Jottings on science, religion, technology, pop culture and faith from the Antipodes.
You are currently browsing the archive for the Pop Culture category.
Picked up the following book from a sale pile today at a book clearance store. Hoping to find some time to flick through it at some point - perhaps on the train traveling to and from the SBL international conference in a week’s time. Must have a hunt through the conference programme book and see if there’s anything in there relating to popular culture.
“Living with Star Trek: American Culture and the Star Trek Universe” (Lincoln Geraghty)
Great little article by Sam J. Miller over at mental_floss Blog » Battlestar Galactica vs. Star Trek looking at the difference in anthropologies underlying Star Trek (pretty positive) and the new Battlestar Galactica (pretty negative). Worth a quick read.
Miller argues that Galactica doesn’t hide the warts or flaws in human nature and relationships, or paint a rosy picture of some kind of trajectory towards perfection achievable through the myth of progress. He says of that,
Galactica is sci-fi without that BS. Sci-fi with all the anger and stupidity and sadness that real people experience. Sci-fi without the conviction that we will conquer our own ugliness. Sci-fi for the age of peak oil and 9/11 and natural disasters compounded by climate change to the point where they can completely destroy major cities. Galactica’s message is that unless we come to terms with our own history, we are doomed. Mankind created the Cylons to fight our wars and to do our grunt work for us. Eventually they rose up and wiped out 99.999% of us. This basic lesson is one we still haven’t learned: that exploitation leads to exploitation, that if you oppress someone you sow the seeds of your own oppression. “You can’t play God and then wash your hands of the things you’ve created,†says the Galactica’s commander, William Adama. “Sooner or later, the day comes when you can’t hide from the things that you’ve done anymore.â€
It’s similar to the flaws in humanity that Joss Whedon brought out in Firefly or J. Michael Straczynski kept in Babylon 5.
Hat tip to Exploring Our Matrix: Around the Blogosphere (The End of the Banana Argument)
Related link: Greenflame · Science fiction as safe(?) space to explore unpleasant questions
Just finished watching Justice League: The New Frontier DVD borrowed from the local library, which is the animated movie of Darwyn Cooke’s “The New Frontier†detailing the formation of the Silver Age Justice League. I enjoyed it, and especially so because it dealt primarily with the characters of Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Flash (Barry Allen) and Martian Manhunter (J’onn J’onzz) rather than the normal Trinity of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.
The artwork style is very much 1960s, and for the comics enthusiast there are all sorts of cameo appearances and background details to note. And while it’s animated superheroes the plot and content (for example, the shades of grey in politics) are definitely geared for an audience above children’s level (The rating on the the DVD here is “Mâ€). As the Line of Fire review noted below states: “This is a fine film, definitely geared towards adults, a little too violent for the kids, but for anyone who ever loved superheroes, you will find an appreciation of this film.†However, for audiences outside of the US there will be a few moments where the elements of the story may not resonate as strongly as they might for those brought up in the US context.
Related links:
Justice League: The New Frontier - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Justice League: The New Frontier DVD Review - Line of Fire Reviews - Comics Bulletin
Absolute DC: The New Frontier HC Review - Line of Fire Reviews - Comics Bulletin
As a child growing up there were certain TV shows that could only be watched from “behind the couchâ€. You wanted to know what happened, but at the same time the tension (and scariness) of the episode required that some form of retreat or protection was needed. These shows included the (Tom Baker) Dr Who ‘Pyramids of Mars‘ episodes, the UK series ‘Children of the Stones‘, and the New Zealand kid’s science fiction drama ‘Under the Mountain’, based on the Maurice Gee novel of the same name.
Today, we picked up the Under the Mountain DVD of TV series (filmed back in the early 80s). I’m looking forward to moving the couch forward a bit from the wall, and sitting down to watch it with the kids. Should be fun, especially as a couple of the kids have already read the novel.
Also, on a related note - the creator of ‘Black Sheep‘ is going to produce a movie version of the book aimed at teenagers. That should be worth seeing when it happens. More details here.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away Darren wrote in an email “i’ll do serenity asap…â€. That was June 2006.
