This interactive graphic shows you how big our solar system really is onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com This interactive graphic shows you how big our solar system really is

Just how big is our solar system? This interactive graphic shows you exactly how big by putting you in the driver's seat of a rocket ship and posting all the milestones you pass along the way, from the ISS to the furthest point in space traveled to by a dog.

Put together by the BBC, every pixel in the graphic stands for a meter of the solar system. You start out in a rocket ship on Earth (which you can use to move either forward or back) and travel out to the end of solar system, catching sight of Voyager just before the end.

Here are some of the trip highlights, or you can also check out the whole thing here.

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onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com This interactive graphic shows you how big our solar system really is

The most adorable Han Solo and Chewbacca are this kid and his dog onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com The most adorable Han Solo and Chewbacca are this kid and his dog

This is the cutest, and it'll fill your heart with joy for the rest of the day. Who doesn't want to dress up in costumes and take pictures with man's best friend?

Photographer Rocio Preciado of Cuije Photo did this shoot, explaining it this way:

Once upon a time, in a galaxy not so far away, a furry little dachshund was born, the force was good in him, so they named him Chewbacca.

Celebrating his 12th birthday, the long haired dachshund invited his friends Han Solo and Darth Vader to a picnic at Kashyyyk, his home planet, where every day, a new adventure begins.

You would think that a dachshund and Star Wars don't mix, but you would be wrong, growing up a Star Wars fan (it her case it was more like a religion) photographer Rocio Preciado knew just what to do when the opportunity to photograph Chewbacca came along, even making up the Han Solo costume from scratch by herself, that is the kind of attention to detail that sets her apart from the rest.

Let's just wait and see what Chewie has planned for his next birthday!!

And here's a behind-the-scenes video of the photoshoot:

Pretty Fluffy via Dogstar

Complement with this great collection of themed wedding-photography.

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com The most adorable Han Solo and Chewbacca are this kid and his dog

NASA: Martian Meteorite Could Have Contained Ancient Water And Life onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com NASA: Martian Meteorite Could Have Contained Ancient Water And Life

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Could this meteorite show evidence of ancient water and life on Mars? That's one possibility raised in a new paper led by NASA and including members of a team who made a contentious claim about Martian microfossils in another meteorite 18 years ago.

"This is no smoking gun," stated lead author Lauren White, who is based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, of the findings released this week. "We can never eliminate the possibility of contamination in any meteorite. But these features are nonetheless interesting and show that further studies of these meteorites should continue."

The new, peer-reviewed work focuses on tunnels and microtunnels the scientists said they found in a meteorite called Yamato 00593. The meteorite is about 30 pounds (13.7 kilograms) and was discovered in Antarctica in 2000. The structures were found deep within the rock, NASA stated, and "suggest biological processes might have been at work on Mars hundreds of millions of years ago."

Scientists believe the 1.3-billion-year-old rock left Mars about 12 million years ago after an impact threw it off the surface. It reached Antarctica 50,000 years ago and after it was found in 2000, was analyzed and believed to be a "nakhlite", or a kind of Martian meteorite. "Martian meteoritic material is distinguished from other meteorites and materials from Earth and the moon by the composition of the oxygen atoms within the silicate minerals and trapped Martian atmospheric gases," NASA stated.

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There are two things in the meteorite that caught the attention of scientists. One is the aforementioned tunnels and microtunnels, which they say are similar to those altered by bacteria in basalt on Earth. The second is tiny, carbon-enriched spherules (in the nanometer to micrometer range) between layers in the rock — structures similar to another Martian meteorite (Nakhla) that struck Egypt in 1911. In that case, the rock was recovered quickly after landing and still had the same spherules, the researchers noted.

The authors said it's possible that these structures could be explained by other mechanisms besides life, but said the similarities to what they have found on Earth "imply the intriguing possibility that the Martian features were formed by biotic activity."

The research team includes NASA's David McKay (who died a year ago), Everett Gibson and Kathie Thomas-Keptra. In 1996, these same scientists (then led by McKay) found "biogenic evidence" in a meteorite called Allen Hills 84001, but other science teams have disagreed with the findings. There have been a lot of papers about this particular meteorite, and you can read more about the controversy in this 2011 Universe Today article.

