The reality is not that Teh Government is manipulating things in a Grand Conspiracy. It’s that government agencies behave in often unsavory and conspiratorial ways in order to control situations and genuine threats they only imperfectly understand.
A week has passed since the previous episode, and the characters (un)settle into life in a (un) safe zone. Someone signals from without, and Nick’s addiction creates problems within.
For the record… I didn’t die on Sol 6. Certainly the rest of the crew thought I did, and I can’t blame them. Maybe there’ll be a day of national mourning for me, and my Wikipedia page will say, “Mark Watney is the only human being to have died on Mars.”
And it’ll be right, probably. ‘Cause I’ll surely die here. Just not on Sol 6 when everyone thinks I did. (1)
Andy Weir first posted his debut novel online in 2011. More recently, it was picked up for general publication and became a bestseller, receiving praise from the likes of Larry Niven, Wil Wheaton, and Chris Hadfield. Next month, the movie, directed by Ridley Scott, will receive its mainstream premiere.
Does this hard SF thriller live up to the hype?
We can (and likely should) laugh at the tinfoil hatters and tome thumpers predicting that The End will come (or at least commence) next Wednesday, September 23, but I can think of no clearer Sign of the Apocalypse than the possibility that Apocaylpse the Memoir, a self-published book, might actually add something new to the overworn Romero zombie genre. One Charlotte Oliver has penned a teen road-trip zombie book and will be promoting it by taking the novel’s route and appearing at diners, motels, truck stops, and roadside attractions., bound, like her heroine, for Vegas.
(Okay. It sounds just a little like Zombieland).
We shamble on to some interesting science-related stories and videos, below:
Fear the Walking Dead returns with a frequently frightening episode that matches, at least, what I was expecting. We’re seeing the sort of thing the survivors went through while Rick slept through the apocalypse, that led them to live together. It’s just happening with less interesting characters. Overall, this week’s episode improves on its predecessors.
A med student finds intricate etchings on a cadaver’s bones.
A poker-player’s game expands when he gets handed the Dowager of Bees—one of the occult hidden cards.
Societies form on a space elevator.
Floating icebergs appear in the sky, prompting exploration.
The twenty-eight pieces of China Miéville’s collection cover a broad range. Not all writings will please all readers, but he certainly displays originality and range.
I was going to link to space related stories, like the results of the space whiskey experiment or Labor Day on the ISS but, as it has been a Convention-heavy weekend, enjoy some Con and Cosplay highlights. Video below.
Just what is a zombie?
A ghost. The living dead. It’s also a drink.
One of those rare, pre-George A. Romero zombie films, I Walked With A Zombie (1943) depicts something like the original myth, and has been referenced in such diverse literature as Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice and Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch. Although flawed (and baffling to fans of the contemporary zombie) it transcends its B-picture status, and holds up better than most other pre-1968 zombie films.
And so ends summer 2015.
In addition to Chicago’s Wizard World Comic-Con, this week brings us thought-controlled robotic exoskeletons, a year-long experiment in Martian living conditions, and forget 3-D printed guns and cars. We’ve got lattes with personalized images on the foam, a really big space camera, a Star Wars conveyor belt, and PAX Cosplay:
The second episode of Fear the Walking Dead picks up the slow pace a little, as characters begin to realize the end actually is nigh. The show created an impressive sense of creeping menace and suspense, but I still don’t especially care about any of these characters.
The best I can say is they’re more interesting than anyone on the MTV VMAs.
Anyone else?
In case you haven’t heard, September 23, 2015 is the latest date when a subset of religious fundamentalists, conspiracy theorists, and Youtube buffoons insist absolutely, positively, the world will end! You know, just like it did in December 2012 and January 2000 and all those other prophetic dates.
Spoiler: there’s no reason to believe the world will end that day. However, September 23 will mark the autumnal equinox, and so, for this Summer Weekend Review, we’re discussing you Equinox. Made by college students for $6500.00 in 1967, it became a cult hit, and its creators were given time and money to film new sequences, stretching the movie to feature-length and gaining it wider distribution. Rereleased in 1970, the film influenced such people as George Lucas, Richard O’Brien, and Sam Raimi, received praise from Ray Harryhausen, and features cameos by Fritz Leiber and Forrest J. Ackerman.