Written by Rafael Pujals and Tim Ritenour    Tim: This was our first day at Comic-Con, the largest science fiction convention held in the United States. And to be frank it's a bit overwhelming at first. There are so many guest speakers, events, panels, and exhibitions that it's too much for one person alone to take in. Luckily, TNMC sent more than one reporter to the event to get all the scoops and interviews we could get our grubby little hands on.

Written by Drew Morton    It’s that time of the year again. The weather starts to cool off, leaves start to fall, pumpkins are carved, and kids go trick or treating. Normally around this time of the year, movie theatres are packed to the brim with the latest failures of the horror genre. This year, the two big horror titles are the remake of the classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and a re-release of one of the most horrifying films ever, Alien, in a director’s cut. However, do not fret. There are plenty of scares available at your local video store for about a quarter of the price and they’ll give you an excuse to cuddle up with your significant other so you can scream together. Without further ado, we present to you the list of the best horror films in their corresponding sub-genres.

Written by Rafael Pujals     Ultra Magnus here. Wow, what a cool weekend. I definitely saw my fair share of Shea as we were both clocking a lot of time at the film fest. I think he even went without food saturday...now that's dedication. My only regret is not making it to the Ebert seminar on The Birds, but what can you do.

Written by John Shea     All good things must come to an end and unfortunately for me, this was the fourth and final day of the film festival. If you've read my reports from the previous days then you know I was having a blast. Entire days spent hobnobbing with movie people and watching cool movies is pretty much my idea of heaven. For a film geek it just doesn't get much better.

Written by John Shea     As cool as the first two days of the festival were, they would pale in comparison to the third. It started off with the second sesssion of Ebert's shot by shot analysis of The Birds but as I said in yesterday's write up, I'll spare you the details. Just because it was interesting to sit through doesn't mean it makes for good reading. Actually I can pretty much guarantee that.

Written by John Shea     Welcome back faithful readers to day two of my adventures at the Virginia Film Festival. As much fun as I had with the first day, this one was quickly to surpass it. Following a quick stop in the early morning to my office to write up day one, it was off to the theater for a showing of A Day at the Race's. For those unfamiliar with it, this 1937 film was the Marx brothers first after moving to MGM. Many critics complained about it, calling it a softening of the outrageous routines the Marx brothers were known for previously. That may be true but it was still their most successful film at the box office.

Written by John Shea     Last night kicked off the 13th annual Virginia Film Festival in grand style. The evening started with the big gala at the Bayly Art Museum on the University of Virginia campus. Essentially this means it was an ultra-fancy affair and naturally your favorite group of film fans felt a bit out of place. Lanceley and I got all dolled up and headed in with visions of impressing the hell out of the beautiful people in attendance.

Written by John Shea    Rueters

11:15 a.m. 1.Sep.99.PDT

The trouble started early this morning when scientists announced that they had created a strain of smart mice by inserting a gene into the rodents' brains, proving it possible to improve the intelligence of mammals, including humans. The strain of genetically modified mice, named Doogie, were given extra copies of a gene called NR2B which helped them to learn faster and to improve their memory.

"They're learning things much better and remembering longer. They're smarter," said Joe Tsien, a neurobiologist at Princeton University.

The NR2B gene could also be a potential drug target to eventually treat learning disorders and diseases involving the decline or loss of memory, such as Alzheimer's, researchers said.

Tsien said the study showed that genetic improvement of learning and memory in mammals was feasible. He likened the enhanced learning in the mice to increasing the speed of a top-performance car.

But a sports car is dangerous when it goes out of control and these mice were no different. While attempting to draw some fluid from a third generation test mouse, the mouse suddenly stirred, biting one of the researchers. He was quickly rushed out of the facility for medical attention. Unfortunately the mice broke free in the confusion and ran rampant through the facility causing extensive damage to the elevators that resulted in the staff being trapped in the facility.

As they struggled desperately to get out of the research facility the mice began stalking the staff and attacking at inopportune moments. Several researchers were savagely nibbled before anything could be done. Things brightened a bit when the cook trapped one of the mice in the cafeteria oven and cooked it. Later one of the scientists electrocuted another mouse. Dr. McAnister was plugging a lamp back in and discovered that one of the mice had been chewing on the cord.

Order was eventually restored. The staff managed to get out of the facility but discovered that the last mouse had as well. Luckily for everyone it was promptly run over in the parking lot before it could get away. If the mouse had reached safety and bred with normal mice, there is no telling what might have happened.

A visibly shaken McAnister admitted later that they had made a mistake by tampering with nature in this way.

Inspired by this news story.