MGK Versus His Adolescent Reading Habits:
Part two here. Part three here.
[mightygodking.com hat tip ~ Laura ]
Ellen Ripley Is Clearly the Best Female Character in Scifi Film, and That’s a Problem:
She’s not a sidekick, arm candy, or a damsel to be rescued. Starting with Alien, Ripley was a fully competent member of a crew or ensemble — not always liked and sometimes disrespected, but doing her job all the same. As each film progresses, she comes to the fore and faces challenges head-on — she’s the hero of the piece, in other words…
Ripley isn’t a fantasy version of a woman. Science fiction film is filled with hot kickass women doing impossible things with guns and melee weapons while they spin about like a gymnast in a dryer. As fun as that is to watch, at the end of the day it’s still giving women short shrift, since what they are then are idealized killer fembots rather than actual human beings. Ripley, on the other hand, is pushy, aggressive, rude, injured, suffering from post-traumatic syndrome, not wearing makeup, tired, smart, maternal, angry, empathetic, and determined to save others, even at great cost to herself. All without being a spinny killbot.
…filmcritic.com John Scalzi Sep 14 2011
On Keeping On Keeping On, Part One:
This, then, is for the people who frequently ask me how to navigate it, how to keep going. And the answer is: I don’t know. I don’t know what’s best for you, in terms of processing this shit.
But I do know is that recognizing it as projection, seeing it for the pitiable flails of desperate men that it is, is important.
All of their furious bravado, and the genuine threats, are meant to terrify me, of course, but I am not the one who is terrified. The men who misrepresent my life in order to justify harassing me know, in some deep down place, that they are wrong. They know that my fat, disabled, feminist self is, in truth, everything that the Patriarchy tells them men are supposed to be: They know that I am strong, that I am tough, that I am resilient, that I am smart, that I am independent, that I am brave. They know that I fuck, that I influence, that I do not yield.
And that’s what prompts their terroristic missives in which they try to mask behind their rage a derisible fear of the powerful feminine. Not that they believe that I am weak, but that they know I am strong.
Having that perspective helps. Having that perspective, for me, makes all the difference.
[shakespearessister.blogspot.com Melissa McEwan August 26, 2011]
Situations aboard Destiny are often dire, with risk to the crew, to the ship, to the mission, or to humanity as a whole. Like faith, hope also survives and, in true Stargate Universe fashion, it is offered in several guises – the hope offered in the Destiny’s technologies and mission, the hope offered about people that are gone, and for people on Earth. The hope offered by the crew, to each other.
Continue reading
It’s been a few days since I did one of these, so mucho apologies for the lack of giggles 
and now, some giggles!
After spending five years making a successful science fiction TV show with a largely Canadian team of writers, directors, actors and production talent, producer Brad Wright thought it was high time for his Stargate franchise to add a Canadian character.
‘One of the reasons our show does so well overseas is because it’s not written from a completely American sensibility.’
— Brad Wright, producer, Stargate TV franchise
This was in 2002, when Canuck actor David Hewlett had been cast in the recurring role of Dr. Rodney McKay halfway into the fifth season of Stargate: SG-1. As Wright recalls in a recent interview, “I said, ‘Let’s put a Canadian flag on his arm – we’ll make the smartest character the Canadian!’ Of course, the American studio president at the time said, ‘You’re not really doing that, are you?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Oh… I guess that’s OK.’”
Some of the best things come by way of serendipity, and in the case of books, it’s often the one you never looked for but that came to you that makes for an interesting read. That’s how I’m looking at “Operation Emu”, by B. Brandon Barker , a book that came to me through email.
Being a conspiracy theorist, and seeing the “Operation” part, I of course went off to look for any Operation Emu. After all, it’s not the first time that birds have been used to name ops, although I had never heard of EMU. Quite quickly I found that it wasn’t an op I was looking at but a book. A good one at that, done in the footsteps of authors I admire like Kurt Vonnegut and Tom Robbins.
So far, and I’m only three chapters in mind you, it’s a thoroughly entertaining read! I could quote but that would spoil it…go read. Click on the pic or on the link below…
[Amazon]
I’ve gotten hooked on this show so I’m stoked that it’s going into a second season, woohoo!:
Syfy announced it was renewing its new series Stargate Universe for a second season and it was also picking up Sanctuary for a third season. Both series were given orders for 20 episodes, which will begin airing in the fall.
Sanctuary is currently in the midst of airing its second season, while Stargate Universe is on hiatus between the first half of season one and the second half, which will air in April. Universe has been controversial with Stargate fans, who’ve shown a mixed reaction to the franchise’s new direction.
“We’re dealing with 15 seasons of expectations with a certain fanbase,” executive producer Robert Cooper told the Hollywood Reporter. “Hopefully, as the show goes on, people will appreciate Universe for being its own thing.”
He also revealed a new alien race will be added to the show. “There is a big story point coming up that does introduce an alien race,” Cooper said. “It’s more along the line of a District 9-type alien. Our interaction is handled in a very Universe way; they’re not the typical Stargate alien bad guys.”
io9 brings us this huge honking list!
okay, so this is a huge fricken list but come on, how many have we all sat and watched? It’s been more than a few for me, so I’ll list a few of the faves in this list of mine…how many for you?
