Sneak Peek of SF Museum

maxentius writes "Posted on Trufen.net: Paul Allen's Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame, due to open June 18, is offering early "Charter Memberships" to a select list of e-mail recipients (and apparently to anyone else who happens to hear about it before the June 5 deadline). The museum will adjoin the Experience Music Project in the very odd Frank Gehry-designed building near downtown Seattle. Allen, a life-long SF fan, has been working on the project for a few years, and it will probably be the same sort of sensory extravaganza as the EMP. The e-mail promises "exclusive access" for Charter Members, including the chance to go to an pre-launch tour and party, a t-shirt, and a limited-edition lapel pin. There are many levels of membership, from "Terran" ($40), through "Hive Mind" ($75), "Replicant" ($500), all the way to "Immortal" ($10,000). It's hard to say just how this will turn out, but with the likes of Greg Bear and Forry Ackerman as advisors, and some interesting ideas, it might be okay."

Comments

donations?

[David E. Smith]

Isn't this Paul Allen, aka "one of the zillionaires from Microsoft," aka "Charter Communications," aka "richer than God" ?

Why the heck does he need to take donations for this?

Re:donations?

[Anonymous Coward]

He is trying to catch up with Bill :D

Re:donations?

[Anonymous Coward]

The Portland Trailblazers need a new center.

Re:donations?

[gmuslera]

Maybe his Membership category is off the chart, and is called God, Cthulu, Q, etc.

Re:donations?

[Haydn Fenton]

Actually, he was forced to resign from Microsoft after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease.

However, he is the owner of the Portland Trail Blazers, the Seattle Seahawks, Rose Garden Arena, TechTV, some Portland radio stations. He runs Vulcan Ventures, created the Experience Music Project. Updated the Cinerama movie theater. Hes one of the principal founders of the SETI project. Founded Asymetrix. Hes the sponsor behind SpaceShipOne, founded the Allen Institute of Brain Science, Project Halo... but yea :-p

Source: Wikipedia.

Re:donations?

[Marxist Hacker 42]

Update- he's no longer owner of the Rose Garden Arena. That corporation declared BANKRUPTCY! Shorted the investors millions.

Re:donations?

[zulux]

Paul is also the "gentleman" who bough a summer camp from under the kids, kicked them out, and built a trophy house on the land.

More info

It's kinda like an "Ernest goes to Camp" but with a bad ending.

Re:donations?

[DrEldarion]

I'm sure he IS spending a significant amount of his own money on this, but even though he has boatloads of money, setting up an entire museum isn't exactly pocket change. I doubt he'd want to spend his entire fortune, especially considering the other things he has going.

Plus, people (and businesses!) like donating to museums and seeing their names on the little plaques they always have.

Re:donations?

[Anonymous Coward]

He also funded a large part of my CS building!!

Re:donations?

[Z4rd0Z]

Probably the same reason he needed "donations" from taxpayers to build a new football stadium. He's also trying to get the city of Seattle to build him a new streetcar to the neighborhood he owns.

Re:donations?

[mgs1000]

Don't forget to scratch TechTV off that list, too. But he is still stuck with the Jailblazers.

Re:donations?

[Anonymous Coward]

COOL! it's about time SF get's a museum. and the donation thing makes sense to me. if it's a nonprofit then people can and should support it - like any museum. Kudos to Paul ALlen for starting it but the community needs to embrace - why should he pour his money into it if SF fans can't sustain it, no matter how rich he is!

Re:donations?

[foxtrot]

Hm. So a summer camp sold its land to Paul Allen, and I'm supposed to feel bad that they can't use the land anymore?

-F

Re:donations?

[cens0r]

I will give you the football stadium. That was a bad idea, but the people here did vote for it. However on the streetcar, I'm totally on his side. The land that he owns on south lake union he attempted to donate to the city to build a park. The voters turned it down. So now he wants to develop it. Can't hardly blame him for that.

Re:donations?

[east coast]

"So a summer camp sold its land to Paul Allen, and I'm supposed to feel bad that they can't use the land anymore?"

It is a twisted form of 'logic' that you miss, my friend. People in today's society are forced to feel bad for bulldozing anything with any sentimental value to anyone reguardless of compensation to the original owner. We're also made to feel bad for getting off our butts and making a buck and enjoying the fruits of our labors.

