Mythbusters

This has got to be the best show on cable right now. Discovery Channel, you did something right. Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage are the hosts of Mythbusters, and they have been joined by Kari Byron, Tory Belleci, Scottie Chapman, and Grant Imahara (Depending on the season). This cast test urban legends and myths and render a judgement on whether or not the myth is plausible or not. Now insert coolness, they test lots of sciency things and often blow stuff up.

The coolness of this show is hard to explain in words, but I'll try. They do stuff that every guy would think is awesome to do. Of course they preface each of their shows with a warning not to try anything at home, but you know people do. I prefer to live vicariously through these guys and just watch it on TV.

I gotta imagine that being Adam Savage is just like dressing up for Halloween when you were a kid, and Jamie acts like he's about a week away from telling Adam to get off his lawn. These guys made a guest appearance on CSI last year too. There's just some quality about these guys that exudes cool

Well that wraps it up for Science Week. As an added bit of fan service, I give you Kari Byron:

Bad Astronomy

One of my "Everyday Heroes" has got to be Phil Plait. The Bad Astronomer is one of the cewebrities that is just cool. I got turned onto his site when searching about a movie online and his review came up. I read through his review where he went on to elaborate on where the movie got the science right, and where it got it wrong. Needless to say, it was really enjoyable.

So I started searching his site and found his articles debunking the "polar shift" and defending the Moon landing. This was fortuitous as one of my friends had really become convinced of the "polar shift" after reading the mumbo-jumbo about it on the internet. I used the references on Plait's site to scare the bejeebers out of him. Had him convinced that his life was coming to an end in June 2004 if I remember right. Haha.

I liked the Moon landing article, and learned a bit about the physics of the Moon that I didn't know before I read it. Lots of stuff that you just take for granted on Earth, but just don't happen in an environment with no atmosphere. Definitely playing fan service to my nerd gene.

Plait's blog is now featured in Discover Magazine and it quite informative and entertaining. Here's the best part about the man. If he's wrong about something, he admits it! Amazing. It's just nice to actually see someone who isn't so bound by their ego that you know you can trust what they say, and if they are wrong, they are willing to be corrected. Honestly, I really admire this characteristic in Mr. Plait. Just wish everyone was as honest with themselves and their readers.

The Solar System

I am an astronomy geek. However, where a lot of these awesome people spend time at night stargazing, I'm not that kind of astronomy geek. Instead for me it's all about planets. Ever since I was a kid, I remember being fascinated with other planets. I'm sure some of it was because I was born a year before the Voyager launch, so on occasion I heard about what Voyager I & II were doing during my formative years. Clear pictures of the gas giants became available right at the time that my interest was peaked, and I've been hooked ever since.

The gas giants are beautiful, and really cool. The rock inner planets are total awesomeness; Mars is just totally cool. Venus and Mercury are wicked hot. It's cool just how often Mars shows up in 50's and 60's science fiction, and just how totally off base the writers were about it. The same thing goes for Venus too, but not as many writers were willing to give it a chance, but those who did pictured it as a steamy jungle. Steamy indeed.

Moons have been good source material too. Callisto and Titan have both been the focus of good books that I have read. I think I've even read a series that revolves around Amelthea (Look it up). But still, the recent planetary coolness has been about two things: Dwarf and Extrasolar Planets.

Extrasolar planets are cool, but since direct observation is still a long way away, this isn't as cool as it could be yet. Dwarf Planets on the other hand are really cool. Looking for Dwarf Planets is kinda a new frontier in astronomy. Newly discovered objects like Sedna, Quaoar, Varuna, Ixion and Orcus might soon join the new classification of Dwarf planets, like Eris, Pluto, Ceres, Makemake and Haumea. Makemake and Haumea were just added to the official list of Dwarf planets this year and there remains a little controversy dealing with the friction between the IAU (International Astronomers Union) and everyday people about what should be or shouldn't be a planet. Everybody feels sorry for Pluto though.

This picture today is an artists rendition of Eris and Dysnomia. I'm sure more observation will be forthcoming, and we will be hearing about new candidates and official additions that will make this an interesting subject for years to come.

