Trees vs. climate change for Arbor Day, a Flashback Friday holiday special

Happy Arbor Day and Flashback Friday! I'm celebrating the original environmental holiday during Earth Month with two videos from PBS Digital about the effectiveness of planting trees to fight climate change followed by a retrospective of the most saved posts on Pinterest. Trust me, the two topics connect.

The first PBS Digital video is Be Smart asking If We Plant 1 TRILLION Trees Can We Stop Climate Change?

Can trees really save us from climate change? For eons, nature has relied on photosynthesis as a big way to keep carbon dioxide levels from getting out of control. But as we have put more carbon into the air, we’ve also cut down many of the forests we need to suck that carbon up. So big tree-planting initiatives like #TeamTrees to the rescue, right? Actually, we need to think bigger. Here’s three ways trees really can help us solve climate change, from a guy who wants to plant a TRILLION trees, to how we might save the forests we’ve got, to scientists hacking biology to make trees even better.

The answer to the question is no, it won't stop climate change by itself, but it will certainly help, along with conserving the trees we still have. As for genetically engineering a more efficient pathway to fix carbon, that's a new one on me, but it fits with the theme of yesterday's Be Smart asks 'Can AI Help Us Talk to Whales?' for Throwback Thursday, using technology to advance science.

That was the optimistic outlook. PBS Terra explaining Why Tree Planting Campaigns Don’t Work takes a more pessimistic perspective.

In 2019, a Turkey tree planting campaign set a world record. Three months later, 90% of those saplings were dead. Planting trees to replace old-growth forests is a common solution, but it typically does not solve the problem. With deforestation causing climate-related disasters, it’s time to take a hard look at reforestation and what we can do to save our forests.

The video's opening serves as an update on deforestation of the Amazon rainforest with news both good and bad. The video also pointed out flaws in the most common methods of reforestation and ways to do it correctly. I hope people pay attention to the suggestions.

Searching for previous posts about Amazon deforestation retrieved 'The Territory' leads nominees for Exceptional Merit In Documentary Filmmaking at the 2023 Emmy Awards, which reminded me that I'd never mentioned its Emmy Award.


I wrote "I'm confident about 'The Territory' winning this category" and it did. Congratulations! May it keep the cause of preserving the Amazon rainforest in people's minds.

Follow over the jump for Crazy Eddie's Motie News' year on Pinterest.

Be Smart asks 'Can AI Help Us Talk to Whales?' for Throwback Thursday

Happy Throwback Thursday! Today's retrospective covers the most commented on entries during the blog's 13th year. The post with the most responses last year talked about technology. Hmm, communication using technology — I just watched a video about that, Be Smart asking Can AI Help Us Talk to Whales?

New technology is revolutionizing how we study and protect nature. In this video, we’ll learn how artificial intelligence is being used to decode the sonic landscapes of the ocean - specifically, whale song. That’s right, there may come a day soon where AI allows us to understand and talk to whales. But some scientists are saying: the question may not be CAN we talk to whales, but SHOULD we talk to whales?

Roger Payne and National Geographic's release of "Songs of the Humpback Whale" shows the power of music to not only make people aware of issues, but to change how they think and feel about them. That demonstrates why I write about entertainment as much as I do. Not only is it fun, it's important, too.

Dr. Joe Hanson invited his viewers to watch We're putting a body cam on a blue whale by Planet Wild.

Blue whales are on the brink of extinction. Despite being the biggest animals to ever exist on Earth, they remain a mystery. To protect them, we first need to understand them better.

In our 14th Planet Wild mission, we’re using drones to drop camera robots on whales. Our goal is to find out what a day in the life of a blue whale looks like.

Special thanks to Cascadia Research for providing us with additional footage, taken under NOAA permit to John Calambokidis.

Additional footage by "World of Survival: Humpbacks–the Gentle Giants”, The world of survival show/ TV channel Anglia

First, A.I., now drones. Both show the importance of technology in advancing science.

Follow over the jump for the most commented on entries during the 13th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.

'Inside the Messy Battle for the Biggest Swing State of 2024' by The Wall Steet Journal for Wayback Wednesday

Happy Wayback Wednesday! I'm continuing with the Keystone State theme from yesterday's Marching music for the Pennsylvania Primary, The Cadets, Buccaneers, and West Chester University with The Wall Street Journal reporting Inside the Messy Battle for the Biggest Swing State of 2024.

Both President Biden and former President Trump see Pennsylvania as a must-win state in the 2024 presidential election, but both are grappling with party divisions and sagging voter enthusiasm surrounding their rematch.

WSJ's Shelby Holliday traveled across PA to talk to voters, officials and campaign managers to learn how each candidate could win—or lose—the biggest swing state of the 2024 election.

Pennsylvania is important to President Biden because he was born there and it was the state that made him President-elect in 2020. Biden continued to recognize its significance when he made three visits to Pennsylvania in 2022 including one in Philadelphia where he warned about threats to American democracy. The video shows that his campaign is still focused on Pennsylvania.

