Bill Nye 2: Money Money Money.

Bill Nye: "I bet I'm the only person here who carries a Canadian five dollar bill around with them."

Me: (reaching thoughtfully for my wallet)  "Actually, Bill...."

I feel humbled by having to visit Florida to learn from an American that the Canadian contribution to the international space program is featured on the back of our five dollar bill.

Hang on - does anybody know what's on the ten?

- Sid

Bill Nye 1: "Stand back, I'm going to try science!"

Last month I attended an e-learning conference in Florida, where to my mild surprise Bill Nye was featured as the keynote speaker on the first day of the event. To be honest, I wasn't really sure what the Science Guy was going to bring to the table, so I was pleasantly surprised by his intense one-hour presentation on learning, exploration and, of course, science and the importance of scientific thinking and investigation.

Live whiteboard illustration by Kelly Kingman

If asked, I would have said that Bill Nye was an unexpected candidate to be the voice of scientific rationalism in the 21st century. It's as if Mister Rogers had decided to launch a crusade to return America to its religious roots, based on his popularity as a children's program host. (Not as strange an example as you might think - Fred Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister.)

However, Nye's passion for science is undeniable, and his television stint from 1993 to 1998 as Bill Nye The Science Guy makes him as recognizable an icon to the current generation as Fred Rogers was during his own era, giving Nye a visibility factor that instantly raises the profile for his advocacy regarding scientific theory.

He's strategically maintained and developed his pop-culture profile with a pair of best-selling books* on evolution and science, and innumerable TV appearances as an advocate for scientific thought. A prime example is his famous two hour and 45 minute 2014 debate with creationist Ken Ham, which had an audience of over one million broadcast viewers and which has received over 6 million views on YouTube. He's also the current president of The Planetary Society, an international non-profit organization created to allow the general public to contribute toward the advancement of space exploration.

The comparison to a religious crusade is not entirely appropriate, given that Nye's crusade is in some ways against religion - or, to be more accurate, the fundamentalist view of the world around us, I don't think the Science Guy objects to religion per se.

Similarly, I have nothing against people who have chosen to have faith in a higher being, or to take a spiritual view of life, but I have to agree with Bill Nye: the insurmountable problem with creationism is that it doesn't advance our understanding of how the universe works. Ignoring or denying all the scientific evidence regarding the origins of the universe does not move us forward in our desire to explore that universe.

It's obvious that Bill Nye has successfully transcended his origins as a children's show host, and made himself into a passionate, dedicated spokesperson for science and scientific thought. If you ask me, science could do a lot worse.

- Sid

* 2014's Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation and his 2015 follow-up Unstoppable: Harnessing Science to Change the World.

Also available in grape and watermelon.

 

As per my previous posting, I met up with my friend Chris yesterday for a beer and a bite at the new Storm Crow location near us. My previous visit with Karli had been for brunch, so this offered a convenient opportunity to check out the evening action. I wore my Doctor Who "Angels have the phone box" t-shirt - after all, peeps got to represent.

Once again, it was extremely busy, which pleased me. It's good to see that a gamer/geek bar can have such a strong appeal.  And the gamer crowd was out in full force, to the point where I almost want to suggest that they should have made the tables a bit bigger - experience tells me that it's a bit challenging to fit a game and a couple of drinks onto a table for two.

They've modified the decor a bit:  they've moved the carbonized Han Solo over to the east wall, made the washroom doors look like the entrance to the TARDIS, and added a large Millennium Falcon model to the ceiling.*

The bar's commitment to geek theme is complete. The dinner menu includes items such as Deep One Salmon Burgers, the BLT-9000, Boba Fettucini (no, really) and the Cenobite Sundae**, along with an obscure Persis Khambatta joke from 1982.  As with their cocktail menu, the adventurous diner can request a 20-sided die from the wait staff and roll for the contents of their burger.

As the final touch for the departing guest, the Storm Crow considerately provides a little extra something - just in case the world outside has changed for the worse since dinner started.

- Sid

* Perhaps some large Star Trek items are in order as well, the place is a bit Star Wars heavy right now.  Just sayin'.

** Which appears on the menu as follows:

Cenobite Sundae:  no tears please, it’s a waste of good suffering. This sensorium-blasting ice cream delight will hook you with sprinkles, caramel, chocolate sauce and whipped cream... before it tears your soul apart.

