Video Found: Michio Kaku Talking About the Multiverse
What Mr. Kaku is talking about in this video may sound like science fiction, but the reality is that there is a whole segment of the scientific community seriously studying this and finding evidence that suggests it is real. The great thing about Mr. Kaku is how he is able to present enormously complex subjects in a simplistic way so that anyone, in theory, can understand it. Anyway, the video is after the fold:
Quick Movie Reviews (2009): Volume One
And, to start off the new year in movie reviews, I’ve got the first volume of my quick movie reviews feature! Enjoy! Aliens vs. Predator 2Pros: It’s aliens and predators in the same movie. That’s all I’ve got. Seriously.Cons: Crappy story, crappy use of franchise characters, crappy acting, crappy everything. Basically the only thing that went right for this one was the first three things in the title: Aliens vs. Predator. The “2” is even a bad thing in this one.Rating: 1/5 House BunnyPros: Entertaining for stupid people.Cons: Vapid, vacuous, pointless. You could choose a number of words to describe this piece of trash. It’s not funny, it’s poorly put together, poorly acted, and it made me lose respect for a lot of actors/actresses I actually liked. At least when Colin Hanks was in Orange County it was funny. I hope this isn’t an example of the dying out of one’s career, because I happen to like Colin Hanks, and Anna Faris.Rating: 1/5 Babylon A.D. (theatrical version)Pros: A really fascinating idea set in a twisted and equally fascinating world. Great cast and beautiful special effects. Entertaining and interesting.Cons: The studio forced them to cut the hell out of this could-have-been-brilliant SF film. The ending shows you where they hit it the hardest. Some of the action in it is somewhat pointless and I think this film could have done with another 45 minutes of showing us this frakked up future Earth. The most important things were left out, which failed to give a good foundation of the rules of this imagined future.Rating: 2.5/5 Mutant ChroniclesPros: The trailer was really cool and the visuals are stunning. A good idea–an alternate timeline where humans have broken off into huge factions at constant war with one another over resources accidentally unleash a trapped, wicked machine from long ago.Cons: Bad acting and way too much exposition in the first 30 minutes (we don’t find out who the heroes on until about 25 minutes in and by then we don’t give a crap). Watching Ron Perlman attempt to be an Irish priest (at least I think it’s Irish) was like trying to watch Michael Jackson act normal. The makers of this movie took a neat idea and then ran all over the place with it, making it seem like they didn’t know what kind of film they wanted to make. Biggest disappointment of 2008.Rating: 1/5 Quantum of SolacePros: Entertaining, violent, and somewhat dark. I like the direction they are going with this and Daniel Craig is an interesting Bond. Of course, if you pay closer attention to the movie it’s a clear visualization of colonial authority as directed by the “company.” American Imperialism at its best, I’m sure. The bad guy wasn’t as creepy this time around.Cons: Not as solid as the first Craig incarnation. It lacked some depth to bring all the characters into focus (the new ones, that is).Rating: 3/5 There you go!
Book Review Up: Down to a Sunless Sea by Mathias B. Freese
You can find the review of Mathias B. Freese’s short story collection, Down to a Sunless Sea, here. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think! Anywho!
The 2008 WISB Awards!
It’s that time again (technically I’m about a month late, as last time I did these in December, but so be it). The WISB Awards are here again. What does this mean? Absolutely nothing, because it’s not a legitimate award. There are no trophies, no certificates, no checks. The only thing you get is “immortilization” on my blog, which is worth about $0.87. But, it’s the thought that counts, right? If you don’t know much about the WISB Awards, particularly what any of the categories mean, you should check out the 2007 awards for kicks. Maybe you’ll find something interesting there. Or maybe not. In any case, here go the awards: The 2008 Kudos AwardPaul Genesse snatches this one up hands down. Not only is Paul a fantastic person (he’s nice, open, talkative, and, well, downright awesome–he gave me a free, signed, hardcover copy of his first book when I met him in San Francisco not too long ago, and that’s pretty damn cool in my book; I got a hug too, in case anyone is wondering), but he’s also a great up-and-coming writer with a lot of talent and a person dedicated to his craft. Oh, and he’s a registered nurse, so he has two jobs, if you can believe it. He went on tour last year and I swear he never stopped. He was doing readings at schools, bookstores, fairs, etc. The result? Selling a lot of books. But I imagine his winning personality and the fact that he’s a good guy helped quite a bit. Worst Writer (Personally) of 2008William Sanders. I won’t reiterate what needs to be said. I’ll just point to posts that you should read: here, here, here, here, and here. Best Novel of 2008I have thought long and hard on this one. There were a lot of fantastic books I read this year, many of which do actually deserve this award: Innocent/Awakened Mage by Karen Miller, The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer, The 13th Reality by James Dashner, Ten Sigmas by Paul Melko, and The Golden Cord by Paul Genesse. But they all can’t win (mentioning them helps, I’m sure) and I have to choose a winner. And the winner isn’t one of the books named:Sly Mongoose by Tobias S. Buckell.Perhaps one of the most exciting science fiction novels I have read in a long time (exciting in the sense of being a real page-turner, lots of action, fascinating characters, and thrilling adventure). Best Publisher of 2008Fairwood Press.Publisher of Talebones magazine, novels, and short story collections, this small press has been churning out some fantastic books (Ten Sigmas by Paul Melko is a personal