Mysterious Pilot

I'll be careful not to say this in the airport, but I'm gone the rest of this week to shoot a pilot. Or more specifically, to act as the host for a pilot television show. It's pretty much top secret, but I'm sort of excited so I'm blogging the general details anyway. The pilot episode of this show probably won't be aired and it involves me operating heavy machinery. If the show gets picked up, I'll be on television. If not, I'll still have an interesting (and probably hilarious) anecdote to tell my friends and family. More soon...

LiveWire! Radio Show

On Saturday, October 20th at the Aladdin Theater in Portland, Oregon -- I'm kicking it with the LiveWire! radio hosts and talking about Where's My Jetpack? and whatever else I can think of that's interesting and not too embarrassing. But the best part? The other guests, including:

Actor BRUCE CAMPBELL (Evil Dead, The Hudsucker Proxy, Bubba Ho-Tep) and MIKE RICHARDSON from Dark Horse Comics join us to discuss their collaboration on the upcoming zombie-riffic film, My Name is Bruce

VIVA VOCE, the band Venus Magazine called, "A dark and seductive fuzzed-out pool of rock."

Love From Tulsa

Matt Gleason wrote a very nice article about Where's My Jetpack?: A Guide to the Amazing Science Fiction Future that Never Arrived and about what I've been up to in general. During the phone interview Matt said something that cracked me up -- it was along the lines of: "So you're just, like, a regular dude who knows about science?" Hah! So true...

Check out the article in the Tulsa World.

Public Radio International

Heads up, world! On Monday, August 12th I'll be talking jetpacks with Faith Salie on the Fair Game Show on Public Radio International. Should be a good time!

Robot Uprising Movie... still limping along!

The LA Times interviewed Tom Lennon and Ben Garant -- the two very talented (and busy) screenwriters who are working on adapting How to Survive a Robot Uprising for Paramount. According to this LA Times story the guys are still working on what I like to call "my movie." Exciting -- it's just too bad that I'll be in my thirties before it comes out.
:)

Odd But Potentially Amusing Request

In-te-rest-ing. I've been taking improv classes this year and it looks like I'm going to get a chance to use my skillz. Well, not really. But I'll be at the Portland Center Stage on September 21st, working with Gary Hirsch from On Your Feet Improv and Super Project Lab Improv. Here's what I'll be doing:

We are looking for guests to share their stories and to inspire our improv for this next run. Here is what it would entail:

* You are introduced to the audience and ask for a suggestion to inspire a true life story or experience (in the past guests have asked for an occupation, a life changing event, etc)

* The audience yells out their ideas and when you hear one that inspires you, they tell a true story from your life based on the suggestion. This is a 2-3 minute monologue about anything you want to talk about. This does not have to be funny or clever, it just has to be true.

* After about 3 minutes, or when you find a stop point, one of the five SPL improvisers will walk in front of them and start an improvised scene inspired by their monologue. Then you move off the stage into a comfy chair for about 10 minutes.

My Kanye West-esque Critique of Transformers for Wired Magazine

Transformers don't care about people -- any kind of people. I wrote a quick article for Wired about why Transformers rock because they don't want to either be people or kill people. They've got their own damn problems.

Of course, I saw the latest movie preview today and it's all about how some Transformers want to "protect" humans and some want to "destroy" humans. That's what cracks me up about humans -- it's always all about us... But it's a movie, so what are you going to do?

Bro-Jitsu: The Martial Art of Sibling Rivalry

So I'm writing a book AND a movie. And yes, I'm too lazy to elaborate. So please just read the Variety article. Alternately, read the Hollywood Reporter article -- it comes with a pretty funny-yet-philosophical quote from my producer Marc Rosen.

Salon.com reviews Where's My Jetpack

Check out this Salon article about the implications of Where's My Jetpack. It's deep, man.

Plus, I really like being described as "arch." Cool.

Interview with Art Bell (Coast to Coast AM)

This Sunday night from 11PM until 2AM I am going to be holed up in a Motel Six. There can be only sordid reasons for a three hour hotel stay, and this is one of them -- I'll be using the motel room landline for a three hour interview with Art Bell and Coast to Coast AM about jetpacks, killer robots, and.. buh buh buh... SCIENCE. From the producer:

"Coast to Coast AM" is the largest overnight talk radio show in the U.S., airing nationwide on 500 affiliates. The show is the number one rated show in most markets with overwhelming market share.

Although we cover news stories and hard science when the events warrant our attention, we do not close the door on ideas that run counter to conventional wisdom. We have Ivy League professors on the show as well as people who claim to have seen ghosts and aliens.

This is going to be fun. Clearly.

Where's My Jetpack!? is finally here

The pub date for my second book has arrived, which is why I'm currently watching Maurie Povich from a hotel room in San Francisco between giving book talks. Later I'm going to take a bath and get room service. Um. In the meantime, check out these reviews of the book!

Popular Mechanics

The Oregonian

Seattle Times

Hartford Courant

GQ Magazine

Robot Hall of Fame - The Jury

Killer. I just joined the jury of the Robot Hall of Fame. This means that I'm joining Arthur C. Clarke, Rod Brooks, Steve Wozniak, Anthony Daniels (he's C3PO!) and a passel of other very impressive folks (see them at the jury page) to select the 2007 inductees to the RHOF.

Do you think I could get a consensus on Vicki the robot girl from the 1980s sitcom, Small Wonder? Yeah, probably not.

54,000 hits on Google Video?

That's a lot of internet people sitting around watching this forty minute video of one of my very first book talks. This was way back in 2005 when I had *just* finished school and it was in front of a group of brainy Google employees. I'm terrified that so many people have now seen it...

Google video series

Roomba902

I find the ranting of this lonely, depressed robot to be terrifically entertaining. Check out his all-too-human video-blog at www.roomba902.com

(full disclosure: I made this with some friends.)

Popular Mechanics: Top 5 Robots that Own YOU

I found the top robots who can physically and/or mentally humiliate human beings. The sad thing was -- it wasn't that hard to find 'em.

Link to the Top Five Angry Robots.

The Kojo Nnamdi Show

I have had the fun opportunity to chat with "futurists" now that my book "Where's My Jetpack?" is getting closer to its release date. Today, I met Tim Mack, the President of the World Future Society on the Kojo Show on WAMU, and a few weeks ago I met Stanford technology forecaster Paul Saffo on "The Forum" at KQED. I'm skeptical of the whole of idea of being a professional futurist, but I'm warming up to them!

Check out the radio program: Predicting the Future: Past and Present.

Top Five Robots You Can Buy Right Now

Raise a hundred grand and get a robot car. For serious!

Read about it at Popular Mechanics Online.

Also, happy new year!