Final Blog!!

Science fiction is when something that we don't know to be 100% true or real is backed up with facts and science. It asks the question, "What if...?" By way of extrapolation it asks questions about our future, our technology and exploration, people as individuals and as part of society, or about beings from other worlds. I learned that there are a lot of places to find sci-fi, more than I realized, and that's good because I really like it. Well, my preconceptions didn't change a whole lot. I was interested and loved sci-fi before I took the class so taking this class really cemented the fact that I really enjoy science fiction.  I love the fact that the study of science fiction spawned some of the best class discussions I've had in high school.  Wow, um, picking a favorite unit is hard, I really liked them all. If I had to pick on it would have to be Xenophobia because I absolutely loved Ender's Game. Reading that was one of the best parts of the class. It drew me in and  I connected emotionally with the subject; and I was just that much more interested. Overall, I really got a lot out of this class. It was one of my favorites.  

City on the Edge of Forever and Carl Sagan

We are in the last week or so of my Sci-Fi class and today we finished watching the Star Trek episode City on the Edge of Forever, and read an article about Carl Sagan and his thoughts on time travel. In the episode, it shows us that some people are more pivotal than others because the man in the alley dies/vanishes and nothing in the future (that we know of) is changed; but, because the woman, Edith, didn't die she changed the future drastically. It relates to the short story I blogged about in my last blog, A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury. When they hunt dinos to shoot, they go back in time and pick the ones that are going to die anyway so that they don't disrupt the future. So, in the Star Trek episode when that random guy "vanishes" maybe he was going to get knifed later that night, so by him being gone didn't change anything. I do believe that some people do effect the future more drastic than others. It also shows that if we do some how mess up the future, what's to say we can't go back and fix it?
In the Carl Sagan article, I like how he is a true scientist, he has ideas about how things work but is open to be proven wrong. He also believes that just because something hasn't been proven yet doesn't mean it is impossible. For an example Stephen Hawking says that we can't go into the past because we haven't meet any time travelers yet, and they didn't come to his "Party". But what Carl is saying is: what if we haven't seen them because otherwise it would change the future, what if we haven't invented time travel yet, what if they have this technology that can cloak  themselves? So we just don't know, and how can you say that something can be possible or impossible if you have no hard facts? Time travel is one of those mind-numbing, wonderful mysteries to explore.

A Sound of Thunder, All You Zombies and Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking.

In my Sci-Fi class, we are now on our last unit and we are studying paradoxes and time travel. There are also things that we are learning about called the "butterfly effect" and the "grandfather paradox." The butterfly effect is a phenomenon whereby a minor change in circumstances can cause a large change in outcome. Then the grandfather paradox is quite simple, its saying that if you time travel into the past murder your grandfather before he sires your mother or your father, then where do you come from?
We watched some of Stephen Hawking's "Into the Universe" and he explained that we would never be able to travel into our past because of the paradoxes and loop holes we would create. Nature, he says, would not let us create something like that. We are able to travel to the future as much as we want, and how we do that is we travel just barely under the speed of light, because nothing can ever exceed the speed of light, it's nearly impossible. But then it brings up the question, should we, or even do we want to? If we do travel into the future there is no coming back since we can't travel back in time, ever. Of course I believe that we can; it would just be on a different time line. So let's say you time traveled from your current time to somewhere in the future. Well, the time you jumped from would continue on with a future without you in it; and if you jumped back to the time you jumped from it would be still a different timeline because the time that you originally jumped from kept going and so now there has to be a future that has you in it, so therefore it wouldn't be the same timeline you jumped from originally.
We also read two short stories, one was by Ray Bradbury called A Sound of Thunder, the other one was by Robert A. Heinlein which was called All you Zombies. In A Sound of Thunder the people go back in time to go hunting, so its like a more riskier version of any hunting we could come up with today. We don't go around hunting Tyrannosaurus Rex's. When they go back they have this hovering path that they have to stay on otherwise they might step on something that could spring out huge changes in the future. When the dinosaur is coming and in range the new guy on the team mistakenly steps off the path. But how can one step change the future? It turns out that he steps on a butterfly which then, they discover when they get back to the present, has caused everything to be different and nothing is the way it was. (Hence the "butterfly effect") It's saying that by going into the past, something so small as stepping on a bug could create huge changes that were never meant to happen. Of course some would argue that we were supposed to go back in time then and supposed to step on that bug, so that the future would work out that way. That also brings up the question; if you could go back into the past without knowing what was going to happen to the future you came from, would you still go? I personally would not, I like how things have come out, and without all of the things that have happened to me or the world around me, who would I be today? Everything we go through and how we react to things is what creates who we are as a person in the future.
All you Zombies was far more confusing. It was harder to wrap your head around the idea of the paradox, but once you got it, it was really pretty cool to think about. In the story all of the main characters ended up being all the same person. He was once a female who had both male and female parts, so he had a sex change then went back in time a impregnated his female self who got pregnant and had a baby girl who ended up being him who grew up, and the circle repeats itself. In other words he was his own mother and father. It kinda crazy and very weird to think about but it brings up the question; how did it start? Who did it start with? Who was the original "Jane"? I really don't know the answer to this question. It throws me for a loop...haha.
Time travel and paradoxes have to be one of the more interesting topics, even though I like all sci-fi topics, this one has to be one of the most fun to explore.