Quite affordable at five dollars, but seriously, does that description necessarily make you want to order one of these things?

On location.

On my way to meet my friend Chris at the Storm Crow this afternoon, I passed by the following piece of location filming setup at the corner of Arbutus and 6th.  (My apologies for the composition in this hurried photo, I wasn't sure if the burly security guard just around the corner was going to have a problem with photographers.)

 

On one hand, this could easily be a bit of futuristic set dressing.  On the other hand, it's a phone booth - and let's face it, phone booths are becoming increasingly rare other than at airports and similar locations where large numbers of people are trying to avoid roaming charges while travelling, which makes them an unlikely candidate as a prop in a science fiction film script.*  However, that being said, it makes it an equally unlikely prop in a contemporary film - could it be for some kind of 60s setting?

So, here's my request to the motley crew of friends, relatives, casual browsers and Russian spambots** which comprises my readership.  If you should happen to be watching a series or a movie sometime in the next year or so (post-production times will vary) and spot someone sobbing into the mouthpiece of this phone-in-a-dome, please leave me a comment - just so I know whether or not this picture actually belongs on a science fiction blog.

- Sid

* William Gibson has commented that the first thing his more youthful fans will notice about his seminal 1984 cyberpunk novel Neuromancer is the complete lack of cell phones - "which I’m sure young readers assume must be a key plot-point.”

** They rarely comment, but when they do it's quite insightful.

Not with a bang.

Our dried voices, when 

We whisper together

Are quiet and meaningless

As wind in dry grass

or rats' feet over broken glass

In our dry cellar

T. S. Eliot, The Hollow Men

So on Monday, my girlfriend and I were out with another friend for drinks, and the waitress ruefully informed us that the restaurant was out of dry ribs and nachos.  Then on Tuesday, we decided to have hot dogs at Costco, and they were out of relish. Our local grocery store has been out of stock on our favourite brand of farmer's sausage for a week, and I'm still waiting for Staples to deliver four whole boxes of paper that were ordered last Friday.

Is it just me or is this the first chapter of a novel about the Apocaplypse? Personally, this is how I always thought it would start, with little cracks in the structure of things: little cracks that would get bigger and bigger and bigger...

Recommended reading on this topic would have to be John Brunner's 1972 novel The Sheep Look Up, with Philip Wylie's posthumous The End of the Dream from 1973 running a close second.* Both books detail the end of the world as the result of a thousand little synergies between environmental damage, viral mutation, lowered immunity, lack of resources, collapse of services, civil unrest, and so on that eventually domino into complete catastrophe.  The Sheep Look Up is particularly grim, and paints a far too plausible picture of a disaster which takes place so gradually that most people don't even realize it's happening.

Somebody hold me - I'm scared....

  - Sid

* Kate Wilhelm's Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang takes the bronze - an excellent book, but the apocalypse is secondary to the theme of individuality.

"CAPTAIN Deadpool..."

Continuing this month's unintentional Canadian theme, a quick shout-out to Number 5 Orange, one of Vancouver's few remaining strip clubs, which appears as itself in the Deadpool movie.

  - Sid

You'd need an awfully large cake for 134 candles.

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday dear Logan,

Happy birthday to you!

  - Sid

"I'm Canadian".

April 1st having come and gone, I have to say that my favourite April Fool's posting comes from the unexpected source of the Government of Canada's Library and Archives web site.  (Although Bruce Campbell's announcement of his starring role in the American version of Doctor Who comes a close second.)

The Library and Archives site was pleased to announce that they had acquired the military records of noted Canadian mutant supersoldier James "Logan" Howlett - better known to the rest of the world as the adamantium-enhanced X-Man Wolverine.

 

Included with Logan's declassified records was his original Canadian Overseas Expeditionary attestation paperwork from 1914, listing his place of residence as Cold Lake, Alberta and his trade as woodsman.

This form also shows his date of birth as April 5th, 1882, which suggests that there should be some kind of celebration on Tuesday to commemorate the 134th birthday of this unsung (and well-preserved) Canadian war veteran - probably followed by a little chat about whether or not it's okay to cut off Canada Pension Plan payouts during periods of extended non-residency.

  - Sid

pReview: Batman Versus Superman (plus Wonder Woman and maybe Aquaman).

