Arthur C. Clarke presents a documentary on fractals [more inside]
posted by mhjb on Jul 30, 2009 - 25 comments

The Tunguska Event. A century ago, something exploded over Russia... [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Jul 1, 2008 - 22 comments

Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001, inventor of the telecommunications satellite and the only reason most geeks can find Sri Lanka on a map, has died shortly after celebrating his 90th birthday.
posted by Skorgu on Mar 18, 2008 - 292 comments

The Hidden Stanley Kubrick. In the nine years following Stanley Kubrick's death on March 7, 1999, several of his collaborators have written and spoken about their experiences working with this notoriously reclusive filmmaker. Their reminiscences shed light on aspects of Kubrick’s family life, private thoughts and work habits, and make for fascinating reading and viewing. Those who've shared their reflections include Michael Herr (co-screenwriter, "Full Metal Jacket"); Leon Vitali (actor, "Barry Lyndon" and Kubrick's personal assistant for nearly 25 years); Ian Watson (credited with the "screen story" for "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence"); and Brian Aldiss (who helped to develop the story for "A.I."). Peter Bogdanovich gathered together the impressions of others who worked with Kubrick on various projects over the legendary director's career. [more inside]
posted by New Frontier on Mar 8, 2008 - 21 comments

Scans from Jack Kirby's comic book adaptation of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Here are some scans of his sketches as well. You can read more about the adaptation here and here. (via)
posted by fallenposters on Jun 22, 2007 - 52 comments

Nova Swing by M John Harrison has won the 2007 Arthur C Clarke Award. Named after the famous author and announced on the opening night of the Sci Fi London film festival the award is one of the most prestigious in science fiction. Everything you could possibly wish to know about this year's shortlist.
posted by ninebelow on May 2, 2007 - 33 comments

The prolific and inventive Philip Jose Farmer has long been one of my favorite science fiction writers, but he is rarely counted among the Lists of Greats of the 'old school' authors.(Asimov, Clarke, Niven et al). Does anyone else have a favorite SF writer who seems to get less credit than he or she deserves?
posted by GriffX on Jun 27, 2002 - 65 comments

"Even though the challenges to bring the space elevator to reality are substantial, there are no physical or economic reasons why it can't be built in our lifetime."

Once just a cool sci-fi idea dreampt up by Arthur Clarke, Space.com reports that a 62,000 mile ride is not only possible, but probable. And cheap at only a couple hundred bucks per pound.
posted by tsarfan on Mar 27, 2002 - 37 comments

"Open the pod bay doors, HAL."
"Yes, Sir!"
posted by wendell on May 26, 2000 - 6 comments