Thursday, January 10, 2008
2007 Music Year in Review
So, I've been a slacker lately in updating my blog. I've been slowly working on my comic, plus I'm trying to get a no-budget movie off the ground. Anyway, here's the music that I listened to in 2007. Most of it actually came out in 2007, but not all.
Fields - "Everything Last Winter" (A) This is definitely my favorite album of the year. A folky indie rock band that somehow seems to combine Fleetwood Mac, A Perfect Circle, and My Bloody Valentine. Or something like that. It's bittersweet magic.
Hammock - "Raising Your Voice... Trying to Stop an Echo" (A-) And so begins my exploration of post-rock and ambient music, and what a way to start.
Camera Obscura - "Let's Get Out of This Country" (A-) Happy indie rock from Scotland, with strong flavors of old-school country and some motown.
The Brothers Martin (B) What happens when brothers Jason (Starflyer 59) and Ronnie (Joy Electric) get together and make an album? Well, if you're familiar with the music of their other bands, then this album sounds exactly how you think it would. Actually, Jason's songs sound like Starflyer songs, while Ronnie's songs really have more of new wave rock band sound to them.
Thrice - "The Alchemy Index, Vol.1 (Fire and Water)" (B-) Thrice releases the first half of their concept album of four EPs, with each EP based on one of the four alchemical elements, both lyrically and musically. "Fire" is a further progression of Thrice's trademark post-hardcore, while "Water" has strong ambient and gentle electronic sounds to it.
More postrock and ambient:
Rachel's - "Systems/Layers" (A-) Postrock pseudo-classical.
Clogs - "Lantern" (A-) Postrock pseudo-classical with a rootsy feel.
Clint Mansell - "The Fountain" (Original Soundtrack) (B+) Performed by The Kronos Quartet and Mogwai.
Loscil - "Plume" (B-) Put-you-to-sleep electronic ambient with a *very* subtle beat.
Anyway, here's a mixtape to keep you happy:
1. "Song for the Fields" - Fields
2. "You Brought This On Yourself" - Fields
3. "I Turn My Camera On" - Spoon
4. "Ocean City Girl" - Ivy
5. "Heaven (Nicola Conte "West Coast Vibes" Remix) - Bitter:Sweet
6. "Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken" - Camera Obscura
7. "The Plot That Weaves" - The Brothers Martin
8. "Fears To Remember" - The Brothers Martin
9. "Snake Devil" - Scary Kids Scaring Kids
10. "Burn The Fleet" - Thrice
11. "Digital Sea" - Thrice
12. "I Can Almost See You" - Hammock
13. "Shipwrecked (Flat On Your Back)" - Hammock
14. "Water From The Same Source" - Rachel's
15. "Canon" - Clogs
16. "Death Is The Road To Awe" - Clint Mansell
17. "Zephyr" - Loscil
Labels: music
Monday, July 23, 2007
Three Brothers Tycho update.
I'm *finally* starting to make some tangible progress on my comic. Of course, it wasn't always a comic. It's been floating around in my head for several years now, constantly evolving and changing shape, both in terms of content and of medium. Once, it was prose, then it was almost a screenplay, then it became prose again, and then it almost became a comic before it became prose with illustrations, before it finally became a comic again.
Anyway, Three Brothers Tycho is the story of three brothers and all the people that cross their path (and sometimes the ones that don't cross their path). It has spaceships, monsters, and robots - plus stuff blows up. The first issue follows a blue furball named Claud as he and his roommate Darren help their friend Liz move a sofa across town. But! Is this only a portent of darker things to come? Haha, well, you'll have to wait and see. :)
The "official" site to read it at is threebrotherstycho.com, or you can just click the link on the left side of this page. If you're into ComicSpace.com, it's there too (click here). More updates to follow.
