The Biggest Bads have the Biggest Bases onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com The Biggest Bads have the Biggest Bases

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Villains always have the best digs - but which belligerent boss has the biggest and baddest base? Here's a breakdown of some of villainous lairs, to scale.

The infograhic comes care of up-and-coming marketing team, Fractl, and honestly, we could always use more genre-specific infographics.

Check out the full thing.

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onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com The Biggest Bads have the Biggest Bases

Red mercury is the coolest substance that never existed onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Red mercury is the coolest substance that never existed

We know that red mercury makes the manufacturing of nuclear bombs much, much easier. We don't exactly know how it manages to do this, but that's only because red mercury, as far as we know, doesn't exist.

In the swinging 1970s, the design for nuclear bombs at the time required two explosion. A primary explosion was caused by material that could undergo fission splitting its atoms. That explosion squeezed a secondary material, which underwent fusion, melding its atoms together and causing the actual boom.

Fissionable material is hard to come by; the odd isotope of an element that is prone to fission would have to be strained from many that aren't prone to fusion. The difference between the two isotopes could be nothing more than one proton, so the process takes years of work with expensive and huge equipment. Red mercury could separate fissionable isotopes quickly and easily.

Or perhaps red mercury just meant you needed a great deal less fissionable material for the primary explosion in the first place. Or perhaps red mercury was an explosive all on its own, and cut out the need for fissionable material. And then there are the people who heard that it was a kind of spray-on material that made the bombs stealthy and guided warheads to their target.

The rumors continue to this day. Some, like the one that claims red mercury was a chemical that acts as both stealth technology and a missile guidance system, aren't given much credence, but others have at least the backing of credible sources. Samuel Cohen, a well-respected scientist who did work on new innovations in nuclear bombs, believed that red mercury was a chemical that, when compressed, produced the explosive force of fissionable material and so eliminated the need for an outer layer on a bomb. Other scientists claim that this is impossible. Perhaps the most credible rumor is the one that takes some of the mystery out of red mercury. It might have been a nickname or a code name for Lithium-6, which helps put a bang into fissionable material. In that case it would just be a new, cooler name, for an already-known substance.

Most intriguingly, there's a rumor that various law enforcement agencies just invented red mercury so they could catch potential terrorists trying to acquire the wonder material. In the early 1990s, ex-Soviet conmen selling red mercury were caught, along with their clients. Technically they were selling red mercury — it was regular mercury dyed with nail polish.

Do you think red mercury exists? And if so, how much are you charging?

[Via The Guardian, BBC]

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Red mercury is the coolest substance that never existed

Obama: "The debate [over climate change] is settled" onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Obama: "The debate [over climate change] is settled"

"The shift to a cleaner energy economy won't happen overnight, and it will require tough choices along the way," said President Obama last night in his State of the Union Address."But the debate is settled," he added emphatically. "Climate change is a fact."

"When our children's children look us in the eye and ask if we did all we could to leave them a safer, more stable world, with new sources of energy, I want us to be able to say yes, we did," Obama said, echoing the judgment of thousands upon thousands of researchers, who together comprise a greater than 99% consensus within the scientific community that anthropogenic global warming and its repercussions are very real.

Watch Obama's call for investment in fuels of the future, and a shift to a cleaner energy economy:

[Via PBS Newshour]

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Obama: "The debate [over climate change] is settled"

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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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!

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Why optimistic science fiction is dead

Mexico's axolotl 'water monster' may be extinct in the wild onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Mexico's axolotl 'water monster' may be extinct in the wild

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The iconic axolotl — a salamander-like creature capable of extraordinary regenerative abilities — has disappeared from its only known natural habitat in Mexico's few remaining lakes.

These aquatic creatures are basically salamanders that never grew up. Also known as 'water monsters,' they're a neotenal species whose adult members never lose their gills, allowing them to remain perpetually underwater. They're also unique in that they can regenerate their limbs, including less vital parts of their brains. It's for this reason that they're studied extensively by scientists, which is why many of them are bred and live in labs throughout the world.

But sadly, they may now be extinct in the wild. Its only known habitat, Lake Xochimilco, is suffering from extensive pollution and urban sprawl. The Telegraph reports:

Biologist Luis Zambrano of Mexico's National Autonomous University says the most recent three-month attempt to net axolotls found not one of the creatures. He says researchers are planning a second three-month hunt for the creatures, which still survive in labs and breeding tanks...

