Stargate Universe

I have mixed feelings about the casting decisions being made for Stargate Universe. This is just my personal opinion, but I enjoy seeing new actors or actors that are not that well known cast into a role that we then get the opportunity to grow to love. The Stargate SG-1 series had Richard Dean Anderson as the star and I remember him best from MacGyver and he seemed perfect for Stargate. The other actors I did not really know before the series but they ended up being just as loveable and fun to watch. The same can be said for Stargate Atlantis, I was not familiar with any of the actors and they became something to look forward to each week.
They have cast Lou Diamond Phillips for Stargate Universe and all I can think about is the stinker movie Supernova (2000). I could barely stay awake watching that movie it was so hideous. I have enjoyed watching Phillips in other movies and shows so maybe he can pull this off. As well, Ming-Na from ER will be in the show. She is a good actress and I have also enjoyed her work in various shows.
So while it is interesting to have household names being cast in the new series, I will miss getting to know unfamiliar faces and having them become the "new" heroes of Stargate.
If the the stories are interesting and the acting convincing, Stargate Universe should be a hit.

Google dismisses Atlantis Find

I could not resist writing about this article I found in BBC News the other day about the city of Atlantis.

"The Lost City of Atlantis is still lost - despite hopes that Google Earth had located the fabled city on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean.

Observers noted what seemed to be a grid of streets and the outlines of a big city on the sea floor about 960km (600 miles) off the African coast."

Doesn't Google know that the lost city of Atlantis is in the Pegasus Galaxy on a planet named Lantea? The city was most definitely below the ocean, just on another planet.

"Experts had said this was one of the possible sites of the city described by Plato, the Greek philosopher."

Well, Plato may have heard this story from people who heard it from one of the "Ancients" who lived on Earth many, many years before, in hiding from their greatest enemy the Wraith. All these years we thought Plato was so clever in his dialogues Timaeus and Critias when all along these were just hand-me-down stories originally told by these very Ancient Lanteans.

"In this case, however, what users are seeing is an artefact of the data collection process. Bathymetric (or sea floor terrain) data is often collected from boats using sonar to take measurements of the sea floor," she added.

"The lines reflect the path of the boat as it gathers the data. The fact there are blank spots between each of these lines is a sign of how little we really know about the world's oceans."

You see! This proves my point, you will not find Atlantis on Earth, it is on Lantea!

I was chuckling to myself when I read this article about the lost city of Atlantis and just had to share my perspective on the find or lack thereof. You can read the article here without the science fiction commentary.

GOOGLE

T-Minus a new graphic novel

I found this info on Space.com about a new graphic novel that talks about the 1960's space race.

"Jim Ottaviani's science-themed graphic novels have covered everything from fossils ("Bone Sharps, Cowboys & Thunder Lizards") to the atomic bomb ("Fallout"), and now he's taking readers all the way to the moon and back. "T-Minus," Ottaviani's new graphic novel from Simon & Schuster, tells the story of the 1960s space race from a perspective that's rarely been seen before, with art from Zander and Kevin Cannon. Ottaviani gave SPACE.com's sister publication Newsarama the scoop on how his story is unique from other tales of the moon landing, and why this seminal event in human history remains important today."

If you like graphic novels this one ought to be very interesting and it is told from the perspective of scientists and engineers.

You can read the interview HERE.

The Superheroes of The Tour of California

Image via Wikipedia

I realize that superheroes are fictional but I find the abilities of the pro cyclists to be extraordinary (others would attribute that ability to doping!). The reason I mention this at all is because I am really pumped up about seeing my favorite riders this Sunday at the finish of the Tour of California. I look forward to seeing Levi Leipheimer who is the current leader of the Tour, Tom Boonen, Ivan Basso and many others but of course, Lance Armstrong! I am sorry that Fabian Cancellara dropped out and I won't get to see him, oh well. I am so excited I just had to blog about it because to me, they are something from science fiction, maybe cyborgs if you will because they are so in tune and at one with their bicycles. I admire what they do because I am a cyclist myself and I can fully understand not only the physical strength needed to ride 185 km but understand the machine and what it takes to make sure it is in perfect working order because you are clipped in to it. Being clipped in can be very scary yet it gives you extra smooth and efficient pedaling power. It is an interesting relationship between human and machine. The skill and speed these riders possess is out of this world.
You can catch the action at the AmgenTour of California website if you are interested.
Have a great weekend!

