Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 18, 2008 in Videogames
There’s something quite silly yet entertaining about the concept of kit bashing retro gaming favorite Mortal Kombat with the comic book characters from the DC Universe. In fact the idea of having the chance to see Batman tackle a ninja makes me happy as a fanboy — it feeds into that classic “what if X fought Y” argument that you overhear late night at every convention (admit it: you’ve always wanted to see the Enterprise take on a Death Star). In fact maybe this will inspire Hollywood to rediscover the idea of the old school schlock sequel where you take two hit films and put them together like Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 18, 2008 in Science
Defiantly not a place that you’d want to have a long term lease: Above is an artists illustration of a cosmic nightmare — two colliding galaxies each with a colossal black hole at the center. But what’s disturbing about this picture is that astronomers think that having a colossal black hole in the center of your galaxy is actually common place:
“Astronomers think that many – perhaps all – galaxies in the universe contain massive black holes at their centers. New observations with the Submillimeter Array now suggest that such colossal black holes were common even 12 billion years ago, when the universe was only 1.7 billion years old and galaxies were just beginning to form. The new conclusion comes from the discovery of two distant galaxies, both with black holes at their heart, which are involved in a spectacular collision.
4C60.07, the first of the galaxies to be discovered, came to astronomers’ attention because of its bright radio emission. This radio signal is one telltale sign of a quasar – a rapidly spinning black hole that is feeding on its home galaxy.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 17, 2008 in Japanese TV
AKBINGO! is an NTV variety show that just went on the air this October. In the show participants go through various game show stunts — however the twist is that in the second half of the show turns into a musical showcase of sorts. So far the show has featured musical acts like AKB48 and the Bad Boys. Here’s a recent episode from October 15th:
“Now you can get Emily the Strange in a bottle! Emily comic book publisher Dark Horse Comics has teamed up with Jones Soda Co. to launch a limited-edition line of Emily the Strange soda pops on www.myjones.com.
Dark Horse Comics is known for breaking tradition and bucking trends. It arranged the partnership with Jones Soda Co., part of Jones Limited, to provide comic and soda fans with a new way to enjoy some of Dark Horse’s most popular characters.
Six special-edition Emily art labels have been created for the sodas. And only 600 six-bottle packs of each of the six themes will be available, just in time for Halloween on October 14. These special-edition sodas, which come in Strawberry Lime, Pure Cane Cola, and Cream Soda, will only be available here. The other Dark Horse comic featured in the program will be Eric Powell’s The Goon, which will launch with the soda line.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 16, 2008 in Star Trek
I’m trying hard not to pre-judge the up and coming Star Trek film, but it’s hard knowing that Shat won’t be a part of it. But looking at the latest batch of stills that are “leaking” onto the net I’m not getting a good vibe. Shown above is a still image from UGO showing off the crew — maybe it’s the lighting or the costumes but they all look a bit too baby faced for me. There’s this next shot from MTV:
That set for the bridge looks a little too much like the cosmetics section of the drug store — this worked well on the old Space:1999 but here there’s no style holding it all together. Again the lighting is just a tad too bright, although the actors look a bit more animated. But I fear this film is committing the sin the Star Trek: TNG where the captain sits around all day and yammers — while what I loved about the original series was that Kirk wasn’t afraid to have a fist fight. But there’s some hope below in this next shot of Spock from AICN:
But this begs the question of why Spock is so hands on? However at least Spock seems to be doing something rather than enjoying a cup of earl gray while having a conference call with Star Fleet command on what he should be doing about the situation. This last shot from TrekMovie gives me the most hope:
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 16, 2008 in Science
Do you realize that Hubble has been in orbit since 1990? Hubble pre-dates Windows 95, Nirvana’s first hit and is older than Miley Cyrus! I just find the state of NASA depressing — and making matters worse the the final Presidential debate we get McCain yammering on YET AGAIN about funding a planetarium while his Vice Presidential pick thinks cavemen rode dinosaurs to work in the morning while picking up breakfast at Sonic. But I guess we have to be grateful that Hubble is less flakey than some of the powers that be:
“NASA is going ahead with a plan to restart the flow of science data from the Hubble Space Telescope by routing around circuitry that failed a little more than two weeks ago, officials said Tuesday. The unprecedented switchover is due to begin early Wednesday, and if all goes well, the telescope should be beaming imagery back down to Earth by Friday, said Art Whipple, manager of the Hubble Space Telescope Systems Management Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 15, 2008 in Star Wars
Warning: Adding too much cream to your morning cafe may weaken the dark side of your force while sipping from this crafty Star Wars mug which is available at Amazon:
“f you’re looking for a good time, might we suggest palling around with the Futurama Series 3 Bender Action Figure? Based on the robot from the recently revived animated series, this action figure stands for pornography, stealing, smoking, sleeping around, and hard drinking… truly, the cornerstones of life in the 21st century. This 6-inch tall plastic pal has oil, malt liquor, and a huge pile of money. If you can ask for anything more from a friend, we don’t know what it is!”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 15, 2008 in Comic Books
This is what fanboys put on their WonderBread in 1981! Looking at the branding of this product I guess they went with Superman because any superhero with an animal theme like Batman or Spiderman might bring up gross connotations if associated with food. By the way DC Comics was late to the peanut butter game — in 1954 Derby Foods marketed their Peter Pan Peanut Butter brand by being one of the sponsors of the Disneyland TV show:
“Fox 2000 has acquired rights to Joe Haldeman’s 1974 novel “The Forever War,” and Ridley Scott is planning to make it into his first science fiction film since he delivered back-to-back classics with “Blade Runner” and “Alien.” Scott intended to follow those films with “The Forever War,” but rights complications delayed his plans for more than two decades.
The film will be produced by Scott Free. Vince Gerardis and Ralph Vicinanza will exec produce. Their company, Created By, reps Haldeman and spent the last decade trying to get back the rights. “I first pursued ‘Forever War’ 25 years ago, and the book has only grown more timely and relevant since,” Scott told Daily Variety. “It’s a science-fiction epic, a bit of ‘The Odyssey’ by way of ‘Blade Runner,’ built upon a brilliant, disorienting premise.”
Book revolves around a soldier who battles an enemy in deep space for only a few months, only to return home to a planet he doesn’t recognize some 20 years later, Scott said.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 14, 2008 in Comic Books
As a visual artist I think one of the most scary things that I can imagine would be to go blind — so I’m feeling some what devastated because I read today that one of my favorite illustrators David Levine is suffering from macular degeneration. The artwork above is a 1972 caricature of Humphrey Bogart, but it doesn’t do David justice as a computer screen just doesn’t have the resolution to show off his amazingly deft draftsmanship. In fact the first time I was introduced to his work it was because my father gave me a book on him when I was a kid — and I was just blown away. It showed me that cartoons can be humorous but intelligent at the same time:
Levine in Winter For four decades, David Levine’s acid-tipped portraits of everyone from Castro to Cheney gave The New York Review of Books its visual punch. Now that the greatest caricaturist of the late 20th century is going blind, is he owed more than a fond farewell?
“Simultaneously, two more dramas were under way. One was on Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights, where Levine, now 81 years old, had long lived and worked. Gradually, his universe had grown darker and fuzzier. He could no longer see very clearly without strong light and magnification, or rely upon his hand: the lines that had always been his friends, the spare, crisp ones that defined someone’s shape, and the elaborate cross-hatchings that gave him soul, he could no longer control. His ophthalmologist had put it bluntly. “Mr. Levine, you don’t look your age,” he said. “But your eyes do.” His diagnosis: macular degeneration. Medications and injections didn’t help. Levine worked on, but laboriously. He abandoned pen and ink for pencil, which, as he puts it, “was more forgiving if I made a mistake.” But the results were plain enough. For the first time—except for those very few instances when it had been too tart for the publication’s taste—the Review rejected his work.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 14, 2008 in Science
If you’ve ever watched the 1973 Woody Allen film Sleeper which is set in the year 2173 you’ll recall the futuristic podcar. Well it now looks like the city of Ithaca, New York is now seriously thinking about bring the concept to life:
“With the oil crisis reaching a zenith and federal lawmakers ready to begin fashioning a new national transportation bill for 2010, Roberts and his colleagues think the future is now for podcars — electric, automated, lightweight vehicles that ride on their own network separate from other traffic.
