Karate Kid

Since the 80s Karate Kid had often been considered the "Rocky" of martial arts movies and in some cases they are right.  You have the underdog fighter, his cuckoo but wise teacher and his arrogant opponent  This series was also directed by John G. Avildsen who directed the first and fifth Rocky films. It has had 4 sequels, a cartoon series, a video game, various parodies and a remake starring Will Smith's son, Jaden in the title role.  However a few things in the series most people have pointed out to be impossible.  I am here to find out if they are true. 

The story begins with Daniel LaRusso, a teenager from New Jersey before Jersey Shore made it look bad.  He and his mother moves to Reseda, Los Angeles. While suffering from moving blues he makes a few friends right away.  First being a kid named Freddy and the other named Ali, a rich girl from the hills.  However Ali just got out of a bad relationship with local bad boy Johnny Lawrence.  Daniel, the good nature he is tries to stop a recent altercation between the two and promptly gets pushed by Lawrence.  This prompts Daniel to get into a fist fight with Johnny that escalates in a Karate fight. However Daniel's YMCA style which involves one punch in the face, is no match for Johnny's spin kick as he is pounded to the ground not once but twice.  This starts a bitter rivalry between them as Johnny and his gang is proceeds to make his life a living hell.  During the recent scuffle, Daniel is saved by Mr. Miyagi, the handyman of his apartment complex.  Miyagi is an Okinawan living in America and knows various skills including Karate.  After saving Daniel he goes to confront the sensai of the gang's school at Cobra Kai.  Here he finds out the sensai, John Kreese is a former vietnam vet that uses sadistic training methods and unethical approaches to martial arts.  During said confrontation, Miyagi strikes a deal with Kreese:  The Cobras leave Daniel alone to train, in exchange they settle the matter once and for all in the upcoming tournament.  Using unorthodox teachings such as making Daniel wax his car collection and paint his fence, Miyagi teaches Daniel not only how to defend himself, but the true meanings of Karate.

Now there are various concepts throughout the whole series that seem not only ridiculous even for movie standards. Could It Exist In Real Life?  Before I answer I must advise never attempt to do this on anyone. This article is meant to research on the possibility.

Let's start with the well known one: Wax On Wax Off.  Throughout the bulk of the series Daniel is taught various chores in his "Training" Waxing cars, sanding floors, painting fences and painting houses.  This in the end, turns out that he is subconsciously being taught how to block in various ways.  Many people have complained and claimed that it doesn't work like that.  It does exist however in various ways.  For one you notice overtime that Daniel gets sore from a long time of work.  He is actually building muscle he never knew he had.  Second, the technique in subconsciously teaching blocks is known as muscle memory. Most people do not know this, but doing a long time of simple chores can actually be a better work out than lifting weights or excessive exercise. Many martial arts teachers often train their students to make their moves second nature to them.  To use combination of defense and offensive moves without even thinking.  That way the student can make quick decisions in a fight.

The Second is the Crane and Drum Technique.  For those who don't know the Crane Technique was an iconic scene in the climax of the first film.  It involves standing on one leg with arms raised like wings, raising the front lead leg up.  In this position, you either kick with your raised leg or you bluff and kick with the leg you are standing on.  Now before I say it can exist lets get the joke out of the way.  Despite it supposedly being an invincible move, simply catching the foot as Chozen demonstrated in 2 or as joked frequently kicking the stander in the groin often defeats the purpose.  That aside it does work.  In 2011 on UFC 129 during a match between Lyoto Machida vs Randy Couture.  Machida won the fight using the titular crane kick.  Something no one ever dared to try before out of fear of said joke examples.  Next is the Drum Technique.  This Technique was meant to dodge oncoming strikes, but LaRusso improved it by adding a counterstrike with each dodge. This can exist.  According to Karatejutsu.blogspot.com  The drum that inspired the drum technique represents the human upper body and arms.  The handle is centerline and the string with the miniature drum sticks represents relaxed arms.  Keeping one hand or the other hand in center-line will insure you successful blocking and striking with said technique.  Also remember this even it took Daniel a while to master this too so if you feel you can't do it right, don't get discouraged.  Just keep at it.  As the great Miyagi said "If come from you, always right way."

As usual debate, argue and let me know if I missed anything. Stay tuned for more.

That Guy With The Glasses Tetrology

I figured for my 30th post onward I should get started on the New Media genre. So I figured what better place to start than with Channel Aweseome and That Guy With The Glasses.  I first caught a glimpse of Channel Awesome during The Nostalgia Critic and Angry Video Game Nerd Feud.  The Angry Video Game Nerd was the very first Internet review show I ever watched but I'll get to that one next time.  As for Channel Awesome it opened my eyes for the first time and was one of the things that inspired me to do this blog.  I have the utmost respect for Doug and Rob Walker, as well as Lewis Lovhaug and the rest of the team for all that they do for new media entertainment.  However the main focus isn't on the numerous shows that are on that site.  My main focus is on the anniversary specials and the videos leading up to it.

This one will be different while at the same time share the same ideals of fictionalization, but first the story. Since I am going through a lot for this, there may be spoilers.

It all started with The Nostalgia Critic, a reviewer that made it his life's mission to seek out any and all nostalgic movies and rip them apart figuratively and sometimes literally.  His trademark appearence included a hat, suit jacket and a tie worn over casual clothes, whilst his trademark formula included the following:

1. Watching the movie and analyzing the pros and cons.
2. Going insane over every inconsistency.
3. Sometimes taking it out on others in the most comically violent ways imaginable.

And boy did it have dire consequences.

The first anniversary started with hate comments.  That's right, something bad turned into something good.  See what happened was as Nostalgia Critic became popular, most AVGN fans accused The Critc of copycatting.  So he made a series of videos to challenge the nerd in many ways imaginable.  None of them worked and the Nerd bested him with hidden retaliations such as sending hidden insults, reviewing The Wizard before him and sending a challenge video of his own.  Critic decided go to Clifton New Jersey to challenge the Nerd into reviewing a horrible nostalgic movie.  The Nerd accepted on the condition that Critic plays a bad video game. Critic refused and they fought with Captain S (The Now Retired Hero Of Video Game Land) mediating between the two.  They eventually called a truce and reviewed each others respective mediums.  Nostalgia Critic reviewing Babe's Kids: The Game and AVGN reviewing Ricky 1, a poorly done parody of Rocky.  The result cost them both their sanity.  Critic was to announce that the feud was far from over when to his surprise, Nerd hijacks his video feed to apologize.  However he stealthy insulted him in the process culminating in another fight this time at the Nerd's own home.  This became a battle of geeky proportions as every fight scene was parodied in the process. The Nerd won in the end but that wasn't the last of the Nostalgia Critic.  Now onto the first Anniversary.  Critic was singing about Chicago when he and the Nerd cross paths once again.  The fight was taken all over Chicago and ended up in a Holiday Inn. Here all of Channel Awesome joined the fray and for the first time ever, they were in a crossover of epic proportions.  We have Nostalgia Chick (Who started out reviewing female appealing nostalgic movies but escalated into a Nostalgia Critic herself much to the original's protest.)  Linkara (A comic book reviewer/part time superhero.)  Handsome Tom and 8-Bit Mickey (ScrewAttack's most well known game reviewers save for the Nerd.)  TheSpoonyOne (A former TGWTG member who is determined to beat every Final Fantasy, and has a psychotic alter ego in the form of Doctor Insano.)  Marzgurl (An anime reviewer.) HopeWithinChaos (A reviewer who considers bad fictional mediums to be an Epic Fail.) Paw (A music Critic) On the Critic's team.  Whilst Kyle Justin (A musician and writer of the AVGN theme.) Benzaie (A french game critic that specializes in games not available in North America.) Little Miss Gamer (A game reviewer from the same company as Captain S.)  ThatAussieGuy (Another former TGWTG member)  ThatChickWithTheGoggles (A game critic that specializes on her own personal nostalgia.) Lee (A reviewer whose recurring gag is he uses still photos rather than live video.) Bennett The Sage (A Fan Fiction Reviewer, who specializes in scaring the daylights out of his fellow cast mates.) AngryJoe (A game reviewer obsessed with guns and Chic-Fil-A) and Ma-Ti (A former Captain Planet Planeteer, who just wanted to belong. His ability was the Power of Heart.)  The fight rages on with even wrestler style commentary from TransmissionAwesome as well as shout outs to comedic and action movies.  However the fight ends when ThatGuyWithTheGlasses, (Walker's other alter ego who is mostly known for answering submitted questions in the most dark and disturbing fashions.) breaks it up and tells them to use their crossover time to get along and hate everything else.  The once feuding group gets along and has done crossover reviews following the fight.  The most well known being Critic and Nerd's review of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Coming Out of Their Shells Tour.  The review took most of their sanity away and they continued fighting each other out of boredom.

