For the last Winning Science of 2014, we decided to start off by going back to one of our favorite tech geeks, Elon Musk. Sixteen months ago Musk announced a radical plan for a Hyperloop, a high speed transportation system that could run from LA to San Fransisco in just over 30 minutes. Musk’s paper was mostly theoritical, discussing likely means of accomplishing the idea without delving into the specifics. Since then, a company, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, has brought in 100 engineers to start working out those details. While they are still in the early design stages, the teams have already evaluated Musk’s plan and determined that it is likely feasible in the time frame and for the amount of money that Musk projected. Additionally, they have been working on improving Musk’s original designs. The team has also made up a potential service map that they feel would provide the best possible service.
Tag Archives: Episode VII
Around the Web November 6, 2014
As of yesterday, Star Wars Episode VII has officially wrapped shooting, and what better way to celebrate than by announcing the name for the newest addition to the family? Episode VII will officially be known as The Force Awakens. I’ve made no secret of my love for this particular franchise and I’m pretty pleased with the name. It gives us some inkling of what is to come, while avoiding the something painfully obvious, like Attack of the Clones. I’m not the only one who feels this way either. While I’m a little more forgiving of the name The Phantom Menace than most people, I generally agree with this article. J.J. Abrams is doing the best he can as the director of this project, and I think we’re going to get a great movie out of it. If he handling of Star Trek is any indication, he has both the skills and the creativity to make this happen.
We’ve also recently gotten some indications as to what part of the plot might be, however I will just link it here. I know how people get about spoilers. Continue reading
Filed under Around the Web, Weekly
Around the Web August 16, 2014
This has been a pretty good week for anybody who is following the production of Star Wars: Episode VII. First was the leaking of what appears to be the helmet of a Stormtrooper. Although it has been updated, it is still obviously a descendant of the iconic black and white helmet. Of course the picture popped up on Twitter and disappeared from the original source about as quickly, but given that this is the internet, nothing ever truly goes away. At this point, a quick Google search will bring you a ton of images of the new helmet. There is the possibility that this is just the doing of some fan and that it’s not a real movie prop, but we should be accustomed to this kind of thing by now.
I wonder if the new helmet will help them aim better.
On to the second bit of Episode 7 business. We’ve also gotten what looks like costume designs for everyone’s favorite scoundrel. While the first does look something like a mix between Jedi robes and his old costume, the second one looks an awful lot like his costume from Hoth. The one thing that did catch my eye is something that looks quite a bit like an Imperial rank insignia on his chest. It might turn out to be nothing, but then again, there might be something worth looking into later.
Also, it appears that Ugg boots have invaded a galaxy far, far away. These are truly sad times.
The last thing on today’s agenda is something that has nothing to do with Star Wars, but is in fact a short tale from my own day today. I got into comics about eight years ago, right around the time of World War Hulk, a Marvel event by Greg Pak and John Romita Jr. At the time I was new to comics and didn’t really understand what exactly makes comics valuable (I’m still working on this one, don’t judge) and so Joseph De Paul and I bought up the whole set of them and got Greg Pak to sign them. Despite our best efforts, we never did get Romita Jr. to sign them. Only after all our hard work was done did we realize that absolutely nobody wanted signed copies of these books because I don’t think anyone turned out to be a real fan of the series. On top of all that, my local comic store had an insane amount of World War Hulk back issues due to a customer who bought hundreds of copies just to get the varient cover. Every time I would go looking though back issue boxes, there they were, mocking my failure. Needless to say, I learned a valuable lesson.
Today, however, into my inbox drops an email from Comixology informing me of the sale on the “fan favorite epic” that was going on right now. After my personal experience, my first reaction was to fight the overwhelming urge to take a rolled up newspaper and whack someone from Comixology on the nose like a bad dog and say “NO” in a stern and authoritative voice. In my opinion, they can think themselves lucky I didn’t rub their noses in it
Filed under Around the Web, Weekly
Around the Web, June 13, 2014
Bad news for Star Wars fans. Harrison Ford was recently injured on the set of Episode VII. Ford was apparently hurt by the door to the Millenium Falcon and was rushed to an emergency room with a broken ankle and a chest injury. Studio executives have been working to rearrange the shooting schedule to account for what could be a long recovery for the 71 year old. This is also not the first time Ford has been injured on set. During Temple of Doom he required back surgery and during filming of The Fugitive he tore a ligament in his knee.
Harrison Ford having some fun at a photo shoot for Star Wars.
Therefore I Geek wishes Ford a speedy recovery and we eagerly await the coming of Episode VII.
Rumors are quickly spreading that DC is planning a massive movie announcement for San Diego Comic-Con. The supposed plan calls for three movies a year in 2016 and 2017 and included in the mix are Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, and Sandman. Unfortunately, there are already some doubts about the legitimacy of this schedule given how ambitious it is. Truthfully, the level of quality that DC can achieve in such a short time span is questionable. Additionally, fans are wondering whether the films would use the actors from the DC television universe or if actors would be recast for the movies.
Personally, I’m game for both Sandman and Wonder Woman, but we’ll see what DC actually says at SDCC.
For those of you who have been living under a rock, the Reading Rainbow Kickstarter has been nearly unstoppable. They reached their initial goal of one million dollars within the first 24 hours of the campaign and the total amount donated is now approaching the five million dollar mark. As a deal sweetener (like we really needed one at this point), if the campaign does reach five million, several live events will feature Star Trek alumni such as Brent Spiner, Johnathan Frakes, Kate Mulgrew, Gates McFadden, William Shatner and Patrick Stewart. A total of four events will be held, one featuring the men of Star Trek, one for the women and then Shatner and Stewart get their own events.
I remember watching this show as a kid, so I’m pretty excited to see this campaign doing so well.
Last but not least, fans of HBO’s Game of Thrones are getting a look at how the creative team managed to make Jaime Lannister’s severed stump look so real. Prosthetics and makeup genius Sangeet Prabhaker instagrammed this photo of the process to make his stump look incredibly real. Apparently there were multiple techniques used, depending on camera angles and activity. This one was used, among other scenes, for the infamous bath scene with Brienne of Tarth.
I personally just figured they slapped a sock on the end and called it a day.
Filed under Around the Web, Weekly
Therefore I Geek 