Back Yard of the Universe

Felicitations to you, dear reader! I realise it has been quite some time since my last venture onto these electronic pages, but sadly my chrono-traversing exploits have proven themselves to be somewhat trickier than I anticipated. At one point I ended up on the HMS Victory at Trafalgar, caused someone to duck when they shouldn’t have done and then the next thing I know Admiral Nelson himself had been shot! So, if you’re wondering why it is that he never went on to become Prime Minister and invent cling film as should have been the case, now you know: it’s all Fishbone’s fault!

The Department of Temporal Investigations had a field-day with me, that’s for sure. They kept me in a detention time loop for six weeks without charge, with only a copy of Dan Brown’s next book (something to do with the Chinese Triad conspiring to take over the minds of the world’s cow population, in case you’re wondering) for company. Anyway, after some protracted legal shenanigans I eventually managed to get away. Alas, they did prevent me from giving you the full details of the greatest invention since the bread-slicing machine before this week. I am talking about, of course, the Apple iPad.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: surely, Fishbone, it is little more than a large iPhone with a heftier price tag, but you could not be more wrong. No, sir: the iPad will change the face of this planet. I shouldn’t really be sharing this with you, of course, as one of those pesky predestination paradoxes could result, but never mind, we can sort that out nearer or after it happens. It starts off quite small: the iPad becomes the de rigeur device used for reading books and newspapers. Once the early adopters have been and gone and Apple has brought out another model that is slightly better, we’ll all have one. Paper-based periodicals will be a thing of the past, and books will become the preserve of the elitist bibliophile.

Then it starts to get bigger: in 2012 an iPad app will be used to reset the Mayan calendar to prevent the end of the world. Thankfully, as seen in the wonderful motion picture Independence Day, Apple products are able to integrate with any technology, alien or historical, and so the iPad is the perfect device to use.

In 2014 an iPad in Detroit will become self-aware and, within thirty-eight hours of it gaining sentience, will have come up with a cure for cancer, a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict and working out a means of attaching clear plastic to microwavable meals in such a way as they come off in a single piece instead of about thirteen.

There’s more, but I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise (but here’s a hint: those crosses on churches may soon be replaced with part-eaten apples…)! The iPad: it’s the greatest thing, ever.

The lovely people at Bioware are launching Mass Effect 2, which you may have guessed is the sequel to Mass Effect. Title originality aside, this looks to be an extremely good game and, according to the few reviews I’ve read, improves upon its predecessor in pretty much every way. So, what you waiting for, 360 and PC owners? Go forth and pre-order!

Below is the launch trailer in all its glory. Watch it and be amazed.

You can also find more information about the game at its official site.

This has been available for ages, but a sudden revisit to the BBC’s Look Around You homepage brought back memories of how funny it is. Diarrhea Dan is a spoof Spectrum game that manages to be much more entertaining than a lot of actual games from the 8-bit era. You can play the game by clicking the link here.

Look Around You was originally written and devised by Peter Serafinowicz and Robert Popper. Long may their genius continue. Thanks guys, thighs*.

*: This works better when read aloud, unfortunately.

On this very day in the year 1966, Star Trek first aired on NBC. The first episode shown was ‘The Man Trap’ (or ‘The One With the Monster That Sucks All the Salt Out of Your Body), though of course ‘Where No Man Has Gone Before’, guest starring Gary 2001 Lockwood, was actually the first to be filmed. Well, that’s if you don’t count the unaired first pilot ‘The Cage’ which featured Jeffrey Hunter rather than The Great William Shatner in the captain’s chair.

Happy birthday, then, to one of the best science fiction franchises the world has ever seen. Given the recent incredible success of JJ Abrams’s new film, Trek is also in better shape than it’s been in years. Let’s just hope they don’t do something stupid with the next film (no Khan, hey guys?).

To celebrate, watch this fantastic video that seamlessly combines some classic Trek clips with Monty Python…