The Second Anniversary was different for rather than just senseless violence for the sake of comedy, it became the very first Story Arc for ThatGuyWithTheGlasses.  They even gave it a title: Kickassia.

The story takes place in Molossia, a Micronation in Nevada owned by Kevin Baugh and his family.  The Nostalgia Critic wants the land for himself.  At first he tries to intimidate Baugh into giving it to him.  Baugh on the otherhand is unfazed.  So the Critic rallies up members of TGWTG old and new, including Filmbrain (A film critic that specializes in recent bad movies.) Cinema Snob (A Z grade movie reviewer) LordKat (Who specializes in games he is determined to beat.) and JewWario (A reviewer who also specializes in games that are not normally sold in North America.)  and Phelous (A movie reviewer that specializes in Meta: Pointing out that he himself is in a video.).  Much to their reluctance they take over Molossia.  However not all is well, for many of the members are sick of the Critic's laziness and Spoony is struggling with his Doctor Insano persona.  To make matters worse, Baugh in is Fritz Von Baugh Persona, plants seeds of rebellion within the group.

The third Anniversary had a darker turn than the second as much of it was a balance of comedy and drama.

Suburban Knights starts out with Angry Joe waltzing down the road in a good mood.  Why? Because he won a free car. However he finds out that he has been deceived by the Nostalgia Critic along with other reviewers new and old including Obscurus Lupa (Who specializes in Z grade movies.) ToddInTheShadows (Who reviews modern music. His trademark is never showing his face.) and Luke Mochrie (Who specializes in using Split Personalities to comment on the good and bad side of movies. You may also know his father Colin Mochrie a famous comedian and regular on Who's Line Is It Anyway?).  For he has found a map and clues to an ancient magical artifact known as Malachites Hand.  However it is not that simple, for they have to participate in a LARP (Live Action Role Play.) in order to decipher the clues to get it.  To make matters worse they are pursued by both the obstacles defending the Hand and Malachite himself, an evil technophobic wizard who created the hand.

Their Fourth and final anniversary was a big one for both the cast and the fans. For it put Nostalgia Critic in temporary hiatus.  It also burned out most members who either left or decided not to participate in anymore anniversaries.

The story picks up where Suburban Knights leaves off.  The Critic is under house arrest for his numerous crimes in the previous anniversaries.  To make matters worse a hole in the sky is getting bigger to the point where it could spell disaster for the universe as we know it.  So he rallies the crew up one final time to go to space and stop it.  However there are villains who want to use the hole for their own diabolical ends as well as a traitor of the crew.

Now this entire series has had a lot of things that seem impossible however there are two things I found out about it that may seem plausible.  Could It Exist In Real Life?

The first thing is  the hole in space. It is known as a plot hole a wormhole that causes nonsensical plot devices and mistakes to occur. Take the Black/White hole theory out of it and this phenomena does still exist.  For as every great fictional medium goes along there are a ton of bad ones that follow.  From Games that have terrible glitches, to movies with bad story structure in favor of "Great Effects" What if there is in actuality a phenomena that compels all the bad in fiction history to create their horrible art.  As sort of a way to balance it out with the good art in the world.  Maybe people like Michael Bay and Stephanie Meyer are simply doing bad in order to keep the scales from toppling.  Think of how many good mediums in your life and how many bad ones come. Normally one overshadows the other whilst other times there is a perfect balance.  For every Batman and Robin there is an X-Men or Blade. For every Tron Legacy there is a Transformers 3.  For every failed attempt at a Justice League, there is a successful avengers.  All mediums both good and bad, perceived or not have a place in the world. Some of which teach us great values whilst others show us what not to do.

The Second thing is a lot more crucial.  The Character.  In To Boldly Flee, Nostalgia Critic meets his creator Doug Walker.  Walker explains to him that it started out as him writing the character, but later said character takes on a life of their own and telling the creator what to write.  As crazy as it sounds it makes perfect sense.  Think of all the many poor received sequels as well as comics that have been contraversal.  The reason being is that their creators as well as future contributors fail to realize that their creations have a life of their own and that instead of listening to them, they try to take control which in turn screws their comic up and ticks off the fan base they are trying to appeal to.  A big example would be Roy Harper aka Arsenal.  As Linkara once pointed out what made this character unique, was that he was the first member of the Titans to be a single father.  However Cry for Justice, decided to take that away by killing his daughter.  This was a big result of the writers taking control of the story and screwing it up for the sake of shock value. Its one thing to kill a character off when it works, but its another if someone just does it on a whim especially if said character had no importance to the main story.  To make matters worse they take a unique character like Roy Harper and turn him from a lovable character to a downward spiraling unsympathetic asshole that lashes out on his friends and loved ones and becomes a villain.  If that is not an example of not listening to your characters then I don't know what is.

As usual debate, argue and let me know what I missed. Stay tuned for more.

Doctor Who

Doctor Who was considered one of the best Sci-Fi TV Shows in the world.  It is long running, has had 11 doctors,  5 spin-offs,  18 major story Arcs, various gadgets to go gaga for and over a billion characters and alien species to pick favorites from.  Ask any Sci-Fi geek and they will tell you that their favorite Sci-Fi show the top contenders would either be Star Trek or Doctor Who.  Of course this is word of mouth from me, so odds are I am probably full of it.

The story is simple, an alien known only as The Doctor goes on an adventure through time and space.  Along with his interchangeable human companions, and the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space) a vehicle that is bigger on the inside, while the outside is disguised to look like a 1960s Police Box.  The Doctor and his friends go to interesting places, meet interesting people and do battle with many threats of the known universe.  Such as the Daleks, a group of alien racists that seek to destroy anything that isn't them.  The Cybermen who assimilate beings into their collective to create a world conquering army.  And The Master an insane member of The Doctor's race whose aspirations are for universe domination.

Because of the long storyline. (Seriously the show is still going on as I type.)  I am only gonna focus on Key points of the Doctor and his equipment.  Could It Exist In Real Life?

Let's start with the Doctor.  He is a member of an alien race known as the Time-Lords.  A race of humanoid beings with Two hearts, that has mastered various scientific impossibilities such as Time and Interstellar Travel.  They created such devices as The TARDIS and The Sonic Screwdriver.

The Sonic Screwdriver is both a weapon and a gadget frequently used by The Doctor.  Among most things it can fix something that was considered impossible to fix whilst also makes a nifty lockpick.  It was this object I first searched for a real life equivalent that inspired me to do this blog.  So needless to say I found one.  According to NBC news, Dundee University are currently working on one.  So far it is able to make things spin.  Best part is that they aren't the only one.

The Tardis is another can of worms.  For starters Time and Dimension hopping have not been proven and the only theories that claim it possible, are "Brief History of Time." By Stephen Hawking.  However the big question is something both Doctor Who and Non-Doctor Who fans have asked since 1963. "How is the Tardis bigger on the inside?"  For starters there are the practical reason.  The Police Box is camouflage.  It is designed to make the ship look unlike a ship.   By that logic the entire ship is invisible and surrounding the police box which is simply a door.  However by that logic if someone were to walk a foot beside the police box they should hit something solid.  So that theory is not out the window, but teetering. My physics is a little rusty, but it is my understanding that what keeps solid objects from phasing through each other is the electrons binding said object. However any disruption of said electrons would cause the object to be destroyed.  I believe that the time lords somehow bypass that.  How? I can only Guess rather than disrupt them they speed them up so fast its almost like they aren't there.  So logically the ship could be huge and can still fit around a town or city crowded with buildings and people without anyone bumping there heads off of it.  That is aside from hitting the police box since that can not be phased. 

Last but not least is the Doctor. Could he exist?  Well take away the fact that there is still no proof of humanoid aliens and there are various concepts of him that exist.  For example a being with multiple hearts.  An animal species on earth known as the Cephalopods. (Squids, octopi and other boneless life.)  have multiple hearts.  Some of which are capable of Regeneration as the Doctor has in various ways, from regrowing limbs to entire body reconstruction, which resulted in many appearance and personality changes.  So in a way (probably millions of years of evolution) Much of the squidlife would become the Doctor we know and love as well as the Master we know and hate. We just have to wait and see.

As usual, debate, argue, and let me know what I miss.  Stay tuned for more.

Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball was to Japan what Superman was to North America.  It started out as parody of "Journey To The West" And evolved into one of the most well known Manga series in the world.  It has had 4 anime series, 3 public service videos, 6 specials, 3 OVA, 3 Live action films, 22 video games, 1 parody, 3 Crossovers and 1 abridged series by Team Four Star.  This is no franchise, no no.  Franchises has limits to what they market.  This on the other hand is a living breathing Beast that grows the more mediums it attaches too.  It is as legendary as the Super Sayian that put it on the map.

