tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26871689709876823372024-03-19T04:48:40.969-04:00Alien Robot ZombiesA quasi-scientific exploration of the finite universe.Rico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.comBlogger165125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2687168970987682337.post-41522970092081866982015-08-09T06:00:00.000-04:002015-08-09T06:00:03.571-04:00A as in Alien<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8UtDAXmteUJOWlSGhkMWX7-ShH2dem924KuaJ8YlnQ94vTFsAnrUvAKwn96BDqFfmjH1eIQDVVKCb9joT5MJVLzlWfqp8gDiLv8jscnlxpJJZtN9Xvov9yuDqQXXIgfdyc8laiczdkcMq/s1600/A_Alien.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8UtDAXmteUJOWlSGhkMWX7-ShH2dem924KuaJ8YlnQ94vTFsAnrUvAKwn96BDqFfmjH1eIQDVVKCb9joT5MJVLzlWfqp8gDiLv8jscnlxpJJZtN9Xvov9yuDqQXXIgfdyc8laiczdkcMq/s320/A_Alien.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
In spoken conversation, a "spelling alphabet" is a useful tool for making sure that the listener understands exactly which letter is which. Did he say <i>m</i> or <i>n</i>? Did she say <i>b</i> or <i>p</i>?<br />
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In military speak, for example, the word "cat" is spelled "<b>C</b>harlie <b>A</b>lfa <b>T</b>ango" - each word starting with the letter it stands for.<br />
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In everyday speech, you're more likely to hear spelling alphabets used in casual ways, such as: "That's <i>b</i> as in Bob."<br />
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But Bob is boring. If you're going to spell something for someone, at least inject some pizzazz into it. Here, then, is the official Alien Robot Zombie spelling alphabet:<br />
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<b>A</b> as in Alien<br />
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<b>B</b> as in Batman<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>C</b> as in Cobra<br />
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<b>D</b> as in Diesel<br />
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<b>E</b> as in Epic<br />
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<b>F</b> as in Football<br />
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<b>G</b> as in Gorilla<br />
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<b>H</b> as in Hammer<br />
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<b>I</b> as in Ice-Age<br />
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<b>J</b> as in Jedi<br />
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<b>K</b> as in Kung-Fu<br />
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<b>L</b> as in Laser<br />
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<b>M</b> as in Magic<br />
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<b>N</b> as in Ninja<br />
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<b>O</b> as in Overlord<br />
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<b>P</b> as in Pirate<br />
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<b>Q</b> as in Quasar<br />
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<b>R</b> as in Robot<br />
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<b>S</b> as in Science!<br />
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<b>T</b> as in Tyrant<br />
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<b>U</b> as in Unicorn<br />
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<b>V</b> as in Venom<br />
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<b>W</b> as in Werewolf<br />
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<b>X</b> as in X-Ray Vision<br />
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<b>Y</b> as in Yoda<br />
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<b>Z</b> as in Zombie<br />
<br />Rico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2687168970987682337.post-72891448012871999742015-01-05T06:00:00.000-05:002015-01-06T10:10:20.792-05:00Most anticipated splody movies of 2014: recap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU9aeBvCJ4GapTAOXAsd9-mifuIqC13I2LvOPvFJQ7sXBukplBeDHzF4wA6IANvzVWpHT72ca07G6TaCTySODuBH_ZF55Rhf17lRRA5QUfIJ2buccLKF53pPfFUGqlyIfkRBiMAxrbK5Dk/s1600/CAPITAN+AMERICA+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU9aeBvCJ4GapTAOXAsd9-mifuIqC13I2LvOPvFJQ7sXBukplBeDHzF4wA6IANvzVWpHT72ca07G6TaCTySODuBH_ZF55Rhf17lRRA5QUfIJ2buccLKF53pPfFUGqlyIfkRBiMAxrbK5Dk/s1600/CAPITAN+AMERICA+2.jpg" height="400" width="292" /></a></div>
At the beginning of each year, I make a list of what I think will be that year’s best movies. My formula for success: equal parts good character development and explosions. Now that 2014 is over, here is my analysis of how <a href="http://www.alienrobotzombies.com/2014/01/most-anticipated-splody-movies-of-2014.html">my predictions for 2014</a> went.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">1. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1843866/">Captain America: The Winter Soldier</a></span></strong><br />
<strong>Result</strong>: FULL OF WIN (<a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/">Tomatometer</a> 89%). This was the best splody film of the year, and maybe Marvel Studios’ best to date. A perfect blend of 1970s spy-thriller, 1980s action-hero romp, and over-the-top summer blockbuster, this movie had it all. Chris Evans remains perfectly cast as Steve Rogers, and directors Joe and Anthony Russo brought a visceral edge to the action that kept audiences on the edge of their seats. The supporting cast was also top-notch. (One of the best scenes belonged solely to Sam Jackson as Nick Fury.) Every moment of this movie was crammed full of wonderful moments and Easter eggs for Marvel fans, and it is a testament to the skill of the storytelling that the more ridiculous plot elements feel organic. This is where the strength of Marvel’s shared universe begins to shine—small elements that were set up in Cap’s previous film and those of his fellow Avengers pay off here. You don’t have to have seen those films to appreciate this movie, but having seen them enriches the experience. Everyone knows about the famous elevator scene, but two other scenes in particular stood out to me. First, his one-man stealth assault in his first mission in the film is fast-paced and unforgiving, finally showing us what Captain America is capable of when firing on all cylinders. Second, his chase scene with the Winter Soldier is so kinetic I think it knocked the wind out of me as I watched it. Cap is so intense as he pursues his mark that he runs right through walls or leaves huge dents in them as he careens around them. The payoff of that scene is shocking and amazing—just like this film overall.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">2. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0831387/">Godzilla</a></span></strong><br />
<strong>Result</strong>: FULL OF WIN (Tomatometer 73%). This was the first American adaptation of Godzilla, so I was not sure what to expect. (OK, I realize there was a 1998 American film called <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120685/">Godzilla</a></em>, but let’s be realistic, shall we? That was a Matthew Broderick comedy about a giant iguana, not a Godzilla movie. In Japan, they claimed the iguana creature was a different monster—and then Godzilla killed it. I rest my case.) I need not have worried. Director Gareth Edwards didn’t do the best job with the so-so human drama in this film, but human drama is always filler in a kaiju film. The monster drama, on the other hand, built up steadily to a glorious payoff in the film’s final act. I and the rest of the theater cheered loudly.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">3. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2015381/">Guardians of the Galaxy</a></span></strong><br />
<strong>Result</strong>: FULL OF WIN (Tomatometer 90%). A lot of people predicted this would be Marvel Studios’ first cinematic failure. Instead, it became a runaway success and the highest-grossing comic book movie of the year. (Suck it, a lot of people.) It would be wrong to call this a superhero film, as it was more of a Star Wars type space adventure story. And it was Marvel’s most comedic effort to date. Those elements certainly scored points with mass audiences, and I’m sure that the pure on-screen charm of leading man Chris Pratt (“Star-Lord”) and his talking tree (“Groot”) and raccoon (“Rocket”) sidekicks didn’t hurt. Marvel struck gold with this franchise, and the consensus now is that they could turn Howard the Duck into a billion-dollar franchise if they wanted to.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">4. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1872181/">The Amazing Spider-Man 2</a></span></strong><br />
<strong>Result</strong>: EPIC FAIL (Tomatometer 53%). I almost feel bad for kicking Sony when they’re down, but the simple fact of the matter is that Sony needs some tough love when it comes to Spider-Man. They have the world’s most popular superhero in their film stable, and they consistently lose money on him. And deservedly so. <i>TASM2 </i>was a mess. Thanks to the Sony Hack, we now know that the entire point of the movie was to kill off Gwen Stacey, something Marvel Studios recommended against doing so soon, since she was a popular character, and a move which turned out to alienate a lot of viewers. The rest of the plot was shoehorned in, in random pieces, to fit a variety of conflicting studio directives, the most ridiculous of which was to sow seeds for an entire cinematic universe—that has now been scrapped because of how disjointed and awful this film was. The sad thing is that there were elements of a good story here, but Sony didn’t know what they had and refused to listen to any of Marvel Studios’ notes to improve the product. Sony and Marvel are supposedly in talks now on a deal that would allow Marvel to reclaim creative control while splitting the costs and profits of these films with Sony. Whatever Marvel asks for, Sony, take the deal. The first step is admitting you have a problem! <strong>What should have been on my list</strong>: <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1631867/">Live Die Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow</a></em>. (Tomatometer 90%). Who would have thought that Tom Cruise had another sci-fi hit left in him? Apparently no one thought that, but he did, and this sleeper got great reviews, although it barely made a dent at the box office due to poor marketing.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">5. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1877832/">X-Men: Days of Future Past</a></span></strong><br />
<strong>Result</strong>: FULL OF WIN (Tomatometer 92%). Fox remains a step behind Marvel Studios in crafting a compelling and audience-friendly superhero world. But only a step. This film successfully performed a soft reboot on the franchise by using time travel to hit the reset button on the less popular films in the franchise (<em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0376994/">X-Men: The Last Stand</a> </em>and at least part of <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0458525/">X-Men Origins: Wolverine</a></em>), thereby erasing past sins and opening the X-Men universe to tons of new storytelling possibilities. Plus, it was a great film in and of itself, ranking alongside <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1270798/">X-Men: First Class</a></em>, <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0290334/">X2: X-Men United</a></em> and <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1430132/">The Wolverine</a> </em>as one of the best in the series.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">6. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2310332/">The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies</a></span></strong><br />
<strong>Result</strong>: FULL OF WIN (Tomatometer 60%). I haven’t seen this yet (although I plan to this week), but I have it on authority that it is a fitting end to the trilogy and perhaps the best of the three. And while it should be noted that The Hobbit was bloated, overly reliant on digital effects, and nowhere near as good as the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, it was nevertheless pure delight to return to Middle Earth.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">7. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2245084/">Big Hero 6</a></span></strong><br />
<strong>Result</strong>: FULL OF WIN (Tomatometer 89%). Disney made good on their promise to translate this Marvel Comics property into an animated feature, giving us the best family-oriented superhero film since <em>The Incredibles</em>. (Given that Disney own both properties, I wonder if we could see a cross-over in the future…?)<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">8. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1951265/">The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1</a></span></strong><br />
<strong>Result</strong>: FULL OF WIN (Tomatometer 66%). With the Hunger Games, the books get weaker as the series progresses, but the films have gotten better in relation to the books. I think the film makers have a better handle on this world they have created than the author did. Still, it is strange that they turned the final—and shortest—book into a two-parter. I haven’t seen this one either, and probably won’t until Part 2 comes out. But from what I hear, it’s fine. Just the captivating presence of Jennifer Lawrence is enough to keep me going on this series.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">9. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2103281/">Dawn of the Planet of the Apes</a></span></strong><br />
<strong>Result</strong>: FULL OF WIN (Tomatometer 91%). The original <em>Planet of the Apes</em> in 1968 was cheesy—but delicious. All attempts to expand the franchise, however, were miserable failures until <em>Rise of the Planet of the Apes</em> completely redefined it in 2011. So I wondered if <em>Dawn</em> would follow in its predecessor’s success or sink back into miserable failure. With a new director and almost a completely new cast, I suspected the latter, but this film delivered in spades. The POTA franchise is alive and well, and I cannot wait for the next installment. Long live Caesar! Long live the Apes!<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">10. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816692/">Interstellar</a></span></strong><br />
<strong>Result</strong>: FULL OF WIN (Tomatometer 73%). Can Christopher Nolan do any wrong? That has yet to be proven. His first outing in pure sci-fi gives us yet another gorgeous example of his skill with cinematography, and the acting and storytelling are also compelling. It’s not his best work, but it is delightful, as always. One thing to note: Nolan was intent on using practical effects and avoiding green screens wherever possible—so much so that rather than adding the stars of space in post-production, he projected them onto the background of the actual soundstage, so the actors would feel that they were in space as they did their scenes.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">11. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1617661/">Jupiter Ascending</a></span></strong><br />
<strong>Result</strong>: INCOMPLETE (Tomatometer n/a). This movie was delayed to February 6, 2015. Out of pure coincidence, the planet Jupiter is at opposition (its closest approach to Earth) on that date. <strong>What should have been on my list</strong>: <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1706620/">Snowpiercer</a> </em>(Tomatometer 95%). This film was actually released in 2013—everywhere but in the United States. Here, distribution rights disputes caused its delay and it opened in extremely limited release. A major success elsewhere, you should see it if you like dystopian sci-fi. Starring Chris Evans (Captain America) as a passenger aboard a post-apocalyptic train, it tells a riveting, intense and highly original story.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">12. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1234721/">RoboCop</a></span></strong><br />
<strong>Result</strong>: FULL OF WIN (Tomatometer 48%). This film actually received a lot of hate from both critics and fans alike, but I loved it. I think the important thing to remember as you’re watching it is that it is not a remake of the 1987 classic by the same name. Actually, that would have been a disaster, because the 1987 <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093870/">RoboCop</a></em> is one of the universe’s most perfect films and does not need to be remade. Instead, renowned Brazilian director José Padilha, in his first English-language film, takes the underlying RoboCop concept and crafts an entirely new story around it. And it is a great story. Instead of being rooted in 1980s paranoia, the new tale expands upon modern-day concerns and does it well. It’s not a perfect film, but there is a lot to love here. A lot of detail was put into every scene. For example, there is a fight in the dark where the two different sides are using two different kinds of night vision, and the effect is amazing. What’s more, unlike the original, this one exists in a more realistic and fully-realized world, perfect to explore in more detail in future installments. And I hope we do get sequels to this.<br />
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<strong>Bonus Wins</strong>: I was pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable the kid-oriented <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1490017/">The Lego Movie</a></em> (Tomatometer 96%) was, and I look forward to future installments for this franchise. Meanwhile, <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2267998/">Gone Girl</a></em> (Tomatometer 88%) was a magnificent thriller from director David Fincher and removed all doubt that Ben Affleck has the acting chops to be <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2975590/">the new Batman</a>.<br />
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Finally, lest I forget, <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3062074/">Sharknado 2: The Second One</a> </em>was, if anything, even more glorious than the first installment.<br />
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<em>Coming soon: my choices for splody movies most likely to please in 2015...</em>Rico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2687168970987682337.post-11584407867761927992014-12-29T06:00:00.000-05:002014-12-30T16:06:30.651-05:00Twisdom 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiraN-3JTHF3jAm4TgEBuTtw31xw2eFmy81iklv-IbwaC2UmyNJ549vBTbQFDcD5XO4X4TmkdEjbiRgedUcLB3q0DUt8muZYbThYeu8yQ7BiDFnolis9dc42KSlvyqrXag-B_y4pyRSZrwb/s1600/Like_and_share.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiraN-3JTHF3jAm4TgEBuTtw31xw2eFmy81iklv-IbwaC2UmyNJ549vBTbQFDcD5XO4X4TmkdEjbiRgedUcLB3q0DUt8muZYbThYeu8yQ7BiDFnolis9dc42KSlvyqrXag-B_y4pyRSZrwb/s1600/Like_and_share.png" height="385" width="400" /></a></div>
Every once in a while, I <a href="https://twitter.com/ricodetroit">tweet</a> something that stands on its own. Sometimes it's poetic, sometimes silly and sometimes just a little observation that has a kernel of wisdom in it. Here are some of those tweets.<br />
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<i>Genius isn't having all the answers. Genius is knowing what questions to ask in the first place.</i><br />
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<i>What kind of mileage does a Transformer get?</i><br />
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<i>Theory: all video game plots take place in a parallel universe of lobotomized clones.</i><br />
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<i>Don't look now, but there's a ninja on your lap...</i><br />
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<i>This Mickey Mouse cartoon about a trip to the moon is really doing a piss-poor job of teaching my 2-year-old about astrophysics. </i><br />
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<i>Don't upset the apple cart as it plunges over the cliff.</i><br />
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<i>My wife and my boss just joined Twitter. Welcome aboard! And remember this advice: if you can't express something in 140 characters or less,</i><br />
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<i>You call it ADD. I call it accelerated mental task switching.</i><br />
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<i>No one has killed me yet. Therefore I cannot be killed. #logic</i><br />
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<i>Was asked by a ~10 year old boy this morning: "Can zombies swim?" My answer: "No, but the fresh ones float."</i><br />
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<i>I'm pretty sure the reason my two-year-old cries and screams so much is because he hasn't yet learned how to swear properly.</i><br />
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<i>Million-dollar idea: a watch you wear on your finger like a ring, instead of on your wrist like a bracelet.</i><br />
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<i>It is my strong desire to see </i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903747/">Breaking Bad</a><i> resume 15-20 years from now with Holly White picking up where her father left off.</i><br />
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<i>My ideal bromance: get drunk and discuss the cinematography of car chase scenes.</i><br />
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<i>Happy July! I moved my snow scraper from my back seat to the trunk today. #Michigan</i><br />
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<i>Athcab stromatolites halibut bitches.</i><br />
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<i>I just time traveled. I oscillated back and forth between "here" and a memory. "Here" won, as it always does, but that was fun.</i><br />
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<i>How to watch sci-fi movies: pretend they were all made in the 1950s on a shoestring budget and be amazed.</i><br />
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<i>My son just said to me: "One time I farted so hard, I cried." #proudpapa</i><br />
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<i>Definition of old age: singing along to a song you've always hated just because you finally found something on the radio you recognize.</i><br />
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<i>Definition of old age: singing along to a song you've always hated just because you finally found something on the radio you recognize.</i><br />
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<i>Does anyone else think that dried flowers are creepy? They should call them "mummy flowers."</i><br />
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<i>I'm practically blind without my glasses. Then again, maybe that's what the world really looks like, and "clarity" is just an illusion.</i><br />
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<i>Show me something that doesn't go with bacon and I'll show you something that isn't worth eating in the first place.</i><br />
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<i>I just hope when A.I. takes over the world, it will at least humor us enough to create bad-ass robots with which to subjugate us.</i><br />
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<i>Scrambles eggs are eggs for people who don't appreciate eggs.</i><br />
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<i>There are two kinds of people in this world: assholes and me.</i><br />
