I’m still checking out the Artist’s web site.
H/t Darren Jon Ashmore.
Category: Science Fiction
Oh, It’s Worldcon Tomorrow, and I Am Not There
This fact makes me smile.
It only took me 20 years, but I realized that I don’t like Science Fiction conventions.
This fact probably explains the massive benders that I used to have at said conventions.
I enjoyed running them, but was never into the convention scene.
As to running them, never again. It was way too destructive to my life.
There were some good bits, hearing Harry “Hal Clement” Stubbs talk about being a thousand meters away from a nuclear blast was a hoot.
I miss Harry, he knew his sh%$, and he didn’t back down on it, but he was remarkably gentle when he told you that you did not know what you were talking about.
Your Friday of Muppets
Kermit is a better actor than Keanu Reeves, hoodoodanode.
French Armed Forces Chief of Staff Agrees With Captain Kirk
You can find the full episode, Taste of Armegeddon, on Youtube, but here is Seth MacFarlane doing William Shatner
In a speech, he is suggesting that the extensive use of remotely controlled vehicles in the pursuit of war creates a sanitized war that could become immoral:
Admiral Edouard Guillaud, the French armed forces chief of staff, warned his distinguished audience at the Summer Defense University on September 14 that “there needs to be a fundamental reflection on the idea that there can be zero deaths in war.” Speaking in measured tones Guillaud, who could easily pass for a brilliant university professor, questioned the increasing use of armed unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) in Afghanistan. “War becomes banal when the aggressor runs no risks,” he said adding that “the growth in technology must slow down because man must be able to master it.” He stressed that this issue of man mastering technology or allowing himself to become a slave to it “is a real question.” He said “this is an ethical question which will eventually lead to some form of legislation.”
It does sound a lot like:
“Death… destruction, disease, horror, that’s what war is all about. That’s what makes it a thing to be avoided. You’ve made it neat and painless. So neat and painless, you’ve had no reason to stop it. And you’ve had it for over five hundred years. Since it seems to be the only way I can save my crew, and my ship, I’m going to end it for you. One way, or another.”
Obviously, it’s not immoral to make war in a manner that minimizes casualties, but it’s equally obvious that if the technology results in making war that one would not otherwise make, then there needs to be some real discussion of the what the idea of remote control war, run by remote control, makes war too much of a throw away decision.
The Geek Hoodie
Click for full size
Because, Sometimes You Feel Like A Geek,
Sometimes You Don’t
You know, If I knew that I was going to meet Leonard Nimoy, I’d wear the jacket, and keep it zipped up, until just before I said goodbye.
Mr. Nimoy would probably hate that.
H/t The Big Picture
IRS Investigates Chamber of Commerce for Tax Fraud
The Internal Revenue Service is investigating whether or not, “the group mixed funds for charitable and noncharitable political purposes in violation of tax codes.”
It’s pretty clear that most of the 501(c)3s that are attached to lobbying groups have nothing to do with what should be educational purposes:
Cyrus Mehri, a Washington lawyer who brought the I.R.S. complaint on behalf of U.S. Chamber Watch, said in an interview that the chamber’s current political activities were, in effect, being underwritten with money intended for charitable work.
The complaint focuses on loans and grants totaling about $18 million that were made beginning in 2003 to a nonprofit affiliate, the National Chamber Foundation, by the Starr Foundation, a charity started by the founder of A.I.G. and now led by Maurice R. Greenberg, the insurer’s former chairman.
Lawyers for Chamber Watch said their research, based largely on public tax filings, found that none of the principal on some $12 million in loans had been paid back and that the money appeared to have been given to the chamber’s foundation for unrestricted use.
This actually strikes close to home for me, as I actually incorporated a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization, Arisia, and while I don’t regret doing so, it got the organization a lower postal rate in its early, pre everyone-has-email, days, which helped a lot.
That being said, it’s a group that basically holds a science fiction convention every year, and the fact that it was legal to register as a tax exempt educational organization, as opposed to a non-profit membership organization, a 501(c)7 where contributions are not tax deductible, still bothers me.
There is a lot of abuse in the tax exempt organization regulations, whether it is science fiction conventions generally, the Chamber of Commerce’s faux charity, or the various think tanks out there, and it really needs to be fixed.
For the Sci-Fi Geek in All of Us
So completely not safe for work, except, perhaps if you work in a library.
Heh
Deep Thought
Click for full size.
Holy Crap! I’m Not in Boston Today!
Note: I’m post dating this to keep it on the top of the post for the weekend. Scroll down for new posts.
In February 1985, I went to my first science fiction convention. In October, I ran a fiction convention, NotJustAnother1 Con (NJAC). I did it again in 1986, and then started Arisia, Inc. and ran the first two conventions 1990 and 1991.
About 4 years ago, I realized something important: I don’t like science fiction conventions.
