Sci-fi business entering tough times, Benefits of Global Warming and Will we ever find life on Mars?

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 28th June Include:

• Harsh times for Sci-fi Business ahead - There are some signs that business is getting hard within the sci-fi community, just as it is being hit in other areas at the moment. Tokyopop, the manga and comic publishers are suffering. They are among a few noticeable absentees from this years ComicCon, reported by io9 this week (although I am more likely to believe Paramount's reasoning here than believe that they are in trouble), and Tartan films in the UK have gone into Administration; they were distributors of some of the best Japanese and Far East Uber-Violence films we have in our DVD collections.
• io9 see the benefits of Global Warming - Looking on the bright side of life, the io9 team have detailed potential benefits to shipping from the lack of Ice at the North Pole this year that we reported on yesterday. In fact the North West Passage has thawed before, last year in fact, so it should get easier to navigate as things get worse? better? ....
• Now Ice water has been identified on Mars, how close is finding life? - step by step we get closer and closer, but will we ever actually find it?

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Ice Free Actic by this summer, War of the Gods like 300, Dr Horrible trailer

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 27th June Include:

• Ice Free Arctic by this summer - A few days ago we reported that the Grandfather of Climate Change was predicting the Arctic would be ice free in 10 years .... by the look of this article he may be 10 years out!!
• War of the Gods follows 300 style - One of two Greek mythology films coming our way ( the other is a remake of Clash of the Titans) ... amazing how Hollywood does this
• Joss Whedon's Dr Horrible Trailer - as much as we love Whedon's other stuff we are unsure as yet about this one

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No ice in Arctic in 10 years, Tricorders are comming, is the Tech-Singular already here? Were you expecting more from the Hulk and a New Sci-fi series

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 24th June Include:

• The GodFather of Climate Change warns again - Jim Hansen (no not the creator of the muppets ...) predicted Climate change disaster in 1988. Now he's back saying in 10 years there will be no ice in the Arctic. Is he right? With Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere only having risen by 10% in 20 years, and it still only being 386.7 parts per million (up from 350 ppm) is it really carbon dioxide which is to blame ... or is there another reason for our changing weather patterns (if indeed they are changing and it isn't that we are just a lot more aware of them through the media).
• Tricorders news - Another update on how close the advent of Star Trek gadgets are ... this time the Tricorder
• Are we already surrounded by AI? - So does this mean that the Tech-Singular is already here?
• Were you expecting more from the Hulk? - not sure we were
• New Sci-fi Miniseries Blank Slate news - Sounds interesting ... "add it to my list to watch Jeeves!"

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Locus Awards, Theory behind Glass being a liquid and Get Smart is No.1

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 23nd June Include:

• Locus Award Announced - and the first of many for Chabon this year,we predict
• Glass is in fact a liquid - yes, yes ... I know we all know that but why? Glass is subject to flow over many years (see stained glass windows which are now thicker at the bottom than the top) due to the way the crystals form in the super-heating process ... Don't believe me, then read this New Scientist article
• Get Smart is No. 1 - We used to love this old TV show as Kids but how does it stack up today .... well it beat the new Mike Myers movie this weekend so there must be something in it

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When and What is the Solstice, Descent 2 and is there or is there not Ice on Mars?

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 21st June Include:

• Yesterday was 1st Day of Summer not today, Wonder why? - Usually it's today but this year the longest day, or the first day of Summer, or The Summer Solstice was yesterday .... but do you know why and and do you understand the Solstice science?
• Descent 2 - BBC reports on behind the scenes at the UK Film set .... I loved The Decent and the last scene has stayed with me, horribly .... I, personally will be driven to see this sequel in the hope of a different last scene for Descent 2, even although one of the things that made the first film so good was that last scene .... you have watched it haven't you?
• Is there Ice on Mars or not? - It would seem that scientists just don't know. With disappearing dice sized, white things being seen and then not seen by Phoenix there seems to be a lot of jumping to assumptions .... It does create news, and excitement to some, but I can see a lot of others just getting bored with a string of unresolved tantalisation's which may come to nothing.

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New Jekyll, New Earths and New Planet in our Solar System?