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<b>Bonus Retweets:</b><br />
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<a href="https://twitter.com/JMSchrader">@JMSchrader</a><br />
<i>The plural of "singlehandedly" is "singlehand-in-handedly"</i><br />
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<a href="https://twitter.com/CommuterJoe">@CommuterJoe</a><br />
<i>What I need is a giant, oversized bumper so I can just bumper-car other vehicles right the fuck out of my way.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>Rico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2687168970987682337.post-41808859711333103712014-10-15T06:00:00.000-04:002014-10-17T14:11:27.247-04:00The blood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivZaL3Qy8p27LvGC6rK_cv3ilgRqsxbCZyq8sBl8xGoFADdKqZzMfQ9UcZcbcgQX1MTc6Ne341-9o3SwP_ITMQdb9CVXBYJRC0Jn4TkObxefijNr9q738kUDTOBsdYU4hDRnRi0YcL4FM_/s1600/TheBlood.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivZaL3Qy8p27LvGC6rK_cv3ilgRqsxbCZyq8sBl8xGoFADdKqZzMfQ9UcZcbcgQX1MTc6Ne341-9o3SwP_ITMQdb9CVXBYJRC0Jn4TkObxefijNr9q738kUDTOBsdYU4hDRnRi0YcL4FM_/s1600/TheBlood.png" height="267" width="400" /></a></div>
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Hey everybody, I found some blood</div>
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Does anyone want to share the blood?<br />
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I’m gonna take and steal the blood<br />
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I’m gonna touch and feel the blood<br />
</div>
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I’m gonna make a meal from the blood<br />
</div>
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I’m gonna dip my heel in the blood<br />
</div>
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I’m gonna strike a deal with the blood<br />
</div>
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I’m just tryin’ to be real with the blood<br />
</div>
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I’ve got so much zeal for the blood<br />
</div>
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I’ll get a bag to seal the blood<br />
</div>
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That way I can conceal the blood<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I’m gonna kneel before the blood<br />
</div>
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I’m gonna love and adore the blood<br />
</div>
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I beg and I implore the blood<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Open my mouth and pour the blood<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
All you fools abhor the blood<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
I’ve got to get some more of the blood<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Find somewhere to store the blood<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
All I do is for the blood<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My pure and precious whore, the blood</div>
<br />
<br />
<em>—with Jason S.</em>Rico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2687168970987682337.post-70802122805893666092014-09-28T20:47:00.000-04:002014-09-29T21:35:54.719-04:00History of the universe<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Here are some timelines to illustrate the scale of the history - past and future - of our universe.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXe-fGw-a05BdaqERiUSTNoUP5LT25gH099t8lLO-gKTA9XbnG7lv6SiAaGSM4m90k2zxqjSEjE4kbz0u9roseIimO3LgfIrzfwpBBRd1_nAgIS3W09qUe_PYiFtwIIh-HX8R9py14YB2/s1600/History+of+the+Universe_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXe-fGw-a05BdaqERiUSTNoUP5LT25gH099t8lLO-gKTA9XbnG7lv6SiAaGSM4m90k2zxqjSEjE4kbz0u9roseIimO3LgfIrzfwpBBRd1_nAgIS3W09qUe_PYiFtwIIh-HX8R9py14YB2/s1600/History+of+the+Universe_1.png" height="286" width="400" /></a></div>
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Our universe is in its infancy. To illustrate just how long the lifespan of the universe is, I showed the four major stages that it will go through. Fittingly, each of these eras is so ridiculously longer than the period before it, by orders of magnitude upon orders of magnitude, that there is no practical way to make the earlier ones visible. (A logarithmic scale works to some extent, but even there you have to cheat.)</div>
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We are currently in what scientists call the "Stelliferous" (or star-making) Era. This is the time period where the universe will be familiar to us and life as we know it will be possible. The universe is approximately 13.798 billion years old, and if that entire time were reduced to one millimeter on the timeline, the entire Stelliferous Era would be 7.25 meters long.</div>
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The next phase will be the Degenerate Era. With no new stars being formed, the last stellar remnants will slowly decay, and then matter itself will decay. Life may exist in some form throughout part of this era, but it will become increasingly difficult, and the universe will be a dark and lonely place. If we use our same timeline (the Big Bang to present day equals one millimeter), the Degenerate Era would occupy a timeline some 72.5 billion light years across.</div>
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For reference, the diameter of the observable universe is currently about 93 billion years, so we would need most of it to make our timeline - again, only one millimeter of which has happened yet.</div>
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I'm not going to bother doing the math on the remaining two phases of the universe (the Black Hole Era in which nothing but black holes remain, and the Dark Era in which nothing but decaying particles remain), because our human brains just can't handle it. (Believe it or not, the timescale gets even more ridiculous.)</div>
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Better to concentrate on that first breath that our universe has already taken, as I have done below. While time is normally divided into <i>geological </i>subdivisions, I have attempted here to divide it into <i>historical </i>ones. where intervals of the same level (Super-Eon, Eon, Era, Period, Epoch, Division, Stage or Age) are all of roughly the same duration. Each chart shows an increasingly narrow period of time. For more details, see the complete <a href="http://www.alienrobotzombies.com/p/secret-history-of-universe.html">Alien Robot Zombie Secret History of the Universe</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhspDbIade3GmiExCSZI1SWv94v4G01XUdNbarCa8Ry7qy1j4WUOOFNRUGkmaHjKoFR_-rXRhBqFZNmPtO2JnF1x8G2dGJ-42sBcp2iZ2WJ0lZ6JF_vjRRob7CkAqNqsUd-Rj6MBAlL3uNa/s1600/History+of+the+Universe_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhspDbIade3GmiExCSZI1SWv94v4G01XUdNbarCa8Ry7qy1j4WUOOFNRUGkmaHjKoFR_-rXRhBqFZNmPtO2JnF1x8G2dGJ-42sBcp2iZ2WJ0lZ6JF_vjRRob7CkAqNqsUd-Rj6MBAlL3uNa/s1600/History+of+the+Universe_2.png" height="293" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWRZ5cWiU_1ZERSfQlbaR-kyu_2RzoDoKyeaqPx3SDgyNFKlWU8lQGzcJOn3QsRTzUOOEMCB3Iht6LOamMtK6twI7LlK0A6AZ69rrB4bXdocac_3J5p4S6NY5SSjjAd88iM_9HOmdME_8y/s1600/History+of+the+Universe_3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWRZ5cWiU_1ZERSfQlbaR-kyu_2RzoDoKyeaqPx3SDgyNFKlWU8lQGzcJOn3QsRTzUOOEMCB3Iht6LOamMtK6twI7LlK0A6AZ69rrB4bXdocac_3J5p4S6NY5SSjjAd88iM_9HOmdME_8y/s1600/History+of+the+Universe_3.png" height="207" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQTSiJkg-dTwx-xDJNzjvDapo-gzv8YdYATW_7ZybryIvRitLYIwUviB6wVj8WA_s4adwwupQhJfN4PyG2OE17hlhzruOgy33IHZq2NkxivQUfb-pduNHp9gdT5DMFmZ_AadG4uQxxYhk/s1600/History+of+the+Universe_4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQTSiJkg-dTwx-xDJNzjvDapo-gzv8YdYATW_7ZybryIvRitLYIwUviB6wVj8WA_s4adwwupQhJfN4PyG2OE17hlhzruOgy33IHZq2NkxivQUfb-pduNHp9gdT5DMFmZ_AadG4uQxxYhk/s1600/History+of+the+Universe_4.png" height="201" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbO0oEFL1dUV2VDMSHw34oUiwvWqYOxTYydmH4-yayT8JFFpni7-TinomhvHPDIXRMLtRXG1Ts0zkbSSGs20kfNp8hkUibuZFmlMAkGy1XNv99ZT0X7qELtf_2cwuoFQWSqqMtFx-dD1eQ/s1600/History+of+the+Universe_5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbO0oEFL1dUV2VDMSHw34oUiwvWqYOxTYydmH4-yayT8JFFpni7-TinomhvHPDIXRMLtRXG1Ts0zkbSSGs20kfNp8hkUibuZFmlMAkGy1XNv99ZT0X7qELtf_2cwuoFQWSqqMtFx-dD1eQ/s1600/History+of+the+Universe_5.png" height="207" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk9gpwTAFMn8NXXUck65kA7H0hUbGmgYh03kwJ4Q7wFtTzT4_n7mMMl_7k6078zwmMUypQE0f0ECEp1o0CKQzqstoS78eRJ2FwWvwMaIwmrzDtbrcZF9FtdXy-a3gUzzFFEDfUjN0ks-m7/s1600/History+of+the+Universe_6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk9gpwTAFMn8NXXUck65kA7H0hUbGmgYh03kwJ4Q7wFtTzT4_n7mMMl_7k6078zwmMUypQE0f0ECEp1o0CKQzqstoS78eRJ2FwWvwMaIwmrzDtbrcZF9FtdXy-a3gUzzFFEDfUjN0ks-m7/s1600/History+of+the+Universe_6.png" height="216" width="400" /></a></div>
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(Note: I am aware that some of the events referred to on the timelines above are considered "fiction." Again, see the complete <a href="http://www.alienrobotzombies.com/p/secret-history-of-universe.html">Alien Robot Zombie Secret History of the Universe</a> to see where I stand on that. Also, I trust if you're reading this blog, you're smart enough to know which is which. Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.)</div>
Rico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2687168970987682337.post-63140591724583146182014-09-21T06:00:00.000-04:002014-09-21T19:40:54.060-04:00Lost '50s B-movies......that don't exist but should.<br />
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<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjViFzvNeUmsga3Ma1wSdQwODXKu4P9Gxo0bc0url5zR7voyHQWRb6JYdYQle-60JsSWOAR2DyB7XxhoeBp8mu1v232LTl5MyY2ovqv-HipigJuc4zqICHWr5v5YPSrsznUHOoK1QLcJaWQ/s1600/the-alligator-people-1959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjViFzvNeUmsga3Ma1wSdQwODXKu4P9Gxo0bc0url5zR7voyHQWRb6JYdYQle-60JsSWOAR2DyB7XxhoeBp8mu1v232LTl5MyY2ovqv-HipigJuc4zqICHWr5v5YPSrsznUHOoK1QLcJaWQ/s1600/the-alligator-people-1959.jpg" height="272" width="400" /></a>Killer Bettie<br />
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A Saucer Full of Rage<br />
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My Baby Is a Martian!<br />
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Queen of Monster Island<br />
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Race to the Moon<br />
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Doom! She Cried<br />
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Zargon Six<br />
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The Scream Out of Space<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image: </span><em style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052549/" target="_blank">The Alligator People</a></em><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1959)</span></div>
Rico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.com195tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2687168970987682337.post-55884101631402051692014-09-12T06:00:00.001-04:002021-09-11T15:54:46.365-04:00Live-blogging my flightIt's been several months since I last flew. Here are my observations.<br />
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Getting through security is not as unpleasant as I remember, but it takes longer than I remember.<br />
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They now let you keep small portable electronics turned on during take-off (as long as cellular service is turned off). This is incredibly helpful for me, as I get noise-induced migraines and my noise-canceling headphones are my lifeline on an airplane.<br />
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Also, I'm typing this on my cell phone.<br />
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During her pre-flight speech, the head flight attendant pronounced "placard" as "plaque-card," and "carry-on" as "carrion." She also called turbulence "rough air." Do people not know what turbulence means anymore?<br />
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Still taxiing...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPCPYDKES19H13kemU3iAmbGL1aCK_cgndtWynNC9uzVw8c4OQzLmpgp1WZPPknlnDNyCQ3SYLzaIDVPBVP4zSYwdmnJsHRbtVtxMo_l5QQ9xHVxPtwSaDZ3LJsBcdz6jkclC5_nB2tVUf/s1600/GreatLakes.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPCPYDKES19H13kemU3iAmbGL1aCK_cgndtWynNC9uzVw8c4OQzLmpgp1WZPPknlnDNyCQ3SYLzaIDVPBVP4zSYwdmnJsHRbtVtxMo_l5QQ9xHVxPtwSaDZ3LJsBcdz6jkclC5_nB2tVUf/s1600/GreatLakes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The Great Lakes are stunningly beautiful. Part of me wishes the camera on this phone still worked, but the rest of me realizes that I couldn't do them justice and there's a big plane wing in the way anyway. [Not-so-mental note: find a good photo and insert it here.]<br />
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We can use laptops now. That's funny—I already responded to six emails on my phone! (Of course, the recipients still won't realize that for another two hours and twelve minutes...)<br />
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Was I saying something about lakes? Nothing but clouds above and clouds below now. Sort of a nice effect, really—two white, fluffy canvases with a little patch of daylight in-between.<br />
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And now it's completely white—no open patches save for the plane wing. And it's gotten turbulent. This time, the flight attendant said of the turbulence: "We're experiencing some weather right now."<br />
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I don't mind the turbulence, though. Give me a roller-coaster ride all day long. I just wish the engines weren't so noisy. Why is it that airplanes give me a migraine, but loud music doesn't? Must have something to do with the structure of the sound. (I do get a migraine if two TVs are playing simultaneously, for example—even if they're playing quietly.)<br />
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I am grieving the loss of the word "turbulence" from the lexicon. (And also, the fact that "weather" now apparently only means "bad weather"?)<br />
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At this time every morning I get a cup of coffee. I see that they have theirs in first class already. Grumble.<br />
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Kudos to the pilot. Not only did he use the word "turbulence," but he used a numeric infix: "We're at thirty-six fun-filled thousand feet..."<br />
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Coffee! And a gluten-free snack: peanuts!<br />
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I forgot my rule: always wear a shirt with a front pocket on a plane. That pocket comes in useful when you have limited space. Like right now: I really don't want to put my tray down, so it would be nice to have somewhere easy to put my peanuts. Oh well.<br />
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Peanuts and coffee aren't really a great mix, but I'd recommend it over weak black coffee by itself.<br />
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I just spent the past hour going over branding research. Somewhere along the way, the turbulence stopped and we now have sunny skies over the Great Plains.<br />
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I could use another cup of coffee. But I'll take the sunshine.<br />
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That's a lot of farmland.<br />
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I am impressed by the immense size and scope of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, the great state of Texas and our nation as a whole.<br />
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Yee-haw! We've touched down. Cell phones—activate!!!<br />
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Crap, I got a lot of email in two hours...<br />
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Post Script—On the return flight, the flight attendant again called the severe turbulence "some weather." Sigh.<br />
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Sent from my iPhoneRico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2687168970987682337.post-59537326164210884192014-09-08T06:00:00.000-04:002014-09-08T06:00:09.218-04:00How much does King Kong weigh?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgijVJnvKC3zOTxtENsGomxi5yWjASkP8n6K0mFrLkp_Vl4Otg2gYinCZF6zGYaT8ZJrFhDp8CTaDt2ypk84vm5Ey1BXgjiLOzUQVFaTWF0tLbnH6Oy5pHL9fTJYKcnZsrGAXhXUuQUGMdg/s1600/ClipArtJumpingTheGorge.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgijVJnvKC3zOTxtENsGomxi5yWjASkP8n6K0mFrLkp_Vl4Otg2gYinCZF6zGYaT8ZJrFhDp8CTaDt2ypk84vm5Ey1BXgjiLOzUQVFaTWF0tLbnH6Oy5pHL9fTJYKcnZsrGAXhXUuQUGMdg/s1600/ClipArtJumpingTheGorge.gif" height="186" width="320" /></a></div>
King Kong appears to be a giant mountain gorilla. In real life, male mountain gorillas average 195 kg (430 lb) and an upright standing height of 150 cm (59 in). The 2005 movie version was said to be "25 feet" (300 in) in height. Since mass grows exponentially compared to height (because width and depth are also growing), a 25-foot mountain gorilla with the same proportions as a regular-sized one would be around 25.6 metric tonnes (28.3 short tons).<br />
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Note, however, that most fan sites list Kong's weight as being in the 6-10 ton range. (For comparison, a large T-rex may have reached up to about 8 tons.) This indicates that Kong's biology is not simply a scaled-up version of a mountain gorilla. Instead, it appears that his species has made some evolutionary adaptations as it has grown to magnificent proportions. While these differences are not readily apparent on the outside, they have given him the mobility and the edge he needs to fill an ecological niche on Skull Island.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-OocexPQEY35eCKBF-ghImz5kcuDYjWclF0lr8M3hsEepGwHd54BJWqwy2uJoknf1jE6Ki3uZLQfyaS8Sev3ZmSBpHzm7nafTwhrBSgylpkU9zQykP7DzRgMIaIPotzkU_KpCeqcEiB_/s1600/king-kong.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-OocexPQEY35eCKBF-ghImz5kcuDYjWclF0lr8M3hsEepGwHd54BJWqwy2uJoknf1jE6Ki3uZLQfyaS8Sev3ZmSBpHzm7nafTwhrBSgylpkU9zQykP7DzRgMIaIPotzkU_KpCeqcEiB_/s1600/king-kong.jpg" height="170" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Rico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2687168970987682337.post-18838507956372194082014-06-14T06:00:00.000-04:002014-06-14T07:50:08.020-04:00What time is it… in Asgard?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisxzjHjcCPVku3Bgi89dqpF-DF9pAOVq9Vql8lJG-TsA4zpHeYzgr0GFu11sZzmBgZzNNAj8rFREeYgtKb4Y4hyphenhyphenH3mbHejzhHPvaWEREQT7stXeViaZwYe7j4FkLtrYokEbpj-lP9oJt5D/s1600/frigg_shield_clock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisxzjHjcCPVku3Bgi89dqpF-DF9pAOVq9Vql8lJG-TsA4zpHeYzgr0GFu11sZzmBgZzNNAj8rFREeYgtKb4Y4hyphenhyphenH3mbHejzhHPvaWEREQT7stXeViaZwYe7j4FkLtrYokEbpj-lP9oJt5D/s1600/frigg_shield_clock.jpg" height="320" width="319" /></a></div>
In my last post, I demonstrated that the ancient pantheon of deities known in Scandinavian mythology as the Vanir are actually one and the same as the group of powerful beings called the Valar in J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings about Middle-earth. The Valar were not only the first inhabitants of Asgard (which is also known as Aman in Quenyan Elvish), but they helped create it, along with the entire, alternate universe that it resides in, which is called Eä.<br />
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(Note that in Tolkien’s writings, Eä appeared to be the name for our universe, but I don’t think Tolkien fully grasped the nature of the <a href="http://www.alienrobotzombies.com/p/secret-history-of-other-parallel.html">multiverse</a>. As I have <a href="http://www.alienrobotzombies.com/p/secret-history-of-universe.html">stated before</a>, my goal is to reconcile actual history with every cool fictional narrative in existence and make them all work in one universe. Occasionally that means reinterpreting a few things to make them fit.)<br />
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According to Tolkien, time for the Valar was measured in something called “Valian years.” The definition of this term was a little fuzzy, but at one point, Tolkien stated that a Valian year was equal to 9.582 standard Earth years. If you do the math, you’ll see that this equals 3,500 standard Earth days.<br />
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In the very early history of Asgard, time was measured in 12-hour “days” – half the length of a day on Earth. Before Asgard had its own sun and moon, it was lit by the Two Trees, the Golden Tree of Laurelin and the Silver Tree of Telperion, and they would alternate giving off light. The sun of Asgard was made from the last fruit of Laurelin, and the moon was made of the last flower of Telperion. Both were set in special vessels crafted by the Vala known as Aulë and placed in the sky. At first they were guided back and forth across the sky, but eventually they were set to orbit Asgard, rising in the east and setting in the west, just as on Earth. (In Tolkien’s writings, these were actually said to be our sun and moon, but that doesn’t jibe with science, so again: <a href="http://www.alienrobotzombies.com/p/secret-history-of-other-parallel.html">multiverse</a>.)<br />
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In those early times, a Valian year consisted of 7,000 days of 12 hours each, divided into “months” of 500 days each. The length of the month was chosen based on the cycle of the moon, which having come from a flower would “blossom” from a closed (new) moon to an open (full) moon and back again. The length of the year was chosen by assigning one month in honor of every one of the 14 original Valar.<br />
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The days of Asgard have now been the same length as Earth days for tens of thousands of Earth years, long before the Asgardians joined the Vanir in Asgard, and so a 24-hour day is now standard. The length of the Valian year, now known as the Asgardian year, has remained the same by halving the number of days in each month from 500 12-hour days to 250 24-hour days.<br />
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The current year of the Asgardian calendar dates from the end of the Æsir-Vanir war, c. 7000 BCE. By a happy coincidence, July 29, 1954 (the date that the first volume of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings was published) fell on Asgardian New Year in the Year 932 of the Peace. Extrapolating backwards and forwards from that allowed me to figure out what day it was on Asgard at any given time.<br />
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As I mentioned, there are 14 months in the Asgardian calendar, each with 250 days, and those days, by design, are exactly the same length as Earth days. The months, in order are as follows:<br />
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1. <strong>Moon of Winds</strong> (named in honor of Manwë)<br />
2. <strong>Moon of Stars</strong> (named in honor of Varda)<br />
3. <strong>Moon of Waters</strong> (named in honor of Ulmo)<br />
4. <strong>Maker's Moon</strong> (named in honor of Aulë)<br />
5. <strong>Moon of Fruits</strong> (named in honor of Yavanna)<br />
6. <strong>Moon of Flowers</strong> (named in honor of Vana)<br />
7. <strong>Hunter's Moon</strong> (named in honor of Oromë)<br />
8. <strong>Dancer's Moon</strong> (named in honor of Nessa)<br />
9. <strong>Judge's Moon</strong> (named in honor of Námo)<br />
