Monthly Archives: October 2013

by | October 3, 2013 · 4:41 pm

Guest Post | An Open Letter to the Executives at DC Comics

Dear Executives at DC Comics,

The second anniversary of your New 52 lineup has recently passed, and Therefore I Geek’s articles on the DC universe and the big merge of all your storylines got me thinking.  I thought of all the comics I have read over the years and all the stories that are told, and I find that these books are good enough on their own. Just because it’s nice from time to time when Batman teams up with Superman or Green Arrow, doesn’t mean the DC universe needs to recognize that particular storyline as part of the timeline.  Unless all the comics stem from the same original concept, I’m not a fan of merging comic universes anyway.

Take Batman for instance.  Awesome! Yes, indeed, you’ve struck gold when it comes to the storylines, lore, and one hell of a line-up of villains.  Now, insert Superman so that he comes to fight Bane.  What?  No.  That’s ridiculous.  How about Wonder Woman to help take out the Joker?  No way.  Does Bruce Wayne even believe in Greek mythology enough to warrant help from the daughter of a goddess?  It just doesn’t make any sense.  You know what, DC?  It doesn’t have to!  Superman is perfectly capable of being understood and enjoyed without The Flash coming in to…do what?  Save the day?  Please spare me.

A brand like DC should not feel obligated to merge all the characters it has ever released into a universe that somehow must make sense just in case they want to do a crossover or a team-up.  Just make the story, make it good, and don’t worry so much about it.

You need a structure to follow?  Have a core book for a character.  Whatever happens in that book is part of the lore of that character.  Any other books are fair game for writers and artists to explore different ideas and flesh out any funky powers, gadgets, and team-ups.  There is even a name for this phenomenon.  It is called a mini-series.  Injustice was a great creation to serve this purpose.  Turning it into a video game that puts all the DC characters together for fights we would never normally see was even better!

Every time I see Wonder Woman’s Amazonian warriors crack a spear over Doomsday’s chest in the game, am I to believe that the beast that killed the unkillable Superman is supposed to be hurt by a wooden stick?  Not in the slightest, but it works because it’s scratching an itch that makes us ask What If…? Which, coincidentally, was a great comic put out by Marvel built on just this concept.  We are exposed to these “what if” scenarios all the time in movies.  How many times have films rebooted a comic character?  How many actors have played Batman?  I rest my case.

I understand that you are trying to compete with Marvel for sales and crossovers and team-ups help sell books.  Marvel has done a wonderful job of making all of its heroes and villains mutants of some sort, who aren’t uber powerful on their own.  Their most popular books are based on teams, not individuals.  This allows for an easier suspension of belief when it comes to characters sharing story arcs.

I guess all I’m saying is:  quit trying so hard to make pieces fit where they don’t.  If there are characters that just don’t have a world in common, there should be no obligation to make that happen.  Cut it out, DC.  We love you and the characters you’ve come up with over the years.  I don’t need to see supernatural characters fighting with more human ones.  Oh, and I don’t need to see a Superman/Batman film to this effect either.  I’d much rather have a fourth Dark Knight movie with Heath Ledger as the Joker.  Now THAT would be an impressive alternate universe.

Sincerely,

Cheefbast

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by | October 2, 2013 · 4:41 pm

Winning Science October 2, 2013

Although not all of us are feeling the pain of the current government shutdown, the folks at NASA sure are. With 97% of NASA employees furloughed, a continued shutdown may impact NASA’s next unmanned mission to Mars. The longer the shutdown runs, the more it will eat into the narrow launch window for MAVEN. If MAVEN is unable to launch in its current window, it will have to wait two years for the next one, and even then the probe will be operating at a reduced capacity due to solar activity.

blogs.smithsonianmag.com

I’d like to know where exactly one stores a Mars probe and rocket. Why do I feel that its going to be sitting in some dude’s garage for two years?

Since last year the FDA has a new, accelerated drug approval process. The “breakthrough therapy” designation is meant for drugs which treat serious or life threatening illnesses, like cancer. Drug companies have embraced the new process, filing almost one hundred applications, half of which have been denied. While that doesn’t sound good, it makes me feel reassured that the FDA is not rushing every drug that applies, and that they’re making some actual evaluations.

www.nbcnews.com

This is not the correct use for the “breakthrough therapy” process. Don’t even think about it.

