[scifinoir2] The luckiest people in Hollywood?
This is just a topic. There's no right or wrong answers for this. So, the question is: Who are the luckiest people in Hollywood? That is, people who may have gotten a lucky break in a film or two. One person that I would put on the list is: Carrie-Anne Moss from the Matrix. She was basically a tv actress and had been on a boat load of tv shows. Some of them were scifi since the 1980s. After the Matrix series she was in Memento, Chocolat, Disturbia and others. Who would you add to the list? -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/
Re: [scifinoir2] The luckiest people in Hollywood?
I always wondered why people kept giving Kevin Costner chances after his expensive films lost so much money. Is that the kind of luck you mean? On Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 3:43 AM, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: This is just a topic. There's no right or wrong answers for this. So, the question is: Who are the luckiest people in Hollywood? That is, people who may have gotten a lucky break in a film or two. One person that I would put on the list is: Carrie-Anne Moss from the Matrix. She was basically a tv actress and had been on a boat load of tv shows. Some of them were scifi since the 1980s. After the Matrix series she was in Memento, Chocolat, Disturbia and others. Who would you add to the list? -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/
[scifinoir2] Soul Finger!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzP-Sh0qTsQfeature=related
[scifinoir2] National Anthem? Give 'em the Soul Finger!
I listen to a local sports radio station religiously. This morning one of the co-hosts of the morning show were outraged that six young men in their rooting section did not remove their hats during the national anthem. The National Exaggeration was first played during the 1918 World Series - and it was played by mistake. To put this in perspective, the National League was founded in 1876 - forty-two years before the Star Spangled Banner was ever played at a sporting event. The Star Spangled Banner wasn't even officially declared the official national anthem until 1931 - fifty-five years after the first National League game was played. By 1941, the practice of playing the anthem before sporting events had achieved nearly universal status - sixty-five years after the first National League game was played. It related news, it may surprise you that the words In God We Trust didn't appear on American paper money until 1957. Religion has no place on our currency and mindless displays of patriotism have no place at sporting events. And, Wicket, I have the same disdain for you as I have for people who are supposed to have their heads bowed and their eyes closed during prayer: if their heads were down and their eyes were closed, they wouldn't be able to see my head wasn't bowed and my eyes were open. Ditto for you...if your hat was off and you were fully engaged in your shared expression of National pride, you would not have been able to see who was or was not wearing a hat. By the by, my national anthem is Soul Finger by the Bar-Kays.
[scifinoir2] Re: New Boondocks Season 3 Clip: Wil.I.Am feat Thugnificent - Dick Riding Obama
This was the fine line Dave Chappelle found himself unable to walk when he walked away from a $50 million deal to continue his show on Comedy Central. ~rave? --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, bruce harden bhsleepystude...@... wrote: hurrah for the cartoon but his daily strip made more waves and made more sense than al the cartoons put togeather. Also basically think it's gonna get too that point where the satire gets too the are they laughing with or at ths?/ On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 5:03 PM, Kelwyn ravena...@... wrote: New Boondocks Season 3 Clip: Wil.I.Am http://wil.i.am/ feat Thugnificent - Dick Riding Obama http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08S4poMGvwA
[scifinoir2] Re: The luckiest people in Hollywood?
Neither Carrie Anne Moss nor Kevin Costner are lucky. They are hard-working actors who earned and took advantage of their chances when they got them. People with no discernible talent who get to make more than one movie are lucky. Paulie Shore is lucky (he has FORTY credits on IMDB) Paris Hilton is lucky (she has TWENTY-TWO credits on IMDB) ~(no)rave! --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Tracy Curtis tlcurti...@... wrote: I always wondered why people kept giving Kevin Costner chances after his expensive films lost so much money. Is that the kind of luck you mean? On Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 3:43 AM, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@... wrote: This is just a topic. There's no right or wrong answers for this. So, the question is: Who are the luckiest people in Hollywood? That is, people who may have gotten a lucky break in a film or two. One person that I would put on the list is: Carrie-Anne Moss from the Matrix. She was basically a tv actress and had been on a boat load of tv shows. Some of them were scifi since the 1980s. After the Matrix series she was in Memento, Chocolat, Disturbia and others. Who would you add to the list? -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/
Re: [scifinoir2] National Anthem? Give 'em the Soul Finger!
The motion to adopt Soul Finger as national anthem is seconded. (Full disclosure: I grew up with the record playing at cookouts and such, but never actually owned it until it was included on Jarmusch's Mystery Train soundtrack.) that being said, nationalism at sporting events DOES have a place. It's just that Americans have messed it all up. Very soon, World Cup will begin. Witness a collection of the greatest athletes in the world on one stage. They play for different teams around the world, but come together to play for their flags. It is with a sense of pride that folks in the US, UK, and Asia applaud Mickael Essien and the rest of the Ghana Black Stars. We start talking smack about The Ivory Coast team, Japan's team, Korea, Germany...there will be flag waving. There will be songs sung. Because this is an international game, and World Cup is all about who the best in the World is. Unlike American sports. Where the World Series of Baseball is between the East coast and West coast of the United States. Unlike American sports, where you throw a ball with your hands and call it football. You put the New Orleans Saints against the New Zealand All Blacks and you have a massacre. Football, Cricket, Rugby, and Chess are games worthy of national pride and all of the nonsense (yes, that includes the violence sometimes) that comes with it. You wear a Chelsea shirt to a Manchester United match, or even a pub PLAYING the match in Manchester, and you may have to fight your way to the door. You wear a Mets shirt to a Yankees game and you get greeted with smiles. WTF? This is a country that teaches its children it's not whether you win or lose. YES, it IS. It's a COMPETITION. But I guess when you're also teaching same kids to cheat, it's all good. The US has sports backwards, in many many ways. The way nationalism is incorporated is just one. On Apr 27, 2010, at 10:23 AM, Kelwyn wrote: I listen to a local sports radio station religiously. This morning one of the co-hosts of the morning show were outraged that six young men in their rooting section did not remove their hats during the national anthem. The National Exaggeration was first played during the 1918 World Series - and it was played by mistake. To put this in perspective, the National League was founded in 1876 - forty-two years before the Star Spangled Banner was ever played at a sporting event. The Star Spangled Banner wasn't even officially declared the official national anthem until 1931 - fifty-five years after the first National League game was played. By 1941, the practice of playing the anthem before sporting events had achieved nearly universal status - sixty-five years after the first National League game was played. It related news, it may surprise you that the words In God We Trust didn't appear on American paper money until 1957. Religion has no place on our currency and mindless displays of patriotism have no place at sporting events. And, Wicket, I have the same disdain for you as I have for people who are supposed to have their heads bowed and their eyes closed during prayer: if their heads were down and their eyes were closed, they wouldn't be able to see my head wasn't bowed and my eyes were open. Ditto for you...if your hat was off and you were fully engaged in your shared expression of National pride, you would not have been able to see who was or was not wearing a hat. By the by, my national anthem is Soul Finger by the Bar-Kays.
Re: [scifinoir2] Soccer Player Flubs Goal From Inches Away
This was hilarious. Folks will be talking about this for YEARS! Gets my vote for miss of the decade. The century is too early to call. On Apr 27, 2010, at 12:11 AM, Keith Johnson wrote: Funny, looks like a young kid trying to learn to kick a ball. Even world class athletes make silly mistakes... http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/blog/sow_experts/post/The-latest- worst-miss-ever?urn=sow,236778 Shocking misses can happen to anyone at any time, but the latest footballer to suffer international embarrassment by not scoring a goal he really, really should have is Kansas City Wizards striker Kei Kamara. In Saturday's MLS match against the Los Angeles Galaxy, Kamara found himself right in front of an open net with the ball mere inches from the goal. He was a little too eager to tap it in, though, and ended up falling on his rear end as he stretched to kick the ball in for the easy goal before knocking it in with his hand. He was quickly called for a handball and the game went on to end in a 0-0 draw. After the match, Galaxy defender Gregg Berhalter still couldn't believe it: It was one of the most unbelievable things I've seen in soccer. It was unfortunate for Kamara but it was a handball and credit the linesman for seeing it. Video of the miss has already spread far and wide. The Sun is calling it a contender for miss of the century, but there are quite a few in the mix for that crown. Back in January, we featured another open net shocker from a bit farther out, then there was the now famous Rocky Baptiste's from December, but I think this miss from Dinamo Zagreb's Ilija Sivonjic last October might be even worse than Kamara's...
