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.

Dance now, for tomorrow you die

Neelix knew what was what. You could shake off this mortal coil in just a few moments, so dance while you can. Laugh while you can. Appreciate classic 90's sci-fi, if you can.

Special K

Know your Kryptonite! Sure, we all know about Green K, but did you know about Red K? Superboy sure does:

Also called "plot generation Kryptonite".  I mean the horrors of "Bearded Superman" should be obvious to all.

Speaking of horrors, check out the progressive nature of pre-destruction Krypton:

They were so alien they had "highly developed blacks".  That's some sci-fi shit right there man.

Super Mensch

Have you seen Man of Steel? I loved it, but then, I am a nerd. But never a Superman fan, previously. But I really enjoyed this new take, as it presented Superman in a way he should always be portrayed in my mind: As an alien. An alien that mankind should be both suspicious of, and thankful for.

A God among men. He can hear whispers across the planet. He can see through walls. He cannot be stopped by any weapon - this is the ultimate hero? The Boy Scout from Kansas? If a being liked this walked among us, today, how do you think the world react?

Sometimes though, the old ways are better:

Kal-El's a dick.

The American Way

Creepy, right? Another longstanding meme - the so called "Roman Salute" -  obliterated because of use by the NAZI's. Yes, good, honest American children used to recite their pledge of allegiance by raising the right arm and pointing it forward. Like Romans did for hundreds of years, and many other nations. Until the NAZI's. Thanks again, Hitler.

And with that, let us celebrate the 4th in one of the two acceptable manners:

Drinking! Fireworks of course to follow.

Other Monsters (Retro)

All our monsters and villains are "Others". All our enemies or threats are "Others". All fear of crime comes from fear of the "Others".  In the end we can only trust ourselves, but what if I told you that aye, verily, within your own mind lurk "Others".  What if I also told you that everything looks way cool in retro sci-fi pulp covers?

So yeah, "Others". What perhaps is more interesting is what we define as "Not Other". Who is in our Tribe and thus one of us, not one of them? Who walks in the Light and not in the Dark?

Mexican Wrestling Vader might appear to be a bad guy, but he's just waiting for his reverse heel turn. The Flip-Rudo.

I Pledge

For true, I am a citizen of the Planet Blue, Earth, and all life upon it. From the lowliest worm to highest falcon soaring in mountain crevasses, and all the heights and lives in between, we are all brother and sister in life. So rare in this cosmos of stars scattered light years apart, rejoice! We are alive - a privilege rarer than the rarest rarity that you could imagine. To be alive amidst this infinity! What an awesome opportunity! And here we are, Earthlings, alive on this planet. If we could all step together,  t'would be a paradise overnight. Till then - FSM help us.

I've longed believe the ONLY thing that will bring humanity together is an alien invasion. An external enemy would be just the trick to get humanity to stick together through thick and thin. Despite the loss of life. Otherwise, it will always be small gangs of douche bags ruining it for everyone else. No matter the disaster - nuclear war, asteroid, earthquake, tsunami, etc - douche bags will rule the ruins. Unless you fight back. Will you fight back against the douche bags of the future? Say it with me:

I Pledge allegiance...

A Right Turn in Yorba Linda

Briefly, the decline of America began under Nixon, and accelerated because of Nixon's descendents. From here on till today, each new iteration of the Republican Party gets worse. More evil. Nixon was the beginning, for who didn't like Ike?

Nixon had to resign! He was terrible, and yet his martyrdom at the hands of LIBERAL MEDIA has been the rallying cause for generations of "Conservatives" since, with many of the key players involved in all the acts to come. Dick Cheney, for instance. Roger Ailes, for another. However, America of the 1970's still had some sense left in her, and so rejected Ronnie for Jimmie Carter and sweaters and solar panels on the White House.

Yay Jimmy Carter! But alas, for Jimmy, and us all, the monster had been woken, and took power in part because of a total rat bastard deal with the Iranian Mullahs. Hail Saint Ronnie!

Thanks to relentless right wing propaganda, you may remember Ronnie as a kind hearted, awesome President who saved the world from evil. However, the truth was, and is, he was a puppet for far darker forces which effectively ruled in his stead once he began suffering from severe dementia circa 1985. It was this so called Reagan Revolution that loosed the Wing Nut Id on America and the world, and think of the damage this has caused - and will cause in the years to come. Millions of dead Middle Easterners, just for starters. Millions of Americans in prison. Plenty of straight up treason too in the Reagan Administration, ably covered up by:

Bush Senior, and for that he'll be remembered poorly. But alas, in retrospect, compared to the utter loons now dominating the Republican landscape, Bush the Elder was a moderate, sane man who I do believe genuinely wanted to do good by the country and the world. For example, I think he handled the fall of the USSR smoothly - a situation that was extremely dangerous. But being a moderate elite technocrat was also now dangerous in the Republican Party, so Bush Sr lost to Bill Clinton

A fine President in many respects, yet because of his human failings, and the explosion of the First Wingularity, he played defense for most of his two terms, which translated to enacting highly pro-corporate policies, which led directly to the economic collapse of 2008, and now have placed America firmly in the grip of ruthless tycoons who will bleed this country dry for their own betterment. So, mixed bag really with Slick Willie. He was perhaps the funnest President though, by far.

