Nick Davis's Blog, page 31

It Is a Tiny Blue Marble And We All Live Here On This Spaceship Earth

This is our blue marble, our Earth, this picture was taken by the DSCOVR satellite, a mission launched by NASA on February 2015 and is in orbit about one million miles above us. It will be measuring atmosphere changes and measuring space weather while transmitting more amazing blue marble pictures. 

It is amazing how much we forget how precarious our position in the universe is; this is all we have, we all live here on the Spaceship Earth and at times we are doing out best to make it harder for us stay living on this unique life third rock from the sun.

I always end these pieces with be gentle with the Earth now, never have those words become more true. This is our home, I think it is time for us to tidy it up… a lot…

 

NASA New Horizon Says Hello To Pluto #Shiny

NASA’s New Horizons interplanetary probe after a nine-year journey arrives at Pluto and has been providing the world with the sharpest photos ever seen of our Solar System’s most prominent ‘dwarf planet.’ Today, it made its closest approach to Pluto yet, around about 8,000 miles above its surface – at around 07:49:57 EDT.

I have posted the photo that New Horizon took which, despite traveling at the speed of light (186,000 miles per second), took four and a half hours to reach us here on Earth as it crossed the 3 billion miles between here and Pluto. Tomorrow NASA will be releasing the close up pictures of Pluto, and I cannot wait to see them they are going to be shiny!

How Does Hollywood Not Get Superman?

At some point a couple of years before we saw the soulless train-wreck that was Man Of Steel (MoS) the Exec’s running the DC Movie Universe (DCMU) got around a table and decided Superman was not interesting enough, that he has to be more edgy, less super, less good, more like Batman. The movie should be dark, depressing, meaningless and above all the DCMU Superman must not be seen rescuing any innocent bystanders in the finale fight… Oh, and he has to kill Zod because audiences expect that type of closure.

Now I am paraphrasing that meeting, but that is what happened to Superman in the DCMU. The Man of Steel was regarded to be the Man of Stale, and good for the sake of being good, for having a value system that put others before himself was considered old-fashioned, boring, not edgy, somehow less heroic. How did this happen? When did hero become a bad word in the DCMU? Why do they moan the concept of superheroics?

Apples & Oranges

I am going to take a moment to step into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and look at Captain America. He is in set of value systems about the same as Superman, Cap is old-fashioned believes in doing good for the sake of being good and will not compromise his beliefs even if it means the end of him. He is a man out of time, and yet we saw one of the best superhero movies ever made with Winter Soldier that was gripping, which was interesting, which had an engaging lead character because Cap refused to compromise who he was. Sure he struggled with it, but his refusal to fight his childhood friend even when he was getting pulverized summed up who Cap is.

He is a good guy.

Apples and oranges you might say, Cap isn’t invulnerable, or has super strength and has almost godlike powers. To all that I say bollocks you all have forgotten Superman’s greatest strength.

All About Heart

Superman’s greatest strength isn’t his insane power levels it is his heart, his compassion, his gift of not wanting to beat his enemies, but wanting to understand them to turn them from Foe to Friend. I never believed Superman ever enjoyed defeating his enemies with physical violence, that he felt that was in a way a defeat for him, that he failed to understand and help them.

The DCMU forgot that… Superman is heart, compassion, self-sacrifice, the total good for goodness sake character. Maybe these are old-fashioned values, but Superman is supposed to the ultimate Boy Scout that is what contrasts him with the rest of the DC Universe. He is the living embodiment of hope of light. Somehow that all makes him an uninteresting character hence we have the MoS and that feels like we lost a huge part of what makes Superman… Well… SUPERman…

And that is what the hard cynical world of Hollywood does not get… Good for the sake of being good…

Play nice with the world now…

How Does Hollywood Not Get Superman?

At some point a couple of years before we saw the soulless train-wreck that was Man Of Steel (MoS) the Exec’s running the DC Movie Universe (DCMU) got around a table and decided Superman was not interesting enough, that he had to be more edgy, less super, less good, more like Batman. The movie should be dark, depressing, meaningless and above all the DCMU Superman must not be seen rescuing any innocent bystanders in the finale fight… Oh, and he has to kill Zod because audiences expect that type of closure.

Now I am paraphrasing that meeting, but that is what happened to Superman in the DCMU. The Man of Steel was regarded to be the Man of Stale, and good for the sake of being good, for having a value system that put others before himself was considered old-fashioned, boring, not edgy, somehow less heroic. How did this happen? When did hero become a bad word in the DCMU? Why do they mourn the concept of superheroics?

