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Shaggy God Story
A shaggy God story is a story in a minor science fiction genre that attempts to explain Biblical concepts with science fiction tropes. The term was coined by writer and critic Brian W. Aldiss in a pseudonymous column in the October 1965 issue of '' New Worlds''. The term is a pun on the phrase ''shaggy dog story''. A typical shaggy God story might feature a pair of astronauts landing on a lush and virgin world and in the last line their names are revealed as Adam and Eve. The television show ''The Twilight Zone'' used several versions of this, the most notable being " Probe 7, Over and Out". Another classic example is Isaac Asimov's 1956 short story "The Last Question" which ends with the protagonist supercomputer exclaiming "Let there be light!" The creation of the term is often misattributed to Michael Moorcock. Moorcock edited the issue of ''New Worlds'' where Aldiss coined the term in a pseudonymous column. It has been suggested that many assumed Moorcock to be the author ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science Fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, extraterrestrial life, sentient artificial intelligence, cybernetics, certain forms of immortality (like mind uploading), and the singularity. Science fiction predicted several existing inventions, such as the atomic bomb, robots, and borazon, whose names entirely match their fictional predecessors. In addition, science fiction might serve as an outlet to facilitate future scientific and technological innovations. Science fiction can trace its roots to ancient mythology. It is also related to fantasy, horror, and superhero fiction and contains many subgenres. Its exact definition has long been disputed among authors, critics, scholars, and readers. Science fiction, in literature, film, television, and other media, has beco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious leader; he is the central figure of Christianity, the world's largest religion. Most Christians believe he is the incarnation of God the Son and the awaited Messiah (the Christ) prophesied in the Hebrew Bible. Virtually all modern scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus existed historically. Research into the historical Jesus has yielded some uncertainty on the historical reliability of the Gospels and on how closely the Jesus portrayed in the New Testament reflects the historical Jesus, as the only detailed records of Jesus' life are contained in the Gospels. Jesus was a Galilean Jew who was circumcised, was baptized by John the Baptist, began his own ministry and was often referred to as "rabbi". Jesus debated with fellow Jews on ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Bowman (Space Odyssey)
The ''Space Odyssey'' series is a series of science fiction novels by the writer Arthur C. Clarke. Two of the novels have been made into feature films, released in 1968 and 1984 respectively. Two of Clarke's early short stories may also be considered part of the series. Literature Short stories: * " The Sentinel" – short story written in 1948 and first published in 1951 as "Sentinel of Eternity" * "Encounter in the Dawn" – short story first published in 1953 (re-titled "Encounter at Dawn" or "Expedition to Earth" in some later collections) Novels: * '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' – produced concurrently with the film and released in 1968 * '' 2010: Odyssey Two'' – 1982 novel, adapted as the 1984 film '' 2010: The Year We Make Contact'' with screenplay by Peter Hyams * '' 2061: Odyssey Three'' – 1987 novel * '' 3001: The Final Odyssey'' – 1997 novel Comic books: * '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' – 1976 oversized Marvel single-issue comic book ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Simon (critic)
John Ivan Simon (né Simmon; May 12, 1925 − November 24, 2019) was an American author and literary, theater, and film critic. After spending his early years in Belgrade, he moved to the United States, serving in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II and studying at Harvard University. Beginning in the 1950s, he wrote arts criticism for a variety of publications, including a 36-year tenure as theatre critic for ''New York'' magazine, and latterly as a blogger. His reviews were known for their sardonic comments and negative disposition; his obituary in ''The New York Times'' called him a "caustic" critic who "saw little that he liked", and ''The Washington Post'' reported that a published collection of 245 film reviews he wrote contained only 15 positive ones. His controversial writing style, which could include harsh remarks about the physical appearances of performers, at times led to accusations of bigotry, public rebukes from fellow critics, and confrontatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Space Odyssey (film)
''2001: A Space Odyssey'' is a 1968 science fiction novel written by Arthur C. Clarke and the 1968 film directed by Stanley Kubrick. It is a part of Clarke's ''Space Odyssey'' series, the first of four novels and two films. Both the novel and the film are partially based on Clarke's 1948 short story " The Sentinel", an entry in a BBC short story competition, and "Encounter in the Dawn", published in 1953 in the magazine ''Amazing Stories''. Resources After deciding on Clarke's 1948 short story "The Sentinel" as the starting point, and with the themes of man's relationship with the universe in mind, Clarke sold Kubrick five more of his stories to use as background materials for the film. These included "Breaking Strain", "Out of the Cradle, Endlessly Orbiting...", "Who's There?", "Into the Comet", and "Before Eden". Additionally, important elements from two more Clarke stories, "Encounter in the Dawn" and (to a somewhat lesser extent) "Rescue Party", made their way into ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erich Von Däniken
