More artwork--Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein--Morgan Eckstein 1992.

Here is another piece of artwork from my old sketchbooks. This one was done in January 1992, and is of Albert Einstein, who must be included (sooner or later) in every nerd and science fiction geek's blog (it is in the rules, I tell you).

More artwork--Captain Kirk

Captain Kirk (E. M. Eckstein 1991).

Here is another piece of artwork that I did in 1991. This one is of Captain Kirk (William Shatner). Like the previous picture, it was done with ball-point pen on newsprint.

MDE artwork The Valeyard

Ball point pen drawing of the Valeyard (6-6-1991 MDE).

Going through a pile of old sketch books the other day, I ran across some of my old artwork. It is so old that one can see that I was still using my birth name as an artist (since then, I have placed everything under my penname...except for the bits that I do not want people to easily connect with myself).

This particular drawing of the Valeyard (Michael Jayston) was done is June 1991. I used a black ball-point pen on newsprint.

The Valeyard is one of those Doctor Who villians that had so much promise, but the BBC failed to get the most out of him. Of course, let's be honest--it is not easy to do so when you are involved with a fourteen espisode story arc with multiple writers...and no one really knowing how it is really supposed to end.

One would hope that the final story of Trial of a Time Lord would have cleared up some of the problems and difficulties, but no, it is BBC pulp theater hour with the last story being written by the unknowing at the very last second.

I always wonder what happened to the Valeyard, just like I wonder how he came into existence, but we will never be given official answers to this because the Time Lords are no more.

Do tools and weapons make us human?



Do weapons and tool use make us human?

I am currently watching 2001: A Space Odyssey. Call it research for what life will be like in the early days of the High Frontier. In particular, I am interested in the spaceships. Pretty much for film and television, it is 2001: A Space Odyssey and StarCops if you are interested in attempts to make the early High Frontier space vehicles realistic.

Nevertheless, I do find some things disturbing about 2001.

One of which is the thought that the movie implies that it is tool and weapon use that make us human. No monkey has ever used a tool or thought of beating his neighbor with a stick--unless there was a monolith involved.

I guess it is the fact that I have watched too many animal shows where animals are using tools or using their built-in weapons to fight with one another or kill a tasty meal of rich protein. Either that or it is the current semester of Chinese Philosophy and Religion that has warped my brain.

Early man did not survive because of tool use; they survived because they figured out how to keep a fire burning. If anything separates us from the animals, it is the use of fire. Other animals have weapons, and make a form of war on others; other animals use tools. Only mankind has harnessed fire.

Ereaders are here to stay

Not only can you read an ebook in Star Trek, you can write it on a PADD too.

Ereaders and ezines and ebooks are here to stay. I know that it is true. After all, Star Trek wouldn't be wrong about this, would they? The first time I encountered the idea of an ebook was Star Trek. I am not sure what episode. I am fairly sure that I remember seeing Scotty reading technical manuals in ebook (ereader) form in the episode Trouble With Tribbles...but I could be wrong...for the life of me, I cannot find a picture of it on the internet.

But seriously, ebooks and ereaders are here to stay. And engineers will be using them. And we do not need Star Trek to tell us this. The US Air Force is telling us this.

The USAF is currently looking to obtain 63 to 18,000 "iPad 2, Brand Name or Equal devices." And for what? To replace the bulky technical manuals and flight charts that the crews of the C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster cargo airplanes are currently using. Let's be honest---if the military is adapting these devices, they are sure to be around for decades. And while weight is a consideration in their decisions here on Earth, one knows that when we finally kick the dust of this planet from our heels and slip off into space, weight will be a major reason why there will not be any paper books being shipped to Mars.

A Doctor Who Timeline

I love timelines! I really, really do. And the good folks at CableTV.com have just created a wonderful one for those of us who really like Doctor Who. Enjoy.


Via: CableTV.com

Two Lost Episodes of Doctor Who Rediscovered

Doctor Who Galaxy 4 part three Airlock.

The big news of the day is that two more lost episodes of Doctor Who has been recovered. The two episodes are from William Hartnell's Galaxy Four (part three Airlock) and Patrick Troughton's Underwater Menace (part two). The discovery of these episodes brings the total of missing episodes down to 106 (still 59 percent of the 253 installments that Hartnell and Troughton made). I still hope someday to see the final episode of Tenth Planet without having to build a TARDIS of my own.

For more on the news, check out the article on the recovery of these two episodes by Radio Times.