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Showing posts from July, 2018

Star Trek: Discovery"s Spock Will Be Very Different From the Version You Know

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New Post At https://sciencefiction.site/star-trek-discoverys-spock-will-be-very-different-from-the-version-you-know/ - Alas, Spock is definitely headed to Star Trek: Discovery in Season 2 but he won’t be the cool-headed Vulcan you know from the original Star Trek series. After dropping the big news that the OG character was headed to Discovery at Comic-Con, new showrunner Alex Kurtzman shared even more details about Spock’s much-anticipated appearance, and it looks like there’s some major family drama ahead. “This is not entirely the Spock who has been formed enough to be the Spock that we know from TOS . There’s a lot of story about who Spock was before he becomes the Spock that is the yin-yang to Kirk,” Kurtzman told TV Guide. “What I’m so excited about is that we have an opportunity to present a version of Spock that’s both totally consistent with the Spock everyone knows but very, very different. And it’s all gonna tie to how we sync up with canon.” Spock’s appearance on Discov

8 books to read on your beach vacation

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New Post At https://sciencefiction.site/8-books-to-read-on-your-beach-vacation/ - Summer. Con: It’s hot. Pro: You have more time to read Popular Science . And maybe even some books too. Here are some literary recommendations from the PopSci staff. Dune by Frank Herbert. Ask a room of science and tech people for a fun beach read, and their minds immediately go for the science fiction classic. Haven’t read it yet? Don’t be scared. Fear is the mind-killer. You’ll have plenty of time to read it during your time off. — At least half of the PopSci staff. I don’t normally read non-fiction on vacation, but I would recommend The Man Who Caught The Storm to anyone looking for an exciting non-fiction read. Besides, who doesn’t want to read about storms, storm-chasers, inventions, and narrow escapes while relaxing on a sunny beach? — Mary Beth Griggs I read Why We Sleep recently and I have literally never had a book influence my behavior faster or more effectively. Walker is a leading sleep re

Poll: What"s Your Favorite Shark Movie?

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New Post At https://sciencefiction.site/poll-whats-your-favorite-shark-movie/ - July 31, 2018 12:45PM PT When “The Meg” debuts on Aug. 10, it will continue a long legacy of shark movies. The science-fiction film, starring Jason Statham and directed by Jon Turteltaub, follows a group of scientists as they attempt to stop the biggest shark in the world — the Megalodon — from terrorizing a beach. “‘The Meg’ is like ‘Sharknado’ if it had a $150 million budget and a heart,” writer Erich Hoeber recently joked to Variety . Steven Spielberg is credited with originating the shark movie (and the summer blockbuster at large) with his 1975 classic “Jaws.” The film followed a man-eating shark that hunted beachgoers and thrilled audiences, generating a massive $470 million worldwide. It would go on to inspire a number of other movies focusing on the sharp-toothed fish, including 1999’s “Deep Blue Sea,” which found moderate critical and commercial success. The horror movie “Open Water” came just a

curated: racist science fiction and Donald Trump

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New Post At https://sciencefiction.site/curated-racist-science-fiction-and-donald-trump/ - I’ve read The Turner Diaries ; like most books that exist mostly to make a Point, it’s pretty terrible as fiction. If you don’t already know the code words and trigger points, it makes very little sense (why should the Jews and the blacks be collaborating, unless you are a paranoid white man terrified of everything that’s not like you?). And anyone who’s inspired by it probably hasn’t read very much else. Source: https://www.flickfilosopher.com/2018/07/curated-racist-science-fiction-donald-trump.html

New Books : 31 July 2018

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New Post At https://sciencefiction.site/new-books-31-july-2018/ - Rich Horton’s The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy: 2018 Edition , JY Yang’s The Descent of Monsters , Catherynne M. Valente’s The Future Is Blue , and titles by Brenda Cooper, Cornelia Funke, David D. Levine, Michael Mammay, Claire O’Dell, Vivan Shaw, and Adrian Tchaikovsky. – – – * Cooper, Brenda : Keepers (Pyr 978-1-63388-421-2, $18, 464pp, trade paperback, July 2018) • Nominal Publication Date: Tue 31 Jul 2018 • Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781633884229 • Project Earth #2 SF novel, second in a series after Wilders (2017), about two sisters in a future where cities compete with open space for the reintroduction wildlife. • Pyr’s site has this description . Penguin Random House’s site has this description with a preview. • Publishers Weekly said of the first book , “The science fiction elements—including ecobots, domed cities, and artificial reality glasses—are believable and intriguing

The Orville Season 2 Release Date, Cast, Trailer, and News

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New Post At https://sciencefiction.site/the-orville-season-2-release-date-cast-trailer-and-news/ - FOX engaged the quantum drive for The Orville season 2 as a renewal for Seth MacFarlane’s unique space drama was confirmed back in November, halfway through the successful first season. “Once again Seth has struck a powerful chord with viewers,” said Fox Broadcasting Co. Entertainment president Michael Thorn in a press release. “He has delivered a series full of optimism, drama and his trademark humor. We want to thank him and the rest of the talented cast, as well as the producers and crew, for an incredible first season. We can’t wait to see where  The Orville  travels in the second.” The Orville  had a rough start with critics, inviting comparisons to  Star Trek: The Next Generation  and airing in tandem with CBS All Access’ new  Star Trek: Discovery . Fans have engaged in spirited debate about the nature of the comedic homage to the classic science fiction inspiration, but the end r

