Jesus the Vampire's Landing Spot

  We've all known talking potatoes--at least that's my favorite name for the those who seem so unthinking and unreasoning that we might as well be talking to a vegetable. It turns out that it's not really such an an inexact parallel. If we really examine the potato closely, it turns out to have many of the traits of humans that we've likely failed to notice. Samuel Butler, in his famous volume "Erewhon," elaborates the traits we have come to think of as human, and how these traits are also to be found in the potato. Butler's explorations were in the context of consciousness and machine learning, which would one day become what we know call Artificial Intelligence. So, next time YOU call someone a Talking Potato, just remember, it might be a bit generous of a comparison. From The Book of the Machines: Even a potato in a dark cellar has a certain low cunning about him which serves him in excellent stead. He knows perfectly well what he wants and how to get...

I'm putting this up for the Friday movie, due to other issues that I have to attend to. Working in a remote Welsh mining town, a rogue scientist, Professor Mathers (Edward Mulhare), discovers a process that affects the speed of evolutionary mutation. Mathers suffers guilt for his role in developing a super-destructive atomic bomb, and hopes his new discovery will better the human race. A disgruntled miner, Gwyllm Griffiths (David McCallum), volunteers for an experiment that will enable the professor to create a being with enhanced mental capabilities. As a man sent forward equal to 20,000 years of evolution, Gwyllm soon begins growing an overdeveloped cortex and a sixth finger on each hand.  LINK TO VIDEO: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6okuyg

February 27, 2020   by  Boyce Day

In the year 2016, Star Trek celebrated its 50th anniversary. I was, and still am, a fan of the original series, having grown up with while among hippies, stoners, and other counter-cultural types watching it during its reruns in the 70's. However, I still think it's amazing how a show that lasted barely three seasons and suffered from low ratings throughout its run would eventually spawn multiple knock-offs in the form of numerous TV shows and movies, a language (Klingonese), and what in many ways could be interpreted as a religion and a way of life. Oh yeah, and let's not forget BILLIONS of dollars in revenue. One cannot deny the cultural impact of Star Trek . In addition to providing social commentary in numerous episodes, countless engineers and technicians were inspired to become engineers and technicians by watching the show. Unlike most science fiction, it is a model of an ideal, non-dystopian future, where humanity evidently solved all of its chronic and...

K-PAX is a 2001 science fiction-mystery film based on Gene Brewer's 1995 novel of the same name, directed by Iain Softley, starring Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges, Mary McCormack, and Alfre Woodard. The film is about a psychiatric patient who claims to be an alien from the planet K-PAX. During his treatment, the patient demonstrates an outlook on life that ultimately proves inspirational for his fellow patients and especially for his psychiatrist. After claiming he is an extraterrestrial from the planet 'K-PAX', 1,000 light years away in the Lyra constellation, prot (not capitalized and pronounced with a long O, rhyming with boat) is committed to the Psychiatric Institute of Manhattan. There, psychiatrist Dr. Mark Powell attempts to cure him of his apparent delusions. However, prot is unwavering in his ability to provide cogent answers to questions about himself, K-PAX, and its civilizations. His medical examination only reinforces his story, as prot can see ultraviolet light...

This movie was suggested to me by a friend; I have not seen it yet. THE DISCOVERY is a 2017 British-American romantic science fiction film, directed by Charlie McDowell from a screenplay written by Justin Lader and Charlie McDowell. It stars Rooney Mara, Jason Segel, Robert Redford, Jesse Plemons, Riley Keough and Ron Canada. An interviewer (Mary Steenburgen) questions Thomas Harbor (Robert Redford), the man who scientifically proved the existence of an afterlife, a discovery that has led to an extremely high suicide rate. The interviewer asks Harbor if he feels responsible, and he says no. Directly after, a member of the crew kills himself on air. LINK TO MOVIE: https://ok.ru/video/270766836292

This movie was suggested for viewing by Paulette Revere. It is a dated flick, but is well worth the watch. I have seen it several times in the past and recommend it highly. ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS is a 1964 independently made American science fiction film in Technicolor and Techniscope, produced by Aubrey Schenck, directed by Byron Haskin, that stars Paul Mantee, Victor Lundin, and Adam West. The film was distributed by Paramount Pictures. As the title indicates, it is a science fiction retelling of the classic novel Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. LINK TO MOVIE: https://archive.org/details/RobinsonCrusoeOnMarsEn