I Borg

The Star Trek: Next Generation episode "I Borg" uses an altered robot-like being, Hugh, to let us examine new questions about our own individuality. If our individuality was stripped from us, it would actually be worse than dying because we would have no ability to think for ourselves.  As individuals we should question what we have been told.  Hugh has it ingrained in him that "Resistance is futile," but he learns that resistance is not futile. It's always our choice to make, no one has the ability to make choices for us that we are unwilling to make. In fact, Hugh has the ultimate realization of self when he decides to sacrifice his freedom to save his new friends.

Reason

In the story Reason, the author Issac Asimov makes us think about some important questions. Questions such as: What will it be like when human jobs are replaced by robots? More importantly, what if those robots began to see themselves as superior or more valuable than the humans? What if they start to believe they are on a mission from a higher power?  In the end, the characters Donovan and Powell decide that it doesn't necessarily matter what Cutie believes as long as the robot is doing what he is supposed to do. Underneath all of Cutie's reasoning and thoughts on his purpose of being, he still is ultimately obeying the Three Laws of Robotics whether he realizes it or not. He keeps the station functioning perfectly and so keeps the humans and Earth safe.  It does make you wonder how the next caretakers of the station will deal with Cutie's "Cult of the Master" though. I would have maybe given them a little more of a heads-up.

Measure of a Man

   In class we watched the Star Trek Next Generation episode: Measure of a Man. It is about when Data is put on trial to decide if he should be decommissioned. The conflict is: Is he too human or not? Does he have rights? Is he self-aware, etc... Data is a robot but can think and feel just like a human can. They also brought up the point that if they created a race just like Data so they can serve us, is that slavery? And when do we draw the line where we have to give them rights? In history we did enslave the blacks, but they were there own people before. So if we create a race to serve us, is it really slavery or not? I think if they are self-aware, and have human emotion then yes, it is wrong. I think the line is when they become self-aware, and have a conscience and can tell what is right from what is wrong even if it is not the most logical choice. To compare this to I-Robot, the robots in there didn't save the girl in the car crash because she had a less likely chance of living but any human would still try to save the girl no matter what the odds are.
   I think we will get to this point in our near future where this imagined problem will become reality. We will build robots who will think freely and dream. Could it take a long time? Yes. But is it possible, yes. It is possible because we have yet to prove that we can't do it.
   So back to Data. He is way too human to make choices for him, he is self-aware and portrays human emotion, therefore should have rights.

EPICAC, Eyebem, Mimicry...

Over the last few days we read three short stories, EPICAC by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Eyebem by Gene Wolfe, and Mimicry by Maggie Slater. These stories are the perfect examples of how technology might become aware of itself and start to feel human emotion. As we create more and more things that are closer to human the line, between person and machine becomes blurry.
All of these relate to the Frankenstein Complex in that sooner or later we lose control of what we have created and they evolve on their own. We don't know whether our creations will make things better for us, or become a threat to out very existence.

X-Files: Post-Modern Prometheus

Well, in class we watched an episode from the X-Files called Post-Modern Prometheus. It was about how a doctor figured out how to create people and affect their appearance, but his experiment goes wrong and he ends up with someone with two deformed faces. Everyone is scared of the creation because he is so different from them; to them he is a monster. 

This related to the Frankenstein Complex in how people are afraid that when scientists mess with nature the result will be a monstrosity. It also shows that fear can change a few scared people into an angry mob who will stop at nothing to destroy the monster. 

This type sci-fi can serve as a warning. We have to consider how far we really want to take science, and are we ready for the consequences? When experimentation involves living beings, we can't just put ethics on the shelf so that we can satisfy our own curiosity. Just because we can do something does not always mean that we should. 

