Gizmodo: science fiction

Yes! Star Trek Is Cool Because a Pie Chart Says So!

Mark Wilson — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:00:00 EDT

Sci Fi Wire makes a convincing argument, in both authoritarian pie chart form and debatable exposition, as to why Star Trek is cool (again). But what's missing from the chart? Two words: Lens flare.

Man has long marveled at the bright and shiny. He obsesses over soft metals, like gold, because of their luster. And diamonds, while hardened for industry, are more just as often if not more reserved for rings representing sacred vows.

So hats off to the writers, actors, set designers and special effects team. But JJ Abrams' simple mantra of "aim those four-story mirrors at the camera, dammit!" deserves, at minimum, a bar graph constructed of Borg ships. [Sci Fi Wire via Geekologie]

10 Things You Didn't Know About Antimatter

Mark Wilson — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:40:00 EDT

Discovery Channel compiled a mind-frakking list of 10 things you didn't know about antimatter—the stuff that, when mixed with matter, powers the warp engines of Star Trek. And this excerpt made my brain dizzy:

Each type of particle has its antiparticle, leading to some inevitable cosmic quandaries. First, we're surrounded by matter; where did all the antimatter go?

We can even ask this question because when antimatter meets matter, they destroy each other. This leads to the second question: Why didn't all the antimatter destroy all the matter early in the universe? Physicists think the big bang should have produced equal amounts of both matter and antimatter. In other words, the universe should have poofed all matter and antimatter out of existence.

That's just one interesting point about antimatter. Head over to the link to read 9 more. [Discovery]

Notes on image:
IN SPACE - (UNDATED PHOTO) A composite image of the Crab Nebula showing X-ray (blue), and optical (red) images superimposed is shown in this undated photo. Multiple observations made over several months with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope captured the spectacle of matter and antimatter propelled to nearly the speed of light by the Crab pulsar, a rapidly rotating neutron star the size of Manhattan. (Photo by NASA/Getty Images)

Blast Electric Sheep With Deckard's Gun, Now Just $150,000

Jack Loftus — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 12:00:00 EDT

Was Deckard really a replicant? Who cares, his blaster's for sale.

Yup, just a mere $100,000 to $150,000 and this one-of-a-kind movie prop could be yours, although we imagine that price tag is going to climb a bit higher before all is said and done at the Auctioneer Profiles in History event beginning April 30.

Other classic movie items up for auction include a ring worn by Bela Lugosi when he played Count Dracula; a monocle used in the Fritz Lang's 1927 sci-fi movie "Metropolis"; and Rita Hayworth's dress from 1940's film noir classic "Gilda."

It's truly an eclectic collection of items that, if combined, would have probably confused Harrison Ford's character even more. [Reuters]

Retro-Future Poster Punches Retro-Futurism In the Face

Jason Chen — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EDT

As seen on boingboing: this retro-futuristic poster combines everything we knew about the year 2000 back in the 1950s with everything we know about the year 2000 right now. Essential equipment for the "nerd room" in any gadget/tech/science fiction fan's house. $15 and ships August 15. [Topatoco via Boing Boing]

Images of Terminator Caught In Hi-Res Trailer

Elaine Chow — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 11:00:00 EDT

So you've seen John Connor and you've met Marcus Wright, but where are the stills of the robots? Lucky for us, one intrepid Gizmodo reader searched through the Hi-res trailer to find us a good picture of what humanity's up against. Check out the color corrected version! Is that bot wearing... cargo pants? [Terminator: Salvation at Giz] - Thanks Dimitris Karakatsanis!

