Real Archaeologists Question Indiana Jones' M.O.

Indiana Jones managed to retrieve the trinket he was after in the opening moments of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark.' He pretty much wrecked everything else in the ancient South American temple where the little gold idol had rested for millennia.

Though he preaches research and good science in the classroom, the world's most famous archaeologist often is an acquisitive tomb raider in the field with a scorched-earth policy about what he leaves behind. While actual archaeologists like the guy and his movies, they wouldn't necessarily want to work alongside him on a dig.

Indy's bull-in-a-china-shop approach to archaeology will be on display again May 22 with 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,' in which he's sure to rain destruction down on more historic sites and priceless artifacts.

Man Dressed As Darth Vader Attacks Jedis

Filed under the "I Couldn't Make This Up If I Tried" category

A man who dressed up as Darth Vader, wearing a black garbage bag for a cape, and assaulted the founders of Britain's first Jedi church was given a suspended sentence Tuesday.

Neil Young gets new honor -- his own spider

Iconic singer and songwriter Neil Young has had an honor bestowed upon him that is not received by many musicians -- his own spider.

An East Carolina University biologist, Jason Bond, discovered a new species of trapdoor spider and opted to call the arachnid after his favorite musician, Canadian Neil Young, naming it Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi.

Esperanto and Klingon and Quenya...Oh, my!!

This summer, at the Cleveland Public Library:

Running May through August 2008, Cleveland Public Library will present an exhibit entitled 'Esperanto, Elvish, and Beyond: The World of Constructed Languages' on the second floor of the Main Library.

What are 'constructed languages?' Quite simply, they are languages that have been intentionally constructed. Languages like English, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Swahili, and Guguyimidjir (a nearly-extinct native language of Australia) all evolved naturally, arising organically within a group of people through various natural forces. No single person defined their vocabularies, designed their syntaxes, or deliberately decided to create them.

Constructed languages, or 'conlangs' for short, stand at the other end of the spectrum: a single person (or a small group) defines the vocabulary, designs the syntax, and deliberately decides to create a language. Why would someone want to do this when there are so many 'real' languages to learn? The reasons are legion: from the simple artistic desire to play with linguistic concepts to the obsession to provide the world with a universal language. 'Conlangers' (those who construct languages) bring a myriad of skills, tastes, and goals to the art and craft of conlanging. Conlangs have been used in fiction (like The Lord of the Rings) and movies (like Star Trek) to add a sense of realism but have also been purely personal projects intended to stand on their own. Conlanging is a worldwide phenomenon practiced by people of all ages. It is hoped that this exhibit will provide a glimpse into the fascinating world of conlangs and those who take part in this art. As J.R.R. Tolkien may have said in Quenya: Á harya alassë! Enjoy!

Cleveland's Summer of Superman

CLEVELAND, OH – A group of Cleveland leaders met in New York City with executives at DC Comics, the owners of all Superman property rights, on Monday, April 28, 2008. The purpose was to launch collaboration on a series of events and legacy projects to celebrate Cleveland as the birthplace of Superman. The Man of Steel was created in 1933 by writer Jerome “Jerry” Siegel (1914-1996) and artist Joe Shuster (1914-1992), who both lived in Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood. Superman’s first appearance in a comic book was in 1938 in Action Comics #1.

The organizing committee determined that the best course to follow would be to form a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization to work with DC Comics in planning events for the summer of 2009 and, if successful, for many years to follow. Mr. Richard Pace, the principal of Cumberland Development LLC, was selected to lead the organizing efforts, and he will be supported by staff at Positively Cleveland. His primary charge in these early stages is to consult with DC Comics about every aspect of the planned festivals and to assure compliance with all legal and creative requirements for the use of images of the legendary super hero.

'The only way this effort can succeed to the greatest benefit for our committee is to apply the demanding standards prescribed by DC Comics – the very standards that made Superman the best known comic superhero of them all', Pace said. 'We will do this right, or we will not do this at all!'