[scifinoir2] Re: Machete hacks onto screen Labor Day
The grindhouse gods heard our cries. Rutger Hauer isHobo With A Shotgun! http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/04/25/first-hobo-with-a-shotgun-footage-promises-a-bloody-grindhouse-extravaganza/ --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Kelwyn ravena...@... wrote: The House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects, both starring grindhouse great Sig Haig (Coffy, Black Mama, White Mama, The Big Doll House) and his Werewolf Women of the S.S. trailer for Grindhouse. ~rave! --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, B Smith daikaiju66@ wrote: The Devil's Rejects is definitely grindhouse fare. It had the grit coupled with nastiness that modern horror movies seem to lack. It felt like something from the 70s. Now if he would only do more stuff like that and leave the Halloween franchise alone. ;) --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Martin Baxter martinbaxter7@ wrote: rave, I'll hazard a guess that his *life* could be made into a Grindhouse-type movie. On Tue, Apr 20, 2010 at 10:59 AM, Kelwyn ravenadal@ wrote: Anything Rob Zombie directs is grindhouse. ~rave! --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com scifinoir2%40yahoogroups.com, B Smith daikaiju66@ wrote: House Of The Devil had that grindhouse feel as well. --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com scifinoir2%40yahoogroups.com, Mr. Worf HelloMahogany@ wrote: There have been some other Grindhouse style movies that are out but most of them won't be in theaters. One is called Run! Bitch Run! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1136684/ Most are just too gory and tacky to be picked up for a wide release. On Mon, Apr 19, 2010 at 6:39 AM, B Smith daikaiju66@ wrote: Agreed but unfortunately the concept was lost on the modern movie going public. I'd love to see Thanksgiving, Don't, Hobo With A Shotgun and Werewolf Women Of The S.S. see the light of day. At least we got Machete. --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com scifinoir2%40yahoogroups.com, Mike Street streetforce1@ wrote: I'll have to see this. I really liked Grindhouse and I wish they would do more. I loved Death Proof, the end was so awesome. On Sun, Apr 18, 2010 at 8:01 AM, Kelwyn ravenadal@ wrote: http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=65297 20th Century Fox has set a September 3 release date for Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis' Machete, starring Danny Trejo, Jessica Alba, Robert De Niro, Michelle Rodriguez, Lindsay Lohan, Cheech Marin, Jeff Fahey, Don Johnson and Steven Seagal. Labor Day falls on Monday, Sept. 6, which gives the movie a four-day opening weekend. Focus Features is releasing Anton Corbijn's suspense thriller The American (view a new photo), starring George Clooney, a couple of days earlier on Wednesday, Sept. 1. Columbia Pictures also has the Tom Brady comedy Born to Be a Star, with Christina Ricci, scheduled for a release on Sept. 3. Machete is based on the fake trailer in Robert Rodriguez's 2007 Grindhouse. The feature version of the trailer finds Machete (Trejo) a renegade former Mexican Federale, roaming the streets of Texas after a shakedown from drug lord Torrez (Seagal). Reluctantly, Machete takes an offer from spin doctor Benz (Fahey) to assassinate McLaughlin (De Niro) a corrupt Senator. Double crossed and on the run Machete braves the odds with the help of Luz (Michelle Rodriguez), a saucy taco slinger, Padre (Marin) his holy brother, and April (Lohan) a socialite with a penchant for guns. All while being tracked by Sartana (Alba), a sexy ICE agent with a special interest in the blade slinger. -- Get Social and Follow Me: Join me on Facebook http://facebook.com/mikestreet Follow me on Twitter Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/streetforce1 Join the Harlem NY Community http://www.facebook.com/harlemny and at http://HarlemSocial.com Post your SciFiNoir Profile at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/app/peoplemap2/entry/add?fmvn=mapYahoo ! Groups Links -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/
[scifinoir2] Re: Dragon, Soars, Losers...Loses
I thought the movie was great fun. The tone is lighter than the comic but it actually worked to the movie's advantage. The cast was solid and Chris Evans nearly steals the show as Jensen. And I loved Jason Patric as Max. He was old school Bond villain insane. Are you standing in a hole? The one thing I don't get is why they made the weapon so cartoony. That was the only thing that sort of marred my fun. --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@... wrote: Anyone seen How to Train Your Dragon? I haven't had a chance yet, but was impressed with the trailers. I did see The Losers yesterday. It's a fun time waster, the cast is roundly good, and would do very well for a much more serious, less over-the-top film. A couple of the story points had me confused. It's based on a comic, right? Anyone here familiar with the source material so I can ask a couple of questions? And by the way, Zoe Zaldana is fairly prominent in the film. She's not bad, though I'm not as enamored of her as H'Wood increasingly seems to be. * How to Train Your Dragon continues to breathe fire at the box office, while newer releases are mostly blowing smoke. FILE - In this file film publicity image released by Paramount Pictures, Hiccup, voiced by Jay Baruchel, rides Toothless a scene is shown from How to Train Your Dragon. How to Train Your Dragon continues to breathe fire at the box office, while newer releases are mostly blowing smoke. The animated adventure took in $15 million to reclaim the No. 1 spot a month after its debut. How to Dragon Your Dragon opened in first place in late March, then dropped back into the pack. But it has held up strongly and climbed to the top again amid a flurry of so-so new releases. (AP Photo/Paramount Pictures, File) NO SALES The DreamWorks Animation adventure took in $15 million to reclaim the No. 1 spot in its fifth weekend of release. How to Train Your Dragon opened in first place in late March, then dropped back into the pack. But it has held up strongly and climbed to the top again amid a flurry of so-so new releases. The tale of a Viking youth and his pet dragon raised its total to $178 million and is on its way to becoming a $200 million hit. Premiering weakly at No. 2 with $12.3 million was Jennifer Lopez's romantic comedy The Back-up Plan, released by CBS Films. Another comedy, Steve Carell and Tina Fey's Date Night from 20th Century Fox, held up well to finish at No. 3 with $10.6 million, raising its total to $63.5 million. Among the weekend's other newcomers, the Warner Bros. action flick The Losers flopped at No. 4 with $9.6 million. Disney's nature film Oceans had a solid opening for a documentary, coming in at No. 8 with $6 million. How to Train Your Dragon nearly regained the No. 1 spot the previous weekend but wound up a close second to Lionsgate's superhero comedy Kick-Ass. In its second weekend, Kick-Ass slumped to No. 5 with $9.5 million, down 52 percent from its debut, lifting its total to $34.9 million. Revenues for How to Train Your Dragon were off a scant 23 percent from the previous weekend. To be No. 1 in week five, it's an exciting time, said Anne Globe, head of marketing for DreamWorks Animation. Especially to be decisively No. 1 after last weekend's box-office shenanigans. The box office had ended in rare photo finishes for two straight weekends as movies bunched up tightly in the rankings. Though How to Train Your Dragon was the clear winner this time, top movies again were crowded closely together as the weekend's newcomers failed to grab much attention. Overall Hollywood revenues should top out at about $100 million, the lowest-grossing weekend of the year, said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. Fans may simply be watching their finances amid the slow economic recovery, saving their money for the onslaught of summer blockbusters that starts May 7 with Iron Man 2. They may be saying, 'I want to see big summer movies, so I'm just going to wait,' Dergarabedian said. Then suddenly, we're going to have this massive weekend when 'Iron Man 2' opens after we've had these mediocre weekends. While The Back-up Plan opened weakly, CBS Films was hoping it would hold up well in subsequent weekends, as romantic comedies often do. Jennifer Lopez's films have great legs, as does she, said Steven Friedlander, head of distribution for CBS Films. The Back-up Plan stars Lopez as a single woman who gets pregnant through artificial insemination, then meets the man of her dreams. The Losers, whose cast includes Avatar co-star Zoe Saldana, is a comic-book adaptation about a Special Forces team looking for payback after a mission goes bad. Narrated by Pierce Brosnan, Oceans offers up-close glimpses of blue whales, walruses, sea
[scifinoir2] Hobo with a Shotgun! (was: Machete hacks onto screen Labor Day)
I LOVE this ~rave! --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, B Smith daikaij...@... wrote: The grindhouse gods heard our cries. Rutger Hauer isHobo With A Shotgun! http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/04/25/first-hobo-with-a-shotgun-footage-promises-a-bloody-grindhouse-extravaganza/
Re: [scifinoir2] Hobo with a Shotgun! (was: Machete hacks onto screen Labor Day)
Two minutes ago, I was down. Not any more! [?] On Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 3:26 PM, Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com wrote: I LOVE this ~rave! --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com scifinoir2%40yahoogroups.com, B Smith daikaij...@... wrote: The grindhouse gods heard our cries. Rutger Hauer isHobo With A Shotgun! http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/04/25/first-hobo-with-a-shotgun-footage-promises-a-bloody-grindhouse-extravaganza/ -- If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell wrote the script? -- Charles E Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik 360.gif
Re: [scifinoir2] Soccer Player Flubs Goal From Inches Away
No, Daryle... I'm gonna be presumptive and call it that now. On Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 12:24 PM, Daryle Lockhart dar...@darylelockhart.com wrote: This was hilarious. Folks will be talking about this for YEARS! Gets my vote for miss of the decade. The century is too early to call. On Apr 27, 2010, at 12:11 AM, Keith Johnson wrote: Funny, looks like a young kid trying to learn to kick a ball. Even world class athletes make silly mistakes... http://sports. yahoo.com/soccer/blog/sow_experts/post/The-latest-worst-miss-ever?urn=sow,236778 Shocking misses can happen to anyone at any time, but the latest footballer to suffer international embarrassment by not scoring a goal he really, really should have is Kansas City Wizardshttp://sports.yahoo.com/mls/teams/kan/striker Kei Kamara. In Saturday's MLS match against the Los Angeles Galaxyhttp://sports.yahoo.com/mls/teams/los/, Kamara found himself right in front of an open net with the ball mere inches from the goal. He was a little too eager to tap it in, though, and ended up falling on his rear end as he stretched to kick the ball in for the easy goal before knocking it in with his hand. He was quickly called for a handball and the game went on to end in a 0-0 draw. After the match, Galaxy defender Gregg Berhalter still couldn't believe it: It was one of the most unbelievable things I've seen in soccer. It was unfortunate for Kamara but it was a handball and credit the linesman for seeing it. Video of the miss has already spread far and wide. The Sun is calling it a contender for miss of the centuryhttp://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/2946636/Is-this-the-miss-of-the-century.html, but there are quite a few in the mix for that crown. Back in January, we featured another open net shockerhttp://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/blog/sow_experts/post/The-worst-miss-ever-of-this-week-?urn=sow,214282from a bit farther out, then there was the now famous Rocky Baptiste'shttp://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/blog/sow_experts/post/Footballer-misses-impossible-to-miss-goal?urn=sow,205896from December, but I think this miss from Dinamo Zagreb's Ilija Sivonjic last October might be even worse than Kamara's... -- If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell wrote the script? -- Charles E Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik
[scifinoir2] Quality of hard cover books (David Anthony Durham's Acacia)
I just purchased a hard cover copy of Book One of David Anthony Durham's Acacia series from Amazon.com. for $14.50 (including tax and shipping). I mention this because the book I received is not only gorgeous, it feels great in my hands. The cover is glossy, the title of the book and the author's name have raised letters, and the border on the cover creates an almost holographic effect. In addition, the pages are perfectly finished (I HATE when I purchase a hardcover book and the pages have ragged edges). I, personally, have been solely disappointed by the (lack of) quality of many of the books I have purchased recently. ~rave!