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

We watched the Invasion of the Body Snatchers and it was relate-able to our theme xenophobia because the snatchers were afraid of the normal people and the people were afraid of the snatchers. In the movie the snatchers would place a pod next to the person they want it to become, and as the body grows and develops during the day when the people fall asleep, that is when it takes all of your memories. There is a scene that spreads terror as  the doctor comes back to town, a boy runs out into the street screaming that his mom is not really his mom. This touches on a deep fear of losing ourselves, those we love, or our way of life, to outsiders. This is similar to the Twilight Zone episode Monsters on Maple Street.
The movie not only fits squarely into the Sci Fi genre, it is also Horror because of the use of fear and possession.

Random Sample and King of the Beasts!

In class we read the short stories: Random Sample by T.P. Caravan and King of the Beasts by Philip Jose Farmer. We are still talking about xenophobia and  the fear of outsiders or someone different. In the first story, Random Sample, it was talking about a little girl who is very bad and not very nice. She is encountered by aliens visiting Earth and they put her through all these tests and of course she fails them all and hits them. She takes them outside and shows them what she likes to do, killing ants. The aliens seem not to like that and they leave. So my take on this story is that the aliens came down and took a random sample of what human is and they just happen to get someone who was not very nice. Then at the end of the story the aliens decide humans are not worth keeping alive so they start killing the humans by burning them like she was doing to the ants. We always assume that when aliens make contact, they will communicate with the "right people."  Who is to stop them from coming up to the wrong person showing only the bad side of humanity?
King of the Beasts is a short story about only re-creating the higher animals, and the beautiful ones, to make up for all of the brutality and stupidity of destroying species. It's pretty much is saying that man is the most dangerous yet a beautiful animal, and the visitor in the story had to get special permission to grow it. At first you don't realize that the biologist isn't human; and not only do we get to see how we are viewed through alien eyes, we also realize that we have become extinct.

Planet of the Apes!

Well, as we know xenophobia means the fear of someone who is different, an outsider. In the first Planet of the Apes movie with Charlton Heston, the apes were scared of him because he was different, he could talk. He had knowledge of things outside of their experience. Also the leaders, who were the Orangutans, knew that before them man was the dominate species, so when they found Taylor (Charlton Heston) they got scared. 
This movie also has a lot to say about class warfare and discrimination. In the movie, they were talking about how all apes are created equal, and it almost mirrors our culture and how we say all men are created equal. However, we know some are put unfairly before others and that's how it was with their society. The Gorillas were the warrior class, the Orangutans controlled the government and the religion (convenient), the Chimpanzees were the thinkers and the scientists; they also were more compassionate, more humane. The apes considered the humans as a sub-standard species, and the appearance of Taylor threatened the "natural order" of things. 
I know that our government hides a lot from us, so it didn't surprise me when in the movie we saw that the Orangutans hid stuff from the other apes. When they found the baby doll at the end and it started crying, they blew it up. The only evidence they had that questioned their power they blew up, so that no one would ever find it and wonder. No, ignorance may seem bliss for the ape society at the beginning but throughout the movie it unravels. I truly believe that everyone should know the truth no matter what the cost is. I wouldn't say that there is no hope for the future of the ape society. It's just that if they keep hiding big things like that and someone does find out about it, they could have an uprising on their hands.   When a society is based on fear, ignorance and deception, it's only a matter of time.

Ender's Game Project

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rDOFvsVhlQ&context=C3a4264eADOEgsToPDskJffRoaVl1tntBHQq1uEv2h

Ender #4 (The end of the book)

The last chapters of Ender's Game By Orson Scott Card were a few of the best in my opinion. Ender realized that he was both the destroyer and savior of a race. Had he realized that he was actually killing them he would have stopped because there is so much empathy in him and because they never picked a fight with him first, he had no reason to destroy them. Since his teachers all knew that, they did not ask him if he wanted to to kill them. They just tricked him and said it was just his final test in the games. He ended up obliterating their home planet just thinking it was all a game, but it almost destroyed him after he found out. The Buggers left Ender a message that only he would understand and be able to figure out what to do. They left an egg for him to find that had a queen inside who could be the mother to a reborn race.  and they also explained to him that they had not planned to come back to Earth to fight again because they had realized that were are as intelligent, if not more so, than them. They realized their mistake, but the humans didn't know that. Being so xenophobic we weren't going to take any chances of them coming back again, so we (as humans) decided that we were ending it once and for all. Ender was just thrown in it as the Commander of the fleet because of his intelligence and because he was just so good at what he did. He defeated the enemy when he was just an eleven year old boy. Yet, no one asked him what he wanted to do or asked him even if he would. In the end, it was great to see that a boy who had no control over his life eventually grew to help determine the future of human space colonies and the future of an entire species.

