Comments on: MARS NEEDS… salmon?

By: Alex

Alex — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:52:54 +0000

My first thought was “That’s not Mars, it’s Jupiter, they’re just doing some funky color shifting on the red spot.”

My brain is weird.

By: Stone Age Scientist

Stone Age Scientist — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 08:48:14 +0000

John @ #37,

You have to know that I don’t live in the US. And yes, TCOM has been saddling the shelves of Blockbuster for a few months now. It may have been in February or March when I rented it.

Thank you for mentioning the books. I’ll try to get a hold of them when I’m in Taipei. If they don’t have the English edition there, I may just have to order from Amazon. (Though, reading in Chinese aint bad, either. It’s just that certain nuances are lost.)

By: John Paradox

John Paradox — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:26:46 +0000

SAS: RE: Pratchett.

Blockbuster has TCOM? Shoot, it’s on the ‘save’ list at NetFlix. I’d read about the making of the show (it apparently airs, like Hogfather, on one of the DirecTV channels, not on local cable)

Of course, the novels are even better. I recall Leo Laporte, Chief TWiT, mentioned a Discworld novel in his Audible.com ad being available in audio.

J/P=?

By: Stone Age Scientist

Stone Age Scientist — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:56:39 +0000

Phil, you wrote,

That’s why I don’t study biology.

Uh-oh, PZ Myers is gonna be whippin’ yo’ asstronomy.

By: Stone Age Scientist

Stone Age Scientist — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:47:56 +0000

Hi John Paradox @ #34,

No, I’m not aware that Mr. Pratchett has the early stages of Alzheimer’s. In fact (and I hope I am forgiven for this), I never knew of Mr. Pratchett at all until that fateful day earlier this year when I chanced upon The Colour of Magic at the local Blockbuster store (we have no Netflix here, sorry). The cover looked nice, had Sean Astin looking like a goofy Hawaiian tourist, and had an intriguing plot, that I took the chance to rent the video. To be honest, that was my first encounter with Terry Pratchett (and to think that he has been around for a long time now!).

I’ll be sure to look into the animated adaptations you wrote about. Thank you. Now, if only I could find them here!

Btw, I liked the way the eggs hatched in space.

By: John Paradox

John Paradox — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 23:30:56 +0000

31. Stone Age Scientist Says:
This is off topic for me, but the picture & Phil’s mention of penguins flying in space reminded me of Terry Pratchett’s The Colour of Magic.

You should check out the animated adaptations of some of the Discworld stories (I have VHS of Wyrd Sisters, and have seen Soul Music via NetFlix) and the 3-D animation of The Great A’tuin… some nice graphics.

(There is also the live-action Hogfather, and another pending)

J/P=?

P.S. Are you aware that Pratchett has admitted to being in early stages of Alzheimer’s? SO sorry to hear that.

By: Gary

Gary — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:31:57 +0000

They are all coming to visit Opus….
http://www.io.com/~o_m/omworld/images/blog/12-05/specials/opus.jpg

By: Joe Meils

Joe Meils — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:49:13 +0000

SKIPPER: Just keep thinking cute and cuddly, Boys!
KOWALSKI: Skipper, I believe there’s a 93% chance of martian herring at the south pole.
SKIPPER: Right Boys! Operation Tastey Pop is in effect! Rico, regurgitate us some re-entry sheilding!
RICO: (Gag, hawrg!)

By: Stone Age Scientist

Stone Age Scientist — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:24:32 +0000

This is off topic for me, but the picture & Phil's mention of penguins flying in space reminded me of Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic. Here's a picture of Discworld in The Colour of Magic.

By: Rob

Rob — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:19:14 +0000

Cool! Now Martian Bigfoot will have something to eat! I’m sure penguins are much more satisfying than the rocks he must have been eating before.

By: HappyHead

HappyHead — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:23:01 +0000

Actual flying penguins. Well, flying penguin robots…
http://haha.nu/consumerism/gadgets/festo-bionics-flying-penguin-robots/

By: Chuck Anziulewicz

Chuck Anziulewicz — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:17:47 +0000

Not just MARTIAN penguins, Penfold … MECHANICAL VAMPIRE MARTIAN PENGUINS!!!

By: SionH

SionH — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:14:37 +0000

I tell ya, those beaks don’t half smart when they anally probe you.

By: Diego

Diego — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:01:30 +0000

I’m pretty sure that earthly penguins don’t eat much salmon, but I can’t be as sure about Martian Space penguins.

By: American Voyager

American Voyager — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:18:25 +0000

Looks like a painting for a SciFi book cover. Cool picture!

By: John Paradox

John Paradox — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 06:41:31 +0000

22. C H Says:
“The Flying Martian Penguins” would be a great name for a band.

Or a cheap B movie… or ’50′s movie parody/homage.

J/P=?

P.S. Check out ironsky.net

By: The Fine Art of Eccentricity · The T-1000 is a possibility, now

The Fine Art of Eccentricity · The T-1000 is a possibility, now — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 06:17:53 +0000

[...] Martian space penguins. Who knew? [...]

By: C H

C H — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 02:41:06 +0000

“The Flying Martian Penguins” would be a great name for a band.

By: Romeo Vitelli

Romeo Vitelli — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 02:10:32 +0000

“So, this means humans are the fourth most intelligent species on the planet?”

You are counting the mice, right? And don’t forget the camels (if you’re a Terry Pratchett fan).

By: Daniel J. Andrews

Daniel J. Andrews — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 02:09:04 +0000

Michael Suttkus II….for not being a biologist and “just” a fan, that is a fine piece of prose you’ve written there especially that second last paragraph. You nicely captured the dynamics of something that we don’t live long enough to see, and made it sound exciting, replete with mystery and just waiting for the observant detective to make sense of the clues. I’d vote you for an honorary biology-lover award over some of the real biologists that I know.

By: Joao

Joao — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 02:05:28 +0000

So, this means humans are the fourth most intelligent species on the planet?

By: Zar

Zar — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:50:53 +0000

A likely story, Mr. Plait (if in fact that IS your real name). There are obviously flying penguins on Mars (they’re Martian Bigfoot’s primary food source) and you and the government and Big Pharma are trying to cover it up so you can make money off it somehow.

By: Flying sardines

Flying sardines — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:07:53 +0000

Hah! This is where I come in … they’re just after Flying sardines – but not catching me!

Great photo!

By: Ray

Ray — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:01:20 +0000

Martian Space Penguins. That would explain a lot about the Penguins of Madagascar show on Nickelodeon.

By: John Paradox

John Paradox — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 23:25:55 +0000

Why does Douglas Adams come to mind?

(Actually, I know why)

J/P=?