In Other News...November 11

[DoctorFinger]

- IGN has a video preview (http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/957206/borderlands/videos/borderlands_dlc_vdp_110909.html;jsessionid=5t2d0qs gg5f21) of the "Zombie Island of Dr. Ned" DLC for Borderlands. Two words: Loot. Goon.

- A sequel to Bully has been revealed...by the composer (http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/61210). Before he began actually working on the project. Whoops.

- The Zune HD has been updated with 6 new games (http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/11/hands-on-zune-hd-gets-new-games-now-with-3d-and-actual-fun.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss), including Project Gotham and Audiosurf. And they're all free.

- Could the cause of the myriad problems plaguing the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) be...time travelers (http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20091111/wl_time/08599193737000)? That's the theory being floated by a pair of emminent physicists.

- To the surprise of few, Fox has officially canceled Joss Whedon's Dollhouse (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118011179.html?categoryid=14&cs=1&nid=2562&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed). They show will continue to produce the season's full slate of shows, with the 13th episode being the series finale.

- Courtesy of Lance Uppercut: raising children the right way (http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=367738c733daeff4a458fb8703cdf9 5e&topic=326376.msg3768862#msg3768862).

[Nameless]

Ok, the idea that nature won't let the LHC exist is really freakin' interesting. However, if I were some force attempting to stop the LHC from working, I would think there'd be a more efficient and more permanent way than sending a bird to drop a piece of baguette into the machinery.

They should send Terminators.

[Karak]

OH MY LORD.
Bully 2.
This a great day.

[Squidbot]

- Could the cause of the myriad problems plaguing the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) be...time travelers (http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20091111/wl_time/08599193737000)? That's the theory being floated by a pair of emminent physicists.


Well, duh. Terminator's are all very well and good, but the real threat is bird's carrying future baguettes.

Question is, African or European?

[ThievesAmongUs]

- IGN has a video preview (http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/957206/borderlands/videos/borderlands_dlc_vdp_110909.html;jsessionid=5t2d0qs gg5f21) of the "Zombie Island of Dr. Ned" DLC for Borderlands. Two words: Loot. Goon.

Two more words: Awesome Sauce.

[Spectre-7]

They should send Terminators.

The bird was the terminator.

HK gulls. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

[Nameless]

The bird was the terminator.

HK gulls. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

So does this mean that the future human resistance is going to send a hawk to stop the gull, and then the robots will send an eagle to stop the hawk, and so on and so on until we get to some sort of giant future-bird that doesn't even exist yet? Because if so, this is going to be awesome!

[Abunai]

That medic/heavy costume combo was awesome.

[LordDon]

Why does Joss keep going back to Fox?

[DoctorFinger]

Why does Joss keep going back to Fox?Fox is the only broadcast net willing to put that sort of sci-fi on the air. I've said for a while now that he would be better off on SyFy or another cable net, but that also means a smaller budget per ep.

[Karak]

Fox is the only broadcast net willing to put that sort of sci-fi on the air. I've said for a while now that he would be better off on SyFy or another cable net, but that also means a smaller budget per ep.

Agreed.

He needs to move to Syfy. And BUILD a show. Not expect instant awesome, but slowly make it. I mean Firefly was of course instantly awesome but many shows are not.
Farscape I loved as well on Syfy. It is indeed the place for him.

[Spectre-7]

So does this mean that the future human resistance is going to send a hawk to stop the gull, and then the robots will send an eagle to stop the hawk, and so on and so on until we get to some sort of giant future-bird that doesn't even exist yet? Because if so, this is going to be awesome!

Even worse. The only thing capable of stopping a terminator hawk is its natural cross-temporal predator... the terminator pterodactyl (ptermidactyl?). Once the arms race reaches is logical conclusion, a plague of giant retro-future-past-bird-robots will blot out the skies with their shimmering steel wings, and our only option will be to seek refuge within the safety of the Earth.

When the robots take to the skies, you learn to live like a prairie dog.

I'm so scared I just threw up.

[Xerxes]

They should send Terminators.

I think in the real future, time travelers have realized how inefficient Terminators are at their job. If you are the primary target, all they do is slam you against a wall repeatedly. Horrible horrible programming.

[Nameless]

Even worse. The only thing capable of stopping a terminator hawk is its natural cross-temporal predator... the terminator pterodactyl (ptermidactyl?). Once the arms race reaches is logical conclusion, a plague of giant retro-future-past-bird-robots will blot out the skies with their shimmering steel wings, and our only option will be to seek refuge within the safety of the Earth.

When the robots take to the skies, you learn to live like a prairie dog.

I'm so scared I just threw up.

Hold me.

Semi-related: Your comment about flocks of giant Terminator birds flooding in from the future made me think about the conservation of matter. According to the law of conservation of mass/matter, the mass of a closed system remains constant over time. So, if the universe is a closed system (which seems a reasonable assumption, since everything that we deem to 'exist' is in the universe, then its mass should remain constant.

