Happy Whatever Day!

Since no one actually knows what Cinco de Mayo is about other than "Mexico" and "Partying", I'll say Happy Whatever Day! It's always good to have a theme and a reason, even if they don't mean much in reality.

FYI, the party above, here, was last year. Alas.

Obi Juan was there, of course.

May the Fourth be with you

As a sign of nerds ever increasing power in society, we now have the mainstream acknowledgment of May 4th as "Star Wars Day", due to the pun "May the 4th be with you". Haha, right?

So, add it to your calendars, folks. Picard Day is coming up in June, and Sagan Day is in November.

Any other nerd days of note? I'm sure I'm missing some.

Never Forget IX - Cyber 9 Edition!

One's dedication to an ideal can be measured by the amount of flair one is prepared to engage. How much flair do you wear?

You can tell they love America by the masks. And guns.

No one ever thinks they are evil, right? It's always the Other guy.

From a certain point of view

The Devil's Ring. Not as pretty as advertised.

You've been swimming in lies since the day you were born, no fault of your own.

Like the Arabian Batman.

A new light upon the world.

Tower Truthers

Click for big, as always. Know the truth.

Learn to let go that which you fear to lose.

Let the hate flow through you

It reassures me, in some small ways, that crazy right wingers have always been part of America. They've always been filled with hate of the Other  - whomever the Other of the day happens to be. They are used by their hate and their fear as a political bloc by the rich and powerful to fight any Progressive action in America. And they mostly lose - even today.

Alas, today they have dedicated TV and radio channels spewing their poison 24/7, and so it seems like their influence is large. And it is, in compared to the past. But they are still a small minority of people, no matter how loud they scream.

Push back. Counter hate with love, lies with truth, insanity with logic. Be patient. Use the Force.

If you only knew

Vader couldn't do the Force lightning, for obvious reasons. The same reason Vader was a slave to the Emperor - with but a thought, the Emperor could crush Vader's suit, killing him instantly. That's why he must obey his Master.

Vader's Mother

Anakin's mother claimed to be a virgin. We'll never know for sure, just like with Mary, but why not, let's roll with it. Their sons are the Chosen Ones. Born to bring balance to the Force, whatever that means - what would "balance" mean, exactly? The Jedi never seem to ask.

A confession, maybe I've made it before, but who remembers? Not me. Anyways: I like Star Wars way more these days than Star Trek. For me, Trek died back in the 2000-2003 range, with terrible movies and ever worsening TV shows.

Star Wars certainly did not garner critical acclaim with its latest trilogy - the Prequel Trilogy (PT). But I loved it. I really do, so much I just read all the books, and then some other, related books. Reading Star Wars novels - a sure sign of a NERD.

But that's ok. I really enjoyed them, and aren't we here for joy? So to you, Internet, I proclaim loudly: I am a Jedi, unlike my Father before me!

Fun tease: Anakin has no Father, the Clone Troopers, who in the OT become the Storm Troopers, have no Mother. Deep stuff, man.

A great disturbance in the Internet

You may have felt strange the other day, for reasons you couldn't explain. Let me: Ben Affleck was named as the new Batman, and nerds across the Internet screamed out in nerdy rage. It was epic, and one of the things I love best about the Internet - nerd panic.

But fret not, fellow nerds. Ben will be fine. Look at this history of Batman for proof:

As always, click for big. Pretty cool - Batman is by now an iconic hero in just about worldwide mythology. I'm a bit disappointed the 1940's TV movie shorts were not included, but alas. Check out the history of the Bat logos in more detail:

Modern mythology is wicked awesome, and if you've avoided it in the past, due to the nerd association, I would advise you to let go your embarassment, your pride, and dive in to the world of comics - the modern hero mythology of the 20th century, and going strong in the 21st.

As for Ben, he'll do fine. I worry about the overall focus of the movie (Superman and Batman) far more. I really enjoyed the new Superman movie and am disappointed it's not getting its own sequel, rather than sharing one with not just Batman, but a new Batman. Don't blame Ben. Blame D.C..

