Month: June 2002

Or genetic mutation? You decide: Doctors baffled by boy, 6, covered in ape-like hair.

“Doctors from Aksay hospital said the boy has surprising mobility, flexibility, sociability, a kind of special intuition and a unique sense of direction.”

There are somethings that should be sacred, untouchable. They should be locked away, never to be tainted, altered or, god forbid, ‘updated’. How many hours did I spend glued to the television (ahh so that’s why my brain is addled) watching Cartoon Time and Rolf’s Cartoon Club, absorbing non-PC cartoons into my being. Revelling in the violence and stereotypes they presented, safe in the knowledge that this belonged to me, this was not the domain of adults, this was mine. Tom and Jerry, Captain Caveman, The Fantastic Four, Scooby Doo, The Flintstones and so many more. Each one leaving an indelible imprint on my memory and my soul.

Quite a few of these cartoons were reworked by different artists over their lifetime, Tom and Jerry’s ‘Big Mama’ changing to a ‘modern’ lady. Scooby inheriting Scrappy (or whatever the deal was there), The Flintstones giving birth to Bam-Bam.

Then came Hollywood. First they ‘updated’ The Flintstones, and whilst it wasn’t a great film, it was reasonably faithful to it’s origin.

Now we have the ‘updated’ Scooby Doo. And it’s just wrong. Take a moment, think about the characters from the cartoon, think, specifically about Velma (guys, stop thinking about Daphne for a moment please!). OK, Velma. Got a mental picture, bobbed hair, thick glasses, nerdy brain girl type.. ok? Look what they did to her. I don’t remember her glasses being trendy, and I certainly don’t remember even a HINT of cleavage… what is going on? I’m outraged!!!

This is more like what I remember, but I’m not convinced they’ve got the title character quite right.

And this is the problem. They are competing with a million different memories, and in trying to appease everyone, they’re gonna fall short. Solution: Don’t mess with my childhood!!

Ohhh and one thing about all this weighs heavy on my mind. The sequel… ohhh dear god…

This was a crucial time for the world, and I bet half of you didn’t even take the time to vote. Apathy is a terrible thing, I just hope you aren’t one of the people who turn round and complain about the decision.

See how the world voted on this crucial topic.

Brazil 2 – England 1.

Oh dear, how sad… 😉

Covered elsewhere, but this is too cool for words (although apparently not as there are several very wordy articles written about it… oh never mind…).

Excuse me, your tooth is ringing.

With this, and the Australian scientists managing to ‘teleport’ a light beam, it looks like the ‘future’ is coming closer all the time. So, what Sci-Fi goodies would you like to see next?