Sci Fi Pool

Dark Shadows Film Set

2011-07-24T22:20:00.000+01:00

Dark Shadows, the new film by Tim Burton starring Johnny Depp (with Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter and Alice Cooper) is currently being filmed in Bourne Woods near Farnham in Surrey.

the Film is a Gothic Horror tale based on the 60's TV series set in the Collinwood Mansion.

I have been lucky enough to get access to the set and have a range of pics to share with you.

My Journey started here with warnings for unwary wanderers that a film set was up ahead:

I had permission to pass and went on to the famous Gateway to the Collinwood Mansion:

More Pics to follow .......

For Sci Fi Pool Highlights on 24th July see links below at bottom of page in Sci Fi Mashup:

John Carter Trailer

2011-07-21T09:37:00.002+01:00

John Carter Trailer is now up on You Tube - click here and it will take you through: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Rf55GTEZ_E

Looks Awsome - Edgar Rice Burroughs' books are amoung some of my favorite so I can not tell you how excited I am too see his wonderful vision of swashbuckling Mars brought to the sliver screen with full modern day blockbuster CGI - and it's in 3D!! Roll on March 2012.

For Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 21st July See links below at bottom of page in Sci Fi Mashup for more news and information:

Bond Bombs

2008-10-21T17:44:00.003+01:00

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 21st October Include:

Bond Bombs - the new Bond film Quantum of Solace has received some big knocks in its pre-view last night to the press .... not enough sex, too much violence and bored .... comments you just wouldn't think could be associated with a Bond movie!!

See links below at bottom of page in Sci Fi Mashup for more news and information:

All Hail Ridley Scott & Joe Haldeman

2008-10-15T15:38:00.003+01:00

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 15th October Include:

Ridley Scott to return to Sci-Fi films with The Forever War - Joe Haldeman's epic sci-fi masterpiece is finally to made into a film and who better by then the illustrious Ridley Scott ... can't wait

See links below at bottom of page in Sci Fi Mashup for more news and information:

EM Drive Potential, Advice for Writers, Inspiration from Heinlein and will Watchmen be watched?

2008-10-10T09:45:00.005+01:00

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 10th October Include:

Is the EM Drive Possible? - converting electro-magnetic energy int propulsion? ..... well there have been crazier theories ..... like turning chip fat oil into propulsion .... oh yea that actually worked didn't it?
Advice for Aspiring Writers - from some of the top editors of today's short story magazines
Even Robert Heinlein wasn't sure if he was any good - in a similar vein to the above ... some inspiration from one of the greats
How will the Watchmen Movie go down in the US - the all important first market to crack ... but is it the right kind of story to appeal? ... Sci-fi.com has some reasons why it may not be

See links below at bottom of page in Sci Fi Mashup for more news and information:

Cargo Ship Dies, Dick Trilogy, Computer Gamer Death, Paul Newman RIP, Sci-fi writers after death, Turn off Autism, End of HCL, Dark Flow, Singularity

2008-09-29T17:14:00.005+01:00

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 29th September Include:

Death Dive of Space Cargo Ship on Monday - sad way for a successful mission to end
New Philip K Dick trilogy - an it is introduced by the man himself ... apparently
When computer games go too far - British gamer murdered .... is there a connection
Actor Paul Newman dies at 83 - the great screen icon will be missed
What happens to sci-fi writers after they die - some interesting cases
A switch to turn off Autism - they have identified ways in which they could potentially control Autism ... hope for thousands
Not the end of the world just the end of the Hadron Collider - until spring next year anyway
Dark Flow - the new theory that permeates the darker regions outside our Universe
Singularity just our fear of change? - The Web site at the end of the Universe thinks so anyway
The End of Star Trek:The Experience - I would like to add my commiserations to what I thought was an excellent experience and one of the only good thing about Vegas
Free e-Books from Award winners - Will Shetterly and Emma Bull offer you something for nothing

See links below at bottom of page in Sci Fi Mashup for more news and information:

The Day the World Ends or Time Travel Begins

2008-09-10T10:27:00.004+01:00

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 10th September Include:

The Hadron Collider fires up today - aimed at re-creating events just after the Big Bang, the atom smashing Hadron Collider successfully fired its fist particles around the 17km tunnel earlier on today ... to some this means the end of the world or the beginning of Time Travel.
The experiment hopes to create small black holes which the scientists at CERN in Switzerland say are perfectly safe (makes you wonder if they know what a black hole is??!!) while others say that this will create a Black Hole inside our planet (where the tunnel is located) and suck us all into oblivion. Luckily they don;t start smashing atoms together to create these black holes for a few days yet.
There are still others that believe that these small black holes will actually manifest themselves into multiple Einstein-Rosen Bridges ... these wormholes will connect, through time or inter-dimensionally, thus enabling the start of Time Travel or portals into alternate Universes
How exciting today is ....

