http://mentalfloss.com/article/28642/star-trek-bloopers and http://mentalfloss.com/article/48786/star-wars-bloopers

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Harrison)

Any Sci-Fi fans will surely know who I'm talking about. I only just found out by clicking on Wikipedia that his book "Make Room, Make Room" was the foundation of the 1973 Charlton Heston classic film "Soylent Green". He has of course written other books, but his most famous creation was Slippery Jim DiGriz, AKA "The Stainless Steel Rat". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stainless_Steel_Rat

TWO reasons why I'm posting this.....

(1).....Another piece of my childhood is gone
(2)...... As the character was first written over 50 years ago, I think it's high time the SSR was turned into a movie.

HONESTLY though sifters, you don't even have to be into Science Fiction to appreciate them, "The Rat" was a lovable thief who had to operate in a high-tech world, he was k-i-n-d o-f a cross between James Bond & Monty Python.

*Posts & gets out library card for tomorrow.

Like a lot of Sifters - I'm a big speculative fiction fan - (I must be if I think that's what SF stands for). We've all been worked up to a lather by the many teasers and trailers. This is the great Ridley Scott. Although both Alien and Blade Runner are very different movies, they sit very high in the pantheon of SF masterpieces. One thing that both of these classic films have in common is that they are small movies. They focus on a few people in a particular setting - an apocalyptic noir L.A. and a creeping space hulk, respectively. By keeping it small, Scott focused on the characters and the story. The SF setting was just the backdrop to support this.

Prometheus is not like that. There is a lot happening on a broad canvas. Like so much science fiction coming out of Hollywood these days - the science fiction setting is the main character- and the human beings are just along for the thrill-ride. Great special effects, huge, save the whole world kinds of stuff, lots of those see-through LCD monitors that are all the rage - but little time for character development or story. How about a damn Vangelis soundtrack and some long moody tracking shots that lets us soak it in, Ridley? Sigh. In a lot of ways this felt more like a film directed by James Cameron.

It wasn't awful - and maybe my expectation was too high. The andriod character was memorable and the acting was good - what little of it we got to experience. Should you go see it? It's a Ridley Scott science fiction movie, of course you should. Does Prometheus deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as Alien and Blade Runner? Nope.

An absolutely interesting story about how mediocrity and fear can squelch the best ideas.

Can you imagine a full-scale Enterprise? That would have been phenomenal!!!! If anything, you've got to look at those conceptual figures!

http://www.garygoddard.com/blog/index.php/now-it-can-be-told-the-star-trek-attraction-that-almost-came-to-life-in-1992/

I made it 30 seconds into a ten-hour long video

via: http://boingboing.net/2012/03/15/darth-vader-wheezing-for-ten-h.html

Here is a quick synopsis of the episode and what I think was an unfortunate and untimely event that transpired at the end or near it...

... more inside ...

http://catsonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/04/alien.html

This made my day!

http://www.swtorstrategies.com/2011/11/may-schwartz-be-with-you-awesome-star.html from http://digg.com/news/offbeat/awesome_star_wars_advertisements ...

We are approaching a point where we could quite conceivably tailor life forms that could live, thrive, and evolve on worlds and moons other than Earth.

I'm intrigued by this as an ethical/moral question.

Some argue to spread life outside of earth would be pollution and contamination. In yet, on earth we hold life and all lifeforms as the most wonderful and precious thing. So why not spread life past earth?

I can see the argument, than until we've searched a place enough to establish life doesn't already exist, we may be inadvertently destroying alien life. But what of places devoid of life? Must they be kept that way.

There is also worry that given the long term we can't predict the outcome. So what? It seems hugely exciting that we could seed life to evolve and adapt in parallel to ourselves.

And on that, what if we could help change places to make it more approachable for man-kind? What if we could make something hardy enough to live in the outer atmosphere of Venus and slowly diffuse the greenhouse effect in place.

Is it so morally wrong to make the universe suit ourselves? Otherwise who are we keeping it pristine for?

Heard about this show on local radio last night, checked out their pilot episode, thought it looked entertaining (although very TV, they were originally aiming for a motion picture, they've failed there in a number of ways)...