10. <strong>Dreamer's Moon</strong> (named in honor of Irmo)<br />
11. <strong>Merciful Moon</strong> (named in honor of Nienna)<br />
12. <strong>Gentle Moon</strong> (named in honor of Etsë)<br />
13. <strong>Weaver's Moon</strong> (named in honor of Vairë)<br />
14. <strong>Strong Moon</strong> (named in honor of Tulkas)<br />
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Asgardians don't commonly use names for days of the week, but when they do, they follow the Earth calendar. However, they are likely to refer to the days using their traditional Germanic names:<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnkk4zzhuCiBlTyxfqsvG7vEpef_ZmJn-lyFxADPfAiwe0JxrLO90EoVdhFiXMHkzg70Gov0LnUNvUTJTwQo7034yw9BMnjxeH5safG6KzoJ5yGweWTjO_oEGpS22M2KYnVm-0XGgEM0qf/s1600/mjolnir_clock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnkk4zzhuCiBlTyxfqsvG7vEpef_ZmJn-lyFxADPfAiwe0JxrLO90EoVdhFiXMHkzg70Gov0LnUNvUTJTwQo7034yw9BMnjxeH5safG6KzoJ5yGweWTjO_oEGpS22M2KYnVm-0XGgEM0qf/s1600/mjolnir_clock.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a><br />
Sunday: “<strong>Sun’s Day</strong>”<br />
Monday: “<strong>Moon’s Day</strong>”<br />
Tuesday: “<strong>Tyr’s Day</strong>”<br />
Wednesday: “<strong>Odin’s Day</strong>”<br />
Thursday: “<strong>Thor’s Day</strong>”<br />
Friday: “<strong>Freyja’s Day</strong>”<br />
Saturday: “<strong>Bath Day</strong>”<br />
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Every Asgardian year begins on a Thor’s Day (Thursday) and ends on an Odin’s Day (Wednesday). The 125th day of each month is a Full Moon feasting holiday. The last day of the Asgardian year is known as “Night’s Day” and is a time of reflection and reminiscence – and feasting that carries into New Year’s Day.<br />
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Asgardians are notoriously bad at paying attention to clocks. They dislike telling time by numbers and are more likely to tell you roughly what time of day it is. Here are some common terms, but keep in mind that individual usage varies:<br />
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<strong>Midnight</strong> (12:00 <span style="font-size: x-small;">AM</span> – 3:00 <span style="font-size: x-small;">AM</span>)<br />
<strong>Foremorn</strong> (3:00 <span style="font-size: x-small;">AM</span> – 6:00 <span style="font-size: x-small;">AM</span>)<br />
<strong>Daytide</strong> (6:00 <span style="font-size: x-small;">AM</span> – 9:00 <span style="font-size: x-small;">AM</span>)<br />
<strong>Quarterday</strong> (9:00 <span style="font-size: x-small;">AM</span> – 12:00 <span style="font-size: x-small;">PM</span>)<br />
<strong>Midday</strong> (12:00 <span style="font-size: x-small;">PM</span> – 3:00 <span style="font-size: x-small;">PM</span>)<br />
<strong>Dayfade</strong> (3:00 <span style="font-size: x-small;">PM</span> – 6:00 <span style="font-size: x-small;">PM</span>)<br />
<strong>Evenfall</strong> (6:00 <span style="font-size: x-small;">PM</span> – 9:00 <span style="font-size: x-small;">PM</span>)<br />
<strong>Suppertide</strong> (9:00 <span style="font-size: x-small;">PM</span> – 12:00 <span style="font-size: x-small;">AM</span>)<br />
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Here are the first days of each month for several Asgardian calendar years, converted to our calendar. From this (and a little counting), you should be able to figure out the Asgardian date on any given day. By the way, today (June 14, 2014) is day 121 of the Maker’s Moon in the year 938 of the Peace between the Æsir and the Vanir.<br />
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<b>Year 930 of the Peace</b><br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Winds: May 30, 1935<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Stars: February 4, 1936<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Waters: October 11, 1936<br />
Day 1 of the Maker's Moon: June 18, 1937<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Fruits: February 23, 1938<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Flowers: October 31, 1938<br />
Day 1 of the Hunter's Moon: July 8, 1939<br />
Day 1 of the Dancer's Moon: March 14, 1940<br />
Day 1 of the Judge's Moon: November 19, 1940<br />
Day 1 of the Dreamer's Moon: July 27, 1941<br />
Day 1 of the Merciful Moon: April 3, 1942<br />
Day 1 of the Gentle Moon: December 9, 1942<br />
Day 1 of the Weaver's Moon: August 16, 1943<br />
Day 1 of the Strong Moon: April 22, 1944<br />
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<b>Year 931 of the Peace</b><br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Winds: December 28, 1944<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Stars: September 4, 1945<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Waters: May 12, 1946<br />
Day 1 of the Maker's Moon: January 17, 1947<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Fruits: September 24, 1947<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Flowers: May 31, 1948<br />
Day 1 of the Hunter's Moon: February 5, 1949<br />
Day 1 of the Dancer's Moon: October 13, 1949<br />
Day 1 of the Judge's Moon: June 20, 1950<br />
Day 1 of the Dreamer's Moon: February 25, 1951<br />
Day 1 of the Merciful Moon: November 2, 1951<br />
Day 1 of the Gentle Moon: July 9, 1952<br />
Day 1 of the Weaver's Moon: March 16, 1953<br />
Day 1 of the Strong Moon: November 21, 1953</div>
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<b>Year 932 of the Peace</b><br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Winds: July 29, 1954<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Stars: April 5, 1955<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Waters: December 11, 1955<br />
Day 1 of the Maker's Moon: August 17, 1956<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Fruits: April 24, 1957<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Flowers: December 30, 1957<br />
Day 1 of the Hunter's Moon: September 6, 1958<br />
Day 1 of the Dancer's Moon: May 14, 1959<br />
Day 1 of the Judge's Moon: January 19, 1960<br />
Day 1 of the Dreamer's Moon: September 25, 1960<br />
Day 1 of the Merciful Moon: June 2, 1961<br />
Day 1 of the Gentle Moon: February 7, 1962 <i>(Note: this is the Asgardian month that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thor_(Marvel_Comics)">Thor</a> debuted as a modern hero on Earth.)</i><br />
Day 1 of the Weaver's Moon: October 15, 1962<br />
Day 1 of the Strong Moon: June 22, 1963</div>
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<b>Year 933 of the Peace</b><br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Winds: February 27, 1964<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Stars: November 3, 1964<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Waters: July 11, 1965<br />
Day 1 of the Maker's Moon: March 18, 1966<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Fruits: November 23, 1966<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Flowers: July 31, 1967<br />
Day 1 of the Hunter's Moon: April 6, 1968<br />
Day 1 of the Dancer's Moon: December 12, 1968<br />
Day 1 of the Judge's Moon: August 19, 1969<br />
Day 1 of the Dreamer's Moon: April 26, 1970<br />
Day 1 of the Merciful Moon: January 1, 1971<br />
Day 1 of the Gentle Moon: September 8, 1971<br />
Day 1 of the Weaver's Moon: May 15, 1972<br />
Day 1 of the Strong Moon: January 20, 1973</div>
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<b>Year 934 of the Peace</b><br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Winds: September 27, 1973<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Stars: June 4, 1974<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Waters: February 9, 1975<br />
Day 1 of the Maker's Moon: October 17, 1975<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Fruits: June 23, 1976<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Flowers: February 28, 1977<br />
Day 1 of the Hunter's Moon: November 5, 1977<br />
Day 1 of the Dancer's Moon: July 13, 1978<br />
Day 1 of the Judge's Moon: March 20, 1979<br />
Day 1 of the Dreamer's Moon: November 25, 1979<br />
Day 1 of the Merciful Moon: August 1, 1980<br />
Day 1 of the Gentle Moon: April 8, 1981<br />
Day 1 of the Weaver's Moon: December 14, 1981<br />
Day 1 of the Strong Moon: August 21, 1982</div>
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<b>Year 935 of the Peace</b><br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Winds: April 28, 1983<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Stars: January 3, 1984<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Waters: September 9, 1984<br />
Day 1 of the Maker's Moon: May 17, 1985<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Fruits: January 22, 1986<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Flowers: September 29, 1986<br />
Day 1 of the Hunter's Moon: June 6, 1987<br />
Day 1 of the Dancer's Moon: February 11, 1988<br />
Day 1 of the Judge's Moon: October 18. 1988<br />
Day 1 of the Dreamer's Moon: June 25, 1989<br />
Day 1 of the Merciful Moon: March 2, 1990<br />
Day 1 of the Gentle Moon: November 7, 1990<br />
Day 1 of the Weaver's Moon: July 15, 1991<br />
Day 1 of the Strong Moon: March 21, 1992</div>
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<b>Year 936 of the Peace</b><br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Winds: November 26, 1992<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Stars: August 3, 1993<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Waters: April 10, 1994<br />
Day 1 of the Maker's Moon: December 16, 1994<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Fruits: August 23, 1995<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Flowers: April 29, 1996<br />
Day 1 of the Hunter's Moon: January 4, 1997<br />
Day 1 of the Dancer's Moon: September 11, 1997<br />
Day 1 of the Judge's Moon: May 19, 1998<br />
Day 1 of the Dreamer's Moon: January 24, 1999<br />
Day 1 of the Merciful Moon: October 1, 1999<br />
Day 1 of the Gentle Moon: June 7, 2000<br />
Day 1 of the Weaver's Moon: February 12, 2001<br />
Day 1 of the Strong Moon: October 20, 2001</div>
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<b>Year 937 of the Peace</b><br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Winds: June 27, 2002<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Stars: March 4, 2003<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Waters: November 9, 2003<br />
Day 1 of the Maker's Moon: July 16, 2004<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Fruits: March 23, 2005<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Flowers: November 28, 2005<br />
Day 1 of the Hunter's Moon: August 5, 2006<br />
Day 1 of the Dancer's Moon: April 12, 2007<br />
Day 1 of the Judge's Moon: December 18, 2007<br />
Day 1 of the Dreamer's Moon: August 24, 2008<br />
Day 1 of the Merciful Moon: May 1, 2009<br />
Day 1 of the Gentle Moon: January 6, 2010<br />
Day 1 of the Weaver's Moon: September 13, 2010<br />
Day 1 of the Strong Moon: May 21, 2011</div>
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<b>Year 938 of the Peace </b><i>(note: this is the current Asgardian year)</i><br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Winds: January 26, 2012<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Stars: October 2, 2012<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Waters: June 9, 2013<br />
Day 1 of the Maker's Moon: February 14, 2014<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Fruits: October 22, 2014<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Flowers: June 29, 2015<br />
Day 1 of the Hunter's Moon: March 5, 2016<br />
Day 1 of the Dancer's Moon: November 10, 2016<br />
Day 1 of the Judge's Moon: July 18, 2017<br />
Day 1 of the Dreamer's Moon: March 25, 2018<br />
Day 1 of the Merciful Moon: November 30, 2018<br />
Day 1 of the Gentle Moon: August 7, 2019<br />
Day 1 of the Weaver's Moon: April 13, 2020<br />
Day 1 of the Strong Moon: December 19, 2020</div>
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<b>Year 939 of the Peace</b><br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Winds: August 26, 2021<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Stars: May 3, 2022<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Waters: January 8, 2023<br />
Day 1 of the Maker's Moon: September 15, 2023<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Fruits: May 22, 2024<br />
Day 1 of the Moon of Flowers: January 27, 2025<br />
Day 1 of the Hunter's Moon: October 4, 2025<br />
Day 1 of the Dancer's Moon: June 11, 2026<br />
Day 1 of the Judge's Moon: February 16, 2027<br />
Day 1 of the Dreamer's Moon: October 24, 2027<br />
Day 1 of the Merciful Moon: June 30, 2028<br />
Day 1 of the Gentle Moon: March 7, 2029<br />
Day 1 of the Weaver's Moon: November 12, 2029<br />
Day 1 of the Strong Moon: July 20, 2030</div>
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<b>Future Asgardian New Years...</b><br />
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<ul>
<li>Year 939: August 26, 2021</li>
<li>Year 940: March 27, 2031</li>
<li>Year 941: October 25, 2040</li>
<li>Year 942: May 26, 2050</li>
<li>Year 943: December 25, 2059</li>
<li>Year 944: July 25, 2069</li>
<li>Year 945: February 23, 2079</li>
<li>Year 946: September 23, 2088</li>
<li>Year 947: April 24, 2098</li>
<li>Year 948: November 24, 2107</li>
<li>Year 949: June 24, 2117</li>
<li>Year 950: January 23, 2127</li>
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Rico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2687168970987682337.post-71134732876066269092014-06-08T06:00:00.004-04:002023-12-15T16:52:59.910-05:00Whither the Valar?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For years now, I’ve spent a good deal of my spare time untangling the <a href="http://www.alienrobotzombies.com/p/secret-history-of-universe.html">Secret History of the Universe</a> from clues scattered throughout the writings of mad geniuses and the rambling, obsessive data-dump of fan-boys throughout the infosphere. Others have done this before, but usually for the purpose of creating what-if style fan-fiction, which tends to come off as forced. For me, though, it is an exercise in discovering patterns and overlaps that have existed all along and just haven’t been seen before. One such example is the connection between the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vala_(Middle-earth)">Valar</a>, the god-like powers of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanir">Vanir</a>, a pantheon of gods in Scandinavian mythology of whom very little is known.<br />
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Tolkien’s Middle-earth borrowed heavily from Germanic mythology, and so there are already many parallels to begin with, and that makes it easy to reconcile the two. For example, one of the nine realms of traditional Germanic cosmology is “Midgard” (Earth), which is translated “Middle-earth” or “Middle-enclosure.”<br />
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Tolkien also said that the history of Middle-earth occurred at some point in our own distant past. For numerous reasons, I have made the argument <a href="http://www.alienrobotzombies.com/p/secret-history-of-universe-part-two.html">in my timeline</a> that Middle-earth history predated the Thurian and Hyborian Ages of Robert E. Howard’s writings (the times of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kull_of_Atlantis">Kull of Atlantis</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conan_the_Barbarian">Conan the Cimmerian</a>, respectively).<br />
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One of the interesting things about Tolkien’s Valar is that he never gives us their actual names, only a variety of titles by which various peoples of Middle-earth referred to them. In fact, most of the titles that we know from Tolkien’s writings are in the Elvish tongues. That means that if the same beings did appear at a later point in human history, we might not immediately recognize them as such because they might be called by different names.<br />
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Thus, in my timeline, I made the argument that the primary gods of Atlantis in <a href="http://www.alienrobotzombies.com/p/secret-history-of-universe-part-two.html">Kull’s time</a> were actually the Valar known by different names. And <a href="http://www.alienrobotzombies.com/p/secret-history-of-universe-part-three.html">still later</a>, they would be known to other peoples by yet other titles. This is not surprising given the great lengths of time (tens of thousands of years) and variety of peoples and languages who revered them.<br />
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The Valar first came to Earth around <a href="http://www.alienrobotzombies.com/p/secret-history-of-universe-part-two.html">80,000 BCE</a>. By the year 23,000 BCE, the Elves had left Earth and the Elvish names of the Valar had been all but forgotten. By the year <a href="http://www.alienrobotzombies.com/p/secret-history-of-universe-part-three.html">7500 BCE</a>, the influence of the Valar had waned and their memory was kept alive only by a small band of followers in the northern kingdom of Vanir. The name “Valar” itself had been forgotten by this time, and the beings were known collectively as “the gods of the Vanir.” <br />
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Around 7000 BCE, the Vanir and their gods went to war with the neighboring kingdom of Æsir and their gods. This Æsir-Vanir war is spoken of in Norse mythology. It ended with a truce, as the gods sent representatives to dwell in each other’s kingdoms. According to legend, the Vanir sent a sea god named “Njörðr” and his “sister” (who was also his wife and later the mother of his two children, Freyr and Freyja) to dwell among the Æsir.<br />
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The sea god of the Valar was Ulmo, and so I propose that “Njörðr” was simply another title for Ulmo. The wife’s / sister’s name is sometimes given as “Nerthus,” and I propose that this would be Nienna, the only other unmarried Vala. In fact, it has been speculated that “Njörðr” and “Nerthus” are masculine and feminine forms of the same name, so it may be that “Njörðr” was simply a title given to Ulmo for being the husband of Nienna, or Nerthus.<br />
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According to my timeline, after the Æsir-Vanir war, the gods of the Æsir were granted a homeland on the great world of Aman, where Tolkien said the Valar and Elves lived. If we match up the realms of Aman, as described in Tolkien’s writings with the traditional nine realms of Scandinavian mythology and the modern <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asgard_(comics)">interpretation of those realms</a> as seen in Marvel’s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thor_(Marvel_Comics)">Thor</a> comic books, we see that a clear picture emerges:<br />
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<ul>
<li>The world of Aman in Tolkien’s writings (also known as the “Undying Lands” or the “Blessed Realm”) became known as Asgard by the new arrivals. This name was applied by to the continent-shaped world as a whole and to the towering city where the Asgardians (the gods of the Æsir and eventually of all Germanic peoples) made their homes.</li>
<li>Valinor, home of the Valar in Tolkien’s writings, became known as Vanaheim (“home of the Vanir”).</li>
<li>The realm of Eldamar (“elf home”) was called Alfheim (“elf home”) by the Asgardians.</li>
<li>And the underground realm of the dwarves was called Nidavellir (“dark dwelling”).</li>
</ul>
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Today, the Asgardians get all of the press, mostly thanks to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thor_(Marvel_Comics)">Thor</a>, while the Vanir have mostly receded into the background. Following the Æsir-Vanir war, the Vanir decided to withdraw from interfering directly in the affairs of human beings. Instead, they chose a young boy on Earth to be their representative. This boy, who would eventually take the name “Shazam,” would spend the next 3,000 years as their champion, granted extraordinary powers by them in the battle against evil. Whenever he uttered the magic word “Vlarem,” composed of the first letters of six of the names he knew them by, he would gain an extraordinary gift from each of them: the strength of Voldar, the wisdom of Lumiun, the speed of Arel, the power of Ribalvei, the courage of Elbiam and the stamina of Marsosh. He would spend the next 3,000 years as their champion battling evil, and then thousands more searching for the right successor.<br />
<br />
In <a href="http://www.alienrobotzombies.com/p/secret-history-of-universe-part-five.html">1939</a>, a young American boy named Billy Batson inherited Shazam’s power and now battles evil-doers as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Marvel_(DC_Comics)">Captain Marvel</a>. However, because no one knows who the Vanir are these days, he tells everyone his powers come from the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles and the speed of Mercury.<br />
<br />
The 14 original Valar / Vanir are as follows. Their oldest known names (the names given to them in Middle-earth in the Quenya Elvish tongue) are listed first, followed by all known alternate names.<br />
<br />
<div>
</div>
<ul>
<li><strong>Manwë Súlimo</strong>, Lord of the Winds, King of the Vanir and husband of Varda Elentári (alternate names: Mānawenūz, Aran Einior, Amân, Manweg, Honan*, Honen*, Ribalvei***)</li>
<li><strong>Varda Elentári</strong>, Queen of the Stars, wife of Manwë Súlimo (alternate names: Elbereth Gilthoniel, Tintallë, Airë Tári, Fanuilos, Gimilnitîr, the Moon Woman*, Elbiam***)</li>
<li><strong>Ulmo</strong>, Lord of the Waters, and father of Freyr and Freyja with Nienna/Nerthus (alternate names: Ullubōz, Ylmir, Nûron, Ulu, Guiar, Gulma, Njörðr**, Njord**)</li>
<li><strong>Aulë </strong>the Maker, husband of Yavanna Kementári (alternate names: Aȝūlēz, Óli, Mahal, Tamar, Hotath*, Marsosh***)</li>
<li><strong>Yavanna Kementári</strong>, Queen of the Earth and Giver of Fruits, sister of Vána and wife of Aulë (alternate names: Ivon, Helfara*)</li>
<li><strong>Vána </strong>the Ever-Young, Queen of Blossoming Flowers, sister of Yavanna and wife of Oromë (no known alternate names)</li>
<li><strong>Oromë Aldaron </strong>the Huntsman, brother of Nessa and husband of Vána (alternate names: Arōmēz, Tauron, Béma, Araw, Arel***)</li>
<li><strong>Nessa </strong>the Dancer, wife of Tulkas (no known alternate names)</li>
<li><strong>Námo</strong>, Judge of the Dead, Master of Doom, brother of Irmo and Nienna, and husband of Vairë (alternate names: Mandos, Bannoth, Badhron, Zukala*)</li>
<li><strong>Irmo</strong>, Master of Visions and Dreams, brother of Námo and Nienna, and husband of Estë (alternate names: Lórien, Olofantur, Fulmur, Losfan, Glurim, Lûriel, The Strange God*, The God Which Is Unknown*, Lumiun***)</li>
<li><strong>Nienna</strong>, Lady of Mercy, sister of Námo and Irmo, and mother of Freyr and Freyja with Ulmo/Njord (alternate names: Nyenna, Heskil, Núri, Qalmë-Tári, Fui, Nerthus**)</li>
<li><strong>Etsë</strong> the Gentle, wife of Irmo (alternate names: Îdh, Eord, one of the Star Maidens*)</li>
<li><strong>Vairë</strong> the Weaver, wife of Námo (alternate names: Gwîr, one of the Star Maidens*)</li>
<li><strong>Tulkas Astaldo</strong> the Strong, Champion of Valinor, husband of Nessa (alternate names: Tulukhastāz, Tulcus, Valka*, Voldar***)</li>
</ul>
<div>
</div>
<div>
(All of the above names are from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien">J.R.R. Tolkien</a>’s writings, except as noted: *<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_E._Howard">Robert E. Howard</a>’s writings, **<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_mythology">Norse mythology</a>, ***<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Marvel_(DC_Comics)">DC Comics</a>.)</div>