See links below at bottom of page in Sci Fi Mashup for more news and information:

Amazon to be cleared again!, Does Positive thinking do more harm than good, Earwax is good for you and Earth's Atmosphere leaks Oxygen

2008-08-29T15:54:00.004+01:00

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 29th August Include:

Amazon was cleared 600 years ago - and no we are doing it again ... although then it was for a human network of villages, now it is for greed
Does positive thinking do more damage than good? - There are those who think that if you have positive thoughts you will heal quicker, but what does that mean for those people who are ill and simply can't feel positive, for instance the clinically depressed?
Earwax is good for you - now there is a headline I never thought I would write ... but apparently its true and you should never stick "anything smaller than your elbow" into your ear!! Go on try that ... I dare you
Earth Atmosphere leaks Oxygen - and in the far future this process will actually speed up ... darn it, something else to worry about!

See links below at bottom of page in Sci Fi Mashup for more news and information:

Genetically engineered Ear Hair, Google helps web go AI, Arctic Carbon Scare, 4 tougher Megatrends and Red Dwarf is back so things can't be that bad!

2008-08-28T17:30:00.005+01:00

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 28th August Include:

Genetically Engineered hairs to help Hearing - apparently gene therapy grown hairs in mice have helped reduce hearing loss ... so it is good to have all those hairs growing out of your ears!!
Google to help net become AI - according to IO9 anyway ... Google are bringing us predictive text to our search boxes ... I am not sure that constitutes AI, but the concept of Google creating an AI web is an interesting one
Arctic Carbon Scare - as the ice thaws how much carbon could really be release and what affect would it have on the atmosphere?
4 megatrends to make your life harder - as if mine wasn't hard enough!!
Red Dwarf is Back - According to IO9 the Red Dwarf team will re-unite for an hour long special

See links below at bottom of page in Sci Fi Mashup for more news and information:

Ruddy Rucker's ideas on Sci-fi, Ever wanted to star in MST3K?, BSG not dead despite ratings and Man walks on Robot Legs

2008-08-27T17:45:00.005+01:00

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 27th August Include:

Ruddy Rucker's ideas on Sci-fi - off the wall and out of the norm ... ruddy gives us 9 ideas which break the rules
Paraplegic walks with Robot Legs - Tech Singular anyone?
Ever wanted to star in your own MST3K? - well now you can ... their web site is open for submissions
BSG still a hit despite ratings - so are we just watching stuff in a different way now ... DVD, web, TIVO, etc

See links below at bottom of page in Sci Fi Mashup for more news and information:

Wireless Electricity, Do we need sleep?, Do you remember John Titor?, More Riddick, More Highlander and More Dr Who Movies

2008-08-26T13:10:00.003+01:00

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 26th August Include:

Wireless Electricity - well everything else is wireless these days so why not ... although this article fails to explain how it works, they are pretty confident it is coming
Do we need sleep? - The answer all depends on what you mean by sleep apparently
Do you remember John Titor? - Tor.com does and brings us another failed prediction
More Riddick on the way? - lets hope it is better than the last one and more up to the Original
More Highlander news - IO9 are reporting Journeyman and Rome star to take over Highlander
Dr Who the Movie? - Moffat says it is a possibility

See links below at bottom of page in Sci Fi Mashup for more news and information:

Stargate Dead and Reborn, Arctic Disintegration, Elves of the Atmosphere and FaceBook Dungeons and Dragons

2008-08-22T12:57:00.004+01:00

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 22th August Include:

Stargate Atlantis to end but Universe to begin - Stargate Atlantis will not be re-newed for a 6th season however a new series Stargate Universe has been given the green light ... can't wait, I'm a big fan of Stargate
Arctic disintegration - how much of the Arctic is falling off? click here for an IO9 take on it plus pictures ... and here for a good education video of the history, monitoring systems and affects
Elves and Sprites in the Atmosphere - This is not what you think ... apparently during an electrical storm there are bizarre flashes which shoot up into the upper atmosphere and they have been named Elves, Sprites, Jets and Halos
FaceBook Dungeons and Dragons Tiny Adventures - cool I must try it