Ender's Game #3

In Chapters 10-12, let's just say a lot happens. Ender (only nine) became commander of an army that had been inactive for years, the Dragon Army. Usually commanders are much older, everyone thought Ender would be a commander, but not this early. When he went to see his army there were no veterans, they were mostly just launchies who had no idea what to do in battle. But that didn't stop Ender, right off the bat he started doing things differently, He put the younger ones closer to the door instead of having them in the back like usual going unnoticed. He made them learn the way he does things by when he says "move!" they'd better move. When they got to their first practice, he didn't start with formations like usual; in fact he never did formations at all. When he created the toons in his army, instead of the normal four he created five. They usually gave the commanders three months to get their army ready for battle but no, the games started changing once he got command of the Dragon Army. They only gave him three and a half weeks; but Ender thought they were ready even before he got the sheet telling him he had a battle. From that day, on they were getting battles daily and never once did his army lose, not once. They were the highest rank in every category, they were untouchable. After a couple of months they started giving him two battles a day, that was unheard of. Then the school tried everything they could to try to make him lose just one game but Ender was too smart and getting tired of there games. They made is army face two armies at once. Ender was done, he had the smallest but brightest solider, Bean, help with what to do. Finally Ender thought of a way to throw them off, it was to create a formation. They have never once practiced a formation so it took Ender all of five minutes to explain to everyone how it was going to work. If they can change the rules of the game, then there are no rules. They came out from behind the stars and it was throwing off the armies just how they planed it would, but they were so focused of the formation none of them saw that six soldiers had slipped away and now going through their own gate winning the game before they knew it. After that all of Ender's toon leaders became commanders of other armies and he thought they were screwing with him again, taking all of his good man, but they weren't. That graduated Ender to Command School, but the thing is you have to go through pre-command school first, Ender didn't he went straight there. Only people who were at least sixteen went there but still he was only nine. At this point we realize Ender has actually killed two people, a fact that would truly crush him if he knew.

Monsters and Muse

We watched the the Twilight Zone episode called Monsters Are Due On Maple Street. In this episode, the signs of xenophobia were endless. When they lost power to everything, within a few minutes they were in a panic. They were trying to figure out what had happened and then they started thinking that a family on the street were really aliens who had come beforehand to spy on their world. They start blaming the families who are just a little odd and paranoia seemed to take over. But you have to ask yourself, isn't any family just a little weird or odd in a different way? When fear takes over, people seem to stop thinking rationally. Xenophobia will probably be the cause of any other war or chaos we might have in the world because there are a lot more Maple Streets out in the world just waiting to have something happen so they can blame the people that are different from themselves.
We also read the short story Muse by Dean R. Koontz and this story was kind of sad. This innocent guy who was a host for this alien life form was beaten badly by his own father, just because his father thought that is was evil and taking over him. Then the father told his son, after he ripped it off of his back and threw it down on the ground repeatedly until it moved no more, that he could offer whatever the alien slug offered him but he couldn't. The son told his father that the alien was the one who created his songs he performed; the alien only wanted to create music. Since the alien was only like a slug it didn't have vocals or hands to do it himself. It's not like the alien took him over and did what it wanted, the son wanted to help it. Because of the father's xenophobia he broke that connection, the "muse," and could never be replaced. It wasn't till after the father did what he did that he realized maybe it was harmless. That is our problem as some of us humans, the fear of the unknown blinds us from making rational decisions.

Ender's Game #2

As we continued reading Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card chapters 6-9, I started to realize while I was looking for examples of xenophobia, and coming up short was when I noticed that they aren't very many spots that stand out, because their whole society is xenophobic. That's why they have this battle school of their', it's to defend themselves from outside beings, like the 'buggers'. The battle school is pretty much their whole reason for existing to prepare for when "they" come, especially Ender's because he is the third in his family, and therefore never would have been born if it wasn't for the societies pursuit in finding the best commander, army man, or any other leader position that would help defeat the buggers.
It's really amazing that no matter where Ender ends up, because no army thinks they want him, they try to get rid of him fast in battle so they don't have to deal with him. The Rat army commander sent him out first, but in every situation Ender spun it right back on them and pretended that that was the plan all along and it was a good idea too.
I still really like this book and it's cool how time in this book is going by so incredibly fast because when the book starts he is five and halfway through he is eight. I wonder how old he will be at the end of the book. If this book keeps going like this and just keeps getting better, it will probably get five stars from me.

