tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18386413413122501292012-01-30T20:26:44.328-08:00Comments and observations on science fiction and fantasy.Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.comBlogger2411100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-18635612757873988572012-01-22T23:11:00.000-08:002012-01-22T23:11:11.101-08:00

"No flames, no fins, no rockets." Instructions from Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry to U.S.S. Enterprise designer Matt JefferiesIt's funny how fast a science fiction movie can lose me.  The Space Channel is showing Pandorum right now (a movie which lost a lot of people) which opens with a travelling shot down the length of a spaceship.  My first thought upon seeing this majestic craft

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-34231904700880228352012-01-17T23:35:00.000-08:002012-01-17T23:37:32.586-08:00

Did anyone else notice recently that Google™ is willing to install Google Apps™ on your spaceship?  Intrigued by the idea of watching someone fire up Gmail™ on the main viewscreen of the Enterprise, I obtained the following information from a Google™ representative: Provided your spaceship has Internet access and a current browser, we can install and configure Google Apps for you.  Most new

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-45958940470701628202012-01-17T19:09:00.000-08:002012-01-18T06:45:04.439-08:00

Our goal is to provide you with the most incredible experience of your life. -Virgin Galactic brochure. "Now that's cool!" Glen WilliamsRecently one of my co-workers came up to me and said that although he didn't blog himself*, if he did blog, he'd want to write about being able to get into space for $200,000. I don't normally take requests (although I'm happy to take submissions) but I was

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-76110358247851160832012-01-01T22:26:00.000-08:002012-01-01T23:55:18.525-08:00

"I don't know," he said, "it's practice, partly. I don't know. We're each of us alone, to be sure. What else can you do other than hold your hand out in the dark?" Ursula K. LeGuin, Nine LivesI don't do anything to promote this blog, and yet for whatever reason over the last year I've seen a steady rise in page views every month. I used to think that all those hits were Eastern European bots

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-43519206090160260362011-12-27T21:05:00.000-08:002011-12-28T22:40:36.383-08:00

 "I have a very bad feeling about this."Luke Skywalker*, Star Wars IV:  A New Hope I've recently been informed that a close acquaintance is planning to dress as a Jedi master throughout 2012.  Even more unfortunate, a little research reveals that right now TLC's What Not To Wear is only accepting applications for the show from San Juan, Houston, Memphis, and New York. - Sid * Actually,

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-4158436667276050562011-12-25T06:30:00.000-08:002011-12-28T13:38:49.891-08:00

You know, it's comforting to discover that if you talk about your interests enough, people will eventually get the idea and apply that knowledge where appropriate.*  As an example, although I expected some sort of generic gift-card style present from my Secret Santa in our workplace holiday gift exchange, to my complete surprise I received two robot-themed Christmas ornaments and a collection

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-21911164687346928992011-12-23T18:50:00.000-08:002011-12-28T13:37:41.513-08:00

 So what do you need to do before zombies…or hurricanes or pandemics for example, actually happen? First of all, you should have an emergency kit in your house. This includes things like water, food, and other supplies to get you through the first couple of days before you can locate a zombie-free refugee camp (or in the event of a natural disaster, it will buy you some time until you

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-3131800070582374612011-11-27T14:34:00.000-08:002011-11-27T22:28:10.642-08:00

While working on my posting about how we as a planet would deal with a major catastrophe like an asteroid impact, it occurred to me that some attention should be focused on preserving a portion of the ecosystem as well. After all, it would be short-sighted to only preserve human life, as Noah - or more accurately Jehovah - was fully aware. A search for images of Noah's Ark revealed images of

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-52537814589660590962011-11-27T08:27:00.000-08:002011-12-04T22:23:53.723-08:00

Okay, let's posit parallel evolution, and that there's only one way to string DNA together.*  Add in the fact that the species-ending asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs** and empowered small warm-blooded animals was a statistical fluke.  In that case, when we do reach other solar systems, they'll all be run by…big lizards that think we're edible vermin? Ooo, that's going to be difficult for

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-34522116610056427462011-11-25T22:48:00.000-08:002011-11-27T08:33:59.964-08:00

I was out for a beer with my friend Chris, the self-described language geek, and he mentioned that he'd looked up the periodic table in Chinese - try to convince me that doesn't belong on the Geek Test! - Sid

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-2300087286472336422011-11-24T19:49:00.000-08:002011-11-24T20:03:32.697-08:00

(Contributed by Dorothy Hatto) Anne McCaffrey ended a long and enormously successful life early Monday evening, November 21st, at her home in County Wicklow, Ireland. Surrounded by the reassuring presence of family and close friends, her passing was swift and without suffering. We, her children, are hugely comforted by the outpouring of sympathy flowing now from all over the world. Our

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-4389914850572920212011-11-08T06:23:00.000-08:002011-11-27T11:00:08.899-08:00

In the wake of my last post, I was astonished to discover that later today an asteroid the size of an aircraft carrier will pass within a mere 323,00 kilometers of Earth.  (For those of you without sense of scale for either one of those numbers, that's something about 400 meters in diameter coming closer to Earth than the Moon.) Asteroid 2005 YU55 will do its fly-by at 6:28 EST, and during its

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-25268849689620950122011-11-05T17:10:00.000-07:002011-11-06T22:15:25.423-08:00

One of my clients told me that apparently it has been calculated that a massive asteroid will hit our planet in 25 years.  Heard about that? Text from Laurie Smith, Personal TrainerAsteroid With Chance of Hitting Earth in 2029 Now Being Watched 'Very Carefully'. Apophis: The Asteroid That Could Smash Into the Earth on April 13th, 2036. Asteroid Could Hit Earth In 172 Years. New Potentially

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-61086217152375406352011-10-31T17:19:00.000-07:002011-12-31T06:28:19.313-08:00

I'm confident that I paid my debt to society by shaving my beard off and plastering my face with glue and makeup for last year's workplace Hallowe'en celebration, so I decided to go a bit easier on myself this year.  My 2011 costume was nothing more than an oversized version of my workplace ID card with an appropriate hole where the picture goes - said hole to be occupied by my actual face.

