BMU 431 is now online

Episode 431
I open with are review of the science fiction movie Snow Piercer I also note that Chris Hadfield's version of David Bowie's Space

Oddity is back on YouTube thanks to the man himself!

First story of the weekend is Episode 30 of the Dark Inspectre Jason Kahn.

From the BMU log:
You can win a ride into space for free!  Most stars may not be in a home galaxy...  The ISS almost had a close encounter with some space trash.  How about an astronomy first?  The first ever pictures of a proto, planetary system.  And the universe may have started out of nothing?

Final Story  Wizard's Bane ch5 pt1 by CrystalWizard

That's it!  Enjoy

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 401 is now online

Beam Me Up episode 401 is now online!  

First off, I should apologize.  There is a bit of static at the beginning as I recorded this episode off air....

So...after my opening remarks and a short musical interlude, I head over to the Beam Me Up blog for a few articles about a new British SF due out soon, called the Machine.  Fossils of possibly the largest land going carnivore. NASA has plans for a future visit to Jupiter's moon Europa.  I talk about a short that I have on the blog of some of the behind the scenes on the set of the award winning "Gravity".

Finally a flash from the past with a librivox reading of James Blish's short story "One Shot"

It's a quick hour, thanks for listening.

BMU 399 is online - Cory Doctorow - By His Thing - whall you know him

Sorry for the wait here, however in truth, I was sure that I had the notice up.  Now don't get me wrong, after I edited the audio from the radio program, the podcast went up.  But.....

Ok, well thanks to Kallimus keeping an eye on stuff, here is episode 399 of Beam Me Up

After some opening comments on thise weekend’s Beam Me Up (episode 399).  I again play Love is coming back from an anime classic, this time I again posit the question, does the artist at times sound like an early Rod Stewart at times?

First up is a op ed piece from my favorite op/ed writer Kallimus and he is in good for this week!!!!
While my opening info peice concerns a low gravity simulation lab.  Better known as the vomit rockets.  And an unusual use of these devices.

I do a review of Enders Game the movie…

And finally I do get a story in.  Part one of Cory Doctorow’s By his things, shall you know him.

Here is the podcast link    Here is the episode 399

BMU 392 Now Online Kahn's Dark Inspectre + Turnbull's part 1 of A Wondrous Gift - Doug Turnbull

Jason Kahn

And here we are the last episode of Beam Me Up for 2013.  I think, considering, that the program went well this year.  But back to what goes on with this program.

I start with one of my favorite pieces of anime music.  The Flame which is the opening music for Requiem for the Darkness.

Then Phil joins me as we honestly started to do Star Trek trivia but got off track as we found that many stars of Star Trek went on to star on Twilight Zone which I really have a soft spot for.  The episode we got off track on was TWO which was I think episode 66 staring Elizabeth Montgomery and Charles Bronson as two soldiers from opposite sides of the conflict.  One of my favs also. Then Terror at 20 thousand feet staring William Shatner which gave me nightmares for years.  lol  and we talk about some of the other episodes we enjoyed.

Then a new episode of the Dark Inspectre series...episode 23.  Things are not looking good for inspector Jack Garrett.

I then review the Will and Cypher Smith in their latest movie After Earth.

From the blog, new evac units that is truly something out of Terminator!

And finally part one of A Wondrous Gift by Doug Turnbull. 

Startalk Neil DeGrasse Tyson

Hey, any of you out there Neil DeGrasse Tyson fans?  Well, I will fess up and tell you that I really enjoy the way he brings a subject to life.  Well It seems listener Kallamis is as well.   Kall sent me a heads up for the Startalk web site that DeGrasse hosts.  The site will give you links to video and radio programs among other very interesting items.

As you might suspect the site is called Startalk radio and here is a short video just to get you started:

and again here is the LINK to the site    http://www.startalkradio.net/.

BMU 362 is Now Online

This week on Beam Me Up episode 362

Kallamus joins us once again for his entry in the blog for his weekly round up.

