The internet is abuzz over the first trailer for Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph. The first preview debuted online yesterday.
Check it out:
I love the concept of a vintage video game baddie wanting to try his hand at being the hero. The voice cast (John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer and Jane Lynch) is A-list, and the preview shows cameos from Bowser, Dr. Robotnik from Sonic. and other vintage video game bad guys. I just don’t see how this could be bad.
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| Ray and his wife Maggie in 1970. (Los Angeles Times / June 6, 2012) |
The world lost science fiction luminary Ray Bradbury today. At 91 years old, Bradbury had a career that spanned over 70 years and included over 500 stories, 40 plus books and many TV and movie screenplays and adaptations.
Bradbury was one of my first exposures to Science Fiction and Fantasy. When I was in elementary school, my mother managed a college bookstore. I was a voracious reader and she would frequently bring in books students had returned that were in no condition to resell and the store’s overstock. The books were frequently science fiction yearbooks/anthologies and Bradbury was almost always included. While he was known primarily for the dystopian Fahrenheit 451 (Nerd shame: I haven’t read it) I devoured his short stories, some of which had been adapted in to episodes of The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock presents. I always felt such a sense of pride while, when watching a Bradbury inspired story, I recognized the source material.
Bradbury didn’t really consider himself a sci-fi writer. If you look at the breadth of his work you will see that he actually wrote a lot of Americana and fantasy.
First of all, I don’t write science fiction. I’ve only done one science fiction book and that’s Fahrenheit 451, based on reality. It was named so to represent the temperature at which paper ignites. Science fiction is a depiction of the real. Fantasy is a depiction of the unreal. So Martian Chronicles is not science fiction, it’s fantasy. It couldn’t happen, you see? That’s the reason it’s going to be around a long time—because it’s a Greek myth, and myths have staying power
Regardless of how he thought he should be classified, Bradbury was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in Seattle in 2004, and is considered an icon in the genre.
Thank you Ray Bradbury, for introducing so many of us to other worlds, other times, other frames of mind. The world is a better place for having had you in it.
We are preparing for our annual trip to Ocean City, NJ. Since we fly cross country to get there we pack as lightly as possible. The kids get to bring one towel for the beach, which we hang out every night. Because they only get one, we let them pick out a new one every year. The ones from previous years live in a closet where they come out for pool parties and Seattle-based beach picnics. It’s pretty neat because we can see how the interests of the kids have changed over the years. Nate’s set includes Bob the Builder and Blue’s Clues towels from his preschool years (both of which were actually hand-me-downs from my young siblings). His collection also includes The Incredibles and several Sipderman towels, though last year he went for a polka dot design (boring!). Kitty’s collection just began two years ago and she chose a Tinkerbell towel both times. Hopefully she will get a little more creative this go around.
Super-dad and I haven’t had a need for new towels with all of the previous year’s towels around. This year though, with the plethora of geeky towel options it may be time for us to get some new ones.
This Spider-Man towel from the Disney store is personalizable. When we hit the beach we have about 40 (no exaggeration) family members with us, a name on the towel is a good way to make sure it gets back with its rightful owner.
Spider-man towel: 11.99 from the Disney Store
Got a Trekkie in your life? They’d love one of these Star Trek towels from ThinkGeek. Available in Command, Security or Sciences.
Star Trek Towels $29.99 from ThinkGeek.
This Dalek towel is pretty sweet:
Dr. Who Dalek towel $24.99 available at Amazon.com
I love this Star Wars towel from Pottery Barn Kids because of it’s cool vintage graphics. So often things designed for kids are super bright and overly stylized. I have had to say “no” to so many superhero shirts for my kids because the designs were just too gaudy. This towel, while on the PB Kids website would work just as well for an adult.
Star Wars Towel $26.00 from Pottery Barn Kids.