<br />
The cool thing about this is that it gives some added depth and background not just to the Vanir, but to all of Asgard - which as we know from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thor_(Marvel_Comics)">Thor</a> comics and movies is still thriving in our modern world.Rico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2687168970987682337.post-65526075764718438932014-06-01T06:00:00.000-04:002014-12-12T12:27:33.356-05:00How many James Bonds have there been?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There is a popular theory floating around the Internet that "James Bond" isn't a name, it's an alias - a false name used by all of Britain's MI6 secret agents in the Double-O program (i.e., licensed to kill) to be assigned the number 007. This theory is supposed to explain two things: 1) why James Bond has been able to have such a long career, and 2) why his appearance keeps changing (from actor to actor).<br />
<br />
Seeing as how the movies definitely build into a continuous narrative, the longevity question should concern us. Also, there are certain plot points that can only be explained in one of two ways: either the "Bond" name changes hands, or the franchise has been rebooted at some point without anyone realizing it.<br />
<br />
So I tend to agree with this crazy Internet theory. However, I do not agree that each actor who has played Bond has played a different agent. In the Eon Productions movie series, six different actors have so far played Bond, but I think the timeline works best with just four agents having used the alias during that span. Here is how I would break it down:<br />
<br />
1930 - The original James Bond is born. (This is his real name.)<br />
<br />
--- <em>Note: this is the year Sean Connery was actually born.</em><br />
<br />
1937 - Simon Templar is born.<br />
<br />
--- <em>Note: Roger Moore is actually older than Connery, but always appeared young for his age.</em><br />
<br />
1947 - James Bond is recruited into British Intelligence.<br />
<br />
1953 - The man later known as "Remington Steele" is born. As a child, he is known only as "Harry."<br />
<br />
--- <em>Note: this is the year Pierce Brosnan was actually born.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">One: 1956-1972</span></strong><br />
<br />
1956 - At age 26, James Bond is assigned to the Double-O section of the British Secret Service and granted a license to kill.<br />
<br />
1962 - <em>Dr. No</em> (Sean Connery as James Bond).<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, debonair thief and amateur detective Simon Templar (age 25) begins operating as "The Saint" in London.<br />
<br />
--- <em>Note: </em>The Saint <em>was the television role that made Roger Moore famous and made everyone liken him to James Bond.</em><br />
<br />
1963 - <em>From Russia with Love</em> (Sean Connery as James Bond).<br />
<br />
1964 - <em>Goldfinger </em>(Sean Connery as James Bond).<br />
<br />
1965 - <em>Thunderball </em>(Sean Connery as James Bond).<br />
<br />
1966 - <em>On Her Majesty's Secret Service </em>(George Lazenby as James Bond).<br />
<br />
Bond marries Tracy di Vicenzo, but she is murdered by Ernst Stavro Blofeld shortly after the ceremony.<br />
<br />
--- <em>Note: </em>On Her Majesty's Secret Service <em>was released in 1969, but continuity errors actually seem to place it before </em>You Only Live Twice<em>.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
1967 - <em>You Only Live Twice </em>(Sean Connery as James Bond).<br />
<br />
1969 - Sophisticated thief Simon Templar is offered a job working for British Intelligence.<br />
<br />
<em>Note: this is when </em>The Saint <em>ended its run on television.</em><br />
<br />
1971 - <em>Diamonds Are Forever </em>(Sean Connery as James Bond).<br />
<br />
1972 - James Bond marries Tiffany Case (the Bond girl from <em>Diamonds Are Forever</em>) and retires to Skyfall, his estate in Scotland. There, for their own protection, they live under assumed names.<br />
<em></em><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Two: 1973-1985</span></strong><br />
<br />
1973 - A son is born to James Bond and Tiffany Case; they name him James.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, former-thief-turned-agent Simon Templar becomes the new 007. Because of his past criminal history, Templar decides to adopt Bond's name as well as his number.<br />
<br />
<em>Live and Let Die </em>(Roger Moore as James Bond II).<br />
<br />
--- <em>Note: Daniel Craig was actually born in 1968, but this birth year makes more sense for our timeline.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
1974 - <em>The Man with the Golden Gun </em>(Roger Moore as James Bond II).<br />
<br />
1977 - <em>The Spy Who Loved Me </em>(Roger Moore as James Bond II).<br />
<br />
1979 - <em>Moonraker </em>(Roger Moore as James Bond II).<br />
<br />
1981 - <em>For Your Eyes Only </em>(Roger Moore as James Bond II).<br />
<br />
1982 - A British thief and con-artist who went only by the name "Harry" adopted the alias "Remington Steele" and began working for private detective Laura Holt in Los Angeles.<br />
<br />
--- <em>Note: </em>Remington Steele <em>was the television role that made Pierce Brosnan famous and made everyone liken him to James Bond.</em><br />
<br />
1983 - <em>Octopussy </em>(Roger Moore as James Bond II).<br />
<br />
1984 - Private detective "Remington Steele" is recruited into MI6 after his associate Laura Holt is killed by the KGB in Ireland.<br />
<br />
--- <em>Note: By all rights, the television series </em>Remington Steele <em>should have ended in time for Pierce Brosnan to be the next James Bond. By speeding up the </em>Remington Steele <em>timeline a bit, we can achieve what we need.</em><br />
<br />
1985 - <em>A View to a Kill </em>(Roger Moore as James Bond II).<br />
<br />
The second "James Bond" (real name Simon Templar) retires after this mission.<br />
<em></em><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Three: 1986-2002</span></strong><br />
<br />
1986 - After showing remarkable aptitude, the agent known as "Remington Steele" becomes the new 007. Like his predecessor, he decides to leave his former alias behind and use the alias "James Bond."<br />
<br />
The pre-title sequence of <em>Goldeneye </em>(Pierce Brosnan as James Bond III) happens soon after this James Bond joins the ranks of the Double-O's.<br />
<br />
1987 - <em>The Living Daylights </em>(Timothy Dalton as James Bond III).<br />
<br />
1989 - <em>Licence to Kill </em>(Timothy Dalton as James Bond III).<br />
<br />
1995 - <em>Goldeneye </em>(Pierce Brosnan as James Bond III).<br />
<br />
1996 - The son of the original James Bond joins MI6. He's using an assumed name at this point rather than his real name, but the higher-ups know who he is.<br />
<br />
1997 - <em>Tomorrow Never Dies </em>(Pierce Brosnan as James Bond III).<br />
<br />
1999 - <em>The World Is Not Enough </em>(Pierce Brosnan as James Bond III).<br />
<br />
2002 - <em>Die Another Day </em>(Pierce Brosnan as James Bond III).<br />
<br />
The third James Bond was killed in action later this year.<br />
<br />
--- <em>Note: Sorry, Remington Steele, but </em>Die Another Day <em>was atrocious, so you don't get to retire.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Four: 2006-present</span></strong><br />
<br />
2006 - The son of the original James Bond earns his license to kill and inherits his father's old role as 007.<br />
<br />
<em>Casino Royale </em>(Daniel Craig as James Bond IV).<br />
<br />
2008 - <em>Quantum of Solace </em>(Daniel Craig as James Bond IV).<br />
<br />
2012 - <em>Skyfall </em>(Daniel Craig as James Bond IV).<br />
<br />
2015 - <i>Spectre</i> (Daniel Craig as James Bond IV).<br />
<br />
<br />
So there you have it: there have been <u>four</u> James Bonds. Two of them (father and son) have <em>actually</em> been named James Bond, and two have used the alias in the role of 007 because they couldn't legitimately use their own names.<br />
<br />
On screen they have been played by:<br />
<br />
<strong>I. James Bond, Sr.</strong>: Sean Connery (6 films for Eon Productions) and George Lazenby (1 film).<br />
<br />
<strong>II. Simon Templar</strong>: Roger Moore (7 films and 1 prequel television series, <em>The Saint</em>).<br />
<br />
<strong>III. "Remington Steele"</strong>: Timothy Dalton (2 films) and Pierce Brosnan (4 films and 1 prequel television series, <em>Remington Steele</em>).<br />
<br />
<strong>IV. James Bond, Jr.</strong>: Daniel Craig (3 films thus far, with at least one more on the way).<br />
<br />Rico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2687168970987682337.post-72764652469581745902014-05-11T06:00:00.000-04:002014-12-27T16:07:51.350-05:00Random top 10 list: best movie trilogiesTo qualify for this list, each of the entries in a given trilogy had to be a top-notch film in its own right. Many franchise have yielded a fantastic first film, only to be followed by so-so sequels (Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, The Matrix, and The Pirates of the Caribbean, just to name a few). Some have even spawned a sequel just as fantastic, only to fall utterly flat in the third film (Alien, The Godfather, X-Men, etc.). But a few rare franchises manage to get all the way to the magic number. Here, then, are the best and most consistent of movie trilogies in history:<br />
<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">#1. Original Star Wars trilogy</span></strong><br />
Star Wars (1977)<br />
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)<br />
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983)<br />
<br />
There's really no debate here. Others may try to argue, but for pure entertainment value and excellence, the <em>original</em> blockbuster movie trilogy has yet to be beat. Sure, the third installment wasn't nearly as good as the first two, but it was still first-class. All three of these could be watched ad infinitum without any sign of fatigue.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">#2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy</span></strong><br />
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)<br />
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)<br />
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)<br />
<br />
If any trilogy has come close to Star Wars, it is Lord of the Rings. Damn close - in fact, it is arguably better on artistic value alone, and just as strong in terms of the overall story arc. But where the Star Wars trilogy soars into pure joyful escapism, at times Lord of the Rings gets bogged down under the sheer weight of its own story. Completing the cycle on this trilogy is a commitment of patience! Still, that is only to say that it falls slightly short of Star Wars and far ahead of everything else.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">#3. Original Indiana Jones trilogy</span></strong><br />
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)<br />
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)<br />
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)<br />
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The second installment is a prequel, and it is not quite up to the other two, although it is still fun. That being said, this trilogy is what movies are all about.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">#4. Trilogy of the Dead</span></strong><br />
Night of the Living Dead (1968)<br />
Dawn of the Dead (1978)<br />
Day of the Dead (1985)<br />
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The original zombie apocalypse film was followed by two sequels more than a decade later. Each installment was different than the one before - darker, more cynical - and that turned off some people. Even ones who liked the first movie, or the second, may not have liked the entire trilogy. They're even a little tame compared to today's zombie movies, but don't let that fool you. They certainly aren't for everyone, but they are brilliant: claustrophobic, increasingly nihilistic, smart and stimulating.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">#5. Iron Man trilogy</span></strong><br />
Iron Man (2008)<br />
Iron Man 2 (2010)<br />
Iron Man 3 (2013)<br />
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The placement of this trilogy on this list will probably be the most controversial, as the Iron Man movies have divided fans. Everyone loved the first movie universally - it's without a doubt one of the best superhero movies ever made. However, more than a few people were disappointed with the second and third installments, even though commercially they were even greater successes. While the latter two movies may have had their flaws, however, the main problem they had was that they couldn't live up to the shadow cast by the first movie. Taken on their own, they were still incredibly entertaining. They still had Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark, which may be the best casting ever for a superhero. And they still had cool Iron Man armor and gadgets, special effects and action sequences, memorable (although not always likable) supporting characters, and solid stories. Again, in terms of pure entertainment, this series is hard to beat and deserves every dollar it made at the box office.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">#6. Original three James Bond films</span></strong><br />
Dr. No (1962)<br />
From Russia with Love (1963)<br />
Goldfinger (1964)<br />
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Nobody did Bond better than Sean Connery, and the first three films were nearly flawless. Released in three successive years, they can be considered a trilogy, even though there have been 20+ Bond films since then.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">#7. Original Bourne trilogy</span></strong><br />
The Bourne Identity (2002)<br />
The Bourne Supremacy (2004)<br />
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)<br />
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And just when Bond seemed to be getting stale, the spy-thriller genre was reinvented by the Jason Bourne series. The three films to star Matt Damon as Jason Bourne were a thrill a minute and never let up.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">#8. Evil Dead trilogy</span></strong><br />
The Evil Dead (1981)<br />
Evil Dead II (1987)<br />
Evil Dead III: Army of Darkness (1992)<br />
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This is a weird trilogy: supernatural horror action with amazing practical effects and tongue-in-cheek twists and turns. The second movie was actually a bigger-budget remake of the shoestring first film - but you need to see them both regardless, because the low-budget effects are just as impressive. The weakest link is the third film, but it makes up for it by being off-the-wall enough to work.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">#9. Dark Knight trilogy</span></strong><br />
Batman Begins (2005)<br />
The Dark Knight (2008)<br />
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)<br />
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This wasn't the perfect Batman trilogy: too much of the mythology was changed to fit director Christopher Nolan's vision. However, it may have been the perfect Christopher Nolan trilogy. The second film was especially good, and Heath Ledger's portrayal of the psychopathic Joker was haunting. The third film had too many plot holes, but was still great. And the cinematography was some of the best I've ever seen.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">#10. Dollars trilogy</span></strong><br />
A Fistful of Dollars (1964)<br />
For a Few Dollars More (1965)<br />
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)<br />
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This trilogy jump-started Clint Eastwood's career and made it OK for western films to be "gritty." Eastwood's "Man with No Name" (he actually goes by a different name in each film) is the ultimate Wild West badass, and the archetype for many "loner" characters who've followed.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Honorable mention: original Die Hard trilogy</span></strong><br />
Die Hard (1988)<br />
Die Hard 2 (1990)<br />
Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)<br />
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This is the poor-man's action trilogy, and Bruce Willis pulls it off wonderfully. The second film doesn't quite hit the heights of the first and last, but all three are pure entertainment.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Honorable mention: Back to the Future trilogy</span></strong><br />
Back to the Future (1985)<br />
Back to the Future II (1989)<br />
Back to the Future III (1990)<br />
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The second film is a little too dark, and the third is a little too light, but the first is flawless and overall this is a great series. It's not easy to do time travel right, but the Back to the Future trilogy makes it look easy.<br />
<br />Rico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2687168970987682337.post-84858144352039180882014-04-13T06:00:00.000-04:002014-04-13T06:00:03.109-04:00A scientific analysis of Space Sector 2814<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBdiqLV9GdOcKqRTDpeWt2YhmzOpcSLVKkNFXGeO7kpWNLXQZQPGSJOdlVMW3_wCUnATrWyo0JR63s_j7RnSXcApevMs0DGfoUqsnBplwq8_zESPY3jsgxp-_tqJQMtPF2bAaSgiFsk7E6/s1600/Local_Space.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBdiqLV9GdOcKqRTDpeWt2YhmzOpcSLVKkNFXGeO7kpWNLXQZQPGSJOdlVMW3_wCUnATrWyo0JR63s_j7RnSXcApevMs0DGfoUqsnBplwq8_zESPY3jsgxp-_tqJQMtPF2bAaSgiFsk7E6/s1600/Local_Space.png" height="320" width="317" /></a></div>
According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Lantern_Corps">Green Lantern</a> lore, billions of years ago the advanced alien species known as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guardians_of_the_Universe">Guardians of the Universe</a> moved from their home planet of Maltus to the planet <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oa">Oa</a> "near the center of the universe." (Technically, the universe has no center, but we'll let that go.)<br />
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From Oa, the Guardians divided the universe into 3,600 "Sectors," each one touching Oa and radiating outward from it. There has been some confusion about the size and shape of these Sectors over the years, so I will explain. A two-dimensional circle is easy to divide into 3,600 parts -- each 1/10th of a degree wide -- and so it has been rumored that the Guardians simply divided the universe into very thin wedges. However, this is impractical for a three-dimensional universe, and it is not the method used by the Guardians. It has also been stated at times that each Sector is one degree by 18 degrees (18 square degrees). However, this adds up to 64,800 square degrees, which was apparently arrived at by multiplying 360 degrees by 180 degrees. In fact, a sphere has approximately 41,253 square degrees (the proper formula is 360*360/π), so the math is off. Each sector should cover approximately 11.46 square degrees of Oa's sky.<br />
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Here is a rational way for the Guardians to have divided up the universe into 3,600 Sectors. First, they would have divided the sky of Oa (and, extending outward into infinity, the sphere of the universe) into eight equal segments. This would have essentially given them the spherical equivalent of an octahedron. As you can see below, an octahedron is constructed of eight equivalent sides, each of which is an equilateral triangle. Likewise, we have divided our sphere into eight equivalent, triangular wedges.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdf8_Q-_6CjodvywGixDuy1skdxyeVTrjkSpo7V1VXQ4hWYoHtIK6zvX-i9MuAkHNGElw5kPCdH71oBEcjoHytp4lz0xSoNkokmPseAyovynVr1L24n-vVy7uU4RJwfMgC2iS7Glf2Hfhn/s1600/Octahedron.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdf8_Q-_6CjodvywGixDuy1skdxyeVTrjkSpo7V1VXQ4hWYoHtIK6zvX-i9MuAkHNGElw5kPCdH71oBEcjoHytp4lz0xSoNkokmPseAyovynVr1L24n-vVy7uU4RJwfMgC2iS7Glf2Hfhn/s1600/Octahedron.png" height="197" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPLRGbYz-64_b_kfLxrHPF8GuJ5A78uhNGUzOzaWUUAAnity6prs0l9azHkNNlcz2ZDtiVN63lnqBChLliahIYqOQnt10rHpJpdNgQ-Z7gKgfrcyqBHnUWtxwlkM91VprQPAl5s5J1cg36/s1600/Rounded_octahedron.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPLRGbYz-64_b_kfLxrHPF8GuJ5A78uhNGUzOzaWUUAAnity6prs0l9azHkNNlcz2ZDtiVN63lnqBChLliahIYqOQnt10rHpJpdNgQ-Z7gKgfrcyqBHnUWtxwlkM91VprQPAl5s5J1cg36/s1600/Rounded_octahedron.png" height="200" width="199" /></a></div>
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Now, it is a fact that you can divide an equilateral triangle into <em>n</em>^2 smaller equilateral triangles of equal size, where <em>n</em> is any whole number. For example, here is an example where we divide one equilateral triangle into nine <em>(n</em> = 3):<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnXYiOKoJ0i0W-23aWeGlFwUfh-64qybHetq6qGTSzvJO31Q0gIs_IvxTxK9idjga1TrUnwDAVdAvZrQqyAMG8vLhxyp3m3oI9sk-URbBrL1Bws6Nbk2IwJRojCgS4XfRwdrUXu3dsYEda/s1600/E_Tri_9.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnXYiOKoJ0i0W-23aWeGlFwUfh-64qybHetq6qGTSzvJO31Q0gIs_IvxTxK9idjga1TrUnwDAVdAvZrQqyAMG8vLhxyp3m3oI9sk-URbBrL1Bws6Nbk2IwJRojCgS4XfRwdrUXu3dsYEda/s1600/E_Tri_9.gif" height="179" width="200" /></a></div>
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If use then use this technique to divide each of the eight faces of the sphere into 900 smaller "rounded triangles" (<em>n</em> = 30), we will end up with 7,200 roughly triangular sections. (These will, of course, not be actual equilateral triangles due to the curvature of the sphere, but the principal should still hold true enough for it to be a convenient method of dividing the space.) Combine two of these subdivisions into a roughly diamond-shaped area, and you have your 3,600 Space Sectors. Here is an example of a small cross-section:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2EG56k8RnQdAq-qRxnN0ZG8OAa3u6f5av1LV87ZBlJhSw0i1O8c35n3ZsX5Qxef4MxRPsiQ5pyGyhEyt09M-jjf79ZNx24j0NiaxSzjVJKC4UAOEaVo3j_IoFEBTMB8JCLILeSrq8WsHS/s1600/Sectors.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2EG56k8RnQdAq-qRxnN0ZG8OAa3u6f5av1LV87ZBlJhSw0i1O8c35n3ZsX5Qxef4MxRPsiQ5pyGyhEyt09M-jjf79ZNx24j0NiaxSzjVJKC4UAOEaVo3j_IoFEBTMB8JCLILeSrq8WsHS/s1600/Sectors.png" /></a></div>
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Note that these Sectors start out small where they all come together at Oa (which is considered "Sector Zero"), but because they grow wider with distance, at the "edge" of the universe they will be more than 2.7 billion light years across. (We'll talk more about scale in just a moment...)<br />
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At first, the Guardians of the Universe tried to live up to their self-appointed name by patrolling these 3,600 sectors themselves. Then they built a robot police force to do so, which had disastrous consequences. (The robots, known as "Manhunters," congregated and tried to eradicate all intelligent life in one of the Sectors.) Finally, they began appointing an organic police force to do the job, which they dubbed the Green Lantern Corps. Due to certain limitations on the Guardians' power source, at first there was only one Corpsman per Sector. There is now an average of two per Sector. That is still not much, as I will explain below, so the universe is barely guarded, but I suppose every little bit helps.<br />