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-88522773079264158632011-10-29T22:07:00.000-07:002011-10-29T22:07:56.153-07:00

Don't forget, the only water in the forest is the river. - Sid

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-32031712434953356832011-10-29T21:10:00.000-07:002011-10-30T07:39:00.142-07:00

Observant readers will have already noticed that I've added a Geek tag to the page, announcing to the world that I'm a Major Geek.  Sadly, this isn't as positive an announcement as you might think - as the screen grab from the quiz demonstrates, being a Major Geek only required a mark of 37 percent. (37.26937, to be exact.) The Geek Quiz was created by Yvette Beaudoin, and a full description

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-13807062891201024122011-10-23T21:30:00.000-07:002011-10-30T07:25:45.943-07:00

This piece is a clear nod to a favourite childhood movie. I felt it was a great metaphor for the subject matter at hand: Is treaty really black and white or shades of grey? Do the “good guys” always wear white? Will there be a treaty empire and am I part of the rebel alliance? Ha Ha! I did insert a glimmer of hope in the chin of the mask--a small cedar tree seedling that represents a rekindling

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-19404853998734252232011-10-03T22:48:00.001-07:002011-10-29T20:11:05.669-07:00

The Doctor: They have taken the blue box, haven't they? The angels have the phonebox. Laurence Nightingale: "The angels have the phonebox", that's my favourite, I've got that on a T-shirt.  Doctor Who:  BlinkWell, it's probably a good thing that I spent nine months planning a trip to Europe to ensure a  memorable fiftieth birthday, because frankly - and sadly - I've been underwhelmed by the

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-5809254543636012292011-09-26T21:35:00.000-07:002011-09-27T08:55:23.271-07:00

And to be honest, I didn't remember until I opened the wrapping, and as such was a bit nervous.  If memory serves, I said that I'd rather receive a toy robot as a gift than an expensive pen - which is quite correct and still holds true. Much thanks to the staff at the BCMEA, and specifically to Suki, our company's Employee Engagement Manager, for my 50th birthday gift, which I gather

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-64048012937679329692011-09-25T14:53:00.000-07:002011-09-25T22:30:30.795-07:00

Due to my recent European adventure, I didn’t go to see the recent movie reboot of Conan the Barbarian, but then, apparently neither did anyone else.  In fact, it seems to have come and gone in surprisingly short order for an epic big-budget heroic fantasy summer release. So what went wrong? Personally, I think that there’s some kind of fundamental barrier which can prevent an author’s work

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-68179002757993146872011-09-25T13:57:00.000-07:002011-09-25T14:00:26.912-07:00

When I received this battered postcard from ex-Printing House employee Paul Levesque, who has undertaken a bike trip across North America, I laughed out loud – the subsequent details on the back about playing G, A, F, (octave lower) F,  and C were unnecessary but a nice bit of icing on the cake. However, the identification may not be as immediate for others. Does everyone remember that the

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-74053148834104646072011-09-19T19:10:00.000-07:002011-12-28T13:36:59.673-08:00

 “Then let’s look on the bright side: we’re having an adventure, Fezzik, and most people live and die without being as lucky as we are.” Inigo Montoya: WIlliam Goldman, The Princess BrideAnd so, as with all good things, the 2011 European Tour comes to an end.  Damn, I should have sold t-shirts... How was it? As with any experience in life, there were pros and cons.  Three weeks is a long haul

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-22716252860636417072011-09-11T13:31:00.000-07:002011-10-30T12:14:45.794-07:00

Final night in England, Gatwick Airport Hotel, room service, BBC One, Doctor Who - booyah, baby!- Sid

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-87981612737330023292011-09-10T21:00:00.000-07:002011-09-25T15:02:40.651-07:00

 As her fingers closed around the cool brass knob, it seemed to squirm, sliding along a touch spectrum of texture and temperature in the first second of contact.Then it became metal again, green-​painted iron, sweeping out and down, along a line of perspective, an old railing she grasped now in wonder. A few drops of rain blew into her face. Smell of rain and wet earth. A confusion of small

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-1687201144790249782011-09-09T23:45:00.000-07:002011-09-25T15:04:38.755-07:00

Fly to Paris.  Make your way to Montmartre, and go to the Basilica of Sacré-Coeur, high atop its hill, north and west from the infamous Moulin Rouge.  Leave the Basilica and make your way through the narrow, winding streets of the old village, past the café Le Consulat, and down the Rue Norvin to the Place Marcel Aymé.  There you will find a peculiar thing:  a statue of a man, but not a

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-30039332136697903842011-09-07T14:30:00.000-07:002011-09-09T14:30:36.833-07:00