I didn't write about Donald Trump winning the state in 2016 — I reacted to his win more generally in Kunstler said Americans would elect maniacs — but I did blog about how important the state was for Republicans in FiveThirtyEight on today's primary elections in Pennsylvania and four other states. As The Wall Street Journal's video shows, the Big Lie hasn't lost any of its power with GOP voters.

I plan on writing more about the election in Pennsylvania and the rest of the swing states, especially Michigan. On that note, follow over the jump for a retrospective of the top post about my adopted state during the 13th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.

Marching music for the Pennsylvania Primary, The Cadets, Buccaneers, and West Chester University

Welcome to this year's version of marching music for the Pennsylvania primary. I kick off the music to watch and listen while waiting for results with The Cadets | #DCI2023 | Atlas Rising from Drum Corps International (DCI).

Allentown, Pennsylvania's The Cadets perform a segment from the corps' #DCI2023 production, "Atlas Rising," during the 2023 DCI World Championships hosted August 10-12 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Allentown, PA | 5th Place | 94.313

Blink and you'll miss the Cadets logos.

Vic Firth Marching brings us The Cadets 2023 | DCI Finals Day Rehearsal | Full Production.

We're going BEYOND the lot to bring you a full (edited together) production run of the 2023 Cadets show entitled 'Atlas Rising.' Recorded in rehearsal on Saturday, August 12th. We hope you enjoy the video!

This is a not-so-stealth DC superhero show, with music from Man of Steel opening the program and a theme from Batman Begins near the end.

It wouldn't be a Cadets highlight post without a Z-pull and The Cadets | #dci2022 | Rearview Mirror has quite the Z-pull!

Allentown, PA | 6th Place | 92.913

Allentown, Pennsylvania's The Cadets perform a segment from the corps' #DCI2022 production, "Rearview Mirror," during the 2022 DCI World Championships hosted August 12-14 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Vic Firth Marching has The Cadets 2022 | DCI Finals Week Rehearsal | Full Production.

We're going BEYOND the lot to bring you the final full production run of the 2022 Cadets show entitled "Rearview Mirror.' Recorded in rehearsal on Thursday, August 11th. We hope you enjoy the video!

This show was very similar thematically to the 2022 Bluecoats show I featured in Marching music for the Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, and Ohio Presidential Primaries on the Vernal Equinox, a trippy counter-culture road trip. I think it suffered in comparison, even though it had more famous source material, On The Road by Jack Kerouac. Too bad, it was a great show.

The Cadets | #DCI2021 | "...Shall Always Be" had even more nostalgia value.

Allentown, Pennsylvania's The Cadets performs a segment from the corps' #DCI2021 production, "...Shall Always Be," during the DCI Celebration events hosted August 12-14 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Again, Vic Firth Marching has The Cadets 2021 Full Production | BEYOND THE LOT.

Vic Firth takes you BEYOND the lot with THE CADETS as they perform their 2021 production "Shall Always Be" during the DCI Celebration week in Indianapolis, IN!

The Cadets' greatest hits!

It's ironic that The Cadets slogan/motto is For Holy Name Shall Always Be. They declared bankruptcy and ceased operations this year because of a lawsuit related to my footnote to Failures and abuses of government and adult leadership unite Outstanding Television Movie nominees at the 2018 Primetime Emmy Awards. A moment of silence for The Cadets. You will be missed.

Follow over the jump for the Reading Buccaneers and West Chester University.

NativLang explains 'What Shakespeare's English Sounded Like - and how we know' for Talk Like Shakespeare Day

Happy Talk Like Shakespeare Day! To celebrate, I'm sharing NativLang explaining What Shakespeare's English Sounded Like - and how we know.

Botched rhymes, buried puns and a staged accent that sounds more Victorian than Elizabethan. No more! Use linguistic sleuthing to dig up the surprisingly different sound of the bard's Early Modern English.

I always thought OP (original pronunciation) sounded like a pirate. What do you think?

Stay tuned for this year's version of marching music for the Pennsylvania primary.

For Earth Day, PBS Terra asks 'Stop Saving the Planet?' Change the world instead

Happy Earth Day! Like last year, I'm observing today with a series of videos about fighting climate change, this time from PBS Terra. These take a more heterodox approach, as exemplified by the title of the series, Why It's Time to Stop Saving the Planet*.

We care about the planet. But what if it's time to stop "saving it"?

Western cultures — and even some climate scientists and sustainability advocates — often share the idea that there is the “natural world” and the “human world.” The natural world is seen as pristine and untouched, while the human world is chaotic and ever changing. But all living things change the world around them in order to build homes, eat, drink and move around. In this first episode, join host Rae Wynn-Grant, Ph.D., as she explores how humans can think differently about the way we change the environments around us, how we can do it better, and why doing so could be a key foundation for addressing climate change.

Based on the Jenny Price book "Stop Saving the Planet!"