Labels: three brothers tycho
Friday, June 29, 2007
Mixtape No.4
Hey friends, here's a mixtape for you guys to listen to. It's mostly new or fairly recent stuff, with a few classics thrown in there for good measure. So run along to iTunes and enjoy! It will make your summer better.
1. "Jerk It Out" - Caesars
2. "Fearless" - The Bravery
3. "Plan B" - Mute Math
4. "We Used To Be Friends" - The Dandy Warhols
5. "Surf Wax America" - Weezer
6. "A Strange Education" - The Cinematics
7. "The Unwinding Cable Car" - Anberlin
8. "Mic The Mic" - Starflyer 59
9. "Don't Let Go" - Pacha Massive
10. "Red Carpet Blues" - A Northern Chorus
11. "Black Metallic" - Catherine Wheel
12. "Distance" - Smog
13. "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
Bonus Track: "Insane In The Brain" - Cypress Hill (edited version available)
Labels: music
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Weird Dream.
So, I was in some sort of zoo, lying on the grass near the water, where they kept a plesiosaur of the Loch Ness variety. Of course, there was still some debate as to whether or not the Loch Ness Monster existed, so they had this area of water where they thought that they kept it if it did exist. Anyway, I saw it. In the meantime, a squirrel attacked my big toe, so I quickly twisted my foot to get it off, but I ended up accidentally flicking the squirrel into the water, where the Lock Ness Monster ate it.
Labels: dreams
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
"Repudiating the Boogie Woogie and Marching for the Lord!"
Once upon a time, the Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians,
"If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations - 'Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch' (referring to things that all perish as they are used) - according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh." (Col. 2:20-23, ESV)
Apparently, our brother Alan Ives missed that one (or at least the principle behind it). I recently came across his misinformative gem on YouTube (link), where he explains the difference between godly and ungodly music. His distinction between godly and ungodly melodies is a bit hazy, but it seems that in order for rhythm to be godly, it must not contain any of the following: (1) boogie-woogie, (2) backbeat, (3) breakbeat. Why? Because any of those could lead to dancin'.
Basically, according to him, stressing the 2 and 4 beats is evil, so we need to return to stressing the 1 beat, and march for the Lord. I'm not quite sure what the scriptural basis of that is - oh wait, there's not any. I also highly doubt that he'd be able to make this case in any African-American churches.
Labels: music, religion/theology/philosophy
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Jacek Yerka, Artist
Another one of my favorite artists is a Polish painter by the name of Jacek Yerka. He works in both acrylics and pastels, and creates surrealistic fantasy images that are heavily influenced by the Flemish school of painting. I discovered a book of his work ("Mind Fields") back in college and have been a fan ever since.
Visit his website at www.yerkaland.com.
Labels: film/tv/books/arts
Monday, June 11, 2007
Brandon Bird, Artist
One of my new favorite artists is a fellow by the name of Brandon Bird, who paints with oil to create rather stunning images incorporating random pop culture figures. I mean, the guy has a painting called "No One Wants to Play Sega with Harrison Ford", for crying out loud. What's not to love? My personal favorite is "The Death of Jennifer Sisko" - it's quite moving.
Visit his website at www.brandonbird.com, and be sure to check out both his paintings and his drawings. His "Law & Order" Valentine cards are pretty cool, too.
Labels: film/tv/books/arts
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Come As You Are
For some reason, the song "Come As You Are" by Nirvana crossed my mind the other day, and I became curious to whether or not there were any covers of the song on iTunes. Well, there were a lot (even after you realize that 15-20% of the search results are covers of a different contemporary christian music song). Of course, there were beaucoups of obligitory awful punk versions, but what really surprised me were how many jazz and bossanova versions there were. There was even a version by The King (yes, the Elvis impersonator), but for some reason you can't purchase that song in US (I suspect the hand of The Colonel in that), but you can listen to it here. Anyway, here is a quick guide to some of my favorites:
Sheila Cassandra. This a jazzy bossanova take, with a great clean guitar tone, and amazing vocals. Definitely my favorite.