Oh, BTW, kinda making this a Science Theme Week. Planning another theme week some time in the future, so you can look forward to it.

Weird Al

There's something about liking Weird Al that makes it feel like a guilty pleasure. He's arguably the biggest comedic musician that's out there or has ever been out there. Not only is he funny, but he can actually sing. Imagine that, a singer who is able to sing. That's just so counter-culture (cough Macy Gray).

Weird Al is primarily know for spoofing popular artists. Songs like Fat, Eat It, Amish Paradise, Another One Rides the Bus, White and Nerdy and a host of other parody songs have made fun of some serious artists songs. Incidentally, this has also proved that some serious artists may be just a little too serious about their material (cough Coolio, cough Eminem).

Here's the thing though, I think some of his original songs are actually the best. Perhaps my favorite is Good Old Days.
"Do you remember sweet Michelle, she was my high school romance,
She was fun to talk to and nice to smell, so I took her to the homecoming dance,
Then I tied her to a chair and I shaved off all her hair, and I left her in the desert all alone,
Well sometimes in my dreams, I can still hear the screams, oh I wonder if she ever made it home,"
Nice rhyme scheme BTW.

His movie was kinda funny too. It featured Michael Richards before he became a racist. The movie overall is just a bit better than alright, but some of the scenes are sheer comedy gold, so it's really one of those movies that you need to watch at least once, and should be on your own personal "gotta see guy movie list". Drinking from the fire hose and the Wheel of Fish spring to mind almost immediately. Oh yeah, and teaching poodles to fly on Raul's Wild Kingdom.

We don't need no stinking badgers!

Green Lantern

It's understandable that superhero fans are generally divided along the Marvel vs. DC lines when it comes to which style of superhero is their favorite. DC creates some of these archetype characters that stand out as paragons of virtue that reside somewhere above the rest of us. Marvel uses a different approach creating heroes that are have problems that real people have. In a way you could say that DC creates heroes that exemplify what the word hero has come to mean, and Marvel creates heroes that are you can relate to. That being said, I generally gravitate to Marvel for storylines that I can get into, but sometimes you need a hero that is just above everything else, so some of my favorite heroes are DC.

Now when it comes to DC Superheroes, there are three main characters that people think of: Superman, Batman and Wonderwoman. It's obvious that Superman gets top billing here, and that's OK. Superman is very cool. I'm definitely a Superman fan, and have become more of one in the last few years than I've ever been too, but at the same time, Superman also singlehandedly brought about the demise of comic book collecting with the fiasco that went on with the "Death of Superman" comic book. That was the moment that comic book collecting was no longer fun. Superman is still cool though, because it was really the heads of DC and comic book dealers that screwed everything over.

Now, alot of work has been done on the mythos of all three of these characters, but that doesn't mean that the same amount of work and dedication hasn't gone into another character, and in the case of Green Lantern, it has.

GL is absolutely my favorite superhero. Now for anyone who doens't know, I'm talking about Hal Jordan. Since there are more than one GL, this does become just a bit more complicated. John Stewart and Kyle Rayner are both cool, Guy Gardner is a douche, Alan Scott is alright and some of the alien GL's like Katma Tui and Kilowog are just down right cool. Still, there will just never be another person who personifies Green Lantern like Hal Jordan.

I've heard that the new GL movie just got it's final green light (no pun intended) and that there is actually a possibility of David Boreanaz being cast as Hal. That would be awesome, though honestly Boreanaz would make an awesome Sinestro too.

Back to the comic. The whole mythos of GL kinda stands alone in the fact that it's all about the ring, a scientific device and that the majority of the villains are alien, so you actually have to suspend your disbelief just a bit less than most other comics. The Guardians are kinda cool too, but the corps are what makes the series. There are thousands of GL's, or at least there were before Hal killed tons of them. Several of them show up in the comics and in the animated series too, so yeah!

Hal has also a couple other personas associated with him. Parralax and Spectre both come to mind. Kyle also becomes Ion, but he's been replaced by someone else. Let's just say that it's complicated and leave it at that.

