Iain Bancarz 🇨🇦

[Enter two Clowns with spades and mattocks.]

Stop scrolling and post two characters who bring you joy and happiness.

Final Score Graphic - 8/5/25 Toronto Blue Jays 10 (67-48), Colorado Rockies 4 (30-83) Pictured: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. holds his hand in a “shh” position over his lips after hitting a home run. He wears a gray Blue Jays uniform with blue lettering.

The @BlueJays have scored 25 runs in their first two games in Colorado!

Good explanation of why the "ZOMG we're all doomed" reaction to the "nuclear reactor on the Moon" plan is mistaken.

On December 22, 2022, Nic Enright was diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Last night, the rookie pitcher, who is expected to go through more cancer treatments this fall, picked up his first career save for the Guardians and reflected on his journey ❤️

a close up of a woman 's face with a disney logo on the bottom right Alt: A woman winks theatrically and then grins

I could imagine it being like selling bongs in jurisdictions where weed is illegal. "Here is this totally legal device we are selling you, of course you will not be using it for illegal purposes, wink wink"

To be clear, I don't smoke and don't like being around smoking, but it seems like they haven't entirely thought this through.

a woman with an arrow in her mouth is standing next to a man Alt: Audrey Hepburn drops a very long cigarette holder from her mouth into her hand.

The obvious response would be a comeback for the cigarette holder? Eliminating those would be difficult, since it's basically a filtering material inside a hollow tube.

Superman Fights for a Better Tomorrow — Even for His Enemies - Reactor More celebrations of radical decency can't hurt.

"The emphasis on choosing to do good, even imperfectly, is what makes the aspirational characterization of Superman so powerful."

@thenerdypriest.bsky.social discusses why this version of Superman works so well, and what sets him apart from the Supermans of the past

reactormag.com/superman-fig...

Yep. Wallowing in nostalgia for 80s media (produced long before the characters were born!) is presented as not only acceptable, but the only good and righteous way to live.

Not one character in the book has the self-awareness to question that, because they're all sock puppets for the author.

As a bright teenager who played way too much Civilization, I imagined government was easy.

Now I'm a 40-something manager at a scientific institute, and I understand organizing groups of people is very hard.

Unfortunately, these guys were still in the "way too much Civilization" stage.

Yes, this is very cleverly set up -- even in the silly hedonistic banquet, Londo explains that it's a celebration of exterminating the other sentient species on their world.

Fair point, he's kind of creepy even when he's chatting with Ripley in the hospital. But I could imagine talking with him about sports, or working on some kind of practical project without lives hanging in the balance, and having it turn out OK.

In sci-fi villain terms, people with awful beliefs are more likely to be Tarkin than Darth Vader.

Even more common are people who resemble Carter Burke from Aliens: Pleasant to be around, but they believe in absolutely nothing except what will advance their careers.

a group of people are sitting around a table with a man standing next to a woman . Alt: Scene from Babylon 5. At a Centauri religious banquet, London is lying on a table. Vir says, "Ah! He has become one with his inner self!" Garibaldi says, "He's passed out." Vir replies, "That too."

To be clear, I am not personally religious. But I feel it's valuable to engage with religion as the important social phenomenon it is, not with an internet-atheist caricature. Babylon 5 takes this much more seriously than Firefly. Although not *too* seriously. The Centauri religion is fun. /end

In Firefly, Book doesn't seem to want a religious community. His main role on the show is to argue about theology with Mal, River and the rest of them.

Religions persist by offering a connection to other people. Theological debate is a minority pursuit, not the main event. Babylon 5 gets this. /3

In Babylon 5, Brother Theo's monks are a community. Ivanova's complex relationship with her faith includes being part of a community. Spiritual movements like the techno-mages form communities. Even the guy on a quest for the Holy Grail takes on an apprentice. /2

The other obvious example of present-day religion in sci-fi TV is Shepherd Book in Firefly. Who is a fun character, but I think Babylon 5 handles religion better.

Book's faith doesn't connect him to anyone else. In Babylon 5, as in real life, religion is about community. /1

One thing I would like more people, and I mostly mean my fellow men, to understand is that no matter how smart you are, other people are also smart and some of them have tried to work on the same problems you’re working on. If a simple solution hasn’t been found yet, there probably isn’t one.

Yes. As a manager, I rate a whole entire desk in an office shared with 2 other managers. Luxury! But still not great when all 3 of us are on Zoom calls. At home I have my own office, don't have to spend 2 hours on the subway, and get to see more of my kid.

Daulton Varsho drives a 451-foot homer into the second deck 💥

So hard to choose. But shout-outs to Mrs Gogol the swamp witch, Leonard of Quirm, and Igor (all of them, but especially the one who goes to work for the Watch).

a man in a red cape is standing in front of a body of water . Alt: Superman in flight over a snowy landscape

I really enjoyed Superman. Grimdark and/or irony-dripping takes on the superhero concept are fine in their way, but in these times, I appreciate a hero who's simply a good person and wants to help others.

The actual behavior is as old as politics, of course. But well done to Yes, Minister for giving it a name.

Yes. This is so common it's known as the Politician's Syllogism.

Usually, experts are able to sit down with the politicians, and explain with small words and colorful diagrams why this particular "something" will not work.

But sometimes, an unworkable "something" gets through. This is one of those times. 🙁

I don't think people know what a plot hole is

3 Screenshots from the move "Demolition Man" (1993): First, a close-up of a frosted-over, blue digital display on a piece of equipment, showing the date 'AUG 03 2032'. Second, a scene in a futuristic cryogenic facility where a man is suspended inside a large, transparent cylindrical tube, while two officials in dark uniforms observe from a catwalk in the background. Third, a medium shot of Simon Phoenix, played by Wesley Snipes, with bleached blond hair, sitting in a metallic restraint chair and staring intently forward, flanked by two guards in light blue jackets.

Aug 3rd 2032 - In exactly 7 years time, criminal Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes) will be thawed out at the California Cryo-Penitentiary for a parole hearing

📽️📅 Demolition Man (1993)

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Shaun adjusts a red name tag on his white shirt. The tag is headed "Foree Electric"

The appliance shop in Shaun of the Dead was also named after Foree. 🧟‍♂️