This video reinforces a point I've been making since the first year of the blog and even before that in my environmental science classes: "economy is dependent on society, which is in turn dependent on the environment. Without an environment, there is no society. Without a society, there is no economy." I asked my students to identify a similar statement in my worksheet for Chasing Ice, which they watched two weeks ago: "What does Balog say about the relationship between nature and civilization?" The answer is that the two are interconnected and civilization depends on nature. I hope my students retain that.

Follow over the jump for the other three videos in the series so far.

Marching music for the Puerto Rico primaries

I have a change of plans for today's Sunday entertainment feature. Instead of the the next installment of marching music for primaries and caucuses being on April 23, 2024 for the Pennsylvania Presidential Primary, as I announced in Troopers, drum corps for the Wyoming Democratic Primary, I'm making today this year's version of Marching music for the Puerto Rico Primary. According to Ballotpedia, the Republican primary is today while the Democratic primary is next Sunday, April 28. That's also National Superhero Day. I already have something planned for next Sunday, so Puerto Rico's marching bands it is today.

I begin with Music Amenities video of Centenaria Banda Colegial, University of Puerto Rico - 2020 Pasadena Rose Parade.

The University of Puerto Rico - Centenaria Banda Colegial performs in the 131st Annual Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade held on Wednesday, January 1, 2020.

I'm repeating what I wrote four years ago about Music213's video — great performance, but camera handling issues. Luis was not alone in having those.

Now for the band I featured first four years ago, Banda Escolar de Guayanilla (BEG) - 2019 Pasadena Rose Parade, again from Music Amenities, who had a different perspective on the performance than Luis of Music213.

From Guayanilla, Puerto Rico

The Banda Escolar de Guayanilla performing at the 130th Annual Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade on Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Neither band has returned to the Rose Parade since 2020, but Banda SUM de Guayanilla performed in Italy last year. El Tropi Duo TV recorded those performances, the most popular of which was Banda SUM de Guayanilla, se roban el show en competencia de bandas en ITALIA. Translation: "SUM band from Guayanilla steal the show in band competition in ITALY."

Muy orgullosos de estos jóvenes representando nuestra Isla en Italia.
Banda SUM De Guayanilla. Segunda Unidad Macaná, Gloria M. Borrero Olivera, excelente participación.

Para aquellos que no pudieron disfrutarlo, aquí este manjar musical.
PUERTO RICO dice presente en ITALIA.

Translation: "Very proud of these young people representing our Island in Italy.
Guayanilla SUM Band. Second Macaná Unit, Gloria M. Borrero Olivera, excellent participation.

For those who couldn't enjoy it, here is this musical delicacy.
PUERTO RICO says present in ITALY."

El Tropi Duo TV has three other videos of this trip, but I'm being a good environmentalist and conserving them for the future. May the U.S. still have meaningful elections in 2028 and may I still be around to participate in them.

I conclude with the band in the preview image, Banda Escolar Yauco - Encendido Navidad 12-8-2023 by JEFR. Translation: "Yauco School Band - Christmas Lighting 12-8-2023."


That was fun to watch, even if I understood only half the narration. It's still an entertaining Christmas show, no matter the language.

That's a wrap for today's installment. I still plan on returning with marching music for the Pennsylvania primary after Earth Day and Talk Like Shakespeare Day. Tuesday will be busy!

Previous marching music for 2024 primaries and caucuses posts.

• Colts, Hawkeyes, Cyclones, and Rose Parade bands, marching music for the 2024 Iowa Caucuses
• The Spartans for a drum corps New Hampshire Primary
• Marching music for the 2024 South Carolina Primary — Carolina Crown, South Carolina, Clemson, and South Carolina State
• Marching music for the 2024 Nevada Primary from University of Nevada, Reno, and UNLV
• Marching music for the Michigan Primary — Legends, U of M, MSU, Rockford, and DeWitt
• Part one of marching music for Super Tuesday on Marching Music Day
• Marching music for Super Tuesday, part two
• Marching music for primaries in Georgia, Mississippi, and Washington plus Democrats Abroad
• Marching music for the Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, and Ohio Presidential Primaries on the Vernal Equinox
• Marching music for the Louisiana and Missouri primaries
• Marching music for Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin primaries
• Marching music for the Alaska, Hawaii, and North Dakota Democratic primaries
• Troopers, drum corps for the Wyoming Democratic Primary

PBS Eons describes 'The Hazy Evolution of Cannabis' for 4/20

Happy 4/20! Instead of blogging about marijuana legalization, I'm sharing The Hazy Evolution of Cannabis by PBS Eons — science!

How did such a strange plant like cannabis come to be in the first place? When and where did we first domesticate it? And why oh why does it get us high?

Congratulations on telling the smartest stoner jokes on YouTube I've encountered so far. Also, I knew about the relationship between hops and Cannabis my senior year of college, when I looked through Munz and Keck's A California Flora and Supplement and found them together in Moraceae. That bit of trivia impressed my friends 40+ years ago. They have since been moved to Cannabaceae, where they are, as the video states, sister genera. I think that would have impressed my friends even more.

That's it for today's post. Stay tuned for the Sunday entertainment feature followed by Earth Day.