Of note, since 1996 NASA and other agencies have found plenty of evidence for past water on Mars, which might throw the findings in a different light. What do you think? You can read the full paper on the new research in the journal Astrobiology.

Source: NASA

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This post by Elizabeth Howell originally appeared at Universe Today. It has been republished with permission.

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com NASA: Martian Meteorite Could Have Contained Ancient Water And Life

Brain interface lets one monkey control the movements of another onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Brain interface lets one monkey control the movements of another

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Neuroscientists have taken us one step closer to an Avatar-like world after demonstrating a brain-to-spinal-cord interface that allowed a "master" monkey to remotely control the hand movement of an "avatar" monkey who was completely unconscious.

Scientists have already developed brain-to-brain interfaces, but this is the first demonstration of a brain-to-spinal-cord interface. The breakthrough could eventually allow a paralyzed person to regain control over their muscles by directly bypassing the injury in their spinal cord.

The Master and the Avatar

To make it work, scientists at the Harvard Medical School implanted a chip in a "master" monkey's brain in order to record the activity of some 100 neurons. While the monkey moved, its physical actions were mapped against patterns of electrical activity in the neurons (it's a tedious trial-and-error process, but it's the only way it can currently be done).

For ethical reasons, the "avatar" monkey was not made to be paralyzed and was instead given a strong sedative. The scientists implanted 36 electrodes in its spinal cord, followed by tests to see how different stimulations of these electrodes could affect its movement.

During the experiment, the two monkeys were hooked up such that the brain scans of the master could control the avatar's movements in real time. The avatar monkey, though unconscious, had its hand attached to a joystick.

The master monkey was then coaxed to think about moving its partner's hand in and up and down motion in order to direct a computer cursor to a target — which it was able to do 98% of the time.

Direct to Spinal Cord

The experiment successfully demonstrated that it's possible to control the movement of a limb without having to directly stimulate muscles. Eventually, more refined versions may be designed to allow a paralyzed person to control their own movements.

But for that to work, neuroscientists will have to create something far more precise and robust. Brain waves — particularly across a section of 100 neurons — are far too limited for more detailed physical applications. It may be some time before scientists will be able to achieve more than just two-dimensional up and down hand movements. In all likelihood, they'll have to develop a system that takes other neurological transmissions into account.

The other ramification of this study, of course, is the prospect of "neural coupling" — where two or more people are connected via brain interfaces (again, we're talking about something significantly more powerful). This would allow people to control the movements of their partners. Applications could range from everything through to physical rehabilitation through to recreation.

Read the entire study at Nature Communications: "A cortical–spinal prosthesis for targeted limb movement in paralysed primate avatars."

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Brain interface lets one monkey control the movements of another

Giant McDonald's counter installed to make you feel like a kid again onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Giant McDonald's counter installed to make you feel like a kid again

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Sure it's a marketing ploy for fast food, but we're suckers for oversized anything.

A McDonald's in Peru wants you to feel like a kid again, before you had to worry about things like saturated fats and clogged arteries, and when Chicken McNuggets were a birthday feast. So they installed a massive counter to give their customers that child-like feeling of wonder all over again. Just be careful with the hot coffee.

Side question: Gigantic furniture is my jam (I loved the Chicago Field Museum's display of a massive kitchen table and chair, Shaq's massive art exhibit, and others). Are there any other gigantic furniture places you can recommend?

[Via Foodbeast]

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Giant McDonald's counter installed to make you feel like a kid again

Massive collection of new Star Wars Rebels characters revealed! onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Massive collection of new Star Wars Rebels characters revealed!

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Turns out the vast, new world of Star Wars Rebels isn't populated solely by Jedi with meticulously manicured facial hair. Nope, there's a whole universe of new aliens and Jedi fighters to get excited about. Here are the new Star Wars faces we met at Hasbro's big Toy Fair reveal.

The first new Rebels character was spied by Newsarama. As you can see above, they found one "mysterious female Mandalorian" on a bit of packaging, who is also on team Rebel. So that's exciting.

