melancholygeek

Here we go

2008-05-03T06:21:00.000-07:00

And, no, it's not the LOLCally blog I was talking about :)

Even after just a couple of weeks of blogging, I have to admit, blogger, as easy it is to start with, has its drawbacks. I don't want to make it all bad and I guess it's a fine platform for many people, but I reached limitations that I wanted to overcome. So, long story short:

This blog has moved to melancholygeek.wordpress.com!

Hope to see you there for more tidbits, rants and Battlestar Galactica goodness!

Don't know how long it will take...

2008-04-27T14:33:00.000-07:00

...but there might be a slight delay concerning updates.

Barely two months in the blogging business and I'm already working on a (minor) overhaul of the whole thing. And yeah, I know, updates could be more frequent anyway. Just you wait!

Escape Velocity Impressions

2008-04-27T07:04:00.000-07:00

(SPOILER ALERT) As Battlestar Galactica's final season went in its fourth week I was more than pleased with the thrillers that were the first to episodes and the killer that was last week's The Ties That Bind. Well, RDM does some good for my rhyming scheme...

We start off with bitch's service. Scruffy Chief giving lovely speech and a new priestess is in town. Well there is a vacant bitch-slot to fill. Speaking of open positions, now that Kara 'We're going the wrong way' Thrace is off ship, Roslin's taking on the naggy part? 'I'm dying, you know?' Like the wig though.

Sleeping, pacing Caprica in the brig. Tigh's slowly losing it. 'But I'm not a cylon!'

Cylon Anonymous weekly meeting. 'Hi! I'm Little Nicky, and I'm a half-breed' 'Hello Little Nicky!' Tory, very cylon. Tigh very buddy 'I know what you're going through man. But I'm not a cylon!' 'Umm, yes you are.' 'Oh, right...'

Opening credits.

Alright, Tory's freaking me out. A bit. Enough character buildup, ok? And I think I'm not alone with this:
Religiously motivated attacks? I would never have thought of that!

Hangar bay, Chief starting to lose it. Everyone gets a go. They really do love their new CGI, but, seriously, the space suits? I'm not so sure about this.

Crash goes the Raptor.

Baltar, Chip Six. And of course Lilly. With an 'M'.

Um, Chief, you frakked up. (Seriously, is that a circuit breaker?) Loved the 'You're only human!' part though. This just never gets old. Or does it?

Baltar giving a speech. Desecrating a temple (new priestess again, yay!). Where have I read that before?

Roslin! Adama! Another book! He's not gonna read again, is he? 'Oh, did I mention I'm dying?' 'Girlie..., Groupie..., Sex..., whatever they are.' Liked it.

Tigh, Caprica. 'How does all that 'being a cylon' work? Not that I am one of course. Just asking.' Chief interlude I don't get. Tigh keeping on losing it. 'We're not the same' Yeah, alright, it might get a bit old.

Roslin! Baltar! Such a thing can never fail! 'I'm dying.' Oh, COME ON! Rest's ok though.

Chief taking a break from all his worries. Are all commanding staff now his buddies? Chief's, umm, losing it. 'The best of limited options'. Should I ever start a dating agency, that's what I'd call it. 'You don't know what frakking club I'm in' Yeah, it got old by now. Seriously.

Quorum. I guess that's gonna be a regular thing now? Great. Roslin's great though. And she's not dying for a change. So go ahead, vote.

OK, Tigh is getting creepy. Is that a new theme, hot toaster and creepy old man? At least they don't make out. 'Leave me alone with an unrestrained cylon!, Yes it's gonna be ok. No, I'm not a cylon.' Hasn't lost it yet, but is on a good way.

Bloody Baltar. Chip Six? I have no words.

Patchless Tigh (I mentioned creepy?) getting beat up by Caprica. Way better than making out.

Chip Six gets Baltar getting beat up. I see a pattern. Apollo saves the day.

Roslin! Adama! The book. And yes, he is. It's nice though.

Caprica, Tigh... Aw, shucks.
Baltar. Giving a speech. With yet another ~~Chief~~ Specialist interlude. Nobody is perfect. I might be wrong though. Demetrius interlude! What's with Apollo? The End.

