Lewisville Science Fiction Book Group Discusses YEAR ZERO By Rob Reid

As always, everyone is invited to come out to the IHOP in Lewisville and discuss the book YEAR ZERO by Rob Reid. You’re welcome whether you’ve read it, only part of it, know of it, or would like to read it. This month, Louis Barber will also be discussing with the rest of the group the next six months of titles, so bring suggestions.

The discussion begins at 7:30 PM in the back room of the IHOP. The IHOP is located at 2345 South Stemmons Freeway, Lewisville, 75067.

 

 

Low-level entertainment lawyer Nick Carter thinks it’s a prank, not an alien encounter, when a redheaded mullah and a curvaceous nun show up at his office. But Frampton and Carly are highly advanced (if bumbling) extraterrestrials. The entire cosmos, they tell him, has been hopelessly hooked on American pop songs ever since “Year Zero” (1977 to us), resulting in the biggest copyright violation since the Big Bang and bankrupting the whole universe. Nick has just been tapped to clean up this mess before things get ugly. Thankfully, this unlikely galaxy-hopping hero does know a thing or two about copyright law. Now, with Carly and Frampton as his guides, Nick has forty-eight hours to save humanity—while hoping to wow the hot girl who lives down the hall from him. ~Random House

Editorial Rebuttal to My Review of STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS

Please head over to SciFiFX to read the editorial on STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS before you read this.

I never meant for a review to fire anyone up, but it seems my words and this movie have stoked a 3-alarm. Let me say that the author and I are friends and I enjoyed his article. He is very passionate about his sci-fi and that’s why I like hanging around him and the rest of our group. That’s what being a geek is all about, passion.

The first point of contention is that I fired buck shot at the “whiner fanboys/fangirls.” In my review, Movie Review: STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS, I stated that there was “a lot of fanboy/fangirl whinery going on out there and I guess my standards are too low to join in.” I probably should have expounded on this a little more. The word “whinery.” Was it too harsh a word to use? In my mind, I don’t think so. The reason I called what I had been reading on the interwebs “whinery” was because it was a basically the same tear-down of every movie that had come before. Every Star Trek movie (every scifi movie in general) will get torn apart because it doesn’t conform to real-world mechanics or the way it has performed in previous versions. So, I call it whinery because I’ve listened to the same general arguments every time a movie comes out. So, in my opinion, it’s whining, but don’t take offense to it.

All of the arguments in the editorial are valid points, but you know what? Most of the movie-going public do not care. They want a movie with a lot of action, epic battles, explosions, and etc. because that is what pays the bills. You know why else they don’t care? Because the majority don’t know the technical specs of the U.S.S. Enterprise or the effects of cold fusion. Some of us do. I joined the Navy as part of their Nuclear Power Program. I was gonna be a nuclear physicist (don’t ask what happened). So, some of us do know, but the majority of folks don’t. Pointy-ears getting dropped into the volcano? Yeah, most of us know that it should be an impossibility, but we don’t care. We love the sights, sounds, and explosions! Khan? A lot of the movie-going public have probably seen the movie, or heard his name referenced, but I willing to bet that a lot of them have never seen Star Trek II. But, guess what? After this, they probably will!

In defense of the fanboy/fangirl, I do get you. You’ve read every single novelization, comic book, tech manual, episode guide, and fan fiction there is to be read about your favorite thing in the whole wide world. You live it, eat it, breathe it, wear it, draw it, write it, and some even tattoo it. But, don’t get upset because the writer, director, producer, etc., “doesn’t get you,” because they are trying to make a product for a million others like you and the millions of general movie-goers who just want an action movie, while all the while trying to make something that has been an idea or image in their heads and that will be something that they are proud of.

However, calling people whiners, (specifically called it whinery, but it adds up about the same) and telling people to shut it because it’s not what they expect is a bit harsh. ~Editorial: STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS at SciFiFX.com

See above for why I call it whinery, but I never said “shut it.” This is what I wrote and the context in which it was written.

“True” Trek is a TV show that is a scifi drama. Scifi dramas don’t play very well on the big screen. People are saying “Give us our five year mission!” It’s on TV. Besides, this franchise has got plenty of time to go there, if that’s what they plan. I’m enjoying what they are doing right now, so pipe down and let them play!

