<![CDATA[Comments from Rus]]> <![CDATA[Comments from Rus]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on Bring Back the Old Starbuck Please]]> I'm not thrilled by post-dead Starbuck's arc either, but I totally buy into the self-sabotaging, self-destruction angle of it. Thinking back objectively, the most ass she's kicked over the course of the entire series has been her own... usually right before she'd shoot her own foot off.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on Maximum Spoilers For Indiana Jones And Hancock]]> @JennaW: Confession time: I saw Howard the Duck in the theaters. But only because I was such a fan of the Steve Gerber comic.

'Course, I also saw Highlander II in the theaters. With some MST3Kin' buddies.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on Where Is The Posthuman Bertie Wooster?]]> I'm not entirely certain Bertrum Wilberforce wasn't posthuman, and Jeeves his hyperintelligent alien valet. Not for nothing were Bertie and his friends refered to as "the Drones."

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on What Genre Should Science Fiction Steal From Next?]]> Rom-com. Staring Meg Ryan as the angsty, yet perky alien cyborg with the ticking biomechanical clock and Will Ferrel as her (cough cough) star-crossed holographic companion who slowly, and after much witty banter, learns the ways of human emotion.

Nora Ephron directs.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on What If We Met Aliens Who Had Accepted Death?]]> I think there's a difference here between "don't care about dying" and "resigned to one's inevitable death." If you're talking about a species with absolutely no concept of their personal end, unless maybe they reproduce like rabbits on viagra and replace lost population/workers/etc. as fast as they croak, they yeah, I don't see them making it too far. I'd equate it to congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis (CIPA), a brain abnormality where a person doesn't register pain; at a young age, they tend to physically injure themselves - sometimes badly - because they don't have a built-in alarm system telling them Don't Do That.

But to really geek it up, I'd point at the Vulcans and say that while they're not eager to Bite It, they're also not opposed to going out if the situation warrants it. It's the logical end to any life, and they're good with it. It's not the lack of concern, but the lack of fear... and with that kind of approach, I can see any species going pretty far.

As for whether humanity would fear that kind of philosophy, I think it would depend largely on how they applied it to us.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on Why Do Anti-Heroes Rule Science Fiction?]]> @Tim Faulkner: I just re-read Red Harvest the other week, and while the Op does have his moments of charity in other stories, what makes him an anti-hero for me is that moment in RH where the fatigue finally gets to him, and he stops and realizes what it is he's orchestrated in Poisonville, and how many people he's personally getting killed. Maybe they "deserve" it, but he's still responsible for a metic ton of death and misery, and he starts to wish he wasn't. And then he follows through and finishes what he started.

Opinions will vary, and that's a good thing, but for my money? It's a certain ruthless quality that marks out a hero from an anti-hero.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on The Slowest, Stretchiest Countdowns In Science Fiction History]]> @92BuickLeSabre: That was back when a Dalek could be overcome by putting a blanket on the electric floor, so when they rolled over it they lost power.

They upgraded quick and often, though, just like Nazi iPods.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on ChooseThe Next Scifi Classic To Get The Comedy Remake Treatment]]> @GenXCub: Actually, I considered Jeff Foxworthy for the role. "If you stab your fingers through my throat, you might just be a ReplicaUGKT!"

@Seth L: I'm thinking Sasha Baron Cohen as Zed. He already has the wardrobe and body hair down.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on ChooseThe Next Scifi Classic To Get The Comedy Remake Treatment]]> Owen Wilson as Rick Deckard. Carrot Top as Roy Batty. Tina Fey as Priss. Kathy Griffin as Rachel.

And that's my E-ticket to the third circle of Hell.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Charlie Jane Anders: That awesomely balls-out Space:1999 episode of yours is how they should've done it, but sadly, it actually sounds like three or four ep mashup your imagination edited together. And you know what that means: it's Final Cut Pro time!