My mother .... was a pure woman .... from a noble family. And I, at least, know who my father is, ..... you pig-eating son of a whore! Antonio Banderas, The Thirteenth WarriorRemember the sequence in The Thirteenth Warrior where a reluctant Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan, played by Antonio Banderas, is making his way north with the Vikings?  Every night he sits by the fire, ignored by his fellow

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-5630987761548509632011-08-30T08:00:00.000-07:002011-09-25T13:46:14.245-07:00

Rose Tyler...I was gonna take you to so many places...Barcelona. Not the city Barcelona, the planet Barcelona. You'll love it, fantastic place, they've got dogs with no noses! Imagine how many times a day you end up telling that joke, and it's still funny!Doctor Who, The Parting of the WaysOne guess what port we're visiting today...* - Sid* Bit of an inside joke - cheers, Chris! 

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-30300941239246311272011-08-25T13:48:00.000-07:002011-09-09T14:06:18.715-07:00

Every fantasy fan should visit England - specifically, the Tower of London.  Forget the overly ornate accoutrements of World of Warcraft, forget the impossible weaponry of Final Fantasy - completely forget chain mail bikinis - this is the real deal, from the various points in history when men buckled on steel plate and went out to kill each other with axe and sword. As such, there's a

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-22213662454711192852011-08-24T13:43:00.000-07:002011-09-15T06:05:04.347-07:00

"London-of-the-sorrows," said Malice Priest"London Misery," said Two Jane."London Melancholy," insisted Thin Molder.M. John Harrison, London Melancholy:  The Machine In Shaft TenDay Five of the 2011 European Tour, and in spite of the title for this posting I'm in a pretty good mood.  However, it's been raining for the last couple of days, and I have to admit that rainy days when you're on

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-86758218005137395412011-08-23T22:58:00.000-07:002011-09-24T19:07:21.908-07:00

 And you, the bald fellow who's half a chicken, it's starting to look good on you. The Doctor, The Doctor Who ExperienceDay Four of the 2011 European Tour, a day which provided me with an odd combination of experiences - and Experiences, come to think of it. I started the day with the Doctor Who Experience, for which I have mixed reviews, to be honest. First, I have to say that Google has a LOT

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-79290490774569603882011-08-19T10:22:00.000-07:002011-08-19T10:22:11.321-07:00

Happiness is beginning to riseFrom the streets into paradise skies.Max Webster, Paradise Skies:  A Million VacationsCounting down: I'm on deck to leave for the airport in an hour.  I'm packed and documented, I have pounds and euros, maps and guides, reservations and tickets.  Inevitably I forget something when I pack, but it's never anything serious - "Oh damn, I forgot shirts!" - but as far as

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-23663845842306575642011-08-14T20:45:00.001-07:002011-08-19T10:31:28.200-07:00

I'm in full countdown mode for my vacation, with only four and a half days to go before I fly to England.  One of the things on my to-do list was my online check-in for the Mediterranean cruise, which I needed to finish this week so that I could print the results. Part of the check-in process required my agreement to a lengthy contract detailing the various responsibilities, regulations and

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-10219427033138144382011-08-13T23:06:00.000-07:002011-08-13T23:16:05.078-07:00

I’ll get trip insurance in case Europe collapses before we embark on our cruise. You never know. - Laurie Smith, February 2011Now, admittedly, the rioting in England has died down (although there are still incidents of looting on a much smaller, almost personalized scale - boutique looting, if you will); regardless, some kind of recognition is due to Laurie for her prescient comments from

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-17131390246879376232011-07-30T20:55:00.000-07:002011-08-14T17:03:40.500-07:00

Ah, I see that the Space Channel is showing Jaws tonight, look at that! Sigh...okay...I'm only going to say this once... HEY!!!!   SPACE CHANNEL!!!  JAWS IS NOT A SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE!!  A MOVIE ABOUT A BIG SHARK THAT EATS PEOPLE IS NOT SCIENCE FICTION!!!!     QUESTIONS?   NO?   GOOD!!  DON'T MAKE THIS MISTAKE AGAIN!! - Sid August 14th update:  goddamnit, it's even in their pre-movie

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-38316456042559361942011-07-25T21:54:00.000-07:002011-08-07T20:01:38.680-07:00

There are times when this whole blog thing is more trouble than it's worth. I was skimming through Michael Moorcock's Stormbringer, the last in his Elric of Melniboné series, looking for quotes for a posting on Chaos, when I noticed a line in the text saying that Elric's sorcerous ancestors had ruled his world for ten thousand years. Really?  Ten thousand years?  And no one invented gunpowder,

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-58401231892907575132011-07-18T18:59:00.000-07:002011-08-07T19:59:16.294-07:00

Giggle giggle giggle.... As I've already mentioned, I'm off for a three week European vacation in August.  The middle part involving Italy and the Mediterranean cruise with Felix the Cat is all taken care of, reservations, tickets, bookings et al., and now I'm filling in the English and French parts before and after. Finding things to do in London is hardly a problem, but I thought it might

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-9193004016871801692011-07-16T21:51:00.000-07:002011-07-19T19:59:21.493-07:00

Is it possible for someone like me - or like you - to arrange for themselves the death that they want? Terry Pratchett, Choosing to DieBritish fantasy author Terry Pratchett wants to die. Actually, as Mr. Pratchett often has his characters say, that sentence is wrong in every particular (except the part about being a British fantasy author) but it's quite a useful lie.  Under normal

