Science Fiction
Reading Time: 3 minutesHISTORY OF OCTOBER 10: 42 DAY October 10 is called 42 Day because it deals with the question of great, extraordinary, pronounced, substantial, momentous, whopping, cosmic importance to all of us: Question: What is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything? Answer: 42
Reading Time: 5 minutesIs AI Conscious? Podcast version ario Amodei, CEO of the AI company Anthropic, said that he was open to the idea that his Claude AI model could be conscious. “We don’t know if the models are conscious. We are not even sure that we know what it would mean for a model to be…
Reading Time: 16 minutesHISTORY OF STAR TREK Podcast tar Trek premiered on NBC TV on September 8, 1966… 60 years ago. It is my favorite television show; I was glued to the TV for the first episode and every one after that. It had a significant influence on my choice of a career in technology. The show…
Reading Time: 6 minutesHISTORY OF STAR WARS The original Star Wars movie premiered on May 25, 1977. Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away… …in Berkeley, in November 1976, I picked up a new science fiction novel called “Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker” by George Lucas. I did not know then that…
Reading Time: 3 minutesHISTORY OF MAY THE FOURTH ay 4th, or May the Fourth, is a geek holiday that has gained popularity in recent years due to a popular film franchise. But where did it begin?
Reading Time: 4 minutes Movie Review: Project Hail Mary (no plot spoilers) he most anticipated movie of 2026 has been Project Hail Mary. Amazon has spent about $200M on the film, and I think it’s going to be money well spent. It has grossed an estimated $33.1 million on its opening day, including $12 million from Thursday previews…
Reading Time: 5 minutesMovie Review: Megalopolis (no plot spoilers) Over half a century ago, Francis Ford Coppola fictionally introduced us to the history of his grandparents’ world in Sicily in The Godfather (reviewed here) in 1972. Now, he takes us back 2,000 years and also into the near future with his Roman roots in Megalopolis, opening this weekend.
Reading Time: 3 minutesMOVIE REVIEW: STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER [No Plot Spoilers] When George Lukas originally discussed Star Wars, he intended it to be a series of three trilogies. He started with the middle trilogy, beginning with Star Wars (my history on it here,) later called Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. He followed that…
Reading Time: 4 minutesMOVIE REVIEW: STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI For over 40 years, Lucasfilm has brought us popcorn movies extraordinaire. The Last Jedi is no exception. I realize many readers will not read this review until they’ve seen the movie, even with the promise of no plot spoilers. Let me just say this: “Yule love it!” The…
Reading Time: 4 minutesMOVIE REVIEW: ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY In many respects, this was a more exciting and thrilling movie than the previous Star Wars: Episode VII, The Force Awakens” It was more heroic, noble, and self-sacrificing. Unencumbered by previous storylines, it was able to introduce new characters into an existing historical narrative. Often, the new…
Reading Time: 4 minutesMOVIE REVIEW: STAR TREK BEYOND It has been now almost 50 years since Star Trek first premiered on NBC TV in September of 1966. See my history of Star Trek here. After several television series and movies we are now treated to the 13th feature film Star Trek Beyond. While this is not the best…
Reading Time: 4 minutesMOVIE REVIEW: AVATAR I’ve seen some interviews with movie producers recently, mostly Pixar, saying that all the key producers are moving to 3D. I’ve taken these words with a pillar of salt, as just new ways to capture the eyeballs of price-sensitive consumers who are nervous about spending $10 a head to attend the cinema,…