Iris T. & The Billy Rubin Trio. Another great female-fronted jazz outfit, this one has a fun violin solo.
Keith Moore. Starts out with an original beginning, before launching into a reggae-tinged fusion cover.
The Mammals. A slow, lo-fi version, with dirty yet spacious guitar tones, harmonica, and a powerful bridge.
Charlie Hunter Trio. Instrumental jazz. Enough said.
The Inchtabokatables. Actually I don't like this version, but it's hard to stop listening to it. It's a live version by an interesting foreign (German?) power-rock band. The, um, passionate vocals are worth a listen.
Rockabye Baby! From the 'Lullaby Renditions of Nirvana' album. I also don't like this version either, but if you like toy piano and xylophone instrumentals, this one's for you.
Oh, well, whatever, nevermind...
Of course, this got me thinking - Could I put together complete cover versions of both the 'Nevermind' and 'In Utero' albums? And the answer is: almost. I couldn't find any covers of "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter" or "Tourette's", but other than that, I present to you the following list. Some of these are really good. Some aren't, but they were still the best I could find, sadly enough.
Nevermind:
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Patty Smith. The Godmother of Punk - need I say more? It's mostly acoustic, oddly enough, complete with banjo, though at some point, Patty does her thing and starts rambling a bunch of spoken word that's not in the original. I must say that I was torn between this and the Tori Amos version.
"In Bloom" - So They Say. You can almost always depend on finding a punk version of any Nirvana song.
"Come As You Are" - Sheila Cassandra. That is, if you can't find the version by The King.
"Breed" - Bernstorffsminde Efterskole. See "In Bloom".
"Lithium" - Bruce Lash. Easy-listening acoustic jazz (complete with flute) that fits the title. Good times.
"Polly" - Tritone. Surfish garage rock.
"Territorial Pissings" - Ill Nino. Metalish punk with a proper numetal acoustic breakdown at the bridge.
"Drain You" - The Vitamin String Quartet. I tried really hard not to use any of the 'String Quartet Tribute' albums since they're the throwaway answer, but my hand was forced. It's not spectacular, but it's not bad.
"Lounge Act" - The Retroliners. A fun punkish surf instrumental.
"Stay Away" - UK Subs. See "In Bloom".
"On A Plain" - Agent Orange. See "In Bloom". While not all that different from the original Nirvana version, Agent Orange gets props for their role in early 80s punk, and the shaping of the SoCal skate-punk music scene.
"Something In The Way" - Birdsaw. It's kinda shoegazey, then the female singer starts yelling.
In Utero:
"Serve The Servants" - Rockabye Baby! The pickins' were slim on this one, but it's not as bad as their "Come As You Are".
"Scentless Apprentice" - Flipper. A solid performance, with fun/scary grunge vocals. Interesting, Krist Novaselic actually played bass in this band for a short tour.
"Heart Shaped Box" - Hip Bones. Saxophone-fronted jazz fusion instrumental outfit, but there is a guitar solo about four minutes in.
"Rape Me" - Richard Cheese. Only a Vegas lounge singer could simultaneously destroy the irony of this song, while making it even more ironic. Oddly more disturbing than the original.
"Francis Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle" - Jojo. A fairly solid rock cover.
"Dumb" - El Destroyo. Nice laid-back indie rock.
"Very Ape" - The Postmen. See "In Bloom".
"Milk It" - The Hellworms. Spastic old-skool noisy spazz punk.
"Pennyroyal Tea" - Binky. I think this is a ska-punk band. It has brass, anyway.
"Radio Friendly Unit Shifter". I've got nothing.
"Tourette's." I thought I had one, but I don't.
"All Apologies" - Kathryn Williams. A nice little track. Whistler's version is a close second, even though I almost went with the jazzy big-band version by Double Down.
Anyway, enjoy.