The only thing I never understood is why Abin Sur crashed a spaceship, when no other GL really used a spaceship that I can remember.

Here's hoping for a great movie, and more quality stories about GL.

Pygmy Goats

Alright, I know that this one is kinda strange, but hear me out. I already stated that I'm definitely a pets person. I'm also someone who doesn't mind pets that aren't really all that cuddly. Point in case, the reptiles that I have already written about. I don't feel the need to snuggle with any of my snakes.

Goats do have the potential for the whole cuddly thing, I guess but still I'm not the kind of person to deny the nature of a pet. Goats are meant to be outside animals, and honestly they require large amounts of land to be honestly happy. They aren't meant to be housed indoors, though I've heard stories of exactly this happening. I'm cool with an animal that needs a pasture to be happy.

The truth my house is not set up for a goat right now, so that's why I don't have one. Eventually we plan to move out to a small farm, and it probably won't be long until I own a goat or two to help keep the lawns at bay. I mean seriously, the thought of just not having to mow is definitely nice. Some might get a sheep or two to do the job, but I'd rather stick with goats.

Why pygmy goats though? I'm sure some of this is just purely a matter of taste, but pygmies are hardly little beasts, and I'd be able to up my goat to acre ratio just a bit. As a matter of fact, it would only take maybe 5-7 acres to supply a small herd, and if the herd ever outgrew the pasture, you could always sell one of the goats off.

I guess the thought of having a farm, and not having to mow both fit together as goat in my mind. Don't try to get any deeper than that, and I think we'll all be just fine.

PBS

I like PBS. It's probably the only station that I really like. Since PBS is viewer supported, the shows are commercial free, and are surprisingly high brow. It's really a pleasant break from the normal viewing choices.

Some of the original programs are excellent. Antiques Roadshow, History's Detectives and Nova come to mind fairly quickly. Nature, Masterpiece Theather and some show about the cities classical composers lived in also come to mind. They also have great specials.

Here's what's cool. Since the emergence of DTV, I get 3 PBS stations. The first two are a simulcast about 1/2 of the time, and about 1/4 of the time, they are the same shows, but on a different day or at a different time. But it also means that we get about 1/4 new programming. Also, there's the Create station. Now I'm not really a cooking show fan, but I do like the travel shows, and the BBQ show makes me hungry every time I see it. How you can eat mint flavored barbeque sauce, I'll never know.

Finally, during the fund raising campaigns, the normal broadcast schedule gets prempted for a pledge drive that is full of specials. I listen to the Celtic Thunder concert every time it's on. The Celtic Woman concert is good too. There's also a bunch of crackpots that are either espousing a new form of philosophy or financial wisdom. Those are very humorous, though they are genuinely not intended to be.

So get into Public Broadcasting, you'll be glad you did.

Jacuzzi's

Who doesn't like jacuzzi's? Spa's are awesome. You know, I've got the sun room, and I think next fall, a jacuzzi is going to be one of my major purchases. Don't want one that's huge, just one that's big enough for two people to enjoy without any hassles.

Sitting back in a jacuzzi has got to be one of the most relaxing experiences that there is. Letting your muscles relax after a long day's work. The intimacy of just being with someone in a setting where you don't have to have a huge conversation. Cool nights and warm waters are definitely a joy.

I do wonder about one thing though. Jacuzzi water is maintained by adding the chemical bromine. Pool owners use chlorine for the same effect, but one of the bottles of bromine that I saw at the store said you shouldn't mix bromine and chlorine, as they can explode! But as I stood there in the pool aisle of my local Meijers, I thought what if was in a jacuzzi just before I got into a pool. Whenever I do that, my skin tingles. Is that mini explosions happening on my skin?

Hey, there's just not much more to say about them. Go take a dip if you get a chance.

