San Diego Comic-Con 2023: Did anything good happen?

On July 31, 2023August 7, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Books, Comics, Movies, Television

If you inhabit any of the plethora of areas that count as geek culture, then you would have known one of the largest geek culture events in the world, took place last week. No, I’m not talking about Barbenheimer; though I feel that could be a blog all on its own.

What I’m really talking about, is the 2023 edition of the San Diego Comic-Con. As I’ve stated before, I’m still over 10,000 km away from the event, but one day I’m going to go to it. One day. Now for those of you that don’t know what the San Diego Comic-Con actually is, firstly how is that possible?! I’m joking, nobody is perfect so its fine.

The San Diego Comic-Con is a mega event; if not the mega event that celebrates popular culture. It’s where creators and companies gather to promote and advertise their products to the public, like toys, anime, computer games, manga, books, comics, movies, tv shows, and anything else I haven’t thought of.

We also can’t forget to mention, it’s an amazing opportunity for cosplayers to shine! If I ever went, I would cosplay as a tired broke father, wearing tracksuit pants, a witty t-shirt, and rocking the same haircut he’s had for 20 years. I would clean up with the cosplay awards, so look out!

Apart from the products available for sale at the event, San Diego Comic-Con is famous for the many releases, trailers, and announcements, from companies across genres. I’ll be honest here, I haven’t read or watched every single scrap of information that was released at San Diego Comic-Con. I love popular culture, but I’m not that committed.

In saying that, here’s a question: Did anything good happen? Was there any information about an upcoming product, that I found to be interesting?

You’re in luck, because I’m going to answer that great question! And as I stated last year, let’s establish a few things first:

1.) I have not read or seen, every article or trailer released from San Diego Comic-Con. I can only discuss the things I have knowledge of, but also things I’m actually interested in. I’m still waiting for the release of the Salt and Vinegar biography movie, damn that would be good!

2.) Just because a product is on my list, doesn’t mean I’ll actually get to see it or purchase it. Quite simply, if something has landed on this list, it has my attention; regardless if I watch and purchase it.

Clear as a spider drink? Great, once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.

**Comic-Con in San Diego**. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Literature: (Books and Comics)

Giant Robot Hellboy

One of these days, I’m going to write a blog about Big Red, because I’m an enormous Hellboy fan. I’ve been reading and collecting Mike Mignola’s creation for years, so I’m always ready to hear about new content.

So imagine my utter shock, following the announcement of the Giant Robot Hellboy mini-series. I’m not smart enough to even begin to explain how insane this series sounds and looks. Mignola is writing the mini-series, with Duncan Fegredo adding the art. I find it amazing that the duo that gave us some important Hellboy stories like Darkness Calls, The Wild Hunt, The Storm, and The Fury, are giving us another one?!

The first issue is released in October by Dark Horse, and I have already subscribed to it. The covers look phenomenal, so let’s have some good ole Hellboy shenanigans! Can’t wait.

Star Wars: The High Republic

I know I keep saying this, but I really do need to write a Star Wars: The High Republic blog. Phase II of the story finished recently, though I’m still waiting for my copies of Quest for Planet X, Path of Vengeance, and The Edge of Balance: Precedent to finally arrive in my tiny letterbox.

At San Diego Comic-Con information was released concerning the final section, Phase III. These include:

Star Wars: The High Republic: Shadows of Starlight (mini-series-Marvel)
Star Wars: The High Republic (Marvel)
Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures (Dark Horse)
Star Wars: The High Republic: Escape from Valo (written by Daniel José Older and Alyssa Wong)
Star Wars: The High Republic: Defy the Storm (written by Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland)
Star Wars: The High Republic: The Eye of Darkness (written by George Mann)

I’m really enjoying this Star Wars project, so I’m looking forward to reading all of those products.

Knights Vs Samurai

If I understand it correctly, during the Todd McFarlane panel, some new titles were announced through Image Comics. One was a title called Knights Vs Samurai, written by actor David Dastmalchian, and the artist is Federico “Fede” Mele. Apart from the concept of knights and samurai fighting each other, I know little else about it, other than it looks quite interesting.

Movies

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

The classic story of four mutant turtles growing up to be teenage ninjas is as old as 1984. I had already heard of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, but when I saw the clip, I also watched it with UMC1. He told me it looked crazy and fun, but more importantly, he wanted to go and watch it with me! High praise indeed, that an eight year old boy wants to be seen in public with his father!

The Marvels

I feel terrible for saying this, but I still haven’t seen Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, or Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 yet. I know, I suck. Having said that, The Marvels is a film I do want to see, but I need to watch the other four films first.

Television shows

Invincible: Season Two

To save myself some time and effort, I’ll direct you to a previous blog, so you can understand my feelings about Invincible. I’ve seen Season One, and I loved it. I’m curious to see how they handle Angstrom Levy, and how far will they take the story? Will we see Nolan on Thraxa, or at least Oliver?

The first season was released in March 2021, so just like everybody else, I’ve been waiting very patiently for the second season. It should be awesome, especially since fellow Kiwi, Cliff Curtis is involved.

Special Mention

Everything Star Trek

I’m currently riding a Star Trek wave, and I don’t really want to get off it. Announcements and information about Star Trek: Discovery-Season Five, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds-Season Two, and Star Trek: Lower Decks-Season Four were all very welcome. I’ve just finished Star Trek: Picard-Season Three, so I’m ready for some more.

Also, the news of some sort of crossover between the shows seems quite….fascinating.

A ton of other stuff was announced, but these were the main ones that I found interesting. This blog about San Diego Comic Con is smaller than last year, though I’m not sure why. Maybe I’m getting too old, or I’m watching my money more. Who knows?

Anyway, that’s it for today. What announcements from San Diego Comic-Con were you interested in? Please let me know. I’m off to watch the second episode of Good Omens 2, so don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, go watch some FIFA Women’s World Cup football, and I’ll see you next week.

Animals with the wrong names: Ocean Edition

On July 24, 2023July 31, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Animals, Science

I want to talk about scientists. Why? I love science and scientists, I truly do. They are amazing people, working throughout history; across various backgrounds, to help lift humanity up to understand ourselves and the environment we live in.

They have been unravelling the secrets of the cosmos, developing vaccines, creating Salt and Vinegar chips, identifying new elements and particles; as well as finding new breakthroughs in surgery, meteorology, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and many others.

As a global society, we can never repay them for the discoveries and inventions that they have given us. I’m in awe of them, and I wish I could be one, but I’m too…. wait, where was I? Oh right, Scientists!

Of all of the wonderful skills these fantastic people have, naming things is not a strong suit for some scientists. To be honest, it’s a bit problematic, to say the least.

This of course brings us to the crux of today’s blog. When it comes to naming organisms, some scientists blatantly don’t work in marketing or public relations departments; because if they did, some of their choices would never have seen the light of our nearest star.

