2SciFi

Summer: Time to look at new movies!

2009-06-12T14:20:00.000-07:00

Well, summer is finally here and we can finally take a break and watch some of the many recent, highly anticipated science fiction movies that have come out. There have been some really nice additions recently that science fiction fans can all kick back and enjoy. Here are some highlights:

The most popular ones:

Star Trek: After quite some time, our old friends, the famous crew of the USS Enterprise are back! Yep, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, and especially Captain James T. Kirk are back in uniform, younger, and more spiced up. This is about the early days of Kirk's career, the building of the Enterprise, and the formation of the crew after leaving the Starfleet Academy. I'm sure hardcore fans will enjoy a comeback from their beloved franchise despite some incongruity with the original series, but this movie is intended to gain a bigger audience and welcome new fans of Star Trek. The original show is an old classic. "This is not your father's Star Trek,"a quote from the filmmakers really says something about this film. The makers of this film have highly modernized everything and have used more CGI than ever. The character are played by new, and younger actors, but some of the old ones will also show themselves somehow. All sci-fi fans should consider seeing this.

Terminator: Salvation: This is the fourth Terminator film. After all the talk of a future war between man and machine in the previous films with Arnold Schwarzenegger, it has finally come! Christian Bale from Batman will play as John Conner, leading humanity's struggle for survival against the machines. This apocalyptic war is filled with heavy usage of CGI, cool robots and lots of action. I have been told to try not to let my nostalgia of the wonderful Terminator 2 ruin my enjoyment of this film. See how you like it.

Other ones you should check out:

Monsters vs. Aliens: A lot of kids will probably enjoy this 3D computer animated movie. Earth is attacked by powerful aliens. Humanity cannot defend itself. The main character is a girl who gets hit by a meteorite and turns into a giant. She is taken to a secret government facility where she becomes part of a rag-tag team of monsters who will have to job of saving the Earth.

Battle for Terra (or just Terra): Another nice computer-animated movie. There is a beautiful planet called Terra inhabited by cute little aliens which faces destruction from colonization by the displaced remainder of the human race. This this the story of a Mala, a teenage Terrian and her struggle to save her planet and species. This film shows how precious and vital our natural resources are.

Land of the Lost: This is a nice adventure comedy about a scientist played by will Ferrell who gets sucked into a space-time vortex with some friends. They explore fantastic lands in this parallel universe of strange creatures, dinosaurs. You don't have to be a Sci-fi fan to enjoy this funny adventurous film.

Knowing: This story takes place in the present. A teacher opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son's elementary school; in it are some chilling predictions -- some that have already occurred and others that are about to -- that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.

The Day the Earth Stood Still: A remake of the classic 1951 film. When a sphere from outer space lands in the Central Park in Manhattan, a group of scientists are summoned by the American government under the call of the Secretary of Defense Regina Jackson. The reborn alien form Klaatu is brought to a military facility and Dr. Helen Benson decides to help him to escape and become the only chance to save the mankind from destruction.

Alien Trespass: If you enjoy those good ole B-movies of the past, you might want to watch this. After crash landing near a desert town, an alien enlists the help of a local waitress to re-capture a monster that escaped from the wreckage of his space ship.

Race to Witch Mountain: A production by Disney worth looking at. A Las Vegas cabbie enlists the help of a UFO expert to protect two siblings with paranormal powers from the clutches of an organization that wants to use the kids for their nefarious plans.

Robots of War (we are really getting there)

2009-01-31T11:00:00.000-08:00

Robots have been a fascination for man-kind even before their invention because of the imaginative minds of science-fiction writers and producers. Many have hope for this amazing field of technology in that it will enhance our lives, allow us to explore where no human can go, provide for more efficient and precise labor, or become good companions. Science-fiction has reflected these optimistic views with movies like, Forbidden Planet, Star Wars, Star Trek, Lost in Space, Bicentennial Man and various stories by Issac Asimov among others. Many others however, have a grim view on the future of these things and often fear them. Their fears run from losing jobs to having too much control over out lives to becoming dangerous. There have been countless stories and movies that reflect this pessimistic view on this growing technology. IRobot, Terminator, The Matrix, Doctor Who, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Metropolis, et cetera. Well recently, the the constant, unstopable advancing of technology has led to further involvement of robots in warfare, particularily in America.

The U.S. military went into Iraq with just a handful of robotic drones in the air and zero unmanned systems on the ground, none of them armed. Today there are more than 5,300 drones in the U.S. inventory and about another 12,000 on the ground. These can spy on the enemy and if they get caught, they can't be persuaded to tell secrets. They have saved thousands of lives, defusing hundreds of bombs and IEDs in Iraq and taking out scores of terrorist leaders hiding in Afghanistan and Pakistan, including most recently two key Al Qaeda leaders. But they also have no pulse and have killed at least three people who the United States thought were Osama bin Laden, but who later turned out not to be.

Many call this the precedings to a revolution in warefare. Though far from buff androids that look like Arnold, this could still change both how and who fights in battles. It can also create confusion and numerious dillemas in diplomacy and strategy, many of which are probably unforseen.

One senior State Department official, believe that it all "plays to our strength. The thing that scares people is our technology." But a leading news editor in Lebanon described this as "just another sign of coldhearted, cruel Israelis and Americans, who are also cowards because they send out machines to fight us. ... They don't want to fight us like real men. ... So we just have to kill a few of their soldiers to defeat them." Or, as one American military analyst put it, "The optics of the situation could look really freaking bad. It makes us look like the "evil Empire" [from "Star Wars"] and the other guys like the "Rebel Alliance," defending themselves versus robot invaders."

Though, I repeat, we are nowhere close to robots replacing soldiers and controling the battlefield, we cannot deny the fact that science in growing at an exponential rate, and cannot be stopped. Once wars get increasingly desperate, and lives are lost, and technology become ever more tempting, someone WILL use this growing technology to attain their goal, whatever that may be. These robots have done their jobs well, while keeping Americans safe, but have created diplomatic situations and in some incidences have killed the wrong people.