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 20th June Include:

• New Jekyll & Hyde series "Inseparable" - Fox have just been releasing casting news on an up coming sci-fi pilot based on the old Jekyll & Hyde story
• New Earth like planets announced weekly - And once the Keplar mission is launched we will find more ... maybe even some in the bio-belt of some of these stars
• Computer Model says Planet X lies beyond Plutoid - now Pluto is no longer a "Planet" some people are looking to prove the long believe story of another planet beyond Plotoid

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Iron Man is 2008 biggest grossing film ... so far, Captain Cook's Atlas news and Wanted news

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 19th June Include:

• Iron Man First $300 Mil film of 2008 - and still growing ... although Indy is not far behind and we anticipate that it will overtake Iron Man both Domestically in the US and Internationally
• Atlas news - Captain Cook's Extraordinary Atlas is picking up press and here is a run down of the latest additions to cast and crew
• Wanted News - We confess not to have read the comics (although one of us has them ...) but the cast is impressive and so it should be worth a viewing

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Strange Huge Moon Tonight, New Mummy Movie and we only know a fraction of our planets species with new ones discovered each year

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 18th June Include:

• See Huge Moon Tonight - It isn't real (apparently) but tonight we "Humans", and only us, see the moon many times bigger than it should be. It is called the Solstice Moon and no-one knows quite why but it appears much, much bigger than usual - almost as if there is a blip in the programme .... any want to re-watch the Matrix tonight?
• New Mummy Movie set in Asia - We are big fans of the first three so looking forward to an other installment
• Thousands of new species discovered each year - In fact in 2006 there were over 16,000 discovered. Apparently we have only ever described 1.8 million of the estimated 10 million species on Earth .... WOW

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Nanotubes regrow Cartilage, Is Science necessary in SF and Great Rapping Star Trek Video

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 17th June Include:

• Nanotech Tubes to regrow Cartilage - Our nanotech Cyborg futures are getting closer
• Is Science in Science Fiction necessary? - By its very name we think so, but the io9 crew pose an interesting question as to how much do you need to know to write it and does the necessity of it put many good authors (and possibly readers) off? This Jo Walton interview is interesting and so are the comments on her page
• Best Star Trek Video I have seen for a while - Our Favorite Blog The Web Site At The End Of The Universe has hit Star Trek gold with this one - although be warned it contains adult lyrics

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Hulk is No.1, Robert Downey turns to Cowboys & Aliens and Lawrence Kasdan to write Robotech

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 9th May Include:

• Hulk Takes No 1 Spot - To be fair the competition was Kung Fu Panda !
• Robert Downey to star in Cowboys and Aliens - Is that really the name of the movie?? Come on guys ...
• Lawrence Kasdan to write Robotech - In case you are asking "Who he?" he had a hand in writing Return of the Jedi, Raiders of the lost Ark, Clash of the Titans, among many others .... Robotech is a big project to bring to the screen so it is good to see they have enlisted someone whith a good track record ... we're looking forward to the result

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New Space suits for NASA, Skynet launched .... T1000 to follow? and Meteors crash site hides in plain sight

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 14th June Include:

• New Fashion SpaceSuits for 2015 - NASA has just ordered their new Space Suits ... and for the $745 million price tag these designer suits can be worn in two ways ..... for that price we should think so ....
• Skynet Launched at last - THe UK's biggest single space venture finally finishes deployment. It is of course a military satellite communications network which, among other things, allows computers to talk to computers ..... is it just our imagination or does that mean that the T1000's are being designed and manufactured as we speak??!! Never mind the Tech-Singular .... fear the UK Terminators
• Meteor Evidence hides in Plain site - great article about how sometimes amazing things are right in front of us and we just take them for granted ..... if we can do that with meteor craters could we be doing it with other "other worldly" things?