Below is a list of animals, that have been named incorrectly. I’ve decided in my infinite wisdom, to only list ocean creatures to begin with. Many other animals can make different lists, but I need to pace myself. I mean, Rome wasn’t sacked once, was it? Simultaneously, the Gauls, Visigoths, Vandals, Ostrogoths, Normans, and soldiers of the Holy Roman Empire, are jumping up and down with their hands in the air, because they know the answer.

To make this list, an aquatic animal must have been given a name, or at least known as something, that it actually isn’t. As I said before, these animals have the wrong names. I’ll illustrate this by underlining the incorrect name because I’m tech-savvy. Also, they’re in alphabetic order because I obviously like to live dangerously.

I do need to point out some examples of aquatic lifeforms like whale sharks or lionfish, won’t make the list. This is because they’re named after what they actually are: a whale shark is still a shark, and a lionfish is still a fish. You’ll see what I mean, trust me.

Also, I’m not a biologist, so if I have given an animal the wrong classification, I’m sorry. This blog is not my day job. Not yet, anyway.

Electric Eel: Electric eels are not true eels, but rather a type of knifefish.

Image by Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute

Horseshoe Crab: Not a crab, because they don’t meet the characteristics of being a crab. Horseshoe crabs are actually members of the Chelicerates, and they are closely related to arachnids, but they are still not crabs.

Jellyfish: Jellyfish or jellies, are not fish, because they don’t meet the characteristics of being a fish. They are actually Cnidarians, because they belong to the phylum (division of classification) of Cnidaria.

Killer Whale: While still being an aquatic mammal, Killer Whales are not technically whales, but rather the largest species of dolphins. Their real name is Orcas.

Mantis Shrimp: Believe it or not, but the mantis shrimp is not a mantis, nor a shrimp. They actually belong to a group of crustaceans known as Stomatopoda. Also don’t ever get into a boxing match with a mantis shrimp, because you’ll lose.

Sea Angel: Sea Angels are definitely not angels, but rather a type of sea slug. Sorry, not sorry.

Sea Cucumber: I know it looks like a cucumber, but it really isn’t. They are not a vegetable, because this animal is a type of Echinoderm.

Seadragon: Say this with me, “A Seadragon is not a dragon.” They are actually closely related to seahorses, but still technically a fish, and not a dragon.

Seahorse: You already know what I’m going to say, don’t you? “How in the nine levels of Dante’s Hell, is a seahorse actually a horse?” Easy, it’s not. Yes, they look like a horse, in a distorted kind of way, but they’re still not a horse. Just like seadragons, they are a type of fish.

Sea Lion: Are birds a special group of animals descended from dinosaurs? Yes, yes they are. Are sea lions a special group of lions? No, no they’re not. Sea lions are a type of seal, and they’re called sea lions because some adult males have thick fur around their necks; just like a lion’s mane.

Image by New Zealand Department of Conservation

Sea Nettle: Sea nettles are closely related to jellyfish because they share the same genus of classification, Chrysaora. Also, they aren’t any type of nettle. Obviously.

Sea Pen: Yes, they may have the long, cylindrical shape of a pen or quill; but I promise you they are not pens. You can’t write with them! Sea pens are actually closely related to jellyfish, so they belong to the Cnidarians.

Sea Spider: Sea spiders are odd because they look like spiders, but they’re not. However, they are distantly related to spiders though. Sea spiders are actually a type of marine arthropod.

Starfish: Starfish do live in the ocean, but that doesn’t make them fish. They are more closely related to sea cucumbers, which makes them a type of Echinoderm. They do look pretty cool, don’t they?

Image by jacmoermanplanetnl from Pixabay

Vampire Squid: When discussing vampire squids, you need to remember two things. The first thing is that vampire squids are not vampires. Yes, they live in the dark, from depths of 600 to 900 metres, but they don’t suck the blood of their victims. Because of their habitat, their diet consists of marine snow or organic rain, which is dead animal material.

Secondly, although still a cephalopod, the vampire squid is not a squid. They are their own special group of animals, but vampire squids are more closely related to octopuses than squids.

Were any names of these animals a surprise to you? Did I miss any aquatic misnamed animals? Please let me know.

And that concludes another blog for another week. That’s one small blog for a man, but a giant blog for geek kind. Next week, I’ll be looking at the 2023 San Diego Comic-Con and the different upcoming releases that I found to be interesting. This is well within my wheelhouse, because…you know, I am a geek. Now and forever.

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. And just like last week, don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, go watch some FIFA Women’s World Cup football, and I’ll see you next week.

2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup

On July 17, 2023August 20, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Sports

I want to talk about football. Why? If you’re a follower of this inarticulate blog, then you know I love football. I failed to discuss the 2022 FIFA World Cup, so I thought I would rectify that by ranting about the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup. Because of my OCD, I’ve made the executive decision to break down the World Cup into sections, because…well, I can. I’m sorry, but this blog is short and quite factual than anything else.

FIFA Women’s World Cup trophy and official tournament ball Photo: Supplied: FIFA

On 20th July 2023, the ninth edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup will begin. It will run until the final on the 20th August.

Hosts

There are two firsts for the host country for this World Cup. This will be the first time, that we have two host countries instead of one.¹ The second fact is that it’s the first time the tournament will held in Oceania, with previous tournaments having been hosted in North America (United States and Canada, Asia (China), and Europe (Sweden, Germany, and France).

The co-hosting countries are Australia and New Zealand, with 64 games being played, covering nine cities and 10 venues.

In Australia we have:

Sydney: Stadium Australia (mainly used for rugby league, rugby union, football, cricket, and Australian Rules Football). Will host the fourth quarter-final, second semi-final, and the final.
Sydney: Sydney Football Stadium (mainly used for rugby league, rugby union, football, and concerts).
Brisbane: Lang Park aka The Cauldron (mainly used for rugby league, rugby union, and football). Will host the third quarter-final and playoff for third place.
Melbourne: Melbourne Rectangular Stadium aka AAMI Park (mainly used for rugby league, rugby union, football, and Australian Rules Football).
Perth: Perth Rectangular Stadium aka HBF Park (mainly used for rugby league, rugby union, football, cricket, and Australian Rules Football).
Adelaide: Hindmarsh Stadium aka Coppers Stadium (mainly used for football).

For New Zealand we have:

Auckland: Eden Park (mainly used for rugby union, cricket, and concerts). Will host the second quarter-final and first semi-final
Hamilton: Waikato Stadium (mainly used for rugby union).
Wellington: Wellington Regional Stadium aka The Cake Tin (mainly used for rugby union, cricket, football, and concerts). Will host the first quarter-final.
Dunedin: Forsyth Barr Stadium, aka The Glasshouse (mainly used for rugby union and concerts).

Teams

There are 32 teams across eight groups. The draw looks like this:

Group A: New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, and Switzerland.

Group B: Australia, Republic of Ireland, Nigeria, and Canada.

Group C: Spain, Costa Rica, Zambia, and Japan.

Group D: England, Haiti, Denmark, and China.

Group E: United States of America (defending world champions), Vietnam, Netherlands, and Portugal.

