Saturn is the only outer planet (from Jupiter outward) NASA has a probe around, known as Cassini. This is arguably the most beautiful planet we have. And there is a lot we don't know about. Saturn is the Roman god of agriculture and harvest. Not a very prophetic name, but harvest might be applicable since we have now discovered a bounty of 60 moons orbiting the ringed planet. I love astronomy and I love a good mystery. When the mystery is astronomical, even better. The big mystery of Saturn revolves (pardon the pun) around the rings. When did they form? What are they made of? etc. The basic thought has been some odd millions of years ago a couple moons and/or comets collided producing millions and millions of icy particles that eventually formed the rings, so they are pretty new. Not so, says Cassini, that has been studying Saturn, rings, and moons since the end of 2004. According to this recent news article, the rings may have been there since the beginning of the solar system and are self perpetuating. In other words, the moons of Saturn help "feed" and shepherd the ring particles. Awesome.
Monday I forgot to put in a viral video of the week so here is my belated entree, Indian Superman. All I can say is "wow." Speaking of masked heroes,Yahoo has these new pics of The Dark Knight including first shots of The Joker. I am so looking forward to this movie.
Philip K. Dick has written so many different kinds of Science Fiction and even invented the Cyberpunk genre. The movie Minority Report has been one of my favorite adaptations, even though Spielberg made it his own. Then comes A Scanner Darkly. With little of the expected trappings of sci-fi (especially PKD's sci-fi) this is incredibly engrossing once you let yourself go in the story. The "Scramble Suits" just look made for the animation and make the conversations that much more interesting. I swear, Keanu Reeves is the poster child for future controlled societies. To me the animation style is a reflection of the drug addled minds of the main characters. And I found the dialog more entertaining than the plot itself. I had a feeling I knew where the plot was going but to have the two characters, played by Robert Downey Jr. and Woody Harrelson, constantly feeding each other's paranoia really made a lot of sympathetic characters out of drug addicts. And was it their fault or not their addicted? There are good questions asked, but not asked, by this plot that shows a police agency with unlimited powers in the near future. I hated to see Fred/Arctor end up the way he did but I want to believe his actions will still lead to a better tomorrow.
Journey To The Center Of The Earth is my current read. Much easier on the brain than Frankenstein and equally as good, I have only explored the first ten (10) chapters. This has been no more than a character study of the two (2) mains and a travelogue about going from Hamburg to Iceland to the volcano that leads to the Center Of The Earth. And it is so well written I don't mind the extraordinary time taken to explain locations and peoples and languages. An excellent insight into the minds of the 19th century. The book is written from Axel's first person point of view as he (and you) embark on a journey with his/your uncle Professor Lidenbrock. For those that haven't read Jules Verne before I found he hooks you immediately in the story and keeps feeding you little tidbits until the big story happens. I haven't been this absorbed in a novel since reading Michael Crichton's older works, like Sphere, Jurassic Park, or Prey. Since this is translated from the original French I'm impressed that a certain poetic touch remains in the language when read in English. I'm also a fan of the the 1959 movie. There have been a few attempts to remake the story for TV, but they never impressed me as much as the movie. Maybe the new 3-D movie will do the story justice. We'll have to see August 8th, 2008. Get it? 8-8-8? Whatever. There's probably a code game online or something to be planned next year, something like the rune code in the beginning of the book, but I'm just guessing here.
One of the questions I've asked myself many a time is why I like Manga over American comics. I enjoy reading our comics but something always stands out and gets my attention in Manga. Maybe it has to do with a single story written and drawn by one person in Japan versus our design by committee ideas, but I think it is the willingness of Manga artists to take chances. Sure, American comics take chances but a status quo is general kept intact, except for the past few years worth of Marvel plotlines. I'm referring to the titles I used to read in the 80s. Not only did Manga feel foreign but they told more epic stories that felt large, like Space Operas. I'm reading two (2) such titles now. Parasyte and Death Note I've mentioned before so time to insert some SPOILERS.
