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Reviews
Nov 3, 2006 22:43:06 GMT -5
Post by buttonpresser4815 on Nov 3, 2006 22:43:06 GMT -5
I don't know. Here is wiki's saying on this.
Following the end credits, Dr. Moira MacTaggert checks on a comatose patient who greets her with Xavier's voice. Startled, she replies, "Charles?"
SO yea, its one of those things where you had to stay after the credits.
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Nov 3, 2006 22:46:17 GMT -5
Post by Raistlin Majere on Nov 3, 2006 22:46:17 GMT -5
Interesting. I did not watch after the credits, so I guess I missed that part.
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Nov 3, 2006 23:24:12 GMT -5
Post by Jarlaxle on Nov 3, 2006 23:24:12 GMT -5
Either way, it seems rather useless information unless there is a plan for a sequel.
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Reviews
Nov 10, 2006 10:53:09 GMT -5
Post by buttonpresser4815 on Nov 10, 2006 10:53:09 GMT -5
The Iron Heel by Jack London
This novel was written about 33 years before 1984 was written. It seemed strikingly similar to it. The general premise of a totalitarian government and such was similar. I liked this novel a bit better for the fact that it used actual historical facts of the time to back up the rise of the government. The gov consisted of the Oligarchy, those who owned the trusts of businesses and such. They were rich, and because of this they became linked to political parties, and became political machines. They supported a party if, in turn, it passed laws that allowed the trusts continued existence. The middle class was beginning to be eliminated by the government, and the proles, numbering 20 million, were just there. There is a man named Ernest Everhard, he is a Socialist revolutionary who calls for a socialist democracy instead of capitalist one. This whole novel is his wife's journal, but its not very feminine, and supposedly it was found by someone several hundred years later, who makes notes where Ernest makes stunning predictions about the Oligarchy's next moves. It also details the taking place of the first revolution, and it is detailied by his wife in Chicago. It ends abruptly, without even finishing a sentence, because she is alerted of the coming of government police agency. There is a lot more to it if you read it, and it all takes place in early to mid 20th cenutry america. I give it the same as '84, a 7.75/10.
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
I just love the way this authors writes. This is actually a fantasy book, but sometimes I am confused and I think it is both sci-fi and fantasy. It details the coming of Earth onto Mars, and although the methods are probable, the fact that there is no need for oxygen suits is not. The first several missions are destroyed by Martians or humans against colonization, but finally they get there, and kill most of the Martians. They live there for a while, and then the whole continent of AUstraila is hit by several Atomic Bombs, and they have to go back, leaving only a few people left on Mars who couldnt make it to the rockets. The ending is very great, but if you like to follow a particular character through a story, dont read it. I give it an 8/10
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Nov 10, 2006 13:08:01 GMT -5
Post by Jarlaxle on Nov 10, 2006 13:08:01 GMT -5
They have a tenancy to kill off characters often in The Martian Chronicles. An interesting idea, though many like to follow and stick to a character. What happens after one is killed? You just switch to a new character or are all of the main characters introduced in the beginning and they all play a role and die off and focus on the one still alive? This reminds me of a movie I once saw. It was a group of humans sent to Mars to ready the planet for colonization. To do that they know that there was (and I think they found some) water. What they did was grow algae into it. The algae as you know like any plant releases oxygen, so over time, the atmosphere would be ready for humans to breath.