Moving on is a great look at character Zeb Orrelios, whose character design was based on the original Ralph McQuarrie design for Chewbacca. And that is just rad.

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Next up is Ezra, a young and allegedly "POV" character for the audience. We're sure his youth and oddly shaped lightsaber won't prove insufferable at all. He is not being called a Jedi but "force sensitive" we don't know what that means. But we DO know that at some point he steals a Stormtrooper helmet and gives it a little paint job for himself, and that is just adorable.

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Image via Lucas Siegel's twitter.

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Another new character, Imperial Agent Kallus. And that is all the information Hasbro was willing to give up on him.

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More shots of Kanan and his scuba gear.

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The Inquisitor and his massive lightsaber actually looked better in toy form than they have in concept art and stills from the actual TV series.

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The Inquisitor's TIE Advanced Starfighter (also based on the McQuarrie designs) looked aces. As did the AT-DP and various other space contraptions. However the star of the Star Wars show was the brand new X-Wing Starfighter which was priced at a mere $39.00

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Unfortunately they didn't have the Rebels version of R2D2 and C-3PO on display but they did have new droid Chopper out. We like this droid.

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onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Massive collection of new Star Wars Rebels characters revealed!

Use the ventriloquism effect to find out if that dummy is possessed onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Use the ventriloquism effect to find out if that dummy is possessed

The ventriloquism effect is what makes us think the ventriloquist's dummy is talking, even though our ears should be able to hear that they aren't. We can train ourselves out of it using a simple trick (but then we'd have to find out which dummies really are talking).

Although it's "the ventriloquism effect," it could easily be called "the movie effect," or "the concert effect," or "the effect that you get when you put speakers all around your living room but keep the tv front and center." When we hear a sound, and see motion that seems to correspond to that sound, we "hear" the sound as coming from the source of the motion. Our brains pull this on us all the time. It's what keeps babies fascinated with sock puppets and it's what keeps us from thinking about the fact that speakers all around a theater are meant to project voices that are supposed to be coming only from the front of the theater. Most notoriously it affects ventriloquists, and makes their lifeless pieces of plastic seem like they're actually talking.

Unless those "lifeless piece of plastic" are actually talking. But enough of that for now!

The effect is so common it goes unnoticed most of the time. For some time it was chalked up to humans naturally taking our primary cues from sight, and sight being our primary sense. In fact, we rely on the sense we are most confident about, which most of the time happens to be sight. To derail the ventriloquism effect, all we need to do is foster either confidence in our sense of hearing or doubt in our sense of sight.

We can tweak our sense of hearing with nothing more than a little training. Researchers showed participants in an experiment simultaneous flashes of light and bursts of sound. At first people tracked the light and thought the sound came from wherever the light appeared. Then the researchers started staggering the light and sound. They started out with a few seconds between the light and sound, which allowed people to easily distinguish between the location of the light and the location of the sound. The time between the light and sound was slowly whittled down, but people kept correctly tracking the noise.

And then there were the researchers who decided to take out their subjects' confidence in their own sight. This time subjects were shown circles on a screen accompanied by bursts of sound. People chose sight over hearing when it came to determining the location of the sound source. Then the circles started getting blurry, eventually becoming indistinct blobs. People started following their ears instead of their eyes, and located the source of sound easily.

So if you come up against a questionable dummy, you need do nothing more than squint your eyes and listen, or try to train yourself to see the discrepancy between the dummy and the ventriloquist. Either you'll be able to shake the illusion and see the ventriloquist is the one that's really talking, or you'll be able to shake the illusion and see that you're in a room with a demon dummy. At which point I suggest you run like hell and hope it doesn't crawl after you through the vents like a rat monster. Good luck!

[Via NCBI, Nature]

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Use the ventriloquism effect to find out if that dummy is possessed

Rick And Morty gets a second season onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Rick And Morty gets a second season

Good news! Adult Swim has announced that Rick And Morty is getting a second season! If you're not watching Rick And Morty, you need to start watching it right now.

The animated series centers around a scientist and his grandson (but it's really so much more than that). Creators Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland released this statement about the second season.

