As I write this blog entry, 2010 is coming to a close and New Year’s is right around the corner. After enjoying Tron: Legacy last week with family and friends, I started to wonder what will be the holiday movie blockbuster next year. From there it was a short trip to wonder what the entire year’s worth of movies would be that interest me. So the list that follows is exactly that: dates and names of movies that I’m looking forward to in 2011 and beyond. Of course the dates get a little more fuzzy the farther out it is, so take them with a grain of salt. If I’ve missed any, please be sure to let us know in comments. If you’re interested in some in particular, let us know that, too! Here’s hoping that 2011 will be a great movie year!
Disney's 2010 Tron Legacy Film (Picture courtesy of Disney's Tron Legacy Website)
Sean posted a great blog post about the ten things he learned from Tron 1982. I know I’m late to the party, but after just seeing Tron tonight, here are ten things I learned from seeing Tron Legacy
The 8 1/2 Foot Tall 2010 Shooter Family Geek Christmas Tree
I’m sure just about everyone reading this article has some sort of a holiday tradition. Our family has several and usually includes the boys in the family going to see whatever SciFi blockbuster is out. This year our plans are to see Tron Legacy together. One of our other long lasting traditions involve each member of the family receiving a Hallmark Christmas Tree Ornament in our stockings. My mother, Mom Shooter, has been responsible for assembling this gift each year for the past 20 or 30 years. Everyone has one or two series that they follow from year to year. My father, Dad Shooter, has received the Classic American Car series every year since 1991. The girls usually end up with a Disney series ornament. I have received the All American Trucks series off and on since 2000, but each and every year Mom Shooter makes sure I receive some sort of a SciFi Hallmark Christmas Tree ornament. In fact, our family have received so many Hallmark ornaments that we’ve had to add a second full-sized tree in our home to handle all of our favorite ornaments. For those of you that follow me on Twitter, you’ve already seen our “geek” tree, but for those of you who didn’t get the chance, here’s a little tour of the vehicle and ship ornaments on our tree.
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@FakeGrimlock in the Holiday Spirit
Are you a Transformers fan? Do you enjoy reading funny and/or geek-related Twitter streams? If either and/or both the answers to those questions are yes, I wholeheartedly recommend you follow @FakeGrimlock. There’s just something special about an eons-old Dinobot making his entrance to the internet through Twitter. Whether it’s his robot brain damage or semi-ambivalence to humanity, I always seem to get a chuckle from his tweets. Recently, I had a chance to catch up with @FakeGrimlock and ask him a few questions. His answers are in true @FakeGrimlock form.
A classic interview with Cybertron’s favorite son past the jump. Continue reading »
BBC's New Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson
In a time of programming uncertainty and early cancellations on American TV, the BBC has produced some of the best television currently available. BBC’s new series Sherlock is absolutely a poster child for great television. Sherlock is a modernized version of the classic Sherlock Holmes tale set in the London of today. Unfortunately, I missed Sherlock when it first aired on BBC, but due to overwhelming positive reviews, comments, and recommendations, I made sure I set the DVR to record it when it first aired on American PBS stations on October 24th. Even amidst such high recommendations Sherlock not only delivered, but amazed me in its brilliance.
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“Are you reading that for the first time?” a stranger asked me on the New York City Subway.
“Yes” I responded somewhat cautiously looking up from my book. As a New Yorker, I am not used to unsolicited literary commentary in public or any kind of interaction with strangers, ever.
“I envy you” he replied simply and in a moment was gone.
At first I was tempted to brush off this exchange. I closed the book for the first time in two days and considered what had just happened: A person was so moved by a book he felt obligated to engage a stranger in the subway to share the importance of the novel. I glanced at the cover which really didn’t give anything away of the plot, just standard sci-fi ships flying in space. The story was becoming with each passing word my absolute favorite science fiction novel of all time. In the coming years when asked what my favorite book was I would name this one and every book I read after this would be compared to it.
That novel? Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card.
A Depiction of the Inner Gliese 581 G Solar System. Image courtesy of NASA as created by Lynette Cook
The GWC Crüe mentioned in podcast 239 that a new “Earthlike” exoplanet, meaning a planet orbiting a star outside our own solar system, was found around the small red dwarf star Gliese 581 G. Scientists and exoplanet hunters have been finding exoplanets since 1992 and to date have cataloged over 400 of them. Most exoplanets found to date have been gas giant planets like Jupiter or Saturn or bigger. Although with new instrumentation and refined techniques I’ll bet exoplanet hunters will be finding many more planets in the very near future. I’m excited about this and feel like I’m living in an era similar to the years just prior to Leif Erickson or Christopher Columbus. So what is an “Earthlike” planet, why will more be found in the near future, and what are the ways to find exoplanets in the first place?
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The Perfect Colorful Time for a Cleveland GWC Meet-up
The fall leaves are full of beautiful color, the highs are in the upper 50s or low 60s, and there is a hint of joyful holiday anticipation in the air. It was the perfect time for a Cleveland GWC Meet-up. GWC meet-ups are some of the most fun times a geek can have outside of a Con. Sure, the GWC Forum and Twitter are great ways to connect with other GWCers. But there is something special about in person meet-ups. For it is at a meet-up that a true understanding arises about the “Hive Mind”/friendliest people in Fantasy, SciFi, Anime, Comics, Gaming, and Geek. Plus, everyone ALWAYS has a blast.
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It’s true that Sean is GWC’s resident dragon expert and fantasy fiend — but as we begin our three-week Dragon Arc for the ‘cast, I’ve been remembering my childhood introduction to dragons and my own take on this diverse mythical species. I’ve included a few of my favorites here to illustrate why dragons have always been, in my view, friendly and enchanting rather than the terrible, destructive kind often portrayed in film.
1. Falkor, The Neverending Story (1984)
Other than Pete’s Dragon (1977), which my mom took me to see when it played in a local second-run theater in the early eighties, Falkor was the first dragon that I decided was badass on my own. The Neverending Story captured my imagination with its fascinating, and kind of scary, story, and perhaps the best ending possible in any fantasy movie. The main character basically gets infinite magic wishes from a beautiful princess, and then rides on Falkor’s back to show up the school bullies who used to throw him in the dumpster.
- A Conception of a VASIMR® Powered Lunar Tug Spaceship.
I’d have to take a poll to be sure, but judging from the reaction to last year’s five week GWC Cosmos podcast arc I’d bet that a good percentage of GWCers are interested in space travel, space colonization, or just simple weekend sightseeing camping trips around the solar system neighborhood. Unfortunately, there are millions of challenges to overcome before those activities become a reality for humankind.
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SyFy's New Series Haven - Check it Out!
This summer SyFy introduced a new treat for Friday viewers. Eureka and Warehouse 13 were split to plug the Tuesday and Friday summer timeslots left vacant by such names as Stargate Universe, Caprica, Merlin, and Sanctuary. So, on July 9, 2010 SyFy introduced us to a new Friday show, Haven. The show has many aspects that I know would appeal to GWCers like unexplained supernatural phenomena, Warehouse 13-like artifact powers, Sanctuary style mutants (although all in human form…so far), X-files mystery, and a town full of common Northern Lights style folks.
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John Hughes was the voice of a generation. The director-writer-producer captured how it felt to grow up in the 1980s – for the Generation X demographic, at least. He’s best known for teen comedies like Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – a hot streak endlessly hailed as his “Holy Trinity” since his sudden death from a heart attack August 7, 2009. But lost in the much-deserved eulogizing is the fact that Hughes’ creative career began and ended with stories about adults. The teen movies were just one corner of his world.
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