I review the anime dvd series Gantz

I found a small article that deals with a large subject Book Banning.  In this case it is the top 10 banned and challenged SF book! I may have run on a bit here......

It seems everyone is excited about the possibilities of if not life at the very least all the needed parameters needed to support life on the newly discovered Kepler 62e and 62f are Earth like rocky worlds that contain liquid water possibly on their surface..... Very exciting indeed!

A dig in china has yielded some very exciting embryonic dinosaur fossils that may radically change our understanding of many of the up to now animals of little know about their early stages.  

The story this week is "The Hunted" by Robert Lee Fraizier concerning a bounty hunter and his "prey" who develop a most unusual relationship.

And that is it for this week.  Enjoy

BMU # 360 Now online!

After the intro, I spend a moment doing my favorite subject "did you know?" I love to pull this on people all the time.

 The first story I read this afternoon is the conclusion to Michael Blumlein's "Know How Can Do" and I know you will apriciate the ending of this story as much as I did.

Earth-Sky is winding down, but they managed to have several articles this week. Excellent article on Galaxies caught in the act of accrewing star material. The Dawn spacecraft continues to turn in good stuff as it continues to orbit the huge asteriod Vesta and finally the sun continues to build activity as evidenced by it's continued sunspots and flares.

Of course you know I have to do Star Trek Trivia! And the stuff I find out is astounding! I am coming to believe that I must have been watching another show! lol

Before the last story, I spend some time bringing everyone up to speed on the Beam Me Up Blog at wrfr.beameup.blogspot.com. This week, the Mars Rconisinse Orbiter took pictures of Curiosity when it landed but mostly what it took pics of was the heat shield, the skycrane and other items. Well the Nasa team is using the Hirise camera to take pictures of the parachute with surprising results! Next I have the list of this years Hugo Science Fiction Awards. Some good stuff there!

I finish with the most recent of the Trathh stories - Trathh - Intervention. This story is part of the Trathh series that David has been running on WRFR in Rockland Maine (WRFR.ORG) Next Month I will finish the series, but I honestly hope David will continue on with his great SF/F stories.

BMU # 354 Now Online!

Yes, I am in the WRFR lp/fm studios this week! Not that this is of heart stopping importance other than it is episode 354!  But anyway, I start off with a new segment, weekly rundown from Kallamis which covers some of the news that BMU may have covered, but often other material of interest.  

Then we deal with one of the most twisted submissions I have had in some time.  We can all blame this one on Xnewsman, and it is better to just hear it.  Check it out at about 14:30 minutes into the broadcast.  

From there I play the conclusion to Colonial Scout by Doug Turnbull. 

Next I do a change up on Star Trek trivia.  There hasn't been much input, so I take the Star Trek trivia and basically turn it into....Did You Know or do you remember this type of information.  I think it will prove to be much more interesting this way.

In light of the Russian meteor, Earth Sky revisits the Tunguska impact of a hundred years ago.

I do two reviews this week, the first being Pixar's Brave, which I have to admit has made stunning improvements to their 3d rendering engine.  

Kallamis celebrates 50 years of Dr. Who with some really good, historical high points.  I give a brief summery, but it would behoove you to take a trip over to the wrfrbeameup.blogspot.com Beam Me Up blog for a more up to date rundown.   

My last review of the afternoon is the indie film Robot and Frank.  Frank played brilliantly by Frank Langella.  The film is a low key story of a two story man (Frank) who is suffering from dementia and must either accept a robot care taker or hospitalization. Check out my review in about 40:00 into the broadcast.

Final story of the afternoon is a Trath tale, "The Story Continues" by David Scholes, another low key tale of the warrior Trath coming back to visit one of the remote aboriginal tribes.    

And that winds up the weekend.  Thanks for visiting and for listening.

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

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!

Beam Me Up episode 319 is now online

Another weekend and we are back in the WRFR lp/fm studio, creating another hour of

nonsense!

