It's pretty clear from the display that the intention is to add people to the SFHOF over time. If you look on the website here there's a good explanation of the process. And note that it wasn't Allen or the SFM advisory board that made these selections, but rather this was done by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in Kansas City; SFM is now the permanent repository for that collection, and no doubt worthy personages such as Dick will get their due in good time.
Well, as a S Lake Union resident for the past 4 years, I'm actually pretty excited about Allen's plans for the neighborhood, especially when given that the local community council is riding hard on his a** to make sure that the area retains much of its mixed use character. Already, we've got retail, restaurants, arts organizations, park redevelopment, etc. moving into the area, turning what was once a scattering of underutilized industrial concerns into a burgeoning actual neighborhood.
As a matter of practicality, the small-scale industrial operations that were the heart of SLU/Cascadia for much of the past century have been on the decline for decades, long before Allen started buying up property for The Commons project, so, it's not ALL his fault. The industrial infrastructure began disappearing as far back as the 1960's, when Burlington Northern stopped using their railroad spur around SLU, prompted in large part because the shipbuilding, heavy manufacturing and support industries that depended on rail access had been on the decline since the end of WW-II. And given the incredible growth of high density housing and office construction creeping up through the Denny Regrade from downtown, and the gradual gentrification of the area around Lake Union, the types of small manufacturing businesses that existed there in the past just aren't compatible with changing uses for the area.
Frankly, the potential of the neighborhood for mixed use residential/commercial/biotech is enormous, and given that it's is one of the last underutilized parcels of land still left in the vicinity of the downtown core (the other being SODO), it's really not surprising that eventually someone would come along with the vision and means to transform it into something completely different; it was really only a matter of time.
There are actually two TOS shooting models; one of the eight footers and a smaller, 12 - 14 inch model (which looks suspitiously like an AMT kit), purportedly used in the opening "flyby" credit sequence. I have my doubts about the authenticity of this one, as I was always under the impression that the model used for this sequence was considerably smaller, unless people who were there are really losing it.
The only BG ref I can recall is a Cylon Centurion suit in the "Robot" section - no "Galactica" in the Space Dock - and I don't recall even seeing a passing ref in any of the video footage.
Actually, think more along the lines of lots of Harry Knowles and Mary Katherine Gallagher clones, convention costume fetishists, and a surprisingly large number of elderly Richard Attenborough lookalikes, and you'd be even closer to the truth!
I don't remember seeing "Nostromo", but then I did have the relatively minor distinction of being the first person to "crash" one of the Museum's consoles while I was scrolling through the Dock, so perhaps I just didn't get far enough into it!
"Or perhaps a display showing what sci-fi predictions have (or havn't) come true" -- this in fact is the point of the "Not So Weird Science" exhibit, in addition to a smaller exhibit I failed to mention, "Science Fiction And Society", which explores how s/f examines and shapes our lives.
And I should point out that the upper section of the Museum is VERY literature oriented.
Hey, we got culture here in the Upper Left Hand! World-class symphony orchestras, opera companies, and Asian Art museums, plus more live theatre than you can shake a rain-sodden stick at.
None of which have any connection to Paul Allen, BTW.
Actually, there's a fair amount of SW refences: an X-Wing fighter, the "Millenium Falcon" and a Star Destroyer in the "Space Dock"; interviews with Lucas in several of the video sgements; an R2-D2 model in the "Robots" section; one of Darth Vader's masks -- and that's just what I can recall off the top of my head.
Actually, Moya DOES appear in the "Space Dock" exhibit, and there are a couple of minor references to "Doctor Who" scattered throughout, but again the emphasis on U.S. s/f may simply be due to (as I stated in an earlier post) issues with licensing rights, or because memorabilia from these series aren't readily available. After all, it doesn't matter how much $$ Allen has, if there aren't items to be purchased, even he can't do much about it.
Sorry, it's the TOS 1701. "Discover" from "2001: A Space Odyssey" is in the dock as well (to respond to a query below), but KIM ALL these are done in CGI, so it really wasn't a problem to recreate models that no longer exist. My guess about the absence of certain ships is that it probably has more to do with licensing issues than anything else.
What a/dork you must be! Do you really think David (whom I happen to know, and his wife Lela, and their baby daughter Emma so - "ppphhhhhhttttt!" to you!) would spend hundreds of hours putting together this site just so that he could post fake photoshoped 80 year-old "Popular Mechanics" magazines?
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.