The X Files (plus the new movie)

2008-11-08T11:50:00.000-08:00

I'm sure every fan of one of the greatest science fiction shows ever created was overjoyed from the news that there is a new X Files film. I think the title is perfect,
X Files: I Want to Believe.

The first movie, Fight the Future was about the great government conspiracy story that was a central point in the series plot. This will be different. If you haven't seen the movie yet you are not supposed to know what the plot is.
But I can give a short background on what the X Files is about. Fox Mulder, one of the main characters, is an FBI agent who is devoted to investigating paranormal mysteries. Such an interest has gained him an unfavorable reputation within the Bureau and he is often mockingly referred to as "Spooky" Mulder. Agent Dana Scully who is also a medical doctor is a skeptic and is assigned to Mulder to watch over him and control his unorthodox methods. Together, they face a wide variety of strange cases involving UFOs, aliens, bizarre events, government conspiracies, strange creatures, and the supernatural.

Fans have categorized two main types of episodes. One is a story about a large conspiracy within the government involving alien visitation and contact and a coordinated invasion. Mulder has devoted his life to finding out the truth about this. These episodes are referred to as the Mytharc or Mythology. The other type of episode is the Monster of the Week. These are stand alone episodes involving some kind of strange creature or being. These became more popular and accessible to newcomers as the mythology became ever more complex.

For 9 years the X files have sure developed quite a cult following. Its opening music, the characters, the intriguing slogans (e.g., "The Truth Is Out There", "Trust No One", "I Want to Believe") have all become pop culture touchstones. It has really inspired people to watch the skies and watch their backs and explore the world. The only science fiction show that was more popular than this is Star Trek. But that is more a collection of shows.

The 90s was the perfect time for the X Files. It was a time when there was much widespread mistrust of governments, interest in conspiracy theories and spirituality, and belief in the existence of extraterrestrial life.
Now with the cold war long gone and a lot of changes, many are satisfied that there really are no alien conspiracies, that the Roswell crash was secret military equipment not an alien craft or a weather balloon. We now know that most of the cover ups had to do with terrorists or military hardware and research or the Cold War. The old guys in the military-industrial complex can't handle state-building in Afghanistan let alone coordinate an alien invasion. More people have too many things to think about already. Frankly the world is more concerned about other things now. I can't help but feel a bit of decade-nostalgia for those days.

However, there are and always be those among us who are still fascinated and mystified by the strange unexplained mysteries that are present in this world. Humans are inquisitive by nature and want to believe in something greater, more magical, more interesting. Fox Mulder represents that quality. Dana Scully is the skeptic who relies on previous scientific information and provides medical information. She is extremely intelligent and resourceful. She serves to keep Mulder honest and rational. Scully is the only person Mulder can truly trust. Apart from those are the fan favorite amateur investigators and hackers, The Lone Gunmen, whose skill, and charisma have earned a special place in the series.

This new movie is like a high school reunion. We are happy to see Mulder and Scully again after 6 years of change. Though many have been disappointing with this film, I thinks the loyal fans will surely enjoy it. Richard Roper seems to like it very much!
Chris Carter said if this movie does well financially, another X Files film will be made. This one may involve the great conspiracy. So I advise all fans to pitch in and watch this current movie or get the DVD!

Real Frankensteins: Shocking Science

2008-08-27T18:18:00.000-07:00

Deep in the chambers of an ancient mansion on a hill, a brilliant, mad man of science is consumed by his latest and most magnificent project. Day and night the man works in his clandestine laboratory. He should be tired and weak, yet he works frantically, insensitive to fatigue all in the effort to continue his near complete creation. All the thing needs is the spark of life. On this historic dark cloudy night complete with thunder and lighting, Victor watches with the unblinking eyes of a maniac as his creation nears completion. It moves! "It's alive! It's ALIVE!"

Those words are the most familiar words in Science Fiction history. The picture begins to sparkle as the monster is brought to life.
Mary Shelly's Frankenstein is known as the first science fiction story ever written. It is the story of a man who tries to play God and fumbles with the most precious and dear thing nature has created--life.

This may just be a story, but there are many scientists out there who are not unlike Dr. Frankenstein here. In fact Mary Shelly based the character on a real man named Johann Konrad Dippel who shared many characteristics with Victor. However, the most profound "Frankenstein" case to date took place somewhere in Soviet Union during the midst of the Cold War under the reign of Stalin.

Hidden deep in a Russian forest, and guarded by soldiers with orders to shoot intruders on sight, the medical research laboratories on the outskirts of Moscow were one of the Soviet Union's best-kept secrets. There is where Vladimir Demikhov did his work beyond the sight of inquisitive eyes. A Soviet hero, renowned for his work in the Red Army hospitals during World War II, Vladimir is now part of an elite team of Russian doctors ordered by Stalin to beat the West in the field of medicine at any cost. In the secret facilities, Vladimir was free to experiment on life and ways to prolong it. Stalin and his scientists had many crazy ideas(one involving the creation of a man-ape soldier). Scientists like Vladimir were prepared to go where many at the day never dared thinking. Their greatest project was the head transplantation of live animals!

People thought it was impossible. But Vladimir had already proved many things. Only he was crazy enough at the time to believed that organ transplantation was possible, and he proved it! He showed that most organs could be transplanted and still function in its new body. But how about the brain? Though it seemed incredible at the time to most, head transplantation became a branch of science pursued by some of the most respected doctors of the day.