When I go to a con, I don’t go to program items, I either work the con, or I self medicate.*
What’s more, my involvement with running a con completely subsumes my life, and I have a family now, and, quite honestly, it’s a destructive addiction thing to me, and no one wants to work with a self-destructive addict, and I don’t want to be one.
It only took me 20 years to realize that I hated my hobby/obsession, and, honestly, I’ve always found the community rather unremarkable.†
So I cut my losses, and following a remarkably unpleasant exchange with Arisia, Incorporated and the for-profit database vendor to whom they have outsourced their attendance and mailing list management, I had my information, and that of my wife and children, expunged from the Arisia database.‡
Maybe, the next time I think about calling someone “#@&ing stupid”, perhaps this experience will make me a bit kinder.§
In any case, I was driving to pick up my Son, and his drum kit, from school today, and there was an announcement for a Martin Luther King day symposium, and I realised, “MLK’s Birthday? Is it Arisia again?”
So I called up their web page, and yes, it is this weekend …… Though it’s technically in Cambridge, across the Charles River from Boston.
The first few years after I severed ties with the con, and the 501(c)3 corporation, I worried about it sucking me back in, but I hadn’t thought about the con in months, and only made the connection because the MLK birthday announcement triggered a connection.
I find this amazing, because just a year ago, I was contacted regarding a potential dispute with an artist, whose graphic art work is the official artist, and I found that it left me pissed off for a week.
If anyone from Arisia is reading this, I will paraphrase what I said about the time:
Please note that this is NOT intended to prohibit or discourage any individual to contact me personally in a purely social context, I just don’t want to discuss, or be involved with Arisia.
I would sooner give Dick Cheney a sponge bath than get sucked back in.
*Mammoth, some would say legendary, drunken binges.
†Which anyone who has ever discussed SF Fans with me knows.
‡What part of “remove me from the list” is so hard to understand? Needless to say, this Further justified my sense of ambivalence toward science fiction fans.
§NoT!!!. I’ll still judge them harshly. Let’s be honest here. I’m going to be calling people who do stupid things while I still have two brain cells left to rub together.
Ahead Dork Factor 9*
Click for full size
Only $2,999.99, but shipping is free!!
I present to you the Star Trek: The Original Series: Classic Captain’s Chair Replica:
Throw away that Lay-Z-Boy. Here’s a life-size throne fit for a captain! With the sci-fi status and geek grandeur of Captain Kirk’s command chair in your collection, you can boldly go where no fan has gone before! This full-size prop replica of the U.S.S. Enterprise’s captain’s chair is designed from detailed drawings supplied by Paramount Studios and is approved by Paramount. It delivers all the accents and details from the historic prop, along with modern lighting, sound effects, and phrases designed to thrill any Star Trek enthusiast. It’s the ultimate prize from the Enterprise! The unbelievable captain’s chair measures 41-inches tall x 42-inches wide x 39-inches deep. It weighs about 215 pounds! The working swivel seat with wooden handles, leather seat cover, and armrest controls make this the perfect addition to any collection, display, home theater, or museum! The chair, seat of the chair, and arms of the chair are made of wood, with the seat covered in leather. For rigidity, it’s mounted on an iron base. Limited edition of 1,701 pieces worldwide. Left-hand arm controls include: Shuttle operation controls Activation of viewscreen Hailing frequencies Right-hand controls include: Red alert Yellow alert Jettison pod Micro tape player Intercom controls With a push of a button, voice clips from the show can be heard: ‘This is Captain James Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise.’ ‘Lt. Uhura, open a channel to all decks.’ ‘Security Alert to all decks. Kirk out.’ ‘Kirk to Engineering, Mr. Scott.”
At 215 pounds, it’s going to be murder getting it down the stairs to your parent’s basement, where the purchaser clearly lives.
I like Star Trek. I saw a few episodes when I was 6. But if you want a captain’s chair, and you can’t search the net for plans, so you spend 3 grand on a chair in which most of the buttons do not work, or even press down, you are really very lame.
*Alas, I cannot take credit for this bon mot. It was from Bladesmith at the by invitation only Stellar Parthenon BBS.
There Are Things Worse than Death
The Star Wars holiday special.
I actually saw this when it came out in 1978 or so **shudder**, so I’ve not watched this its entirety, just skipped through to ensure that it’s not pr0n.
Warning: May cause bleeding of the eyes, ears, nose, rectum, and neighbors.
Negotiate … Negotiate … Negotiate …
Today, Brussels, tomorrow, the world!Bwahahaha!!!!
Paul Krugman has discovered that EU foreign minister Catherine Ashton has a full size replica of a dalek in her sitting room. She received it as a present from her husband.
I’m not certain if I am amused or alarmed….
Pay Per View Review
Well, it was time for another family movie, and it was my choice, and my Sharon absolutely put her foot down about the Simpsons Movie, so I chose Monsters vs Aliens.