[scifinoir2] Re: Quality of hard cover books (David Anthony Durham's Acacia)
I've seen quite a few hardcovers with the deckle edges and it takes some getting used to vs. the smooth, finished edges. --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Kelwyn ravena...@... wrote: I just purchased a hard cover copy of Book One of David Anthony Durham's Acacia series from Amazon.com. for $14.50 (including tax and shipping). I mention this because the book I received is not only gorgeous, it feels great in my hands. The cover is glossy, the title of the book and the author's name have raised letters, and the border on the cover creates an almost holographic effect. In addition, the pages are perfectly finished (I HATE when I purchase a hardcover book and the pages have ragged edges). I, personally, have been solely disappointed by the (lack of) quality of many of the books I have purchased recently. ~rave!
Re: [scifinoir2] Quality of hard cover books (David Anthony Durham's Acacia)
As have I, rave. Picked up a couple from the SFBC, and I sent them back, because it looked as though rats had been chewing in the page edges. On Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 3:59 PM, Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com wrote: I just purchased a hard cover copy of Book One of David Anthony Durham's Acacia series from Amazon.com. for $14.50 (including tax and shipping). I mention this because the book I received is not only gorgeous, it feels great in my hands. The cover is glossy, the title of the book and the author's name have raised letters, and the border on the cover creates an almost holographic effect. In addition, the pages are perfectly finished (I HATE when I purchase a hardcover book and the pages have ragged edges). I, personally, have been solely disappointed by the (lack of) quality of many of the books I have purchased recently. ~rave! -- If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell wrote the script? -- Charles E Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik
Re: [scifinoir2] The 5 Worst Deaths Written for Great Characters (And Why)
Thank you, H'Wood. For frelling NOTHING. Though this did answer one question for me. Thirteen was a robot. Makes so much sense... On Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 12:33 AM, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: The 5 Worst Deaths Written for Great Characters (And Why) By Travis Harder http://www.cracked.com/members/TravisHarder Apr 25, 2010 747,920 views [image: article image] 1,233diggsdigg 421Sharehttp://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cracked.com%2Farticle_18488_the-5-worst-deaths-written-great-characters-and-why.htmlt=The%205%20Worst%20Deaths%20Written%20for%20Great%20Characters%20%28And%20Why%29%20%7C%20Cracked.comsrc=sp Death scenes are the kind of thing actors drool over. If your character has to bite it, you want to go out like William Wallace, dammit! FRDM!!! But occasionally you see a character die in an abrupt, pointless way that seemed to have been written in as an afterthought, or even in such an undignified way that you suspect the writers included it as a screw you to the actor. Well, there's a reason for that. #5. Capt. James T. Kirk William Shatner played the same character for 28 years, and inspired something like a religion. Somewhere, right now, a grown man is dressed in a Captain Kirk uniform, probably while in a crowded room next to some other guy dressed like a Klingon. So how did they send off the star of one of the most popular and lucrative franchises in entertainment history? Warning: May cause spontaneous uncontrollable arousal in women. The Death: They dropped a bridge on him. After decades of (sometimes shirtlessly) tangling with the universe's biggest baddies and boning the hottest aliens, Kirk leaves the mortal coil by way of subpar building construction codes. While watching *Star Trek: Generations* we *knew* something was wrong when, during a face-off with the movie's main bad guy with Captain Picard, Kirk tells Picard to hold off the bad guy for him. James T. Kirk passing the chance to punch a dude? That's like a heroin addict saying, Man, can you shoot up my stash for me? I got an errand to run. An addiction is an addiction. So instead Kirk goes to fetch a remote to disable the cloak on a bunch of missiles Soran (the bad guy) was about to launch. The remote just so happens to be on a rickety bridge and, as Kirk manages to make a final act of disabling the cloaking system, the bridge collapses down a cliff, taking Kirk with it. What Really Happened: First of all, it's clear that Kirk was shoehorned into the film only because the suits weren't confident they could get people to watch a Kirk-less *Star Trek* movie (Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley both refused to be in the moviehttp://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Star_Trek_Generations, saying the crew got a perfectly good sendoff in *The Undiscovered Country*, a film specifically written for that purpose). Then, when the writers were sitting around brainstorming ideas for, you know, what to actually do with him, somebody said, Why don't we kill Kirk? (yes, that's literally what they said http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Star_Trek_Generations). So, they brought Shatner and Kirk back to the franchise specifically to kill his ass, and thus wrote in a death for him where he... gets shot in the back by the bad guy. They filmed it, too: That didn't make it into the movie because test audiences felt it wasn't heroic enough http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111280/trivia. So, grossly misunderstanding that feedback, they had a rusty bridge accidentally fall on him instead. Couldn't he at least been having sex with something at the time? Preferably not a bridge. #4. Scott Summers (aka Cyclops of the X-Men) Wolverine gets all the attention, but Cyclops *is* the X-Men's field leader and second in command. Also, he can destroy a city block by taking his sunglasses off. That should count for something, right? The Death: He dies in *X-Men: The Last Stand*. Well, that makes sense. It *is* the last stand, after all. You see that on a poster and picture him and the rest of his comrades going down in some kind of universe-saving blaze of glory. Then you watch and find out he dies in the first half hour. Candid photo of Marsden's reaction to the script. He gets roughly five minutes of screen time, and never even suits up as Cyclops (even though the promotional posters clearly show him suited up X-Men style). Still depressed over the loss of his wife (Jean Grey, who died in the second film), Cyclops goes to Alkali Lake, Canada, where she died, despite Professor X's warnings. That's what you get for ignoring Patrick Stewart. At the lake, he finds a very much alive Jean Grey standing there. After asking the obvious question of how are you alive? they kiss and Cyclops just explodes. Well, we assume. Cyclops wasn't even granted an on-screen death. Then, back at the mansion, the X-Men hold a funeral for their fallen
Re: [scifinoir2] Hobo with a Shotgun! (was: Machete hacks onto screen Labor Day)
This reminds me of something oh yea... First you saw an old man beat up a black man on the bus... Now see another old man with a shotgun clean up your streets... On Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 12:26 PM, Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com wrote: I LOVE this ~rave! --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, B Smith daikaij...@... wrote: The grindhouse gods heard our cries. Rutger Hauer isHobo With A Shotgun! http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/04/25/first-hobo-with-a-shotgun-footage-promises-a-bloody-grindhouse-extravaganza/ Post your SciFiNoir Profile at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/app/peoplemap2/entry/add?fmvn=mapYahoo! Groups Links -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: The luckiest people in Hollywood?
