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News, culture, and politics. Not necessarily in that order.

 

Entries Tagged as 'Science Fiction'

Capes and Crumpets with Roz Kaveney

Posted by Ocelopotamus on May 4th, 2008 at 1:18 am

Speaking of people on my blogroll: Pop culture critic, blogger, and transgendered activist extroardinaire Roz Kaveney of Silence Exile and Crumpets was just in town, promoting her new book Superheroes!: Capes and Crusaders in Comics and Films — which I’m hoping to crack the covers of eventually.
Roz is brilliant at analyzing the various mechanics and […]

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Tags: Blogroll · Culture · Blogs · Journal · Chicago · LGBT · TV · Books · Superheroes · Lit · Science Fiction · Doctor Who · Transgender

Support the Writers Guild Strike

Posted by Ocelopotamus on November 7th, 2007 at 1:09 pm

Here’s a snappy little video explaining why.

 
As Miss Laura notes, the writers have even tried relaxing their demand for that luxurious extra 4 cents per DVD. They said they’d be willing to settle for the measly 4 cents they’re already getting, if they can just please be paid for their work on Internet downloads. And […]

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Tags: News · Culture · Comedy · Activism · Film · TV · Science Fiction · Heroes · History · Video · Labor

Roundup: Monkey in the Bathroom Edition

Posted by Ocelopotamus on November 6th, 2007 at 3:39 pm

I can’t scrape together enough time at the moment to do OcPot’s usual painstakingly well-rounded roundup — I’m seeing The Waterboys at the Park West tonight, woo-hoo! — but I wanted to get some of these links up before they fossilized. So here’s a charmingly slapdash, quick-and-dirty roundup. In ripped fishnet and high heels.

The always-eloquent […]

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Tags: News · Politics · Culture · Music · Tech · Food · Blogs · LGBT · George W. Bush · New Wave · Activism · TV · Democrats · Apple · Barack Obama · Comics · Science Fiction · Heroes · Animals & Environment · History · Torture · Human Rights · Nature · Labor · Civil Rights · 2008 Election · Religion · Spirituality · Journalism · Macintosh · Elections · Terrorism · Mitt Romney · Vegetarian & Vegan · Roundup · Essays

No Backsies

Posted by Ocelopotamus on October 24th, 2007 at 11:26 am

I haven’t weighed in on the whole gay Dumbledore thing, partly because everyone is already talking about it, and I usually view OcPot as a place to post about things that deserve more attention than they seem to be getting.
But Minnesota Malcolm brought it up in the comments to this post last night, and […]

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Tags: Politics · Culture · LGBT · Media · Film · Books · Lit · Science Fiction · Human Rights · Civil Rights · Education · Tolkien · Fantasy · Fiction · India

The Golden Compass: Official Trailer and Featurette on Daemons

Posted by Ocelopotamus on October 12th, 2007 at 6:18 pm

The official/final trailer for The Golden Compass is out, and the more I see of this film the better it looks. I am somewhere between guardedly optimistic and completely geeked out.

 
Also, here’s a nice little featurette called “Defining Daemons,” which looks at the animal companion-spirits that accompany the characters on their journeys.

 
Personally, I […]

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Tags: News · Culture · Music · Film · TV · Beatles · Books · Lit · Science Fiction · Video · Fantasy · Fiction · Animation · Ursula K. Le Guin

Standard Bearers from the Past

Posted by Ocelopotamus on October 12th, 2007 at 4:18 am

So yeah, I haven’t really tended to be one of those fancy-schmancy bloggers who manage to blog about things on the same actual day they happen. My schedule tends to keep me careening along in panic for several days at a go, and then I manage to steal a few hours to spit out a […]

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Tags: Meta · News · Politics · Culture · George W. Bush · Books · Lit · Science Fiction · History · Torture · Human Rights

Roundup: Swiftly Tilting Planet Edition

Posted by Ocelopotamus on September 17th, 2007 at 2:05 am

Eric Alterman has an outstanding column in The Nation on how the media’s mean girls (of all genders) develop the narratives they use to bring down the presidential candidates they take a dislike to. With examples of what they did to Gore in 2000, and what they’re doing to Obama and Edwards right now.
Two of […]

