I really miss Banks – not just his novels but reading and watching his interviews – the guy was just warm and witty, through and through.

Good Read. This man is much missed and has forever colored my image of our potential.

GotG, which was a movie I really enjoyed, was not a great script. Hardly any of the MCU movies have succeeded on the strength of their writing. The movies are pretty formulaic—even as they span genres. Insofar as it is about the writing, it's more about a clarity the writers of the MCU seem to have about who their…

Sam Carter of Stargate, other then a few hiccups in the beginning, subverted many tropes and pitfalls we get with women on television and sci fi. She was a scientist and not in one of the sciences that women get relegated to, biology or what not, she built amazing crap. She wasn't the touchy feely heart of the team,…

I'm honestly still trying to figure out if I liked it or not. I'm still not sure. :) The visuals were great, the story was long and meandering tho.. But it did have a crazy Matt Damon, so that makes up points..

So is your plan to continue repeating that all the way up to the point where Wonder Woman is released?

Just goes without saying...

I don't care how much I'm offered, it's just not going to happen.

The true heroes of science aren't always the people we remember. Over at the New York Times Magazine, Veronique Greenwood has a beautiful, fascinating essay about her great-great aunt, who worked with Marie Curie and discovered the element Francium. The story of her mostly-forgotten life in science is a must-read.

I'm not one of them, but there are people who resent Firefly because of how strongly the fans advocate the show. In fact, I would argue that a lot of the most unfair backlashes against works of science fiction and fantasy are actually backlashes against the fans rather than the work itself because science fiction and…

The Dark Knight Rises: Yes, it's probably the weakest of the trilogy, but some of the fan backlash I've seen against this movie makes it appear that it attained sentience, went round to their house and pissed on the rug. I kinda feel like I'm a black sheep for actually liking it.

The article below explains some of the licences taken with Alan Turing's story, but also touches on one particular unfounded invention that ought to dissuade people from watching the film, as it tarnishes Turing's reputation as the great hero that he was: that Turing concealed a spy in order to prevent his…