On February 1954, journalists were allowed to take a look at these secret projects and the Soviet Union revealed a truly bizarre creation, a strange grotesque animal. Out from the laboratory came a live two-headed dog! The unfortunate creature was created by removing the head and upper body of a small puppy on to the head and body of a fully-grown mastiff. Both heads could move and eat and drink and have personality. It was an intricate task performed by the team of scientists and surgeons on an early February morning. It involved stitching the upper half of the puppy to the larger animal and connecting vital things like their blood vessels and windpipes. As dawn approached, just as Victor Frankenstein had done, the team anxiously waited to see whether their creation would gain consciousness. They knew it was a success when the puppy head woke up and yawned, followed by the larger head which was quite puzzled by the strange thing on his shoulder. Whether the scientists hysterically shouted the words "It's alive!" I do not know, but they sure were excited to show the US their scientific triumph.

The world was shocked and amazed by what they had done. Even many US newspapers showed grudging admiration. This got to US to start a radical transplant programme of its own, led by Robert White a brain surgeon, also a WWII veteran like Vladimir. He had see many men paralysed from the neck down and he was determined to help these paraplegics live more productive lives. The government helped Dr White establish a brain research centre at the county hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. By day, he performed surgery on people with various brain injuries and illnesses, but away from his clinics, it was animals that were the focus of his attention.

Much like what Vladimir sought to accomplish, in 1964 Dr. White took the brain(not the entire head) from one dog and sewed it under the neck skin of another dog. With its blood vessels connected to those of the host-dog, Dr White managed to keep the isolated brain alive for days. In that he proved not only that the brain could survive away from its own body but that it was immunologically sound, which meant that unlike a kidney, it could be transplanted without the likelihood of the new body 'rejecting' it. This posed bigger questions. Did a brain isolated in this way still have the power of thought? Could it be described as conscious? There was know way a brain like this could express itself.

In 1966 Dr. White received help from a most unexpected source. With Stalin long dead, and the Cold War starting to ease, Soviet scientists invited Dr. White to their operating facilities. There he found out about other experiments such as the severed head of a dog being kept alive by machines. What was remarkable was that the isolated head had continued to show signs of consciousness in that its eyes blinked in response to light, and ears pricked at the tap of a hammer on the cases it was in. Dr. White became inspired to take the Soviet projects even further--he wanted to completely replace the head of an animal!

It took 3 years to plan this highly complicated operation despite knowing that it would be appear morally repulsive to the public eye. In the late afternoon of March 14, 1970 the first true head transplant got underway using two rhesus monkeys.The surgeon successfully managed decapitate both heads and stitch the head of one monkey on to the body of the other. It was another Frankenstein moment when the team nervously waited. Then the monkey regained consciousness, opened its eyes and tried to bite a surgeon who put a finger in its mouth. The operation as a major success, but it had one major limitation--Because its spinal cord had been severed as part of the operation, the monkey was paralysed from the neck down and it was impossible for the surgeons to reconnect the hundreds of millions of nerve threads necessary for it to regain any bodily movement. Still White hoped this could help paraplegics who were nearing death because or the constant paralyzed state of their bodies. The new bodies could be donated by those who were brain-dead but had healthy bodies. Dr. White thought he would get some praise for his efforts in medical science. All he got was widespread angry condemnation. Shunned by the scientific establishment and threatened by anti-vivisectionists, he and his family needed police protection and his project went to ruin.

However, his dreams of perfecting the transplant seems very possible. Last year, researchers at University College, London, announced plans to inject the spinal cords of paralysed patients with stem cells taken from the human nose. This could create a 'bridge' between the disconnected ends of the spinal nerves, enabling patients to regain full control of their bodies. It has been more than 40 year. As science continues to advance exponentially. The only things stopping anything from happening are the morals of man-kind and the will of the people and politicians.

Those morals are rapidly eroding away, and science is moving forward faster than ever thought possible. Nothing is impossible. We live in an age where just recently clinically dead dogs were brought to life and French scientists performed a successful face transplant. It truly is no longer a concern of can we do it, but rather should we do it?

Vladimir Demikhov - and his American rival, Robert White - may seem to be the epitome of immoral scientists who ignored all ethical considerations in their pursuit of scientific advance. But in their own minds, they were brilliant pioneers prepared to think the unthinkable for the greater good of mankind.

If anyone is interested, I hear that the new X Files movie deals with a similar issue discussed here. Check it out.

Wall-e

2008-07-09T20:27:00.000-07:00

Pixar has done it again!

The new science fiction family film is a huge hit. It has received received almost universal praise from critics. This is a sweet film with science fiction, comedy, and a dramatic love story. The animation is terrific and realistic, the robots are sweet and sympathetic and the cinematography is beautiful . This is a distant, but not so unrealistic future where humans are over dependent on machines, lazy, and, well, a bit fat.

Earth is filled with garbage, and it has become inhospitable, so the humans decide to leave. A trash collecting robot named WALL*E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) is left behind. After hundreds of years with his pet cockroach and doing what he was built to do (all the while mesmerized by trinkets of earth's history and show tunes), he discovers a new purpose in life when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE who was sent back to check up on Earth. EVE comes to realize that WALL*E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet's future, and races back to space to report her findings to the humans. Meanwhile, WALL*E chases EVE across the galaxy and sets an adventure into motion. Joining WALL*E on his journey across the universe is a cast of characters including a pet cockroach and a heroic team of malfunctioning misfit robots.

I think this films takes a satirical look at humans, and what our goals for a future, perfect utopia, is. It questions what we want, and shows you what is a very, very likely outcome of our desires for a 'better' world, showing both positive and negative effects.

This is a must see film of the year! The entire family will love it. Adults will enjoy it as much as the kids. There are things that will be nostalgic to older viewers, and things that younger viewers will love to look at. So if you have the time, go see WALL-E. You won't regret it!

Visit the official movie site here

700,000,000 years of evolution in 5 minutes

2008-04-12T10:40:00.000-07:00

Evolution-- The great unifying theory of biological science. (theory: a set of related hypotheses that have been tested and confirmed by many scientists many times, so it is the closest science gets to an actual fact). It is amazing how our world has changed all these years. Creatures feeding off each other, adapting, struggling to survive. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction. This is why if we can even find small bacteria somewhere other than Earth, it would be a colossal discovery! It would mean, that if everything went right, only a few billion years to wait till we get the crazy and wonderful creatures seen on sci-fi films!