When I originally came up with the post I was thinking big breaks, but I like where you went with this. Paulie Shore did stand up for years and had a huge college age following before he got his MTV gig. Paris Hilton was just a socialite that had a buzz around her for her appearances at parties. I guess she is the winner on this. On Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 7:42 AM, Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com wrote: Neither Carrie Anne Moss nor Kevin Costner are lucky. They are hard-working actors who earned and took advantage of their chances when they got them. People with no discernible talent who get to make more than one movie are lucky. Paulie Shore is lucky (he has FORTY credits on IMDB) Paris Hilton is lucky (she has TWENTY-TWO credits on IMDB) ~(no)rave! --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Tracy Curtis tlcurti...@... wrote: I always wondered why people kept giving Kevin Costner chances after his expensive films lost so much money. Is that the kind of luck you mean? On Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 3:43 AM, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@... wrote: This is just a topic. There's no right or wrong answers for this. So, the question is: Who are the luckiest people in Hollywood? That is, people who may have gotten a lucky break in a film or two. One person that I would put on the list is: Carrie-Anne Moss from the Matrix. She was basically a tv actress and had been on a boat load of tv shows. Some of them were scifi since the 1980s. After the Matrix series she was in Memento, Chocolat, Disturbia and others. Who would you add to the list? -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ Post your SciFiNoir Profile at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/app/peoplemap2/entry/add?fmvn=mapYahoo! Groups Links -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/
Re: [scifinoir2] Don’t talk to aliens, warns Steph en Hawking
Keith, I could see that as equally troublesome. What if the folks they're fleeing from decide to come after them, for some reason? Martin (pessimism in full bloom) On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 10:12 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.netwrote: I don't think so. Look at the history of Earth: so many technologically superiour races have exploited and destroyed others. Advanced tech can't make up for the loss of key materials or extinguished lifeforms. What if, like Europeans, they simply want to expand to new shores due to overcrowding, or a big group wants a new planet to pursue their unique religious/political ideas outside of the home world? - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, April 25, 2010 6:00:39 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Don’t talk to aliens, warns Stephen Hawking If they have the technology to reach us, they probably solved their resource problem already. Or close to it. I think that we should keep a positive outlook on this. We may come across both good and bad beings, but that doesn't mean that it isn't worth the journey. On Sun, Apr 25, 2010 at 1:59 PM, Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.comwrote: Time to get into a Quisling frame of mind... Seriously, that is something to think about. With all of this lovely H2O we've got lying about, it makes us a tempting target for colonization. On Sun, Apr 25, 2010 at 2:14 PM, brent wodehouse brent_wodeho...@thefence.us wrote: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/space/article7107207.ece From The Sunday Times April 25, 2010 Don’t talk to aliens, warns Stephen Hawking Jonathan Leake THE aliens are out there and Earth had better watch out, at least according to Stephen Hawking. He has suggested that extraterrestrials are almost certain to exist - but that instead of seeking them out, humanity should be doing all it that can to avoid any contact. The suggestions come in a new documentary series in which Hawking, one of the world’s leading scientists, will set out his latest thinking on some of the universe’s greatest mysteries. Alien life, he will suggest, is almost certain to exist in many other parts of the universe: not just in planets, but perhaps in the centre of stars or even floating in interplanetary space. Hawking’s logic on aliens is, for him, unusually simple. The universe, he points out, has 100 billion galaxies, each containing hundreds of millions of stars. In such a big place, Earth is unlikely to be the only planet where life has evolved. “To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational,” he said. “The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like.” The answer, he suggests, is that most of it will be the equivalent of microbes or simple animals - the sort of life that has dominated Earth for most of its history. One scene in his documentary for the Discovery Channel shows herds of two-legged herbivores browsing on an alien cliff-face where they are picked off by flying, yellow lizard-like predators. Another shows glowing fluorescent aquatic animals forming vast shoals in the oceans thought to underlie the thick ice coating Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter. Such scenes are speculative, but Hawking uses them to lead on to a serious point: that a few life forms could be intelligent and pose a threat. Hawking believes that contact with such a species could be devastating for humanity. He suggests that aliens might simply raid Earth for its resources and then move on: “We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn’t want to meet. I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonise whatever planets they can reach.” He concludes that trying to make contact with alien races is “a little too risky”. He said: “If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans.” The completion of the documentary marks a triumph for Hawking, now 68, who is paralysed by motor neurone disease and has very limited powers of communication. The project took him and his producers three years, during which he insisted on rewriting large chunks of the script and checking the filming. John Smithson, executive producer for Discovery, said: “He wanted to make a programme that was entertaining for a general audience as well as scientific and that’s a tough job, given the complexity of the ideas involved.” Hawking has suggested the possibility of alien life before but his views have been clarified by a series of scientific breakthroughs, such as the discovery, since 1995, of more than 450
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Quality of hard cover books (David Anthony Durham's Acacia)
B, I don't like it from a visual standpoint. It rattles my sense of order. Tactile, I wouldn't know about, because the first time I touched the edges of a book cover, I came away with the first three paper cuts of my then barely-year-old life. For two years after that, I read books with mittens on. On Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 5:01 PM, B Smith daikaij...@yahoo.com wrote: I've seen quite a few hardcovers with the deckle edges and it takes some getting used to vs. the smooth, finished edges. --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com scifinoir2%40yahoogroups.com, Kelwyn ravena...@... wrote: I just purchased a hard cover copy of Book One of David Anthony Durham's Acacia series from Amazon.com. for $14.50 (including tax and shipping). I mention this because the book I received is not only gorgeous, it feels great in my hands. The cover is glossy, the title of the book and the author's name have raised letters, and the border on the cover creates an almost holographic effect. In addition, the pages are perfectly finished (I HATE when I purchase a hardcover book and the pages have ragged edges). I, personally, have been solely disappointed by the (lack of) quality of many of the books I have purchased recently. ~rave! -- If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell wrote the script? -- Charles E Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik
Re: [scifinoir2] 21 TV episodes that tried and failed to spawn spin-offs
Agreeing with you again, Keith. This one had the most potential of any of the spin-offs listed. Martin (leaving to have nervous breakdown at the thought of Kelly's Kids [?][?]) On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 11:26 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.netwrote: I completely disagree with the author's depiction of this ep as dull. It doesn't have the obvious action of, say, the recent Trek film, but it's got great concepts and moves along at a brisk pace. It is intelligent in conception. I mean, a race of people who use a kind of reverse Prime Directive to actively interfere in the lives of other races in order to *save* them? The concept of taking people from a native species decades earlier, then raising and training those aliens to one day function as agents of helpful change back on their home worlds? An alien race so advanced that it can beam an agent across light years, and even hide their entire planet? (Okay, that last is a bit of a stretch). I thought Gary Seven was too cool, the way his perfect human physiology was immune to a Vulcan Neck Pinch, and how he instantly deduced that Kirk was from the future. Teri Gar was good as comic relief, though I'd like to see that last remade with today's sensibilities so she'd be more of an equal partner to Seven. The metamorphic cat woman didn't bother me either... - Original Message - From: Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, April 26, 2010 8:10:56 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [scifinoir2] 21 TV episodes that tried and failed to spawn spin-offs http://www.avclub.com/articles/tonights-special-guests-the-cast-of-a-whole-new-sh,40445/1/ 9. Star Trek, Assignment Earth (1968) Assignment Earth is full of dull action, exposition, and a constantly yowling cat. Also, Teri Garr turns up as a secretary roped into the main storyline via an improbable series of coincidences. Focusing on Robert Lansing's Gary Seven, a human descended from people abducted from Earth millennia ago and arriving back on Earth in 1968 (conveniently, just when the starship Enterprise shows up), the show wanted to make all of Gene Roddenberry's utopian liberalism subtext into text, then add a dash of secret-agent excitement. Instead, Lansing talks a lot, Garr listens wide-eyed, Kirk and Spock get in the way every so often, and Gary's cat turns into a woman for no apparent reason. Roddenberry would have to wait until Star Trek was over to get another show on the air, though Gary Seven lives on in a few Star Trek novels. -- If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell wrote the script? -- Charles E Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik 363.gif361.gif
Re: [scifinoir2] Interesting blog post
No, Mr Worf, not really... I look at what President Carter has done as beneficial for all of humanity, rather than just the Black community. (Here, I have to state my bias, having met the man twice and worked for a time with Habitat for Humanity.) On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 6:20 PM, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: Do you think Jimmy Carter deserves one? Hmm I smell a topic coming on. Who would deserve an honorary black person award? (This doesn't necessarily need to be only politics.) On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 2:47 PM, Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.comwrote: No argument in that from me. We gave it to Bill Clinton for a heckuva lot less. On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 3:32 PM, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.comwrote: A friend of mine says that Tim Wise should be an honorary black man. On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 9:58 AM, Adrianne Brennan adrianne.bren...@gmail.com wrote: No idea if it's been posted here or not, but thought people may be interested in reading it: http://ephphatha-poetry.blogspot.com/2010/04/imagine-if-tea-party-was-black-tim-wise.html?spref=fb ~ Where love and magic meet ~ http://www.adriannebrennan.com Experience the magic of the Dark Moon series: http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#darkmoon Dare to take The Oath in this erotic fantasy series: http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#the_oath The future of psychic sex - Dawn of the Seraphs (m/m): http://www.adriannebrennan.com/dawnoftheseraphs.html -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ -- If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell wrote the script? -- Charles E Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ -- If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell wrote the script? -- Charles E Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: ISO good book recommendations
