Strange Somethings

Gay robots?!? MY WORD!

Are we seeing too much or is Hollywood sneaky that way?

Prissy protocol droids, naked terminators, android fighting to understand himself and what it means to be human while lovingly petting his fur baby cat. Sometimes you just have to stop and wonder what it is that makes so many droids in sci-fi come across this way. Sure it's sort of easy to see how C3-p0 can come across this way, as well as his parodied counterpart on Red Dwarf ( c'mon!An American film with a prissy British nanny droid/ British series with a prissy nanny American droid. I can't be the only one seeing it ) picked up that flag, but what about the others? Read more about Gay robots?!? MY WORD!

Not too sure they foresaw this.

Timeless is sometimes a bad thing or is it?.

“I want a little black book and the gay nightlife” That quote by the quirky sidekick character “ Winky” from the classic man hunt in space got me thinking. Not that I make a habit of doing so mind you. I was starting to notice little things that separated classics- from cult classics. Granted I'm sure it was MST3K that helped preserve several of these films more than the film itself. Read more about Not too sure they foresaw this.

Can they pull it off twice?

Bioware to pump Same sex romance back into the Star Wars universe.

Most people who know gaming are fully aware that Bioware, makers of such iconic games such as the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series, the original Knights of the Old Republic as well as others are not afraid to tell a deep character story including romance options into their games. More over they have never been too shy about including same sex romances. While one can argue that there are times the gaming giant seems to “ tip toe” with the issue, or pander more to the female/female options more than the other to win over the 16-35 year old male demographic more- the fact remains that they are still one of the only companies to approach the subject in a way that feels more ' natural' and not overloaded with a stereotyped characterization many other games have used. “ oh, a gay male quest giver? write him as flaming as you can for lols!” Read more about Can they pull it off twice?

New Calendar Proposal.

Remembering dates will still escape most of us.

Astrophysicist Richard Conn Henry and applied economist Steve Hanke of Johns Hopkins University have proposed a new calender system to better keep dates in line. Most of us now are use to the current system where a date will fall on a different day of the week. Christmas will always be on the same date, however may be on Monday one year and Wednesday the next. The proposed system would keep that holiday on the same day year after year. Read more about New Calendar Proposal.

True Holograms at Last!

The joys of laser plasma tech.

From the early days of Sci-Fi the public has been shown the heavy use of full 3d holographic displays. Many of us who grew up seeing them in Star Wars, Star Trek and other works of science fiction have had this itch to see them in day to day use. We are not talking the 2d holograms projected on a special glass or anything, we're talking full blown free floating 3d images here. Thankfully those days are coming sooner than you think. Read more about True Holograms at Last!

The Force is strong this season

Star Wars Snow Flakes.

Strange and epic all at once. Bringing you the chance to touch with your inner Jedi or Sith has never been more festive! And more importantly easy to do from your couch. And you thought the only good décor for the holidays was dressing your living room up as the ice planet Hoth. I know I have. Read more about The Force is strong this season

Asteroid 2055 YU55

"The closest it came to Earth was 201,700 miles away."

Monday, November 7, 2011 was an exciting day for astronomers. It has been speculated for years that one day the Earth will be brought to an end. The end of the world is a topic that people never seem to tire of. Many people have thought that this would happen with an asteroid. Movies have been made about it, books have been written about it and many conversations and debates have been about the destruction of Earth by an asteroid. Much of this speculation was made jokingly, never imagining it could actually happen. The destruction of Earth is something that movies and books use to entertain us. Read more about Asteroid 2055 YU55

Genderqueer Society in The Left Hand of Darkness

Even within LGBTQ speculative fiction, gender identity remains something of a fixed characteristic. You might see relationships between gay characters in science fiction, but rarely do you see examples of characters who don't fit neatly within the gender binary. Ursula K. Le Guin's novel The Left Hand of Darkness stands as the exception to this trend. Its story takes place on a planet called Winter, whose inhabitants live without gender identities. Only when they feel sexual urges--which is about once a month--does gender come in to play. The rest of the time, they live collectively without it. The possibilities of science fiction allow for so much of this kind of exploration of gender within society, and yet few authors take advantage of it. Props to Le Guin for exploring the territory.

It's OK to Be Takei

Most Trekkies already love George Takei and know him by his portrayal of Mr. (Hikaru) Sulu, the helmsman of the U.S.S. Enterprise on the original Start Trek. Read more about It's OK to Be Takei

Y: The Last Man

Exploring Issues of Feminism, Gender and Sexuality

Read more about Y: The Last Man

Imagine a world suddenly hit with a plague, and just like that, all mammals carrying the male Y chromosome drop dead. In a nutshell, you have envisioned the world and premise of Y: The Last Man. Within its first few pages, the comic series hits the ground running as you witness the apocalyptic aftermath of such a plague. Society's infrastructure collapses, food becomes scarce, and anarchy breaks loose.