The story begins begins with Son Goku, a strange naive boy that has a tail.  He meets a girl named Bulma who is on the hunt for Dragon Balls.  A group of 7 sphere shaped objects, with stars printed on them that indicate the number of each one.  Gathering them together would summon a mighty dragon with the purpose of Granting one perfect wish.  However they aren't the only ones, for many villains are on the hunt for them as well.  Some of which are willing to kill anyone that gets in their way.  These villains include, Emperor Pilaf who wants world domination,  Commander Red of the Red Ribbon Army who only wanted to grow taller (He should have visited Gattaca.), Crane Hermit, an evil martial arts teacher who wanted to outshine Master Roshi (The perverted teacher we know and love.)  and King Piccolo, the self proclaimed King of Demons that wanted revenge on the world for sealing him in a rice cooker.  There was more to come in Z  with introduction of the Sayians.  A race of humanoids with tails similar to that of Goku, who turns out to be one of them, sent to Earth as an infant as his home planet, Vegeta explodes.  Hmm an alien from a dying planet sent to earth as a child? That sounds vaguely familiar......nah.  As well as the Nameks a race of aliens that created the Dragon Balls.  I could go on about the Majins and GT, but I don't want to put you folks in the same suffering I went through.  The majority fanbase said that Dragon Ball Evolution killed the franchise but I believe that Majin Buu and GT did it first and I'll tell you why.   The Frieza Saga was supposed to be Goku's final appearance.  He was to die on Namek while his son Gohan would take up the mantle as world Savior.  However the majority fanbase complained on 2 aspects.  One at the time, Gohan didn't really do anything of use save for beating up Vegeta in Ape form and stealing the Dragon Ball.  And two, because Goku got killed.  To fix this they introduced the Cell Saga in which Gohan instead of Goku would defeat Cell in the end.  Of course that only satisfied half the Majority, they still wanted Goku back.  So they devised a way to bring him back and make him the main hero again.  This in turn made GT, which caused that same Majority including myself to not watch Dragon Ball anymore.  So suffice to say this was the one time in the history of entertainment where the fans are to blame.

But I digress, you don't want to read about how I am probably gonna be lynched by said majority.  You want to know if something like Dragon Ball's concept could exist.

First and foremost, because this is a big thing, I am gonna divide it into known factors and eliminating the obvious.  As explained in my Justice League article there is still no proof of humanoid aliens.

The first factor is the physical part of Dragon Ball: The Training.  Throughout the entire series, Goku, Krillin and many other fighter characters have gone through various impossible training regimens of the Kame-Sen-Ryu, or in english meaning the Turtle School. I am gonna analyze all of them. I should warn you ahead while it's a great training regimen, do not try this at home without proper supervision. Many of the training is exaggerated for anime purposes.

1.  Skills Analysis:  Before actual training begins, Roshi inquires his students of where they trained.  In Goku's case he learned from his Grandfather Gohan Sr.on the basics of martial arts.  Next he gives his students a speed test to see how fast they can run.  This is crucial because Roshi can run at a time frame of 5 seconds from point A to point B.  Last but not least is a test of determination.  In this case he uses a rock with the Kame symbol written on it and throws it across a dangerous terrain.  If one gets the rock and brings it back, they don't get to go hungry.  However if neither one gets the rock back in 30 minutes they both starve for the night.  This actually exists in more ways than one.  Many martial arts schools do ask if their potential students had prior training be it at home or another school.   Some even test their students prior to see what level would be appropriate for training.  Unfortunately so does the harsh punishments in most schools.  Jackie Chan himself once claimed, that the school he first trained him would punish him or other students should they fail in a certain exercise

2. Is their early morning training. Roshi's students are required to do a milk run on a small island village, by hand before breakfast.  They are required to go to specific locations in order to develop certain strengths. From climbing a mountain to outrunning violent wildlife, all while carrying the heavy boxes of milk bottles in their hand. This two exists in real life in the form of combinations between Cardio exercise to strengthen the heart and Isometrics by holding the milk boxes while doing other exercises. 

3. Is their mid-morning training.  Roshi's students are required to plow a farmer's field with their bare hands to condition them.  This does exist in real life in the form of the Iron Shirt and Iron Palm Training.  A form of exercise designed to condition and strengthen your body to its natural invulnerability. It is extremely painful, but if done right, can make even the smallest child near invincible.

4. Is their end-morning training.  Roshi's students are required to study various academic subjects, from literacy to math.  This does exist in two ways.  One, it's home school.  Two, many martial artists in the world believe that the mind is just as important as the body.  After the morning training is complete Roshi and his students are required to nap before lunchtime.

5. Is their early afternoon training.  Roshi's students are required to work part time in a construction site.  Unlike mid-morning training, they are aloud to use tools provided they are not power tools.  This was meant developing strength and balance, as well as earn them a few dollars.  This does exist too.  Many people have often used their time on chores and jobs as a way of getting exercise.

6. Is their mid-afternoon training.  Roshi's students are required to swim ten laps in a lake to develop speed and agility. To further motivate them into swimming faster a T-Rex is placed on the island to keep them from staying on shore, and the lake is infested by a shark to keep them swimming.  As scary as that is, it does exist in real life.  On a season 2 episode of Ripley's Believe It Or Not,  a swimming instructor was known to place a large Crocodile in the pool to motivate his students into swimming faster.

7. Is their evening excercise.  Roshi's Students are required to be tethered to a tree near a large beehive and dodge the angry swarm in order to increase their perception and reflexes.  While there is no record of actual training of this caliber to exist.  The concept it self exists in various forms.  Such as dodging tennis balls being thrown at you.

At the end of all that the students are required to eat, rest and repeat until they are ready.  As stated before do not try any of this without supervision or at all since most are exaggerated.

Another concept of the physical training is the weighted clothing and gravity rooms.  The former is armbands, shirts, shoes and the like designed to increase resistance on the body without limiting regular movement.  This does exist in the form of ankle weights, wrist weights, and the like.  However while it does work, it can strain your body if you aren't careful.  Never overdo it in any exercise.  As for the gravity room, the closest thing I could find as one is the Gravitron.  A popular amusement part ride that uses Centrifugal force to stick you to the wall. I don't advise anyone to make miniature gravitrons for your own safety.  It took five turns on the Gravitron for me to nearly throw up my intestines.  However the concept of gravity training exists.  On most planets of the solar system, the increased gravity or decreased gravity alters the body weight of anyone who is on it.  A 100 pound person could way 16 on the moon for example. Much like the weighted clothing, it helps with resistance training.

The  next factor is a rather popular concept known as Ki.  For those who know the show, but don't know what I mean.  Ki is a spiritual energy that exists within all living things.  On the show its what causes the Kamehameha, a destructive wave of energy that annihilates anything in its path.  This does exist in real life through various forms.  The most popular is known as Chi/Qi  which the japanese word Ki originated from. You may remember in my first post "Legend Of Zelda" how I talked about the bracelets that balance Chi.  Well I never fully mentioned what it was until now.  There are many views both Scientific and Mystical which debate on whether or not Chi actually exists.  Many practitioners in medicine and martial arts often use chi as an example of their concept.  The most popular being Acupuncture, in which a series of needles are placed into certain parts of the body to attain certain medical benefits. This practice has been proven to be effective. So if it works then obviously Qi exists right?  Then there is the martial arts aspect of it.  Many martial artists have claimed that the secret to breaking boards and bricks and the like are a combination between conditioning as mentioned in the above physical training and mastering Chi.  This is often debated and will be left open for discussion since I myself don't know the known truth behind that.

Last but not least is the Dragon Balls themselves. Could a group of objects grant your wishes?  Yes and no.  The yes refers to the various wish granting objects and artifacts as well as myths. I myself believe that if a clock ever says 12:34 be it noon or midnight, my wishes will come true, and in a way they have.  However the no is essentially an age old question.  Does wish come true, or do you make it come true?

As usual debate, argue and let me know what I miss.  Stay tuned for more.

Update:  There was a thing I was neglecting because I couldn't think of a way to explain this Until Now.  The Super Saiyan Transformation.  I couldn't fully grasp the concept of a real life example, that is until I was working on the Analysis of the Incredible Hulk. I said that power like that through raw emotion was in us the whole time.  However it does not mean you can access it anyway you want.  For example That wives tale on hysterical strength about the Mother rescuing her child.  She had that power but she couldn't use it until her son was in danger.  Then it struck me, what Goku stated during the Cell Saga.  "The Power comes from a need not a desire."  What he meant was that if we needed it, not wanted it, but needed it, it will be there.  When Goku first transformed there were certain factors. 
1. The Spirit Bomb took all his energy away.
2. Frieza was still alive.
3. Frieza wounded Piccolo.
4. Frieza killed Krillin
5. Frieza threatened to kill Gohan.

