las, for dreams that sadly die stillborn! Earlier this year, the SF world was all atwitter over a new webzine to be called Infinite Matrix. Edited by the knowledgeable author Eileen Gunn, and slated to feature columns by such well-known writers as Bruce Sterling and John Clute, Infinite Matrix promised to redefine what a hip, online SF presence would look like. But then came the great dot-com crash, and the funding for the new venture evaporated. The plug was pulled before issue one even hit the ether.
Yet now, miraculously, we are privileged to see the preserved corpse of that naked fledgling, for issue one has surfaced online as a kind of memorial to what never was. And since all the hype and expectations are reasonably fulfilled, the death is rendered all the more melancholy.
Bruce Sterling gets his Web log off to a chatty, funny start. John Clute orates touchingly on the career of Jack Williamson and the century just past. And Gunn pens an editorial explaining the birth and demise of her project. Two short-short stories, by Richard Kadrey and Michael Swanwick, complement a full-length piece from the U.K.'s knockout cybernoir Simon Ings and an excerpt from Pat Cadigan's novel Dervish Is Digital. Snazzy, cartoonish illos by Paul Mavrides and Jay Kinney are highlighted by the molecular geometric wallpaper designs. As a debut, this webzine would have had everyone talking. Instead, we're reciting its elegy.
— Paul Di Filippo
Site of the Week — August 27, 2001
anger! Danger, Will Robinson!" This stirring yet laughter-provoking catch phrase instantly conjures up a horde of golden memories for any SF fan over a certain age. But how to relive such nostalgia without remaining glued to a VCR? Simple: Just visit Tom Pokey's site, The Irreverent Guide to Lost in Space. There, the classic CBS television series (1965-68) about the Space Family Robinson is anatomized, cataloged and parodied in spades. You'll find sardonic plot summaries for all 84 episodes, LIS fan fiction and a helpful FAQ.
For group viewings of the show, why not adopt the "Lost in Space Drinking Game": similar to contests for other cult shows, this ritual involves liquor consumption upon any number of cues, such as hearing the phrase "Oh, the pain, the pain!" There are pointers to various discussion groups and a number of links as well. Visit a wonderful site selling all manner of toys and collectibles from both the TV series and the recent movie version of the franchise, and salivate over the cardboard robot standup, complete with voice module. "My sensors indicate an intruder is present" indeed.
All this dedicated effort for a show that once featured a giant carrot alien? Yes, that computes!
— Paul Di Filippo
Site of the Week — August 20, 2001
ome 30 years ago, a half-million letters were sent to U.S. President Gerald Ford, asking that the first space shuttle be named after the Federation starship Enterprise. This campaign by Star Trek fans was successful, and is the inspiration for a new crusade emerging on the Web. The target this time? The international space station.
Organized by Babylon 5 fan Jack Bennett, I.S.S. Babylon is devoted to making it easy for other devotees of the show to lobby the forces behind the international space station. The hope is that the station might one day officially be dubbed in honor of the Babylon project. A simple site in terms of both content and design, its primary function is to provide contact information. Web and snail addresses are posted here for the European Space Agency, NASA authorities and even the U.S. president. This makes it easy to deluge the station's movers and shakers with messages urging them to name the station after the popular TV series.
Given the international nature of the space station project, the I.S.S. Babylon campaign is a more complex challenge than the one which faced Trek fans 30 years earlier. They must sway decision makers in more than one country, after all. However, the page goes to great pains to point out that Babylon 5 has wide international appeal and a global fan following, and argues that this makes the name even more appropriate. It also includes links to articles which show a widespread desire among the public to give the I.S.S. some kind of a name, as well as a survey in Russia which included Babylon as a popular potential name for the station.
Finally, the page also includes a detailed diagram of the station itself, and links to pages about B5 and the space program. Its capper is a brief e-mail from Babylon 5 series creator J. Michael Straczynski, giving his blessing to the whole endeavor.
— A.M. Dellamonica
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