Christmas time is coming, which has become painfully obvious since they started playing festive music BEFORE Thanksgiving. It’s once again another time to put up with family along with unwanted gifts, stop motion animated shows, and endless reruns of It’s a Wonderful Life. Or was it A Christmas Story? Anyway, in jolly ol’ England, they have an awesome and groovy tradition involving a time traveling alien and his blue box. Doctor Who will once again be airing a new Christmas adventure right on Christmas day on BBC, and then later on BBC America for any fans on our shores. This one will be special since it’ll create a new transition and change of pace to the show with the introduction of a new companion since in the last episode, Amy and Rory were-OH! Spoilers… but let’s just say The Doctor became more of a Scrooge after previous events, and once again has to suck it up and deal with yet another Christmas alien invasion. The alien of choice this year: snowmen. Why not? Creatures such as werewolves, vampires, mummies, and witches turned out to be aliens. With fans excited for the new Christmas special, there has been mixed feelings from fans regarding a recent teaser picture of the new interior of The Doctor’s TARDIS (his blue box). This is weird, since the first seven Doctors had the same interior since the beginning of the show, followed by a new one from the reboot up until the latest layout with the beginning of the latest 11th Doctor. So a new interior so soon is quite unusual, but what if, and this is a pure speculation, but what if it’s part of something bigger. Once 2013 comes, it will mark 50 years of the Doctor Who franchise. Other than a huge marathon, what is there to expect on this big year? Fans would like the past Doctors to return for a special as they did decades ago, that’s the biggest expectation. Although after interviews with The Doctor’s respective actors, they have no idea so it’s all up in the air. Either that, or the big question may be finally answered. The question that no one dared asked, but that fat, blue alien still babbled about it anyway: “Doctor” who? *pause for dramatic effect* -"Demon" Matt Little As public outrage is directed toward a couple of Australian radio personalities who are somehow deemed to be responsible for a nurse’s death in London, please take a moment to consider the real problems that are demonstrated by this story.... Jacintha Saldanha, 46, a nurse at King Edward VII Hospital in London, was on duty as a receptionist early in the morning of December 4th. She received a call from Australian FM radio DJs Mel Greig & Michael Christian pretending to be the Queen & Prince Charles of England and asking to speak to Kate Middleton who was being treated at the hospital for morning sickness related to her recently announced pregnancy. Impersonating the Queen, Mel Greig asked if she could speak to Kate. “Oh yes, just hold on a moment”, said Saldanha and transferred the call to another nurse who discussed some “details of her treatment and condition” amid the Aussies’ parody of the Royals. The audio of the prank call was edited and broadcast. Three days later Saldanha was found dead. Police said the cause of death was "unexplained" but they were not treating it as suspicious. According to most major news sources she appeared to have taken her own life. The hospital claims that it was humiliation over the prank call that caused Saldanha to commit suicide and, according to most major news sources, the vast majority of humanity should agree with that conclusion as well. Is it considered logical to deduce that a 46-year-old mother of two would be so distraught over receiving a prank call that she decided to kill herself? Wouldn’t it be more likely that she was desperately unhappy with much more serious aspects of her life? Are we to believe that everything in this woman’s life was sunshine & lollipops until receiving that phone call sent her into a downward spiral of despair? Are people so fragile? Can we honestly say that this prank call directly caused injury, damage, or in any other way caused a serious negative impact on anything or anyone? Miranda Devine of The Sunday Telegraph claims that this attempt at comedy “suggests a moral compass gone awry” and “listeners and advertisers who encourage the viciousness share the blame”. But blame for what exactly? Can we guess how the phone call itself made Saldanha feel? She was only on the line for less than 10 seconds with the Australian devils, simply transferred the call, and was not the one who revealed any medical details about any patient. According to one source, she only “answered the phone because there was no receptionist on duty at 5:30am” – the fact that she wasn’t even a receptionist and it was 5:30am makes me guess she didn’t very much care about whatever anyone was saying on the other end of the line. She most likely just wanted to get through another shift without too much hassle and go home like any other working stiff. Is it just me or can you hear the wind whistling through the empty space inside Miranda Devine’s head? There is so much wrong with blaming the radio DJs for this woman’s death, I don’t even know where to start... While the call itself may not have done permanent damage to anyone or anything, the resulting reaction (or overreaction) is what really had sharp teeth. I would guess that the same hospital officials who so righteously blame the radio DJs were very hostile to Saldanha after it was discovered that it was she who transferred the prank call to the Duchess’ ward and may even have threatened to fire her for it. I would expect these