Beam Me Up Science Fiction in the news,on tv,at the movies or in print. Whatever is of interest to you and to me is fair game. I also discuss cutting edge science that just might influence new sci-fi Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 0 0 0 5471

Articles from Beam Me Up

Peter Berg to Direct "Dune" Remake 2007-12-24 16:49:00 Hey, did you know there was a remake of Frank Herbert's Dune being bandied about in the blogosphere? No? Well neither did I! Talk of knocking me over with a feather. Here is the info as I read it from SciFi Scanner: David Lynch's Dune has its goofy charm, but in retrospect, he was clearly the wrong man to direct the big screen adapation of Frank Herbert's novel. Over 20 years later, we ...

Ben Rosenbaum announces The Ant King and Other Stories out in August 2008 2007-12-24 00:48:00 Benjamin Rosenbaum just sent me a note to let us know that his book of short stories will be out next year. Here is a piece of what he sent: The big news (if I haven't told you already) is that my first full-length collection of short stories -- "The Ant King and Other Stories" -- is going to be published by Small Beer Press, best small press EVAR, in August 2008. I will let you know more as ...

FBI prepares vast database of biometrics 2007-12-24 00:24:00 Shaun sends in this article saying only...MallCity, need I say more? The FBI is embarking on a $1 billion effort to build the world's largest computer database of peoples' physical characteristics, a project that would give the government unprecedented abilities to identify individuals in the United States and abroad. Next month, the FBI intends to award a 10-year contract that would ...

Go off the grid with a personal nuclear reactor! REALLY! 2007-12-22 00:42:00 Toshiba has developed a new class of micro size Nuclear Reactors that is designed to power individual apartment buildings or city blocks. The new reactor is only 20 feet by 6 feet and is designed to supply 200 kw for 5 cents per kh. Unlike traditional nuclear reactors the new micro reactor uses no control rods to initiate the reaction. The new technology uses reservoirs of liquid lithium-6, an ...

'Active glacier found' on Mars 2007-12-21 22:58:00 Shaun Saunders send in this article from BBC News online. We have seen evidence that water in liquid form was once common on Mar's surface. Today, evidence shows that a significant amount of the Martian polar regions are composed of water ice. However up to this point this was considered ancient ice, many millions of years old. Recent overflights of the Deuteronilus Mensae region between Mars ...

How to talk to aliens or mom Herb just made a bad smell at me! 2007-12-21 15:48:00 Over at the SciFi Scanner blog, John Brownlee posted an interesting article that has facinated and bothered me equally for years. Science fiction tv shows and movies have, to varying degrees, show that aliens may well not look like us, but for the most part, they all seem to sound like us. In John's words: The problem of communicating with extraterrestrials has been a fascinating intellectual ...

Review of A War Of Gifts - An Ender Story by Orson Scott Card 2007-12-19 15:01:00 Anyone that has listened to me long enough will know that I am a proponent of audio book, hell audio anything. Beam Me Up has from the start supported the audio format. I really believe that some stories just seem to come alive with someone else reading them to you. Not always...but sometimes. I think I have found just such an example. A few weeks ago Ron and I tag team slammed OSC's newest ...

Review: Wastelands, Stories of the Apocalypse 2007-12-19 12:39:00 function addToInputBox(tag) { document.getElementById("user-tags").value = appendTagToString(tag,document.getElementById("user-tags").value,','); } function removeFromInputBox(tag) { document.getElementById("user-tags").value = removeTagFromString(tag,document.getElementById("user-tags").value,','); } function ...

Shatner meets Miss Piggy on a plane... 2007-12-18 18:42:00 Ok, so maybe I am clipin in too many videos....but this clip was funny and it has special meaning to me. Do you remember Terror at 20 thousand feet, no not that one, the REAL one, black and white Twilight Zone episode with Bill Shatner over acting right out of his ever lovin mind? Yeah that one. I saw it when I was like 7 and it scared the bejesus out of me. Couldn't look through windows ...

Real Life Cylon Raiders closer than we think! 2007-12-18 17:25:00 Over at the SciFi scanner blog I found a story concerning advancements in cybernetic that are enough to raise goosebumps. Any fan of the new BSG knows of the Cylon Raiders. Espcially when we saw Starbuck slide inside one and began pulling and pushing on the bio gunk inside. We are made very aware that inside the shinny exterior is a living thing. All in all a pretty disturbing image. From ...

Black Hole Fires At Neighboring Galaxy 2007-12-18 15:56:00 Remember Shaun Saunders short story Last Light (episode 39 of BMU) which told the tale of a dying civilization's last gasp effort for immortality? I won't ruin the ending for you, but it is one of my favorite short stories hands down. Well here is an article from science daily about the very same cosmic event that was highlighted in Saunders' story. As frightening as the event was to read ...

Intergalactic Explosion Shocks Astronomers 2007-12-18 15:31:00 Astronomers have discovered a cosmic explosion that seems to have come from the middle of nowhere -- thousands of light-years from the nearest galaxy-sized collection of stars, gas, and dust. This "shot in the dark" is surprising because the type of explosion, a long-duration gamma-ray burst, is thought to be powered by the death of a massive star. Complete article (hummmmm so it was an ...

New billboard puts voices in your head 2007-12-17 17:44:00 Well we have read about billboard that can track you, computer programs that can tell who you are even if you have a disguise on and we all know how insidious online marketing is in targeting specific product to you. Shaun has shown us a world where all this is just around the corner with his mallcity and infoscreens. Well as scary as that sounds, advertisers have stepped up and gone one ... Billboard

10 Sad DIY Geek Gifts You Should Never Buy 2007-12-17 15:50:00 Ok, so I was reading through the SciFi Dvice blog and came across this. Is it cutting edge science? nope, is it material for the podcast? NOOOOOOOOPE. Then WTF!? exactly! It was funny, it was geekie, it has some sci fi stuff and its seasonal! Here is the copy from Dvice: Etsy is an amazingly useful site that gives people a chance to sell DIY crafts that you often can't find ...

Issue 115 of AntipodeanSF is now available 2007-12-17 13:44:00 Hi all, Just a short note to wish you all the top o' the season, and to remind you that Issue 115 of AntipodeanSF is now available for your enjoyment on the web. You'll find us at our usual address with our usual mix of flash fiction and reviews: www.antisf.com This month's flash stories are: "The 32 Paths" by Nathan Burrage "Close Encounter" by Richard Pitaniello "Just Your Type" by Joan ...