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Reviews
Nov 12, 2006 22:06:21 GMT -5
Post by buttonpresser4815 on Nov 12, 2006 22:06:21 GMT -5
The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov This is my first experience with a written work by Isaac Asimov(I saw I, Robot) and I must say his writing style is phenominal(spelled wrong im sure) I can see why he was considered one of the big three scifi writers of the entire cold war era. From this book only I have picked up his ability to sneak in loads of technical information that makes your brain fold as you speak while also relating that information to the plot. The novel itself iis in an unspecified future time, in which a detective, Elijah Bely, is assigned to a homicide. This a very unstable case, because on Earth, he lives in a large cavern like structure, housing over 20 million people, which is New York City in the future, and the murder was supposedly commited by a person who lives in Spacetown, where humans are less and robots are more. A prominent roboticist was murdered, so in an attempt for political correctness, he is assigned a humanoid robot as a partner. On earth, there are Medievalists, or those who favor the returning of Earth to its pasts methods and culture. They fiercely oppose robots. It is suspected that one of them is behind the murder. The investigation leads Elijah on a double false trail, first he thinks that his robopartner, Daneel Olivaw, is a human, then he thinks that robot is again the murderer, but because of the laws of the robotics(1. A robot cannnot harm or kill, through action or inaction, a human being, that is the only one that really matters) he cannot have been. Then, he himself is accused of murder, but he then realizes that his commissioner, the one who assigned him to the case, is the murdered, because he is a medievalist himself. He was assigned the case because he is a long time friend of the commissioners. Come on! That was a rediculously well though out plot, and the cities are my favorite part. Everyone is kept in there because if they are allowed to live on the land, then there is no way to keep track of there consumption, and therefore, everyone would starve. The main foods they eat are made of various versions of yeast.(Just thought it was worth mentioning) I see a very promising future for my reading in this guy, he has a whole other series of books called the Foundation Novels, which i am sure to find very intriguing. I give this novel a 9.5/10! There was really nothing wrong with it, i just wish that the future time was given, but of course if it was then everyone would point and laugh at his grave( ) because he is wrong, but since he didnt, if any of these predictons ever come true, he will be praised. He was also a biochemist, which is probably why he is such a good writer of this genre. If you ever stray from fantasy, friends, look for Asimov. He wrote Fantasy as well.
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Nov 14, 2006 23:07:59 GMT -5
Post by Jarlaxle on Nov 14, 2006 23:07:59 GMT -5
One who merits a 9.5/10 is definitely someone to look into. Clever idea to not reveal the date, it could be any time and his predictions might be true one day. I liked how he mentioned that a robot cannot harm or kill. For someone who just made up this automaton, he sure made it accurate.
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Reviews
Nov 17, 2006 20:10:45 GMT -5
Post by buttonpresser4815 on Nov 17, 2006 20:10:45 GMT -5
The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov
This is in the same quadrilogy or quintology of the other robot novels, same author.
Fresh off of his recent murder case, ELijiah Baley has been assigned to a murder case on Solaria, yet he has also been assigned by the earth government to assess the planet for weakness. He takes off for the planet, and upon arriving, meets up with his partner, Daneel Olivaw. He is trying to adjust himself to the outside and the sun while on the planet, something that he struggles with and Daneel often prevents him from doing. After interviewing several Solarian officials, first the Head of Security(Who is later poisoned), and then the wife of the murdered, and then a sociologist, and then the murdered's assistant, and then a robotics expert. The murdered was a fetologist, and therefore worked, with his assistant, at a world birthing center, not unlike that in Brave New World. After many assesments by Elijiah, he finally figures out the person and the motive. I will not reveal it to you, you'll have to read it yourself.
Once again, Asimov has proved homself an exceptional author, and I will look forward to reading the next book, the robots at dawn. Just the mention of a process from Brave New World, however, will bring this book down a little, to a 9.25/10, although he described it much better then Huxley did. Definetely another must read.
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Nov 18, 2006 2:29:05 GMT -5
Post by Jarlaxle on Nov 18, 2006 2:29:05 GMT -5
That plot sounds very similar to Brave New World. I would not be surprised if the main character in the next book was also a detective.