In the meantime, imagine the Batman of your dreams and how Affleck will ruin it for you.

May the Internet be with you.

Wrath of an Angry God

Wicked cool map. I've got a thing for maps. This one shows every tornado in the USA over the past 56 years. Two things I conclude: Mountains create tornadoes, and two, mountains prevent tornadoes. Look at you, Appalachian Range, keeping them evil bastards at bay!

However, ironically, the region known as the Bible Belt is just a jam packed with twisters. Like, where's Oklahoma? Scary, and with Global Warming, far more likely and more powerful (more heat in atmosphere creating more and bigger storms).

But hey, here's what known Super Christian Pat Robertson has to say about tornadoes and storms:

“If enough people were praying He would’ve intervened, you could pray, Jesus stilled the storm, you can still storms.”

So you see, Christians of the Bible Belt, you're not praying hard enough, and thus the giant tornadoes of death and destruction.

Pray harder!

Or! Just an alternative theory, but maybe tornadoes are features of weather in this case created by the Rockies, the Gulf of Mexico, and the relatively flat spaces of central USA.  Given that they are only going to increase in size and frequency, be prepared.

Or move. Check out all those liberal areas, suspiciously free of tornadoes.

Nucular

Back when nuclear power was cool (30's - 70's), mankind dreamed up all sorts of nuclear powered spacecraft to get us to the stars. An example above - the nuclear reactor is in the central core, sending out thrust via the two lower engines.

But then Three Mile Island, and Chernobyl, and Love Canal, and the rise of a shortsighted environmental movement that would block solar panels in the desert because they threaten a seasonal moss, and we come to today, with the widespread vilification of all nuclear energy. Thus:

SCARY ATOMS!!! This is a redshirt original Photoshop, by the way. One of only a handful. You can tell by the high quality. I should learn Photoshop.

Nuclear power can be incredibly safe - far more than a coal plant, for example. And for propulsion in space? Can't be beat! Look at the Voyagers, who are on the verge of leaving the solar system on the backs of tiny nuclear power plants.

But we can't have a reasonable discussion about nuclear power at all, thanks to forces both on the Right and the Left. At least in America, this truly is a "Both sides do it" issue.

Don't fear the atom, man!

Lunar Coda

Luna and Venus - they're old friends in the sky. By David Cortner.

From the ISS. Look how thin our atmosphere is! All it would take is a big gust of solar wind from the sun to blow it all away, and there's nothing we could do to prevent it. We'd know it's coming a few days in advance, so I suppose bunkers could be stocked and whatnot, but surely, t'would be our doom.

Hurricane Emily, also from the ISS. Wouldn't it be awesome to be the official photographer on board - like, that was your job? All the other astronauts gotta turn nobs and shit while you just snap sweet pics all day/night - which occur like every hour.

Behold the power of the storm - precisely the same form we theorize blackholes to possess, if you could imagine it in 3 dimensions rather than the 2 here (A sphere as opposed to a plane). All points rotate towards the center due to the enormous change in pressure - low pressure, man. Real low. The lowest - and so all things fall towards it, increasingly fast as you get closer to the center. Speed causes heat and heat is energy which does work. Or, in this case, flip a ton of shit over.

Also, yay President Barack Hussein Obama!

In the fight against insanity and outright nihilism, Bronco Bamz is our greatest fighter, and deserves all our support. As you can see, even Luna supports BHO - so should you! That is, if you stand against nihilism. Some don't. They suck. 27%

Trophy Rug

I can understand, way, way back in the day, why having an animal skin rug would be sweet. Cuz there were no other rugs! And imagine how pimp you'd be circa 10000BC in front of the fire lounging on a giant Snow Cave Beast pelt? Stone pimp, that's how much.

But today? With Snow Cave Beasts endangered? It's just barbaric.