"I am excited to make as much Rick and Morty as Adult Swim allows, and I'm relieved to be in a time slot of no strategic value to CBS," said co-creator and executive producer Dan Harmon.

"I am humbled and super excited by the positive response to the show, and we have no shortage of ideas for future episodes," said co-creator and executive producer Justin Roiland.

Now seriously, stop what you're doing and watch the pilot (which we've included above).

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Rick And Morty gets a second season

A squirrel attempts to hide a nut in the fur of a Bernese mountain dog onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com A squirrel attempts to hide a nut in the fur of a Bernese mountain dog

This one does exactly what it says on the tin, folks. And yes, it is the best thing.

Food-caching is a system of hoarding common to a number of species in the animal kingdom, though squirrels are probably some of the better-known creatures to practice it – hence one of my favorite verbifications:

verb ( squirrels, squirreling , squirreled )

1 [ with obj. ] (squirrel something away) hide money or something of value in a safe place: the money was squirreled away in foreign bank accounts.

In nature, one of the consequences of food caching is seed dispersal. If a hidden nut or seed is forgotten about by the animal that stashed it, it has a chance to germinate and grow. For squirrels in captivity (especially ones that attempt to hide their food in the fur of other animals), I'd imagine the seed-dispersing benefits of caching are more or less lost – though the secondary effect of cuteness overload is clearly augmented considerably.

See also: Watch this squirrel deliver the greatest "oh sh*t" face in the history of nature documentaries

Video by YouTube user Shannon Apple, ht Monica!

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com A squirrel attempts to hide a nut in the fur of a Bernese mountain dog

Guess who's coming back from the dead on The Walking Dead? onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Guess who's coming back from the dead on The Walking Dead?

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Feels like cheating, but a major character will return to this week's midseason premiere of The Walking Dead that we all thought was dunzo. Surprise! Spoilers ahead.

During a TV Guide Q&A session, this little bit of information was dropped:

Don't expect to see too many familiar faces since Rick and Carl take center stage when the AMC drama returns. While Rick heals from his beating from The Governor — whom you will see again — Carl will lose something very important to him. (No, not his innocence!)

Ah what? How is this even possible? Will he be back in walker form? Because that would just be... excessive. Executive Producer Gale Anne Hurd tweeted this Examiner story, which confirmed that David Morrissey would be back, but it states that the Governor is 100% dead and that this cameo will probably just be another one of Rick's visions. Great.

Just tell us what happened to the baby already!

[Via Uproxx]

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Guess who's coming back from the dead on The Walking Dead?

Big Ass Spider! Delivers Big Ass Fun onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Big Ass Spider! Delivers Big Ass Fun

Big Ass Spider! is a special effects-driven bigsploitation/assploitation/spidsploitation action adventure comedy extravaganza written by Gregory Gieras, directed by Mike Mendez and starring Greg Grunberg as lonely-heart pest exterminator and savior of mankind, Alex Mathis.

The film opens with Alex going to the emergency room for treatment after suffering a bite from an ordinary, small ass spider. While Alex flirts awkwardly with his improbably hot care provider of normal-ass size, the coroner is busy in the morgue examining the body of a dead ass scientist. When the coroner is attacked by a medium ass spider hiding in the scientist's body bag, Alex agrees to slay the beast in lieu of paying his expensive ass hospital bill. So much for Obamacare, amirite?

When Major Ass Army Guy Ray Wise arrives with his foxy ass army lady assistant and a smart ass scientist who explains that the spider in question had been exposed to an experimental growth serum intended to end world hunger by creating big ass cows, big ass chickens and big ass strawberries, Alex and his sidekick, Jose "The Mexican Robin" Ramos, team up with a big ass squad of tough ass army dudes, to kick the holy LV-426 out of the rapidly expanding Areanus gluteus maximus.

Big Ass Spider! is one of those movies that you can pretty much trust your spidey sense on. If you're the type of person who is interested in movies about big ass spiders, look no further. All films make a contract with the viewer. When you go to see The Road Warrior, there had better be some road warring. Bridge on the River Kwai had better have a bridge and it had better be on the River Kwai. Sharknado...well you get the point. On this score, Big Ass Spider! holds up its end of the cinematic bargain: there is a spider and its ass is undeniably huge.