Well, what can I say, we had far worse filler episodes in previous seasons. Although, with that many loose ends already floating in space, was it really necessary, to this extend? A solid 3/5, but please a little cylon civil war and Demetrius goodness next time?

Battlestar Galactica 4x05 'The Road Less Travelled' Trailer

2008-04-27T02:37:00.000-07:00

Doesn't always have to be wikipedia...

2008-04-26T14:26:00.001-07:00

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of and occasional contributer to wikipedia. But when I stumbled across this, I was quite taken aback:

If you’re a Web publisher—a blogger, webmaster, or writer—you can get complimentary access to the complete Encyclopædia Britannica online. It’s a rich trove of reliable and high-quality information that you can use to check quick facts, research topics in depth, or just read to enjoy.

So, fellow bloggers or other web publisher, head over there and get your free account with the classic!

Some More Comic Book Love

2008-04-26T14:02:00.000-07:00

First of all a little heads up concerning Major Spoiler's Hero Drive 2008 which is only open and running for less than another week, so head on over there and check out their truly great podcast!

In other comic book news, two lists I stumbled upon recently:

Again Major Spoilers put up a great list of the Top 30 Trades You Should Own. Great stuff on this list and I can wholeheartedly agree... Get to your nearest comic book store and spend some bucks!
On a different note, the guys over at cracked.com put together a list of 8 (Pointless) Laws All Comic Book Movies Follow. Too true, too true.

(via Major Spoilers and cracked.com)

The Ties That What The Frak

2008-04-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

What the frak happened on Battlestar Galactica? Here you go:

BSG Linkroll Pt. II

2008-04-25T09:34:00.000-07:00

Long time, no read. Don't ask me where the days have gone, I really don't know. Not working on my thesis. Meh, anyway...

Battlestar Galactica's final season keeps on giving me goosebumps and so is a lot of related stuff on teh intertubes. My picks for this week (nearly all via io9):

As you will know there was a little geek-get-together in New York, called the ComicCon. And they had cylons! Read what Michael Trucco (Anders), Rekha Sharma (Tory), and Michael Hogan (Tigh) spilled over at io9 (not really spoilery).
Also on io9, the dreadful Morning Spoilers were buzzing this week with 'leaked' scripts. One for episode 18 of the regular BSG and one for the fearfully anticipated spin-off Caprica (Spoilers, duh).
Baltar goodness in this one and a half minute clip from tonights episode Escape Velocity.
And finally, brought to my attention by A Very Special Someone, Frakking Toasters, a BSG webcomic! I have no clue how this possibly could have gone unnoticed by me. It's hilarious! (spoilery if you're not up to date).

Zombie Strippers Trailer

2008-04-21T05:47:00.000-07:00

I just couldn't resist...

(via boingboing)

Battlestar Galactica 4x04 'Escape Velocity' Trailer

2008-04-20T04:24:00.000-07:00

The Ties That Bind Impressions

2008-04-20T02:31:00.000-07:00

(SPOILER ALERT) Alright, I have to say, I was spoiled a lot for this last Battlestar Galactica episode, so I might have viewed a bit differently than the regular Joe. Let's just say, when you know you're going to lose something for good, even though you might have hated it from the heart, you kind of get attached to it in a very special way towards the end. Well, let's jump in:

Cylon fleet! Oh goody! Nakey Cavil, not so much. Making out with Boomer? Plain creepy. Democracy? Bad idea.

Rag-tag fleet. Bitch. Is bitchin.

The Chief, taking a break from all his worries with his boozing Cylon companion. Not, not that one. I guess frakking Baltar has that effect? She IS hitting on him, not? 'Galen, you son of a *barf*'! Gods, Tory is good.

Opening credits.

Sickbay, Cottle! Nah, just Roslin and Adama sweetness. All together now: Awwwww.

Colonial One, Adama junior says Hi. No one's impressed. Me neither. Old man's annoyed. Yeah, me too. Zarek? One botox-injection too many:

Really, he isn't changing his facial expression AT ALL. Richard Hatch, the poor man's Keanu Reeves?
'Thank you' *shove* I like Roslin. And the Old Man. Love his 'Get outta my face, journalist-scum' attitude. They are such a great team. Apparently.