Other geeky/Superman somewhat related events in Cleveland this summer:

May 11 is the North Coast Comic Con, located just a wee bit south of Cleveland at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Middleburg Heights with, among others, Sean McKeever, (Teen Titans); Marc Sumerak, (Marvel Adventures); Eddy Newell, (Black Lightning); Sean McArdle and me (Phantom Jack and Tales of the Starlight Drive-In.) Relatives of Jerry and Joe will be there, ready to share stories about those wonderful, creative days.

Jamie Reigel, (http://www.supermansouvenirs.com/) huge collector of all things Superman, will have an exhibit of his rare and wonderful toys. Comic dealers and collector John Haines will show off his Superman comics collection. http://www.northcoastcomiccon.com/ for more details.

Anyone in the Cleveland area is invited to a casual, free, party Saturday evening, May 10, at the hotel.

In July, the artists celebration called Ingenuity Festival of Art and Technology July 25 - 27 will have several cool Superman components. Visit http://www.ingenuitycleveland.com/ for details.

Beginning in September and running though through January, the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage in Beachwood, near Cleveland, will host a superheroes exhibit. That’s in addition to the fine Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster exhibit the museum already has.

Visit http://www.maltzjewishmuseum.org/ for more details closer to the event. No comic fan’s visit to Cleveland is complete without a visit to the Maltz.

And even though it’s a little further away from Cleveland, the Screaming Tiki Pop Kulture Convention in Niles, Ohio, falls under the very broad Summer of Superman umbrella.

On Oct. 17 to 19, the convention welcomes Margot Kidder (Lois Lane, of course) and Sarah Douglas (Ursa in “Superman II.”) The convention will have a 70th birthday cake for Superman and host an auction to benefit the Christopher Reeve. Other featured guests include the original Batman TV show cast: Adam West, Burt Ward and Julie Newmar and the original Batmobile.

For more info, visit http://www.screamingtikicon.com

All of this via Michael San Giacomo and Newsarama.

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He Wrote 200,000 Books (but Computers Did Some of the Work)

A bit more than some, perhaps...

It’s not easy to write a book. First you have to pick a title. And then there is the table of contents. If you want the book to be categorized, either by a bookseller or a library, it has to be assigned a unique numerical code, like an ISBN, for International Standard Book Number. There have to be proper margins. Finally, there’s the back cover.

Oh, and there is all that stuff in the middle, too. The writing.

Philip M. Parker seems to have licked that problem. Mr. Parker has generated more than 200,000 books, as an advanced search on Amazon.com under his publishing company shows, making him, in his own words, "the most published author in the history of the planet." And he makes money doing it.

The World's Greatest Music Collection - eBay (item

Organized and cataloged, the collection is meticulously maintained and housed in a climate-controlled warehouse. Every recording in this amazing collection has been personally acquired by the collection’s owner over the past fifty years and represents a lifetime of work and his desire to see the music preserved for future generations. Deteriorating health and related financial concerns are forcing the owner to sell the collection at far less than its true value. The estimated value of the collection, on a per-item basis, is in excess of $50 million.

Writer Arthur C. Clarke Dies at 90

Arthur C. Clarke, a visionary science fiction writer who won worldwide acclaim with more than 100 books on space, science and the future, died Wednesday in his adopted home of Sri Lanka, an aide said. He was 90.

Clarke, who had battled debilitating post-polio syndrome since the 1960s and sometimes used a wheelchair, died at 1:30 a.m. after suffering breathing problems, aide Rohan De Silva said.

Co-author with Stanley Kubrick of Kubrick's film '2001: A Space Odyssey,' Clarke was regarded as far more than a science fiction writer.

X-Factor Week: Larry Stroman Returns - Marvel.com News

Speak of the devil. GEO and I were just talking about him regarding the recent blowup from the Bonehead from Boneyard. Only tangentially related topics.

Come July, a familiar face returns to X-FACTOR as artist Larry Stroman reunites with Peter David with issue #33!

The two first collaborated in 1991 on X-FACTOR v1 #71, an issue which re-imagined the team for the 90's and beyond and kicked off a brief but fondly-remembered run by the duo. Stroman recently made his return to Marvel with WHAT IF? X-MEN: RISE AND FALL OF THE SHI'AR, and X-FACTOR marks his first regular gig at the House of Ideas in over 15 years.