And god forbid you don't spend every free cent you have helping out junkies on the streets because that makes *YOU* the bad guy instead of the poor homeless that made the free choice to stick a needle into their arm. What do you think we want here? A society where people can progress and reap the rewards or a society this is forever lagged by the lazy and incompetent?

Re:donations?

[Idarubicin]

Why the heck does he need to take donations for this?

It's a tried and true principle in philanthropy--you get more bang for your bucks if you put up some seed money and then let other people contribute.

Thirty million dollars will buy you a nice library with your name on it.

Or, thirty million dollars will buy you a nice library, a university lecture hall, a youth drop-in center, and a park--all with your name on them--since you only put up five or ten million in seed money for each. By putting up some serious bucks, you start the ball rolling, but you don't have to foot the entire bill. If there's a genuine interest in the project, then other donors will step forward.

You can do a 'matching' thing, too. Guilt a local government into matching every dollar you put in. Promise a service club you'll match their contributions.

Re:donations?

[Sloppy]

How did he buy the camp, unless it was for sale?

Re:donations?

[Z4rd0Z]

I can't blame him for wanting to develop South Lake Union either, in fact it makes me happy because I work there and it's good to see the area improving. But where is it written that the city should give him a streetcar? And if they were going to, why not just extend the monorail or light rail?

Re:donations?

[cens0r]

I don't know if he came up with the street car all on his own. If he did, it was pretty dumb. I think he probably just asked for some sort of public transportation to the area and pointed at portland as an example. Then the mayor decided a street car was a great idea. I think extending the rest of the public transit there would be a great idea. Although, I'm not quite sure how you'd work in the monrail to it. The current plans go from north ballard to west seattle, you'd almost have to build another spur on it. I guess it would be kind of cool to have a monorail spur come from downtown, through lake union, up through the u-district and to northgate. Of course that kind of competes with the light rail, and would be so much more expensive that I understand why the mayor tried to push the street car.

Re:donations?

[Anonymous Coward]

But where is it written that the city should give him a streetcar?

I must have missed the part where they were going to install a retinal scanner so that only he could use it.

You can't blame him, and it makes you happy. So what's the fucking problem?

Re:donations?

[Z4rd0Z]

You can't blame him, and it makes you happy. So what's the fucking problem?

I can't blame him for developing his property, yes. It makes me happy that he is improving the neighborhood, yes. I can blame him and it does not make me happy when he asks for fucking taxpayer handouts. Get a clue, fucknut.

Membership Has Its Benefits:

[rwiedower]

Here's what you get!

• Membership card, includes unlimited admission
• Members-only express entry to SFM
• 10% discount at the SFM store, both museum and online
• 10% discount at the restaurant
• SFM Member Newsletter (quarterly)
• Science Fiction Author and Events Advance Notice
• Discount on SFM events
• Invitations to exclusive members-only events

A Discount! 10% off! A Membership Card!

They must think sci-fi geeks are dumber than they...wait, a newsletter too? Sign me up!

Re:Membership Has Its Benefits:

[AndroidCat]

If it's anything like the Royal Ontario Museum, you also get perpetual calls and letters to renew your membership after it expires.

Re:Membership Has Its Benefits:

[jackb_guppy]

Only lowly label pins?

Where are the life sized posters of 3 breasted moon-maidens?

Re:Membership Has Its Benefits:

[CGP314]

The real reason to become a member is the invitations to the exclusive members-only events. Just think of all the hot chicks who'll be there... or perhaps not.


-Colin

Re:Membership Has Its Benefits:

[daeley]

Never mind the posters, where are the maidens themselves? Do you get those with a $100,000 donation? ;)

Re:Membership Has Its Benefits:

[AndroidCat]

Don't laugh. The Royal Ontario Museum was promoting their singles night activities. That could work well for the SF museum too. You get to meet singles in non-pressure group activities. The people will tend to be smart, off-beat, and can afford the membership.

Re:Membership Has Its Benefits:

[Cruciform]

Just think of what an SF event would be like though.

A woman walks past, and the men approximate the flocking AI of a bad first person shooter.

It would look like pigeons squabbling over a muffin.

Re:Membership Has Its Benefits:

[DrEldarion]

Considering how expensive meals in museum restaurants usually are, that 10% off will probably make the membership pay for itself after the first use.

