It was the only way I could kill more people than George R.R. Martin

Neal Stephenson on why he created an extinction event for his new book, Seveneves

Star Wars has been taken with ominous seriousness. It should not be. The single strongest impression it leaves is of another great American tradition which involves lights, bells, obstacles, menace, action, technology, and thrills. It is pinball-on a cosmic scale.

The Man Who Made Star Wars, The Atlantic

Any problems with the kitchen – you phone me

Stanley Kubrick, in his annotated copy of Stephen King’s The Shining. Yes, it’s a complete non sequitur about his home life.

‘With the power of quantum layering, I have developed a means of generating electricity by burning possible futures,’ said Dr. Knowles. ‘But don’t worry, the odds that we’ll end up in that particular future are extremely low.’

The Future Is A Faded Song, Hugo winner 1969 (via bunglespleen)

All this talk about space travel is utter bilge, really.

Richard van der Riet Woolley, 1956, one year prior to the launch of Sputnik

Bananas’ radioactive properties make them the perfect candidate to fuel a sustainable reactor.
Or so thought Sylvia, until she woke up.

K, Hugo dishonorable mention 1959 (via bunglespleen)

‘This FTL drive is perfect in every respect,’ said Dr. Finnegan, shuffling through his diagrams and schematics. ‘It’s efficient, easy to manufacture, hauls almost unimaginable weight, and it can even leap between galaxies with a 99% success rate. There’s just one catch: Each use requires the death of a human.’
‘Do it,’ said the president.

Artemis, Hugo winner 1974
(via bunglespleen)

That’s a no-brainer; they’ll just 3D-print a replacement. No harm, no foul.

It was Nero’s birthday. The stuffed peacock gizzards were done to a turn; the all-you-can-eat buffet was filled with tender young prostitutes; silk vomit napkins shone at each place; and the imperial gardens were lit with only the finest of Christians.

Domus Aurea, Hugo nominee 1979 (via bunglespleen)

Showering

Elon Musk, Jan 5th, 2015, on the daily habit he believes has the largest positive impact on his life.

2015 is gonna suck though cause we won’t have flying cars, automatic self drying coats, power laces, video games that you play with your mind, 80’s Nostalgia Cafes, ubiquitous fax machines, holographic films like Jaws 19, Pepsi Perfect, dust resistant paper, household food rehydrators, and most importantly hover belts that will hold you upside down when you injure your back in order to obscure the fact that Crispin Glover refused to come back for Back to the Future Part 2

tabularojo (via madddscience)