Erich Anton Paul von Däniken (; ; born 14 April 1935) is a Swiss author of several books which make claims about extraterrestrial influences on early human culture, including the best-selling ''Chariots of the Gods?'', published in 1968. Von Däniken is one of the main figures responsible for popularizing the "paleo-contact" and ancient astronauts hypotheses. The ideas put forth in his books are rejected by virtually all scientists and academics, who categorize his work as pseudohistory, pseudoarchaeology, and pseudoscience. Early in his career, he was convicted and served time for several counts of fraud or embezzlement, and wrote one of his books in prison. Von Däniken later became a co-founder of the Archaeology, Astronautics and SETI Research Association (AAS RA). He designed Mystery Park (now known as Jungfrau Park), a theme park located in Interlaken, Switzerland, that opened in May 2003. Early life Von Däniken was born in Zofingen, Aargau. Brought up as a Roman Cat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uplift Universe
The Uplift Universe is a fictional universe created by American science fiction writer David Brin. A central feature in this universe is the process of biological uplift. His books which take place in this universe are: * '' Sundiver'' (1980) * '' Startide Rising'' (1983) * '' The Uplift War'' (1987) * The Uplift Trilogy (sometimes called the Uplift Storm trilogy): ** '' Brightness Reef'' (1995) ** '' Infinity's Shore'' (1996) ** '' Heaven's Reach'' (1998) There is also a short story, "Aficionado" (originally titled "Life in the Extreme"), published in 1998, which serves as a prequel to the series as a whole (it also serves as a part of ''Existence'', an unrelated work by Brin), and a novella, '' Temptation'', published in 1999 in '' Far Horizons'', which follows on from ''Heaven's Reach''. He also wrote ''Contacting Aliens: An Illustrated Guide to David Brin's Uplift Universe'', a guidebook about the background of the series. At least one more Uplift book is planned by Br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Brin
Glen David Brin (born October 6, 1950) is an American scientist and author of science fiction. He has won the Hugo,Who's Getting Your Vote? , October 29, 2008, '''' , and s. His novel '' |
Genetic Engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including the transfer of genes within and across species boundaries to produce improved or novel organisms. New DNA is obtained by either isolating and copying the genetic material of interest using recombinant DNA methods or by artificially synthesising the DNA. A construct is usually created and used to insert this DNA into the host organism. The first recombinant DNA molecule was made by Paul Berg in 1972 by combining DNA from the monkey virus SV40 with the lambda virus. As well as inserting genes, the process can be used to remove, or "knock out", genes. The new DNA can be inserted randomly, or targeted to a specific part of the genome. An organism that is generated through genetic engineering is considered to be genetically modified (GM) an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Extraterrestrial Life
Extraterrestrial life, colloquially referred to as alien life, is life that may occur outside Earth and which did not originate on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been conclusively detected, although efforts are underway. Such life might range from simple forms like prokaryotes to intelligent beings, possibly bringing forth civilizations that might be far more advanced than humankind. The Drake equation speculates about the existence of sapient life elsewhere in the universe. The science of extraterrestrial life is known as astrobiology. Speculation about the possibility of inhabited "worlds" outside the planet Earth dates back to antiquity. Multiple early Christian writers discussed the idea of a "plurality of worlds" as proposed by earlier thinkers such as Democritus; Augustine references Epicurus's idea of innumerable worlds "throughout the boundless immensity of space" (originally expressed in his Letter to Herodotus) in ''The City of God''. In his first century p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Will Ferguson
William Stener Ferguson (born October 12, 1964) is a Canadian travel writer and novelist who won the Scotiabank Giller Prize for his novel ''419''. Ferguson was born fourth of six children in the former fur trading post of Fort Vermilion, Alberta, approximately north of Edmonton. His parents split up when he was six years old, during a brief interlude in Regina. At the age of 16, he quit school and moved to Saskatoon, Dauphin, and Red Deer. Ferguson is also an outspoken critic of the monarchy of Canada, both publicly and in his books, and has previously been quoted in the media during debates on Canada's monarchy. He also profiled Canadian secessionist and independence movements (such as the "Republic of Madawaska") in his book ''Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw'' (2004). Personal life Ferguson completed his high school education at Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School (L.T.C.H.S.) in Red Deer, and was awarded the Alexander Rutherford Scholarships in all available categorie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science Fiction Writers Of America
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. While SFWA is based in the United States, its membership is open to writers worldwide. The organization was founded in 1965 by Damon Knight under the name Science Fiction Writers of America. The president of SFWA as of July 1, 2021 is Jeffe Kennedy. As of 2022, SFWA has about 2,300 members worldwide. Active SFWA members may vote for the Nebula Awards, one of the principal English-language science fiction awards. Mission SFWA informs, supports, promotes, defends and advocates for its members. SFWA activities include informing science fiction and fantasy writers on professional matters, protecting their interests, 26 (4): 40. and helping them deal effectively with agents, editors, anthologists, and producers in print and non-print media; 26 (4) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
