A Far Out Fantastic Site

Credit: Universal Studios/Pixabay.com I said that I would talk about one of the other panels from last Sunday’s Intergalactic Expo . The panel was author J. Daniel Batt’s “The History of Science Fiction”. It was really neat and more informing than I thought it would be. Like the panel on steampunk that immediately followed, this one discussed the many definitions of science fiction which his own seemed to be a very broad but inclusive one. Also like with the steampunk panel, the root question that is at the bottom of all science fiction was brought up: “what if?” As in what if a certain scientific phenomenon was to occur that never has before, such as interdimensional space travel. But another underlying element of the genre was also talked about: fear. And so J. discussed how fear of the unknown, such as unexplored reaches of space today and unexplored regions of our own earth centuries ago, has inspired storytelling. He said that because of this, science fiction and horror ...

Photo Credit: Solomon Barroa/Pixabay.com Defining science fiction can be tricky. The term science fiction can refer to anything related to science that is fictionalized, even if the story is simply set in space and with a futuristic technological background. Star Wars falls under this loose definition of science fiction, which many, including the creator of the franchise himself, George Lucas, do not like to consider it as such. Others have a more strict definition which is often: any scientific, plausible phenomenon that has not yet become a reality. Along with this definition is that the scientific phenomenon is central to the plot. Perhaps trickier yet is defining science fiction’s subgenres such as space opera, post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk and steampunk. In fact, some raise the issue whether or not steampunk is science fiction. Defining Steampunk So what is the definition of steampunk? For sure, steampunk is alternative history fiction which doesn’t necessarily have to...

Photo Credit: Pixabay.com I almost didn't do a blog post today. It's been a rough couple of days. And I literally mean a couple of days. So that mean's it started yesterday--Friday the 13th! I'm not superstitious (in fact, 13 is one of my favourite numbers), but, believe it or not, it started with a broken mirror. However, I can't say whether the mirror broke yesterday or earlier in the week. It was the passenger side-view mirror to my car which I  hadn't been driving in all week until yesterday and so I didn't notice that it had fallen out of its frame until I started driving. But apparently it had fallen off and broke into about four or five pieces. So I've been on a quest for a new mirror since yesterday and have been to three places. The first place didn't sell mirrors for Chevy Classics, the model of my car. The second place ordered the mirror and I picked it up today only to find out that it didn't fit the frame due to its shape. T...

Photo Credit: Pixabay.com Lately, Hollywood has been turning to big brand toys and games for its movie ideas. One of the biggest examples is the series of Transformers movies. But another big one are the Lego movies. Recently, Hasbro teamed with Paramount with plans to merge several of its universes, which are the settings of its character products, into a single series of movies. The characters from these universes, most of which are based on action figures, are the 1970s’ Micronauts and Rom, and the 1980s' M.A.S.K. characters. Apparently the producers of these films are not good storytellers themselves. According to TheGuardian .com, "with each new [movie] adaptation, Hollywood further underlines just how un-interactive its product is, and lacking in playful imagination its producers can be." And so the two companies selected some writers from outside the film industry to help develop the stories. One of these writers is Pulitzer prize-winner Michael Chabon wh...

Photo Credit: Pixabay.com Sorry about missing last weekend. I was sick (allergies) and so got behind in my projects. I’m still trying to catch up. My book cover illustration for “Circa Sixty Years Dead” is one of the projects I’m trying to catch up on. The outline is almost complete since I added some more basic details as you’ll see below. If you don’t remember my last progress photo of the book cover art, you can look at it at that week’s post and then come back here to see the comparison. So here’s what I’ve added so far (for a clearer view, click on the photo): Photo Credit: The blogger I drew in the blocks for the statue’s pedestal. I also fleshed out the man below, filled in the details for the camera he’s dropping and sketched in the dunes and some sand ripples. There will be more ripples and maybe some more, smaller, dunes when I colour-pencil in the picture. I use the scant details in the sketch only for a guide for when I colour in the picture and add the mor...