The franchise is a big sand box. There is so much room to explore and blow things up and as history has proven, Star Trek will be around for a long time. Let the new team get sand in their shorts and things will get better.

Much love to the crew at SciFiFX.com! Check them out and please feel free to leave your comments here and on their website, also.

Recap of Free Comic Book Day 2013

I wanted to just throw out there some of the cool people I met on Free Comic Book Day and what it was like to bring my 3 year old along with me.

I knew that she would like the costumes, but once you put people in them, it can get a little dicey. My daughter is shy the first time around, but once she gets to know you or you give her food, she really opens up and can be a show-stopper. Or at least, that cute monkey that saves the show.

 

We started out over at Comic Book Craze in Garland. That’s where I met most of my new friends when I moved into the area last year, and so I have a few subscriptions there. The Kid got to pick up a My Little Pony and Daddy got to see his friend Todd Boddy get interviewed for the ScifiFX.com podcast. The shop’s owner, Matt McIntosh, and fellow sci-fi enthusiasts, Troy Rodgers, Jeremy Scott, and Carl Goad, form ScifiFX.com and they do a pretty good podcast. Todd Boddy has written a sci-fi novel called The Exit and is working on the sequel. He was just one of the many folks that they interviewed that day.

In addition, to Todd, you could meet E. C. Wolfe and get a taste of her upcoming novel, Yellow. I’m hoping to have a review of that sample here in the next week. J. A. Dalley was in store promoting his series, The Almek Manning Series. He is currently working on book 3 titled CALEDONIAN CABEL with THE ZOCHTIL being the first book.

Costumes were everywhere that day and the Kid loved it. Though she didn’t want to talk to the superheroes personally, she did enjoy watching them from behind a shelf or the comfort of her seat in the truck.

We travelled over to Zeus Comics where we could meet members of the 501st, Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Writer/Artist Phil Jimenez, Artist Stephen Sadowski, Web Cartoonist RK Milholland, Artist Robert Wilson, and Artist Benjamin Hall. I need to preface the rest of this post with the fact that my daughter has never seen Star Wars or any of the cartoons. We recently lost Mama to cancer and I’m trying to keep the violence and death to a minimum at the house. Even if it is storm troopers. Walking in the door, we were met by a throng of kids touching R2D2 and his beeping and chirping terror. At least, that’s what it sounded like to me. He may have been enjoying the tykes pushing and pulling buttons and dials, I don’t know. The Kid was a little apprehensive at first, but when she saw all the other kids, she joined in. She still didn’t know what to make of him.  We were headed to the back and here come Darth Vader. My child did a Fred Flinstone back peddle and ran behind my leg. It was so hard not to bust out laughing, but I had to maintain my composure, because, you know, I am her father and supposed to protect her from bad guys like him. Even though I persuaded her to continue on through the store, she kept an eye on him the entire time.

Until she met Chaka. You’ve seen her at the cons and will know her. The Kid walked right up to her and just stared at her costume. I believe was wearing a caped Wonder Woman outfit. Wonder Woman was Mommy’s nickname while battling her cancer and she knows the outfit, because we have pictures of her everywhere at the house. It was great that we finally got to meet her face to face, but unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of her that day, but here is her’s with you-know-who. Click the photo to check out her Facebook page.

As we were almost to our last destination, my child asked in all of her innocence who was the “black man?” Then she wanted to know if he was a good guy or a bad guy. I explained that he started out as good, then became bad, but in the end, he was a good guy. She asked why. All I could say was that getting killed by your mentor while trying to save your son will do that to you. Her response was, “I want to take a picture with him.” Too late to turn back now.

The last stop of the day was Awesome Comics off of Royal and Abrams. Great little shop with a little bit of everything and the staff is super-friendly and very well-read on their subject matter. I run into Thomas Chick of The Fellowship of the Geeks and mulled over the day’s exploits, picked up a few comics and headed home for a well-deserved nap. Yes, it was the Kid’s idea.

How was your FCBD? Meet any cool people or get any great reads? Send pictures or post your comments!

