For the curious reader of science fiction (scifi) and fantasy
This came to my attention from SyFy’s Blastr site.
A new car ad from Audi features dueling Spock actors. Zachary Quinto (new Spock) challenges Leonard Nimoy (old Spock) to a little competition in “The Challenge”:
The Audi-o is a little low, so you might have to turn up the volume.
In this promo for a Star Trek video game, William Shatner and his old friend the Gorn (from the Classic Trek episode “The Arena”) mix it up in Shatner’s living room. I’ve always had a soft spot for the Gorn. It’s good to see him back.
A young, German filmmaker named Kaleb Lechowski, 22, has released an all-CGI short film called R’ha that’s pretty impressive, especially for an amateur effort. Okay, the story’s nothing new, but the visual (and audio) representation are startlingly good. Reportedly, he spent seven months on the computer creating this film with a running time of 6:26. If you’re not at work or in a house with people sleeping, turn up the sound a little.
Apparently the display of film-making talent is generating quite a lot of buzz. More on the story here and here.
One of the hardest things for many writers—beyond, you know, actually writing—is trying to describe your book in just a few words. Here’s a funny book trailer that tackles the question head on.The author in this trailer reminds me of my sister-in-law, Suzanne.
Discovered courtesy of The Passive Voice.
With apologies to my Republican readers (if I have any left). It is a parody.
In remarking on the political divisiveness and social unrest of an historically polarizing election and in commenting culturally and metaphorically on Victor Hugo’s fictional historic struggle at the barricades of freedom, “One Term More”, with deep affection and utmost respect, parodies the inimitable “One Day More!” © Published by Alain Boublil Music Ltd. / ℗ 1985 EXALLSHOW LTD. Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg / Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer from the beloved, internationally acclaimed Cameron Mackintosh Presentation of “Les Misérables” By Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg. Based on the novel by Victor Hugo.
This is too good not to post. Lovers of Simon and Garfunkel, and lovers of Battlestar Galactica unite!
Here’s a lovely video of some flight tests of Virgin Galactic’s and Scaled Composite’s Spaceship Two. I meant to post this a while back, but I don’t think I ever did. Anyway, it’s worth watching twice!
Something to watch while you’re waiting for Mars to grow to full size in the viewscreen. Set it to full-screen mode and turn up the sound.
Nocturnal – Scenes of the Southern Night, Western Australia and Chile. from Colin Legg on Vimeo.
Tip of the hat to Astronomy Picture of the Day for this one.
NASA’s latest wonder-probe to Mars, Curiosity, is scheduled to land on Mars at 10:31 p.m. EDT, on the night of August 5th. Be there, and don’t even think about being square. NASA has worked out a way for folks online to experience the event using some kind of 3D software on their computers, and even on their Xbox game sets. Who says NASA doesn’t have a sense of wonder? Go here to see all the different activities they’ve worked out for folks to do in connection with the Mars landing, or here to get set up with the Unity Web Player to experience the landing to full effect. They’re encouraging people to start getting set up now, so everyone isn’t crashing the servers getting set up on the night of the 5th. Go here if you want to learn more about the mission.
Just how exciting could this landing be? After all, we’ve landed on Mars before. But not like this. Take a look at this video to see just how difficult this feat really is. If this doesn’t get you pumped, better check to see if you still have pulse. Pop it up to full screen if you can.
If you have trouble viewing it on this page, go to the source.