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POPSBioHacking: The Plot for the Next Real-life Blockbuster Thriller? Solitary citizens are toiling over test-tubes, sacrificing their time and money to create brand new lifeforms - but this isn't a science fiction movie, it's a hobby. "DIY Biochemistry" sees private citizens converting their dining rooms into DNA labs. It's only a pity that Michael Crichton has passed on, because we've got the plot of his next book right here.
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POPSParallels to Obamamania in ABC's "V" Sci-Fi Mini-Series An excerpt from Garvin's Sunday, November 1 Miami Herald review (“'V': The saucer-shaped bandwagon”), which the Chicago Tribune headlined “'V' aims at Obamamania.” Imagine this. At a time of political turmoil, a charismatic, telegenic new leader arrives virtually out of nowhere. He offers a message of hope and reconciliation based on compromise and promises to marshal technology for a better future that will include universal health care. The news media swoons in admiration -- one simpering anchorman even shouts at a reporter who asks a tough question: “Why don't you show some respect?!!” The public is likewise smitten, except for a few nut cases who circulate batty rumors on the Internet about the leader's origins and intentions. The leader, undismayed, offers assurances that are soothing, if also just a tiny bit condescending: “Embracing change is never easy.”
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POPSAnime Japan’s Manga Hentai Wonder Festival Wonder Festival was first held in 1985. Japanese animation was still very much a niche interest even in its home country, and the major kit manufacturers were only interested in major TV franchises. It seems, even organizers do not foreknow, who and how many figures will decide to parade. Heroines numerous anime, video games, comics, manga,hentai with own hand created characters. Practically any figure has an erotic hentai orientation.
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POPSPsychic 'mind-reading' computer Although the results were crude, the technique was able to reproduce the rough shape of a man in a white shirt and the image of a city skyline. Prof Jack Gallant, who carried out the experiment at the University of California, Berkeley, said: 'At the moment when you see something and want to describe it to someone you have to use words or draw it and it doesn't work very well. 'You could use this technology to transmit the image to someone. It might be useful for artists or to allow you to recover an eyewitnesses memory of a crime.' The experiment is the latest in a series of studies designed to show how brain scans can reveal our innermost thoughts.
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POPSFrank Frazetta: Artist And Illustrator
Frank Frazetta is just a fabulous artist. His composition is impeccable, with wonderful action and figure placement as well as dramatic backgrounds. His ability with anatomy, both human and non, is faultless and his colorizing is perfection. My first exposure to him was cover and interior illustrations for Conan: the Cimmerian, Tarzan and John Carter of Mars series. I just fell in love with his work. His characters, whether men, women or creatures are all well-muscled and terribly energetic. That distinctive and original Frazetta style has been a major influence on so many artists. Following is a exerpt from Wikipedia: "Frazetta has had a major and lasting influence on many artists within the genre of fantasy and science fiction, such as Simon Bisley. Boris Vallejo is another fantasy artist with a style broadly similar to Frazetta's along with the fact that he also painted several paperback covers of some of the same science fiction/fantasy characters (e.g., Conan t
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POPSTom defends Scientology "Lies", said Tom flatly. "L. Ron Hubbard was a great man, the inventor of atomic power, the discoverer of seven continents - previously only inhabited by pre-clears - and he's not actually dead, he's on another planet, introducing Dianetics and The Way to Happiness to them. At least those with usable currency." Oprah then thanked him for clearing all that up, and moved on to her next guest, Suzanne Somers and her new book, "How I Kicked Cancer's Ass with the Power of the ThighMaster".
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POPSSelbstheilende Materialienby
mona 10-27-2009 
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article talks about the development of 'self-healing' materials in a huge scientific step towards imitating nature's ability to heal wounds/cuts/rips etc. I'll try to find a similar story in English, but if you do read German, go to source for this article ~ it is well written and quite interesting!
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POPSFilms today, books tomorrow? by Mariam Mokhtar "But the scariest thing is how the Puteri Umno motion was passed without debate. An important call such as this should have warranted a little more scrutiny. If the Government were to accede to their request, then it is all Malaysians, who will suffer. Not just Muslims. Movies like the Harry Potter films will not be screened. Lord of the Rings, and even The Wizard of Oz will have to be banned. And what about science fiction films? Alien, Predator and others, may be full of horror, or lack unexplained traditional elements, and thus, will not fit in any religious teaching." In short - ban fucking everything. Would that make 'em happy?
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POPSTesting Ireland's new blasphemy law Ian O'Doherty's blasphemous statement: So, here we go -- Catholicism is a cannibal cult which eats its leader, Jews who believe that God wants them to settle in the Holy Land are deranged lunatics, Muslims who wants to install Islamic law are nothing but fascist terrorists and Scientologists are nothing but a bunch of brainwashed weirdos who have been suckered by the malicious rantings of a failed science-fiction writer. Alright lads, I'll see you in court.