Keith, I consider myself lucky to have found it, because it was an immense help in determining my future path in life. Before that, I was actually considering being a chess player for a living. That book made me love science. On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 9:40 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.netwrote: Good stuff, I agree, although a little too hard science for my tests on some days. - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, April 25, 2010 7:18:21 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: ISO good book recommendations Keith, into that, I ahve to throw in Niven and Pournelle's first collaboration, The Mote in God's Eye. IMO, the best First Contact work ever. On Sat, Apr 24, 2010 at 8:29 PM, angelababycat asrobin...@mindspring.comwrote: The sad thing is, if I had more time to read, I'd say all of the above. But since that's not the case, I think the tech needs to be pretty up-to-date (I'm pretty techy for a girl). Re the story being deep, isn't all sci-fi deep? I think everything I read involved the protaganist coming of age, be it a pig herder, an orphan, a hobbit, or some other wayward soul. So I'm probably expecting that. But fun is nice too. I'm taking all recommendatins to the book store with me. --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com scifinoir2%40yahoogroups.com, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@... wrote: How techie does it need to be? Modern and up-to-date, with the tech pretty realistic, or can it be older stuff written from the 50s and later, where the science wouldn't now be considered cutting edge? Does it need to be deep and socially relevant, or just fun? I can think of EE Doc Smith's Lensmen series, which dates back to the '50s era. It's fun, but definitely of its time. Let me ask about old classics. Ever read any of Larry Niven's or Jerry Pournelle's stuff? Footfall is a good book, about a race of intelligent pachyderms that invade Earth. Then there's the Ringworld series, which is really good. - Original Message - From: angelababycat asrobin...@... To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com scifinoir2%40yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2010 4:05:02 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: ISO good book recommendations That's a good point. I guess I need to think about the kinds of books I used to read...they were probably more fantasy, but I think I want something with a little techy edge to it too. So like Lord of the Rings (all which I've read) with space ships and other planets. MEANWHILE, I took the liberty of making a table in the Database section with the recommendations. Everyone is free to add/edit/delete their recommendations as they wish. When I go to the bookstore, I'm taking the table with me. Thanks. Angela --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com scifinoir2%40yahoogroups.com , Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ wrote: Pure scifi only, or are you open to fantasy as well? - Original Message - From: Angela Robinson asrobinson@ To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com scifinoir2%40yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, April 18, 2010 10:30:48 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [scifinoir2] ISO good book recommendations It's been a while since I've made time/had time to curl up with a book, but now am looking for a good sci-fi novel to sink my teeth into. If you could maybe only get through one sci-fi book this year, what would it be? Angela -- If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell wrote the script? -- Charles E Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik -- If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell wrote the script? -- Charles E Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik
Re: [scifinoir2] Pirates rewrite script for Apple's China iPad launch
Mr Worf, not a CHANCE of them embracing piracy. The big companies only see it as a little guy taking money out of their coffers. When caught, punishment will be as swift and severe as they can make it. On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 6:17 PM, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: They were running windows 7. China doesn't enforce any anti-piracy legislation. So it is technically legal to make pirated versions of anything there. The thing that I always find interesting is the speed at which they are able to crank out these pirated versions of hardware and software. I also like that they often improve on product ideas. They basically created an entire product using the Ipad formfactor in a few months. The device in the picture improves on the limitations of the Ipad and may be even better than the ipad. (3 usb ports, windows compatibility etc.) I think Apple and other companies have been missing out on a product ideas. Instead of fighting piracy of this type, they should embrace it. On a side note, I was watching a tech show the other day and they were discussing a licensing conflict between NVidia and Intel. NVidia's GPU processor is very fast and uses several areas of Intel's chip architecture that is proprietary. Intel has been trying to squeeze Nvidia out of the game, because I think they are trying to come out with their own GPU / CPU chipset. (they didn't go into why Intel has been flexing on Nvidia.) Apple would like to use the Nvidia/Intel chipset but they are caught in the middle of these two warring factions. Which is why the Ipad and Iphone doesn't have it yet. On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 2:42 PM, Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.comwrote: Not much cheaper, but they might still turn a profit. Hope that they're gotten all the software in line, or Apple might figure out how to shut them down. On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 5:15 PM, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.comwrote: Pirates rewrite script for Apple's China iPad launch James Pomfrethttp://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=usn=james.pomfret;and Melanie Leehttp://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=usn=melanie.lee; SHENZHEN/SHANGHAI Mon Apr 26, 2010 3:28pm EDT Related News - UPDATE 2-Apple says iPad 3G available on April 30http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2025826220100420 Tue, Apr 20 2010 - Apple delays iPad's international launchhttp://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63D20V20100414 Wed, Apr 14 2010 - UPDATE 4-Apple delays iPad's international launchhttp://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1414161320100414 Wed, Apr 14 2010 - Apple's iPad takes video gaming seriouslyhttp://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63728S20100408 Thu, Apr 8 2010 - Apple's iPad debuts strongly, but key tests remainhttp://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6300SY20100406 Tue, Apr 6 2010 2 / 2 View Full Sizehttp://www.reuters.com/article/slideshow?articleId=USTRE63P0B620100426#a=2 [image: Main Image] [image: Main Image] SHENZHEN/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Just three weeks after the global launch, bootleg versions of Apple Inc's hot-selling iPadhttp://www.reuters.com/subjects/ipadtablet PCs have begun showing up on the shelves of online and real-world shops in piracy-prone China. Technology http://www.reuters.com/news/technology | Mediahttp://www.reuters.com/news/media Apple recently delayed the iPad http://www.reuters.com/subjects/ipad's international launch after huge demand in the United States caught the maker of trendy iPhones and MacBooks off guard. But Chinese consumers looking for knock-offs of the company's latest must-have product need look no further than this teeming electronics mall in Shenzhen, the southern Chinese boomtown near the border with Hong Kong. Here, tiny shops are stuffed with pirated versions of everything: from Microsoft's newest Windows 7 operating system, a steal at $2 each, to a range of Apple products, from iPhones to MacBooks and the lightweight MacBook Air. After extensive queries with multiple shopkeepers, one surnamed Lin offered the sought-after item in a dark backroom on the market's fifth floor away from the hustle and bustle. Hefty and thickset with three USB ports and a more rectangular shape than the original, this knock-off with iPadhttp://www.reuters.com/subjects/ipadaspirations, which runs a Windows operating system, looks more like a giant iPhone. It costs 2,800 yuan ($410), making it slightly cheaper than the iPad's $499-$699 price tag. This is just the first rough version, says Lin a crew-cut agent speaking in bursts of quick-fire Cantonese. While the shape isn't quite the same, the external appearance is very similar to the iPad http://www.reuters.com/subjects/ipad, so we don't think it will affect our sales that much, he added, explaining the difference was due to the difficulty sourcing matching parts because of the quick two-month turnaround time for the first
Re: [scifinoir2] Interesting blog post
One thing that I like about Jimmy is that he set a precedent. He raised the bar and used his influence and showed what a former leader should do. Unlike the Bush clan. On Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 2:58 PM, Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.comwrote: No, Mr Worf, not really... I look at what President Carter has done as beneficial for all of humanity, rather than just the Black community. (Here, I have to state my bias, having met the man twice and worked for a time with Habitat for Humanity.) On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 6:20 PM, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: Do you think Jimmy Carter deserves one? Hmm I smell a topic coming on. Who would deserve an honorary black person award? (This doesn't necessarily need to be only politics.) On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 2:47 PM, Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.comwrote: No argument in that from me. We gave it to Bill Clinton for a heckuva lot less. On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 3:32 PM, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.comwrote: A friend of mine says that Tim Wise should be an honorary black man. On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 9:58 AM, Adrianne Brennan adrianne.bren...@gmail.com wrote: No idea if it's been posted here or not, but thought people may be interested in reading it: http://ephphatha-poetry.blogspot.com/2010/04/imagine-if-tea-party-was-black-tim-wise.html?spref=fb ~ Where love and magic meet ~ http://www.adriannebrennan.com Experience the magic of the Dark Moon series: http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#darkmoon Dare to take The Oath in this erotic fantasy series: http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#the_oath The future of psychic sex - Dawn of the Seraphs (m/m): http://www.adriannebrennan.com/dawnoftheseraphs.html -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ -- If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell wrote the script? -- Charles E Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ -- If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell wrote the script? -- Charles E Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/
Re: [scifinoir2] Pirates rewrite script for Apple's China iPad launch
They could steal form factor ideas etc. They obviously have a better setup to pump out new gadgets than Apple can. It would take months for Apple and Dell for example to churn out another working model. That's not mentioning all of the silly exclusive contracts that many companies have. Such as the Iphone only working with ATT. China and the other countries that do piracy will not stop. It is a multi-billion dollar industry. (not to mention the huge amounts that go to gangs and criminal organizations around the world) It keeps several countries afloat. So I don't see it going away anytime soon. On Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 3:03 PM, Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.comwrote: Mr Worf, not a CHANCE of them embracing piracy. The big companies only see it as a little guy taking money out of their coffers. When caught, punishment will be as swift and severe as they can make it. On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 6:17 PM, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: They were running windows 7. China doesn't enforce any anti-piracy legislation. So it is technically legal to make pirated versions of anything there. The thing that I always find interesting is the speed at which they are able to crank out these pirated versions of hardware and software. I also like that they often improve on product ideas. They basically created an entire product using the Ipad formfactor in a few months. The device in the picture improves on the limitations of the Ipad and may be even better than the ipad. (3 usb ports, windows compatibility etc.) I think Apple and other companies have been missing out on a product ideas. Instead of fighting piracy of this type, they should embrace it. On a side note, I was watching a tech show the other day and they were discussing a licensing conflict between NVidia and Intel. NVidia's GPU processor is very fast and uses several areas of Intel's chip architecture that is proprietary. Intel has been trying to squeeze Nvidia out of the game, because I think they are trying to come out with their own GPU / CPU chipset. (they didn't go into why Intel has been flexing on Nvidia.) Apple would like to use the Nvidia/Intel chipset but they are caught in the middle of these two warring factions. Which is why the Ipad and Iphone doesn't have it yet. On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 2:42 PM, Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.comwrote: Not much cheaper, but they might still turn a profit. Hope that they're gotten all the software in line, or Apple might figure out how to shut them down. On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 5:15 PM, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.comwrote: Pirates rewrite script for Apple's China iPad launch James Pomfrethttp://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=usn=james.pomfret;and Melanie Leehttp://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=usn=melanie.lee; SHENZHEN/SHANGHAI Mon Apr 26, 2010 3:28pm EDT Related News - UPDATE 2-Apple says iPad 3G available on April 30http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2025826220100420 Tue, Apr 20 2010 - Apple delays iPad's international launchhttp://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63D20V20100414 Wed, Apr 14 2010 - UPDATE 4-Apple delays iPad's international launchhttp://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1414161320100414 Wed, Apr 14 2010 - Apple's iPad takes video gaming seriouslyhttp://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63728S20100408 Thu, Apr 8 2010 - Apple's iPad debuts strongly, but key tests remainhttp://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6300SY20100406 Tue, Apr 6 2010 2 / 2 View Full Sizehttp://www.reuters.com/article/slideshow?articleId=USTRE63P0B620100426#a=2 [image: Main Image] [image: Main Image] SHENZHEN/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Just three weeks after the global launch, bootleg versions of Apple Inc's hot-selling iPadhttp://www.reuters.com/subjects/ipadtablet PCs have begun showing up on the shelves of online and real-world shops in piracy-prone China. Technology http://www.reuters.com/news/technology | Mediahttp://www.reuters.com/news/media Apple recently delayed the iPad http://www.reuters.com/subjects/ipad's international launch after huge demand in the United States caught the maker of trendy iPhones and MacBooks off guard. But Chinese consumers looking for knock-offs of the company's latest must-have product need look no further than this teeming electronics mall in Shenzhen, the southern Chinese boomtown near the border with Hong Kong. Here, tiny shops are stuffed with pirated versions of everything: from Microsoft's newest Windows 7 operating system, a steal at $2 each, to a range of Apple products, from iPhones to MacBooks and the lightweight MacBook Air. After extensive queries with multiple shopkeepers, one surnamed Lin offered the sought-after item in a dark backroom on the market's fifth floor away from the hustle and bustle. Hefty and thickset with three USB ports and a more rectangular shape than the
