Jeff Matsuda stopped by Reddit to promote a new iPhone game and to take requests for Batman sketches.  He was the Emmy-winning producer for “The Batman”, you see.  Batman is always relevant to my interests.  And it should be to yours, too.  Especially if it’s “Breaking Batman”.

via Gamma Squad

So the fine folks over at Newsarama have posted an article in which ten of their writers and editors each list one thing they dislike about DC’s “New 52” series.  There are mostly adequate concerns, particularly the mention that the New 52 is a bit scatterbrained as to what it wants to be.  Some comics seem to be continuations of existing plotlines, while others are totally new.  I get that.  It can be a bit confusing.  It’s not a dealbreaker, but it’s something that could have been thought-out better.

The problem that I have with this list is all the whingeing about the sex and violence.  The Joker face-rip in “Detective Comics #1” was too violent.  The sex in “Catwoman” was over-the-top.  The comics should be more subtle, etc.  I could not disagree with this more.  I love the sex and violence.  That kind of thing is entertaining to me.  Don’t get me wrong, I love a good story, but what I *really* love about entertainment is that it *entertains* me.  Sometimes I want a filet mignon, and sometimes I want reheated pizza.

Since arguments like this are completely matters of taste, there’s really no sense in calling their opinions “wrong”.  They don’t like to see ultraviolence and nudity, and I do.  But still.  I really dig what DC is doing.  “Catwoman” was terrible, though.  But not because of all the sex.

via Newsarama

*Results not typical.

Becky Stern over at CRAFT has a great tutorial for some fun candy. Adding a little dissolve B2 to a standard-issue hard candy base (along with some green color and easy DIY molds) makes for a fun project and a party take-along that will probably not already be on the table. We’re guessing that if you try to hand these out for trick-or-treaters, parents will probably just toss it. Glowing, homemade food isn’t exactly what moms and dads want to feed their kids. But if you’ve got a notion to dress as Lex Luthor, this might make a great costume prop.

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Researchers at Kyoto University have discovered that birds respond to certain patterns in tweets, using a particular part of their brain that is the equivalent to the human area that processes grammar.  This is amazing news, mostly because now they can figure out how to translate bird language, and then I can make a tape in Bird that says “shut up in the morning or I will poison your birdfeed.”

via Scientific American

A is for Android. B is for Binary.

For the geeky parent, it beats apples and balloons. Thanks to Andrew and Sarah Spear, now even the tiniest geeklets can learn about l337 and mages with an ABC book for toddlers, My Little Geek:

Imagine the joy of hearing your two year old chatting away about his holographic ninja or time traveling joystick. From Android to Zombie, this educational book will keep the little ones and parents entertained all night long.

You can pick up a copy (or two or three) directly from the MyLittleGeek website. And because this is a book for geeks’ kids, there’s an accompanying iPad app available in the App Store.

[source]