Pixel Scroll 12/11 Fresh Squeezed Pixel Juice

(1) COME OUT OF YOUR SHELL. The University of Maryland Libraries is hosting “Exam Wars: The Turtle Awakens” (U of M’s mascot is the terrapin.)

They’re having a Star Wars drawing contest, among other things.

Exam Wars Illustration Contest Students will send us a drawing of a Star Wars character, and will be entered into a drawing for their very own VIP Study Room, (modeled after the University of Dayton <http://www.programminglibrarian.org/blog/very-important-prize>  study room give-away). This room in McKeldin will be available to the winner during reading day and finals week.

(2) REFERENCE DIRECTOR! “Calista Flockhart Thought the Millennium Falcon Was an Airline”, or so she told Jimmy Kimmel.

In recent months, Harrison Ford has grudgingly acknowledged that he has a soft spot for Star Wars — but apparently, not enough to show the films to his wife Calista Flockhart. During a visit to Jimmy Kimmel Live last night, Supergirl actress Flockhart admitted that she was completely in the dark about all things Han Solo until this year. In fact, when a producer on Star Wars: The Force Awakens called to inform her of Ford’s accident on the Millennium Falcon, she had no idea what the Millennium Falcon was.

“A producer called me and she said, ‘Hi Calista, I have some bad news. Harrison has been hurt. He had an accident: he was standing on a Millennium Falcon and the door fell,’” Flockhart told Kimmel. “And I thought that he was on some commercial airline, and the door fell off and he flew out of the airplane!”

Totally confounded, Flockhart called a friend. “I said, ‘What the hell is the Millennium Falcon? I have never heard of that airline!’” she recalled. (Never heard of that airline? It’s the airline that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs!)

(3) DAMMIT JIM! ”Dammit Jim!” beer got its name when New Republic Brewing Company had to rename of one its products.

Dammit jim sixpack

The New Republic Brewing Co received a cease and desist letter from a law firm representing Luxco. They demand that we stop using the brand name Bellows as it is in violation of their trademark.  They claim that you, the consumer will confuse their plastic bottle bourbon with our quality craft beer.

Jim Beam apparently has a ‘Bellows’ line of rail-liquor and put pressure on New Republic. Thus, I suppose the message behind the new name is, “Dammit Jim, I’m a beer not a bourbon!”

Chad B. Hill commented, “The closest Captain Kirk will ever get to a 6 pack!”

(4) BANDERSNATCH EXPLAINED. “Diana Pavlac Glyer Talks About New Book, Bandersnatch” at the Azusa Pacific University website.

What common misconception about creative writing does Bandersnatch hope to eliminate?

This is a good opportunity to explain how Bandersnatch got its title. In a written exchange with Lewis an interviewer asked, “What influence have you had on Tolkien?” He responded, “No one ver influenced Tolkien—you might as well try to influence a bandersnatch.” (A bandersnatch is a mythical animal with a fierce disposition created by author Lewis Carroll.) Many researchers argued that Tolkien and Lewis must, therefore, have worked independently. In the very same letter, however, Lewis goes on to explain that Tolkien either ignores suggestions all together, or completely redoes his work.

The idea of the solitary genius is extremely popular, especially in the United States. Many people imagine the creative process this way: Someone struck with inspiration, sits alone with a typewriter and completes an entire book in one sitting. This could not be more off base. The world’s most influential creators are those embedded in a web of collaboration. They communicate deeply with other people about their ideas, and immerse themselves in groups of influence. When we work among others, our own productivity flourishes. We need people not only to work with us, but to do small things like encourage us along the way.

(5) SECRET AGENT NARNIAN. Harry Lee Poe’s title is overdramatized, however, he seems to be literally correct in saying “C.S. Lewis Was a Secret Government Agent”, according to the information in his article for Christianity Today.

…[The] British did the next best thing they could do to help Denmark and the rest of Europe: They launched a surprise invasion of Iceland, which was part of the Kingdom of Denmark….

