Re: OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled
In a message dated 6/20/2004 7:22:42 AM Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. -- True (and I have heard that before), but the underpinning of fantasy is magic magic. Wave wand and something happens because the wand has magic power. Or say a spell and something happens because the ordering of the words or the wizard has power. I do admit to enjoying the Recluce/Choas magic series by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. But he keeps his magic consistent with consistent rules. He also writes about a medieval lifestyle very convincingly. Marnie aka DoeStill looking for a ley line.
Re: OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled
DF A buddy and I used to muse about making Dune into movies, but we DF figured that to do it right would require far more money than even the DF most expensive movies so far, and some technology not yet developed to DF allow the viewers to get inside the heads of the characters. DF Especially the later books, like God Emperor, Heretics, and DF Chapterhouse. Ah, total nonsense :) Just a great director and storyteller. It would not be Dune as the book, but it could have been great movie. Like the beforementioned adaptation of (Lem's) Solaris by Tarkovskij. Both are quite different but both are the works of geniuses. Best regards, Frantisek Vlcek
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Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. I've always felt that good fantasy and good scifi use magic/technology in a consistent way that allows the reader to suspend disbelief without actually turning off too much of your thinking. In other words, the effect of magic /tech is limited and well-bounded in a way that can be understood, ie., if we assume that x and y and z are true then we can have the following reasonable expectations about the effects that we will see in a story. C.S. Lewis is a good example of this. Out of the Silent Planet has some pretty lousy science but it's used consistently. (Lewis also had the advantage of being a superb stylist of the English Language). Disclaimer: I'm not trying to contradict you here, Marnie, just having a discussion. These issues are ultimately matters of personal taste and opinion. I'm just expressing mine ;-) I don't like fantasy nearly as much. For me, the definition of fantasy is that what underpins the story is magic (hence undefinable and it usually has no consistent rules), and what underlies sci-fi is science -- whether good or bad science, it doesn't really matter to me. Although good science is definitely preferable. But I am no scientist and if they offer a reasonable premise for something like warp drive, say, I'll suspend disbelief and buy it. Marnie aka Doe
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Agreed. Fantasy and Scifi provide novel ways to explore the human condition, which is why Dune and Foundation and most of Le Guin are so attractive. I've always thought The Left Hand of Darkness, a book about a human variant without permanent genders, was a truly marvelous work by Le Guin. And, of course, the entire Dune series is about human possibilites. [EMAIL PROTECTED] 06/19/04 08:23AM Eac Personally, I find the Dune and Foundation series and SiaSL to be Eac more politico-sociological than SciFi; they just happen to be set in Eac the far future. In one book, Ursula Le Guin (who is just as sociological writer as Herbert) wrote something like /I am not writing about the future, I am writing about the people as they are now, extrapolated slightly/. I like books like these the best. Not just a technological showcase (which anyway is funny after 20 years as the author predicted it all wrong), but good literature. Best regards, Frantisek Vlcek
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Mine was Islands in the Sky by Arthur C Clarke. I was about 6. Hooked ever since. I think I learnt most of my physics from authors like Clarke, Pournelle, Asimov (left hand of the electron), and others. Love rereading some of the old ones again. Nick -Original Message- From: graywolf[EMAIL PROTECTED] 12 heh? This makes for an interesting question. Can you remember the first SF you ever read, when, and what was it. Me: Space Ship Under the Apple Tree I haven't a qlue who the author was. I would guess I was about 7.
Re: OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled
In a message dated 6/16/2004 11:06:08 AM Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: That first adaptation Dune is one of the worst examples of that. The second adaptation is much better, but misses the mark by a wide margin. The all time worst, though, might be Stephen King's The Stand. That movie had the wrong people together in the wrong groups in the wrong places at the wrong times doing the wrong things. And it missed 90%+ of the real meat of the stories, which went on inside people's minds. Like Stu's trek out of Las Vegas with the dog. TTYL, DougF KG4LMZ - The Sci-Fi channel's, Dunes, OTOH, aren't bad. And they are now out on DVD. Although a lot of the concepts in Dune are bit hard to capture on film. But I thought they did a pretty good job. Marnie aka Doe Been reading sci-fi since I was 12 years old.
