Gravity Lens Weblog

Archive July 31 -August 29 2007

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Wednesday, August 29

Gonna take a few days off from bloggin'.

In yesterday's mail arrived a credit card bill with the amount due of $0, as well as the title to my car. These two pieces of paper manifest the fact that I am now debt-free, with the exception of a few good-turns I owe some friends in my life.

Also, yours truly turns 45 on Saturday, and as I enter what I optomistically view as the second half of my life I need to do some serious reflecting on directions, future projects, personal issues, etc.

So in advance I hope you all have a good Labor Day weekend.

Tuesday, August 28

Assorted Items: News@rama reports that Garth Ennis is going to write a Dan Dare comic.

Nader Elhefnawy of The Space Review looks at the rise and fall of great space powers.

Astrobiology interviews Frank Drake, creator of the Drake Equation.

GeekPress links to the only flowchart you'll ever need.

There's a new world record for the largest gathering of homemade Daleks in one place.

Monday, August 27

Michael Cassutt at SciFi Weekly looks at current zeitgeist of science fiction.

Peter Bebergal of the Boston Globe has a nice piece on the growth of Steampunk.

Friday, August 24

Atomic Rockets has a great gallery of science fiction spacesuits.

Thursday, August 23

I don't want anyone to panic, but astronomers have found a huge hole in the universe.

Currently making the rounds: Klingons Crossing the Delaware.

I forgot to commemorate the recent Elvis anniversary by revisiting Klingon Elvis.

Got a question? Ask a Kilingon.

You can now buy a Klingon language computer keyboard.

The headline reads "Our galaxy could use a few good Klingons."

What Would Kahless Do?

Redheads could be extinct inside of a century.

Food allergies could be gone within a decade.

Artificial life is likely in 3-5 years.

Towel Alarm Clock available in 10 years.

Wednesday, August 22

Some folks in Japan want to build a 2-mile tall arcology.

The arcology has been a mainstay in science fiction, my favorite being Mega City One.

Many beautiful models have been proposed over the years.

Tuesday, August 21

Four words: Rocket-Powered Bionic Arm.

Meanwhile, in Asia, Japan is about to begin work replacing the internet, while China moves to control the reincarnation of Tibettan Buddhists.

Space.com informs us that scientists have named the closest known neutron star after the villain from The Magnificent Seven.

Dark Roasted Blend gives us a neat gallery of flying submarine concepts.

No, it doesn't contain SkyDiver, but you can watch it launch here.

Monday, August 20

The headline reads: Robot wars are a reality.

John Tierney of the NY Times invites readers to leave a message for whoever is simulating our world. (via Reality Carnival)

Retrocrush fondly remembers the deadly toys of yesteryear.

Friday, August 17

Gizmodo gives us the futuresexy Renovatio motorbike.

Wednesday, August 15

Steven Grant at Comic Book Resources looks at why superheroes are still the tent-pole of the comic book industry.

Assorted Items: There may be living dust drifting between the stars.

New Scientist informs us that teenagers in love are almost indistinguishable from psychiatric patients, though I suspect this may be true for all teenagers.

SF Signal links to this NY Times article explaining the theory that we live in a simulation.

Tuesday, August 14

Wil Forbis of Acid Logic searches for the moral directive in The Watchmen.

Ker Than at Space.com asks: How did the universe begin?

At Astrobiology, Steven Soter puts forth the interesting theory that planetary systems are filled to capacity, and adding more may make them unstable.

I was planning on adding a few worlds this weekend, but I may need to rethink the plan.

Comic book artist Mike Wieringo died this past weekend. He was 44. My age. And a vegetarian to boot. His friends remember him.

Monday, August 13

At The Space Review "a space nerd responds" to last week's question.

Biologists Helping Bookstores, a blog about going into bookstores, taking the psuedo-science books, and reshelving them in more appropriate sections.

A moment of silence, please, for Mr. Merv Griffin.

Merv was, as you know, the Elevator Killer. And for my friend Henry, here's Oingo Boingo on Merv's kid show.

UPDATE: Henry reminds me that Merv was a mantra for Milk & Cheese.

I am a bit put off by the fact that as the shuttle is stuck damaged in orbit, this trailer for The Invasion is getting a lot of airplay.

Thursday, August 9

Two words: dancing robots.

(Strangely enough, the dances being learned do not include The Robot.)

Wednesday, August 8

Steven Grant at Comic Book Resources looks at the pop culture landscape comics are now a part of.

Geekpress links to the world's most advanced bionic arm.

Monday, August 6

Nader Elhefnawy at The Space Review looks at the possibility of diversifying our planetary portfolio.

Meanwhile, we can rest assured that science fiction will be available on Mars soon.

Friday, August 3

Al Globus at Space.com makes the argument that space exploration can curtail war.

Wednesday, August 1

It is August.

The God of the Month is Kuan Yin: Goddess of Compassion.

The Molecule of the Month is yummy Menthol.

Dark Roasted Blend gives us some sexy new hydrofoil and submersible concepts while BBC News shows us a morphing wing airplane.

Kurt Amacker at Mania and Steven Grant at Comic Book Resources give us post-mortems of this past weekend's Comic Con International.

Tuesday, July 31

Moments of silence, please, for Tom Snyder and Ingmar Bergman.

Michael Cassutt at SciFi Weekly looks at how comic adaptations have changed the screenwriting process.

At The Space Review, Bart Leahy looks at Jules Verne's idea for using guns to launch spaceships, while Michael Huang asks "Can’t all space nerds get along?"