One of which is the Joy of Six, a definitive Brit Geek look at whats on offer… Slice of SciFi has a glimps at all things Fox, and Sci-Fi Scoop has some quality photos from V. Then there is the Toughest Gals list. Followed by this video…
Award winning science fiction author John Scalzi is looking forward to the future as much as the rest of us, but he just published a short list of technology he is NOT looking forward to. It does make you think a bit, and you do want to read the comments (if not add your own). If you haven’t had your daily dose of Steampunk yet, here’s a little Abney Park to see you through…
NASA is currently running the final Hubble mission, upgrading the satellite one last time. If you are interested in watching the mission in real time, as always you can see it on NASA TV, both online and on select cable systems. If their are any problems with the mission, NASA now has an emergency response shuttle ready to run a rescue flight. Part of the mission is to bring home the camera that saved the Hubble, the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. Installed in 1993, this was the first camera with a corrective function for the flaw in the Hubble’s mirror. To commemorate the retirement they have released one last beauty shot of planetary nebula Kohoutek 4-55; the camera will be added to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum permanent collection. For other incredible images captured by the Hubble, take a look at their Gallery site. And if you get by the Smithsonian in the next week or two, don’t forget to see the original Enterprise model used in the 60s Star Trek TV show, and maybe catch the Star Trek IMAX version of the new movie. They will also be running other Sci-Fi IMAX films including NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN and Transformers 2 Revenge of the Fallen. Here is the video of the shuttle capturing the Hubble to bring it onboard for repairs.
If you haven’t already, of course. I love the reboot known as Star Trek 11, and can’t wait for the next one. Simon Pegg as Scotty and Karl Urbana as Bones both brought something to the characters that gave them a spark of life even the originals didn’t have (shields up, prepare to repel flames), and Zach Quinto as Spock was dead on the money. There were a few details I can quibble with, that still didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the movie; but the folks at Sci-Fi Wire said it first and better, so read their version. Above all, go see the movie!
Nathan Fillion’s Captain Mal of Firefly beat out William Shatner’s iconic Kirk as best Starship captain in the recent Blockbuster poll. While I am a long time Trek fan, I have to agree; he just did a better job as a captain. Of course, the timing of the poll was no coincidence, since Star Trek 11 hits the big screens today (or tomorrow, depending on where you live). With Quinto doing Spock and Pegg as Scotty, I can’t wait to see how the new one turns out. In the same poll, Star Wars’ Darth Vader made best villain, David Tennant’s Doctor Who was voted hunkiest, and Jeri Ryan’s 7 of 9 won the babe category; good choices all.
On June 24th the 35th annual Saturn Awards will be handed out, and this time the lifetime achievement award goes to Leonard Nimoy. At a con in the UK last weekend Zach Levi (the Chuck of Chuck) led a Flashmob to Subway where he ended up making sandwiches for his fans. Much to the confusion of the local security folks, who thought it was the politest riot they had ever seen. Also from the UK comes Gratuitus Space Battles, a game who’s goal is to bring the over-the-top explodiness back into space games (their words). This one looks like a lot of fun.