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Some of my earliest memeories of reading were (aside from school books or Dr. Seuss) were Tom Corbett, Space Cadet. Of course, now I feel really old and it's Marnie's fault. [EMAIL PROTECTED] 06/18/04 11:21AM In a message dated 6/16/2004 11:06:08 AM Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: That first adaptation Dune is one of the worst examples of that. The second adaptation is much better, but misses the mark by a wide margin. The all time worst, though, might be Stephen King's The Stand. That movie had the wrong people together in the wrong groups in the wrong places at the wrong times doing the wrong things. And it missed 90%+ of the real meat of the stories, which went on inside people's minds. Like Stu's trek out of Las Vegas with the dog. TTYL, DougF KG4LMZ - The Sci-Fi channel's, Dunes, OTOH, aren't bad. And they are now out on DVD. Although a lot of the concepts in Dune are bit hard to capture on film. But I thought they did a pretty good job. Marnie aka Doe Been reading sci-fi since I was 12 years old.
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Marnie aka Doe Been reading sci-fi since I was 12 years old. Late starter, eh? I had access to my father's _huge_ collection of pulp mags from a very early age. All consigned to oblivion in the interests of tidiness... 8-( mike Started about 13 or so. It was a fabulous introduction to the world of sex! 'The World Inside' Robert Heinlein :-) And my mom thought I was sat there all cosy, reading about space ships and phasers! Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=|www.macads.co.uk/snaps _
Re: OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled
In a message dated 6/18/2004 9:52:17 AM Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Personally, I find the Dune and Foundation series and SiaSL to be more politico-sociological than SciFi; they just happen to be set in the far future. TTYL, DougF KG4LMZ -- I wouldn't disagree. Now, since I spent so many growing up and young adult years reading male authors (since for many years there weren't that many female sci-fi writers), I mainly read female sci-fi authors. It's a pleasure to be able to do that. Although, David Brin is now my favorite sci-fi author. Modern, or whatever you want to call it. Marnie aka Doe :-)
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Marnie, Speaking of David Brin, I read the first Uplift novel (SunDiver) on the way to/from GFM. Just picked up the second and third novels. He is quite good. Bruce Friday, June 18, 2004, 11:31:53 AM, you wrote: Eac In a message dated 6/18/2004 9:52:17 AM Pacific Standard Time, Eac [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Eac Personally, I find the Dune and Foundation series and SiaSL to be Eac more politico-sociological than SciFi; they just happen to be set in Eac the far future. Eac TTYL, DougF KG4LMZ Eac -- Eac I wouldn't disagree. Now, since I spent so many growing up and young adult Eac years reading male authors (since for many years there weren't that many female Eac sci-fi writers), I mainly read female sci-fi authors. It's a pleasure to be Eac able to do that. Eac Although, David Brin is now my favorite sci-fi author. Modern, or whatever Eac you want to call it. Eac Marnie aka Doe :-)
Re: OT-- SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled
12 heh? This makes for an interesting question. Can you remember the first SF you ever read, when, and what was it. Me: Space Ship Under the Apple Tree I haven't a qlue who the author was. I would guess I was about 7. By the time I was 12 I had read every SF in the Detroit Public Library plus every one I could find on the news stands. It was easy to decide whether to buy one or not, haven't read it, buy it. Now there are so many one could not read them all even if one had the money. And most of them are not SF anyway. To me heroic fantasy is barely SF, fairy tales are not. -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Marnie aka Doe Been reading sci-fi since I was 12 years old. -- graywolf http://graywolfphoto.com/graywolf.html
Re: OT-- SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled
In a message dated 6/18/2004 12:15:55 PM Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: 12 heh? This makes for an interesting question. Can you remember the first SF you ever read, when, and what was it. Me: Space Ship Under the Apple Tree I haven't a qlue who the author was. I would guess I was about 7. By the time I was 12 I had read every SF in the Detroit Public Library plus every one I could find on the news stands. It was easy to decide whether to buy one or not, haven't read it, buy it. Now there are so many one could not read them all even if one had the money. And most of them are not SF anyway. To me heroic fantasy is barely SF, fairy tales are not. -- No, not really -- re remembering first book. But I was fortunate in that my older brother had a whole bunch of Ace Doubles (now collector items, and, yes, I kept most of them). I do remember falling in love with Andre Norton's stories, which makes sense, because she originally wrote mainly for juveniles and a lot of her earlier books where about the thrill of space travel and planet discovery. But there were others I remembering liking as well, including, A.E. van Vogt and Clifford D. Simak. And others who were never famous and only wrote one or two books. I don't like fantasy nearly as much. For me, the definition of fantasy is that what underpins the story is magic (hence undefinable and it usually has no consistent rules), and what underlies sci-fi is science -- whether good or bad science, it doesn't really matter to me. Although good science is definitely preferable. But I am no scientist and if they offer a reasonable premise for something like warp drive, say, I'll suspend disbelief and buy it. Marnie aka Doe
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Wednesday, June 16, 2004, 12:15:47 AM, Yefei wrote: YH Who's directing the film? It may end up the same disaster as YH Hollywood's Solaris -- Average movie goers got bored by it, YH fans of Tarkovsky's version despised it, and fans of YH Stanislaw Lem's book hated it ( many of them felt Tarkovsky's YH version fell short as well ). But since Will Smith is doing YH the action, maybe average movie goers will like I Robot. YH Yefei OMG, a film version of I,Robot? I must have completely missed the news. If the Solaris analogy applies, I would dislike it, because I am a lover of Tarkovskij version. And of Stanislaw Lem. BTW, how many US PDMLers know St. Lem? Or brothers Strugackijs? These are one of the world's best SF writers, from Poland and SSSR. I am interested how well are they known outside. More on the film versions, poor great PK Dick must be rotating in grave because of all the bad adaptations of his work into movies. Except Blade Runner, all of the other movies hoovered big time. It's strange that of all writers, his were adapted often, but very badly. Best regards, Frantisek Vlcek
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He died young with no one to protect his legacy. (If you want to see an adaptation that hoovers read Heinline's Starship Troopers before you see the movie, I have nothing but revulsion for the sequel, not yet released). Frantisek Vlcek wrote: Wednesday, June 16, 2004, 12:15:47 AM, Yefei wrote: YH Who's directing the film? It may end up the same disaster as YH Hollywood's Solaris -- Average movie goers got bored by it, YH fans of Tarkovsky's version despised it, and fans of YH Stanislaw Lem's book hated it ( many of them felt Tarkovsky's YH version fell short as well ). But since Will Smith is doing YH the action, maybe average movie goers will like I Robot. YH Yefei OMG, a film version of I,Robot? I must have completely missed the news. If the Solaris analogy applies, I would dislike it, because I am a lover of Tarkovskij version. And of Stanislaw Lem. BTW, how many US PDMLers know St. Lem? Or brothers Strugackijs? These are one of the world's best SF writers, from Poland and SSSR. I am interested how well are they known outside. More on the film versions, poor great PK Dick must be rotating in grave because of all the bad adaptations of his work into movies. Except Blade Runner, all of the other movies hoovered big time. It's strange that of all writers, his were adapted often, but very badly. Best regards, Frantisek Vlcek
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Wednesday, June 16, 2004, 4:53:19 PM, Peter wrote: PJA He died young with no one to protect his legacy. (If you want to see an PJA adaptation that hoovers read Heinline's Starship PJA Troopers before you see the movie, I have nothing but revulsion for the PJA sequel, not yet released). I did (read it), years before the film. I agree, that must be one of the worst movies after a book. I have watched the film with some kind of freakish fascination. Interestingly, Heinlein and Dick were friends. Best regards, Frantisek Vlcek