In the first volume of Parasyte a quiet invasion of (you guessed it) parasites invades cities all over the world but one in particular attacks Japanese high-schooler Shin. The parasites normally attack the head taking over all functions of the human body and feed on other humans. Shin lucked out and the parasite only merged with his right hand, leaving his human brain intact. They both form a friendship and decide to try to eliminate other Parasytes in the area. Shin is forced to carry a large burden in trying to rid his town of these things and manages to kill a few, and finds one in particular that leaves him alone out of curiosity. You see, Parasytes are territorial and will kill each other on sight. On the surface this seems like a disruptive take-over but the Parasytes are just looking for hosts, not take over the world, however humanity is threatened in the long run. Shin learns much by the time his parents decide to take a vacation to the country. In the second volume is where the story throws Shin a curve ball. A parasite's human body is killed but it manages to detach from the corpse and finds Shin's mom, killing her. It then injures the Father and heads back home to kill Shin and his sister. Eventually by the end of the volume Shin and another half-parasite/half-human kill the Parasyte/Mother. It changes the tone of the whole story and I applaud the character development. There will be eight (8) total English volumes to match same number of Japanese volumes. Only up to Volume 3 has been released by Del Rei. BTW I like Del Rei's Manga covers. From design to paper stock they actually feel like your reading something special.
As I said before, Death Note is a about a human, named "Light Yagami," who is given the power to kill anyone in the world by writing their name in a book called a Death Note. As a top grade A student and son of the head of the Japanese version of the FBI, he feels he's destined to make the world a utopia without crime. He then sets out to kill hundreds of criminals worldwide to test the powers of the book and scare others straight. A cult grows around these deaths that are blamed on a "fictitious" person, Kira. INTERPOL gets involved and asks a mysterious super-sleuth, named "L", to track down Kira. This series is part "Fugitive" and part "No Way Out." Both sides are rather sympathetic but there is an edge to Light that hints towards a certain amount of insanity. In the second volume, Light may have slipped up, when "L" gets the FBI involved, investigated the Japanese police and Japanese FBI personnel. Light decides to get super-clever and gets the FBI agents to kill each other, using a torn out page of the Death Note and forcing an agent to write names on it. Little does Light know an agents fiancee is in Japan (and she's former FBI that worked a case with "L") and she decides to hunt Kira. Light for the first time is on the defensive and kills her using the book, hoping to draw attention from himself, since she figured it out. Light has now shown he's willing to kill anyone to stay hidden and "L" finally showed his face to the police in an effort to draw out Kira/Light. An intense story but I now feel Light is beyond redemption and has slipped to the Dark Side. I'm now looking forward to "L" capturing him. The Manga produced 12 volumes in Japan, all of which have been translated, so I know the story is no where near being complete by vol 2.
I've been letting the fingers on my fret hand/left hand rest for a couple days before mushing on through Hard and it looks like the crazy British dude is reviewing Guitar Hero III this week. Enjoy. See you next broadcast.
2 comments:
I spent some time last year reading through as many Jules Verne books as i possibly could. I had come to the conclusion that before I could consider myself a geek of any quality, it is my duty to know older sci-fi as well.
'Center of The earth' is fantastic, and the amount of science he jams into his books continues to amaze his fans. Not only did he find a entertaining way to pack actual science-fact into his science fiction, but he correctly theorized on things that were yet to be proven. Especially with 20,000 Leagues – the details border on prophecy.
Within he past year a biography aired about Jules Verne. It came to a couple interesting conclusions about his sci-fi/sci-fact and many elements coming true.
1st: His contemporaries were all scientists (or naturalists) themselves and he had the ear of many a person on the cutting edge of 19th century known science. He then took the next intellectual leap with his books and nailed many things we would later prove. This was actually a time when many believed there was a whole civilization on Mars, carefully watching us.
2nd: His books were/are an inspiration to many future scientists/engineers/explorers and those people wanted to see their childhood dreams become a reality. Take the nuclear submarine for example.
The truth is no doubt somewhere in between and elsewhere, too. As a proclaimed sci-fi geek I decided to experience the roots of my focus much as you did. There are a few 19th century books I plan on reading in the next few months: War Of The Worlds, Flatworld, The Time Machine, and A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court to name a few.
It warms my geek-heart to know that the occurrence of sci-fi to sci-fact still goes on today. Japanese engineers are still trying to produce a GUNDAM and Star Trek as spawned any number of good ideas /devices adopted in the real world. Michael Crichton has carried this torch in the past and I think he's our era's Jules Verne. The Andromeda Strain alone made NASA rethink it's astronaut decontamination processes.
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