But beyond this, Big Ass Spider! exceeds expectations. The spider effects are decent, the action is well paced, the characters are appealing and most of the jokes are funny. Even without a cameo by Lloyd Kaufman (The Toxic Avenger), it would still be apparent that Mendez and Gieras are paying homage to their Tromatic childhoods. Big Ass Spider! is a low-budget film that hearkens back to the days of the drive-in, the midnight movie and the straight-to-VHS monster schlock-fest.

Like the filmmakers of a generation ago who drew inspiration from the Saturday morning serials of their youth and ushered in a new era of feature-length adventures, Mendez and Gieras have taken up the mantle of their forbears and moved the ball further down the cinematic field. Comparing Big Ass Spider! to Raiders of the Lost Ark is...okay...a stretch. But in an era of filmmaking that even Steven Spielberg and George Lucas think is unsustainable, surviving Peak Blockbuster means loving what you create, whether the budget is $1 or $100 million.

It would equally be a stretch to say that Big Ass Spider! represents the last, best hope for an art form buckling under the weight of hit-driven risk aversion and increasingly narrow margins on increasingly bloated budgets, but it does represent the kind of commitment to entertainment that will inspire the next generation of filmmakers armed with small ass budgets and big ass dreams.

Big Ass Spider! has big ass heart, and big ass heart counts for a big ass lot.

Big Ass Spider! is available on Blu-Ray, Amazon and YouTube rental.

Jason Shankel is a big ass writer and creative developer who knows that with big ass power comes big ass responsibility.

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Big Ass Spider! Delivers Big Ass Fun

A book that actually lets you feel what you're reading onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com A book that actually lets you feel what you're reading

There's a new genre in town and it's called "sensory fiction." Researchers from MIT have developed a book that, in conjunction with a wearable device, allows you to feel what the protagonist is feeling.

The system, the brainchild of Felix Heibeck, Alexis Hope, and Julie Legault, creates an immersive experience by sending discrete signals to the wearable device, which is worn like a vest.

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The book itself contains 150 programmable LEDs that create ambient light based on changing setting and mood. It also produces sound. The vest can generate heat to change skin temperature, and vibrate as a way to influence heart heart. It also features a compression system to convey tightness or loosening via pressurized airbags.

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The prototype, an augmented book called "The Girl Who Was Plugged In," demonstrates the system's capabilities. The story conveys feelings like love and despair. The book senses the page that's being read, and changes the ambient lighting and vibration to match the mood.

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Sure, it's a bit primitive and clunky, but it's a definite precursor to more advanced techniques. The future's gonna be all about increased levels of immersion and interaction.

[ h/t DesignBoom | Images scifi2scifab]

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com A book that actually lets you feel what you're reading

This mesmerizing timelapse shows an entire year's worth of weather onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com This mesmerizing timelapse shows an entire year's worth of weather

Behold EUMESAT's first annual global weather overview! Over the course of eight minutes, the narrated video reviews all the global weather 2013 had to offer, from arctic blasts to super-typhoons.

The video was put together by EUMETSAT using images taken by European, Japanese, and U.S. satellites. The background was provided by NASA's Blue Marble Project.

I like how the timelapse doesn't go by too quickly; literally each day of the year can be seen. It's also fascinating to see how tumultuous the oceans become during the storm season. Skip ahead to 6:45 (November) to watch Haiyan tear across the West Pacific.

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com This mesmerizing timelapse shows an entire year's worth of weather

Why optimistic science fiction is dead onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Why optimistic science fiction is dead

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Greetings from the post-apocalypse, folks! I apologize if my responses are short this week, but I'm writing them on the run. A bunch of mohawked Australian assholes on motorcycles have suddenly shown up, and they want to play Road Warrior while I'm on a goddamned horse. I want to know how the hell they got here. Did Australia move in the unknown apocalypse? Is there a land bridge now? If so, can I get my hands on a koala? They look adorable.