Oooh, Demetrius! Mission: Find Earth. ORLY? Sweaty Starbuck. Gaeta! 'I made a decision' Yeah, right.
Seelix didn't use the proper cover sheets for her TPS report. Tsk, someone doesn't reed the memos. OK, wait a second? Who the frak is on Galactica's CIC? Did they leave Dee in charge?! This can't be good. And, wild guess, mutiny within the next three episodes. Make that two.
At least Anders knows where he stands:

Bitch. Is bitchin.

Back to our beloved cylons. Peace talks? I can has Xena back? Pretty please? Oh, and I have a new favorite cylon, Sparkly, the cleaning-centurion:

Adama Jr., Zarek. Um, boring?

Bitch. Is with Cottle! Hey, she's bearable. Might be Cottle's presence though. But, yeah, I like it. Not the jaw-breaking part. Honestly. I also only pretend to be a bastard. Sometimes. Oh, and, by the way, smoking kills. Just saying.

Demetrius. More bitchin. Anders going all Leoben on Kara! Nice. Ensign Hairyleg and whiny bitch. That was fast. I can has cylon wife?

Peace talks continue. Speaking of that was fast. Bit too fast, no? Where's Sparkly?

Boring Quorum meeting. Roslin's cute though. And the unnerving journalist who doesn't seem to find an end. is called Jacob. Made me laugh. No offense.

Cylons again:

Still no Sparkly. But something else! Fascinating.

Sneaky bitch. Is sneaky. (I really tried to work a boobie-trap joke in here, but couldn't). Cylon Anonymous weekly meeting. Not so anonymous anymore.
Nice vocal work, Galen. And Cally? What a wrench. I mean, wench.

Launch tube, showdown. Gods, Tory is good. So cylony.

Dying bitch. Is dying.

The End.

Alrighty, first of all, I truly despise the whole LOLCats shebang. But watching this episode, I couldn't help but seeing a LOLCats caption to nearly every frame. I should start a LOLCally blog. And get my head examined.

So, final verdict on the episode. I liked it, Cylons were great (Sparkly!), Quorum, not so much. Overall, a 3.5/5.

KTHXBAI.

Six Of What The Frack

2008-04-19T01:43:00.000-07:00

Battlestar Galactica's greatest recappers strike again, this time for 'Six of One'. What the Frak?

Marriage Proposal - Geek Style!

2008-04-18T09:22:00.000-07:00

OK, for all you who might feel a bit offended by the previous post, I'm bringing the romance back:

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - Hiding a ring in a bouquet just wasn't enough when a computer programmer decided to pop the question. Bernie Peng reprogrammed Tammy Li's favorite video game, "Bejeweled," so a ring and a marriage proposal would show up on the screen when she reached a certain score.

Check out the full story here.

And yes, I think that's more awesome than Zombie Strippers (a little bit).

(via bbspot)

Zombie Strippers from Space

2008-04-18T09:04:00.001-07:00

OK, I made the 'from Space' part up, but still, obviously there is a movie out there that's teh awesomeness: Zombie Strippers. From io9's review:

Picture this, if you will: Porn star Jenna Jameson is in a movie playing a stripper who reads Nietzsche, becomes a zombie, and, armed with her new theory of undead power, eventually kills somebody by shooting pool balls out of her superstrong zombie BLEEP

And the best part: It's not a hoax! Check out the full review on io9 and the movie in your favorite theater (or better, find a theater that's actually showing this flick).

(via io9)

Yet another 'The Ties That Bind' Preview

2008-04-16T13:17:00.000-07:00

And a bunch of spoilers for the next couple episodes of our beloved Battlestar Galactica...

(Via A Very Special Someone and io9)

You know you love comic books

2008-04-15T13:50:00.001-07:00

And so do the guys over at Major Spoilers. And due to that love, they want to help comic book artists who can't support themselves. And you can do too! From the website:

“When I learned there were comic creators who needed funds for medical attention, or simply a hand to make it through a rough time, I knew we needed to do something to help - a way of saying thank you for years of great reading,” said Major Spoilers founder Stephen Schleicher. “The Hero Initiative has raised thousands of dollars to help creators in need, and we hope our giving will aid in their effort.”

The Major Spoilers Hero Drive runs through the month of April. At the end of the month, Major Spoilers will contribute 50-cents for each subscriber to the Major Spoilers Podcast (up to $500) directly to the Hero Initiative.