Though British control of Iceland was critical, Britain could not afford to deploy its troops to hold the island when greater battles loomed elsewhere, beginning with the struggle for North Africa. Holding Iceland depended upon the goodwill of the people of Iceland who never had asked to be invaded by the British. If Britain retained Icelandic goodwill, then Churchill could occupy the island with reserve troops rather than his best fighting forces.

This was the strategic situation in which C. S. Lewis was recruited. And his mission was simple: To help win the hearts of the Icelandic people.

The Work of a Literary Secret Agent

The Joint Broadcasting Committee recruited C. S. Lewis to record a message to the people of Iceland to be broadcast by radio within Iceland. Lewis made no record of his assignment, nor does he appear to have mentioned it to anyone. Without disclosing his involvement with military intelligence, however, Lewis did make an indiscreet disclosure to his friend Arthur Greeves in a letter dated May 25, 1941. Lewis remarked that three weeks earlier he had made a gramophone record which he heard played afterwards. He wrote that it had been a shock to hear his own voice for the first time. It did not sound at all the way his voice sounded to himself, and he realized that people who imitated him had actually gotten it right!

(6) MST3K CASHES IN. The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Kickstarter raised $5,764,229 with 48,270 backers , and another $600,000 in add-ons, for a total of $6,364,229. MST3K claims $5,764,229 is a Kickstarter record, beating Veronica Mars to become the most funded media project ever.

We get 13 episodes, a holiday special, and a 14th episode. More importantly we have shown the industry that fans have real power, and in fact don’t need networks and studios to rule our viewing choices. Good work.

(7) SHAGGY. R. Graeme Cameron takes a deep dive into the November 1958 issue of LASFS’ fanzine Shangri-L’Affaires #39 in “The Clubhouse; Fanzine Reviews: ‘breaking people off at the ankles’”.

He begins by reciting the entire credits page (“If the following doesn’t convince you the clubzine SHAGGY was a group effort by a staggering array of now legendary fans in the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, there’s no hope for you”), quotes a Halloween party review at length (Fritz Leiber attended in costume), and documents Bjo’s abilities to mesmerize male fans of the 1950s.

(8) COMPANIONSHIP. All I can say about TVGuide.com’s “The Most Fabulous Doctor Who Companions, Ranked” is any such list that doesn’t have Donna Noble at #1 will not be receiving my daughter’s seal of approval.

(9) SECRETS OF CERES. NASA reports “New Clues to Ceres’ Bright Spots and Origins”.

Ceres reveals some of its well-kept secrets in two new studies in the journal Nature, thanks to data from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft. They include highly anticipated insights about mysterious bright features found all over the dwarf planet’s surface.

In one study, scientists identify this bright material as a kind of salt. The second study suggests the detection of ammonia-rich clays, raising questions about how Ceres formed.

(10) LAST SASQUAN GOH RETURNS HOME. Sasquan GoH and NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren had a longer flight than most. He returned to Earth earlier today (December 11).

Expedition 45 flight engineers Kjell Lindgren of NASA, Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos (Russian Federal Space Agency) and Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) touched down at approximately 8:12 a.m. EST (7:12 p.m. Kazakhstan time) northeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan in Kazakhstan. It was the first time a crew has landed after sunset and only the sixth nighttime Soyuz return from the space station.

 

Kjell Lindgren

Kjell Lindgren

(11) BE YOUR OWN ALIEN. See the cartoon at Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal“Why has no one made this?!”

(12) Today In History

  • December 11, 1992:  The Muppet Christmas Carol premieres in theaters.

(13) Today’s Birthday Ghoul

  • Born December 11, 1922 – Vampira, aka Maila Nurmi.

(14) PUPPY SCHOLARSHIP. Doris V. Sutherland in “2014 Hugos Versus 2015 Sad Puppies: Short Stories” quotes Gregory Benford’s complaint about fantasy taking over the Hugo Awards, and after a long introduction to the Sad Puppy controversy (excerpted here) assays the sf worth of the 2014 Hugo finalists compared to the stories on the slates.

The grave talk of a fight against a “toxic” and “hateful” ideology that controls the Hugos is a long way from the puckish humour of Correia’s early posts. At this point, what started out as a jokey bit of grandstanding has begun to resemble an online holy war against “SJW” hordes.