Re:Membership Has Its Benefits:

[Tumbleweed]

Hey, if they _really_ want to get nerds to sign up fast, they should make sure the membership cards are numbered. *evil grin*

Re:Membership Has Its Benefits:

[Tumbleweed]

"Off-beat." Heh. That's an interesting way of putting it. :)

Re:Membership Has Its Benefits:

[Anonymous Coward]

Off the beaten path, marching to a different drummer, taking the path less travelled. Dark and lonely, miles to go before I sleep...

Re:Membership Has Its Benefits:

[Anonymous Coward]

Mmmm, muffins...

Re:Membership Has Its Benefits:

[Comte]

Well, since I live only a 15 minute walk from Seattle Center, this bennie was actually one of the things that sold me on the idea of joining. Heck, for $40 I already have unlimited access to the museum (and my guess is it's an annual -- not lifetime -- membership), I'll get to hobnob with the SF hoi-polloi (at least those who show up) at the pre-opening fest on the 13th (WITH hosted bar -- I should be able drink back my membership fee right there!), and attend a taping of NPR's "Science Friday" on the 18th of June. And that's just the first week they're open. So, for somebody who lives close by, I figure it's worth a couple of Jacksons -- and actually 10% off at Turntable is not a bad deal, since the food is pretty good and I spend a lot of time at Liquid Lounge listening to free music anyway.

Re:Membership Has Its Benefits:

[AndroidCat]

The worst cases will have spent their money on that special issue of Radioactive Man #42, and won't be able to afford the membership. :)

Re:Membership Has Its Benefits:

[cens0r]

Well, I'm a member at EMP which is housed in the same building. And it does have privlages. Any time someone comes to visit, I can take them and I don't have to pay. Plus the members only events are quite cool. The biggest part though is the free admission. EMP costs $20 a trip for admission. If you go twice in a year, your membership as paid off. If you buy the couple's pass you only need to make 3 trips.

Re:Membership Has Its Benefits:

[pipingguy]

You get to meet singles in non-pressure group activities. The people will tend to be smart, off-beat, and can afford the membership.

Sort of like Slashdot Personals?

Ackerman's collection?

[cmpalmer]

I see that Forry is an advisor, but I didn't find anything in a quick RTFM that says how much of his collection made it into the museum. Does anyone know?

I know that he had to sell off some due to health and legal costs and it destroyed my dream of visiting the Ackermansion, which I'd wanted to do since reading Famous Monsters starting about 30 years ago.

Re:Ackerman's collection?

[KC Swan]

I doubt that very much made it to Seattle. 4SJ didn't sell off "some", he was forced to sell off damn near everything. He was left with a small collection of items of special value to himself.

There are people, like Paul Allen, who were in a position to buy the whole collection. None of them did a thing.

Re:Ackerman's collection?

[Anonymous Coward]

I know of several of Forry's artifacts that made it into the museum:
Martian war machine from War o' the Worlds
Capitol Dome and saucer from Earth vs. the Flying Saucers
Ymir casting from 20 million miles to Earth
Some Hugo Gernsback memorabilia
Old Scientifiction League memorabilia
Personal correspondence and photos
--AC

SF Museum?

[Realistic_Dragon]

Isn't that a bit like an inflatable dartboard?

At least they can have a display about all the broken flying car promises.

Re:SF Museum?

[k4_pacific]

Yeah, I thought the future was supposed to cooler than this. I mean, sure we have digital cameras and cell phones. But then we ran out of new ideas and started combining things. Hence, the "camera-phone". It's 2004 dammit. I want a teleporter!

On a related note, a coworker of mine has one of those camera-phones. He sent me a picture of his ear.

Re:SF Museum?

[colonist]

At least they can have a display about all the broken flying car promises.

The future ain't what it used to be. (Yogi Berra)

It never was... (SF author)

Charter Membership Gets You

[rwiedower]

• Charter Member Lapel Pin
• Charter Member SFM T-Shirt

Now I'm really sold. If it's a "limited time offer" it must be really, really, cool. What would sci-fi be without free lapel pins...for our lapels?

Wow

[stanmann]

Are these memberships annual or lifetime, that was the only thing I couldn't find on the site.

I'm not close enough that an annual membership would be any value, but lifetime I would get all over that... prolly android level in case I have kids.

