That Sci Fi Girl

Christopher Pike's Vampire Books: What happened?!

2011-12-03T23:11:00.000-05:00

On a remaking of the past…

Christopher Pike was one of the most popular authors in the fantasy/thriller genre for teens back in my days of middle school and high school in the '90’s. He wrote about ghosts and psychic powers and ancient gods. The basic things most teens have to deal with.

I read every one of his books back during his heyday. Then he didn’t publish anything for a few years and he dropped off my radar completely.

I was in a used bookstore today and saw his name on the cover of a book that I had never heard of before. Growing curious I picked it up and flipped to the back cover.

It was his Last Vampire series that he wrote in the mid-'90s. The books have just been re-marketed to appeal more to today’s youth. I guess modern teens just aren’t into his books with the cheesy looking covers. They looked something like this back then.

I guess Twilight fever has seeped into all the rest of the vampire world. The original series has been retitled Thirst. Thirst? Really? The name has been romanticized the way vampires are pictured nowadays. It gives it more of the yearning associated with the hipster type of vamp.

And the books are bigger now to match more with the heft of the books in the Twilight series. The series was recombined into collections. The first six books of the series are in Thirst No. 1 and Thirst No. 2.

However, I am pleased to see that Christopher Pike is writing again. He has added new books to the series in the last couple of years. They make up parts four and five.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Twilight and the other books of today. I like the cover artwork and the marketing. But does every vampire book have to be like Twilight now? Do the vampire books of the past even have to be reinterpreted to fit the Twilight model?

Or is it today’s teen market? I thought retro was “in.” Have they no sense of nostalgia? Can they not read a book just because it is a good story? Will book cover prejudice never end?

All in all, I’m glad that people are reading Christopher Pike again. And a big hooray for new Pike material!

There is even talk about a movie based on the book. Check out more info on the movie here and here.

It seems Christopher Pike is finally getting some of the fame he deserved. It just took a bit of makeover to get a current audience swept away with vampire fever.

So how do YOU judge a book? How much does the cover influence a book’s appeal?

Dragoncon 2011

2011-09-06T18:23:00.010-04:00


Zombie Hogwarts Student

Another Dragoncon has come and gone. Last year the overall theme of the con seemed to be steampunk.

This year the unofficial theme seemed to be zombies. It makes sense during a recession. Want a new costume but can’t afford one? Take an old costume and put on zombie makeup. Voila. A new creation is born. I saw zombie Chick Fil A cows, zombie steampunk, zombie Waldos, and a zombie Hogwarts student.

Weeping Angel from Doctor Who

There were also several people wearing dresses designed to look like the Tardis.

Another cheap costume trend was to put tick marks on yourself like you have seen Silents from Doctor Who.

Weeping Angels are still the best monsters, though.


Stormtrooper on Vacation

My favorite costumes are the ones that are a mix of two themes or strange combinations of themes.

Like stormtroopers in kilts or stormtroopers on vacation. You just don't expect to see a trooper in a skirt or carrying around a beach ball.


What Waldo does at night

You don’t expect Waldo to look like this either. Waldo gone wild is another hilarious combo just because of the shock value.


Steampunk Green Lantern

There were lots of amazing steampunk costumes this year as well. I saw a steampunk vampire slayer and several steampunk superheroes. Steampunk Green Lantern was my favorite.

Steampunk Airship

Some steampunk creators went all out. There was a steampunk airship with incredible detail. I seriously wanted a ride in it.

Another man had made a working steampunk boombox that he brought through the mall food court. The whole food court was jamming to his tunes until mall security made him turn it down.


I scream for ice cream

The strangest thing I saw at Dragoncon wasn’t the costumes, though. There was a disturbingly gritty ice cream “van” that drove around the con. The van had an air conditioner stuck through the back window.

Anyone foolish enough to buy an ice cream from the van deserves whatever disease they contracted from the nutty buddies.