...The Mexican Academy of Sciences said in a statement that a 1998 survey found an average of 6,000 axolotls per square kilometre, a figure that dropped to 1,000 in a 2003 study, and 100 in a 2008 survey.

Tovar Garza said it is too early to declare the axolotl extinct in its natural habitat. He said that in early February, researchers will begin a three-month search in hopes of finding what may be the last free-roaming axolotl.

The searches "on almost all the canals have to be repeated, because now we are in the cold season, with lower temperatures, and that is when we ought to have more success with the axolotls, because it is when they breed," Tovar Garza said.

More at The Telegraph. Image: Cen.

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Mexico's axolotl 'water monster' may be extinct in the wild

What does a show owe its fans? onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com What does a show owe its fans?

How much influence should fans have on the direction of a show? And what happens when the plans of the writers and the desires of the fans conflict?

The influence of fans on a beloved series isn't new — Arthur Conan Doyle famously brought a dead Sherlock back to life under pressure from fans, and today shows like Community will handily toss in a couple references to the fans watching at home.

Still, there can also be a dark side to the interaction, says Wired:

Larsen and Zubernis say producers need to start treading more lightly when it comes to superficial titillation, because fans are quick to smell a rat. "That kind of affectionate, 'nod-nod, wink-wink' fan service that shows started to do a while ago has been done for so long that it causes a rift sometimes between fans and producers," says Zubernis . . . As friendly as that fan-creator relationship may seem, it's actually a delicate thing. And in the end, Zubernis and Larsen say, it's mostly artifice. "[The relationship] seems a lot more reciprocal and closer than it is, which is an artifact of the way social media, especially Twitter, makes fans feel," says Zubernis. "I always stay on Twitter when a Supernatural episode is airing, and the actors and the writers and directors are usually on [Twitter], and I see what it does to fans when somebody answers their tweet. There's a need, I think, to feel like, 'They're listening to me; I'm important.' That's a normal psychological response, but it's not actually true; it's wishful thinking. It's a constructed intimacy that's not really intimate at all."

As a fan, how much influence do you want to have over the direction of a show? And what shows strike the perfect balance of listening to fans, while still surprising them?

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com What does a show owe its fans?

Michael Bay's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles don't look bad at all onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Michael Bay's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles don't look bad at all

Thank goodness, it turns out that dreadful Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles costume was simply a terrible copy of a much better design. But wait until you see Shredder! Spoilers ahead.

Comic Book Movies has a bunch of unverified images from the new TMNT set, which have revealed a whole new super-jacked set of Turtles. We're just glad to see that their outfit doesn't consist of a sweatshirt tied around their waist.

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Here's a better look at Leonardo. Look at the detail on his wooden pads, little tiny sticks woven together. Liking what we see...

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And Donatello (his feet and sandals look kind of badass).

And this is supposedly Shredder. Oh dear. We were doing so well! Not really sure how we feel about this one. Michael Bay has recanted that the Turtles are aliens (although he also has no problem lying about such things), but could Shredder be an alien? Because he seriously looks like Megatron here. Does this mean the Foot won't be made out of street youths like a young Sam Rockwell? Hmmmm.

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Michael Bay's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles don't look bad at all

NASA Sued for Failing to Analyze Alien Life onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com NASA Sued for Failing to Analyze Alien Life

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When NASA concluded that a "doughnut-sized" object that appeared mysteriously before its Opportunity rover on Mars was actually an errant rock, it left some people dissatisfied: A lawsuit brought against the Agency alleges NASA not only failed to adequately investigate the object, but that it is biological in nature.

The suit has been filed by one Rhawn Joseph, an author of fringe papers and trade books on subjects ranging from alien life to the terrorist attacks of September 11th. (The entry for Joseph on Rational Wiki describes his ideas re: life's origins as "eccentric.") Popular Science gives a tidy summary of the suit's allegations:

The lawsuit, filed yesterday in a California court, is aimed at NASA and its Administrator, Charles Bolden, requesting that the agency "perform a public, scientific, and statutory duty which is to closely photograph and thoroughly scientifically examine and investigate a putative biological organism." Joseph is disputing the rock theory, since, "when examined by Petitioner the same structure in miniature was clearly visible upon magnification and appears to have just germinated from spores." (Joseph is the Petitioner.) The "rock," according to the lawsuit, was there the whole time, it just grew until it became visible. "The refusal to take close up photos from various angles, the refusal to take microscopicimages of the specimen, the refusal to release high resolution photos, is inexplicable, recklessly negligent, and bizarre," according to the suit.