Photos by Charles Peterson, most likely - www.charlespeterson.net
Labels: music
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Cheers.
So I just got back from England, where in London a bird pooped on my jacket.
Also, I went to the International Congress on Preaching (www.preaching.com/icop) in Cambridge, which was organized by my employer, so I got to go for free. Of course, I worked the whole time. The congress (or 'conference' for us Yanks) went really well, even though we did get harassed and harangued by a German cult (link) which included this guy on the right:
Anyway, I drank lots of tea. After it was over, I got to walk about London, where I saw Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Westminster, and Big Ben. I also ate chicken tikki masala three times.
Some interesting cultural differences:
1. Coke is made with real sugar, not corn syrup. Also, Nando's is the only place where you can get free refills.
2. There is no water-use restriction on toilets, so flushing is like watching a miniature Niagara Falls. Also, I recommend not sitting all the way down when you do this.
3. They don't use shower curtains much (usually there's a 5'x3' token piece of glass), so bathrooms are completely tiled and caulked.
4. Biscuits = Cookies.
5. In the USA, a latte at Starbucks costs about $2.70. In the UK, a latte at Starbucks costs £2.70. Unfortunately, the conversion rate is their favor, so the UK latte really costs $5.41.
6. Take-Away = To-Go
7. Cheers = Thanks.
Labels: life
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Trailer for 'The Trail of the Screaming Forehead'
Now available at www.screamingforehead.com
Good times. :)
Labels: film/tv/books/arts, geek stuff
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Ever wonder...
...What ever happened to these guys? Yeah, well, me too. But Joss Whedon has returned (albeit to the world of comics instead of television), and the canonical Season 8 has begun, courtesy of Dark Horse Comics. Unfortunately, it sold out a lot quicker than anyone expected. I still don't have a copy yet. Grr, argh. But what about...
...their friends? Well, apparently, IDW Comics has announced that Whedon will be working with them to publish the canonical Season 6. I'll try to preorder that one.
But enough of that. I must move on to chapter 2 of my forthcoming epic. :)
Labels: film/tv/books/arts, geek stuff
Monday, March 19, 2007
My Very First Hate Mail. Yay!
a very special blog by andy scates
So recently, I was asked to review an album for the March issue of CCM magazine - Anberlin's new album, 'Cities'. Sure, why not? (after all, hey, I get a free copy of the album). So I listened to it, did my evaluation, and wrote the review. It had a few good songs, and a couple of really good songs, but overall, the album was a "B" - not great, but good. Today, we got a reader response (I omit their name for privacy concerns), most of which is aimed at me and my poor taste of music:
"Okay. Listen. I realize that you guys don't really like the more hardcore music I do. But that doesn't mean that everyone feels the same way you do. I completely, utterly disagree with what you said about Relient K's and Anberlin's new CDs. In the Relient K article, you insinuated that their newest album is their best, because it's mellower. Just because you like it more doesn't make it better than their older stuff. Don't assume the world is of the same mind as you. Now to the Anberlin review. I believe it was one Andrew Scates who wrote the review, saying, and I quote, "If the grandeur of 'Fin' could be captured earlier throughout the album, it might be what 'Cities' needs to not just be a good album, but to be a great album." That, my friends, is EXTREMELY wrong. It already is a great album, and this man needs to be told what a great album sounds like. dcTalk. Skillet. AudioAdrenaline. Great albums have always been ridiculed at first by the likes of this critic. I have to say that this is the worst review of an album I have EVER read, and not just in your magazine. I respect the fact that this so-called "critic" is entitled to his opinion, but libeling this AMAZING work of art in the form of music like that is completely inappropriate for a Christian magazine. I hope that this man will be, at the very least, allowed to read my comment. I say again: just because a piece of music is slower and softer, and that you like it for that fact, doesn't mean you go and libel it in this fashion. Every person I have talked to that has read this issue of CCM has had the same reaction as I have. I've gotten things back like "That was completely rude and disrespectful!" and some things that I won't write here. I don't want to be rude like this writer was. My gratitude goes out to you for reading my comments, and please do not let them go unheeded."