See links below at bottom of page in Sci Fi Mashup for more news and information:

Humans stuck in own Solar System, But Mirco Space Craft aren't, What is a Planet anyway, Hobbit finds writers and how to live on Venus

2008-08-20T17:32:00.004+01:00

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 20th August Include:

Humans will never get outside Solar System - According to the Joint Propulsion Conference recently in Hartford, Connecticut (yes I know I am disappointed I didn't get to go either) they have decided that the advances needed in propulsion technology to get us to go interstellar are un-feasible ... are they right or just short sighted?
So will Micro Space Craft go instead? - According to the 236th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (I know, I know, I missed that one as well) they have just invented a very thin covering which brings micro space craft closer to reality
What Does Planet Mean? - so we are stuck on this planet by the looks of tings ... but what exactly does planet mean, and what is one ... or not
The Hobbit writer search has ended - with Guillermo Del Toro and Peter Jackson deciding that no-one can do a better job than they can, so they will do it themselves
How to live on Venus - in a floating Bubble apparently

See links below at bottom of page in Sci Fi Mashup for more news and information:

10 Solar System Mysteries, X-Files III to DVD, Synthetic Telepathy, Growing New Bones and Mythopoeic Award Winners

2008-08-19T09:19:00.006+01:00

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 19th August Include:

10 Mysteries we still need to solve in our Solar System - when I say "need" obviously I mean "think about over a cup of coffee on a slow Friday afternoon" ...
X-Files III will be direct to DVD - yes folks they will be back even although none of us wanted to believe this time round
Synthetic Telepathy - computers will decode electroencephalography (EEG) signals from non-invasive bran imagery systems ... wow, I wonder if that sentence would be easier to think and get decoded than it would be to say!
Growing new Bones - using Hydrogel to grow new bones
Mythopoeic Awards Winners - If you are looking for some late summer or Bank Holiday reading check out these Fiction and non-fiction fantasy winners

See links below at bottom of page in Sci Fi Mashup for more news and information:

India to the Moon, Digital Drugs, TheWB.com goes sci-fi, Cosmic Void void of dark matter and What next after Akira live action?

2008-08-18T10:44:00.005+01:00

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 18th August Include:

India's voyage to the Moon - To rival China, Europe and the US India is determined to go to the moon with Chandrayaan-1 set for a September Launch ... Another country striving for scientific advancement while the US seems to languish
Digital Drugs - so you thought your ipod, or your kids ipod, was safe did you ... well it may prove to be as addictive as heroin if this article is right
TheWB.com increases Sci-Fi content - If Hulu.com doesn't have everything you need then head over to thewb.com as they have just added Babylon5 and Firefly to their list which already contains Smallville, Roswell and Buffy.
Cosmic Void doesn't even have Dark Matter - I guess that's why they call it a void?
Akira live action, what next? - IO9 have a great list of what Manga they would like to see made into Live Action after Akira hits the screens next year

See links below at bottom of page in Sci Fi Mashup for more news and information:

BigFoot scam?, Future of Fuel is trees, Future of Sci-fi is YA, China is USA's Future, Future Books?, Twilight takes Potter and Cassini bears fruit

2008-08-16T09:25:00.006+01:00

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 16th August Include:

Scepticism over Bigfoot find - no, really?
Future of Fuel is genetically modified Trees - apparently they can dissolve into bio-fuel ... neat
Future of sci-fi books is Young Adult - with an ageing and shrinking adult audience sci-fi fiction's counterpart in Young Adult fiction is booming ... they are the future in more ways than one ... but to just to balance the Universe io9 also run a "counterpoint" to this article where the author says "Stop Writing YA Sci-Fi"
China to replace USA as world's No 1 Super power - as if we hadn't already seen this one coming!
New Format Internet-Books - Check this IO9 article out on a new format "motion book" called "Deadbooks" ... can't say I am a fan from what I have seen so far
Stephenie Meyer's Twilight takes Harry Potter's place - The Teen Vampire hit movie version is to take the Nov 21 premier slot from Harry Potter's recent edition which has been moved to July next year ... it's like musical chairs over there!
Cassini Pictures bear fruit - Saturn's little messed up moon is giving back better pictures now through the Cassini probe, and scientist think they can identify the geysers origins and even what environment they come from

See links below at bottom of page in Sci Fi Mashup for more news and information:

Torchwood moves to BBC 1 in week long special, The Mult-Verse Explained and Bigfoot found - apparenlty!

