Below, I’ve posted a big email received via the still-going-strong
SF-News mailing list. Short version: In response, perhaps,
to the joys of Napster, a company called CableLabs is
trying to push through a system to copy-protect broadcast
and cable TV signals. The spooky ramifications are expounded
upon, and it’s not at all pretty.
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Author Archives: David E. Smith
Star Trek X Writer Interview
Anonymous Coward writes: Hey! Startrek.com just posted an interview with Star Trek X writer John Logan. It’s all right here.
Darth Maul: The Iron Fist!
Martial artist and sometimes actor Ray Park (Darth Maul, and Toad from last year’s X-Men movie) is set to play the title role in the movie adaptation of Marvel Comics’ “Iron Fist” title, according to the inevitable news story.
‘My Favorite Martian’ Ray Walston Dies
The show was campy, but it was sorta-SF, and it certainly had its moments. (For younger readers, Ray was also Groundskeeper Boothby on various Star Trek series.) Ray Walston died Monday of natural causes. Read all about his career from Yahoo.
We apologize for the inconvenience…
The Web site and many users’ bureau42.com email (got your free email address yet?) were unavailable during most of the New Years’ weekend. If you want a geeky technical explanation, read on; if not, just trust that things have been fixed.
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SF (Mostly) Stiffed In 2001 Golden Globes
Nothing new here, friends… The Golden Globes don’t have technical categories like the Oscars do, so we have to go on the strength of actors and plot — something which SF, stereotypically, isn’t known for.
“Gladiator” racked up lots of nominations, but it’s not exactly genre in the strictest sense. Ditto for “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” Sadly, the closest to a genuine SF/Fantasy nod there is, is Jim Carrey for “The Grinch.” That, and the always-lovely Jessica Alba for Dark Angel (Best Actress, Drama nomination).
The 2000 Bemmie Awards
Humor: Terminator 3/4 Plots Exposed!
Top-secret sources at MIT have uncovered the Nazi
secrets of the Terminators, and are bravely revealing
the plot of Terminator: Third Reich… er, “Terminator
3.” If you can handle the naked truth, go read all about
the next two Terminator movies.
Stan Lee Media Closing
More nostalgia, I suppose – I grew up on some of the classic
Stan Lee comics, and I was an avid reader of the various
comics on StanLee.net. So it
saddens me a bit to report that, due to lack of funding,
the aforementioned site is closing for the forseeable future (well, not really closing, but they’re laying off most of their staff and halting production). With the exception
of the really goofy “Backstreet Boys as superheroes” bit, they were turning out some quality stories.
Review: Transformers The Movie DVD
It’s only peripherally on-topic here, but I was a big
fan of “The Transformers” when I was, oh, eight. Definite
nostalgia value in the movie. Read the review.