Salkafar

Al Simmons killed himself a while ago (Yes, he died at the start of the comic, way back when, but he killed himself as Spawn to end the cycle forever). It didn't take. In "Image United"(Which after 2 issues seems to have come to a grinding halt) he returned as Omega Spawn, the villain, who is trying to tempt the current Spawn. He looks suspiciously like Malebolgia. Frankly, I think Spawn is beyond saving, which is of course entirely fitting, metatextually speaking. The comic should have ended with him killing Malebolgia and winning his freedom.

A 20-ton ape falling from 1000 feet up should have exploded like a rotten tomato. Hey, here's an idea... why not have Godzilla fight Clover? Clover sort of looks like Orga, doesn't he? Just stockier, armored, and packing heat...

I hope the whole thing will be in 1945... and part of the plot of the Avengers flick will be finding Cap Am in the ice. He was the missing piece of the puzzle, especially per "Avengers: Earth's mightiest heroes" which was a rather brilliant Avengers miniseries from a while ago. I mean, when the Avengers started, they had the Hulk as a member. Not a great success. But when Cap Am joined, things really started to buzz... Hmmm. They have this tradition of the Big Three - Captain America, Thor and Iron Man - and they always leave out Giant-Man and the Wasp. Not fair, really. The Captain and Thor are getting movies, and Iron Man already has one with another one on the way. But will we get one about Hank and Jan? Will we Hell. I suppose that will also be a part of the Avengers movie. Not a bad idea really.

The intro music sequence of Final Wars was a lot better than the movie, which was just a remake of "Destroy all monsters" with a little "Power Rangers" thrown in. The best Godzilla movie (I will brook no argument on this) is Terror Times Three (this one): Even though Goddy looks pretty bad there. But he's a total menace for a change, which is nice.

I have it regular, with just, well, I used to use sugar but I am on the sweet-'n-low, and no milk or lemon. Usually I have chocolate biscuits with it. I don't drink tea as often as I should.

Awesome.

Oh, absolutely. Modern-day methods of slaughter are fairly humane. Hell, we should all go so quickly and cleanly. "Wha-huh? Umphh" Still, while this obviously does not go for the entire husbandry sector, many animals are treated less than humane in the time before they get slaughtered... living creatures, treated like no more than resources. Cattle industry! And yes, vegans who act all superior... It is so tempting... "How can you eat something which was once a living, breathing organism? Something that had feelings, just like you do?" "Heck, lady, get me hungry enough and I´ll even eat you!" Your final paragraph I have to dismiss in its entirety as being far too romantic.

Yes, Ryuki, but plants do not feel pain. Why not? Because it would not do them any good: they can´t run away. Plus, of course, they have no nervous system and no consciousness (and by that same token, the `lower´ animals don´t feel pain or fear, either). But what do we do? We eat exactly those animals that do have a complex nervous system and are capable of experiencing pain, stress and fear - birds, mammals, fish (maybe less so, but they have less ways to express it), the occasional reptile and amphibian. Not to say invertebrates do not feel pain and fear... but I do feel we can safely say complexity of the nervous system enters into it. But nevertheless, we humans even eat animals that actually have much larger brains than we do. It´s not about eating things that are or were alive. It´s about violating consciousness. At least according to me. If something has no consciousness, I don´t think it has rights, because, in a sense, it does not exist. A redwood tree may look impressive, but it has no more self-awareness than a tiny lichen... or a pebble, for that matter. But... the moment something is capable of experiencing "ouch"... it becomes an issue, no matter how small.

I think it is more needless killing they are opposed to. Ryuki, the comparison between plants and animals you drew is just nuts. What led to this rant, anyway? Did a vegan call you names or something?

Hairy, I am sure. This is highly collectible stuff...

Saliva is not bacteria. Saliva is water with some proteins and enzymes in it. We do not create bacteria. Human DNA - including mitochondrial DNA - only codes for human anatomy. Humans do not grow bacteria themselves, they get them from their mother and environment. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gut_flora#Acquisition_of_gut_flora_in_human_infants I think guyvers can probably reproduce normally. I am sure the Creators would want that option. "Well, Bill, there´s an upside and a downside to this. One the one hand you can now travel through space and enter any environment without hesitation. On the other hand you are now sterile for life." The question is, can the symbiont reproduce? I dream about a Guyver giving birth to a new Unit, control medallion and all... but that´s just silly. The control medal is technological.

