Gravity Lens Weblog

Archive May 27- June 15

Gravity Lens Main Page

Tuesday, June 15

Coming this September Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melnibone returns to the comic stands.

Recommended Readin':

Astrobiology begins a 7-part feature on the possibilities of terraforming Mars.

The Atlantic interviews Brian Greene about the nature of the universe.

Gregory T. Huang of Technology Review shows us a wearable robot.

Jo Twist of BBC Science examines the future of quantum computing and teleportation.

And just in case you, like myself, require a glimpse of true idiocy every now and then,

Butterflies & Wheels links to this disclaimer explaining exactly what the "creationist" Raelians believe in.

Monday, June 14

I have always had a fascination with names and their meanings, so I enjoy this story by Geoffrey York of the Globe & Mail about re-introducing the concept of surnames to the people of Mongolia, where they've been illegal for over 80 years.

And, for no good reason, here's stuff on the naming of stars, hurricanes, and diseases.

Sci Fi Weekly interviews author Ray Bradbury.

Sunday, June 13

Assorted Items: Merriam-Webster gives us the ten most popular words for 2004.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has a piece on the Science Fiction Museum.

Four words: Evil Dead: The Musical.

Saturday, June 12

Shields and Yarnell may be retiring. In the meantime ventriloquism is making a comeback.

Friday, June 11

James Randi looks at some historical quackery in his weekly column.

The recent news that dogs may be more intelligent than previous thought shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. After all, they've been playing piano, cheating at poker, and capable of teleportation for years.

George Dvorsky of Better Humans has penned an excellent piece examining the ethics of those who would inhibit biotechnology and life extension research.

Thursday, June 10

We've all heard the legend of a child being killed or injured trying to imitate Superman and leaping out a window, but Mary Poppins? (via SuperMissile)

Even as evolution happens right before our eyes, some folks just don't get it.

Tim Cavanaugh of Reason looks at the fan base of James Joyce's Ulysses.

Fandom comes in many forms aside from the archtypical Star Trek disciple. There is fandom for Futurama, MST3K and The Sentinel, for authors Terry Pratchett and Robert Jordan, for bands like Pink Floyd, for films like Pirates of the Carribean and Battlefield Earth.

We cannot forget that fandom has been around a long time.

Then of course there are the real freaks: sports fans, soap opera fans, Jimmy Buffett fans...

Wednesday, June 9

TV Week tells us animator Genndy Tartakovsky will be doing five more hours of Star Wars material to coincide with the release of the next film. Animated Bliss reports it will only be an hour. Between this and Astro Boy, I guess new Samurai Jack episodes will have to wait.

Recommended Readin':

Roger Kimball of New Criterion makes the argument against multiculturalism.

Glenn Harlan Reynolds of Tech Central Station wants more longevity research.

At Wired Bruce Sterling looks at the current administration's science record.

With all the state funeral preperations this week I've been thinking about just how many movies and TV shows have made-up presidents as characters (the greatest, in my opinion, being Merkin Muffley). Fictional US presidents outnumber the real ones. I can think of no other world leadership position with a similar stat.

The only fictional presidents from comic books I can think of are Lex Luthor and the teenage chief executive Prez.

Then, of course, there's Super President.

On a related note: Nominees for The Sidewise Awards for Alternate History are out.

Eye Candy Artgasm: With all the various cosmic events in the news lately I thought we'd look at some space-inspired art. Here are the websites for Robert E. Gilbert, Chris Dorreman, Gavin Mundy, Lynette Cook, B. E. Johnson, Joy Day, Gary Tonge, Chris Butler, Brian Smallwood, Bill Wright, and Andrew C. Stewart.

Tuesday, June 8 The Venus Transit happens today.

The Coming Attractions page from my local planetarium has a listing for an all-ages laser show featuring Marvel Comics characters called Listen to the Whales (scroll down to the end of this month). Sounds all earthy-crunchy, but it has The Watcher on the poster...

And does anyone know if they still show Laser Floyd shows?

Kate Worley, creator of Omaha The Cat Dancer passed away over the weekend

Punk guitar madman Robert Quine was found dead on Saturday.

Recommended Readin':

Declan McCullagh of News.com makes the case for the disbanding of the FCC.

Bruce Grant of Skeptic.com looks at a new book on the agenda of intelligent design.

Theodore K. Rabb of The Chronicle Review mourns the loss of historical literacy.

George Dvorsky reminds us that Alan Turing died 50 years ago yesterday.

And apparently we have a new galactic currency.

Dr. Menlo.com has posted some sweet photos from inside the Science Fiction Museum.

Because Led Zeppelin's classic Immigrant Song made Retrocrush's list of the Fifty Coolest Song Parts, it's time for a return visit to The Viking Kitties.

Monday, June 7

Blogospherics: Tricks & Trinkets sends us to kiddie physics site Cool Cosmos.

SuperMissile shows us the ugliest cars in Britain.

Idle Type links to Taboo Tunes Gallery of the Forbidden.

Exclamation Mark points us to the end of the world at Armageddon Online.

"Way dooooooooown below the ocean..."

Sunday, June 6

Art Bomb informs us that there is a documentary about comic artist Colleen Doran now available on DVD.

McFarlane Toys has posted the first pix of Clive Barker's Infernal Parade. Scary looking shit.

Saturday, June 5

Say it along with me: "James Randi's weekly column."

Friday, June 4

Sign of the Apocalypse: First snakeheads, then cicadas, now giant snails.

Recommended Readin':

James Hughes of Better Humans lays out the Transhumanist Agenda.

Sophie Langlois of Eurekalert tries out a device that lets her see through her tongue.