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Tags: News · Politics · Culture · Science · Tech · Chicago · LGBT · Media · Activism · Film · Climate Change · Democrats · Barack Obama · Books · Comics · HIV · Lit · Science Fiction · AIDS · Peace · Health · Iraq · Animals & Environment · History · Al Gore · U.S. Senate · Foreign Policy · Nature · John Edwards · 2008 Election · Hate Crimes · Fantasy · Cancer · Astronomy · U.S. Congress · Journalism · Elections · Roundup · Jamaica · Middle East · Infrastructure · Public Transportation

Russell Hoban News: New Releases and More

Posted by Ocelopotamus on September 7th, 2007 at 1:30 pm

I just updated the News page over at The Head of Orpheus, the Russell Hoban Web site I maintain, so I figured I might as well cross-post the info here as well (with a few slight formatting tweaks).
Autumn 2007 is shaping up to be a great season for Hoban fans, with Russ’s next novel My […]

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Tags: News · Culture · Film · Books · Theater · Lit · Science Fiction · UK/England · Documentaries · Russell Hoban · Fiction

Doctor Who News: Hugo Number Two, and a TARDIS Hiatus After Season Four

Posted by Ocelopotamus on September 6th, 2007 at 12:12 am

Steven Moffat has won his second Hugo award for writing a Doctor Who episode — this time for the Season Two episode “The Girl in the Fireplace.” And well deserved, in my book. “The Girl in the Fireplace” was a beautiful script and a real standout in Season Two. (Moffat previously won for the “Empty […]

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Tags: News · Culture · TV · Theater · Science Fiction · Star Trek · Doctor Who · Shakespeare · UK/England · Russell T. Davies · Fantasy

Doctor Who: Catherine Tate Signs on for Season Four, and US Season Three Premiere Tonight

Posted by Ocelopotamus on July 6th, 2007 at 2:03 am

It was a big week for Doctor Who news in the wake of the Season Three finale on the BBC this past weekend. Some of the major revelations include the Doctor’s most recent companion Martha Jones taking a break from the TARDIS, and Catherine Tate (who appeared in the 2006 Christmas special) signing on as […]

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Tags: News · Culture · LGBT · TV · Science Fiction · Doctor Who · UK/England · Russell T. Davies · Torchwood · Fantasy

Doctor Who: Season Three on Sci-Fi Channel, Captain Jack, Derek Jacobi, and Whovian Pride

Posted by Ocelopotamus on June 20th, 2007 at 3:15 pm

According to Outpost Gallifrey, The Sci-Fi channel has announced that Season Three of Doctor Who will begin its US premiere run on July 6th.
The Runaway Bride debuts at 8pm and is immediately followed by Smith and Jones at 9.30pm. Both programmes are repeated starting at 11.30pm.
The premieres come after a day of Doctor Who on […]

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Tags: News · Culture · LGBT · TV · Science Fiction · Doctor Who · UK/England · Russell T. Davies · Fantasy

Russell Hoban, The Kraken, and the US Edition of Linger Awhile

Posted by Ocelopotamus on June 5th, 2007 at 8:24 am

A few days ago I got a package in the mail from the David R. Godine publishing house, who last year republished both of Russell Hoban’s hilarious Captain Najork children’s books in the US (and did a lovely job of it).
Inside the package was an advance copy of the forthcoming US edition of Russ’s most […]

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Tags: News · Culture · Journal · Internet · Books · Lit · Science Fiction · UK/England · Mythology · Fantasy · Russell Hoban · Online Communities

Ocpot Presents … LOLHeroes

Posted by Ocelopotamus on June 3rd, 2007 at 6:42 am

OK, I’m a late bloomer on this, but having seen all of this insanity, via Jason at What Is This, 1999?, just sort of pushed me over the lolcats edge.
I have put in my guilty share of time at I Can Has Cheezburger?, and I had previously seen the LOL Trek episode “We Has Tribbles […]

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Tags: Culture · Blogs · Comedy · TV · Internet · Comics · Science Fiction · Star Trek · Heroes · Photos

Roundup: Carrot Whittling Edition

Posted by Ocelopotamus on May 15th, 2007 at 5:54 pm

White light, green heat: LEDS aren’t just for clock radios any more. In fact, LED lightbulbs may turn out to be the bulb of the future instead of compact fluorescents. Thanks to a breakthrough in the 90s, modern LEDs can emit white light instead of just red or green. They last up to five times […]

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Tags: News · Politics · Culture · Music · Science · Tech · Food · Blogs · LGBT · New Wave · Film · Science Fiction · Star Trek · Cardy Pop · Republicans · Crowded House · Neil Finn · Energy · 2008 Election · Education · Africa