So, go over to Major Spoilers and subscribe to their (really marvelous - no pun intended) podcast and along with some good stuff to listen to, help out some comic book artists in need!

(via Major Spoilers)

Battlestar Galactica 4x03 'The Ties That Bind' Trailer

2008-04-13T11:17:00.000-07:00

Six Of One Impressions

2008-04-13T05:21:00.001-07:00

(SPOILER ALERT) May I say: Wow? I mean, seriously, how can they possibly keep up that pace? Could it really be possible that Battlestar Galactica's final season is all that we hoped for and more? Let's dive in...

Grumpy Tigh at his best with Helo being the Robin to his Batman. Concerned faces on CIC. Is Adama actually RUNNING? This is going to be good...

Cat Fight! Nah, not really... But hey, the girls get some serious acting done here. What ever happened to Katee between seasons (and, no, I'm not talking the dreadful Bionic Woman here), it's been good. And MMD? Awesome:
Where does the bullet go? Fraught with significance. Dun dun dunnnn. And, wow, Bill and Laura? Chilly... Alright, Starbuck might be repeating herself a bit too much now. No one's impressed.

Opening credits.

Uh-oh. Baseship scene (they DO have new CGI, no?). Including piano. Can this be good? Hybrid-babble. PG13-nakey #8. Creepy old Cavil. Leoben! Ok shirt. Hairdo, not so much. I'm digressing. And finally we get some numbers down. Two, eh? Could've done worse. Ok, can't say anything, but: What a frakking great scene. Says who? Me, that's who.

Cylon Anonymous weekly meeting. Tyrol's late. Bad Tyrol. Some flaws in cylon logic there. Forgivable. Tori, you take one for the group, right? As if there weren't enough couplings already... we'll see.

Starbuck in the brig. Now that's new. Oooh. Pissed Old Man. Very, very pissed. Starbuck going all crybaby. "We're going the wrong way." Yeah, I think we got that. Thanks for reminding us though.

Cylon Council meeting. Today's topic: Lobotomizing Raiders and Boomer's a bitch. Unconscionable! (seriously, I have NEVER heard this word before) Simon's got a line! Ok, I don't really care either.

Ok, strip poker. STRIP POKER?! With the old man present? Not participating, thank the gods! Racetrack... nice:

Hotdog? Not so much. Oh, buff Apollo. Bad sweater time again. And seriously, what is this:

Please tell me it said in the script "Apollo gestures, obviously already hammered". Ambrosia shots. Alright. 'To our sweethearts, husbands and wives'? Coming from the Major, I take it these are three independent groups, yes?

Guess who fixed his sailing ship?

Tori. Baltar. Uh-oh. The scarf is a no-go. And of course there's... wait a frakking minute, what?!

BALTARGASM!

Old married couple. I can't put it down in words how much I love this scene. Just can't. Snorty laugh! Sit!

Apollo. Starbuck. Brig. Deja vu? So say we all. Wow. Now kiss and make up. Thanks.

Ready room, flightdeck, big scene. Rat one leaving the sinking ship. Is Hotdog actually crying?! And Dee? I can't comment on that. Don't want to at least.

Lobotomy goodness, Simon at his best. Shiny Centurions.

Tori taking one for the group. Is it just me or is there a lot of crying going on in this episode?

Back on the basestar. Oh yes. This is definitely going the right way.

Starbuck, brig, wrong way. Surprise, eh? Um, actually, yeah. Surprise. Rat two leaving the sinking ship.

What can I say... another 5/5. And it really seems like I'm in for a very special treat next week...

He That Believeth In What The Frak

2008-04-12T09:28:00.000-07:00

Before I get started on the goodness that was Battlestar Galactica's latest episode Six of One, make sure you catch the 'What the Frak'-Recap of He That Believeth In Me:

Hillarious Fake Spoilers

2008-04-12T03:29:00.001-07:00

For Battlestar Galactica's final season of course. A bit late, yes, but still quite funny. And in case you missed it, there's also the marvelous 'What the Frak?!' Season 1-3 recap video on the page.

Check it out over at gizmodo!

