A pretty awesome tribute to the works of John Williams. Can you guess which songs they come from?
Source: YouTube
Click to read the rest of the article ...
Showing posts with label Science Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Science Fiction. Show all posts
Star Wars Tractor Beam One Step Closer
In a Galaxy far far away, a lowly Corellion Corvette gets chased down by a daunting Imperial Star Destroyer which looms ominously into view. As it closes in on it's target, it fires and captures it's puny prey reeling it in on an invisible line through the emptiness of space. This as everyone knows is the beginning of Star Wars and as many will know, the weapon that the Star Destroyer fires is a tractor beam designed to capture other space vessels intact. Today Australian scientists have made a significant step towards the development of a real life actual Tractor Beam.
According to Inside Science:
The device works by shining a hollow laser beam around tiny glass particles. The air surrounding the particle heats up, while the dark center of the beam stays cool. When the particle starts to drift out of the middle and into the bright laser beam, the force of heated air molecules bouncing around and hitting the particle's surface is enough to nudge it back to the center.
A small amount of light also seeps into the darker middle part of the beam, heating the air on one side of the particle and pushing it along the length of the laser beam. If another such laser is lined up on the opposite side of the beam, the speed and direction the particle moves can be easily manipulated by changing the brightness of the beams.
This however won't work in the vacuum of space yet. So for now I guess we can only start dreaming of huge construction projects crane-free but with multiple tractor beams transporting heavy construction beams up to the top of large skyscrapers. That or at least I'll be able to pretend to be a Jedi once they make these mobile phone sized.
Source: Inside Science
Midichlorian Rhapsody
A little gem from the internet that simply made me smile. Personally my favourite segment from this Queen/Star Wars mash up was about halfway with the inclusion of Mace Windu and "personal growth". Ideally it'd be great if it used footage from the original trilogy rather than the sucky new one but hey beggars can't be choosers.
Click to read the rest of the article ...
Robot Invasion Looms Closer
If you've dipped your toes into the deep waters of the tech world any time in the last decade, you'll know that technology has very slowly been stepping on the toes of doomsday plot lines from infamous sci-fi's. The story lines to much acclaimed sci-fi dramas such as Battlestar Galactica and the Terminator franchise is scarily and slowly coming true. Today it would appear that we've taken another step forward towards a cyborg apocalypse with the reports of an unmanned aerial drone going rogue over in Washington, USA.
A Northrup grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout UAV strayed into restricted US air space after it failed to adhere to it's built in failsafe protocols. Yup, that's right, it seemed to have ignored the safety guidelines hardcoded into it's software and decided to continue it's course into restricted airspace ... 23 miles that is, into restricted airspace.
It's believed that communications between the ground crew and the UAV "cut off" making the drone continue on it's path. Failsafe protocols were supposed to kick in at that point and make the drone circle the spot but it failed to do so. The error was put down in part due to a logic error in the software, something that most software engineers will agree is not the simplest thing to detect, especially on such high tech military hardware as is the case here. Just for your peace of mind, the MQ-8 UAV is in fact capable of not only performing surveillance tasks but also capable of carrying 70mm Hydra Rocket Pods or Hellfire Tankbuster missiles. That's enough to take out pretty much everything in a city block and then some. Now that's quite an example of software engineering gone horribly wrong. Here's a toast to the limited days of the human race. So say we all.
Sucker Punch: Girls, Guns, Dragons, Nazis, Samurais etc etc etc
More trailers to come out of the San Diego Comic Con this year was Zack Snyder’s latest project, Sucker Punch. The trailer looks crazy with a mish-mash of all the things a teenage dude would be into. The plot goes like this:
"Sucker Punch" is an epic action fantasy that takes us into the vivid imagination of a young girl whose dream world provides the ultimate escape from her darker reality. Unrestrained by the boundaries of time and place, she is free to go where her mind takes her, but her incredible adventures blur the lines between what's real and what is imaginary...with potentially tragic consequences.
Source: Pursuitist
Click to read the rest of the article ...Chewbacca Riding A Squirrel Killing Nazis
In probably one of the most awesome pictures I’ve seen in a while, here is Chewbacca riding a giant squirrel killing Nazis.
