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cool and crap

Cool and Crap Awards of the Week

At least two things happened in the worlds of science and science fiction last week. One of them was cool and the other was crap.

Coolest soul-searching by a giant green monster who reads Anne Rice: Last week saw the DVD release of season 4 of the Hulk TV series, and the 1980-81 season is widely regarded by fans as one of the best (though marred by tragedies both personal and financial). It featured Lou "Hulk" Ferigno's first and only speaking role, and an Interview with the Vampire homage ("Interview with the Hulk") where Bruce tells a reporter all his sorrows with the aid of a lot of clips from previous episodes. The season focuses a lot on Bruce trying to rid himself of his angry alter-ego, trying out all kinds of crazy things. He gets electrocuted and sees the future; he encounters a meteor and becomes trapped halfway between Bruce and Hulk; and he gets hit by a car and becomes a paraplegic for an episode. Sadly, the actor who played Bruce Banner, Bill Bixby, suffered a great loss mid-season when his son died of a throat infection — and his acting wasn't quite the same after that. The show also lost a lot of its funding, which meant fewer effects and less facetime with Hulk. But the season is still great, both for cheese value and for a glimpse at what Hulk meant to people during a very different time in U.S. history. Check out some crap below.

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1:09 PM on Sat Jun 7 2008
By Annalee Newitz
3,027 views, 19 comments

Latest by RAHfanboy: How could any one doubt the liberal findings of a bunch of liberals appointed by a liberal? Does anyone know what alleged "facts" were withheld from the poor misinformed public? I'm guessing that if these "facts" were very convincing that we would more »

cool and crap

Cool and Crap Awards of the Week

This week, at least two things happened in the worlds of science and fiction: one was cool; the other was crap.

Coolest way to get Neal Stephenson fans hopped up on goofballs using monks: Neal Stephenson, author of Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon, has a new book coming out in September called Anathem. The plot has been shrouded in secrecy, though Stephenson has said in a few interviews that it will involve aliens and math. And this week, advance copies of the book started arriving in reviewers' mailboxes, packaged with a CD containing several pieces of music that sound like Gregorian chants, the beautiful songs sung by monks in the middle ages. Supposedly this music will "set the tone" for the book. We'll have a review for you in September, but for now you can freak out with anticipation by listening to choruses of men chanting. Click through for the crap (may include spoilers):

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9:20 AM on Sat May 31 2008
By Annalee Newitz
3,520 views, 23 comments

Latest by ollie: "If Neal Stephenson wrote a book about pocket lint it'd still somehow involve a helicopter." more »

cool and crap

Cool and Crap Awards of the Week

At least two things happened in the world of science and fiction last week, and one was cool and the other was crap.

Coolest alcohol-tinged recruitment effort that involved science fiction, antiracism, and M&Ms: Last night at Madison's Wiscon science fiction convention, the Carl Brandon Society threw a party and recruited new members by harnessing the power of scifi author Claire Light behind the bar. The Carl Brandon society offers scholarships and prizes for science fiction writers of color, and membership is only $25. A price everyone gladly paid after Claire (pictured) kept handing out C52s — tiny drinks featuring three layers: Grand Marnier, Bailey's, and coffee liqueur (with an M&M in the bottom, so the C is for "chocolate"). You have to drink it in one gulp, or the Bailey's curdles. After a few gulps, some shit-talking about Martian colonies, and a dissection of the imperialist politics in vampire novels, I joined the society. And so did everybody else. Who says good causes don't have to be fun? Click through for the crap award (yes there will be some spoilers).

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5:45 PM on Sat May 24 2008
By Annalee Newitz
6,948 views, 76 comments

Latest by n/a: @moff: Goddam Vader. Never did get anything done right, did he? more »

cool and crap

Cool and Crap Awards of the Week

At least two things happened in the worlds of science and fiction last week: one was cool and the other was crap.

Coolest attempt to make fun of venture capitalists while also making fun of Florida and telling an awesome story about human enhancement technologies: Issue number two of Jonathan Hickman's snarky, freaky comic book Transhuman. Told in a documentary style, the issue deals with how two companies developing human enhancement technologies get VC funding and push their developers to get product to market (unfortunately, though, shipping a buggy human-enhancement product can be much uglier than shipping a buggy version of Windows Vista). Click through for the crap.

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11:06 AM on Sat May 17 2008
By Annalee Newitz
2,896 views, 20 comments

Latest by Katana_Mind: The Air Force wants a suite of hacker tools, to give it "access" to -- and "full control" of -- any kind of computer there is. And once the info warriors are in, the Air Force wants them to more »