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Things to Do: Cons

Ad-Astra is a ReaderCon in Toronto this weekend with a ton of guests, including Eric Flint and Robert J. Sawyer. Besides all the usual events, they will also be running the competition for AD ASTRA’S NEXT TOP ZOMBIE!!!! A bit to the west (but still in Toronto) is another Canadian gathering at FilkOntario, where the inductions into the Filk Hall of Fame will be held.

RavenCon 2010 takes place in Richmond, VA, and celebrates all things Edgar Allen Poe-ish. As well as a lot of other stuff, since this is a general con; check out their schedule of programs. While over in Fargo, Core Con takes place featuring gaming, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Bushido, and Cosplay.

Things to Do: Movies

This weeks offering, Afterlife, is a thriller on the edge of horror, but it does have a great cast in the form of Christina Ricci, Liam Neeson, and Justin Long. I am undecided if this will be worth time in a theater chair, but it may be a moot point since it is in limited release. There are two movies about the history of music coming out this week as well, also in limited release but well worth mentioning. Who Do You Love tells the story of Chess Records, who made records from people like Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, Etta James, and Chuck Berry available to the public in the 40s and 50s, introducing America to the blues and leading to the birth of Rock and Roll. The other film is When You’re Strange, a documentary about the Doors narrated by Johnny Depp, and including footage never before seen.

Something to Watch: DVD’s

The TV show that stands out this week is Blood Ties: The Complete Series. While all of this had been previously released in two series boxes, it is nice to have everything available in a single package.

The silly montage of copyright-free footage taken from vintage porn and 1950’s Sci-Fi films know as Sex Galaxy will also be hitting the shelves. If you are an MST3K fan, this should be right up your alley.

On the Anime front, Ah My Buddha – The Complete Collection is a good choice, with enough action to keep it interesting. The fan service built into the premise (he only gets strong enough to banish demons when he sees naked women) never really delivers, since naked women without nipples are obviously not really naked; think Sophia Loren in a bodysuit in that 1960’s movie.

Lucky Star Complete Collection is an entirely different critter on several fronts. To begin with, the young women in this series are the focus, not the eye candy. In addition, it tells a high-school tale that almost works for guys as well…

Rental Magica – Collection 2 takes us back to the world where multiple systems of magic work, each with its own set of practitioners (all of whom are in competition with each other), based on the book voted “Best Action Story” by Japanese fans as part of the 2007 Light Novel Awards (the Manga came after the book).

Hidamari Sketch × 365 – Complete Collection is also being released on Tuesday. I probably shouldn’t mention it here, since it has virtually no Sci-Fi elements, but the artist in me couldn’t resist.

Fun from Asia

A taste of strange from Japan today, starting out with a Japanese commercial for children’s near-beer, so kids could have toasts with their parents. And somehow it got twisted… Just another look into the stranger side of J-Life from WTF Japan, Seriously. Meanwhile, Geekologie has word of a dancing robotic samurai server in a Japanese themed restaurant in Thailand. One good computer virus and the patrons become shish-kabob, although with a face like a cross between Darth Vader and the Cookie Monster it is difficult to get too worked up about the possibility.

Hollywierd

Todd Miro has put together an absolutely brilliant article explaining quite a bit about how today’s movies ended up looking the way a lot of them do, and posted it at Into The Abyss. If you’re into making your own movies, particularly if you process them through a computer (and who doesn’t these days), there will be bonus material for you in this one.