A moment, now, to remind readers of the two leading explanations for how the rock wound up where it did. 1) The rover either bumped into the object, knocking it over as it maneuvered, or 2) (the less likely explanation, according to Mars Exploration Rover lead scientist Steve Squyres) the rock was ejected during a nearby impact event and landed in front of the rover. Another moment to remind readers that Mars is a dynamic planet that is windy, seasonal, and susceptible to collision with meteorites. It's also got a bunch of robots roving around on its surface – digging, drilling, laser-ing, and, yes, knocking over rocks.

[Via PopSci]

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com NASA Sued for Failing to Analyze Alien Life

Rumor: Does a Star Wars book character connect Rebels to Episode VII? onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Rumor: Does a Star Wars book character connect Rebels to Episode VII?

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Chris Pratt confirms he's in Jurassic World. There's a new casting rumor for The Fantastic Four's Ben Grimm. And set photos show off Peter Capaldi's new Doctor Who costume. Plus, is Captain America: The Winter Soldier so good that Marvel's already trying to lock the directors in for the sequel? Spoilers now!

Star Wars

Here's a rumor that almost needs a capital "R" – that's how unlikely it is. The story is that Mara Jade's going to be introduced in Disney XD's upcoming show Star Wars Rebels and then cross over into the live-action films. Thus, the animated TV show will bring her into Disney's new Star Wars canon, which has her as the mother of Ben Skywalker, who will appear in Episode VII. According to Star Wars 7 News, the landscape of Disney's canon will look like this:'

Episode seven takes place, in 30 ABY. Jacen and Jaina will be to Ben what Han, and Leia were to Luke. Ben is around the same age as his cousins. Chewie will be alive, and this is an all new timeline from 4 ABY forward.

Again, this is a seriously shaky rumor, that means very little until anything's officially confirmed. [Yahoo!]

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Jurassic World

In more concrete news territory, Chris Pratt's confirmed that he's going to be in Jurassic World. And he's thrilled, saying:

For me, Jurassic Park was really kind of my Star Wars. I lined up at the theatre to see it, I saw it opening night, I saw every sequel, I've seen it a whole bunch of times… for me that was my big movie, I think I was 13 or 14 when it came out. And so it's a big deal for me to be any part of that, let alone this part I'm going to be playing. I'm thrilled about it.

[Slashfilm]

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Fantastic Four

And back to grain-of-salt territory: Sources "within casting circles close to the film" are saying that Josh Gad (Frozen) is the frontrunner for the role of Ben Grimm. His age does fit that of the other rumored actors (Michael B. Jordan, Allison Williams, Miles Teller, etc.), but nothing but rumor exists right now. [Slashfilm]

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Batman Vs. Superman

While people like Jennifer Garner and Kevin Smith have said that they've seen the suit that Ben Affleck will be wearing, there's a report that the blue and grey suit they've seen is only one of two that'll be in the film. Latino Review's saying that Affleck will also have a special armored version, with silver-white plates attached to black cloth, with the cloth showing at the joints. [Latino Review]

Meanwhile, Affleck has had to pull out of directing the pilot of Fox's show The Middle Man. Despite the release date of Batman Vs. Superman being pushed back, production has not been delayed. So Affleck will be reporting to the set soon, along with everyone else. [Deadline]

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X-Men: Days of Future Past

Here are some bits of concept art by artist Keith Christensen, which show a few options for Wolverine's outfit, Professor X's future wheelchair, and what looks like Michael Fassbender's Magneto helmet. [Keith Christensen via Comic Book Movie]

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Divergent

The crew filmed additional scenes in Los Angeles last weekend and going to be filming more this week. [On Location Vacations]

The sequel script, Insurgent, will be getting a pass by Academy Award winning writer Akiva Goldsman, who will polish the current draft. [Coming Soon]

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Captain America 3

It sounds like Marvel really liked the work done by Anthony and Joe Russo. A new report says that Marvel execs and test audiences have positively received Captain America: The Winter Soldier, leading to the directors' likely return for a third film. Of course, no final deal will be made until the The Winter Soldier is actually released, but it sounds like, barring a flop, it's close to a done deal. [Slashfilm]

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Transformers 4: Age of Extinction

A Brazilian site has a new description of the movie, which contains more plot points then we've ever seen before. There's no confirmation, so take it for what it's worth:

Four years after the Battle of Chicago, the government is using reverse-engineered leftover technology to build their own Transformers. Joshua (Stanley Tucci) is an arrogant designer who believes the Autobots are "pieces of junk" and creating his own robots is a form of art. He's fills basically the same role as Agent Simmons from the previous trilogy.

Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) is a widowed inventor who lives in a farm with his daughter Tessa (Nicola Peltz), unaware that she's dating a race car driver, Shane (Jack Reynor). Cade finds a piece of Cybertronian technology and takes it back to his farm, but it is accidentally activated, leading the government and alien bounty hunters to his farm. The bounty hunters (it's unclear if they're connected to the Decepticons) have antigravity weapons which they use to abduct Tessa. In another scene, an entire transatlantic cruise ship is raised out of the ocean and crosses through a busy intersection while the protagonists are in the middle of a car chase.

Sophia Myles is playing Darcy, Joshua's assistant and an archaeologist. Cade, Tessa, Shane, Joshua and Darcy are the main human characters, and the main subplot is Shane trying to prove his worth to Cade. Also, Cade addresses Bumblebee as "Bee" and calms him down when Joshua trash-talks him, indicating he might be Bumblebee's new owner.

Titus Welliver's character, Savoy, is the leader of a team of agents sent by Harold Attinger (Kelsey Grammer) to capture the protagonists.

[Transformer World]

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Comes the Krampus

Kevin Smith's going to be producing an anthology film containing four stories about the holiday kid-punisher of myth. The four stories will be The Krampus vs. The 3rd Grade (directed by Andy McElfresh), Jason Mewes' Hitler's Krampus, Smith's Mask Maker, and The Proposal (directed by Smith's script supervisor, Carol Banker). Smith's wife, Jennifer Schwalbach, will be in charge of another story, The Bad Babysitter, which will act as the anthology's framing device. [Film School Rejects]

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RoboDog

The animated film about the relationship between a young robotic dog and an old, grumpy "real" dog has its voice stars: Chris Colfer of Glee will play the young dog, KC, and the old dog will be voiced by Ron Perlman. [Coming Soon]

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Teen Wolf

Keahu Kahuanui, who plays Danny, says that his character's got some tough times up ahead:

Whether he's conscious of it or not, Danny has a hard time staying out of danger. He also has a rough time figuring out where his relationship with Ethan is going. I think it's safe to say, Danny has some turbulence ahead.

[Buddy TV]

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Doctor Who

Go here to see more set photos featuring Jenna Coleman, the TARDIS, and Peter Capaldi in his recently-revealed costume. [ryanfarr/SpoilerTV]

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Orphan Black

The second season premiere will be called "Nature Under Constraint And Vexed," a line from Sir Francis Bacon. Season 1 took its titles from Darwin, and John Fawcett and Graeme Manson say that season 2 will take all its episode titles from Bacon. [SpoilerTV]

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Grimm

Episode 3.17 will be called "Synchronicity." [SpoilerTV]

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Beauty and the Beast

Episode 2.15 will be called "Catch Me If You Can." [SpoilerTV]

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The Vampire Diaries

Here's a sneak peek at episode 5.12, "The Devil Inside." [via SpoilerTV]

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Almost Human

Here's the synopsis of episode 1.10, "Perception":

DRUG CRIMES FROM THE FUTURE ARE REAL KILLERS ON AN ALL-NEW "ALMOST HUMAN" MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, ON FOX

When Det. Kennex and Dorian investigate the simultaneous and sudden deaths of two genetically-enhanced - or "chrome" - children, a fatal dose of the perfect designer drug appears to be the cause. As the investigation unfolds and a recent drowning victim is mysteriously connected, the case takes an unexpected turn. Meanwhile, Kennex endures painful flashes from the past and pays a visit to the recollectionist in the all-new "Perception" episode of ALMOST HUMAN airing Monday, Feb. 10 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (HU-104) (TV-14 L, V)

Cast: Karl Urban as John Kennex; Michael Ealy as Dorian; Minka Kelly as Detective Valerie Stahl; Mackenzie Crook as Rudy Lom; Michael Irby as Detective Richard Paul; Lili Taylor as Captain Sandra Maldonado.

