Gateway by Frederik Pohl

Gateway is the first novel I've read from the mind of Frederik Pohl in fact it's my first exposure to the mans body of work despite reading a lot of "classic" scifi over the years. I can't really remember why I decided to pick up this novel but I think it just happened to be in the Masterworks Collection which was being promoted at the time.

Gateway was first published in 1977 and won the Hugo, Nebula and Locus Awards for best novel as well as the John W Campbell Award in 1978. As you can see it made a strong impression on the critics and readership something I can now attest too:)
Gateway is the first novel in the "Heechee" saga a 4 novel series which tells a story about the human race and an overpopulated Earth who find technology (mainly ships) from a missing intelligent race but the human crews (volunteers under a corporate profit led banner) are only along for the ride and a lot of them never come back or if they do they are dead.

The central character of the story is Robinette Broadhead who as a lowly worker won a lottery which gave him the funds to sign up for the Gateway project and the chance to visit the stars, we follow him as he learns how to live on the Gateway asteroid and the friendships and loves he finds there. He also learns a lot about himself and each step takes him closer to risking everything on using one of the "Heechee" ships to travel to an unknown destination in the hopes of returning with a discovery. The story is told in flashback as "Bob" a now very wealthy man talks to a Sigmund a computerised psychiatrist and we learn how he became rich and why he is an emotional wreck despite all the trappings of success. Racked with guilt over his mothers death and dreams of a unknown woman he battles with Sigmund in an effort to avoid accepting that there is something seriously wrong and bit by bit thanks to the flashbacks we learn the truth and the discoveries he made which changed him forever.

Gateway is an excellent novel, not long by today's standards but packs a lot into it's pages as it exploits the two parrallel running stories within the novel. I really hated getting near the end because I just knew there was so much more to find out about Bob and the Heechee race who left the ships and thankfully three more novels exist which continue the saga.
I simply can not recommend this novel enough, it's mildly dated for being over 30 years old but the ideas behind it are certainly not out of place so give it a go, I'm glad I did:)

Amazon UK

Well that's new.

Going though my DVD collection and ripping them one by one and then I came across a not too old DVD copy of Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and found this. Now perhaps it'll play once the printed material is peeled off but that will be answered another day but it sure is a shock as DVD's have proven bullet proof up until now.

THOR Theatrical trailer

Oh boy this looks even better than the earlier teaser.

Dragon Age: Redemption teaser - New Felicia Day Webseries

A proverbial new age has begun:)

Gaiman on Copyright Piracy and the Web

I wouldn't claim this view point could be applied to all forms of media on the web
but there is no denying the common sense of what Neil is saying.

X-Men: First Class - Official Trailer

That actually looks pretty good but then most trailers do.

Peephole Theatre

Balls N Baskets from Peephole Theatre on Vimeo.

True Grit

True Grit: Then & Now

 

A quick recap of the story for those who haven't seen either version.
A ranch owner is murdered by one of his employees and the victims daughter travels
to the town of his death to wrap up his affairs and to seek justice via a local Marshall
she hires for the job, legally and above board. Complications arise when a Texas Ranger
joins the group as he seeks the same man and the unusual trio ride into the Indian lands
to seek out the murderer and the group he is now hiding out with.

I've watched both of these movie in the last week and enjoyed them both but for different reasons.
First off the 1969 John Wayne version of the Charles Portis novel which I watched on Blu-ray.
It has to be said that The Duke pretty much always played himself and there is nothing wrong with
that as his larger than life demeanour works well for the character of Rooster Cogburn and the casting
of Kim Darby (Mattie Ross) and Glenn Campbell (LeBoeuf) both work well and the audience gets the
"pain in the arse" of Mattie required to do what she does in the movie and the easy going yet component
side to the Texas Ranger LaBoeuf.
In 1969 the classic western was nearing the end of it's reign and more and more relied on celebrity and
Glenn Campbell's casting is an aspect of that but at least he didn't sing unlike a few westerns that
cast well known singers and that includes the odd JW movie.
That said this movie still holds true to mixing humour and a light side to what is a violent movie 

even though violence in westerns always seems to be regarded differently than in other genres.
Overall the production is excellent, the photography is clear and very appealing showing the vistas
of California and Colorado but the stage work seems for some reason small or compact although very
familiar to anyone who liked westerns.
A cracking western for it's era, one of the last before the grim and grit of the 70's changed things.