This element of moral imperative is the key distinction between the Sad Puppies campaign and earlier exercises in slate-voting, such as John Scalzi’s “Award Pimpage”. When a slate of potential nominees is taken as a simple suggestion, that is one thing; when it is taken as a call to arms against evil forces, that is quite another.

And the Winner Is… Well, Nobody

I am, of course, awfully late to the party, and by now I think just about anyone reading this will know the result of the two campaigns. The Sad and Rabid Puppies gathered enough support to sweep the nominees with a mixture of choices from the two slates. And yet, they also had enough detractors to keep almost all of those choices from winning – even if it meant voting “no award” to the tops of multiple categories.

Both sides took this as a victory. Many opponents of the Puppies congratulated themselves on keeping the slated works from winning, while supporters took the results as evidence that the Hugos were run by “SJWs” who barred any nominees with the wrong ideology.

Myself, I would have to agree with Liana Kerzner: “No one won. It was just a disruption in the Force like Palpatine ripped a big fart.”

(15) CONTENT WARNING. The Castalia House blog has posted the first two of a five-part series “Safe Space as Rape Room: Science Fiction Culture and Childhood’s End.” The series argues the sf community has a pedophilia problem. Whether you read it, you now know it exists – Part IPart II.

[Thanks to David Doering, John King Tarpinian, Martin Morse Wooster, Will R., and JJ for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Chris S.]

280 thoughts on “Pixel Scroll 12/11 Fresh Squeezed Pixel Juice

  1. 1. WHICH SHALL IT BE?
    Things to Come (1936)
    Akira (1988)

    I’ve actually seen Things to Come, but for all its incoherence, Akira gets my vote.

    2. APOCALYPSE NOW
    Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
    The Terminator (1984)

    He’ll be back.

    3. GET THEM WHEN THEY’RE SMALL
    The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
    Terminator 2 – Judgement Day (1991)

    See? I told you.

    4. WEIRD SCIENCE
    Paprika (2006)
    Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

    Abstain: haven’t seen either.

    5. CLOSE ENCOUNTER INDEED
    Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
    Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

    For all its pretty lights, CE3K had a plot that really didn’t make much sense.

    6. SAVIOURS OF EARTH
    Superman (1978)
    WALL-E (2008)

    7. FUN, FUN, FUN
    Tremors (1990)
    Back To The Future (1985)

    8. EPIC CLOTHING
    Clockwork Orange (1971)
    Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

    9. INNER SPACE OR OUTER SPACE
    Star Wars (1977)
    Fantastic Voyage (1966)

    Yeah, no contest there.

    10. WHAT HUMANS CREATE
    Wings of Honneamise (1987)
    Frankenstein (1931)

    I’ll go with the classic this time.

    11. BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME
    The Man In The White Suit (1951)
    The Thing (1982)

    Abstain.

    12. SURPRISING FUTURES
    Matrix (1999)
    Time After Time (1979)

    13. PEOPLE WITH RIDICULOUS NAMES
    Flash Gordon (1980)
    The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)

    14. IMPACT OF PSYCHOLOGY
    Solaris (1972)
    Wargames (1983)

    15. THINGS THAT AWAKE
    Quartermass and the Pit (1967)
    Sleeper (1974)

    16. ALL THINGS GO DOWN
    Gravity (2013)
    Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)

  2. 1. WHICH SHALL IT BE? – abstain
    2. APOCALYPSE NOW – The Terminator (1984)
    3. GET THEM WHEN THEY’RE SMALL – Terminator 2 – Judgement Day (1991)
    4. WEIRD SCIENCE – abstain
    5. CLOSE ENCOUNTER INDEED – Close Encounter of the First Kind (1977)
    6. SAVIOURS OF EARTH – Superman (1978)
    7. FUN, FUN, FUN – Tremors (1990)
    8. EPIC CLOTHING – I had to sit and think about this one for a much longer time than I’ll admit … Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
    9. INNER SPACE OR OUTER SPACE – Star Wars (1977)
    10. WHAT HUMANS CREATE – abstain
    11. BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME – The Thing (1982)
    12. SURPRISING FUTURES – Time After Time (1979)
    13. PEOPLE WITH RIDICULOUS NAMES – Flash Gordon (1980)
    14. IMPACT OF PSYCHOLOGY – Wargames (1983)
    15. THINGS THAT AWAKE – not even my hearty dislike for Woody Allen can bring me to vote for a movie I haven’t seen; abstain.
    16. ALL THINGS GO DOWN – Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)