2008-08-15T09:23:00.003+01:00

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 15th August Include:

Torchwood to move to BBC 1 - The Dr Who spin off returns for it's 3rd season, but is moved to the BBC flagship, mainstream broadcast channel BBC 1, and will air as 5 episodes running on consecutive days over 1 week ... lets hope it is as good as this move and new format would suggest it is
The Mulit-Verse Explained - ever wondered exactly how it works and who can explain it to you? Well here is a 1 hour radio interview which should explain everything ... probably!
Bigfoot found - apparently ... mmmhhhh

See links below at bottom of page in Sci Fi Mashup for more news and information:

Apparently we can go faster than light, Gordon the Robot has living brain and New Comedy has spoof sci-fi side

2008-08-14T09:38:00.003+01:00

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 14th August Include:

Apparently we can go faster than light - or at least there are two scientists (mad ones?) who believe we can by folding space/time ... mmmhhhh
Gordon the robot has living brain - all be it a stitched together rat brain, but it is still the first robot controlled by a living brain ... mmmmhhh I wonder what kind of brain they will use next
New comedy Gentlemen Broncos has Sci-fi side - a new viral marketing campaign advertising a new comedy show, Gentlemen Broncos, includes absurd sci-fi author ... io9 has the scoop, but I have to say it didn't make me laugh as much as Dr Horrible

See links below at bottom of page in Sci Fi Mashup for more news and information:

New Conan, Wheel of Time movie, Amphibian Destruction, Human Evolved by cooking, Star Trek MMOG, MST3K, Car Future and Awards

2008-08-13T09:20:00.007+01:00

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 13th August Include:

New Conan Film - plus same writing team to make an Amazon movie staring Scarlett Johansson
Wheel of Time movie - Robert Jordan's series to be made into a film by Universal
First Enceladus images - These images of the Cassini fly by of Saturn's Moon is not as impressive as I htouhgt it would be ... no shooting geysers
Frog Deaths warn of new Mass Extinction - Amphibians are apparently on the verge of extinction according to Berkley Scientists ... if right this would be the 6th mass distinction event Earth has seen ... and we are to blame apparently
Humans evolved because of cooking - what probably saved us from a mass extinction was our ability to cook and allow nutrients to be more readily absorbed ... as a species we changed little in the 150,000 years before cooking, but afterwards we exploded in terms of advances suggesting that cooking had a lot to do with our brain development
Star Trek online gaming ready to engage - the latest in both online gaming and the Star Trek franchise looks set to stun (ooops 2 puns in one article)
Mystery Science Theatre 3000 downloads - yup, you can get your fix from any of the 10 seasons they did and download them ... wow!
The future of cars - It won't be long before petrol cars are extinct, but what next and when can we expect them ... time to upgrade now before mine becomes worthless I think
Awards - Hugo, Campbell and Golden Duck winners ... Robert Heinlein Winner ... and ones to watch out for in the future

See links below at bottom of page in Sci Fi Mashup for more news and information:

Cameron's Avatar has an eye on future 3D, 3D's future is 6D and Robot futures are touch sensative

2008-08-08T21:15:00.004+01:00

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 8th August Include:

Cameron's Avatar is made for the future - He is making the film to be shown in 3D although it will still look good in 2D, but he is also making it to take advantage of future developments, which he sees as more 3D than 2D ... can wait to see what he is talking about
The Future of 3D is "6D" - Not just images, but images that can respond to their environment ... come on then Cameron let's see if you have taken that into consideration in Avatar?
New skin for Robots - a new rubbery skin has been developed which could be much better for providing robots with tactile abilities ... I wonder if that could be used in conjunction with 6D as well?