I open this week with a tune suggested by listener Nelson, from Creedence Clearwater Revival – It Came Out of the Sky

This week’s stories prove to be a good lot. We continue with part 3 of Ed McKeown’s There was a Wild Colonial Boy and a new writer to WRFR Alex Shvartsman with his story “The Take” Alex tries his hand at the theme of selling your memories for entertainment. Alex spins his tale along less familiar lines.

After the first story, I play another round of Star Trek Trivia, I answer last week’s questions and start a new one with two more new ones. Yep, I don’t know about you but I am having a great deal of fun with this section of the program.

From the net, I play a news article from Earth Sky about light antennas! Truth!
Finally from the Beam Me Up Blog, the Airforce’s re**cough** spy plane **cough** search X-37b is back, landing at Vandenberg after 469 days in space. IBM’s Sequoia has replaced Japan’s K as the fastest computer in the world. A very interesting comparison of Space Ships, New, Old, Retired, side by side , Or, how about a bullet train from New York to London in an Hour!

It’s beam Me Up for another week! Enjoy!

Beam Me Up episode 292 online

Wow talk about a show that got away from me it was this one - episode 292.  The hour just screams by!   I start the hour off with a song from James Struthers called “You Me and Optimus Prime...”  It is from Struthers’ official YouTube video and the video is every bit as much fun as the song.  

Next the first story of the evening, I reenter the world of Clockwork by Erin Bassett.  This week is episode 2.  Ester returns to the academy  only to again come in contact with the mysterious Holland .   At the bottom of the hour is the conclusion of Thief of Futures by D. Thomas Minton.   Eshram has been pulled reluctantly out of retirement for a theft he finds for all intents, abhorrent, but the further he delves the more complex becomes the project and less clear as to the why and even more so the who.  When clarity finally comes it may be too late!

I didn’t have much time today for news other than the Dawn orbiter completed its’ maneuver to its’ new lower altitude of 130 miles.  The pics from the framing camera aboard the craft is already taking stunning photos.   And finally - the creator of Captain America - Joe Simon - has passed away at 98.

BMU #287 Now On Line

Well rounded episode of Beam Me Up this week on episode 287. I lead of first with a new offering from Symphony of Science called Onward to the Edge, featuring excerpts from speeches made by Neil deGrasse Tyson, Brian Cox, and Carolyn Porco and set to some great music.

Our first fiction offering is a brand new story arc from Jason Kahn and Cyberstudios online. Jason once again takes us to New Arden and our favorite physic detective Jack Garrett. This arc is In Plain Sight and episode 1 is “On The Mend” As you might recall with the last story, A New Beginning, Jack managed to solve the case, but took an amazing amount of damage in doing so. On the Mend literally picks up where a new beginning ended. But far from being lauded for his crime solving, it would seem that New Arden has a short memory.

The last story of the afternoon is part 2 of Elliot Bangs excellent story “This Must Be the Place.
Last week we found the main character Loren Wells seems to have secrets to keep. Foremost of all is every time Andria sees him, he appears to be a different age and sometimes he knows her, but often he has no clue! In part 2 and the conclusion Andria uncovers what has got to be one of the strangest retirement plans ever!

From the Beam Me Up Blog:

Orion crew capsule is scheduled for a mission in 2014! NASA reports that the plan is to send the capsule through two orbits, ending up farther from Earth than any craft intended for human transport has been since 1973. Then, Orion will return for a splash-down in the Pacific.

According to BBC news online the Russian space agency reports that shortly after launch, the Phobos Grunt probe failed to fire its' mains to launch it towards Mars and is now stuck in an Earth orbit and that engineers have two weeks to correct the fault before the probe's batteries run out.

And something I thought I would never hear - In a paper which will be published this week in Nature, Professors Christian Knigge & Malcolm Coe from the University of Southampton worked with Philipp Podsiadlowski of Oxford University to reveal how they have discovered two distinct populations of neutron stars... Two?!!!! I can just handle how weird the universe is just having one type of these monsters!

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