Re:Wow

[cens0r]

The memberships are usually anual. Some of the truly expensive ones are lifetime. They really only make sense if you live in town. My girlfriend and I are both members at EMP in seattle, and it's saved us quite a bit of money. I believe she's a member at a couple of other museums in town (she's studying museum science at UW). They really pay off if you plan on going 3+ times in a year, or really enjoy the members only events. I'll probably spring for the couple membership to this museum.

I heard

[Anonymous Coward]

the guy who made his own Tron costume is cutting the ribbon at the opening.

Re:I heard

[Anonymous Coward]

I won't say how I know this, because people will get fired. But here's some stuff you can expect to see inside.

SEVERAL camera-models of the USS Enterprise (Origional AND TNG)
The severed T-800 arm from Terminator 2
A T-800 head from Terminator 2
A recreation of the Bridge set from the origional Star Trek using as many origional set pieces as they could find (Including the actual Captains Chair)
Guns, Phasers, and Accessories(5th Element, Blade Runner, Star Treck, Star Wars, Robo Cop, etc.)
THE Power Lifter from Alien (yes, it's FULL SIZED and completly articulated)
The complete "Big Bitch" alien from Aliens (she's something like 17 feet tall, and also completly articulated)

And that's just a small sample. If you're into effects producion, Seattle's the new Mecca (deepest apologies to any Muslum readers)

More membership levels

[Anonymous Coward]

There are many levels of membership, from "Terran" ($40), through "Hive Mind" ($75), "Replicant" ($500), all the way to "Immortal" ($10,000).

What can I get for 1$? "Oompa Loompa"? "Ugnaught"?

Can I get "Q" for a million bucks? How about "Operating Thetan"?

Re:More membership levels

[mikael]

What can I get for 1$? "Oompa Loompa"? "Ugnaught"?

"Amoeba" ($1)

"Bacterium" ($0.50)

"Virus" ($0.01)

Re:More membership levels

[AndroidCat]

How about "Operating Thetan"?

You don't have go there for that. It will soon come to you! :)

Re:More membership levels

[Otter]

What can I get for 1$? "Oompa Loompa"? "Ugnaught"?

Jar-Jar, I think. And for the million bucks, Marina Sirtis will let you touch her hair.

Re:More membership levels

[minotaurcomputing]

This is a SciFi museum that we are talking about, so the categories you mentioned need to be adjusted to:

Giant Amoeba ($1)

Space-born Bacterium ($0.50)

Virus - The Movie ($0.01)

-m

Re:More membership levels

[Anonymous Coward]

>>And for the million bucks, Marina Sirtis will let you touch her hair.

On which part of her body? ;)

Re:More membership levels

[CGP314]

"Atom" ($1*6.022*10^-23)

Re:More membership levels

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow. Are you the AndriodCat those of us who think $cientology is a scam know so well?

Thanks for helping fight an evil cult which is designed so that only pathological liars or crazy people can ever reach the top of it!

(For anyone who doesn't know what I mean, the purpose of the "mental powers" OTs are supposed to get, not to mention practicing lying to a crude lie detector is to ensure that only those who are insane, liars or quite probably both, ever reach the top--you get thrown out if you don't develop the various mental powers you're supposed to at OT, because we all know the tech is "perfect" ...)

Re:More membership levels

[nucal]

"Quark" - 1 bar of gold pressed latinum

Re:More membership levels

[Anonymous Coward]

What can I get for 1$?

Maybe "Mindless Drone"?

Re:More membership levels

[dnahelix]

How much for "Muon"?

Re:More membership levels

[techwolf]

$1: "Red Shirt Guy"

Strange though, they only seem to make it through the first 10 minutes of the museum.

if only...

[solarlux]

Now, if only more geeks could get rich. We'd have more SETI telescopes, sci-fi museums, space project funding....

Re:if only...

[Anonymous Coward]

For only 10$, I can sell you a lifetime membership to my exclusive club, which will show you how to become rich.

Re:if only...

[solarlux]

For $100, you can join my club. The main benefit is that for each person you recruit to join (with them paying the $100 entry fee), you get to keep $50. And if any of your recruitees enlist someone, you get to keep $25. And if any of THEM enlist someone, you get to keep $10 of the cost.

Now, if you can recruit 3 people, who in turn recruit 3 people, who in turn recruit 3 people, you will make 27*10+9*25+3*50 = $7,150.

