When I was a kid (a century or so ago(1)), and there was a Good Program coming on TV (there actually were some, occasionally — just like now), I can remember my Mom and I in the kitchen, making a snack or washing dishes, and watching the clock get toward Read more…
So, given the time of year ‘t is, as I write this, I’ve had several versions of A Christmas Carol playing(1). I just clicked on something (older meaning, not the new-ish one). What Scrooge experienced was in fact what so very many people these days report as NDE’s (near-death experiences), Read more…
Ok, I harp on this a lot. But that’s because I think it really, really matters. Here’s why. Those who craft stories that get labelled Science Fiction have an obligation to make sure the science is defensible. Otherwise, at best it’s science fantasy — which *is* another genre of story Read more…
This posting’s a little different. It’s a request, to any and all of you out there who might want to take on this project. An amazing project. Our world is pretty gummed up right now. At least it seems that way, yes? Lot’s of pain, lot’s of apparent injustice. Lot’s of Read more…
A friend of mine sent me this. I thought it was very cool. Eternity in Measured Time On the Island of Thor there is a rock. It’s a thousand miles high, and It’s a thousand miles wide. Once every million years, A small bird comes to sharpen his beak. Read more…
No slur on the Japanese, here; none at all. They are good, creative, hard working people, with a rich national identity and great sense of Business all over the World. However… I was looking through eBay for some World War II model sets: ships, planes, whatever. After a while it Read more…
The movie In Harm’s Way with John Wayne(1), I’ve been watching that movie for a very long time, off and on, now and then. Here’s something I never thought about, ’til just a moment ago… Really, just a moment ago. In the movie John Wayne’s character is Captain Rockwell Torrey, Read more…
If you remember or otherwise know about the Road Runner, haven’t you ever wondered why so much of the stuff the Coyote buys from ACME Corporation backfires on him? I certainly did. Over and over, those fancy contraptions he would set up failed on him most creatively, often while the Read more…
Just a couple thoughts for movie reviewers. One, when I see (words to the effect of) “just like blah-blah meets blah-blah” as in a collision of two other movies and neither one is a title I recognize, I instantly know this isn’t my type of movie. Or rather, I assume it Read more…
I work with a lot of movies(1), and I’ve noticed something a little disturbing. There are almost no “G” rated movies any more. Some of that is that the movie rating system (in America, this is, other nations ratings run along different yardsticks) has changed in the last 40 years Read more…
Mostly in Star Trek, but in other Hollywood-style sci-fi as well, there is a very common, very persistent, extremely ignorant error that crops up. Out in deep space, away from any star, our intrepid heroes encounter a “rogue comet” and that comet, out in deep space away from any star, Read more…
In the 2nd Aliens movie (called, oddly enough, Aliens) they introduced a term that seems to have been universally misunderstood. “Xenomorph.” This has been taken to be the name of the face-hugging species from the Alien franchise. Does no one speak any Latin or Greek any more? Or even listen closely Read more…
I happened to re-watch Star Trek V the other day(1) and was reminded of just how bad it is. Surely one of the all time bad movies (of which there are more than a few, unfortunately). It is amazing that Star Trek as a franchise survived. That Next Generation, DS9, Read more…
Run screaming from any DVD / Movie that says “unrated edition.” All it is is an attempt to get you to purchase it / stream it yet again. They add 5 minutes of benign footage, picked at random from what ever fell on the editing room floor(1) and then just Read more…
There was a truly great “horror” movie made back around 1963 called The Haunting. I was derived from the Shirley Jackson short story of the same name. Claire Bloom and various brand name actors, plus a director who was truly inspired made it a great romp in thriller / suspence. I Read more…
Let’s face facts, folks: there is no science behind Star Trek. It’s Science Fantasy(1), not Science Fiction. Looking for the science behind it is like looking for the science behind Lord of the Rings. There isn’t any, but there doesn’t need to be any. It’s internally consistent (Star Trek sort of, Read more…
There was a very important book written some years ago, by a famous author (Michael Crichton) called Jurassic Park. It was very successful, widely loved, etc. Then it was turned into a kids dinosaur movie and that which was most important about the book was lost. Possibly forever. The point Read more…
I was there during the 60’s, but I was never a hippy. Not then. As I child and young person I was too conservative for such things. Also too driven by the lust for knowledge (about almost everything) to worry too much about life styles. The word “nerd” was not Read more…
I’ve been bothered by something for years and years and years. (This will be short posting.) Why do movie covers (VHS, DVD, BluRay, movie posters on the internet… doesn’t matter, they all do it) consistently show the actors faces (when they do that) in a different left-right order than the Read more…
I have my favorite celebrities: movie actors whom I particularly enjoy, some leaders in Science and Industry. Otherwise I don’t have the Celebrity Bug the way some folks do. Sometimes people come to me with the latest Scandal about So-and-So and I let them talk, but honestly, I’d prefer not Read more…