Movies Sci Fi

Archive for 2010

When I saw the new Apple iPad, my jaw dropped, it looked just like the Padd so frequently used in all of the Star Trek series! I always liked those Padds in the television shows because you could write stories, poems, but also look up historical records, do inventory, read books, write mission reports, the sky was the limit. I am not a big fan of new gadgets that come out every week and make the gadget I just purchased obsolete so I tend to only pay attention to what is being invented and usually it takes me years to get something new that I feel will stay around a while without being replaced quickly. When I see something similar to a common Trek prop, I get more curious than usual, but not curious enough to buy until it really has books, history, math, well, something very Star Trek -like, but that is just me, waiting for the ultimate piece of technology. Anyway, I like the look of it but I am waiting to hear if it is easy to use and not too sensitive to the touch or fragile because I am very rough with things like my cellphone, for example, I have dropped it more times than I can count and it still works! I would not want a fragile Padd, it needs to be space-worthy, Ha!
Related articles by Zemanta

• Beaming Down to an iPad Near You: the Star Trek iPADD App (cultofmac.com)
• iPad, Meet Star Trek (mashable.com)

I liked the character of Dr. Bashir on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but he was not one of my favorites I have to admit. I find his comments on the changes made to his character interesting:

In the fifth season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Alexander Siddig, after having had his own mental idea of who his character was, had to readjust his thinking about Dr. Julian Bashir. Siddig was not pleased when he saw the script for Dr. Bashir, I Presume and made that displeasure known as best he could after the first shock wore off.

“He was a man of science; he was like half good looking, rubbish at pulling girls. I mean it was all the wrong kind of archetypes. And so they kept trying to do things to make it happen. Eventually they did the Bond thing (Our Man Bashir) – they did the Bond thing before that actually. And that kicked it off. I have to say that I’m still pretty angry. Well, not angry…”

“Well, it was a bit cynical at the end of the day. But I just fluffed the lines; well I didn’t fluff them completely I literally pinned the lines on the back of someone’s shoulder once, reading them. I wasn’t bothered even to learn them. I just pinned them around the office as if they were lines needed for daily modification. And they got the message and dropped it kind of.”

I do understand the frustration he felt about the character because myself as a viewer of the show had to go back and ask, well, did he find a vaccine to the Quickening because he was just smart or genetically enhanced? Were all of his medical accomplishments because he was dedicated and smart or basically his parents cheated him with the enhancements? Either way, I feel it added depth to his character and I never felt like he was a pseudo Spock or Data by any means. Deep Space Nine still remains one of my favorite series in the Star Trek saga and my favorite episode with Dr. Bashir is the Quickening.

You can read the entire interview HERE.

A woman wore a Stormtrooper costume to her graduation so I do not know if this qualifies as being a fan or a fanatical fan or just plain crazy!
From the story:

Ever hear the story about the woman who wore her Star Trek uniform to jury duty? Interestingly enough, I have another story to tell along that same lines, but with a different genre.

Manja Peters, who is a 36 year old woman, and a student from Canterbury University in the United Kingdom, decided she wanted to do something special for her last graduation. So in order to celebrate getting her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, Peters decided to wear a full Star Wars Stormtrooper Costume during the ceremony.The reason for the costume, Peters admits, is that she is a film major and that she grew up watching Star Wars. It was directors like George Lucas who gave her the interest in film studies. Plus she says, it was meant as a way to make others happy. She commented:

I also wanted to bring a few smiles to people’s faces. It’s been tough, with the recession and redundancies.

Not everyone, though, seemed joyous about her wardrobe selection. According to Peters, some people felt nervous about the costume. But she explained, “I’m short so I’m not that imposing.”

Now where have I heard a line about a short Stormtrooper before? Hmm.

Actually, I think it is very creative and she was being artistic and unique and realistic about the times we live in. If anyone had a problem with her choice of attire, they really need to get over themselves.
LINK

I am still recovering from the earthquake that struck the 4th of April, a nice peaceful Sunday afternoon that was disrupted by the intense shaking of the 2010 Baja California earthquake as it is being named! Even though I live about 150km from the epicenter, it was an intense shaking that had myself and my family headed for the back door in panic! I was reading this article on Live Science, well here is what they said:
Yesterday’s magnitude-7.2 earthquake that rocked northern Mexico and parts of Southern California was barely worth noting compared to the ongoing, major forces that shape planet Earth. In a geologic sense, there are greater forces at work, from the coming and going of ice ages to an ongoing imbalance in the planet’s rotation that make it wobble like a spinning top that’s winding down.
Ummm, I agree on a global scale, but in my daily life, when the ground is shaking so hard I can barely stand, it is worthy of note, on my part at least.
“These large earthquakes are rare, catastrophic events,” Gross explained. “What’s normally causing the Earth’s rotation to change is the surface mass movement of the oceans and atmosphere.”
I am glad they are rare because it is no fun going through the main event and the aftershocks, and waiting for a larger aftershock, it really rattles the nerves!
I am just having a little fun with the article because it has been so stressful the last couple of days I feel like poking some fun at something, I do enjoy studying about earthquakes and learning new things about them, just not going through the experience first hand, at least this was in the afternoon and not in the middle of the night which is much worse.
Anyway, here is the article.
Related articles by Zemanta

• Large Earthquake in Baja California [Mexico] Affects San Diego & Los Angeles (themoderatevoice.com)