Flying robots, Jenny Agutter and more

Sometimes size matters. :) In this case, small and agile is the ticket. These little flying robots are awesome! Check out this lecture/demo.



Here is another interview (actually the second part of the last one I posted) with Jenny Agutter of The Minister of Chance.



The first clip of The Hunger Games was released on their facebook fan page. You can find it and more on the The Hunger Games page.

Fans in Boston, Miami, San Diego, and Philidelphia gained Advance Screening locations for their city on Twitter. Fans can enter for a chance to win ticket at Screenings.TheHungerGamesMovie.com. The Hunger Games will be in theaters March 23rd, 2012.



Phoenix Pick’s Stellar Guild Series, edited by Mike Resnick, has released titles by Kevin J. Anderson and Mercedes Lackey and these authors are on the hook to write more:

1. Larry Niven
2. Robert Silverberg
3. Mike Resnick
4. Harry Turtledove
5. Eric Flint

Phoenix Pick’s free ebook for March 2012 is Leigh Brackett’s The Big Jump. The coupon code is 9991393 and will be good from March 2 through March 31. Download the ebook at www.PPickings.com.

Phoenix says this about the author and book:

Leigh Douglass Brackett (December 7, 1915 – March 18, 1978) was an American author, particularly of science fiction. She was also a screenwriter, known for her work on famous films such as The Big Sleep (1945), Rio Bravo (1959), The Long Goodbye (1973) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980).

Her novel The Long Tomorrow is one of the original post-holocaust books and considered by many to be a classic work on the subject.

About The Big Jump:

What awaits us out in space?

New star-drive engines promise to open up the galaxy to humankind. But the first ship to use the engines disappears and a sole survivor returns...alone and dying of some strange type of radiation.

No one can figure out what has happened to the ship or the crew. Nor does anyone know what happens to a ship travelling using star-drive technology.

Does some unknown horror await us out there?

The only way to find out is to go out again. And Arch Comyn is determined to be the one to solve the mystery.

But is he, and the rest of mankind, ready for whatever awaits us beyond The Big Jump?

Nebula Noms, Hunger Games, Minister of Chance and AM2

Tickets for The Hunger Games are on sale now.


Search #HungerGames50 on Twitter or visit the official The Hunger Games Facebook page for a list of 50 sites giving away tickets to the LA World Premiere on March 12. The Hunger Games hits theaters March 23rd!


I know my loyal readers are getting sick of me going on about the abfab sci-fi radio drama The Minister of Chance, but, well, deal. I love it! Here's an interview with cast member Jenny Agutter (I remember her from Logan's Run, one of the few good sci-fi films from my youth).

Nebula Awards Nominees have been announced. My friends are dominating in the Novella category and I see that a story from Panverse Three, for which I have a review copy languishing, is in that category as well. Guess I better bump it up in my queue. Or at least read the story, "The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary" by Ken Liu. Read the full list of nominees over at Locus.

Lookout for Lockout. New poster!


Haps to watch for at AM2 in Anaheim this June

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (February 15, 2012) The ever popular ACE ATTORNEY
(Gyakuten Saiban-2012/Mystery, Drama/Approx. 130 min) manga and video game
comes alive in this live action feature film to be screened EXCLUSIVELY at
this summer¹s most anticipated Anime, Manga and Music event AM2. Two
screenings will be available-one EXCLUSIVELY for Passport holders ONLY and
the second for Passport holders preferred (with general attendees as seating
permits). More info and attendee registration can be found at
www.am2con.org

SYNOPSIS
In 20XX, to prevent the rise of vicious crimes the government introduces
"bench trials" a new justice system where the defense and prosecutor go
head-to-head in open court. Within just three days, a guilty or not guilty
verdict is decided.

Talented attorney Mia Fey, who shows understanding for her junior lawyer,
Phoenix Wright (Hiroki Narimiya), is murdered. Arrested for the murder is
her spirit medium in training sister Maya Fey (Mirei Kiritani). Phoenix
believes in Maya¹s innocence and takes the case where he meets Prosecutor
Miles Edgeworth (Takumi Saito), a level-headed, prodigy attorney and
childhood friend. An intense courtroom battle unfolds as testimony and
evidence are presented.

After the trial, Phoenix receives word that Miles has been arrested for
murder! Phoenix steps forward to defend Miles. Opposing council is none
other than Miles¹s master, legendary prosecutor von Karma (Ryo Ishibashi)
who has been undefeated in court for 40 years. As the trial goes on, the 15
year old DL-6 case, where Miles¹s father Gregory Edgeworth was shot and
killed in the evidence room, is examined closely.

What will become of Phoenix, Miles and Maya? What dangerous truth lies
behind this mysterious case?

And
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (February 17, 2012) Celebrated character designer and
director, TOSHIHIRO KAWAMOTO, of such famed animes as COWBOY BEBOP, MOBILE
SUITE GUNDAM ZZ, MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM 0080, MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM 0083, TEKKAMAN
BLADE, BLOOD THE LAST VAMPIRE, ESCAFLOWNE, MOBILE ANGEL ANGELIC LAYER, WITCH
HUNTER ROBIN, FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST, SCRAPPED PRINCESS, EUREKA SEVEN, OURAN
HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB, GHOST IN THE SHELL and outside of Japan as the
character designer and animation director for the beloved many more will
attend this summer¹s most aniticipated anime, manga and music convention AM2
(June 15-17, 2012; Anaheim Convention Center and Anaheim Hilton). More info
and attendee registration can be found at www.am2con.org

Wednesday geeky this and that

This is how you know you've arrived as a writer. When you're the geek behind the scantily-clad lead singer and the crowd goes wild when you play your three notes on the toy piano. Neil Gaimon upstages his wife from behind.



This song is a classic. It just occurs to me that it's filk. Right? I think it fits the Wikipedia definition: Filk has been defined as folk music, usually with a science fiction or fantasy theme, but this definition is not exact. ... In addition, while the majority of filk songs are in the folk style, other styles such as blues, calypso, and even rock periodically appear.

Here's the new movie poster for The Hunger Games. The publicist told me to let her know if I want to collaborate on the film. I don't think she means what we think it means.



Planning a trip for 2012? Here's some geeky ideas.
12 Sci-fi Film Locations You Can Actually Visit