See links below at bottom of page in Sci Fi Mashup for more news and information:

Solar System is unique, Charles Stross on UK Sci-Fi, Is NASA holding back on Mars?, Star Trek comics DVD, Cthulhu movie, Sci-fi does Shakespeare

2008-08-07T20:54:00.009+01:00

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 7th August Include:

New Simulations take a different look at the Solar System - and apparently we are more special then we thought ... studying the recent exoplanets have given scientists a better understanding of just how unique our solar system really is and how much Saturn and Jupiter are important
Charles Stross on UK Sci-Fi optimism - io9 have interview the writer and he thinks that US sci-fi is much more pessimistic than UK ... among other things, including the fact that he doesn't watch TV and movies ... now apart from that being a little weird, how does he make sure he keeps abreast of developments within the genre ... well apparently he doesn't, see Saturn's Children sexbot and Battlestar Galactica Cylons for an example
Life on Mars or not? - apparently NASA are holding back on us about the potential habitability of Mars ... according to some ... the real question is why would they?, or is it why would you think they would?, or is it ... oh never mind
Star Trek comics come out on DVD - Seriously, they have brought out over 500 Star Trek comics out on a DVD ... actually I think I might get it
New Cthulhu movie looks great - I didn't even know this was coming out, what a great surprise ... and even better it actually looks good ... can't wait
The Fermi Paradox by Tor.com - if you don't know what it is, or have just been wondering why we haven't been contacted by aliens yet, then read this article
Casini prepares for Enceladus - this is one of Saturn's tiny moons which spews geysers up into space ... should make for some great space pictures
Dr Who and Captain Pickard do Shakespeare - and tickets are apparently going like a rocket (pardon the pun)

See links below at bottom of page in Sci Fi Mashup for more news and information:

Dorian Grey Remake, Titan is alive with Electricity, The Terminator Blogs

2008-08-01T10:39:00.003+01:00

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 1st August Include:

Colin Firth signs up for Dorian Grey Remake - Ealing Studios are behind the remake which they say is even more relevant to our modern star struck society. They start shooting this week.
Titan is alive with electricity - Liquid Hydrocarbon lakes + Electrical activity could = life ... early Earth is supposed to have needed both to start life so could this happen, although slightly differently, on Titan?
Terminator Blogs - Fox have started a blog from "Skynet" about the Sarah Connor Chronicles ... we weren't that impressed with season 1 so not sure a blog on it is really going to hold our attention

See links below at bottom of page in Sci Fi Mashup for more news and information:

Liquid confirmed on Titan, Venom gets own film, Sci-fi music, Find any book with ABE Books and Weird Tales wants your spam stories

2008-07-31T09:09:00.006+01:00

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 31st July Include:

Lake confirmed on Titan - A Cassini fly-by of Saturn's moon Titan has confirmed a 150 mile long lake of Ethane a Hydrocarbon liquid ... This makes Titan the only other Planet in our solar system with confirmed liquid on its surface ... could there be some form of life?
Venom may get own film - With all the press that The Joker is getting it seems to have fueled the fires beneath the possibility of Venom getting his own film
Sci-fi Music - io9 have listed some very obscure sci-fi inspired music here ... iTunes here I come
Find any book you want with ABE Books - Tor.com blog are highlighting the American Book Exchange for those of you who don't know about it ... I have used it and it is very good, especially for rare and hard to fine titles
Weird Tales Spam writing contest - Is your spam worthy of a flash fiction piece? ... not sure mine is unless it was for a very down market porn reader

See links below at bottom of page in Sci Fi Mashup for more news and information:

Last Chance to see Dr Horrible for Free

2008-07-30T13:35:00.001+01:00

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 30th July Include:

Last chance to see Dr Horrible for free - HULU are hosting all three Acts for the last time for free today ... don't miss it

See links below at bottom of page in Sci Fi Mashup for more news and information:

Is Google using us?, Del Toro remake news, Star Trek Movie news, 7sq miles of Ice loose, Waterless Washing Machines, NASA turns 50

2008-07-30T12:58:00.012+01:00

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 30th July Include:

Is Google using us? - a nice slashdot piece referring to a short story worth reading on whether we are in control or not of our usage of Google
Del Toro to remake Don't be Afraid of the Dark - this will also be Miramix first foray into genre films
Star Trek Movie news - Chris Pine talks about the film and being Kirk
7 sq miles of Ice on the loose - Look out Canada the Iceman Commeth
Waterless Washing Machines coming next year - well it will only need 1 cup of water and it will wash by using hundreds of plastic bits, this revolutionary new washing machine for our greener future will be released in the UK next year
NASA turned 50 yesterday - And we are only just going back to the Moon now ... it's a travesty

See links below at bottom of page in Sci Fi Mashup for more news and information: