Sci Fi Jungle

Battlefield Earth Screenwriter Accepts Razzie Award With Pride

via www.nypost.com

J.D. Shapiro, screenwriter of Men in Tights and other movies, was the first (and later fired) screenwriter of Battlefield Earth, the movie made from L. Ron Hubbard's Sci Fi novel.

J.D. has written for the NY Post a most wonderful, and funny description of his involvement in making the movie, from first going to the Scientology Center to pick up women, (more fun than 24 hour towing, I guess...) to the point at which his gritty Sci Fi script was changed by management into, well the not even campy mess that it turned out to be.

Although I disagree with the Razzie award going to Battlefield Earth. In fact, Dude Where's My Car much worse that Battlefield Earth ever could attempt to be.

Instapaper: Now Even More Useful with Email - The Steve Rubel Stream

via www.steverubel.com

I am trying to use Instapaper in conjuction with my Kindle to create a "magazine" of articles for reading later. This way I can have reading material on the Kindle for those little moments here and there where you have time to read something.

Having the email feature seems like it may help my plan, but I am still working out the kinks of the Kindle part.

I spend all day at work solving technical riddles, so sometimes the second to last thing (after finding the best hemorrhoids treatment) I want to do at home is solve more technical riddles.  I like it when things are just super easy and work as expected.  Fighting with software is part of life but I'd frankly rather be spending time on life, in my free time.  So, I will keep looking for the perfect tutorial I can follow.

New Doctor Who Season 5 Trailer: "It Begins!"

Here is a new trailer just released for the new Doctor Who Season 5.   The show will air on BBC on April 3rd.  The 11th doctor is played by Matt Smith.  If you really  counted correctly this would be the 31st season of the show, not the 5th.

The Doctor's new companion Amy Pond is played by actress Karen Gillan.

I like the looks of the new doctor.  I wonder when this new series will air in the US?  A little bit of a new Doctor Who might be just the "best diet supplements" I need to keep myself busy.

NASA Infrared Image Shows Cosmic "Rosebud"

A new infrared image from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, shows a cosmic rosebud blossoming with new stars. The stars, called the Berkeley 59 cluster, are the blue dots to the right of the image center. They are ripening out of the dust cloud from which they formed, and at just a few million years old, are young on stellar time scales.

via www.sciencedaily.com

Here's your totally cool NASA image for the day. Just beautiful.  I find looking at images from the WISE project, and Hubble telescope to be so so inspiring.  The seemingly randomness of space comes over like beautiful art.

Of course they use just the most spectacular images to show the public.  The boring ones that look like "space eczema" don't make the cut to get published to the web site.

Kindle Clock

Ever want to check the time while you are reading?  Here's how - hit the menu button and the time shows at the top of the page right above the other options.

Free Short Story all formats - The Planet Savers by Marion Zimmer Bradley - Free eBook

Marion Zimmer Bradley has written some of the finest science fiction in print. She has been away from our pages too long. So this story is in the nature of a triumphant return. It could well be her best to date.

via manybooks.net

I saw this listed on SFSignal and I am putting it on my list to download to the Kindle. Marion Zimmer Bradley is the author of the Mists of Avalon. I was checking out her Wikipedia article

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_Zimmer_Bradley

and she really seems like she was a really cool person. For a while a neo-pagan, she went back to her Episcopalian roots. I am not sure I ever read her work. I hope this is a good representation. But now I have to get back to a battle with some plumbing fixtures.

S.E.G.O. Stands for Saturday Evening Geek Out

Last week, Devilstower introduced the Saturday Evening Geek Out: S.E.G.O. -- Science Fiction You Should Be Reading, and while I don't have his expertise (or writing ability), I've been arguing with the likes of Larry Niven since the 70's when I was a SF geek in college (I went to an engineering school, and we had strong opinions about what was real and what was not, and on the engineering side, what ought to be included and what ought to be thrown away.)

via www.dailykos.com

This is a really dense blog post on DailyKos all about Sci Fi and various flavors thereof. If you're looking for places to spin off into, this is a great portal.  I never write posts that are really rich in hyperlinks.  Maybe I just like to keep my readers here with me instead of sending them off into the short attention span of the internet.  When I do links I tend to want to do the "really useful list of links" that I hope will make it into someone's bookmarks.  Or else I am happily linking away to commercial sites in case you are looking to buy a camcorder.

I am already going to check out Kai Lung's Golden Hour. If Lord Peter Wimsey liked it, I might too. And at the price of free on my Kindle, what's to lose?

Get the eBook KaiLung's Golden Hour here -

http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3906

I am going to have to keep following this Saturday Evening Geek out.

Really Random Blatherings

I had a weird day today - the hubster has the honest to god flu so I had to take off of work to pick up the kids.  He's a mess - can't talk without coughing.  He did get to the doctor in time to get tamiflu so hopefully that will help him get better faster.  It's either that or consider medical travel Mexico.  You can get a lot done but I don't think they have perfected giving you a new body yet.

My kids have a big goal "thermometer chart" up for their behavior and their reward is going to be a DSi XL.  I they ever make it to the top of the thermometer, that is.  Not going so good so far.

Free Alice in Wonderland Audio Book

via booksinaudio.com

Until March 16th Blackstone Audio is giving away a free audio book of Michael York reading Alice in Wonderland. Available in MP3 and M4B. For Kindle use MP3 and put in /audible folder on the Kindle.

Books in the Age of the iPad

We're going to see new forms of storytelling emerge from this canvas. This is an opportunity to redefine modes of conversation between reader and content. And that's one hell of an opportunity if making content is your thing.

via craigmod.com

(photo courtesy of Craig Mod)

This is a very well thought out essay (with gorgeous pictures) about the future of book design in the age of the iPad.

Book designer and author Craig Mod brings up some fascinating concepts such as the differences between Formless and Definite Content and how the one page at a time tablet screen will allow a different type of interface feeling that the 2 page spread of a physical book.

He also gives examples of finely constructed books, made to last, that can form a new model for books in a more high brow mode after we no longer need to publish disposable paperbacks meant for one reading and not made to last. Personally I think textbooks that get new editions every two years are a perfect type of book to phase out into eBooks.  Who wants to buy a a $85 Mesothelioma textbook that weighs 10 pounds and you will never look at again after the class is over.

It's a good article - check it out.