In the post World War II era the future seemed like a wonderful place full of atomic-powered wonders. A Future World unspoiled by pollution, radiation or flower children.  Lets examine the promises and realities of that vision of the Past’s Future.

1) Flying Cars

It seems that every vision of the future had  one of these ,a trend that even trancended the fifties all the way to modern sci-fi Films.  An there was reason to hope.  Even Ford got into the flying car designing bussiness.  

The Promise:

The Reality:

Although we still have no flying cars in every garage, many pioneers and design firms are hard at work trying to make
this particular conceit of Science Fiction a reality. One of the most advanced endeavour comes from Moller International and it is called the Volantor.  It is about to undergo extensive flight testing.  Who knows in a few years, were we are going, we wont need “Roads.”

2) Death Rays

No futuristic vista would be complete without early vision of the Death Ray. Diorama, movies or science fiction literature the terrifying device was ubiquitous.  Wielded by the good guy, or more likely, the evil alien invader.   The future was going to be dominated burly men in tights toting these around.

The Promise:

The Reality:

Today lasers are in every conceivable human device. There are lasers in Blu Ray players and CD players. They are used to heal skin and even in communications.  Chances are that you are watching this though an internet connection that relies on lasers as the main driver for fiber optics.  And although you can take an industrial cutting laser and aim it at a person, it is far better to use it to precision cut glass or steel.

3) Killer Robots

The 40s and 50s image of The Future would not be complete without the helpful robot about to turn evil. The future would be a place where machines in the shape of men would run amok throught the coming centuries.  From the epic RUR by Capek : “The product of the human brain has escaped the control of  human hands.”

The Promise:

The Reality:

Robotics are one of modern societies greatest assets.  Again, like the death ray (AKA laser) we have found ways to shape and use robots in all kinds of capacities from the lowly inkjet printer to the giant A380  passenger plane. They are all around us. Computer controlled mechanical devices perform all kinds of tasks mostly for the benefit of mankind.  The build our cars and do our laundry and yes they even aid in the exploration of Space.  Although one could argue that smartbombs and cruise missiles are indeed killer Robots,  most perform quietly and wait for the right moment to strike.  We’re on to you Roomba!

4) Space Travel

Perhaps the Personification of the future in the Atomic Age,  space travel was everywhere. It was a promise that almost delivered.  Take a look at my hero, Walt Disney, telling us what the future held back in 1952.

The Promise:

The Reality:

Although we now face an uncertain future in Space travel the past 50 years have been amazing and in many ways up to the standards of earlier generation’s expectations. Here is a reminder:

And there we have it. It seems that the world of tomorrow is indeed here. The problem is that it happened gradually. There are, of course, all manner of wonders that were never thought of by the visionaries of the Atomic Age. I only hope that we manage to escape the fears and we accomplish the aspirations of those who believed in The World of Tomorrow.  Oh well,  let me take my vacuum tube elevator to my garage on the roof. I have a Pan Am flight to catch to The Moon. Mustn’t Keep the Clavius Monolith waiting.

What would you do if a bee stung one of your friends while he was visiting your house? Would you shrug it off and continue enjoying the day? Would you grab a can of Raid or a water hose and extract some minor vengeance? Or would you pump the hive full of gasoline and blow it to bits causing the local fire station to be scrambled?  If you chose gasoline – congratulations, you have a kindred spirit in Lynden, Washington.

A Lynden man dumped gasoline on a beehive that was in a tree and then ignited it Sunday night, Aug. 28, causing an explosion in the suburban neighborhood that could be seen from a few hundred feet away.

The man lit the hive on fire about 8:30 p.m. in retaliation for a bee sting one of his friends got earlier that day at the house on Twin Sister Loop, said Lynden Fire Chief Gary Baar.

The fire caused a large “whoosh” and singed the tree pretty badly, Baar said, but nobody was hurt. There were no flames when firefighters arrived about 10 minutes later. “No damage, except for a bunch of dead bees,” Baar said. “The correct way to do that is to call a beekeeper.”

[Bellingham Herald via Deadspin]

We rate this mystery somewhere between a mystic, regal hybrid of manatee and wild boar at it’s most compelling and the corpse of a bloated, dead dog at it’s most depressing. Either way, something really gross washed up on the shores of Long Island after Hurricane Irene sashayed her way north.

