Geek Shit Wednesday Vol. IXX

New Spider-Man Is Black And Latino, Possibly Gay?


In June, Marvel killed off Peter Parker via the machinations of the perennial baddie, the nefarious Green Goblin.  This month, they introduce Miles Morales, their newest alliterative superhero to don the Amazing Spider-Man's legendary costume.  What's interesting about Morales is that he is black and Latino, a mix that has led blowhard Glenn Beck to belch "this is all Michelle Obama's fault!" whatever that means.

The buzz over the newest Ultimate Spider-Man has caused Marvel artist Sarah Pichelli to hint that one of the newer superheroes in the company's pantheon is going to come out as gay.

"Maybe sooner or later a black or gay—or both—hero will be considered something absolutely normal."

This leads some to speculate that this new incarnation of the webslinger may be gay someday, but I'm not holding my breath on that.  It's enough that there will be more gay superheroes to ogle.  

Time Warner To Launch All Mags On All Tablets, Period

Thus far, the magazine giant Time, Inc. has been available exclusively on the iPad, with four apps for four publications: People, Time, Sports Illustrated, and Fortune.  Now, the heavyweight is sockin' to Jobsians everywhere by opening up their entire line of publications to the major tablets in the field, to include the Android, Nook Color, and WebOS.  While the Kindle and Blackberry Playbook are missing from lineup so far, more announcements regarding Time Inc.'s decision are expected by the year's end.  From Wired:

"Time’s also pursuing the same subscription and purchase strategy across all platforms: print subscribers get digital access for free, while readers can also buy a digital subscription or single issues through the various platforms’ app marketplaces. They also plan to incorporate the magazine’s existing print ads into the digital editions. It’s a unified, cross-platform approach to digital magazines.

"Time Warner’s other major media component is video, specifically movie studios and television networks. On Wednesday’s quarterly earnings call, CEO Jeff Bewkes announced that the company was expanding its TV Everywhere strategy, bringing the popular HBO Go service to game consoles, smart televisions and other streaming media boxes. (See Ryan Lawler’s report on the earnings call at GigaOM.)"

I don't have a tablet yet, but my addiction to all forms of news/media might drive me to beg for one for Christmas.

Lunar Highlands Possibly The Result Of Earth's 'Lost Moon'

Popular simulated models describing the arrival of the Moon in our local system describe a climactic, dramatic entrance of our lunar companion.  During the formation of the Earth, it is likely that a Mars-sized body impacted our world, thus resulting in ejecta forming the Moon and a smaller companion satellite.  What is unclear is what happened to that smaller moon, with widespread theories suggesting it merged with the Moon while it was still molten.  

A recent study suggests an altogether different picture of the early days of our solar system.  Instead, it's posited, this smaller satellite settled into a semi-stable orbit at the "Trojan point," a gravitational "haven" where the satellite could remain suspended between the gravity of the Moon and Earth for approximately 70 million years before its orbit decayed, providing more than enough time for the Moon to form a hardened crust.  

What evidence of this is there?  While the side of the Moon facing us is a crater-riddled system of maria, the far side of the Moon consists of what's called "lunar highlands," with an unusual layer of ejecta covering the entirety of the "dark side."  It's a fascinating explanation, and one well worth exploring.