Group F: France, Jamaica, Brazil, and Panama.

Group G: Sweden, South Africa, Italy, and Argentina.

Group H: Germany, Morocco, Colombia, and South Korea.

After the first edition in 1991, there have been only four different countries that have won the FIFA Women’s World Cup:

United States of America: 1991, 1999, 2015, and 2019

Norway: 1995

Germany: 2003 and 2007

Japan: 2011

This brings me to ask a question: Why should you care about the FIFA Women’s World Cup?

Maybe football is not popular in your community or country. Maybe you may hate football, or your country may not have qualified for the tournament. Maybe you don’t watch women’s sports, or possibly, you may not even watch any sport. Many different reasons could drive you to not watch the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

But before you completely write the World Cup off, with 100% certainly, let me tell you a story.

Having grown up² in New Zealand, sport is part of our culture and identity. I’ve played many sports over the years, but there are four sports that I follow and support; rugby union, rugby league, cricket, and of course, football.

My definition of following a sport is having a favourite team (professional club(s) and/or national team) and doing seven things:

1.) Attending live games.

2.) Watching live games via television or streaming platform.

3.) Purchasing and wearing your team’s merchandise.

4.) Watching highlights on YouTube of your team’s game, whether you saw the game or couldn’t because of time zone difference.

5.) Watching highlights of games involving other teams, because you want to know what the competition are doing; just in case they’re cheating.

6.) Reading articles and news updates about the squads, and religiously checking draws, results, and table standings.

7.) Talking about sports to your non-sporting spouse.

I do all of these things, except money plays a large part in attending live games and streaming the games. I have to save up to selectively choose what months I can afford the service.

Anyway, a few years ago I made the observation that I was only watching male sports. With exceptions for the Summer and Winter Olympics, and the Commonwealth Games, the only female sport I would watch was international netball.

This resulted in me asking myself an awkward question. If I liked watching and following males playing rugby union, rugby league, cricket, and football, then why do I not watch females play?

This led me to conclude that if I truly cared, supported, and followed my four favourite sports, then I couldn’t just care about the players with Y chromosomes; I needed to care about all the players.

I’ve taught UMC1 and UMC2 that sport is sport, so I needed to listen to my own advice.

So this has been a goal³ of mine since then: for every male team that I support in rugby union, rugby league, cricket, and football, I now try to give the women’s teams of that sport, the same amount of support; whether with club or national teams. Granted the coverage is not the same as males, but I’m trying.

I wrote a blog about women’s sports last year, if it helps to reinforce my point.

We’ve now arrived back at the beginning: Why should you care about the FIFA Women’s World Cup?

You should care, because this is the biggest women’s single sporting tournament on the planet. 32 teams containing the best female football players in the world, are representing their countries and competing in a knock-out tournament, to see which team will lift the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

So what can you do to show support? If possible, go buy a ticket and attend a live game. If not, you can do the next best thing by watching some games. As for me, I’m doing both. I’ll be watching live games through my overpriced streaming service, and watching highlights through YouTube.

I’m also attending a game. Back in October 2022, I saved some money and purchased tickets for UMC1 and myself to watch New Zealand vs. Switzerland in Dunedin. To be honest, I’m not sure which one of us is more excited; him or me. I’ve never been to any World Cup match in any sport before, so I’m riding a wave of excitement. I’m planning on writing a blog about the experience, so we will have to wait and see what happens.

What World Cup games are you planning on watching? What team will you be supporting? Please let me know.

Well, that’s another rant finished for another week. Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, go watch some football, and I’ll see you next week.

¹In 2002, Japan and South Korea became the first co-hosting countries in the men’s tournament, with Canada, Mexico, and The United States of America, co-hosting the men’s tournament in 2026.

²There is a subtle difference between growing up and getting older.

³Pun very much intended.

Tour of the Solar System: Earth

On July 10, 2023July 17, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Science

Step right up for one of the universe’s worst tours, this side of Kalibak’s personal guided tour of Apokolips. Yes, that’s right, it’s time for Some Geek Told Me’s Tour of the Solar System! This is now our sixth stop, and for those of you that are joining us for the first time, firstly I’m sorry. Second, here is the list of our previous stops, so please feel free to brush up on some nonsense.

1.) Introduction

2.) The Sun

3.) Planets vs. Dwarf planets

4.) Mercury

5.) Venus

As I so gracefully explained last week, we will be visiting the planet Earth, for the next stop. Now, I know what you’re thinking. Yes, these are my real socks. No, I can not control my eyebrows. And finally, yes, I do realise we already live on Earth, so why would we be visiting it?

The reason that we’re going to look at Earth, is because why would we not? As I said last week, not only is Earth the single source of Salt and Vinegar chips in the observable universe, but it’s pretty cool as well.

Earth is the third planet from the Sun, after Mercury and Venus. And just like Mercury and Venus, Earth is about 4.5 billion years old, though it doesn’t look a day over 2 billion. And in another stroke of terrestrial planet bonding, Earth also has no planetary rings.

However, there are a few differences between the siblings. Earth actually has a moon; which is called, surprise, surprise, The Moon. Remember this, because I’m going to come back to the Moon, just like NASA in 2025.

And just so everybody is on the same page, the Earth’s shape is not a perfect sphere or ball. It’s more like an oblate spheroid, or oblate ellipsoid because it bugles slightly at the equator and flattened at the poles. Having said that, calling Earth a sphere is still fine…because THE EARTH IS NOT FLAT.

Movin’ right along (doog-a-doon, doog-a-doon), Earth has a diameter of 12,756 kilometers (7,918 miles), which is exactly what Flat Earthers dare to say five times in front of a mirror. This makes it the fifth largest planet in the Solar System; just don’t say it in front of Venus.

Earth’s orbit of the Sun is elliptical, so it has a range of about 147,098,450 km (Perihelion) to 152,097,597 km (Aphelion). This is interesting because we recently passed Aphelion on Friday 7th July at 8:06 a.m. (NZST/UTC +12). Aphelion is when Earth reaches its furthest point from the Sun in its orbit, with Earth’s orbital speed being about 29 km/s.

The average distance from the Earth to the Sun is about 150 million km, otherwise known as one astronomical unit or AU. You know how important it is to differentiate between Vulcans and Klingons, well it’s important to know why 1 AU is relevant and important to our beautiful and crazy planet. This means it only takes about eight light minutes, for the light radiating from the Sun, to travel to Earth.

Because of Earth’s average distance and location to the Sun, we have something that our siblings, Mercury and Venus don’t have: liquid water on the surface. Basically, if Earth’s orbit extended well past Aphelion, then our liquid water like oceans and lakes, would freeze. The opposite is true; if Earth’s orbit extended well past Perihelion, then our liquid water would boil and evaporate.

We have one global ocean, but it can be divided into five oceans, which are the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and Southern Oceans.

We are lucky enough to be sitting in just the right place for water to be liquid on the surface; we are not too cold, not too hot, we are just right. This is why scientists refer to our location as the Goldilocks Zone. There is so much liquid water on our planet, that it covers 71% of the surface, with 96.5% being found in the oceans.

