Beam Me Up Podcast Episode 447 Now Online

Yep, Episode 447 of Beam Me Up is now available.

Articles from the blog here, stories include the conclusion of the English Dead and
In Plain Sight episode 34.

Plus Herb sets in to add to the mayhem.

Episode Link

BMU #446 is Now Online

Welcome to Beam Me Up episode 446.

This week I start with a slightly (ok I will admit it....off the wall) musical selection that started as a bet with Joe, a frequent listener. We shall see if I at least captured the spirit....

Next I touch lightly on number bases (like we use a base 10 system, computers use base 1 and ultimately base 8 for bits and bytes) followed  by a review of the movie Interstellar.  A movie with an (do I dare???)  interstellar cast.  I know, groan.....

Then I traveled onto Mr. Stanger's excellent story The English Dead.  I was hoping to get the rest of the story done but ran out of time, so we shall include it in 447.

The Plus side is that there were a couple of minutes I could utilize for an additional blog entry, so.....

I saw a short film on Barycentric Systems, which are  how primary and  satellite systems behave.

I hope that some of these articles intrigues you.

 

BMU episode 402 now online....FINALLY!!!

Well here we are with Beam Me Up episode 402.

Lets get on to getting on! after my opening monologue I play the full version of Barenaked Ladies song "The Big Bang"

My first story is the conclusion of Cory Doctorows short story "By his things yea shall know him"

From the Beam Me Up blog,

A  precocious 16 year old builds a prosthetic hand on his home computer and 3D printer and gave it to a neighbor's child who had been born without a complete hand.  

NASA plans to work with a pair of twins in a year long study. 

And the second story is Becoming Martian by Doug Hilton

Enjoy, sorry for the delay.

BMU #374 Now Online

 

 Welcome to episode 374 of Beam Me Up for show date 7/13/13.

After my usual show intro I open the program with one of my favorite tunes, Thomas Dolby's She Blinded Me With Science.  Yep this crazy tune encapsulates this program.

In news, Nasa's Jason-1 was decommissioned this week after more than 11 years.  Not bad for something that was on supposed to last 3 years or so.  I say that's a good return on their investment!

Instead of a regular weekly rundown, he does a review of The Tale Synphonia game / anime.

Next I read some trivia from the Dagger of the Mind.

From the blog, I review the Disney movie Oz: The Great and Powerful.  Japan is still gaga over power exoskeleton and NASA is giving composite materials.

And Finally I play the last of Ed McKeown's story, In the Mourning.

BMU episode 372 Now Online

I open the program this week with a short tribute to one of the masters of science fiction / horror Richard Matheson who pass away recently. Some of my earliest memories in the field were Matheson creations. After an anime musical interlude and news on the Supreme Court ruling on patenting genes. The first story of the afternoon is part two of In The Mourning pt2 by Edward McKeown. From the BMU blog: Data from Voyager 1 is posed to truly enter interstellar space. Researchers question NASA’s spacecraft sterilization procedures. Researchers may have found a way to make a working deflector shield. And inventors have developed a flying bike…Really! The closing story David Scholes’ story Trath: Return of the Quellers.

Quarter of a Million Views!

I don't often look at stats but with the seventh year mark approaches I take note

of some of the things that reflect to some degree how others feel of the BMU blog.   I noticed that the page view total went over a quarter million a while back.  By some standards that is small, but consider BMU.  The blog alone often drifts into scatological juvenile humor, often just juvenile.  I know, because I am the worst offender and I am of an age where I should damn well know better but refuse to acknowledge it. 

Other times its' subjects that are so rarefied that perhaps maybe 1% of the populace has any idea what we are talking about, and it is not wise to exclude the majority of your audience!

So what it comes down to is a bunch of people talking about stuff they are interested in of subject matter that all would agree sometimes is a bit weird and hard to follow.  

Then tie in the podcast with the audio stories news and trivia, and we find ourselves in a very exclusive   small niche.  

So when I see that over the period of the blog we have had very gratifying success, well I will tell everyone that had written for the blog and the followers to take a bow or pat yourself on the back.  I think we all have done a good thing and had fun doing it!  

Thanks people

Paul Cole

WRFR lp/fm in Rockland Maine usa

Beam Me Up

Oh and even my daughter found many of the elements to do the logo eight years ago!

BMU #350 Now Online - Wornan + Kahn

My first offering this week on BMU I play The robot is broken by Calieb Onion which turns our to be a melancholy piece.  Next I start doing Star Trek Trivia and travel straight into Jason Kahn's moody Physic detective yarn on New Eden call In Plain sight, this week  episode 16.  

Next Earth Sky, this week I have about about 5 articles from Mars moons to spider brains.