Is there anything more I need to add?
Click to read the rest of the article ...Let the Battle of the Real World Mechs Commence!
Mechs are plain and simply the ultimate wet dream of any self-respecting kotaku or tech geek. There’s nothing that can describe the pure awesomeness of an armoured humanoid figure standing taller than the average building raining all amounts of hell on it’s intended recipient. Well it seems that our dear friends over in the Far East have taken this wet dream and decided to turn it into a reality with what appears to be little more than an arms race for the greatest mech ever constructed.
I’ve posted in the past about the real life Gundam in Tokyo before on T.U.S but it appears other inventive individuals have taken to this as a geek off challenge. Ever since the mega Gundam was built in Tokyo in 2009, there have been many many models built since to rival this behemoth. So below are just some of my favourite to date (click to enlarge any of the photos):
Bandai’s RX-78-2 Gundam, Tokyo Japan
On March 11th 2009, in order to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Gundam anime series, Bandai built this mammoth of a 1:1 real size scale of their famous RX-78-2 model Gundam. This epic figure that towered over Tokyo reached a staggering 60 feet into the air which approximates to the same height as a decent sized city block. However it doesn’t just stop there, the head of this Gundam actually moved and emitted lights and lasers from over 50 different places on it’s exoskeleton along with 14 jets of mist for special effects. Quite an awesome feat to live up to. (NB, it must be noted that this mech was only up for a few months but is due to be relocated to another place in Japan, now equipped with a Saber!)
UPDATE (10/08/2010): A very cool time HD time lapse video has been thrown out onto the internet and wow is it stunning.
Chinese student Bi Heng’s ‘Kwansformer’, Beijing China
This 9.7 meter tall giant of a mech was constructed from the remains of a “Jiedang CA10 military truck”. It in fact was constructed by a 26 year old student for his class project at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) and took just one semester to complete. The Mech was designed and based around the famous Chinese general, Guan Yu and copies the same “Green Dragon Crescent Blade”. Heng now aims to create a series of Kwansformers which include the Monkey King and the Beijing Olympic Torch. So far he has been offered money for his current Kwansformer but has rejected it citing, “Trasformers are a cherished memory of the post-80s generation, but these people are still not rich enough to buy my work.” However at a cost of around $43,000 to build, if this at least doesn’t get him an A then I’m not sure what will.
Tetsujin 28, Kobe Japan
The 60 foot tall Tetsujin 28-go was erected in honor of it’s creator Mitsuteru Yokoyama for which Kobe is his birthplace. This mech aside from it’s sheer awesomeness has done more than just look awesome. It’s apparently having a profound effect in Kobe, a city devastated by the Great Hashin Earthquake (1995), as that it’s bringing in millions of tourists that would not otherwise have come. So mechs really can be a force for good.
Optimus Prime, Beijing China
Now for a mech with a more western twist, there now stands a 40 foot tall Optimus Prime looming over Beijing. Built across from the Green Dream Park in the Northwest of the city, this Optimus Prime was built entirely from recycled parts, that’s 5 truckloads of recycled parts apparently and weighing in at over 6 tonnes. So yup, think of this as the environmental mech helping to save the world one tin can at a time.
Shoichi Nakamoto’s Z-Gundam, Okayama Japan
Another product of an inspired youth was born in the hillside of Okayama. Shoichi Nakamoto’s largely unknown Gundam is impressive in that not only was it built single handedly, it’s large and complex enough a structure to house it’s own little cockpit. Yup, that’s right, you can actually sit in this mech and with a number of gears and levers, may one day pilot the giant suit.
So which is your favourite? Let me know on Twitter, Facebook or in the comments section below. Personally, my favourite is still the RX-72 in Toyko. It’s a mammoth of a beast and if rumours are true that they’re adding a Saber to it’s hand, well that’ll do me just fine.
Sources: Weird Asia, Pink Tentacle, Bitter Swee, AsianBeat, Danny Choo, Mechadamashii
Click to read the rest of the article ...
