12h 
Kitt Hodsden @kitt : She said yes! http://youtu.be/5_v7QrIW0zY /via @andrewhedges Retweeted by Estelle Weyl
He must be part of a group of theater people. – Mike
Wow! So many memories! So many choices (35)! How do you decide??
The possibilities range from campy fun some by great composers (“Lost In Space” by ‘Johnny’ Williams, and “Tales From The Crypt” by Danny Elfman), to the self-consciously dramatic (“Space: 1999”). There’s also the oddly included. (“Get Smart” as science fiction? Why not just include “The Simpsons”?)
Some omissions were a disappointment. The “Twilight Theme” you can vote for is the Marius Constant version (arguably the best known), rather than the Bernard Herrmann version used for the first two seasons. The latter, imho, is musically much superior and rather creepier, but alas, not a voting option.
Based on the voting results (which you see after you cast your own), the voters were mostly youthful; more recent themes did better, suggesting that living memory and sentimental attachment made a difference in the outcome.
There were several to which I found myself strongly drawn , but with the vote limited to only four, I had to make some hard choices.
Ultimately, I found a simple guide: I voted my goosebumps. For those who are curious, but don’t want to be influenced by my choices, I’ll post them as a SPOILER ALERT here in white font. You can see them by highlighting the gap just below.
Battlestar Galactica (old), Battlestar Galactica (new), Dr. Who (Tom Baker era), Stargate: Atlantis (a surprise to me, since I never loved the show).
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Welcome to the first io9 music smackdown! We’re putting together the ultimate science fiction (and fantasy) playlist — all the music that everyone should have on his or her iPod.
Today, help us decide which theme tunes absolutely must be in the mix. Which would you rather have in your ultimate science fiction playlist: the theme from Firefly or BSG?
Here are the rules for this particular playlist. Only original TV theme songs are eligible (so Chuck’s Cake tune and True Blood’s “Bad Things” are out, but just for this round). There are no cartoons for this round as well, you’ll get your TMNT cartoon theme song smack down soon enough. You can vote for 4 total. The winners will be added to io9’s ultimate play list. The poll is at the bottom of the posts, and we’ve included every single song on the list so you can decide first-hand.
Remember: you can vote for up to four items.
Click here to hear the candidates and vote ==> Vote for the greatest science fiction theme song of all time
I hate ‘sampling’ almost as much as I hate plagiarism. I’m not sure which one Jennifer Lopez is guilty of, but it’s one or the other.
Oddly, the first time I heard this tune was in a “Visit Israel” commercial. Apparently, its name is “Lambada”. (Funny. It doesn’t look Jewish.)
According to Wikipedia, “The “Lambada” song was actually an unauthorized translation of the 1981 song “Llorando se fue” (which means: Crying he/she went away), from the Bolivian group Los Kjarkas.”
You can hear that version below.
A Japanese version with a slightly faster beat, more like what I remember, is here:
Here’s an “official” Lambada version from 1989. It’s official in the sense that Kaoma made it an international hit, and Los Kjarkas sued Kaoma for plagiarism and won.
This is the Jennifer Lopez version (“rip-off”?) called “On The Floor”. In my opinion, it’s over-produced and not nearly as appealing as any of the previous versions of this melody.
So call it “Llorando se fue”, call it “Lambada” … Or maybe just call it “stolen”.
Creative bankruptcy: It’s not just for two-bit lounge acts anymore.
I was referred to this article (“Scientists plan to drill all the way down to the Earth’s mantle“) by a tweet from @ebertchicago (Roger Ebert): Drilling five miles down into the earth’s mantle. What could possibly go wrong? http://bit.ly/g9qGVr
Learn more about this movie at the Internet Movie Database (imdb.com).
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Summary: A scientist tries to find a limitless, non-polluting energy source by drilling really, really deep into the earth. This can’t end ‘well’.
I first saw this film when I was about 14. Continue reading
