All that being said an email came in this week that I have to share, with the authors’ permission. Yes, authors, plural.
Hi Bill:
Jen and I have been fans of yours for a few years now. We first heard one of your Valentine’s shows and have been hooked ever since. You have a fun, yet unusual, look on life. Last year she and I came out to our, Tea Party loving, parents. Suffice it to say things have been stressful. That’s not your fault, you seem very LGBT friendly, but I am hoping you can help us a little.
You recently have posted several blogs about how the human race is going to die in short order. Unfortunately you write well so Jen and I had nightmares for days. It probably has to do with all the stress because we know you’ve tackled stuff like this before and it scared us but not like this. Can you mark your columns with a rating or somehow note that they won’t send us screaming from the room?
Thanks.
Your fans,
Cathy & Jen
Since they clearly read this blog, and I was nice enough to ask before I did anything, I’ll put the answer here.
Dear Ladies:
The short answer is no. Because this blog gets translated all over the world a ratings system would do more to confuse than clarify. That said, others have hinted that they wouldn’t mind a radio specific blog and that I can do. Just look for posts with the word “radio” in the title from now on and you should be good to go.
As to the rest, live, love, laugh. Those who wish to join you will make your life better by their presence and those that don’t will enrich your world with their absence. My best to you both.
Send vodka,
Bill
So, with that caveat in mind I figured I’d mix things up today so everyone could play along without fear of ending up in therapy. We’ll start with something that will tie this all together nicely.
I happened to be out with some friends when the Supergirl commercial came on CBS. Three of the ladies who were with us suddenly said “Oh, she’s so hot!”, “Damn, those boots!”, and, of course, “I’m straight and I’d do her.”
There’s one in every crowd.
That aside, the creators of Supergirl announced that they have some new super villains and fans and newbies alike are digging the fact that Red Tornado is coming to the screen.
Besides being a longtime member of the Justice League, Red Tornado served as a mentor to Young Justice when that team first assembled under the pen of longtime Supergirl writer Peter David.
In addition to Red Tornado and the previously-announced Livewire and Reactron, the Supergirl Twitter account confirmed that General Sam Lane will appear on the series, along with the Kryptonian villain Non.
The presence of both Non and General Lane will likely lead many fans to the conclusion that Lucy Lane, recently cast in the series, will indeed take up the mantle of Superwoman. In the comics, she was briefly given artificial “Kryptonian” powers by one of her father’s military projects.
It’s likely also worth noting that the Earth-2 version of Red Tornado, who has had a significant presence in The New 52: Futures End and Earth 2: Society, houses the personality of Lois Lane, Lucy’s sister and Sam’s daughter.
Non was a brilliant scientific mind and soldier on Krypton before he was lobotomized to make him a more perfect weapon. He first appeared in Richard Donner’s Superman II before being adapted by Donner and DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns into the comics during their short-lived Action Comics run. That same run, collected as Superman: Last Son, featured the Kryptonian Phantom Zone prison which will be introduced in the series’ pilot.
There are more comic book references in that little post than you’ll find in most comic book stores. That said you’ll also note that the female super-villains listed above are all smart. Even the bad girls are good role models.
Speaking of female superheroes, Isis Wenger became the unwitting target for assholes when her company used her face as part of a recruitment drive to attract female engineering students. Most of the comments were along the lines of how she “didn’t look like an engineer.”
This pic was her response.
Not all heroes wear capes. I’m just saying.
Speaking of superheroes who don’t wear capes, Warner Bothers Films and DC Comics have announced that they will be making a new Booster Gold / Blue Beetle movie.
It appears that time travel is in the DCEU’s future. The Tracking Board has revealed that Warner Bros. is currently developing a live-action Booster Gold/Blue Beetle film. The project that will team-up Michael Jon Carter & Jamie Reyes is just another film joining the already massively diverse DCEU line-up which includes films such as Aquaman, Suicide Squad, Cyborg and Wonder Woman. The film will be helmed by Greg Berlanti and is being pitched as a “superhero buddy-cop movie” which is something quite different than we’ve seen before and offering up the opportunity for tons of fun.