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It's funny, the SF community is much like the Pentax community, they feel they're in some kind of a getto and most of them are friends. Frantisek Vlcek wrote: Wednesday, June 16, 2004, 4:53:19 PM, Peter wrote: PJA He died young with no one to protect his legacy. (If you want to see an PJA adaptation that hoovers read Heinline's Starship PJA Troopers before you see the movie, I have nothing but revulsion for the PJA sequel, not yet released). I did (read it), years before the film. I agree, that must be one of the worst movies after a book. I have watched the film with some kind of freakish fascination. Interestingly, Heinlein and Dick were friends. Best regards, Frantisek Vlcek
Re: OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled
OMG, a film version of I,Robot? I must have completely missed the news. If the Solaris analogy applies, I would dislike it, because I am a lover of Tarkovskij version. And of Stanislaw Lem. BTW, how many US PDMLers know St. Lem? Or brothers Strugackijs? These are one of the world's best SF writers, from Poland and SSSR. I am interested how well are they known outside. Lem will be found on the shelves of just about any bookshop with a Science Fiction section. If the others you mention are the same as the Boris Arcady Strugatski I first encountered some 25 years ago their works are far less common. More on the film versions, poor great PK Dick must be rotating in grave because of all the bad adaptations of his work into movies. Except Blade Runner, all of the other movies hoovered big time. It's strange that of all writers, his were adapted often, but very badly. Be afraid. Be very afraid. There are at least three more films in production or release right now based on Philip K. Dick storylines. Apart from Blade Runner (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), there was also Total Recall (We Can Remember It For You Wholesale). Then, more recently, there was Minority Report. There's also a film being made based on A Scanner, Darkly, and I've seen teasers for a new version of Second Variety
Re: OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled
More on the film versions, poor great PK Dick must be rotating in grave because of all the bad adaptations of his work into movies. Except Blade Runner, all of the other movies hoovered big time. It's strange that of all writers, his were adapted often, but very badly. Actually the original release of Blade Runner hoovered, but the director's cut (eg the way it should have been) was a marked improvement Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=|www.macads.co.uk/snaps _
Re: OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled
On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 14:15:08 +0200, Frantisek Vlcek wrote: OMG, a film version of I,Robot? Based on the (very short) trailer or ad I saw the other day, I expect it to bear only the weakest resemblance to the written tales. It'll have robots and humans in it, but that looks like where the resemblance ends. These are one of the world's best SF writers, from Poland and SSSR. I am interested how well are they known outside. I've heard of Stanislaw Lem, but I'm not sure if I've ever seen or read any of his books. I've never heard of the brothers Strugackijs. More on the film versions, poor great PK Dick must be rotating in grave because of all the bad adaptations of his work into movies. Except Blade Runner, all of the other movies hoovered big time. It's strange that of all writers, his were adapted often, but very badly. I've considered this quite a bit while suffering through terrible film adaptations of a lot of books, especially the FSF genre. Of the ones I've seen, very few do credit to the original book. I think part of the problem is that a lot of the best FSF just aren't visual stories. They take place far more in the minds of the main characters than in the landscapes around them. That first adaptation Dune is one of the worst examples of that. The second adaptation is much better, but misses the mark by a wide margin. The all time worst, though, might be Stephen King's The Stand. That movie had the wrong people together in the wrong groups in the wrong places at the wrong times doing the wrong things. And it missed 90%+ of the real meat of the stories, which went on inside people's minds. Like Stu's trek out of Las Vegas with the dog. TTYL, DougF KG4LMZ
Re: Gouldian Finches... Was OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled
We have a couple of Zebra Finches as well... They had babies, one has survived. The mother did not. She flew out of the cage during feeding and when straight into the window. The father had to try and raise three babies himself. He did a pretty good job. We suspect the Gouldians did the two babies in. While finches in general seem to get along well with other finches, behavior can apparently change markedly when sitting on eggs/raising a brood. Tom C. From: William Robb [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Gouldian Finches... Was OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 17:42:19 -0600 - Original Message - From: Tom C Subject: Now: Gouldian Finches... Was OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled Birds of a feather, Bill? Speaking of birds... we have always loved birds and bird-watching. Many different wild kinds at our home. Our parakeet recently succombed to the passage of time. Was it Thoreau that said, Time is the fire in which we burn? I digress... Gouldians are largely from Austrailia, the size of Zebra Finches, and have bright, exotic, parrot-like colors. Our's have just had their first brood... one has hatched... can't wait to see the colors... Any ideas on the best way to photograph? Bird cage bars get in the way!!! We use to keep Zebra Finches. Really cool little birds. Somewhere, I have some good pictures of them from when they escaped from the cage during cleaning. This evokes some fun memories. We had three cats at the time. Any time the birds got out, we didn't try to catch them, we had to catch the very suddenly feral cats. William Robb
Re: OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled
On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 14:15:08 +0200, Frantisek Vlcek wrote: OMG, a film version of I,Robot? Based on the (very short) trailer or ad I saw the other day, I expect it to bear only the weakest resemblance to the written tales. It'll have robots and humans in it, but that looks like where the resemblance ends. I can see that I need to re-read the book before I see the movie Butch
OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled
I used to watch Thunderbirds as a kid. I also think I built a plastic model of every damn one of those things. Now that brings back memories. BTW, Cotty, there is a course in our English dept on fantasy literature and it includes some SciFi. After many animated conversations in the gym, my colleague invited me to do 3 or 4 lectures on some books of my choosing. I've now done this for the last 8 years, and I always enjoy playing Lit Critic under the watchful eye of a pro. So, at least for a little bit, I get to talk about SciFi to a captive audience and get paid for it. Steve (Your fellow Geek). [EMAIL PROTECTED] 06/14/04 05:40PM Seeing as I seemed to somehow mysteriously acquire a couple of lenses in America, I was driving home from London (Pinewood Studios - *see below) and suddenly enabled myself to buy a new, bigger bag for my gear :-) I had a Lowepro Micro Trekker 200 which is pretty diddy really, so I got a Mini Trekker AW from Morris Photo in Oxford. I don't like these massive bags that you see, and besides, shoe-horning everything in is a challenge... http://www.macads.co.uk/snaps/spare.html [* I had a brilliant job today - met one of my all-time heroes - Gerry Anderson. He's got a building full of people working on a new tv series - a remake of Captain Scarlet using CGI (computers imaging to you Tanja). It's a bit like Max Steele but there the similarity ends. Shooting HDTV and using photo-real software, the stuff is AMAZING. The walls were covered with inkjets of all the new vehicles and ships. Cloud base is now called Sky Base and has four runways. All sorts of new gizmos and ships - and the computer animation is awesome. Gerry Anderson (creator of Thunderbirds etc) is a charming man in his seventies, and his office is awesome - he showed me a model of Lady Penelope's FAB 1 made of solid silver, with incredible detail. Models and pics all over the place. I told him I have a model of Sky 1 (from 'UFO' somewhere with broken wings - and I am inspired to fix it :-) I'm such a Sci Fi geek... Fabulous day ] NB - Pentax Content: link leads to image with a Pentax lens visible (just) Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=|www.macads.co.uk/snaps _
OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled
On 15/6/04, STEVE DJ, discombobulated, offered: BTW, Cotty, there is a course in our English dept on fantasy literature and it includes some SciFi. After many animated conversations in the gym, my colleague invited me to do 3 or 4 lectures on some books of my choosing. I've now done this for the last 8 years, and I always enjoy playing Lit Critic under the watchful eye of a pro. So, at least for a little bit, I get to talk about SciFi to a captive audience and get paid for it. Steve (Your fellow Geek). Okay, how cool is this: in 1974 when I was a freshman in High School, I did a semester of Predictive Lit - which was basically reading and writing sci-fi, and getting credits towards my English requirements. True. Required reading: Asimov, Clarke, Farmer, and others. Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=|www.macads.co.uk/snaps _
Re: OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled
Considering what they did to the Wild Wild West, and that was only a TV show, I think I'll close my mind unless someone I trust tells me I should do otherwise. Gonz wrote: I saw the previews of I Robot recently. I don't know what to make of it. On one hand I'm happy that major studios have finally taken up an Asimov classic SciFi story and made a movie out of it. On the other hand, I'm afraid of what they'll do to the original story. Given Hollywood's appetite for shallowness and special effects, and adding Will Smith as the major character, the end result is sure to dissapoint, but I'm keeping my mind open just in case. Steve Desjardins wrote: I used to watch Thunderbirds as a kid. I also think I built a plastic model of every damn one of those things. Now that brings back memories. BTW, Cotty, there is a course in our English dept on fantasy literature and it includes some SciFi. After many animated conversations in the gym, my colleague invited me to do 3 or 4 lectures on some books of my choosing. I've now done this for the last 8 years, and I always enjoy playing Lit Critic under the watchful eye of a pro. So, at least for a little bit, I get to talk about SciFi to a captive audience and get paid for it. Steve (Your fellow Geek). [EMAIL PROTECTED] 06/14/04 05:40PM Seeing as I seemed to somehow mysteriously acquire a couple of lenses in America, I was driving home from London (Pinewood Studios - *see below) and suddenly enabled myself to buy a new, bigger bag for my gear :-) I had a Lowepro Micro Trekker 200 which is pretty diddy really, so I got a Mini Trekker AW from Morris Photo in Oxford. I don't like these massive bags that you see, and besides, shoe-horning everything in is a challenge... http://www.macads.co.uk/snaps/spare.html [* I had a brilliant job today - met one of my all-time heroes - Gerry Anderson. He's got a building full of people working on a new tv series - a remake of Captain Scarlet using CGI (computers imaging to you Tanja). It's a bit like Max Steele but there the similarity ends. Shooting HDTV and using photo-real software, the stuff is AMAZING. The walls were covered with inkjets of all the new vehicles and ships. Cloud base is now called Sky Base and has four runways. All sorts of new gizmos and ships - and the computer animation is awesome. Gerry Anderson (creator of Thunderbirds etc) is a charming man in his seventies, and his office is awesome - he showed me a model of Lady Penelope's FAB 1 made of solid silver, with incredible detail. Models and pics all over the place. I told him I have a model of Sky 1 (from 'UFO' somewhere with broken wings - and I am inspired to fix it :-) I'm such a Sci Fi geek... Fabulous day ] NB - Pentax Content: link leads to image with a Pentax lens visible (just) Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=|www.macads.co.uk/snaps _
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Bob W wrote: Hi, Tuesday, June 15, 2004, 8:57:05 PM, Gonz wrote: I saw the previews of I Robot recently. I don't know what to make of it. On one hand I'm happy that major studios have finally taken up an Asimov classic SciFi story and made a movie out of it. On the other hand, I'm afraid of what they'll do to the original story. Given Hollywood's appetite for shallowness and special effects, and adding Will Smith as the major character, the end result is sure to dissapoint, but I'm keeping my mind open just in case. one way of translating the Arabic words 'al-Qaida' is 'the Foundation'. Some people have claimed that Osama bin Laden is an Asimov fan. This article says that the Aum terrorists in Japan were certainly inspired by his books. http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,779530,00.html Asimov, good pacifist that he was, would be appalled. Giles Foden wrote the article. His book 'Zanzibar' is a good thriller, with a very realistic sense of place.