I’m also glad they’re only allowing drugs for serious conditions to to be considered. Its not like we need a rush approval for a new version of Viagra.

Finally, the New York Times has an amusing video out about why Taco Bell’s Doritos Tacos sell so well. This may not seem like science, but in fact there is tons of science behind this. These tacos appeal to us on several different levels and are designed to make you physically enjoy them and then want more.

http://www.tacobell.com/food/tacos/Cool_Ranch_Doritos_Locos_Tacos_Supreme

Om Nom Nom Nom!

I may or may not now have a case of the munchies.

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by | October 1, 2013 · 4:54 pm

Editorial | My Favorite Movie Theater Snacks

I was nineteen years old before I first stepped into a movie theater… yes, that’s correct.  As a child, I was uninitiated into the world of movie theater concession foods.  Some may argue that this was a travesty, and that my life must have been sad and forlorn.  I would argue that this makes me a perfectly (ok, maybe not perfectly) objective reviewer of the types of snacks available at your local Regal® or Cinemark®.

Unlimited refills at the opportunity cost of understanding the twist in the plot.

First up, the perpetual favorite, popcorn.  Popcorn used to be a fantastical, buttery, salty delight, but these days it is actually popped in either coconut or canola oil to make it healthier.  Healthier it may be, but it is far less tasty.  Also, I’m pretty sure that butter flavored stuff in the little pump at the counter that you can add to the popcorn has no actual relation to real cream.  On a positive note, the purchase of a large bucket at Regal® guarantees unlimited refills, if you’re the kind of person who is ok with quietly slipping out in the middle of a movie and missing ten or fifteen minutes.

Next is soda… or pop… or cola… or coke… depending on your local dialect.  My biggest beef with soda at the concession counter is that movie theaters only serve one brand or the other.  You cannot get Dr Pepper in a Pepsi theater, and you cannot get Mountain Dew in a Coca-Cola theater.  It is sad.  Also, for whatever reason, the concession attendants always put way too much ice in the drink—even when I ask for little ice.  Fountain drinks are slightly weaker than bottled drinks anyway, and this means that the last third of the cup will basically be water that is slightly flavored with the previous beverage.  Also, I feel the desperate need to drink the whole thing, which means that I always need an intermission, but I am also stubborn and refuse to miss any of the movie, which causes a… dilemma.

These are one of the few boxed candies that don’t also have a bag inside the box, so the chance of annoying other movie goers is minimized.

This brings me to Mike & Ikes.  I love Mike & Ikes and their sibling, Hot Tamales.  The benefit to these candies is written in large letters right on the front of the box: ZERO TRANS FATS.  Of course, this is probably negated by the large soda that will be making me dance in my seat in about eighty seven minutes.

I also love Sour Skittles.  In my head, the story of Sour Skittles’ creation goes like this:  Skittles guys had just made the weird tasting Skittles in the purple bag, and they got together for a conference.  They all congratulated each other that they had gotten all the people who love regular Skittles to buy the weird tasting Skittles, because they thought they would love them, and suddenly one of the guys bursts into tears and says, “My Skittles brethren, I love sour things, and we have not made anything that is sour, and now I am sad.” So obviously, all the other Skittles guys pat him on the back and console him and one of them says, “You know what we need to make??  Sour Skittles!!!” And so, just a decade or so after the purple bag Skittles, we have Sour Skittles.  I do love sour things, so I always get sucked into buying these things.  Unfortunately, I still have that afore mentioned desperate need to finish it off, so by the time my tongue is protesting the sour sugary coating, there are still seven or eight Skittles in the bottom of the bag and I always eat them.  By this point the skin on my tongue feels like it is peeling and shriveling all at once, but there is still a little pile of sour sugar in the bottom of the bag that I must eat.  It is painful, but it is a beautiful pain.

Last, but not least, some theaters serve pizza.  This is a huge predicament for me, because I adore pizza in all of its forms.  I feel unfulfilled if I have not at least tried any item that boasts pizza flavoring.  Inevitably, I give in to this craving, only to discover that the pizza is always a circular piece of cardboard coated in tomato sauce, with several shavings of cheese and sometimes even a pepperoni or two.  Usually, I am forced to show my disappointment by slurping loudly at the last remaining drops of flavored water at the bottom of my giant drink.

This is NOT what your pizza will actually look like.

What movie foods do YOU love?  Got an alternative to this list?  Let me know in the comments.

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