Earth also has an atmosphere to go along with liquid water, sort of like a Salt and Vinegar combination, which is perfection by the way. Earth’s atmosphere is generally made up of Nitrogen (78%), Oxygen (21%), and other gases like Argon, Carbon Dioxide, Neon, Helium, Methane, Hydrogen, and Krypton¹; along with Water Vapour.

Travelling through space can make things interesting for Earth. The planet spins on its axis, at 23.5 degrees, which gives us the four seasons of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Seasons are not caused by the Earth’s location, relative to the Sun; it’s actually the axial tilt.

It takes 24 hours for the Earth to rotate once on its axis, thus one day equals 24 hours.² But it also takes about 365 days, 5 hours, 59 minutes, and 16 seconds, for Earth to orbit the Sun.

To also make life crazy, since the Moon orbits the Earth, and the Earth orbits the Sun, different eclipses can be created. A Solar Eclipse is when the Moon travels between the Sun and the Earth, and blocks the Sun’s light, for a short period. A Lunar Eclipse is caused when the Earth travels between the Sun and the Moon, which casts the Earth’s shadow onto the Moon. There are variations of these two eclipses, but these astronomical events are beautifully stunning for different reasons.

Underneath the Earth is just as spectacular as above. The Earth’s interior is made of the Crust (Lithosphere), Mantle (Upper Mantle and Lower Mantle), and the Core (Outer Core and Inner Core). The Inner Core is a ball of solid iron and nickel and can reach insane temperatures like 5,500°C (9,900°F), which is like the surface of our local star.

The geology of Earth has a few more quirks, like the spinning iron core creating a magnetic field, known as the magnetosphere, which is vital to Earth’s survival. Earth’s interior is also active and moving, which drives plate tectonics, the creation of mountain ranges, subduction, earthquakes, and of course, volcanoes.

Earth’s land mass covers different regions, like polar, tropical, dry, mild, and continental; which include deserts, and rainforests. The top and bottom of Earth are known as the North and South Poles, which are typically the coldest regions on the planet. The hottest regions are mainly close to the Equator, which is an imaginary line that runs around the middle of the planet.

In addition to this, there are seven continents, which are Africa, Europe, Asia, Oceania, North America, South America, and Antarctica.

This brings us to the crescendo of this rant. There are only two planets in the known universe that contain life: one is Mars because it has robotic life, in the form of probes, rovers, and landers. Let’s get real here, it’s a planet populated by machines.

The other planet is Earth, because it has organic life. It has us humans of course, but we’re not the only organisms here. There are ravens, pythons, goblin sharks, dung beetles, chimpanzees, kiwis, redwoods, the platypus, fungi, dogs, anglerfish, tarantulas, bees, oak trees, zebras, bacteria, worms, bumblebee bats, nautiluses, and maybe the most important of them all: phytoplankton.

I believe that the Earth doesn’t belong to humans. We actually share it with the non-human residents of this planet. But we are the ones doing the greatest amount of damage, so if we want to keep this beautiful place; along with our neighbours, we really need to change the way we think and act.

Earth is so rare and unique, we need to take a lot better care of it.

And with that, this part of the tour has finished. Did I miss anything out? Did you like it? Please let me know if you did.

Do you remember what I said about the Moon, and that I’ll be coming back to it? I meant it because the Moon will be the next stop on our Tour of the Solar System; which I think will be in five weeks.

I hope you’re still enjoying the tour because the quality of the tickets aren’t the best. Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, go play some football, and I’ll see you next week.

¹It’s a real element, I promise.

²I’m not going into the difference between stellar day and sidereal day, because that is another rabbit hole for another time.

Oops! I accidentally brainwashed my children

On July 3, 2023July 10, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Children, Music

I want to talk about music again. Why? By nature, my wife and I only really sing in front of each other, but also with UMC1 and UMC2. That way our terrible singing seems hilarious to them, so everybody wins.

We have discovered something over eight years and two unmatured clones later, and I’m not sure whether it’s positive or negative, or maybe both. Because of our predictable musical selections, we have accidentally brainwashed UMC1 and UMC2 into liking the same music as well. We don’t play a huge amount of children’s music in our headquarters, so we really should have seen this coming.

The brainwashing can be broken down into three sections: singing in the car, while listening to the radio; playing a CD on a mini-stereo; or just playing YouTube videos via the phone or computer. We’ve been playing the music and the boys have started singing along and liking the songs as well.

Also, yes, we both still listen to CDs. We are both not cool enough to stream our music. It’s a weird feeling hearing your children request a particular song, but also listening to their singing and their own interpretation of the lyrics.

Below are 17 of the best songs that at least one parent and one child in our house, actually likes. This could be for dancing, singing, or just liking the video.

Before we go on any further, I need to clarify the list does not include any children’s songs or any theme song from a movie or tv show; because those two groups can have their own separate lists.

With the organisation of the list, I’ve ranked them in chronological order, as they were released. Sorry, my OCD was too strong today to allow anything else. Sweet? Alright, let’s do this.

Yellow Submarine: The Beatles (1966)

Video Killed the Radio Star: The Buggles (1979) & The Presidents of the United States of America (1998)

The Safety Dance: Men Without Hats (1982)

Doctorin’ the Tardis: Timelords aka The KLF (1988)

UMC2 calls this The Dalek Song.

Thunderstruck: AC/DC (1990)

Jump Around: House of Pain (1992)

UMC2 calls this The Jumping Song.

Sabotage: Beastie Boys (1994)

How Bizarre: OMC (1995)

Peaches: The Presidents of the United States of America (1996)

UMC1 loves the ninjas in this video.

Intergalactic: Beastie Boys (1998)

Freestyler: Bomfunk MC’s (1999)

Why Does It Always Rain on Me?: Travis (1999)

UMC2 calls this The Raining Song.

My Happiness: Powderfinger (2000)

UMC2 calls this The Slinky Song.

Weapon of Choice: Fatboy Slim (2001)

Bathtime in Clerkenwell: The Real Tuesday Weld (2002)

Grace Kelly: Mika (2007)

This Too Shall Pass: OK Go (2010)

So that’s it. One day I’ll compile a list of children’s and movie/tv songs that we all like. Are there any songs that you and your children share a love for? Please let me know.

Next week, New Zealand’s 4th least favourite blog with continue with the Tour of the Solar System, by stopping at the universe’s only source for Salt and Vinegar chips; Earth. Don’t miss it.

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Don’t forget to walk your dog; watch a banned movie; listen to AC/DC, and I’ll see you next week.

Legend now and forever: John Romita Sr.

On June 26, 2023July 3, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Comics, People

This week’s blog is sadly becoming a depressing trend on Some Geek Told Me; yet another titan of the comic book industry has fallen. On the 12th of June, John Romita Sr. passed away in his sleep at his home in New York, aged 93.

Far better writers have already crafted beautiful tributes about Romita Sr. and his art, so I feel strange addressing this topic, however, I’m going to talk about what John Romita Sr. meant to this awkward, comic-loving Kiwi geek.