Awesome! I'm controversial! I tried to give some legitimate concern to what they wrote until they named some "great" albums - incidentally, I'm a bit unsure of how those qualify as examples of the "more hardcore music" that they listen to (apparently they've never heard Refused's 'The Shape of Punk to Come'). But mostly - I said it was good, and that's rude and libeling? Ha.
Labels: music
Monday, January 29, 2007
"My favorite Bible story is the one where Noah's Ark gets attacked by Pirates!"
I enjoy watching poorly-made movies, and whenever a Bible epic movie is universally derided by both christians and nonchristians, well, I have to watch it.
Enter Noah's Ark, the 1999 NBC miniseries starring Jon Voight as Noah. Voight, the actor who I will always remember as the guy in Anaconda that gets eaten by the big snake, brings his own unique style to our common ancestor. Mary Steenburgen plays Noah's wife, Alexis Denisof (Wesley on Buffy/Angel) as Noah's son Ham, and F. Murray Abraham plays Lot. That's right, Lot. Apparently, they thought that it would be more interesting if, before the Flood, Noah first had to escape the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah with his family and his best friend Lot. Incidentally, Carol Kane plays Lot's bickering wife who is thankfully turned into a pillar of salt during the escape (Lot keeps one of her salt fingers as a souvenir). Noah later suggests that a scribe should write down what happened at Sodom, but Mrs. Noah tells him that scribes aren't to be trusted - by the time they're done, they'll probably say that Noah's family wasn't even at Sodom. (!!!)
So, time goes by and the wickedness of the people becomes apparent when they have to rescue Ham's bride-to-be from being sacrificed to Molech ("Well, she was the only virgin we could find on short notice.") So, Noah is instructed by the Lord to build an Ark ("What's an Ark?"), and he does so, but he gets behind schedule, so the Lord arranges for Lowes' to miraculously deliver several truckloads of 1"x12"s during the night. The animals began to arrive, courtesy of stock footage, and are poorly composited onto the shot of the boarding ramp, along with a pair of CGI dodo birds. Ham notes that they didn't build a rudder on the Ark ("The Lord will guide us," says Noah), and this becomes a point of dispute later on.
The rains comes and go, and Noah's clan then spends weeks and weeks onboard the Ark. In order to ration their stockpile of food, no procreation is allowed, and therefore, no sex. Needless to say, this causes quite a bit of tension amongst the four couples cooped up at sea with nothing else to do, but fortunately, the gorillas act as chaperones and quickly intercede in any scenes that involve kissing. (Incidentally, a film goof: there's one scene with Shem and his wife where his wife is holding a koala bear, and apparently, unnoticed by the editors, the koala bear poops all over Mrs. Shem.)
Then they get attacked by pirates, led by the now-corrupt Lot, who starts the fine tradition of sea pirate captains having only one eye and having to wear a patch. They almost prove a match for our heroes until a divinely-sent tornado sweeps away the pirate ships. Later, Ham decides to build a rudder for the Ark, but Noah stops him, leading to a fist-fight that is interrupted by Noah's wife. Noah tries to defend his actions: "He tried to build a rudder against the Lord!"
In the meantime, the Lord is having trouble deciding whether or not he should just finish the job and wipe out the remnants of mankind, so he goes away to think for a while on the subject. His absence drives the passengers of the Ark mad. Like, looney-tunes mad. Our first clue is Japheth and wife strolling along the promenade deck on improvised stilts. Next, Shem begins to have indepth conversations with a puppet he made out of a grapefruit. The rest of the family goes mad in their own unique ways as well for a while (Noah: "There's monsters under the bed. I'm leaving.")
Anyway, they finally hit land, where they immediately release the animals and then they go forth to multiply.
