Why I Sci-Fi!

Lucas with C-3PO on the set of Star Wars ( Image Source ) Star Wars is a household name. The franchise, with too many movies, TV adaptations, and streaming series to count, is massive. But do you know about the man behind it all? The creator of Star Wars ? George Lucas is a science fiction legend-- and the focus of today's Famous Face spotlight! George Lucas was born on May 14, 1944 in California. His parents owned a walnut ranch, and they lived in a suburb outside of Modesto, CA. He love car racing, and he originally wanted to be a race car driver. After a devastating car accident, though, he changed his mind. He decided to give film school a try at the University of Southern California. Before releasing Star Wars, Lucas showed his talent for film with American Graffiti. The film made more that 100 million dollars in the US when it was released in 1973. With this success under his belt, Lucas sought out to make his dreams reality-- a film that would be "part fairy tal...

This is the movie poster for  The Rise of Skywalker. ( image source )  Imagine living in a world without Star Wars, Marvel or Stranger Things. Are you not a fan of those? Well, imagine not being able to play any video games OR living without advanced technology. Without science fiction, you probably wouldn’t have access to any of these! Science fiction is important because it has huge fandoms, it allows audiences to explore new possibilities and futures, and it inspires real technology. Firstly, science fiction is personal to me-- and a lot of other people. I grew up watching and reading science fiction stories with my family. I spent a lot of time watching Star Trek and Star Wars, especially after they re-released the original trilogy in 1997. It was a HUGE deal when we got to see them in theaters, and I remember sitting in the theatre with my M&Ms excitedly waiting to see my favorite movies on the screen. And I wasn’t the only one there-- audiences spent $460.998m...

This is our solar system.  ( Image Source )  This week saw an AMAZING discovery for NASA. The Spitzer Space Telescope revealed a series of Earth-like planets in the nearby Aquarius system. Some of these planets may be habitable (able to sustain human life), or they may even have their own life on them! The system-- know as the TRAPPIST-1 system-- is powered by a cold dwarf star. Since its sun is much colder than our sun is, planets can be much closer to it and still sustain life. The closest planet in our system, Mercury, is much to hot to have water or sustain life like ours. In the TRAPPIST-1 system, though, water could be found much close to the sun. Additionally, the planets are so close to one another that you could see the features of the neighboring planets from the surface of the some of the others! Imagine standing outside and being able to see Mars and its features from your back yard! How cool is that!? The big question now, though, is about life on these other ...

Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin Image Source WARNING-- MINOR SPOILERS FOR ROGUE ONE BELOW. If you spent part of your winter break watching 2016's best movie-- I'm talking about Rogue One , of course-- then you were in the company of millions of other avid Star Wars  fans who shared equal enthusiasm. You also watched a zombie actor in one of the main roles. Let me explain. If you're like me, you can't stay away from articles and trivia facts about movies-- even at the risk of encountering spoilers. Rogue One was unique in a lot of ways, but there was one choice that the director made that shocked me. So I kept my eye on my husband to see if he noticed what I already knew. When Grand Moff Tarkin came onto the screen, he squinted through his glasses, but kept watching. The second time he appeared on screen, he leaned over. "Is he CG?" he asked, eyes still on the screen. I nodded. The whole character of Tarkin-- a character with many lines and a l...

Ever since I was a little kid, I've always wanted to explore. Sometimes my adventures were close-- my neighborhood, the woods behind my school, a friend's backyard. When I wanted to travel further, I'd read books. Through the eyes of other characters I saw worlds of magic, of other times, of a distant future. Despite these adventures, I always wanted to go further. When I read  The Martian Chronicles  by Ray Bradbury, the dates seemed so close-- 2008, landing on Mars, 2025, people living on Mars, etc. But Bradbury wrote his stories in a time much further away from the new millennium than I lived. It was when I was in high school that I realized that traveling to space for the general populace was probably something that I wouldn't get to do in my lifetime. This doesn't mean, however, that  someone  wont reach Mars in time for me to see it. A larger version of this map is on the  Journey to Mars Website According to NASA's  Journey to Mars  webs...

The Movie Poster for Doctor Strange Image Source When we walked into the theaters to see Doctor Strange , understand that I'd been waiting for a long time for this movie to come out. Pretty much since the day that it was announced, I was ready to see it. Why? Well, firstly, it's a Marvel movie, and there are not any bad Marvel movies. Go ahead. Tell me about a bad Marvel movie... that's what I thought. Additionally, some of my favorite actors are in it! Benedict Cumberbatch(Smaug from The Hobbit and Sherlock Holmes from Sherlock) was to be the lead. Needless to say, this movie had big shoes to fill for me. And it filled them. The film begins with a lot of character development and conflict. After a life-changing accident, the title character is forced down from his pedestal as one of the world's best neurosurgeons to rock bottom. In his search to fix himself, he actually discovers secrets and abilities that go far beyond the miracles that he used to perform in th...

Sometimes science fiction authors come up with technology that we WISH we could have. When I read or watch Sci-fi, I always keep track of all of the inventions that I hope to see invented within my lifetime.  Here are my 4 favorites! Replicators! This is a current 3D Printer that is printing a hamburger. Image Source One of the most awesome inventions in Sci-Fi is the replicator. Replicators are used to create food or other simple objects seemingly from thin air. It's a little similar to the 3-D printers that we have now, but much more advanced. In Star Trek  the replicators use some sort of organic material to create food, supplies, etc at the molecular level. But that's not all-- the food that they replicate is always nutritional!  Want ice-cream or cake without any calories? Done! A greasy pizza without the heartburn? Done! Additionally, you don't have to cook it! You're a 5-Star chef at the press of a button! Holodecks/Holographic Rooms ...