Pop Culture

Following the USA challenging Japan to duel of giant fighting robots, the good news is: Challenge accepted, from the Japanese Suidobashi Heavy Industry. It looks like MegaBots Mark II versus Kuratas is actually going to happen. Talk about a prompt reply. Dozo. Much respect. Science fiction is fast becoming science faction. With the two robots set to duel, the Japanese have their own, cooler, twist on the upcoming robot battle though, and rightly so. Kogoro Kurata, the creator of Kuratas, notes that “building something huge and sticking guns on it” is all rather “Super American”. Further saying: “But you know, we really need… MELEE COMBAT. “If we’re gonna win this, I want to punch them to scrap and knock them down to do it.” Which as anyone versed in giant robot battles knows, guns and projectile weapons are all well and good from a distance, but the battle doesn’t truly ...

Separating technology and pop culture is often no mean feat these days, especially when it involves robots. Times that by two if it involves giant robots fighting to the death. Or the dysfunction, more correctly. In this particular case, the American MegaBots has challenged the Japanese Suidobashi Heavy Industry, to a robotic duel of epic proportions. This is not some backyard or hobbyist robot war with tiny machines, maybe packing a circular saw. Instead, this is potentially a battle of giant, humanoid mechs fighting it out. Science fiction, the future is here-style. If the challenge is accepted, which surely it will be, because it would be dishonourable for the Japanese to do otherwise, then two robots each standing around 5 metres (15 foot) tall are set to duke it out in June 2016. Again, that’s provided Suidobashi Heavy Industries accepts the thrown down gauntlet. Taunt. As MegaBots’ challenge video states: ...

Spending over six years to crochet the World 1 map of Super Mario Bros. 3, was a labour love and no speed run for Kjetil Nordon. The Nintendo fan and crocheting master, not to mention computer programmer, spent over 800 hours crocheting the 2.2m by 1.8m blanket. Image Source: NRK As reported by NRK, it wasn’t without a few hammers thrown in works, as Kjetil Nordon said: “When the water was half way finished I saw that I had chosen the wrong shade of blue. It was almost purple, and very ugly, so I had to undo all of it. That took an extra week.” Perhaps the wrong shade of blue wasn’t quite as bad as being told: THANK YOU MARIO! BUT OUR PRINCESS IS IN ANOTHER CASTLE! Nordon is currently looking for a way to display his work on his wall, safe from harm. Because those Koopalings can be ...

A man in Lynn, Massachusetts, has learnt about the Dark Side of cosplaying. George Cross, 40, was walking around near Brickett Elementary School on Lewis Street (Route 1A), dressed in costume as a stormtrooper from Star Wars. The school’s principal noticed the cosplaying stormtrooper was carrying what appeared to be a gun. Although suspecting the gun was a plastic toy, fearing for the younglings, the principal extended the school day by placing it into lockdown around 1:30pm. No word on whether the principal first tried to Force push the cosplayer away. After placing a call to 911, police arrived and arrested the cosplayer. George Cross was charged with disturbing a school and loitering within 1,000 feet of it. Lieutenant Rick Donnelly, of the Lynn Police said: “Our feelings are that he was not there to cause harm to the kids, but he used bad judgement.” Adding that: “He did cause ...

Islington, London, a man was almost charged ₤223,000 for a six-pack of craft beer. What exactly was this beer crafted from, may be a reasonable question. Rumours swell that it was brewed in the fires of Mount Doom itself. Using yeast secretly collected from the very baguette which stopped the Large Hadron Collider. With malts and hops of such pedigree that saffron is thrown on the ground before them as they are loaded on an unsinkable Bismarck guarded by tactical and nuclear penguins. All to form the ultimate craft beer. Or, the man was simply overcharged by accident. The decimal point had been moved a few places. Possibly because the period was being taxed. Fortunately or otherwise, he didn’t actually have the ₤223,000 in his bank account to fund the declined purchase. “I wasn’t really paying attention but I glanced down and saw the first two numbers. “They looked fine ...