Puppet Show

In class we read Puppet Show by Fredric Brown. I really kinda liked this story, the way it was presented. This story was about a test, a test of how we humans are xenophobic, or if we are not. In the story they started to pass the test, and then the colonel said something about how he was glad the master race was human and probably destroyed our chance of joining the federation.
I know if was given that test I would probably pass it because I could care less what other people look like and where they come from, and I don't think I would have blurted out a stupid remark. I don't like judging people, even though sometimes we all do it subconsciously. Sometimes it seems like we are wired to think in terms of "us" and "them," but I try not to base my outward behavior on someone's appearance.  I don't hold it against them and think of myself as better then they are.

Ender's Game #1

In my sci-fi class we have begun to read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. I really like this book so far, the way it is writen and how young the main character, Ender, is. It makes you think differently and makes you pay attention. Since Ender is only six in the beginning of the book, you underestimate him; and when you get into the book, you start to see him not older or bigger, but for what he really is: a smart kid who knows when he is being lying to and who is able to win against older kids just becasue he knows how to sit back, watch and observe.
I also enjoy this book it makes me laugh and keeps me guessing what Ender will think of next. The way he strategizes and watches everyone fascinates me and reminds me of myself. I would rather sit back and watch how others act then try and join them, faking excitment.
In the first five chapters I have noticed that everyone is afraid of these things called buggers and it's not only because they are trying to kill the human race but because they are different. Xenophobia  means a fear of strangers or foreigners or that which is strange. So yeah, there is a lot of xenopobia going on here. I am curious to see if it is justified.
Ender wants to be a leader but doesn't know that he already is one. Leaders are not people who tell others what to do or get a group together just to leave someone out. Leaders fight back when its needed and only respond when being provoked. When they have a message for you they won't hand it to you on a silver platter, but they won't make you work for it either.
The intelligence that this kid has is amazing, they way he sees things and watches them and the questions he asks, so far beyond what a six year old should be deeply thinking about.
This book definitely fits our class definition of science fiction because this very well could happen. Many of the extrapolations, such as the use of video games for military training, have already come true. This society could very well become our present. This is no fantasy story.

Forbidden Planet

So we watched Forbidden Planet in our sci-fi class and there were many extrapolations in that movie. For example the space ship, the robot that could create anything if it has a sample and it could also do household things and defense, advance push button security, interplanetary space travel for people, blasters, and more.
There were also things in the movie that are in newer movies today. Such as, robots (Lost in Space, I Robot), space travel with a captain and crew (Star Trek),  and more!
At first I didn't really like it but then as the movie went one I kind of got sucked into it and really enjoyed it. Over all I thought it was a pretty good movie and would have liked if we could have finished watching it. We only got about halfway through.

"Repent, Harlequin!" said the Ticktockman

The short story "Repent, Harlequin!" said the Ticktockman By Harlan Ellison is in my opinion less like our class definition of sci-fi just because the whole society has changed. We are in a society in which change is accepted and we understand that things come up and you will be late once in a while, but in this time there is absolutely no leeway if you are late.
Some extrapolations in this story are slidewalks, air boats, cardio plates and a-grav plates. He also uses extrapolations to describe this future society in which personalities have been filtered out and schedules and order rule every one's life. The government is so powerful that it can just turn people off.
I didn't really enjoy this piece too much because it was seemed too wordy and wandering to me. It never really sped up, had a strong climax or a dynamic between the characters that you could relate to and it never really hooked me as a reader. I did like the ending, however, because ultimately the main character really did finally make a difference.

Sales Pitch by Phlip K Dick

The short story Sales Pitch by Philip K. Dick relates to our class definition of science fiction because it brings the idea of robots, space travel and working on different planets into a possible future. We as humans want to dream up possiblies such as the 'fasrad' in this story to make life easy and less work. But you then have to ask yourself, if the robots are doing everything, why can't you do it? What is left to give your life meaning?
Phillip K. Dick uses extrapolation of current trends and technology when he envisions sales robots, police rockets, thoughtwave scanners, tractor  beams, and retinal vidscreens.
I kind of like this piece, I mean it's not my absolute favorite but it's enjoyable, thought-provoking and a good read. It reminds me of iRobot and how those robots are designed to take care of humans. When I picture the city where they live in in this story, I picture a city from iRobot.