These factors swirled together in a string of anger and desperation that caused Goku to access power he never even knew he had.  However the only thing unexplained was where did this power come from? Was it inside him or did it come from a higher power?  The answer could be the latter because prior to the transformation the environment changed dramatically.  The skies blackened, thunder and lightning struck everywhere, but no rain in sight.  The waves rocking back and fourth violently.  It was almost as if Planet Namek was just as pissed off as the transforming Super Saiyan. But I don't wish to confuse you the reader any further, so here's my final thoughts on the matter.

To become a real life Super Saiyan you have to have a need for that power,  I don't know if a false need can access such great strength, but hey that's how Gohan transformed.  However much like the one in the anime it comes at a terrible price.  If you can't control said power it controls you and causes you to act on your emotional state rather than basic reasoning.

Miracle on 34th Street

Miracle on 34th Street was often considered one of the top contenders of the "The Christmas Movie"  A special unofficial rank among movie fans, Christmas enthusiasts and all around good people in general. it was also one of the first mediums to come up with the name Kris Kringle as an alternate name for Santa Claus and even pointed out the other different names in different nationalities.  The movie was remade 3 times, one of which stars now former child star Mara Wilson, who you might know as Matilda. She takes the role from another well known actress, Natalie Wood.

The story goes like so.  Kris Kringle, a kindly old man notices that a mall Santa is drunk before the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York.  He has the man reported to Doris Walker, one of the major employer/ees who hires him right away as the replacement.  Because of his great job at it, he is hired to be a full time Mall Santa.  Here it goes both up and downhill with subplots: For starters Kris directs one shopper to another store that sells what she is looking for, causing her to be a loyal customer for Macys.  This in turn causes their rival Gimbels to do the same with their customers, giving a temporary truce between the two.  Next we have Doris' daughter Susan, she was raised to not believe in Fairy Tales or other practical children's beliefs.  With the help of Fred Gailey, a lawyer and Doris neighbor/friend/love interest; visiting Kris and witnessing him communicate with a Dutch girl in her language, her faith begins to teeter totter on whether or not Santa is real.  Doris, who doesn't want her daughters feelings hurt tries to convince Kris to tell Susan he is not Santa Clause.  To her surprise, he insists that he is Santa.  So they offer a Psychological Evaluation to determine if Kris' delusional mind makes him dangerous.  However the man heading the evaluation,  Dr. Granville Sawyer is determined to prove he is.  This is strengthened by the fact that not only does he pass, but Kris managed to tick off the Dr. further by Psychoanalyzing him.  The last subplot involves Kris and Fred working together to put a stop to both Susan and Doris' disbelief in him.  It all comes around after a confrontation between Kris and Sawyer involves Kris getting arrested and put on trial.  It is then up to Fred Gailey to prove in open court that Kris Kringle is Santa Claus.

Now for the fun part Could Santa Claus Exist In Real Life?

Now let me go on record and say that while I remain neutral.  I personally believe in the existence of Santa Claus.  As for why I am doing this in February rather than December, well I feel the exact date of certain things should never really matter.  And to answer the unasked question.  I believe that he exists in spirit as a representation of all that is good in the world.  He may as well be the world's first superhero. However you guys are looking for more than hearsay, so here goes.

Santa can and has existed in various forms.  The most common is Saint Nikolaos of Myra or Saint Nicholas for short.  He was a 4th Century Greek Bishop who helped the poor in secret by sneaking in their homes and placing purses of gold in their homes at night.  However there were others.  The Dutch named Sinterklaas is where the name Santa Claus originated arrived by steam boat rather than sleigh. Instead of gold to the poor he was known to give gifts, chocolate letters and spice nuts to good children; whilst the naughty literally have to do community service delivering them. The Norse named Jolnir who was the inspiration for another movie "Santa Claus: The Movie"   As well as England's Father Christmas, who was known to wear green instead of red.  This attire was what inspired The Spirit of Christmas Presents look and Jolly personality.  However these are more or less regarded as myths and while myths can go either way. You all want to know if there is a real life Santa.

In a town called Hooksett, New Hampsire, a former engineer named Dick Marshall decided to spend the rest of his making Toys for kids every Christmas.  This man not only makes the toys with his "Elves" He also changed his appearance to look the part as Santa Claus.  The best part is the toys, the pictures and other things he offers are all for free. This man did all that kindess for $0.  And he isn't the only one. Many Santas pop up out in different countries.  Each one doing good deeds in various forms.  Much like the guy that made his own life sized train set, I have something in my eye.

As usual debate, argue and let me know if you know anyone that has done deeds that make them deserving of the title "Santa Claus."  Stay tuned for more.

Justice League

In Spring of 1960 the Justice League broke new grounds. It was one of the most well known super hero teams and the second of 3 teams in DC alone.  The first being the lesser known Justice Society which formed many of the All Star Comic heroes such as Jay Garrick (The first Flash.) and Alan Scott (The first Green Lantern) and the Third being Teen Titans.  However the Justice League was more well known because the founding members consist of the DC Trinity (Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman) Along with Barry Allan (The second Flash), Aquaman and Hal Jordan (The second Green Lantern).

The Origin goes like so, a major disaster alerts the 6 who all show up to deal with it, except for Batman and Superman who are busy dealing with their respective duties in their parts of the world.  A giant starfish named Starro the Conqueror sets out to take over the world (OF COURSE!!!)  by spreading his minions and controlling the minds of every living creature.  The league of course being in his way of said goal.  They of course beat the fish and decide to form a team from now on.

Now for the big question, Could The Justice League Exist in real life?

Before we answer it lets take a look at the League's original members.

We have Batman, a billionare playboy who moonlights as a vigilante and spreads fear to criminals.  Suffice to say he can exist in real life.  His real name is....Prince Harry of Wales.  I am not even joking about that.  When people hear his name they think of two things.  One is the well known rowdy prince that has been in the tabloids so many times. The other thing goes deeper than that.  In may 2005, Harry joined the British Army under the name Officer Cadet Wales and even served during the war in Iraq. However he was never deployed despite his protests. This was out of fear of the Prince's capture.  That didn't stop him though for he went to Canada to train with the armed forces there. and was secretly deployed in the Helmand Province in Afghanistan.  There he along with both the U.S. and Gurkha Troops helped repelled an attack caused by the Taliban.  He was the first Royal to fight wars since his Uncle Prince Andrew flew.  Decades afterwards he has been promoted to the rank of Captain and is now a helicopter gunner.  Captain Wales, as he is called in the Military would be returning from Afghanistan this year and like the Dark Knight he too made some enemies in the fight against the Taliban. Zabihullah Mujahid being one of them claiming that they are using all their power to get rid of him. To further cement his status as the real Batman a quote from Batman Begins should be let known, from Carmine Falcone.  "You're Bruce Wayne, the Prince of Gotham, you'd have to go a thousand miles to meet someone who doesn't know your name."  Yes it was a figure of speech in Wayne's case but it fits in the case of Harry.  The party animal personality has always been a mask, his real face is the one they now fear in darker parts of the middle east.

Next we have Superman an alien with the powers of a god sent to Earth from a dying world to save us from a similar fate.  Unfortunately this one is a yes and a no.  The no being that until proven otherwise, there are no humanoid aliens on earth nor do they have similar powers to Superman.  However there is still a yes in the matter.  Many selfless courageous people have often come close to being the kind of person Superman. In fact when I googled the term "Real Life Superman" one always shows up more frequently than most.....Christopher Reeve.  For those who don't know Christopher Reeve was the actor that had played Superman for 4 movies.  He showed that if you are a good enough actor you could play the double role well, in his case being Superman and Clark Kent.  Many people still to this day think they are played by two different actors.  Reeve, unfortunately didn't last too long.  In 1995 during a horse riding accident, Reeve became a quadriplegic.   However he refused to give up on his life, he continued acting from the Remake of Rear Window, to his notable guest appearances on Smallville where he personally passed the torch to Tom Welling.  Reeve also spent the rest of his life researching spinal cord injury, in hopes that he along with others in his situation would be able to walk again he was even able to regain control of most of his body starting with his finger.  Unfortunately it was too late, for he died of a pressure wound in 2004.  However much like the Man of Steel his Legacy lived on in more ways than one.  His kids, Mathew and Alexandra Reeve are now the board of directors of the Christopher and Dana Reeve foundation and even Superman himself payed his respects in the form of a comic I still have yet to find.

For anything on Wonder Woman click here.

Then there is Green Lantern, a soldier who is given a ring by a dying alien. This ring gives him the ability to create constructs using nothing but his will power and imagination.  He also becomes the first human to join the Green Lantern Corps.  An intergalactic police force.  Now the ring does not exist.....yet. However the willpower it represents does.  Its the thing that drives a person to do feats they never knew they could.  As for the corps and Hal's uniqueness of being the first of his race to Join is a concept that has been long forgotten.  Many wars now you would have to be a citizen of your own country to join the army. However since long before WWI,  it didn't matter if you were American, English or Canadian, if you were willing to fight you could join an army of your choice.  The War of 1812, for example the British loyalists accepted Native Troops which helped them win in the end.  

