Sci Fi Jungle

Another Anti-Science Republican to Puzzle Over

Here is a video of Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX)–the ranking member on the House Energy & Commerce Committee asking a question of Nobel Prize winning Energy Secretary, Dr. Steven Chu.  He asked where oil comes from and was puzzled by the answer.

It's really shocking that he would ask an eminent scientist a question requiring a long answer giving him only 6 seconds and then try to badger him about whether Alaska was hot at the time the oil was produced. Was this a dig at the idea of global warming I guess? Strange.

A Little Flash Gordon for Your Pleasure

Here is a youtube clip of the opening sequence of the 1980 film Flash Gordon featuring the Queen theme song.  This is a classic and noted as one of the best film opening sequences.

Here is a great discussion of the film, by the way.

http://www.eccentric-cinema.com/cult_movies2007/flash_gordon_SOTU.htm

Did you know that Timothy Dalton plays a small role in the movie? And Ornella Muti as Ming's daughter is the antithesis of an appetite suppresant.

Free Comic Book Day May 2nd, 2009

Next weekend I am planning on taking the kids to get their free comic book - Free Comic Book Day is May 2 2009.  Check out the store locator by clicking the graphic below:

Some of the titles available include: Avengers, Blackest Night, Disney/Pixar's Cars, Resurrection, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Aliens/Predator, Atomic Robo And Friends, Attack Of The Alterna-Zombies!, Fist Of Justice, Warhammer Fantasy, William Shatner Presents, and Wolverine: Origins

I plan to hit my closest store which is

TITAN BOOKS AND COMICS INC
2103 PLEASANT HILL RD
DULUTH, GA
(770) -49-0202

Comic books are much more fun than buying insurance online">insurance online.

NetFlix Pick - Reign of Fire

If you are needing to get your Christian Bale or Matthew McConaughey fix and don't mind a little cheese factor, Reign of Fire could be your Dragon slaying choice.  Put this 2002 film on your NetFlix queue and prepare to suspend your disbelief.  According to all the reviews, it came close to being a great movie.

And don't forget...  running away from Dragon flames could be considered one of the best fat burners.

Ateroid Apophis Predicted to Nearly Miss Earth in 2029

Scientists are closely watching the asteroid named Apophis.   This asteroid is the size of a 25 story building and is predicted to pass through Earth's orbit, coming closer than some communication satellites.  Predicted to come within 18,000 miles of us, it  has a 1 on in 45,000 chance of colliding with Earth.  And then it will be back 7 years later for another go around.

Pencil this date in on your calendar - April 13, 2029.  If we make it through the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012 we can then worry about this.

    

Star Trek is Coming!

Star Trek, the JJ Abrams prequel feature film will open on May 8th.

When you are done with  "Trek Yourself" (see post below) you can actually go ahead and get your tickets NOW ahead of time through Fandango - Click Star Trek to go to the Fandango Star Trek event site where you can buy advanced tickets and see previews.

Go Trek Yourself

The folks at Paramount, (and Cheez-its for some non-logical reason) have done up a web site where you can turn yourself into a Star Trek character.  I made my 5 year old son into a Vulcan.  Rock on dude.

Courtesy of Trekyourself.com:



 This is pretty darn funny.  Ben makes one cool looking Vulcan.  What's whacked about it is that it animated the photo for you too - like the eyes move and stuff.  Freaky.

Ok, today's silver lining about the state of the economy is:  cheap living on home cooked food has caused me to lose weight.  No need for diet pills when you can't afford extra junk food.  Good.

Terminator White Board

For those of us who really really are confused - Leland Rzepecki has drawn a whiteboard diagram of the future and past traveling confusion that is the Terminator franchise.  I think this is just the funniest thing - such an earnest attempt to make it all make sense.  I love the color coded white board chart - it pretty much looks like something I would see on the wall in the software developers conference room.

Here's the url from iO9.

http://io9.com/5192446/a-whiteboard-that-explains-terminators-entire-history

Have you ever gone to a SF convention? I never have made it even though one of the bigger ones is in Atlanta each year. I hear the NYC convention was held recently.  Need a New York City hotel?

Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire

Comedy Central will premier their new SF/Fantasy Comedy Krod Mandoon on Thursday, April 9th at 10pm/9c.  It looks really funny.  I don't know about you, but I really could use some humor about now.  I mean REALLY.

Here is a well written positive review of Krod Mandoon from SFSignal.com.

Krod Mandoon	Thurs Apr 9, 10p / 9c
Krod Mandoon Series Preview
comedycentral.com
Matt Lucas Kevin Hart Sean Mcguire

Iron Man Vs. Bruce Lee

Here's a funny stop action video I snagged off of youtube.  IronMan Vs. Bruce Lee.  Guess who wins?  Yes, IronMan needs to rent a moving truck rental and get out of town.

I think right now in our lives we need humor.  Go on diet low in news and high in humor.   Opt out of the recession.