Now, however, he’s started the great Firefly Study Series and you can find the first parts at:
He’s also noted the link (via Tensegrities) to a series of Firefly clips over at Cowgirl Jazz.
A while back I saw the graphic novel “The Homeless Channel†being mentioned around the net. Part satire, part social commentary, part something else, the story is based around a cable reality TV show that provides 24 hour coverage of the homeless people in the city and the lives of people that intersect with that TV show. It sounds intriguing, and quite different from any other graphic novel I’ve seen recently. I’m going to try and see if I can get hold of a copy.
Comics Bulletin has a couple of pieces related to it: The first is an interview with the creator, Matt Silady, while the second is a review of the novel.
The creator, Matt Silady, also has a preview of the novel and a movie trailer of the story.
“Rapture” theology, and indeed the broader category of ‘apocalyptic’ that it sits within, lends itself to dramatic, visual imagery that can be picked up by comics books. The latest of these, Armageddon Now: Word War 3, is about to hit the shelves (if it hasn’t already). And as with many of these things it juxtaposes contemporary world-events with a particular (often loose) interpretation of apocalyptic biblical material. The way things are portrayed you get the impression that many would like to be ‘left behind’ so they can go to town with extreme armament and fight their way into the pearly gates.
You can see the main web site for comic over at: Welcome to - Armageddon Now: Word War 3
There’s an interview with one of the creators of the comic here at NEWSARAMA.COM: ROB LIEFELD GETS BIBLICAL.
Related links - Greenflame · Once Upon a Tribulation
For those of you who are suffering from needing a Serenity or Firefly fix, then Dark Horse’s Firefly/Serenity mini-series “Better Days” is now out. I picked up issue 1 the other day, and it’s a good read if you’re a fan-boy or girl. Actually, it’s a good read for a comic in general - I’ve read some not so good comics recently from the library’s trade paperback/graphic novel selection. If you can do the character’s voices in your head while reading then it really rocks.
More details over at Dark Horse Comics > Profile > Serenity: Better Days #1 (of 3).
Oh, and I see the “Star Gate: The Ark of Truth” is already out on DVD in NZ. Seeing as I’m still finishing off Season 9 of Stargate SG-1 it’ll be a while before I get there, but it’s nice to know it’s waiting for me. Just like I’ll get to “Battlestar Galactica: Razor” when I’ve knocked the last few episodes of Season 3 off. I must admit I’m struggling to be enthralled with the end of BSG season 3 maybe it’s better watched one episode per week rather than three episodes at a time. Currently, I’m trying to avoid Season 4 spoilers - which seems to be harder than it should be - people keep putting them in their blog posts without spoiler warnings!
Picked up the first issue of Transhuman from Image Comics yesterday. It’s a four-part mini-series in a documentary format set in the not to distant future and deals with the initial commercial forays into commercialising technologies to produce ‘off-the-shelf’ human self-modification of a transhumanist nature. I thought the first issue was quite good, and offered some insight into the commercial agendas of biotechnology often glossed over in the transhumanist literature. I’ll be interested in where the series goes.
The comic made it onto the transhumanist-related Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies blog. See IEET - Transhuman, the comic, which includes a link to some sample pages from the issue here.
Various reviews of the issue can be found at:
Over at InsideCatholic.com - Science Fiction and the Areopagus, Mark Shea contends that science fiction (and fantasy) are one of the last places left in the media to explore questions relating to philosophy and religion. And the intriguing proposition that fandom is similar to the Pauline Areopagus.
Such work is, it seems to me, vital. St. Paul did not wait around for the Athenians to come to him. He walked into a city where, as Luke marveled, “all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new” (Acts 17:21), and opened his mouth on the Areopagus. It’s a perfect description of the world of fandom.
Hat tip to The Sci Fi Catholic: Mark Shea Discusses Catholicism in Sci-Fi.
Related links:
A brief but useful article on care of comics. See Store Your Comics Properly - Wired How-To Wiki
We recently picked up the first season of Amazing Extraordinary Friends on DVD and the kids (plus some older ones) are loving it. A locally-made teenage superhero series that doesn’t take itself seriously, with the kids yelling out when they see a location in ‘Central City’ that they know. The effects are a little corny and a selection of familiar faces fill the adult roles, but it has a certain charm, pays homage to the genre, and has a soundtrack heavily influenced by Danny Elfman (from my ear anyway).