  3. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – FIRST HEAT

    1. WHICH SHALL IT BE?
    Akira (1988)

    3. GET THEM WHEN THEY’RE SMALL
    Terminator 2 – Judgement Day (1991)

    5. CLOSE ENCOUNTER INDEED
    Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

    7. FUN, FUN, FUN
    Back To The Future (1985)

    9. INNER SPACE OR OUTER SPACE
    Star Wars (1977)

    11. BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME
    The Man In The White Suit (1951)

    13. PEOPLE WITH RIDICULOUS NAMES
    The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)

    15. THINGS THAT AWAKE
    Quartermass and the Pit (1967)

  4. I suppose it’s too late to mention that the character’s name is Quatermass, not Quartermass. (only one ‘r’)

  5. 2. The Terminator
    3. Terminator 2 Judgement Day
    8. Clockwork Orange
    9. Star Wars
    11. The Thing
    12. Time After Time
    15. Sleeper

  6. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – FIRST HEAT

    1. WHICH SHALL IT BE?
    Things to Come (1936)

    2. APOCALYPSE NOW
    Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

    4. WEIRD SCIENCE
    Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

    5. CLOSE ENCOUNTER INDEED
    Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

    9. INNER SPACE OR OUTER SPACE
    Star Wars (1977)

    10. WHAT HUMANS CREATE
    Frankenstein (1931)

    11. BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME
    The Man In The White Suit (1951)

  7. Only a few I could vote for, but mostly honest or somewhat honest votes. My movie knowledge is surprisingly lacking, but then, a surprising number of movies on the list are from before I was born. 😉

    SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – FIRST HEAT

    2. APOCALYPSE NOW
    The Terminator (1984)

    I’ll be Bach.

    5. THE FACULTY

    Protest vote ‘cuz I’m still annoyed I forgot to nominate it, plus it’s awesome, plus it’s a remake of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” anyway. 😉

    7. FUN, FUN, FUN
    Back To The Future (1985)

    McFly!

    8. EPIC CLOTHING
    Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

    Come. Up to the lab.

    9. INNER SPACE OR OUTER SPACE
    Star Wars (1977)

    But I was going to go buy power converters or whatever! I mean, aw, I liked “Fantastic Voyage,” but must vote for “Star Wars.”

    12. SURPRISING FUTURES
    Matrix (1999)

    Woah.

    13. PEOPLE WITH RIDICULOUS NAMES
    Flash Gordon (1980)

    Ah-ah! This was cheesy but not great, but OMG yuck, Banzai.

  8. @David Shallcross:

    I suppose it’s too late to mention that the character’s name is Quatermass, not Quartermass. (only one ‘r’)

    No, see, you’re thinking of Quatermass of the Third Kind.

  9. 1. Things to Come
    2. Terminator
    3. Terminator 2
    4. Bride of Frankenstein
    5. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
    6. Wall-E
    7. Back to the Future
    8. Clockwork Orange
    9. Star Wars
    10. Frankenstein
    11. The Thing
    12. Time After Time
    13. Buckaroo Banzai
    14. Solaris
    15. Quatermass and the Pit
    16. Journey to the Center of the Earth (the Bernard Hermann score outweighs the presence of Pat Boone).

