Designing the Perfect Engineer in Prometheus

Blockbuster film designer and creature creator Neville Page talks about the unlikely influences he used to create the engineer in Prometheus.  Page is currently designing elements of Ridley Scott's new Blade Runner.

Science Fiction and Individual Liberty

Classical literary science fiction has become far removed from modern sci-fi film. The latest Star Trek film is a stark contrast from the deep intellectual exploration of the themes of individuality versus collectivism, the role of the state, and an optimistic view of the future from works like Asimov's Foundation, Herbert's Dune, or the work of Heinlein. 

http://blog.independent.org/2013/08/01/star-trek-films-fail-because-freedom-has-progressed/

Doctor Puppet Episode 4 - Smoke and Mirrors

▶ Doctor Puppet Episode 4 - Smoke and Mirrors - YouTube

Peter Capaldi is the Doctor

*SPOILERS* Peter Capaldi is introduced to the world as the next Doctor! - Doctor Who - BBC One - YouTube

Doctor WHO

Peter Capaldi, who played the character "W.H.O. Doctor" in World War Z, will be taking over for Matt Smith as the 12th Doctor Who this fall. Only time will tell if he will fill the role as well as his predecessors.

World War Z

Getting ready to go see World War Z, expecting good things.

http://imdb.com/rg/an_share/title/title/tt0816711/

Faith and Childhood's End

Arthur C. Clarke on faith,  from Childhood's End:

"Profounder things had also passed. It was a completely secular age. Of the faiths that had existed before the coming of the Overlords, only a form of purified Buddhism-perhaps the most austere of all religions-still survived. The creeds that had been based upon miracles and revelations had collapsed utterly. With the rise of education, they had already been slowly dissolving, but for a while the Overlords had taken no sides in the matter. Though Karellen was often asked to express his views on religion, all that he would say was that a man's beliefs were his own affair, so long as they did not interfere with the liberty of others."

"Perhaps the old faiths would have lingered for generations yet, had it not been for human curiosity. It was known that the Overlords had access to the past, and more than once historians had appealed to Karellen to settle some ancient controversy. It may have been that he had grown tired of such questions, but it is more likely that he knew perfectly well what the outcome of his generosity would be…"