Think Heroes (with way less violence) meets The Greatest American Hero meets Who Wants to Be a Superhero? (and I’d also throw in elements of Zenith, Mystery Men and Ben 10).
We never saw the series when it first played on NZ free to air TV, but will look out for it in future.
You can find the trailers for seasons 1 and 2 at:
On a related note - other TV series the kids have enjoyed on DVD recently include:
Al Hsu (over at The Suburban Christian) had a couple of interesting posts recently.
The first, The Suburban Christian: Planned obsolescence and perceived obsolescence, links through to The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard and ponders Christian responses to consumerism.
The second, The Suburban Christian: On role playing and creating culture, notes the recent death of Gary Gygax (co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons) and the need to be creators of engaging culture rather than just critics of culture. I can identify with Hsu’s point the Gygax created an attractive immersive and social environment. Certainly, when I was at high school in the early 80s D&D (and to a lesser extent Rune Quest) were all the rage amongst my classmates.
Personally, I enjoyed Traveller (a science fiction role playing game) because it came with rules for starship and solar system generation, a developing historical context (detailed in the supporting journal), and series of board games that fitted into this history (e.g. Dark Nebula).
Related links: Wired - Dungeon Master: The Life and Legacy of Gary Gygax and Dylan Horrock’s Gary Gygax R.I.P. - Vox (with link to Horrock’s 95bfm interview about D&D).
I’ve just gotten around to starting to watch the third season of the new Battlestar Galactica. So far, so good - the planet-side setting adds a different dimension to the show for a bit, while the socio-political commentary continues.
Related to this are several links I’ve come across recently.
Firstly, FlowTV - ‘a critical forum on television and media culture published by the Department of Radio, Television, and Film at the University of Texas at Austin’ - recently had a focus on Battlestar Galactica with a selection of articles and posts about the new series. You can find it at FlowTV | “Battlestar Galactica” Issue.
Secondly, I found that link via Confessions of an Aca/Fan: Resources for Science Fiction Fans.
And lastly, Paul Walker, over at Out of the Cocoon had a post Out of the Cocoon >> Science Fiction and the emerging church. I’m not sure I’d agree with his comment that religion is toned down in the new version of BSG, rather that is has become more complex than the religious dualism - humans (religious) / cylons (secular) - present in the original series. Certainly, both human and cylon in the new series seem to have to wrestle with issues surrounding religion in interesting ways.
Related link: Greenflame · The Theology of Battlestar Galactica’s Cylons
A couple of links today to PBS articles that look at religion and cinema.
Frantic here at the moment. Old job stuff to finish, new job stuff to think about, last week of the school holidays, conference abstract due tomorrow, and going to Dunedin early tomorrow for the bioethics conference (so packing now).
However, still time to note that Dark Horse are finally going to release their next Firefly/Serenity comic book mini-series. Excellent, I can’t wait. See Dark Horse Comics > Profile > Serenity: Better Days #1 (of 3).
The article, ‘Sleep Dealer’ Injects Sci-Fi Into Immigration Debate, is yet another example of how science fiction’s speculative nature provides a space for engaging with questions and issues that challenge and stretch us - in this case a (not-so) futuristic exploration of how Western consumerism might be supported by the creation of virtual ’sweat shops’.
Another recent article picking up this function of speculative or science fiction is Clive Thompson on Why Sci-Fi Is the Last Bastion of Philosophical Writing.
Kevin Kelly, over at Conceptual Trends and Current Topics - Doomsday Art, has an article reflecting on the continuing trend of exploring contemporary concerns through the apocalyptic genre.
The prospect of being the last person(s) on earth is weirdly seductive. It’s not about the end at all. It’s a romantic vision of rebirth, of starting anew, but with more assets and wisdom that the last birth. It’s a romance that will probably continue to generate works of art in all media every year from now on, until …. the end of the world.
Kelly’s musing are prompted by the recent movie, Cloverfield, and these articles, Apocalypse New - TIME and Life After People - TV - Review - New York Times.