Boys! Mm, Bruce Wayne meets Clark Kent. Ah, I love it! I love bringing people together! How are we?  

Lex Luthor, Batman Versus Superman

I haven't seen Batman Versus Superman yet, but I'm quite curious as to how good or bad it actually is.  Reviews have not been kind, but the box office results are more positive - so far BVS has pulled in close to $500 million dollars globally after only four days in theatres.

Personally, I wasn't surprised by the negative reviews I saw in advance of the film's actual release. The trailers I'd seen had left me cold, and let's face it, if a superhero movie doesn't provide the editor with 90 seconds worth of excitement for a trailer, there's something very wrong.

The reviews seemed to match that opinion, and yet there's that impressive box office total.  It's difficult to think of another movie which has been panned to this extent by critics, but has still managed to attract so many viewers.

From the perspective of the long-term comic book fan, Batman Versus Superman appears to be an odd mashup of three or four different comic book storylines.  The base concept comes from The Dark Knight Returns, a brilliant and innovative four-issue 1986 miniseries by Frank Miller.  The story is set many years in a future where the government has outlawed superheroes. Batman has retired, Wonder Woman has returned to her people, Green Lantern has left Earth for the stars, and Superman leads a shadowy existence as a tool of the government, accepting anonymity in exchange for permission to continue saving lives and averting disasters.

An aging Bruce Wayne sees a world in chaos, and can no longer resist the lure of the cape and the cowl in spite of the prohibition against vigilante crimefighting.  In the final issue, the government dispatches Superman to put the Batman out of business, but with the help of a one-armed Green Arrow, a female Robin, and some synthetic Kryptonite, the Batman shows his old friend who’s really in charge.

The second source is the equally classic Death of Superman sequence from 1992, wherein an ancient Kryptonian monster named Doomsday goes head-to-head with the Man of Steel, resulting in the death of both combatants. As is often the case in the wonderful world of comics, both eventually get better.

And then there's the whole Wonder Woman thing...not to mention the Justice League of America tie-in as per the Dawn of Justice subtitle for the film.

On top of all these disconnected storylines, there's the question of how Batman and Superman originally met in the comics.  For that story, we have to go back to Issue 76 of Superman (Volume 1) from 1952, in which Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent are forced to share a stateroom - and a bed - on an overbooked cruise ship.*

 

When a fire breaks out, the two crimefighters catch each other changing into their costumes - marking the start of an ambiguous friendship that would last throughout their careers (not to mention several reboots and a LOT of retconning).

From what I've been able to tell from trailers and online hints, the plot of the movie combines a lot of elements from the source material - okay, probably not the cruise ship thing. Some of it looks interesting, and I'm hoping that there may have been some clever combining of comic book storylines and the events of Man of Steel.  However, I've also seen some things that don't appear to have been well written or well executed.  Oh, well...I guess I'm going to have to see the film in order to find out what the real story is.  Wish me luck...but really, half a billion dollars worth of ticket purchases would seem to indicate that it can't be that bad.

- Sid

* This is actually the most improbable story idea in this entire posting - why in the world would a rich playboy have to share a room with a penniless newspaper reporter?    

It's all about knowing the right time.

As the previous posting would suggest, there are times when I feel a bit over-extended at my place of employment.  Because I'm a one-man band in terms of my role there, I frequently find myself balancing deadlines and prioritizing jobs in order to keep my head above water.  I don't view this as unusual, I don't think I've ever had a job where I didn't have to do this sort of thing, it's just the nature of the beast.

However, there are times when it can be challenging trying to keep up with everything, and the past few weeks have involved a lot of juggling in order to keep all the balls in the air. To my intense amusement, someone was kind enough to leave me a random little gift in the middle of my trials and tribulations, something to help take my mind off my problems - to be precise, a bottle of Doctor Who hand soap in a convenient TARDIS shaped container.

Because I'm a reasonably clever person, it didn't take me long to figure out which of my co-workers would have both the requisite knowledge to find something like this, and the good sense to know that it was a good time for it!  Thanks again, Christi - it couldn't have come at a better time!

- Sid

Is it okay to call you Bill?

 

Hey!

HEY!

HELLO? 