Here is a video about our own planet, spanning from early fish to early humans:

Arthur C. Clarke : A Great Man Leaves Us

2008-03-18T21:25:00.000-07:00

Today is a sad day for us all.

Today, March 18, 2008, after his "90th orbit of the sun," the great author and theorist Arthur C. Clarke passed away. This brilliant man died at a hospital in Sri Lanka, his adopted home. He died of respiratory complications and heart failure that doctors linked to the post-polio syndrome that kept him in his wheelchair for years. He is the last surviving member of a group of science-fiction writers known as the "Big Three". The other two were Issac Asimov, and Robert A. Heinlein.

Clarke was born on December 16, 1917 in England. He served as a radar specialist in the Royal Air Force during World War Two. Trained as a scientist, he is renowned for basing his work on scientific fact and theory rather than pure fiction, hence the term science fiction. Clarke wrote great works of fiction dealing with science and technology. His most notable work is 2001: A Space Odyssey. He also worked with Stanley Kubrick on the groundbreaking film version of the same novel.

This man was well ahead of his time. He was one of the first to suggest the use of satellites orbiting the earth for communications. In the 1940s he forecast that man would reach the moon by the year 2000, which was an idea experts at first dismissed as rubbish. His writings were influential in shaping public interest in space exploration during the 1950s and '60s. When Neil Armstrong landed in 1969, the United States said Clarke "provided the essential intellectual drive that led us to the moon".

Recently, Clarke finished reviewing the final manuscript of his latest novel "The Last Theorem" just days ago. He had also been working on the idea of a "space elevator".

"The golden age of space is only just beginning," Clarke forecast. "Over the next 50 years, thousands of people will travel to earth orbit and then to the moon and beyond. Space travel and space tourism will one day become almost as commonplace as flying to exotic destinations on our own planet."

Let us remember this superior man today for his wonderful mind that was filled with such intellect, complexity and beauty. His last wishes were:
For E.T. to call
For man to kick his oil habit
For peace in Sri Lanka

Incredible Invisibility Technology

2008-03-09T17:20:00.000-07:00

This is incredible stuff indeed!

Invisibility might one day in the future no longer be just an optical illusion only for magicians and tricksters. Scientists and engineers in different parts of the world are working on developing fabrics and materials that can be seen through, much like the Invisibility cloak in Harry Potter.

Electronic engineers at the University of Pennsylvania are working on a real invisibility shield called a "plasmonic cover".The development works by preventing objects from reflecting and scattering light, could have widespread use in the military as it would be more effective than current stealth technology.

Similarly, researchers in Tokyo are developing a camouflage fabric that uses a comparable principle where the background is projected on to light-reflecting beads in the material. Such systems are, however, dependent on the viewer from which the object is being concealed being in the right position.

According to Dr Andrea Alu and Dr Nader Engheta, the engineers behind the project, the key is to reduce light scattering. Objects are visible because light bounces off them; if this can be prevented and if the objects did not reflect any light, they would become invisible. The "plasmonic screen" achieves this by resonating in tune with the illuminating light."Plasmons" are created when the electrons on the surface of a metallic material move in rhythm. The developers claim a shell of this material will reduce light-scatter to the extent that an object will become invisible, if the light’s frequency is close to the resonant frequency of these "plasmons". In this way, the scattering from the shell effectively cancels out the scattering from the object.

Experiments have shown that spherical or cylindrical objects coated with such shields do produce very little light scattering, which renders them nearly invisible. However, the cloak would have to be delicately tuned to suit each object it hides. Also, a specific shield may only work for one wavelength of light, rendering it invisible in, say, red light, but not in multi-wavelength daylight.

Another problem which has to be solved is that the effect would only work in daylight when the wavelength of the light being scattered is the same size as the object - meaning only tiny things can so far be hidden.

One of the labs in the University of Tokyo uploaded some interesting videos of their "quasi-invisivility" using a specific fablic and projector:

Physicist Needs $$ For Experiment

2008-02-02T17:21:00.000-08:00

In this new century, we have been presented with many new advancements in technology from Ipods, and high tech cell phones to the microwave gun, but somewhere out there in a high tech laboratory, there is a genius working on an incredible idea: Time travel!

Now, he is way far away from creating any worm holes, warps, or machine that will allow one to travel through that fourth dimension. No, his work is only a little more than a brilliant idea.
John Cramer, a physicist from the University of Washington has devised a test which involves using a crystal to split a photon, a light particle, into two reduced-energy photons that -- through careful manipulation -- could reveal a flash of time traveling backward. However it seems that the old Cramer himself is running out of time.

He needs 20,000 dollars if he is to continue this interesting research. So he applied to to agencies that have previously shown interest in far fetched ideas, most notably the World Wide Web, better known as the Internet. These are the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Just to show how far they will go, NIAC took science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke's idea of a geosynchronous elevator into space seriously, while DARPA recently sent out requests for proposals from researchers interested in developing shape-shifting, liquid robots (something like Terminator 2) as well as cyborg insects.
But time travel backward, testing a fundamental paradox in physics is too weird even for such people that believed in creating an android from a crazy science fiction film. "In 20 years, nobody has been able to tell me why this can't work," Cramer said. "They just say it can't work like that. It's unacceptable."

So far, In the basement of the UW's Astronomy and Physics building, the physicist and his student, Skander Mzali, are making do with what they can find in the lab. What Cramer hopes to be able to do is split a photon, sending two "entangled" photons down two very different pathways of varying lengths using fiber-optic cables. Photons can exist in either particle or wave forms. The outcome can be manipulated by placement of detectors.

Because the photons are entangled, however one is detected (i.e., whether as a particle or a wave) also will determine the form taken by the other. But by running one photon through a 10-kilometer spool of optic cable, the second photon will be delayed 50 microseconds.