I’d also throw in this for good measure: MONDOLITHIC STUDIOS - An Earth Without Us - A Mondolithic Monday Image.
I enjoy seeing the different ways that libraries use to promote reading - the recent NZ libraries ‘Inspire me!’ campaign using some well-known faces is a good example.
Here’s one from the American Library Association that uses Alex Ross comic book watercolor artwork (and a couple of others) to promote reading. See Comics Should Be Good! » Some Neat Posters
I watched the new Babylon 5 DVD - Babylon 5 - The Lost Tales - tonight and really enjoyed it. Some other reviews I read said they didn’t enjoy the pace of the two interrelated stories on the disc, but I thought the pace was just right for the content being dealt with. The first story is a mix of theology and ethics, while that later concerns, perhaps, the qualities of mercy and kindness (again within an ethical context), and both connect plot-wise to the other. Nice to be back in the B5 universe, nice to see the updated CGI effects (no Amiga graphics here), and hopefully there’s a follow up in the near future (see Babylon 5: The Lost Tales - Wikipedia)
Of course, I’ll be back in the B5 universe for a while now after my folks gave me Babylon 5: The Complete Collection + The Lost Tales DVD set for my birthday. All the B5 seasons, the movies, the spin-offs - Crusade, Legend of the Rangers pilot, and The Lost Tales. A serious amount of shelf-space can be recovered when I get rid of my B5 VHS tapes, plus I also get to see/hear the commentaries and special features. Bliss, indeed.
One thing though. I’ve also having Star Trek cravings for Borg-related episodes. I shall have to borrow the Star Trek Fan Collective - Borg off someone sometime to fix that. Resistance appears futile.
Another thing - at some point I’d like to acquire the Jeremiah TV series. I really enjoyed Season 2 (esp. Mr Smith), but missed most of the middle of Season 1. Season 1 got released on DVD only in the US (Region 1) and season 2 is only available via digital download (and hence not to anyone outside of the US. iTunes link here - but strangely no Season 1 in iTunes. You have to get that via Amazon’s Unbox video). So I don’t think that will happen anytime soon.
As someone interested in both transmedia narratives and the TV show ‘Heroes’ I was really interested to read this article recently.
Confessions of an Aca/Fan: The Official Weblog of Henry Jenkins: “We Had So Many Stories to Tell”: The Heroes Comics as Transmedia Storytelling and to find the link to the online ‘Heroes’ comics that add to the TV episodes at Heroes TV Show on NBC: NBC Official Site
More links to transmedia storytelling at Greenflame · Transmedia.
A couple of links from a recent Geek Speak - KUSP 88.9FM, Central Coast Public Radio podcast.
MacSaber is a piece of software that takes advantage of the motion sensor present in more recent MacBooks etc. to generate lightsaber noises when the laptop is moved. More information at isnoop.net blog » Blog Archive » MacSaber 1.1: Attack of the Backlight and a video of it in action over at YouTube - MacSaber Fighting :MacBook Lightsaber.
Sure to interest the usual subjects: Darren, Craig and Lindsay.
Right up there with the original hacks a friend of mine had to turn his Apple Newton into a tricorder 10-12 years or so ago.
The geekiness of the above topic is outshone though by the effort that went into creating a list of the 50 greatest fictional weapons of all time (which must be wielded by an individual so no Death Stars etc.) Some really strange entries in there (He-Man’s sword?), but nice to see the Green Lantern power ring at #1. Every so often you find a writer who grasps what it is capable of, but on the whole you mostly get the unimaginative fare found in the animated Justice League series of giant boxing glove constructs and the like. The whole list is at: Wizard Entertainment - ULTIMATE WEAPONS.
Various books on the go at the moment. Some good, some not so. Random comments follow.
“Metal Swarm” by Kevin J. Anderson (Book 6(!) in the “The Saga of Seven Suns” series). Should be right up my alley - ancient powerful alien races continue ancient wars while plucky humans (with strange alien sometime allies) strive to survive. It’s Babylon 5 all over again - even down to the human politics and civil war. But it reads really badly - too many characters to follow and a million very short chapters focusing on different characters means it feels like watching a TV where someone’s changing the channel every 10 seconds. No time for empathy to develop with any of the characters, and by now it feels like it’s just going through the motions. On a plus side you can skip whole chapters and not miss much of the plot. Undecided on whether I’ll read the next book.
