Getting off/Escaping Planet Earth or Are we there yet?
This month’s topic of “Getting off/Escaping Planet Earth” was explored from several different angles. As a topic it certainly generated a very lively and funny discussion. Vacen started us off with the movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still“. This 2008 movie remake of a 1951 movie deals with the contemporary issue of humankind’s environmental damage to the planet. Then onto the earliest science fiction novel written by Lucianus (AD125 – after AD 180). His fictional narrative “A True Story” was written in prose. It boggles the mind to think it was written nearly 2000 years before Jules Verne and H. G. Wells. The work deals with the themes of voyaging to the moon and Venus, wars between planets. I took another tack researching,...
Movie Night and Natcon
Hello Everyone! I’ve booked my tickets for our movie night next week. We’re seeing Star Trek Into the Darkness at Robina Town Centre on 9th May in Vmax 3D at 6.40pm. I’ve booked seats k14 and k15. Hope to see you there! We might head down to Max Brenner for a hot choc afterwards. If you’d like to hang out with us, please come along. I better give a quick summary of Conflux Natcon 2013, though if you’d like more details head to my page or check out the official Conflux page which has blogs with more factual information. Conflux was a coming together of speculative fictoin writers, publishers, agents, editors, readers and fans. There were heaps of book launches, panels, speeches, kaffeeklausches, readings, conversations and parties. It...
Supanova Weekend Wrap Up
What a weekend! If there is one word that can be used to describe the events at the Supanova Pop Culture Expo it is EPIC! Yes, the epic events of Supanova. Like I said in my previous post I’m continually delighted by the friendly greetings from fan-based enthusiasts. I’m also amazed by the impressive array of costumes every year. So for this blog post I thought I would just let the fans have this space to showcase the characters they felt deserved a chance to shine at Supanova 2013. Before I showcase our selection I’d like to send out a big thank you to Geek A Little and Mexicanwrestlingmasks.com.au who were our booth buddies (either side of us) at Supanova Gold Coast. Geek A Little can be found here and Mexican Wrestling Masks can be found...
Cosplay and Pop Culture
Every time I attend a Supanova event I’m always amazed by the wonders of the pop culture scene. I’m continually delighted by the friendly greetings from fan-based enthusiasts. Best of all, this is a place where everyone is welcome. There is everything from movie previews, game demonstrations, competitions, the whole ‘CosPlay’ (costume role-play) and lots more. The hot item being purchased this year seems to be “portal guns” from the game. Take a look at Portal here. Mexican Wrestling Masks are also a favourite this year. Check them out here. So the Speckies go back again tomorrow for some more pop culture fun. Until the next update tomorrow here are some of my favourite photos from today. So come and join in with all the...
Aussie horror writer, reviewer and all round genre aficionado, Matthew Tait, spends some time on the Speckie Couch this month …
Matthew, you forged a close affinity with the horror genre in its many mediums from a young age. Can you pinpoint one particular influential moment in time when you knew you had discovered a long term love? There was definitely pivotal moment around the age of 12 when I first read King’s The Long Walk. Distinctly, I remember asking a relative: ‘what is the worst book you have ever read?’ By this, of course, I meant the ‘worst’ by horror standards … but they interpreted my meaning as poor taste and/or badly written. However, being steered toward The Long Walk was probably the greatest unintentional gift I’ve ever received; it not only started me down the genre’s path (much like the long road of the story), it also gave me the tools to start my...
Supanova Pop Culture Expo
This weekend the Supanova Pop Culture Expo hits the Gold Coast. This year the Speckies will be there in Artists’ Alley. We’ll keep you up to date on all the happenings of the two day event. What’s this all about I hear you ask? Well, if you love film, comics (like me) anime (also like me) and all things in the geek culture, this is the place for you. Everything and everyone from the Daleks to the Dark Lord will be there. It’s the place where fans can meet their favourite international pop-culture celebrities, get autographs and you can even strike a pose with them. It’s very much a family friendly event. Last year I witnessed a wonderful moment when a little girl dressed in a Wonder Woman costume met a young woman also dressed in a Wonder...
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