[SpoilerTV]

Additional reporting by Charlie Jane Anders and Emily Stamm

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Rumor: Does a Star Wars book character connect Rebels to Episode VII?

Fateful Findings is the new best worst movie you've ever seen onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Fateful Findings is the new best worst movie you've ever seen

Paranormal powers. Hacking. Ghosts. And secrets. SO MANY SECRETS. Welcome to Fateful Findings, the new movie (I use that term loosely) which looks like The Room and M. Night Shyamalan had a baby, gave it a head wound, bandaged it up and then made it take a shower.

The plot, according to its YouTube description:

A small boy discovers a mystical power as a child. He is then separated from his childhood girlfriend. He grows up to be a computer scientist who is hacking into the most secret national and international secrets, as well as being an acclaimed novel writer. His childhood 'finding' gives him amazing paranormal powers. He is reunited with the childhood girlfriend, mystically, on his hospital deathbed... as his relationship with his current drug addict girlfriend is deteriorating. The passions build between the threesome. Mystical, psychiatric and worldly forces rise to prevent him from revealing the hacked secrets. He attempts to reveal all in a Washington DC large press conference, with 'fateful' and dangerous consequences.

BUT WHAT ARE THE SECRETS I MUST KNOW THE SECRET GOVERNMENT SECRETS CAN SOMEBODY HACK INTO THE GOVERNMENT PLEASE

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Fateful Findings is the new best worst movie you've ever seen

Being Human introduces its very own Blade onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Being Human introduces its very own Blade

Now we know why there's a new character on this series!

Not a ton happened last night on Being Human. Josh (who is now cured of being a reverse werewolf, but still has issues) goes back to work, and then quits when the wolf inside of him tries to get out. Nora gets cured of her scars (remember that plot line?). And Sally finds out why she keeps going into the past — possibly to save a little girl. The one that she keeps seeing being sacrificed. That is unless the whole thing is a trap, which it very well could be.

But the most interesting part of last night is the big Blade-esque reveal. Turns out Aidan's old-timey wife is a new fangled vampire killer! As you can see from the footage. Aidan and his vampire spawn Kenny have reconnected. Interesting side note: Kenny can now glamour or compel (or whatever) vampires as well as people. Only downside is, he gets SUPER hungry when he does it. OK. GOOD TO KNOW.

But no time to chat, because the cool new vampire club that Kenny built (convenient!) has been attacked by a new lady Blade, who is Aidan's Wife. Dun Dun Dunnnnnn!

And there you have it, kind of a treading water episode — but now we know what's going on with Aidan's wife: Vampire-killing, self-hating stuff. The best kind of stuff for vampires everywhere, as we all know. Until next week, let's hope the kid Sally keeps seeing maintains the nickname "lil' smokey."

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Being Human introduces its very own Blade

Artist turns a classic opera cover into a beautiful scale model onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Artist turns a classic opera cover into a beautiful scale model

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Talk about a labor of love. Sculptor Grant Louden took Colin Hay's beautiful illustration (left), which appeared on the cover of a reprint of James Blish's The Star Dwellers, and recreated it in a beautifully detailed sculpture (right).

Over at Louden's website, he gives a detailed account of his 3-D reconstruction of the cover — including creating blueprints of the ship and custom-making parts out of plastic weld — and explains his passion for it:

I first came across this wonderful picture in Spacewreck in the late 70's, and still find it fascinating. Not only the mystery of the dead spacemen, but the nature of the small open craft in outer space – like a non-airtight midget submarine. The awkward angularity is also intriguing.

Seriously, check out some of the pictures of the work in progress at Louden's site. They're incredible.

And talking to Sci-Fi-O-Rama, Louden explains how he worked closely with the original artist to make sure he got it right, in every way that mattered:

We agreed an official license for each ship, and a royalty to go back to the original artist upon any sales for use of their work. It was important for me to recognise, celebrate, and remunerate their original – in every sense of the word – artworks.

I chose to build Star Dwellers first, for a couple of reasons. It was always my all time favourite of the TTA illustrations. Solemn, sombre and begging questions, and beautifully designed and rendered. Also it posed a considerable challenge. Just one view to work from, an incredibly complex shape to reproduce, with it's wild angles merging into a round nose cone, and intricately detailed. And two astronaut figures to model, so in doing this first I would gather and hone the skills and equipment needed to build any of the others.