Any thoughts on what it could be?

Thanks to Scott “Effadawg” Johnson for passing this along to us.

[Buzzfeed]

[Engadget]

Simone Allyne is the Weird Things eBook reviewer focusing on readily available, affordable Science Fiction and Fantasy. If you have a book you’d like reviewed, please email WeirdThingsMail@Gmail

What would you get if you combined Sam Spade of the Maltese Falcon fame with Rick Deckard from Blade Runner?  You would get Noose from Dead Dwarves Don’t Dance by Derek J. Canyon.

Dead Dwarves Don’t Dance is a fantastic mash up of pulp fiction and sci-fi genres.   Action abounds as you join Noose on his mission to hunt down neo human terrorists who attacked a dwarven dance club and in the process killed someone close to him.

Derek J. Canyon’s words create an intriguing picture of world that is post World War III; A world where the news is filled with nothing but sex, violence and gore because it keeps the ratings high. Also, the government that has broken down and what remains is a city-state like situation. People are now genetically engineered to meet specific needs.  These “neo humans” include Dwarves, Goons (imagine The Thing but made of flesh instead of stone) and Pleasers, who are made to “please” people.  But not everyone is happy with neo human’s existence.

If you were a genetically engineered person, grown in a vat for a specific purpose or job, where does the nature versus nurture argument come into play for you?  The nature versus nurture issue has been around for ages, and scholars still haven’t concluded which of the two has a greater effect on a person. Nature, referring to heredity, and the nurture, referring to the environment, are two very compelling explanations as to why we are who we are today.  Canyon tries to answer this question as Noose struggles with what he is versus what he wants to be.  Will he be able to walk away from the only job he’s known, or will he just keep doing what he was grown to do?

I really cannot say enough good things about Dead Dwarves Don’t Dance!  I was captivated from the first paragraph. If you are a fan of pulp fiction and/or science fiction then you will love this book.   If you’re not you should still pick up this book because it’s a great read and a steal at only .99 cents!

[Amazon]

He attended James Randi’s talk at the 2008 edition of Dragon*Con as a regular guy. Yet, he left with a reputation as Zen The Dowser, having just turned in one of the most accurate public dowsing demonstrations under test conditions ever seen.

The video above tells his story, complete with video, of that event and some good information on water dowsing in general. Excellent stuff.

Jedi Masters pass down the secret knowledge of constructing “an elegant weapon for a more civilized age” to their young Padawan learners.  We are not fortunate enough or have the midiclorean count (ech,  think I gagged a little there) to deserve this important honor.  So let us try to figure out how this magnificent and terrifyingly dangerous weapon works on our own.  There are several characteristics that  that should give us clues.   For example,   they  have a round blade made of a luminous substance.  The blade would have to be able to cut through a human’s arm as if it was made of cake.  It grows gradually when turned on and it can deflect blaster shots and other lightsabers.    This should be enough.

Smoke and Mirrors

The most obvious and easy explanation is that a light saber is exactly what the name implies,  a laser sword.  A laser of  sufficient power would  cut, or rather burn, through flesh as easily as displayed.  But how is it that  it is of a limited size and how come the power does not run out.  Well this could be explained by a mirror at the end of the light “blade”  the mirror could be suspended in space by electric or magnetic (or both) fields and slowly adjusted out from the hilt.  This would make the whole blade a Laser cavity and would allow for a reasonable consumption of power as the laser light is not lost except when cutting.    Of course this explanation would not explain how you can fence with other lightsaber toting  bad guys.  The laser blades would just go through each other as easily as the blaster shot.  It would make for really short  fights .  Also the mirror could   be easy to remove or destroy.

Fan Favorite

In a recent TV show Dr. Michiu Kaku proposed that a light saber was actually a plasma torch with a titanium fan in the hilt and telescoping ceramic blade with teeny holes on it for the scorching plasma to come out.  Although this explanation covers all the basics it left me with a bad feeling about that.  With much respect to the closest thing to a Yoda around, allow me to disagree.   Plasma is OK, we like plasma; it burns like a mother.  The part that I do not like is the ceramic perforated blade.    It is clunky   it would mean that a guy with a better “space ceramic” would break your saber in two, to say nothing of a good vibroblade.  It would also make a horrible glass breaking sound as it does.  Also the fan,   dude,  fans are noisy and not in the good starwarsy  way.