hospital officials to be so frightened of upsetting people of such high stature as the Royal Family that they would be quick to come down harsh on anyone who, even by association, could sully their reputations as loyal subjects. And who could blame them? The Royal Family is a very special group of people who deserve to be adored and have earned their privileges through the use of magical powers that mere mortals do not possess. Certainly Jacintha Saldanha and her Australian killers are not as important as any of the Royals. Miranda Devine of The Sunday Telegraph provides us with the following profound gem of wisdom: “A prank call exploits the decency of people for cheap laughs. At its extreme, it can play on the worst elements of human nature, allowing the cynical and cruel to humiliate the gullible and naive. It is the sort of bullying ridicule known to torment vulnerable people and to corrode the bonds of friendship and compassion in society.” I would argue that prank calls are not nearly as damaging to our society as is taking ourselves too seriously or, even worse, taking other people too seriously. What good could possibly come from this shameful story? Perhaps it is the opportunity to ask ourselves which institutions in our civilization truly exploit the decency of people or play on the worst elements of human nature - and what has been known to actually torment vulnerable people and corrode the bonds of friendship and compassion in our society? - Sal E. Mustang
Since the dawn of civilization, man has always competed to see who is better. Whether it be in war or one-on-one, in sport or to the death, it is a burning desire to know which power force is superior. We’ve seen David vs. Goliath, Ali vs. Frazier, Batman vs. Joker…and Mac vs. PC. But it’s close to the “end of the world,” and there are still so many questions left unanswered. That is why on the day of the apocalypse, one question will finally be answered; a question so powerful, it will shake the core of the world as we know it: Goku or Superman? Screwattack, an internet hub for video game news and entertainment, has a popular series called Death Battle, where famous fictional icons fight to the death for superiority. The battles have been simulated based on stats and biographies, then animated to amuse the viewers, and then questioned openly by fans who hated the outcome depending who they wanted to win. Popular death battles included Mario vs. Sonic, Luke Skywalker vs. Harry Potter, and Peach vs. Zelda. Despite biased fan outcry over the losing characters (i.e. Sonic winning against Mario, making Mario fans pissed), it still answers the questions of who is better in a battle to the death using logic. And it is about time that fans know once and for all which super-powered alien is the greatest. In the red corner, Goku, a Saiyan…from Earth. As a baby originally named Kakarrot, he was put in a space pod and sent to a remote planet right before it blew up. (Sound familiar?) He was found by an old hermit and was raised in the highlands learning martial arts. Over the years, he would go on adventures with new friends finding the Dragon Balls, seven magical balls that when combined, a magic dragon will grant one wish. And during his adventure, he would come across a major villain, where each time he would grow stronger and defeat them. And they get so strong that they can blow up a planet with just a pinky. His strength and powers come from using ki, energy from within the body. Using his ki enhances his strength, gives him flight, and use energy attacks, like the famous Kamehameha Wave. Since he is a Saiyan, he can reach levels that humans never can such as going “Super Saiyan,” which enhances his strength further by going blond and golden. The problem with using ki, however, is that it drains after using it. And in a tough battle, Goku can go to different Super Saiyan levels, but drain his ki further, putting him in a huge disadvantage. Not to mention dying…twice, and then brought back to life through the Dragon Balls. Which I guess if he does lose, he’ll just check back in and train even stronger until he’s revived again. And now in the blue corner, with little introduction needed, is Superman. Born on Krypton before it blew up, he was sent to Earth as a baby, where he would be raised in a small farm town as a farm boy named Clark Kent. Even before puberty, young Clark discovered his unusual super strength and other abilities unlike any normal human. As he got more mature, he discovered his destiny as the last son Krypton, and would dawn his family crest, that trademark “S,” and went out to fight crime with his underwear on the outside. His enemies are man and ever recurring, ranging from rich assholes to robots and to galactic overlords. However, there is a drawback to his great powers as there is also great responsibility. Superman has a strong creed against killing since his powers can be very destructive if unrestrained. Only rarely does he go all out, but only on enemies that can take a hit. But that is not the only problem. The glowing, green space rock known as Kryptonite drains his strength and energy completely unless it’s at a safe distance or in a lead case. Oh, and he’s eco-friendly as he also draws energy from the sun. Beats having to make earthquakes and storms by powering up. So as a fan of Superman and an even bigger fan of DBZ, I cannot wait to see the results later this month. Whatever the result would be, at least I would be happy to know once the end of the world comes. Place your bets, folks! -"Demon" Matt Little
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