Hines is a Tacoma-based low-budget film director who has been talking this up for several years, but never had anything remotely resembling a real "deal" with either the Wells estate, Universal, Paramount, Dreamworks, or anyone else for that matter. At one point in time he was bragging that he was "negotiating" with Michael Caine, Charlize Theron & Mathew McConaughey to be in his version, but according to sources inside the industry, all he'd ever done was make some phone calls to their agents asking if they'd be interested in reading a script. I'd be surprised if they bothered to return his calls.
One indication of the type of film this was going to be -- despite touting a purported "$42 mm budget", the only casting that was ever confirmed was a cameo appearance by Harry Knowles!
In addition, he was sued a couple of years ago by Jon Sorensen, a UK-based miniature effects designer who did some pre-production work, but then was never paid. Never heard how that turned out, but you can see some of Mr. Hine's "work" here.
Also, here's a copy of his self-promoting PR trying to ride the coattails of the initial Tom Cruise package announcement.
Whatever else you say about him, you have to admit, the kid's got moxie!
I got there kind of late, around 8-ish, and didn't see any crowd, so just hung out for a while. Were you all at the big table by the window? That seemed to be the only sizeable group, but even then it only looked like a half dozen, so I figured either it was a big no-show or too small a group for me to ID.
I actually did go in the back, because The Gun Street Girls were supposed to make an appearance, starting at around 9:00 p.m., but by 11:00 they still hadn't hit the stage -- Wattawaste!
Actually, the U.S. military was already well underway with development of "heavy lift" orbital capabilities using the Atlas booster, however, it had yet to be successfully tested by the time of Sputnik & Vostok if memory serves. This was the main reason why Shepherd and Grissom's flights were sub-orbital using the Mercury/Redstone stack.
And the Air Force, not enamored of a civilian-agency monopoly, was going ahead with parallel manned spaceflight programs through Gemini with the Dynasoar and Manned Orbital Laboratory projects, which again if I recall correctly weren't give the budget axe until about 1966.
Thanks for the clarifications, Mike. BTW, saw your show last weekend with a whole house full of.comers, but still enjoyed it anyway -- good work!
And I'll bet you never thought you'd find a website with more rude, bitter and cynical people on it than TPS! (;-)
Yeah, I caught the show last weekend. Never worked for Amazon or any other.com, but still thought Mike's insights into the culture were insightful and very funny. Plus Mike himself is just a damned hilarious guy (he also does sketch comedy with the Seattle group "Up In Your Grill").
In fact, the night I went most of the house was taken up by a group of.comers (although I didn't catch from what company), who were hooting there way through the entire show -- 'course the many beers they consumed beforehand might have had something to do with it...
A point of clarification:
Duck Island is not an officially-designated bird sanctuary, only an unofficial one, so technically no trespass laws were violated, and thus the perps cannot be prosecuted for putting it there. The object is clearly visible from the lake shore and at this time of year, it is relatively unlikely scores of people are going to haul rowboats, canoes or kayaks down to Green Lake just to travel the short distance out to the island for a closer look.
My guess is that the object will remain until the next opportunity for transport, when it will mysteriously disappear, only to reappear in another location.
CHRIS COMTE
First off, it's not made of concrete, it's metal; secondly, according to "Some People" the group claiming responsibility for installing the object (aren't monoliths technically made out of stone?) at it's original site at Magnuson Park, it only weighs about 350 lbs., so it would be easy for four or five healthy individuals to pick it up and move it. 'Course they would have needed a boat to remove it from the Park (the entrances are gated after dark) haul it out of Lake Washington via the Montlake Cut possibly to GasWorks Park (and there's a great hill there where I think it should make a future appearance!) pull the thing out of the water, transport it to Green Lake (roughly a mile), put it into another boat and take it out to Duck Island. All in all, it would require a bit of logistical legerdermain (sp?) to accomplish all this without anyone seeing. But it was VERY foggy Wednesday night/Thursday morning, so there was ample cover to conceal the perps.
One note of clarification; the people who did move it (whether it was "Some People" or another group) did not "trespass", as Duck Island is not an officially-designated bird sanctuary; only an unofficial one, so no encroachment laws were broken in the process of moving the object to the island.
The only question remaining now is, will it be moved again, and if so, where will it make it's next appearance?
CPC
Slashdot Mirror
It's pretty clear from the display that the intention is to add people to the SFHOF over time. If you look on the website here there's a good explanation of the process. And note that it wasn't Allen or the SFM advisory board that made these selections, but rather this was done by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in Kansas City; SFM is now the permanent repository for that collection, and no doubt worthy personages such as Dick will get their due in good time.
