I am assuming they paid the SyFy Portal serious money for stealing their brand. In fact that site, under their new brand Airlock Alpha, admits as much, even if they don’t disclose the amount. I look forward to seeing how they use that cash influx online, and have to cheer on anyone in Science Fiction who can turn a noticeable profit in today’s economy. Reactions are coming in from all over the web, from CNet with their usual unique perspective, to Entertainment Weekly who come at it from a totally different angle. Cinema Blend, the Live Feed, and the Hollywood Reporter all took the line you would expect from each of those media mavens (each different, but each the same). The Fans have a different view, expressed by Topless Robot, or Forbidden Planet, or even G4 TV, and again, each reaction is different, and each the same. Myself, I can’t wait to see how Alpha Airlock evolves; the SF Channel, whatever their spelling, has the budget to ignore the fans, but this time some true fans got the better end of the deal. Congrats, Hinman!
There are many good things to read online, or to download for reading offline, and Free SF has recently added a number of them, including works by Walter Jon Williams, James Patrick Kelly, and Felix Castor, to name a few. One of my favorite places to go are the online Ezines, like Flurb. Headed up by Rudy Ruker, Flurb concentrates on quality stories that for one reason or another would be very hard to get into a normal print magazine. Then there is Clarkesworld, currently with Herding Vegetable Sheep along with some other stories, at least one in audio format each month. Another good one is Raygun Revival, concentrating on golden-age space opera. Strange Horizons usually only has one story and one poem per edition, but it comes out once a week, so you still get a months worth of reading. There are many more, but that should get you started.
In April we will have the first new Red Dwarf in many years, and Dave TV has now posted the schedule. They are running the three new episodes one each night of Easter weekend, along with a selection of the best classic episodes and a behind-the-scenes special. SFX is in the middle of it, running 50 copies only with a special Red Dwarf cover that will be featured in the show. To find one, you need to hunt the newsstands in the UK. The DVD will be released on DVD on June 15th in England, but I have not found a US release date yet.
Erik Johansson takes pictures and then digitally manipulates them. So do lots of other people, but not many get such interesting results. If I had to guess, I don’t think he’s from outer space, but the universe next door wouldn’t surprise me. I thought the link to this artist came from Six Revisions, but now I can’t find it to confirm. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t visit that site; lots of great info about building your own piece of the web to be found there.
Yes, today is Red Nose Day, and people all over the UK are being funny for money. Even 10 Downing Street has its nose on, all for the good cause of raising money to fight poverty and bring relief to those who need it. Also known as Comic Relief (and brought to this country by the likes of Robin Williams and Whoopie Goldberg), this is also the biggest viewership night on BBC1 each year. The event usually includes a Doctor Who segment, this year they are doing a Sarah Jane Special (in case you were wondering why it was mentioned in a SciFi blog). So go get your Digital Red Nose and contribute what you can!
Mike Brotherton has posted a thought provoking article about Why Science Fiction rules, and why most people just don’t get it. It’s worth a read, and if you communicate to the public (Teacher, Journalist, etc.) you should also be aware the next round of his Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop still has a few days before registration closes, but you have to hurry. Funded by NASA, the training is free and comes complete with an observatory or two at the University of Wyoming. Even Lex Luthor is looking for a Bailout these days… what is the world coming to?