Martian Manhunter is another can of worms.is the last martian of a thought dead world who leads a double life as a human cop.  He can exist in real life, but not in the way you think.  Over the years science has proven the existence of Bacterial Life on Mars. Many scientists have often debated whether or not life on Earth had similarly evolved from bacteria as well.  Odds are that J'onn J'onzz had lived and the rest of his race rather than dying devolved into the bacterial mix of whence they came.

Last but not least there is Aquaman. He could exist.  The reason its could instead of yes and no is simple.  Take away the fact that he is a mythological Merman, in order to prove he exists, you have to prove that Atlantis, The Lost Sunken Island exists as well.  For Aquaman, is King of said domain.

Update: But wait there's more, I already assessed the possibility of each individual superhero. However I never gotten around to saying whether or not a Justice League, a League of various superheros could exist in real life.  Well I can say that they do.  In Seattle Washington there exists a group comprised of 10 people that go around the streets of Rain City to stop crime wherever they go. They are known as the Rain City Superhero group.  Among them are Buster Doe, Red Dragon, and Pheonix Jones.  When I first heard about this group I was a little skeptical at first.  However after hearing about all they accomplished I was in pure Awe.  However my awe aside I do not encourage anyone reading this to do what they do.  These guys are risking both jailtime as well as their lives fighting crime in their city and while it is meant to inspire people, even they point out that the group does it so no one else has to.
As usual debate, argue and let me know if I miss anything.  Stay tuned for more.

The Stephen King Universe

What to say about King that hasn't been said.  You either love him or hate him. For me I love the hell out of his stories.  The horror, the drama, and the dark humor ones especially.  King has given us a new spin on old legends as well as adding some of his own.  From troubled teens with special powers, to killer cars that are very jealous when their drivers talk to another person, the four-eyed mild-mannered Maine man from hell has and always will scare the living daylights out of us. He is a firm believer of one simple strategy "Write what you know." Which has been imitated a lot, through parodies that even he himself takes part in.  Best of all he also values expression and will let anyone with a camera film a movie based on his short stories in exchange for $1.  Speaking of adaptations he cameos in almost every single one and even had a minor role.  I often came up with a little conspiracy theory that if he ever showed up in one of his own adaptions, anyone near him would die horribly. Bonus points whenever someone near him tells him off.  For this portion of Could It Exist In Real Life since it's now my 25th post. I am gonna do a defiction tribute to the King of Horror stories.

Since I already covered some of the classic monsters which you can no doubt see in my other analysis. I shall cover some of the elements that King himself is more well known for.

First is Carrie.  We know the story, a socially awkward teenager discovers that she has Telekinesis, the ability to move objects with her mind.  With a combination of peer pressure from an atoning teen/her boyfriend, her bible crazy abusive mother, and dozens of evil teens constantly picking on her. Its a wonder she doesn't explode right?  Well she kinda did, as the result of a prank to get even with her for getting her in trouble for picking on her to begin with. (A vicious cycle.)  Local Alpha Bitch, Chris Hargensen dumps a bucket of pigs blood on Carrie, which jumpstarts the prom night of hell. Nice job Chris, hurt the already unstable girl at the height of her final happiness no way she'll get even.  There's no way that a girl like Carrie can exist right?  Wrong see there are two schools of thought on the matter.  The first and obvious is whether or not telekinesis is a real thing, while I have no video proof of it since most of it is word of mouth. I can honestly say that is real.  My mother being a prime example.  She was a sweet woman but what she liked to do for fun was scare people.  And one of the things she did to me as part of a scare was close the front door of our house without even touching it.  That door was made of thick steel and hard to move some times so using an ordinary string wouldn't do it. The other doors and windows were closed so it wasn't air circulation and there was no one standing behind it.  However a more practical explanation other than what I saw is a more convincing method. Princeton University has started an orginization called PEAR. the Princeton Engineering Anomolies Research.  This particular orginization studies the effect the human mind has on the physical world and has even made a few discoveries that steer closer to the truth spectrum of the once debatable psychic phenom.  Now the second and most overlooked part of Carrie's existence is the Troubled Teen Gets Even.   I will not give any examples for 3 reasons.  1.  There is too many examples to choose from. 2. Because they are both traumatic on both sides of the coin, one being the family of said troubled teen as well as the families of those that he/she/they got even with as well as those wrongfully struck down in the crossfire.  3. Not all troubled teens go down that road, many actually get to work on trying to be better than those that have wronged them in the past. In fact some of the most famous celebs like Christian Bale and internet reviewers like Spoony have been bullied children and social outcasts. Hell one of my mom's friends was pined after by Sebastian Bach of Skid Row before he got famous.   Once again this is word of mouth.

The Second example of Stephens own is Christine.  We all know this story too, another troubled teen purchases an old beat up 58 Fury.  He repairs it and despite it's outer beauty it is repulsed by the entire town.  And for good reason.  For that car has a mind of its own and she is jealous of anyone, foe, friend, girlfriend or family member that comes between her and her man.  Bullies beat the car to a metal pulp but that doesn't stop her, and she is out for revenge.  Could Christine Exist.  Much like Carrie there are schools of thought on the matter.  The first being the car aspect.  As a car Christine exists in 3 variates. 1. through auto collectors that have an affinity with vintage cars. 2. A recurring theme in cars both vintage and modern is the bond between the car and driver.  This goes from affectionately referring to the car as she rather than it, two being the one to personally clean and maintain their dream machine rather than trust a mechanic. And 3. The supernatural aspect of the car.  There's no way it could exist right? Wrong.  King has on record stated that he based his story off of the famous accident that took the life of actor James Dean. His car nicknamed "Little Bastard" Had often been rumored to be cursed as well as blaming the cause of his death in a more supernatural aspect rather than the practicality of it. I personally believe that it was because it was given such a bad nickname, cars have feelings to you know.

The Third example is Dead Zone.  This one you might remember from the memetic "THE ICE IS GONNA BREAK!!"  If not here's the short end  Johnny Smith (No not the one that falls for Pocahantas.)  gets hit by an 18 wheeler and put in a coma for 5 years. When he awakens he finds his life going to hell. His job his gone, his girl is gone and his legs about useless.  That is until he finds out that he is able to see things that either have happened, or will happen.  There's no way he could exist too right? King based this particular character off Peter Hurkos who claimed he had the gift of Psychometry or in layman's terms the ability to tell the past and future through physical contact of an object or a person.  It has often been debated that Hurkos was using a method known as cold reading, an old fake psychic trick that is designed to get the volunteer to inadvertently give information about his/herself. According to Dr. Andrija Puharich, that is not the case as Hurkos was tested by Puharich and scored a 90% accuracy. On the other hand someone else said he did both? Who you may ask? Why Hurkos himself.  He stated that his ability was like a TV Screen randomly going on and off. At the times it was off he relied on cold reading in order to keep people's support of him going. As for my belief, the only way I would know either way would be to grab a flashlight and a shovel.  I am not even kidding on that for he died June 1 1988.

Last but not least is IT.  A group of kids do battle with a shapeshifting monster that uses their fears against them.  They kill IT but make a promise to return should IT ever come back. Now with all IT can do there is no way IT can exist right?  Well IT does, but not in the way you think.  One of IT's trademarks (aside from being Tim Curry in a clown costume.) is that IT takes on the shape of whatever you fear, be it ghosts, werewolves and other monsters.  These fears exist because you make them exist. For me IT would either take on the form of a swarm of bees or big Dogs than that.  However overtime I managed to fear bees less to the point where when ever one approaches me, I manage to swat it down to submission.  However that doesn't erase my fear all together, for its my fear that drives me to fight back.  As are with major fears like heights or death.  You face IT and the courage takes their power away from IT.  Hence why the Losers Club was able to beat IT no triple entendre intended.

Now normally this is the part where I say "Debate, argue and let me know what I miss." and I still instill that. However as my 25th I am gonna make this my first interactive post. I want you to share any ways other King stories can be defictionalized. Be it from your own personal favorites, to the ones you heard about, to even ones you just looked up on the net. I want you to find any scientific or mystical examples of any book of your choice. There is so much King to look into and so little time. As usual stay tuned for more.

TRON & TRON Legacy

  

Sorry about the delay, some jerk tried to force his reality is better nonsense down my throat. I got nothing against reality I just feel that fiction and reality go hand in hand together. Ah well I sent him packing.  Now where was I? Oh yes, Tron.  Tron was revolutionary in many ways. It was one of the very first CGI movies, the others being Black Hole and Last Starfighter.  It is also arguably one of the first Video Game movies despite the fact that it was more or less based on the concept of video games rather than a specific game. Also despite being a bomb at the box office, it gained a rather large cult following ranging from video game nerds and tech savvy geeks as well as film enthusiasts.  It is also one of the first Box Office Bombs to have a sequel. The other two being John Carpenter's The Thing and Guyver: Mutronics.  Though unlike the other two they managed to keep some of the original cast save for David Warner.