Finally the blades would leave a trail of  burning plasma and although really cool looking in a very trippy way, it would not match what we see on the screen. Sorry Kaku, these are not the sabers we are looking for, move along.

It’s All About Magnets, Baby!

So Star Wars is not set in the future but the long ago past in a galaxy far far away.  However, the galactic Republic civilization was very darned  advanced as galactic civilizations go.  Without getting into all the crystal and focusing ring lore of the BioWare games, we can imagine that civilization can build things that we can  but make them very light and portable.  With that in mind, I propose that the light sabers are really portable electromagnetic containment fusion plasma devices.

In many present day thermonuclear Fusion experiments large magnetic and electric fields  are used to make Magnetic Bottles.  Within these invisible vessels  hot plasma is contained and heated.  I can imagine that the hilt of Luke Skywalker’s weapon is just that: a magnetic field generator that extends out of the hilt creating a containment field where a very hot fusionable gas plasma can reside.   When the saber is turned on the field extends slowly as stored  power is used to erect it.  You can imagine superconducting coils within the hilt emitter that give the correct shape to the magnetic bottle.  This would explain why the blade shape is cylindrical and symmetric. Once the field is ready, radio frequency exited gas can be introduced within the growing space in the force field.  As futuristic as this sounds, we do this in labs every day with very large machines. The whole thing would be very efficient too, and once the field is erected  little power is needed to maintain it. Besides, a very small amount of  gas could be allowed to undergo fusion, powering the device in accordance to E=mc2. Different gas at different temperatures would account for the varying colors just like Stellar Spectra.  Luke’s original blade, if you were wandering, was a nice 8,600K Atomic Hydrogen with just a pinch of gaseous Iron, just right for baby blue.

The coolest part about this is that you could fence easily because your opponent would also have a plasma filled electromagnetic field as a blade and so it would be like trying to get magnets of similar polarity to touch.  Also the hot plasma could be tuned to absorb or reflect the incoming laser light or particle weapon discharge.

In the end, however, it all comes to personal preference.  If you would like to go around the galaxy with a flashlight on steroids or with a flaming tube of space porcelain china as a weapon, be my guest.  I’m sure that some of the denisens of the galaxy might be impressed. Jawas, they like junk.  

I for one, would really like to stick with the portable thermonuclear powered fusion plasma device while gallivanting through the cosmos. Maybe its just me, but hey, who doesn’t need a bit more power in their “more elegant weapon”  anyway?

Want to find out more about thermonuclear fusion?  Check this out.

Simone Allyne is the Weird Things eBook reviewer focusing on readily available, affordable Science Fiction and Fantasy. If you have a book you’d like reviewed, please email WeirdThingsMail@Gmail

There is nothing better than the feeling of embarking on a great adventure and the excitement that comes along with that uncertainty.   Trainport by Suzanne Leavitt leaves you feeling just like that.

Trainport is quick easy read.  I found it very refreshing and unique to read a sci-fi novella from a young girl’s point of view.   It took me back to my days as a teenager and the need to break free of what I thought was such a boring life.

Laurens’s adventure begins during a family trip to Chattanooga, Tennessee, but all hell breaks loose when her dad goes missing. Lauren takes it upon herself to help him clear his name.

You are immediately drawn in by the main character Lauren’s desire to break free of the monotony of her 16 year old life.  She already knows that there is so much more for her out there than her small town life has to offer.

I liked the concept of what a trainport was as well.  A trainport is a mode of transportation utilizing a train and a lightning rod. It uses an atom smasher and electromagnetic cesium-rubidium rocks to power it for inter-dimensional travel.

My only issue with Trainport is that I found the writing style made it a little hard to really get into the story.   I felt like I was constantly being pulled out of the story when dialogue ended and I went back to being told what the characters were doing. The story was more effective when I was just feeling like I was there with them.