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-41870959547315372672011-07-10T23:04:00.000-07:002011-07-20T21:32:36.622-07:00

And you, you little shit head... you're staying here. Ellen Ripley, AliensI recently received a somewhat enigmatic text message from someone that I used to work with, suggesting that we should get together for a beer but also requesting that I should call them first to discuss something.  I have to admit that my first thought was Amway™ or some other similar pyramid scheme, but nonetheless I

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-83866566005954941812011-07-01T20:39:00.000-07:002011-07-18T17:14:24.390-07:00

Canada Day is here again, and what better topic for today's patriotic posting than Captain Canuck, Canada's favourite (if not only) superhero. The first homegrown Canadian entries into the superhero market were Johnny Canuck and Nelvana of the Northern Lights, who made their debut in World War II during an American ban on comic exports.  Johnny was an adventure hero/pilot along the lines of

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-81184916254966872282011-06-25T23:09:00.000-07:002011-07-20T21:35:41.772-07:00

Professor Charles Xavier: Erik, you said yourself - we're the better men. This is the time to prove it. There are thousands of men on those ships, good, honest, innocent men. They're just following orders!  Erik Lensherr: I've been at the mercy of men just following orders... never again!  X-Men:  First Class I've explained my doubts regarding prequels in a previous post, and to be honest,

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-62088573918236936952011-06-19T09:07:00.001-07:002011-09-29T20:23:04.295-07:00

Well, it seems that there are people who like riots.  Larry Niven, Flash CrowdOne of the most difficult things for a science fiction author to do is to extrapolate all the possible end results of an innovation in technology.  As an example, a good science fiction writer in 1930 might have successfully anticipated the eventual mass acceptance of the motorcar, and probably seen the inevitable

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-68295847211371494372011-06-17T23:51:00.000-07:002011-07-30T23:09:05.828-07:00

 "The Doctor is a legend woven throughout history, when disaster comes, he's there.  He brings a storm in his wake.  And he has one, constant companion..." "Who's that?" "Death." "Rose", Doctor Who "The Campbell Brothers are lushes weaving throughout history, when disaster comes, they're responsible.  They bring the steins to a wake. And they have one, constant companion..." "What's that?" "

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-84222364844031891842011-06-05T01:30:00.000-07:002011-07-03T00:44:14.394-07:00

One of the more entertaining parts of writing these postings is coming up with the titles.* Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's a struggle.  Sometimes I don't know what the title will be until the end, and sometimes I start with a title and then change my mind after writing the content.  Some of them are just obvious statements on the content, such as last month's "And a bottle of rum." for the

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-7725988474243082122011-05-29T21:34:00.000-07:002011-05-29T21:40:01.539-07:00

As I've said before, I generally try to avoid just publishing links to other content online, but in this case, I had to make an exception.  My god, who would think up something like this??? And is it just me, or does it sound wrong to have Greedo's lines in English?  - Sid

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-44488079643249269082011-05-29T20:09:00.000-07:002011-07-17T08:19:57.598-07:00

I went to see Thor last weekend, and whenever this came up in conversation during the course of the week, people would ask the standard question: "How was it?" I'd answer in greater or lesser detail, depending on my evaluation of the questioner's knowledge of and interest in comic book characters, but all of my answers started with the same basic evaluation:  "Oh, it was pretty good." And it

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-53177919398706904902011-05-26T18:33:00.000-07:002011-05-29T21:18:15.912-07:00

Hey you, sass that hoopy Ford Prefect? There's a frood who really knows where his towel is! Douglas Adams, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy Whenever I feel self-conscious about something, that's what I look at in other people.  When I get a new haircut, I look at their hair, if I'm worried that I forgot to polish my shoes, I look at their feet, and so on.  Yesterday, I was looking for

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-78301501447476668202011-05-22T18:46:00.000-07:002011-07-20T21:41:48.035-07:00

But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. Jesus Christ, Matthew 24:36 (Although this is a marginal entry in terms of blog suitability, I consider the end of the world to be one of the standard science fiction topics, and as such I'm willing to extend my mandate a bit for the purposes of discussion.) As probably everyone knows, the

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-68593314003950263412011-05-11T20:34:00.000-07:002011-05-13T13:23:33.130-07:00

Yo ho ho - or does nobody actually say that...? Doctor Who, The Curse of the Black SpotAbout a year ago I was in small claims court regarding a dispute over a transfer of intellectual property.  No payment was to be involved unless the other party decided to proceed with the web site proposal that I had helped create, but when they did proceed, there was some difficulty obtaining a cheque for

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-46117690452443287542011-04-24T18:45:00.000-07:002011-07-19T06:16:56.499-07:00

If you're in North America and you were pleased to be able to watch The Impossible Astronaut, the premier episode of the new season of Doctor Who, on the same date as its British debut this weekend, do you know who you should thank? Me. Yes, me. And thousands of other people like me, people who were unimpressed by the artificial gap between the BBC broadcasts of Doctor Who episodes and their

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-26471757927803138402011-04-17T13:55:00.000-07:002011-07-20T21:46:25.691-07:00

Works of art are received and valued on different planes. Two polar types stand out; with one, the accent is on the cult value; with the other, on the exhibition value of the work. Artistic production begins with ceremonial objects destined to serve in a cult. One may assume that what mattered was their existence, not their being on view. Walter Benjamin, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-66913266070938331412011-04-16T17:51:00.000-07:002011-04-18T22:08:42.062-07:00