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on Secret History of Infocom's Never-Released "Restaurant at the End of the Universe" Game]]> Truly, an interesting read. But I confess, I was even more amused by the LOST "What?" montage further down the page on Waxy. A new drinking game shall be born of it.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on How To Get Into Rebel Space Opera Blake's 7]]> @Miranda Kali: It seriously had some of the best dialogue in science fiction until "Star Cops" came along... which was written by the same guy.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on How To Get Into Rebel Space Opera Blake's 7]]> Great. Now I have to drag out my KTEH-snarfed VHS tapes. And find a VHS player.

I do have to give bumps to a few extra eps in Season 4, though. "Orbit" - you know why, Charlie - and "Gold" is a nice caper yarn that gets even better when guest Roy Kinnear suddenly turns a comic performance into a coldly sinister one.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on Recognize Everyone You've Ever Met With Smart Goggles]]> @Charlie Jane Anders: ...and it'll map that pr0n over their real-time bodies as you idly converse about last night's Colbert Report.

Teh Future > Sliced Bread.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on Take That, Existential Zombie Gutter Slut!]]> @Annalee Newitz: Are we completely sure Jenna's implants aren't really lopsided and scary regardless of how she stands these days?

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on How Do You Find People Who Like Science Fiction?]]> I grow my own vat-friends, and program their personalities with Twilight Zone marathons.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on The Most Badass Robot Army Dream Team]]> I personally like me some Giant Robo (anime version). Obeys commands from your Dick Tracy radio watch, until it gets pissed and just starts pounding things. I'll take two, please.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on The Real Reason Iron Man Will Crush The Hulk At The Box Office]]> And here I thought it was because Hulk's being written by Zack (X-Men: Last Stand, Electra) Penn, while the guys behind Children of Men did the Iron Man screeplay.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on Which Big Summer Movie Ruined Science Fiction Forever?]]> Burton's Batmans weren't great, but Joel Schumacher's Batmans made Americans dumb enough to vote George W. Bush into office. Twice.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on Cthulhu In Love: The Fetish Art Of Richard Kadrey [NSFW]]]> SnotFare: I was there when Richard entered his seafood porn phase, and his description of trying to explain to the fishmonger what he needed in a tentacle so he could drape it over a naked lady was, I assure you, the highlight of my day. @Calraigh: You're certainly entitled to be pissed off about anything you like, but there are plenty of people (and for all I know, you're one) who'd argue that the "blonde and fake-breasted" porn of which you speak is also "manipulating the female form because culture allows him to," and "dehumanizes it," as you rather tellingly phrased it. Richard's fascinated with removing the fun, giggly aspects of porn that make it so easy to accept and ogle. Sure, he'll show you naked women, but they'll be wrapped in bloodied medical gauze like they just got home after a car accident, and he'll ask if that's still sexy to you. As for misogyny... well, those are professional fetish models, who examine Richard's portfolio before deciding to work with him, command large shoot fees and, if history's any judge, present ungodly availability schedules for Richard to work around. So you tell me who's in charge.]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on Cthulhu In Love: The Fetish Art Of Richard Kadrey [NSFW]]]> What most people don't know about Richard? Also wrote episodes of The Smurfs.

I worked with him in a writing department for not quite a year. Great guy. Looks like Charlie picked some of his tamer work to post.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on The Scifi Sound Effects That Take Over Your Brain]]> All the sound effects from Space Cruiser Yamato were burned into my tiny soul when they first aired in the U.S. as Star Blazers.

Particular favorites were the Yamato's shock cannons, the laser pistols, the Gamilon ship cannons (that sound always reminded me of snakes, for some reason) and of course, all those explosions.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on Bruce Willis Will Play Robocop -- Sort Of]]> @Miranda Kali: Okay, now you're getting me hot.

Funny. I never realized Bruce Willis looks like that before now.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on Top 10 Unsung Science Fiction TV Classics]]> @AmishJohn: I do remember Plymouth... I don't remember liking it.