Where do I even begin? I'm not even going to touch the theological problems with this film. Aside from combining two Bible events that are separated by several hundred years, this has to be one of the goofiest adaptations I have seen ever. This movie makes Jackie Chan's Around the World in 80 Days seem like a faithful literary adaptation. Every time I started to turn it off, it would just get more and more bizarre. Rarely do I get the chance to see something so gloriously awful. Rent it today.
Labels: film/tv/books/arts, religion/theology/philosophy
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Ultimate Special Remastered Colorized Extended Edition for Families with Children and Pets
Random thoughts not quite worked out in my head:
It probably started in the 1980s, and there were movies like Blade Runner or Aliens that suddenly were realized in altered form as "Director's Cuts" or whatever, either to "present the director's original vision", make money, or some of both.
Then came the Star Wars Special Editions in 1997, where suddenly Lucas took his old films and added scenes, redid visual effect shots, etc. to produce what was hailed as the definitive version of the films. Of course, he changed them again seven years later. But, it's not it's the first time he did this - the original Star Wars film was actually altered a bit for its 1980 theatrical re-release - and frankly, I like the new versions better (with the exception of the new dance number in Jabba's palace - ack). I think this is also a case of where we have to use Francis Schaeffer's method of judging art, where we don't look at the individual work per se, but at the artist's sum total of work. Besides, who are we to say when a work of art (or film) is done? When it is released to the public or when the artist says it's finished?
Anyway, what I find interesting is the new "Star Trek Remastered", because here is something that appears similiar, but I think is actually quite different. "Star Trek Remastered" is the new high-definition re-release of the old-school "Star Trek" from the 1960s, except with updated visual effects shots. From the previews I've seen, it looks great, actually. But what is weird about it is that it's not the original filmmakers that are doing this project - rather, it's being commissioned by the corporation that owns the "Star Trek" franchise, so it's like "Wait, whose art is this? Who is this third party making these changes?"
At first, it's a bit disturbing, but then again, I guess people have been doing this for years, anyway. I mean, without even mentioning the "Bowdlerized Shakespeare", one might argue that having a third party translating an ancient text into a modern language might be similar thing, but I think maybe the key thing here is that there is basically a fine line between changing the original and simply making an adaptation of the original: an artist can change his/her original, a third party cannot; but a third party can make an adaptation of the original. I think simply having a knowledge of the history of a work, along with any adaptations, helps to satiate any worries about the integrity of a work, but I think when this knowledge is lost is when it becomes a problem.
Anyway, random thoughts.
Labels: film/tv/books/arts, geek stuff, religion/theology/philosophy
Monday, December 18, 2006
"Thus Saith the Lord!"
First of all, I refuse to make any jokes around the phrase "I want these $*&%#! snakes out of my $*&%#! garden!!!" Why would I do that in the first place, you ask? Well, because Samuel L. Jackson has been hired to play God. (I mean, who else would they get, right?)
Inspired by... The Bible Experience is a rather ambitious project to create a fully-dramatized audio recording of the entire Bible, complete with sound effects and over 300 voice actors, including but not limited to Samuel L. Jackson, Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Cuba Gooding Jr. and lots more. Granted, they used the TNIV, but still, this should be a pretty nice recording. The New Testament is currently available from Zondervan, and the Old Testament should be out sometime next year.
Link: www.inspiredby.com
Labels: film/tv/books/arts, religion/theology/philosophy
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Say yes to beautiful without paying the price.
While writhing in pain, nausea, and dizziness from a stomach bug last Monday, I discovered a few things in my bathroom. For example, the slogan on Suave shampoo is "say yes to beautiful without paying the price" - I'm still trying to figure out the ontological ramifications of that one. I also discovered that kleenex is an adequate yet ultimately unsatisfactory substitute for toilet paper, and that it's nice to have a clean towel to lay on in the bathroom floor. I also had a rather unpleasant review of my recent meals, conveniently thrown up for inspection:
• Episode #1 - that morning's coffee
• Episode #2 - more coffee, some pepperoni from the pizza the night before
• Episode #3 - a strange phlegmy viscous substance
• Episode #4 - a rather peculiar gray substance (gray? why was it gray?!)
