pop culture
Trending and current events, topics, and interest in science fiction and technology.
Biological History of the Vampire Legend
Bram Stoker, through his novel Dracula, and the motion-picture industry with its many portrayals, have led us to consider Count Dracula, a fifteenth-century Romanian nobleman, as the vampire. The Count, who was known as Vlad the Impaler, was a seemingly unpleasant person who was known to feast in the presence of impaled enemies. Once, during such a feast, an ambassadorial guest complained that the sights and sounds interfered with his appetite. Count Dracula ordered one more stake (pun intended), on which he had his guest impaled. He then continued dining, alone.
George GottPublished 7 years ago in FuturismBest Sci-Fi TV Shows of 2016
My priorities are simple. My family/friends first, then my business. Then science fiction. Quite frankly, as I look back on my life, I realize that before I had my own family or a business, sci-fi was all i had. From Buck Roger's and Space 1999, I have watched almost every sci-fi TV show ever. I have seen every episode of Star Trek for each of the series. I never stopped watching Sliders, and when the Syfy channel began it was a big day in my life. I am a sci-fi geek, and this year was an awesome year for sci-fi TV. Again, I watched every episode of every series. And yes, I still try to make time for family, friends, and business.
Frank WhitePublished 7 years ago in Futurism5 Science Fiction Heroes Who Hate Science
What's a hero supposed to do when they are written into a story they don't seem to want to even be in? When they're rudely stuffed into a space ship and launched to Alpha Centauri...but they really only want to chill at a backyard BBQ?
Matt CatesPublished 7 years ago in FuturismMust See Episodes of 'The Twilight Zone'
If you have never seen an episode of The Twilight Zone, then you cannot call yourself a true fan of television. The Twilight Zone is always among the top of any credible list of the best television shows in history. Created by Rod Serling, The Twilight Zone has 156 self contained stories that stick with an audience in a way no other show does. Some Twilight Zone episodes are great because of how creepy they are, while some episodes are great because of the powerful moral lessons they teach. While I recommend you watch the whole show, here are the best episodes of The Twilight Zone. Luckily they are all available on Amazon Prime and Hulu.
Jason SchwartzPublished 7 years ago in FuturismThe Science Fiction of Music
My first novel, Big in Japan, is about a neurotic American prog-rocker coming of age in Japan. My second, Jellyfish Dreams, is about a biologist’s quest to reanimate his dead fiancée at the instigation of a black hole beneath his sofa. Readers who’ve read both books usually remark on how different they are, but I don’t see it that way. For one thing: crazy artist, mad scientist—same difference. For another, even if you agree with (a quote I’ve seen attributed to) sf comics genius Warren Ellis that “Prog rock was sick and wrong then and it is sick and wrong now,” one can’t deny that prog drinks as liberally from the sf well as it does from the epic and fantasy ones. And so, a primer on some of history’s more salient prog-sf conjunctions:
M. Thomas GammarinoPublished 8 years ago in FuturismBuried Screwball Facts About Nikola Tesla
Travel anywhere outside the United States and the name of Nikola Tesla is known. Ask the average person on an American sidewalk? They’re apt to recall the 80’s rock band. Or they’ll nod and mumble about Elon Musk’s motor company.
Matt CatesPublished 8 years ago in FuturismSci-Fi Sidekicks You Wish Were Your BFF
Imagine this. You’re shackled to the wall in an underground alien torture chamber on an unexplored planet, light years from home. Or maybe your spaceship is being pulled into a moon-sized space station filled with storm troopers. Or you’ve got a supercomputer that needs hacked, stat. Obviously this is no time for Sam Gamgee to come to your rescue (heartwarming, loyal, and hairy-footed though he may be). You need someone with skills, someone who will risk everything to scoop you out of harm’s way, make a solid plan, and do it all again the next time you get yourself in trouble. Maybe they’re a little snarky, or a little sarcastic, or covered entirely in fur or actually a malfunctioning robot built out of trash, but when you need a best friend you can rely on, these sci-fi sidekicks won’t let you down.
Sarah QuinnPublished 8 years ago in FuturismSpace (Part II - Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle)
In my last article, I discussed William Gibson's cyberpunk classic Neuromancer as a key text in the convergence between science fiction and postmodernism. This time, I want to stay right on the cusp and consider the case of Kurt Vonnegut, who happens to be the writer who made me want to be one myself someday.
M. Thomas GammarinoPublished 8 years ago in FuturismTop Ten Haunted Places to Visit on Vacation
When a lot of people think vacation, they think of a warm beach with white sand, blue water, and maybe a fruity cocktail to enjoy. But not everybody. Some of us think of a cabin in the woods or a historical site that captures the imagination. Also, tourist season isn’t always in the middle of the summer; sometimes it can be great fun to travel during spooky October. If you’re taking a fall vacation or even like to enjoy yourself with a little morbid curiosity, you can’t go wrong with these haunted travel destinations.
Sci-Fi Casting That Almost Happened - 'Star Trek' Edition
Our favorite TV shows and movies and the iconic characters who populate them effectively carry us away on captivating adventures. We connect to them as an audience on many emotional levels. Often, they’re more than mere entertainment or a simple distraction. We grow up watching them as wide eyed kids, discover them in high school or maybe while living off at college. Show casts can feel as if they’re part of our own family. Soon we find that those casts of actors and actresses become a part of our collective pop culture experience, one we share with family and friends. With a TV show and movie franchise as established and beloved as StarTrek, the casting becomes all the more essential and memorable.
Will StapePublished 8 years ago in FuturismSpace
In a recent Omni article, "New Words Were Needed," I looked at some of the commonalities between modernism and science fiction. After inventorying some of the ways science fiction transposes modernist formal concerns to the level of story, I wrote, "And those are just some of the techniques of modernism; I won't even mention postmodernism."
M. Thomas GammarinoPublished 8 years ago in FuturismMost Sadistic Cults of the 20th Century
"Don't drink the Kool-Aid" doesn't sound like such an important warning, but if the People's Temple followers in Jonestown would've been given this advice, over 900 lives would have been saved. Until September 11th, the largest loss of American civilian life occurred when cult members of the People's Temple ingested fruit punch that was laced with cyanide in a mass suicide. Cults are both fascinating and terrifying. Their mystery draws the attention of the public, but the often brutal and radical ways of cults instill fear. Some of the deadliest cults since the 1950's may not be the most well known, but their attacks were brutal, and their unconventional views attracted individuals to support their dangerous causes. As a result, when the 10:00 news asks, "Do you know where your children are?" you better hope they're not joining a cult with a 16-year-old who claims to be a 500-year-old vampire. Individuals of all ages join cults for many reasons; whether it is for friendship or identity, or as a result of pressure, people are constantly joining ranks among the masses to be part of a movement that they believe in. Since the 1930's, cults have been a primary subject in sociological study. Cults are made up of people from all walks of life, and are formed all over the world. The reasons why vary—from the belief that they themselves are vampires, to the idea that children born after 1981 must be terminated because they are evil.
George GottPublished 8 years ago in Futurism