Star Wars: The Old Republic ~ Awesome Cinematic Alderaan Trailer
Bioware’s new MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic has long been in development but this new cinematic trailer will surely get every good Star Wars fan pumped up for the new game. With the game being confirmed for a Spring 2011 release date, Bioware showed off an E3 2010 trailer exclusive.
Click the jump for the epic trailer.
The Old Republic does not dramatically diverge from traditional MMORPG gameplay. Players control an avatar in third-person view, interacting with the various elements of the game world and other players and will have their own starship as an in-game base. It has also been revealed that PvP will occur in warzones, either Jedi vs Sith or Republic vs Empire.[2] However, BioWare intends to put a large emphasis on the story element of the game, something that the company feels is lacking in other MMORPGs. New characters are required to choose to align with one of two factions waging war on each other—the Galactic Republic or the Sith Empire.[9] Several gameplay elements differ between the factions, such as story and available classes.[9]
Source: Star Wars Wikia
If only this was game play footage and not cinematic footage then that would actually have blown my mind. However I’m sure if you’re a Star Wars fan, you’ll definitely be looking forward to playing this game.
LiveJournal Tags: Star Wars Old Republic,E3
Click to read the rest of the article ...
The 10 Most Badass Awesome Body Armor
A recent post came up on the quite brilliant Unreality Mag blog about the coolest body armor around in both movies and video games. Reading through this, it inspired me to do a post on what I thought were the most awesome body armor in the sci-fi, movie and video game realms.
Check after the jump for the full list.
This is just a comparison of the body armor not in terms of who’d beat who in a face off (because let’s face it, number 7 could freeze time and take his merry time wiping out the rest of the list) but which in my opinion is more awesome than the next. Therefore this list is just composed of my own opinion and anyone will agree, you develop loyalties and affinities to movie/video game characters according to how attached you are to their franchise. So without further adieu check out my top ten most badass body armors.
10.) Samus’s Light Suit – Metroid Series
Samus Aran's Light Suit is the ultimate blending of Luminoth and Chozo technology. It was solely created to counter the forces of darkness and it has proven to render Samus immune to darkness effects that would otherwise hinder her.
Source: Metroid Wiki
9.) Gray Fox – Metal Gear Solid Series
Now a lot of MGS fans will be wondering why this might be so far down the list, and it mostly comes down to the fact that I really don’t have all that much of an affinity to the series having only played it on the Nintendo game boy. Sorry fanboys/girls!
Fox was Solid Snake's war buddy and best friend after Operation Intrude N313, but Fox's loyalty to Big Boss, forced him to betray Snake during Operation Intrude F014. He survived his injuries during his battle with Snake and was outfitted with a powered exoskeleton and given intense gene therapy. He confronted Snake as a neutral force during the Shadow Moses Incident before dying at the hands of Liquid Snake via Metal Gear REX.
Source: Metal Gear Solid Wiki
8.) Snake Eyes – GI Joe Series
Pretty much the only reason I went to see the GI Joe movie interpretation … although yes I do accept that technically it’s not a “suit” of armor.
Snake Eyes was the callsign of a man who was an expert of Martial Arts. He shared a rivalry with a man from his past, callsign Storm Shadow. Snake Eyes is man of few words, if any, as he has no lines in the movie. In the film it is revealed as a child he took a vow of silence after his martial arts master was killed by his rival. This makes his entire appearance in the movie completely silent and leaves him as mostly an action character. The only word he says in the whole movie is "Master".
Source: GI Joe Wikia
7.) Timeshift Armor - Timeshift
A cool suit for a game which was sadly of only mediocre standard.
Scientists from the near future have begun work on creating a viable time machine. The project results in the creation of two devices, the Alpha Suit, a less advanced prototype jump suit, and the Beta Suit, a more advanced, so-called military grade model with features the Alpha Suit lacks such as combat-related timeshifting abilities and an integrated artificial intelligence to prevent the creation of temporal paradoxes.
