Science FACTion of the finest quality
595571
As an educator, I have always been disturbed that physics is usually left for last. It thus becomes "optional" when it is actually foundational. And it is FUN! This is a great book for anyone with adequate reading skills from age 11 to 111. This means that science curriculums must be revamped and physics made essential. Along with earlier algebra instruction that is also more enjoyable than in the past, accessible physics will encourage students and others to pursue more advanced work.
And this will help make the supposedly  "impossible" {wink}, possible. And Dr. Kaku knows this!
Five cheers. Uh, stars.
To the future.
1368703
An amazing and exciting Sci-Fi adventure in the finest space opera tradition.  Space and land battles enough for the most avid military Sci-Fi fan, but with a touch of both love and politics for others.  I can't help but recommend this volume in this series to every die hard Sci-Fi fan.
2951708
Take Michael Moore's documentaries and old TV shows style, mix it with the explanatory style that you find in TED Animated Shorts on various scientific subjects, put it in comic form, add some personal graphic style. Voila! You have Science Tales.

Science Tales is a book on what science does, how it does it, and why it is a reliable method of understanding and explaining the world. It is also a book on what Science is not. More importantly, it is a book on the importance of critical thinking to deal with any scientific or Fringe Science issue. The themes discussed in Science Tales are: Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT), homoeopathy, the case of Andrew Wakefield and the anti-vaccination nonsense, chiropractic, the landing on the moon hoax, fracking, climate change, evolution, and science denial.

Cunningham  makes two terrific points in his foreword, which will help you to understand the way and passion he invests in explaining the themes discussed in the book:

  "What it isn't is a book promoting a scientific elite whom must all follow, sheep-like. It is the scientific process itself in promoting here, not the scientific establishment, who are just as capable of being fraudulent, corrupted by politics and money or just plain wrong as any group of humans engaged in any activity [...] Science isn't a matter of faith or just another point of view. Good science is testable, reproducible, and stands the test of time. What doesn't work in science falls away, and what it remains is the true."

Cunningham is a passionate author and graphic artist and you can feel that when you read Science Tales. He has the virtue of digesting scientific information that can be difficult to understand (all the fracking issue or the way genetic selection works for example) and present it in a visual and textual way that is easy to understand by anybody, a child in high school or your great-grandma.

I love Cunningham graphic style. It is very simple and schematic, a bit cubist!, but he has an amazing sense of colour and of aesthetics. Each chapter has a a different scheme colour that goes perfectly with the theme at hand. I always love such visual mindfulness! And some of the vignettes are very humorous as well. On the other hand, I didn't like the insertion of retouched digitalised images, that not always work well visually. He could have drawn those from scratch without a problem and the final result would have been more harmonious visually.

Cunningham says that the reason why he choose the themes he discuses in his books is they were hot topics on any science blog or podcast when he wrote it. That is, they were mainstream topics of discussion. To me, that is one of the flaws of the book, that there is little that you would learn or have not heard of when reading the book as there are plenty, I mean, plenty of BBC documentaries, scientifically backed, on some of the issues that Cunningham discusses. Why not focusing on other scientific topics that are less known to the masses and uses for non scientific purposes? Also, using an episode of Mythbusters as a scientific reference defeats his own purpose or being, well, very scientific. Come on, hello hello, can't you see that?!

Still, this is a very educative enjoyable book.

I am quite happy with the rendering of the book for Kindle. It is easy to read, the page to move around, zoom in and out.
2310772
If you're looking at this I'm sure you've already seen the rave reviews for this series elsewhere, so I'll briefly add my two cents that this is indeed the single best science fiction series ever, animated or otherwise.

Volume 2 (don't forget to buy volume 2 as well) concludes the series with the same perfection you are soon to experience in this first half of the series. By the time the series ends, "Eureka seveN", unlike so many other series, not only answers every question you may have had and delivers several "Holy crap!" surprises, it actually has a very good, very satisfying ending.

I'm a very nit-picky person when it comes to my entertainment, but other than breathing at high altitudes and at tremendous speeds without some kind of air mask and and never changing their clothes despite several scenes where the female cast go shopping, there is not one scene, not one word of dialogue, which I can complain about. "Eureka seveN" is not only a fantastic and original science fiction story, it is impeccably well told from start to finish. Like "Cowboy Bebop", it's the kind of showpiece you can lend to your anim hating friends to show them than anim has come a long way since "Robotech" and "Captain Harlock" that they watched on TV when they were little.

Nice menus, good quality video and audio, and the English voice acting is as good as the original Japanese cast (yes it is, purists -- accept it) and I'd go so far as to say it's better because having Renton (the main character) voiced by a boy instead of a woman sounds a lot more convincing. Subtitle options include the now standard (for the most part) of well translated full subtitles or translations for Japanese words that appear in scenes only. Also, the opening and ending songs include both English translations and romaji for those who enjoy singing along.

My only disappointment is that the audio wasn't remastered into surround sound, but otherwise this collection is proof that Bandai finally "gets it" and has stopped buying properties to just dump cheap English dubs on us.