(Contributed by Colin Campbell) Well, that title may be a bit misleading. Actually maybe it should be called something like Basement of 100 Dragons, except it doesn't really sound all that great. How about the Dungeon of Dragons? Hmmm... That sounds a bit too familiar, I might have to get permission to use that from someone. Better not go in that direction. I often think of where I live as the

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-84012196798633315052011-04-03T07:48:00.000-07:002011-04-03T07:48:55.900-07:00

In order to further the eventual goal of putting something on my blog I gave several of my dragons a bath today ("I'm ready for my close up, Mr. DeMille."). I had a veritable dragon wash assembly line going. They are currently drying on paper towels on the table. From a recent Colin Campbell e-mailIs it just me, or does everyone get e-mails like this? By way of explanation...my friend Colin

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-43573911484117792362011-04-03T00:16:00.000-07:002011-04-03T00:16:02.433-07:00

"So the hours are pretty good then?" he resumed. The Vogon stared down at him as sluggish thoughts moiled around in the murky depths. "Yeah, but now that you come to mention it, most of the actual minutes are pretty lousy." Douglas Adams, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the GalaxyI recently pulled my 1979 paperback copy of The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy off the shelf to look up a quote from a

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-9428017198130256792011-04-02T22:37:00.000-07:002011-04-03T00:19:02.080-07:00

Sucker Punch manages to be simultaneously incoherent, woefully misguided and downright insulting. Matthew Turner ViewLondonA great movie if you are a psychotic fan of Emily Browning's bellybutton. Bob Grimm Tucson WeeklyI feel I should get some kind of recognition for disliking Sucker Punch almost a full five months ahead of the rest of the world.  To be fair, I haven't seen it yet, but if I

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-34112688720055440192011-03-24T20:25:00.000-07:002011-04-03T07:22:15.545-07:00

I'm not Spock. But if I'm not, who is? And if I'm not Spock, who am I? Leonard Nimoy, I Am Not SpockIn an odd coincidence, this week saw the 80th birthdays of two of science fiction's best known faces:  William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy.  It's impossible to deny that it's been a difficult path for both of these actors: Star Trek may well be the most frightening cautionary tale in existence

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-32093884107767481792011-03-20T13:16:00.000-07:002011-03-20T22:02:47.681-07:00

The belief that one Marine was better than ten Slopes saw Marine squads fed in against known NVA platoons, platoons against companies, and on and on, until whole battalions found themselves pinned down and cut off.  That belief was undying, but the grunt was not, and the Corps came to be called by many the finest instrument ever devised for the killing of young Americans. Michael Herr,

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-42887447286047428212011-02-27T09:41:00.000-08:002011-02-27T23:18:06.641-08:00

Fun will now commence. Seven of Nine, Star Trek: VoyagerThe cruise portion of my 50th birthday trip is now booked, and on Saturday Laurie gave me a large glossy brochure detailing the various wonders available on the ship which will be moving us about the Mediterranean for seven days. "We'll be travelling on Voyager," she said, and then gave me a strange look after my resulting burst of

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-41059524057063585312011-02-26T16:16:00.000-08:002011-02-27T09:46:22.494-08:00

Today marks the 4th birthday of The Infinite Revolution.  Gosh, how times flies... According to the stats provided by Google™, which apparently do not include anything before May of 2010 (lord knows why), TIR has enjoyed 6,842 page views over the last ten months. I wonder what explains the meteoric rise in interest which I seem to have experienced according to the chart on the Overview page?

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-16974407686414464402011-02-23T22:48:00.000-08:002011-03-06T07:20:32.879-08:00

I’ll get trip insurance in case Europe collapses before we embark on our cruise. You never know. - Laurie Smith I'll be turning 50 this year, and to celebrate this milestone I've decided to take a three-week trip to Europe.  For part of the journey, I'll be joined by the tanned and toned Laurie Smith, who agreed to make a guest appearance provided that we do a cruise around the Mediterranean.

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-33367450836743773682011-02-22T20:23:00.000-08:002011-02-22T20:23:23.972-08:00

3 Seconds Before Explosion DVD (NTSC Region 1) Three Seconds to Explosion connects Nikkatsu’s “mood action” yakuza gangster films of the 50’s and 60’s to the studio’s subsequent kinky 70’s “pink films,” and is a primer in the tough, super-cool world of “no borders” exploitation cinema Nikkatsu style. - From the Diabolik DVD catalogue.As a followup to my post on the Solomon Kane movie, I

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-81230380213868774862011-02-21T22:35:00.000-08:002011-02-23T23:08:27.279-08:00

The whole thing started with one of those odd leaps for which the internet has become famous. You know, those The Carpenter and the Walrus moments when you're looking at shoes and ships and sealing wax and end up doing a search for cabbages and kings? In this case, it started on one of those list sites, the ones that show you galleries of "Disney for Adults" or tell you "The Top 10 Things You

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-75519033086714200502011-01-15T23:10:00.000-08:002011-04-03T00:22:32.373-07:00

Just some quick updates regarding previous postings. Whatever book that's from. Okay - the pivotal scene at the end of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader where the dragon fights the giant sea serpent/leech from Edmund's nightmares at the Isle of the Dark, where they've gone to find the last of the seven magical Swords of Aslan which will allow them to dispel the evil and