Re: [scifinoir2] New Boondocks Season 3 Clip: Wil.I.Am feat Thugnificent - Dick Riding Obama
This. Season. Is. Gonna. Be. IT. [?][?][?][?][?] On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 8:03 PM, Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com wrote: New Boondocks Season 3 Clip: Wil.I.Am feat Thugnificent - Dick Riding Obama http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08S4poMGvwA -- If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell wrote the script? -- Charles E Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik 35C.gif360.gif
Re: [scifinoir2] Don’t talk to aliens, warns Steph en Hawking
Well I think that if it were to happen it would have happened already by now and we wouldn't be having this conversation. As to the oxygen breathing creatures, there's so many planets that I'm sure there are quite a few other worlds out there. Then again there are so many variables that can happen. It took our species a long time to get to scientific method. Can you imagine how different our world would have been if we didn't have certain intellectual baggage? (religion, racism, greed etc.) On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 8:35 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.netwrote: Not necessarily. We already know that planets in that sweet spot where water can exist in liquid form and an atmosphere can exist could be rare. It's entirely plausible that they'd want Earth as a place to colonize to expand their race. If we are an oxygen breathing, carbon-based species, it's reasonable to think the universe would create another such that might view Earth as a likely place to colonize. Terraforming nearby planets and building colonies on inhospitable worlds might take too long and ultimately support too few people. Even an advanced species would probably rather build generation ships to come to Earth rather than languish in doomed colonies or the like. Think of it like this: if mars were inhabitable right now, and had a primitive race living there, how long do you think it'd be before the nations of Earth would find a reason to go there and take over? Also, it's not always about resources like oil, water, and spices. like I said, how often do people on Earth seek new vistas in order to live out lives the way they want. how often do people seek new lands to worship a new way, to create a new form of government, etc? I don't think that just because a race is technologically advanced means they would leave behind the ugliness, fighting, selfishness, racism, etc., that have often driven people here to seek new lands. Granted I'm taking a cynical view, but I frankly think it's at least as likely as the one where they'd come here and want to be buddies. Also, one thing you need to remember is that no species is monolithic. Scifi usually simplifies races so that the whole planet has one way of thinking, while in reality that changes. So even if one faction might want to be friends with us, what if there's an election or coup or something were another faction gains power and changes policies radically. Kinda like an alien Republican party gaining ascendance: I wouldn't give a plug nickel for our chances if an alien Tea Party led by a green Sarah Palin took over the Ministry of Extraplanetary Contact! - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, April 26, 2010 11:24:51 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Don’t talk to aliens, warns Stephen Hawking That would be a worse case scenario. Travel light years just to steal minerals or water? There's ice the entire trip here. Im sure that they can also find minerals as well. The overpopulation part would be a little unusual I think. That would mean that life only exists in an oxygen rich environment and they would have to be at a tremendous infestation level of population to travel that far just to live here. I think as our own technology continues to grow we will look at things differently. For example, spices (and the money it brought) were a huge reason to go on an expedition. After people learned how to grow majority of the spices elsewhere the need to concur for that resource. Eventually we will say the same about oil. Hopefully... On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 7:12 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.netwrote: I don't think so. Look at the history of Earth: so many technologically superiour races have exploited and destroyed others. Advanced tech can't make up for the loss of key materials or extinguished lifeforms. What if, like Europeans, they simply want to expand to new shores due to overcrowding, or a big group wants a new planet to pursue their unique religious/political ideas outside of the home world? - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, April 25, 2010 6:00:39 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Don’t talk to aliens, warns Stephen Hawking If they have the technology to reach us, they probably solved their resource problem already. Or close to it. I think that we should keep a positive outlook on this. We may come across both good and bad beings, but that doesn't mean that it isn't worth the journey. On Sun, Apr 25, 2010 at 1:59 PM, Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.comwrote: Time to get into a Quisling frame of mind... Seriously, that is something to think about. With all of this lovely H2O we've got lying about, it makes us a tempting target for colonization. On Sun, Apr 25, 2010 at
Re: [scifinoir2] Don’t talk to aliens, warns Steph en Hawking
There's a scifi story here waiting to happen... :) On Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 2:47 PM, Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.comwrote: Keith, I could see that as equally troublesome. What if the folks they're fleeing from decide to come after them, for some reason? Martin (pessimism in full bloom) On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 10:12 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: I don't think so. Look at the history of Earth: so many technologically superiour races have exploited and destroyed others. Advanced tech can't make up for the loss of key materials or extinguished lifeforms. What if, like Europeans, they simply want to expand to new shores due to overcrowding, or a big group wants a new planet to pursue their unique religious/political ideas outside of the home world? - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, April 25, 2010 6:00:39 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Don’t talk to aliens, warns Stephen Hawking If they have the technology to reach us, they probably solved their resource problem already. Or close to it. I think that we should keep a positive outlook on this. We may come across both good and bad beings, but that doesn't mean that it isn't worth the journey. On Sun, Apr 25, 2010 at 1:59 PM, Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.comwrote: Time to get into a Quisling frame of mind... Seriously, that is something to think about. With all of this lovely H2O we've got lying about, it makes us a tempting target for colonization. On Sun, Apr 25, 2010 at 2:14 PM, brent wodehouse brent_wodeho...@thefence.us wrote: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/space/article7107207.ece From The Sunday Times April 25, 2010 Don’t talk to aliens, warns Stephen Hawking Jonathan Leake THE aliens are out there and Earth had better watch out, at least according to Stephen Hawking. He has suggested that extraterrestrials are almost certain to exist - but that instead of seeking them out, humanity should be doing all it that can to avoid any contact. The suggestions come in a new documentary series in which Hawking, one of the world’s leading scientists, will set out his latest thinking on some of the universe’s greatest mysteries. Alien life, he will suggest, is almost certain to exist in many other parts of the universe: not just in planets, but perhaps in the centre of stars or even floating in interplanetary space. Hawking’s logic on aliens is, for him, unusually simple. The universe, he points out, has 100 billion galaxies, each containing hundreds of millions of stars. In such a big place, Earth is unlikely to be the only planet where life has evolved. “To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational,” he said. “The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like.” The answer, he suggests, is that most of it will be the equivalent of microbes or simple animals - the sort of life that has dominated Earth for most of its history. One scene in his documentary for the Discovery Channel shows herds of two-legged herbivores browsing on an alien cliff-face where they are picked off by flying, yellow lizard-like predators. Another shows glowing fluorescent aquatic animals forming vast shoals in the oceans thought to underlie the thick ice coating Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter. Such scenes are speculative, but Hawking uses them to lead on to a serious point: that a few life forms could be intelligent and pose a threat. Hawking believes that contact with such a species could be devastating for humanity. He suggests that aliens might simply raid Earth for its resources and then move on: “We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn’t want to meet. I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonise whatever planets they can reach.” He concludes that trying to make contact with alien races is “a little too risky”. He said: “If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans.” The completion of the documentary marks a triumph for Hawking, now 68, who is paralysed by motor neurone disease and has very limited powers of communication. The project took him and his producers three years, during which he insisted on rewriting large chunks of the script and checking the filming. John Smithson, executive producer for Discovery, said: “He wanted to make a programme that was entertaining for a general audience as well as scientific and that’s a tough job, given the complexity of the ideas involved.” Hawking has suggested the possibility
Re: [scifinoir2] Soccer Player Flubs Goal From Inches Away
I know, i laughed my butt off when I saw it. Poor dude! - Original Message - From: Daryle Lockhart dar...@darylelockhart.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2010 12:24:32 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Soccer Player Flubs Goal From Inches Away This was hilarious. Folks will be talking about this for YEARS! Gets my vote for miss of the decade. The century is too early to call. On Apr 27, 2010, at 12:11 AM, Keith Johnson wrote: Funny, looks like a young kid trying to learn to kick a ball. Even world class athletes make silly mistakes... http://sports .yahoo.com/soccer/blog/sow_experts/post/The-latest-worst-miss-ever?urn=sow,236778 Shocking misses can happen to anyone at any time, but the latest footballer to suffer international embarrassment by not scoring a goal he really, really should have is Kansas City Wizards striker Kei Kamara. In Saturday's MLS match against the Los Angeles Galaxy , Kamara found himself right in front of an open net with the ball mere inches from the goal. He was a little too eager to tap it in, though, and ended up falling on his rear end as he stretched to kick the ball in for the easy goal before knocking it in with his hand. He was quickly called for a handball and the game went on to end in a 0-0 draw. After the match, Galaxy defender Gregg Berhalter still couldn't believe it: It was one of the most unbelievable things I've seen in soccer. It was unfortunate for Kamara but it was a handball and credit the linesman for seeing it. Video of the miss has already spread far and wide. The Sun is calling it a contender for miss of the century , but there are quite a few in the mix for that crown. Back in January, we featured another open net shocker from a bit farther out, then there was the now famous Rocky Baptiste's from December, but I think this miss from Dinamo Zagreb's Ilija Sivonjic last October might be even worse than Kamara's...
