Stargate SG-1, Season 7

I'm still in the process of watching Stargate SG-1. It's not that the show is better than other shows out there. I think it has more to do with the fact that it's just addictive. But season seven of this series is pretty big. Here are just a couple of the big things that happen:

Soldiers, Squids, and Scientists

Check it out. It looks like I'm still more or less on some sort of schedule, though I am posting this a little later than most of the other more recent posts. But hey, it's up and you'll even get a fun little post for tomorrow. Anyways, pretty good stories for today. You'll be getting "A Soldier's Son" by Steve Coate, "The Sweet Spot" by A. M. Dellamonica, and "Warning from the Stars" by Ron Cocking. So, without anymore yammering on, here are this week's stories. 

Men Wearing Redshirts, Beware

Last week, I finished reading Redshirts by John Scalzi. I finished this one of rather quickly, being the slow reader that I am. It only took me about three days to finish it. That should be a sign of how much fun this book is. However, I will admit that the book is targeted towards a very specific audience. For some, this may be a bad thing, for others a good. I see it as a good thing. Scalzi is only writing what he would like to read. But he knows the audience he is writing for, mainly because he belongs to it. So, in writing for himself, he is writing for his fans. You can't go wrong there.

Masks, Holograms, and a Dog from Mars

Still on schedule, more or less. And this week, I have for you some good stories. There's a couple that deal with aesthetics (or just covering them up...) and one with a Martian dog. The stories are "Real Faces" by Ken Liu, "The Switch" by Sarah Stanton, and "Martians Never Die" by Lucius Daniel.

An Hour (or Two) of Darkness

I watched The Darkest Hour over the weekend. I know it's not the greatest thing to say, but I really was not a fan of this film. I enjoyed the concept of pure energy invading Earth. And I was even with it when they started to use the aliens' own energy against them. But something in the movie turned me off.

Looking for Silk, Reading in the Key of Prose, and Finding Dope on Mars

Looks like I'm still on some sort of a schedule. Let's hope that it can stay that way. Alright, what do I have for you this week? It looks like another three short stories that you will be able to find online for free. I know, I know. It's a magical word, "free." But yes, it is true: You do not have to pay to read these stories. So, if your Monday is going a little slower than usual, be sure to check one or more of these out. The stories for you this week are "The Silk Merchant" by Ken Liu, "Requiem in the Key of Prose" by Jake Kerr, and "The Dope on Mars" by Jack Sharkey.

A Return to the Land of the Second Dimension

I finally got around to finishing off Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott. I felt the middle section of the book started to drag a little bit, which may or may not be my reasoning for taking a small break from it. But I'm glad I pushed myself to finish it. The last third of this story is where the real action takes place.

A Love Machine, a Smart Vac, and an Escaping Prisoner

Finally, I'm back on some sort of schedule. Now the idea is to somehow stay on this schedule. I'll find a way to do that somehow or another. Let's just call these last couple of months a transitional period

Anyways, I have some fun stories for you. The two more recent stories deal with robotics: the first story with artificial intelligence and the second with smart technology (though not AI). Your stories for this week are Luke R. Pebler's "New Beau," Lee Hallison's "Taking Care of Ma," and "A World Is Born" by Leigh Douglass Brackett.

Stargate, Season 6

I recently finished watching the sixth season of Stargate. I don't know what it is about the show, but there is something about it that keeps sucking me in. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it's a little campy and the show is able to make fun of itself.

The sixth season felt a little weird to me. And probably to everyone who has watched the series chronologically. The main reason? Daniel Jackson is no longer a part of the team. In fact, after Daniel ascends, Jonas Quinn, the scientist from the world in the fifth season where they were trying to develop something akin to the atom bomb, takes over his spot. It felt kind of wrong, but I understand why they did it. They needed someone who was "book smart " on the team, and he was able to fill that place.

Other than that, the season was pretty decent. It was pretty cool to see Daniel return in a couple of episodes, usually guiding his friends through some form of trouble or another. And the season finale where he battles Anubis is quite spectacular as well.

Soldiers, Watchmakers, and Kids on Mars

Hey folks. I'm still playing catch up. Here are a couple of short stories.

The Indestructible Blob

Whoa... Looks like I have a little pickup to play. I'll try to post a few things tonight before posting anything tomorrow. What do I need to get all caught up? It looks Like I will need a short stories post and one more after this one. Anyways...

I finished watching The Blob recently. It's a very campy sci-fi movie from the late 1950's, but it's still a lot of fun to watch.

Basically, a meteor, which carried the blob, falls to the Earth and begins to terrorize a small town. The only people to notice it at first, besides those who are taken by the blob, are hometown hero Steve and his girlfriend, the lovable Jane. They try to warn the townspeople, first going to the police as soon as they find suspicious activity at Doctor Hallen's house. Marking it up as a case of "kids being kids," the police don't believe them at first. It takes a little persistence on the part of Steve and Jane, but they talk a few of their friends into helping them. The kids end up waking up the entire town. At first the police feel that it's a case of "Peter calling 'wolf,'" but they soon learn that the threat is very real. It takes them a couple of tries but they finally discover that it doesn't like the cold. The police lead the rest of the town in freezing the blob and sending it off to the arctic, with a questionable ending to the movie.

While watching this, I thought it would be kind of cool to write a short from the blob's point of view. You know, what would it be like if the blob was only swallowing people in order to gain a collective knowledge of its new planet? What if the blob became those it swallowed What if it wanted to be peaceful? The peace would certainly not have lasted long. Especially with most people's initial reaction to it: "Kill it!"

I still might write that story sometime. If I ever find a little time and have enough energy, I might sit down and write that out.