Sunshine

I happened across the movie "Sunshine"(2007) the other evening. In all honestly, I kept watching the movie because I couldn't find anything else and I figured I had invested an hour into the movie so why not finish it. I was intrigued by the psychology in the movie and how a group of people working together could stand such a long journey through space. It has interesting and unusual cinematography, great music, and interesting actors(Cillian Murphy has amazing eyes and I love his acting).Forget about the science! I know that science fiction usually stretches the truth (a lot sometimes!) but I am able to suspend reality and enjoy. This was very hard to do in this movie because so much of the science was way off starting with the problem of the sun and the plan to fix it, it just wasn't believable. Don't get me wrong, I will watch cheesy sci fi movies and have fun, and I was having fun until the psycho crazed killer/slasher crew member from another ship appeared to kill and sabotage the mission. Please, the crew could have sabotaged the mission all on their own and in fact were doing it very well without the help of this killer. I wish they could have left the killer out of it and let events run their course because as it was, it was doubtful the crew of Icarus II would have made it back to Earth. The end of the movie could have focused on the psychological aspects of a one way mission and how to cope because as I mentioned, the psychological aspect of the movie wasn't that bad.
It is fun to watch if you like all science fiction movies. Here is a clip.

Yesterday's Enterprise

I watched this episode of Star Trek:TNG the other day and I have to say it is one of my favorite episodes for many reasons. It involves time travel,an alternate time line, and creative story telling that makes TNG so interesting.
The Enterprise-D scans a temporal rift just as the Enterprise-C travels through the rift. Once Enterprise-C is through the rift, everything changes on the Enterprise-D including the disappearance of Worf and Troi and the appearance of Tash Yar. As well, the bridge changes, the uniforms, and the mission of the Enterprise-D which finds itself at war with the Klingon Empire. I love that Guinan is the character that ties everything together with her special intuition. She realizes on an intuitive level that the Enterprise-D has changed dramatically as well as its mission. She cannot provide specific details only a general feeling. As the story progresses, Lt. Yar learns she is dead in the other timeline and requests to board the Enterprise-C to help in the return to the appropriate time. The 26 year time difference makes possible the subsequent capture and death of Lt. Yar by Romulans of which we learn in future episodes called Redemption I and II and Unification II.
We have once again, the idea that our actions of lack thereof can set into motion a series of events that could have easily gone in a different direction had we chosen differently. In this episode, the crew restores the past based on intuition, reason, and Guinan's trustworthy character. However, the past is not completely restored to the way it was because Lt. Yar traveled back in time 26 years.This did have a direct impact on the Enterprise as we see in future episodes.
Each time I watch an episode of TNG, I am so impressed at the story telling, how modern the episodes look even though they were made many years ago, and how great the acting is.

Free Books Online

I have been noticing quite a few books online that you can download for free. If you are interested in new books or re-reading a classic, often times you can find it online.

These are some examples of free online books at this WEBSITE.

There are a lot of books to choose from so have fun browsing!

UPDATE:

SciFI Gene suggested another site that looks really awesome!

Check it out :here.

Charles Darwin Birthday 12 Feb.

What I love about science fiction is that there is rarely a debate or question about the Theory of Evolution. It is understood and accepted that is how things work and many stories are based on this theory.
I found a wealth of info on Darwin:

" Charles Darwin would be 200 on Feb. 12, 2009. Darwin's theory of evolution is one of the best substantiated scientific bodies of thought in human history, yet it has been a flashpoint for public debate from nearly the time it was published under duress in 1859 as "On the Origin of Species." Born in 1809, the "father of evolution" had been working out the theory's details ever since he returned home from the five-year HMS Beagle adventure in 1836. Here we offer news, analysis and images that tell the story of Charles Darwin and explain how the process of evolution works. We also delve into the public controversy that continues today, though the theory is fully accepted by scientists."

You can read a lot more about Darwin and evolution HERE.

When I went to public schools eons ago, (I wasn't taught by Darwin personally!) I was taught the Theory of Evolution. All religions were respected and it was assumed that religious training would be received in the home and at the appropriate religious institution. I attended school with people who had a variety of different religious beliefs or no religious belief at all and we respected each other and our teachers and the academic material and we managed to coexist in harmony and had a lot of fun too. In my opinion, that sense of harmony has been lost and it seems that people are becoming more polarized and less accepting of the differences each of us has. I hope that we can become more unified and accepting once again in order to learn and grow as humans. How this will happen is through education, education, education. I hope students and parents will take education very seriously and strive to learn all that is possible.