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Roadrunner simulates Brain, More cast on 2012, Can you become the Hulk, Dragonology books to be filmed and Bradbury disses e-books

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 13th June Include:

• Roadrunner simulates brain power - If you were doubting at all that we are rushing headlong towards the Tech-Singular then read this and wonder ...
• More new cast on 2012 - Amanda Peet is joining a strong ensemble cast led by John Cusack that includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover and Oliver Platt. Still not impressed though until we can see a better take on the Mayan Legend come through in the story line ....
• Can Gamma Rays make a Hulk out of you? - With all the coverage The Hulk is getting at the moment have you wondered if there is any science behind it? Ok, fair enough .... but here is an interesting article about Gamma Rays anyway.
• Dragonology Books to be made into a film - In case you haven't seen them there is a series of books for Young Adults written by Dugald A. Steer which are fake non-fiction books detailing how a Victorian Dragonologist has document the existence of Dragons. How you make a film out of this is not for us to comment on ... but obviously Universal know how.
• Ray Bradbury disses e-books - Our Favorite blog The Website at The End of The Universe has a good article and links on what the venerable sci-fi author thinks of the future of the newest way to read books ... from our point of view, we like 'em, but we just wish they wold bring the price of a reader down and standardise the formats, and solve electronic rights management, and ......

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Unicorn discovered, Mind Control for cows and dogs, Babylon A.D. new trailer, Campbell and Sturgeon Award Finalists announced

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 12th June Include:

• Unicorn found in Italy - All they need now is to find an Ogre, a Castle and a distressed Princess and we can all live Happily Ever After
• Mind control for dogs and cows - who's next?
• New trailer for Babylon A.D. - Cheesy .... but quite cool
• Campbell and Sturgeon Awards Finalists announced - We predict Chabon for the first and Chiang for the second

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Stross Interviewed on how to see the future, More flying car movies and Robots just got smarter

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 11th June Include:

• Stross Interviewed on how difficult predicting the future is - also he refers to the coming tech-singluar as "having a lot of cruft on it" ??
• More flying car movies - no not Speed Racer (thank goodness) this is Disney jumping on the bizarre Hollywood trend of always bringing out different movies on the same theme around the same time ... lets hope its better then Speed Racer
• Robots getting cleverer - Advanced robot Asimo can distinguish between numerous human voices

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Ridley Scott Speculation, Unbalanced Universe, Brain Enhanced Soldiers, WiMax news and Fastest Computer on Earth

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 10th June Include:

• Ridley Scott Sci-fi Film Speculation - The Web Site at the End of The Universe is speculating nicely on what book Ridley Scott is going to be filming
• One end of the Universe is different from ther other - New Scientist posted new research which shows that there is evidence of "hints of Structure" beyond the visible Universe .... an attention grabbing headline.
• Military to move us towards the Tech-Singular - The Pentagon fears brian modified soliders in the near future ... and the rest of us will be left behind ... another step to TS
• Open Patent Alliance Created to further WiMax - There are some heavy weight companies behind this so it has a good chance of making WiMax happen faster
• Roadrunner is fastest computer on Earth - Does fastest = smartest? If so anotehr TS step

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Our Sun could be in trouble, John Carter News, Self Replicating Printers, Dreamworks Moon Project news and Wimax wows Taipei

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 9th June Include:

• Is the Sun in Trouble - Our sun is currently going through the longest recorded period with no sun spots ..... is this cause for concern?
• Andrew Stanton confirms John Carter of Mars - So Pixar are definitely going to run with it. Well we love most of the Pixar back catalogue lets see if they can do justice to this classic?
• Self replicating Printers - And the tech-Singular takes another step closer as machines replicate each other. Read this article if don't believe us .... it's coming.
• Dreamworks appoints new writer to Moon project - The new Dreamworks film which is apparently to star Jake Gyllenhaal has appointed a new writer.
• Wimax makes a big hit in Taipei - is this technology here to stay? And when will we see it over here?

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Terminator Chronicles, Human Skin to be used as Wireless transmitter and paper as strong as steel

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 7th June Include:

• Terminator Chronicles Season 2 - Unless it improves over Season 1 drastically we may just give this a miss
• Human skin used as wireless connection - One step closer to wearing wireless portable electronic devices
• Paper as strong as Steel - Cellulose Nanofibres dissipate stress to provide amazing re-enforcement and strength ..... now to seethe applications for this ....