Well, as a S Lake Union resident for the past 4 years, I'm actually pretty excited about Allen's plans for the neighborhood, especially when given that the local community council is riding hard on his a** to make sure that the area retains much of its mixed use character. Already, we've got retail, restaurants, arts organizations, park redevelopment, etc. moving into the area, turning what was once a scattering of underutilized industrial concerns into a burgeoning actual neighborhood.
As a matter of practicality, the small-scale industrial operations that were the heart of SLU/Cascadia for much of the past century have been on the decline for decades, long before Allen started buying up property for The Commons project, so, it's not ALL his fault. The industrial infrastructure began disappearing as far back as the 1960's, when Burlington Northern stopped using their railroad spur around SLU, prompted in large part because the shipbuilding, heavy manufacturing and support industries that depended on rail access had been on the decline since the end of WW-II. And given the incredible growth of high density housing and office construction creeping up through the Denny Regrade from downtown, and the gradual gentrification of the area around Lake Union, the types of small manufacturing businesses that existed there in the past just aren't compatible with changing uses for the area.
Frankly, the potential of the neighborhood for mixed use residential/commercial/biotech is enormous, and given that it's is one of the last underutilized parcels of land still left in the vicinity of the downtown core (the other being SODO), it's really not surprising that eventually someone would come along with the vision and means to transform it into something completely different; it was really only a matter of time.
There are actually two TOS shooting models; one of the eight footers and a smaller, 12 - 14 inch model (which looks suspitiously like an AMT kit), purportedly used in the opening "flyby" credit sequence. I have my doubts about the authenticity of this one, as I was always under the impression that the model used for this sequence was considerably smaller, unless people who were there are really losing it.
The only BG ref I can recall is a Cylon Centurion suit in the "Robot" section - no "Galactica" in the Space Dock - and I don't recall even seeing a passing ref in any of the video footage.
Actually, think more along the lines of lots of Harry Knowles and Mary Katherine Gallagher clones, convention costume fetishists, and a surprisingly large number of elderly Richard Attenborough lookalikes, and you'd be even closer to the truth!
And NO, I don't fit into ANY of those categories!
I don't remember seeing "Nostromo", but then I did have the relatively minor distinction of being the first person to "crash" one of the Museum's consoles while I was scrolling through the Dock, so perhaps I just didn't get far enough into it!
"Or perhaps a display showing what sci-fi predictions have (or havn't) come true" -- this in fact is the point of the "Not So Weird Science" exhibit, in addition to a smaller exhibit I failed to mention, "Science Fiction And Society", which explores how s/f examines and shapes our lives.
And I should point out that the upper section of the Museum is VERY literature oriented.
Hey, we got culture here in the Upper Left Hand! World-class symphony orchestras, opera companies, and Asian Art museums, plus more live theatre than you can shake a rain-sodden stick at.
None of which have any connection to Paul Allen, BTW.
Dang it, Harlows! You're spilling the beans on our carefully guarded secret!
Actually, there's a fair amount of SW refences: an X-Wing fighter, the "Millenium Falcon" and a Star Destroyer in the "Space Dock"; interviews with Lucas in several of the video sgements; an R2-D2 model in the "Robots" section; one of Darth Vader's masks -- and that's just what I can recall off the top of my head.
But of course, that just increases the value of the action figures IOP that Paul STILL owns!
Actually, Moya DOES appear in the "Space Dock" exhibit, and there are a couple of minor references to "Doctor Who" scattered throughout, but again the emphasis on U.S. s/f may simply be due to (as I stated in an earlier post) issues with licensing rights, or because memorabilia from these series aren't readily available. After all, it doesn't matter how much $$ Allen has, if there aren't items to be purchased, even he can't do much about it.
I think this time, we're off the hook, as SFAIK, there isn't any public sector investment in SFM.
Sorry, it's the TOS 1701. "Discover" from "2001: A Space Odyssey" is in the dock as well (to respond to a query below), but KIM ALL these are done in CGI, so it really wasn't a problem to recreate models that no longer exist. My guess about the absence of certain ships is that it probably has more to do with licensing issues than anything else.
Ted,
I've been trying to remember that bar joke for AGES! Thx!
What a /dork you must be! Do you really think David (whom I happen to know, and his wife Lela, and their baby daughter Emma so - "ppphhhhhhttttt!" to you!) would spend hundreds of hours putting together this site just so that he could post fake photoshoped 80 year-old "Popular Mechanics" magazines?
