Category: Movie Reviews

Mysteries and the Lockheed A-12 ‘Oxcart’

Just noticed this – if you look at the Wikipedia entry for the A-12 Oxcart – predecessor to the SR-17 Blackbird – you will see that it says the original test pilot was Bissell and the test pilot of the first SR-71 was a Gilliland in 1964. Now if you are as familiar with the 1964 film 633 Squadron as I am (see my Questionnaire for Cliff Robertson – Cliff’s Response blog for 24 November 2010) you will know very well that Roy Grant’s navigator for one mission is a Bissell and that another pilot is called Gillibrand. Could this be coincidence? It seems even less likely when you realise that the director Walter Grauman was a combat crewman in a B-25 during WWII and mad-keen on aircraft. I wonder if he knew all about the Oxcart programme even then?

I am continuing with the final edit and spell-check of Too Bright the Sun so that I can publish in July.

Wikipedia entry for A-12 Oxcart includes this: Continue reading “Mysteries and the Lockheed A-12 ‘Oxcart’” →

Science – and Best Film Car Chase Vote

I have been concentrating on Iron II – sci-fi which is so much easier to work on when I am busy at work. I find writing about religion very draining so Ordo II will have to wait for a while.

The science for Iron I has been fascinating but trying to cram in enough of a framework to make a world or indeed a universe, believable while not boring the reader is quite a challenge. Sometimes I have a very simple idea in my head but in order to make it happen I have to do all sorts of contortions in the book.

Is it possible to have this sentence, about an alien, or does the use of ‘morse-code’ kind of break the illusion, because morse-code is only of our world? Please let me know.

“He tapped the chloro-funnel with his extended thumb-claw, in a kind of irritated morse-code, as if to warn anybody off who might want a conversation.” Continue reading “Science – and Best Film Car Chase Vote” →