The Pip 'n' Flinx Series

The first book I picked up in this series was Tar-Aiym Krang and I got it because the cover looked so campy. The artwork was 70's retro and was completely inviting. It was kinda like finding a completely authentic 50's style diner somewhere and you stop to eat, not because you expect great food, but because it is a unique experience to eat in a diner. Same thing here, or so I thought. I bought the book cause it looked uniquely campy, and thought it might be the same inside. What I found however was what turned into one of my favorite series.

The Humanx series is about a future where humanity has teamed up with the Thranx in order to colonize the galaxy. The Thranx are an insectiod race that is very different from humanity, but that holds some very similar beliefs and that makes them compatible. The Humanx element to the Pip 'n' Flinx books however are a bit downplayed. It's not the story, it's just there. The Humanx was so popular at one time, it precipitated it's own expansion book in GURPS (if you don't know, google it).

There's alot going on this this series, but pretty much Flinx is an adopted orphan who is trying to learn about his parents and finds himself in some pretty amazing situations. As is the case with alot of the books I mention, I dont' want to give away too much, as it can ruin a book for someone, but this whole series is worth picking up. Also to note, the books are separate enough that the fact that I read them out of order, as I found them at my local used book store didn't mean that I missed out on much. They do follow a chronology, but the separate books are good as stand alone novels too.

Captain Kirk

Nuff Said.

Disc Golf

Disc golf or frisbee golf is like, well I don't know what it's like but it's cool whatever it's like. There is one thing about disc golf that you need to be aware of if you are going to take it up; there are some people out there that take it way to seriously. I haven't done too much disc golfing yet, but already I've run into many of these people. If you run into a hardcore disc golfer you need to remember that this person has probably sacrificed to be as hardcore as they are. Sacrificed things like a social life, regular grooming and hygiene, the ability to use complete sentences, any sense of fashion, the list goes on and on. I mean the differences between hardcore surfers and hardcore disc golfers is pretty much that surfers are cool and women want to associate with them.

Moving on, the reasons that I like disc golf are that it's cheap, it's easy, and it's fun. I know that sounds like a formula for a great date, but hey, part of disc golf is that it's like regular golf's less high-maintenance sister. Sure you don't have quite the prestige of someone who spends three hours whacking a ball around a meadow with a rod trying to stick it in a hole wearing brown plaid knickerbockers, an argyle sweater vest, and a blue beret with a red poof on the top. I mean seriously, are we sportsmen or blind Bask separatists?

Disc golf is laid back. The wardrobe of choice is bound to include a t-shirt and comfortable shoes. I mean, who really thought of dress shoes with spikes on the bottom? Disc golf does not require special skills, "Excuse me my good man, your shot's got quite a hook there. You're gripping the shaft to tightly and remember to keep you eye on your ball." You just throw a freaking Frisbee in the general direction of the hole.

Whatever, just enjoy yourself playing a game without any of the annoying sexual euphemisms.

Oh, and as a special shout out to my one loyal reader, Hi Larry!

The Drizzt Do'Urden Series

Now I'm going to be honest and say that I haven't read all these books yet. Actually I've found myself having a kind of remorse when finishing a series and knowing that it won't be added to. As long as there is a book I haven't read, I kinda feel that a series isn't ever over which I guess is a form of denial. Hey, denial can be good in some cases.

Alright, not all of my friends have ever liked Dungeons & Dragons, and while as a role playing game experience it's not bad, as a setting or backdrop for a story, I think it's excellent. Also, it occurs in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting which is the most popular D&D campaign setting that there is. Some will argue that their favorite is another one, or that Greyhawk is the original Gary Gygax setting, but where other settings always seemed to be a generic fantasy setting, the Forgotten Realms setting was always a step above, almost a work of art.

Now, other stories have been written in this setting, and some are good, some are not, and a few are great. The Drizzt Do'Urden Series is a great story. Drizzt is a drow, a dark elf (which just about every other fantasy franchise has ripped off) and while the overall race of drow are evil, Drizzt stands out as good. During the early books, Drizzt pretty much stands alone as a good man, and all it really ends doing is getting him cast out of Drow society. The first books go over the time that Drizzt spent in Menzobaranzan, the Drow underground city. Eventually he leaves, comes to the surface, and is befriended by an old blind ranger, and that is where Drizzt's life starts to improve.