Source: Timeshift Wiki
6.) Garrus - Mass Effect Series
One of my favourite characters from the amazing Mass Effect game series. What makes Garrus’ armor amazing in my eyes is not just the sharp curves and the cylindrical neck unit but also the luminescent bands and the awesome optics on his left eye. He also pulls off the “broken armor” look in Mass Effect 2 really well which not a lot of characters do. Garrus has a great piece of armor and the superb voice acting really pushed him to 6th on the list.
A male turian, Garrus is a member of the Citadel Security force (C-Sec). He has never liked or trusted Saren and was investigating his activities, but wasn't able to prove any blatant acts of treason. He chafes under the red tape, rules and regulations of Citadel Security and had become unsatisfied with his role there. He believes in using any means necessary to either prevent or solve crimes, almost seemingly regardless of the consequences; this is a direct result of a case he was involved with that came to an unsatisfactory conclusion.
Source: Mass Effect Wiki
5.) Synthetic Adaptive Bio-Armor with Trooper Assault Helmet – H.A.Z.E
I’m really digging the mish mash of black and yellow contrasting armor here with that very rigid hexagonal shape to the chest plates and back plates.
In the game, soldiers make use of 'Nectar'. Mantel uses this drug to control the minds of its soldiers. When administered, Nectar can control what a soldier sees, among other things, similar to the effects of a hallucinogenic drug. Nectar drowns out images of death and destruction (for instance, bodies will vanish). Nectar also reduces recoil, and allows the player to zoom in further while scoped. An overdose of Nectar is dangerous, with loss of mental control and death being possible side effects. Nectar also enhances the soldiers' fighting capabilities, allowing them to run faster and jump higher. They also receive a boost in reaction time. A Mantel soldier experiencing an overdose is shown by a change in their armor, changing in color from yellow to red.
Source: H.A.Z.E Wiki
4.) Section 8 Lander – Section 8
Clearly an outside choice to the top ten list but there are just so many kick ass photos of the armor that I couldn’t post them all up. Still not cool enough to make it into the top 3 of the list.
The Section 8 soldier’s armor is globular and form fitting, almost insect-like. Dark heavy plate covers every inch of the body, sinking in at the torso and expanding at the legs. The bottom of the helmet is curved into an angle, sticking out into the environment. White-hot lights are in the place where eyes should be. There’s another intelligence seemingly behind the helm.
Source: Destructoid
3.) Batman – The Dark Knight
From the Batman armor catalogue which dates back to 1939, the latest addition to the Batman franchise in The Dark Knight shows off an awesomely impressive new body armor. The toss up was between the first and second movie but the first one in my opinion was on the edge of being a bit too rigid. The conscious decision by Christopher Nolan to increase the flexibility of the suit whilst updating it to include all the cool tech we know and love about our crime fighting super hero I believe did pay off. The body armor itself was made by Ceradyne Inc, a specialist in creating technical ceramics for body armor. They’ve even created a rather interesting video on the creation of this suit here. Oh and might I also mentioned the magnetised cape that instantly turns itself into gliding bat wings? Amazing.
2.) Iron Man Mark VI Armor – Iron Man 2 Movie
Although my personal reaction to the Iron Man 2 movie was not as good as the first one, the upgrades to the Iron Man suit are most noted for the triangular arc reactor Tony Stark builds into the suit. To me, the lines and just the general curves look better and more complete than the other armors in the series although I would’ve preferred a bit more screen time for it which we should hopefully get in the third Iron Man movie.
When Stark successfully develops a new power source for his personal arc reactor- the palladium he used for the power source in the previous version was slowly poisoning him-, he must develop a new suit capable of channeling the immense power of the new element, vibranium. The Mark VI armor differs little from the Mark IV platform; the main difference being a triangular-shaped chestplate protecting the arc reactor assembly. This suit withstands prolonged and extreme combat situations with relatively minor damage, and is shown to be extremely fast and responsive in flight, and strong and durable in hand-to-hand combat. The new model seemingly retains all the weapons present in the Mark IV, with two additions: a multi-fire adhesive grenade launcher in the upper arm, and a one-time-use hand-mounted laser weapon, powerful enough to cut multiple Hammer drones cleanly in half.
Source: Iron Man’s Armor Wiki
The Marvel Directory even has specific specifications for the Mark VI suit here.
