Green Arrow doesn’t have many memorable villains, does he? This ep tried to give him one. Jethro reviews the results:
This week gave us some good character development (as usual) but sadly an extremely predictable plot, as well as a Muppet supervillain.
A few days after the Iranians sent a monkey into space and a month after North Korea’s rocket launch, South Korea has fired off its first civilian rocket, while a seventh-grade girl in the States rocketed Hello Kitty to the edge. (Video at the link and below the cut).
RIM (Research in Motion) changed their name to Blackberry today, and announced the impending release of the Blackberry 10, in their plan to revive the failing company.
Newsarama informs us the current Green Lantern and Young Justice series will be cancelled, and delivers sundry other animated announcements.
Texas introduces a Star Trek-themed lottery game—and William Shatner will be helping with promo.
Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s groundbreaking graphic novel has influenced the mainstream movie adapatations of Batman and in 2011, the original appeared as an animated film.
Deep Space Industries plans to send tiny robotic ships to explore and eventually mine asteroids, and they expect to launch the first ones by 2015.
While they’ll have no room for crew, much less a licensed companion, the tiny craft have been designated “FireFly” probes. Habitable colonies form part of the long-range plan.
In other space news, a petition encourages the use of Space Race technology that was previously considered, but not used, to go to Mars.
Video below:
I thought Arrow did Batman this week (more so than usual), especially with that comment near the end. My wife found it “superficial.”
Jethro, however, has considered the ep in some depth:
Fairly strong episode this week! John Barrowman tries to reconnect with his son (or IS HE?) while manipulating Moira. Speedy stumbles on some secrets (though perhaps not the ones we were expecting), while Oliver and Diggle get into a conflict over OH MY GOD IT’S BEN BROWDER.
For an extra million, they’ll throw in Detective #27
The 60s tv Batmobile sold this past weekend for 4.2 million dollars.
Shades of Spy vs Spy
The Russians have resumed work on hypersonic vehicles and missiles.
And they found J’onn J’onzz’s trunks, too.
Examination of the Martian soil reveals the best evidence to date of life on Mars, reported here and here.
Prime-Time Hentai
And don’t forget to watch that giant squid vid, coming this Sunday on Discovery.
Heroes and Holodecks
Video Below: a home-made Iron Man glove, a report on the inevitable use to which VR tech will be put, and an especially clever refutation of lunar-landing conspiracy “theories.”
Wanted: Somebody to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. P.O. Box 91 Ocean View, CA 99393. You’ll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. Safety not guaranteed. I have only done this once before.
In 1997, this ad actually appeared among Backwoods Homes‘s classifieds. It went viral online, appeared on Jay Leno, turned up as a t, and eventually inspired this indie hit, released in 2012.
Arrow has returned, and our man Jethro has a review.
For the new year, we get a bunch of character development, and the vigilante gains some acceptance.
We may have a potential cure for AIDS.
The International Space Station will receive an inflatable module in 2015.
One journalist reviews the 2013 CES Tech Circus, held last week in Vegas.
The Solar Blob is heading for earth… And it might enhance the Northern Lights.
Zombieland‘s writers originally pitched the concept as a tv series; such a show has stepped up pre-production.
Video after the cut includes Cosplay from Anime LA 2013 and clear thinking on current Extraordinary Popular Delusions:
Life of Pi, based on Yann Martel’s award-winning novel, which many people considered unfilmable, made it to the theatres late in 2012. Ang Lee’s adaptation may not, as its hero claims, make you believe in God, but I know it made me forgive the director for Hulk and reconsider the viability of 3-D. Life of Pi has garnered multiple Oscar nominations, the closest we have to a fantasy/SF film this year with such accolades.
It concerns a boy who gets shipwrecked with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.