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One of the facts that has been established in the lore is that the Milky Way is part of Sector 2814, while its neighboring galaxy Andromeda is in Sector 2813. If you know anything about the scale of the universe, you know that this is highly unlikely. The two galaxies are only about 2.5 million light years apart. In a universe that is <em>at least</em> 93 billion light years across (that's just what we can observe of it - more on this in a moment), 2.5 million is insignificant. To put it another way, the Atlantic Ocean is about 3,000 miles (4,800 km) wide between New York and Ireland. If the observable universe were that wide, the distance between the Milky Way and Andromeda would be 425 feet (130 m).<br />
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Of course, we do draw political boundaries like that all the time, so it is possible, however improbable. And the closer the two galaxies are to Oa, the more likely it is that they would be split down the middle like that, since the Sectors would not be as wide.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlRS1JrLGQ_kFAm-KuqW054U8d6-BUVdSBN_gNAvm9gaAbkacBIRc_zOM4PCl4anI32YHvZK6F8F8nYKeOzm4rZFR6cDFonG_8FmH8o354K1sUaz8AxZICP1TxknwmbWNZP0V9t2pSXiT8/s1600/Local_Superclusters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlRS1JrLGQ_kFAm-KuqW054U8d6-BUVdSBN_gNAvm9gaAbkacBIRc_zOM4PCl4anI32YHvZK6F8F8nYKeOzm4rZFR6cDFonG_8FmH8o354K1sUaz8AxZICP1TxknwmbWNZP0V9t2pSXiT8/s1600/Local_Superclusters.jpg" height="262" width="320" /></a></div>
Looking in our immediate area of the universe - within one billion light years - a perfect location emerges for Oa: the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo%C3%B6tes_void">Boötes Void</a>, also known as "The Great Void." The Boötes Void is what is known as a "supervoid." It is 250 million light years across and contains almost no galaxies. Its center is roughly 700 million light years away -- ridiculously far in human terms, but comfortably close in cosmological terms. Placing Oa in the middle of a supervoid makes great sense, as despite their mission, the Guardians remain somewhat aloof from the universe. It makes sense that "Sector Zero" would be somewhat isolated and not part of a normal cluster of galaxies.<br />
<br />
Additionally, the Boötes Void appears to be at nearly the correct angle to place a dividing line perfectly between the Milky Way and Andromeda. (Of course, in a few billion years, the two galaxies will merge anyway, and the Green Lanterns will have a much harder time figuring it all out, but for now we can make it work well enough.)<br />
<br />
If Oa is 700 million light years away, that would mean that Sectors 2813 and 2814 would each be approximately 44.4 million light years across in the neighborhood of the Milky Way. With that knowledge, we can safely predict some of the nearby galaxies that belong to each of the Sectors. The map at the top of this article shows the approximate dividing line, as does this view:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim_zrsDQubQxQUylcN8w9i9fhuw_i4_dNzOw47ZDJF6hQ_4ZwBqsjYwOqNSiZZnf7LRJhemitoaxNppfNj88pIpWU4sr9XYcVxMf1BOS7NF7NJkrLxHYhcRxbqRnLKznDo43gfpB1Fk4wH/s1600/Local_Space_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim_zrsDQubQxQUylcN8w9i9fhuw_i4_dNzOw47ZDJF6hQ_4ZwBqsjYwOqNSiZZnf7LRJhemitoaxNppfNj88pIpWU4sr9XYcVxMf1BOS7NF7NJkrLxHYhcRxbqRnLKznDo43gfpB1Fk4wH/s1600/Local_Space_2.png" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Within our Local Group of galaxies, Sector 2813 would include Andromeda (home of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skrull">Skrull Empire</a> and the now destroyed planet <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krypton_(comics)">Krypton</a>) and its many satellite dwarf galaxies, the Triangulum Galaxy (home of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shi%27ar">Shi'ar Empire</a>), and the NGC 3109 Subgroup. Other nearby galaxies in the Sector would include the M81 Group (including the well-known galaxies M81, a.k.a. Bode's Galaxy, and M82, a.k.a. the Cigar Galaxy), the M101 Group (including M101, a.k.a. the Pinwheel Galaxy), the IC342/Maffei 1 Group, the NGC 55/300 Group and the Ursa Major (M109) Group.<br />
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Sector 2814 would include the Milky Way (our home), the Large Magellanic Cloud (home of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kree">Kree Empire</a>), the Small Magellanic Cloud, and the Milky Way's many other satellite dwarf galaxies. It would also include the nearby galaxies in the Canes Venatici I Group, the Centaurus A/M83 Group, the NCG 1313 Group and part of the Virgo Cluster (although the cluster's core would lie in another Sector - probably 2815).<br />
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These nearby galaxies would just constitute a small cross-section of these two Sectors, however. As I mentioned before, the universe is a big place. Even if we count just the observable universe - that is, the part from which we can hope to observe data from Earth with the most powerful telescopes we could <em>ever</em> create - we are talking about a scale that will baffle your imagination.<br />
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Our Sun is one of 400 billion stars in the Milky Way. It is one of 1.5 trillion stars in our Local Group of galaxies (which includes Andromeda, Triangulum, the Magellanic Clouds and several dwarf galaxies). It is one of 200 trillion stars in the Virgo Supercluster, which includes the large Virgo Cluster and several smaller groups of galaxies, including our Local Group.<br />
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There are about 100 million similar superclusters of galaxies in the observable universe. Here is a rough map of the structure of the observable universe, showing threads of superclusers alternating with voids. (The Virgo Supercluster is at the center, but not even visible at this scale.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR9UAAN_tb27ziL5fZ8cj4xmi4enPMelaP4o_psXqm19gZumuxW1Zqmv0XzTs2AD1ZUIpVUVTdlWz-ruW24nVXlm94q_YYgzFPpFhO6ktLDG_vS4y4ShEa__RQGqH1CCTMi0G1HqHBW2fh/s1600/superclusters_universe.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR9UAAN_tb27ziL5fZ8cj4xmi4enPMelaP4o_psXqm19gZumuxW1Zqmv0XzTs2AD1ZUIpVUVTdlWz-ruW24nVXlm94q_YYgzFPpFhO6ktLDG_vS4y4ShEa__RQGqH1CCTMi0G1HqHBW2fh/s1600/superclusters_universe.gif" height="375" width="400" /></a></div>
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Those 100 million superclusters equal an estimated 170 billion galaxies and 300 sextillion stars. (How big of a number is that? This big:300,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.)<br />
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Furthermore, a recent NASA study estimated that 22% of stars had planets in their habitable zones. That doesn't mean that they could support life, just that they are in the right location to do so under the right circumstances. Assuming that everything else is equal, that yields 66 sextillion potentially habitable planets.<br />
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We don't yet know what percentage of those planets actually does support life. According to my sources (science fiction books and films), it is nearly 100%. However, I will be conservative and predict that 5% contain an ecosystem that has developed beyond microbial life. That yields 3.3 sextillion flourishing worlds in the observable universe. I will further estimate that one in 1,000 of these has developed life forms with a higher level of consciousness and intelligence comparable to or greater than humans. That yields 3.3 quintillion fully evolved worlds. Of those, I will predict that half of them have already destroyed themselves, leaving approximately 1.7 quintillion inhabited planets remaining.<br />
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If we divide those numbers by 3,600, we get the following:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Almost 27,800 superclusters per Sector.</li>
<li>More than 47 million galaxies per Sector.</li>
<li>83,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars per Sector.</li>
<li>18,000,000,000,000,000,000 potentially habitable planets per Sector.</li>
<li>900,000,000,000,000,000 planets with primitive ecosystems per Sector.</li>
<li>9,000,000,000,000 inhabited planets per Sector.</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtEkHZWwX_dYs4aEwM26pjQayEwrO-qHKo-Xbj59T6wlfPf-0boAj7CxeR2U76t6TNgiWSNW06sdsMvUOCRC2KhSXMD-PJ8zvwLIISbIc8RPUHPiJ5Z7M4UChengh_RjaiKilzD9ZCj_h5/s1600/green_lantern_aliens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtEkHZWwX_dYs4aEwM26pjQayEwrO-qHKo-Xbj59T6wlfPf-0boAj7CxeR2U76t6TNgiWSNW06sdsMvUOCRC2KhSXMD-PJ8zvwLIISbIc8RPUHPiJ5Z7M4UChengh_RjaiKilzD9ZCj_h5/s1600/green_lantern_aliens.jpg" height="168" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
That's 83 quintillion stars and nine trillion inhabited planets <em>per Green Lantern</em>. And again, that's only in the universe that we can observe from Earth. The actual size of the universe is currently unknown. there are some who believe that it may actually be just slightly smaller than the size of the observable universe, which if true would mean that we could determine the true size of the universe just as soon as we have a telescope powerful enough. However, most astronomers believe that it is at least slightly larger, with one popular estimate being 250 times larger (by volume), and another plausible estimate being that the totality of the universe is 300 sextillion times larger than what we can observe. Because of the cosmological constant, we know that stars and galaxies are present at the same density throughout the universe, so we can easily extrapolate our numbers.<br />
<br />
We are already in dangerous territory as it is, so I am not even going to bother with the higher estimates, but I will acknowledge that the universe is slightly larger than what we can observe. If we estimate that it is 50% bigger (by volume), that would make its total diameter just over 106 billion light years, and each Sector's numbers would increase by 50%:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Almost 41,700 superclusters per Sector.</li>
<li>More than 70 million galaxies per Sector.</li>
<li>125,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars per Sector.</li>
<li>27,500,000,000,000,000,000 potentially habitable planets per Sector.</li>
<li>275,000,000,000,000,000 planets with primitive ecosystems per Sector.</li>
<li>13,500,000,000,000 inhabited planets per Sector.</li>
</ul>
<br />
Spending an average of one hour on a planet and working eight hours per day, 200 days per year, a Green Lantern could visit about 1,600 planets per year. At that rate, it would take over 8.4 billion years to visit all of the inhabited planets in a Sector. (Or more than 4.2 billion if there were two Green Lanterns working each Sector.) It is safe to say that there are a lot of planets that are not part of the regular beat of these space cops.<br />
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It is likely that the Green Lanterns stay close to home: giving highest priority to the galaxies closest to Oa, and only venturing further into deep space when something truly odd is happening. In fact, the Milky Way was probably somewhat out of the way and on the very border of the Corps' patrol when the Guardians gave the Psions the Vega System. They probably never expected that the great Abin Sur would one day crash-land on a remote world in that border galaxy and bequeath his ring to an Earthman.<br />
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Or that the Earthman would spend 90% of his time driving around America with his pal Ollie while the rest of his Sector went untended. No wonder no one likes Earthmen.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibQzz6r_wp9y6Zy4wn2xsxOXSAD16qJj2nafQk5Nl-fesGfUEPmdYHFUND0clzTx8KV1X0xg6hs9kWJxZDmIShE-HDuHHSbDTy_moNpbS5k3pQcgV_Wj8yBiJBcgTBRW9PDvWg1FLgw6OL/s1600/Hal_Ollie_RoadTrip.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibQzz6r_wp9y6Zy4wn2xsxOXSAD16qJj2nafQk5Nl-fesGfUEPmdYHFUND0clzTx8KV1X0xg6hs9kWJxZDmIShE-HDuHHSbDTy_moNpbS5k3pQcgV_Wj8yBiJBcgTBRW9PDvWg1FLgw6OL/s1600/Hal_Ollie_RoadTrip.png" height="166" width="400" /></a></div>
Rico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2687168970987682337.post-15451159662432924412014-04-01T06:00:00.000-04:002014-04-01T06:00:14.587-04:00The mountains of Jupiter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj144ictGgZE-xbBDIsixoVx1kUx2kjqQO1KRqQh29oYdzHwTNHFBGXhCkiYNRo1-0-Fd53zij8Zn9RQTExJvQf4cIpyqfpH5L8of3Mb-yZl_zJ5EP0clgSc7k43LmgRZFfJ7QmfrCJRrso/s1600/Mars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj144ictGgZE-xbBDIsixoVx1kUx2kjqQO1KRqQh29oYdzHwTNHFBGXhCkiYNRo1-0-Fd53zij8Zn9RQTExJvQf4cIpyqfpH5L8of3Mb-yZl_zJ5EP0clgSc7k43LmgRZFfJ7QmfrCJRrso/s1600/Mars.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Photo 1 by NASA's Voyager 2 space probe (July 1979)</b></span></div>
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The tallest mountains in the Solar System? They're on Jupiter, of course. Some are over 4,000 miles high—more than 10 times the size of the Moon!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvq8GuTYbRSIQOF_s1zkdhb3H5d3wRxAQBMaKNR9wmlMj1OmELv71_db9DY-adHKJM97AOOpR9WDHLyBqNOwOMajpkOZI05gwJRCdhwr6NUhXZV7jUwfLphgUMUXm55BpYlztPjdicfh1H/s1600/o-RAINBOW-MOUNTAINS-900+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvq8GuTYbRSIQOF_s1zkdhb3H5d3wRxAQBMaKNR9wmlMj1OmELv71_db9DY-adHKJM97AOOpR9WDHLyBqNOwOMajpkOZI05gwJRCdhwr6NUhXZV7jUwfLphgUMUXm55BpYlztPjdicfh1H/s1600/o-RAINBOW-MOUNTAINS-900+(2).jpg" height="258" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo 2 by the NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini space probe (December 2000)</span></b></div>
Rico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2687168970987682337.post-68228044424729761922014-03-23T06:00:00.001-04:002014-03-24T07:56:10.673-04:00Odds of death<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj81hohTP_LHrxXviPLEjBbR6pa-GcASHXbnsERy7sF_XFQxHWXZREI9d8kLsacTc7gXP_Xg5Xoa8Qq34KQ4Hl4c1x-dX3PBH2-9UviWm54AidfydDIRSCKYJpG0E-AIlfZZo_awLFwO8-q/s1600/Jump.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj81hohTP_LHrxXviPLEjBbR6pa-GcASHXbnsERy7sF_XFQxHWXZREI9d8kLsacTc7gXP_Xg5Xoa8Qq34KQ4Hl4c1x-dX3PBH2-9UviWm54AidfydDIRSCKYJpG0E-AIlfZZo_awLFwO8-q/s1600/Jump.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
After a careful analysis of my risk factors, I now have a comprehensive actuarial assessment of my likely means of leaving this world. In the interest of the common good, I have listed them here. Your odds may differ from mine.<br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong>Odds – Cause</strong><br />
30% – Cardiovascular disease<br />
30% – Infectious disease<br />
11% – Cancer<br />
10% – Digestive disease<br />
6.0% – Respiratory disease<br />
4.0% – Other non-communicable disease<br />
2.0% – Alzheimer's and other neuro-mental illness<br />
1.5% – Automobile accident<br />
1.0% – Homicide<br />
0.8% – Drowning<br />
0.8% – Falling<br />
0.7% – Fire or smoke<br />
0.4% – Extreme weather<br />
0.4% – Poison or venom<br />
0.4% – Suicide<br />
0.1% – Bear attack<br />
0.1% – Drugs or alcohol<br />
0.1% – Electrocution<br />
0.1% – Nuclear holocaust<br />
0.1% – Sports<br />
0.05% – Domesticated animal attack<br />
0.05% – Lightning<br />
0.05% – Nanobot malfunction<br />
0.05% – Pirate attack<br />
0.05% – Robot uprising<br />
0.05% – Terrorist attack<br />
0.05% – War<br />
0.03% – Alien invasion<br />
0.01% – Bad juju<br />
0.01% – Bionic hardware malfunction<br />
0.01% – Circus animal and/or clown attack<br />
0.01% – Earthquake<br />
0.01% – Excessive leeching and/or bloodletting<br />
0.01% – Frozen in the vacuum of outer space<br />
0.01% – Trampled by farm animals<br />
0.01% – Zombie apocalypse<br />
0.005% – Alien parasite or fungus<br />
0.005% – Killer bee attack<br />
0.005% – Murdered by a renegade theme park robot<br />
0.005% – Shark attack<br />
0.001% – Aircraft accident<br />
0.001% – Alligator or crocodile attack<br />
0.001% – Catapult malfunction<br />
0.001% – Dehydration<br />
0.001% – Devoured by Cthulhu or another reawakened, ancient evil entity<br />
0.001% – Dinosaur attack<br />
0.001% – Eaten by cannibals (professional or amateur)<br />
0.001% – Human pyramid collapse<br />
0.001% – Kaiju attack<br />
0.001% – Kangaroo or wallaby attack<br />
0.001% – Landmine<br />
0.001% – Laughing<br />
0.001% – Mutated by radioactive waste, then killed by an angry mob<br />
0.001% – Sinkhole<br />
0.001% – Snake attack (2:1 odds it's an anaconda)<br />
0.001% – Teleportation accident*<br />
0.001% – Time-travel paradox<br />
0.001% – Volcano<br />
0.001% – Other wild animal or carnivorous plant attack<br />
0.001% – All other possible causes**<br />
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* Note: does not include cases of successful teleportation, which technically could entail the destruction of my current body and assembly of a completely new body, depending on the type of teleportation.<br />
<br />
** Note: this includes the possibility that I will, in fact, not die. Currently, my odds of escaping death due to the Rapture, for example, are 0.00000000000000000000006%Rico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2687168970987682337.post-52503756198210635282014-03-16T06:00:00.000-04:002014-03-16T06:00:06.601-04:00There's a planet out tonight<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQEh3fKu1SDaisHqnsx6FtjmARxGgE1q0YpY9B3SE3QDYkvx3_4ZrbSrYq0YCFaxLOK6IixsYnETWtA793uNSpVqVJvXxQRPPMrSUWMUWv69DnI5Ey8Vg3idC_y9DqdgwVCKpJaNLBkBHU/s1600/Earthrise2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQEh3fKu1SDaisHqnsx6FtjmARxGgE1q0YpY9B3SE3QDYkvx3_4ZrbSrYq0YCFaxLOK6IixsYnETWtA793uNSpVqVJvXxQRPPMrSUWMUWv69DnI5Ey8Vg3idC_y9DqdgwVCKpJaNLBkBHU/s1600/Earthrise2.jpg" height="92" width="400" /></a>Here is an idea I have for a science fiction story. There is a double planet: two planets sharing the same orbit and revolving around a common center of gravity. The civilization on the larger planet is aware of the smaller one, but early in their history they don’t understand what it is. The smaller planet has a very dark surface, but still reflects an incredible amount of light because it is so close. They can see darker and lighter patches on it, and at first they think it is a god. Later, they think it is a special light placed in the sky by their god.<br />
<br />
As they develop some technological sophistication, they begin to understand the nature of planets, and begin to use telescopes to learn more about their orbital companion. They see that it is a world much like their own with what appear to be mountains, deserts and seas, but their telescopes are primitive and they cannot make out more details, and they have no way of traveling there.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIMUZJhXzdq3qmI5GhCFVYHCncqbJymGxDd7oVAzAQsRnDYyzW8yamTfDUviFZ-sZXItxuAYFslB8Jp2ebGgFdPKNwADvJwrix_34nSt3Iz-6nDbava7ZGILuRoa1m8FcQU2dhEHCRMEHY/s1600/Great_Moon_Hoax.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIMUZJhXzdq3qmI5GhCFVYHCncqbJymGxDd7oVAzAQsRnDYyzW8yamTfDUviFZ-sZXItxuAYFslB8Jp2ebGgFdPKNwADvJwrix_34nSt3Iz-6nDbava7ZGILuRoa1m8FcQU2dhEHCRMEHY/s1600/Great_Moon_Hoax.jpg" height="227" width="320" /></a>Their scientists debate for years about whether the other planet harbors life like their own. Some claim to see winged people living in canyons, while others claim that the planet is lifeless. Finally, they manage to build a rocket powerful enough to carry them to the other planet, a journey which takes days to complete. The trip proves conclusively that the other planet is indeed lifeless and barren. What appeared to be seas, in fact, where nothing but dry ancient lava beds. Still, the people rejoice for they have conquered the challenge and become and spacefaring species. The universe awaits.<br />
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Oh, wait, that’s not fiction. That’s Earth’s history. The other planet is <a href="http://www.alienrobotzombies.com/2011/08/meet-planets-luna.html">our moon</a>, which is big enough to be considered a planet in its own right. (It is big enough that if the Earth wasn’t there, the moon would still be able to dominate that orbit on its own, thus meeting the modern IAU definition of “planet.”) And in fact Earth and its moon are close enough in size that many consider them to be a <a href="http://www.alienrobotzombies.com/2011/03/solving-double-planet-problem-you-didnt.html">double-planet</a>.<br />
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So the next time you look out your window at night, don’t just casually note the light of the moon. Marvel at the fact that there’s a whole freaking planet hanging right there in the sky. (Tonight's a good night to look: there's a full planet!)<br />
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It’s close enough that when we build permanent settlements there, we’ll be able to see the lights, just like they’ll see ours. It’ll be pretty hard not to think of it as another planet at that point.<br />
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Rico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2687168970987682337.post-19952371309906775392014-02-02T06:00:00.000-05:002014-05-07T10:24:15.428-04:00The most dangerous jobs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here are the occupations with the highest annual death rates in the U.S., according to government statistics. I have also included statistics for U.S. wars and a few other hazardous situations for the sake of comparison.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>All U.S. jobs</b>: 0.0035% (1 in 28,570)<br />
<br />
<b>Construction workers, farmers, ranchers, truck drivers and law enforcement officers</b>: 0.02% (1 in 5,000)<br />
<br />
<b>Electrical power line workers and sanitation workers</b>: 0.03% (1 in 3,333)<br />
<br />
<b>Iron workers and roofers</b>: 0.04% (1 in 2,500)<br />
<br />
<b>U.S. soldier in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (2001–2012)</b>: 0.04% (1 in 2,500)<br />
<br />
<b>Pilots (most dangerous for small aircraft in Alaska)</b>: 0.05% (1 in 2,000)<br />
<br />
<b>U.S. soldiers in the Persian Gulf War (1990–1991)</b>: 0.08% (1 in 1,250)<br />
<br />
<b>Fishermen</b>: 0.12% (1 in 833)<br />
<br />
<b>U.S. soldiers in the Vietnam War (1964–1975)</b>: 0.12% (1 in 833)<br />
<br />
<b>Loggers</b>: 0.13% (1 in 769)<br />
<br />
<b>Stunt person in the 1980s (safety standards have since improved)</b>: 0.25% (1 in 400)<br />
<br />
<b>U.S. soldiers in World War II (1940–1945)</b>: 0.68% (1 in 147)<br />
<br />
<b>U.S. soldiers in the Korean War (1950–1953)</b>: 0.92% (1 in 109)<br />
<br />
<b>American soldiers in the Revolutionary War (1775–1783)</b>: 1.85% (1 in 54)<br />
<br />
<b>U.S. soldiers in World War I (1917–1918)</b>: 2.15% (1 in 46.5)<br />
<br />
<b>Death row inmates</b>: 4% (1 in 25)<br />
<br />
<b>Union and Confederate soldiers in the U.S. Civil War (1861–1864)</b>: 5.65% (1 in 17.7)<br />
<br />
<b>Extreme wingsuit base jumpers and superheroes</b>: 6.67% (1 in 15)<br />
<br />
<b>Gang members</b>: 7% (1 in 14.3)<br />
<br />
<strong>Slaves being transported from Africa to the New World</strong>*: 14% (1 in 7)<br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">* Note: the annual death rate among African slaves working on plantations in the New World varied, but were probably at least this high on average if child mortality rates are included.</span></em><br />
<br />
Obviously, there is going to be some variation within those groups: police officers on undercover assignments with the mob will have higher fatality rates than those with desk jobs, for examples.<br />
<br />
