It is in Nevada, not outer space, but I figured if I called the post Alien Bordello all of my hits would probably come from the INS, rather than someone interested in sleeping with an Orion Slave Girl or the like. Which actually might be appropriate, since I feel confident any aliens on the premises would be crossing national borders to work there rather than extraterrestrials. But according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a new brothel called the Area 51 Alien Travel Center will have everything short of a theme park and be targeting the Captain Kirk wannabe’s passing through the state. If this had been built in the 50s, 60s, or even 70s it might have been a big deal, and pulled in a lot of money from the pocket protector set (of which I am one). But apparently they haven’t heard that Nerds and Geeks have been cool for the last several decades, and mostly have girlfriends these days; except for those nerds and geeks who ARE the girlfriends, and they all have boyfriends. So I am a bit confused about exactly who they think the target audience is going to be. Anyways, thanks to The Taylor Network by way of the Sci-Fi Party Line News for the heads up on this one.
Bringing it all back home, a few tunes from the culture I grew up with, starting with The Kills with the live version of Black Balloon they did on KEXP. And then Florence and the Machine doing Rabbit Heart (her more recent studio track, No Light, No Light, is at the bottom of the page), followed by Zola Jesus with her song Sea Talk. All live selections from the same Seattle radio station, KEXP FM, and all world class examples of quality music.
I had recently told you about the Ray Bradbury Radio Archives that Sci-Fi London has posted online. They have now added a Robert A. Heinlein Radio Archive, which includes The Green Hills of Earth, The Roads Must Roll, and Destination Moon, amongst others. You can listen to them online or download them for your permanent collection.
Underworld: Awakening brings us the latest in this series of Vampires Vs. Werewolves movies, but now the most dangerous predator has gotten wind of them and come to commit genocide: Humans! Kate Beckinsale may be replaced by the woman playing her offspring in future outings, provided this film grosses enough to keep the franchise going. While not exactly genre, the other film worth noting this weekend also has a woman kicking serious ass on everyone in her vicinity: Haywire.
Gantz II: The Perfect Answer tops the movie list this time, bringing the second feature length episode of the live action version of the story. They have eased back considerably on the sex and violence of the Manga and Anime series to avoid an X rating, but it is sill quite an interesting and exciting tale. Also out this week, Parallel Life involves a murder mystery revolving around a South Korean mathematics professor who appears to be the reincarnation of Kurt Gödel. In addition there are rumors of a Russian sci-fi time travel/space combat movie called The Interceptor based on the book by Vasiliy Golovachev, but I can’t seem to find a proper site for that one. Finally, Age of Heroes is the true story of the formation of Ian Fleming’s 30 person commando unit which became the basis for the SAS.
There are two TV titles this week; Sliders: The Fifth and Final Season (I couldn’t find an official site for the 1995 series any more, so that link is a fan site) concludes that series, in what I feel is the weakest season ever for the show, with only the actor playing Rembrandt Brown remaining of the original cast. The other show is Merlin: The Complete Third Season, and it is finally starting to get a bit dark for the storyline.
Two Anime movies this time around, with the award winning First Squad: The Moment of Truth definitely leading the field. It is WWII, and a group of super powered Russian teenagers goes up against an SS officer who is attempting to raise the dead to fight for the Nazi’s. The other feature length film is Redline, the biggest car race in the universe.
In new TV series we have Princess Resurrection – The Complete Collection, a kinky little story about a boy who saves the life of a girl in a creepy mansion, only to loose his own in the process. Imagine his surprise when she grants him a second life, but only for so long as he shall be her servant. Meanwhile, Star Driver Part 2 brings us the second half of the tale of the battle of the Shrine Maidens trying to keep the evil organization Vanishing Age from bringing the giant killer Mecha’s into the world. And the last new title is Hetalia World Series – Season 03, which I will not be bringing home myself.
There are also a couple of re-releases in more cost effective packaging, for those of you who have been waiting. Kaze no Stigma – The Complete Series is being released in a [S.A.V.E.] edition, as is Nabari no Ou complete series; if you shop around, you can pick them each up for well under $20.
The Tokyo Stormtrooper, Danny Chou, loves to go dancing in the street where he can interact with folks, and maybe shock and surprise a few of them. If you don’t already know Danny from his Culture Japan website and TV show, odds are good you have seen videos of him dancing around the world. The first video is his dancing in Paris a year or so back, the second took place in Singapore. And then there was Rock Trooper… you gotta love this stuff. Then a touch of a French 3D animation Storm Trooper dance sequence, just to contrast the live action with the animated, and finally the OP from Danny’s Season 2 version of his Culture Japan show.