I have explained this before, but I like comic books. I enjoy them for many different reasons, but one of them is that they helped me to learn how to read when I was young.

There was a tatty old cardboard box under my bed, that was filled with old comics, that I think were donated by various family members and people in the community. The true origin of the box is a mystery to me, to be honest, and I like it that way.

The stories were exciting and outrageous, but it was the art that drew you into the story. The characters had colourful costumes, the backgrounds were detailed, and the drama, oh the drama! I remember reading some shabby, coverless comics with Spider-Man and various other Marvel characters, and I was enthralled with them.

One day I observed that some of the amazing characters looked very similar, like they were drawn by the same person. I discovered later on, that the artist’s name was John Romita Sr. That name didn’t hold any gravity with me, because I didn’t know comic history; I just knew I liked his work.

Time moved on and I learnt more about comics, but also about the people creating them. To me, that Romita guy’s art seemed to be everywhere! I knew that wasn’t the case, it just seemed that way.

And of course, much like millions of other people over the planet, I slowly fell in love with John’s art. It was always so gorgeous. Eventually, I started to understand what a powerhouse John Romita Sr. was for comics.

Even as the somewhat adult that I am, I still get surprised. I’ll be looking at some comic art from whatever decade, and I’ll start to think, “Wait, did Romita Sr. draw this?” I’ll check, and yes, yes he did. My next thought would always be, “How much art did he draw? It’s everywhere! Did he not sleep?!”

The stupid thing is that I’m crying as I’m writing this. I’m grieving about the death of a man that I never met, but has been in my life nonetheless. He created and co-created Wolverine, Mary Jane Watson, Brother Voodoo, Nova, and Luke Cage; along with Bullseye, Hobgoblin, Kingpin, and the Punisher, and many other characters. Who would Daredevil be without Bullseye and the Kingpin? Or Peter without Mary Jane? I have no idea, but it wouldn’t be what we have now.

The only thing left to say about John Romita Sr., is thank you. Your passion and dedication to your art, helped me to love a medium that has possessed my heart and soul. I send condolences to your family, but also gratitude, because you made this big old crazy world, a little bit brighter.

And with that, I’ll leave you. What’s your favourite art drawn by John Romita Sr.? Please let me know.

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. I’m also on Twitter and Mastodon, where I ramble on about whatever my social media consultant tells me to write about.

Don’t forget to walk your dog; watch a banned movie; go and buy a comic book, and I’ll see you next week.

The Flash: Movie Review

On June 19, 2023January 22, 2024 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Comics, Movies

Carrying on from last week, I’d still like to talk about The Flash. Why? Well, last week I created a non-amusing preview of The Flash movie, which can be found here.

On Wednesday 16th June, I managed to secure a ticket to view an advanced screening of the film. I brought the ticket online; which is something I rarely do. This was strange, because when I arrived at the cinema, I walked inside and brought some food I didn’t really need, then walked straight into the theatre. But get this…not one person stopped me, or asked to see my ticket.

I was sitting in my seat waiting for the trailers, when it occurred to me that I had basically just walked in off the street and sat down in a theatre, without ANYBODY asking about my ticket. My town only has one cinema, so it can be quite lax. It’s truly strange.

The Flash movie poster outside my local cinema

Anyway, you haven’t come here to learn about my local cinema’s protocols; you’re here for the review. Unless you’re lost, and I’m terribly sorry, but I have no idea how to help you.

Three things you need to know before you go on any further:

1.) Please be aware there will be spoilers concerning the movie, so proceed with extreme anxiety and caution.

2.) The aim of my reviews are not to rip apart the subject or trash it. If I liked the subject enough to watch or read it, then I’ll give my honest (possibly biased) opinion.

3.) I’m not a professional critic, so I’m not going to dive into deeper concepts and themes, or the art of filmmaking. I’m just a geek; always have been, and always will be. Hopefully.

Sweet? Ok maybe the best place to start, is by stating whether I liked the film or not, which I did. I really did. Also, I’ll be referring to Barry Allen as two different people; Barry-1 (Barry Allen from 2023) and Barry-2 (Barry Allen from 2013).

Let’s discuss some of the things I liked. The first thing was actually something that had appeared in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. In this film, Barry-1 saves Iris West from a car accident. From this interaction, the viewer could possibly think that Barry-1 and Iris are complete strangers. It’s a cool scene, but it has Barry-1 creepily touching Iris’ hair.

Fast forward¹ to The Flash, you learn that Barry and Iris actually know each other from university, and Iris says that she thought she saw Barry-1 a few years ago; obviously referencing the car accident. For the sake of continuity, I thought that was a subtle, but clever move.

I know I’m about to go off-topic here, but please stay with me. Like any superhero or supervillain, The Flash has a few weaknesses. One of them is food; or more precisely, his metabolism. Since he runs at ridiculous speeds, his body burns through thousands of calories, because his body is working harder and faster.

To compensate for this, Barry-1, or any Flash, has an extremely fast metabolism. This requires him to eat a huge amount of food, to get the calories he needs to feed his metabolism. Superman needs sunlight, Aquaman needs water, and The Flash needs food.

Because of this, it made me smile watching Barry-1 and Barry-2, trying to eat as much as they could, whenever they could throughout the movie. The vendor machine scene was so on point, it made me laugh. Actually, the whole “baby shower” scene was exactly what I would expect to see in a Flash movie.

And speaking of Barry-1 and Barry-2, I thought Ezra Miller did a phenomenal job at playing two different versions of Barry Allen. Yes, the special effects and editing played their own part to be sure, but Miller really sold the viewer the idea that there were two Barrys. Barry-1 and Barry-2 were similar, but they were still different. I loved how Barry-2’s laugh reinforced the concept that he was younger than Barry-1.

The interactions and dialogue between Barry-1 and Barry-2 were impressive, especially during their training sequences and in the Batman cave.

Barry-1’s costume and lightning were great; especially the scene with the Flash Ring. I only noticed the ring, when Barry-1 was having breakfast with his parents; if he was wearing it before that, I didn’t notice it. Though to be fair, my wife has mentioned that I’m not very observant, so I’m not surprised.

Time travel is part of The Flash’s mythos, along with phasing through objects. Seeing both Barry-1 and Barry-2 phase was unexpected but quite welcome. That also reminded me, I thought the film was really funny. Because Barry (any version) is a little awkward, it provided some hilarious material, that otherwise wouldn’t exist.

Moving onto Batman, we got maybe 15 minutes with Ben Affleck in three-four scenes, so he’s only in the first act. However, the big drawcard was, of course, Michael Keaton. My theory of him being Thomas Wayne was of course destroyed, after one scene.

The fight scene at the prison was impressive, but I was thinking, “This guy would be in his mid 60’s to early 70’s, could he really be doing this fighting without some type of super-armored suit?” Though in fairness, he is Batman. I think the trope of a retired warrior, coming back for one more fight has been done before, but never with a Batwing. It was nostalgic to have Keaton back as Batman, whether for good or for ill.