HI, EVERYBODY!  IT'S ME, SID!  ANY RICH SCIENCE FICTION FANS OUT THERE WHO WANT TO PAY ME TO DO THIS?  SOMEBODY LIKE BILL GATES MAYBE?

Seriously, I'd love to do this for a living - it would be great to be able to dedicate a lot more time to The Infinite Revolution, I'm constantly trying to balance my desire to do blog postings with everything else in my life! 

I'd treat it as a full time job, and I'd be happy to do at least one post every day - maybe more if inspiration strikes, and to be honest, inspiration strikes more often than I have opportunity to take advantage of it - at least in a timely fashion, I have a long list of stale draft postings that will never see the light of day. 

Sadly, I doubt that anyone other than someone like Mr. Gates would be in a position to pay me a living wage for blogging - where would the payback be?  Right now it's a pretty casual thing, although that would certainly change if this was my full-time career.  After all, right now I make no effort to market this site, because it's just a hobby, and as such I rather enjoy not having to take it seriously.

However, if someone wanted a proven level of readership in exchange for their contribution, I'd certainly want it to be worth their while, and I'd branch out to Twitter™ and Instagram™ in order to start building an audience.

So, if there are any would-be patrons of the arts out there, drop me a line and we'll talk.  Especially you, Bill, I'd be happy to swing down to Washington State and discuss this over lunch - my treat.

- Sid

(Sorry, just some wishful thinking, the last few weeks have been a little over the top in terms of workload...)

"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."

Aragorn: Gentlemen! We do not stop 'til nightfall.
Pippin: But what about breakfast?
Aragorn: You've already had it.
Pippin: We've had one, yes. But what about second breakfast?
[Aragorn stares at him, then walks off.]
Merry: Don't think he knows about second breakfast, Pip.
Pippin: What about elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? He knows about them, doesn't he?
Merry: I wouldn't count on it.

The Fellowship of the Ring

My friend Chris recently informed me that last month the Storm Crow Tavern had opened a sister location more or less in my neighbourhood.  I quite liked the original Storm Crow, but it was a bit of a hike to get to it, and as such I was pleased that they'd added a location closer to home.

Karli had also enjoyed visiting the Storm Crow, so we decided to pay the new bar a lunchtime visit to see how it measured up.  The original Storm Crow was a gamer-friendly location, and we had no reason to expect the satellite bar to be any different, so we packed along a couple of our more portable games.

I found it surprisingly busy and loud for noon on a Sunday - I can only imagine what it's like in the evening. Apparently it's been quite busy from day one:  not a huge surprise, the Commercial Drive location quickly developed a loyal following.

The Alehouse is probably a bit larger than the Tavern, and the decor looked considerably more expensive:  a life-sized copy* of Han Solo in carbonite, a mounted rancor head, and backlit transparencies of Tank Girl, Dengar the Bounty Hunter, and genre movie posters. It's a bit reminiscent of the original Storm Crow during its early days - right now it's looks like everything was carefully planned and set in place, whereas the original has gotten a bit funkier and more lived-in over the last couple of years.

During our visit, a professional Starcraft II tournament** was playing on one of the large TVs mounted around the place - in my mind, a perfectly acceptable alternative to football. Other screens featured the Teen Titans animated series and the first Tron movie - they're obviously doing their best to cater to a mixed audience.

After we finished eating, we played a few rounds of Lost Cities, and we weren't the only gamers there: two people at the next table were having a spirited match of Kings of Tokyo, a kaiju board game - good choice for a geek bar.  For people who don't want to haul along a box, the bar also has a nice selection of games shelved in the back. For old school bar goers, there's also a Game of Thrones pinball machine beside the bar.

 

The owners have been quite faithful to concept in other ways as well.  The menu layout is done in standard Starfleet LCARS format**, and features things like the Brew of Cthulhu, a "non-Euclidean lager" from Red Truck, and cocktails like the Sonic Screwdriver or Nuka Cola Quantum.

However, I have to say that some of the actual menu items didn't impress me as much as the design.  Personally, I think that you should be able to order lunch at noon, and the brunch options didn't completely thrill me. (To be fair, Sunday brunch is probably not a fair test.)  In  addition, our waiter was well-intentioned and eager, but if you'd told me it was his first day, it would certainly have explained a lot about some of the more non-standard aspects of his performance.