PBS Terra describes how 'This Winter Trend Is Overpowering Global Warming' for Flashback Friday

Happy Flashback Friday! Today's theme is natural disasters from PBS, so I'm sharing Weathered on PBS Terra describing how This Winter Trend Is Overpowering Global Warming.

2024 was the warmest winter on record, so big winter storms are a thing of the past, right? Not quite…a new study reveals that there is a winter-weather trend that OVERPOWERS CLIMATE CHANGE. To better understand this, we are taking it back to March of 1993 to look at The Storm of the Century, which brought record breaking cold temperatures and 20 INCHES OF SNOW to ALABAMA! By going back, we can better answer questions like: What causes this set up to occur in our atmosphere? And why are we still seeing extreme cold and SNOW IN THE SOUTH? Buckle up as our experts talk the jet stream, polar vortex, and this stubborn cold exception so we can answer the ultimate question: Are these winter storms here to stay? Watch this episode to find out.

This is a sequel to the PBS Terra videos I embedded in The connections among climate change, the wobbling jet stream, and the polar vortex explained by PBS Terra and CBS News and PBS Terra's 'Weathered' examines how the wandering jet stream is making extreme weather worse. All three explain how climate change weakens the temperature gradient that keeps the jet stream in place, allowing it to wander, bringing the polar vortex to the U.S. South in winter and record high temperatures to the Pacific Northwest in summer. This is why I prefer climate change to global warming. It's also why I sometimes write "a sick planet is running chills and fever." I expect to write that again when I report on extreme weather in the wake of 2023 being the hottest year on record.

Follow over the jump for a retrospective of the top posts featuring PBS covering natural disasters, past and future.

CityNerd mocks 'Long Beach's Innovative Approach to Climate Change' for Throwback Thursday

For Throwback Thursday, I'm sharing CityNerd's latest, Long Beach's Innovative Approach to Climate Change.

Long Beach, California. Home of one of the busiest container ports in the world, expensive housing, a very long beach, and...over 2500 active oil wells. Yes, you heard that right.

I worked on the construction of L.A.'s subway, which intersected with the Long Beach light rail on the south side of downtown. At that time, the line's northern terminus was at that intersection. I'm glad to read that it was extended into the San Gabriel Valley to become the longest light rail line in the world.

As for all the oil wells, I'm not surprised. I grew up in Los Angeles and just accepted the pump jacks, which my family called grasshoppers, as part of the landscape. I expect a lot of them will be pumping oil for decades to come, regardless of how bad fossil fuels are for the environment in general and climate change in particular.

That's it for the current post. Follow over the jump for a retrospective of the top post featuring CityNerd from the 13th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.

'Bankrupt - Borders Book Store' by Bright Sun Films, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse for Wayback Wednesday

Happy Wayback Wednesday! I'm observing today's social media day by sharing Bright Sun Film's latest, Bankrupt - Borders Book Store.

Since the 1970's, Borders Bookstores have been a place of comfort and peace for millions of shoppers. Their unique strategy of offering a cozy place to shop, with tens of thousands of highly trained employees was a winning one that earned the company billions in sales. But, it all came crashing down in 2011 and now, the brand is non existent. Join me today as we find out why.

The two YouTube creators I consider best able to cover this story have now examined it, as Company Man asked "The Decline of Borders...What Happened?" last year. I'm being a good environmentalist by reusing what I wrote then.

I'm revisiting my thoughts about Borders Books from Ten of the companies that went out of business this decade and 9,300+ stores closed this year, two tales of the Retail Apocalypse.

While I didn't realize it at the time, the first Retail Apocalypse story I wrote about on this blog was the demise of Borders Books. I thought it was like the bankruptcies of Jacobson's, whose space in Ann Arbor Borders occupied after Jacobson's moved out to Briarwood Mall, and Montgomery Ward's, which was the first anchor to abandon Northland Mall, the second Retail Apocalypse story I covered here. Both of those were weak companies that went under during a recession, which is when I expect businesses would fail. I thought much the same of Borders at the time, in addition to it being a personal loss. In retrospect, the failure of Borders was much bigger than that and turned out to be a taste of things to come.

At the time, I concentrated on what the store meant to me and outsourced my analysis of why it failed to a LiveJournal account where the analysis is now unavailable...the disappearance of that analysis was a big loss...[it described] a mismatch in corporate culture between the employees, who really believed in the way company had been run, and the top executives, who I think caught something bad when KMart owned the company, the same thing that eventually caught up with both KMart and Sears. Sigh.

All that survives is the Borders.com domain, which Barnes & Noble bought. That's like Toys R Us buying KB Toys — ironic. It's also a sign that the rest of the company's intellectual property wasn't worth saving. Even Hostess had a better fate.

All I have to add to that is that Jake Williams included more of the human story than Company Man Mike and followed up on the fate of the original store number one, although I didn't consider that my store. That was the old Jacobson's location around the corner, the second store number one. When I last visited Ann Arbor for the March for Science during 2017, I saw that it had been partitioned into a bunch of smaller stores. That might have been an even sadder end than the one Jake had.