As for Sasha Calle’s Kara Zor-El, I feel just like everybody else in saying that we needed more screen time for her. I really hope that’s not the last we see of her.

There’s other stuff that I liked as well, like the soundtrack, casting, and practical effects, among others. However, I do need to discuss the things that I didn’t like.

I was approaching this movie with the idea that linear time travel was the standard model for time travel in the movie; but not only did Barry-1 travel back in time and alter the past, which of course changed the future; but Barry-1 was also in another universe, because of multiverse mischief. To me, it sort of made Barry-1’s action worse, because he was screwing up other universes as well.

I thought the CGI was great throughout the film, but there were three scenes where the CGI looked odd. I realise the baby shower scene and Kara Zor-El’s first fight were mainly viewed in slow motion, to really emphasise how speedsters view and experience the world. I get that and understand it, but the babies looked quite strange, and the Russian guards looked even stranger, as Kara was kicking their collective arses.

The other scene was within the Speed Force, where Barry-1 and Barry-2 could run to and insert themselves into the timeline. The concept was cool, but I feel that it looked weird, with CGI characters moving and changing.

This of course brings us to the cameos. I know the backlash Rogue One: A Star Wars Story received for bringing back 1977’s Carrie Fisher, but also that Fisher died the same month the movie was released. Having said that, the amount of people discussing the wisdom about Christopher Reeve’s resurrection is important. Do film companies have the legal right to resurrect a deceased actor’s appearance? Do they have to consult with the actor’s family? I have no idea.

I have to admit, it was amazing to see Reeve and Supergirl (Helen Slater) standing next to each other, which was something that never happened in the films.

Also the Jay Garrick (the original Flash) cameo was interesting, which was Teddy Sears, from The Flash tv series. The problem is when Sears was playing Jay Garrick, he was doing it in disguise, because his real identity was Hunter Zolomon, a supervillain speedster.

Tangled up with all of the cameos, there was the multiverse collapsing, which birthed a new timeline (I think). This has resulted in the DCEU ending, and paving the way for the DCU.

I have a lot of questions because of this:

Where does Blue Beetle and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom fit into the ongoing story?
Is the world Barry-1 returned to the new rebooted world, or some sort of bubble universe?
Is Supergirl dead in all realities?
Is George Clooney the new (old) Batman?
Will Ezra Miller stay on as the Flash, or will he recast?
Do Heatwave, Captain Cold, Mirror Master, and the Reverse Flash exist?

To be honest, I could bring a lot of shame to myself by continuing to list questions, so I’ll stop.

All and all, I liked The Flash. It’s not perfect, but I was happy with what I saw; even if it’s $17.00 a ticket. Thanks, inflation and GST², you suck.

I’ve said this before, but if you want to read a new book, listen to new music, or possibly watch a new tv show or movie, just do it. That way, you can make your own mind up about it, then you’ll know.

I enjoy writing reviews, but I’m terrible at them. Sorry!

Have you seen The Flash? Please let me know what you thought of it.

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Remember to walk your dog; read a banned book; avoid destroying the space-time continuum, and I’ll see you next week.

¹That’s a very deliberate pun.

²One day I’ll write about GST, if I’m feeling angry enough.

The Flash: Movie Preview

On June 12, 2023June 20, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Comics, Movies1 Comment

I want to talk about the Flash. Why? I’ve reviewed a few things on this dysfunctional blog before; though not as many as I should. I’m looking at you Star Trek! However, as any attentive geek knows, The Flash opens this week in cinemas, and I’m planning on watching it.

I decided to talk to the different staff that work here at Some Geek Told Me, about possibly writing a movie preview. Upon having a meeting with the scriptwriter, editor, social media consultant, freelance fashion writer¹, marketing director, finance officer², and chief good ideas officer³; a vote was taken, with the winning result being 1-0. Hence this is my first preview.

**Captain Cold and The Flash in another classic fight.**

So why preview The Flash? This could be a shock to some of you, so please make sure you’re sitting down, but…I’m a geek. And just like I Fight Dragons said, the Geeks will inherit the Earth. Maybe.

I’ve always liked The Flash, the fastest man alive! I mean, he’s not called The Slow, is he? Whether it’s Jay, Barry, Wally, Bart, and many others, the Flash is so iconic. The costume, the lightning, the speed. I know the physics behind the Speed Force and the Flash’s abilities are bonkers, but he’s such a cool character.

Also how good are Flash Facts?!

Do you remember the movie, Daddy Day Care, with the kid that wore a Flash costume? One of the best scenes of the movie was the discussion of The Flash’s rogues gallery.⁴ It’s still funny as hell to me.

I’m going to stop gushing about the Scarlet Speedster, so I won’t even mention the amazing Flash hoodie that I have. Anyway, all of this blubbering brings us to the hot topic of today’s blog: The Flash movie.

Before I begin, there are two things I wouldn’t be discussing: 1.) Grant Gustin’s Flash or 2.) Ezra Miller’s shenanigans off the screen. These things are for other people to debate about, and I don’t get paid enough to discuss them.

So how do you write a preview?

Ironically, I’ve decided the best way is to propose a question and create an answer.

Am I looking forward to watching The Flash?

Well yes, obviously. I’ve purchased my ticket for an advanced screening on Wednesday 15th June at 6pm. Right in the centre at the back row, with all of the other extremely cool people.

What is the movie about?

Easy, the Flash. Next question. Seriously though, to the best of my understanding, the movie is based on the now-famous 2011 mini-series Flashpoint, by Geoff Johns, Andy Kubert, and others. This has Barry Allen travelling back through time to save his mother, but by doing this…I’ll let the Reverse Flash explain it better.

” You were like a bullet through a windshield. You shattered history. The lives of the people closest to you were put on a broken path. You changed time like an amateur! This is your fault, Barry. This hell is your creation. You traded the life of your mother for the rest of the world!”

Of course, they’re making some changes, namely swapping the role of Subject One, which was Kal-El, to Kara Zor-El (Sasha Calle).

What can we expect?

To be honest, I really don’t know; though we are allowed to speculate. How much time will Ben Affleck, either as Bruce Wayne or Batman, have on the screen? 5 minutes, 15 minutes, or 50 minutes?

It’s the same for Michael Keaton’s Batman because they are billing him as one of the main characters. How much screen time will he have? This also begs the question, will Keaton be playing someone safe like Bruce Wayne, or will we have a twist with him playing Thomas Wayne instead, like in Flashpoint? I personally think it would be great if he’s Thomas Wayne.

I also know Miller is playing two versions of Barry Allen; one with super speed and one without. But just like in the comics, Barry doesn’t have his super speed in the new timeline, so he needs to get some, in the most painful way possible. Maybe the second Barry will gain super speed that same way, because in the various trailers, both versions of Barry have super speed.