Game: Mega Man X3
I have been playing some old super Nintendo games and Mega Man is one of them. Mega Man so far has proved to be my favorite side scrolling game! X3 in particular was the most challenging I have ever seen so far, the music was good enough for me to want the sound track, and it is incredibly hard with little practice! The graphics were pretty much then same as X and X2, and looked good enough for me. The bosses can seem next to impossible to beat without their weaknesses, and Sigma...HOLY CRAP! You need to be pretty good to beat him without cheating! I plan to do that some time. There was a fair amount of story line plot, certainly more then I would expect from most side scrolling games, and it was even interesting. The weapons you received were interesting, most were better then the ones in X2 by a long shot, but I still say that the weapons from X1 were the best. If you have an SNes emulator or if you have a good old Super Nintendo at home with the game, then get Mega Man X3! Its a must play, and playing the rest of the X series would not be a bad idea either. For Mega Man X3, I give it a 9/10! The only thing that I really disliked was the X looked really ugly with all of the super upgrades. Other then that, I could not think of a way to improve it other then remaking it for a more advanced system.
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Reviews
Nov 24, 2006 21:06:59 GMT -5
Post by buttonpresser4815 on Nov 24, 2006 21:06:59 GMT -5
The Complete Robot by Isaac Asimov It took me a while to get through every one of the 31 short stories included in this collection, some three pages and some over thirty. There were a few in there that I enjoyed immmensley, questioned the foundations of humanity itself and tested the Three Laws of Robotics on numerous occasions, their loopholes, implications, etc. Some stories were humorous, such as one in which a robot becomes a religious fanatic and establishes a "cult." Most of the stories in the Powell and Donnovan chapter are humorous, because they field test robots that dont necessarily have all their glitches worked out. I prety much enjoyed every single one, Asimov still exhibits is skill in writing science fiction. I will provide some useful links for you to better understand this post. The Complete Robot, The Three Laws of Robotics, The Positronic Brain I give it a 9.8/10!
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Nov 26, 2006 4:26:06 GMT -5
Post by Jarlaxle on Nov 26, 2006 4:26:06 GMT -5
I'm still amazed that Asimov come up with all of this by himself. I'm a little curious about the first law of robotics. It mentioned there that they can't allow a human to doe by its actions or by its "inactions". I didn't think they were meant to save humans whenever possible, I just thought that they don't kill humans directly.
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Nov 26, 2006 10:00:53 GMT -5
Post by buttonpresser4815 on Nov 26, 2006 10:00:53 GMT -5
That possibility was explored in the Naked Sun, Elijah Baley figured out that robots can kill humans, but unknowingly, by say, giving them a poison that they were ordered to give by another human. The laws can be exploited to some degree, but they were carefully dictated so that robots can't be used in that manner all the time.
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Nov 29, 2006 0:38:12 GMT -5
Post by Jarlaxle on Nov 29, 2006 0:38:12 GMT -5
Did those books mention the possibility that somehow a human can directly override those laws by reprogramming the robot or by giving it a command that it can't disobey?
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Nov 29, 2006 16:49:20 GMT -5
Post by buttonpresser4815 on Nov 29, 2006 16:49:20 GMT -5
Well...there are numerous ways to override the laws, but most of these ways result in the mental-freeze of a robot, rendering it incapable. If you could convince a robot that killing someone would save a larger number of people, then it would kill a person.
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Dec 1, 2006 23:37:58 GMT -5
Post by Jarlaxle on Dec 1, 2006 23:37:58 GMT -5
This guy really thought this concept over quite throughout.
Game: Mega Man X
This is the first game in the Mega Man X series. When I first played it, I was impressed. The graphics were great, the music was pretty good, and it was just so fun to play. This is definitely the easiest game in the X series that I've tried, but for a beginner, it could be a little tough. Even though it's an easy game for me now, it's still fun to play. One of the best parts is that the variety of weapons are in X. I liked every weapon in X! They all had unique advantages and they were all useful unlike some weapons in X2. Sigma is still a little bit difficult, as he should be, so there is at least a some challenge in that. I can't think of anything to complain about other then the difficulty level. I give Mega man X an 8.4/10
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