The Movie Looper is the next movie I review.  

did you hear the one about Schrodinger and Heisenberg, its funny ...trust me!

Sometime I do things not thinking ahead. I found a film that  was produced by folks absolutely sure the moon landing had been faked!  We all had great fun tearing into this gem.  

Oh did you hear about the original Batmobile, driven by that iconic and campy 1960s Batman - sold at auction? You won't believe how much!

Since the live show was pretty mangled over the past few weeks  I decided to end with a brand new story by a brand new author!

This weeks last story is Epilog by Julie Wornan. Julie and her particularly unique form of fiction are amazing and entertaining.

I came out of the story with a few minutes, so I returned to the blog with an article that I guess had been making the rounds on various websites.  It seems that a British daily reported that a Harvard professor was looking for a woman to host a cloned Neanderthal!

And Deep Space Industries is convinced that they have what it takes to mine the asteroids for precious minerals for a variety of projects.  I give you the run down and some links of interest!

Finally Kallamis put together a file of insults that all of us that watched the 60s Lost in Space remember Dr. Smith who was forever zinging the robot with the most outragious insults.  It all but made the show! I said that listeners owe it to themselves to head over to the blog, if for nothing else than this!

And that covers my hour!  Enjoy.   Beam Me Up podcast

BMU # 345 Land of fire & ash con - Davies

Seasons greetings one and all.    Plenty of fun stuff this weekend.   Didn't get all done that I wanted, but I think it was a fun episode.

First I start with a fine piece of music that is the closing music for the anime series  called Btoom! which I review later in the program.  The song is Aozora and is performed by May'n.  

After the music I do indeed explore and review the 12 episode anime series called Btoom!

The story of the day is the conclusion to Colin P. Davies Land of Fire & Ashes.  A thoroughly entertaining and exciting tale.

Next are a few articles from Earth Sky, this week, spider webs, giant bugs and the Milky-way is truly HUGE!

Then some Trek Trivia with questions about  James T. Kirk.  Much better!

From the blog  The Grail Sats crashed, but not before they did excellent science.

Kall, describes his plans for world domination after the apocalypse   Then I take a moment to pass on some observations about copyrights.  

Another review takes the form of the abysmal "Class of 1999"  It shows that some good actors can not save a steamer....nope....

Oh you know the song Gundam Style...well I play the music here for a parody called NASA Huston Style, but you have to see the compete video for comic effect!

Brighton may want to check out their lights...someone was a bit upset.  Check out the vid on the beam me up blog.

Will we ever return to the moon.  Well  if we plan on going to the moon or the asteroids, the moon is close and copies many of the features of where we plan to go.

This week's program direct url

BMU ep. 340 Now Online!

And hello gentle beings! Welcome to episode 340 of Beam Me Up!

Boy, the hour goes by quick today! After the opening monologue I start with the first story of the show.

This week is part 2 of Poul Anderson' s “Call Me Joe”. This is proving to be one of the more excellent multi-part stories. Anderson's story holds up REAL well, because he downplays the tech end of the tale forcing your imagination to depend on the characters for support.

Next I travel to the Star Trek universe for Star Trek Trivia. This week I begin to do questions from the animated Star Trek!

This week I review The Hunger Game and Prometheus movies, that's right! Two movies!

People often take science in the movies as fact but in truth, most are just so much fluff. I challenge listeners to come up with some that we may have missed. I mention a few as do some readers and the IO9 article mentions a couple....If you have a favorite, write in the blog's comment section with additional material. Some of these are so bizarre!

And I end with episode 14 of the Dark Inspectre series In Plain Sight.  

Beam Me Up #335 Now Online!

Beam Me Up Podcast #335 online

You know that Chinese curse that says, may you live in interesting times....Think about it... and know that is what this weekend's time in the studio was like!   


But through adversity comes greatness?....I can not believed I just typed that! lol! Really did manage to get a show out that I feel is quick and interesting.

I start with a bit of fluff, from the anime series Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne, I play the closing music called "Hello" by Megumi Nakajima. It is fun and sets the mood really well for the rest of the afternoon.

Next a fun piece from Bart Meehan "Welcome to Skull Island"  A bit of alternative timeline story in which Kong is real and resides on of course Skull Island in a very Juassic abode.  Mix in a petulant five year old and you have a recipe for discomfort! lol

Star Trek trivia is next on the roll with two new questions.  Lets' go people.  I have had no solves in 3 programs!  What's up with that Trekkies?

Three great articles from Earth Sky are on tap!  From sun diving comets to sailing lakes of liquid methane!

A few quick items from the blog and then off to the next short story.  This week's ending is The Last line by Kevin Picket.  Kevin's story combines the pain of unendurable loss with a most inventive healing process!