James Kent of Trip asks: "So Where the Hell is Hyperspace?" (Via Reality Carnival)

Grow-A-Brain links to this great and exhaustive list of Unusual Internet Museums.

Comic Book Resources has a sizable preview of the upcoming graphic anthology Flight.

In other comic news I am overjoyed that Grim Jack will return soon, with the original creative team, no less. The original run will also be collected in trade paperback form.

Anime stuff: Yuzuru Takano and Kiyohide Inada of Asahi.com tell us how the Japanese animation market is feeling the impact of outsourcing.

Anders Sandberg of Reason sings the praises of Ghost in the Shell.

Memepool has a link to the very strange Christian Anime Alliance.

Thursday, June 3

David Tidmarsh wins it with the word "autochthonous."

Cynthia Ward of Locus explains how science fiction really missed the boat when it came to manga, which has a larger audience, more female readers, and has successfully gone mainstream here in the states.

Assorted Items: Tom Siegfried of the Kansas City Star tells us how Isaac Asimov's Psychohistory is becoming reality. (may require registration. Here's another link.)

Sci Fi Weekly links to Tachyon TV, which features the strange Sing Along with Kosh.

Here's Gareth Long's Encyclopedia of Monsters, Mythical Creatures and Fabulous Beasts.

It has been pointed out that I've posted a lot of fashion links lately, so here's a few sites about the multimedia interactive computerized future of clothing. Personally, I await the return of such sartorial wonders as Bowler hats, opera gloves, jodhpurs, ascots, codpieces, and Nehru jackets (although, if I wanted to, I suppose I could make my own).

Wednesday, June 2

Musical Blogospherics: Coudal sends us to 8 Track Heaven.

Irregular Orbit points us to A Child's Garden of Record Labels.

The Cartoonist links to Score Baby, a site dedicated to cult soundtracks.

Recommended Readin': Steven Grant of Comic Book Resources looks at the idea that comics are the "literature of ethics."

John Ezard of The Guardian tells us the Bohemian lifestyle is now the norm.

Glenn Harlan Reynolds of Tech Central Station addresses some fears about neuroscience.

Butterflies and Wheels presents us with this funny list of twelve ways to become a philosopher, as well as the 519 (and counting) arguments for the existence of God.

Because I am a tad dim, I often require my history to be presented in a graphic, linear fashion. With that in mind here are timelines of food, art, humor, music, computers, the internet, hominids, Mesopotamia, Greek history, Egyptian history, Medieval history, the Civil War, World War 2, the nuclear age, biological weapons, copyright law, Shakespeare, Christopher Columbus, the Jamestown colony, scientific thought, evolution and geography, innovation, physics, Lunar exploration, Martian exploration, sex science, psychology, sociology, Western philosophy, Eastern philosophy, and media history.

And why stop at the the real world? Here are timelines for the Marvel Universe, the DC Universe, Heinlein's future, Asimov's future, the Dune universe, the Uplift universe, the Known Space universe, Star Trek, Babylon 5, Dr. Who, the Land of Oz, Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, Conan, Elric, Cthulhu, Godzilla, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, the Hitch hikers' Guide to the Galaxy, assorted fictional historical events, and, of course, the Timeline of Everything.

Tuesday, June 1

Behold Dressman: The Ironing Robot.

It is June.

The God of the Month is Horus.

The Molecule of the Month is Flunitrazepam.

The Speech Code of the Month comes from West Virginia University.

Fred at The Eternal Golden Braid informs us of the existence of the Utilikilt. How have I lived without one for so long?

It's the only time of the year that I watch ESPN: the three-day long Scripps Spelling Bee begins today. Yes, I watch billiards, but that's usually on ESPN2.

Monday. May 31

The Alien Online reports that a clothing company called Diesel is set to release a fashion line "inspired by the world of science fiction and fantasy comics." Nope, no way that this endeavor could go horribly wrong...

On a related note, here's a neat site that sells superhero boots.

Sunday, May 30

Larry Smith of Popular Science spent the first ten days of 2004 in New York City armed only with the technology of fifty years ago. This is an eye-opener, folks.

Few have gazed upon The Single Man's Guide to TV Dinners without going mad...

As always, James Randi's weekly column.

Saturday, May 29

Yes, Virginia, there is a Cthulhu.

There has been some buzz about the Alien relief and wall plaque to be released, but, as nice as they are, they pale to the Aliens/Space Marines playset.

Animation Stuff: The Justice League movie Starcrossed premieres tonight.

There is a Riddick cartoon coming in June.

NPR's Car Talk is also slated to become animated.

Friday, May 28

New at Free Inquiry: Paul Kurtz examines the cultural divide over morality, Margaret Downey

reports on discrimination against atheists, Edmund D. Cohen looks at the religiosity of George W. Bush, and Austin Dacey explores the tenets of Transhumanism.

Two pieces about music that caught my eye: Jerry Lucky of Ghostland bashes the current adoration of the untalented, and John V. Bennett of The Boston Globe compares the elitism that exists in the fan base of both classical and pop music.

We can now add Space Habitat to the list of things that are inflatable. The list includes churches, loudspeakers, kinky sheep, and your spinal column. Here's a museum of inflatable things, a site of inflatable kitsch, and a blow-up animal fetish site.

The Big Lebowski Festival is coming to New York!

Thursday, May 27

Doug Kern of Tech Central Station tells us Bad Cartoons Make Bad Citizens.

It is good to know that in this security-obsessed culture kids can still go out and buy the Hasbro Monster Rocket, a 7 foot tall water-powered missile that goes up to an altitude of 100 feet. Looks like it's radar silhouette would resemble the real thing as well. I wonder if anyone has carried one through an airport yet...