  10. 4. Bride of Frankenstein

    5. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

    6. WALL-E

    7. Back to the Future

    8. No no no no! Already? No! I can’t. I just can’t.
    Ok, if I absolutely have to choose…
    Clockwork Orange

    11. The Man in the White Suit

    12. Time After Time

    13. Buckaroo Banzai

    15. Sleeper

  11. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – FIRST HEAT

    1. WHICH SHALL IT BE?
    Things to Come (1936)
    Akira (1988)

    2. APOCALYPSE NOW
    Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
    The Terminator (1984)

    3. GET THEM WHEN THEY’RE SMALL
    The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
    Terminator 2 – Judgement Day (1991)

    4. WEIRD SCIENCE
    Paprika (2006)
    Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

    5. CLOSE ENCOUNTER INDEED
    Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
    Close Encounter of the First Kind (1977)

    6. SAVIOURS OF EARTH
    Superman (1978)
    WALL-E (2008)

    7. FUN, FUN, FUN
    Tremors (1990)
    Back To The Future (1985)

    8. EPIC CLOTHING
    Clockwork Orange (1971)
    Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

    9. INNER SPACE OR OUTER SPACE
    Star Wars (1977)
    Fantastic Voyage (1966)

    10. WHAT HUMANS CREATE
    Wings of Honneamise (1987)
    Frankenstein (1931)

    11. BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME
    The Man In The White Suit (1951)
    The Thing (1982)

    12. SURPRISING FUTURES
    Matrix (1999)
    Time After Time (1979)
    sniff

    13. PEOPLE WITH RIDICULOUS NAMES
    Flash Gordon (1980)
    The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
    nope

    14. IMPACT OF PSYCHOLOGY
    Solaris (1972)
    Wargames (1983)

    15. THINGS THAT AWAKE
    Quartermass and the Pit (1967)
    Sleeper (1974)

    16. ALL THINGS GO DOWN
    Gravity (2013)
    Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)
    nope

  12. David Shallcross:

    I suppose it’s too late to mention that the character’s name is Quatermass, not Quartermass. (only one ‘r’)

    But think of the potential — Quartermass, his cousin Halfmass, and the never-mentioned Masswhole….

  13. 1. WHICH SHALL IT BE?
    Things to Come (1936)

    2. APOCALYPSE NOW
    Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

    3. GET THEM WHEN THEY’RE SMALL
    The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

    4. WEIRD SCIENCE
    Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

    5. CLOSE ENCOUNTER INDEED
    Close Encounter of the Third Kind (1977)

    6. SAVIOURS OF EARTH
    WALL-E (2008)

    7. FUN, FUN, FUN
    Back To The Future (1985)

    8. EPIC CLOTHING
    Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

    9. INNER SPACE OR OUTER SPACE
    Star Wars (1977)

    10. WHAT HUMANS CREATE
    Frankenstein (1931)

    11. BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME
    The Thing (1982)

    12. SURPRISING FUTURES
    Matrix (1999)

    13. PEOPLE WITH RIDICULOUS NAMES
    The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)

    14. IMPACT OF PSYCHOLOGY
    Wargames (1983)

    15. THINGS THAT AWAKE
    Quartermass and the Pit (1967)

    16. ALL THINGS GO DOWN
    Gravity (2013)

  14. 2. APOCALYPSE NOW
    Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
    The Terminator (1984)

    3. GET THEM WHEN THEY’RE SMALL
    The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
    Terminator 2 – Judgement Day (1991)

    5. CLOSE ENCOUNTER INDEED
    Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
    Close Encounter of the First Kind (1977)

    6. SAVIOURS OF EARTH
    Superman (1978)
    WALL-E (2008)

    7. FUN, FUN, FUN
    Tremors (1990)
    Back To The Future (1985)

    8. EPIC CLOTHING
    Clockwork Orange (1971)
    Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

    9. INNER SPACE OR OUTER SPACE
    Star Wars (1977)
    Fantastic Voyage (1966)

    13. PEOPLE WITH RIDICULOUS NAMES
    Flash Gordon (1980)
    The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)

    14. IMPACT OF PSYCHOLOGY
    Solaris (1972)
    Wargames (1983)

    16. ALL THINGS GO DOWN
    Gravity (2013)
    Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)

  15. Mike Glyer on December 16, 2015 at 11:23 pm said:

    David Shallcross:

    I suppose it’s too late to mention that the character’s name is Quatermass, not Quartermass. (only one ‘r’)

    But think of the potential — Quartermass, his cousin Halfmass, and the never-mentioned Masswhole….