Hearing is believing

2008-04-12T03:07:00.000-07:00

Sound effects in my opinion are just as important to SciFi as are the visuals. And while the Star Wars lightsaber hums and crashes or the screaming TIE Fighters probably ring in every geek's ear for eternity, there's way more. Kevin Kelly over at io9 put together a nice list of The Scifi Sound Effects That Take Over Your Brain. Some real goodness there, although he totally missed out on THE classic when it comes to SFX:

(via io9)

Way to go V!

2008-04-10T04:54:00.000-07:00

Lovely Veronica Belmont, former producer and co-host of cnet's Buzz Out Loud and Mahalo's Mahalo Daily, co-founder of The Sword and Laser bookclub and general all-purpose geekette joins the crew at Revision3's Tekzilla! From her blog:

Most of you guessed that one of my new projects was over at Revision3 as the new co-host of Tekzilla with Patrick Norton. And yes, you are correct!

Check out the whole post for more revelations and mysteries...

And yes, I'm a fanboy. Sue me.

(via Lady V)

Gods, I wish I could go

2008-04-09T09:09:00.001-07:00

But that doesn't mean you shouldn't! Lots of FOSS and SciFi goodness at Penguicon 6.0! With class A celebrity guests!

(via boingboing)

Battlestar Galactica 4x02 'Six of One' Trailer

2008-04-08T09:58:00.000-07:00

Darth Vader is Luke's father?!

2008-04-08T08:09:00.000-07:00

Call 'em Deus Ex Machina, call em what you like. io9 presents the silliest SciFi plot twists.

(via take a guess)

BSG Linkroll

2008-04-08T07:49:00.001-07:00

The Battlestar Galactica is up and running again and of course the internet is (still) buzzing...

Here's my selection of good reads:

wired gives a nice list of things to look forward to in Season 4 (mild spoilers)
want some statements from recently uncovered cylons? Grab 'em at seattlepi.com (rather spoiler-free)
in case you forgot that BSG is the best show on TV, let the evangelical outpost remind you (spoiler-free)
and, seeing that we're up and running again, television without pity of course has Jacob with his famous recaps (one big spoiler)
Finally, if you are curious about the plots of the upcoming episodes, take a look at io9's Morning Spoilers (well, erm, spoilers, duh!)

Forgotten SciFi on TV

2008-04-07T14:47:00.000-07:00

Some might be debatable on this Top 10 list, but others I couldn't agree more. I mean, Brisco County Jr.? Max Headroom? Bring on the DVDs, I still got plenty of space on my shelf!

Check out the Top 10 Unsung TV Classics over at io9.

(Via, well, io9)

This year in SciFi

2008-04-07T14:44:00.000-07:00

At least April to August. Get your filofax and plan your geek-summer!

(Via io9)

I never knew those existed

2008-04-07T14:40:00.001-07:00

Well, I've seen the IBM ones. But hey, those are all great! Check out the

Top 10 Linux Commercials.

He Who Believeth In Me Impressions

2008-04-06T04:27:00.000-07:00

(SPOILER ALERT)
OK... This might have been the frakking greatest Season-starter in the history of Battlestar Galactica.

We start with 10 minutes of space battle - geekgasm! And someone's proud of their new CGI. And they have every reason. Looks great, feels great. Love it. Especially the feeling of everything happening at once, the final five minus one dealing with what they are under pressure, Baltar and his Baltarettes, Starbuck... I liked it. Although I grow to dislike Anders with every scene. And since when do Cylon Raiders bleed?

OK, Cylons retreat because they're freaked out learning that the final five are mouth-breathers. Opening credits. Gods, I missed them!

Baltar learns his groupies are actually cultists and he's their Messiah. Right. We get probably the best facial expression work by James Callis ever:

Back to Starbuck. Oh, right, she was supposed to be dead for months instead of just round the block fetching cigarettes (or better: pictures of Earth's yellow moon). Could the whole flightdeck give me their best WTF?! expressions? Thanks!

Back to Baltar, Baltarettes and Chip-Six. I don't know what happened to JC between the seasons, but frankly, he's giving the best Baltar ever. Tricia's not bad either. Let's all feel God's presence for a moment, shall we?

Roslin! I don't know what's happened, but obviously all actors did undergo some serious motivational training? I've never seen the word 'airlock' so prominently written across MMD's face. And Lee's a wuzz. Convincing though. Daddy's ok in trying to be badass, although I still can't help thinking how cute he and Laura are together... I mean, look at this:

More Baltar goodness. Nuff said.