Berlanti’s a big name when it comes to Warner Bros. DC properties, having both worked on both Arrow, The Flash and 2011’s Green Lantern, as well as being behind the upcoming Legends Of Tomorrow and Supergirl series. The director, producer, and writer is even such a big fan of the character that he even scripted the pilot for a Booster Gold series over at Syfy.
The site also added:
“The dynamic duo are also members of the Justice League and are being planted now to appear in a future JL film.”
DC has wanted to push both of the characters on-screen for quite some time with them both appearing in Smallville and plans for each to receive their own series at one point. Could Booster end up being Warner Bros. equivalent of Tony Stark? Will these characters be involved in the upcoming Justice League in any capacity? This news raises a lot of questions.
These two characters have a very unusual relationship. Many consider them to be the Laurel and Hardy of superheroes. Given the dark nature of most of the DC Universe (HI BATMAN!) this could be a nice respite.
Some superheroes don’t wear uniforms at all. Get your mind out of the gutter, I’m not talking about super porn. I’m talking about regular Joe’s and Jane’s who wear hard hats and coveralls and, in this case, deliver entire school systems in a pick up truck.
Disassembled, each Solar Classroom in a Box can fit in the bed of a pickup truck. According to Aleutia’s website, the cinder block, and steel structures take about a day to contstuct—no cranes necessary—and another day to fully wire. But it’s not simply the structure that makes the Solar Classrooms in a Box so impressive. Each comes complete with 11 desktop computers designed specifically to operate in the dusty heat of rural Africa, as well as a server, a projector and monitor, and 3G and Satellite connectivity, all powered by the classroom’s pre-installed rooftop solar panels. The only things missing are the students. Each Solar Classroom in a Box runs $20,000, with half of that accounting for the structural costs, and the other half for the included technology.
Aleutia, which focuses on bringing computers and health care technology to developing communities, announced recently that they would be shipping a Classroom in a Box to each of Kenya’s 47 counties, servicing an estimated 20,000 children, as a result. While it isn’t the company’s first batch of classrooms delivered to African nations, this latest initiative is being called Kenya’s largest solar classroom project to date. As FastCo points out, Aleutia’s classrooms have been optimized for this particular rollout, with company founder Mike Rosenberg explaining:Usually when we install solar, there are issues with the panels pointing the wrong way or at the wrong angle. Here, because it’s all pre-installed and optimized, there’s no need for a site survey and other retrofitting costs.
As long as you’ve come this far, allow me to share a few more things you might be interested in;
The Space Tiara: It cures migraines and looks just like you think it would. That said, it works, so get on your fabulous glitter, bust out the crinoline and feel better.
Elvira is getting her own animated series. You either pushed up your boobs in anticipation or you probably shouldn’t be reading this stuff in the first place.
In, seemingly, related news, the Chinese have built an automatic sperm extractor. The instructions, literally, say “just plug it in and it works.”
Okay, back to capes and leather, Warner Television appears to have greenlighted a new version of Justice League Unlimited. Since that show was able to tackle some adult themes without losing its younger audience, and since the people who control it now are the ones who controlled it then, fans are understandably stoked.
Speaking of stoked, Lexus just made every single person who saw the Back to the Future movies start tingling in all their fun places; they have unveiled a functioning hoverboard.
Speaking of tingling, have you ever had a memory of a previous life? Many people have. Now, science may have figured out why. Aaron Kase has a great article showing how primal, and possibly subtle – yet related, memories can be handed down from generation to generation without anyone from any generation actually meeting.
Lastly, you know how your parents used to tell you “TURN THAT SHIT DOWN! YOUR SCARING THE COCKROACHES!” Well, now, you can simply tell them, “It’s okay mumsy and daddums, I’m just curing Alzheimer’s.”
Science Alert reports that scientists have used pulsed ultra-sound waves to break up the plaque that surrounds neurons in the brain when Alzheimer’s sets in. The result is a return of lost memories an functions. Human trials will start soon.
Still not in a good mood? Okay, you’ve left me no choice. Turn up your speakers really loud, strip down to your skivvies and try not to dance when you play the video below.
blur – girls and boys (hq).mp4 from Ruben Arlote on Vimeo.
Listen to Bill McCormick on WBIG (FOX! Sports) every Friday around 9:10 AM.
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