If you’re a Hubble Space Telescope fan, odds are you will REALLY be a Webb fan. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), previously known as the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST), is in the assembly phase. The Webb team is targeting a 2018 launch date. Webb offers several (forgive the pun) astronomical advances over the Hubble. For starters, the aperture, or eye through which the telescope looks into the universe, will be about five times larger than the Hubble’s. Webb will also be parked in a gravitationally stable point in space called the Lagrange Point two, or L2, that will always keep the Earth and the sun to its back — so not only will it be technologically able to see farther into the universe, but the light pollution from the sun will be minimized by keeping Webb in the shadow of the Earth.
This, folks, is just seriously awesome: OK GO takes on the Muppet Show theme. Yes, that’s every bit as cool as you’d imagine, complete with lots of Muppet references (“OK GO and the Muppets? That sounds pretty exciting. Let’s watch cat videos.”) and even a nice OK GO treadmill in-joke.
The vid promotes The Green Album, a set of twelve Muppet tunes performed by pop artists like Weezer, The Fray, and My Morning Jacket. Released yesterday, it’s available digitally and in CD form now. How cool is that?
The Green Album [Muppet Wiki]
Via Amazon
(via @TheOperatorGWC)
I’m usually one to be completely engrossed in watching a movie at home. In fact, to make sure I hear the dialogue correctly, I usually turn on the closed captioning. But with a movie or franchise I’m really interested in, I know I’ll be watching the movie over and over again, like the obsessed geek I am. I’ll watch the movie, the commentaries if they’re available, and the included special features on the DVD or Blu-ray — then I’ll listen to podcasts that discuss the movie. This week I discovered a new way to geek out over a movie with more in-depth material than I’ve seen before: Disney’s Second Screen.
SLINGERS from Mike Sizemore on Vimeo.
It’s got circa-1960s style and spaceships. It’s got con artists in black-tie formal wear and holographic roulette wheels. It’s got a classic casino heist storyline and a self-aware pistol with a sense of humor. It’s got women in cocktail dresses…and one who changes out of hers into a spacesuit in an airlock. Slingers has all the anachronistic juxtaposition a sci-fi fan could hope for in a TV show, and it promises to return a level of playfulness to gritty, naturalistic sci-fi that we haven’t seen since the days of Firefly. If this all sounds too good to be true, it’s probably because it isn’t…yet.
In a move sure to excite every geek in the frakking universe, Dark Horse Comics is about to release a One Shot Wonder comic book. The subject? Why, none other than that holder of a Ph.D. in Horribleness: Dr. Horrible. Every poser in a parka is going to want one of these!
Have you always thought that a catchy pop tune about gaming would be the best thing since sliced rye bread? Even if you haven’t, The Guild’s new music video, “Do You Want to Date My Avatar,” is a great way to get in the mood for not only the new season of The Guild but also for the GWC podcast’s next few upcoming episodes! However, be prepared to be singing the song afterwards… be sure to check out the lyrics.
The song’s also available for download from iTunes and Amazon (ASIN B002JEEJ2A).
The Guild [website]
Dark Horse announced at the San Diego Comic Con that they’re teaming up with the lovely Felicia Day to create a three part comic mini-series based on hit web-video franchise The Guild. It seems Dark Horse’s Scott Allie is a fan, too: “Felicia’s amazing, and her writing will translate smoothly into comics. This’ll make a great companion to our line of comics. It’ll fit great alongside our webcomics and our Whedon books. And I’m really looking forward to working with her to get into some areas the show simply can’t because of budgetary reasons,” he said. Read on for more details.
Felicia Day’s homegrown (and totally awesome) internet series The Guild recently wrapped filming on its third season, due to release later this summer. Production funds initially came solely from friends and fans and, of course, Ms. Day’s own pocket. But in their best move since releasing Win2k and merging with Nextel, respectively, Microsoft and Sprint now sponsor the show — with the caveat that creative control still rests firmly in the hands of Felicia and her evil minions.
GWCers on Flickr
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