Eventually he moves to the north, and he gains his first really friends, Bruenor, Catti-brie, Regis and Wulfgar. There is a certain echo of AD&D in this story, but it only serves as a backdrop for a great writer, R. A. Salvatore. I've finished 11 of the books, I think, and what happens is that the story progresses through Drizzt's life it just keeps getting better and better. You really build a familiarity with the characters, and they start to come alive; high praise indeed for a writer.

There's enough of Drizzt's drow past that surfaces to add to the story without taking away from it. Life is also not totally a bed of roses, and tradegies happen to Drizzt and his friends. The story isn't a by the numbers formula, it's filled with diversity, anguish and joy in equal measure, and it isn't at all soap operaish. You can read the tenth book and it's not just the same story, or a rehashing of the same basic plot devices. The characters of this series are adventurers, and they go where adventure takes them.

I'd start this series at the beginning. It's not that you can't pick it up anywhere, you can, but the author doesn't re-invent the whole back story every book like some authors do, so in some of the later books it's just assumed that you know what's going on, and how the characters, both our heroes and the recurring villians, feel about it. There are several collections of these books that are bound together, and those might just be the way to pick these up for your personal collection.

Full Metal Panic

Normally anime follows some predictable formulas. The thing that this anime does well is that it combines two of them into one finished product. Full Metal Panic joins the Mecha genre with the Japanese high school genre, and actually does it pretty well. There have also been a couple of spin off animes that are also really good.

Actually, that's one of the things that I really like about anime, when it's over, it's over. The production teams for some of these stories sometimes stay on and make spin-offs, but the one thing that doesn't happen is a never ending progression of sequels that are just a pathetic attempt to cash in on a franchise. I'm not saying you don't run into sequels, you do, but when you do the same quality goes into them as it did in the original work. There's also something about the spin-offs that are just great. Some have the same characters, just in a different setting, or where a part of the story line has been changed. FUMOFFU is a great example of this, but more on that later.

I won't go into the whole story, but the general premise is that Chidori is a high school student that is being targeted by a mecha-using para-military group, AKA the bad guys, for kidnapping. Another mecha-using para-military group, AKA the good guys, have sent Sagura as an undercover student in the same school to protect her. Here's the thing, Sagura isn't 100% military, he's 1,000,000% military, and is always blowing stuff up or shooting stuff. This however is a great thing if you are a fan of things being blown up or getting shot. Sagura is a freaking nut.

Fumoffu is a spin off of this anime, but two things are different. The storyline centers on the high school and what happens to the students. The other change is a new type of mecha that is a bonta-kun (google it). It's kinda like finding out that the army's new armored division will all be dressing Big Bird. It's actually really funny, and not as stupid as it probably sound.

Sagura's peers in his military group are all a bunch of wack jobs and they play various parts in the whole story. Actually all the ancillary characters seem to slide in and out of the picture when necessary, although the action centers on Sagura and Chidori. Oh, did I mention that this is a romance comedy too? Track this one down and watch it.

Sluggy Freelance

Alright, I understand that not everyone has the time to read through 11 years of nifty comics, but if you do, this comic is worth sitting down to read.

The comic centers around several interesting characters each with years of development which can make it a little difficult to pick the story up anywhere other than at the beginning, or at least the beginning of a story arc. Torg, the main character, is also named after Torgo, the evil man-beast from Manos: The Hands of Fate. If you know MST3K well, you know Torgo. There are also reoccuring appearances from some other minor characters including Santa Claus, as well as a cast of supporting characters for just about every story arc.

There are several long story arcs, some of which span months and each of these arcs fit well into the overall story line, which pretty much rotate around Torg, Riff, Zoe & Gwen, the four main characters. They are all non-attached twenty-somethings to whom very strange things happen.

One of the best facets of this comic is the spoofing that it does. Some of the storylines are original, but most of them are outright spoofs. Some of the works that have been spoofed include: Harry Potter, World of Warcraft, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Star Trek.