Last year in my bio class, we learned that in about 2 billion years in the future or so, the earth is suppose to collide with the sun. And every year we get about a cm to inch (I dont know if that is the correct measurement) closer to the sun. Or something like that. I dont know the exact distance, but we learned that every year we do get closer to it, so perhaps thats what determines a climate shift? You people are going to kill me some day. As for global warming: it may be a natural cycle, but there is a factor here now that never was here before. Us. People say things like "Volcanoes spit out much more pollution". Yeah. Unfortunately the volcanoes don´t stop erupting now that we are here. And another thing: We don´t stop. We pollute the world all the time without a break. If anything, it´s getting worse as our population grows. I remember fairly vividly when it said on the front page of the news papers that the five-billionth human being had been born. The world´s population has increased by 20% within my lifetime - and I am not old. If that doesn´t scare you, frankly I do not know what will. Anyway, yes! I think global warming is real, and that it is affected by what humans do. It seems just a little goofy to assume it does not. There is such a thing as erring on the side of caution. Let´s make it into a Pascal-type wager. Option 1: Human interference has nothing to do with global warming. We do nothing and the world floods, causing immense destruction worldwide. Option 2: Human interference has nothing to do with global warming. We try to stop it, but the world floods anyway, causing immense destruction worldwide in spite of our best efforts. Option 3: Human interference does indeed affect global warming. We do nothing and the world floods, causing immense destruction worldwide. Option 4: Human interference does indeed affect global warming. We act on it and the world does not flood, or floods much less, greatly stemming the tide of destruction. Hmmm. Seems there is only one possible way to stem the tide of destruction and that is acting as if our behaviour affects global warming.

Ah! But that is another matter. If you believe humans were allowed to evolve freely, with the Advents interfering only slightly, yes, then I can agree with you. But holy crap, no wonder they left. I think Archanfel may have a good chance of completely kicking their asses if he ever catches up with them. i see a light in each individual. I have no idea what you mean by that.

But, Ryuki, if the Advents really have been manipulating the evolution of humanity since our ancestors were simple chordates like Pikaia, I don´t see how you could argue there is anything more to us than they put in. I mean, yes, it makes sense for humans to be sociable - to be kind to each other - simply because soldiers who are in the same army should support one another. I have yet to see any spiritual bent in Guyver. That particular aspect of manga, which is otherwise so common, is noticeably absent. Sho fights for mankind´s freedom, not for an abstract idea of ´good´; when he calls on his father, you really don´t get the idea he really thinks his father will actually help him. (Well, I don´t get that idea. Your mileage may vary.) There is no Zoalord with the ability to conjure the spirits of the dead, nor have we seen any miraculous resurrections (again, a staple of manga). It´s part of why Guyver is so refreshing, I guess. No frills. "Human beings are more than just tools...MUCH more. They're not something you can just program and expect to do what someone else wants. They live, they think, they hurt...they FEEL. And that's what humanity's all about." This is not even true in the real world. I mean, it is wonderful to have such an elevated idea of mankind, but really - most of us, most of the time, function at a level of awareness and behavior not exceeding that of the average herd of cows. 99% of what we do is indeed programmed, most of which we are not even aware of, and I am not even talking about involuntary bodily functions! Also, I strongly take issue with the expression "That´s what humanity is all about". There is nothing that can possibly precede that sentence without producing something extremely preposterous. Humanity is not `about´ any single thing, if it is `about´ anything at all.

No, Ryuki, I do not agree with you. The Advents intended humanity to be killing machines and their servants. The Guyver only negated the `servants´ part. But their basic motivation - to fight - does not change. Sho may have seemed to be hesitant and have difficulty choosing, but in practice, he has killed Zoanoids without hesitation from the very beginning. Hesitation only becomes a factor when he believes innocents are in danger, particularly his friends and his father. But those he perceives as his enemies, he targets without difficulty. Where would any other motivation come from? The Advents have manipulated life on Earth since the Cambrian at least. They have steered our evolution since before we were vertebrates. Are you suggesting high ideals and humane ethics are already present in protochordates? Lampreys have no philosophy. They kill when they have to. And if someone who wanted us to be killing machines has been manipulating us since before we were hagfish, I think we can safely assume that that is our true nature. But all things considered, the Guyver creation story does not jibe. It simply makes no sense. What kind of war could have use for warriors it takes five hundred million years to deliver?