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Dragon, Soars, Losers...Loses
Agreed, my wife and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Have you read the comic? I do have a question about the ending== SPOILER== they were at a soccer game in full view. Weren't they all still wanted? Since Patric Max got away, they're not cleared, right? So isn't it crazy to be so incredibly visible in that venue? - Original Message - From: B Smith daikaij...@yahoo.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2010 1:01:15 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: Dragon, Soars, Losers...Loses I thought the movie was great fun. The tone is lighter than the comic but it actually worked to the movie's advantage. The cast was solid and Chris Evans nearly steals the show as Jensen. And I loved Jason Patric as Max. He was old school Bond villain insane. Are you standing in a hole? The one thing I don't get is why they made the weapon so cartoony. That was the only thing that sort of marred my fun. --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com , Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@... wrote: Anyone seen How to Train Your Dragon? I haven't had a chance yet, but was impressed with the trailers. I did see The Losers yesterday. It's a fun time waster, the cast is roundly good, and would do very well for a much more serious, less over-the-top film. A couple of the story points had me confused. It's based on a comic, right? Anyone here familiar with the source material so I can ask a couple of questions? And by the way, Zoe Zaldana is fairly prominent in the film. She's not bad, though I'm not as enamored of her as H'Wood increasingly seems to be. * How to Train Your Dragon continues to breathe fire at the box office, while newer releases are mostly blowing smoke. FILE - In this file film publicity image released by Paramount Pictures, Hiccup, voiced by Jay Baruchel, rides Toothless a scene is shown from How to Train Your Dragon. How to Train Your Dragon continues to breathe fire at the box office, while newer releases are mostly blowing smoke. The animated adventure took in $15 million to reclaim the No. 1 spot a month after its debut. How to Dragon Your Dragon opened in first place in late March, then dropped back into the pack. But it has held up strongly and climbed to the top again amid a flurry of so-so new releases. (AP Photo/Paramount Pictures, File) NO SALES The DreamWorks Animation adventure took in $15 million to reclaim the No. 1 spot in its fifth weekend of release. How to Train Your Dragon opened in first place in late March, then dropped back into the pack. But it has held up strongly and climbed to the top again amid a flurry of so-so new releases. The tale of a Viking youth and his pet dragon raised its total to $178 million and is on its way to becoming a $200 million hit. Premiering weakly at No. 2 with $12.3 million was Jennifer Lopez's romantic comedy The Back-up Plan, released by CBS Films. Another comedy, Steve Carell and Tina Fey's Date Night from 20th Century Fox, held up well to finish at No. 3 with $10.6 million, raising its total to $63.5 million. Among the weekend's other newcomers, the Warner Bros. action flick The Losers flopped at No. 4 with $9.6 million. Disney's nature film Oceans had a solid opening for a documentary, coming in at No. 8 with $6 million. How to Train Your Dragon nearly regained the No. 1 spot the previous weekend but wound up a close second to Lionsgate's superhero comedy Kick-Ass. In its second weekend, Kick-Ass slumped to No. 5 with $9.5 million, down 52 percent from its debut, lifting its total to $34.9 million. Revenues for How to Train Your Dragon were off a scant 23 percent from the previous weekend. To be No. 1 in week five, it's an exciting time, said Anne Globe, head of marketing for DreamWorks Animation. Especially to be decisively No. 1 after last weekend's box-office shenanigans. The box office had ended in rare photo finishes for two straight weekends as movies bunched up tightly in the rankings. Though How to Train Your Dragon was the clear winner this time, top movies again were crowded closely together as the weekend's newcomers failed to grab much attention. Overall Hollywood revenues should top out at about $100 million, the lowest-grossing weekend of the year, said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. Fans may simply be watching their finances amid the slow economic recovery, saving their money for the onslaught of summer blockbusters that starts May 7 with Iron Man 2. They may be saying, 'I want to see big summer movies, so I'm just going to wait,' Dergarabedian said. Then suddenly, we're going to have this massive weekend when 'Iron Man 2' opens after we've had these mediocre weekends. While The Back-up Plan opened weakly, CBS Films was hoping it would hold up well in subsequent weekends, as
Re: [scifinoir2] Don’t talk to aliens, warns Stephen Hawking
Agreed. The only thing that might save us--assuming these other races aren't just nice people--is that their needs are so different from ours, nothing we have could work for them. For example, if they breathe chlorine gas or another mix that's nowhere close to be found on Earth, trying to survive here might prove untenable. (Of course, they could still nuke us or something as they mine minerals in spacesuits, I guess, but one hopes that would discourage colonization/genocide). Or perhaps they come from a lighter gravity world such that our gravity is two or three times heavier than theirs, making a permanent settlement difficult. - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2010 5:47:06 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Don’t talk to aliens, warns Stephen Hawking Keith, I could see that as equally troublesome. What if the folks they're fleeing from decide to come after them, for some reason? Martin (pessimism in full bloom) On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 10:12 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: I don't think so. Look at the history of Earth: so many technologically superiour races have exploited and destroyed others. Advanced tech can't make up for the loss of key materials or extinguished lifeforms. What if, like Europeans, they simply want to expand to new shores due to overcrowding, or a big group wants a new planet to pursue their unique religious/political ideas outside of the home world? - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, April 25, 2010 6:00:39 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Don’t talk to aliens, warns Stephen Hawking If they have the technology to reach us, they probably solved their resource problem already. Or close to it. I think that we should keep a positive outlook on this. We may come across both good and bad beings, but that doesn't mean that it isn't worth the journey. On Sun, Apr 25, 2010 at 1:59 PM, Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.com wrote: Time to get into a Quisling frame of mind... Seriously, that is something to think about. With all of this lovely H2O we've got lying about, it makes us a tempting target for colonization. On Sun, Apr 25, 2010 at 2:14 PM, brent wodehouse brent_wodeho...@thefence.us wrote: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/space/article7107207.ece From The Sunday Times April 25, 2010 Don’t talk to aliens, warns Stephen Hawking Jonathan Leake THE aliens are out there and Earth had better watch out, at least according to Stephen Hawking. He has suggested that extraterrestrials are almost certain to exist - but that instead of seeking them out, humanity should be doing all it that can to avoid any contact. The suggestions come in a new documentary series in which Hawking, one of the world’s leading scientists, will set out his latest thinking on some of the universe’s greatest mysteries. Alien life, he will suggest, is almost certain to exist in many other parts of the universe: not just in planets, but perhaps in the centre of stars or even floating in interplanetary space. Hawking’s logic on aliens is, for him, unusually simple. The universe, he points out, has 100 billion galaxies, each containing hundreds of millions of stars. In such a big place, Earth is unlikely to be the only planet where life has evolved. “To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational,” he said. “The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like.” The answer, he suggests, is that most of it will be the equivalent of microbes or simple animals - the sort of life that has dominated Earth for most of its history. One scene in his documentary for the Discovery Channel shows herds of two-legged herbivores browsing on an alien cliff-face where they are picked off by flying, yellow lizard-like predators. Another shows glowing fluorescent aquatic animals forming vast shoals in the oceans thought to underlie the thick ice coating Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter. Such scenes are speculative, but Hawking uses them to lead on to a serious point: that a few life forms could be intelligent and pose a threat. Hawking believes that contact with such a species could be devastating for humanity. He suggests that aliens might simply raid Earth for its resources and then move on: “We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn’t want to meet. I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonise whatever planets they can reach.” He concludes that trying to make contact with alien races is “a
Re: [scifinoir2] Don’t talk to aliens, warns Stephen Hawking
