Coming up this weekend is the New York Animation Festival. The Guest of Honor is Yoshiyuki Tomino, creator of the Mobile Suit Gundam series and a songwriter who has worked with a range of folks from Yoko Kanno to Niel Sedaka. Musical guests include AKB48, Swinging Popsicle and a number of others. The Voice Talent guest list is HUGE, and full of some of my favorite voices from the world of anime; see the full list here. Events include the World Cyber Games National Final, Cosplay in the form of the Neo-Victorian Fashion Show (you can say it: Steampunk!), and Zombie Survival training from the Green Light Anti-Zombie Squad.
I can’t help it, sometimes I just wonder about things. One of my current questions is: Will Soar Thoat be doing some of the music for the new John Carter of Mars production? I know, the band’s name is a serious Martian pun, and the Civil War veteran did not arrive on Mars by way of Rocketship, but I still wonder. Continuing on the musical front, there were two versions of the almost-question (they each answered it themselves, so it doesn’t count as actual questions) If I Had A Rocket Launcher. One is a Hi-Q rock construction from musical genius and politically aware Bruce Cockburn, the other a fun little construct from Halo gamers creating their own Machinima. The question this time is, which music video do you prefer? Here are your samples to choose between…
Not in the sense of Cosplay at a Con, nor as dancing to Filk, but just a really well done dance video edited from TOS footage.
Starship Sofa Aural Delights has hit its 100th episode, and to celebrate they have released Starship Sofa Stories, Volume 1. Some of the authors include Elizabeth Bear, Michael Bishop, Ken MacLeod, Alastair Reynolds, and Spider Robinson, and all of these tales were featured as a radio play or reading in an Aural Delights episode. You can download it here, or you can use a widget for online access.
When I go hang out in a virtual environment, I often listen to music and go dancing. One of my favorite bands to party with is Australia’s Space Junky, 3 world-class musicians who play a wide range of music. Drop by Space Junky Island the next time you are in Second Life, and meanwhile here are a few tunes to listen to until then.
If you are at all a fan of Doctor Who, with a weakness for Shaun of the Dead, and find The IT Crowd worth a visit, have I got a movie for you! The film Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel looks to be a serious hoot, and would probably make a great double feature with Cyborg She. It was in theaters in the UK back in April, and now released on DVD in the UK; I am hoping for a US release soon.
SciFi Wire has posted what it claims is every science fiction trailer for the new Broadcast TV season. It certainly looked fairly complete to me, including both new shows and returning favorites. While bouncing to the YouTube page of one of them to watch the Hi-Q version, I found this wonderfully silly video and had to post it here: The Guild with Do You Want To Date My Avatar.