With the cameos (if any), will Grant Gustin, Henry Cavill, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, or Diana Gadot, make an appearance? I have no idea, that information is above my paygrade. In saying that, I read that Nicholas Cage is appearing as Superman from the Multiverse, though that could be a red herring or a red speedster?!

Of the antagonists, Barry is the chief villain, because going back in time to save his mother, is an act of an unselfish man, making a selfish choice, that has brutal consequences for everybody. Obviously, Barry tries to correct this mistake, but I think he runs into two very fast problems: Michael Shannon and Antje Traue have returned from Man of Steel, in the forms of General Zod and Faora-Ul, respectably.

There’s also the theory the geek community is presenting, which is that the second Barry Allen; the one that potentially gains super speed in the movie, will become some sort of Dark Flash. Possibly developing into the Reverse Flash?⁵

Do I have have concerns?

Of course, I do; I have concerns with every comic book movie.

Will the plot make sense?
Will they be trying to pack too much content into the 144 minute runtime?
Will Barry be rebooting the DCEU, the same way he rebooted the DC timeline in Flashpoint?
Will they try to make Supergirl the new Superman, or let her have her own identity?
What if there are some continuity errors?
Will Supergirl’s introduction be rushed?
Do we believe the hype about the film, or is it over blown?
Will the dialogue be witty or corny, or both?
How will the CGI hold up?
How large of a role will Iris West (Kiersey Clemons) and Barry’s parents play?
Will we get a Flash Fact?

Ultimately I don’t know what the movie will be like. I’ve tried harder than a dog bin-diving for food, to avoid reading reviews about the movie. However, as I said before, I’m going to an advanced screening on Wednesday. My plan is to write a review of it, but I’m not sure what to do about, you know…spoilers!

I forgot to mention, did you like the photo? The Flash and Captain Cold belong to UMC2, and he was not impressed that the Flash spent some time in the freezer.

Anyway, I’ll be back next week for The Flash review. Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Remember to walk your dog; read a banned book; stay away from hyper-intelligent telepathic gorillas, and I’ll see you next week, because I’ll be back in a flash.

¹Just between us, that guy is useless.

²He’s worse than the freelance fashion writer.

³Forget the other two, it’s a miracle this guy still has a job.

⁴Apart from Spider-Man and Batman, I think The Flash has the best rogues gallery.

⁵On a side note, the Reverse Flash has one of the best names in all of comicdom.

Tour of the Solar System: Venus

On June 5, 2023June 12, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Science

Welcome, welcome, welcome, to the worst tour of the Solar System you will ever experience. I’m probably overestimating the ridiculousness of it, but I’m pretty sure Brian May, Michelle Thaller, Bill Nye, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Brian Cox, or Becky Smethurst, would not want to purchase a ticket.

This is our fifth stop in our tour of the Solar System, with the previous four being Meet the Family, the Sun, Planets vs. Dwarf planets, and Mercury. Since the last stop was everybody’s favourite small planet that has a transition metal element named after itself, the next stop is somewhere that does a very good impression of Hell: Venus.

There are many different things I’d like to discuss about Venus, and I mean a lot, but I have to concentrate on the most interesting/weird information, purely for two reasons. Firstly because there is just too much information to talk about; and secondly, a Galapagos giant tortoise can write faster than me, so I just don’t have the time. Though a DeLorean with a functioning flux capacitor would help.

Just like Mercury, Venus derives its name from Roman mythology, in the form of the goddess of love, sex, beauty, and other things I can’t really relate to. Venus is around 4.5 billion years old, give or take a few hundred million years, which is roughly like the other terrestrial planets. Venus also has two more things in common with Mercury; it has no natural satellites (moons) or rings. Sorry, Beyoncé.

Venus’ size is slightly smaller than Earth’s, which is why some people call it Earth’s twin. They are similar because Venus has a diameter close to 12,100 km, with Earth’s diameter being 12,756 km; which means Venus would lose at an arm wrestle with Earth, but not by much.

Just like the majority of objects in our Solar System, Venus orbits the Sun. The orbital range is 107,477,000 km (66,783,112 miles) to 108,939,000 km (67,691,556 miles), which is only a difference of 1.46 million km. The average distance from Venus to the Sun is around 108,208,000 km (67,237,334 miles), and if you’ve been paying attention, this means Venus is the second closest planet to our local natural fusion factory.

So up until now, Venus seems nice and normal, but what exactly is normal? If we are comparing Venus to other planets or exo-planets, it’s probably normal; however, if we are comparing Venus to Earth,…well, if Earth is Superman living in Metropolis, then Venus is Bizarro living in Arkham Asylum. Honestly, Venus is pretty messed up. You wouldn’t just be swiping left on Venus, you would be calling the police!

Venus is actually closer to Earth than Mars, with an average distance of 41 million km vs 228 million km, respectively. But here’s the thing; even though Venus is closer to Earth, we are preparing and planning to send astronauts to Mars. That’s not an accident, by the way, it’s because we’re not stupid.

Venus is basically like a public bathroom, after an entire rugby team suffering from chronic curry diarrhoea, has been: it’s somewhere you don’t want to go.

Even though Venus is named after a goddess, and is the only planet to do so, let’s discuss why you should NEVER visit Venus.

Venus is actually the hottest planet in the Solar System. Venus has a problem, a very big problem, that humanity has been noticing here on Earth: climate change. Venus has a runaway greenhouse gas effect happening, which has created an apocalyptic problem.

The clouds on Venus are made of extremely thick and poisonous sulfuric acid, which starts at 45-70 km. This of course is only compounded by the thick atmosphere, which is made up of over 90% carbon dioxide. This means the amount of pressure on Venus’ surface is 93 times that of Earth. To put this into perspective, standing on the surface of Venus would be equivalent to being 1 km under the ocean. At this pressure, and without some amazing super-reinforced space suit, your body would be crushed.

Sounds great, doesn’t it? But wait, there’s more horror!

Because the thick atmosphere acts as a blanket, Venus traps excess heat on the surface, which makes the Human Torch look like Olaf from Frozen. Temperatures on the surface can range from 438 °C (820 °F) to 482 °C (900 °F), which is hot enough to melt Tellurium, Zinc and Lead.

Venus was the first planet that humans managed to send spacecraft to and land. This has resulted in several landers and probes over the years, making the 41 million km trek to Venus, but because of the scorching heat and crushing atmospheric pressure, Venus has killed them all. The longest surviving probe on Venus only lasted about 2 hours, before it stopped transmitting.

Mars may be the only planet inhabited by functioning robots, but Venus is the OG; its surface is littered with robotic corpses. Venus is nightmare fuel.

Venus’ orbit and rotation manage to stay in theme with freakiness. Apart from Uranus, Venus is the only other planet that rotates backward on its axis in the Solar System. This is known as retrograde rotation, and it means the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east, which is the total opposite of what happens on Earth.

Venus also rotates painfully slowly on its axis, because one day on Venus equals 243 Earth days. This is the slowest rotation of a planet in the Solar System. Congratulations Venus!! The shenanigans continue because Venus actually orbits the Sun faster than Earth at 225 Earth days. So one Venusian day actually lasts longer than one Venusian year.