Got that? You can make of SEVEN GRAND for only $100 and the simple effort of recruiting three people. And note that for each additional three dependable people you recruit, you make an additional $7,150. If you could just recruit 10 groups of three, you'd pocket $71,500 -- all for your original cost of $100.

(And this reasoning is the foundation of many of the gimmick pyramid schemes out there...) :-(

nicely emblematic of an era

[Anonymous Coward]

Let's face it, boys (and most of you are boys), we've had it. Computers aren't cool anymore. The next big fortunes will be made in biotech or something else, and the suits have taken control of the industry.
We're not going to see geeks (what's that you say? he's a bigshot at Microsoft so he's not a geek? yeah, business types use their spare cash to fund a *science fiction museum*) rich enough to fund scifi museums again. So we might as well smile and remember the late 90s, when computer people actually were hip, as we work overtime for piddling salaries until our jobs are finally sent to India.

Re:nicely emblematic of an era

[AndroidCat]

Computers aren't cool anymore.

I can live with that. When I was soldering my first computer, they thought Dukes of Hazzard and CB radios were cool.

Replicant

[Anonymous Coward]

Nice. Pay $500 to be labelled a 'Replicant'

Re:Replicant

[Chairboy]

You pay, and they tell you that "You've done a man's job." Goddamn unicorns...

Re:Replicant

[AndroidCat]

Does the 5th replicant get any special deals?

Re:Replicant

[Anonymous Coward]

Man, I'm only payin if they tell me how to slip by that test. I know I could do it if they didn't always show that big picture of my eye. That totally creeps me out.

"A picture of a naked woman on a bear skin rug."

Bear skin?! Ewwww!!! ... anybody get a time on that one?

Re:Replicant

[Tumbleweed]

Yeah, a commemorative bullet through the head. Damned skinjobs; they give me the creeps.

Re:Replicant

[blincoln]

Better yet, allegedly one of the exhibits will be the full-size spinner from Blade Runner. That would be worth the price of admission alone.

Coincidence?

[Anne_Nonymous]

>>" Terran" ($40), through "Hive Mind" ($75), "Replicant" ($500), all the way to "Immortal" ($10,000)

Those are the "membership" levels for Scientology too, except the prices are all off by two orders of magnitude.

Re:Coincidence?

[Anonymous Coward]

Dear Anne Nonymous,

We will hunt you down and sue your ass for libel!

Sincerely,
Church of Scientology

P.S. Tom Cruize gives good head, and John Travolta is a professional salad tosser!

Re:Coincidence?

[Anonymous Coward]

fuck, i'd do scientology if it only cost $10k for the complete deal.

it is too expensive.

A who's who - comments

[jackb_guppy]

Greg Bear
Forrest J. Ackerman
Robin Wayne Bailey
Betty Ballantine
Astrid Anderson Bear - Daughter of Poul Anderson / Wife of Greg Bear
Gregory Benford
Jeff Bezos
Ray Bradbury - this shows taste
David Brin
Charles Brown - A cartoon?
Octavia Butler - I like her work
James Cameron - give me a break!!!
Orson Scott Card - Ender was it
Arthur C. Clarke - nice ideas but fluffy
Freeman Dyson - the creater of sphere!
Harlan Ellison - yes!!
James Gunn
Ray Harryhausen
David Hartwell
Tim Kirk
Lawrence Krauss
George Lucas - twenty years way past his prime
Syne Mitchell
Dennis Muren
Kim Stanley Robinson
Majel Barrett Roddenberry - I know still running the "Great Bird" business, but have you seen some of the lastest works?
Stanley Schmidt
Steven Spielberg - Not SciFi - pretty pictures
Neal Stephenson
Gary Stiffelman
Phil Tippett
Bjo Trimble
Michael Whelan
Jane Yolen

Re:A who's who - comments

[Anonymous Coward]

Kind of makes me wonder about the planning meetings. Harlan Ellison forced to interact with James Cameron?

I get the feeling that these were peripheral consultants at most. This group couldn't come to a consensus on anything, from ticket price to what color to paint the lavatory.

Re:A who's who - comments

[Daniel Dvorkin]

Whether you like their work or not, all of the individuals listed have had enormous influence on the field. The museum should include people important in the history of SF, whatever their roles, just as, e.g., history museums should include exhibits on people who did both Really Good and Really Bad things.