Unlike mass transit, podcars carry two to 10 passengers, giving travelers the freedom and privacy of their own car while reducing the use of fossil fuels, reducing traffic congestion and freeing up space now monopolized by parking.
At stations located every block or every half-mile, depending on the need, a rider enters a destination on a computerized pad, and a car would take the person nonstop to the location. Stations would have slanted pull-in bays so that some cars could stop for passengers, while others could continue unimpeded on the main course.
“It works almost like an elevator, but horizontally,” said Roberts, adding podcar travel would be safer than automobile travel.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 14, 2008 in Science
It’s anyones guess if Gliese 581 supports life — and of course keep in mind that life might mean a bunch of amoebas rather than Mr. Spock — but this sort of news always get me excited:
“For the first time, astronomers have discovered a planet outside our solar system that is potentially habitable, with Earth-like temperatures, a find researchers described Tuesday as a big step in the search for “life in the universe.” It’s Earth-like because its temperature is close to ours, between 32 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit, reports CBS News correspondent Sandra Hughes. It has gravity and the potential for water.
Its sun, called a red dwarf, is colder and not as bright as our sun. Still, this discovery gives kids a reason to imagine life in outer space, adds Hughes. The planet is just the right size, might have water in liquid form, and in galactic terms is relatively nearby at 120 trillion miles away.
There’s still a lot that is unknown about the new planet, which could be deemed inhospitable to life once more is known about it. And it’s worth noting that scientists’ requirements for habitability count Mars in that category: a size relatively similar to Earth’s with temperatures that would permit liquid water. However, this is the first outside our solar system that meets those standards.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 14, 2008 in Science
I get very excited by the sheer number of planets that we keep discovering outside of our solar system, however the more we understand just what it takes to support life as we know it — to me it seems to be that the chances of finding alien civilizations decreases. Although on the bright side the universe is pretty damn huge and this research proves that we better take good care of our planet:
“Astronomers searching for rocky planets that could support life in other solar systems should look outside, as well as within, the so-called “habitable zone,” University of Arizona planetary scientists say.Planets too close to their stars are roasted. Planets too far from their stars are frozen. In between, research models show, there’s a habitable zone where planet temperatures approximate Earth’s. Any rocky planets in this just-right Goldilocks zone could be awash in liquid water, a requisite for life as we know it, theorists say.
New research by Brian Jackson, Rory Barnes and Richard Greenberg of UA’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory shows that tides can play a major role in heating terrestrial planets, creating hellish conditions on rocky alien worlds that otherwise might be livable. And just the other way, tidal heat can also create conditions favorable to life on planets that would otherwise be unlivable.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 14, 2008 in Science
In Star Trek the Enterprise always seems to be tripping over class M planets, but it might be possible to find small Earth like planets using a technique known as nulling interferometry and earth based observatories:
“The smallest rocky planet detected to date has around four times the mass of Earth. This planet, as well as most of the 300 exoplanets discovered to date, have been detected by the “wobble” or shift in the light spectrum of the star caused by the slight gravitational tug of the orbiting planet. Another planet-hunting method, called gravitational microlensing, takes advantage of the way the gravity of an exoplanet’s star bends and focuses the light from a more distant star like a lens. Small deviations in the light from the distant star indicate that a planet is orbiting the lensing star.
