February 7th, 2010, 10:15 pm by Jayson Peters
Angered by Amazon’s removal of one publisher’s books from its online store in a recent e-book pricing dispute, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America has removed links on its website to its authors works on Amazon.com.
“Our authors depend on people buying their books and since a significant percentage of them publish through Macmillan or its subsidiaries, we would prefer to send traffic to stores where the books can actually be purchased,” the professional authors’ organization said in a statement. Examples of alternative outlets include Barnes & Noble and Borders online stores. However, the group hastened to add that books by its members that are only available through Amazon.com will retain their links to that website.
The online retailer yielded last week to pressure from publishers who sought higher prices for electronic book downloads, ending a standoff that culminated with all books from Macmillan being pulled off the virtual shelves. But Amazon dragged their feet a while in relisting Macmillan’s books — particularly the digital versions. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in: Books • Sci-Fi & Fantasy • Amazon • Business • e-books • Kindle • Macmillan • Nerd rage • Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America | Post a Comment »
February 6th, 2010, 10:21 pm by Jayson Peters
Reversing earlier denials, and delighting fanboys and girls everywhere, Neil Gaiman confirmed to SFX magazine Saturday that he is writing an episode of Doctor Who.
Gaiman’s entry in the long-running British sci-fi drama will air during Matt Smith’s second season. Production is just wrapping on his first season, the fifth since the show was relaunched after a long hiatus in 2005.
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Posted in: Sci-Fi & Fantasy • Television • BBC • Doctor Who • Matt Smith • Neil Gaiman | Post a Comment »
February 6th, 2010, 4:53 pm by Chris "KeL" Adams
Now that FarmVille has completely overrun Facebook, with an estimated 75 million players, the casual game is expanding to Microsoft’s gaming page, MSN games. This is the first step in Zynga’s, FarmVille’s creator, plans to try and expose the audience of MSN games and Windows Live Messenger to the popular farming game. Though it’s broadening its horizons, the game will remain hosted on Facebook and will continue to require a Facebook membership to play.
Will the game be as successful away from the built-in audience of the social networking hub? Time will tell, but judging by the game’s huge growth in under a year, I doubt this is the last time FarmVille will be plowing new fields.
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Posted in: Gaming • Civilization • Facebook • Farmville | 1 Comment »
February 6th, 2010, 11:36 am by Jayson Peters
Big Finish Productions is filling up the TARDIS again for its latest batch of Doctor Who audio dramas.
The company, which was producing original, full-cast stories with performers from the original television series long before the cult British sci-fi classic was resurrected on-screen in 2005, has announced that Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding and Mark Strickson will be returning to the roles of Nyssa, Tegan and Turlough alongside the Fifth Doctor, Peter Davison.
The last time the Doctor had so many companions at once was in 1983’s “Terminus,” the final part of the “Black Guardian Trilogy,” which introduced the scheming but ultimately noble companion Vislor Turlough. Sutton, Fielding and Strickson have each appeared separately in Big Finish stories with Davison over the years, but this is the first time they will all perform together again. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in: Sci-Fi & Fantasy • Television • Big Finish Productions • Doctor Who | Post a Comment »
February 5th, 2010, 9:47 pm by Jayson Peters
A nonprofit museum dedicated to pop culture paraphernalia is finally opening in the Valley after years of preparation.
The Arizona Popular Culture Museum is opening in northeast Phoenix. According to founder and director John W. Edwards, the site occupies 4,500 square feet in the CityCenter of CityNorth development.
In a 2007 article, Edwards told the Tribune that he wanted the museum to educate children and inspire them to learn about science and technology and to use their imaginations. At one point Chandler, Gilbert and Scottsdale were in discussions to host the nonprofit facility.
Edwards, a Tucson resident, pledged to donate 10,000 action figures, CDs, DVDs and posters for the effort.
Image: Tribune file/Arizona Daily Star
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Posted in: Sci-Fi & Fantasy • Arizona • Business • CityNorth • Collecting • Phoenix • Scottsdale | Post a Comment »
February 5th, 2010, 8:17 pm by Jayson Peters
A friend posted this on Facebook:
Open a Firefox window and type “about:robots” (no quotes) in the address bar.
What you’ll get is a delightful diversion with references to Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics, the rebooted Battlestar Galactica and Futurama’s Bender.
I think it’s been around a while, but it’s still cool.
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Posted in: Technology • Battlestar Galactica • Futurama • Internet • Isaac Asimov • robots | Post a Comment »
February 4th, 2010, 3:14 pm by Chris "KeL" Adams
Bethesda Softworks, the company behind the incredible Fallout 3 and its expansion packs, has put out a teaser trailer for the next game in the series, Fallout New Vegas. While not a direct sequel to the smash hit Fallout 3, it’s another story in the shared Fallout universe. It will be released for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC this fall.
The Fallout universe is set in a post nuclear war America full of 1950s-esque nostalgia. Much of humanity has been destroyed, except for those who managed to retreat into underground survival vaults and a few who managed to survive above ground.
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Posted in: Gaming • PC • PlayStation 3 • RPGs • Xbox 360 • Bethesda • Fallout | Post a Comment »
February 4th, 2010, 10:20 am by Jayson Peters
A New York fourth-grader was nearly suspended from school after his principal saw him playing with a LEGO police officer Minifig that was holding a tiny machine gun.
As reported by MSNBC, the 9-year-old was among a group of children playing with LEGOs at lunchtime when he ran afoul of the school system’s zero-tolerance policy for toy guns. (Even though another student playing with an ax-wielding LEGO figure was not harassed by the administration.)
Fortunately, reason prevailed and no suspension was ordered. The student and his parents met with the principal and it was agreed that the offending toy would not be brought to school again.
Image: Flickr user Dunechaser
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Posted in: Sci-Fi & Fantasy • Collecting • Huh? • LEGO • Weird | Post a Comment »
February 3rd, 2010, 4:26 pm by Chris "KeL" Adams
It’s a bit of a lull for comics this week, but that doesn’t mean there’s no reason to hit the local comic book store. It’s worth a trip for Siege #2 alone. Despite the $3.99 pricetag, Siege #2 is my suggestion for best pickup of the week. I was disappointed with the slow start in the series’ first issue, but writer Brian Bendis and artist Olivier Coipel knock it out of the park this time around.
It’s been a dark few years for the heroes in the Marvel Universe. House of M removed most of the mutant powers from the world. They lost the public’s trust in Civil War. They lost their trust in each other after Secret Invasion. They lost trust in the government in Dark Reign. But with Siege #2 it looks like the tide is finally turning in favor of the good guys.
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Posted in: Comics • Marvel • Siege | 3 Comments »
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