Happy Birthday Ray Bradbury!

Ray Bradbury turns 88 today. Did you know he helped create the Addams Family. Read all about him.

Glossary for Anathem

Seems like somebody is as excited about Neal Stephenson's new novel Anathem as we are. Boing Boing has uploaded the glossary from the book. Check it out!

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/08/22/neal-stephensons-new.html

The Demolished Man

Just finished The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester. Truly an amazing book, particularly for its time (early 1950's). As is my preference, I read one of the early (although not a first) edition, that I bought on Abebooks. Many of the styles and themes we associate with cyberpunk are present in here, and it has a fast, quick style that really moves things along. Not a space opera with a cast of thousands. The take on ESP was intriguing - the 10% or less of the population is graded as three different levels of "Espers" (also the name of a psych-folk band from my hometown of Philadelphia).

I'm surprised someone hasn't taken this and made a truly aweful Tom Cruise or Will Smith movie.

I also like that it was short - puts those 800 pound paper weights to shame for how much ground it covers in so little space.

Next up is the Foundation Trilogy - truly criminal that I've never read it and I want to finish it before Neal Stephenson's new book comes out in September.

R. I. P. Charlton Heston

As you likely saw in the news, Charlton Heston died yesterday. He starred in some of my favorite movies including Planet of the Apes, Soylent Green and Omega Man. Wired has a good article about his sci fi cred.

Aren't you a little bit short for a storm tropper?

Star Wars at the Franklin Institute

New Dune movie confirmed

Sadly, no Sting in this one. Why not a House Harkonnen movie? If good books make bad movies, maybe the reverse could be true. It worked for Gone with the Wind and the Godfather movies. Read more here.

Return of Neal Stephenson

Lev Grossman at Nerd World has an update on Neal Stephenson's latest novel, due in September 2008. Check it out

Also, an interview with Gretta Cook has some more exciting details