The extra's are a bit dry and the limited number of trailers for other series is disappointing as is having the first two openings and endings appearing textless only once each, but it's a far cry from Bandai's past standard of not giving us any extras at all.

All of the commentary (one episode per disc) is "hosted" by the Japanese voice actors for Renton and Eureka with one or two of the other cast members as "guests", and with few exceptions this is rather like listening to a bunch of friends getting together and talking as they rarely bother to comment on the show itself. The sole exception is when the director "guests" and gives insights into some of the symbolism, much to the surprise of the ditsy hosts who clearly thought that this was just another dumb animated series. You'll lose track of the number of times they say with shock and surprise "...and this aired at 7am on Sunday morning!" every time a serious scene comes on.

The cast interviews (again, one per disc) with the English and Japanese voice cast is hit or miss (mostly miss) but that's the case with most DVDs; however, I would have preferred interviews with the people responsible for the actual production of this series like the directors and writers as I'd love to hear more about the symbolism, etc., but again, it's better than the nothing Bandai usually gives us.

In conclusion, don't hesitate to buy this series, and specifically, this two volume set of the complete series of "Eureka seveN" as this is no cheap bootleg or half-assed production: This is a good quality product.
1375820
Really wonderful figures, but I liked Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy a bit better, but that may be my own perception of this character.  Still pretty darn fantastic.  The company 3D scanned to reproduce these characters. Wow, they are great, and well made.  Read my review of the Captain Kirk figure for a complete critique of this fine product made by Quantum Mechanix, Inc. I really like Mr. Spock.
197468
The best thing about this manga (besides the outstanding artwork) is the smartly measured pace at which plot details are handed out. Somehow avoiding info-dumping dialog pages, prologue text, or (perhaps worse) tons of action without any story at all, Nihei manages to masterfully tease out details with just enough frequency to keep me mesmerized. Its all so mysterious and cool that I cant get enough of it. I really hope that someday, someone can make an animated film in this style, its perfect for epic sci-fi.

I seldom buy or read comics these days, but anything by Tsutomu Nihei I pre-order far in advance. Fans of his know just how difficult (read: expensive) it is to acquire these after they're out of print (e.g. BLAME!). This series is excellent and shows no signs of flagging, I hungrily devour each as they are released - I recommend you do the same!
1585920
While I do marvel at the steampunk culture and was thoroughly satisfied with the various inventions and ideas strewn throughout this story, THE STORY is the most excellent faction. Hodder pays meticulous attention to detail, stays true to history (with a few twists and tall tales), yet manages to weave in the avant-garde steampunk concept. The characters are exceptionally lovable or loath-able, so much so that my only complaint about this book would be that some of the (spoiler alert?) soldiers lost to the cause should have received more homage. I can't wait to read the next in the series! Long live Burton and Swinburne!!
4022774
Art Asylum toys are exceptional in their detail---a welcome entry in the Star Trek franchise after years of cookie cutter figures and fun but not so intricately detailed ships from other vendors.  You'll love the detail on this or any other Art Asylum Star Trek ship.  I hope they make Voyager and DS9 too!  These toys are great for collecting and I'm sure kids will love to play with them (but probably not great for small children).  Their educational value is in the eye opening Star Trek Universe---once you get involved in the storytelling (indirectly perhaps through the toys) you can't help but see the educational value.  Much better than most TV onscreen these days.
2476428
The elegant Martian war machines from George Pal's 1953 production of War Of The Worlds have occupied my consciousness ever since I saw the movie as a child in the Fifties. It was the first Technicolor film I had seen, and its vivid, saturated color was the perfect medium for other-worldly invasion and combat. The 1953 film was for its time a masterpiece of special effects and modeling created by very talented artists. In my view, Pal's presentation of H. G. Wells' story was done with brilliant simplicity and with far less affectation than the Spielberg version. There were no tiresome political analogies, only the pure awe of alien super technology.
  I only wish the model would have included a small figure of the foolish preacher who tried to approach the Martians with a raised Bible. He recited the 23rd Psalm as he did so, believing he would be protected by his faith. He was, of course, vaporized by the Martian heat ray, and it was one of my favorite scenes in the film.
  It was truly a delight to find a fully assembled and painted model of one of Pal's beautiful flying manta rays, which are my favorite alien super weapons in the history of science-fiction film.
Their design aesthetics are exquisite.
This model is elegantly plated with a coppery coating too smooth and perfect for even the most skillful modeler to match with a brush, and it is faithful to the blueprints of the models used in the film. For an easily accomplished enhancement, I have positioned a small, blinking red LED light to shine upon the war machine's cobra head. Some more ambitious fans have installed LED lights inside the model.
I was concerned that this beautiful but delicate-looking model might not survive shipping, but it was very thoughtfully packaged and was delivered in perfect condition. The box contains a large display window, and the artwork on the box is good enough so that the model can be effectively displayed without removing it, however I think it best to place the model in a diorama of your own design. Part of my presentation is a black and leafless LED tree sold by Amazon which appears to have been scorched by the periphery of the machine's heat ray, especially when the LED's turn red. The box art may still be incorporated in your diorama.
1354652
I would give this show more stars if I could.  It is one of the best science shows I have seen.  The visuals are beautiful and the explanations of the processes are done in a way that I found very understandable.  I will enjoy watching these shows more than once I am sure.  I plan to purchase any of these seasons that become available in the series.  Try one and you will be hooked.
3524568
Reading through Atomic Robo, I'm reminded of Mike Mignolia's Hellboy, which is not all too surprising since artist Scott Wegener explicitly mentions Mignolia as inspiration) - but really, it's in all the good ways. The art style is not overly complex with many thick, sharp lines (although not as minimalist as Mignolia, and much more blue tones rather than red ones). Both comics feature a wise-cracking, nigh-invulnerable, long-lived super heroes supported by a team of action-scientist-types (in Robo their title IS Action Scientist, dispensing all pretense), investigating weird phenomena, and backed by some organization with tangential ties to the US government.