Netflix Is Considering More Marvel Shows

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New Post At https://sciencefiction.site/netflix-is-considering-more-marvel-shows/ - Though the Marvel Cinematic Universe first came to television with ABC’s ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’, it has arguably had its greatest episodic success in a less traditional venue. That venue, of course, is Netflix, which has produced and distributed five Marvel shows to date – ‘ Daredevil ‘, ‘Jessica Jones’, ‘ Luke Cage ‘, ‘Iron Fist’, ‘The Defenders’, and ‘The Punisher’. And while not every series has been a home run (we’re looking at you, ‘Iron Fist’), the streaming titan has managed a pretty impressive batting average overall. That being the case, it’s hard not to wonder if there are more to come. The odd thing about that question is that the answer may not be entirely up to Netflix. Disney, after all, is preparing to launch a streaming service of their own (expected to arrive sometime in 2019), and the word at this stage is that most Disney content (though likely not the Netflix Marvel shows) will be

5 Quirky Questions For Alien Hunters

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New Post At https://sciencefiction.site/5-quirky-questions-for-alien-hunters/ - Who are we? How did life emerge? And are we alone? These questions are bandied about so often that they almost cause one’s eyes to glaze over. But in his latest book “ Astrobiology, Discovery and Societal Impact ,” astronomer and historian of science Steven Dick asks a few that are rarely addressed in the mainstream science media. This illustration depicts a view of the night sky from a hypothetical planet within the youthful Milky Way galaxy 10 billion years ago. The heavens are ablaze with a firestorm of star birth. The Sun, however, is not among these fledgling stars — it will not be born for another 5 billion years. Credit: NASA, ESA, and Z. Levay (STScI) They include: — Does extraterrestrial intelligence (E.T.I.) have to be confined to planets? A 90 million mile-wide sentient, interstellar cloud of hydrogen that astronomer Fred Hoyle dreamed up in his 1957 science fiction novel “The Black Cloud,” may b

Science Fiction Cities: How our future visions influence the cities we build

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New Post At https://sciencefiction.site/science-fiction-cities-how-our-future-visions-influence-the-cities-we-build/ - For over a century, science fiction filmmaking has presented us with depictions of our future cities. Some have been bright, shiny and positive, while others have been dark, dirty and rough. As we look forward to a 21st century filled with massive mega-cities, and extraordinary technological innovation, we must ask how are our science fiction visions influencing the cities we build, and what can we learn from some of these prescient fictional texts? Source: https://newatlas.com/science-fiction-cities-future-urban-visions-architecture/55569/

Amazing future transports promise to supercharge our commutes

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New Post At https://sciencefiction.site/amazing-future-transports-promise-to-supercharge-our-commutes/ - You can keep your Teslas, your McLarens, and your Aston Martins (we’ll take them if you’re dead set on getting rid of them, of course!). Here in 2018, the ambition, scale, and adrenalin-pumping excitement of the most cutting-edge transport options put even the most drool-worthy vehicles to shame. Without further ado, here are some of the amazing modes of transportation we have to look forward to. Bored of waiting for public transport? Don’t worry: your commute to the office is about to get a whole lot cooler. Self-driving cars It’s a testament to just how quickly things are moving in the world of transport that we had to stop and consider whether or not to even include self-driving cars on this list. Far from science fiction, these autonomous vehicles are now being developed by dozens of companies around the world, and have completed thousands of miles of test drives all over the p

We asked Bill Nye about his plan to save Earth from civilization-ending asteroids

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New Post At https://sciencefiction.site/we-asked-bill-nye-about-his-plan-to-save-earth-from-civilization-ending-asteroids/ - Michael Kovac/Getty Images Nobody sees it coming. An unidentified asteroid, just a couple miles wide, shatters Earth’s atmosphere with a deafening bang, craters its surface with the energy of a few million nuclear bombs. The shockwave flattens buildings like they’re made of dust. Millions of people, incinerated in an instant. After the initial blast, molten debris is ejected into the atmosphere and into Earth’s orbit, such that civilization’s final act is set in a rain of fire. This isn’t the beginning of a History Channel doomsday script. It’s a dramatization of a highly unlikely but nonetheless plausible asteroid impact event that would spell the end for humanity as we know it. After all, dinosaurs ruled Earth the last time a city-sized asteroid hit. And look what happened to them. When it comes to asteroid’s capable of wiping out a city, we’re practically as

Staircases in Space: Why Are Places in Science Fiction Not Wheelchair-Accessible?

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New Post At https://sciencefiction.site/staircases-in-space-why-are-places-in-science-fiction-not-wheelchair-accessible/ - Space, as we all know, is the final frontier. It’s the star-spangled playground in which our imaginations run amok, and the setting for stories that made us fall in love with sci-fi. Some of us spent hours pretending we were the Doctor’s companions, helping him find Gallifrey from the TARDIS . Some of us imagined the Millennium Falcon jumping to hyperspace when we shouted, “Punch it, Chewie!” Some of us swore we could hear the communicator beeping when we asked our favorite Federation starship to beam us aboard. The characters that roam space have built homes in our hearts and allowed those of us who are trapped in Earth’s gravity-well to fulfill some of our wildest fantasies. Space remains a vast, untamed place, penned in only by the limits of our own imaginations. So why the hell are there so many staircases in space? I never used to notice stairs. They were si