Jlawrence’s Comments (group member since Mar 08, 2010)

Jlawrence’s comments from the The Sword and Laser group.

*Moved to Author Promo sub-forum*

Yes, Devikumar, as Geoff said, only make ONE thread promoting your book (I've deleted your duplicate threads), and promotions should go in this Author Promo subsection. If you have any other questions, see our FAQ:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

As well as about to start March pick Altered Carbon, reading The Crystal Cave, the first book of Mary Stewart's take on Arthurian legend through Merlin's viewpoint, and God's Jury: The Inquisition and the Making of the Modern World.

What about you?

I'm reading Playing at the World: A History of Simulating Wars, People, and Fantastic Adventure from Chess to Role-Playing Games which, despite its generic title, is a history of the creation of Dungeons & Dragons (I'm guessing the author couldn't get the rights to put D&D in the title). It is told in such great detail that it's alternately fascinating and mind-numbing. But if you have any interest in the topic, you'll likely enjoy geeking out on some of the content. For instance, the portion covering the co-evolution of science-fiction and fantasy fiction is an excellent look at developments that influence, well, basically everything we read in this group.

Also still making my way through another look at genre history, the anthology The Road to Science Fiction Volume 1.

What are you reading?

*thread title changed*

*falls back asleep* zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ;)

It was excellent fun! May it happen again!

And here's Veronica's pic of us Swords & Lasers being audience-y, in case you missed it on Twitter:

*moved this thread to the Einstein Intersection sub-forum, because...Happy New Year!*

I'm off that day, so I can do anytime that works best for the majority. Hurrah for Tom being able to make it as well!

Sean O'Hara wrote: "Jlawrence wrote: "Hmm, I don't have cable - how good/swift is Adult Swim about putting stuff online?"

Funimation will be streaming it, and they usually put their stuff on Hulu as well."

Ah, excellent.

Mentioned several times here, Battle Beyond the Stars is probably my favorite bad sci-fi movie, especially for Robert Vaughn as the jaded mercenary Gelt, a reprise of his Magnificent Seven character (the whole film is b-movie-sci-fi riff on Magnificent Seven, which was a cowboy riff on Seven Samuari). Favorite lines of his:

Kid: Mister, were you bad when you were little?
Gelt: I was never that little.

Cowboy (played by George Peppard!): Where ya from, Gelt? I'm from Earth. Know where that is?
Gelt: I was born in SPACE.

So much cheesy goodness.

Also fun that John Sayles (Lone Star, Matewan, Passion Fish) did the screenplay, and who was that making those models and B-movie special effects? Why, a young James Cameron.

Star Crystal is amazingly, wonderfully bad - an Alien knock-off seemingly made for $20 with one of the jaw-droppingly worst/best twist endings evah.

Intrigued because I love Cowboy Bebop and because...Space!

Hmm, I don't have cable - how good/swift is Adult Swim about putting stuff online?

I didn't buy the standard, and plunked down the $ for this extended version to get the extras, which have always been excellent with the extended LOTR releases. But agree with many here that the storyline was bloated already, so it seems unlikely I'll embrace the added scenes like I did with the extended LOTR movies. If I dislike them enough, I will be one of those fools double-dipping to get the trimmer standard edition as well. :/

*Moved to the Ancillary Justice sub-forum because...November!*

The Road to Science Fiction 1 a multi-book anthology charting the history of sf - this first volume's all pre-20th century stuff and pretty interesting. Also finishing up the bizarre The 57th Franz Kafka by Rudy Rucker -- that is, if I can find where I put it in my apt!

Michael Moorcock also did some writing for Blue Oyster Cult, incorporating his Elric of Melnibone character and Eric's soul-sucking sword into the song Black Blade.

And (tooting-own-hornism) there's The Sword and Laser -- sung and written by forum member aldenoneil, musical accompanyment by me and my friend Karl (The New Old Men), video by me.

Frank Black/Black Francis has a large number of science-fiction-themed songs, both from his Pixies and solo careers:

First track on Pixies' Trompe Le Monde album describes a song being sent into space, on the second track, an alien protaganist picks up said broadcast and goes looking for the broadcaster, searching for the Planet of Sound, Earth, but end up visiting several other planets instead. "Bird Dream of the Olympus Mons" describes a jump off that Martian volcano, and there's also a Martian vacation, crashing UFOs, and more on the album.

Big Red from Black's Teenager of the Year album is likely the only indie rock song about terraforming Mars.

The new Pixies song Andro Queen is a fairytale-ish paean to human/android romance. As well as a great Pixies/Black song, I could also totally imagine it as a They Might Be Giants song.

Black's Pie in the Sky seems to feature a solar sail travelling at the speed of light:

"It takes photon power
And eight minutes of an hour
To make it to our sun
And I know it sounds weird
But it'll take you four years
To make the next one

Expanding border
That's the sauce of chaos
And that's an order"

I'm sure there's more that I'm forgetting...

I did it for real in 2011, then last year experimenting trying a RE-writing NaNoWriMo (reworking what I'd done the previous year) which completely did not work.

I will try the good-old-fashioned-from-scratch way again this year.

Sky, I can't make either of those dates, but that'd be great if other S&Lers could meet-up at the Sanderson appearances.

For the bookclub, early-mid Oct is wacky for me becasue of vacation time, but I'd love to attend an end of October meeting.

*Moved to the Boneshaker sub-forum because now it's the month of Octoberification*

Tom wrote: "Now for November, I can't wait to read my favorite Science Fiction Romance Action Adventure book, A First Love Never Dies"

But Tom, you promised we could read the Sci-Fi Romance Hey Santa. :( :(



(I also like how we made Veronica use three exclamation marks in her reply (!!!) )

*moved to General Discussion*

Still hoping this can happen. Fresno Bob, that's great that Borderlands is receptive to the idea.

Borderlands has walking directions from BART, for East Bay folk:
http://www.borderlands-books.com/abou...

Would that work for East Bay people?

Maybe we could try for a late Sept meet-up for Demolished Man? Olivia?