The Great Geek Manual

A stupid man’s report of what a clever man says is never accurate because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand.

- A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell, 1945.

1572
Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe begins recording his observations of a supernova in the constellation Cassiopeia. For two weeks, it will be brighter than any other star in the sky, even remaining visible during the day. It will remain visible to the naked eye for another six months, until March 1574. Brahe will later publish his observation in the book De Nova Stella, which is the origin of the the word “nova.”

1675
Gottfried Leibniz demonstrates integral calculus for the first time by finding the area under the graph of the y = f(x) function.

1851
The first US patent for a telescope is issued to Alvan Clark of Cambridge, Massachusetts. (US No. 8,509)

1887
A photograph is used in a newspaper advertisement for the first time in history. The ad is for Harrison Patent Knitting Machine Co. of Manchester, England and it is in published in this day’s edition of The Parrot, which is published in Manchester.
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Hardcover Book Releases

The Authorized Ender Companion by Orson Scott Card and Jake Black
Burn Me Deadly: An Eddie LaCrosse Novel by Alex Bledsoe
Destroyer of Worlds by Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner
The Early Work of Philip K. Dick, Volume 2 by Philip K. Dick
Jaclyn the Ripper by Karl Alexander
The Lippolik Conundrum by Kami Dee Helm
Magic in the Shadows: An Allie Beckstrom Novel by Devon Monk
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: The Pathfinder Bestiary by Jason Bulmahn
Reincarnations by Harry Turtledove and Sheila Williams
Star Trek: The Art of the Film by Mark Cotta Vaz and J. J. Abrams
Torch of Freedom (Honorverse) by David Weber and Eric Flint
Under the Dome: A Novel by Stephen King
Wings of Creation (The Silver Ship) by Brenda Cooper
A Young Man Without Magic by Lawrence Watt-Evans
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Art

• Six Revisions has posted a gallery of 50 Stunning Pieces of Video Game Concept Art.
• Empire has posted a gallery featuring The Art Of Star Wars.

Comics

• Smallville writer Bryan Q. Miller Introduces DC’s New Batgirl.
• Topless Robot picks The 5 Best and 5 Worst New Post-Brand New Day Spider-Man Villains

Film

• Gunaxin counts down The 15 Best Prison Movies, beginning with Cool Hand Luke.
• Screen Junkies looks at the 10 Best Boxes from Movies and TV.
• Super Tremendous has posted The 15 Worst Bootleg DVD Covers Of All Time.

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This homage to Primer is a parody of every cliche ever used in a time travel movie.

They describe it thus: “You know that roommate who gets an iPhone, and brags about this “great peice of technology” but he only ever uses it for stupid crap like cats playing piano? It’s that with a time machine.”

1882
Alexander Graham Bell is granted US citizenship by the Supreme Court after his second application.

1951
A trial run of long distance customer dialing is offered in Englewood, New Jersey. It’s the very first direct-dial coast-to-coast telephone service in the United States. To inaugurate the service, Mayor M. Leslie Denning of Englewood calls Mayor Frank Osborn in Alameda, California. They begin to talk just eighteen seconds after dialing. Before the service, coast-to-coast calls could only be placed by long-distance operators. To facilitate the change, three digits are added to phone numbers.

1961
Neil Armstrong sets a new speed record speed in an X-15 rocket plane, at 6,587km/h. Visit the X-15’s official website.

1966
The Star Trek episode “The Corbomite Maneuver” first airs. (No. 10) In it, the Enterprise is threatened by Balok, commander of a starship from the First Federation. Memory Alpha entry

1967
The Star Trek episode “Metamorphosis” first airs. (Episode 38, Production 31) In it, Kirk finds Zefram Cochrane, inventor of the warp drive, who has been missing for 150 years and his mysterious alien companion. Memory Alpha entry
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In the future, the importance of geography will be matched by the importance of values and ideas.

- Nationhood: The future of Nationalism by Alan Smith

Art

• Comic Alliance mashes up X-Men and Mad Men.
• Fandomania has posted a gallery of Firefly artwork from DevianArt.
• io9 has posted a gallery of images of nature reclaiming a creepy Post Apocalyptic Disney World.

Comics

• MTV has a preview of the new Zack Whedon Dr. Horrible comic series!

Film

• Interview: Michael Caine discusses his upcoming “urban western.”
• News: Rumors claim that director Bryan Singer has begun preproduction on a proposed new Battlestar Galactica movie.
• The new movie posters for Kick-Ass are out and they kind of… well, you know.
• ScreenHead counts down the Top 10 sci-fi films that were ahead of their time, starting with Gattaca.

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