1.) Crysis Nanosuit – Crysis Series
Maybe a little bit predictable, and it was hard to decide but this hi res photo pretty much pushed it over the line to the top spot.
Each member of Raptor team is wearing a Nano Muscle Suit, the most advanced armor ever created. Fit to the human frame, the suit allows for greater agility. Synthetic tendrils of muscles extend and contour where natural muscles lie underneath. Gray and white and serious, the armor offers more than looks. The exoskeleton allows the wearer to become invisible, become more resilient to damage, to be stronger and faster.
Source: Destructoid
Edit: As a few people have asked, just for the record, I have played the first Crysis and although I do love the design and the technology that’s been put into the suit, I just generally didn’t like playing the game that much. That said, well, just look at the suit. Just look at it!
So there we have it, the Top 10 coolest body armors in my humble opinion. There are a few glaring omissions such as Darth Vader’s suit, Marcus’ armor in Gears of War and Master Chief but I thought I’d highlight a few different ones instead (and to be honest, I don’t like Halo *Queue: Dramatic Lemur*). If you have any thoughts or opinions you’d like to share, feel free to comment just below.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sR93DyIheo-gZ3svr5_5lmDEEUyqTqq3pVyKM1aEgviV1BFlno7ptdUqu0O23_RTzixzpflYJkKr1qfywBoXuraEL1cNNzyzkivduwZkX3OeEtr_25ymYiiR1XFrsMH0OPBfxzWR7my3mga8-g5FjI=s0-d)
Superb Game Trailer: Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Sometimes you see a game trailer which absolutely blows your mind away. Sometimes it’s the music or the graphical presentation or often even just the sheer “epic-ness” of said trailer that blows you away. Either way this trailer of Deus Ex: Human Revolution released for the upcoming E3 2010 event, looks like one of those trailers. I admit, I’ve only played the first game for a short amount of time and it never really influenced me to a judgment of any kind. However after seeing this trailer released by Eidos Montreal in co-production with Square Enix, it looks like a game I’d definitely be interested in seeing more of. Clearly the trailer takes full advantage of the Square Enix method of CGI production but hey, cool armour and big blazing guns … sign me up.
Set in a dystopian world during the 2050s, the central plot follows rookie United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition agent JC Denton, as he sets out to combat terrorist forces, which have become increasingly prevalent in a world slipping ever further into chaos. As the plot unfolds, Denton becomes entangled in a deep and ancient conspiracy, encountering fictional recreations of organizations such as Majestic 12, the Illuminati, and the Hong Kong Triads throughout his journey. [2000] Source: Deus Ex Wiki
Invisible War takes place twenty years after Deus Ex, in a world being rebuilt after a catastrophic event called The Collapse. Following a terrorist attack that destroys the city of Chicago, the player assumes the role of Alex D, a trainee at the fictional Tarsus Academy, whose support is sought by several organizations. As the game progresses, the player learns of conspiratorial factions which seek to drastically change the world. Invisible War was designed to allow player choice in both plot and gameplay, with branching plot lines and emergent gameplay elements. This freedom of choice was widely praised by critics. [2003] Source: Deus Ex Wiki
Related articles
LiveJournal Tags: Deus Ex
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sASaoh4Et61QblF971RrVgS4wokrBrSekR7As-p3lw91x_nyPOYIjRwd0eGggxkigX9PfrICB6hwZgQoWXSOn-RW2jpNTVVURO_dfaIh8KJegtHJnYDoEKPcDG2Cc_8gDwOfeLqczbxfc_XnB2QHKO=s0-d)
Highlights from the London MCM Expo May 2010
After many years of attending the London MCM Expo, I thought I’d bring my trusty Nikon D70 and snap away some photos for the blog. In case you’re not familiar, the London MCM Expo is basically London’s version of the San Diego Comi-Con except with a larger dosage of anime. So you’ll find dozens of superb artists ranging in Manga to Marvel and DC to Dollhouse aswell as a ton of games and basically a day to geek out at. There’s also a healthy dosage of celebs as appearances from the Fringe, Merlin, Caprica and Stargate Universe cast as well as the usual anime voiceover actors were out in force. Although not having as many guests as the London Film and Comic Convention due to be held next month in July, it still gives fans a chance to meet and greet their onscreen idols. Check out the rest of the article after the jump.