And surprise!  It is not the end of the program, because Xnewsman stopped by to talk about a statement by Leon Panetta concerning the lack of cyber security in the United State, and such a lapse could lead to an attack that would be more devastating than Pearl Harbor!  Shocking stuff indeed!

Episode 334 of Beam Me Up is at hand! This week, I tie up one story arc, start another small one and an anime fan joins me to talk about a movie we just watched.

First I open with the Bare-naked Ladies doing their theme song for the television show Big Bang Theory.

The first story of the afternoon is Mark Webb's In the Service of the Public. This story an Earth diplomat in service to an inter-galactic government. Webb has managed to make the subject entertaining and even develop a small story arc. As odd a subject this would seem, from what I have read so far that no matter how things change and evolve there is always a functionary some where keeping the "machinery" rolling. Webb seems to have captured the essence of the true architects of empire. We will see as the Interstellar Coalition Public Service and the Aazork public service evolves. My reading is a little rough however. It was a last minute addition to this week's line up.

Next is a couple of really excellent science article from Earth Sky dealing with the Van Allen radiation belts and the Tunguska event.

Then it is time once again for Star Trek Trivia. Two new questions this week.

If you are an anime fan and have seen the Tri Gun series or even if you haven't, you are going to want to take a listen to our review of the Tri gun movie Badlands Rumble which is an excellent to the TriGun universe or an excellent return to the Vash the Stampede universe. Anime fan and listener to the program Jeremey joins me to talk about the movie and the TriGun series in general. I know I had a great time, and I hope you have just as much entertainment!



David Sholes has a new collection of short stories called Speculative Fiction: The Ultimate Collection. Dave sent over a copy of the collection for me to take a look at. Since it was a nice mix of stories we have seen on BMU and new I thought a review was in order.

Ron posts an article about the Curiosity rover and many other of our equipment still out there doing science. As new and as cutting edge they are, the probes and rovers are held together by tech, thousands of years old!

Finally I play the conclusion of Edward McKeown's excellent story "The Dive". Everything moves ultra fast in this week's final. I think you will agree that this has been one of the better written and narrated series the show is running.

That and some other foolishness this week on episode 334 of Beam Me Up!

BMU #332 Now On Line

****UPDATE***
For some reason, mainly not paying attention, the newest episode 332 was labeled 331 even though all the links went to 332 it could have led to some confusion so I have updated the file title.  Sorry for the confusion.

Here is episode 332 of Beam Me Up, for your enjoyment!

 yaaaeeeeee are we excited yet? Wow, tough crowd.... Well, anyway, I warm up with an oldie, Thomas Dolby's She blinded me with science.

Next is the first story of the afternoon, Mark Webb's The Gloriously Cunning plan which demonstrates that even the best laid plans can often be unraveled when one does not take in crucial facts.

Up next is Star Trek Trivia with two new trivia questions!

Ok, now on to the BMU blog!

Have you heard about planet Nibiru? If no, then listen to with Earth Sky article I found!

I rented both of the animated Ultimate Avengers animated straight to disk movies. The first movie in particular really followed the Marvel Avenger history line.

Check out my reviews of both movies on disk. And on the ISS, NASA, with shades of Apollo 13, two EVA astronauts assure the continuation of some of the critical systems with some unusual parts!

Is FTL possible? NASA steps back and rethinks it's position as some high level mathematics which, on paper, seem to show that it might just be possible with far lower energy requirements than was previously calculated!

And finally, part 5 of Edward McKeown's The Dive. Enjoy!

Phoenix's final days to be spent as a blogger

The guys over at Dvice have posted an article from Gizmodo on how the dying Martian lander will be using its last remaining functional days. Now that its batteries have run out and it'll soon stop operating all together. It's still got some time left, though, and before it goes for good, the Lander will be working a new job as a blogger.

Of course some of the material is written by humans, but iner-mixed will be data from instruments that require no heating and less power. However Phoenix's life is now measured in days. It won't be long before its final days when the cold darkness of the Martian winter destroys its circuit boards and solar arrays.

<- Phoenix blog ->

Sci-fi and fantasy books that “make you dumb”

I was going through the GEEKEND blog's newest entries and came across this little jewel by Jay Gamon. Jay found an article that was written by students at CalTech which purports to corelate your SATs to your favorite books. As Jay puts it:

Here is an insipid little chart published by a CalTech student that purports to correlate SAT scores with favorite books, effectively determining which are the books for the "dumb" kids, and which tomes are hallmarks of the "smart" students. Our friends at SFSignal have pared down the list to include just the sci-fi and fantasy entries. Get ready to be insulted.

Oh my, Jay rips into this like a starvin dog into a can of alpo. Really, I thought that reading the words of say Dr. Asimov and his pals went well towards improving my iq.... The article is really worth a read. Give em hell Jay!