Nulling interferometry will surpass both of these strategies in the search for smaller, earth-like worlds that orbit their star at a distance — in the “habitable zone” — that could harbor life. The technique involves incredibly precise measurements of the position of a star, so that the minutest wobble caused by the gravity of an orbiting planet 100,000 times smaller can be detected.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 13, 2008 in Japanese TV
How can’t you love a talking doggie? It’s funny seeing these ads from Soft Bank in Japan for the iPhone because they’re so “un-Apple” — the one above is a general ad (with subtitles) and the one below shows off the games available on the iPhone:
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 13, 2008 in Comic Books
The warped circular reflection on this cover art is wonderfully cartoony, something that you don’t see often enough on comic book covers today. This illustration is by Matteo Scalera and Howard M. Shum for Hyperkinetic #3 published by Image Comics (which will go on sale on October 15th).
I love how minimal but playful the design is on these two packages for soft chewy candies. Even the very vertical aspect ratio of the box makes the design feel just a bit more classy. Out of the two I enjoyed the slightly creamy of the Meiji Caramel just a bit better than the Tokachi Azuki Caramel.
The web address for the purple package on the left (Tokachi Azuki Caramel): www.dounan.co.jp
Web address for the white/blue dots package on the right (Meiji Caramel): www.meiji.co.jp
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 12, 2008 in Animation
Children today are so spoiled — there’s not one but several channels full of kids shows on cable TV, and to top it off there’s an entire internet filled with tons of websites. But sadly 1979 was a dark age in children’s entertainment as seen in this above advert for Ice Capades: I frankly can’t think of anything more painful to do as a child than to watch some dufus dressed up as Jabber Jaw prance around on the ice. But oh wait if that hasn’t hade you want to play with your lint collection there’s more: We’ve got Yogi Bear, Fred Flintstone , Scooby Doo AND Dorothy Hamill.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 12, 2008 in Science
What excites me about this research is that most of the exoplanets we’ve been finding are huge in scale like Jupiter or Saturn. This modeling shows how we might be able to find planets that are the size of our Earth. This doesn’t mean that we’ll be discovering aliens next week (after all Mars and Venus are about the size of earth but don’t support life) but it will bring us a step closer:
“Supercomputer simulations of dusty disks around sunlike stars show that planets nearly as small as Mars can create patterns that future telescopes may be able to detect. The research points to a new avenue in the search for habitable planets.
“It may be a while before we can directly image earthlike planets around other stars but, before then, we’ll be able to detect the ornate and beautiful rings they carve in interplanetary dust,” says Christopher Stark, the study’s lead researcher at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Working with Marc Kuchner at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., Stark modeled how 25,000 dust particles responded to the presence of a single planet — ranging from the mass of Mars to five times Earth’s — orbiting a sunlike star. Using NASA’s Thunderhead supercomputer at Goddard, the scientists ran 120 different simulations that varied the size of the dust particles and the planet’s mass and orbital distance.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 11, 2008 in Science
To boldly go! As a child watching the moon landing I dreamed of when I would be an adult when humans would go on to conquer space — and at the dawn of the 21st Century we seem to be dealing with plumbing issues instead of reaching for the stars:
“The master bathroom for three astronauts aboard the International Space Station is on the fritz again just days before a trio of new spaceflyers are due to launch toward the orbiting lab, NASA officials said Friday.
A temporary telemetry glitch also sent the space station into a so-called survival mode earlier this morning, changing the outpost’s attitude and leading to system power downs for several hours. That issue was quickly tracked to an electronics box aboard the station, but the balky space toilet in the Russian Zvezda service module continues to plague astronauts and flight controllers.
“It failed late yesterday,” NASA spokesperson John Ira Petty said of the Russian-built space commode in televised commentary from Mission Control in Houston. “Russian specialists are troubleshooting. The problem appears to be a [gas] separator issue”.”
