Hi-Sci-Fi

This image was uploaded with the post HiSciFi - The Future of Torrents, Santas Parade, Misfits.

This week we lament the fall of Mininova.org, bring you some alternatives to the ever popular torrent site, and discuss the issues surrounding copyright.

Also, hold your breath for Santas Parade and the newest UK show, Misfits.

This image was uploaded with the post HiSciFi - Bat Sex, Future of Spiderman 4, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and more….

The long lost Halloween episode rises from the grave to haunt us…with goodness!

This week we bring you the sexual lives of bats, cartoons, and some major asteroid attacks…oy!

Also we discuss the future of comic book entertainment with Adam McCormick of Greyhaven Hobbies, give you the deal on Spiderman 4, Captain America, and Thor. And we give you the latest in comic books - Sweettooth and all.

This image was uploaded with the post HiSciFi - Steve Anderson on Net Neutrality, Fresh Media and Canadian Journalism.

This week, we chat with Steve Anderson of SaveOurNetcoalition and he gives us the goods on Fresh Media Fresh Media, an event dedicated to new and changing state of digital art and media. We also discuss the recent CRTC decision on Net Neutrality in Canada.

Currently, media in Canada is experiencing a major crisis, as CanWest, one of the few and overwhelmingly penetrative media conglomerates has declared bancruptcy due to seemingly insurmountable debts.

Prior to kicking the bucket, so to speak, CanWest did its best to cut down on “corners” by closing local television stations, cutting newsrooms and engaging in mass layoffs. One of the requests forwarded to the CRTC was to eliminate costs by adjoining the newprint and broadcasting news rooms, working with only a fraction of journalists who would potentially occupy a small rooom in a basement somewhere in Toronto.

While the CanWest proposal never saw the light of day, it is worthwhile noting that similar redundancies have been committed by variety of news agencies across Canada. As a result, we are currently experiencing a disappearance of local news coverage.

However, there are select few, such as the chosen panel participants at Fresh Media, who see an opportunity. In this time of economic crisis, online-only publications such as the Tyee or Rabble, are gaining ground by producing the local content relevant to readers.

That said, these select few are neither freelancers nor new graduates with irrelevant, unnamed blogs. They are professionals who not only have full time, financially supportive jobs, but are working in the for-profit media.

According to Statistics Canada, independent enterpreneurs are doing really well, if they happen to be in the upper 10th percentile. The rest though, are having tougher times selling their wares, be it twitter or pen.

This image was uploaded with the post HiSciFi - Starz Animation on 9, iRobot Poetry, Mars.

This week we bring you Starz Animation who made the animated feature “9” come to life.

The animated feature “9”, created and directed by Shane Acker, has been awaited in anticipation by fans of fine animation, and it has set a new bar for animation.

We are joined by David Steinberg of Starz Animation who is calling us from Starz Animation Toronto studio, a facility that made “9” into the animation feature of the year.

We also have Jason Christie, author of iRobot poetry whose work, though published for 3 years now, has only been gaining fans. Not only is his work turned into a theatre play, but there are fans who animated the poetry.

This image was uploaded with the post HiSciFi - Fair Copyright w Geoffrey Glass.

This week we bring you Geoffrey Glass who is an outspoken critic of lobbying efforts by movie and record industry to reform copyright in Canada. The corporate efforts to reform copyright are astounding, as recent Townhall meetings in Toronto were filled with pro-corporate lobbyists who simply pushed out the consumer advocacy and artist perspective.

Now is your time to be heard. Visit FairCopy.ca or SpeakOutOnCopyright.ca

The simple way to respond?

SEND EMAIL TO: info@copyrightconsultation.gc.ca

by Irma Arkus

It is time for the CJSF, our host station, awards!

And you are invited to throw in your vote as well!

VOTE HISCIFI! Vote for Irma!

I will chop off your legs and replaced them with artificial limbs made of PURE GOLD!!!

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Ahhhh, nothing like a day of self-promotion…

This image was uploaded with the post HiSciFi - Green Hornet, Fair Copyright, Planet of the Apes, Geoengineering.

This image was uploaded with the post This Is One Rough Week.

This week on HiSciFi, with Irma and Tarek in the studio, we bring you a glimpse into past, as we explore 1970s Planet of the Apes TV show, as well as discuss the Aggression Theory.

We also discuss the keyword of the past week - GEOENGINEERING. What is it and what it may mean for you?

And Copyright in Canada - what can you do to prevent corporations mandating copyright law reforms in Canada?

And we give you the latest update on the Green Hornet!!!

OPEN PUBLIC COPYRIGHT CONSULTATIONS ARE OVER on SEP 13th - PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE visit FAIRCOPY.CAFAIRCOPY.CA and send in your responses NOW.

by Irma Arkus

As I’ve fallen behind in reporting (blame me, blame Canada…) I decided to throw you “What Irma’s been worrying about today” list. So, here goes nothing:

Geoengineering - fully intend to explore this during the show, but probably will not get a chance to really get anguished on air, or go into details.

The light version goes something like this: Royal Society says that things are grimmer than anticipated. This kind of fits within new scientific reports that are quite clear on state of global environment being more dire in reality, than the proposed worst case scenarios spelled out a few years back.

For one, methane is cause for concern, it being a major greenhouse gas and all, and as its reserves are kept in liquid state either at bottom of Arctic Ocean, or in Russian steppes, warming of these areas ultimately means release of untold quantities of methane gas into atmosphere, pretty much cutting down our chances of survival as species, as well as that of others who have the misfortune of occupying this planet at the very same time.