Among the dozens of freebies that naturally make their rounds at the expo, this year’s goody bag was quite the treat with Monster Hunter PSP expansion disks, T-shirts, posters and action figures galore to keep those with an eye for loot happy. Along with the freebies, it seemed like the anime shopping section or Harajuku land as I like to call it, definitely got larger with more and more plush toys and bleach costumes out on display for happy go lucky cosplayers to get their mittens on.
My personal highlight of the show was the 30-minute panel done by SGU in which (an almost high) Jamil Walker Smith, a stunning Alaina Huffman and a witty David DeLuise graced the main stage. It was especially interesting to hear how each of the actors got their part in SGU and also how they dealt with the initial “bad air” that the show picked up after Stargate Atlantis was cancelled as well as hearing many funny anecdotes in between. Jamil also assured fans that things should be ok with the franchise despite the problems MGM were currently having with the fact that the number one franchise for MGM was 1.) James Bond and 2.) Stargate. So hand on heart, I hope we’ll continue to see more from the awesome Stargate franchise.
Also from the London Expo homepage:
There were three records [broken] at this May's MCM Expo. First was the turnout which was in excess of 41,000, then we set a NEW Guinness World Record for the Largest Handheld DS Party beating a 3 year old record held by Australia and lastly the longest line of people ever to enter the show.Also a special shout out to Lee Townsend for the amazing Batman sketch he did for us and also to Andie Tong who was amazing to meet and an astoundingly good artist. There was a Manga artist who did one of the portraits of me and my girlfriend whom we unfortunately didn’t manage to get the name of, but hopefully we can track her down.
So here are some of the many photo’s I took from the London Expo this year. Apologies for the amount of noise there are in the photo’s, took some time out to reduce a lot of them already but is something I need to look into in the future when taking photos. There are more photos are on the Picasa album site and even more swell up my hard drive but if anyone could recommend me a better photo sharing site other than Picasa and Flickr, as for some reason the images are coming out at a lower quality and “noisier”, please let me know in the comments section below.
 |
| Iron Man Skull From London MCM Expo Spring 2010 |
 |
| Mad Hatter From London MCM Expo Spring 2010 |
 |
| The Mystery Machine From London MCM Expo Spring 2010 |
 |
| Aliens Vs Predator Vs Humans From London MCM Expo Spring 2010 |
 |
| Mokujin from Tekken From London MCM Expo Spring 2010 |
 |
| Master Chief From London MCM Expo Spring 2010 |
 |
| War Machine + Prototype From London MCM Expo Spring 2010 |
 |
| Full Iron Man Suit From London MCM Expo Spring 2010 |
 |
| Spidey + Batman From London MCM Expo Spring 2010 |
 |
| “Halt!” Stormtroopers From London MCM Expo Spring 2010 |
 |
| Cookie Monster! From London MCM Expo Spring 2010 |
 |
| Jamil Walker Smith Entrance Part 1 From London MCM Expo Spring 2010 |
 |
| Jamil Walker Smith Entrance Part 2 From London MCM Expo Spring 2010 |
 |
| David Deluise Lame Entrance Part 1 From London MCM Expo Spring 2010 |
 |
| David Deluise Lame Entrance Part 2 From London MCM Expo Spring 2010 |
 |
| Awesome Gundam Outfit From London MCM Expo Spring 2010 |
 |
| Alien From London MCM Expo Spring 2010 |
 |
| Clone Trooper From London MCM Expo Spring 2010 |
Check out the full album here: London MCM Expo Album
I’ll also be attending the London Film and Comic Convention on July the 17th/18th so make sure you check back here for photos from Earl Court.
Note: Star Wars will be taking over as it’s the 30th Anniversary of Empire Strikes Back so expect a lot of Star Wars related photos then.
Related articles
LiveJournal Tags: London Expo,London MCM,2010,Stargate
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