Over all I really enjoyed Trainport and I think that it’s a great last read of the summer.  It allows you feel like you’ve gone on a great adventure even if your vacation funds have started to run low.

[Trainport is available for .99 cents on Amazon]

A spectator signs a card. They’re given an undeveloped photograph to hold. The card is lost back in the deck. Before their astonished eyes they watch as the photograph develops into an image of a hand holding their signed card.

Photosynthesis is a powerful way to reveal a word, an image or a signed card.

No camera required. Comes complete with the Photosynthesis gimmick and a 24 minute instructional DVD including several routines.

Photosynthesis is a utility prop you can use to make startling revelations. It looks like an ordinary undeveloped instant photograph but will reveal anything you like including words, cards, images and even signatures.

Photosynthesis gives you the magic of instant photography revelations without the need for film or an instant camera. Completely reusable, it’s heat activated and can be held in a spectator’s hands.

Get yours now for just $24.95.

A few months ago the world was shocked to discover that a US company had designed and manufactured the world’s first synthetic living cell. The researchers had written the genetic code on a computer and then, through the aid of some very helpful yeast, assembled a fully man made strand of DNA that was later injected into a living cell. A few moments later, the cell reproduced creating the first fully artificial life form.

What happened was that, for the first time in human history, genes were written in a computer program and a living synthetic organism was manufactured by a corporation.   Let’s speculate what a few years might do to this basic technology.

Its the morning after Festivus and little Charlie Darwin has received, under the Aluminium Pole,  what he wanted most:  Dr Moreau’s  do-it-yourself Creature Lab. The small box contains a tiny thumb drive and an  authentication code.    He runs upstairs to install the  software and logs in to the Creative Creatures’ website. Within the kid friendly interface, Charlie designs and previews his creation. Using a GUI full of bubbly shapes and pastel colors  he hacks away at designing his own creature.  He adds teeth and enlarges the fangs.   The texture palette includes scales which he selects  and colors them  dark green with purple flakes. When Charlie is happy with the wings  and tail, he can’t contain his excitement as he clicks CREATE!

Slowly a three dimensional creature gets rendered and displayed.  It is a  evil looking  dragon that writhes  and slither’s on the screen . Charlie can spin it and look at it doing several preprogrammed activities like growling and pouncing. Once he is satisfied he clicks  ORDER only to find that he needs a parents receipt code to do so. “Aww Man! Daaaaaaad!,” he yells as he races downstairs to fetch his father. Little Judy pops in and gives a little yelp of joy and starts playing with the mouse. She smiles at the screen and gets distracted by a passing ladybug which she chases out of the room.

The father, Erasmus, sits down, looks at the rendering and frowns  but goes on with the ordering procedure. “Order Confirmed! Delivery estimated: 45 Days. An email has been sent to your account,” is displayed on the  screen. A month and a half  goes by and finally on a glorious Saturday morning Charlie runs downstairs to receive the delivery from Created Creatures Inc.

The doorbell wakes up Erasmus and he struggles to sign the deliveryman’s pad and hand over a tip. As he does so he thinks for a second of the potential horror within the crate.  Was it right messing with nature like this? Was this creature supposed to live at all? What does life mean when a thing like this can be created by a 10 year old?  Was he playing God?  He dismisses these thoughts quickly and says to himself “all the kids have them, they are perfectly safe; It will be alright”.

Erasmus has not completed his thought when he heard his son cry out in pain. Liquid fear shoots into his bloodstream.

Get the rest AFTER THE JUMP…
(more…)

Speaking of fairies, one was captured by a guava picker outside Guadalajara. Hundreds of residents have now lined up for hours to pay 20 pesos to see the fairy. And when I say a fairy was captured, I mean a plastic toy was placed in a jar.

“Mexican news agencies were quick to show a “real fairy” that was supposedly found the outskirts of Guadalajara, Mexico. The supposed fairy was found by a 22 year old man who claimed to have captured the creature while picking Guavas. His mother gave an emotional testimony to the cameras, claiming to have had experienced some sort of spiritual awakening.”

[Ghost Theory]

Who knew these delicate dead faeries were hiding on Etsy all along? This is the handiwork of Weird Things reader Jim Transue who hand makes all of these oddities by hand and sells them for those who really want to get a gift for a man who has everything.

