Ever wonder what’s really going on at the center of the galaxy? Later this month, scientists who ponder that exact question are getting a real treat. A cloud of gas roughly three times the size of earth appears to be on a direct course for the incredibly massive, black hole that resides at the center of our galaxy. Telescopes across the globe are being trained on the phenomenon in order to gather as much data as possible. No one is quite sure what is going to happen, but everyone agrees it will be worthy of study.
I am 99.99% certain this is NOT what they’re going to find.
Since the center of the galaxy is 26,000 light years away, all of this actually took place 26,000 years ago.
While we all live on this planet, it is easy to forget how little humanity actually knows about the make up of our home. Within a brown diamond found in Brazil, experts have found small amounts of ringwoodite, a substance that is only formed under extreme pressures and has previously never been found naturally on Earth. The ringwoodite is thought to have been formed in the transition layer between the upper and lower mantle where there appears to be considerable amounts of water present. It’s even possible that the amount of water in the mantle is equal to the amount in all the world’s oceans.
I actually find it quite pretty.
The article refers to the brown diamond as “worthless.” I have a hard time comprehending diamond and worthless in the same sentence.
There are many things that separate man from animal, but possibly the most profound is our curiosity–our desire to learn more. That’s the topic of “The Editor’s Letter” in the April issue of Popular Science. Humans, more than most creatures, are capable of deriving a physical high from the act of learning. We are built in a manner that encourages curiosity and learning, much to the benefit of our race.
Einstein described himself as having no special talents, only passionate curiosity.
It doesn’t even matter what you’re learning about, the physical reaction is the same, though the topics of interest obviously vary from person to person.
In the inaugural episode of Random Thought Generator, Therefore I Geek’s Andrew and Tracy (that’s us!) discuss those comic books and strips that have influenced them. Starting from our earliest memories and moving on to more recent discoveries, we cover a wide variety of titles.
I remember the very first “behind the scenes” special feature I ever watched. It was a video of Andy Serkis wearing a motion capture suit in a warehouse, acting out the part of Gollum. At the time we had a 54K dialup modem, and since each of us kids were only allowed an hour of internet per day, we would all sacrifice our internet time to wait for the whole video to download so we could watch it all the way from the beginning. I was fifteen years old, and that was the Golden Age of the special feature.
Hard to believe this method of motion capture is almost obsolete already.
These days, special features are going the way of the Dodo. I would mourn them, but to be honest, I cannot remember the last time I bothered to watch the DVD special features. I think that this progression has been mostly organic, based on technological advances, but I also think that movie buffs are experiencing special feature fatigue.
The birth of the DVD suddenly provided extra space for producers and especially directors to show off all of the things that they do to create the amazing movies that their fans love. At first, we were incredibly grateful! Suddenly we fans felt as though we were right on set. We learned about all the things that go into making one minute of Star Wars. Then we watched as Mark Hamill got better and better at light saber choreography.
Later on, my siblings and I squirmed in anticipation as we waited for the special features from the official Lord of the Rings website to download. (One of my favorite videos was the one entitled “Bringing Gollum to Life.”)
Another movie with great special features was Pixar’s The Incredibles. We watched the voice actors talk into microphones (titillating stuff) and learned how Brad Bird, the director, became the official voice of Edna Mold. I don’t know about other fans, but we watched these short videos over and over until we had almost memorized them as much as we memorized the movie from which they came.
In the early days, few DVDs came with very many special features. A few had the music video to the credit song, and occasionally a blooper reel. Before too long, however, every DVD had a host of special features, including the ever popular actor/director commentary—the entire movie, but being talked over by cast or crew member describing funny stories or explaining the technical reasons behind certain screen decisions. DVDs were released in expensive two- and four-disc sets to have room for all the extras. Even TV series were including commentaries on the DVD releases of each season. Brian Collins of Badass Digest said it well:
“[G]uys actually had to dig out these elements and put them into the movie, not to mention create the other original content on the disc. It probably cost almost as much to put together this DVD (including the remastering, rights acquisition, man hours spent digging up the materials, etc) as it did to make the movie in the first place.”