There will come Soft Rains

     In the short story "August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains" (1950) by Ray Bradbury it reflects our class definition of science fiction because there is still the 'what if' factor. What if there are no more people? What if technology was left to carry on by itself? It is possible that something like that can still happen. Its true to science and what we believe is true.
     There are a lot of extrapolations in this story like the fact that the house is talking and making breakfast for everyone and knows the date and what time it is and cleans itself. These are extensions of technology we have today. These extrapolations really bring the story to life in the description, you know that it is in the future because of all of this. It paints a picture of the possibility of a future like this where a house does do things for you and reminds you of things. It really brought this piece together. Ray Bradbury would most likely not be surprised that much of this is nearly possible today.
     I really like this piece as well as other Ray Bradbury things that I have read. I love his word choice and the way he describes things and takes his time to make sure you really think about what he is truly saying and what he really means. He has a way with words that not everyone gets, but that's okay because the ones who do get it know they can't forget it.

Events Proceeding the Helvetican Renaissance

The short story Events Proceeding the Helvetican Renaissance by John Kessel asks a lot of "what if's". What if spaceports and space travel are common? What if the human race nearly died out and had to be brought back in a new way? What if there was a way to suspend life for long amounts of time?
Kessel uses extrapolations to examine how these things might affect human culture and society. What would security be like in this future city? How would technology such as eye scanners help or hinder people? How would religion change in the future? These extrapolations are key parts of the author's examination of a distant future.
Well, I like it and I don't like it. I like it because it was a cool future city that I got to imagine in my head.  I don't like it because it was long and way too drawn out when if could have easily been written shorter and made more interesting. There are also some parts in there that I don't consider sci-fi but rather fantasy, so over all would have to say that I didn't like it tremendously.

Homelanding and Cause and Effect

In both the short story Homelanding by Margaret Atwood and the Star Trek episode Cause and Effect, I saw elements of science fiction.  First in Homelanding the story is being told by someone describing human beings to someone from another planet, and since we have not discovered life on other planets yet it is considered sci-fi. Then, in the Star Trek episode first of all they were flying in space, there was a temporal causality loop that they were stuck in; all of which have not been proven but are possible and that's what makes it sci-fi.
I think these pieces were picked as our introduction to sci-fi because they are both a really good examples of stories that are not easily confused with fantasy. Both contain elements of science and speculation.  Both have something to say about how these hypothetical situations also reveal something about humanity.
Yes, These pieces hold up to my definition of science fiction.
I liked both of these pieces, Homelanding was my favorite because it talked about things that are minor and things we see everyday and at the same time it gave me a new point of view. If someone from another planet asked me what was unique to life on my planet I would have probably given the same answer as Margaret; I would look at the big picture and tell them what we experience every day. Also I liked the Star Trek episode because time has always fascinated me; and it was well put together.

Science Fiction Blog #1

My name is Erin and I love reading, writing, watching movies and dancing. I have 2 older brothers, one who is 21 and the other one, who is my step-brother, is 32. I consider dance a sport. Some people will ask how is dancing a sport?  Is it in the Olympics? Well no... But football and lacrosse aren't in it either and are still considered sports, so why can't dance be a sport? I don't take things personally; I realize people have other views.  I don't see the point in wasting away my time on something someone said or did that I could easily brush off and move on. Like Dr. Seuss says: "Those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

My paramount experience with science fiction can't be narrowed down to one specific thing or time. I have always loved sci-fi and the endless possibilities that somehow can be proven to make sense and even to be possible. I am really fascinated by the question What if...? What if these things could be true? Why can't they be? And if we don't have solid facts that they are not true, why do we say they aren't true then? I like the movies Time Machine, Logan's Run, 2012,The Core, Evolution, Deep Impact, Star Trek (the new motion picture), Equilibrium, The Matrix, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Day After Tomorrow, I-Robot, Contact, War of the Worlds, Jurassic Park, Avatar etc... I like the TV shows/mini-series: Terra Nova, ReGenesis, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Andromeda Strain. I also like the books Double identity, The Host, Found etc...

Science fiction gets confused with fantasy a lot but it's not, science fiction is fiction stories that are based on actually scientific principles, not only made up creatures and topics such as vampires, fairies, warlocks, dragons, magic etc... This is fantasy.