10 Sad DIY Geek Gifts You Should Never Buy

Ok, so I was reading through the SciFi Dvice blog and came across this. Is it cutting edge science? nope, is it material for the podcast? NOOOOOOOOPE. Then WTF!? exactly! It was funny, it was geekie, it has some sci fi stuff and its seasonal! Here is the copy from Dvice:

Etsy is an amazingly useful site that gives people a chance to sell DIY crafts that you often can't find anywhere. There are some truly great things to buy on Etsy, but you won't find any of them on this list — because sometimes when people are allowed to make and sell whatever they want, things go bad. Very bad. Click Continue to see just how ugly it can get.

Oh and be forewarned.....its very ugly....funny and ugly

SFSignal's TRON remake poll

Oh this is funny!!!

SFSignal.com blog ran a poll asking "Is a remake of TRON a good idea?


Is a remake of Tron a good idea?

Yes	18.0% (20)
No	35.1% (39)
I don't know	17.1% (19)
I don't care	29.7% (33)

Total votes: 111

A Look at Some Upcoming SF/F Films

John over at SF Signal, who I think is drinking way too much espresso, has put together a very funny impression of the upcoming science fiction and fantasy films. Here is a sample:

Aliens vs. Predator - A sequel to the singular Alien vs. Predator.
PROS: Aliens was good. Predator was good.
CONS: The original Alien vs. Predator...not so much.
BOTTOM LINE: I'll pass.

Bubba Nosferatu: Curse of the She Vampires - Bruce Campbell reprises his role as an elderly Elvis Presley in this sequel to Bubba Ho-Tep.
PROS: I liked Bubba Ho-Tep.
CONS: Nothing as far as I can tell.
BOTTOM LINE: They had me at "Bruce Campbell". At "She Vampires" I was already packing a suitcase and moving into the multiplex.

The Dark Knight - The sequel to Batman Begins.
PROS: It's Batman!
CONS: I really, really must see the first film.
BOTTOM LINE: Sure to be a huge hit. Everyone will rave about it and then I'll wanna go see it. Damn you, fanboys!

Jurassic Park IV - The script is still being written, but you can be sure dinosaurs are involved.
PROS: The return of the CGI dinosaur!
CONS: The return of the CGI dinosaur.
BOTTOM LINE: Meh. Been there, done that.

click the title to go to the comple blog listing or here

SFFAudio highlights Beam Me Up

Jesse Willis over at SFFAudio has mentioned Beam Me Up in one of his latest blog entry. I wanted to take a second to thank Jesse for the kind words and highlighting one of the stories we have read lately (Ambassador by Peter Watts episode #42)

I am sure you fine readers will recognise the url. I have unashamedly used Jesse's blog for material often, but I have really fallen down on the job of mentioning just what a treasure trove SFFAudio is!

Beam Me Up might offer one or two pieces of fiction a week, if your lucky. SFFAudio is jam packed with audio resources and links to material and fiction that you can get lost for days in there.

Don't take my word for it, click the article title and take a jaunt over and see for yourself. If you like what Beam Me Up does, your in for a real treat.

Mike Resnick rants about stoopid Sci-fi movies

In his blog, Mike Resnick takes caustic aim at what he so aptly calls intellectually insulting science fiction movies. (Often) these things were almost dumber than network television shows.

Here are some high lights:

In Star wars...it drives me crazy that in 1991 we could put a smart bomb down a chimney, and that in 2002 we could hit a target at 450 miles, but that computerized handguns and other weaponry can't hit a Skywalker or a Solo at 25 paces.

Return of the Jedi? Doesn't it bother anyone else that Adolf Hitler -- excuse me; Darth Vader -- the slaughterer of a couple of hundred million innocent men and women, becomes a Good Guy solely because he's Luke's father?

In ET: if E.T. can fly/teleport, why doesn't he do so at the beginning of the film, when he's about to be left behind?

Blade Runner: the premise is dumber than dirt. We are told up front that the androids are going to expire in two weeks -- so why in the world is Harrison Ford risking his life to hunt them down when he could just go fishing for 14 days and then pick up their lifeless bodies?

Jurassic Park T. Rex weighed about seven tons. By comparison, a large African bull elephant weighs about six tons, and could probably give old T. Rex one hell of a battle. But no one suggests that a six ton elephant can throw trucks and trains around, break down concrete walls, or do any of the other patently ridiculous things T. Rex can do on screen.

and so many more...click on the title for the full blog entry

James Patrick Kelly Returns to Podcasting

The Blog SFSIGNALS reports : James Patrick Kelly is back from a summer vacation and has started podcasting again. A new feature of his Free Reads podcast is to read his On The Net columns from Asimov's Science Fiction starting with On The Net: FTL.