    When I was young and foolish (as opposed to old and foolish, obv) I did think it was Quartermass, and only found out otherwise when I saw the movie

  16. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – FIRST HEAT

    1. WHICH SHALL IT BE?
    Akira (1988)

    2. APOCALYPSE NOW
    Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

    3. GET THEM WHEN THEY’RE SMALL
    Terminator 2 – Judgement Day (1991)

    4. WEIRD SCIENCE
    Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

    5. CLOSE ENCOUNTER INDEED
    Close Encounter of the First Kind (1977)

    6. SAVIOURS OF EARTH
    WALL-E (2008)

    7. FUN, FUN, FUN
    Back To The Future (1985)

    8. EPIC CLOTHING
    Clockwork Orange (1971)

    9. INNER SPACE OR OUTER SPACE
    Star Wars (1977)

    10. WHAT HUMANS CREATE
    Wings of Honneamise (1987)

    11. BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME
    The Thing (1982)

    12. SURPRISING FUTURES
    Matrix (1999)

    13. PEOPLE WITH RIDICULOUS NAMES
    The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)

    14. IMPACT OF PSYCHOLOGY
    Wargames (1983)

    15. THINGS THAT AWAKE
    Quartermass and the Pit (1967)

    16. ALL THINGS GO DOWN
    Gravity (2013)

  17. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – FIRST HEAT

    1. WHICH SHALL IT BE?
    Things to Come (1936) – 15 votes
    Akira (1988) – 11 votes

    Neo-Tokyo is destroyed by a psychic explosion, but humanity survives in Iraq where war has been outlawed. Well, it is an alternative history.

    WINNER: Things to Come

    2. APOCALYPSE NOW
    Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985) – 15 votes
    The Terminator (1984) – 27 votes

    Two men enters, one man leaves. Or robot. Max is pig food.

    WINNER: The Terminator

    3. GET THEM WHEN THEY’RE SMALL
    The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) – 4 votes
    Terminator 2 – Judgement Day (1991) – 30 votes

    The incredible shrinking man keeps on shrinking to avoid being terminated.

    WINNER: Terminator 2

    4. WEIRD SCIENCE
    Paprika (2006) – 6 votes
    Bride of Frankenstein (1935) – 20 votes

    The Bride of Frankensteins takes a big bite out of paprika and is surprised by the hallucinations this provokes. Woving to never more do drugs, Paprika is promptly placed in a wastebasket.

    WINNER: Bride of Frankenstein

    5. CLOSE ENCOUNTER INDEED
    Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) – 17 votes
    Close Encounter of the Third Kind (1977) – 22 votes

    The Filers prefer nice aliens who play nice music and waves their hands compared to evil pod people. At least for 20 years or so.

    WINNER: Close Encounter of the Third Kind

    6. SAVIOURS OF EARTH
    Superman (1978) – 18 votes
    WALL-E (2008) – 23 votes

    Superman stands for the american way and apple pie, but what is that compared to planting seeds and growing pizza?

    WINNER: WALL-E

    7. FUN, FUN, FUN
    Tremors (1990) – 10 votes
    Back To The Future (1985) – 35 votes

    Evil underground monsters or flyind DeLoreans? I know what I want.

    WINNER: Back To The Future

    8. EPIC CLOTHING
    Clockwork Orange (1971) – 14 votes
    Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) – 29 votes

    Epic Clothing and Epic Music. If Malcolm McDowell had been wearing drag instead of covering himself up, he might have had a chance, but this round goes to Tim Curry.

    WINNER: Rocky Horror Picture Show

    9. INNER SPACE OR OUTER SPACE
    Star Wars (1977) – 44 votes
    Fantastic Voyage (1966) – 0 votes

    The Fantastic Voyage wasn’t that fantastic. Kind of boring come to think of it. At least compared to Star Wars that managed to get all votes. This is not someone you want to compete against.

    WINNER: Star Wars

    10. WHAT HUMANS CREATE
    Wings of Honneamise (1987) – 4 votes
    Frankenstein (1931) – 21 votes

    The most epic of all epic makeups – Frankenstein wins by a landslide.

    WINNER: Frankenstein

    11. BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME
    The Man In The White Suit (1951) – 11 votes
    The Thing (1982) – 17 votes

    It is not only the emperor who has no clothes, the same goes for The Man In The White Suit. He might have an idea for a new one, but he isn’t there yet.

