Most Popular Posts
Search
-
Spider Star
The human colony on the planet Argo has long explored and exploited the technology left behind by an extinct alien race. But then an archaeology team accidentally activates a terrible weapon...
Read More. -
Praise for Star Dragon
"Seldom does a storytelling talent come along as potent and fully mature as Mike Brotherton. His complex characters take you on a voyage that is both fiercely credible and astonishingly imaginative. This is Science Fiction."
-- David Brin"Star Dragon is terrific fare, offering readers a fusion of hard science and grand adventure."
-- Locus Magazine"Star Dragon is steeped in cosmology, the physics of interstellar travel, exobiology, artificial intelligence, bioscience. Brotherton, author of many scientific articles in refereed journals, has written a dramatic, provocative, utterly convincing hard science sf novel that includes an ironic twist that fans will love."
-- Booklist starred review"Readers hungry for the thought-provoking extrapolation and rigorous technical detail of old-fashioned hard SF are sure to enjoy astronomer Brotherton's first novel."
-- Publishers Weekly"Mike Brotherton, himself a trained astrophysicist, combines the technical acuity and ingenuity of Robert Forward with the ironic, postmodern stance and style of M. John Harrison. In this, his debut novel, those twin talents unite to produce a work that is involving on any number of levels. It's just about all you could ask for in a hardcore SF adventure."
-- Paul di Fillippo, SCI-FI.COM
Pre-Launch Pad Starlinks
July 14th, 2009
So tomorrow is the incoming travel day for Launch Pad. I’m excited, nervous, and overworked, as usual. It always seems to come out great. I have some more details to prepare tonight and tomorrow, however. Got a few links to share tonight, quickly…
I’m kind of pissed at issues being discussed like the ones I’m going to link to. Fear of girls at Comic-con, and over here, too. Yeah, let’s make it an issue and scare away people, male and female, from an event they might enjoy. Stop making fights. Stop being elite. Stop telling people others are elite. Stop stereotyping in this mindless, unhelpful way.
Punctuated evolution for aliens? Maybe. I’m in general distrustful of anyone who extrapolates based on samples of one, and expects to be taken seriously. Earth might be rare. Earth might be typical. We can study the issue and get some idea, eventually. Right now, we sure don’t know. [Thanks Travis for the story, and the ones below...]
Vast majority of scientists think that the Bush administration suppressed research. I kind of hate how it’s portrayed as a poll result, because it’s fact. They did. Expressed as here, it sounds like an opinion, one that can be disagreed with. Stupid media. Then that opinion gets tied to another poll question about the political background as scientists — only six percent of scientists identify as Republican. Scientists are all too human, but the methodology of science is designed to remove personal bias from its ultimate findings. Facts are facts, and evidence is evidence.
Interview with Chris Hitchens, author of God is Not Great.
Live in Portland? Check out Trek in the Park. I was pretty interested until I looked at the photos. Looked a little too much like amateur stuff I’ve seen at cons. Still, might be fun. Anyone see it?
Casting speculation about Green Lantern. Ugh. I’m not excited:
Warner Bros. is about to decide who will wear the super-powered ring in “Green Lantern,” the studio’s latest DC Comics movie, and the race has narrowed to Bradley Cooper, Ryan Reynolds and Justin Timberlake.
Lantern has serious bomb potential, in my opinion.
Well, apparently even Superman IV, the Quest for Peace, had ten good points.
Are you a lonely zombie? Try Zombie Harmony… Personally, I’m looking for a brainy girl.
Related Posts
Related Posts
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
<
July 14th, 2009 at 3:19 am
In response to your query about Trek in the Park:
I’ve heard nothing but glowing reviews from everyone I’ve heard talk about it. There’s a live band, and the fight is very good.
The Oregonian did a very poor job in stating that all their footage and photos are from a rehearsal, not a performance. Both shows last weekend attracted hundreds of people.
I say go for it. It’s free and only an hour:)
July 14th, 2009 at 6:38 am
I’ve been really looking forward to the Green Lantern movie but that list doesn’t fill me with confidence. I’ve liked Ryan Reynolds in other superheroes films (especially Blade III) but his usual wisecracking persona doesn’t seem right for this character.
Not that I know who I’d put in his place. Though that great Green Lantern mash-up trailer that’s been on YouTube has the guy from the show Castle (Firefly too, I think, I’ve never watched it) in it looked really good and I think he would a better choice than any of these three.
Anyway, sometimes a casting choice I’ve thought was terrible can turn out surprisingly well. I never would have chosen Michael Keaton as Batman but he pulled it of pretty well.
July 14th, 2009 at 10:12 am
Jim, thanks for the report. If I were in Portland, I would go see Trek in the Park then!
David, Nathan Fillon is the actor’s name. He usually does wisecracking, too, but not exclusively.
And while I thought Michael Keaton did a much better job than I expected, I still wasn’t wild about the choice. Clooney was my pick…until he got the role and wasn’t as good as I expected. But that film sucked in ways he had no ability to affect.
July 14th, 2009 at 10:13 am
Oh, and here’s the link to that Lantern trailed you mentioned:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hTiRnqnvDs
July 14th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Just went back to re-read ny Launchpad blog entries. Oh, man. That was a ROCKING week.
July 14th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
It was, wasn’t it, Alma? I just hope it’s at least as good this year. Hoping for a little better, but it’s been very good and I can’t complain.
July 15th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Hey Mike! wanna become a charter member of the He-Man Woman Haters Club?
Looks like Spanky is passing the torch to Newitz - or something.
jeesh