Apples & Oranges

I am going to take a moment to step into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and look at Captain America. He is in set of value systems about the same as Superman, Cap is old-fashioned believes in doing good for the sake of doing good and will not compromise his beliefs even if it means the end of him. He is a man out of time, and yet we saw one of the best superhero movies ever made with Winter Soldier that was gripping, which was interesting, which had an engaging lead character because Cap refused to compromise who he was. Sure he struggled with it, but his refusal to fight his childhood friend even when he was getting pulverized summed up who Cap is.

He is a good guy.

Apples and oranges you might say, Cap isn’t invulnerable, or has super strength and has almost godlike powers. To all that I say bollocks you all have forgotten Superman’s greatest strength.

All About Heart

Superman’s greatest strength isn’t his insane power levels, it is his heart, his compassion, his strength is not how easily he can beat his enemies, but wanting to understand their motivations to turn them from foe to a friend. I never believed Superman ever enjoyed defeating his enemies with physical violence, for him that was self-defeating, it meant he failed to understand and help them.

In case you didn’t get it the difference between Superman and the Man of Steel – source randallmaynard.tumblr.com

The DCMU forgot that… Superman is heart, compassion, self-sacrifice, the total good for goodness sake character. Maybe these are old-fashioned values, but Superman is supposed to the ultimate Boy Scout that is what contrasts him with the rest of the DC Universe. He is the living embodiment of hope and light. Somehow the Exec’s and Showrunners who run the DCMU believe that all makes him an uninteresting character hence we have the MoS and have lost a huge part of what makes Superman… SUPERman… And what makes him superMAN…

And that is what the hard cynical world of Hollywood does not get… Good for the sake of being good…

Play nice with the world now…

Did You Know I Was On Vacation?

Hey World, I bet you didn’t know I was on Vacation over the last week? I kinda kept it quiet, and had planned to blog everyday, but with spotty internet connection that plan did not really happen. So instead here is a summary of my week of RV adventure after the jump.

Ere We Go! Ere We Go! Ere We Go!

I better frame this all, over the last week my Father flew in from the UK and treated us all to an RV adventure after hiring a seven person sleeper from cruiseamerica.com The first part of the adventure was to travel up to Niagara Falls, what follows are pictures of our adventure to this spectacular piece of nature…. And our journey under the falls too.

As you see from the pictures the first part of the RV Adventure took us into Niagara Falls, and under the falls with a walk through the Cave of the Wind, which put us out under the American Falls. I actually got to stand under this amazing waterfall… Quite the experience. The adventure in Niagara Falls finished with a voyage in the Maid of the Mist that took us right up to the Canadian Horseshoe – which we all know as Niagara Falls. The day ended with a Fourth of July show over the Falls. If you can do this adventure do it. It is amazing.

On The Road To Darien Lake

We spent a total of a weekend and a day at Niagara Falls, after which out next destination was Darien Lake Amusement Park. The Park was only 40 minutes ride from our campground so we took the long way around skirting Ontario Lake – which is one of the series of great lakes. And I have to tell you it redefines what a lake is.

At Darien Lake Amusement Park

Darien Lake is a very quiet gem of a destination, we parked the RV in the campgrounds and had three un-fretted access to the park. The kids got to ride all the rollercoasters and it was a nice little place to stop. We pretty much didn’t see the kids until the evening as they got spun, shaken, rattled and rolled around to their heart’s content. I could easily do a week here and might be a return destination next year for us.

Even Tristan The Teddy Bear Had Fun At Darien

As you can see in some of the pictures we were also joined by Tristan on this adventure, and while he didn’t really visit the Niagara Falls he did have a lot of fun at Darien Lake.

Homeward Bound

The last leg of the journey was the long run back down to Maryland in the RV, and home. The last couple of days of vacation were spent relaxing from the drive, fixing a lawn mower, visiting the Science Center in the Inner Harbor and treating my father to a meal. It had been a long week, and a good adventure.

Cheerio

On Sunday my Father returned to the UK, the week of adventure drawn to a close. I highly recommend an RV adventure to anyone and while it had some drawbacks it was good to be around family.

Thank you Dad, it was good to spend time with you again. Adventure ahead!

We Made Our Kickstarter Funding Thank you!

Yes, I know this is a little late, but I have been on vacation. I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for backing the Kickstarter for the Tristan & the Cuddly Defenders: Out Of The Attic #2 comic book, you are all amazing!

It is going to be awesome comic and I’ve managed to squeeze an extra couple of pages into this book to accommodate a new story by Jean Byrd, with art by Veronica Smith (see above) called Wilma’s Tail.