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Hope Against Nope

Iathomps:

I was watching Blade Runner with a friend who had never seen it (I have seen it nine or ten times now) who thoroughly enjoyed it. I made a comment after the movie was done that this movie was very influential because "this was the first movie to really speculate that the future flat out sucks" and he responded "you mean like all sci-fi movies today?". I was at first taken aback, but after some thought, I realized that yes, about 8 sci-fi movies out of 10 nowadays are pessimistic in their speculation of the future. In the past two years we had, what, 3-4 movies that take place after the earth is destroyed? along with Elysium, Looper, the Hunger Games series, Dredd, even the latest Star Trek is missing the optimism of the old tv shows and movies. Pretty much the only way one can get somewhat-happy science fiction is with comic book movies or (shudder) the Bayformers movies, but those are more concerned about telling a good yarn than any serious sci-fi speculation. Is having an optimistic view of the future considered naive nowadays? Why can't someone make a science fiction movie with the optimistic wonder of Gene Roddenberry anymore?

There are two reasons, as far as I can tell, and the first is that it's much, much easier to write about problematic futures, because it's a natural source of conflict. Stories need conflict, and having optimistic futures where humanity got their shit together narrows the possibilities of what your protagonist has to struggle against. For the original Star Trek series, that means most of their conflicts had to come against outside sources like aliens; but if your scifi doesn't include aliens, then what's going to be your hero's problem he needs to overcome? Besides, everyone loves a story of a guy or gal fighting against a corrupt, unjust, or just plain evil social order. It's an easy story, and one audiences instantly understand. Only authors generally have the freedom to experiment with these less-than-awful futures, but even then, not many do — Iain Banks' culture series is one, Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars series is another — but they're still few and far between.

This, by the way, is probably reason #2 why I dislike the new Trek movies so much (#1 being the Khan debacle, of course). The original Trek series — and the movies — and to an extent the series following it — were optimistic, that showed us a better future, that gave us hope that humanity might not fuck it all up. And then the new Trek movies completely ditch all that for the same old shit we've seen in everything else — violence, disaster porn, and war. I'm not such a Trek fan that this is such a betrayal of Gene Roddenberry's vision that it keeps me up at night, but I do miss what made Star Trek so unique and charming.

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Strange Days

Not A Mindless One:

Dear Mr. Postman,

Despite the popularity of the Harry Potter movies, I worry that the live action adaptation of Dr. Strange might be Marvel's first theatrical turkey.

The Doc doesn't have a currently ongoing comic book. Given the type of non-flashy costumes currently being used in superhero movies, Dr. Strange's flashy red cloak may look absurd. Is computer animation advanced enough to render such visually weird realms as the Dark Dimension? Also, how do you get the average movie-going audience interested in a guy who can be an emotionally distant dick at times?

Can you, from your post-apocalypse perspective, offer reasons to not panic?

I can. First of all, if Marvel can nail the weird, magic/science/vaguely Norse/Kirby-esque realm of Marvel's version of Asgard — which they did — I see no reason to doubt why they couldn't do the same with the Dark Dimension and the other crazy places Dr. Strange hangs out in. Yes, they're hard to visualize, but I'd say translating the very, very specific Marvel Asgard into something comprehensible and cool for mass audiences is the tougher task.

As for getting the audience interested in an emotionally distant dick, you do remember the Iron Man movies, right? People were just fine with the over-privileged, obnoxious dick that was Tony Stark, thanks to Robert Downey Jr.'s performance, I imagine whoever they get to play Strange will be pretty goddamned charming — although I also doubt that movie Dr/ Strange will be as emotionally distant as his comic counterpart can be.

I see no reason to panic about the Dr. Strange movie. Especially when everyone should probably be panicking about Guardians of the Galaxy instead… but that's a question for another day.