The story revolves around Kevin Flynn a former employee of Encom and now host of his own arcade.  He's mad because Ed Dillanger, a sneaky rival, stole his idea for a series of video games that would have moved him up the corporate ladder. Since then he's been trying to hack Encom in order to find evidence of said crimes.  However Dillanger is on to his plan and his friends Alan Bradley and Lora warn him.  Bradley himself is ticked off on account of him now not allowed to develop his security program Trace-ON-JA-307020 or TRON for short. So they devise a plan to use TRON as a means to destroy Master Control Program, (An A.I. that controls Encoms Mainframe and has plans for global domination.) and get the evidence.  Flynn hacks into the mainframe long enough for Alan to activate TRON, however MCP catches on and uses an experimental teleporting laser to take Flynn into the digital world.  It works and he finds himself in a world where each computer progam in Encom is represented by the person that created it.  In TRON's case he looks exactly like his creator Alan, or Alan-One as he refers him as.  TRON, Flynn and RAM an insurance program break out of the Game Grid to seek the means to destroy MCP.

Legacy takes place 20 years after the first movie.  Sam Flynn, Kevin's Son finds a lead on his missing father through his old arcade.  He is also zapped by the teleporter which takes him into the new and improved Grid.  Inside he must find his father and with the help of Quorra, a program with a mysterious past must battle Clu, a program made in Flynn's image gone rogue, and escape.

Now for the main event folks, Could It Exist In Real Life?

I already gotten through the theoretical pros and cons with Teleportation in my Power Rangers Analysis, so no need to go there again. However it does solve the problem I mentioned.  See the Laser uses a twin beam system, one beam hits the object while the other takes it apart and converts it into data.  In the case of Flynn the beam kept him frozen in suspended animation.  If one were to freeze a subject into that state on a cellular level it would prevent the cells in the body from reproducing temporarily so that the subject may be safely teleported away to their intended destination.  However it's only a theory. 

Now for the other stuff.  The first is the Identity disc. We all heard the line "Everything you do or learn shall be imprinted on this disk."  While the disc is mostly meant for you to have a memory card, it also doubles as a weapon designed to delete the program fighting you.  While something like it is not real the concept behind it is.  For starters we think of Hard Drives for they record everything we make from programs to word processing files.  However now a days we think of Flash Drives which is the same thing only portable. Flash Drives make more sense, since each Program in the series has one disc and most real life computer programs can be activated automatically by putting the FD in the computer rather than the classic double click As for using it as a weapon....very unlikely.  Sure throwing a flash drive at someone would hurt like hell, but it wouldn't delete them.  The original disc was based off the Discus a weapon used in ancient Greece which started out as an Olympic throwing sport, while the Newer Ring looking disc is based off of the Indian Chakram and the Chinese wind and fire wheels. The former based on their throw technique and the latter  for their use in melee abilities. However because of the aerodynamic design, neither of the three return to the thrower.  

The second is the energy, a liquid in the world of TRON which serves as both a power source to the world as well as food for the inhabiting progams, along with the visiting users.  This can exist ladies in gentlemen.  According to HowStuffWorks,  there are at least 10 known biofuel sources.  Biofuel being fuel sources taking from everyday edibles from Corn, to Soybeans and even Water.  Hard to believe the stuff that fuels you can fuel the world huh?

The third is Programs and Users.  Users do exist, they are just regular humans with computer and internet access. As for programs that's a mixed bag.  The main program characters portrayed in the series have the faces of their creators. TRON and Clu have Alan and Kevin's faces respectively. Clu was originally designed for hacking but later became the head program of the grid a title originally owned by MCP.  And Tron is essentially an Antivirus Program.  In fact Norton a popular Antivirus product once claimed that their product was based off of Tron.  However each program having a voice and mind of its own make us wonder if they are more than just an ordinary program. Many fans debated that TRON and Clu are A.I. or Aritficial Intelligences.   Programs and to an extent whole computers designed to think like us.  Can they exist? Yes and no.  True A.I. is a dream all computer nerds have, however while it is not impossible. You would have to be a pretty good computer technician to come up with one that doesn't turn against you like Clu or MCP.  As for the Users ability to change things that's easy to explain.  They have the power in there, because they have it in the real world. The only difference is in the real world it takes keystrokes while on the grid it's your hands. 

As usual debate, argue, let me know if I missed anything and stay tuned for more. 

UPDATE:  According to Youtuber Ukrainegame, There was a behind the scenes featurette in which stated that professors of CalTech have been consulted on the possibilities of most of the stuff happening in Legacy to be true.  That it could be theoretically possible to  take a computer program and bring it out into the real world in the flesh.  When he told me about that I was actually pretty terrified.  Don't get me wrong I am awed at the possibility, but still it's like Ian Malcom said "I hate being right all the time."

The Adventures of S.T. Filmmaker

As part of a short break I am taking I decided to try my hand at web-comic writing. Hope you find this funny. Click and zoom to read.

Jurassic Park

Jurrassic Park was another crown jewel, but in it's own respects it was one of Crichton's well known best selling novels, and was one of Spielberg's top grossing films in the history of cinema.  It gotten many people interested in Paleontology much like how Indiana Jones got people into Archeology as well as one of the few mediums to spark popularity in genetic engineering.  Of course not many people know that and were more interested in the scene where the lawyer gets eaten by the T-Rex, but still there is not one person that either doesn't know Jurrassic Park, or doesn't like it.

The story begins with an incident on Isla Nublar where workers get attacked.  Renowned Paleontologist Alan Grant and his assistant Paleobotanist Ellie Sattler have been invited along with Chaotician Ian Malcom, by billionaire John Hammond, to a theme park where Dinosaurs were cloned and displayed.  Their job is to inspect and possibly endorse the park in hopes to appease the investors and make some money off it. They are joined by Tim and Alexis Murphy, Hammond's grandchildren, one of whom is an expert computer hacker. Interesting note here, in the book Tim was the hacker, while in the movie Lex was.   Of course since this is the guy that directed WestWorld it goes on as well as you expect.  Chief programmer Denis Nedry sabotages the security systems which causes the once electrical cages to shut down as well, and all hell breaks loose.  For the Dinosaurs once again freely walk the earth.

Since this is only one concept, this entry would probably shorter than the others. Could It Exist In Real Life?

Now as we know dinosaurs have existed in times before our time on earth, however there is possibly no way to bring them back right?  Wrong.  As our time goes by, our research in the fields of scientific discovery have often gave either glorious or disastrous results. One of which on the teeter totter between glory and disaster is cloning and genetic engineering.  1996 Scientists in Scottland managed to successfully clone a sheep.  They expected it to live for 11 years, but it died in six.  Mainly because it was put down since it was diagnosed with a lung disease and arthritis, but judging by what I have read there were some faults in the cloning process. As for Genetic-En, there have been many breakthroughs but the most famous was Chickensaurus.  This goes way back to when Paleontologist Jack Horner, whom Alan Grant was based off of, believed that Dinosaurs evolved from birds rather than reptiles.  The majority public thought he was crazy until a scientist  managed to reverse engineer a chicken egg which caused it to share traits of a dinosaur.  When I first heard about this I along with most people were amazed since this was pretty cool.  Once my inner fanboy calmed down the first thing I could think was "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR DAMN MIND?!" I mean yes its been something that people wanted to do, but should they?  Take away all the classic "It's unnatural and a slight against god." speeches and what do you got?  Jurrassic park the movie happening all over again. As Goldblum put it himself "Ooh ahh, that's how it always starts, but then there's running and screaming." In fact, and you guys are probably gonna think I am crazy about this.  I think this is how Earth started.  I think that some scientists made dinosaurs, they went amok, we nuked the place killing all but a few humans and dinos left to procreate again.   The worse part is, like the movie, warnings will be ignored until it bites them in the ass with sharp raptor teeth.

As usual, debate, argue and let me know what I missed. Stay tuned for more.

Captain America

What started out as a contraversal comic before their involvement in World War II and ended up as one of America's greatest prides.  Captain America was one the of crown jewels of comic book superheroes.  It was one of Marvel Comic's (Back when the main company was called Timely Comics)  first superheroes, the other two being an android called The Human Torch and Namor the Sub Mariner. The cover depicted here is still considered one of the most Iconic comic covers in the world along with Superman lifting a car in Action Comics #1.  However that didn't stop there. Captain America was also one of the first of Marvel's Superheroes to have his own adaptaion in the form of Movie Serials and was also the first and founding member of Marvel's greatest Superhero Team, The Avengers.  I first heard of the Avengers when I was a kid, I had the Super NES version of the game which I still find hard to beat.  However I never truely knew about the Cap and his Origins until watching the Spider-man Animated Series, which had an episode where Spider-man was trying to find the truth about his missing parents and further along in the Secret Wars.  Recently I found out that the Cap in that series was voiced by David Hayter, who I know as both Solid Snake and Guyver I.  That's right folks, the 70s may have had Reb Brown and the 2010s may have had Chris Evans, but we 90s nuts had Solid F***ING SNAKE!!! HA!!  But I ramble on, you guys didn't view this blog to hear me brag about who had the bigger badass to play the Cap. You wanna know if someone like Captain America can exist to day. Let's find out.