And yet, they are very different, too. Hellboy is tormented about his past and grim about his job, whereas Robo is surprisingly sentimental about his past (yet in never a way that is intrusive or angsty), and seems to genuinely enjoy the wacky adventures he goes on. Hellboy fights obscure mythical creatures whereas Robo fights a grab bag of made-up stuff, but in return we get to hear the team bicker about how these things are defying conventional physics ("Imaginary physics," says one, "...it'll revolutionize science. Just wait until we figure out what to look for and how to find it.") Clearly, this is a series that is not afraid to step back and have fun with itself.

So we have a series that is fun, action-packed, and thoughtful to boot. Great read.
4307525
The only reason this book received five stars is because I could not give it six !

If you like good science fiction artwork this book is a WIN !

Book is made well and the paper and binding were splendid.
1755332
I've been reading Science Fiction for 40 plus years now and in my opinion these are the finest series of books that I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Briefly the series revolves around a professor who shoots his body into space only millennia later to have his brain revived in metal body complete with tentacles and 4 legs! His new friends the Zoromes who spend their unending lives travelling for 100s of years through the Universe visiting Planets and systems.

Sounds weird? Yes but take the time to discover this series for yourself and be seduced by the simple art of good story telling coupled with a brilliant concept with a strong story. This better than Star Trek/Lost in Space/Battle star galactica combined!
Written back when Science fiction was great the planets visited, aliens encountered and problems solved are truly delightful. I read and reread the series countless times and they have that rare quality. They entertain you yet do not demand your brain to stretch to complex enigma or political situations. We see from the eyes (all 8 or them) from the Professor. The fact that he is a scientist/philosopher/humanist gives that wonderful insight into the worlds he visits. The nearest analogy I can think of is Herge's Tintin. Tintin interacts but he is the everyman than we can be. We become the professor and that's were the series really kicks in.
This is the first story in the series each usually has the Zoromes visiting at least 3 planets or systems. In this first one we learn of how professor Jameson's body was discovered circling the earth in his masoleum rocket ship. Brought to life, well his brain only in a metal body we learn of his dilema. Should he commit suicide because mankind has long left the dying earth? or join the etenal travellers? We know the answer and we are off. Jameson has a wonderful imagination and when the professor leaves earth he visits The planet of the double sun which produces some weird effects which predate the imagination of Hawkings and Einstein in different dimensions. You finish the book with regret rather than relief escapism at its finest.
1708369
Quality is superb. Fun gift for all Scientist.  Love it
1545307
I am enjoying this game immensely. There's a great balance of action, role-play, and exploration, which is not something found easily. I love the story the game presents. It's enormous in scope and at times I get immersed in this universe.

The game is filled with interesting themes, such as moral ambiguity, political themes, romantic relationships, and the very nature of what constitutes sentience. Incredibly conceived, wonderful graphics, and excellent writing and voice acting. This is a must own for any serious SF fan or gamer.
3610628
Having put off reading Frank Herbert's tome for some time, I was thrilled to find it worthy of all the critical acclaim it's received.  It's clear that Herbert's confection of religion, politics and ecology played an  important role in the development of another well-done science fiction  enterprise---Babylon 5.
4054275
This is a completely wonderful creation!  Ostensibly about New York, but actually a celebration of the lives of so many great individuals, not only scientists, but also writers, doctors, travelers and others who have contributed so much to modern life and understanding. Many names I have known since childhood, but also so many new figures I had not encountered before.

Each person is illustrated with an interesting biography, often completed with a more personal anecdote about their life, rendering them in a much more human light than a dry description of their discoveries and work might do.  The accompanying photographs are splendid.  For the historical figures, these are often statues or cameos on walls (or gargoyles!), but for more contemporary characters, the photos are of the individuals themselves.  The Hargittais seem to have met everyone!

This being an account of a single city, many of the players overlapped with one another, attending (or founding) the same schools or universities, tutoring one another, or simply sharing a building.  These interconnections are fascinating.  Some of the group photos are a complete 'who's who' of the foundations of science.  There is the recurring thread of academics escaping Germany and eastern Europe.  One gets the feeling of the ongoing tradition of scientific and academic excellence and of a city that is a melting pot of ideas.

Greatly recommended!