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Almost Inhuman

Andy H-D:

I'm glad I'm not a writer for Almost Human. Every week, they're adding new abilities to the android characters and showing us more amazing things that the police and the criminals can do with 2048 technology. It's going to become impossible to create a problem that can't easily be solved. If you write Superman comic books, fans are willing to overlook some changes in a superhuman character's abilities over a 75-year history. We won't allow that for a television show that will last a tenth of that if it's lucky, and will have only a handful of showrunners. If you show Dorian effortlessly flipping a car in episode 5, you better not show him struggling to lift a motorcycle in episode 41. Will they resort to "the system is down" or "I'm malfunctioning" to keep the show interesting?

They're absolutely going to use the "system/police robots/Dorian is down!" on multiple occasions, and 2) I sincerely doubt anyone at the show is worried about continuity, of Dorian or the show's tech. As long as they keep forgetting what they've used, they'll always be able to have problems that can only be solved in the episode's last five minutes.

Again, I find this less a problem than the fact that the primary "hero" of the show is an amoral sociopath who murders unarmed people and who is willing to endanger countless civilians in order to destroy expensive police robots he is mildly irritated with.

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Devil in the Details

Ken P.:

Hey Postman!

Like many kids from the 80's there were certain toys and games I wasn't allowed to play with because Satan. I think I would have really enjoyed D&D but never got the chance. Now that I'm old enough to dabble in the forbidden art, anyone with which I would have partaken an epic quest with, has grown up and like gotten jobs and lives and stuff. Anyway, I'll bring it up next time in therapy. But doesn't it seem like the Satan finders have given up on children's toys and entertainment lately? I vaguely remember a time when Pokemon and Harry Potter were considered Satanic, but then I watch Wreck It Ralph where Ralf thanks Satan, or Adventure Time where Peppermint Butler holds a seance inviting a demon to posses Cinnamon Bun, I could go on. What happened? Have these people just lightened up? Have they given up on the lost cause and turned this generation over to the dark lord? Or are they too busy finding Satan in toys like Lego to see that Saturday morning cartoons have basically just become animated Megadeth videos? Why is nobody cashing in on this obvious source of fear mongering? You think maybe they're laying low for the Doctor Strange premiere?

First of all, I SAID NOT TO PANIC ABOUT THE DR. STRANGE MOVIE, GODDAMMIT. Second, while I'd love to talk about the rise of common sense, or the decline of religion over the past few decades, or how semi-reasonable people stopped giving attention to these lunatics, so while they are just as furious that Satan is head of programming at Cartoon Network and Lego's Ninjago cartoon is a really esoteric attempt claim their child's soul, we just don't hear about them as much. And maybe it's a combination of all of the above.

But I'd also like to think that at least a few of those people who claimed Dungeons & Dragons, He-Man, comic books, videogames, and everything was turning kids into Satanists, at some point noticed that no one was actually turning into Satanists. The kids who watched He-Man as kids grew up, and utterly failed to worship the Prince of Lies, or sacrifice goats, or anything else we were supposed to be doing having unwittingly given our allegiance to the Lord of Darkness. And then those people who were so worried sat down and shut the hell up.

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Super(power) Bowl

Joseph L.:

Dear Postman/Rob,

I believe you've said before that while you like the DC superheroes, you grew up on Marvel, hence they've always been your favorite. Forgive me if I have that wrong. FWIW, the DC superheroes have always been my favorites (although I love Marvel), so feel free to rag on me. ;)

Regardless, I trust you to look at this with an objective eye. If the classic Justice League team (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, etc.) were to throwdown with the classic Avengers team (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Incredible Hulk, etc.), who do you think would win? Personally, I think it'd be surprisingly close.

An actual, honest-to-Satan throwdown without any kind of editorial mandate from the comics publishers that the two sides be portrayed as equal? Although you are correct that I grew up Marvel, I have to give it to the Justice League. Let's compare real quick:

Justice League

Superman: Super super strength, flight, heat vision, cold breath, etc.

Wonder Woman: Super-strength, flight, magic lasso, ability to deflect bullets,

Batman: No powers but can still accomplish pretty much anything thanks to his wealth and intellect.

Green Lantern. Super strength, flight, ability to manifest pretty much anything.

The Flash: Runs at the speed of light, which allows him to accomplish pretty much anything.

Aquaman: Even out of the water, super-strong.

Cyborg: Can do anything computer or electronic related.

