RIP: Scott Carpenter and Godspeed....

 

Outlived only by John Glenn, Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter  passed from us to the aether at the age of 88.   

Carpenter succumbed  due to medical complications arising from a recent stroke suffered last month. 

Carpenter was the second American astronaut to enter orbit - on May 24, 1962, when he piloted his Aurora 7 capsule to three orbits. During that flight, he became the first American to eat solid food in space.

As is always true, there is much in a man's life to be proud of, perhaps one of the most enthralling was his send off to John Glenn's flight, when he uttered in part .....God Speed, John Glenn.  

God Speed to you  Mr. Carpenter   God Speed

For more please read the NBC New article

Ridley Scott does Crichton's Andromeda Strain

Director Ridley Scott takes on a project that might well be considered one of the mainstays of science fiction. Michael Cricton's Andromeda Strain. Not the book mind you but the Robert Wise adaption of the Michael Crichton bestselling science fiction novel that first aired in 1971. I remember reading the book and upon seeing the movie I was greatly impressed on how faithful Wise was to the novel. (the only major change was a gender switch for one of the scientists) Though many might have thought the movie a bit flat, I considered it one on my best movie experiences right up there with 2001 and Blade Runner. So, no matter how much I might be impressed with Scott's science fiction celluloid, I have to say, I have some reservations on the upcoming Memorial Day 2 part miniseries on A&E network. Especially when I hear that there will be "additions" to the plot line. As Mark Wilson over at the Sci-fi / Fantasy Blog puts it ...great liberties have been taken with Crichton's story in order to provide more drama and excitement. ...the 2008 version adds wormholes, eco-terrorists, and additional mutations for the virus that cause aggressive birds and uncontrollable nuclear missiles.

Oh well...we shall have to wait for Monday night to see..

A cast of highly recognizable names was assembled, including Benjamin Bratt, Rick Schroder (24), Eric McCormack, Daniel Dae Kim (Lost), Andre Braugher, Magda Apanowicz (Kyle XY), Colin Lawrence (Battlestar Galactica), and Panou (Flash Gordon).

It should also be noted that the Sci-Fi channel announced that IT was doing the project last year and it would seem passed on the project...and I am sitting here thinking..yeah, for wrasslin

The Andromeda Strain, airing Monday and Tuesday, 5/26 and 5/27, at 9 p.m. ET on A&E.

Sci-fi films are as dead as Westerns, says Ridley Scott

Ridley Scott was the director of two of the most critically acclaimed science fiction films, now he believes that the genre is so tired and unoriginal that it may be dead. At the Venice Film Festival for a special screening of his seminal noir thriller Blade Runner, Scott said that science fiction films were going the way the Western once had. “There’s nothing original. We’ve seen it all before. Been there. Done it,” he said. Asked to pick out examples, he said: “All of them. Yes, all of them.” The flashy effects of recent block-busters, such as The Matrix, Independence Day and The War of the Worlds, may sell tickets, but director Scott believes that none can beat Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 sci-fi epic 2001: A Space Odyssey. Scott said “There is an over reliance on special effects as well as weak storylines,”

Click HERE for the complete TimesOnline story