I'm still astonished and disgusted that Doing Time on Planet Earth was left off this list. Best Show Ever!

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on Top 10 Unsung Science Fiction TV Classics]]> @Charlie Jane Anders: Ultraviolet was at least as science-fictional as X-Files. Lord knows they shared the same atmosphere.

My wife suspects I planned our entire Scotalnd trip around getting Region 2 Star Cops DVDs. It's only very slightly true.

I had to review the Threshold pilot. I lauded Peter Dinklege as much as I could, then hazed the rest of it. It was bad. Gnaw-off-my-own-ankle-to-escape Bad. Sadly, I only got about halfway through my ankle before my teeth broke.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on Woman Gives Birth to Her Own Kidney]]> "Barfing up a lung" is now a recognized medical procedure.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on "The Ruins" Proves Plants are the New Big Bad]]> @Macloserboy (Who Is Finally On Facebook For You Bitches): Because once you've had Rhino, you never go back.

Uh, I've heard.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on "The Ruins" Proves Plants are the New Big Bad]]> I blame vegetarians. For everything!

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on Psycho A.I. Nukes Philly -- And We're Still Bored]]> Because if they really wanted a 25-years-later sequel to War Games to be taken seriously, anime was seriously the way to go.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on Will The Master Chief Be A Movie Star?]]> Actually, it wasn't Microsoft that was the problem, and the script they had in hand (based on the first game, not another yeah-okay origin story) was all kinds of badass.

The problem was the studios wanted to muck around with it, because that's how mid-range studio execs justify their jobs. And Microsoft wanted final approval of their property over the studio guys. And the deal they originally hashed out had that down in writing... until the studio guys got panicky about being out of the loop and pulled out.

Kudos to Beattie for doing what he feels, but last time I talked to the guys at Bungie, MS was sticking to their guns. As, in this case, they should.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on Top 10 Signs You Might Be An Alien Sleeper Agent]]> 12) You look entirely human, except for a weird crinkely bit right at the bridge of your nose.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on io9's Complete Guide to Science Fiction Season]]> If Jango Fett had looked like that, the Emperor could've conquered the Universe with Love. Where IS she keeping her blaster, anyway?

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on Digging for the Secret Origins of Stonehenge]]> They don't actually let you touch the stones anymore, but on the other side of the road from Stonehenge (where the parking lot is) they have two blocks made of the same kind of stone used at Stonehenge. And they claim that one (the Bluestone) is actually warmer than the other.

It's not warm enough, however, to save you from the Arctic winds common to the Salisbury plain.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on Plot of New Neal Stephenson Novel Revealed]]> Sooner or later, that guy's gonna write something that's relavent to what's going on in the world today with, like, alagories and stuff.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on Torchwood To Continue Without Pictures]]> Without constant suggestive, pining glances between Tosh and Owen, Gwen and Jack, Ianto and Jack, Owen and Gwen, it just won't be Torchwood.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on A Board Game Even Cthulhu Could Love]]> It's good, but it doesn't beat the purity of the Wandering Damage Table for AD&D.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on Battlestar Finale Rewritten, Depressing]]> Olmos doesn't use psychology, reverse or otherwise. He just beats you to death with a big flashlight. Like a MAN!

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on A Spaceship On Fire Off The Shoulder Of Orion]]> There's at least one collection of John Berkey's work out there, and it's got everything from his novel covers to his Star Wars concept work to his King Kong posters.

Truly Geek-Essential.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on Heavy Geek Music from Goblin Cock to Filk]]> @Garrison Dean: I did, it rocked me like a hurricane, and I've been listening to my Heavy Metal mix tape all morning.

I lie. I broke down and bought the CD years ago. I'm a traitor to the 80's.

]]> <![CDATA[Rus commented on Meteor Man: Biggest Waste Of Talent Ever]]> My favorite part: how the meteor chases him down the street, cornering better than a Yugo and traveling almost as fast, in order to hit him.

This movie taught me to always take a chainsaw into the theater.

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