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Yeah, I'd love to see a Foundation mini-series. I too have long been a Gerry Anderson fan... UFO, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlett, The Bishop... Clifford D. Simak wrote some great science fiction too... like Way Station. Tom C. From: Jim Apilado [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2004 13:45:05 -0700 I agree about getting an Asimov story on film. Star Trek: N.G. paid homage with Mr. Data having a positronic brain. I think, too, one of the Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics was cited. Can't recall which one. I would love to see a series on the SciFi Channel devoted to the Foundation stories. Jim A. From: Gonz [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2004 14:57:05 -0500 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled Resent-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Resent-Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2004 15:58:20 -0400 I saw the previews of I Robot recently. I don't know what to make of it. On one hand I'm happy that major studios have finally taken up an Asimov classic SciFi story and made a movie out of it. On the other hand, I'm afraid of what they'll do to the original story. Given Hollywood's appetite for shallowness and special effects, and adding Will Smith as the major character, the end result is sure to dissapoint, but I'm keeping my mind open just in case. Steve Desjardins wrote: I used to watch Thunderbirds as a kid. I also think I built a plastic model of every damn one of those things. Now that brings back memories. BTW, Cotty, there is a course in our English dept on fantasy literature and it includes some SciFi. After many animated conversations in the gym, my colleague invited me to do 3 or 4 lectures on some books of my choosing. I've now done this for the last 8 years, and I always enjoy playing Lit Critic under the watchful eye of a pro. So, at least for a little bit, I get to talk about SciFi to a captive audience and get paid for it. Steve (Your fellow Geek). [EMAIL PROTECTED] 06/14/04 05:40PM Seeing as I seemed to somehow mysteriously acquire a couple of lenses in America, I was driving home from London (Pinewood Studios - *see below) and suddenly enabled myself to buy a new, bigger bag for my gear :-) I had a Lowepro Micro Trekker 200 which is pretty diddy really, so I got a Mini Trekker AW from Morris Photo in Oxford. I don't like these massive bags that you see, and besides, shoe-horning everything in is a challenge... http://www.macads.co.uk/snaps/spare.html [* I had a brilliant job today - met one of my all-time heroes - Gerry Anderson. He's got a building full of people working on a new tv series - a remake of Captain Scarlet using CGI (computers imaging to you Tanja). It's a bit like Max Steele but there the similarity ends. Shooting HDTV and using photo-real software, the stuff is AMAZING. The walls were covered with inkjets of all the new vehicles and ships. Cloud base is now called Sky Base and has four runways. All sorts of new gizmos and ships - and the computer animation is awesome. Gerry Anderson (creator of Thunderbirds etc) is a charming man in his seventies, and his office is awesome - he showed me a model of Lady Penelope's FAB 1 made of solid silver, with incredible detail. Models and pics all over the place. I told him I have a model of Sky 1 (from 'UFO' somewhere with broken wings - and I am inspired to fix it :-) I'm such a Sci Fi geek... Fabulous day ] NB - Pentax Content: link leads to image with a Pentax lens visible (just) Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=|www.macads.co.uk/snaps _
Re: OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled
one way of translating the Arabic words 'al-Qaida' is 'the Foundation'. Some people have claimed that Osama bin Laden is an Asimov fan. This article says that the Aum terrorists in Japan were certainly inspired by his books. http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,779530,00.html Foundation... I thought bin Laden was into ladies undergarments. Tom C.