BTW, Charles Brown is the editor of Locus, one of the most influential magazines in the SF field. He's not famous, but he's got a lot of pull.

Re:A who's who - comments

[east coast]

The fact that retards like Harlan Ellison even made the list over truely great writers like Larry Niven makes me question this entire affair. Granted, I haven't read everything by Harlan and I do support a some of his commentary on the late C-Net. Still, the man has built a career on a single episode of Star Trek and pulp writing that would have H.P. Lovecraft spinning in his grave.

Not to mention his writing is held in high esteem by the likes of Stephen King... What will they think of next?

Re:A who's who - comments

[Anonymous Coward]

Bjo Trimble? Makeup artist for Flesh Gordon?

Re:A who's who - comments

[Anonymous Coward]

And let's not forget :-

jackb_guppy - Fucking Tool.

What have you done lately asswipe? You may have no time for some of them, but plenty of other people do. And it AIN'T YOUR MUSEUM.

Dontated new Seattle Library

[mackermacker]

Allan was also the largest contributer of the New Seattle Library that opened up this week. I have to hand it to him, his money went to good use.

Not only it is an architectural masterpiece, but it has 11 floors with ramps that gradually wrap down to the bottom levels, and an ingenious system for finding books easily. Combined with the RFIP chips in all the books, along with the conveyor system that automatically scans and sorts the books, it is another great masterpiece, financed by the big man.WIFI for the entire building doesnt hurt either :)

Re:Dontated new Seattle Library

[zulux]

Paul Allan also has trouble getting laid normally.

Some of his victims fight back in court though More info

He 'settled out of court' - kinda like Michael Jackson 'settled out of court.'

Allen is just another corporate liability limiter

[Marxist Hacker 42]

After what he pulled in Portland with the investors for the Rose Garden- declaring bankruptcy even though he personally is a billionaire- I refuse to support him in any endeavor- including the scifi museum. I also refuse to buy Blazers tickets or even watch the games on TV; it's obvious that they need to get rid of their owner for a full turnaround from the bad old days.

I heard about this through SPAM

[loftwyr]

I have no idea how they got my e-mail address but I got a spam on just this topic.

Strangely, I wasn't likely to sign up to matter what the cause.

Bright side

[SuperKendall]

We can always go to India in twenty years to visit the next version of the Science Fiction Museum... although I guess given the cultural differences it will be more Bollywood related, and you'll have to sit through a four-hour dance number at the entrance before you get inside.

Hey, that doesn't sound so bringht after all. Unless it's a really good dance...

Slashdot subscribers

[goldspider]

"Hive Mind" ($75)

Are Slashdot subscribers are exempt from this fee?

For a second, I thought it was going to be in SF..

[$ayjax]

San Francisco... Whew. Glad I misinterpreted that one. *sigh of relief* /. headlines are the best.

It should travel the world

[colonist]

Hopefully it will be like traditional museums, and lend items out for exhibitions around the world.

EMP design

[Anonymous Coward]

The design of this building came from the cutting up of several Fender Stratocaster guitars. Although I don't see the resemblance much in the finished product. :)

My company did the structural steel portion of this project and let me tell you it's amazing. The building was litterally a finished handbuilt model on a desk, then digitized into a computer using a device similar to this. Much of the design work was then done with Catia. I thought I new 3D when I started this project this pushed the limits of our knowledge, workstations and server storage way beyond. When we got ahold of the models we developed the connections and members in 3D and finally onto shop drawings using AutoCAD.

When visiting the museum a couple years ago we got the back stage tour. You would not believe the amount of computer and sound horse power in that place. They stuck servers rooms where ever there was space and nice setup's too.

Probably one of the neato things we learned was about one of the drywallers. You see we were walking through all those back hallways and kept noticing amazing artwork drawn or painted just on the walls. Many face portraits of Hendrix. One of us asked "Is this hallway public access?", to which our guide answered "No." So then we asked what was up with all this expensive looking artwork. He told us Paul Allen was touring the project during construction and noticed the same thing. He asked who was going around making pencil sketches all over the walls of his building. They figured out that it was this one drywall guys and Paul asked for him to come and see him. Paul told him to go tell his boss he just quit, then to come back and get the details on his new job for more artwork! Can you imagine?! "Honey, I'm home! I got a raise!"

