RAILGUNS AND LASERS

The U.S. Navy has developed a 33 megajoule railgun, which can launch a 23 pound projectile at Mach 7 [LINK].

Shooting down a missile with an airplane-mounted laser:

ANGUS McKIE: GIANT EXPLODING ROBOT ARTIST

Nobody paints exploding spaceships and giant gladiatorial robots better than Angus McKie - he shaped the science fiction of my youth (I'd love to have one of his robot battle scenes painted on my bedroom wall, even if my girlfriend thinks it's weird).

A nice gallery of his earlier work at World Famous Design Junkies and some more recent works at Angus's current website.

St. FRANCIS of the LASER BURNS

At a local art museum, there is a painted triptych attributed to Italian Renaissance painter Bonifacio Bembo (ca. 1460). It is a portrayal of St. Francis of Assisi receiving the stigmata wounds from a red-winged angel. . . WITH AWESOME FRICKIN LASERS!!!

You can almost hear the "zzzssht!" sound!