Dragoncon was four whirlwind days of fun. The panels were interesting. I saw members of the Eureka cast and the Warehouse 13 cast. They were very funny and surprisingly similar to their characters. It was especially poignant to see Colin Ferguson since Eureka will soon be over.


Futurama Characters

You see some surreal things during the convention. The characters from Futurama were putting on a show one day while I ate lunch.

I also got to stand in a life-size Tardis. How cool is that?

But the best part of Dragoncon is all those other people there with you. They are kindred spirits. They understand what you mean you talk about sonic screwdrivers and they know who Captain Mal is. These people get you. They watch the same things you do. They read the same books you do. Being at Dragoncon is like a family reunion. Well, a family reunion scheduled during Halloween.

The greatest part of Dragoncon—being with other really big fans.

3 Really Big Fans

Check out more Dragoncon 2011 pictures here.

MagiQuest: A Real Life Video Game!

2011-08-28T13:54:00.014-04:00

With my magic wand I mixed potions, opened treasure chests, and fought monsters. And it all happened outside of a computer.

Outside of MagiQuest in Pigeon Forge, TN

MagiQuest is a live adventure game that you get to explore outside of the virtual world. It’s like a real life interactive video game.

Using a wand you move around in the kingdom doing quests, battling dragons, and having other adventures. Each MagiQuest location is decorated to look like a medieval fantasy world. Some have magical forests, dragon’s lairs, castles, villages, and other fantasy realms.

It’s easy to play, but challenging at the same time. The wand works kind of the way the Nintendo Wii does. You point at objects and flick your wrist and poof!, something magical happens. A treasure chest really opens or a suit of armor starts talking to you. It’s very cool to see a fantasy world come to life around you.

MagiQuest is great for kids, but fun for adults as well. And unlike regular video games, you are moving around getting exercise while you are collecting items. Plus the experience is much more real than just staring at a screen pushing a couple of buttons.

I am totally addicted and want to visit all of the locations. My favorite so far is the one at Myrtle Beach, SC. There is a quest that covers the entire boardwalk at Broadway at the Beach. I walked around outside flicking my wand at statues. Definitely a blast.

The prices are a bit steep, like all attractions are. It’s about $10 an hour plus the cost of the wand the first time you play. I guess magic comes with a price.

Check for coupons on the MagiQuest website and local coupon books. Some locations even offer discounts if you sign up for text messages or email lists. I won two free hours of game play by text.

Ready to play yet? Get a wand and hop into the game…

7 Booty-Kicking Sci Fi Females

2011-07-18T13:44:00.000-04:00

These characters are smart, hot, and can kick any guy's butt.

They are first-rate role models for girls because they don't play the damsel in distress. These girls go out and take matters into their own hands while still looking gorgeous and feminine.

These sci fi girls have rocking jobs and live adventurous lives (yep, I'm totally jealous).

So without further ado, here are the 7 most awesome sci fi female characters on television ranked by order of coolness...

Dana Scully from The X-Files

#7 Dana Scully from The X-Files

She packs heat and cuts on corpses. She investigates spooky unsolvable cases all while sporting her characteristic business attire. Agent Dana Scully is awesome. She is a great role model for girls. She is smart and strong and beautiful.

Along with Mulder, she is the reason paranormal investigations became cool. Solving X-Files about freaky humans and discovering governmental alien cover-ups would be a dream job. I don’t think I would even mind working in the basement.

Leela from Futurama

#6 Leela from Futurama

I don’t care if she is animated. It’s my list and Leela rocks. She is the ultimate success story for one-eyed mutants everywhere. Not only does she fly around having intergalactic adventures with robots and mad scientists, she can also bring any guy to the ground with her stellar fighting skills.

Plus she is warm-hearted. Note her tolerance for Fry and her rescue of Nibbler. Cruising around to other planets delivering mail and rescuing pathetic coworkers wouldn’t be a bad job at all. She even gets to wear that thing on her wrist.

