As a nerd, I have a really fond place in my heart for discussing works of fiction as if they were real, using logic and analysis to determine probable causes and outcomes to things screenwriters had no idea people would ever discuss — let alone argue over. Socio-political climates are interesting to me, regardless of whether they, in fact, even exist. Being able to include Transformers and Snorks in such discussions adds a nice bit of entertainment value, and makes depressing topics just that much more manageable.
Also, to me, there’s nothing quite as delicious as the looks on people’s faces after they witness an hour or so of this type of discussion to ultimately learn that it is actually some minute detail of The Matrix or Star Wars that is being discussed, not actual politics. So much effectively-wasted time on something so pointless can really perplex people. (Never mind the fact that most socio-political discussions based in reality are equally time-wastey — they’re just not nearly as much fun.)
A recent such conversation with Tim involved what Superman would do had he fallen in love with a nice Jewish girl rather than Lois Lane. It would be difficult for Jewish Lois to maintain a positive relationship with her parents if she were dating a gentile, so conversion would be the only real option for Superman if he wanted to live harmoniously with his human counter-parts. As evidenced by his constant efforts to save humanity from themselves, I think it’s clear that he does in fact crave harmony and will do whatever it takes to help it come to pass. Sabbath observation aside, circumcision would be the most difficult problem for Supes, as no earth-born materials could damage his skin while in the presence of Sol’s yellow glow. Supes’ foreskin would simply destroy the knife. (At this point I think it’s fair to note that Tim countered that it’s a pretty large assumption that Supes wasn’t ALREADY circumcised. That’s a fair point, but I feel that had Kryptonians been a people of faith, they probably wouldn’t have taken the precautions necessary to secure a space-vehicle for their son to travel in when their world became threatened. That’s taking “trust in God — but lock your car” to quite an extreme. No, I feel it’s safe to say that Kryptonians did not practice such a barabaric ritual based on the misconception that God would require his faithful followers to chop off the foreskin rather than simply creating the penis that way in the first place.)
After some discussion I realized that the mohel could simply bring some Kryptonite near Supes’ junk, effectively neutralizing the effect of the yellow sun’s radiation and allowing for both an easy circumcision and the future harmony with Jewish Lois’s family. End of discussion.
(You don’t want to know what got me thinking along these lines. But I’ll tell you anyway: it has recently come to my attention that the hoopla a couple years back over Brandon Routh’s Digitally-reduced Superman bulge was not over it being too LARGE, rather it was over being able to clearly tell what religious affiliation he had while wearing the suit. This would surely have brought on exactly the type of discussion I’ve outlined above, and they were smart to have fixed it.)
Anyway, the reason for this roundabout meandering through my conversation topics is so that I can share with you a couple wonderful bits of Star Wars discussion.
First up: this AMAZING treatise on the negative impact the Death Star’s destruction would have had upon Endor, and whether or not the Rebel Alliance and the Empire both were aware of it at the time. This is pretty heavy reading, but it goes into great detail on many controversial aspects of the various theories. Also some discussion of more “consipracy theory”-oriented theories about whether or not the Empire willfully allowed the Rebels to destroy the Death Star. Great reading, but it’ll take you some time. (Ooh, while searching for that link I came across a rebuttal. I’m going to have to spend some time with that.)
That stuff will take a considerable amount of reading to wade through for even the most dedicated nerd, but what I’d like to share now is a quick YouTube video. This video brilliantly skewers the Loose Change argument style, putting forth evidence of an equally-compelling nature (i.e. ludicrously ridiculous) to the ones filling the popular internet 9/11 consipiracy film, this time supposing that the Death Star was not ACTUALLY blown up by Luke Skywalker’s skilled shot into the ventilation shaft, but rather that it was destroyed by the Empire themselves. This is a must-see for fans of both Star Wars and Loose Change alike, for it pokes great fun at both. http://youtube.com/watch?v=55nQ00gSKC0.