In short, moving the location of the detector for the delayed photon to change it from wave to particle would also change the first photon -- according to standard quantum theory. For this to happen, some kind of signal has to go backward in time.

Cramer says Stephen Hawking was wrong about time, "Hawking has this 'arrow of time' idea in which he argues that time can only advance in one direction, forward," Cramer said. "It's appealing, elegant and certainly makes sense intuitively" he noted, "because this is the only way we experience time."

Sadly, in our "performance-based" approach to funding research, time, if not proven yet to sometimes run backward, is running out on the UW experiment seeking evidence of "quantum retrocausality." They will lose the lab space soon if they can't move forward with the project "We're about to hit the wall if we don't get funding," he said. "It would be a shame because even if this doesn't work, I'm sure we'd learn something from trying."

Entire Article

Salvation from the Stars

2007-10-01T19:13:00.000-07:00

There is a real man named Claude Vorilhon who claims to have an experience which led him to create a new religion, and no it is not one of those usual visits from divine angels or saints, it is an encounter with some rather different and more modern visitors from the heavens-- a group of extraterrestrials! They took him to their spaceship.... and what they told and showed this man inspired him to create the new religion known as the International Raelien Movement or simply known as the Raelien Religion or just Raelism.

This is one of several other new religious movements (some call them cults) classified as "UFO religions." They have enjoyed some growth and popularity in recent years as have other cults. It seems that very slowly but steadily, the mainstream religions are losing their popularity and influence. It was thought some time ago, that this would just be a fad and that it would pass away eventually. However, this "fad" has been going on for quite some time and there is no use trying to suppress it. Our new age of science and technology and popular culture with UFOs and Aliens must really have an effect on this. There's a great deal of people who are against these groups; they ridicule them or fear them because of several reasons, especially because of how the media portrays them. Most of it is inaccurate for these new religions are just religions that happen to be different. Many people say that the leaders are just people who want attention. I for one say well of course they want attention! Most of these people think they have some good ideas and they want to share them with others. I see no difference between them and Jesus or Bhuddha, or Mohammod. All we need is to check on them a little, make sure they don't infringe on other people's rights or harm society, just as we would do to any other religion.

Most of these cults have shown no signs of sinister activity. But there are always exceptions, and it is these few incidents which are responsible for much of our suspision and fear. One of the most notable of these occurences is the a horrible incident of the Heaven's Gate cult. In 1997, the 38 followers of Heaven's Gate plus the leader were found dead in a manson. Was it a massacre? No, it was mass suicide done willingly. It also coincided with the appearance of Comet Hale-Bopp. The people of Heaven's Gate believed that a spaceship disguised as the comet would visit Earth and take their souls to The Heavenly Kingdom and they would become crewmwmbers abourd the UFO, hence the mass suicide(which WAS advertised online prior to the event). Here is one of the very few example of what is classified as a "destructive cult." Although according to videos and notes, these followers died willingly, I have to agree that it has gone too far and gives a bad message to society. If only we just watched them a little bit more, we could've stopped this event.

But there are many other cults which have been known to do many good things like help charity. Many UFO cults support scientific research and advancement of technology. The Raelien have this thing called Project Clonaid, in which they want to encourage human cloning, which has also given them controversial status.

There are many reasons why people join these movements. Many of them are young people with fresh minds. This new time and age with all its technology and gizmos, and discovery and advancement of science gives people new ideas and things to do. Many things that were once just science fiction have become science fact, science possibility and or science opportunity, but wondering about the universe and the world around us and the need for spirituality hasn't left us since the dawn of intelligence. Everyone needs some piece of mind and something to look forward to in their lives. All these things and more could be the explanation of the reason for the rise of these new movements. The popularity and need for Religion hasn't gone away from many people, they just modernized, thats all. Young people also want a sense of belonging and many join the cults for the same reason they join gangs (certainly a better choice) It could be a spiritual reason or just a way to deal with our hectic lives.

What's you reason to believe what you do?

Some notable UFO religions:
Raelien Movement
Heaven's Gate (very controversial)
Scientology (very famous)
Atherius Society
Nation of Islam (in a way)
Universe People

Doctor Who

2007-05-13T17:39:00.000-07:00

On March 31, 2007, millions of science fiction fans, British television watchers, and many others rejoiced at the wonderful news of the relaunch of the popular British science fiction series, Doctor Who!
Doctor Who is the longest running science fiction series in TV history, it follows the adventures of a mysterious but usually humerus and cheerful time traveler known as "The Doctor", who travels in his TARDIS time ship, weilds the sonic screwdriver, and along with is companions, fights various villains and corrects mistakes. He is usually accompanied by 3 human companions, except for his robotic dog, K-9. The show has many numerous creative, well known villains and monsters, the most famous ones are the Daliks, other notable ones are the Slitheenes, The Master, Sontarians, Autons, and Cybermen.

Doctor who has become a prominant figure and icon in British pop culture. It is a "cult" television series like Star Trek and has many followers who grew up watching the serials. The Doctor himself was played by various actors throught the years, and was accompanies by different companions as well. The show is known for its interesting stories, cheap special effects, creative array of villans, and the nice electronic music. A couple movies were also made as well. The newest sho stars the popular british actor, David Tennant as the Doctor.

From the black and white show, to the modern age of CGI, Doctor Who continues to captivate viewers everywhere. Now, with the relaunch of the show, there will be fresh new fans joining in, while those who have grown up with the show will look back at the good days, when they used to follow the adventures of the doctor, or cower when the Daliks appeared.

Sci-fi and the internet

2007-04-15T19:20:00.000-07:00

I have been hearing many people say that the writers for science fiction, despite coming up with interstellar travel, advanced weaponry, and many other ideas for great technology, were not able to think of anything like the development of the PC or the Internet which are the some of the greatest technologies of the modern era. However this is not necessarily true.
There is Algis Budry's 1977 novel, Michaelmas, which describes a worldwide web of telecommunications and computer data. There is also Vernor Vinge, who wrote a novel in 1981 called True Names, which anticipated a cyberspace that is recognizably our own. Most notably, William Gibson invented the "consensual hallucination" of the Matrix in the 1984 novel Neuromancer. An to go farther back, Jules Verne tells of people getting information of the news in something similar to an internet. These people and their works have greatly influenced the advancement of technology and I say that the modern world would not have been the same without science fiction.

