he boy who was Wesley Crusher is now a writer with a blog. Wil Wheaton's been publishing his Web site since 2001 as part of an ongoing mission to show that his life didn't end along with his stint on Star Trek: The Next Generation. The site-turned-blog is updated several times a week, and recounts his writing efforts (including his just-finished autobiography, Just a Geek), acting work (like a stint on Teen Titans) and life as an unapologetic geek (on 3/14, he wished his wife a happy "pie" day).
The Web site includes extensive archives, as well as supplemental audio and photo blogs, a frequently-asked-questions page and convention appearance news. It's all written in an informal, friendly, "just another geek" style that's engaging not just because he once played the ensign everyone loved to hate, but because he's a well-spoken member of Generation X who's passionate about the things that most geeks are passionate about.
Of course, he did play that aforementioned ensign, and those experiences allow him to provide unique insights into science fiction, including comments on conventions, acting on The Next Generation and the agony of being cut from Star Trek: Nemesis. That should certainly appeal to Star Trek fans, but it's not the primary reason to visit the site. That reason is simply this: He's one of us. He may have grown up on the set of Star Trek, but he did so with a stack of GURPS and Warhammer 40,000 books in his trailer. The Trek part of his life may be in the past, but he's still a geek.
— Ken Newquist
Site of the Week—April 19, 2004
lan Moore's Watchmen is one of two graphic novels credited with changing the very nature of the comics industry (the other, of course, is Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns). This is a major achievement, and one with which many writers might be content ... but not Moore, whose
current projects include Promethea, Terra Obscura and the deservedly renowned League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
The Alan Moore Fan Site has set itself the daunting task of tracking the ever-more-prolific creator of all these amazing comics, keeping up with the news on all of Moore's projects and their various media spinoffs. Curious about the prospects for a Watchmen movie? AMFS has the skinny. Want to see what Moore has had to say, in interviews, about From Hell or his Swamp Thing days at DC Comics? Check the index of interviews.
AFMS has a FAQ, a lengthy biography of Moore, listings of all his writings, art projects and interviews, information on awards won by Moore's works, news on upcoming projects, and fan reviews of graphic novel projects and the movies based on them. The site also maintains an e-mail newsletter, as well as a store that aids collectors in finding current works and back issues of hard-to-find comics.
The wealth of data at this site is incredibly rich, a must-see resource for Moore fans who want to be up on all the latest news, or anyone wishing to know more about one of the comic world's greatest living artists.
— A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—April 12, 2004
lanetary Scorecard chronicles Earth's attempts to send probes to planets within the inner solar system, awarding Terra a point whenever it successfully orbits or lands a craft on another planet. Earth's celestial opponents score whenever they manage to block an attempt.
The scorecards for Mercury, Venus and Mars list each attempted mission, when it was launched, the Earth nation (or "player") responsible for it, a link to the mission profile and a brief summary of what went right—or wrong.
With the amount of bad press that the various planetary space programs get when something does go wrong, visitors might expect Earth to be trailing most of its solar kin, but in truth it's 1-0 with Mercury, 23-18 with Venus and trails Mars by only three (total score: 17:20). Of the three scorecards, the Mars one is the most intriguing. It starts off tongue-in-cheek with the Martian "invasion" of Grover's Mills, N.J., in 1938, and then switches over to real missions, beginning with Russia's Marsnik 1 in 1960. Reading through the summaries is a blast—the sports metaphor works well, and the light, amusing style is as entertaining as it is educational.
— Ken Newquist
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