Martin Gardner, born in 1914, died on May 22nd. He wrote science fiction puzzle stories for Asimov’s from just about the first issue, as well as a study of and a sequel to L. Frank Baum’s Oz series (two completely different books). I was alerted to his passing by a posting in Locus Magazine online, but for 35 years he wrote my favorite column in Scientific American, Mathematical Puzzles, so if you really want to know the full range of this brilliant mathematician and author, see their tribute to Martin Gardner.
The main movie for this weekend has to be Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. If the film is half as good as the trailer, it is going to be a blast. And it looks like you don’t have to be a master of the game to enjoy it, unlike some movies built from games.
If you are a George A. Romero fan, then you might want to go to George A. Romero’s Survival of the Dead, which is something like the 6th Dead movie he has made.
The number one TV release this week is obvious: True Blood: The Complete Second Season. If you thought the first season was good, fasten your seat belts and get ready to be blown away. You already know this if you have HBO, but now is your chance to add it to your permanent collection. Unlike certain movie series, this story is strictly for the adults in the audience, and delivers on every level. And as usual, the timing on the DVD release is because Season 3 is about to happen; it hits your screen on June 13th.
On the Movie side, The Road becomes available on DVD. I can’t speak one way or the other about this movie, since I haven’t seen it yet. I can certainly speak up for Season 3 of The Guild; I consider this a must-have for every person who has ever sat down at a computer, and doubly so if you are a gamer. This is geek humor at its finest, and word is there are all kinds of extras on the DVD that did not appear online.
In anime, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Part 1 brings back that good old Steampunk Alchemy we loved so much the last time around. Likewise, Hell Girl – Two Mirrors returns us to that rather dark universe, where the second season starts off showing us that things are changing for Ai and her companions. In addition, the Hell Girl Complete First Season is being re-released in a S.A.V.E. Edition, so you can add it to your collection at a good price.
Also in anime, Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple has part two of season two being released, as well as the re-release of season 1 in a single box set, for the Martial Arts fans. While I normally only mention boxed sets here (predominately because I can go nuts waiting for the next volume to be released), I decided I should mention Kanokon: The Girl Who Cried Wolf, because it just looks like silly fun; a high school boy has a pretty female fox deity and a wolf goddess vying for his attention, with all the expected mayhem that would entail.
I love fan made music videos, and one of the world-wide iconic focus points for them these days is Doctor Who, the new series. So here are just a few that tickled my interest that I felt the need to pass on. A few of these will probably evaporate but more will come to take their place; and doesn’t that Killers quote sum him up so well; He Doesn’t look a thing like Jesus, but he talks like a gentleman, like you imagined when you were young. The scope of the musical styles alone tells you just how wide the appeal of the program ranges, and I selected a few of my favorite tunes for this collection, because selecting tunes I didn’t like would have been both silly and counterproductive. Enjoy!
I love the interweb; thanks to Tremendous News for this one, passed along by way of Fancy Fembot: The Entire Series of LOST Re-Enacted By Cats In 1 Minute! (warning: Spoilers)
Most of the best J-Rock I know comes from Anime, and sometimes you get a chance to compare the live action band with the animated representation or the studio take. Here is such a comparison, from Haruhi Suzumiya (the anime character, not the singer), followed by another song or two. If you can name all the anime’s these songs come from, it is too late; you are already an Otaku!