The time? Six years of construction. The cost? Some US$160 million spent in the process, including licensing the rights from CBS to build it so. The result? Completed in 2014, finally the headquarters of Chinese online gaming and mobile internet company NetDragon Websoft were built. That the headquarters are a replica of the starship USS Enterprise from Star Trek? It’s beyond avant-garde, and it boldly goes where no building has gone before. The reason? Probably so the chairman, Liu Dejian, can say stuff at work like: “Make it so.” And: “I’ll be in my ready room.” And he has to be taken seriously. Where the debate goes, be it Sovereign or Galaxy, or something else taxing to the Constitution, the Class is still out. Stick with an Excelsior refit if for no other reason than “Excelsior” is such a good word to say. Since no known tricorder scans of the ...

Quite apart from the debate of whether the eggplant is a fruit or vegetable, a common pastime between scientific types and laypeople in between watching the grass grow, it seems the mysterious eggplant has struck again. But in emoji form. Or rather, the eggplant emoji has been struck off the usage list by Instagram. The reason, it appears, is some say eggplant, some say aubergine and others say brinjal. But when it comes to Instagram and the eggplant emoji, some say it’s vulgar. It’s not like it’s that unobvious why… Which has called things to attention, and in the interests of uprightness, the eggplant emoji has been deflated and put away for now. The party is over. Turns out even sprinkling a little salt on it changes nothing of the bitter taste. Don’t even speak about brinjal pickle, that may just be a phallic overload. Putting aside the best and ...

Sporting Chance It builds like a fever. Sweating. Excitement. Slight discomfort. The prospect of Spring. Things are thawing, heating up. It may begin with the NCAA college basketball tournament. Where 68 teams play sudden death matches. The loser leaves hopefully a good sport; the winner progresses to the next round of elimination. Filtering through to the Sweet 16, Elite Eight and into the Final Four teams. Semi-finals, then the final match with the winner found. Unlike the NBA tournaments where the basketball teams play the best of seven games, in the March Madness games, after the initial play-ins remove four of the lowest ranked teams, for those remaining 64 teams a single match is all that stands between climbing the ladder or being benched for the rest of the tournament. Skill and luck both have their roles to play. A minor mistake may end it all. There’s no best of ...

Legal Shades of Grey The underboob selfie. Yet another variant of the selfie, and maybe quite the tie-in. Which although probably not requiring a selfie stick, is nonetheless being taken to with a stick. With Thailand authorities having banned the underboob selfie. All of which because such images may violate Thailand’s Computer Crime Act 2007, Section 14, regarding computer data which may “damage the country’s security or cause a public panic” and related to computer data “that is publicly accessible” in addition to that which “involves the dissemination or forwarding of computer data”. So provided everyone remains calm and no-one panics, people sharing underboob selfies may escape prosecution provided the images aren’t a security risk and don’t disclose state secrets. Somewhat strange the actions of the government compared to the perceptions of the country. Irrespective of any legalities, it’s not exactly like Thailand is unknown for its sex and drug ...

Cryptozoology, is the study of, and the search for, secret, hidden animals with a yet unproven existence.  Rumours, hearsay and conjecture are often where it begins.  Sometimes legends.  A few hoaxes may be in there as well.  Blurred photos are optional, but are generally recommended. Two of the more famous examples are the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot. The Loch Ness Monster, or Nessie as it is (or they are) otherwise referred to, was purportedly first seen in the year 565 (which requires more than a small bit of interpretation of Chapter 28 in the Life of St. Columba).  Making its home in Loch Ness, Scotland; it has been searched for, but never found.  The most recently claimed and majorly reported sighting was in 2012.  Perhaps meaning that Nessie either swims in the Fountain of Youth, or there are many of the creatures.  Neither claim has been proven though. Bigfoot, or Sasquatch (as its ...