Sarah Walker from Chuck

#5 Sarah Walker from Chuck

Chasing down bad guys, traveling around the world on missions, and hanging out in a top secret underground base are just typical days for Sarah Walker. She has saved the world from evil schemes and confiscated encrypted data devices as often as the rest of us have been to the grocery store.

She is deadly with a knife or with her bare hands, but still gets to crash fancy dinner parties and wear elegant gowns. The only downside to her job is that she has to hang out at the Buy More.

River Tam from Firefly

#4 River Tam from Firefly/Serenity

It was a hard call to make between Zoe and River, but I had to go with River because she is the ultimate fighter. Yeah she was a nutcase when she first boarded the ship, but by the end of Serenity she had picked up most of her marbles.

Who else could wipe out a bar full of men and make it look as if she were performing a ballet? I wouldn’t mind being able to pull off some of her graceful fighting maneuvers, I just wouldn’t want to be the guinea pig of a government experiment in order to do them.

Claudia Donovan from Warehouse 13

#3 Claudia Donovan from Warehouse 13

Girl genius with a hip style, she is usually the brains behind the scenes. Fixing wayward artifacts and adding her own brilliant modifications are her typical Warehouse specialties. When she does go out into the field, she has her own style of investigating.

Playing with supernatural artifacts from famous people in the past, chatting on a Farnsworth, and being the next in line to be caretaker of the Warehouse: a day in the life of Claudia would pretty much rock.

River Song from Doctor Who

#2 River Song from Doctor Who

The list just wouldn’t be complete without another River. She isn’t just his companion, she is someone much more special to the Doctor. Plus, she is partly Time Lord herself in some strange timey wimey way since she was conceived so close to the space-time vortex.

Mysterious and not afraid to shoot when necessary, River is nearly a match for the Doctor when it comes to last minute plans to save the earth. I wouldn't mind sitting in prison occasionally if it meant I could cruise around in the Tardis during my free time.

Abby Maitland from Primeval

#1 Abby Maitland from Primeval

And finally, number one, Abby, the compassionate animal lover. She hops around through anomalies wrangling creatures back into their proper time and keeping them from eating people.

She is never afraid to stand up and do the right thing even if it means lying to the government or possibly losing her boyfriend. She gets to sport a nifty looking stun gun and work with animals that haven't been alive for thousands of years. And who wouldn't want a cute pet dinosaur?

Who do you think should have been on the list? Who would you cross off? Who is your favorite female science fiction character?

Will Chloe King Be the Cat’s Meow?

2011-06-15T21:33:00.015-04:00

Will The Nine Lives of Chloe King be just another lame teenage melodrama or an interesting fantasy show? It is hard to predict at this point.

ABC Family seems to be focusing on drama and appealing to a younger audience. Even with the supernatural elements, Chloe King is ranking high in the drama appeal. Mix teen angst with forbidden love and danger and the network will have more viewers than with a show that is just about a cat girl.

Should sci fi fans care about Chloe King, though? Her "cat powers" were sometimes awesome, but also sometimes lame.

Examples of the lame-nitude, one bad guy can fight three of the Mai (race of cat people)? Why couldn't she run fast to get away from him? She can kill a human by kissing him. But why doesn’t that apply when she kisses her mom? Why would she have to kiss a person on the lips to kill him? And why doesn’t she just kiss the bad guy to get rid of him?

BUT there are also good things about the show. Sometimes her cat magic is nifty. She can race across rooftops. She has an awesome claw manicure. Plus, cat hearing would be a helpful power.

The story is also inviting. It’s a coming of age story about a girl who finds out she really isn’t like everyone else. She wants to have a normal life and date normal human guys, but there is so much about herself that she doesn’t know. Is she this mystical “Uniter,” who are the bad guys and what do they want, and what new feline power will she discover tomorrow?

So the show could go either way. It could fizzle into yet another series that is nothing but fluff and love triangles. However, the show also has the potential to be a gripping story about a girl becoming a superhero and learning about her mysterious past.