    WINNER: The Thing

    12. SURPRISING FUTURES
    Matrix (1999) – 22 votes
    Time After Time (1979) – 19 votes

    This one was close, so close. The filers obviously has a soft spot for the underdog, but a blockbuster is still a blockbuster.

    WINNER: Matrix

    13. PEOPLE WITH RIDICULOUS NAMES
    Flash Gordon (1980) – 12 votes
    The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) – 22 votes

    Not enough Brian Blessed.

    WINNER: The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

    14. IMPACT OF PSYCHOLOGY
    Solaris (1972) – 8 votes
    Wargames (1983) – 22 votes

    Oh, the wonderful time where playing tic-tac-toe could stop a war.

    WINNER: Wargames

    15. THINGS THAT AWAKE
    Quatermass and the Pit (1967) – 13 votes
    Sleeper (1974) – 18 votes

    Sleeper says t about Sex and death: “Two things that come once in a lifetime”. Seems a bit boring, but in Solaris, death comes several times, so that is worse.

    WINNER: Sleeper

    16. ALL THINGS GO DOWN
    Gravity (2013) – 14 votes
    Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) – 9 votes

    Our daring explorers works themselves down towards the center of the earth only to promptly be burned alive by the lava.

    WINNER: Gravity

  18. @MIke.

    So is that what Mass Effect is really all about? About the Quatermass Family? (and is that like the Wold Newton universe?)

  19. Wow, I wouldn’t have bet on Akira and Superman going out this quickly! Clearly anything (except Star Wars) is going to be at risk.

  20. @Mike Glyer:

    his cousin Halfmass, and the never-mentioned Masswhole….

    Sorry but this drives me crazy. It’s “Hafmass” and “Masswole.”

  21. Jim Henley on December 17, 2015 at 5:57 am said:
    @Mike Glyer:
    his cousin Halfmass, and the never-mentioned Masswhole….
    Sorry but this drives me crazy. It’s “Hafmass” and “Masswole.”

    Here in Massachusetts, it’s Massholes all the way down.

  22. 1. WHICH SHALL IT BE?
    Akira (1988)

    2. APOCALYPSE NOW
    The Terminator (1984)

    3. GET THEM WHEN THEY’RE SMALL
    Terminator 2 – Judgement Day (1991)

    4. WEIRD SCIENCE
    Paprika (2006)

    9. INNER SPACE OR OUTER SPACE
    Star Wars (1977)

    12. SURPRISING FUTURES
    Matrix (1999)

    14. IMPACT OF PSYCHOLOGY
    Solaris (1972)

    16. ALL THINGS GO DOWN
    Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)

  23. I have more opinions about these than I expected. And I have a lot of catching up to do, movie-wise.

    3. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)
    4. Dune (1984)
    5. The Iron Giant (1999)
    7. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
    8. 2001 (1968)
    12. Jurassic Park (1993)
    13. Brazil (1985)
    14. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
    15. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
    16. Alien (1979)

  24. Cat names: My younger cat came to me as a foster, and therefore when she transitioned to being adopted her name (Jam) stuck. The other cat is traditionally named for the thing it should have replaced, namely high-power antidepressants, but now responds to Zip, which is always very good for a kitten and gets increasingly inaccurate as she ages (“Pillow” would be more accurate for both now.)

    In other news I have fallen into the abyss that is Neko Atsume, and am feeling the impulse to photograph New Cats when I see them, including the Resident Ones playing with stuff.

  25. lurkertype on December 15, 2015 at 6:08 pm said:
    @RedWombat: They have to have names suitable for their records at the vet. It’s not nice for the vet techs to have to call and remind you that Divine Empress Sqigimus Fartfur needs a rabies booster. Plus it might not fit on the form. So my cats have respectable people-names, even though they go by “Multi-Colored Princess of Fluffitude” and “No, You Stooopid Tuxedo, Stop That”.

    A friend of mine had a cat (not named by him) called Simba. When calling the vet and asking after Simba the vet inevitably asked: “Which one?”

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