Click AFTER THE JUMP for a few more pictures…

(more…)

Simone Allyne is the Weird Things eBook reviewer focusing on readily available, affordable Science Fiction and Fantasy. If you have a book you’d like reviewed, please email WeirdThingsMail@Gmail

Have you ever read a book where you are left feeling not sure of what to think? Containment by Christian Cantrell certainly left me feeling that way.  I can’t say that I loved it, but I can’t say I hated it either.

Perhaps it was the overwhelming amount of programming dialogue or the concept of the human race consuming our planet, but the depth of the story and the complexity of the characters kept me wanting to read more.

Containment starts with the main character, Arik. He awakens from a surgery as a result of an “accident” and what follows is an account of Arik’s journey to understand the truth of the only life he’s ever known and what it means and how his understanding will ultimately affect the future of his colony.

The life that Arik knows is one of confinement to the Venus Colony referred to as V1.  He was born and raised in V1 knowing only a life of monitored consumption. Day to day activities of the colony are controlled by an all encompassing computer system. An advanced schoolwork curriculum, and a predetermined place in V1’s society are also tenets of everyday life.   However after Arik’s accident, he begins to question if what he has known his entire life is not just an illusion and begins seeking out the truth for himself.

As mentioned before, Containment’s technical details and rich programming dialogs will draw in anyone who has an interest or love of computer programming or engineering.   For others this may weigh down the book and make it hard for some readers to enjoy the rest of the story.   I felt as if my very basic knowledge of programming was simply not enough to fully encompass what was being discussed about from time to time and that some of the details of the story weren’t being absorbed by me. Maybe after multiple readings, with some supplemental help online or elsewhere, might make some of the concepts described in the book more understandable.

Other then the heavy technical language I still enjoyed Containment. The author takes care to keep the story moving and his attention to detail is commendable. My assessment is that hardcore sci-fi fans will love the story… just make sure you bring your programming books along for the ride!

[Containment is available for .99 cents on Amazon]

A Tale of Scientific Adventure…

It’s 1890 and the citizens of Boston are beginning to go missing in the fog.

The police are confounded. The public is frightened. The city is on the edge of hysteria.

It’s up to the mysterious Smith, inventor and adventurer, to figure out what’s going on with the help of his assistant, April Malone. They’ll have to face off against a secret society, corrupt policemen and a mad psychologist hell-bent on dissecting Smith, in order to solve the mystery of what’s going on and to save the city from an even more sinister threat.

A fast-paced 45,000 word tale of science adventure, this novella is the first story about Smith, a curious man combining elements of Doctor Who, Sherlock Holmes and Tony Stark.

You can have it for only 99¢ on the Amazon Kindle store.

[Chronological Man]

Back in the Victorian era, steam engines were on the bleeding edge and electricity seemed magical and revolutionary.  In those times it seemed that all could be solved by technology and in many ways this was true. Inventors like Edison, Tesla, Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace inspired authors like Jules Verne and H.G Wells.  These thinkers were setting down what the future would be like in ways that we are only now, in the second decade of the 21st Century are beginning to understand .

In many ways this is literary archaeology.  By revisiting the classics with our 2011 minds we recognize gems that others might have passed up in the past century. The following are several inventions from the texts of the greatest Victorian Scientific Fantasy authors.

1899 iPod Touch:  HG Wells, in his 1899 short story “When The Sleeper Wakes”, good ol’ George foresaw a device that could be carried on the palm that had the sole purpose of  storing and displaying movies and music.  As his protagonist  fumbles with the device he discovers that:

He pressed this and a rapid clicking began and ceased. He became aware of voices and music, and noticed a play of colour on the smooth front face. He suddenly realised what this might be, and stepped back to regard it.On the flat surface was now a little picture, very vividly coloured, and in this picture were figures that moved. Not only did they move, but they were conversing in clear small voices.