Follow over the jump for a retrospective of the top posts about the Retail Apocalypse during the 13th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.

SciShow invites you to 'Actually Understand Type 2 Diabetes'

I wrote that "I'm a diabetic and...I consider it to be a central organizing fact of my life" in Today is World Diabetes Day and November is National Diabetes Month. Normally, I'd wait until World Diabetes Day to blog about my condition, but SciShow uploaded Actually Understand Type 2 Diabetes on Friday, so I sharing it with my readers.

Type 2 diabetes affects over 400 million people. It can be confusing and difficult to manage, so in this video we'll answer all your questions about type 2 diabetes, including what to eat, what affects your risk, and is there a cure.

Hosted by: Reid Reimers (he/him)

I'm a type 1 diabetic (adult onset), but I found much of the information in this video useful. A1C levels, diet, and exercise are all things I have to be mindful of, too. In addition, the video briefly explained how type 1 diabetes happens as well. As I'm fond of writing, It's always a good day when I learn something new. I hope my readers learned something new, too.

The New York Times explains 'There’s a Tax Season Villain, and It’s Not the I.R.S.' for Tax Day

For Tax Day, I'm sharing There’s a Tax Season Villain, and It’s Not the I.R.S. | NYT Opinion.

It’s the most miserable time of the year: tax season.

Americans are about to spend millions of hours and billions of dollars filing their federal income taxes, and they are pretty sure they know who is responsible for their pain: The misanthropes at the Internal Revenue Service.

But we’re here to convince you that the I.R.S. is not the problem.

Yes, it should be easy to file taxes. And yes, it should be free. That’s how it works in the rest of the developed world, and it could very easily work that way here, too. It is absurd that America’s tax system is so antiquated and complicated that most people must pay someone else to help them pay the government.

So what is standing in the way of progress?

Watch.

I have two things to say about this video. First, I knew I was going to use it today as soon as I saw the preview image. It's Johnny Harris, who demonstrated his skills when he was working for Vox, now working for the New York Times, so I knew the video would be good. Second, I had a good idea who the villain was, and I was not disappointed. May the U.S. finally get a free tax-filing portal. It may be too late today, but maybe next year. Happy Tax Day!

'Godzilla Minus One' wins two Critics Choice Super Awards plus an entertainment retrospective

I foreshadowed today's topic at the end of Troopers, drum corps for the Wyoming Democratic Primary.

Normally, I'd tell my readers to stay tuned for highlights of tonight's Saturday Night Live except that I reached my page view goals for the month already, so I'm going to post something else for the Sunday entertainment feature. An retrospective of the top entertainment posts of the 13th year of this blog? That's certainly a possibility!

The only question is what new material I would use to lead into the look back. Since all the posts I'm featuring below the jump are about awards shows, I'm revisiting the most recent awards show I covered the Critics Choice Super Awards. I already expressed my annoyance at no Star Trek show winning an award in 'Star Trek: Discovery' trailers for First Contact Day, so I want to use today's post to brag, sort of. Fortunately, I found an opportunity to do so that connects to a current movie.


I wrote "I'd get a kick out of MEGAN or Godzilla winning this award. Oh, no, there goes Tokyo. Go, go, Godzilla!" As the graphic above shows, I got my wish. On the other hand, I completely blew my pick for Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Movie, as I thought "it's between The Boy and the Heron and Poor Things with the latter favored." Nope, the third Oscar winner Godzilla Minus One won. Here are the paragraph announcing the movie winners from the press release.

Garnering two wins each, “Godzilla Minus One,” “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning,” “Poor Things,” and “Talk to Me” lead the film winners. “Godzilla Minus One” triumphed as the Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Movie and Godzilla was named the overall Best Villain in a Movie. Tom Cruise received Best Actor in an Action Movie for “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning,” while Rebecca Ferguson took home Best Actress in an Action Movie. For their roles in “Poor Things,” Mark Ruffalo was awarded Best Actor in a Science Fiction/Fantasy Movie and Emma Stone won Best Actress in a Science Fiction/Fantasy Movie. “Talk to Me” won Best Horror Movie and Sophie Wilde earned the award for Best Actress in a Horror Movie.

While I whiffed on Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Movie, I did call Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, and Talk To Me to win their awards. My wife and I finally watched Talk To Me last night and we saw why it won Best Horror Movie/Film here and at the Saturn Awards. It was smart and scary!

As for Godzilla Minus One, I'm looking forward to seeing it on my Saturn Awards ballot later this year, where I have it penciled in as my vote for Best International Film, along with Poor Things and The Boy and the Heron, which are my current choices for Best Fantasy Film and Best Animated Film, respectively. That written, I already think Poor Things will lose to the kaiju movie currently in theaters, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire for Best Fantasy Film. In addition Godzilla will face friendly fire, as I would not be surprised if both Godzilla Minus One and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire both earn nominations for Best Fantasy Film. Only if the kaiju fans split their votes in this category does Poor Things stand a chance of winning at the Saturn Awards, given that "the Saturn Awards are about entertainment not art, they don't care for subtle, and they love to stick it to the experts."