Fantastic Voyage 2: Destination Brain

2007-03-04T16:07:00.000-08:00

After the successful movie, "The Fantastic Voyage," Issac Asimov was to do the job of novelizing the film. His book was a success! However, Asimov didn't feel satisfied, for the Fantastic voyage was not entirely his. So he writes the "Fantastic Voyage II Destination: Brain" which Asimov can freely say that it is his. The novel is not a sequel to the first Fantastic Voyage. The characters are different, and there is no mention of the first novel. However, it holds the same concept of humans shrinking and traveling inside a human body, in this case, it is the body of a Soviet Scientist, Pyotr Shapirov.

The Soviets have been working on a top secret project to learn learn how to miniaturize (shrink) a person. They have achieved that goal, but the process is pretty costly and troublesome. The mastermind behind the project, Pyotr Shapirov, insisted on being miniaturized himself. But due to a fatal accident, he went into a irreversible coma and was going to die, but only he held the secret to practical miniaturization!

Now a team of scientists along with a submarine are to be miniaturized and venture into the brain of the genius to try to unlock the secret of miniaturization. Along with them is our main character, Albert Jonas Morrison, an American neurologist who came up with a theory and a device to detect one's thoughts and brainwaves, but his ideas were ridiculed and weren't supported by the scientific community.
But Morrison was asked by one of the Soviet scientists to come and help with the mission, but Morrison refused to believe in miniaturization. Even when the American Government was told of this miniaturization thing, they insisted Morrison to go and act as a spy, but Morrison refused that too. So the Soviets kidnapped him and took him to Russia. There they convinced him, or rather put him in a situation where he had no choice but to participate in the fantastic voyage.

The book has lots of good scientific explanations for the events, but I didn't think the characters were interesting enough. Some people say this story was intellectually stimulating, while many others say first fantastic voyage was a lot better.

Alien Invasion

2006-12-26T10:00:00.000-08:00

Now this is the first thing almost everyone thinks of when they hear the words: Science Fiction.

The first recorded story of an alien invasion is War of the Worlds, in which Earth is being attacked by octopus-like creatures from Mars.
Ever since then, there have been many other tales of beings from another world trying to do harm to earthlings. The early stories, the villains were mainly Martians. That is because ever since the supposed discovery of "canals" by Lowell, people became fascinated by the Red Planet and the possibility of life existing there. But now, since we have sent rovers to Mars and have not found any relevant signs of life, those storied have died out a bit.

The aliens that come to our planet are usually much more advanced than us. After all, they have to be in order to to travel such great distances in space. Sometimes they are here to help us or save us from ourselves, such as in the film, The Day the Earth Stood Still. But many times, the intruders are warlike beings who will stop at nothing to annihilate the human race. Usually, the reason is that is that their own planet is in danger, or they need resources, or they just want to take over. Whatever the reason, The aliens would blow up everything in sight with their fleet of UFOs.
There are some stories that are different however. Like the movie Evolution in which Asteroids containing bacteria land on earth, and they start to reproduce and evolve at an incredibly high rate. Many stories don't even involve large fleets of space ships and death beams laying waste where cities once stood. Sometimes the extraterrestrials just work quietly under cover, or disguise as humans and even get jobs on Earth. There is a great show called the X-files, involving government cover-ups and such. In the movie Signs, The aliens use hand to hand combat, and things other than mass destruction, for if their do, they will cause humans to use Nuclear weapons, and the planet will be worthless for them. In some movies The human travel to the extraterrestrial plant and bring the war to THEM.
No matter how powerful the aliens are we always find a way to beat them, weather we get lucky, or we discover a weakness in them.

Recommended films:
War of the Worlds(1953)
War of the Worlds(2005)
Independence Day
Star ship Troopers
The Day the Earth Stood Still
X-files
Earth vs the flying saucers
Mars Attacks
Signs
Evolution

H.G. Wells V.S. Jules Verne

2006-12-02T17:41:00.000-08:00

The fathers of Science Fiction, and two of the greatest writers of all time!
H.G. Wells as well a Jules Verne are BOTH considered the fathers of this wonderful genre that has captivated our imagination like no other!
They lived around the same time, Verne was French, while Wells was English, and they are well known for their science-fiction novels. But you can't really decide who is better because these two men wrote different types of science fiction books, and I say they were both really great!

Jules Verne was a fan of traveling and seafaring. This is clearly shown in his novels. He wrote stories on fantastic voyages and adventures which were thought to be impossible back then, but probable nowadays. This man started the sub-genre of Sci-fi in which the positive aspects of technology and discovery are shown.
Herbet Wells on the other hand, worried about the future of man-kind. His stories mostly deal with the possible negative consequences of tecnology and ways we might destroy ourselfs. His novels, started the other sub-genre of dark Sci-fi in which it reminds us to be careful of what we do.

Trust the robots?

2006-06-24T16:17:00.000-07:00

1981 Kenji Urada became the first recorded victim to die at the hands of a robot.
He was supposed to do some maintenance work on a robot at a Kawasaki plant. He was in a haste, and forgot to properly switch the robot off. And thus, the robot, with it's powerful hydraulic arm pushed the poor engineer into a grinding machine!

And this isn't all, cause robots have been hurting people quite a bit over the years. And last year, there were 77 robot-related accidents in Britain alone! People have been crushed, hit on the head, welded and even had molten aluminum poured over them by robots. This certainly goes against Isaac Asimov's three laws of robotics:

"1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law."

And since, Robots are beginning to expand from industry to our homes, Roboticists, and others are becoming more concerned about the safety of these things.