With a Guyver, a human is freed from the control of the Advents, that is all. His basic nature does not change. Namely, to fight for what he deems worthwhile with complete dedication. I think we can safely say both Sho and Agito prove this. They both kill without hesitation to defend their goal. I don´t think it is possible for a human to be anything else than the Advents created him to be. Only what he fights for can change. Of course you could argue that the Advents were pretty crappy engineers. It took them over half a billion years* to get what they wanted... and it turned out even that was not what they wanted. Hehehehe... wouldn´t it be cool if it turned out the whole "Advents created us" story was all lies? All we have to go on are Archanfel´s memories. How reliable are those? * Anomalocaris, an organism fairly consistently shown in the history illustrations of the Advents´ experiments, lived about 550 million years ago.

There was also a female in `Mutronics´, the abominable first live-action flick. She looked like a cross between Ramotith and Malcult (albeit with rather uncomfortably visible boobs), which brings us neatly back to the very first post. I should draw a few femversions of zoanoids.

Upon further reflection, I have to say there were many ways in which the movie could have been improved. - Less stupid and bawdy jokes. (Although I liked both Judy and Wheelie). - The climax should have been more climactic. - The Transformers, particularly the Decepticons, should have been more distinctive. - The Autobots a little less... deadly. I hope they will be a little more serious with part 3 - Although I have difficulty imagining people joking in the face of the physical annihilation of not just their species but their entire planet.

My opinion? They keep women for breeding, just like the Kzinti do (but they have to because female Kzinti are not sentient). A single male can impregnate dozens of women (although that is not very good for diversity) so they would do much better as dispensible cannon fodder. There is no reason why women should not be just as deadly Zoanoids - Zoanoids have no gender, after all. Perhaps Zoanoids breed true. So a child would take after either one of the parents, but not both. Also, perhaps it makes no difference at all - perhaps Zoanoids just give birth to normal babies, who still have to be Zoaformed when they´re old enough. Perhaps. Perhaps! We don´t know. But the absence of women from Chronos´ upper echelons is a tactical oversight which will cost them.

No, I mean Revenge of the Fallen, not Megan Fox 2. And you are Wheelie, good sir.

This movie. It rocks. It makes the first one look like "Challenge of the Gobots". Look for... the balls.

Well, Ryuki, I think it was better than the average episode of TOS. And they´ve only just begun.

For all who thought this was disrespectful... "Here's what Gene [Roddenberry] said in an interview just before he died in August 1991; somebody had asked him, 'What's going to become of Star Trek in the future?' And he said that he hoped that some day some bright young thing would come along and do it again, bigger and better than he had ever done it. And he wished them well." — Richard Arnold, Roddenberry's assistant

KC, you stagger me. Thank you for reinvigorating my fire. I see that there really IS a struggle after all. I´ll defer any argument I could make to the following: How come there are so very few biologists who agree with your point of view?

The Wikipedia page on the subject of this special dryly remarks that the amount of lift 30 cubic foot of hydrogen provides is about 2 pounds. Also, I would like to remark that the idea for this special was used in a much older book on dragons. http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/d/peter-...-of-dragons.htm That was an interesting read to be sure: it shed light on the biological dragon in the light of the legends surrounding it. For instance, legend often has that a dragon is invulnerable except for one spot... but the book argues that it is the other way around: a dragon is actually eminently vulnerable except for the bony, spiky `mask´ that covers its face and which it actively uses as shield and weapon. The hydrogen idea was simpler: almost the entire body, which was elongated and bulbous, consisted of hydrogen chambers. Hydrogen was generated by dissolving rapidly growing, honeycomb-like bone in hydrochloric stomach acid. Dragons breathed fire because they had to, because they produced hydrogen all the time and would burst if they did not release gas regularly. The wings were modified ribs rather than limbs; the body was, as said, mostly hydrogen chambers which, if I understand it correctly, were actually heavily modified vertebrae. It even explained the traditionally noxious environment around a dragon as a consequence of the expulsion of the acid needed to produce hydrogen. In any case, the entire dragon thing was a result of modifications necessary for flight, made by a therapod. *** I see the `Intelligent Design´ movement once again wants to suggest that evolution is a theory in crisis. As if repeating something often enough will make it come true.