I could end here, but that would leave this post without a preview image on mobile view, so I'm embedding Godzilla and Mothra: King and Queen of the Kaiju | Monstrum to elevate the entry with educational content.

Godzilla is one of the most recognizable monsters in film, and he should be. After all, he is part of the longest running film franchise in the world, but you might be surprised to learn that his history in literature is just as prolific. Without his giant footsteps paving the way, we wouldn’t have the female kaiju Mothra, who is perhaps even more beloved.

In this episode, Dr. Zarka shows how kaiju are deeply rooted in past events in Japan including the deployment of nuclear weapons there during World War II. She explains how both Godzilla and Mothra serve as metaphors and looks at how these monsters continue to shed light on social history.

Dr. Z is in the middle of a series about Kong and has a review of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire up, which I'm saving until she finishes her series. I'm an environmentalist. I don't just recycle, I conserve my resources! Until then, I'm ending this section the way I opened it, with a quote from Blue Öyster Cult's "Godzilla."

History shows again and again
How nature points up the folly of man
Godzilla!

Follow over the jump for last year's top posts about entertainment in general and awards shows other than the Saturn Awards in particular.

Troopers, drum corps for the Wyoming Democratic Primary

I'm making good on the promise I made in Marching music for the Alaska, Hawaii, and North Dakota Democratic primaries and repeated in NASA experts answer questions about asteroids for Apophis Day: "stay tuned for this year's edition of Marching music for the Wyoming Democratic Caucuses. Troopers!"

I kick off the music to watch and listen while waiting for results with Troopers | #dci2022 | VorAcious from Drum Corps International (DCI).

Casper, Wyoming's Troopers perform a segment from the corps' #DCI2022 production, "VorAcious," during the 2022 DCI World Championships hosted August 12-14 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

That's a great moment that DCI featured twice more. Watch for it in Troopers 2022 designer on "one of the BEST moments of the summer" | Inside Drum Corps Ep. 2.

Troopers visual designer Lindsey Schueller breaks down the ideas and stories behind the Casper, Wyoming corps' 2022 production, "VorAcious," in Episode 2 of "Inside Drum Corps."

Yes, it really was "one of the best moments of the summer," including Genevieve Batman screaming while doing what I want to say is her best Tina Guo impression, except that Tina would be playing while standing up and wearing a skimpier costume. I think it's safer and better for the performance that Genevieve sat down while wearing a guard uniform.

Genevieve and her electric cello get a final encore in Troopers: Road Back to the DCI Finals | 2009-2022.

In 2022 the Troopers earned a spot among DCI's elite Top 12 for the first time in more than a decade. Take a look back at the timeline of the Wyoming corps' roadmap back to the finale of the DCI World Championships.

As I first wrote in 2016, "No Troopers retrospective would be complete without both a sunburst and a color presentation" and this compilation and lots of sunbursts and one that was also a color presentation.

Follow over the jump for highlights of 2021 and 2023.

NASA experts answer questions about asteroids for Apophis Day

Yesterday was Yuri's Night, when I celebrate the promise of space. Today is Apophis Day, when I report on the perils of space, especially asteroids. I'm featuring a series from NASA's archives that I could have used in 2022, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine intruded. It's time to make up for a missed opportunity, beginning with Will an Asteroid Ever Hit Earth? We Asked a NASA Scientist.

Will an asteroid ever hit Earth? There are no known impact threats, but tiny meteors burn up in Earth’s atmosphere all the time! NASA asteroid expert Dr. Kelly Fast tells us more. Learn more about NASA’s planetary defense efforts: nasa.gov/planetarydefense

Technically, the answer is yes; small meteors burn up in Earth's atmosphere all the time. That relates to the answer to When Was the Last Time an Asteroid Hit Earth? We Asked a NASA Expert.

When was the last time an asteroid hit Earth? Small asteroids and other tiny particles bombard our planet daily, but almost all of them burn up safely in the atmosphere. Bigger impacts are extremely rare, but scientists like Marina Brozovic are keeping their eyes on the sky.

Again, small particles are hitting the atmosphere, burning up, and falling to the ground all the time. Ones large enough to cause damage and harm people? Marina Brozovic mentioned the last major one, which I blogged about in Russian meteor one year later and In Russia, space explores you! That's a once in a century event, so we're not likely to see another like it this century. That's the point of Is NASA Aware of Any Earth-Threatening Asteroids? We Asked a NASA Expert.

Is NASA aware of any Earth-threatening asteroids? Luckily there are no known asteroid threats to Earth for at least 100 years. But that doesn’t mean we’re not looking. Asteroid expert Davide Farnocchia of our@NASAJPL breaks it down.

That's reassuring. So is Does NASA Know About All the Asteroids? We Asked a NASA Scientist.