Overall, I'd give the new location a B, verging on a B+, and I'm confident that with time things will settle in and they'll work their way up to an A. I'd certainly recommend it to anyone who is looking for something a little different in their evening out.

- Sid

* I assume it's a copy - the original prop is supposed to be touring with the Star Wars Identities exhibition, currently in Vienna.

** Library Computer Access/Retrieval System - it's the distinctively geometric computer operating system interface used in Star Trek: The Next Generation and the related spinoffs.

"The world is plunged into darkness."

How long would it take you to destroy civilization on Earth?

It took me about 26 days.

As part of the promotional push for its new post-pandemic game The Division, French game developer Ubisoft has created an online simulator called Collapse that graphically illustrates exactly how long it would take for civilization to fall apart based on a single disease-carrying human vector.

The simulator adds a grim twist: it asks for your home address, and then directs you to the hospitals, drug stores, potential vaccine distribution points and airports near your actual location.  Based on your decisions, the site details the number of people you would infect - followed very quickly by the resulting number of deaths.

The simulator uses information from the World Health Organization, NASA, the International Air Transport Association and Open Street Maps to calculate the impact of your actions, and explains the various problems that would arise as a viral apocalypse overwhelmed humanity.

The concept of a global pandemic is almost not science fiction - the simulator bases its infection pattern on smallpox, and as 2014's Ebola epidemic in Africa illustrated, it takes constant vigilance to ensure that the problem is contained in the originating area during the battle to stop an outbreak. Collapse clearly shows just how quickly a similar situation would escalate in a North American urban centre rather than isolated African villages.

And now, you'll have to pardon me - I think I need to lie down.  I seem to be feeling a bit feverish...

- Sid

Doctor When?

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

 James 1:2-4

I recently had one of those moments of mild panic when I thought to myself, "Wait, I haven't heard anything about the premiere date for Doctor Who this year - my goodness, did I miss it?"

A little research revealed that there's good news and bad news. The good news is that I haven't missed the start of this year's episodes. The bad news?  There won't be any episodes this year.*

Excuse me?

Okay, here's the deal.  Steven Moffat, who took over as showrunner from Russell Davies in 2009, is in the process of handing the baton over to his replacement, series writer and long-time Whovian Chris Chibnall (who scripted 42, The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood, Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, The Power of Three and the YouTube short series Pond Life.) Chibnall was also the co-producer and unofficial head writer for the Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood.  2017 will be Moffat's last season, and Chibnall will take over in 2018.

Which is all very well and good, but what does this have to do with the lack of episodes in 2016?

There was some discussion during 2015 that Season 10 might end up being a bit shorter or delayed  which, interestingly, Steven Moffat vehemently denied at the time.  However, since then, Mr. Moffat has changed his tune, and in January of this year announced his upcoming departure, along with the dearth of Doctor Who episodes in 2016.

I've seen some speculation suggesting that the hiatus is so that details of the handoff can be all worked out, but the official explanation is more peculiar. The BBC, in its infinite wisdom, has decided that it has enough interesting television for 2016, and as such had better save something for next year.  To quote BBC1 controller Charlotte Moore:

“I have decided to schedule Steven’s big finale series in Spring 2017 to bring the nation together for what will be a huge event on the channel. 2016 is spoilt with national moments including the Euros and Olympics and I want to hold something big back for 2017 – I promise it will be worth the wait!”

Sigh...Charlotte, let me explain something to you. People like me watch Doctor Who because we DON'T want to watch things like the Olympics or the European footie championships. Why in the world would you decide to deprive us of what we like just because there's a bunch of sports happening this year?  I will bet good money that you're not dumping the Premier League next year in favour of the Doctor - why are we being punished?

Someone recently asked me to explain the popularity of Doctor Who. I replied that Doctor Who has become the last refuge of the hard core geek - franchises like Star Wars and Star Trek have been absorbed into popular culture, but you still need to be a committed genre fan to follow the Doctor's adventures.

I suppose that these are the challenges that are intended to test that commitment - so be it, then.  All I have to say is that there had better be some damn good episodes next year.

- Sid

* There at least will be a 2016 Christmas episode of Doctor Who, so things haven't gone completely off the rails.

Acme.

Rule 7: All materials, tools, weapons, or mechanical conveniences must be obtained from the Acme corporation.

