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I barely watch any TV anymore, but after hearing Vic rave about Lost for the past couple of weeks, I decided to try to catch the rebroadcast of episodes one and two last night. I am hooked! Granted, I was watching while baking brownies, stuffing Christmas cards into envelopes, and a number of other things, so I missed a several chunks of the story here and there, but wow, it's a captivating show. Jenny
Just watched HERO. Questionable use of the effects, but a great story if you can stand reading it! If I had known it was subtitled, I would have passed on that one. We have a review of Hero by Amazing reviewer Ray Winninger in our next issue. Anyone see House of Flying Daggers yet? Jenny
This last weekend we rented Hidalgo and the Girl Next Door. They were both really good. I'm not too sure most other women would be comfortable with Girl Next Door, but it was well done. Did you see Roger Ebert's adorable review of Hidalgo? Jenny
Wow, Mike: you spell your name "Micheal" rather than the more traditional "Michael"? I never knew that. You've always just been "Mike" to me! Jenny
On October 30 at 6:00 p.m., in conjunction with the launch of the new Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame display "The War of the Worlds," which relives H.G. Wells's novel of Martian invasion, Seattle public-radio station KUOW will air Orson Welles's famous 1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast. (Outside the Seattle area, you can listen online at kuow.org.) Remember: don't panic. Jenny
I think that would be really cool, especially if they were broken into installments, like old radio, so that each day on your drive to work, say, you'd listen to the newest exciting episode of the story. It'd be a fun way to keep the suspense going! (Incidentally, the only time not-in-the-car time I've ever enjoyed an audiobook was a couple years back when I listened to Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway (how un-SF, un-fantasy can you get?). I used to go for a walk every day back then, and every day I'd listen to the book as I walked—which was awesome because most of the novel is the titular characater's thoughts as she walks around London, shopping for a party. It made it easy to imagine being the character.) But the car is definitely my preferred audiobook listening location. Jenny
After being exhorted to do so by several friends, I have recently begun watching the first season of Babylon 5 on DVD ... and have found much of it tedious. Does the series really get better? That's what everyone else says too! It's frustrating though. I mean, if the first fifth of a novel were this tedious, a lot of people would probably just quit reading it. Should viewers be expected to sit through a dull first season to get to the good stuff? But then, I'm kind of impatient. Jenny
"Zombies fast?" or "Zombies slow?" It is my firm belief that fast zombies are utterly unsporting, akin to the "jumping spiders" I saw recently on display at the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, BC. Things should be either spiders or capable of jumping. They should be fast or zombies. Not both. Jenny
The SF Museum's fall film series kicks off this Friday with the 1950s classic The Day the Earth Stood Still. From the museum's website: "We’ve selected six landmark SF film from the 1950s to the present to view and discuss. It’s been years since some of us have had an opportunity to see some of the best sci-fi movies made on the big screen and we’re looking forward to it! Award winning science fiction authors like Greg Bear and John Kessel, local film critics, and other experts will introduce each film and lead audience discussions afterwards." Here's the lineup: October 8: The Day the Earth Stood Still
Jenny
After being exhorted to do so by several friends, I have recently begun watching the first season of Babylon 5 on DVD ... and have found much of it tedious. Does the series really get better? Jenny
If you could have any actor alive narrate any book in print, who and what would they be? Jenny
Talk Like a Pirate Day falls on a weekend this year (Sunday, September 19). What day should it be observed in the workplace? Yar!
I haven't read comics in far too long, although going through my collection last night reminded me that I want to find a local comic shop. Not to play favorites, but try The Dreaming Comics and Games, on the Ave (5226 University Way NE, Seattle). Owner is a really nice guy I used to work with. Their number is (206) 525-9394; I don't think they have a website. Jenny
Maybe some genetic engineering is in order. Frankendogs is what I'm talking about. Bernese Pharoah Dogs. Bichon Pyrenees. Newfoodles. By the way, you probably already know this, but there are some really helpful books out there like Right Dog for You, Perfect Match, and Your Purebred Puppy: A Buyer's Guide. If I hadn't already sold mine at Powell's, I'd have donated them to the Head family. Oh well! Jenny
Aren't those Egyptian dogs supposed to be essentially hairless, rendering them extraordinarily low on the allergic-reaction scale? Are you talking about a Pharaoh Hound? They're beautiful. I hear they really need to run though; they're not a breed for a sedentary family. I knew a family in which one member had severe allergies, and they had a Bichon frise, which they said was hypoallergenic. They're little, white, froofy dogs though, nothing like a Bernese. Jenny, who did a lot of research on dog breeds several years ago when she thought she wanted one
If you get a chance to play this game, you should do so. It's quite good, and well deserving of its Spiel des Jahres award. I second Mike's recommendation—and not just because I beat him at it twice. ; ) It's a really fun game. Jenny
Fantastic! These guys were extremely funny and witty in the Q&A. One question I didn't get to ask is what their favorite horror movies are. Another is if they blame the American audience for the sudden abundance of "fast zombies". I'm sure they are huge fans of D&D zombies. Partial moves only, baby. I can't wait to see <I>Shaun of the Dead.</i> Have you seen the British TV comedy show Spaced? It stars Simon Pegg (who shares a writing credit with his costar, Jessica Stevenson) and was directed by Edgar Wright. Very funny stuff, with plenty of genre references. Jenny
I think the bandwagon effect really hurt this movie. Shyamalan's always hyped as the new master of terror, and other monikers I find generally misapplied. 'The Village' is marketed as a supernatural horror film, which it most definitely is not. I agree. The movie didn't quite work for me, but I think it would have worked if it had been marketed as a drama and the story's emphasis had shifted sooner from the terror of the creatures to the terror inflicted by human beings. The setting of the village raises interesting ideas about what the price tag is for a utopia, and I wish the story had plumbed them more deeply. On the other hand, then it would be an entirely different movie and we probably wouldn't be talking about it on the <I>Amazing Stories</i> messageboards! Jenny
Anyone ever see the Amazing Stories TV series, created and produced by Steven Spielberg? Season one is coming out on DVD November 2. I've never seen it—how is it? Jenny
There has already been a full-page article about "JSA: Strange Adventures" in the magazine: look again at page 33 of #604.... Heh. Apparently, the time between when we edit a sidebar like that one ("Waiting in the Wings") and when the issue comes out is longer than my memory! Good catch. Now if only they'd time travel to 2004 and put current editor-in-chief, Dave Gross, in the story. . . . Jenny
Wow... I expected that these boards would be full. I guess everyone is over in the Dragon and Dungeon forums... Or maybe everyone is over in Indianapolis at Gen Con! Jenny
I just read JSA Strange Adventures and was delighted to discover that Amazing Stories plays a starring role! Amazing Stories founder Hugo Gernsback is a character in the story, as is veteran science-fiction author Jack Williamson, whose first Amazing Stories story was published in 1928. Williamson wrote a dramatic, interplanetary "1,000 Words" story for our November issue (#605), which is due out next month. The circle is now complete! Jenny |