The next half-dozen or so episodes were mostly just ginger ale consumed immediately before, which I drank just so that it would hurt less by actually having something to throw up. I also disliked the way that I'd wake up every 30 minutes from 3pm to 7am, and every time I'd think "Oh! Maybe it's morning and this is all over", then I'd throw up again. Fortunately, the vomiting stopped around 7pm. The weird thing was how my attitude changed with each episode, especially with an increasingly ambivalent regard to my personal cleanliness, and the way I wouldn't really be awake while throwing up and I'd start to drift off to dreamland with my head over the toilet, and suddenly I'd wake up and realize that it was me, and not someone else who was throwing up, and that I was the only person there. In retrospect, I think I'm going to design a headrest/kneepad combo for toilet seats. I think it'll sell - "Say yes to vomiting without the hard linoleum".
Labels: life
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Welcome to the Future, Again.
Some of the latest technology currently in development:
The PHaSR. The Personnel Halting and Stimulating Response weapson was developed for providing a non-lethal method in crowd control and immobilizing attackers by shooting low-powered laser beams that induces a temporary blinding effect on targets. Sadly, it has neither 'disintegrate' nor 'frag' settings. (link)
The BLEEX. The Berkeley Lower Extremity Exoskeleton is basically a device designed to help soldiers carry all their stuff for miles and up hills and not get tired. It's still not quite Starship Troopers yet (the book, not the movie), but it's getting there. (link) But, it would cool to be used in conjunction with...
The Gryphon. The ESG Personal Flying Wing is a device to allow airborne paratroopers to be deployed in safer airspace and glide in to their designated target. (link)
The Bionic Arm. Claudia Mitchell lost her arm in a motorcycle accident, and has received a bionic arm that actually responds to her thoughts. If she thinks, "close my hand", it does. They did this by essentially rewiring the nerve endings that used to go the arm into a small patch on her upper chest where contacts on the bionic arm can pick up electrical impulses and translate them into actual movements of the arm. She is the fourth person to receive one of these prototype arms. (link)
The Teleporter. Researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute in Denmark has successfully teleported a small quantity of matter a distance of half a meter. While this doesn't sound all that impressive compared to the transporters of Star Trek, this is first time a macroscopic object composed of trillions of atoms has been successfully teleported - prior to that, the best they could do was one atom at a time. (link)
Labels: science/tech
Friday, September 15, 2006
2007 Movie Preview
Transformers. Directed by Michael Bay and produced by Spielberg. They even got the guy who did the voice of Optimus Prime in the cartoon to reprise his role. But honestly, this movie doesn't even have to have a plot — it could simply be two hours of robots transforming and things blowing up, and every man of my generation would pay money to see it. Click here to view the teaser trailer.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Click here to view the teaser tralier.
Labels: film/tv/books/arts, geek stuff
Thursday, August 24, 2006
"I'm sorry, we no longer have a planet called 'Pluto'..."
This week, the International Astronomical Union has stripped Pluto of it status as a planet, by redefining planet as "a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a ... nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit."
What?! Who are these guys in the IAU? I didn't vote for them, I know that. I'm sure the Plutonians aren't going to take this lightly either - pretty soon I'm sure we'll see them dressed up like Native Martians at the spacedock while throwing our shipments of Earth tea out the airlock.
A couple of weeks ago, they'd even proposed adding three more planets to the Solar System:
But instead of adding Ceres, Charon, and UB313 (aka Xena), they threw them out along with Pluto, classifying the whole lot of them as "dwarf planets", leaving our Solar System with only eight planets:
Whatever.
Labels: science/tech