Colin was absolutely fantastic to work with throughout the entire build. From commenting on prototype paper models, checking plan drawings, and constant enthusiasm and kind comments all along the way. He was invaluable when it came to building the unseen details of the ship. What would the interior look like for instance? Independently we had both been thinking WWII fighters and midget submarines as a look and feel. I asked if we should put floating seat harnesses in the cockpits, and Colin said indeed and wished he'd thought of them when doing his original painting. So it was wonderful to have so much input and encouragement, and it's made for a far more accurate and sympathetic recreation. Colin will be signing a Certificate of Authenticity to accompany the piece when sold, as well as a signed art print of his original. And I'll be passing on a two figure percentage royalty when it's sold.

Check out more photos of the process, and tons more details, over at Sci-Fi-O-Ramaas well. [via The Verge]

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onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Artist turns a classic opera cover into a beautiful scale model

The robotic future won't look anything like what you imagine onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com The robotic future won't look anything like what you imagine

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In late autumn, I walked through drifts of crunchy leaves in Berkeley's warehouse district to find a strange lab on the shores of San Francisco Bay. Inside, on a work bench surrounded by tidy coils of wire and electrical tape, two geeks were building the next robot revolution. But there were no Google-esque dog armies nor sentient AIs in sight — nor in their business plan. Instead, they showed me the future on a laptop connected to a fat cable that snaked into a large tank of water.

Photo via FastCo

At the other end of the cable was the OpenROV, or remotely operated underwater vehicle, about the size of a shoe box and made from bright blue plastic. On the laptop monitor, I could see the curving walls of the water tank, streaming from a camera tucked safely inside the robot's transparent, tube-shaped electronics chassis. Driving it in gentle circles through the water was Eric Stackpole, a former Mars Rover engineer for NASA whose eyes light up when he talks about electrical components. David Lang, Stackpole's business parter, showed me how OpenROV is controlled from a simple web interface.

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Just that weekend, Lang said, they'd used the OpenROV to film a shipwreck at the bottom of Lake Tahoe. They dropped the robot in, allowed the neutrally-buoyant device to sink, and flew across the lake bottom until they found a small, algae-covered boat. In the video below, you can see what it was like when they drove the rover inside and illuminated the long-lost interior of the craft, full of sand and startled schools of fish.

Think of it as a scaled-down version of the expeditions that scientists do with robot submersibles to explore the ocean's unknown depths. But unlike a research robot, the OpenROV can be built by hobbyists from a kit that Lang and Stackpole sell from their website for 849 dollars. And anyone can operate it, as long as they fly a "diver down" flag on the surface of the water to warn boaters.

In their jeans and t-shirts, Lang and Stackpole look like a lot of entrepreneurs in the Bay Area. Their operation is lean, and they've allied themselves with the startup-friendly Maker movement. OpenROV started as a crowdfunded project two years ago, and now it's making a profit. But Lang and Stackpole aren't in this to make a zillion bucks. They're true believers in the power of robots to transform our civilization.

Lang, who has written a book about starting OpenROV called Zero to Maker, said his biggest hero is amateur astronomer John Dobson. In the 1960s, Dobson invented the relatively cheap Dobsonian telescope to help citizen scientists stars. Like Lang, Dobson wanted to popularize science, and show people that they didn't need to be professionals to contribute to the field of astronomy. He and Stackpole want OpenROV to be the Dobsonian telescope of the oceanography, allowing students and amateurs to make discoveries that once only Jacques Cousteau could make.

But the OpenROV project isn't about this one little machine, swimming around at the end of its tether. The robot is just one piece of an ecosystem that they are trying to cultivate for future generations. As they show me around their lab, pointing out each evolutionary change in the many versions of their robot, they sketch out their vision of what's coming for humanity.

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Lang thinks OpenROV is just the first piece of a world where we're all transformed by what he calls "immersive telerobotics." Essentially, we won't be ruled by robots — we will be augmented by them, seeing and experiencing the world through their sensors.

"I picture a classroom full of kids with oculus rifts, and they're piloting the ROV in real time through ocean canyons," Stackpole said. "We want to popularize the idea of exploration for everybody."

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"Really, this is about us waging a war on apathy," added Lang. "We want people to appreciate the world — exploration and adventure are a great way to do that." They talk about how mobile phones are another part of this future where we treat the world as an adventure, a place where our robotic extensions help us make discoveries from classrooms, desktops, and boats floating kilometers above the region we're watching through our oculus rift devices.

