by Melinda Snodgrass | Jun 16, 2010 | Blog
If you plan to see this movie, and hate spoilers don’t read this post. SPOILERS! You’ve been warned. Okay, so I went off to see Robin Hood last night. I had heard very mixed reviews, and that was what I found. First the good things — it looked great. It really evoked the dirt, dark, heat and cold of the middle ages. The fight sequences were good. The costumes were good. Max von Sydow was great. Russel Crowe knows...
by Melinda Snodgrass | Jun 14, 2010 | Blog
Wow, Arizona and the crazy Right gets ever more nasty and racist. The same man who brought us the “Show Us Your Papers” law is introducing legislation that will deny citizenship to children of illegal immigrants born in this country. HELLO, 14TH AMENDMENT, HELLO! These people all love the Constitution until it interferes with their agenda. Oh, and they all hate the government until BP fouls the Gulf and then they’re screaming for the government to do...
by Melinda Snodgrass | Jun 10, 2010 | Blog
Here is a quote from a Stephen Hawking interview with Diane Sawyer. “There is a fundamental difference between religion, which is based on authority, [and] science, which is based on observation and reason. Science will win because it works.” Pretty much sums it up.
by Melinda Snodgrass | Jun 3, 2010 | Blog
Last week I went crazy. I was supposed to fly out to Kansas City for their terrific convention, Conquest. Meanwhile George and Parris and Stephen Boucher and Janice Gelb were planning a road trip stopping at funky little roadside attractions. Unfortunately Parris came down with a bug so rather than a caravan George was riding with Stephen and Janice. Over breakfast they offered me the change to ride along. And I decided to do it. I raced home, packed,...
by Melinda Snodgrass | May 25, 2010 | Blog
So, for all you aspiring writers, and all the mid-list writers like myself here is a cautionary tale. George R.R. had this up on his Not a Blog, and it was just too good not to share. I can do one better than Mr. Hall. My very first autographing was at an Archon. I didn’t even have a book out. I had a cover flat of my Star Trek novel THE TEARS OF THE SINGERS. The committee insisted I needed to sign because people would want me to sign their program books. I...
by Melinda Snodgrass | May 24, 2010 | Blog
The slow motion tragedy in the Gulf is just breaking my heart. Seeing the pictures of the oil caked birds, the dead turtles and fish. When I don’t want to cry I want to hit somebody. Half a million for a remote shut off. Somebody in B.P.’s risk assessment division needs to be fired. I’m very much afraid this is a wound that will not heal in my lifetime.
by Melinda Snodgrass | May 24, 2010 | Blog
I started watching Lost again at the start of this season. I knew it was ending, a number of people told me it had gotten good again, and I wanted to see what they would do. I was enjoying it well enough, but I feared the end. Would it be another GALACTICA? — She’s _EVE_! plus religious gibberish, or would Lost do something fresh and unusual? Answer. No. Way back when the show started I thought “Oh, god, this is going to be another, And...
by Melinda Snodgrass | May 21, 2010 | Blog
Check out this amazing time elapse video for the launch of the shuttle Discovery. Makes me sad because now I will probably never see a rocket lift off from the Cape.
by Melinda Snodgrass | May 21, 2010 | Blog
“Scientists announced a bold step Thursday in the enduring quest to create artificial life. They’ve produced a living cell powered by manmade DNA. While such work can evoke images of Frankenstein-like scientific tinkering, it also is exciting hopes that it could eventually lead to new fuels, better ways to clean polluted water, faster vaccine production and more.” I heard the lead researcher interviewed. He talked about how they took common chemicals, rather like what...
by Melinda Snodgrass | May 20, 2010 | Blog
I watched the entire exchange between Senate candidate Rand Paul, and journalist Rachel Maddow last night, and it brought light rather than heat which is rare in television news. Basically, Maddow cleaned his clock in a very calm, rational way.Paul has spent the day frantically backpedaling from his statements. Statements that he has made in other venues — NPR, in speeches etc. He is trying to separate his ideology from actual facts on the ground and have an...
by Melinda Snodgrass | May 20, 2010 | Blog
Money quote from a leader of the Tea Party, Mark Williams regarding the building of a mosque near the site of the twin towers — “The monument would consist of a Mosque for the worship of the terrorists’ monkey-god (repeat: “the terrorists’ monkey-god.” if you feel that fits a description of Allah then that is your own deep-seated emotional baggage not mine, talk to the terrorists who use Allah as their excuse and the Muslims who apologize for and rationalize...
by Melinda Snodgrass | May 19, 2010 | Blog
I’ve joined an organization called Goodreads. I think it’s sort of linked with Facebook, though I can’t swear to that. It’s a place where readers talk about the books they have read or are reading, and post reviews. When you write a review you get to select the number of stars you’ll assign to a book. I haven’t posted all that many reviews because I don’t read as much as I used to. (There was an earlier post about that), but...
by Melinda Snodgrass | May 19, 2010 | Blog
I was sorry to read that FLASH FORWARD has been canceled. I liked the show a great deal. Appealing cast, with very grey characters, which I love. An interesting mystery, emotionally satisfying relationships. Science babble that at least sounded like science instead of just techo babble, and scientists who weren’t just heavies or comic relief. NBC’s fall line up looks particularly awful though I will give the Smits show a try because he is a very appealing...
by Melinda Snodgrass | May 18, 2010 | Blog
I spent the weekend at Leprecon. (Yes, it was in Phoenix, and I hated top give Arizona my money, but I didn’t see any point in punishing the fans who were chairing and attending this convention. _They_ didn’t pass the Draconian “papers please” bill.) But back on topic. I flew which meant I had over an hour at the airport, and an hour on the airplane so I got to read. I had devoured the first two Stieg Larsson books while visiting the Cassutts in...
by Melinda Snodgrass | May 17, 2010 | Blog
Here is something to make you smile, go Aaaaaaw, and then take a nap. Trying again to actually embed the video. If it doesn’t work you can at least follow the link. [video:http://vimeo.com/11712103 100×100]