“The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief” by Francis S. Collins, the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute. Recommended to me by a non-scientist/non-theologian (in the professional sense) so I’ve picked it up from the library. As usual I’ve started reading from the back, in this case the first few pages of the appendix on bioethics which gives some nice summaries of that field. (See also: Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly . PROFILE . DR. FRANCIS COLLINS . July 21, 2006 | PBS)
“Saturnalia: A Marcus Didius Falco Novel” by Lindsey Davis. Falco novels are like a comfortable old pair of slippers for me. When I don’t feel like reading anything too heavy then I get the next one out of the library. I didn’t really like the last one (“See Delphi and Die”), but you know what you’re getting and I’ve always been interested in Ancient Rome. “Saturnalia” improved on the last book, but still missed something of the dramatic tension present in the early novels. (Related information: Second-born (9) has been devouring the children’s equivalent of the Falco novels - Caroline Lawrence’s “Roman Mysteries” - effectively a ‘Famous Five in Ancient Rome’)-
“Practical Theology: On Earth As It Is in Heaven” by Terry A. Veling. Because it was spoken highly of over at Simply Simon: Practicing theology and Simply Simon: Practicing theology II.
“The Blackwell Reader in Pastoral and Practical Theology (Blackwell Readings in Modern Theology)” by John Patton. Because it was near the Veling book on the shelf in the GSC library, and because it covers a wide range of perspectives on the field.
“Engaging the Online Learner: Activities and Resources for Creative Instruction (Online Teaching and Learning Series (OTL))” by Rita-Marie Conrad and J. Ana Donaldson. A book that collects a large number of different online learning examples and is really useful for showing you what other people have down and why, and also for helping design your own activities and assessements.
The Comics Show, which was a really enjoyable and informative documentary on the history of New Zealand comics is now available on DVD. More details at: Dylan’s Blog - The Comics Show - DVD now out!.
Related link: Greenflame · The Comics Show - documentary on NZ comics.
On the way to work yesterday say a handmade/handwritten sign on the side of the road for the next ‘Underpants on the Outside’ event. Apparently it’s a “comic book and sci-fi swap meet of anything that you would find in a comic store, this includes recent and back issue comics, sci-fi memorabilia, figurines & collectibles and more.”
I have no idea what it’s like but might head along on Saturday and have a look.
UNDERPANTS ON THE OUTSIDE!!!!!
DECEMBER 1ST, Grey Lynn Library Hall!!
474 Great North Road.
9.30am - 2.30pm.
Link to organiser’s MySpace page here.
I have a real soft spot for Dan Dare (along with the old black and white Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon TV programmes). When I was a boy I remember my Dad finding some old Eagle annuals from somewhere and introducing us to the Dan Dare he grew up with in the UK. And then later I followed, for a while, the rebooted Dan Dare in the early 2000AD.
Now the quintessential British hero is getting year another reboot in a seven issue series. Looks good, though I’ll wait for the trade paperback before buying it. It’ll be interesting to see how the values of the 21st century get worked into the 1950s landscape Dare exists within.
More details on the release here at DAN DARE #1 - NEWSARAMA (with some sample pages).
Official release information at Virgin Comics brings back DAN DARE: PILOT OF THE FUTURE with GARTH ENNIS « Virgin Comics Blog
Reviews of the first issue here at Sunday Slugfest - Dan Dare #1 (of 7) Review - Silver Bullet Comics.
One of the reviewers asks some good questions about these sorts of reboots:
Most of the revivals (thinking of Flash Gordon, Tarzan and Buck Rogers here) fall flat, even with reshaping to new cultural conditions, though some, like the rebooted Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica series seem to get it right. Something to think about.