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-58906005336669257652011-01-13T11:58:00.000-08:002011-01-15T10:01:21.178-08:00

Was it Laurie Anderson who said that VR would never look real until they learned how to put some dirt in it? William Gibson, Disneyland With The Death Penalty To my surprise and disappointment, I've just reached the conclusion of Bethesda Softworks' Fallout 3, the current version of the Fallout game franchise.  Based on my reactions, you might think that I didn't enjoy the game, but my surprise

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-8790644091963248132011-01-13T09:42:00.000-08:002011-01-14T08:42:11.260-08:00

“Last week I was in Virginia. Grayson County. I interviewed a sixteen-year-old girl who’d been assaulted by a bar hade.” “A what?” “A bear head. The severed head of a bear. This bar hade, see, was floating around on its own little flying saucer, looked kind of like the hubcaps on cousin Wayne’s vintage Caddy. Had red, glowing eyes like two cigar stubs and telescoping chrome antennas poking up

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-53475133149829645132011-01-09T17:53:00.000-08:002011-01-09T22:47:03.051-08:00

 I don't know what the rest of you think about while doing cardio, but my mind goes off in all sorts of directions.  Today's session on the recumbent bicycle led me to the following train of thought. (There's a bit of a spoiler here, but bear with me.) In Tron: Legacy, part of the plot is a plan by Clu, Kevin Flynn's digital doppelganger, to take over the physical world.  In order to accomplish

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-84780849035130860862011-01-09T10:50:00.000-08:002011-02-15T21:42:12.068-08:00

Wi-fi?  What's that?Kevin Flynn, Tron: Legacy I went to see Tron: Legacy last week, and I was surprised by my reaction:  I thought that it was a bit old-fashioned.  This is an odd reaction to a cutting-edge 3-D CGI extravaganza, and so I came home and watched the original Tron, a comparison which I was certain would establish Legacy as the visual masterpiece that it must be. Surprisingly,

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-34736030547211717502010-12-31T22:04:00.001-08:002011-01-09T12:51:19.387-08:00

And on far-off Earth, Dr. Carlisle Perera had as yet told no one of how he had awakened from a restless sleep with the message from his subconscious echoing in his brain: The Ramans do everything in threes. Arthur C. Clarke, Rendezvous with RamaHere we sit, poised on the edge of another new year.  Horrifyingly, the coming year may mark the last new year that our parochial little planet is

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-67215559114028255942010-12-25T21:13:00.000-08:002010-12-29T06:50:39.425-08:00

 Sorry, Christmas Eve, on a rooftop, saw a chimney, and my whole brain went, "What the hell..." The Doctor, A Christmas CarolMy last post dealt briefly with Christmas traditions, and as such, well, of course I downloaded the Doctor Who Christmas special today, what would Christmas be without that? As its title would suggest, A Christmas Carol deals with a hateful, bitter, old miser on Christmas

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-83918802879466306112010-12-25T16:46:00.000-08:002010-12-28T20:19:30.336-08:00

Last week at work I was discussing Christmas traditions with one of my co-workers, and I innocently mentioned that my family had always fallen back on its British roots for the holiday season.   "Oh, that's nice," she commented. "Yeah, I have wonderful memories of putting up the big holiday menhir, listening to the local druid invoking the tree spirits, putting someone inside the big wicker man

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-12781430741056477202010-11-28T22:22:00.000-08:002010-12-02T23:45:29.337-08:00

INTERIOR: MOS EISLEY SPACEPORT -- DOCKING BAY 94 Chewbacca leads the group into a giant dirt pit that is Docking Bay 94. Resting in the middle of the huge hole is a large, round, beat-up, pieced-together hunk of junk that could only loosely be called a starship. LUKE: What a piece of junk. Script for Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope (4th draft) My job sometimes makes me privy to information

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-52172093897534414192010-11-23T22:44:00.000-08:002011-02-13T09:23:21.031-08:00

"Doctor Who has been played by eleven people - kind of like Cher." Craig Ferguson, The Late Late ShowToday we celebrate the 47th anniversary of Doctor Who, science fiction fandom's answer to Coronation Street - at least in terms of longevity* if not marital infidelity and pints of lager.  Admittedly, we don't celebrate it hugely, I think that Doctor Who's 50th anniversary in 2013 will garner

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-69903488643449917692010-11-14T16:58:00.000-08:002010-11-15T22:58:02.232-08:00

Okay, sorry, just playing about on a Sunday afternoon instead of vacuuming. If anyone else feels a desire to make their own little animated movies based on typed-in dialogue, this piece was produced at Xtranormal.com.  More elaborate characters and backgrounds have a fee attached, but as you can see it's possible to create something using the basic default characters, backgrounds, sound

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-79435316572534532632010-11-13T08:04:00.000-08:002011-04-03T11:53:28.247-07:00

On the other hand, though it's fetishistic and personal, I like to think that my fetishes aren't that obscure. Who doesn't want to see girls running down the trenches of World War One wreaking havoc?  - Zack Snyder, director and co-author of Sucker Punch  If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. The Wiseman, Sucker PunchOver the last decade, there's been an increasing

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-33446769202745196312010-10-30T18:35:00.000-07:002010-11-01T07:55:29.216-07:00