Also, keep in mind that these are annual fatality rates. Over an extended period of time, the chance of an individual surviving decreases. For most U.S. workers, the on-the-job fatality rate is still very low. A 0.0035% annual fatality rate extended over a 30-year career ends up equaling only a 0.1% chance of death (1 in 1,000). For the next highest risk group (construction workers, farmers, ranchers, truck drivers and law enforcement officers), the extrapolated fatality rate over a 30-year career is 0.6% (1 in 167).<br />
<br />
However, at the other end of the spectrum, the differences add up quickly. If you look at the career of a superhero, for example, you can see that they have a dramatically high fatality rate within a career of even a few years. Not including those who quit while they're ahead, only three quarters of them survive to fight crime for four years, and fully half of them will perish before they see ten years.<br />
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Survival rate after one year: 93.3%<br />
<br />
Survival rate after two years: 87.1%<br />
<br />
Survival rate after three years: 81.3%<br />
<br />
Survival rate after four years: 75.9%<br />
<br />
Survival rate after five years: 70.8%<br />
<br />
Survival rate after six years: 66.1%<br />
<br />
Survival rate after seven years: 61.7%<br />
<br />
Survival rate after eight years: 57.6%<br />
<br />
Survival rate after nine years: 53.7%<br />
<br />
Survival rate after 10 years: 50.2%<br />
<br />
Survival rate after 11 years: 46.8%<br />
<br />
Survival rate after 12 years: 43.7%<br />
<br />
Survival rate after 13 years: 40.8%<br />
<br />
Survival rate after 14 years: 38.1%<br />
<br />
Survival rate after 15 years: 35.5%<br />
<br />
Survival rate after 16 years: 33.2%<br />
<br />
Survival rate after 17 years: 30.1%<br />
<br />
Survival rate after 18 years: 28.9%<br />
<br />
Survival rate after 19 years: 27.0%<br />
<br />
Survival rate after 20 years: 25.2%<br />
<br />
<br />
Amazingly, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman">Superman</a> debuted as a superhero in 1938 and remained active in that role most of that time until his death in the line of duty in 1992. On paper, the odds of surviving 54 years as a superhero were only 2.4%. Even for a nigh-invulnerable alien, that was a pretty impressive run.<br />
<br />
The original <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman">Batman</a>, of course, wasn’t as lucky, <a href="http://www.alienrobotzombies.com/p/secret-history-of-universe-part-six.html">dying in 1956</a> after 17 years under the cowl. Still mighty impressive for a costumed vigilante with no superpowers, though.<br />
<br />
Here are a few other superheroes who were killed in the line of duty. Note that these are only a handful of examples. These days, there are approximately 200-400 superheroes and supervillains active at any given time (depending on your definition) and approximately 30-60 fatalities from that group per year on average.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonder_Man_(Fox_Publications)">Wonder Man</a> (Fred Carson, d. 1939 after a career of only a few weeks)</li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobster_Johnson">Lobster Johnson</a> (real name unknown, d. 1939 after seven years)</li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Comet_(Archie)">The Comet</a> (John Dickering, d. 1941 after a year and a half)</li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_(DC_Comics)">Wing</a> (Wing How, d. 1945 after seven years)</li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Naslund">Captain America II</a> (William Naslund, d. 1946 after one year)</li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Grey">Marvel Girl / Phoenix</a> (Jean Grey, d. 1980 after 17 years)</li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_America">Captain America I</a> (Steve Rogers, d. 2007 after approximately 50 active years, not including years spent in suspended animation)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(P.S. – All pretenses aside, this was totally just another article about superheroes. The statistics are real, though, and are based on 2012 figures from the <a href="http://www.dol.gov/">U.S. Department of Labor</a>.)</span><br />
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<br />Rico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2687168970987682337.post-8655211122562551602014-01-26T06:00:00.001-05:002022-02-24T15:16:10.846-05:00Ultimate fighting weight classes - for everyone!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My son is a big fan of boxing. And, being my son, his fandom includes absorbing every piece of information possible. Recently, I admitted that I had no idea what a "welterweight" was, and he began explaining the weight class system to me in detail. For the record, here are the core, traditional weight classes in professional boxing:<br />
<br />
<b>Maximum Weight – Boxing Weight Class</b><br />
<div>
Up to 112 lbs. – Flyweight</div>
<div>
Up to 118 lbs. – Bantamweight</div>
<div>
Up to 126 lbs. – Featherweight</div>
<div>
Up to 135 lbs. – Lightweight</div>
Up to 147 lbs. – Welterweight<br />
Up to 160 lbs. – Middleweight<br />
Up to 175 lbs. – Light Heavyweight<br />
Unlimited – Heavyweight<br />
<br />
Being me, of course, I did some more research on my own and found that there were many more sports with weight classes – everything from judo to kick boxing, and from Greco-Roman wrestling to sumo wrestling. Mixed martial arts (MMA), also known as "ultimate fighting," is the hot fighting sport right now, and it has its own weight classes based on the traditional boxing classes, but simplified and updated to be more in line with the weights of today's fighters:<br />
<br />
<b>Maximum Weight – MMA Weight Class</b><br />
<div>
Up to 125 lbs. – Flyweight</div>
<div>
Up to 135 lbs. – Bantamweight</div>
<div>
Up to 145 lbs. – Featherweight</div>
<div>
Up to 155 lbs. – Lightweight</div>
Up to 170 lbs. – Welterweight<br />
Up to 185 lbs. – Middleweight<br />
Up to 205 lbs. – Light Heavyweight<br />
Up to 265 lbs. – Heavyweight<br />
Unlimited – Super Heavyweight<br />
<br />
However, after thinking about it, I realized that even the updated MMA weight classes still left an awful lot of fighters without a proper weight class of their own. Specifically, the MMA weight classes assume the combatants are all normal humans. The is the 21st century, though: is that really an assumption we're willing to make?<br />
<br />
So I present to you an updated system of "Ultimate Fighting" weight classes, designed to cover <i><b>everyone </b></i>– human or otherwise!<br />
<br />
<b>Maximum Weight – Ultimate Fighting Weight Class</b><br />
Up to 1 lb. – Pennyweight<br />
Up to 5 lbs. – Teacupweight<br />
Up to 10 lbs. – Toyweight<br />
Up to 15 lbs. – Super Toyweight<br />
Up to 20 lbs. – Paperweight<br />
Up to 25 lbs. – Super Paperweight<br />
Up to 30 lbs. – Zephyrweight<br />
Up to 35 lbs. – Super Zephyrweight<br />
Up to 40 lbs. – Boosterweight<br />
<div>
Up to 45 lbs. – Super Boosterweight</div>
Up to 50 lbs. – Pixieweight<br />
Up to 55 lbs. – Super Pixieweight<br />
Up to 65 lbs. – Mosquitoweight<br />
Up to 75 lbs. – Miteweight<br />
Up to 85 lbs. – Squirtweight<br />
Up to 95 lbs. – Peeweeweight<br />
Up to 105 lbs. – Atomweight<br />
Up to 115 lbs. – Strawweight<br />
Up to 125 lbs. – Flyweight<br />
Up to 135 lbs. – Bantamweight<br />
Up to 145 lbs. – Featherweight<br />
Up to 155 lbs. – Lightweight<br />
Up to 170 lbs. – Welterweight<br />
Up to 185 lbs. – Middleweight<br />
Up to 205 lbs. – Light Heavyweight<br />
Up to 230 lbs. – Cruiserweight<br />
Up to 265 lbs. – Heavyweight<br />
Up to 350 lbs. – Super Heavyweight<br />
Up to 500 lbs. – Sumoweight<br />
Up to 750 lbs. – Super Sumoweight<br />
Up to 1,250 lbs. – Hulkweight<br />
Up to 2,000 lbs. (1 ton) – Super Hulkweight (the largest ever known moose was 1,800 lbs.)<br />
Up to 1.5 tons – Giantweight<br />
Up to 2.5 tons – Super Giantweight<br />
Up to 4 tons – Kongweight<br />
Up to 6.25 tons – Super Kongweight<br />
Up to 10 tons – Mammothweight (<i>Tyrannosaurus rex </i>weighed up to 7.9 tons)<br />
Up to 15 tons – Super Mammothweight (the largest known African elephant was 11 tons)<br />
Up to 25 tons – Titanweight (<i>Diplodocus longus</i>, up to 17.6 tons)<br />
Up to 40 tons – Super Titanweight (<i>Giraffatitan brancai</i>, up to 37 tons)<br />
Up to 62.5 tons – Thunderweight (<i>Brachiosaurus altithorax</i>, up to 62 tons)<br />
Up to 100 tons – Super Thunderweight (<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreadnoughtus">Dreadnoughtus schrani</a></i>, 65 tons)<br />
Up to 150 tons – Megaweight (megalodon, up to 114 tons)<br />
Up to 250 tons – Super Megaweight (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_whale">blue whale</a>, up to 200 tons)<br />
Up to 400 tons – Gargantuanweight<br />
Up to 625 tons – Super Gargantuanweight<br />
Up to 1,000 tons – Monsterweight<br />
Up to 1,500 tons – Super Monsterweight<br />
Up to 2,500 tons – Behemothweight<br />
Up to 4,000 tons – Super Behemothweight<br />
Up to 6,250 tons – Colossalweight<br />
Up to 10,000 tons – Super Colossalweight<br />
Up to 15,000 tons – Light Kaijuweight<br />
Up to 25,000 tons – Kaijuweight<br />
Up to 40,000 tons – Super Kaijuweight<br />
Unlimited – Ultimate Kaijuweight<br />
<br />
Finally, for the record, I am not fat – I am just fighting as a Super Heavyweight right now...<br />
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Rico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2687168970987682337.post-78666197600089255492014-01-19T06:14:00.000-05:002014-12-30T17:33:51.321-05:00Most anticipated splody movies of 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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At the beginning of each year, I check to see what movies are coming out and try to informally rank which ones I think will be worth seeing. My formula for success is equal parts good character development and explosions. Here is what I think about the movies scheduled for 2014:<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>1. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1843866/">Captain America: The Winter Soldier</a></b></span><br />
<b>When</b>: April 4. <b>Why I’m looking forward to it</b>: Because at this point Marvel Studios can do no wrong. The first trailer for this movie looked incredible, and those who saw early footage at Comic-Con raved about it. It promises to be a 1970s-style political thriller wrapped in a superhero action film, and it is clear that rookie directors Anthony and Joe Russo understand and care about their source material very much. In short, I can't freaking wait!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>2. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0831387/">Godzilla</a></b></span><br />
<b>When</b>: May 16. <b>Why I’m looking forward to it</b>: I've been a huge G-Fan from day one, ever since I caught my first "Godzilla Week" on <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_4:30_Movie#Detroit">The 4:00 Movie</a> </i>on Detroit's Channel 7 WXYZ after school in the mid-1970s. After the disaster that was the 1998 Sony version of Godzilla, it's nice to see that Legendary is doing the second American version right: the big guy actually looks like Godzilla, and will be an unstoppable force of destruction. Yes! Plus, this movie has <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_White_(Breaking_Bad)">Heisenberg</a> himself: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Cranston">Bryan Cranston</a>!<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">3. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2015381/">Guardians of the Galaxy</a></span></b><br />
<b>When</b>: August 1. <b>Why I’m looking forward to it</b>: Because see <i>Captain America</i>, above. This film will be Marvel's most wacky and risky venture so far, but it could also be the most fun. It is about a ragtag group of lovable rogues in outer space, one of whom is a talking raccoon and another of whom is a sentient tree that can only say his own name. If that sounds like a kids' show, don't worry: this movie will have an edge. It will be Marvel Studios' first venture into their "cosmic" heroes, and if it succeeds it will open the door to an entirely new side of the Marvel Universe.<br />
<div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">4. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1872181/">The Amazing Spider-Man 2</a></span></b><br />
<b>When</b>: May 2. <b>Why I’m looking forward to it</b>: Because the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0948470/">first film</a> was a mixed bag, but had enormous potential. From everything I've seen so far, this could be the film that sees that potential come to fruition. Jamie Foxx's Electro looks like a much more well-rounded villain than the last film saw. And with the origin out of the way, we'll get an entire movie of Spider-Man being Spider-Man. Yeah!<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">5. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1877832/">X-Men: Days of Future Past</a></span></b><br />
<b>When</b>: May 23. <b>Why I’m looking forward to it</b>: Because Bryan Singer is back behind the camera and just might pull off this incredibly ambitious, time-hopping epic. The "Days of Future Past" story line is one of the moved beloved in X-Men lore, and Singer has already confirmed that they've changed quite a bit, so it is on shaky ground in that regard. Singer is also using the film to "correct" the mistakes of past movies (specifically the awful <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0376994/">X-Men: The Last Stand</a></i>) and reboot Fox's cinematic superhero universe. It sounds like a recipe for disaster, but it's so crazy it just might work. Plus, if the story is <i>anything </i>like the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Days_of_Future_Past">original</a>, it is going to be <i>sweet</i>. (Oh, and I almost forgot: Jennifer Lawrence!)<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">6. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2310332/">The Hobbit: There and Back Again</a></span></b><br />
<b>When</b>: December 17. <b>Why I’m looking forward to it</b>: Because this is it: the last Middle Earth film we're likely to ever see. This one will have the final confrontation with Smaug and the Battle of the Five Armies, so it should be worth the ride.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">7. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2245084/">Big Hero 6</a></span></b><br />
<b>When</b>: November 7. <b>Why I’m looking forward to it</b>: Because this is the first animated Disney movie based on a Marvel Comics series - albeit an obscure one. The 30-second <a href="http://youtu.be/GSV3laJplpU">teaser footage of the fictional city "San Fransokyo"</a> was beautiful. I'm not at all familiar with this, but I'm intrigued. If done right, this could be the next <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317705/">Incredibles</a></i> and open the door for many more such collaborations.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">8. </span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1951265/">The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1</a></span></b><br />
<b>When</b>: November 21. <b>Why I’m looking forward to it</b>: Because I'm in love with this series, and Jennifer Lawrence rules.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">9. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2103281/">Dawn of the Planet of the Apes</a></span></b><br />
<b>When</b>: July 11. <b>Why I’m looking forward to it</b>: Because the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1318514/">first</a> of the new Planet of the Apes movies was a delightful surprise. This one takes place ten years later, in a changed world at its tipping point, and looks like it has a lot of potential. And it has Gary Oldman!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">10. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816692/">Interstellar</a></span></b><br />
<b>When</b>: November 7. <b>Why I’m looking forward to it</b>: Because in Nolan we trust. Even his sub-par movies are worthwhile. This one has me slightly nervous, because it features perennial douchebag Matthew McConaughey. But his best role was probably <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118884/">Contact</a></i>, which this reminds me of. So I think director Christopher Nolan can pull something worthwhile out of him. Plus, this film promises to continue the trend of movies that feature pure, old-school sci-fi, and that can only be a good thing.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">11. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1617661/">Jupiter Ascending</a></span></b><br />
<b>When</b>: July 18. <b>Why I’m looking forward to it</b>: Because sometimes you want pure, new-school sci-fi that defies all logic. Directors Lana and Andrew Warchowski (the siblings responsible for <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/">The Matrix</a></i>, <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0434409/">V for Vendetta</a></i> and <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0811080/">Speed Racer</a></i>, among other films) have a decidedly mixed track record, but can always be counted on for groundbreaking visuals and action effects. This movie sounds like it could be the next <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119116/">Fifth Element</a></i> or the next <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086346/">Spacehunter</a></i>. Actually, you know what? Either way that sounds awesome; I'm in.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">12. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1234721/">RoboCop</a></span></b><br />
<b>When</b>: February 12. <b>Why I’m looking forward to it</b>: Because this movie just might work. When I first heard they were remaking <i>RoboCop</i>, I thought it was a mistake. Some movies are so close to perfection that they should not be touched. Then I learned that Brazilian director José Padilha was attached, and my position softened. (His <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0861739/">Elite Squad</a></i> films are not to be missed.) Then I learned that Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton and Samuel L. Jackson were all on board. And the trailer didn't didn't look half bad. Well, damn, I just might have to check it out. And while I still think it won't be as good as <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093870/">the original</a>, maybe if it does OK at the box office, we'll at least finally get some more decent movies in the series. And you know what? ...<br />
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Finally, some other splody-looking movies that just might prove worthwhile in 2014 include...</div>
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<ul>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit</i> (January 17)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>The Knights of Badassdom</i> (January 21)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>I, Frankenstein</i> (January 24)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>Pompeii </i>(February 21)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>Mr. Peabody & Sherman</i> (March 7)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>300: Rise of an Empire</i> (March 7)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>Need For Speed</i> (March 14)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>Muppets Most Wanted</i> (March 21)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>Noah </i>(March 28)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>Under the Skin</i> (April 4)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>Transcendence </i>(April 18)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>The Quiet Ones</i> (April 25)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>Maleficent </i>(May 30)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>Edge of Tomorrow</i> (June 6)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>How to Train Your Dragon 2</i> (June 13)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>Transformers: Age of Extinction</i> (June 27)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>Hercules </i>(July 25)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i> (August 8)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>Lucy </i>(August 8)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>The Expendables 3</i> (August 15)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>Sin City: A Dame to Kill For</i> (August 22)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>The Boxtrolls</i> (September 26)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>The Interview</i> (October 10)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>Home </i>(November 26)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>Ridley Scott's Exodus</i> (December 12)</li>
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Rico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2687168970987682337.post-29740386173674008882014-01-12T06:00:00.000-05:002014-10-17T14:20:20.400-04:00Most anticipated splody movies of 2013: recap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisQFh7iUxvU3fsLygilXs0D_ZosXB1XpV14DbpTUwwVXiXLjHUpnxPqrOqxK0_Oukw9aFpdZLA6DJ-DUgkFlkJsfN4p723PQoxpBykii8h8Qi0ACbF9xnvOSpIS9vs2BJiVDkzclmmS4iF/s1600/gravity_2013_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisQFh7iUxvU3fsLygilXs0D_ZosXB1XpV14DbpTUwwVXiXLjHUpnxPqrOqxK0_Oukw9aFpdZLA6DJ-DUgkFlkJsfN4p723PQoxpBykii8h8Qi0ACbF9xnvOSpIS9vs2BJiVDkzclmmS4iF/s1600/gravity_2013_poster.jpg" height="400" width="270" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.alienrobotzombies.com/2013/02/most-anticipated-splody-movies-of-2013.html">At the beginning of 2013</a>, I made a list of what I thought would be the best movies of the year. (My formula for success: equal parts good character development and explosions.) Now that the year is over, as is my custom, here is my analysis of how those predictions went.<br />
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First, a note: 2013 was a weird year for splody films. On the one hand, there were no universally-loved blockbuster action movies this year like last year's <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0848228/">The Avengers</a></i> to anchor the box office. Sure, a number of films made a bank, but fanboys were bitterly divided over all of them. On the other hand, ten of my eleven picks for the year (the twelfth was delayed until 2014) were certified "fresh" on <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/">Rotten Tomatoes</a> (60% or greater critic score), so there weren't really any highly anticipated movies that "bombed" this year, either.<br />
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The upshot is that a lot of fans thought this was a down year for movies, but the box office numbers were strong, and there wasn't a single "EPIC FAIL" movie on my list, so I'm counting it as an overall WIN. (Note that since I didn't have any "FAIL" movies to replace this year, I stuck extra choices in where appropriate. Enjoy.)<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">1. </span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1663662/"><span style="font-size: large;">Pacific Rim</span></a></b><br />
<b>Result</b>: FULL OF WIN (Tomatometer 72%). This was my most anticipated movie of the year. It didn't live up to the hype I created for it in my head, but it was still solid. (I mean, giant monsters vs. giant robots: how could it not be?) I think it would have been better if they had spent more time investing in the personalities of the kaiju, and giving us a single "big bad" kaiju that couldn't be killed and reappeared multiple times, instead of making them cool looking but disposable. That's what makes Godzilla work. On the other hand, I've watched this movie three times now, and it keeps getting better. I do love me some kaiju-on-mecha action!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">2. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1408101/">Star Trek Into Darkness</a></span></b><br />
<b>Result</b>: MIDDLING (Tomatometer 87%). This movie started out well, but the second half devolved into what tried to be an homage to <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084726/" style="font-style: italic;">Wrath of Khan</a> but felt more like a parody of it. I was OK with the premise here: "Let's see what would have happened with a popular villain if things had gone radically different from the start." But if they were going to do that, they should have committed to it fully and avoided the painfully corny parallels to the original story line that they forced into the second half. This was a visually stunning movie, maybe even more gorgeous than the first J.J. Abrams <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0796366/">Star Trek</a></i>, and even at the end there was a lot to love, but I couldn't help feel that there were missed opportunities as well. <b>What </b><b>ELSE </b><b>should have been on my list</b>: <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1454468/">Gravity</a> </i>(Tomatometer 97%). Simply put, this was the most stunning movie I saw in 2013. It was beautiful and intense.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">3. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1300854/">Iron Man 3</a></span></b><br />
<b>Result</b>: FULL OF WIN (Tomatometer 78%). Longtime fans are divided on this one, mostly because Iron Man's most dangerous foe, "The Mandarin," is changed radically for the movie. To me, the bigger sin is that the final villain just isn't convincing enough. When you make a switch like that, you need a new antagonist to step forward and be even more terrifying than anything you could have possibly imagined up to that point. Oh well. Even with that flaw, it's still a fun ride and was the year's highest grossing film.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">4. </span></b><span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1170358/">The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug</a></b></span><br />
<b>Result</b>: FULL OF WIN (Tomatometer 76%). Without a doubt, Peter Jackson should have made <i>The Hobbit</i> into a single movie or at most two, because he's padding the trilogy with ridiculous things. However, I must say that they have been quite entertaining. This second film moves at a much faster pace than <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903624/">the first</a>, which is both a blessing and a curse. There is not much room for character development this time around (hopefully you got your fill of that in part one), but the action comes so quickly that you never get bored. However, the difference between this series and <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> is that when you leave the theater after <i>The Hobbit</i> movies, there isn't a single moment that jumps out at you as the defining moment. There is no "You shall not pass!" moment. Jackson seems to be trying to make <i>The Hobbit </i>more epic, but I worry that he's cheapening it with parlor tricks. That won't stop me, however, from being first in line for part three.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">5. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0770828/">Man of Steel</a></span></b><br />
<b>Result</b>: FULL OF WIN (Tomatometer 55%). There has never been a good Superman movie. Ever. Until now. This one had its flaws, and I'm not happy with certain needless changes to the mythology. But it finally did two things right. First, it showed Superman being a total badass and fighting like Superman would actually fight. (Caveat: the final battle scene in Metropolis was ridiculous disaster porn and went on way too long. But I digress.) Second, it didn't introduce a new ridiculous power just for the sake of the plot. (The <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078346/">1978 film</a> was ABSOLUTELY RUINED by giving Superman the ability to turn the entire freaking planet backwards in its orbit - and somehow have that reverse time instead of killing us all!) Yes, its flaws are numerous: continuity issues, confusing subplots, Jonathan Kent sacrificing himself for no reason, etc. But there is also a lot to love: Clark's discovery of his powers, Superman bursting into flight, high-speed Kryptonian fighting, etc. Superman is boss. For all its faults, at least this movie understands that.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">6. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1981115/">Thor: The Dark World</a></span></b><br />
<b>Result</b>: FULL OF WIN (Tomatometer 66%). This was my favorite superhero movie of the year. Hard to believe that not long ago I thought Thor was the stupidest superhero there was and his movies would fail miserably. Thor's relationship with his crazy brother Loki continues to be fertile ground for Marvel Studios. This movie also had lots of cool scenery and aliens and gadgets and action sequences, not to mention unexpected twists and turns. I hope we keep getting more of the same for years to come.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">7. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1213663/?ref_=sr_1">The World’s End</a></span></b><br />
<b>Result</b>: FULL OF WIN (Tomatometer 89%). I actually haven't seen this one yet, but I'm giving it a WIN based on reviews and because I'm big fans of the previous work Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have done together. <b>What ELSE should have been on my list</b>: <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1245492/">This Is the End</a> </i>(Tomatometer 83%). Speaking of apocalyptic comedies, this one caught me by surprise. Hilarious and highly recommended.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">8. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1430132/?ref_=sr_1">The Wolverine</a></span></b><br />
<b>Result</b>: FULL OF WIN (Tomatometer 69%). This movie didn't stick very closely to the original "Logan in Japan" story that inspired it, but it was still pretty solid. It was slower than a lot of superhero movies, but I enjoyed the introspection. The end got pretty bonkers, but all in all, it was a vast improvement over the first <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0458525/">Wolverine</a></i> film, and I think it was Hugh Jackman's best performance to date. (Even though he's still too tall for the role.)<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">9. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1535108/?ref_=sr_1">Elysium</a></span></b><br />
<b>Result</b>: MIDDLING (Tomatometer 68%). <i>Elysium</i> was this year's <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1446714/">Prometheus</a></i> - a movie that looked beautiful and ultimately left me confused as to whether or not I loved it. I did, but I also have to admit that it had its flaws, including the fact that it was weak on both character development and plot. But oh my, what incredible visuals and world-building. <b>What ELSE should have been on my list</b>: <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1483013/">Oblivion</a> </i>(Tomatometer 53%). This is a gorgeous film with a great performance from Tom Cruise and an interesting twist. It isn't as splody as Elysium, relying somewhat more on drama and suspense, but it is old-school sci-fi done right.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">10. </span></b><span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1731141/?ref_=sr_1">Ender’s Game</a></b></span><br />
<b>Result</b>: FULL OF WIN (Tomatometer 61%). I rather enjoyed this. It was nice to see a sci-fi movie that offered something different, and Asa Butterfield and Harrison Ford were both fantastic.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">11. </span></b><span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1951264/?ref_=sr_1">The Hunger Games: Catching Fire</a></b></span><br />
<b>Result</b>: FULL OF WIN (Tomatometer 89%). Even better than the first, and Jennifer Lawrence rules.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">12. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1418377/?ref_=sr_1">I, Frankenstein</a></span></b><br />
<b>Result</b>: INCOMPLETE (Tomatometer M.I.A.). Like last year with <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1583421/">G.I. Joe: Retaliation</a></i>, this film didn't come out when it was supposed to. Oh well, it sounded cool (I'm a big Frankenstein fan), but now that I've seen the trailer, it looks like garbage. Frankenstein's monster just looks like a regular dude with a few facial scars... WTF? <b>What should have been on my list</b>: <i>G.I. Joe: Retaliation</i> (Tomatometer 28%) and <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1650554/">Kick-Ass 2</a> </i>(Tomatometer 29%). These two movies may not have gotten the critics' love, but they were fun, brainless, action-filled romps. My expectations for both of these were low, and they were more than exceeded. The second <i>G.I. Joe </i>film was surprisingly better than <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1046173/">the first</a> (which was a fun but shallow B-movie) and nicely balanced ridiculous plot points and cool action sequences. The second <i>Kick-Ass </i>movie wasn't as good as <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1250777/">its predecessor</a>, but it didn't have to be: its predecessor was a better film than most. And there was a lot to love in this sequel, including the fact that it got made at all. Is it too much to hope now that there is a third?<br />
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<b>Bonus Wins</b>: There are a few other 2013 films that I think are worth mentioning, even if they aren't necessarily "splody." By all accounts, <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1457767/">The Conjuring</a></i> (Tomatometer 86%) was the scariest movie of the year. <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1690953/">Despicable Me 2</a></i> (Tomatometer 74%) turned out to be a worthy sequel in the kid-friendly adventure movie category. The thrilling black comedy <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0993846/">The Wolf of Wall Street</a></i> was another masterpiece by director Martin Scorsese, with a career-defining performance by Leonardo DiCaprio. The low-budget, found-footage <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2051879/">Europa Report</a></i> (Tomatometer 79%) was a well-done mock-documentary sci-fi thriller. And <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2084989/">Upstream Color</a></i> (Tomatometer 85%) was a fascinating art-house head-trip sci-fi drama. The last two were both slow burns, but if you like sci-fi and don't mind a slower pace to your movies, you'll find them rewarding.<br />
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And of course it wasn't released theatrically, but who can deny the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2724064/">brilliance</a> of...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY2rDycNBGBZ1UsBx8pSNK0KOaD7ISRTFBYebXrV3Ik2rJrlCfMWnWTxqYHP8thUK7-a5EMDbA0xxMxbL5bZNPDw_Bof0WYQSz5-tiqhQPzjhDGmf5ejbuos1xf6_dtXu-LHG0SZr3DuC6/s1600/Sharknado.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY2rDycNBGBZ1UsBx8pSNK0KOaD7ISRTFBYebXrV3Ik2rJrlCfMWnWTxqYHP8thUK7-a5EMDbA0xxMxbL5bZNPDw_Bof0WYQSz5-tiqhQPzjhDGmf5ejbuos1xf6_dtXu-LHG0SZr3DuC6/s400/Sharknado.jpg" height="247" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Coming next: my choices for splody movies most likely to please in 2014...</i><br />
<i><br /></i>Rico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2687168970987682337.post-28647458185912885322013-12-30T06:00:00.000-05:002013-12-30T09:24:13.111-05:00Twisdom 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHOEpZ3LlbTmvO5evhmLKYTCr4CL5SlWXYibcm91C4FLMBytWr5IF4gTYlDX2HpUp4vTfONEYdJKRetELZt5aUuvsqcIBGU0YBnvlkXCOTRFN_vABF5wqOZDnxEwmEByQ_mdPuX7Y7sZM3/s1600/run-dmc-kids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHOEpZ3LlbTmvO5evhmLKYTCr4CL5SlWXYibcm91C4FLMBytWr5IF4gTYlDX2HpUp4vTfONEYdJKRetELZt5aUuvsqcIBGU0YBnvlkXCOTRFN_vABF5wqOZDnxEwmEByQ_mdPuX7Y7sZM3/s320/run-dmc-kids.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Every once in a while, I <a href="https://twitter.com/ricodetroit">tweet</a> something that stands on its own. Sometimes it's poetic, sometimes silly and sometimes just a little observation that has a kernel of wisdom in it. Here are some of those tweets.<br />
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<i>There is no effective euphemism for "half-assed."</i><br />
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<i>Just saw a handbill for a band named "Scared to Death," and I read it as "Sacred to Death." That would have been a better band name.</i><br />
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<i>Who cleans Darth Vader's durable medical supplies? Or does he use The Force?</i><br />
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<i>Freeway is closed for miles. I, of course, immediately suspect kaiju.</i><br />
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<i>I really need to stop (verb ending in -ing) for a while, so I can feel (adjective) and get some (expletive) (noun).</i><br />
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<i>Future generations will edit out all of the awkward rap interludes in our songs.</i><br />
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<i>I wish I were a wiener. If I were a wiener, everyone would be in love with me.</i><br />
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<i>I think all extremists should be shot, but I'm on the fence about what to do about moderates.</i><br />
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<i>What do Clark Kent's farts smell like? Don't they give him away somehow?</i><br />
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<i>It is a crime against the universe that Run-DMC never made a children's album.</i><br />
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<i>Theory: dark energy is related to the nature of time itself, and dark matter is the "echo" of matter from the past. Discuss.</i><br />
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<i>Red R(obin—Y)um! I'm not saying there's a hidden message there, but...</i><br />
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<i>I want a new kind of video game that works just like a choose-your-own-adventure-novel on 'roids. We have the technology. Make it happen!</i><br />
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<i>I can't find Parmesan cheese at the grocery store; how does Batman find every clue at every crime scene every time?</i><br />
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<i>How do people go on dates now that they have smart phones?</i><br />
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<i>I'm just barely holdin' on now / I got the tiger by the teeth / feel cold and sliced, laid out on a platter / like a pack of deli meats</i><br />
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<i>Everything just grew by 50%. My body, my car, the road, the whole world. The perspective is the same, but It's just... huge.</i><br />
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<i>Wife: "These potato chips are greasy." Me: "They're wet with flavor."</i><br />
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<i>I don't want to be a dick. Unless it's a private dick.</i><br />
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<i>How is it that Reese's hasn't yet made a monkey-shaped peanut butter cup?</i><br />
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<i>When I was a kid, adults said I could do anything I put my mind to, but damn if I still haven't figured out a way to fly like Superman.</i><br />
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<i>On the information superhighway, everyone has road rage and there are no traffic cops.</i><br />
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<i>We already live in a post-apocalyptic world.</i><br />
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<i>My goal when I drink is to get drunk enough to not care that I'm old and fat and bald and going to die in a few years. [Note: this is probably the funniest thing I’ve ever drunk tweeted.]</i><br />
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<i>There's a Disney film playing on the Lifetime channel right now. I can't help but feel that my wife and toddler are ganging up on me.</i><br />
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<i>Just watched my 1st Magic Schoolbus. Found it highly implausible. And very likely those kids would be dead by the end of the episode.</i><br />
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<i>One of these days, I'm going to eat asparagus and drink coffee at the same time.</i><br />
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<i>In an ideal world, based on importance to society, the starting pay for a teacher would be double the going rate for a U.S. Senator.</i><br />
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<i>I have an analog selfie hanging above the sink in my bathroom. Er, I mean a mirror.</i><br />
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<i>This is me screaming into the void: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!</i><br />
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<i>It's strange that we get to take credit/blame for the things our younger selves did, when we are clearly not those people.</i><br />
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<i>So proud of my 2-year-old, who just sang to me: "Robot, robot, robot, robot eat your food!"</i><br />
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<i>My favorite part of each episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is when he prays for "Toodles" from his black magic machine god, "Mouskedoer."</i><br />
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<i>If I was naming my band right now, I would name it "Burglemeyer and the Perverts."</i><br />
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<i>Twitter is the new haiku.</i><br />
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<i>Social media has given us all a pulpit, but not all of us have been called to preach.</i><br />
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<i>Some like it hot / But I like it hotter / You can keep the toast / Just give me jelly and butter</i><br />
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<i>Each day you're a different person. The days before were your ancestors; the days to come are your heirs. Today is your life; live it well.</i><br />
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Bonus: a lot of people asked me about the following stream-of-consciousness tweets during the year, so here’s the official explanation. The first word in each of them was one that popped into my head and I felt like tweeting it. And I have a little exercise that I do sometimes to test my mental flexibility: I say as many words or short phrases as I can in a row, out loud, that have absolutely nothing to do with each other. (Try it and you’ll see: it’s pretty difficult to do without pausing or falling into some kind of thematic pattern.) So I captured that exercise in these tweets – up to 140 characters.<br />
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<i>Gunshy. Juniper. Hazmat. Hair suit. Jumping bean. Kamikaze. Fishing for compliments. Wishbone. A-1. Bone saw. Vera Cruz. Calamitous. Sight.</i><br />
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<i>Bipolar. Point and click. Wax factory. Turtle dove. Noodle. Gun club. Chinese checkers. Jack of all trades. In fashion. Backbreaker. Swine.</i><br />
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<i>Malaise. Milk bucket. Pomeranian. Diplomat. Jack Johnson. Jim Dandy. Old Appalachian Trail. Hinterland. Kissin' cousins. Flypaper. Yeah!</i><br />
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<i>Hope. Glory. Creamed corn. Little Dipper. Trudging slowly over wet sand. Fortified. Ourang-outang. Icicle. Beater. Not like it used to be.</i><br />
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<i>Nostalgic. Caramel. Concrete. Motor speedway. Hopscotch. Michelangelo. Can't get there from here. Boa constrictor. Texas Instruments. Okeh.</i><br />
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<i>Problem-solver. Redacted. Garden gnome. Yesterday. White out. I can't quit you, baby. Joker. Radishes. Car crash. Belly. Jury's still out.</i>Rico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2687168970987682337.post-59992204461858370852013-12-01T06:00:00.000-05:002013-12-03T07:43:39.939-05:00Why have you never seen a superhero?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmjPX3u9DlYmDvc-ZXPx7YyjiO90qCScLZ3tyiB1MGfOZE10A0o16k38LuJ_bE65SLR9Tx2HdopjT6a8NM1bAFkRG-0eUCAHGGcqQy8SPz-6MLitIIEn2F30W7V1SCwHeB48GEXe_YPu1v/s1600/f15e4b44b15da5b6a3ee78eafb26b3a0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmjPX3u9DlYmDvc-ZXPx7YyjiO90qCScLZ3tyiB1MGfOZE10A0o16k38LuJ_bE65SLR9Tx2HdopjT6a8NM1bAFkRG-0eUCAHGGcqQy8SPz-6MLitIIEn2F30W7V1SCwHeB48GEXe_YPu1v/s320/f15e4b44b15da5b6a3ee78eafb26b3a0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
When people imagine what the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_belt">Asteroid Belt</a> is like, they imagine the scene from <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080684/">The Empire Strikes Back</a></i>, where the <i>Millennium Falcon</i> is dodging a densely-packed array of space rocks. In reality, though, the Main Asteroid Belt in our Solar System holds only about 4% of the mass of the Moon, spread out over an orbit 1.5 billion miles long and over 100 million miles wide just at its core. When we send a spacecraft through it, our chances of even <i>seeing</i> an asteroid, let alone hitting anything, are statistically zero.<br />
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It's important to keep this perspective in mind when thinking about other rare, statistically improbable occurrences. A great example is shark attacks. On an average year, sharks kill five people worldwide. That is a ridiculously low number when you consider that there are an estimated 7,125,000,000 people living on the planet today. Even lightning strikes, another very rare form of death, still manage to kill 24,000 people annually. And yet, because the media reports each shark death, we sometimes think sharks are running amok. The reality is, your chance of being struck by either a shark or lightning in your lifetime is statistically next to zero.<br />
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Now what if the media didn't hype an ultra-rare phenomenon? Or what if the phenomenon was purposefully discredited by the mainstream media, either due to its own inherent bias or due to government tampering, leaving only "fringe" elements to cover "the truth"? Examples abound: Bigfoot, ESP, UFOs, conspiracy theories.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR7t9fPbKGwhyphenhyphenKnBEzA0m4By08NThQeETlFao8itml35zaIdFQzeAFyY5rMbOHwGKPDS5_O33rIHgAjbI_FpuwqzmlVwPiA7U9IAVv5qK-xVWnatBgZFmhH14QBcSAaIQo6JaavBDagy6w/s1600/f8b8deb91f667f86ae23cba82c59a9ab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR7t9fPbKGwhyphenhyphenKnBEzA0m4By08NThQeETlFao8itml35zaIdFQzeAFyY5rMbOHwGKPDS5_O33rIHgAjbI_FpuwqzmlVwPiA7U9IAVv5qK-xVWnatBgZFmhH14QBcSAaIQo6JaavBDagy6w/s320/f8b8deb91f667f86ae23cba82c59a9ab.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>