Re:EMP design

[pipingguy]

The design of this building came from the cutting up of several Fender Stratocaster guitars. Although I don't see the resemblance much in the finished product.

Reminds me of the Guggenheim in Bilbao.

Former owner of techtv

[freak_299]

sad but true......

memberships

[FrivolousPig]

Please tell me who wants to be labelled "Artificial Intelligence" after spending 1,000 bucks?

Re:memberships

[Anonymous Coward]

Sounds reasonable to me - if you had real intelligence you wouldn't have donated so much!

New Serfdom

[ThatGuyInTheHole]

While it is nice that Allen donated this money, does anyone else see what is going on here? Corporations are soaking their workers, and the US population by not paying taxes. Their bringing in exorbitant profits, and yet we thank them when they give a little back to us. It was nice that Enron, after ripping off the state of California, gave Houston Enron field. Ken Lay obviously has a good heart. This is just a new form of serfdom where our labor is taken, and we're given new shiny things to play with worth a fraction of our excess. Vil

Re:New Serfdom

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh, well. C'est la 21st-century life. I'm too busy enjoying it to get all worked up about a bunch of ideology. Go have a microbrewed latte or something; get outta my face.

One level lower

[extra88]

"Virus" ($0.01)

"Daryl M." (5 memberships for $.01)

Allen Not Father of Project HALO

[tpconcannon]

Bungie Studios had been working on HALO as a PC only game before MicroSoft bought them out and made it the headline game for Xbox. If you like HALO, try playing Marathon, the grand-daddy of HALO. Still a very good game after all these years. I was dissapointed when Microsoft bought Bungie, because I thought they would suck the soul from the game, but thankfully I was wrong.

Science Fiction Hall of Fame

[KC Swan]

I'm sure some readers are sure that Paul Allen is just out to rape the SF world. Here's a true story that I hope will cast this project in a positive light.

There already is a Science Fiction Hall of Fame. It was started several years ago, sponsored by the Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society (KaCSFFS) and the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas. Financial backing was primarily provided by KaCSFFS, with the bulk of the money raised in a benefit auction each Memorial Day weekend at ConQuesT. KU has never really embraced the SFHoF, declining to even provide a place to hang the plaque listing all the inductees.

Along comes Paul Allen and his project. Now, they could have very easily said "screw you, we'll do our own Hall of Fame!" But they didn't. Instead, they are taking over the Hall of Fame, with full acknowledgement of the history of the existing hall and inductees. After the 2004 induction ceremony, held at the Campbell Conference, responsibility for the Hall will be transferred.

Is this some huge financial windfall for KaCSFFS? No, we aren't getting a penny out of the deal. What we are getting is the acknowledgement of our past efforts, and the comfort of knowing that future inductions are going to be done by a group with the money and PR presence necessary to do it right.

Do you know who has been inducted in the past? Probably not. Our efforts have mostly fallen on deaf ears in the media. But I suspect that when the 2005 inductees are announced, you'll see the story on Slashdot!

Why should corporations pay taxes ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Aren't all the employees, officers and shareholders of the corporation already taxed? Why should corporations then be taxed on top of all that?

If you want to keep industry from going overseas, you'd best not support such socialist ideas ...

Well, cool.

[Anonymous Coward]

By pure coincidence, I'll be in Seattle that weekend. Now, how to convince the wife that we ought to check this place out...?

Expanded who's who --was Re:A who's who - comments

[Jack William Bell]

Expanded who's who (my comments in parens).

Greg Bear -- (Local Seattle hard-SF writer and all-around nice guy)

Forrest J. Ackerman -- (If you don't know who he is, don't bother reading on)

Robin Wayne Bailey -- (Don't know)

Betty Ballantine -- (Local Seattle SF BNF [Big
Name Fan], well know for her belly dancing workshops and ability to sing anything in Klingon [not to mention being the only person I know that can sing the cantina scene song from 'Star Wars'])

Astrid Anderson Bear -- Daughter of Poul Anderson / Wife of Greg Bear (and organizer of this years Nebula awards)

Gregory Benford -- (Hard SF writer and physicist)

Jeff Bezos -- (You already know this one)

Ray Bradbury -- this shows taste (agreed)

David Brin -- (SF writer and iconoclast)

Charles Brown -- A cartoon? (No, the editor and publisher of Locus, the top-rated magazine about the SF biz)

Octavia Butler -- I like her work (You had damn well better, she is a nice lady; also now local to Seattle)

James Cameron -- give me a break!!! (agreed)

Orson Scott Card -- Ender was it (If you say so)

Arthur C. Clarke -- nice ideas but fluffy (Eh? 'The City at the Edge of Forever' fluffy?)