More Free Comic Book Day Photos on Facebook!

Movie Review: After Earth

This movie stars Will Smith and Jaden Smith as father and son soldiers. The basic story line is that Earthlings wasted the planet’s resources and thus colonized another planet a thousand years ago. Cypher (Will Smith) is a cold, emotionless high-ranking officer and combat veteran who has decided to call it quits when he returns home and sees his son striving so hard to be like him. Kitai (Jaden Smith) is the creative and sensitive boy who only wants his father’s approval. He tries to win that approval by trying to become a Ranger, like his father. Cypher invites Kitai on his last trip which ends with them crash-landing on a quarantined planet, Earth. Kitai must save his dying father.

This movie, to me, is what a good sci-fi story should be. It’s a story of human relationships based in a sci-fi world or with a sci-fi background. You start out with a father who has been away from home too much, but knows it and wants to change. You’ve got a son that just wants his Dad’s approval. What do you do? You put them together on a camping trip and let them work it out. Sort of.

The chemistry between the two is great, though they are apart most of the movie. The love between the two is juxtaposed with an old emotional wound that hasn’t properly healed.

One of the first things you will notice about this film is the language. The language of a thousand years from now is a little stilted based in military jargon. In a way, it conveys more because each word means more than a phrase. It might be hard to get used to, but it lends realism to the movie.

You’ll also notice that though we have space travel, the ships look a little flimsy. Maybe a plastic-steel hybrid is what they use to build these things with, but they get the job done. It’s just a little strange to see something sparse flying in outer space.

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and consider it a definite addition to my library when it comes out on DVD. Go see it and let me know what you think! Seen it already? Well, what are your thoughts?

Movie Review: Star Trek: Into Darkness

There is a lot of fanboy/fangirl whinery going on out there and I guess my standards are too low to join in. This movie has been chewed from one end to the other for supposed gaps in plot, “It’s not ‘true’ Star Trek”, to J. J. Abrams just saying “Screw You” to the fans and violating a sacred franchise. First, what I thought of the movie.

I know the movie has been out for quite a while now, but I’m going to try and stay away from spoilers. Other websites can ruin your day, but I’m not. Everything from the trailers that got you excited about this movie is here and by the bucket loads. I think what I really love most about this movie and the last is the cast. When I see Karl Urban pull a Bone-ism, I can picture in my mind the original, DeForest Kelley, saying the same thing with the same facial emote. Chris Pine has a few Kirk moves down, Quinto is close to original Spock for me, and Simon Pegg rippin’ off engineering jargon just like James Doohan is classic!

Action! From the opening scenes! Yes! The scenery itself, though it’s mostly CGI is still fantastic to look upon. The story will be one you remember, but with a twist, and it’s that twist that is felt in the hearts of most Star Trek fans. If you ask me, it doesn’t take away from the original story, it’s creates a new one.

Benedict Cumberbatch. What can be said about him? He makes a great villain. At one point, you actually want to sympathize with him, but that doesn’t last long. He pretty much owns every scene that he is in and I look forward to seeing him in much more.

Again, without spoiling anything, let me address some of the gripes. Supposed plot holes – We’re in an alternate timeline. They’re not plot holes if your basing them on the original timeline. And because things are different in this universe from the original, before Spock and Nero came in, whose to say that there haven’t been other changes prior. This timeline’s prev-history doesn’t have to match the original timeline’s pre-history, in my opinion.

“True” Trek is a TV show that is a scifi drama. Scifi dramas don’t play very well on the big screen. People are saying “Give us our five year mission!” It’s on TV. Besides, this franchise has got plenty of time to go there, if that’s what they plan. I’m enjoying what they are doing right now, so pipe down and let them play!

If you haven’t seen it yet, go. It’s a lot of fun! If you are a Trekkie, this word of advice: This is group’s interpretation or vision of what Star Trek is, can, or should be. It uses Gene Roddenberry’s ideas, not all, but some and makes something new. You may like it, you may not, but keep an open mind. We all like Star Trek for different reasons, and I think J. J. Abrams and Robert Orci include a vast majority of those reasons in the movie. Enjoy!

Have you seen it yet? What did you think? Didn’t like it? Why? And be nice.