Though The Nine Lives of Chloe King is definitely not purrfect, don’t flip the channel just yet. Chloe King could surprise us…

Check out this awesome quiz on The Nine Lives of Chloe King.

Oddly Hilarious Retro Science Pictures

2011-06-15T14:23:00.000-04:00

While noodling around online, I stumbled upon these awesome retro sci fi pictures. I giggled over many of them. These are my favorites.

I just have one question about this photo-- did the people of the 60s think we would have giant heads in the future?

All I can think of when I see this is, "Jeez. What a really sucky Jedi. No wonder the Empire took over."

There is a giant alien creature about to eat this woman. At least she will distract him long enough for us to disconnect his life support tubing.

LIFE has lots more old science and space pictures. If you love classic science fiction, check out the galleries for "Weird Science in Action," "Trippy Space-Age Toys," and "Excellent Old-School Science Models."

Some will make you laugh and others will leave you wondering why anyone would want to crawl through a 40 foot colon.

My Little Homestead in Space

2011-05-29T11:05:00.006-04:00

Gliese 581 System Photos by NASA

Pack your bags, we're moving to a new planet.

Tired of the same humdrum views on the Earth? Want to get away from the crowds and pesky neighbors? Is outer space an exotic enough getaway spot for you?

Someday soon you might be able to have an adventure like the pioneers settling the Wild West. Only you would be taming the wilds of a whole new planet.

Ready to move to space and colonize a planet? Astronomers think they have found a planet that could support life. It is in the “just right” zone for sustaining liquid water. It is not so far from its sun that the water would be ice, but far enough away that the water isn’t evaporated.

And on the plus side the planet is only about 20 light years away, so it is practically on the same block as our solar system if you are judging distances on a cosmic scale.

The planet, called Gliese 581d, is one of six planets orbiting a red dwarf star. It is about seven times the mass of Earth, so there will be plenty of room for homesteads.

The good news is that at least one of its sister planets is another likely candidate for life. The bad news is that some scientists are skeptical about the planet even existing.

If the astronomers who discovered the system are right, the carbon dioxide based atmosphere of the planet would be able to sustain liquid water. The planet might also have a captured rotation in which half the planet always faces the sun and the other half always faces away.

This means that there would be an eternal daylight side and an eternal nighttime side. So if you are night person, you would have it made there.

Are we there yet?

Oh, yeah. The journey there with current technology is merely a few hundred thousand years. Guess I shouldn’t give the landlord my notice just yet…

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Creaking Doors

2011-05-18T23:07:00.000-04:00

I awoke this morning to the distinct sound of a door creaking. Seeing my husband still dreaming beside me, I was instantly alert. “What was that?” I asked myself.

Maybe it was one of the cats. Maybe my dream was seeping over into reality. Or maybe, just maybe it was something sneaking around in the house while we were sleeping.


House Taken Over

Flickr

Ever since I read “House Taken Over” by Cortazar, I have been creeped out about things being in the house with me. The story is about a brother and sister who live in their family home. They have to lock off parts of the house because something, I repeat, something keeps taking over the rooms.

Haven’t heard of Julio Cortazar? That’s a shame. He is a famous Latin American sci fi and fantasy writer. Blow-Up and Other Stories is a collection of his short stories that have been translated into English. “House Taken Over” is in this.

These sci fi/fantasy stories aren’t as widely known in the English speaking world, but that should be remedied. His stories are wonderful and very original.

They have always reminded me of The Twilight Zone. In fact, some of the stories could easily be scripts for episodes of the show. (You can read more about Cortazar’s similarity to The Twilight Zone if you click this spot.)

Hey, Ma! Look what I puked up!

Flickr

Some of the other stories in the book are about a man who vomits bunnies and a girl who goes to stay at a house where a tiger roams free.

Cortazar and his stories have piqued your interest now haven’t they? Just read the book. Then you can find out about the bunnies.

P.S. Netflix has The Twilight Zone available for instant streaming now. There has been a Twilight Zone marathon running at my house. Maybe that’s what attracted the things that were sneaking around this morning.

