Blogs / Bad Astronomy

We just got back from Iron Man, and I must say it was really, really good. Very cool flick, lots of fun, action, silliness, and comic-book-type overthetoposity. In fact, I wouldn’t hesitate to tell people to go see it.

And that’s coming from me!

Of course, since this is coming from me, I do have the odd nitpick or two^*. Mild spoilers below.

Actually, these really are mild complaints. In movies, inertia and momentum never seem to be problems. Falling from the sky from several thousand meters up = dead guy. Period. The suit can be as strong as you like, but the guy inside is still made of squishy organic glop, and it has inertia. The suit may survive the impact intact, but Stark would be not much more than a slightly gelatinous smear covering the inside front of it.

Ditto for when he tests the rockets. Hitting concrete at anything more than about 20 kph is a recipe for a long hospital stay. At least.

And then when he tested the boosters again, he wasn’t wearing a helmet! They blew the opportunity for a good sight gag there too.

He’s also in the middle of several explosions, especially at the end. Fire — and stop me if I’m being too technical — is hot. Being in the middle of a fireball would provide a heat dissipation problem. Well, sure, you say, but maybe the suit has AC in it. OK, I’ll buy that — but at the climactic scene in the end, he’s not wearing the helmet! The last explosion would have given us Robert Brownie Jr.

HAHAHAHA! Get it? He would’ve been cooked! Like a brownie.

This, you see, is why I don’t write movie scripts.

Also, the timing was all weird. How long does it take to get to Afghanistan, even at, say, Mach 3? The answer is: a long time. Hours. How long can he thrust like that? What kind of propellant was he using? Wouldn’t he get uncomfortable, holding his hands like that all that time?

I didn’t notice a catheter in the suit either. And he drank a lot of coffee.

Still and all, it’s a comic book movie, so I’m forgiving. In fact, it was a totally awesome movie! I’m no real fan of Gwyneth Paltrow, but even she was pretty good in her role (though watching her pretend to run urgently from the lab while a giant metallic insane guy was chasing her was pretty silly — and how did she run in those heels across a mesh metal walkway?). I could have done without the Jeff Bridges silliness at the end. Suddenly he growls like a monster? But up to that point he was really good. And Robert Downey Jr. is simply a phenomenal actor. If they could continue casting comic book movies with actors of this caliber, and get good writers behind them, then maybe these things will have a future.

Oh, one last thing: if you’re into comic books, make sure you stay past the end of the credits. There’s a final scene you need to see…

One thing that amazes me about Boulder is the capricious weather. April 30 was very warm, and after an 8 km bike ride I was exhausted and sweaty. The next day… well, see for yourself.

I do so love it here. When I left Maryland in 2000 to move to California, it was 22 Fahrenheit outside with piles of snow everywhere. Besides a light dusting the first winter there, I don’t think I ever saw snow in California and I certainly didn’t miss it. It’s nice to be able to enjoy it again, even if this May Day snowfall is probably it for six month or more.

And hey, this is my 50th video uploaded to YouTube! Cool. Literally.

From PZ comes word that the creationists in the Louisiana state legislature are still trying to ram teh stoopid through the system to become state educational law.

Barbara Forrest, one of the Heroes of Dover, is fighting this garbage with everything she’s got, and one thing she’s got is us. If you live in Louisiana, please please please contact your representatives and talk to them about this. Barbara has all the information you need; she’s written a summary of the bill as well as a series of talking points for you.

Mind you, this is for Louisiana residents only for now. She may need all our help eventually, but for now this is a state issue.

Man. Whack-a-creationist is a game that never ends. As Barbara herself says:

The children and teachers of Louisiana are being used as pawns by the Louisiana Family Forum and, most likely, the Discovery Institute, about which I have written so extensively. These people will assuredly not be around to clean up the wreckage they will leave in their wake if we don’t stop them. We have to stop them.

Otherwise:

Julia Sweeney is getting married today. Yay!

She is a major sweetie, and someone who should be a role model for folks everywhere. I met her way back in 2002 or 2003, when I gave a talk in LA. Jim Underdown, who invited me to give the talk at CFI West, told me that Julia had read my book and wanted to have the family and me over for dinner. I was a bit baffled at first– Julia Sweeney? "It’s Pat" Julia Sweeney?

But that first impression, which follows her everywhere, of course, is quickly dissolved when you actually meet her. She is open, honest, funny, sweet, and razor sharp — both intellectually and in her humor. What I find amazing about her is her marvelous sense of wonder, of her need to learn. She’s a self-confessed science groupie. Her husband (still to-be as I write this!) is an X-ray spectroscopist; I met him briefly at a picnic she was having a couple of years ago. I got her alone for a sec and said "He’s a scientist!" like a stereotypical gossiping schoolgirl, and she got this look on her face and said "I know!" — like he was Prince of a European country — and it will always make me smile when I remember that.

Her one-woman shows are incredible, and "Letting Go of God" is an astonishing, funny, and beautiful tale of her searching for meaning in life… and finding meaning in the search. Sorta. You just need to hear it to understand. It’s worth it.

So congrats again Julia. I have no doubt it will be days or weeks before you see this (she has a lot of friends) but just in case: yay!