Tag Archives: sf-ish

Amping up the SF in “Avatar”

Posted on April 10, 2010 by jlredford

The last post noted how Avatar’s director and writer, James Cameron, left off a key piece of info that would have explained a lot of mysteries in the movie – that unobtanium was a room-temperature superconductor.  We’re still left with … Continue reading →

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Fixing the SF in “Avatar”

Posted on April 7, 2010 by jlredford

One of the bizarre things about the “Avatar” movie was that no explanation was ever given for why Evil Corp wanted to plunder the Edenic moon Pandora.  They were supposed to be after some mineral with a joke name, unobtanium, … Continue reading →

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Are SF writers Lettuce or Whiskey?

Posted on December 10, 2009 by jlredford

Alexander Jablokov lists on his blog “Five reasons writers don’t improve with age”.   It’s a depressing thought for an SF writer like him, although he’s one of note, but is it true?   Are writers more like lettuce, best when … Continue reading →

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Is SF Bloating As It Leaves the Main Sequence?

Posted on December 3, 2009 by jlredford

So I was perusing a typically wry and colorful Jack Vance novel from the 60s, when I noticed that the whole book was only 170 pages.  A lot of them were in those days.  It was only half the thickness … Continue reading →

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Noble Effort to Save Planet, or Death Ray?

Posted on November 12, 2009 by jlredford

So I’m reading about the Sierra solar power tower installation in Lancaster CA. That’s in the south central part of the state, about 40 miles north of LA.  The system produces 5 MW peak from two 50m towers and 24,000 … Continue reading →

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