7 Reasons to Love Science Fiction

2011-05-16T00:34:00.000-04:00

This is me over there to the left, a convention going, badge carrying sci fi geek. And proud of it because science fiction and fantasy are simply fantastic.

Why do I love science fiction? I’ll give you 7 reasons to love science fiction.

Reason #1 - Who doesn’t want to escape reality?

Science fiction is a pleasant distraction from the mundane duties of work, the stress of the daily grind, and the slavery of choring over never ending piles of dishes and laundry.

Science fiction and fantasy take you to places that are far, far away from here and the problems of now. Oh, how I long to be able to hop into the Tardis and go on a grand adventure instead of paying bills right now.

Flickr

Reason #2 – The doohickeys and whatchamacallits

Flying cars, superpowers, awesome gadgets, and the like. Yes, I want sci fi devices of my very own. My accoutrement is lacking in nifty little gizmos. It would be so much easier if my car would fold up and double as a purse. Plus parking lots could be converted into more Taco Bells.

Reason #3 – The lessons it teaches

Speculative fiction presents problems or possibilities in society. It can teach us about who we are, what we shouldn’t be, and changes that we need to make.

Think The Twilight Zone. The show dealt with issues that were relevant to the people of that time. Weapons capable of destroying the earth, space travel, and new technology were all themes of the episodes. The show helped people to understand the ramifications of issues.

Sci fi can teach us about ourselves and help us to become better.

Dragon Con Sci Fi Convention

Reason #4 – The costumes

Jeans are boring. Cloaks and masks look much niftier. How much would it rock to be able to wear those to the mall and not be thought a fool?

That’s part of the reason why sci fi conventions are so much fun. You can dress up in whatever outrageous costume you want and the other conventioneers will applaud you. It is like Halloween for adults.

Reason #5 – The characters are epic

The characters in sci fi are much more epic that real life people. Imagine having Han Solo as your best friend or R2 as a pet. What if Yoda were your mentor?

Many of the characters in science fiction are much better role models than most of the people who make the headlines today. We can aspire to be somebody greater than who we are because of the characters in sci fi.

Reason #6 – The lines and quotes are unforgettable

“Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.”

“E.T. phone home.”

“I see dead people.”

“Luke, I am your father.”

“I’ll be back.”

“Live long and prosper.”

“Danger, Will Robinson!”

These and many others are sci fi quotes we all know and love. They have been repeated time and again in everyday conversations. Whenever you hear them it evokes the emotions of the movie. It’s like the good feeling you get when you hear your favorite song.

The lines in the great sci fi and fantasy movies become something that unites people. Everyone knows what you are talking about when you say them. They are common links that span many different types of people.

(Check out hilarious sci fi movie quotes in graph form here)

Reason #7 – Sci fi stretches the imagination

Many of the devices we use today were inspired by science fiction. These inventions were created because someone saw something cool in a show or movie and decided to make it real. How many older sci fi movies have video communicators like video phones of modern day?

Science fiction and fantasy spark creativity. You have to broaden your imagination to watch or read it. Then you start thinking about new possibilities and other worlds.

Sci fi helps us to see beyond what we previously thought is real and feasible. With science fiction we can climb out of the box of reality and let our imaginations free.

Margaret Atwood sums up the need for Science Fiction superbly:

“We want wisdom. We want hope. We want to be good. Therefore we sometimes tell ourselves warning stories that deal with the darker side of some of our other wants.
Literature is an uttering, or outering, of the human imagination. It lets the shadowy forms of thought and feeling — heaven, hell, monsters, angels and all — out into the light, where we can take a good look at them and perhaps come to a better understanding of who we are and what we want, and what the limits to those wants may be. Understanding the imagination is no longer a pastime, but a necessity; because increasingly, if we can imagine it, we'll be able to do it.”

From "Why We Need Science Fiction" in The Guardian

And all of these reasons are why science fiction is out of this world. I’m a sci fi fan. Join me and together we can make reality a much better place…