adastra

16 December 2010

Of Parallel Universes, Alternate Realities, Realms and Dimensions

As a side effect of the significant amount of Science Fiction I’ve been enjoying lately (most recently having devoured Fringe in no time), I’ve noticed a phenomenon that is almost as inexplicably over-present in fiction as vampires or zombies are: Parallel Universes. There’s just one thing in which Parallel Universes strikingly differ from fiction-favorites vampires and zombies: their existence can not be proven, nor can be proven that they don’t exist. They are the lab cat of science, locked in a box labeled “Schrodinger’s”. Science usually refers to Parallel Universes as the “Multiverse”, which I will also do here, mostly. […]

6 September 2010

Eureka!

from Ancient Greek εὕρηκα (heurēka, “I have found”) I have found my affection for the TV show Eureka only recently. When I first borrowed the DVD, I had no idea what to expect, because “a town full of geniuses” is a pretty vague description. But I was positively surprised when, while watching, I discovered that this is fully-fledged fun-to-watch Science Fiction. Eureka is best described as a mixture of Torchwood, Doctor Who and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The lead character is Sheriff Jack Carter, an average guy who accidentally stumbles upon this sleepy Oregon town and ends up being the […]

19 August 2010

Sherlock, Sherlock Holmes

I have only ever read one of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes books – The Hound of the Baskervilles, a long long time ago. Before even thinking about reviewing stuff that has anything to do with Sherlock Holmes, I should probably read all the other books. But currently I’ve been stuck on one book for months because I’m so busy and the weather is too good to hide out in café’s in my lunch break (anything that doesn’t involve rain and temperatures below 5°C is too good). I’ll review this stuff anyway, maybe someone will feel inspired to watch it […]

3 August 2010

Inception – A Labyrinth of Dreams

Warning: Contains spoilers for the movie Inception! Will probably also not make much sense without having seen the movie. Sometimes I dream that I’m slipping or falling over, and the sensation I feel in the dream sends impulses to my body causing my legs and arms to try catch the fall (and thus move) – which instantly wakes me up. But it has happened that I dreamed about falling down and down from somewhere very high for a long time, without being able to wake up from the dream. I kept falling and I felt that tingling, yet incredibly scary, […]

8 March 2010

History: Contains Spoilers for Rome and The Tudors.

Warning: This post contains spoilers for the TV shows Rome and The Tudors! Cesar is stabbed! Anne Boleyn loses her head! So what is the point in watching those shows, you say? Well, when not written by a dull and dry textbook author, history can be very exciting (and much more cruel than any splatter film you can think of). Rome was a truly epic TV show – so epic, that the producers couldn’t afford to do more than two seasons of it – and we’re talking about HBO and the BBC here. Which is quite sad, because towards the […]

5 February 2010

For a little while (Dollhouse)

Regarding Joss Whedon’s show Dollhouse, for the past three years there has been much ado about… nothing? The fans were ambitious when they first learned about Whedon’s latest project, then they were upset about what FOX tried to turn it into. Later on they were glad that it got renewed for a second season, and eventually sad-but-not-surprised that it got canceled. All those facts contributed to what Dollhouse is now: a nice show, but nothing more. Whedon has proven many times in Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Firefly that he can do so much more. Make us roll on the […]

20 January 2010

Movies of the Zeros

Some people argued about when the millennium would start – 2000 or 2001? And when does the decade start? I’m gonna take the easy route and regard the ten years from 2000 to 2009 as the last century, they all have at least two zeros in them. So, this post will be something like a Best Movies of the Decade List, widely influenced by my own personal opinion. The Zero-Decade is the decade in which my interest for movies and culture in general developed into what it is today. I was 15 years old when the century began and 25 […]

12 May 2009

Have you tried… not being a mutant? (X-Men Origins: Wolverine)

I’m not much of a superhero geek, I never read a lot of superhero comics (except Witchblade maybe), but every once in a while I enjoy a bit of easy-to-digest entertainment a la Spider-Man, Batman Begins or Superman Returns. But the X-Men are probably the most interesting among those present day movie superheroes. They work because they are not just a single individual in the fight against evil, but a group of human subspecies which acts as an allegory for minorities – complete with awesome superpowers every kid who’s been mobbed in school dreamed of. With a devoted fan like […]

13 March 2009

Your to guide to visiting Salzburg

Plan your trip in the summer or very close to it. I recommend sometime between May and September, because the weather will be much more rewarding in those times. While snowy mountains can look pretty, it’s more enjoyable if you can actually see them instead of them being hidden behind a thick wall of thriving snow. Also, walking through a rainy city is hardly ever fun, especially if you don’t have waterproof shoes. Another reason for planning your trip within those months is that a lot of tours outside of Salzburg are only offered in the summer. You will regret […]