So Experts are gathering to talk about new ways to decrease the dangers.
Inspired by the Pugwash ConferencesÂan international group of scientists, academics and activists founded in 1957 to campaign for the non-proliferation of nuclear weaponsÂthe new group of robo-ethicists met earlier this year in Genoa, Italy, and announced their initial findings in March at the European Robotics Symposium in Palermo, Sicily.

My Thoughts:
Well, Lets hope it doesn't turn out to be like those sci-fi movies!
And also, those who use the machines, have to do their part and be careful, and follow the proper directions and safpercussionsns when using thesmagnificentnt machines!

"Clay" Robots

2006-06-23T15:07:00.000-07:00

What is being developed in the United States now, in the 21st century, are tiny robots, a product of a little known by many field called nanotechnology, and with the new science of claytronics. These aren’t just any type off robots, they are called catoms, and they can do many things.They can “fax” 3D copies of people for virtual meetings. A doctor can even check the pulse of a patent by holding the wrist of the claytonic replica of the person!This nano “clay” can also shape shift into other things, and you can carry it around and it can turn into shoes for walking, or into a hammer if desired.The creator, Dr Todd Mowry, director of Intel's research labs in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said: "You could have a little lump of this stuff you carry around and it could be a million different things. It's like the world's ultimate Swiss army knife." His partner, Dr Seth Goldstein, of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, said: "It's absolutely going to work."Many people seem to be optimistic about it. Some say we will see it in the next 5 or 20 years or so.But however, the fact is that progress has been slow: So far, the miracle workers have been able to get 4 claytonia atoms to act together. But at 4cm in diameter, they are very much larger than the nano-sized robots required to make the clay.And as for the power supply, it has to be external, for these Nanorobots, as their name suggests, are too small to carry their own power packs.
Here is a link

My Thoughts:
I was amazed as I read this, and when I was done, all I could say was,”WHOOOAAWW!!” This clay thing would be so amazing if we had it. It is like one of those crazy Sci-fi gadgets. This might be one of the biggest accomplishments of the 21st century! Technology has progressed so much, it is truly remarkable! Imagine what an effect this would have on society this would have, and what a person could accomplish with it!!.........Yet, as I think a bit more about it, it’s seems a little too god to be true; this article might be a phony, a trick, like the many other fake articles, on the net.

Stonehenge

2006-06-03T13:37:00.000-07:00

On the same vacation to England and Scotland, I also visited the strange and well known Bronze Age Megalithic monument known as Stonehenge. It is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones and is one of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world.

Why it was built no one but the people at the time is sure why it was built. A legend says that the Wizard Merlin had a giant build the structure for him or that he had magically transported it from Mount Killarious in Ireland. Another says the devil was responsible. And some people think the construction was guided by a higher force, or Aliens.
A man named Indigo Jones says that the monument is a roman temple dedicated to the sky God Caelus. A lot of other people think it was built by ancient druids. Many think it is a calendar or something else that has to do with astrology.
The structure does have some connection with astronomical things:
"Stonehenge is aligned north east Ã‚— south west, and it has been suggested that particular significance was placed by its builders on the solstice and equinox points, so for example on amid summers morning, the sun rose close to the Heelstone, and the sun's first rays went directly into the centre of the monument between the horseshoe arrangement. It is unlikely that such an alignment can have been merely accidental."

Yes, scientists have claimed to see a large number of astronomical alignments, both lunar and solar. Some say it could have been used to predict eclipses.

Well if that is true, then the Neolithic people probably weren't as primitive as we thought they were. After all, archeologists did discover that they had brain surgery back then!

Stonehenge is shrouded in mystery, and many strange things have been said to happen there.
Well, one thing is that there are magnetic fields all around the place, which screws up a compass. And some say there are strange forces and energies. There have been numerous alleged sightings and reports of UFOs there. People have experienced hallucinations, and witnessed strange occurrences. I don't know how to explain these things; may be there are strange chemicals in the air that cause people to see things. Or may be the people just had too much to drink! Or perhaps these could just be real things.
Well, one fact I know, is that if you observe some of the stones, you will see what looks like a face on some of them!

Well, this 5000 year old structure sure must have some important purpose or significance! It’s fun to just think and wonder about this strange thing in the middle of nowhere in England. The world needs a good mystery!

Some good links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge

http://www.crystalinks.com/stonehenge3.html (where I Got the Photos From)

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.876

Oh ya! If you want, you could be a modern day druid, like these in this photo!

Loch Ness

2006-04-15T16:53:00.000-07:00

Beside Loch Ness at Castle Urquhart on April 6

This Spring break, I took a vacation with my parents and brother Thodo, and one of the places I journeyed to, was the great and mysterious Loch Ness in Scotland. It's got awesome scenery, and historical forts nearby, but most of all, there is a legend that a huge monster lurks beneath the deep, dark loch, and seldom touches the surface. This is what Loch Ness is known for: the numerous alleged sightings, photos, legends, and encounters with this mysterious monster nicknamed "Nessie." Nessie is one of the most well known creatures in the field of cryptozoology. I have read, and been fascinated by this since I was very young. And now, I finally got to see the famed loch for real!

The first report of the Loch Ness Monster, dates back to the year 565, when Saint Columba visited Scotland, it is said, that the saved the life of a Pict, who was attacked by the monster. And since then, the popularity of the creature grew. Many sightings suggest that the creature could be a surviving plasiosaur, or a serpent, a scaly animal or a giant slug. It has also been reported to be seen on land, and also, more than one has been spotted at the same time too! Many Used to believe that the lake couldn't support such a large creature. But Recent study has suggested that it could support several! Also, sonar was used, and it found some pretty large objects in the loch!

If there is a creature, it is probably not a plasiosaur, for the loch was created by glaciers in the Ice Age. Some of the evidence could suggest that it is an elephant. But I do not think it land mammal from warm regions is living near a lake in cold Scotland. Very large sturgeon have been found near the loch. Their size and unusual appearance could be mistaken as a monster.

