Yesterday, I discovered that Tom Cruise bought the movie rights to William R. Forstchen's novel series The Lost Regiment. My heart soared with this news, for the long out-of-print saga deserved far greater popularity than it acquired.

The nine books of The Lost Regiment series begin in January, 1865. A Maine infantry regiment is sucked into an interstellar wormhole and thrown onto an alien world. There, they encounter a people clearly descended from medieval Russian peasants. After gaining a rudimentary understanding of their language, the Yankee soldiers learn of a dark menace on the planet called the "Tugars".

The saga is a glorious and exciting depiction of courage, honor, and determination. So it would be fitting that so fine a tale would be presented on the silver screen. Alas, the source for this news dated back to 2002, so my hope was unfounded. There's no reason to think that Tom Cruise will bring The Lost Regiment to theaters.

But this does bring me to today's Question of the Day:

What underrated science fiction or fantasy novel do you think should be turned into a movie?

Image: Penguin Books

"Space Western" is a genre within science fiction in which futuristic or extraterrestrial stories feature narrative elements from the iconography of the American Old West. Cowboys and the frontier have loomed large in the minds of science fiction writers, especially American sci fi creators. Gene Roddenberry and George Lucas, for example, have both claimed inspiration by the Western tradition in their own popular works.

Other writers have addressed the subgenre directly. The DC Comics superhero Jonah Hex, is a prominent example. Hex, who is currently the focus of a movie currently in theaters, is a 19th Century Confederate soldier and gunslinger. In the canonical timeline, he returns from the dead in the 21st Century to carry on his personal war.

Traditional novelists have also tried their hand at the genre. Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future by Mike Resnick is a popular space western in print. It tells the tale of a bounty hunter who pursues a viscious killer among the sparsely-settled and quite lawless outer colonies of humanity. A passage from the introduction:

And in this postal station, there is a wall that is covered by the names and holographs of criminals who are currently thought to be on the Inner Frontier, which tends to make the station very popular with bounty hunters. There are always twenty outlaws displayed, never more, never less, and next to each name is a price. Some of these names remain in place for a week, some for a month, and a handful for a year.

Only three names have ever been displayed more than five years. Two of them are no longer there.

The third is Santiago, and there is no holograph of him.

In the television medium, the space western attracted prominence through the short-lived Joss Whedon series Firefly. Though it lasted for only fourteen episodes and one movie, the franchise has maintained a strong and enduring fanbase. In fact, there's a well-funded fan film coming out soon entitled Browncoats: Redemption.

What is your favorite space western?

Images: DC Comics, Macmillan Publishing, and Fox, respectively.

Geeky Tattoos is a great photoblog of both geeky and nerdy tattoos, such as this Knuckles tat, worn by Henrique Barudi.

On occasion, I've thought about getting a tattoo. Maybe of a bear, like from the fantasy novel Shardik. Or just a Starfleet logo on my chest.

If you were to get a geeky tattoo, what would it be?

Dukat, played by actor Marc Alaimo, was a recurring character on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The series started out slow before the Dominion War turned it into a grand space epic. Throughout the entire DS9 run, Gul Dukat was a thorn in the side of the station's Bajoran/Federation crew as he pursued power, revenge, and glory for the Cardassian people. He fell in love, endured loss, gained victories and suffered defeats. And all the while he did so with great panache, style, and passion. This only unraveled with the murder of his daughter Ziyal, whom he sired with a Bajoran mistress during the occupation of Bajor. Dukat loved her, but he also used Ziyal for his purposes. This did not prevent him from mourning as she lay dying in his arms, saying:

We'll go back to Cardassia, Ziyal. We'll be safe there. You'll live with me. Everything will be fine. We'll both be very happy together. I know you forgive me. After all, I am your father. And I forgive you... my precious girl...

Dukat was never the same, and spiraled down into destruction and self-destruction as a consequence.

He was among the most interesting characters on the show, and in the entire Star Trek canon. Dukat was certainly a compelling villain, and a favorite of mine.