1889  Skype: In his prophetic “In The Year 2889”  Verne prognosticates a future with fiber optic communications and video calling ala Skype or Google Hangouts. The  motivation is very similar to an Apple’s Facetime app:

Incredible though it seems, in the 10 years since their marriage, this is the first time Mrs. Edith Smith, the professional model, has been so long absent from home; two or three days usually suffice for her frequent trips to Europe. The first thing Mr. Smith does is activate his phonotelephote, the wires of which communicate with his Paris mansion. The telephote! Here is another great triumph of modern science. The transmission of speech is an old story; the transmission of images by means of sensitive mirrors connected by wires is a thing but of yesterday. A valuable invention indeed; Mr. Smith this morning is full of blessings for the inventor, when by its aid he is able distinctly to see [and speak with ] his wife despite her great distance.”

1899 Multi Touch iPad: Wells also delved into portable computers complete with multi touch interphases.  Again from “When the Sleeper Wakes” in which the main character sleeps for 250 years and goes to the tailor in the future, the tool the tailor uses to show the sleeper different styles should sound very familiar to us.

“You lived, Sire, in a period essentially cylindrical — the Victorian. With a tendency to the hemisphere in hats. Circular curves always. Now –” He flicked out a little appliance the size and appearance of a keyless watch, whirled the knob, and behold — a little figure in white appeared kinetoscope fashion on the dial, walking and turning. “Trust me,” said the tailor. “My machine follows. What do you think of this?”

“What is that?” asked the man from the nineteenth century. “In your days they showed you a fashion-plate,” said the tailor, “but this is our modern development. See here.” The little figure repeated its evolutions, but in a different costume. “Or this,” and with a click another small figure in a more voluminous type of robe marched on to the dial. The tailor was very quick in his movements, and glanced twice towards the lift as he did these things.”

1889 Podcasting: Yes, we all know he also came up with the submarine, moonshot, airplane et. al.  But this jewel was long forgten until recently.  In between eating crepes zussette and buying baguettes, Jules proposed that in the future news would be consumed via telephone like contraptions conected to recording devices in his 1889 story, “In the Year 2889” . Even the concept of subscribing to podcasts is mentioned.  You can imagine a Steampunk version of Scott Johnson or Tom Merritt speaking to the masses through their wired conections to the brass and wood Apple portable phonographs. Here is an excerpt:

“Instead of being printed, the Earth Chronicle is every morning spoken to subscribers, who, from interesting conversations with reporters, statesmen and scientists, learn the news of the day. Furthermore, each subscriber owns a phonograph, and to this instrument he leaves the task of gathering the news whenever he happens not to be in a mood to listen directly himself.”

Recently there have been great deal of discussions over who invented what technology and who came up with this idea or that one.  The fact is that the far thinking Victorians foresaw even the information age back in the 19th.  So you see, there is prior art in everything and we are indeed living in the Victorian equivalent of technological paradise.  So who knows what else is posible from cavorite to the flugurator all manner of wonders prognosticated by the visionaries from the Steam Age might be coming soon.  I guess there is something to donning hats with goggles after all.

Brian Brushwood of the Weird Things podcast wants you to get drunk. For free. And he will show you how to do it step by step in this .99 eBook Cheats, Cons, Swindles and Tricks: 57 Ways To Scam A Free Drink. In fact, it’s the very book that inspired the hit Revision3 series Scam School.

How’d you like to never pay for a drink again? How about having complete strangers pay for your meals? What if you always had a few tricks up your sleeve to break the ice at parties or get the girl’s phone number?

“Cheats, Cons, Swindles and Tricks” is full of 57 of the very best bar scams and tricks, picked up in Brian Brushwood’s 12 years of worldwide travel. As seen on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno (twice!) as well as 2 dozen other TV programs, Brian’s now the host of the popular online series “Scam School,” (downloaded over 1 million times a month, and named by iTunes as a “top video podcast” of 2008 and 2009).

…And THIS is the book that started it all.

With 57 killer tricks (and 8 bonus scams), any one of these tricks could win you the cost of a free drink or more… and yet your investment will be LESS THAN 2 CENTS PER TRICK!

Short enough to digest in an evening, yet powerful enough to score you free drinks for the rest of your life… “Cheats, Cons, Swindles and Tricks” could be the single best investment of 99 cents you’ll ever make.

Get it now!

[Only .99 on Amazon]