And so, the end of my journey into zombiehood.  But at least a semi-successful one, given that I was awarded the Best Costume prize at my workplace.  Because I've received a lot of positive comments, combined with a little scepticism about how I proceeded with the makeup, I thought that I should document the process along with the materials involved:  white glue and toilet paper, and a bit of

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-15965801200789307352010-10-27T20:06:00.000-07:002010-10-27T21:21:10.608-07:00

Just a quick in-progress photo of some zombie makeup testing - I wanted to try making an oozing sore (yes, I know, there must be absolutely nothing worth watching on TV tonight).  I did an initial layer of white glue on my cheek - white glue is the poor man's alternative to latex makeup* - and after it had dried down a bit, tore open a hole.  Then I curled back the edges of the hole, and added

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-31522572319581153452010-10-26T20:22:00.000-07:002010-12-12T23:37:41.438-08:00

Just finished the first phase of distressing my zombie costume (if a suit and shirt really qualifies as a "costume".)  I chopped one arm of the jacket off short, split the shoulder seam, ripped a pocket, tore up one of the pant legs, and judiciously smeared various areas with alizarin crimson, which I hope will dry down to a sufficiently russet blood-red.  I also did a diluted red which I

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-30441584615898189822010-10-23T19:13:00.000-07:002010-10-26T22:39:36.255-07:00

We have met the enemy and he is us. - Walt Kelley, PogoYou are now one of the living dead! Enjoy! - Zombieplace.com zombie makeup tutorial.It has literally been decades since I last participated in Hallowe'en, but due to the gentle but threatening pressure being exerted by Suki, our company's "employee engagement" manager, I've decided that a wise man would show up next Friday wearing something

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-21057781353122322822010-10-02T23:43:00.000-07:002010-10-24T09:27:19.712-07:00

Regarding the missile shutdown incidents, my opinion, their opinion, is that whoever are aboard these craft are sending a signal, to both Washington and Moscow among others, that we are playing with fire - that the possession and use of nuclear weapons potentially threatens the human race and the integrity of the planetary environment. Robert Hastings, UFO Researcher - press conference,

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-90372205380742140632010-09-20T18:54:00.000-07:002010-10-02T23:29:11.443-07:00

There have been times in recent years when I've felt that I've somehow slipped across the line into some kind of shadow world*, a world that crosses the border into the sort of fantasy existence that's dominated my reading habits for the last 40 years. The result?  Zombies block the downtown streets, my niece is apparently a part-time vampire, a good friend tells me in apparent earnest that

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-32780325691165957882010-09-13T18:44:00.000-07:002010-09-13T18:44:49.677-07:00

"They mostly come at night...mostly." Newt, Aliens "Acting just wasn't me." Carrie HennTo my mild disappointment, we do not have a winner in the Guess who this is! contest, but I'd like to thank everyone for playing. The identity of the lady in question?  It's Carrie Henn, who played the part of Rebecca "Newt" Jorden in Aliens.  Apparently Ms. Henn's brush with fame left her unmoved, and she

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-24303500129558543152010-09-12T11:44:00.000-07:002010-09-27T18:08:34.203-07:00

The winners of the Hugo Awards for 2010 were announced last weekend at WorldCon, science fiction's largest annual convention, held in Australia this year.  Unlike my usual experience with their movie equivalent the Oscars, I'm actually familiar with most of the Hugo winners and have read the winners of the Best Novel and Best Novelette awards - well, one of the winners of Best Novel, it was a

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-85450541165234533932010-09-05T22:17:00.000-07:002010-09-06T07:55:38.630-07:00

Hey, trivia fans, guess who this is!  This "amphibian" actress co-starred in a major science fiction film, and it was the first and only movie that she ever did. - Sid

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-72138139250224622082010-09-04T13:27:00.000-07:002010-09-06T22:14:29.625-07:00

Hi ho, Saturday afternoon on the Labour Day long weekend, and time for some quick updates and comments. A recent New York Times article discusses the issues I expressed in my posting on gaming in regards to real-world overlap.  It would seem that people are up in arms (sorry, bad pun) over the most recent addition to the first-person shooter lineup.  Medal of Honor is set in Afghanistan, and in

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-56598646919551480092010-09-04T12:14:00.000-07:002011-01-08T16:32:30.546-08:00

"Wet...t-shirt...wet...t-shirt..." Jerry O'Connell's last words as porn producer Derrick Jones, Piranha 3D Let me start with a bit of background, setting the scene as it were.  As previously mentioned, I have a very good friend named Laurie: she has a BSc and an MA, speaks four languages, is a knowledgeable fitness professional, an afficionado of Shakespearean theatre, an expert ballroom dancer,

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-91417531492929129432010-08-28T13:38:00.000-07:002010-08-29T06:25:16.280-07:00

This week I was introduced to a serious science fiction and fantasy collector by a well-meaning mutual acquaintance.  Like me, he was initially introduced to the genre by his mother, but in his case he inherited a substantial library of classic material from the 30's and 40's in magazine and book form.  And like me, he has several thousand in his collection, but he peaks out at about twice the

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-64233254086176771622010-08-25T18:46:00.000-07:002010-08-29T06:24:12.962-07:00

"You mind telling your subconscious to take it easy?" - Ariadne, Inception Although I didn't eat any dinners alone during my trip to Toronto, my afternoons were pretty much my own time. As such, I overcame my long-term aversion to Leonardo DiCaprio and trotted down to the Scotiabank Theatre on Richmond Street to see Inception. The concept behind the film is simple enough - a professional