There are three last things that I need to mention about Venus, among others, before I depart for my bed.

1.) The surface of Venus is covered with valleys, craters, mountains, and extreme volcanic activity. Its estimated, that 80% of Venus’ surface is covered with volcanic plains. There’s also a mountain on Venus called Maxwell Montes, which is 11 km (36,000 ft) high, and dwarfs Mount Everest at 8.848 km (29,031.7 ft).

2.) Venus appears in the sky as a small bright light, near sunset and dawn. This has led people to give Venus names like “The Morning Star” and “The Evening Star.” This makes Venus the third brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon.

3.) Have you ever heard of the Star Light, Star Bright poem?

Star light, star bright,

First star I see tonight,

I wish I may, I wish I might,

Have this wish I wish tonight.

Traditionally, if you had a wish and saw the first star in the evening, you could recite this poem, and your wish could come true. The universe has a funny side because, for hundreds of years, people would do this; wishing on the first star of the evening. The issue is that the first star they would wish on wasn’t really a star at all; it was a planet. So if you have ever done this, and the wish didn’t come true, it was because it was Venus.

And with that, I’m done for another week. I hope you’re still enjoying the tour, because the tour guide is rubbish, quite frankly. For next week’s modest blog, I’m going to do something I’ve never done before; no, I’m not doing a Fifty Shades of Grey review. Drum roll please…..I’m going to write a preview! So I hope it works. Maybe.

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Remember to walk your dog; read a banned book; learn what DVD actually means; and I’ll see you next week.

The Entertainment differences between my Wife and I

On May 29, 2023June 5, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Books, Literature, Movies, Television

I want to talk about my wife. Why? Considering she’s the only other adult in my house, we do have a lot in common. I mean, we did get married, so we must actually like each other. We both enjoy various pop culture franchises like Doctor Who, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and the list could go on and on.

We both love reading and eating pizza, as well as sharing a hatred of housework. We’re also in agreement that something very strange is happening with our local corner shop, because the hours they’re open are truly bizarre.

There are many other similarities between us, but they are not as interesting as the differences concerning entertainment.

If you can break it all down, there are two major differences between us. The first is…it’s still difficult to acknowledge this publicly, but my wife enjoys Sour Cream and Chives. I know what you’re thinking; how did a Salt and Vinegar-loving and Sour Cream and Chives-hating guy like myself, end up being married to a Sour Cream and Chives-loving and Salt and Vinegar-hating woman? No one is perfect or infallible; except God, Chuck Norris, and Sir David Attenborough.

One day I’ll write about a pair of star-crossed lovers, meeting over a packet of Chicken chips, but today is not this day.

The second major difference is the consumption of entertainment; such as novels, movies, and tv shows. Let’s start with movies, shall we? I enjoy movies, either watching them at home or at the cinema; because everybody loves watching a movie in the dark with 100 other random people, while eating overpriced food.

The way I view movies can easily fall into two groups: movies I’ve seen before and movies I’ve never seen. There are a lot of movies that I would love to see again, whether they are one of my favourites, or if they are part of a series with a new addition coming out, so I want to familiarise myself with the plot and characters again. That sounds fair, right?

On the other hand that is not holding a lightsabre, there are new movies that I want to see; which to be honest is the majority of the two. Do I want to see every new movie that’s released? No, that’s insane, plus I would be broke. I just want to see some particular new movies, for whatever particular odd reason.

Ok, but what about my wife? She’s like me, that she can enjoy rewatching a favourite movie. This is something that she likes and is comfortable with. She knows the actors, the director, the plot, and the genre, so she knows what to expect. Again, that sounds fair, right?

With new movies, we do have a problem though. My wife does not like watching new movies; mainly ones she knows next to nothing about. She will happily watch a new movie at the cinema or at home, with pre-existing characters that she knows and loves. But ask her to watch a movie where she doesn’t know the characters or the plot? Hell, no. She will not watch it.

There is a loophole to this law: my wife will watch a new movie with characters she has never seen before, if…and only if, she has read the book that the movie is based on. That way, she is guaranteed to know various things about the plot and characters. You can’t expect her to watch a movie that she knows nothing about, can you?

So when it comes time for the two of us to sit and actually watch a movie together, there is a lot of discussion and negotiating involved.

Books are also treated the same way for both of us; to a point. I will reread my favourite books, but my main focus is reading new material. I have said this before, but my reading pile is reproducing asexually because it’s grown to five piles which are now sitting on my set of drawers. I have to apologise to them daily for not reading them fast enough; I have a Star Wars book that’s been sitting there for three years and counting.

Would you like to know where my wife’s reading pile lives? Those books are sitting next to the other books on the shelves, that she has already read! When my wife finishes reading a series, “What should I read next?” would be the next question. If you’re thinking, “You should read a book you’ve never read before”, then you don’t know my wife.

She will simply look through the shelves and select a book series that she has already read 100 times before, and start reading. Why you ask? It’s the same reason as the movies; she already knows the plot and characters; it’s familiar and that means the books are something that she is going to like, because…she has already liked and read them before!

I feel she’s my own personal mogwai, that comes with pop culture rules. There are exceptions to her book law: my wife does not like reading a stand-alone book, that is not part of any series. The biggest reason for this is that if she ever reads and likes the book, where does she go from there? There’s no sequel or prequel, it’s just the end. So would my wife commit her time and energy to a single book? It could go either way.

“Hang on, Scott. If your wife only ever reads books she has already read, then how does she read anything new?” That’s a great question. My wife will only read a new book if it’s based on a movie that she has already seen, or it’s a series of books that has been entirely published; like Twilight, Fifty Shades of Gray, or Harry Potter. This way, she can read the first book right through to the final book, without having to wait for the next book to be published. That’s torture for her, waiting for something to be published or released.

Also if it’s similar to something she already enjoys, like The Hunger Games, then reading the Divergent series is in the same wheelhouse, and it also fits in with her book reading criteria. I’ve known her for 10.5 years, so I understand her logic.

With television shows, you can pretty well guess where this is headed, and you are sort of right. TV shows are divided into four groups; shows that we both watch together, shows that I watch by myself, shows that she watches by herself, and shows neither of us watches.

We both tend to watch tv shows that are based on things that we have already seen, or at least read about; whether it’s a book or a comic. There are exceptions to this of course, like comedies or science-fiction. We’ve learned that if we want to watch a new tv show, we need to mention it to the other person. 90% of the time, the other spouse doesn’t want to watch it and that’s ok; however, with the other 10%, the answer is yes, which is strange, to say the least.

So what can we make of this? If anything, I like reading and watching new material, whereas my wife enjoys immersing herself in familiar content. We are both living with the opposite version of ourselves in terms of entertainment consumption, but nobody is perfect. Except God, Chuck Norris, and Sir David Attenborough.

That’s it for another rant and another week. Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Remember to walk your dog; read a banned book; remember the answer is 42; and I’ll see you next week.

SOME GEEK TOLD ME

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