Reese Witherspoon…Susan Murphy / Ginormica (voice)
Seth Rogen … B.O.B. (voice)
Hugh Laurie … Dr. Cockroach Ph.D. (voice)
Will Arnett … The Missing Link (voice)
Kiefer Sutherland … General W.R. Monger (voice)
Rainn Wilson … Gallaxhar (voice)
Stephen Colbert … President Hathaway (voice)
Paul Rudd … Derek Dietl (voice)
It’s an old story, girl is going to get married, girl gets struck by meteor, girl grows to humongous size, girl gets imprisoned in a secret government facility….
Actually, it is an story. It’s the Wizard of Oz story with a bit of a twist.
I realized this about ¾ of the way through the movie.
That being said, it is well animated, well acted, and well scripted, and rather enjoyable.
It’s also a movie that does well with the pause and rewind buttons, because there are a number of fractured takes on old SF films and film conventions.
The big surprise here are appearances by Stephen Colbert as the president of the United States, where he most amusingly chews scenery.
Watch through the credits.
Recommended, with one caveat: If you love the golden gate bridge, you may cry at one point.
Star Wars and the Holy Grail
It does raise an interesting point.
Deathstar 911
Pay Per View Review
Well, Verizon FIOS has some occasional specials, basically about 40$ off, $2.99 for a 24 hour rental, as versus $4.99, and so we went with one tonight, Race to Witch Mountain.
Dwayne Johnson … Jack Bruno
AnnaSophia Robb … Sara
Alexander Ludwig … Seth
Carla Gugino … Dr. Alex Friedman
Ciarán Hinds … Henry Burke
Tom Everett Scott … Matheson
Chris Marquette … Pope
Billy Brown … Carson
Garry Marshall … Dr. Donald Harlan
Cheech Marin … Eddie Cortez
The plot, what can I say that you don’t see in the trailer.
You have grizzled ex-con cab driver trying to lead a straight and narrow life, played by Dwayne Johnson, aka, the Rock, alien children with otherworldly powers, a beautiful scientist, evil government agents, and an alien assassin. You know where it goes from there.
The plot is basically a throw-away, there are no surprises.
One thing that is done well with the plot, is that they actually give a reason for children with extraordinary powers to need mere humans. I was pleasantly pleased to see that hole plugged in a way that flowed nicely.
Once again, Dwayne Johnson exceeds my expectations, as he did in Steve Carrel movie Get Smart.
Additionally, you have Garry Marshall, who is perhaps best known for his work on the other side of the camera, engaging in some very amusing scenery chewing.
The original children from the original “Escape to Witch Mountain” movies from the 1970s, Ike Eisenmann, Kim Richards have cameos, and the current child actors, AnnaSophia Robb and Alexander Ludwig, gave decent performances.
The special effects are certainly adequate, not surprising given the state of CGI these days.
The dialog is good, with a lot of very funny deadpan humor. I will say that science fiction/UFO convention held in Los Vegas figures prominently in the movie, as does Sin City itself, and that if you don’t like people making jokes about SF fans, you might be offended, but I was amused.
Additionally, as I went through IMDB, a lot of inside movie references.
It’s a thoroughly pleasant piece of child-friendly fluff, which is exactly what it promised.
And Then My Head Exploded
So, I’m getting Charlie up for school, and he wants to talk about NASA’s decision make its new Orion crew capsule reusable.
I told him that it really did not make a whole bunch of sense: It’s a minuscule part of the cost of a launch, but if it were not reusable, it would be a very public admission by NASA that the entire shuttle program was a failure, and that they were unwilling to do this as an organization.
He asked why this would be a problem, since everyone else saw that this was a true, so their admission would not materially effect their budget (not an exact quote, but the gist is the same. He turns 10 tomorrow, which means that yes, he is scary smart).
I explained that, like many stupid decisions, this was driven by pride: NASA was unwilling to admit that the Shuttle was a failure because this conflicted with their self image.
They think that they are Captain Kirk.
His reply:
Who is Captain Kirk?
Excuse me, while I scrape bits of my skull off the ceiling.
Best Comment on Star Trek Ever
Most of the family has seen the new Star Trek film, and reviews have been circulating via email, some positive, and some negative, but my younger brother, Daniel had the best statement about the franchise ever:
I AM SOOOOO SICK OF THE WHOLE SPOCK INNER CONFLICT BETWEEN HIS HUMAN AND VULCAN HALF. Seen it in 3 years of orginal Trek, 6+ movies, even stolen for that stupid android Data! ENOUGH ALREADY. Have him shoot a moose, drink some bud, and read “Juggs” magazine and GET OVER IT!
Word.
What Do You Get When You Juxtapose Cheez-Its and Star Trek?
Or Captain Kirk
Click on the images to see them speak (may take a while to load).