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-48592099827187190822010-08-23T19:06:00.000-07:002011-10-03T06:25:47.742-07:00

(Contributed by Laurie Smith) Enough picking on the Russians already! Sid invited me to do a guest posting on his blog and after expressing initial concern about not being up to the task from the standpoint of eloquence and style, I decided to give it a shot. I had the pleasure of recently seeing three movies, and they all fit Sid’s criteria for moviegoing: they contained aliens or

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-89364571352696457972010-08-13T13:17:00.000-07:002010-08-18T14:39:16.483-07:00

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana. - Groucho MarxPosting from Ontario today - I'm currently sitting on the patio of the Delta Chelsea hotel, located near Yonge and College in downtown Toronto.  It's a beautiful sunny day, and although the hotel wants to charge the ridiculous daily fee of $13.95 for hardwired internet access in the rooms, they have free wireless downstairs.

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-23035259317713643712010-08-11T23:45:00.000-07:002011-11-27T17:35:05.578-08:00

Tychus Findlay:  I just wish the damn thing came with an instruction manual.  For all we know we could be upsettin' the entire time-space continuum!! Jim Raynor:  Easy, Tychus, this ain't science fiction... - Starcraft 2After what can only be described as an unnecessarily extended gap of 12 years, the good people at Blizzard Entertainment have finally released the sequel to Starcraft, their 1998

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Based on what I've already said about the size of my library, you wouldn't think that I would be going out of my way to add to it.  Nonetheless, when my friend Colin announced that he was going to get rid of some large hardcovers, I eagerly paid for the shipping in order to get a box full of new material. One of the books was Films of Science Fiction and Fantasy, by Baird Searles.  As you might

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I was flipping through a movie magazine while doing cardio at the gym recently, and I discovered that Disney had abandoned the Narnia franchise after only two movies due to disappointing box office numbers for Prince Caspian.  The next film, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, is being released under the aegis of Fox instead - the curious among you may examine the first trailer on the Apple web

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-26735109531269651862010-07-25T18:20:00.000-07:002011-11-03T14:06:14.306-07:00

They all have impossibly small waists, long legs, breast implants, and.....high heels!  Who wears high heels to perform stunts and acrobatics? That's impractical and insane! - Fitness expert Laurie Smith"On Paradise Island where we play many binding games, this is considered the safest method of tying a girl's arms!" Wonder Woman, Sensation Comics, November 1944 Although in some ways this is a

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Red Sophia:  Enough talk, you short grey celibate!  What do you think of...these! Cerebus the Aardvark:  They'd probably heal if you stopped wearing that chain mail bikini. - Cerebus the Aardvark, Issue 10I realize that comic book characters have to maintain consistent costumes for branding reasons, but honestly, if there's snow on the ground and it's cold enough to see your breath, wouldn't you

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-17623454912289321152010-06-26T22:38:00.000-07:002010-06-27T13:34:10.240-07:00

Once again Jody the Demon Child has sent me a link to something sufficiently interesting and unique that I've broken my rule about not posting links to outside sites.  In this case, it's the Geek Art web site, which is filled with links to great non-traditional artistic takes on a wide range of comic book, video game and genre movie material. There are samples of movie monsters as Marilyn

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Something old;Something new; Something borrowed;...something blue.- Sid P.S. Mr. and Mrs. Pond don't sound all that Scottish, do they?

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-10069395746256852072010-06-19T23:29:00.000-07:002010-06-26T16:13:59.895-07:00

I download episodes of Doctor Who as they are broadcast in England, which gives me a two week lead over people here who are watching the 11th Doctor's adventures on the Space channel.  I find this two-week lead amusing - it's a bit like being a time traveller. This week, the BBC broadcast the penultimate episode of the season.  At the end, the Doctor has been placed in inescapable captivity

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We've recently added a new administrative assistant at my workplace, and last week she asked if I'd seen the Sex and the City sequel.  I responded that I had in fact missed that one, and explained for the most part I only see movies that contain aliens or explosions.  (There's a rider on the rule that allows elves to substitute for aliens when necessary.)  There have been some exceptions over

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-70500421971327371322010-06-01T23:08:00.000-07:002010-06-20T23:36:29.692-07:00

As I've previously indicated, I don't generally keep a close watch on currents events - again, if I found real life to be all that interesting, I probably wouldn't read science fiction and fantasy.  However, the larger an event, the more likely that sheer osmosis will bring it to my attention, and the current problem with BP and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is getting the sort of massive

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One of the inevitable problems with writing science fiction is that it's actually quite easy to predict the future and be wrong.  Science fiction is full of errors and anachronisms:  breathable air on Mars, dinosaurs on Venus, space ships crossing the gulf between stars based on calculations made with a slide rule, or as per my posting on a moon ship whose computer is filled with vacuum tubes.

Sid Plestedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06931107223929739236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838641341312250129.post-4340413297963429432010-05-30T19:50:00.000-07:002010-07-17T19:20:24.253-07:00

The Doctor: And she left you all alone? Amelia: I'm not scared. The Doctor:  Of course you're not scared, you're not scared of anything.  Box falls out of the sky, man falls out of the box, man eats fish custard, and look at you...just sitting there.  So you know what I think? Amelia: What… The Doctor:  Must be a hell of a scary crack in your bedroom wall. Doctor Who, The Eleventh HourThe awful

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