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Damn, you were lucky, at College, I signed up for a course called History Through Science Fiction, the required reading included Bellamy, for his book Looking Backward and all of the most politically correct of SF authors, the most readable of which was Verne. When I asked why we weren't reading any of the future historys by the likes of Heinlein, Asimov, or Anderson I was informed that they were either cold warriors, hacks or both. Obviously if someone wrote in non stilted modern prose they couldn't be good, and their view of history could not be valid. Cotty wrote: On 15/6/04, STEVE DJ, discombobulated, offered: BTW, Cotty, there is a course in our English dept on fantasy literature and it includes some SciFi. After many animated conversations in the gym, my colleague invited me to do 3 or 4 lectures on some books of my choosing. I've now done this for the last 8 years, and I always enjoy playing Lit Critic under the watchful eye of a pro. So, at least for a little bit, I get to talk about SciFi to a captive audience and get paid for it. Steve (Your fellow Geek). Okay, how cool is this: in 1974 when I was a freshman in High School, I did a semester of Predictive Lit - which was basically reading and writing sci-fi, and getting credits towards my English requirements. True. Required reading: Asimov, Clarke, Farmer, and others. Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=|www.macads.co.uk/snaps _
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Who's directing the film? It may end up the same disaster as Hollywood's Solaris -- Average movie goers got bored by it, fans of Tarkovsky's version despised it, and fans of Stanislaw Lem's book hated it ( many of them felt Tarkovsky's version fell short as well ). But since Will Smith is doing the action, maybe average movie goers will like I Robot. Yefei Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2004 14:57:05 -0500 From: Gonz [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I saw the previews of I Robot recently. I don't know what to make of it. On one hand I'm happy that major studios have finally taken up an Asimov classic SciFi story and made a movie out of it. On the other hand, I'm afraid of what they'll do to the original story. Given Hollywood's appetite for shallowness and special effects, and adding Will Smith as the major character, the end result is sure to dissapoint, but I'm keeping my mind open just in case.
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Dunno, but I loved Solaris - the whole visual/sound experience really did it for me. In contrast I got bored by the Tarkovsky version! I Robot will be another Will Smith, men in black, wild wild west, hollywood film for kids. A. On 16 Jun 2004, at 00:15, Yefei He wrote: Who's directing the film? It may end up the same disaster as Hollywood's Solaris -- Average movie goers got bored by it, fans of Tarkovsky's version despised it, and fans of Stanislaw Lem's book hated it ( many of them felt Tarkovsky's version fell short as well ). But since Will Smith is doing the action, maybe average movie goers will like I Robot. Yefei Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2004 14:57:05 -0500 From: Gonz [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I saw the previews of I Robot recently. I don't know what to make of it. On one hand I'm happy that major studios have finally taken up an Asimov classic SciFi story and made a movie out of it. On the other hand, I'm afraid of what they'll do to the original story. Given Hollywood's appetite for shallowness and special effects, and adding Will Smith as the major character, the end result is sure to dissapoint, but I'm keeping my mind open just in case.
Re: OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled
- Original Message - From: Yefei He Subject: RE: OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled But since Will Smith is doing the action, maybe average movie goers will like I Robot. There was action in I Robot? William Robb
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Yeah, I'd love to see a Foundation mini-series. I too have long been a Gerry Anderson fan... UFO, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlett, The Bishop... Clifford D. Simak wrote some great science fiction too... like Way Station. Tom C. I Robot is coming out shortly. Do you think it will be any good? Butch Each man had only one genuine vocation - to find the way to himself. Hermann Hesse (Demian)
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As with most of Tarkovsky's films -- Stalker, Mirror, Andrei Rublev, Sacrifice, Nostalghia, etc., I fell asleep the first time I watched Solaris:-) But then during each of the subsequent viewings I was kept on the edge of my chair from start to finish. Maybe you should give it another try, or a third:-) Yefei Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 00:18:55 +0200 From: Antonio Aparicio [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled Message-Id: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Dunno, but I loved Solaris - the whole visual/sound experience really did it for me. In contrast I got bored by the Tarkovsky version! I Robot will be another Will Smith, men in black, wild wild west, hollywood film for kids. A.
Re: OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled
- Original Message - From: Tom C Subject: Re: OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled Call me old-fashioned... You are old fashioned... WW
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Thank you. Tom C. From: William Robb [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2004 21:38:26 -0600 - Original Message - From: Tom C Subject: Re: OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled Call me old-fashioned... You are old fashioned... WW
Re: OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled
- Original Message - From: Tom C Subject: Re: OT: SciFi was:Re: Camera Bag Enabled Thank you. Your welcome. You owe me an old fashioned. b...