The Coen Brothers version of the same novel had me a little worried when it was first announced 

but the trailer washed away those concerns and the movie proper was excellent. It is very much 

a product of it's time and that is the challenge in taking a genre rooted in the past and bringing 

21st century demands to the production. The casting of Jeff Bridges was inspired and like 

John Wayne before him he does what he does very well, decades of experience probably made t

his role rather easy to deliver yet you never
doubt the character. Hailee Steinfeld plays Mattie Ross but as a younger girl which makes her 

performance perhaps more appealing than Kim, it was tougher to do and maybe added an edge to 

the movie more in line with the darker aspects of the novel. The casting of Matt Damon raised 

a few eyebrows but you know I would not have recognised him nor his work as LaBoeuf and i

sn't that one of the aims of acting, to be someone else.
This version of the movie looks very different, it's a lot darker and grimey which is a style we 

are getting used to and works well if the source material suits and in this case it does. 

Overall the Coen's have produced a very entertaining modern looking yet familiar western 

which is no easy task if only to convince the money men that the movie is viable in today's market.

At the end of the day as these two movies are both based on the same book it's safe to say if you 

liked one you will get something positive out of the other however in regards to which is you favourite 

that may simply come down to your age and how you view the western genre.
Personally I prefer the John Wayne version, I am used to the Duke and prefer the lighter touches of 

that movie but there is no questioning the quality of the Coen Brothers production and at the very l

east watch one or the other.

True Grit (1969)

True Grit (2010)

Jace Hall Show

No idea who the guy is but there are some bits on the set off Stargate Universe and V including some footage of Jane Badler sitting on the command deck of the Destiny, it must be pleasant to be in an actual set not an ubered green screened one for V:)

More Jace Hall Show Videos

TNG XXX

There have been a number of TOS parodies but I think this is the first TNG full feature.

More images which are certainly not workplace safe or family friendly can be found on the Fleshbot website.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Done in 60 Seconds 2011

Winter Girls! The Key of Awesome #34!!

One of the funniest videos they've done recently.

Playboy Tron Legacy

Battle: Los Angeles

Is it bad to cheer on the aliens?

Behemoth - Syfy Original Movie-Premiere

Behemoth - Syfy Original Movie-Premiere: "An underground creature raises terror and destruction in a small town. Premieres Saturday January 15 9/8C."

Pawn Stars

I've just started watching this History Channel show and I've really been enjoying it. It's a simply premise, a family Pawn business and the customers and items they see on a daily basis. It gets a little repetitive when you are mainlining the 20 odd minutes episodes sans adverts and credits but I like the people and some of the items pawned/sold/bought are very interesting.

Pawn Stars

Star Wars on Blu-ray, finally.

It's finally been announced that the Star Wars movies are coming to Blu-ray ont he 26th of September in a number of configurations.

• Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray (9-disc Set includes all six films)
• Star Wars: Prequel Blu-ray Trilogy (3-disc set includes Episodes I-III)
• Star Wars: Original Blu-ray Trilogy (3-disc set includes Episodes IV-VI) 

All of the boxsets are up for pre-order with AmazonUK listing the uber collection at a quite reasonable £69.99
The official Star Wars site has the original blurb.

The Dresden Files Disk 3

The Other Dick
Harry has to go to PI school to allow him to continue to work as a
consultant but this is Harry and well the PI who is teaching the class
turns up dead and complications arise as Harry is found over the body.

The PI's assistant Liz played by Claudia Black
suspects Harry but he knows magic was involved
and they eventually team up to track down the killer.
We have a lot of humour in this episode, dick jokes
and a runninggag with Harry being addressed as
Harvey and great chemistry between Harry and Liz,
Claudia's over the top in yer face performance is great.