Freeman Dyson -- the creater of sphere! (and way more; I can listen to him talk for hours, too bad the Dyson Sphere is all people think of when they hear his name)

Harlan Ellison -- yes!! (No!!! Unless, that is, you are the kind of person who slows down to look at car wrecks)

James Gunn -- (SF writer, not too well known anymore)

Ray Harryhausen -- (stop-motion animator of many a SciFi film and director, not too well known anymore)

David Hartwell -- (SF writer and major name editor)

Tim Kirk (Tolkien artist)

Lawrence Krauss (Science writer, wrote 'Physics of Star Trek' among other things)

George Lucas -- twenty years way past his prime (uh, yeah...)

Syne Mitchell -- (Local SF writer, fairly new but promising)

Dennis Muren -- (don't know)

Kim Stanley Robinson -- (Bay area SF writer best known for his Red/Green/Blue Mars trilogy which, if sold by weight, would have made him rich)

Majel Barrett Roddenberry -- I know still running the "Great Bird" business, but have you seen some of the lastest works? (Roddenberry had some good ideas, but taking every thing he ever scratched on a napkin and making it into a series is dumb; plus Rick Berman has completely destroyed Roddenberry's best work anyway)

Stanley Schmidt -- (SF writer and editor)

Steven Spielberg -- Not SciFi - pretty pictures (well, he did do 'AI'; never mind, that isn't a reccomendation)

Neal Stephenson -- (Local Seattle SF writer and 'recluse' [OK, not really], currently taking the crown for heaviest trilogy)

Gary Stiffelman -- (don't know)

Phil Tippett -- (Animator and filmmaker)

Bjo Trimble (Somewhat local SF writer)

Michael Whelan (SF artist of consummate skill)

Jane Yolen (SF writer)

Re:Expanded who's who --was Re:A who's who - comme

[Jack William Bell]

Whoops! Big mistake on the above. I misread 'Betty Ballantine' for a different Betty with a similar last name. Betty Ballantine is a major SF editor and scion of Ballantine books. I wish I had caught that before clicking 'Submit'. But I did catch on the re-read after.

Mea-culpa and sorry.

Re:Expanded who's who --was Re:A who's who - comme

[RobotRunAmok]

Arthur C. Clarke had nothing to do with "City...", but is rather a SF visionary in his own right (The "Rama" books, et. al.) In fact, the "Clarke Belt" -- the distance above the earth through which satellites travel yet retain their relative geo-stationary locations -- was first prognosticated by and later named after him. However, if you _do_ like "City...", you might be interested in knowing that it was penned by Harlan Ellison, for whom apparently you have little use.

Life is funny like that sometimes.

Only in slashdot...

[Saiyine]

Only in slashdot could the Avogadro's number get a +3 Funny!!!

Re:Expanded who's who --was Re:A who's who - comme

[HarryZink]

> Arthur C. Clarke -- nice ideas but fluffy
> (Eh? 'The City at the Edge of Forever' fluffy?)

You might want to correct that as well. Better proofread before hitting 'submit', as CotEoF was penned by Harlan Ellison, who we both agree is an unpleasant individual.

Harry

Re:Expanded who's who --was Re:A who's who - comme

[Jack William Bell]

Yeah, that was another brain fart. I meant 'The City and the Stars', Clarke's first novel. And I could have mentioned a couple more that had some depth as well (no, none of the Rama series).

Re:Expanded who's who --was Re:A who's who - comme

[Jack William Bell]

You are correct in nearly every respect. See the note below, where I point out that I don't consider the 'Rama' series that visionary.

Immortal

[Atario]

There can be only one...and four zeroes.

Obligatory Nemo quote:

[KnarfO]

Mine?!

Re:Expanded who's who --was Re:A who's who - comme

[jackb_guppy]

Clark's works start on a good idea - like RAMA... the first half was good, then it was another 10,000 words and I done and can start the next two to cash in.

I am just wondering how much they paided to use his name. Since he seams to never leave that island in Indain Ocean.