Out Of The Attic #2 contains FIVE NEW Comic/Illustrated stories that expand the adventures of everyone’s favorite Cuddly Toy Hero Team.

Strange Lands by Nick Davis (Art Dan Nokes) – Sucked through the portal between worlds Tristan the Teddy Bear finds himself in a strange place that looks oddly familiar. Has Tristan found his way back to his boy?
Wilma’s Tail by Jeana Byrd-Davis (Art Veronica Smith) – Wilma Bunny and Fernando embark on a very odd adventure.
Forrest & Scout by Scott Markley (Art Keir Knikia Lyles) – Our clueless odd couple start their quest to find their girls lost toys, on the shores of the ball pit sea.
The Menace of Mech-A-Nor by Dan Nokes (Art Dan Nokes) – Driven from their homes by the rampaging Mech-A-Nor, the residents of Second Chance turn to the most reluctant of Cuddly Defenders Fernando the Mouse Lion to help them.
Helping Hand by Nick Davis (Art Keir Knikia Lyles) – Artie the Teddy Bear is really not having a good night as he tries to keep his child’s secret Treasure box safe from a mysterious menace.

You can also pre-order a copy of Tristan & the Cuddly Defenders: Out Of The Attic #2 by clicking here.

Thank you again for the opportunity to make the second issue of this Teddy Bear Adventure Comic, without you the Cuddly Defenders would not be a thing.

Calling All Teddy Bear Fans Help The Cuddly Defenders Comic Publish On Kickstarter

Okay Teddy Bear Fans we are down to the wire with only hours left on Kickstarter for the Cuddly Defenders Adventure Comic: Out of the Attic 2 to succeed. At time of writing we are at 70% of funding, and if we don’t clear $2000 we do not get a penny. I am asking you to help this comic win its funding on Kickstarter so we can continue the adventures of Tristan and the Cuddly Defenders as they take on the Monsters under the Bed, and thwart the evil plans of the dastardly Bogeyman. You can view and back this Kickstarter here.

Please help me publish this book, the money from the pledges goes to paying the artists Dan Nokes, Keir Knikia Lyles and Josh Lyman, and Forrest & Scout Writer Scott Markley, and to help print the book. We have some amazing reward levels, from picking up the book to owning the entire Cuddly Defender crew as Cuddly Toys.

The production work is handled by me (Nick Davis) along with all the admin work at no cost. This is a lean Kickstarter that rewards the Backer with an amazing set of Teddy Bear adventure stories. Please help the Cuddly Defenders Comic Publish on Kickstarter by clicking here.

Thank you for your help!

 

The Cuddly Defenders Take On Lord Cthulhu

The Cuddly Defenders, that band of discarded Teddy Bears will face down any threat to the children, Monsters under the Bed, the Bogeyman, Evil Robots, including the Nameless One Lord Cthulhu. Help these heroic Teddy Bears win their funding on Kickstarter and back their Adventure Comic Out Of The Attic 2 here! We have just over 48 hours to make our funding goal! Help Tristan and the Cuddly Defenders launch please back them today

NASA Cuts Live Video Feed Of International Space Station As UFO’S Rise From Earth #iwanttobelieve

Something odd happened to the International Space Stations’ live feed on Monday June 29, 2015 – just as three UFO’s were pictured rising from Earth’s atmosphere NASA cut the feed. See the video after the jump.

Now I am not saying these are Alien spacecraft, and there could be a myriad of reasons why the feed was cut, and what the UFO’s could be – technical issues, light reflections and the such like.  Just very coincidental the feed stopped just after the UFO’s appeared. Of course this has sent the Alien Conspiracy Nuts crazy, and it is just possible they might be right. I want to believe we are not alone, but need more than fuzzy images.

Introducing The NEW Forrest And Scout Cuddly Defender Toys From Out Of The Attic #TristanLives

Today I got a fantastic set of pictures from Dots Bears who makes the Cuddly Defender Teddy Bear Toys featuring the two new Cuddly Defenders Forrest & Scout from the recently released Out Of The Attic comic book.

Fans of the characters from Out Of the Attic will know there is a height difference between the pair, Forrest is a 22″ Teddy Bear and Scout is a 14″ Cuddly Dog – both Cuddly Defender Toys have 5 points of articulation and are handmade in the USA.

This odd couple look amazing as you can see in the gallery below and are currently available as a Kickstarter Reward Level in the Out Of The Attic 2 Comic Book Campaign. Check out the pictures and please back these Cuddly Defenders adventures on Kickstarter.