Robot Baby

With "Terminator: Salvation" showing us a world taken over by machines, Gizmodo did a roundup of the current state of robot research. If you check out the videos, most of these bots are somewhat laughable...except the last one. It's a Japanese-engineered Robot Baby which is designed to learn like a child. When you watch this video, remember this is not some kid in a robot suit. This thing is all machine and, when it grows up, it will take over the planet. You have been warned.

I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watching Me

The Google-Car is in New York City this month, updating the "street view" pictures on Google Maps. I had always imagined the camera that took these shots to be somewhat more discrete, like in a van with tinted windows or something. But it's really quite obvious, as the picture above shows. Despite this, Google is apparently very secretive about the car's operation as an article in the TIMES explained this weekend. Earlier this year, the Google-Car got some unwanted publicity when it ran over a deer and the images were captured and were actually on Google maps for a while. There is even a website which compiles some of the stranger/funnier images the Google-car has caught as it wanders the world's streets....it's streetviewfun.com.

Kirk Is A Rocket Man

With all things Star Trek hot for summer, this video is making the rounds again. It's William Shatner's infamous performance of "Rocket Man" on the Science Fiction Film Awards in 1978. Recently, even Shatner himself has admitted embarrassment over this performance which he claims was meant to be a joke. Hmmmmm...then why does he look so damn serious?

Dunkin's Next Donut...You Decide

Back in April, I posted about Dunkin' Donuts design your own donut contest. Well, they have announced the finalists and, just like IDOL, America can now vote for their favorite. Though my "Double Nutter Surprise" creation (picture above) did not make the final dozen there is a suspiciously similar entry called "A Nutter One" from the mysterious Carol D. in Palm Beach, FL. Damn--bitch stole my donut! I think I'm voting for the Oreo one, currently holding a healthy lead. Which is your favorite? The finalists will meet up for bake-off in Braintree, MA (home of Dunkin') on May 28th. Maybe I should take the Chinatown Bus up for that....think of the free donuts!

Who You Gonna Call? Ghostbusters 3

As the summer movie season kicks into gear this weekend with Terminator: Salvation, there is news that a trequel is in the works for the long dormant Ghosbusters franchise. Dan Ackryod says that the original cast will be reuniting to hand over their nuclear-powered, ectoplasmic containment modules to a new generation of paranormal scientists. Ackroyd would like to see an all-girl trio of Ghostbusters, and even suggests casting Alyssa Milano and Eliza Dushku. It all sounds like a cute idea, but then again, so did Ghostbusters II.

Star Trek Online...For Free

A friend in Virginia who is huge fan of the original Star Trek (or TOS) tipped me off to the fact that TOS fan favorites were on the MSN video site. Well, on further inspection, I discovered that in fact all 80 episodes are available for free, streaming on the site. Semi-unbelievable but true. Since then I've been watching one a day....it's sorta like my new daily vitamin. I feel so much better!

One of my favorites I watched last night was Episode 4, "The Naked Time". This is the one where everyone on the Enterprise catches a virus that makes them go crazy. Even Spock, who gets all teary...over a girl! George Takei aka "Sulu" has said this is his favorite episode, probably because he's running around without a shirt and brandishing a fencing foil--you go girl! :) I'm also convinced that this has to be one of the favorites of Star Trek 2.0 director JJ Abrams as there were a number of bits that ended up in the new movie; Spock admits to being in love with a crew member (and not the same one in the movie!), Kirk and Spock get in a big emotional fisticuffs, Bones shoots up an out-of-it Kirk with an antidote, and there is a spacey/trippy time travel moment at the end. Hmmmmm.

As they say, if you're going to steal then steal from the best. And this one is a TOS classic. Next on my viewing list, "A Piece of The Action" where the crew all end up in the 1920's brandishing "heaters" instead of phasers.

Boy Scouts Fight Terrorism?

You read that right...the Boys Scouts of America are in the fight to eliminate the global threat of terrorism, not to mention illegal aliens and renegade pot growers.

There was a fascinating and disturbing NY Times article this weekend, talking about how through their Explorer division, teenage boy scouts and even some girl scouts are engaged in simulated drug busts and hostage rescue situations with guns that shoot small pellets for ammo.

 

As a former Boy Scout who enjoyed my stint as a Tenderfoot doing simple things like pitching tents, roasting marshmallows and learning how to tie knots, it's somewhat alarming to see that 21st century scouting has come to this. Being a kid used to be fun but this....it just looks pretty grim to me. 

My Cover Story

Fellow YA writer Melissa C. Walker has an author blog in which she features the stories behind the covers of books by fellow teen novelists.

This week, she picked my first novel A REALLY NICE PROM MESS for the "Cover Story" treatment. And it's a good one; it's the true behind the scenes story of how my book cover got semi-censored by Barnes & Noble. No--not for anything gay about it. Just too much boobage! Seriously.

You can read the full story here. And if you want to read the book, it's now in paperback from Simon & Schuster for only $9 bucks. As I say in the interview, the book is not your average prom story as it involves a bisexual drug dealer, a deaf stripper, a gay football player and a large contingent of the DC police force.

Crown Jewels & A Broken Arm

When I was a kid, one of my fondest memories of visiting New york was going to the Statue of Liberty, walking up the inside of her metal skirt on a circular staircase for 12 stories and looking out through the windows in her crown on the harbor. Amazing!

Now, after nearly 8 years of being closed for security and safety reasons, the crown is reopening, as the TIMES reported. Starting July 4th, small groups will be able to to go up the staircase to the top and see that same magical view of the harbor.

However, access to Lady Liberty's arm and torch will remain closed, as it has been for 90 years. I remember as a kid wanting desperately to go up to the arm. But passage has been restricted to maintenance workers only because the arm is structurally unsound for larger groups. Strangely enough, the reason for its unsoundness was a terrorist attack.

Back in 1916, during WWI, German saboteurs set off a massive explosion on a munitions loading dock near Ellis Island. The Black Tom Explosion (named after the island where the docks were located) was the most serious act of espionage on US soil during the war. And the explosion was massive, the equivalent of an earthquake measuring between 5.0 and 5.5 on the Richter Scale. It was even felt as far away as Philadelphia! Windows broke as far as 25 miles away, including thousands in lower Manhattan. And the statue's arm, after being showered with debris, was damaged so badly it was permanently closed.

This website has a great narrative of the whole incident if you want to read more about it....a fascinating bit local history.

The Tempermentals

I recently saw a wonderful new play by Jon Marans called THE TEMPERMENTALS. It's all about the founding of the Mattachine Society, the first gay rights organization that got its start way back in 1950. The play is a fascinating look at a time when even saying the word "homosexual" was dangerous. Michael Urie, the lead from my film "WTC View" who is now on ABC's UGLY BETTY, plays a Hollywood fashion designer whose identity as one of the founders of the group was kept secret for more than 30 years.

Rudy Gernreich got his start with the studios but became a fashion force in the 1960's and even ended up on the cover of TIME magazine. But what I love most is that he was a guest star on one of my favorite episodes of BATMAN (a Catwoman episode, of course!). He even designed the outfits for another childhood favorite show SPACE: 1999. In his performance as Rudy, Michael is amazing in the show, as is the whole cast lead by Thomas Jay Ryan as Harry Hay.

After getting a great review in the NY Times, it will be moving to a larger space soon and running through June. Check SmartTix for more details on tickets and availability....definitely worth seeing.