwrong

“After humanity quells an undead uprising, the last two remaining zombies pair up in search of sanctuary, but instead find love.” Of course it’s a musical.

Here’s the trailer. The full movie (in three parts) is available on their YouTube channel.

Cross-posted at The Art of Darkness