So no big deal, but astronomers just found the planet Vulcan

Well now there's something I never expected to read. In the Trekverse, Spock's homeworld orbits a star labeled 40 Eridani A, which in real life is part of a triple star system or trinary system. Astronomers finally decided to take a look-see...and discovered a planet orbiting that same star! According to Phil Plait of Bad Astronomy, the planet is what's called a "super-Earth" which means that it's much bigger than our planet, but is possibly a rock and metal combo. I have no idea if the planet is habitable or not, but if it is bigger than Earth, then presumably the pressure and gravity would be more too.

It's pretty cool to know that there is a planet Vulcan in our universe, even if it does turn out to be a lifeless rock in space. Also a little unsettling because if 40 Eridani has a planet, then what about other star systems in science fiction? Maybe astronomers should be taking a gander at the ones that are home of SF's more dangerous aliens, you know, just to be on the safe side.

Looks like Michael B. Jordan is joining the Tom Clancy movieverse

According to The Verge, he'll be playing John Clark in adaptions of the novels Without Remorse and Rainbow Six.

Paramount is developing adaptations of the Clancy books Without Remorse and Rainbow Six, both of which focus on the character of John Clark. A former Navy Seal turned CIA operative, Clark was originally introduced in the 1987 novel The Cardinal of the Kremlin. In 1993, Clancy’s Without Remorse delved into the character’s backstory, while Rainbow Six followed his adventures forming a counter-terrorist group known as “Rainbow.” While numerous Clancy novels like The Hunt For Red October and Patriot Games have made their way to movie theaters before, this would be the first film adaptation for both Clark novels — although Rainbow Six has served as the inspiration for Ubisoft’s long-running game series of the same name.

Worth noting that Clark was previous played by Willem Defoe in the third Jack Ryan movie, A Clear and Present Danger. This is interesting news and it's great to see Michael B. Jordan's career continue to grow. He's a phenomenal actor as seen in Black Panther.

And here's a Captain Marvel trailer for you

I love it and the sudden mystery surrounding Carol's origins.

But damn, Carol, did you have to punch grandma?! 😆

Entertainment Weekly posts some nice pictures of the Captain Marvel movie + the cover of their next issue

It's been a shitty week, so let's indulge in some nice photography via Entertainment Weekly.

Indeed it is. Just don't fuck this up, Marvel!

Honestly one of the best supersuits I've seen. Bravo to whoever designed and made it.

[Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone" blasting in the background if Marvel has any goddamn sense]

Look, sir, Skrulls!

With the addition of Jude Law, Marvel now has two pairs of Sherlocks and Watsons.

I want that whole outfit.

So, I was confused as to why Marvel would change Monica Rambeau's name to Maria, but the caption for this picture at the Entertainment Weekly website says that she has a daughter, which makes me think that she isn't Monica, but her mother. Captain Marvel takes place in the 90s, so her daughter would be an adult by now.

Nick Fury with two functional eyeballs is going to be weird to see.

Bookshelves by Grant Snider

I really like these comics by Grant Snider. Be sure to visit his webcomic for more!

I have a few of these books on my own shelves. I haven't tried wearing one for a hat...yet!

The secret bookshelf would be nice, and the homemade would absolutely be what a bookcase would look like assembled by me. I had to put together two metal bookcases* that my parents found at a yard sale and it was a pain in the ass.

*They're not really bookcases, but those metal shelves that people put in their garages and such. They do the job of holding my books pretty well, though.

RIP Aretha Franklin

The Queen of Soul and the most absolute of legends.

Well, at least they're not the Orioles

So recently I've decided to get into the great American sport of cricket baseball and picked the Washington Nationals as my team to root for. Mostly, that's because they're the closest team geographically to where I live. I like them, they've got a lot of good players, and they're fun to watch.

via Wikipedia.

Having said that, holy shit are they sucking dick and balls right now. Dick.and.balls. On Sunday, they lost to the Chicago Cubs 7-6 after spending most of the game in the lead and with the game locked in their favor. Similarly, the first game in their four game series against the St. Louis Cardinals ended with the latter winning after trailing to the Nats for most of the game. Tuesday? Same. The Nationals aren't a terrible team. They've just hit a rough patch like a lot of teams do, but goddamn, it sucks watching them eat shit.

It could be worse, though. They could be the Baltimore Orioles, who are so godawful this year and so far behind in their division (dead last), that the closest they'll get to the post-season is if they buy tickets to the games.

Ancient public library discovered in Germany

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice.

The remains of the oldest public library in Germany, a building erected almost two millennia ago that may have housed up to 20,000 scrolls, have been discovered in the middle of Cologne.

The walls were first uncovered in 2017, during an excavation on the grounds of a Protestant church in the centre of the city. Archaeologists knew they were of Roman origins, with Cologne being one of Germany’s oldest cities, founded by the Romans in 50 AD under the name Colonia. But the discovery of niches in the walls, measuring approximately 80cm by 50cm, was, initially, mystifying.

“It took us some time to match up the parallels – we could see the niches were too small to bear statues inside. But what they are are kind of cupboards for the scrolls,” said Dr Dirk Schmitz from the Roman-Germanic Museum of Cologne. “They are very particular to libraries – you can see the same ones in the library at Ephesus.”

 I wonder if they've found a list of all the overdue scrolls that were never returned?

The Arrowverse has found it's Batwoman: Ruby Rose

Credit: Official Arrow Twitter.

So sayeth Entertainment Weekly and others. Interesting choice. Surprising too, given that Ruby Rose isn't exactly an unknown actress and I figured that her star status would put her just beyond what The CW would be willing to pay for her to play Batwoman. I'm not complaining. She's a good actress and it'll be interesting to see her playing a superhero.

Fans of Discovery's Sylvia Tilly have something besides the second season to look forward to

Because it was announced yesterday that Tilly is going to be the subject of her own novel written by veteran scribe Una McCormack called The Way to the Stars.

Despite being an inexperienced Starfleet cadet, Sylvia Tilly became essential to the U.S.S. Discovery finding its way back home from the Mirror Universe. But how did she find that courage? From where did she get that steel? Who nurtured that spark of brilliance? The Way to the Stars recounts for fans everywhere the untold story of Tilly’s past.

It’s not easy being sixteen, especially when everyone expects great things from Tilly. It’s even harder when her mother and father are Federation luminaries, not to mention pressing her to attend one of the best schools that the Federation has to offer. Tilly wants to achieve great things — even though she hasn’t quite worked out how to do that or what it is she wants to do. But this year, everything will change for Tilly, as she about to embark upon the adventure of a lifetime — an adventure that will take her ever closer to the stars…

The book hits shelves January of next year, the same month the second season of Discovery starts.