Weekly meeting of Cylon Anonymous. Glad we all agree not to shoot Adama. Wonder if that's part of a 12-step-program?

Roslin and Caprica. Hmm. A bit weak perhaps... Smells like deleted scenes to me.

Gaeta! Going all defiant little brat on Starbuck, but Helo saves the day. Knight in shining armor. Can't really see Starbuck as damsel in distress though. Feels like the wrong way. Glad they brought the FTL-jump effect back. And I love Dee. She's the best in doing countdowns. Really nailed that part.

So, Laura and Bill are sharing quarters now, eh? I like it. Apollo's sweater: Not so much. And how's everyone having 'feelings' nowadays?

Baltar! Lots of Baltar. Yay!

And I don't like Starbuck/Anders scenes. Might be because of him. Yeah, it's him. And, oh, another Boomer-reference! What's with that anyway?
And Galactica's Marines? I'm not impressed.

Cliffhanger. Me likey.

All in all, I give the episode a 5/5 (with a little extra for the absence of Cally).

BSG tonight!

2008-04-04T10:45:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder (and because I'm rather psyched):

Battlestar Galactica, tonight!

About that nasty background color

2008-04-03T12:24:00.000-07:00

Deutsche Telekom demands that engadget mobile ceases to use the color magenta in their logo. WTF? (and no, the background won't stay that way forever...)

EDIT: I had read about this on engadget as it happened but never thought of posting something about it until I found the above image (and blogpost) over at Veronica's.

Work is hellish but I'm conCERNed

2008-03-30T13:27:00.001-07:00

OK, I wanted to post a longish rant about some things going on concerning the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, but honestly, I don't find the time to do anything but work at the moment.

So I just quickly fire away some links, but fear not, I'll get back on that topic as soon as I find the time.

You might have read about the 'Doomsday Lawsuit' filed against most of the big players in particle physics (if not, take the time to do it, it's worth it, be it only for laughs). This is basically about microscopic black holes and strangelets destroying existence as we know it.

In addition to that some botanist (!) filed an additional lawsuit against CERN, because he doesn't want to be sucked in a parallel universe.

Mind you, this has nothing to do with April's Fools, this is for real!

I can't comment on this right now, since I might not be able to stop my rant once I start it (I'll try anyway in the near future), so I implore you to read the offial statement from CERN about it.

And if you see any chance in getting to Geneva this weekend, go ahead and ask the people there, it's definitely worth it.

Sorry for the incoherence, but I'm really in a hurry... TTYL!

Battlestar Goodness

2008-03-29T15:08:00.000-07:00

Two days gone leaves a lot of Battlestar Galactica updates to catch up on...

First and foremost - New clips - yay!

Second, and all over the internet, Miss Sackhoff once again shares her opinion on things (and another one). As always, a matter of interpretation I guess. Though I love the part about Leoben (next to Cavil my fave skinjob).

Next, perhaps the writer's strike wasn't all bad. Obviously the finale of BSG has been rewritten. The Olmos: "It's devastating... don't watch this program; it's not an easy ride."

Speaking of The Olmos: Did you know he was originally offered the role of Jean-Luc Picard on ST:TNG (on page 2 of a rather nice roundup)?

One last thing: Sackhoff again and (the dreaded) Park on the BSG finale.

6 days to go...

(via io9 and The Google)

Speaking of digg...

2008-03-29T14:58:00.000-07:00

... and prophecies. What do you think, digg.com would look like in the year 2028?

"2029 will be the year of Linux desktop" You really gotta love that.

(via, well, digg of course)

I have to admit it...

2008-03-29T14:49:00.000-07:00

...I'm a sucker for Top 10 lists. But, eh, who isn't, right?

So, Popular Mechanics has a really nice and, dare I say, thought provoking one: The 10 Most Prophetic SciFi Movies Ever.

And what's rather rare concerning Top 10 lists: I tend to widely agree.

(via digg)

Not dead, just smelling funny

2008-03-29T11:50:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates, been a crazy week and to top it all off I'm surrounded by chaos due to a major redo of the apartment. IKEA rules. And no, I'm not getting paid for this.