Eejit!
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.
Hines is a Tacoma-based low-budget film director who has been talking this up for several years, but never had anything remotely resembling a real "deal" with either the Wells estate, Universal, Paramount, Dreamworks, or anyone else for that matter. At one point in time he was bragging that he was "negotiating" with Michael Caine, Charlize Theron & Mathew McConaughey to be in his version, but according to sources inside the industry, all he'd ever done was make some phone calls to their agents asking if they'd be interested in reading a script. I'd be surprised if they bothered to return his calls. One indication of the type of film this was going to be -- despite touting a purported "$42 mm budget", the only casting that was ever confirmed was a cameo appearance by Harry Knowles! In addition, he was sued a couple of years ago by Jon Sorensen, a UK-based miniature effects designer who did some pre-production work, but then was never paid. Never heard how that turned out, but you can see some of Mr. Hine's "work" here. Also, here's a copy of his self-promoting PR trying to ride the coattails of the initial Tom Cruise package announcement. Whatever else you say about him, you have to admit, the kid's got moxie!
Well in that case, we need to come up with more ways to dupe the giants into continuing to beat up on each other...
I got there kind of late, around 8-ish, and didn't see any crowd, so just hung out for a while. Were you all at the big table by the window? That seemed to be the only sizeable group, but even then it only looked like a half dozen, so I figured either it was a big no-show or too small a group for me to ID.
I actually did go in the back, because The Gun Street Girls were supposed to make an appearance, starting at around 9:00 p.m., but by 11:00 they still hadn't hit the stage -- Wattawaste!
Actually, the U.S. military was already well underway with development of "heavy lift" orbital capabilities using the Atlas booster, however, it had yet to be successfully tested by the time of Sputnik & Vostok if memory serves. This was the main reason why Shepherd and Grissom's flights were sub-orbital using the Mercury/Redstone stack. And the Air Force, not enamored of a civilian-agency monopoly, was going ahead with parallel manned spaceflight programs through Gemini with the Dynasoar and Manned Orbital Laboratory projects, which again if I recall correctly weren't give the budget axe until about 1966.
Thanks for the clarifications, Mike. BTW, saw your show last weekend with a whole house full of .comers, but still enjoyed it anyway -- good work!
And I'll bet you never thought you'd find a website with more rude, bitter and cynical people on it than TPS! (;-)
Yeah, I caught the show last weekend. Never worked for Amazon or any other .com, but still thought Mike's insights into the culture were insightful and very funny. Plus Mike himself is just a damned hilarious guy (he also does sketch comedy with the Seattle group "Up In Your Grill").
In fact, the night I went most of the house was taken up by a group of .comers (although I didn't catch from what company), who were hooting there way through the entire show -- 'course the many beers they consumed beforehand might have had something to do with it...
A point of clarification: Duck Island is not an officially-designated bird sanctuary, only an unofficial one, so technically no trespass laws were violated, and thus the perps cannot be prosecuted for putting it there. The object is clearly visible from the lake shore and at this time of year, it is relatively unlikely scores of people are going to haul rowboats, canoes or kayaks down to Green Lake just to travel the short distance out to the island for a closer look. My guess is that the object will remain until the next opportunity for transport, when it will mysteriously disappear, only to reappear in another location. CHRIS COMTE
First off, it's not made of concrete, it's metal; secondly, according to "Some People" the group claiming responsibility for installing the object (aren't monoliths technically made out of stone?) at it's original site at Magnuson Park, it only weighs about 350 lbs., so it would be easy for four or five healthy individuals to pick it up and move it. 'Course they would have needed a boat to remove it from the Park (the entrances are gated after dark) haul it out of Lake Washington via the Montlake Cut possibly to GasWorks Park (and there's a great hill there where I think it should make a future appearance!) pull the thing out of the water, transport it to Green Lake (roughly a mile), put it into another boat and take it out to Duck Island. All in all, it would require a bit of logistical legerdermain (sp?) to accomplish all this without anyone seeing. But it was VERY foggy Wednesday night/Thursday morning, so there was ample cover to conceal the perps. One note of clarification; the people who did move it (whether it was "Some People" or another group) did not "trespass", as Duck Island is not an officially-designated bird sanctuary; only an unofficial one, so no encroachment laws were broken in the process of moving the object to the island. The only question remaining now is, will it be moved again, and if so, where will it make it's next appearance? CPC