This ongoing tragedy is revolving through scientific journals and news practically on daily basis, but Royal Society this week came out of its usual quiet narration, and announced (and who knows who heard it?) that should drastic steps toward reduction of CO2 levels not be taken, geoengineering may be the only step we can take, no matter how *dangerous, stupid, irreversible, harmful and altering to Earth itself it may be.

Geoengineering may sound cool in theory, offers no reason for joy in reality. Not only does it offer no guarantee of reducing temperature or CO2 levels, but the proposed “solutions” involving geoengineering are so disturbing that we may end up paying for it for generations to come.

Star Trek - I keep on getting disturbingly pissy about this, mostly because I hate the Abrams’ lack of any insight into what Star Trek, as initally imagined by Rodenberry, is about. Oh sure, Shatner’s Kirk is a vagabond, a daredevil, everything that McCain tried to persuade America he is during the elections and more, but the crew of Enterprise also had a moral centre, a moral obligation to assist other cultures and attempt to understand them, and that was wiped clean off of the tabula rasa presented to us by Abrams.

I weep for Nero. The rest of them can burn in hell.

I’ve offered thorough critiques of the film before, but to indulge the rest of you, I will do so again in near future.

The news though, keep dripping in regards to Star Trek - mostly because of the anticipated DVD release, and the continuously held promotional panels.

One thing has been confirmed though, Leonard Nimoy did not incidentally appear very old in the film, but rather IS old. He firmly announced that he will not be returning for another appearance in the upcoming Star Trek.

Green Hornet - Stephen Chow is no longer attached to the project. This makes me mildly sad, because I really looked forward to Chow’s breakthrough into North American film market, and this was supposed to have been “it.” Chow’s “CJ-7” was fantastic in every way. Polished, funny, interesting, enchanting…I loved it to bits, and was hoping to see more of Chow’s ingenuity on screen. And he would have made an amazing Kato to boot.

But not all is lost, and I will fill you in during the show.

Planet of the Apes - announced is yet another remake. No joke. Have no idea why or how, but here we are.

After finding this out, I made an effort to procure the TV series of the franchise, and while short-lived, it had some rather interesting ideas…and not necessarily ape-related ones either.

The show was written during the era of energy crisis in the 1970s, and it reflects through and through. For one, a lot of contemporary concerns regarding alternate energy are reflected in the series, creating some sort of a temporal “worry bridge”?

From solar-powered lights, to nuclear-powered subways, humanity of future/yesteryear was heavily reliant on solution to gas, in form of nuclear power supply, and has incidentally also met its end at hands of its savior.

The funny bit is the premise of the show. The astronauts, played by James Naughton and Ron Harper, are continuously spreading their philosophy, which reads something like “why can’t apes and humans just get along?” but in reality sounds like “we want peace and collaboration between sentient species.” That may sound fine and dandy, but in this alternate future, it seems to me that peace has finally been established with apes in position of superiority.

The ape masters may treat humans like pets or slaves, but there are certainly no massive wars, and they seem to be positively nicer than your average CEO.

All that and more…tune in!

This image was uploaded with the post HiSciFi - Robert Burns on “The Unselfish Gene”.

This week we have one of my new favorite authors, Robert Burns, who not only has the touch for the undead, but writes most beautiful adventure sci-fi pulp I’ve read in a long, long time. And together with Burns, we bring you his new novel, The Unselfish Gene.

The premise of the novel is genuinely un-boring: colonists on moon are the last of humans as we know it, because the rest of the Earth’s populus has been affected by a Zombie virus.

But that is only where the fun starts, as moon colonists seem to suffer from endless complications and health issues of their own: they are not the best choice for human propagation due to long-term radiation exposure, and mental ilnesses, including clinical depression, are quite common.

Worst of all, they are the only and best candidates for survival of humanity, because they have the runaway vehicle: Anita, an Orion-like ship, propelled by nuclear-bombs, is a way out, as Earth also faces a run-in with a comet.

The premise of the novel simply spells disaster, which is AWESOME.

Do check out The Unselfish Gene novel. Not only does it have new and surprising twists to the Zombie lore, but it also happens to be one of those endearing publications with surprisingly cool illustrations. Best of all, Burns not only writes great pulpy sci-fi, but writes science articles for living, which makes his prose surprisingly palatable and enriching.

I don’t do this often, but this time I will make an exception - Buy a copy. Give it to your friends, especially the ones that join the local Zombie Walks.

This image was uploaded with the post HiSciFi - Gabrielle Rose on BSG, Taken, Grace and Sweet Hereafter.

We give you the lowdown on the Pirate Bay Four trial, inform you of the latest case of a comic book collector thrown in jail for owning manga, and more…

We are also joined by one of Canada’s most notable actresses, Gabrielle Rose. You have seen her everywhere, as the grand dame of acting had worked on Spielberg’s Taken, as well as BSG, Stargate, Smallville and Sanctuary.

While we’re excited about these shows, Rose is really amazing in drama productions. From Robson Arms, to Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter, Rose made a lasting influence on small and silver screen.

The career of Gabrielle Rose started in 1975, and despite her remarkable success, she remains a positive, yet down-to-earth persona, who is really exquisit to watch.

We ask her about her recent sporting of gray streaks, a bold statement on her age, and get her to give us the goods on collaborating with known directors. We also talk about the nature of Canadian cinema and television, and reveal the details on her latest project, “Shattered.”

Rose has recently scooped the Leo Award for the Best Dramatic Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series, for her work on Sanctuary. She also received her own star on the Canadian Walk of Fame.

The most interesting bit about having Gabrielle Rose on air with us, is that she is genuinely excited about being on our show.

This image was uploaded with the post HiSciFi - Jody Thompson on Alien Trespass, Flash Gordon, and more Star Trek!.