THE BRICK MOON (1872) – Written by Edward Everett Hale, best known for The Man without a Country. This novella started out as a serialized story published in 1869 in the October, November and December issues of Atlantic Monthly. A follow-up installment, titled Life in the Brick Moon, was published in the February 1870 issue.
In 1872, the entire four-part piece was published by Roberts Brothers as part of His Level Best and Other Stories, which contained works by multiple authors. The Brick Moon was published again in 1899 as part of Edward Everett Hale’s The Brick Moon and Other Stories.
The story begins in the 1840s when Frederic Ingham, the tale’s narrator, and his college friends Orcutt and Halliburton plan a dream project which winds up taking decades to fulfill – a manmade artificial satellite, the first recorded in science fiction stories.
The possibility of wireless communication was unknown in that time period, so the three friends don’t plan to use their Brick Moon to transmit and receive communications. They instead plan for it to serve as a heavenly object that ships at sea can use as a marker. Continue reading
THE CHALLENGE aka Surrogate (1970) – This made for tv movie aired in February 1970. The storyline involves a downed satellite that contains American national defense technology. It landed near a fictional Asian nation which is closely allied with Communist China.
Neither the U.S. nor Red China want to see this incident escalate into an all-out war, so they agree to a solution. Each side will send one man to a small nearby island. Whichever surrogate manages to kill the other within five days will have “won” the downed satellite for its side.
THE CATTLE RAID OF COOLEY (Tain Bo Cuailgne) – Because this is easily the most well-known tale from Irish Mythology I will be brief and I will also include another section of the Book of the Dun Cow in this same blog post.
III. As Queen Maeve and her army approached Ulster, most of the Ulstermen were incapacitated by labor pains, a curse from the goddess Macha that they would be thus afflicted for nine generations whenever Ulster faced peril. The only man of Ulster not affected by the curse was the demigod Cuchulainn,
THE BIG EASY (1986) – An unjustly neglected film starring the one and only Dennis Quaid, who should have been made the new Indiana Jones after The Last Crusade in 1989. The Big Easy is easily one of the most underrated films of the 1980s.
YELLOWJACKET
Powers: Yellowjacket was a probable mutant with the power of mentally controlling bees. He used his armies of those insects to sting, distract or harass opponents in battle. In addition, this hero was in peak physical condition and excelled at unarmed combat.
THE EXPULSION OF THE DEISSI (Tucait innarba na nDessi i mMumain ocus aided Chormaic) – Once believed to be a genuine historical narrative, The Expulsion of the Deissi has long been recognized as yet another case of mere quasi-historical myth-making.
ARK II (1976) – In the postapocalyptic 25th Century, the year 2476 to be precise, Earth has been left devastated and transformed by warfare and pollution. Surviving scientists send out a team of explorers in a discount Damnation Alley vehicle and wearing Logan’s Run clothing. The crew of Ark II are to learn what pockets of humanity have survived and help them begin rebuilding civilization.
The crew of the “futuristic” vehicle were Jonah (Terry Lester), Samuel (Jose Flores), Ruth (Jean Marie Hon) and the intelligent chimp Moochie (Adam), voiced by Lou Scheimer. Ark II was outfitted with elaborate equipment that was perfect for experiments, medical emergencies and for everyday survival, like the ability to produce whatever kind of food was desired.
THE VISION OF ADOMNAN (Fis Adomnain) – This was a tale of the vision that Saint Adomnan supposedly had during his lifetime (c 679-704 A.D.). Several centuries before Dante’s Divine Comedy (Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso), The Vision of Adomnan depicted the future saint being conducted through Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell so that he could share this “vision” with others.
JESUS: A PASSION PLAY FOR AMERICANS (1969) – Happy Easter! Here’s a look at an experimental take on the story of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, all accompanied by music.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA Vol 1 #82 (August 1970)