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POPSMedia Ignoring Conservatives' Return to Dominance of Political Book Market
In September of that year, the Boston Globe proclaimed liberals "triumphant" against "conservatives' decade long hold on popular culture." Yes, it seemed such wonderful liberal values were finally en vogue. Barnes and Noble, reacting to the outpouring of Bush-bashing literature in August of 2003 announced that it would set up ‘political science/cultural affairs' tables at its stores to feature the newest partisan works. But conservatives have reclaimed their hold on the Times's bestseller page. The closest any of the top 15 hard-cover non-fiction books gets to a defense of liberalism or the Obama Administration is In Fed We Trust by David Wessel "The books from the left strike me as an obvious reaction to Bush," conservative commentator Tucker Carlson told the Associated Press in 2003. "And for people who buy them, it's a way of voting against him in an off-election year." With Bush gone, liberals no longer have a blatant target at whom to direct a coordinated
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POPSJohn Scalzi on the latest "girls are ruining science fiction!" idiocy
More: Well, actually , the thing to do is trap such creatures in a dork snare (cunningly baited with Cool Ranch Doritos, Diet Ultra Violet Mountain Dew and a dual monitor rig open to Drunken Stepfather on one screen and Duke Nukem 3D on the other), and then cart them to a special preserve somewhere in Idaho for such as their kind. We’ll tell them it’s a “freehold” — they’ll like that — and that they will be with others of a like mind, and there they will live as men , free from the horrible feminizing effects of women and their gonad shriveling girl rays . And then we’ll tag them with GPS and if they ever try to leave the freehold, we’ll have them hunted down by roller derby teams with spears . That’s really the optimal solution. But since we can’t do that , then pointing and laughing will suffice. So, yes: let’s all point and laugh at these funny little terrified stupid men, and then ignore them. Because that’s what they rate.
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POPSBy imagining many possible worlds fiction can chang our Minds "For more than two thousand years people have insisted that reading fiction is good for bookyou. Aristotle claimed that poetry—he meant the epics of Homer and the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, which we would now call fiction—is a more serious business than history. History, he argued, tells us only what has happened, whereas fiction tells us what can happen, which can stretch our moral imaginations and give us insights into ourselves and other people. This is a strong argument for schools to continue to focus on the literary arts, not just history, science, and social studies. But is the idea of fiction being good for you merely wishful thinking?'
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POPSThe Invisible Machine: Electromagnetic Warfare Fascinating and frightening Documentary by the History Channel, which explores the cutting edge and future of warfare as well as new crowd control technologies. It looks into Directed Energy Weapons,EMP, HAARP, Sonic Weapons and weather manipulation. Many of these technologies are already in use or are in live test scenarios. Including but not limited to, the use of microwave radiation for crowd control, jamming and disrupting communications (cell phones, radio, satellite). Law enforcement across the globe, are now starting to apply some these Technologies, many of which are not covered by any sort of convention, to civilian theatres. Sonic military weapon purchased by San Diego police department! For Crowd Control!
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POPSTwenty science fiction novels that may change your life Cryptonomicon (2000), by Neal Stephenson The Mount (2002), by Carol Emschwiller Perdido Street Station (2002), by China Mieville Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom (2003), by Cory Doctorow Pattern Recognition (2003), by William Gibson Newton's Wake (2004), by Ken MacLeod Glasshouse (2006), by Charles Stross
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POPSWar is not a video game During this, one of the bloodiest months in the Afghanistan war, the spots promote a somewhat comforting, if disturbingly misleading, message — and it is aimed not just at potential soldiers, but also at the public at large. For the former, the goal is reassurance. As Bush-era attempts to conflate bellicosity and patriotism were undermined by persistent body bags, military recruitment has become more challenging. In response, the Pentagon hopes to make prospective volunteers believe their tours of duty will be as safe as a night on the couch.
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POPSScience fiction's response to Margaret Atwood's "I don't write science fiction" claim :lol: Background: For years, Margaret Atwood has been claiming that she doesn't write science fiction. Yes, yes, she writes stories set in the future, sometimes with aliens, that look at the question "what if were different - how would that affect things?" which is kind of the central question of science fiction (aka "the literature of 'what-if'")... but it's not science fiction!
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POPSThe Next Hacking Frontier: Your Brain? As neural engineering becomes more complex and more widespread, the potential for security breaches will mushroom. For example, the next generation of implantable devices to control prosthetic limbs will likely include wireless controls that allow physicians to remotely adjust settings on the machine. If neural engineers don’t build in security features such as encryption and access control, an attacker could hijack the device and take over the robotic limb.
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POPSReal-Life Fountain of Youth is Only a Matter of Time I have actually been considering this question for a while. I have no doubt that we will work out how to naturally extend our lives "qualitatively rather than quantitatively". So I realize there has to be other changes in the way we approach life and death that need to change. Tis, for me certainly a fascinating wondering and exploration. "...the question is not when, but how it will be done and (most importantly) whether incredible longevity medicines and technologies will have a net benefit to the world or create more problems than they are worth." webecoist
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POPSPure Imagination & The Supernatural Within Nature
A number of years ago I read the book "Earth - Pleidian Keys to the Living Library". It reads like a science fiction novel, yet, it inspired the seeds of imagination of what is possible. She poses the theory that all the other life forms that share this planet with us are from other planets. They have chosen to share this space called Earth with us. Don't know if I believe or disbelieve - it really doesn't matter unless I want to write a story about it. What captured my imagination was this "seed concept" - we can learn from all the other species on the planet. There are things that these species are naturally endowed with that we may learn from and benefit from. An example that stays with me is that of the cockroach - current science tells us that the cockroach has the capacity and capabilities to outlive nuclear holocaust, where as, humans most likely won't. read on at "amplify" http://celestialdancer.amplify.com/2009/08/27/pure-imagination-the-supernatural-within-natur
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POPSThe Science Fiction of Military Marketing Along with persuading President Obama to withhold photos documenting fog-of-war brutalities at Afghanistan and Iraq prisons, the Pentagon is seeking an opiate to placate the war-averse populace. What better anodyne than a marketing campaign implying wars are fun video games? As the armed forces build more unmanned drones, recruiters are looking to add new remote pilots. It is science fiction to assert that “the frontlines are unmanned.” Claims like that are deeply destructive, beyond their obvious insult to the thousands killed, wounded and/or currently stationed on those very frontlines. By convincing us that violence can be just another innocuous expression of adolescent technophilia, we will have once again forgotten that all wars, even the justifiable ones, are lamentable human tragedies.
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