Chuck  Jones' Nine Rules for Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner

At one point during our stay in Palm Desert, Karli excitedly pointed out a small bird darting along the edge of a mall parking lot, and said, "Look, a roadrunner!"  We tried to get close enough to take a picture, but to my intense amusement, it was going too fast for us to catch up.  Hmmm...if only there was someplace that could supply the right equipment to catch a roadrunner...

Actually, come to think of it, it was probably for the best that we just gave up and moved on.

- Sid

P.S. If anyone is reading this and thinking, "But isn't this a bit off topic?", the Warner Brothers cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Wile E. Coyote, the Roadrunner, et al., represents one of the most impressive collections of outrageous, creative and brilliant fantasy ever put on film.

A Walk In The Dark.

Very unreasonably, his intelligence told him, he began to think how horrible it would be if anything happened now, so near the end of the journey. He kept the worst of his fears at bay for a while, hoping desperately that the lights of the city would soon reappear.

Arthur C. Clarke, A Walk in the Dark, Thrilling Wonder Stories, August 1950

I'm currently in the middle of a five-day visit to Palm Desert with my girlfriend Karli and her squad in order to celebrate her birthday.  Sadly, as sometimes happens during this sort of trip, I woke up at 3:00 AM feeling a bit under the weather - the result of a little too much alcohol* and a few too many nachos.

Fortunately, experience has taught me a very simple cure for the times when I feel like this: go for a long walk, preferably in cold weather.  So I quietly climbed out of bed, dressed, made my way down the hallway, and crept out the front door into the chilly desert night.

An hour long tour of El Paseo Drive left me feeling much better, and I decided it was time to go back to bed before Karli started to worry.

However, Palm Desert is one of those towns which doesn't really see a lot of pedestrians, and as such the city fathers haven't invested too much of their budget in street lighting.  It's rare that any city street is completely black, but once off the main thoroughfares of Palm Desert, it was certainly dark enough to make it difficult to navigate.

As I made my way down the unlit street to the rental home, I was unfortunately reminded of a short story by Arthur C. Clarke in which a lone traveller is attempting to make his way on foot through the night to the planet's spaceport, only to have his flashlight stop working.  Forced to proceed in pitch black conditions, he is unable to stop thinking about the stories that the colonists had told him regarding a mysterious creature that prowls the region around the colony - a creature unseen by human eyes, but whose presence is hinted at by evidence such as rocks scarred as if by the sharpening of gigantic claws or talons.

He finally reaches a point where he can see the lights of the port, with just a small detour back into the night before he reaches his destination.  Relieved, and a little embarrassed by his fears, he confidently walks down in the dark valley that will take him out of the light.

Only to hear the rattle of monstrous claws in the darkness ahead of him.

Trust me, these are the moments when I wish I had less of a memory for science fiction plot lines.

- Sid

* It doesn't take a lot of alcohol for this to happen to me - or to most of my siblings.  Apparently it has something to do with liver functions and our ability to metabolize alcohol.

Geeks in Love.

 

Sometimes you find a greeting card that perfectly matches both your interests and your feelings toward someone special. Happy birthday, Karli - loving you very much!

- Sid

Toys 'R' Us 2: She-Hulk

"Is there any reason we shouldn't go into Toys 'R' Us?"

Karli T.

First, this looks unexpectedly realistic.  Second, wouldn't this mask just be ridiculously large for a child?

- Sid

Toys 'R' Us 1: Shouldn't they be in gigantic blister packs?

"Aren’t you a little short for a stormtrooper?"

Princess Leia Organa, Star Wars IV: A New Hope 

In the wake of postings about my co-worker's 12-pack of original Star Wars toys, I was a bit disappointed not to find a rack of current Star Wars action figures at Toys 'R' Us.  But look at the alternative!  Did anyone else know that these were a thing?

These First Order Stormtroopers stand four feet tall, cost $149.99, have more articulation than the original 3 3/4 inch Empire Stormtrooper figures, and produce sound effects and lines from The Force Awakens if you press a button on their chest. I would loved to have owned one of these when I was ten - and I was a little tempted by them right now.*

On the other hand, it's hard to imagine storing twelve of these in a box in the attic and forgetting that you own them for 40 years.

- Sid

*  Apparently the word is out that $150 is my top limit for ridiculous SF geek toy purchasing.