Since then, technology and the free market system has changed a lot about the way that fans watch movies. Rental versions of DVD’s—once the full movie and all its features from a Blockbuster shelf—are now single discs in a paper sleeve. Distributors wanted to encourage movie renters to purchase DVDs, so they stopped including all the special features on rental discs. Now, many people get their movie fix by streaming videos or downloading digital versions, which come with even fewer features. As time goes on, already fatigued viewers have gotten out of the habit of watching them.
That’s right, kids. DVDs used to come in sets like this.
I personally do not mourn the slow death of movie special effects for the most part. Soon after The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe came out on DVD, I sat down to watch the actor commentary. It didn’t take long for me to be weary of the banal stories of actors in massive costumes tripping over their hooves, and of Georgie Henley’s (Lucy Pevensie) surprise on her first moment in the wintery world of Narnia. While I thought of the older Director’s Cut DVD sets as something like film school at home, I also find myself experiencing special feature fatigue.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I found a video describing exactly how Peter Jackson got the runes on the doors of Khazad-Dum to glow.
Today we’ve got a Titan Comics double feature, Chronos Commandos and Monster Massacre Vol. 2. Now before I jump into these reviews, I would like to take a moment and say that all other considerations aside, Titan Comics puts together some damn fine looking books. They’re beautifully printed on high quality paper, typically in hardcover, and they make an addition to a comic collection that any geek would be proud to display.
Chronos Commandos
Chronos Commandosis a pulp adventure about World War II commandos who travel through time to fight Nazis. Writing and art duties are deftly performed by Stuart Jennett. Jennett states in the introduction that he wants this book to feel like a combination of old pulp novels and WWII films/serials mixed in with childhood memories of playing with action figures and I’d say he hits pretty close to that mark. I had some instant flashback to playing in the sandbox with the older neighbor kids, a battle raging between whatever figures we could get a hold of, be they G.I. Joes, Transformers or dinosaurs.
Jennett has a great, painted art style.
The story centers on Sarge, a stereotypical grizzled Army sergeant who leads a group of Chronos Commandos back to the Cretaceous period looking for Nazis who are trying to change the past to benefit their future. There is a lot of playing with time, jumping back and forth in the past and present, sometimes with multiple copies of characters overlapping. I found it particular amusing to have two of one of the characters in one place.
The plot is solid, though not particularly scientific. Jennett’s art is a painted style, which is not what I would have expected from a book like this, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was particularly impressed with the changes in color palette and the various textures that Jennett used. My only real complaint comes from the dialogue. At times it was overly campy and cliched and I feel that the story could have benefitted from a little more originality. The Nazi dialogue was also tough. This was mainly because of the spelling, which was adjusted to give the impression of a German accent. If WWII stories, time travel, and/or dinosaurs are your thing, then I’d recommend you pick up Chronos Commandos for some light reading enjoyment. 3.5 Death Stars.
Monster Massacre Vol. 2
Now this is my kind of book! Monster Massacre Vol. 2 is an anthology of monster comics and pinup art that highlights the talents of Imaginary Friends Studios and STELLAR Labs. Some of you may recall a few months back when I talked about wanting to read more anthology books–well this is the exact type of book I was looking for. All of the comics are fifteen pages or fewer and they are broken up by some fantastic pinup art.
Pin up art from the first story “Carpe DIEm”.
It is important to note that this is not a book for children as there is some adult themes and quite a bit of nudity. That being said, there is something in this anthology for everyone else. The stories themselves run the gambit from short story to just snippets from character’s lives. Some are serious, but there are several that are quite humorous. My favorite story, “Hell-O-Kitty,” was funny, action filled, and even poignant.
The art is as varied as the stories. While a good portion of it looks like it should be in Heavy Metal (including one previous Heavy Metal cover) there are also some that look like work from more traditional comics as well as some manga inspired pieces. There is something in this book to satisfy the tastes of just about any comic reader. Even if anthologies are not your normal cup of tea, I’d still highly recommend you check this one out. With so much packed into it, there is bound to be something piques your interest. Monster Massacre Vol. 2 comes out this Tuesday, March 18. 4.5 Death Stars.
Therefore I Geek 