Received my first email a couple of days ago denouncing the upcoming screen adaptation of Philip Pullman’s novel, ‘The Golden Compass‘ (or ‘Northern Lights‘ if you’re not in the US) as having the clear objective “to bash Christianity and promote atheism”. I’m surprised that it took this long for such an email to arrive, given that the movie and books press a range of ‘conservative Christian’ buttons - fantasy, magic, critique of religious authority and religion in general, and a challenge to the Narnia stories.
Darren has posted the copy of the email he got at planet telex » The Golden Compass (and the Catholic League) and it appears to be cribbed from a longer post available here (which contains that classic ‘folk theology’ argument, “I heard that…”)
However, because it’s perceived as a children’s movie, and perhaps not as heavily marketed as ‘The Da Vinci Code’, maybe it won’t generate all that much heat.(?)
Now, I’ve read the three books in the ‘His Dark Materials’ series (’Northern Lights’, ‘The Subtle Knife’, and ‘The Amber Spyglass’), and thought they read well. However, I was prepared to take them as they come, to have my imagination stimulated, to engage with his critique of oppressive religious authority, to know how Christian doctrine of God, and particularly creation, differs significantly from his portrayal (particularly in the third book), and to know why I disagree with some of the themes in the book - rather than just reacting to the prompting of others.
What I would like to see is some way in which the themes in the book can be used as a springboard for examining our own conceptions of religion, creation and God, as well as a vehicle for engaging with the movie with a view to mission and listening to others’ critiques of us. (Similar to Steve’s use over at e~mergent kiwi: preaching the Da Vinci Code). Things like:
However, I await the typical rants and sermons around the place about yet another attack on the Christian faith, of ‘Culture Wars’, and little constructive engagement. Sigh.
Anyway, here are a range of links (including some that deal constructively with the material). In particular, the Damaris/Culture Watch web site has a large range of articles etc. that deal with Pullman. (I’ve only included one or two here from that site - more links there).
A new comic book on the religion in comic books radar, Some New Kind Of Slaughter, or Lost In The Flood (And How We Found Home Again): Diluvian Myths From Around The World from Archaia Studios Press, which juxtaposes several ancient flood stories (e.g Noah, Atrahasis) with contemporary narratives of global warming and rising sea levels. Will be keeping an eye out for it.
There are some sample pages over at SOME NEW KIND OF SLAUGHTER #1 - NEWSARAMA
Looks like Warner Bros. might actually be getting a Green Lantern movie off the ground at some point in the near future. See E! News - Warners Rings Up Green Lantern.
You always want to see your favourite superhero on the big screen, but you know that to appeal to more than just the fanboys and fangirls they’ll have to be some liberties taken with the characterisation and mythos. (Tries to forget paying money to see Judge Dredd). Still, Batman Begins and the first Spider-Man movie captured the spirit of the characters, which leads to some hope that given a good script they might pull it off. The question will remain though as to whether they can capture the big space opera landscape that is GL, where team work is critical amongst GLs, or whether they make it a more Earth-based story. Personally, I’d like to see a galactic western-style take on the GL characters.
Related links:
And if you have no idea about Green Lantern:
I’m the only one in my household without a dedicated lunchbox. These look so cool that my situation could soon be a thing of the past.
Dark Horse Comics : Serenity Lunch Box
Dark Horse Comics : Serenity Lunch Box: Fruity Oaty Bar
Now, if only I could get one of these to go with it.
Following on from the animated Clone Wars short format television shows Lucas announces the continuation of animated/CGI developments and a live actor Star Wars spin-off for TV.
I liked the animated Clone Wars series - though it worked better as a series of short episodes rather than all the episodes viewed in one hit as a ‘movie’. However, the only live actor Star Wars TV I ever saw was the horrific Star Wars Holiday Special. Even as a child who was a huge fan of Star Wars I could see how bad it was. (See YouTube for excerpts of it). So who knows how this new series will turn out. Hope it works out.
See E! News - Star Wars TV Series Coming Soon - George Lucas
Ugh! Just remembered the extremely bad Galactica 1980 series too.
Damaris’ Culture Watch has an interesting piece up entitled Something Holy: the Spirituality of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld. Personally I’m a fan of his writing - its wit in particular appeals to me, and it often cuts to the heart of a matter with its imaginative spins on the human condition.