I've pledged a bit of money on their kickstarter page as I'd enjoy seeing a Science Fiction show created in my home town (Melbourne) getting on the air...

It's called Welcome to the Cosmos and it's basic premise is that four people from the suburbs are accidentally taken on board a starship... hijinks ensue.

Their kickstarter page would be located roughly here. They're a long way from their $50K goal at present, so it looks like they could do with all the support they can get...

Amazing statement, so succinct. So true. If only Lucas would agree with this and stop all the nonsense.

http://www.avclub.com/articles/steven-spielberg-sorry-he-made-all-those-changes-t,61801/

Beautifully relevant quote: “I realized that what I had done was I had robbed the people who loved E.T. of their memories of E.T. And I regretted that.” By way of penance—and reinforced by informal audience poll—Spielberg promised that the upcoming Blu-ray release of E.T. would have only the original, untouched, guns-and-penises version.

"People who alter or destroy works of art and our cultural heritage for profit or as an exercise of power are barbarians"

That is a direct quote from Lucas himself speaking to congress about film preservation.

"Tomorrow, more advanced technology will be able to replace actors with “fresher faces,” or alter dialogue and change the movement of the actor’s lips to match."

What happened in the interim is anyone's guess, but is seems clear George has turned into something he used to despise.

Just finished Robopocalypse. My short review is that it's a very mainstream action-packed Chriton-esque take on what happens when the robots decide we are expendable. The guy who wrote it has serious chops with a PHD in robotics - but it's very dumbed down, with very little geeky meat in it. He must be doing something right because Spielberg has signed on to make the movie.

I just started Ready Player One which is a SF novel steeped in videogames and 80s culture. Any book that mentions Warren Robinett in the first few pages is going to be awesome. I was led to this book by a glowing review in BoingBoing.

Next I'm going to tackle Neal Stephenson's new book Reamde. I loved Neal in the 90s with his fantastic visions in Snow Crash and Diamond Age. I dropped off after Cryptonomicon - as it seemed that Neal was slowly deciding not to write about the future anymore - or even Science Fiction at all. The new book is supposed to be a return to the old style - so I'm really looking forward to it.

With the kids, I'm reading the The Hunger Games trilogy. They've already read them on their own, but they want me to read them with them to get my opinion. They claim the books are "better than Harry Potter" - high praise, almost blasphemy, but we'll see. The first book is starting out great and it too is slated to come out as a movie next year.

So what are you reading?

Ok it's killing me. How wizard would everyone rate the new Robot Chicken: Star Wars 3 Episode?

I will in fact give it a wizard. I also enjoyed the mic cutoff and "The Force Unleashed II™" commercial as well. Then coming back.

Also, all of the show anywhere around that point was also wizard. If someone with the powers can throw a poll up--that would be totally wizard.

/I'm taking it back too!

Scenario: Next Thursday enormous space ships descend from the sky in every city in the world. Tall grey beings with glowing skin levitate down from hatches and announce that they have come for the faithful.

They say that a probe ship was sent ahead that arrived thousands of years ago. Crew from the ship assessed the culture and myths of each major population. Sometimes they appeared in person to demand direct obedience from the very primitive bronze age humans. They used their technology to cause miracles. They genetically modified humans with advanced intelligence and abilities and implanted them in women in key cultures to become leaders to preach their message.

It has taken thousands of years, a blink in their superior life spans, to build these large ships and send them across the galaxy to earth.

Now they ask all the faithful of the world, followers of Yahweh, Jehovah, Jesus, Mohammad, Buddha, Confucius to rise up with them into their space ships. To serve them as rightful Gods and angels.

• What do you do?


• Do you go or do you stay?


• How can you tell the difference between God and an Alien? is there a difference?


• or do you launch the Nukes to teach them a lesson for f$%king with us for all these years... potentially waging war on God

http://www.youtube.com/show/lostwwhn

"You never know who will show up on the island when The Fine Brothers are writing for the show. Some cameos include Harry Potter, The Joker, Edward Cullen and more!"


So cheesy, but funny.