Monday, February 11, 2008
SFSSUP Progress Report #1
You may post your first progress report for the SF Slide Show Update Project here. Refer to the blue handout you received in class for guidelines (also available as a PDF on the class web page). You make also choose to email the assignment to me, or print it out and hand it in in class on Wednesday, February 13.
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William C. Dietz
I chose to research William C. Dietz because of his well known, Sci-fi book Runner. Runner was an interesting, action packed book that was well written. Because of this, I also read another one of his novels, Drifter. This author has written many works and seemed to be an interesting person to research about.
• Has written 28 science fiction novels
• Wrote the novel adaption of Halo
• Grew up in Seattle
• Wrote the first book in the Hitman series
• He has lived in Africa for a year
• Has been employed as a surgical technician, college instructor, news writer, and television producer
• Is the Director of Public Relations and Marketing for an international telephone company
• Is a full time writer
• Worked as a medic in the Navy and Marine Corp.
• Graduated from the University of Washington
“William C. Dietz.” February 2008. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_C._Dietz
“William C. Dietz.” February 2008. Penguin Group (USA). http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Author/AuthorPage/0,,0_1000003219,00.html
“William C. Dietz.” February 2008. SciFan. http://www.scifan.com/writers/dd/DietzWilliam.asp
Cats Cradle By Kurt Vonnegut
I chose to read Cats Cradle because I have enjoyed Vonnegut in the past: Slaughterhouse 5 and Galapagos.
This book to me was a good but weird read. How the book reads is starting with a professor (maybe
Fenix Hoenikker) telling us (the readers) about his father working on the Manhattan project and his life as a child growing up with his brother and older sister; he also reminisces about people he's met in his life and experiences that seem the most important.
Hoenikker himself is the father of the Atomic Bomb and Ice Nine which started as an innovation of the gods and eventually destroyed the world.I think the best part of this book is the creation Ice Nine (Ice-nine is an alternative structure of water that is solid at room temperature. When a crystal of ice-nine is brought into contact with liquid water, it becomes a seed that 'teaches' the molecules of liquid water to arrange themselves into the solid form, ice-nine.) the idea of folding water around your mind and body.
Ice Nine is only experimental so here's the reason for the worlds demise Hoenikkers eldest son sells this new substance to a dying man who requests a fast and mindful death so he'll "live on as he dies" in a sense; as he falls away from our world the crystal freezes while a plane hits the mans palace and sends his frozen body into the ocean instantly and horribly turning every source of water on this earth to nothing but a frozen lifeless wasteland.
This book is very intricate in ways of story telling and reading in general.
So I invite you to read this amazing book and be enlightened.
I chose to watch Minority Report directed by Steven Spielberg. This film was very exciting and worth watching. While watching this movie I was hooked within the first 10 to 20 minutes of the film. Every part of the movie was important because every part was put together in a creative way by the end of the film. The setting was in Washington DC 2054. This was an interesting setting that might be possible in the future. The movie was about a type of crime prevention called pre crime. This type of crime prevention was able to stop crime before it actually happened. The plot line is very unique and different to help entice the viewer. Clearly, Minority Report was an excellent film.
I reviewed Predator, Directed by John McTiernan made in 1987.
This film is about an alien species that travels all over the universe and hunts different creatures. In This film the alien is on Earth and Hunting Humans. A special forces unit finds them selves trapped in the jungle when on a rescue mission. They are trapped then the hunters become the hunted.
The main theme of this story is what would happen if humans weren't the dominant species. The hunter becomes the hunted that is a very interesting theme in this scifi flick.
Plot: The plot is very interesting and it is very suspenseful because the Predator has a cloaking device so he is invisible. This makes it so that he could be anywhere and you wouldn't even know it. Also the cloaking device builds the suspense because until about three quarters of the movie you do not know what the team is dealing with. It is a cool idea and well pulled off. The cause and effect is believable in how the humans get killed off. The Climax of this film is incredible. It ends with a one on one battle between the Predator and Arnold. In this battle Arnold turns the tables and hunts the predator it is an epic end to a great movie. Something that was very effective was how isolated the crew was. They were in the jungle so that helped with the suspense. The plot was really cool and it was a good Scifi Action movie.
Characters: The main character is played by Arnold Schwarzenegger so obviously the acting is not superb. His character is not that complex however he is a huge, strong hero who pulls it off.
Special Effects: Considering the time this film was created the special effects are cool. The predator costume is epic and is an image that no one can forget. Also the the cloaking device (that makes the Predator invisible) works well because he is not completely invisible. You can still see a shape so it makes it believable. Also throughout the whole movie you see the World through the Predator's eyes. The predator sees things with infa-red so he sees heat. This is a cool image because you see the people being hunted from the Predator's eyes. The special effects are very cool and effective.
I watched the movie Cocoon. cocoon is set in 1985 at a nursing home, and during the day these three guys walk across the street to go to the pool. One day when they go swimming in the pool they feel young again because of the fountain of youth in the water.
I chose to review the film Jurassic Park directed by Stephen Spielberg in 1993.
The plot of the movie is that the top paleontologists in their respective fields are chosen to be the first people to gaze upon Jurassic park. Once they get there, they discover that the island is inhabited by genetically engineered dinosaurs and they almost immediately foresee the imminent danger. They're fears come to life when the electrical fences, that keep the dinosaurs away from the humans, fail and they find themselves stuck on the island with the dinos.
The main sci-fi issue that Jurassic park focuses on is cloning and the ethical problems that come along with it. One line in the movie sums it all up. "God creates dinosaurs, God destroys dinosaurs, God creates man, man destroys God, man creates dinosaurs." What the movie deals with is the repercussions of cloning.
Characters: The characters in the film all have their own unique plot lines that merge great at the end to make for very interesting character development.
Special Effects: The main special effects in the film deal with the dinosaurs and let me start off by saying that they are amazing. Whats so stunning is how real they look and how fluid the motions are.
Sound/music: The legendary soundtrack and calls/noises that the dinosaurs make keep you enticed and make for a great, epic feel to the film.
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