Lang and Stackpole have created a great robot, which could almost qualify as adorable if somebody stuck some googly eyes on its chassis. But this machine is also a kind of manifesto, an exhortation to humanity to join together with their robots and explore the universe.

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And it might even be working. Lang estimates there are about 400 OpenROVs "in the wild," with more to come now that they've released their latest kit. Many technical upgrades and mods to the design come from a growing community of enthusiasts in the OpenROV forums. People who own these rovers feel like they are participating in designing them. They aren't like drones that you can buy at Radio Shack — they're not just toys that you use and break and forget about.

One day, if Lang and Stackpole's dream comes true, we might look back at OpenROV as the ancestor of a robot that we've now integrated fully into our bodies, our homes, and into our very understanding of what it means to be human. They could be like our cyborg offspring, exploring oceans on Jupiter's moon Europa, and flying through the atmospheres of distant gas giants in centuries to come.

Standing beside the neatly-organized shelves of electronic components in the OpenROV lab, you can just make out the dim outline of a hopeful future for autonomous robots. We will make them with our own hands, and rear them in our communities, among our children. They will not rise up against us. Eventually, they will become us.

Annalee Newitz is the editor-in-chief of io9 and this is her column. She is also the author of Scatter, Adapt and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction.

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com The robotic future won't look anything like what you imagine

Vin Diesel announces a fourth Riddick movie is coming onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Vin Diesel announces a fourth Riddick movie is coming

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The third installment of the Riddick franchise may have turned our favorite antihero into a peeping tom, but that didn't stop it from being a huge hit on DVD. And because of that, Riddick is getting another movie!

The LA Times is reporting that Riddick was the best-selling DVD and Blu-ray title during its first week of release. Which made Universal call up Diesel and scream "one more time." Or at least that's what the actor told his Facebook followers.

"I'm just excited, and happy, and I'm shouting out to you guys to say thank you. Universal just called me and told me Riddick is number one on the DVD charts. There's no way Riddick would have been made without you guys. You know that. and you guys have been a part of our page since 2012 and remember how arduous a road it was to get the movie made, and to make it rated 'R,' and to do it with such a low budget. It's a win for all of us and I really, really thank you so much."

To celebrate, Diesel danced to Beyonce's Drunk In Love, and did the "surfbort."

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Vin Diesel announces a fourth Riddick movie is coming

Why campiness succeeds -- and why it fails -- in Batman onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Why campiness succeeds -- and why it fails -- in Batman

What have we here? Oh, just '60s-era Batman going surfing with the Joker, and making use of some spray-on shark repellent, like one does. But what makes this campy adaptation of Batman work, while Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin didn't?

After taking a look at some of the forgotten plot holes and oddities of the Schumacher's adaptation, a discussion was launched over the role of camp in Batman adaptations — and what we hope the next incarnation of Batman looks like:

TomSkylark

You know, at the risk of defending a bad object (because it is a genuinely miserable film in some fairly objective respects), I feel like from the vantage point of three absolutely humorless Nolan films—which were very much greenlit as paranoid reactions to Batman & Robin—I have a retroactive appreciation for Schumacher's takes. For all its commercialism and plain-and-simple issues, this was a campy homage to the really loving, campy Adam West series, as well as the more general goofballery of Silver Age comics (and, very occasionally if obliviously, contemporary comic books) . . . the Burton Batman films are in some ways much better at the camp when they reach towards it (Catwoman's "Black rubber!" scene spring to mind), and are generally very good films (Batman Returns is my favorite in the franchise to date—nothing beats the ballroom scene with the Siouxsie & The Banshees track for me). Batman & Robin is not a good movie. That being said, I still think the perception that its badness is just so large is probably more about tone than folks like to acknowledge.

AmyL

I think we're due for another one soon with the next reboot. First we had Adam West, then Michael Keaton. Then we had Schumaker, with Nolan's serious tone following that. I really hope the Batman in Batman v. Superman will be more campy and less serious. If they do a full-on Justice League movie, they'll almost have to in order to include some of the heroes like Aquaman.

So, what do you think? What makes camp superhero movies or TV series succeed or fail? And do you hope that the next adaptation of Batman skews closer to Adam West or Christian Bale?