Does NASA know about ALL the asteroids? We know about the vast majority of larger ones and none of those pose a threat, but space is big, so we're always on the lookout. NASA asteroid expert Dr. Amy Mainzer explains.

The answer is no, not yet, but NASA is working on it.

Of course, the "so what?" question is What if an Asteroid Were Going to Hit Earth? We Asked a NASA Scientist.

There are no known threats to Earth, but NASA asteroid expert Dr. Kelly Fast says it’s important to find the asteroids before they find us. That’s why NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office keeps its eyes on the skies.

This video explains DART, which was a success and one of the reasons 2022 was another great year in space. Proof of concept!

I will have more about asteroids on Asteroid Day. Until then, stay tuned for this year's edition of Marching music for the Wyoming Democratic Caucuses. Troopers!

Artemis and Starship for Yuri's Night

Happy Yuri's Night AKA International Day for Human Space Flight! Instead of a retrospective of last year's top posts for today's Flashback Friday, I'm looking back at two tests of spacecraft intended for crewed flight and ahead at a piece of equipment to be developed to support crewed missions. I begin with Farther and Faster: NASA's Journey to the Moon with Artemis.

At 1:47 a.m. EST (6:47 UTC) on Nov. 16, 2022, NASA’s Orion spacecraft launched atop the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from historic Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a path to the Moon, officially beginning the Artemis I mission.

Over the course of 25.5 days, Orion performed two lunar flybys, coming within 80 miles (129 kilometers) of the lunar surface. At its farthest distance during the mission, Orion traveled nearly 270,000 miles (435,000 kilometers) from our home planet. On Dec. 11, 2022, NASA’s Orion spacecraft successfully completed a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at 9:40 a.m. PST (12:40 p.m. EST) as the final major milestone of the Artemis I mission.

Artemis I set new performance records, exceeded efficiency expectations, and established new safety baselines for humans in deep space. This is a prelude to what comes next—following the success of Artemis I, human beings will fly around the Moon on Artemis II.

We have demonstrated our ability to go farther and faster than ever before, opening the door to explore Mars and other destinations throughout the solar system. This is the story of Artemis I.

I'm being a good environmentalist by recycling what I wrote in Seeker and Vintage Space look back at Apollo 17 and ahead to Artemis for Moon Day.

The successful test flight of the Orion capsule around the Moon was one of the reasons I declared that 2022 has been another great year in space. Stephen Colbert interviews the Artemis II crew for Yuri's Night covered the next step. After that, landing on the Moon again. Here's to my covering the Artemis II mission for next year's Moon Day!

The Artemis II mission will not happen by this year's National Moon Day, but there will be more preparations and there are other Moon missions, so I will have something to blog about.

NASA announced one of those preparations in NASA Artemis Lunar Terrain Vehicle (Official NASA Trailer).

NASA hosted a news conference from the Johnson Space Center in Houston April 3, 2024, to announce the companies selected to move forward in the development of the Lunar Terrain Vehicle under the LTVS (Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services) contract. The award leverages NASA’s expertise in developing and operating these next generation "Moon buggies" to build commercial capabilities that support scientific discovery and long-term human exploration on the Moon. NASA intends to begin using the LTV for crewed operations during the Artemis V mission on the surface of the Moon.

Artemis V is a long ways off. SpaceX will have to develop a landing vehicle and NASA will have to test it first for Artemis III.

Speaking of SpaceX, it had its own successful launch of a crewed vehicle in Starship | Third Flight Test.

On March 14, 2024, Starship successfully lifted off at 8:25 a.m. CT from Starbase in Texas and went on to accomplish several major milestones and firsts.

Starship's six second stage Raptor engines all started successfully and powered the vehicle to its expected orbit, becoming the first Starship to complete its full-duration ascent burn. Starship went on to experience its first ever entry from space, providing valuable data on heating and vehicle control during hypersonic reentry. Live views of entry were made possible by Starlink terminals operating on Starship.

This rapid iterative development approach has been the basis for all of SpaceX’s major innovative advancements, including Falcon, Dragon, and Starlink. Recursive improvement is essential as we work to build a fully reusable transportation system capable of carrying both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, help humanity return to the Moon, and ultimately travel to Mars and beyond.

This is corporate PR, so it only portrayed the positive parts of the project. LiveScience covered the rest when it reported SpaceX's incredibly powerful Starship lost in the Indian Ocean after reaching orbit for 1st time.

SpaceX's powerful Starship system spent roughly an hour in orbit performing test maneuvers for the first time ever. But two simultaneous communications errors means the rocket won't be recoverable.

SpaceX's Starship rocket just reached orbit for the very first time, but now it's gotten lost upon reentry.
...
After conducting a number of maneuvers during the spacecraft's hour-long flight in orbit, mission control reportedly lost contact with Starship as it reentered Earth's atmosphere somewhere over the Indian Ocean.

Starship likely broke up or exploded over the ocean, SpaceX confirmed.

"The team has made the call that the ship has been lost, so no splashdown today," Dan Huot, SpaceX's communications manager, said during the company's livestream of the launch. "But again, just it's incredible to see how much further we got this time around."