favorite). I hope they continue on through 2009 and eagerly anticipate anything they have cooking in the oven. Best Cover of 2008It should be obvious what this is, but if not, it’s the cover art for The Golden Cord by Paul Genesse. The beautiful artwork above was created by Ciruelo Cabral. Best Writer of 2008This, unlike the worst writer category, deals exclusively with issues of talent, which is a problem, because just like choosing the best novel of the year, I have read far too many talented writers in the last year. So, I have to take into account several different criteria, including writing ability, style, storytelling ability, and others. Some of the authors I have read were new in 2008, and while they were fantastic writers, I think they deserve some time to grow and develop before I crown them. Other authors technically aren’t eligible for the WISB Awards because they published in 2007 rather than 2008, which is, I suppose, easier on me because that makes the list much smaller to choose from.So who am I going to choose?Tobias S. Buckell. While I have had a lot of respect for him over the last year or so, I think he really hit the nail on the head with Sly Mongoose. He has matured in a lot of ways, not least of which in his ability to tell a damn good story. That’s what this is all about, isn’t it? Telling a good story? Okay, so you might disagree and think that writing is about art and yadda-yadda literary-mumbo-jumbo-academia-nonsense, but the cavemen didn’t write for art, they wrote to portray a story, and that’s what this is all about! Tobias Buckell is up at the top amongst the top science fiction storytellers for me, taking up a mantle of classic space opera and “new age” socio-political thought and melting it together into an action-packed thrill ride. Read the first chapter of Sly Mongoose and you’ll know what I mean. Best Movie of 2008This should be really obvious, right? There were quite a few decent flicks this past year, including some decent science fiction and fantasy ones (Tale of Despereaux, Dark Knight, WALL-E, Iron Man, Babylon A.D., Hellboy II, etc.). But there is only one movie that I watch over and over again for the purpose of seeing a beautiful visual masterpiece (I’ve seen Iron Man several times, but not for this reason; Iron Man is just badass). That movie was The Dark Knight. If you haven’t seen it, you should. It’s by far one of the most disturbing comic book films ever made and Heath Ledger is absolutely terrifying. Hopefully it will snatch up some major film awards (Oscar and Academy, preferably). And that, ladies and gentlemen, is all. Congrats to the winners and here’s to another fantastic year!
Website Found: Anthem, the Musical
The wonderful thing about randomly surfing the interwebs is that sometimes you find something so cool it’s hard to believe it exists. Case in point is this website for Anthem, the Musical. What is it?You know that book by Ayn Rand called Anthem? Well, apparently somebody thought it would be a good idea to turn it into a musical, and this website is all about it. Why is it cool?Well, what isn’t cool about it? It’s a website all about a musical version of Ayn Rand’s Anthem. It doesn’t get much cooler than that, right? Okay, so maybe you don’t know what book I’m talking about; if that is the case, then just take note that someone loved a single book enough to turn it into a musical.The website has sample audio to listen to, which has a sort of 80s rock sound in to vocals, which is interesting, and several pages with information about the musical, including: The Story, The Characters, Creative Team, Media, and Contact pages. If you like Ayn Rand’s work, this website could change your life (maybe, or maybe not). If you don’t know Ayn Rand’s work (I’ve never read any), then this page should be a testament to the awesomeness of literature, because only a book (the musical Wicked was also based on a book, by the way) could bring something like this to life. Or someone who really likes musicals (or both). Enjoy!
The Haul of Books Volume One
Well, I’ve decided to start calling this feature “The Haul of Books,” because it seems to fit as a clever manipulation of words. So, to start off with a bang, I have a little story! UC Santa Cruz is having a fantastic set of readings this quarter from science fiction and fantasy authors and last Wednesday I had the chance to meet Kim Stanley Robinson and Karen Joy Fowler. After their readings, they answered several questions from the audience and then signed books (while answering more questions). It was a fantastic experience. I don’t get the opportunity to see a lot of interesting science fiction or fantasy authors in Santa Cruz. Unfortunately, all of the good readings are in San Francisco (with the exception of Salmon Rushdie and William Gibson, who visited Santa Cruz not too long ago).And as author readings would have it, I managed to get a few books signed (new books, since I was an idiot and left all my Robinson at home).Firstly, here are the books–The Sweetheart Season by Karen Joy Fowler and The Years of Rice and Saltby Kim Stanley Robinson.And here are the signed sections: On top of that are the following books. Shambling Towards Hiroshima by James Morrow is a book sent to me from Tachyon Publications for review, which looks really good. Leven Thumps and the Eyes of the Want by Obert Skye I bought at Borders recently with $5.00 I had in Borders Bucks (I love this series, by the way). The last one is So Long Been Dreaming (Postcolonial Science Fiction and Fantasy) edited by Nalo Hopkinson and Uppinder Mehan, which I got some time ago along with a book to help me study for the GRE (for the free shipping on Amazon, of course). I found out not too long after buying that last book that one of my favorite authors has a story in it (Tobias S. Buckell with “Necahual”) and I will be using it for my research project, I’m sure.And there you have it. This is the first edition of “The Haul of Books” and I suspect there will be many more in the near future (actually, I can guarantee it, because I just stole a bunch of books off of a friend). Anywho!