Pixel Scroll 11/27/16 That Is Not Scrolled Which Can Enpixeled Lie

(1) CROUCHING TIGER CAPTAIN. Actress Michelle Yeoh has been cast as a Starfleet captain, but there are conservative and radical interpretations of what that means.

Deadline reports it this way:

EXCLUSIVE: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon‘s Michelle Yeoh is heading into the final frontier with Star Trek: Discovery. Sources confirm to Deadline that the upcoming CBS All Access iteration of the fabled franchise will see Yeoh playing a Starfleet Captain.

However, before you start mapping out the deck of the Discovery, sources close to the production tell us exclusively that Yeoh actually will be the leader of another ship. We hear that Yeoh has been cast as Han Bo and her ship is the Shenzhou. The Yeoh-run spacecraft is set to play a big role in Discovery‘s first season.

Asked for comment, Star Trek: Discovery producer CBS TV Studios declined to confirm Yeoh’s casting,

BBC America is more suggestive:

Forget Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, and Archer: A new Star Trek TV series is in the works at CBS, with a captain in the form of Michelle Yeoh.

Deadline reports that the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon star will play Starfleet Captain Han Bo in Star Trek: Discovery, which is due on our screens in May….

So what do we know about her character? Well, apart from her name and rank, not very much. Details about the new series are being kept under wraps, though we do know it’s set ten years before the original one featuring Captain Kirk, and will bridge the gap between 2005 series Enterprise and the Kirk years by following the crew of the USS Discovery as they discover new worlds and civilizations.

(2) ENGLISH AS A FIRST LANGUAGE. I took the BBC quiz “English phrases: Test your knowledge”, linked by Chip Hitchcock in comments, and laid an egg. And don’t ask me where that phrase originated, because it’s clear I wouldn’t know!

There are many peculiar English phrases whose origins and meaning can appear obscure. For instance, where does “dead as a doornail” come from? When might one say: “I’ll go to the foot of our stairs?”

A recent BBC News article unearthing the stories behind some phrases drew a huge response from readers, who sent in examples of their own.

But how much do you know about the English language and its sayings?

(3) CHABON’S LATEST. Michael Chabon’s Moonglow is another work readers can simply enjoy, while critics are preoccupied defining its form.

Review in the New York Times.

Michael Chabon’s new book is described on the title page as “a novel,” in an author’s note as a “memoir” and in the acknowledgments as a “pack of lies.” This is neither as confusing nor as devious as it might sound, since “Moonglow” is less a self-conscious postmodern high-wire act than an easygoing hybrid of forms. Chabon has what sounds like a mostly true story to tell — about characters whose only names are “my grandmother” and “my grandfather,” and also about mental illness, snake hunting, the Holocaust and rocket science — and he may not have wanted to be bound too tightly by the constraints of literal accuracy in telling it.

The LA Times has more coverage of Chabon which, if you haven’t already exhausted your 10 free articles for the month as I have, you can check out.

Michael Chabon’s new novel “Moonglow” was inspired by a story his grandfather told on his deathbed. The novel is about families — their lies, loves and the stories they tell about themselves. Kate Tuttle talks to Chabon about fatherhood and fiction; …

(4) TODAY’S BIRTHDAY BOYS

  • Born November 27, 1907 – L. Sprague de Camp
  • Born November 27, 1926  — Rusty Hevelin

(5) SCI-FI AIR SHOW. A gallery of photos shows these old warbirds parked on the museum runway — makes you think you could reach out and touch them.

The SCI-FI AIR SHOW’s purpose is to preserve and promote the rich and varied history of Sci-Fi/Fantasy vehicles. Through display and education we seek to celebrate the classic design and beauty of these ships and the rich imaginations that created them. When the cameras stopped rolling, many of these proud old ships were lost and forgotten. Please join us in working to keep these rare and beautiful birds soaring!

 

The Chariot was an important piece of equipment carried aboard the Jupiter2.

The Chariot was an important piece of equipment carried aboard the Jupiter2.

(6) RIM OF THE ANCIENT MARINER. A Star Wars actor is busy keeping another franchise afloat. ScreenRant posted “Pacific Rim 2 Set Photos: John Boyega Heads to The Drift”

Having spent a good chunk of the past few years in development limbo, Pacific Rim: Maelstrom – the sequel to writer/director Guillermo del Toro’s 2013 film – has finally begun filming. Contrary to the initial plans, however, del Toro is not directing the sequel and is instead handing the reigns over to former Daredevil showrunner, Steven S. DeKnight; who after spending multiple years establishing himself in the television world, is set to make his feature directorial debut with the blockbuster project. Much to DeKnight’s credit as well, he’s managed to wrangle quite an impressive cast together for the anticipated sequel.

John Boyega is set to lead the cast, as well as executive produce the film, and will be playing the son of Idris Elba’s Stacker Pentecost, following his breakout role in last year’s Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens. Now, we’ve finally gotten our first look at Boyega in the character from the film too.

(7) DEATH WARMED OVER. When Will R. was still among us, he sent a commentary along with the link to this Aliens news item: “Looks Like Neill Blomkamp Really Is Planning To Bring ALIENS’ Newt Back To Life”

“When you say ‘worst deaths,’ do you mean ‘most horrible’ deaths? (I’ve always thought bringing Ripley back, cloned together with the aliens, was about the most horrible thing ever done to a character. John Hurt, though…that’s an all-time classic death.)

“Or do you mean worst deaths narratively speaking? That one would be fun. The first one would be…interesting, but I’d hate to call it fun.”

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(8) FOR THAT SPECIAL SOMEONE. I’m sure there’s someone on your list who’d be cheered to receive a copy of The Krampus and the Old Dark Christmas.

Once the mythic bogeyman of European Catholic childhoods and long presented as the opposite of Santa Claus, Krampus is a growing presence in American culture. With the appearance of the demonic Christmas character Krampus in contemporary Hollywood movies, television shows, advertisements, and greeting cards, medieval folklore Krampus-related events and parades in North America and Europe, Krampus is a growing phenomenon.

Though the Krampus figure is now familiar, not much can be found about its history and meaning, thus calling for a book like Al Ridenour’s The Krampus: Roots and Rebirth of the Folkloric Devil. With Krampus’s wild, graphic history, Feral House has hired the awarded designer Sean Tejaratchi to take on Ridenour’s book about this ever-so-curious figure.

 

[Thanks to John King Tarpinian, Will R., and JJ for some of these stories. Title credit goes to File 770 contributing editor of the day Kurt Busiek.]

56 thoughts on “Pixel Scroll 11/27/16 That Is Not Scrolled Which Can Enpixeled Lie

  1. Sale-type-stuff!

    With minutes remaining (sorry – I just found it!), FYI Barnes & Noble’s online Cyber Monday deal is 15% off your entire order. It appears preorders aren’t eligible. I’m guessing it’ll go on for a few more hours due to the evils of time zones. 😉 I’ve finally gotten around to ordering City of Blades.

    Also, the omnibus of the “Legends of Camber of Culdi” trilogy by Katherine Kurtz is $3.99 right now from Open Road Media (uses DRM). This includes Camber of Culdi, Saint Camber, and Camber the Heretic. One of my all-time favorite series, and I’ve been meaning to pick it in up e-book at some point during their periodic sales, to re-read here and there as time permits; now’s as good a time as any!

    SF Reading: I listened to Pieces of Hate by Tim Lebbon, and (thinking I was done) was pretty much “meh” on it. Then it went into part two and I was like “wut?!” (kinda thrown by the major shift in viewpoint, tone, time, etc.). I’m still not sure I’m into it; it’s probably just Not For Me, but I’m going to keep listening. Next up will be McGuire’s Every Heart a Doorway, however, which I’m looking forward to a lot!

  2. @Soon Lee: Most ebook-related things (availability, pricing, even publisher) are region-specific, if not store-specific.

  3. Wow, things are also so time-dependent. I tapped to buy the “Legends of Camber of Culdi” trilogy and it said to try again later, ‘cuz the item was being “modified.” Uh-oh. I closed and reopened it and it was $12.99! Nope, no sale. Oh well.

  4. It’s probably too late for most people now, since the Legends of Camber of Culdi will be going back to normal price in less than an hour, but if you’re looking for an epub version of a book, and you just missed the sale price, and you’re willing to get store credit at Kobo, make sure it’s still on sale at Amazon (which changes its price at midnight PST/PDT), buy it at Kobo, and get a price match. Kobo will give you store credit for the difference between 90% of the Amazon price, and the price you paid at Kobo.

  5. Chip Hitchcock:

    Various sources tell me the raiders of the British Isles were largely Norwegian (with some Danes, e.g. “Canute”); the Swedes tended to go overland, e.g. to be Varangian Guardsmen.

    It was mostly Danes in England and Norwegians in Scotland and Ireland. There were probably more Danes than Norwegians overall on the British Isles. However, this was before the formation of Norway, Sweden and Denmark as nation states, and borders in Scandinavia was somewhat fluid. “Dane” probably included people from modern south-west Sweden and south-east Norway. The name “Norway”, as in “the way to the North”, properly applies only to the west coast of modern Norway. In addition, English annalists was not overly concerned about where exactly the people raiding them came from and tended to call everyone Danes.

    And yes, Swedes, or more precisly people from the Baltic-facing areas of modern Sweden, generally travelled east- and southwards.

  6. @Bruce A: Thanks for the tip. Open Road seems to discount various books by Kurtz (presumably other authors, too) periodically, so I’m going to wait for the next one, but I’ll keep that in mind for DRM-free ebooks. (My ebook buying habits are a little convoluted, but the relevant bit is that if a book has DRM, I only buy it from Apple.) Again – thanks!

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