There have been lots photos of Nessie, many are hoaxes. And there is no hard evidence so far. But despite all that, with all the info and sonar detections, I still believe there is some large creature that lurks in the waters of the famous Loch. After all, the lake is HUGE and very deep. It is also very dark because of the large peat content. So who knows what goes on in there. Plus, Nessie could be related to all the other lake monsters, and sea monsters that have been reported. It could be just a new species, yet to be discovered. And when we do, it may not seem so monster like, just like the discovery of giant pandas, Opaki, giant squids, and the Pongo apes. But I think it is fun to have a good mystery.

As for my trip, it proved a bit disappointing when I did not get to see anything. But the Castle and scenery were beautiful and haunting.

Gigantic Monsters

2006-03-12T12:03:00.000-08:00

Monsters have captivated our imaginations for generations, way back from the ancient times. There have been many stories, tales and folklore of powerful legendary creatures that have both terrorized and helped man kind from cyclops to giant spiders. some even insist that certain monsters exist, like bigfoot, and the Lochness monster. They are probaly just species that are yet to be discovered, and once they are, they might not seem so monster like.

So, lets get back to science fiction: The science fiction monsters, not the ones from folklore, or legends, have obtained most of their popularity from movies. These movies were the most popular in the black and white, and the technicolor eras. These films were highly dependent on special effects. The early monster were created by using models and minutures, with stop-motion animation, like "King Kong" or by a person wearing a costume, like "Godzilla." Then came the wonders of CGI, and thus, a huge percent of these movies effects were created by computers.

Many of these monsters are over sized versions of ordinary creatures, or prehistoric animals. And many have some sort of distructive power, like firebreath. A number them originated from an island, or created from an accident created by man kind, and thus, we learn a lession. Once these monsters are loose, they wreak havvoc to major cities. The military usually fights them in vain. And in the middle of all this mess, there are some human main charecters who try to stay alive, and rescue their loved ones. In the end, somehow, there is peace to the world once more.

Examples of Monster movies:
King Kong
THEM!
Van Helsing
The Swamp Thing
Gameria
Godzilla

Super Heroes

2006-02-24T09:55:00.000-08:00

Super Hero stories are all about good versus evil. The protagonist, as well as the antagonist have supernatural super human powers. Almost all of these have colorful costumes, fancy names and a way to get of the ground. Their powers are often great advantages in the five senses, or any other part of the body, like x-ray vision or strength. And many have full control of one of man's or nature's forces, like fire, or lazor. Other super heroes posess some sort of artificial weapon. Occationally, heroes have side-kicks or some sort of a vehicle.

Most heroes gains his or her powers from an accident, or disaster, usually taking place in a lab. Then, they get a costume, and start fighting crime. Most villains have had terrible pasts, and possess much intelligence, but are cruel and only want chaos.

Almost all heroes have serious problems in their "normal life," and try to hide their secrets from friends and family. They try to remain normal to them, having a normal job, etc. But in the end, after the defeat of the villain, many of their problems get solved, and they learn a lesson.

These stories of heroism, loyalty, and justice are a huge part of the media, attracting mainly young kids. You can see these in comics, movies, books, and games. Some people are concerned that super heroes teach kids about violence. Others on the other hand, say that these stories teach kids valuable lessons.

Here are some popular Super heroes:
Batman
Superman
Spiderman
The X-Men(and women)
The Justice League
Wonder Woman
Captain America
Hulk
Daredevil

And of course, the famous villains:
Joker
Magneto
The Green Goblin
Venom
King Pin
Aliens

Star Trek vs. Star Wars

2006-02-20T11:27:00.000-08:00

Two of the most popular and successful science fiction stories have been Star Trek and Star Wars.
They are similar, yet different in many ways:

Similarities

Both consists of movies, books, and t.v. shows
Sells merchandise and video games
Takes place in space and other planets
futuristic technology
spaceships
interstellar travel
aliens
Federations and empires
wars
planetary destructions
Names start with "star"

Differences

Star Trek is more about exploration, while Star Wars is more about a war.
Star Wars takes place "a long time ago in a galaxy far far away", while Star Trek happens in the distant future in our galaxy and beyond.
Star Wars is about good versus evil. But in Star Trek, there are no definite goodies and baddies, just conflict and diplomacy
Star Trek: "Space, The final frontier" and "To boldly go where no man has gone before" Star Wars: " A long time ago in a galaxy far far away..."
Star Wars: "May the force be with you" Star Trek: "Live long and prosper"
Star Trek wins Emmeys while Star Wars wins academy's

Science Fiction: Definition

2006-02-19T11:50:00.000-08:00

The general definition of "science fiction" straight out of the dictionary is, a fiction dealing principally with the impact of actual or imagined science on society or individuals or having a scientific factor as an essential orienting component. A more simpler definition would be, a fiction that deals with the influence of real or imagined science on society or individuals.

One if the most favorite topics of sci-fi is Extraterrestrials. Other topics from this wonderful genre include, time travel, space exploration, cryptozoology creatures, monsters, crazy experiments, futuristic wars, other worlds, and dimentions, ghosts, disease, end of the world, and much much more! Most Sci-Fi stories tell you what the writer thinks about the world and what will happen to it.

The first true sci-fi writer was Herbert George Wells, (1866-1946) who is known today as the father of modern Sci-fi. Some of his most famous novels are, The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896) The Invisible Man (1897), and the The War Of The Worlds (1898), He wrote the first book about an alien invasion, invisibility, time travel and more. Also, the name "atomic bomb" comes from his 1913 novel, The World Set Free.

Prologue

2006-02-19T11:35:00.000-08:00

Hello, my name is Abhik Bhawal, and I am 13 years old.
Science Fiction is and has been my most favorite genre in
both movies and books for many years. I love the action,
drama, heroism, horror, mystery and science involved in
these type of stories but mostly the mystery and science
that I enjoy the most.