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Another Dune, Kingsley goes to Persia, Missing Pyramid, Water Wars, Stargate MMO and Nanoscopes

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 6th June Include:

• Another Dune Movie - What will this one bring us that the other movies and mini-series didn't I wonder?
• Ben Kingsley to be Persia Villain - Prince of Persia has just signed up Ben Kingsley to play the villain
• Missing Pyramid Found - well found again actually ... apparently it was built 4,000 years ago, found 200 years ago, went missing (!?) and has been found again ... would make a great film, all it needs is a curse, some deaths, a mummy who comes back to li.....
• Are water wars in our future - This would also make a great film .... again all it needs is some deaths, some intrigue, some back stabbings, ......
• StarGate MMO - We love the series but do we have time for another MMO
• Nanoscopes - to see beyond light

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Capricorn One remake, X-files 2 , Michael Chabon interview and Reptisaurus?

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 5th June Include:

• Capricorn One to be remade - Do we really need a remake of such a god film?
• X-Files 2 Trailer - mmmhhhh
• Michael Chabon Interview - listen to this interview of Michael Chabon as he tells us how Sci-Fi can be good literature as well. The Yiddish Policeman's Ball is highly tipped to win all sorts of awards this year - he even reads an excerpt in this interview
• Reptisaurus Trailer? -Don't know much about this film but this writer on io9 is very excited about it

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Ridley Scott returns to Sci-Fi, T4 rumours and IEEE Spectrum dedictes an Issue to the Coming Tech-Singluar

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 4th June Include:

• Ridley Scott returns to Sci-fi - Lets hope its as good as Blade Runner
• T4 rumours - More news from the latest terminator installment
• IEEE Spectrum Mag wonders about Tech-Singular - so do we. This prominent magazine heads up a full issue dedicated to the tech-singular including a video of Vernor Vinge who coined the phrase. the end of the world is nigh!

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StarShip Troopers 3 trailer, Role Play and write new Sci-Fi channel show, Nanobots dance, Vitual walk, Mind reading computers and Drugs grow Brain

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 3rd June Include:

• New Japanese Trailer for Starship Troopers 3 - with new killer robots .... cool
• Wanna Write a Sci-fi TV Show? - join this Sci-Fi Channel new on-line Role Playing game and you just might
• Nanobots come of age ... and dance - Dancing robots on a pin head? .... now that must be sci-fi
• Paralysed man strolls along "virtually" - And "another step" towards the Tech-Singular .... are we becoming paranoid soothsayers or what?
• Mind reading computers - and another step .....
• Drugs to grow your Brain - but wait maybe there is a way to keep ahead of the Tech-Singular after all ....

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Danny Glover in 2012, Terminator 4 castings, More Star Trek veterans leave us, More Cyborg News and the Future of Cyber Crime

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 2nd June Include:

• Danny Glover looks at 2012 - plus a few others .... the story line may not be what I was expecting but lets see if the film is any good ... if they could land this lot then it as a chance
• Terminator 4 casting news - never a bad thing if you are trying to re-boot a franchise to get new talent on board
• More Star Trek veterans head for the Final Frontier - Alexander Courage left this mortal coil last week, and this week it's Robert Justman .... just in case you needed reminding with the new film just around the corner this cornerstone of sci-fi TV, Film and Literature has been going for over 40 years .... and these guys passing is a reminder of that
• More Cyborg news - new arm robotics nicknamed Luke (skywalker?)
• Future Cyber Wars - email can activate hidden agents in cyber crime against Governments and Businesses

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Phoenix sees Ice, The future of On Demand TV and Laptops for £99

Sci Fi Pool Highlights for 1st June Include:

• Phoenix sees Martian Ice - Where there is Ice .... is there Life?
• Netflix and TCV of tomorrow - Is this the future of on demand TV?
• Laptops of the future are here - The new Elonex Subnotebooks "One" is now available and only £99. The reason they are so cheap is because they run Linux the free shareware operating system saving you hundreds of £ of software costs from the traditional Microsoft Windows which is usually pre-installed on most laptops and starts the price into the hundreds of £ before you even get to the actual laptop costs themselves. Following hot on the heels of the successfully selling eee PC from Asus lets see how well this goes ..... Personally for £99, we don't think you can really go wrong.

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