Well, let me add one more. It has come to my attention that there are approximately 500 "people" alive on this planet today who are endowed with extraordinary powers that cannot be explained by conventional science. Some may be the next phase of human evolution, some may be aliens in disguise, some may be using technology so advanced that it is incomprehensible to us. In any case, they are not "normal."<br />
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If you add to that the number of truly elite, non-superpowered humans - we're talking James Bond / Bruce Wayne / ninja-level awesomeness here - then the number of extraordinary individuals on the planet might be 1,000. That is 0.000014% of the total population of Earth. To put it in a different perspective, it is about half the number of people walking this Earth with a Super Bowl ring. Given that small of a group, what is your chance of accidentally bumping into one of them on the subway? And what is your chance of realizing it even if you do?<br />
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Contrary to popular belief, superheroes and aliens are not walking around our planet in broad daylight in day-glow outfits waiting for the FBI to come lock them up at Guantanamo. But they <i>are </i>out there. Suspiciously reclusive, orphaned billionaire with one too many defense contacts? Hyperactive multiple-doctorate scientist working as a freelance photographer? Gluten and corn-intolerant goofball blogger obsessed with aliens, robots and zombies?<br />
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Then again, maybe you've already met a superhero and you don't even know it<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/ricodetroit/i-believe-i-can-fly/">...</a><br />
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<br />Rico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2687168970987682337.post-70274918425647276682013-11-24T06:00:00.000-05:002013-11-24T06:12:13.365-05:00Save the drama for Obama!For a long time, I have noticed that the decor at the White House has changed since BHO moved in. The Oval Office is now stripped of the traditional Middle Eastern wallpaper, drapes and decor and replaced with unremarkable styles. The hallway that he walks out of to talk to the press no longer has Middle Eastern chairs, drapes, etc. And the thing that has bothered me the most is the bright red, white and blue flag behind him every time he speaks from the White House. It has stars and stripes on it and has been there from the beginning.<br />
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What is missing at Barack Hussein Obama's press conference?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7psvRWjbSwyw69LB77E0wYbeVXvJCKNnKgcyFHnxPUQ6kB87VzPXmY3zdl6-PSnFMXCpVWQBGD56lavwQ7SNrPajdbKLhtHEbhrBcBD_ZwwqohiviXHVkneGEmLpdci1UGxkd-qDkPh4/s1600/Obama_not_a_muslim.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7psvRWjbSwyw69LB77E0wYbeVXvJCKNnKgcyFHnxPUQ6kB87VzPXmY3zdl6-PSnFMXCpVWQBGD56lavwQ7SNrPajdbKLhtHEbhrBcBD_ZwwqohiviXHVkneGEmLpdci1UGxkd-qDkPh4/s400/Obama_not_a_muslim.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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No it is not the teleprompters. See the other presidents' pics for a clue.<br />
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That's right...no Muslim prayer curtains!!!<br />
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And I don't believe it was just an accident! It is intentional. So I ask, why is it intentional? He told you he would change America, didn't he?<br />
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Read more <a href="http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/photos/ovaloffice.asp#K8BrBScYEIpVYlYr.99">here</a>.<br />
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<i>P.S. - Because I have learned that only half of the people in the world understand sarcasm and tongue-in-cheek humor (which is at least 90% of this website), I want to specifically point out that the above is both. And if you in any way subscribe to the "Obama is a Muslim" camp, you need to get your <a href="http://biblehub.com/obadiah/1-3.htm">head out of your ass</a>. Feel free to hate the man all you want on policy issues, but <a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/20-16.htm">stop attacking him on baseless nonsense</a>. Also, <a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/12-31.htm">stop being racist</a>.</i><br />
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<br />Rico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2687168970987682337.post-75380048613573006712013-11-17T06:00:00.000-05:002014-09-01T07:18:28.276-04:00Subterranean Homeworld Clues<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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According to official, certifiable records, the deepest natural cave yet found by human beings is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krubera_Cave">Krubera Cave</a>, which has been explored to a depth of 7,208 feet (2,197 m or 1.37 miles) from its opening at the surface in the Caucasus Mountains.<br />
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In Siberia, an ever deeper artificial hole was dug, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kola_Superdeep_Borehole">Kola Superdeep Borehole</a>, which made it to a depth of 40,230 feet (12,262 m or 7.62 miles), or about a third of the way through the 22-mile-deep continental crust, over the course of two decades of drilling before the project was abandoned.<br />
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Of course, those are just the official records.<br />
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In reality, there is an entire world underground that we have literally barely scratched the surface of. A few brave souls have ventured further into the abyss and come back to report of a globe-spanning subterranean ecosystem, separated from our own by miles of sedimentary rock.<br />
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Gathering the various accounts available, I have created a very basic map of this realm, which is known as “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subterranea_(comics)">Subterranea</a>.” The underlying foundation of Subterranea is a ring of massive, basalt tubes, known as the “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cleves_Symmes,_Jr.">Symmesian</a> Corridor,” extending for thousands of miles in a loop under the surface at an average depth of eight to ten miles (13-16 km) below sea level. Although this mostly places it within the Earth’s crust, it does extend into the mantle in a few places areas as it passes beneath the deep ocean. The Symmesian Corridor is at a minimum several miles across, and in some places are wide enough to accommodate a vast underground sea. Its walls are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanic_pipe#Kimberlite_pipes">hardened with diamonds</a> and unbreachable.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDVi3_gSUNEF1npNWsV8qp-guZHdaeZ0cvpnUw1evWNh-zpBADZexcFVJ8NQrCPf7nRDJm5MuljQMlqmrU6PdYXD_BiAotRxGqnuXfYeVnr4iAgf8cKwt-XPfBDqaiY6-S64lYfGTkcLPI/s1600/Mushroom+Forest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDVi3_gSUNEF1npNWsV8qp-guZHdaeZ0cvpnUw1evWNh-zpBADZexcFVJ8NQrCPf7nRDJm5MuljQMlqmrU6PdYXD_BiAotRxGqnuXfYeVnr4iAgf8cKwt-XPfBDqaiY6-S64lYfGTkcLPI/s320/Mushroom+Forest.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a>Weather and water currents rotate through it in a clockwise direction, circulating air and other vital resources throughout the vast underground realm. Whether the Symmesian Corridor is a naturally occurring formation or was engineered in some way is unknown. It is known that one section of the Corridor in the Indian Ocean was formed more recently than the rest, as the original segment in this region (approximate location noted with a dotted line) appears to have collapsed during the <a href="http://www.comicvine.com/the-great-cataclysm/4015-55772/">Great Cataclysm</a> in the year <a href="http://www.alienrobotzombies.com/p/secret-history-of-universe-part-two.html">16,493 BCE</a>.<br />
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Many smaller tunnel branches extend out from the Symmesian Corridor in all directions, including up and down, especially throughout the continental shelves. These are not shown on the map, as their location and exact nature is unknown. It is safe to say, however, that there are many hidden pockets of underground life that we know nothing about, which are connected more closely with Subterranea than with the surface world.<br />
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At certain points along the Symmesian Corridor, there are documented openings that extend all the way to the surface. We know this either because previous explorers have entered Subterranea at that point, or because unique fauna from Subterranea have made their way to the surface. These points are all identified on the map, and include:<br />
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<li><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savage_Land">The Savage Land</a></b>: a sheltered game preserve built by aliens in Antarctica. The Savage Land appears to be the source of the many dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals that now roam freely throughout Subterranea.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lost_World_(Conan_Doyle_novel)">Maple White Land</a></b>: a secluded plateau in the Amazon Basin of South America. Explorer Maple White discovered dinosaurs and other prehistoric life forms here in 1901, and biologist George Challenger famously revisited the site two years later.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Valley_of_Gwangi">The Valley of Gwangi</a></b>: a valley surrounded by impassible canyon walls near Copper Canyon in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. Local oral tradition tells of two Native Americans, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turok">Turok and Andar</a>, who were trapped in the “Forbidden Valley” for over a quarter of a century, where they discovered all manner of strange beasts. More recently, around the turn of the century, a travelling rodeo was said to have captured a live allosaurus there, which they named “Gwangi.”</li>
<li><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%27n-yan">K’n-yan and Yoth</a></b>: two underground realms of legend beneath Oklahoma. K’n-yan connects to the surface and is a blue-lit realm inhabited by humanoid aliens. Yoth lies beneath it, within the Symmesian Corridor itself, and is a red-lit realm where Serpent People once dwelt and still may. Beneath that, it is rumored that there is an even deeper cavern, called N’kai, where the Great Old One known as Tsathoggua dwells.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperborean_cycle">Mount Voormithadreth</a></b>: a mountain in Greenland, honeycombed with tunnels. Once the epicenter of the ancient Hyperborean civilization, it is now buried under a glacier in Greenland.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sn%C3%A6fellsj%C3%B6kull">Mount Snæfellsjökull</a></b>: a volcano in Iceland. In 1864, German professor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_the_Center_of_the_Earth">Otto Lidenbrock</a> traveled into Snæfellsjökull and through the northeastern portion of the Symmesian Corridor, emerging at Stromboli.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stromboli">Mount Stromboli</a></b>: a volcano on an island off the coast of Italy, near Sicily, where <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_the_Center_of_the_Earth">Otto Lidenbrock</a> and his party emerged in 1864 after traversing the Symmesian Corridor from Mount Snæfellsjökull in Iceland.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemuria_(continent)">The original location of Lemuria</a></b>: the location of the microcontinent of Lemuria before the Great Cataclysm. It was originally home of a kingdom of Serpent People known as “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thongor_of_Lemuria">The Dragon Kings</a>,” and later by the human genetic offshoots known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deviants_(comics)">Deviants</a> before it was relocated during their earth-shattering battle with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestials">Celestials</a> in 16,493 BCE. There is no longer a surface entrance here, although it may be possible to find an undersea entrance to the Symmesian Corridor.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_Island">Monster Island</a></b>: a remote island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Once part of the land of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemuria_(continent)">Lemuria</a>, it was left behind as the rest of that microcontinent was violently dragged across the ocean floor during the <a href="http://www.comicvine.com/the-great-cataclysm/4015-55772/">Great Cataclysm</a> in 16,493 BCE. The island has gone by many names over the years. Its official name is “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caprona_(island)">Caprona</a>,” after the Italian explorer Caproni, who was the first European to discover it in 1721. Polynesian islanders from Sumatra had already colonized the island, however, and in their language they called the place either “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skull_Island">Skull Island</a>,” due to the shape of a prominent outcropping of volcanic rock, or “Monster Island,” due to the island’s inhabitants, which includes dinosaurs, giant insects and all kinds of other strange creatures. The island’s most famous resident was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Kong_(1933_film)">King Kong</a>, who was captured there in 1933. It was rediscovered in World War II, when both Axis and Allied forces saw it as a strategic location, but failed to capture what they then nicknamed “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_that_Time_Forgot">Dinosaur Island</a>.” Most recently, the island was conquered by the subterranean <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_Man">Moloids</a>.</li>
</ul>
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On the map, I have also identified the location of several “sunken lands” of note. These include:</div>
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<li><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis">Atlantis</a>: </b>a great submerged island in the Atlantic Ocean. Atlantis had once been known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almaren#Almaren">Almaren</a>, the home of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valar">Valar</a> (later known as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanir">Vanir</a>), before it was sunk by the evil <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melkor">Melkor</a> (mentor of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauron">Sauron</a>). The Valar later rose it back out of the sea and gave it to men to be the kingdom of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%BAmenor">Númenor</a>, but they destroyed it again when men tried to set foot on their new home of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aman">Aman</a> (the extradimensional world we now known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asgard_(comics)">Asgard</a>). Atlantis was eventually rebuilt into another <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis_(DC_Comics)">great kingdom</a> many generations later, but sank again in the <a href="http://www.comicvine.com/the-great-cataclysm/4015-55772/">Great Cataclysm</a> when it would not heed the warning of Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Zhered-Na_(Earth-616)">Zhered-Na</a>. Later, seven kingdoms would be founded within the submerged ruins of Atlantis by the aquatic humanoids known as Atlanteans (<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_mermanus">Homo mermanus</a></i>). Far beneath the southern part of Atlantis lies the subterranean realm of “<a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Netherworld">Netherworld</a>.”</li>
<li><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemuria_(comics)#Regions_and_countries">Lemuria after the Great Cataclysm</a></b>: the location of the sunken microcontinent of Lemuria (also known in this location as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerguelen_Plateau">Kerguelen Plateau</a>) after it was relocated during the <a href="http://www.comicvine.com/the-great-cataclysm/4015-55772/">Great Cataclysm</a> in 16,493 BCE. In their battle, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestials">Celestials</a> used a weapon that relocated the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deviants_(comics)">Deviants</a>’ homeland thousands of miles across the ocean floor and sank it a mile underwater. It was abandoned by the Deviants, but was later repopulated by Atlanteans (<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_mermanus">Homo mermanus</a></i>).</li>
<li><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mu_(lost_continent)">Mu</a></b>: a submerged island southeast of Japan and east of Taiwan. Mu was the site of one of the first human kingdoms, which was destroyed by dark magic and sank into the Pacific Ocean in 61,844 BCE. After the Great Cataclysm, the Deviants re-established their kingdom underground, eventually building their capital beneath the ruins of Mu.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%E2%80%99lyeh">R’lyeh</a></b>: the sunken stronghold of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu">Cthulhu</a>, one of the most powerful <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Old_Ones">Great Old Ones</a>. When Cthulhu and his kin were defeated by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elder_Gods_(Marvel_Comics)">Elder Gods</a> (251.4 million years ago in the war that caused the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permian-Triassic_extinction_event">Permian-Triassic Extinction Event</a>), R’lyeh sank beneath the ocean floor with Cthulhu imprisoned within the city, “dead and dreaming.” R’lyeh is believed to be buried close to the “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pole_of_inaccessibility">pole of inaccessibility</a>,” the point in the Pacific Ocean furthest from any dry land on Earth.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_mermanus">Thakorr</a></b>: a submerged city in the southern Atlantic Ocean near Antarctica. When the Atlantean kingdom of Kamuu was sacked in the mid-19th century, its people moved south and founded a new city, which they named after their king, Thakorr. Eventually, that city too would be destroyed and most of the Atlanteans would return to Atlantis. But a few Atlanteans still dwell among the ruins of the city of Thakorr.</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx7THpQLAdb66IhAc0fgmwhIL3-EcpoYExm-EQIPrLbidTMxaT7QrS3InttApLtCvghtD9pet8FevY3MUKnAIRqel8CKvHRugEaOBh8265LTw8-jEGCdJIe1Qr2t9qhRWFI7P5z3W-V0ez/s1600/HollowEarthPortal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx7THpQLAdb66IhAc0fgmwhIL3-EcpoYExm-EQIPrLbidTMxaT7QrS3InttApLtCvghtD9pet8FevY3MUKnAIRqel8CKvHRugEaOBh8265LTw8-jEGCdJIe1Qr2t9qhRWFI7P5z3W-V0ez/s320/HollowEarthPortal.jpg" height="139" width="320" /></a>Finally, it is worth noting that there is a pocket dimension that seems to be tied to Earth’s core. This “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollow_Earth">Hollow Earth</a>” dimension is often mistaken for being within the Earth itself, perhaps because many of the portals to it are buried far beneath the planet’s surface. (The only known portal to the Hollow Earth dimension from the surface of Earth is located near the North Pole.) However, it is an entirely separate universe, albeit apparently a finite one.<br />
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This dimension has many names, including “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pellucidar">Pellucidar</a>” and “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skartaris">Skartaris</a>,” and is populated by creatures from Subterranea (including dinosaurs) as well as alien creatures native to that dimension. (Visitors from the Hollow Earth may be responsible for some UFO sightings in our world.) It appears much as a primitive version of Earth does, except that it is inverted: the ground is on the inside edge of the sphere, with gravity pulling outwards, while a stationary sun and moon hang motionless at the center of the sphere. Surrounding this “Hollow Earth” is at least 500 miles of solid rock, after which the dimensional boundary appears to end and one either doubles back toward the center again or appears in our dimension somewhere in Subterranea.<br />
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I hope this overview has given you a better view of this fascinating, if inaccessible, world we live above. Subterranea may be relatively nearby, but the technological challenges of reaching it make it even more difficult to reach than a manned mission to the stars. Still, as technology improves, I hope that someday we can establish steady contact with the world beneath our feet and the civilizations sharing this planet with us.<br />
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<br />Rico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2687168970987682337.post-80610276150595346872013-09-03T06:00:00.001-04:002013-09-28T08:39:04.280-04:00Psycho-killer profile of the week: "The House"<strong>DOROTHY "THE HOUSE" GALE</strong><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfW8GZl9qg08xDMRoi-LxojvHtvD_CcyJqA6R29wZ8ch6msYrAG6AQWpdWpqkVGqzlwMJXolYdRHhGnFKc-M0J78Gn-Ot0L8v7u7jd5n5LUIOJv5wSG7a1-jjiiu2_cK15Zif_Khr74Cq/s1600/Dorothy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfW8GZl9qg08xDMRoi-LxojvHtvD_CcyJqA6R29wZ8ch6msYrAG6AQWpdWpqkVGqzlwMJXolYdRHhGnFKc-M0J78Gn-Ot0L8v7u7jd5n5LUIOJv5wSG7a1-jjiiu2_cK15Zif_Khr74Cq/s400/Dorothy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<strong>Body count: </strong>two confirmed killings in Australia.<br />
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<strong>Defense: </strong>"No -- No! It was an accident! I didn't mean to kill anybody!"<br />
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<strong>Verdict: </strong>one count first-degree manslaughter (with a mobile home), one count first-degree murder (by drowning).<br />
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<strong>Sentence: </strong>30 years at the Winkie Maximum Security Penitentiary for Women in Western Australia.<br />
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<strong>Time served: </strong>Commuted after six years on condition that she never return to Australia.<br />
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<strong>Where is she now? </strong>Divorced mother of three. Raises Yorkshire Terriers and works as a dog groomer in Salina, Kansas. Additional past criminal record includes petty theft (shoes, apples, etc.), minor drug possession (poppy flowers and raw opium), operating a vehicle without a license, threatening an officer with a hatchet and resisting arrest.<br />
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<strong>Current threat level: </strong>Diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic. Considered minimal threat as long as she remains on her medication and reports to her parole officer. Can get flighty during tornado season or around scarecrows.Rico Detroithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980794128063614365noreply@blogger.com0