For those unfamiliar here's the story.  Steve Rogers was a frail and weak man, but he was extremely good hearted, strong willed and patriotic.  Too bad that's only half what the Army wants in a soldier.  After numerous times he got rejected from the Army. (Seriously this guy is dedicated.) A Scientist takes pity on him and volunteers him to be the prototype of a Super Solider Program designed to enhance the volunteer's natural abilities to near olympic level strength.  However after Steve gets his dose, the poor guy gets gunned down by Nazi spies.  The secret of the formula lost for ever.  This in turn pretty much caused the events of every bad thing happening in Marvel history, including Norman Osbourn's transformation into the Green Goblin.  That's right folks along with all other things Nazi's are to blame for Peter Parker's eternal torment, something One More Day didn't erase. Since then Rogers has fought in WWII, got frozen, thawed, became one of the founding members of the Avengers, got shot and now formed a Super Team between The Avengers and Xmen.

Captain America has been known for plenty of abilities such as Super Human Strength, Speed, and an Indestructible Shield that he could use as a boomerang. There's no way he can exist right?

Well as surprising as it sounds, he can exist.  Let's start with the Super Soldier Serum. Now before I go through it let me tell you something. Yes there have been many attempts to make a formula, machine and concept to enhance the human body.   The most popular mean I mentioned in my Dracula analysis, was blood doping which I still do not advise.  The other being anabolic steroids, which I also do not advise. However despite all the failed attempts at making one there was one succession, it's a fictional one, but it counts.  While details of the Triple S formula were not revealed, Marvel claimed that one of the key ingredients for it was potassium which has been known to be healthy for the heart.  In a later retcon the scientist in charge of creating the formula discovered before he died that the formula can also be created through a certain diet and exercise regimen which works but is more time consuming than just injecting Steve.  You heard it hear folks the key to becoming a Super Soldier is proper diet and exercise.  How that scientist managed to compress all that into a serum is beyond me, but it's Marvel they believe deals with the devil can warp reality.

The next item on the list is his shield or more specifically the metal it is made of, Vibranium. Among most properties it is can generate and absorb energy, is nigh indestructible and can ricochet off anything. Suffice to say the concept exists and the element has a real life equivalent, but this defictionalization is inconclusive. According to LiveScience.com the closest thing to Vibranium is Ununseptium, both of which were created by particle accelerators. However unlike Vibranium, Ununseptium to this day is unstable and decays fast before any proper testing can be made.

So there you have it, if you want to be Captain America, eat right, exercise and consult a physicist on making a shield.

As usual debate, argue and let me know if I missed anything. Stay tuned for more.

The Odd Life of Timothy Green

Ok let me get this out of the way, I love Channel Awesome.  The Nostalgia Critic and Atop the Fourth Wall are my favorite internet shows and when I heard the Critic was back, I was excited.  When he reviewed this movie I was kind of curious about it.  It's not a particularly great movie, but some of plot elements of the movie sparked my defiction alarm.

For those who haven't seen the movie or the review here's the jist of it. A couple that can't have a kid, grows one from the ground.  This kid has leaves on his legs, is powered by the son, and can breathe under water. The important aspect of the kid is that he embodies everything both parents wanted in a child.

As impossible as this seems, a kid like this can be possible.

Could It Exist In Real Life?

The method of which young Timothy  came to existence was based off an Urban Legend, which comprises of a baby coming from a Cabbage Patch.  Naturally this was an old wives tale to keep kids from finding out about sex and conception, until they were old enough for said birds and bees. This same conception was made popular by the Cabbage Patch Kids toys. While there is no evidence of a living sentient being to come from plant life....so far, what I am about to explain here, you have to pretty much think in what ifs.  Should a part Plant like species appear, The Odd Life of Timothy Green has proven to be the most realistic portrayal of such both scientifically and mystically.

The mystic side is easy, what the parents did in creating the kid was known as a wish box. A container that is used to grant your wishes by placing written notation of them in order for them to come true.  It does exist, but their effects are debatable.  However should one try to use one I do have one phrase of warning. "Be careful what you wish for, you might get it."  That being said I encourage you to give it a try, even if it doesn't work, it's fun to express hopes and dreams.

The scientific side is somewhat more complicated.  The mentioned box above doubles as a seed.  When it's buried in soil and watered it grows and we have your plant human hybrid.  Of course the method in growing plants, was exaggerated and sped up for dramatic effect, but the process is similar.  His ability to breath underwater was a result of his leaves. They weren't really leaves, they were roots which absorb any nearby water to keep him hydrated.  Hence why they are on his feet and no where else.  His solar power is the result of Photosynthesis a phenomenon that involves plant life converting sunlight into energy.  The more he absorbs the more powerful he become, hence how he became a superb athlete.  Last but not least his leaves falling off, while the story version was interesting, in which every goal he succeeds in a leaf falls off, when they all go he dies.  However the real reason was very simple, he should have stayed in the ground.  When a plant is uprooted and taken from the soil, it dies of starvation.  The water and sun kept him alive enough to complete his goals.  However because he wasn't around any soil, he wouldn't absorb the minerals and nutrients around him and he died.  In other words from the start of this movie he killed himself.  Pretty dark for a family friendly movie isn't it.

As usual debate, argue and let me know what I missed. Stay tuned for more.

The Wolf Man

Much like Dracula did for Vampires and Frankenstein did for the living dead. The Wolf Man popularized Werewolf.  However unlike the other two, this was the only one of the Universal Monster Trio that didn't have any source material. That's right folks, although werewolf legends have been very well known before this movie was made, The Wolf Man was neither based off a book, it was the first and only of the three that was from scratch.  The film also starred Lon Chaney Jr., the son of Lon Chaney Sr. Many movie geeks would know Sr. as "The Man of 1000 Faces" due to his trademark mastery of Make-up effects acting.  Jr. was no pushover either. While I have read about The Wolf Man, to this day I never seen it.  I wasn't afraid it would suck, but if the first two guys could pull of Drakey and Franky, then Wolfy would not be too far ahead. You heard it here folks, you are reading from one of the few people so scared of a movie that he hasn't seen it yet. It's that effective.  While I haven't I know the plot by heart.

The story begins with Larry Talbot, who went home to Wales, to reconcile with his father John following the death of his brother. While there two things happen, he falls in love with Gwen Conliffe, a local girl who runs an antique shop.  The second thing, he purchases a walking stick with a rather strange, silver wolf shaped handle.  Both Gwen and the villagers express their belief in werewolves through a poem:

Even a man who is pure of heart, and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf, when the wolfbane blooms and the Autumn moon is bright.  

Later that night Larry Rescues Gwen's friend Jenny from what looked like a Wolf attack. He kills it, but is bitten in the process.  He finds out from a gypsy that the wolf that bit him was also a Werewolf and soon Larry will turn.

Now for the moment at last, Can It Exist In Real Life?

If you already read my Vampire theory on Rabies and Blood Lust you'll know the same rules apply to the spread of the Werewolf epidemic through biting and scratching. As for the rest of the physical transformation and growth  that is a different story.

First and for most the excessive hair, while the odds of that happening on a full moon is rare, there exists a real condition that does share similarity's to Chaney's wolf form.  This condition is known as Hypertrichosis, a condition that involves abnormal hairgrowth around the face and sometimes, the whole body. In fact the layman term for the condition was known as "Werewolf Syndrome"

The second is the full moon, whilst there has been no proof on anything regarding werewolves, there has been claim that a full moon attributes with problems in regard to mental health. The word Lunatic, was derived from the latin word Luna, for moon.  This was later to be considered Junk Science, however it's not all the way implausable.  Many crazy acts have often been attributed, to the belief that the moon is the cause rather than being the actual cause.

The third is growth in height. This can happen.  When the sun is set and the moon is out, the tide raises due to the moons gravity slightly pulling it up.  However water isn't the only thing. You may not know it but whenever night hits you actually grow a few inches to a foot high. That is because the moon is slightly pulling you up, while the earth is keeping your feet down.