Power of the Lego

Amazing. I drool. Though I imagine I wouldn't have the patience necessary to construct such a wonder. It's a 3D puzzle, with instructions and a cool end product. I understand Lego now!

This is the Super Star Destroyer, Darth Vader's personal flagship. When a regular Star Destroyer just ain't enough. And thus a parable for our EXTREME society - when the regular Star Destroyer wowed audiences in 1977, something bigger was needed to get the same wow in 1980. And so on, forever. This is the power of EXTREME.

The Redemption of Vader. But can Vader be redeemed? Is there a point where your crimes are so great no amount of good deeds can save you? Is killing the most evil dude in the Universe good deed enough? Scholars will debate these questions long into the future.

Thanks to the prequels (oh what a double edged sword) we know Anakin Skywalker was a precocious kid who turned into whiny teen then self absorbed Brah who just happened to be the Chosen One. Also, brainwashing from that evil dude. And so the ultimate henchman was made, in machine and metal, living on a whim of the evil dude. The Vader the world came to fear - and still does - was really just a sad sack Savior twisted by the Devil, but did a really good deed in the end. Hooray, mythology! Even better when told in Lego form.

Iced Cream Man's Lament

You might think all iced cream men and women would generally be happy folks, since their work often involves bestowing joy and frozen treats to the people. But I'm sure it's not all Harbor Bars and laughs. Rather, like with almost all jobs, the monotony and stupid people ruin everything, slowly but surely until even aye, dispensing a swirl cone no longer stirs the heart with delight, but rather dulls the soul with crushing sadness.

Or maybe that's just me. Any iced cream people out there want to speak up?

Payback at the Country Home for the Aged

Karma's gonna get ya, if you believe karma to be nothing more than the consequences of cause and effect. Endless cause and effect. On the largest of scales, great sweeps of galaxies, this is true - every action has an opposite and equal reaction. On the smallest scales, atoms give off or absorb energy in an endless cycle of redistribution. And it's also true on the human scale, in a person's very heart. Your actions, even your thoughts, will have consequences in one form or another. It is these consequences which will be your karma.

Such as, perhaps, losing a bet? Boobscarves!

I Think I'm Turning

See if you can identify all the characters here. You should be able to, with a bit of consideration.

So, maybe this is an obvious statement, but since reading Lord of the Rings I've noticed how many other stories seem heavily influenced by it. But then, it could easily be said LOTR is heavily influenced by other tales - Nordic mythology, of course, but also Greek and Roman. Perhaps all stories are influenced by all other stories, and this is our collective mythology - a notion nicely detailed by various Joseph Campbell works.

Three examples from Star Wars: Emperor = Sauron; Death Star = The Ring; Storm Troopers = Orcs.

I can defend these examples verbosely if you doubt me!

Bonus question: Who is this? 10 Nerd points if you get it correct.

Also too:

 

Art du Vader

The Prequels in many ways ruined the character of Darth Vader. Whereas before the Prequels there was an evil villain who still possessed a core of good, after the Prequels there's a whiny brat who just doesn't like being told what to do.

That said, like most things with the Prequels, the concept is good: The corruption of a Savior. The execution, OTOH, well, it was lacking. Alas!

Maybe someone else can remake the prequels in 2040 or so, after Lucas has become one with the Force. A good story never truly dies, nor is it ever owned by its author.

Indeed. If you hit the right mythological notes, your story will become common human currency. Who doesn't know all three characters in this painting, for example?

Jar Jar Binks Tongue Candy

Literally. I mean, yes, look at it - I believe you were supposed to suck Jar Jar's tongue for Forceful flavor. Or something. Maybe it was a flashlight? I have no idea where I got this photo. Feels like China though.

MC Jesus and The Force

What with the turning water to wine and the phat scratch skills, Jesus could really rock the party. No wonder he went viral. Some serious buzz in the cult scenes.

And thus the Chewie = Animal from the Muppets circle is complete.