Neal Stephenson has a new book to be released Sept 3 2008 (pre-order on Amazon).

Wired.com writes about Stephenson’s motivations and where the ideas came from for this 960 page novel.

Set on a planet called Arbe (pronounced “arb”), Anathem documents a civilization split between two cultures: an indulgent Saecular general population (hooked on casinos, shopping in megastores, trashing the environment—sound familiar?) and the super-educated cohort known as the avaunt, or “auts,” who live a monastic existence defined by intellectual activity and circumscribed rituals. Freed from the pressures of pedestrian life, the avaunt view time differently. Their society—the “mathic” world—is clustered in walled-off areas known as concents built around giant clocks designed to last for centuries. The avaunt are separated into four groups, distinguished by the amount of time they are isolated from the outside world and each other. Unarians stay inside the wall for a year. Decenarians can venture outside only once a decade. Centenarians are locked in for a hundred years, and Millennarians—long-lifespanners who are endowed with Yoda-esque wisdom—emerge only in years ending in triple zeros. Stephenson centers his narrative around a crisis that jars this system—a crisis that allows him to introduce action scenes worthy of Buck Rogers and even a bit of martial arts. It’s a rather complicated setup; fortunately, there’s a detailed timeline and 20-page glossary to help the reader decode things.

The direct to DVD animated Wonder Woman movie is scheduled for release in Feb 2009.

Plot: Ares (the god of War) has escaped his imprisonment at the hands of the Amazonians and has decided to exact his revenge using the mystical “Hand of Rage,” an ancient artifact with the power to raise armies from the dead and infuse them with a thirst for blood. Ares intends to start a world war that will not only last for centuries – but will wipe out every living being on the planet, starting with the Amazons. It is up to Princess Diana to save her people and the world – by using her gifts and becoming the ultimate Wonder Woman.

Of course WW is joined by Army fighter pilot Steve Trevor.

I’m on way down to the convention for Day 3 so this will be short and sweet. Day 2 of the Star Trek convention gave us such goodies as a deep dive into the Phoenix Mars Lander by a pair of folks from University of Arizona that manage the Phoenix surface ops.

The rest of the day was celebrities on stage followed by a photo op with Marina Sirtis (”Counselor Troi” from ST:TNG). Celebrities included Grace Lee Whitney (”Yoeman Janice Rand”), Max Grodenchik (”Rom” from DS9), Michelle Forbes (”Ensign Ro Laren” from ST:TNG), Brent Spiner (”Data”), Marina Sirtis (”Counselor Troi”), Majel Roddenberry (”Nurse Chapel” and wife to Gene Roddenberry), Garret Wang (”Ensign Harry Kim” Voyager).

Oh, and of course, throughout the day there was lots of interaction with like minded geeks, quite a few in costume, we’ll get these pics posted asap when we can catch out breath, unfortunately the hotel’s wifi doesn’t extend to their convention center. Among my favorites is Molly in her retro mini skirt from The Original Series and my personal winner for Best Original Concept would be Michelle and Francine Crockett for their Starfleet Cheerleaders outfits! Oh Yes!

Below is a pic of Ken and his Starfleet Poodles (Tasha Yar and Data and one other who I can’t recall).

That’s right folks - Andy and I have hit town on both feet, and we’re pummeling out some awesome exclusive Star Trek shows that have kept us in our seats during the first day of "Star Trek Las Vegas 2008".  We saw a smattering of great trek stars in the main pavilion, including:

Susan Gibney - "Dr. Leah Brahms"

Barbara March - "Lursa"

Robin Curtis - "Lt. Saavik"

John Fleck - "Silik"

Denise Crosby - "Lt. Tasha Yar"

Carel Struycken - "Mr. Homn"

John de Lancie - "Q"

Each guest was fantastic, though they had their own styles of pandering to the crowd.  Although I enjoyed all the guests, the best by far was Denise, who had a clearly enjoyable time speaking to the crowd about her roles, and giving colorful and entertaining stories about her personal life and present work.  John de Lancie was a real character in life, just as he is on film as well!

That’s it for day one!  I’ll put up some pictures tomorrow of the fascinating people we’ve met so far…  QaHpla‘ !!

My take: Harry Potter = The Goonies meet Bewitched. A perfect combo, this is why it’s raking in money hand over fist. But I digress…

The movie trailer is out for ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ and jeebus this looks creepy!

A young Dark Wizard emerges in this exclusive first look at moviefone. Watch the ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ trailer in HD, the movie will be out Nov 2008.

Synopsis:

Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to unlock Voldemort’s defenses and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, the well-connected and unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn, whom he believes holds crucial information.

Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry finds himself more and more drawn to Ginny, but so is Dean Thomas. And Lavender Brown has decided that Ron is the one for her, only she hadn’t counted on Romilda Vane’s chocolates! And then there’s Hermione, simpering with jealously but determined not to show her feelings. As romance blossoms, one student remains aloof. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again.