See, I don't think that First Contact should have necessarily happened by now. It could be entirely possible that another race is a few thousand light years away, and just hasn't gotten here yet. If races live closer in to the Core, for example, the stellar density there is dozens--hundreds--of times greater than out here in the relative sticks where we live. They may have simply not finished exploring those closer worlds. I can't speak to oxygen-rich worlds. We haven't found any yet (which isn't a big deal 'cause we don't have the tech to see such worlds). I'm also not certain that oxygen breathers are necessarily the norm in our galaxy. Maybe they breathe other gases. - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2010 6:23:50 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Don’t talk to aliens, warns Stephen Hawking Well I think that if it were to happen it would have happened already by now and we wouldn't be having this conversation. As to the oxygen breathing creatures, there's so many planets that I'm sure there are quite a few other worlds out there. Then again there are so many variables that can happen. It took our species a long time to get to scientific method. Can you imagine how different our world would have been if we didn't have certain intellectual baggage? (religion, racism, greed etc.) On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 8:35 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: Not necessarily. We already know that planets in that sweet spot where water can exist in liquid form and an atmosphere can exist could be rare. It's entirely plausible that they'd want Earth as a place to colonize to expand their race. If we are an oxygen breathing, carbon-based species, it's reasonable to think the universe would create another such that might view Earth as a likely place to colonize. Terraforming nearby planets and building colonies on inhospitable worlds might take too long and ultimately support too few people. Even an advanced species would probably rather build generation ships to come to Earth rather than languish in doomed colonies or the like. Think of it like this: if mars were inhabitable right now, and had a primitive race living there, how long do you think it'd be before the nations of Earth would find a reason to go there and take over? Also, it's not always about resources like oil, water, and spices. like I said, how often do people on Earth seek new vistas in order to live out lives the way they want. how often do people seek new lands to worship a new way, to create a new form of government, etc? I don't think that just because a race is technologically advanced means they would leave behind the ugliness, fighting, selfishness, racism, etc., that have often driven people here to seek new lands. Granted I'm taking a cynical view, but I frankly think it's at least as likely as the one where they'd come here and want to be buddies. Also, one thing you need to remember is that no species is monolithic. Scifi usually simplifies races so that the whole planet has one way of thinking, while in reality that changes. So even if one faction might want to be friends with us, what if there's an election or coup or something were another faction gains power and changes policies radically. Kinda like an alien Republican party gaining ascendance: I wouldn't give a plug nickel for our chances if an alien Tea Party led by a green Sarah Palin took over the Ministry of Extraplanetary Contact! - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, April 26, 2010 11:24:51 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Don’t talk to aliens, warns Stephen Hawking That would be a worse case scenario. Travel light years just to steal minerals or water? There's ice the entire trip here. Im sure that they can also find minerals as well. The overpopulation part would be a little unusual I think. That would mean that life only exists in an oxygen rich environment and they would have to be at a tremendous infestation level of population to travel that far just to live here. I think as our own technology continues to grow we will look at things differently. For example, spices (and the money it brought) were a huge reason to go on an expedition. After people learned how to grow majority of the spices elsewhere the need to concur for that resource. Eventually we will say the same about oil. Hopefully... On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 7:12 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: I don't think so. Look at the history of Earth: so many technologically superiour races have exploited and destroyed others. Advanced tech can't make up for the loss of key materials or extinguished lifeforms. What if, like Europeans, they simply want to expand
Re: [scifinoir2] Don’t talk to aliens, warns Steph en Hawking
We are living on a backwater planet in the Milky Way galaxy... Let's flip this topic a little. What if the UFOs that we have been seeing throughout human history are those aliens? On Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 7:03 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.netwrote: See, I don't think that First Contact should have necessarily happened by now. It could be entirely possible that another race is a few thousand light years away, and just hasn't gotten here yet. If races live closer in to the Core, for example, the stellar density there is dozens--hundreds--of times greater than out here in the relative sticks where we live. They may have simply not finished exploring those closer worlds. I can't speak to oxygen-rich worlds. We haven't found any yet (which isn't a big deal 'cause we don't have the tech to see such worlds). I'm also not certain that oxygen breathers are necessarily the norm in our galaxy. Maybe they breathe other gases. - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2010 6:23:50 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Don’t talk to aliens, warns Stephen Hawking Well I think that if it were to happen it would have happened already by now and we wouldn't be having this conversation. As to the oxygen breathing creatures, there's so many planets that I'm sure there are quite a few other worlds out there. Then again there are so many variables that can happen. It took our species a long time to get to scientific method. Can you imagine how different our world would have been if we didn't have certain intellectual baggage? (religion, racism, greed etc.) On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 8:35 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.netwrote: Not necessarily. We already know that planets in that sweet spot where water can exist in liquid form and an atmosphere can exist could be rare. It's entirely plausible that they'd want Earth as a place to colonize to expand their race. If we are an oxygen breathing, carbon-based species, it's reasonable to think the universe would create another such that might view Earth as a likely place to colonize. Terraforming nearby planets and building colonies on inhospitable worlds might take too long and ultimately support too few people. Even an advanced species would probably rather build generation ships to come to Earth rather than languish in doomed colonies or the like. Think of it like this: if mars were inhabitable right now, and had a primitive race living there, how long do you think it'd be before the nations of Earth would find a reason to go there and take over? Also, it's not always about resources like oil, water, and spices. like I said, how often do people on Earth seek new vistas in order to live out lives the way they want. how often do people seek new lands to worship a new way, to create a new form of government, etc? I don't think that just because a race is technologically advanced means they would leave behind the ugliness, fighting, selfishness, racism, etc., that have often driven people here to seek new lands. Granted I'm taking a cynical view, but I frankly think it's at least as likely as the one where they'd come here and want to be buddies. Also, one thing you need to remember is that no species is monolithic. Scifi usually simplifies races so that the whole planet has one way of thinking, while in reality that changes. So even if one faction might want to be friends with us, what if there's an election or coup or something were another faction gains power and changes policies radically. Kinda like an alien Republican party gaining ascendance: I wouldn't give a plug nickel for our chances if an alien Tea Party led by a green Sarah Palin took over the Ministry of Extraplanetary Contact! - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, April 26, 2010 11:24:51 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Don’t talk to aliens, warns Stephen Hawking That would be a worse case scenario. Travel light years just to steal minerals or water? There's ice the entire trip here. Im sure that they can also find minerals as well. The overpopulation part would be a little unusual I think. That would mean that life only exists in an oxygen rich environment and they would have to be at a tremendous infestation level of population to travel that far just to live here. I think as our own technology continues to grow we will look at things differently. For example, spices (and the money it brought) were a huge reason to go on an expedition. After people learned how to grow majority of the spices elsewhere the need to concur for that resource. Eventually we will say the same about oil. Hopefully... On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 7:12 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: I don't think so.
[scifinoir2] Sony delivers floppy disk's last rites
April 25, 2010 2:15 PM PDT Sony delivers floppy disk's last rites by Steven Musil http://www.cnet.com/profile/stevenmusil/ Share1858http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.cnet.com%2F8301-1001_3-20003360-92.htmlsrc=sp 1,059diggsdigg The 3.5-inch floppy disk, with blank adhesive label for noting its contents. (Credit: Wikipedia) The days of the 3.5-inch floppy disk are now officially numbered. Sony, which boasts 70 percent of the anemic market, announced Friday that it would end Japanese sales of the ancient storage medium in March 2011, according to a report in the Mainichi Daily newspaperhttp://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/business/news/20100424p2a00m0na008000c.html. The 3.5-inch floppy was a ubiquitous and necessary component for storing and transferring files between personal computers for nearly three decades. Sony pioneered the 3.5-inch floppy disk in 1981, eventually replacing the 5.25-inch floppy disk that had previously been the popular storage format. However, as the size of files and programs grew, the floppy disk was pushed aside by inexpensive and larger-format storage medium. Thanks to the creation of storage methods such as CDs, DVDs, Zip, and USB drives, Sony saw its Japanese sales of floppies decline from a record 47 million disks in fiscal 2002 to 12 million in fiscal 2009. Most other floppy disk manufacturers had long since pulled out of the market, and Sony itself has already ceased sales to most of its overseas markets. Certainly the writing had been on the walls for years. With the release of the iMac in 1998, Apple was the first computer maker to take the plunge and eliminate the floppy completelyhttp://news.cnet.com/The-iMacs-ancestors/2009-1001_3-214371.html. Dell followed suit in 2003 when it dropped the floppy as standard equipmenthttp://news.cnet.com/Dell-foments-floppys-fall/2100-1041_3-983596.htmlon one of its Dimension desktops. *Updated at 4:50 p.m.:* to clarify sales figures are for Japan. -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/