Check back for updates later today. Promise.

Don't hate me...

2008-03-26T16:01:00.000-07:00

... but I have to post this.

Great roundup of spoilers (many of them new - to me at least) for Battlestar Galactica Season 4.

Be warned, this is definitely NOT for those of you who just want hints. This is spoilerific!

(via io9)

Don't flush!

2008-03-26T15:35:00.000-07:00

John C. Dvorak over at PC Magazine speaks straight from my heart...

"People are willing to make a device that you can drop in the toilet or leave in a taxi cab the next desktop computing platform. Ridiculous."

MIT pranks are the best

2008-03-26T15:19:00.000-07:00

Hell of a day at work today, but MIT made me smile. An oversized d20 on Killian Court in honor of recently deceased Gary Gygax. Those guys are great.

(via boingboing)

Some good reads

2008-03-25T12:20:00.000-07:00

Stumbled upon some two nice articles about Battlestar Galactica today.

Christopher Lawrence describes in his LIFE ON THE COUCH column how he got to love to say 'Frak!'

Scott Brown of WIRED gives a beautiful reason why ROSLIN/AIRLOCK '08 should be the obvious choice for Americans this November.

On a more general SciFi note, James Wallace Harris does a nice rundown on the greatest Science Fiction novels of the 20th century over at Auxiliary Memory.

2008 Hugo Award Nominees

2008-03-24T10:19:00.001-07:00

This year's Hugo Award nominations are in! For those who don't know, the Hugo is one of the most important and influential Science Fiction Awards, or, as wikipedia phrases it:

The Hugo Awards are given every year for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories.

And among this year's nominations, there's an old friend: Battlestar Galactica "Razor" is nominated in the "Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form" category, competing against Dr. Who (twice!), Star Trek New Voyages and Torchwood.

Go Pegasus!

I drink to that!

2008-03-24T08:44:00.000-07:00

Don't know if you read about this: A czech ornitologist claims in a study that consumption of beer is directly correlated to the quality of your scientific work:

"According to the study, published in February in Oikos, a highly respected scientific journal, the more beer a scientist drinks, the less likely the scientist is to publish a paper or to have a paper cited by another researcher, a measure of a paper’s quality and importance."

Being a recently published junior scientist myself and well known to enjoy a cold one every once in a while, I was rather doubtful about this study.

Better than I'd ever be able to though, the Gentleman Scientist debunks this study, coming to this very nice conclusion:

"Thus, the entire study came down to only one conclusion: the five worst ornithologists in the Czech Republic drank a lot of beer."

Cheers to that!

(via /.)

The Final Five are in your fleet...

2008-03-24T04:20:00.000-07:00

The latest and greatest in BSG S4 previews. Don't tease me, bro...

(via movieweb)

EDIT: Rico from the Treks in SciFi podcast did a very nice Battlestar Galactica feature in the latest episode, covering the original 1978 series aswell as our beloved re-imaging. Tune in here!

Happy Zombie Jesus Day!

2008-03-23T05:05:00.001-07:00

Ah, holidays... Finally get to catch up on some podcasts and, obviously, blogging.

I am rather psyched about the fact that Battlestar Galactica is only two weeks away! In the meantime I'm getting my fix on YouTube watching SciFi's BSG Phenomenon over and over again (isn't Peter Krause a doll? And Joss Wheadon is THE MAN!), helps me over the pain that was Letterman's BSG Top Ten List.

What I'm still indifferent about is the announcement for Galactica's prequel 'Caprica', especially after reading this:

If “Battlestar Galactica’ is ‘Black Hawk Down.’ I would say that ‘Caprica’ is “American Beauty,’” said David Eick. (source)

Don't get me wrong, I'm a sucker for all things BSG, but my gut tells me, Caprica's quite a safe bet for a major frak-up? Please, SciFi, prove me wrong.

While waiting to see the shape of things to come, I'll continue flexing my geek-muscles re-watching Space Above and Beyond, which, I have to say, isn't half as bad as I feared it might be (I watched it on TV back in the days and you know how it goes). Earth 2 still sucks though.

On a completely different note: Anyone else wishing they could have attended SXSW?

(Zombie Jesus Copyright by explosm.net, BSG:Phenomenon and SAAB, thanks to A Very Special Someone)