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Why campiness succeeds -- and why it fails -- in Batman

No, this isn't the stormy surface of a remote gas giant, but rather a swirling vortex atop a heated onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com No, this isn't the stormy surface of a remote gas giant, but rather a swirling vortex atop a heated

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No, this isn't the stormy surface of a remote gas giant, but rather a swirling vortex atop a heated soap bubble. Shot by a high-speed camera, the image is helping scientists understand how these spinning complex structures form, whether they be in a bubble, a tropical storm or Jupiter's Great Red Spot. Image: Hamid Kellay.

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com No, this isn't the stormy surface of a remote gas giant, but rather a swirling vortex atop a heated

Two ways to look at the Jukes, America's most "degenerate" family onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Two ways to look at the Jukes, America's most "degenerate" family

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The Jukes are not a real family. Juke is a made-up surname, assigned to a sprawling, impoverished family by a Victorian scientist. That scientist wanted the family to get a hand up. The next scientist to study the Jukes wanted them eliminated entirely.

Max Juke was born in the first half of the 18th century. He lived in the mountains of New York state, and raised a family. By 1874, Max Juke's descendants had cost the state of New York over a million dollars. That's a lot of money to go through, but according to public record the Jukes, particularly the Juke line that sprang from Max's daughter, Ada, got a lot done.

Richard Dugdale, a sociological researcher, made a study of an anonymous family that he called the Jukes after he visited a jail and found out that, despite different surnames, many of the current inmates were related to each other. He looked through hospital records, jail records, and poorhouse records to find out how they did. He only found 709 of the total estimated 1200 extended Juke clan, but among those 700 people he found quite a few miscreants and dependents. Of the traced Jukes, 180 had received a combined 800 years of poverty relief in poorhouses or other programs. There were 18 brothel-keepers, 60 habitual thieves, between 50 and 120 "common" prostitutes, 40 women with venereal disease who had spread it to an estimated 440 other people, 30 prosecutions in bastardy, and 2 cases of feeble-mindedness. Dugdale proved that almost any crime sounds kind of charming when put in old-timey speak. Anything else he proved it up to interpretation.

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Dugdale's interpretation was that the Jukes needed more help than was being given to them. A mid-19th century scientist who couldn't help but be influenced by the many utopian movements that proliferated at the time, Dugdale wanted to know how society could be organized to eliminate what seemed to him a generations-long cycle of poverty and criminality. He even stressed that about 200 of his chronicled "Jukes" were only related to the family by marriage, not by blood. Although he allowed there was a possibility that genetics played a role in the Jukes' misdeeds, he thought that their environment contributed more to their circumstances than anything else.

In the early 20th century, people had a less utopian outlook, particularly at the Eugenics Record Office* where Eugene Estabrook worked. Estabrook continued the study of the Jukes. Quite a few public programs had been put in place by then, and Dugdale might have been pleased. The Jukes had shown progress, with a lower proportion of them turning to crime or "harlotry." Estabrook, however, was not impressed. He declared the Jukes "undredeemed," and believed that they needed to be segregated and sterilized to spare future society. For a look at the historical evolution of that point of view, see the fate of the Eugenics Record Office.

Two scientists took a look at the same family, and prescribed totally different social programs for them. It's an interesting look at how the same data can spawn opposing social policies. An even more interesting twist is a more recent study. At least some of the Jukes family seem to have made good. Looking outside the poorhouses, modern researchers noticed that plenty of those wicked "Jukes" ran businesses, ran for office, and were perfectly respectable, by the standards of their times and the standards of ours.

Via Disability Museum, Learn To Question

* The Eugenics Record Office, by the way, closed in 1944, for reasons that should not surprise anyone with the least grasp of world history. The idea behind it wasn't entirely gone, though. It was only slightly reorganized into the Institute for the Promotion of Human Genetics, which closed in the early 1990s, and has given its records to various Genealogical Societies, which hopefully will see them solely as a source of historical information.

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Two ways to look at the Jukes, America's most "degenerate" family

io9 Book Club reminder: Meeting 2/11 to Discuss The N-Body Problem onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com io9 Book Club reminder: Meeting 2/11 to Discuss The N-Body Problem

This month, we're reading Tony Burgess' disturbing (and funny) post-zombie novel The N-Body Problem. We'll meet on Feb. 11 to discuss it!

We're hoping Burgess will join us later that week to talk about the book.

What is this io9 Book Club all about? We meet once a month to discuss a book we've all read together, and then we have an online chat with the author — see our past meetings here.

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com io9 Book Club reminder: Meeting 2/11 to Discuss The N-Body Problem