G.L. Breedon's Blog, page 18
September 13, 2011
Review of HBO Series Carnivàle
My wife and I recently finished watching the HBO series Carnivàle. A carnival plays a central part in the second book of my Young Sorcerers Guild series, so I thought watching a show about a carnival might be a fun way to do research. Carnivàle takes place at the height of the Great Depression and [...]
September 12, 2011
Stanislaw Lem's Birthday
Today would be the 90th birthday of master Polish sci-fi withor Stanislaw Lem. Born September 12th, 1921, he passed away March 27th, 2006. While Lem is probably most famous for writing the source novel to Andrei Tarkovski's film Solaris, my first introduction to his work was His Master's Voice, which I read for a sci-fi [...]
September 9, 2011
Weekly Sci-Fi & Fantasy Recap
Very nice review by Tahlia Newland of my novel The Wizard of Time. NASA releases images what the moon landings look like now. Scare-a-Cuse in Syracuse Sept. 10th. Why am I never in the city where sci-fi stuff is happening? Photos from Dragon Con 2011. Great guide to the sci-fi & fantasy films still coming [...]
September 8, 2011
Top 100 Sci-Fi Films
I came across these on Youtube a while back and though they would be fun to share. The first two are competing lists of the 100 Sci-Fi film of all time and the third is a selection of the best sci-fi films of the last 100 years, wisely not ranked. They are fun lists. I've [...]
September 7, 2011
Is Close Encounters of the Third Kind a Postmodern Film?
There was an interesting article in The Guardian by film critic Jonathan Jones, who suggests that Steven Spielberg's film Close Encounters of the Third Kind is the first great work of Postmodern art. He writes: What makes me call this film "postmodernist"? Partly it is the homely suburban world where Spielberg sets his story. [...]
September 2, 2011
Weekly Sci-Fi & Fantasy Recap
Dragon Con starts Friday in Atlanta. I09 has a great guide to sci-fi and fantasy for September. Good interview with sci-fi author Brenda Cooper. Nice review of Mike Ashley's "Out of This World" history of sci-fi. Blade Runner Convention Reel from 1982 posted online. Watch it fast before it gets pulled. Birthday of Mary Shelley [...]
September 1, 2011
Blade Runner Convention Reel from 1982
Saw this on i09, but the Vimeo post seems to have been taken down. Hopefully the Youtube version will stay up for a bit longer. From the YouTube description: One of the Blade Runner Convention Reels featuring interviews with Ridley Scott, Syd Mead and Douglas Trumbull about making Blade Runner universe. This 16 mm featurette, [...]
August 30, 2011
100 Year Starship Symposium
DARPA is hosting the 100 Year Starship Symposium in Orlando from Sept. 30th – Oct. 2nd. It looks to be a fascinating three days of lectures and panels. The agenda covers a wide range of topics, including propulsion systems, starship designs, biological/crew survival, economics, ethical considerations, and religious implications. There is also a film presentation, [...]
Life-On-Moon Hoax 176 Years Ago Today
I came across this article today about a life-on-the-moon hoax published on this day, 176 years ago in the New York Sun newspaper. The paper ran a six part series about red cucumber eating bat-men living on the moon and worshiping in temples. Somehow I had never heard of this hoax. Which is a shame, [...]
Weekly Sci-F- & Fantasy Recap
Doctor Who returns to BBC America at 9pm EST this Saturday from it's mid-season break. Nice recap of the first half of season six here. Bubonicon 43 begins this weekend in New Mexico. TOR/Forge Books and NASA are working together to create a series of hard SF stories to inspire new generation of rocket scientists. [...]