BUT! If we keep sending giant robotic man-devouring birds into the past (read: present), we'll be breaking that law by increasing the mass of the universe in that particular time frame, meaning that any two specific instant 'snapshots' of the universe, if you will, would have difference mass, flying into the face of the law of matter conservation! We have a contradiction!

Thus, time-travel is impossible, and we don't have to worry about ptermidactyls anytime soon, unless we build them for fun or sport. QED ;)

I think in the real future, time travelers have realized how inefficient Terminators are at their job. If you are the primary target, all the do is slam you against a wall repeatedly. Horrible horrible programming.

Clearly SkyNet should have been working on developing better algorithms instead of sending Terminator after Terminator into the past. Anyway, this comment was hilarious! Ten points.

[Pale Ale]

- Courtesy of Lance Uppercut: raising children the right way (http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=367738c733daeff4a458fb8703cdf9 5e&topic=326376.msg3768862#msg3768862).

Thats it, from now on I'm taking all child related advice from [Weapon][Act of Violence] combos!. :D

[DylonCorp]

The Zune HD has been updated with 6 new games (http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/11/hands-on-zune-hd-gets-new-games-now-with-3d-and-actual-fun.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss), including Project Gotham and Audiosurf. And they're all free.

Genius. Is this already on your iPhones? The game screams for the tilty play.

[Spigot]

I'm not surprised that Dollhouse is getting the axe but it's a shame. Despite all of my kvetching and moaning about the show and my continued bafflement at my own inability to stop watching it, by the time it went off the air at the end of October it was really starting to feel like it had hit its stride and things were finally clicking.

If the quality of the last batch of episodes that are going to be aired is along the lines of Epitaph One or the last couple of episodes of this season, I'll have had one hell of a reversal of opinion about the show.

If they go back to being hour long sessions of having to watch Eliza Dushku stare vacantly into the camera while attempting to look pouty... Well, then I WON'T bemoan the loss of the show.

I only wish that there hadn't been as much indication of how good the show can be as we've had. It's a lot easier to just ignore a crappy show than one that has glimmerings of awesome and missed potential.

[MalReynolds]

Why does Joss keep going back to Fox?

He has a first look Deal with Fox and thats why he always goes back to fox :(

[rein]

Why does Joss keep going back to Fox?Dollhouse has not been a very good series. There's been a few memorable episodes but most were crap. Ratings sucked last season and FOX brought it back for another. FOX gave it more of a chance than it deserved. If you want to blame someone, and can't bring yourself to blame Whedon, blame Dushku. If you don't want to blame her blame the people not watching. The way FOX takes a beating from Whedonites I'm starting to wonder why FOX lets him come back.

[Kelegacy]

Can't wait for Bully 2. Loved the first game so much.

As for Joss Whedon...I don't like his stuff anyway. I don't have the same geek love that other people have for him or his shows. Sounds like Dollhouse scripts should have been edited down to be full of more awesome instead of more build-up. You don't watch a series for almost two seasons waiting for it to get good.

[Narradisall]

Bully was a rather refreshing and good game I enjoyed so a sequel is welcome.

I'd already read that theor on the LHC a few weeks back. While interesting I think they are just theorising for a laugh. I'd be worried if they actually seriously think that.

No surprise about Dollhouse. I wished Fox gave Firefly the stretch they gave Dollhouse.

[EverlostMI]

I wished Fox gave Firefly the stretch they gave Dollhouse.
I am right there with you on that. I did like the nod Fillion and the writing crew on Castle did on the Halloween episode to acknowledge Firefly/Serenity.

[Purple Santa]

OH MY LORD.
Bully 2.
This a great day.

Yeppers. Maybe this should be in the "happy thread" :D

I think I want a Bully 2 before another GTA game.

[Karak]

Yeppers. Maybe this should be in the "happy thread" :D

I think I want a Bully 2 before another GTA game.
I do as well. I like GTA, but Bully well it just captured the little kid angst so well and was foolishly dangerous but not so hard edged. I adored it, and the music, the thrum thrum thrum walking music, so much.

[MosBen]

Dollhouse was a great idea that's been decent for most of its run with spurts of greatness. I'm sure that if it had been allowed a full run it would have turned into something special. Buffy's first season is really spotty, as is Angel's. Firefly's 13 eps are great, but we'll never know if its quality would have dipped over more time.

Whedon really and truly needs to be on cable. While Syfy is the obvious choice, I'd love to see what he'd do with an HBO show.

My understanding of why Dollhouse was on Fox was because a) the people who canned Firefly out from under him were gone, and 2) Dushku has an exclusive contract with Fox and he built the show around her.

Edit: It's not like Dollhouse was all setup. The first season paid off the Alpha storyline rather well, and I'd say about a quarter of the episodes were great, a quarter good, and half decent. It's not up to the level of awesome the Firefly attained, but that was a pretty uncommonly high level of awesome for the first half of the first season of a show. I can't think of any other show that came out that strong right out of the gate. What I always think of are Trek series, which seem to take a full season or so before they really find their footing.

[Spigot]

Sadly, Dushku is the weakest part of Dollhouse. The supporting cast is fantastic and whenever the spotlight is off of her and onto them, the show sizzles. Sigh.