Who is your favorite villain from science fiction?

Image: Paramount

What's your favorite time travel novel?

Image: Roc

Which female anime characters would serve as good role models for young girls, and why?

Image: US Renditions
(Cross-posted at NeatoBambino)

What is your favorite love story from science fiction?

Image: TNT

What is the funniest work of anime ever?

Image: Anime Network

It's been about a decade, but this is how I remember the end of the movie version of Fahrenheit 451: Montag escapes from the totalitarian society in which he lives into a resistance group dedicated to preserving the remnant of the world's literature. Each person memorizes one book and repeats it frequently in order to maintain that memory. Montag selects David Copperfield by Dickens.

In such a scenario, which book would you choose? I'd probably choose Ayn Rand's Anthem, but since this is a geek culture blog, let's focus on our genres.

If you could preserve only one science fiction or fantasy novel from the collapse of civilization, which would it be?

Image: Universal Pictures

What science fiction film of the past ten years was most deserving of an Oscar for Best Picture?

Jeff Cooper (1920-2006) was an American firearms instructor who systematically studied, refined, and taught self-defense using the mind, the handgun, and the rifle. His books and his commentaries are interesting to read, not only for his practical firearms information, but his well-written expositions on the meaning of masculinity. Cooper maintained a carefully thought-out vision of what it means to be a man that would not be alien to our friends at The Art of Manliness.

In one passage in The Art of the Rifle, Cooper wrote about the instructional duties of a father to his sons:

Before the young man leaves home, there are certain things he should know and certain skills he should acquire, apart from any state-sponsored activity. Certainly the youngster should be taught to swim, strongly and safely, at distance. And young people of either sex should be taught to drive a motor vehicle, and if at all possible, how to fly a light airplane. I believe a youngster should be taught the rudiments of hand-to-hand combat, unarmed, together with basic survival skills. The list is long, but it is a parent's duty to make sure that the child does not go forth into the world helpless in the face of its perils. Shooting, of course, is our business, and shooting should not be left up to the state.

I'm personally leery of any formal concept of masculinity or femininity because it can mean getting yourself trapped in the identity with which other people desire to burden you (e.g. "X is what it means to be manly; why aren't you doing X?).

Nonetheless, I agree with Cooper's general sentiment that a parent should prepare a child to enter a dangerous world. Here are, of the top of my head, some of the skills that I will intentionally teach my daughters:

• How to change a tire, engine oil, a headlight, a battery, and jump-start a car without assistance.


• How to swim (see also)


• How to seek and apply for a job.


• How to ask a reference question.


• When to keep your mouth shut.


• How to save money.

What skills do you think are essential for parents to teach their children?

via The View from North Central Idaho | Photo by Flickr user bterrycompton used under Creative Commons license

It's the end of the line here at NeatoGeek. Alas, we just aren't cranking out a profit, so we're shutting down this blog. I'm still posting at Neatorama, so you'll see over there a lot of the geekery content that you've enjoyed here.

My thanks to Alex for the chance to try out something different, to my patient wife for giving me the extra time, and all of our readers and commenters who made NeatoGeek a part of their day. It's been a blast.

Two weeks ago, while finishing up the third season of Star Trek: Enterprise, I wrote about my affections for Captain Jonathan Archer.  I've now completed the entire run, and thoroughly enjoyed it -- especially the fourth and final season.  So I'd like to address the criticisms leveled against the show.  Spoilers after the jump.

This is for all you new people: I only have one rule. Everyone fights. No one quits. You don't do your job, I'll shoot you myself. You get me?

Cartoonists Mike Cornnell and Dana Wulfekotte have a great idea. Hollywood, please make this movie.

Link via Culture Kills

(Video Link)

I've previously featured Japanese beatbox performer Hikanin demonstrating the Super Mario Bros. theme music. He's back, this time performing music from Street Fighter.

via technabob | Official Website - Google Translator Version