What About Bob
Harry gets a little careless and a woman he spends the night with steals
Bob and delivers it to an old enemy. For a reader of the novels this epsiode
really does feel so wrong both with Harry once again with a woman but
the backstory of his father and how Harry came into his power and his
training after his father died.
Lots of flashbacks go hand in hand with the reopening of the investigation
into the death of Justin, Harry's uncle in this series.

Things that go Bump
Seeking refuge Morgan, Ancient Mai and a few friends turn up on Harry's
doorstep but to complicate matters Murphy is already there and with the
defences raised no one is going anywhere anytime soon.
They soon realise the building is cut off from the world and surrounded by
blackness which from time to time manifests figures which seem to tempt
individuals into leaving the safety of the building and entering the void.
With the clock ticking Harry has to discover the cause and solution to this
trap as one by one people die. An excellent episode and was conceived to
save money being in one location and shot in 6 days.

Second City
Murphy's dad pays a visit intent on protecting his daughter from the influence
of a con-artist/grifter known as Dresden or was it to avenge a death
of a partner. The mysterious drowning of a man on a city sidewalk kicks off the
episode as Harry also contends with his doubts over the risk he puts Murphy in
every time he helps her out.

I'm not a fan of this episode, the presence
of Joe Murphy just feels wrong and it gets
bogged down in the relationships or lack
there of. If the show had gone for a full season
or two then this would be just a weak ep but as
the final aired episode and last on the DVD the
show does not end on a high note.


The final disk contains the commentary for "Things that go Bump" and a small behind the scenes feature.
The show is well worth watching but does show it's age (yeah the TV world has changed in 5 years) but
more obvious is the restrictions on such rich source material in terms of the budget and production
timeframe. I'm not going to criticise the results because I've enjoyed the rewatch and without the TV
series I may never have picked up the novel Storm Front and become such a fan of Jim Butcher.

The Dresden Files Disk 2

Bad Blood

This is a Bianca story and partly told in flashback when Harry met her just
after he had killed Justin. In this version Bianca is very different from the
novels having had a sexual relationship with him and still considering him
if not a friend not an enemy.Mystery surrounds an assassination attempt
against Bianca which draws in the high council wet work team who
themselves get butchered and in walks Ancient Mia asking about Bianca
and a drug called "Third Eye". Power struggles and betrayals abound as
Harry simply tries to survive as all around him blood is split.
Joanne Kelly (Warehouse 13) and Laura Vandervoort (Smallville, V) co-star.

Soul Beneficiary
Three separate people die while in Harry's office/home, one of them twice and so
we have Harry investigating the darkest black magic used to kill while getting
some serious looks from the guys on the meat wagon. We also learn a little of
Bob's history and meet Waldo Butters a semi-regular in the novels but alas
he is the character in name only, polka wasn't even born in this version.
There are a few laughs in this episode especially near the end and helps
to lighten the mood a little, it is a rather nasty crime and the main victim
really does go through the ringer.

Walls
Harry witnesses a hit and run and the death of a young woman who had
been seeking his help. An off the book investigation of a local college fraternity
identifies those involved and the use of black magic to aid in various robberies
including a bank job which goes tragically wrong.
A fairly generic story of demon influence and the naive being blind to the
consequences and apart from the girl and one young man you don't feel
any sympathy for them something Bob is quite happy to point out.

 



Storm Front
The re-edit of the pilot down to 42minutes eventually turns up as the eighth
episode in the broadcast schedule, never a good thing. As mentioned earlier
Harry investigates the death of a mobster and his girlfriend who both
died through black magic. Harry is also chased down by a demon, deals with
a local reporter and threats from Ancient Mai and Morgan.
There are huge chunks missing in this edit but some of them do turn up
in other episodes but this certainly wouldn't have made a good pilot and
the full version was too different to the actual series. Best of a bad job I guess:)

2011, Here We Go Again

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!