Incredible Photography of Sci-Fi Fans in their Native Habitats

Mark Wilson — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:40:00 EDT

When you see a guy dressed up like Spock at a Star Trek convention, it's actually pretty normal. But as the excellent documentary Trekkies pointed out, it's a lot more odd when these fans wear the clothes home...and don't take them off. Photographer Steve Schofield has an amazing gallery of British science fiction fans dressed up at home in his collection "Land of the Free." We wasted far too much of our day appreciating these photographs. And we recommend that you do, too. [Steve Schofield via Neatorama]

Gawker's Sci-Fi Blog io9 Launches Today Like Hulk Out of a Phone Booth

Jesus Diaz — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 07:11:55 EST

Oh, Annalee Annalee, let us count the ways we love you! First, because you are the editor of io9, our new sister blog on science fiction, double feature, oh oh oh. Second, because you bought good old Ferrigno's Hulk on DVD. Third, because you did a post about a scene in which Banner turns into Hulk after getting excited by a phone company operator in a bad, not-green way (I have wanted that so many times myself.) Fourth, because you mentioned "lady trucker friend" and "Lily Tomlin" in the same phrase... I could go on and on, but I won't waste any more time: Gizmodians, head to io9 for a wonderful world of science fiction, where everyone goes around in tinfoil underpants or no underpants at all. [io9]

DARPA Unclassifies Plans for Laser-Guided Bullet

kevinhall2 — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 16:50:55 EDT

DARPA's Budget Item Justification Sheet contains goodies that seem right out of the pages of science fiction, like laser-guided bullets. The goal appears to be to "enable low-cost, high performance guided projectiles" that take advantage of "guidance and targeting systems." While the idea of a laser-guided bullet conjures images of soldiers marching across fields, spraying ammo that never misses, the report mentions that the technology is intended to be used by Special Forces and Army Sniper Teams. So, boiled down, we're talking a bullet that's going to be fired at long range by a sniper and be able to adjust its trajectory mid-flight, as to have a better chance of hitting the target. Sounds like the military just doesn't want to train their snipers. Laser-Guided Bullets: Pentagon Pursuit [WIRED]

Christie's Auctioning Off 40 Years of Star Trek Memorabilia

gizmodo.com — Fri, 19 May 2006 17:10:30 EDT

CBS Paramount cleaned out the Star Trek garage and is putting its finds up for sale at Christie's New York this October, putting 4,000 lots of over 1,000 items on the block in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of the Star Trek original series tv show. Captain Kirk's leisure suit (photo above—and no, we don't know if Shatner's girdle is included) is expected to go for five to seven thousand dollars, which puts it in the middle range for costumes but still in the low range overall, but if you're broke, not to despair:

Fans with more modest budgets can train their sights on a host of Trekkie ephemera like the 10-inch Resikkan nonplaying prop brass flute used by Patrick Stewart as Picard in the episode "The Inner Light" in "Star Trek: The Next Generation," which carries a low estimate of just $300.
Cathy Elkies, director of special collections at Christie's, said the value of the objects was difficult to gauge because "we don't factor in that emotional fury generated around this kind of material.

Some of the items in the collection are on tour. They're currently in Germany, will be in San Diego in July for the Comicon, Christie's London in early August then Las Vegas for the 5th Official Star Trek Convention, Seattle in early September for a gala celebration at the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame then Christie's Los Angeles before making their way to Christie's New York for the auction.

P.S. Anyone know if Forrest J. Ackerman's still alive and kicking?

40 Years of STAR TREK: The Collection [Christie's]
Christie's to hold 'Star Trek' garage sale [Yahoo! News, thanks Andrew!]

K-9 Makes A Comeback

gizmodo.com — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 13:05:28 EDT

Some of us here at Gizmodo have never had much love for AIBO, if only because we watched a lot of Dr Who growing up and no robot dog of our present could ever hope to compare with K-9. Sony, please feel free to discuss this with us if you ever trot out an AIBO with a laser in its nose, but till then our opinion holds firm.

Anyway, fellow K-9 fans will be happy to know that our favorite canine Companion is experiencing a major renaissance this year. The photo above is the 2006 version that will be appearing in the current series of Dr Who (starring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor) and the image at right is K-9 as it will look starring in its own 26-part comedy adventure series, a mixture of live action and animation titled the K-9 Adventures. Interactive toy K-9s are planned as part of the merchandise for the latter series; one of these plus a ridiculously long scarf and you've got the start of a promising Halloween costume.