Last but not least is the primitive mindset.  Now I already talked about the rabies and blood lust, however that is only half the werewolf mythos. The other half is the mindset.  During said transformation, the adrenaline rushes beyond human levels, but at a price. Because of the adrenaline rush.the senses are heightened at near super human levels allowing said wolf to have strength speed and a high sense of hearing and smell. However the price paid is that his mind now listens to instinct alone, which causes him to become very territorial. As shocking as it may seem every attack Talbot ever inflicted was in self defense. In his own mind he was an animal and that anyone, friends, foe, complete strangers, was invading his privacy and like any territorial animal, they defend what's theirs. However like real adrenaline, this rush wears off and his reasoning returns. This in turn causes him to be remorseful for his actions and fearful of what he may do in the future.

Now for my final words on the matter. The Poem was the important part of the role of the wolfman because it said in exact words, that anyone could be a werewolf.  It doesn't matter if we are very good and even say our prayers at night, for inside exists an animal that is waiting to explode out of us.  The question is how will you handle yours?

As usual debate, argue and let me know if I missed anything. Stay Tuned Next Time.

Mary Shelly's Frankenstein

When we think of Frankenstein we think of the following phrase "It's alive, It's ALIVE!!! IT'S ALIVE!!!!! OH GOD!!! NOW I KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE GOD!!!"  As well as Boris Karloff in green makeup and bolts on his neck.  However the original story of Frankenstein is much more complex than that. Much like Dracula before it, Frankenstein started out as a novel. However unlike Stoker's Novel, Shelly's appeared first. Which is Ironic seeing as the adaptations that followed that novel appeared after Dracula.  However unlike Dracula, who was a complete monster, Shelly wanted to introduce a misunderstood monster, one that was judged in many ways imaginable.  From appearance, to the methods of which he was created.

The story begins with Victor being found half frozen by a sailor who was on the verge of reaching the North Pole.  Victor recounts to the sailor his story about how since he was a young boy, he found the secret to reanimating the dead.  His main dream was to create a human being made from dead parts of humans and animals.  The technique in his construction was unknown save for a few hints of scientific and supernatural means of doing so and the creature was alive.  What he thought was supposed to be a beautiful thing, was in essence hideous even to his standards.  He leaves the monster, who gets serious abandonment issues, which in turn gives him a vow of vengeance against his creator.

Could It Exist In Real Life?

Now to determine this, you have to look at two factors, one is the monster's construction, and two the means that brought him to life. Details of both were left ambiguous save for a few subtle hints, but there is without a doubt that a creation such as this could exist.  First there is the fact that its a corpse that has been put together.  As impossible as it may seems, we are still alive even when we die.  The human body continues to live despite clinical death.  Hair and fingernails continue to grow, new cells are produced, and the brain still functions with tiny electrical impulses.  There is also a known phenomena called the Lazarus Syndrome in which a person who is declared physically dead would sponteneously return to life. In fact many resuscitation techniques such as the defibrillator have been inspired by the movie's version of the rise of the monster. In which rather than unknown means, it was a bolt of lightning harnessed by electrical equipment.  As for the monster itself there is no way ever to make a human like creature out of body parts.  I once again advise no one to even attempt it, because not only is it illegal, but it is also unethical.  However there is one theory behind the Frankenstein Monster.  One of the hints in the novel was that the Doctor used Alchemy as part of the method of bringing the monster to life.  So the Frankenstein Monster is what is called a Homunculus, or an artificially made human. In fact what I am about to say cements that theory.

Now here is the big question. Can Doctor Victor Frankenstein Exist In Real Life?  Not only can he exist but he did.  In 1673 there was a man born in the real life Castle Frankenstein which the name came from.  The man Johan Konrad Dippel who claimed to have made the fabled Elixir of life. Both the Elixir and Homunculus are well known traits that come from Alchemy as well as similar to the techniques in which Victor used to make his monster.

As usual debate, argue and let me know what I missed. Stay tuned next time.

Bram Stolker's Dracula

Bram Stolker's Dracula was often considered the first Vampire Lore.  While that is untrue, since there have been novels and urban legends before hand. It was the most well known, spawning movies, spin-offs, video games and even comics/manga.  It was the first of the three talking monsters of the Universal movie line. The other two being Frankenstein and the Wolf Man, but I'll get to them next time. Like the other two he was also played by various influential actors. Most famously, Bella Lugosi, and Gary Oldman, the latter of which who escaped typecasting by playing Commissioner Gordon in the Nolan Batman Series, while the former spent his remaining years in movies by Ed Wood.  When I first heard about Dracula all I could think of was "What the guy who goes 'I vant to suck your blehd Bleh Bleh.' " I didn't take him very much seriously.  That was until I watched the Universal Dracula for the first time, I was awed by Bela's performance. He was one of the few horror characters I have seen, that didn't need blood or gore to scare me. 

The story begins with Johnathan Harker, a solicitor (lawyer, not salesman.) from London who came to Transylvania Romania in order to give legal documents over real estate to Count Dracula.  Dracula at first greets him warmly, but finds himself to be Dracula's prisoner. Dracula in turn plans to go to England in order to establish himself there.  There is where he stalks Mina Murray and Lucy Westenra, the former of which is Johnathan's fiancee.  As time goes by Lucy falls ill to a strange disease that causes her to become Anemic.  Peter Seward, the local doctor calls in an old teacher of his, Abraham Van Helsing   Helsing tells his student that Lucy is turning into a vampire.  Lucy dies and becomes Dracula's fourth wife (The first three already back in his Transylvanian home.)  Johnathan escapes the castle just as soon as the Count not only turn Mina, but also make her drink his blood making her telepathically connected to Dracula.  Johnathan, Abraham, Seward, along with their friends chase Dracula to his home in hopes killing him would free Mina from a fate worse than Lucy's.

Now for the fun part. Can It Exist In Real Life?

First before we can answer that let's go over from that book what makes a Vampire.  A Vampire has the following traits:
* Eternal Life
* The Need For Blood..
* Allergic To Garlic, and Silver.
* Powerless against Religious symbols.
* Can Turn Others.
* Master of Mind Control.
* Can Die From Impalement and Beheading.
* Powerless or Fatally Weak Against the Sun.
* Super Strength

Now that we gotten those out of the way, let's see if they exist. For the sunlight, there are people who suffer from a disease known as Photosensitivity. We all suffer from it in various ways such as sunburn, but in some cases, most people can't go out without some kind of sun protection, which results in severe burns to the skin and muscle underneath. For some it's so severe that ordinary lamps could burn them just by shining. Other diseases include sunstroke in which prolonged exposure to the sun would effect the brain, weakening the body.  I myself once knew a guy who suffered from a severe case, that he had to stay in shady spots just to keep himself from fainting.  Next we have the Allergy to Garlic and Silver, while food allergy is not uncommon in Garlic's case, Silver seems to be an unlikely chance of it happening in real life.  However according to Livestrong.com there does exist a specific allergy to silver and all metals called Dermatitis. In which someone who suffers from said allergy would have an allergic reaction to just touching said metals.  The need for blood is also a simple explanation.  Those who have a need for blood suffer from Anemia, in which the body has less hemoglobin (the key ingredient for blood.) than most people.  The cause is usually from excessive blood loss, a common trait that happens in both Vampires and victims of Vampirism.  Treatments of the disease include blood transfusion, in which more blood is introduced to the blood stream. As well as Oral Iron, a process in which increasing the iron in your diet is supposed to increase the blood flow.  Turning others is also another easy one. Many people attribute Vampirism and Rabies to go hand in hand since they both have an effect of bloodlust, as well as being able to spread the disease through a bite or a scratch.  Super Strength is another blood related example. There is a real life dangerous example of it known as blood doping, in which a person transfuses blood into their system to increase the blood cell count. However the con of it is that the increase in blood in the system also increases the viscosity which inturn amps up the blood clotting and pressure putting the person at risk of a stroke or a heart attack. Do not do this, it will kill you, or like the victims of Vampirism, leave you in a fate worse than death.  Their weakness against religious symbols, the most popular being the Cross, attributes more to psychological than physical.  Since Dracula takes place at a time when Christianity was the dominant religion, many of Dracula's victims and Dracula himself are Christians to and since they feared the Cross in life that effect imprinted on their psyche in death.  This in turn causes them to die at the sight alone of one.  In other words, it's them self that kills them.  As for the impalement and beheading, it is no different than a human being getting killed, as proven in this very book since it was a Bowie knife that killed Dracula and not a wooden stake like in future installments.  The only thing that is complicated to explain would be the Eternal life.  The reason being is that there is no scientific way to explain how a man, who spends his nights for centuries feeding on the blood of living beings, could sustain his own life for that long.

As for the man himself. Can Dracula Exist In Real Life?  The Answer is an Emphatic Yes!! You see Dracula's real name is Wladislaus Dragwlya III also known as Vlad Dracula the third.  You may know him as Vlad The Impaler who campaigned against the Ottomans. His name derives from his favorite method of executing his enemies.  He was assasinated in 1476 but the exact date and location of his death is unknown. However his cruelty was what inspired Bram to write the book in the first place. 

As usual debate, argue and let me know if I missed anything. Stay tuned for more.