And you know all about W., I hope, by now. And so here we are in 2013, with the fires of mass insanity burning brightly in about 27 - 40% of the population, and we have the best President of my lifetime trying to control them. Good luck Barack, you'll need it!

The coolest President.

Bonus Nixon pic:

Gifts for the Gastro Nerd

Nerds love pizza - it's a scientific fact. And what better way to cut a pie than with the USS Enterprise? Beautiful and functional!

Studies have shown using the USS Enterprise baby spoon increases feeding efficiency by 57%, which makes it the only logical gift! The bib is made of futuristic teFlonia Repell_All, and features a sweet drawing of a Klingon ship approaching a Federation space station. Exciting! And awesome.

What Hipster nerd wouldn't want to "cook like Neelix"? Imagine the stories you'll have gathering the different ingredients?! Kazlockian Rock Larvae from the Planet V'Argas 6? Can you out spacespice your friends? Buy now, and find out!

"History"

Cool hair, right? I can't be bothered to look up his name, but he's one of the "experts" from the "History" Channel show "Ancient Aliens", which, of course, is a farce. But at least it has some relevance to history! As we learn aliens did everything cool in the past. Pyramids. Stonehenge. Mayan Temples. Hell, even the damn Ziggurats were Alien made. Humans suck, apparently.

Here's my old man yells at a cloud rant:

Once there was a time when the "History" Channel showed actual historical shows at all hours of the day, except for infomercial time. And lo! There once was a day when the Discovery Channel was chock a block with nature/science/history shows, rather than "NORTH COUNTRY JUSTICE". The SciFi Channel showed science fiction shows, of all things. Today, there's wrestling. The Learning Channel (TLC) showed awesome shows like "Connections" and other educational programming. Now it's all weird medical conditions and trashy people doing trashy things.

And yes, the MTV showed music videos.

Here's the "History" Channel lineup for this Friday night:

7 PM Pawn Stars
8 Pawn Stars
9 American Pickers
10 American Pickers
11 American Pickers

My point? Everything's going to LCD. For good or ill I leave to your judgement.

PS: I've been using """ marks in the sarcastic sense. ktxb

Guramba deficiency

Admit it: You are lacking in Guramba, and secretly wish it were not so. But have good cheer, citizen, there's a pill for this sad condition. Gurambasol! For when you don't have it, and need it.

Alternate Dimension OIan Mills

Olan Mills is a Prophet, don't ya know? He foresaw the double image silhouette, which is beyond time, place, dimension. Even weird ass centaurs in Crystal World know the shot. Eternal and infinite. Bless you, Olan Mills.

Live Long and Prosper

Perhaps the coolest Presidential celebrity pic ever? I'd argue yes, and indeed I am ranking it over Nixon and Elvis, which is undeniably awesome. But then, I'm a nerd and no big fan of any King, except Martin Luther.

Live long and prosper. From Star Trek, but the origin is the Hebrew and Arabic "Peace be upon you". It's a noble sentiment, for who would not wish that for themselves and those they love, their friends and the people they admire? Why not for everyone? For are we not all people, with hopes, fears, dreams for the future? Do we not all wish for children and families healthy and happy, safe in hearth and home?

I don't think we all do. A minority, to be sure, but vocal and disruptive enough to unsettle the majority. A shame. For as pictured above, President Obama truly wishes for long life and prosperity for not only all Americans, but everyone in this world. And, being the Nerd in Chief, I have no doubt Barack would wish good tidings on any alien out there in the wide, wide Universe. And why not? All life wishes for prosperity for themselves and their children. It's the basis of Compassion, yes?


Education is one way we can lift the overall majority of humanity out of base, savage fear. As such, reading is fundamental:

A Presidential reading of "Where the Wild Things Are". I think the Obama family is just about the most perfect First Family America could have - wholesome and good and setting all the right examples. I love them. I'd think you don't even have to agree with the President's policies and still think they are a great family and true role models.

And yet, out there raging, are 27% of the population who just HATES them. For no good reason other than blind tribal allegiance. If we are to progress to our full potential, we will have to continue finding ways to marginalize people who blindly hate. Education Summer Camps have a nice ring...

I Pity the Phone

Think of it! Before iPhones, smartphones, mobile phones, phones, telegraphs, etc, to send a message to someone far away involved either: Someone physically delivering that message, or some cool smoke signal system. Say you wanted to reach someone 100 miles distant - several days journey by horse, many more by foot.