Forget Your Troubles with Star Trek:TNG!

The economic times are getting to me, so I thought I would forget my problems by following the example of my favorite bridge crew:




After a while, the fireworks may be too much so some chill time maybe just what the doctor ordered:




I just love these videos, they are clever and fun and good for a few laughs.
Enjoy your day!

Internet Podcasts Rock !

Image via Wikipedia

I mentioned a few posts back that I used to listen to talk radio, specifically Coast To Coast when Art Bell was the host. I loved the stories about Area 51, all the mysterious aircraft near that area, the wonderful stories about aliens, etc. I stopped listening years ago but I have now found a new source of listening entertainment and that is the internet podcast. What is fun about the podcast is that I can look for shows that deal with precisely what I am interested in. There are shows that deal with science fiction in general or specific shows that are popular.
I used to listen to the guys at FTL but they have not done a show in a while. They had a fun episode about alcohol and space and which bar would you hang out in if you had a choice. I know my choice would be Quark's Bar in Deep Space Nine because you could really meet a variety of people due to the proximity to the wormhole. That episode on FTL really had me laughing.
I also go over to GateWorld because they have podcasts specifically about StarGate and full of fun details for the StarGate fan. I really liked the show about characters that left SG1 and Atlantis too soon. I was glad to learn I was not the only one who felt that Dr. Elisabeth Weir was written out of the show way too soon. I would have preferred to see her all the way through to the very end of the series. Oh well.
Podcasts can be found not only in science fiction but in any genre and can be interesting in that you can learn opinions and trivia and if you like multitasking you can "surf" the net while listening to your favorite show!

Attempting to Contact Aliens is nothing new.

Image by Vicki & Chuck Rogers (Best Viewed Tiny)

I found the most interesting article at Space.com about the search for intelligent life on other worlds. Believe me, in these very tough times we are living through, I would jump at the chance to live on another world with intelligent life that is hopefully more advanced and peaceful, but maybe I have been watching too much sci fi lately and surely that is wishful dreaming on my part.

Here is the story, it is worth the read.

From the article:

"The desire to contact intelligent life on other planets is much older than the UFO craze and the SETI movement. Several 19th century scientists contemplated how we might communicate with possible Martians and Venusians."

The word that sticks out to me is "desire." Why do we have the desire to search for alien life? The desire is so strong that science fiction literature is in abundance. Today film and television,as well, have a wide variety of science fiction themed works to watch. So back to my original question which is why? Why do we (or a great number of us I imagine) like to think of other worlds with life? I would venture to guess it is not to feel alone, or curiosity, or to paraphrase Carl Sagan in Contact "It would be an awful waste of space."
Maybe there are other reasons but regardless, I think it is great that scientists put themselves out there in search for new worlds.

" It wasn't until 1959 that radio-based SETI started to be taken seriously. In that year, Giuseppe Cocconi and Philip Morrison showed that radar transmitters of the time were already powerful enough to send signals many light years through space.

"If we can do it, then the aliens might be doing it," Shostak said."

I just hope that someone out there hasn't tuned in to what we are doing here on earth and decided to look elsewhere because we have a sh#$ load of problems that we seem to be repeating time and again. I hope this is not the case, but why do we assume (if we do!) that we will make first contact? Maybe someone is waiting for us to listen a little harder and get our collective acts together before contacting us! But then again, maybe I am watching too much sci fi again.

Happy Groundhog Day 2009!

Image via Wikipedia

Today the cute groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow so it looks like 6 more weeks of a frosty winter. Since the 1800's in the US, Feb 2 has been celebrated by gathering in the cold to find out if the famous groundhog could see his shadow or not in order to predict how much longer winter will last. There is a very interesting website with all sorts of INFO.
If you would like to celebrate groundhog day with a movie, I suggest watching the movie Groundhog Day (1993) starring Bill Murray, and if you have seen it already, it is worth your time to see it again. The main character keeps living the same day (Feb 2) over and over, he is essentially stuck in a time loop. Time loops are used in many science fiction novels, films, and television shows. This movie, however, is different in that the memory of the main character remains intact when the time loop resets. So he is remembering each past time loop while everyone else involved has their memories reset. The story is fun and Bill Murray is very funny as usual, but what I find interesting is the serious turn the movie takes and the lessons that are learned about life. You could turn philosophical about how the main character begins to change and analyze how you could change in your day to day life or you could just sit back and enjoy a great movie that I highly recommend.