Avengers

Hulk: Strong as Superman but with no other powers.

Iron Man: Suit that can fly and has various conventional weapons.

Thor: Super-strength, flight, magic hammer, ability to summon lightning.

Captain America: Batman with a shield, but no money.

Hawkeye: Insanely good shooter of arrows.

Black Widow. Excellent martial artist with guns.

Spider-Man: Super strength, webshooters, spider-sense.

Wolverine: Excellent fighter with claws and regeneration.

Even adding in comic book Avengers Spider-Man and Wolverine to the team, the Avengers are seriously underpowered here, and even if Superman matches up with Hulk (although Superman's ability to fly more or less negates Hulk's strength), Wonder Woman takes on Thor, and Captain America squares off against Batman, the rest of the Avengers cannot seriously take on the Flash and Green Lantern.

I don't mean this as any kind of insult. Most of DC's characters were created in the 1930s, '40s and '50s, where the style was to make superheroes as super as possible. The stories weren't about characters as much as they were about the adventures they went on. Marvel changed all that when they debuted in the '60s, focusing on characters, and giving them more specific powers, along with flaws and weaknesses in order to keep things interesting. It's what made Marvel so popular. Of course, the fact that DC's comic pantheon is more or less full of gods is what makes DC unique, because they often focus on the super part of superhuman, and that can be plenty exciting all on its own.

Neither style is better than the other, but power-wise, I'd say the DC folks have it.

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S

Doctor Appointment

Peter R.:

Dear Mr. Future/Alternate Timeline(?) Postman,

I have two questions, both about Doctor Who:

First, do you think all future actors playing the Doctor will follow an unofficial term limit of 6 seasons so as to have Tom Baker always been the longest Doctor (at 7)? I understand that most actors these days don't want to play the Doctor that long anyways, but if they did, I wonder if they would be pressured by the fans to retire after 6 seasons much as United States Presidents were unofficially term limited before the 22nd Amendment and most respectable actors have stated they want to do less Bond movies than Connery? (And yes, I did just compare Roger Moore to FDR and I stand by it!)

Second, do you have high hopes for the new season? Ol'Moff's is so busy doing other things these days maybe he will be a bit more hands-off this season? Also, a grumpier more sardonic Doctor might be a good change of pace. The writing crew seems solid right? Or am I just artificially buoying setting myself up to be upset by more whiz-bang, action set piece, wave the screwdriver and gloat bouts of disappointment?

Thanks so much and safe travels across the wastes.

Seeing as how much the fans have bitched and complained about pretty much every aspect of Doctor Who so far — myself among them — and how absolutely nothing has changed so far, I can pretty much guarantee that the fans will have no impact on when new Doctors come or go. As far as I know, all the modern Doctors have left because they wanted to explore other work, which I expect will continue to be the case. Maybe there'll be a person or two who feels super-strongly about Tom Baker remaining the most prolific Doctor, but if so, he'll leave on his own recognizance, not because the fans said anything.

Also, it's worth noting that Baker may have only been the Doctor for seven years, but he was in 172 episodes. At the current rate of seven episodes a year, Capaldi could play the role for 24 years and Baker would still be more prolific.

Which is why I'm not super-optimistic about the new Who season. Moffat has plenty of other things on his plate, but he only makes seven Who episodes a year — he has more than enough time to be in charge. Obviously, Capaldi will bring some fresh blood to the show, and that's always good, but my problem with Doctor Who was never Matt Smith, it was the stories being told with him. I understand Moffat is a Doctor Who fan, but it seems like he's writing the show for fans, and pretty much for fans only. Which is ironic, because I think fans like me are getting less interested. Sure, it's nice to have Easter eggs and winks to the fans, but not at the expense of good stories. I don't need 18 episodes exploring River Song's origins, I don't need Trenzalore, I don't need the Time War explored in every single aspect, I just need some good, fun stories. Until Moffat gets that, I think Who is going to have the same problems.

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Do you have questions about anything scifi, fantasy, superhero, or nerd-related? Email the postman@io9.com! No question too difficult, no question too dumb! Obviously!

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