Monthly Archives: November, 2012
Zuzu’s Petals
‘Tis the Christmas season and time for endless repeats of Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life. The film stars Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey, a man who has repeatedly given up his dreams to help others. Things are looking pretty drastic for George when his guardian angel Clarence intervenes and shows George what the world …
Everyone … devotes [zir]self to cultivating hobbits
December 14th marks a date that is doubly significant. First, the theatrical release of Peter Jackson’s first film in his Hobbit trilogy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Second, the Beamers’ discussion of the J.R.R. Tolkien — remember him — book, The Hobbit: There and Back Again. Those interested in the book may find the following …
They’re lights in the sky, kid
Displaying an excess of modesty, Dr. Charles Liu has requested that the title of Official Astrophysicist of Montclair be awarded instead to Dr. Greg Bryan of Columbia University. Dr. Bryan is an expert in computational astrophysics and uses supercomputer simulations to study galaxy formation and the birth of the first stars. The following is one …
Every ending is a new beginning
Just as we pull ourselves out of the darkness wrought by Hurricane Sandy, the Beamers hurled ourselves into the apocalypse, at least a science fictional one conceived by Arthur Clarke in his classic novel, Childhood’s End. How we got to the end of the world we all knew, but what it meant and whether we …
The Accidental Time Machine
The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman The Accidental Time Machine is the story of a graduate student that accidentally invents a time machine. Unfortunately, this time machine has a small problem in that it can only go forwards in time. The first hop is only a second, but each hop is exponentially longer. Our …
Read Friend and Enter!
Welcome to the Beam Me Up International Science Fiction Book Club blog! “Live long and prosper!” Spock bet Sarek bet Skon bet Solkar “Some who have read the book, or at any rate have reviewed it, have found it boring, absurd, or contemptible; and I have no cause to complain, since I have similar opinions …
Why, some of my best friends read Science Fiction …
As pointed out in the current issue of Ansible, the delightful monthly round-up of things and folks speculative produced by author David Langford, the Folio Society is publishing one of their beautifully produced editions of the original three Foundation books by Isaac Asimov. As befits a finely printed piece of Literature, the Society has a celebrity writer …
When a Book Really, Really Gets Under Your Skin
This is for all Watership Down fans out there, with a special shout-out to fellow Beamer Chris. http://www.neatorama.com/2012/11/01/Beautiful-Tattoos-Inspired-by-iWatership-Downi/ Disclaimer/warning: Not everyone puts their tattoo where the public generally sees it.
The Blast From the Past That Was Our Future
Two things in this article shocked me. First, the discovery that The Jetsons is now 50 years old, which reminds me that so am I (and then some). Second, that the show only lasted one season. I know that I watched it frequently while growing up, apparently oblivious to the limited number of episodes. How …
The brightest star in the firmament of Science
If there is anyone who can claim to have inherited the mantel of the Face of Science from the late Carl Sagan, it is Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium, regular evangelist for science and science education, and host of “Star Talk Radio”, a weekly astronomy podcast. “Star Talk” has now gone video, …
Beamer Books 