This was the range of our connection for hundreds of thousands of years, until electricity, until Marconi (he played the mambas). And then suddenly, anyone in the world, almost everywhere, is reachable at a moment's instance. The world is shrunk. Physical distance no longer matters as much.

Soon enough video calling will be the norm and the networks will cover every inch of land, sea, air, and space, and there will be no where you are not instantly connected to someone else. No escape. And our change will continue apace.

Alien Jesus N'gath'luxt for your Hlex'gnath

If we're lucky (unlucky) enough to discover advanced alien life, I wonder how christianity, and all religions, would take it? I can imagine there would quickly develop a myth that Jesus did indeed appear to the aliens - in their form - to save them from their own fall in the Garden of Nr'ex'lux-nagath. And then was crucified upon an alien cross on an alien Golgotha. Indeed, re-write the bible in alien terms and you've got your ends tied up, and are free to keep on Believin'. The discovery of alien life - even microbes - will do nothing to shake most people of their religion, as this belief is mostly immune to facts in the first place. Hence the word "belief".

At least - hopefully! - we'll get some good art of it. Though I've not seen much good religious art these days, or for the last 200 years or so. Seems as if the Muse has left it behind. Good for Her!

Klingon Smorgasbord

Klingon is not just an unrealistic alien species, but also a language. A real language, with grammar rules and gerunds and all that shit. "Tah Pagh Tahbe'" translates to "To Be or Not To Be". Oh look, Shakespeare in the original Klingon:

An actual production of Hamlet, in Klingon. Odd, is it not? Consider the utter luxury of it! That we (as a species, as a society) have such spare time as to learn a real language from a fictional universe and make a play of it. Or performance art:

It's decadent, really. And completely wonderful. This is how a species advances - by exploring all kinds of weird shit. Who knows what will turn up? Or who will be inspired by what. For example:

Imagine ballin' down Main Street in this Bird of Prey! You'd get pulled over and hassled eventually, for sure, but even then, it'd be pretty sweet. I'd just start cold blastin' everything in my path, Klingon style.

Klingon style. Kahless bless them.

Game Over Man (Ugly Kids)

The Flatface kids lose again at imitation brand Missile Command. I always found the game deeply disturbing, for, no matter how hard you tried, you inevitably lost, and your city was destroyed. Your pixelated families, dead. Your digital dog, vaporized. Everything, over. Game over, man. But in real life, you don't get to play another quarter. Man.

Hudson: That's it man, game over man, game over! What the fuck are we gonna do now? What are we gonna do?
Burke: Maybe we could build a fire, sing a couple of songs, huh? Why don't we try that? 

An apt summary of current events.

Profiles in Manhood

Ah, men (human and alien). The cause of, what? 98% of the world's problems? All the wars, by far - by far - most of the crime, the violence and murder, the wanton cruelty of the powerful over the powerless. Men - if you had to exclusively and effectively profile one group, skip the Arabs or Russians or Chinese; profile every man - we're the cause of all the trouble!

For example, alcohol, and foolish behavior. Men excel at this, imbibing both with gusto. For example, chugging. Here's an oldy but always a goody:

A wonderful piece of art - please note the very partly consumed shrimp flying through the air. You put that much liquid into a semi-permeable container and at some point - quickly! - it's gotta come out.

Freudian Field Day, Chicago, 1983

I presume the Patriarchy was only fully established with the first cities, which by necessity required power structures to operate, and these were all run by men. From there, success leads to success, power leads to more power, and 1000's of generations have lived a massive dichotomy: Men run everything, and are the cause of all humanity's problems. Maybe it's time for something new?

Let's go Matriarchy! Women would do a better job of running everything, since they've got more in the game. Sure, perhaps over time, women with power would turn into bloodthirsty monsters bent on crushing all their enemies. But perhaps they would not! And that's better odds than with men, with whom we've had an ample sample size.

But alas! Divide and conquer does indeed prove ruthlessly effective, and all it takes to keep women from rightfully taking over is a small percentage of turncoats, or, in this case, women drinking alcohol, acting the fool.

Rock n' roll!

The Passion of The Sisko

Take your time. There's lots to absorb.

Have you watched Star Trek:Deep Space Nine? I know of many Trekkies who have not - and I did not, at first, when it originally aired, thinking it a crass knockoff by assumption alone (I was, and am, a Fool). But lo, was I wrong. Verily. I watched the entire show greedily in 2001 and was blown away. I've never watched it since, and am a bit afraid to do so, actually, since I'm fairly certain it won't live up to my memories of it, and thus, another totem, fallen. I've only got a few left, so I've started to cherish them.

For instance:

Nah. I've got no point here. I just wanted to post this wicked cool drawing. Art!

I have no idea who either artist is, but I am confident the same person did not draw both of these. So, to the 2 folks out there in this beautiful, terrible world, thanks! You rock. These are awesome.

Especially of The Sisko, hallowed be the Prophets (Wormhole Aliens).

Also too: Wolf 359 Never Forget