As someone who finds the plots threads of new Battlestar Galactic series intrigues (and intersecting with my own research in some ways) I’ve been interested in the various religious themes that come up from time to time (Cylon religion, reincarnation, transcendence). So it was nice to find this Beliefnet interview with a creator of the series: The Theology of Battlestar Galactica’s Cylons — Beliefnet.com
Hat tip to Kevin Kelly — The Technium — Holy Technology
Tyndale have produced a new graphical Bible version entitled Manga Messiah, joining the growing throng of different graphical representations of all or part of the Bible. This time the art is Japanese, though it is colourised and includes more text than would be usual in more authentic manga. And it’s focused on the Gospels, with other parts of the Bible to be produced at later dates (I think).
There’s a review of it over at Manga Life - Manga Messiah Review, which concludes that its target audience is not clearly enough defined. At some point I’ll try and track down a copy, but from the sample art in the review I think “The Manga Bible” appeals more.
Related links:
Greenflame · In the post - The Manga Bible
Greenflame · The Bible - Graphic interpretations
A couple of books on the go at the moment that I borrowed from the library after seeing them on a couple of blogs.
Firstly, A Case Of Conscience by James Blish, which is centred around a Jesuit biologists struggle with finding the perfect, moral alien society that doesn’t have any understanding of God. In a similar vein to later books like Mary Doria Russell’s The Sparrow and Children of God, and to a certain extent Orson Scott Card’s Speaker for the Dead.
The book is part of the excellent SF Masterworks for Gollancz, a series of reprinted classic or significant science fiction works.
Other related links:
I’ve read some other of Blish’s work before but had never come across this one until I say it mentioned on The Sci Fi Catholic: The Sacred & the Profane (with the follow article The Sci Fi Catholic: The Sacred & the Profane Part 2, Christian Tragedy?)
The second book is As Far As We Know: Conversations about Science, Life and the Universe by Paul Callaghan and Kim Hill, with excellent complementary illustrations by Dylan Horrocks. It’s a collection of edited transcripts of the conversations about science between physicist Paul Callaghan and Kim Hill on Radio New Zealand National: Saturday Morning with Kim Hill.
Found via Physics illustrations published - Dylan’s blog
I’m enjoying both books, and the ‘As Far As We Know“ book is good for dipping into for a quick chapter or two.
Auckland City Libraries: A comics evening at the library on Friday October 19. Looks like a good selection of people and presentations.
Hat tip to Comics Fest at the Auckland City Library - Dylan’s blog.
As a fan of the Doctor from way back (I think I started watching around 1974) I’m intrigued by this: ‘Christlike’ Dr Who in church service | Metro.co.uk.
Out shopping for birthday presents at the weekend when I stumbled across a copy of Cult Themes - ITV 50 - Classic TV Show Theme Tunes which somehow had to find it’s way into the shopping basket. Some of the tracks are the original TV themes music, others are very good covers (not some guy in his garage with a synthesizer). I’m not particularly interested in many of the non-UK shows (though the Mission Impossible track seems a good rendition), but I’ve been looking for a copy of the Stingray theme music for a while now and there it was (along with the extended version of the UFO theme complete with clicking teletypes).
Listening to the CDs begged the question - did the BBC release a CD with the various incarnations of the Doctor Who theme? There are various MP3 clips over at BBC - Doctor Who - Sounds but no theme music.
Oh, and I’m really enjoying Season 3 of Doctor Who which is finally playing here. Nice to see the Season 2 episode ‘Girl in a Fireplace’ pick up a Hugo Award, and I’ll be trying and track down a copy of my favourite Doctor Who (Tom Baker) story Pyramids of Mars to watch again. Spent most of those four episodes watching it from behind the couch, if my memory serves me right. Far more creepy in places than similar Stargate episodes.
If you’re interested in the history of New Zealand comics then tune into TV One Sunday night (2 Sep) at 10:40pm for the broadcast of The Comics Show - documentary by Point of View Productions.
Hat tip to New Zealand comics on TV - Dylan’s blog
Related link: Artsville | TV ONE PROGRAMMES | TV ONE | tvnz.co.nz