Here's to the fourth launch being a complete success from start to finish.

That's a wrap for Yuri's Night, when I celebrate the promise of space. Now stay tuned for Apophis Day, when I report on the perils of space.

PBS Voices explores 'The Evolution of Science Fiction' for Throwback Thursday

Happy Throwback Thursday! I'm celebrating by featuring an older video that I should have used years ago, but which happens to fit one of the top posts from the back catalog that doesn't fit any of the established themes I plan on using, It's Lit! on PBS Voices exploring The Evolution of Science Fiction (Feat. Lindsay Ellis).

Stories, tales, and myths from all around the world posing speculative questions around technologies have existed long before Ray Bradbury and Frank Herbert, from the time-traveling Japanese fairy tale "Urashima Taro” to some of the speculative elements of 1001 Arabian Nights. But there are a few eras that begin to shape what we’ve come to know as science fiction today.

That Frankenstein is considered to be the first work of science fiction means that horror is its sister genre, not fantasy, as the movie and television versions of Frankenstein are portrayed as horror. This reminds me of what I wrote most recently about M3GAN and Prey at the Saturn Awards; "if the terror is technological, not supernatural, the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films considers it science fiction, not horror." Now I wonder how the Saturn Awards would classify a new movie or TV show about Frankenstein. Hmm.

Just the same, this video is very much about how science fiction reflects the anxieties of its time, which happens to be the featured post from the back catalog in today's retrospective. Follow over the jump.

John Oliver examines student loans for Wayback Wednesday

Happy Wayback Wednesday! Today's topic is Student Loans. Take it away, John Oliver!

With over 43 million Americans paying off student loans, John Oliver discusses how so many people have come to take on student loan debt, why it’s so hard to pay off, and what we can do about it, mama.

I'm lucky to have been able to get my education without borrowing, so I escaped student loan debt. My wife and daughter were not so fortunate, and my daughter is still paying hers off. Sigh.

I'm looking forward to Last Week Tonight's future examinations of the cost of college. Until then, follow over the jump for a retrospective of the most read entries featuring John Oliver during the 13th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.

Colbert and Kimmel recap the eclipse

I'm examining the eclipse and earthquake one last time through comedy. Take it away, Stephen Colbert with last night's monologue, Strange Eclipse Behavior | NYC’s Earthquake | Mt. Etna Blows Smoke Rings | Trump’s $50M Fundraiser.

Pets, zoo animals, political candidates and cable news anchors all exhibited odd behavior related to the solar eclipse, Stephen shares the details of his earthquake experience, an Italian volcano is blowing smoke rings, and the former president claims he raised $50 million in one night.

Three science stories in a row — I'm glad I decided to watch this monologue! I'm almost as thrilled as I was seeing the eclipse myself yesterday, but with much less work. Catching the end of totality by pulling off to the side of the freeway when the sky finally went dark and pulling out my special glasses was a reward for getting stuck in traffic and worrying I wouldn't make it to the umbra. I can say "yes, I saw it." Cross that off my bucket list, although I am now thinking about traveling to the one in Spain two years from now. Too bad the path of totality just misses Vigo. I can imagine Broken Peach having an eclipse concert where they sing "Total Eclipse of the Heart" when the Moon covers the Sun, but it won't work out for them to perform in their home town.  Maybe they should do it in A Coruña.

The eclipse also provided material for Jimmy Kimmel. Watch Jimmy's monologue, Trump’s Eclipse Message, Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Display of Dim-bulbery & A.I. for STDs!

We had a Total Solar Eclipse today, people were lining up all across the country to buy viewing glasses, Biden put out an official White House message warning us not to look up, Team Trump used the Eclipse to make a point on Truth Social, Marjorie Taylor Greene posted about the earthquake in New York and eclipse, Trump accepted an award on behalf of his wife Melania who was too busy to attend, he is working hard to reimagine his official stance on abortion, there is a new app that uses A.I. to determine if you have an STI, and we headed out to Hollywood Blvd to ask people “What is an Eclipse?”

Merry Eclipsemas, indeed!

Both Stephen and Jimmy made fun of Donald Trump's eclipse ad, but Stephen's writers and editors did the best job of mocking it in Trump’s Eclipse Ad, Adjusted For Scientific Accuracy.



You might want to cover your eyes.
That's quite the moon!

That's it for today's comedic reflection upon the eclipse and the reaction to it. Stay tuned for Wayback Wednesday!

NOVA examines the 'Great American Eclipse'

I concluded Earthquake, eclipse, and other news on 'SNL' by telling my readers to stay tuned for today's eclipse! In the spirit of NOVA warns of 'The Next Pompeii' for the Ides of March, last month's most popular entry posted during March 2023, I'm embedding Great American Eclipse | Full Documentary | NOVA | PBS.

Explore the spectacular cosmic phenomenon of a total solar eclipse. In April 2024, the Moon’s shadow is sweeping from Texas to Maine, as the U.S. witnesses its last total solar eclipse until 2044. This extraordinary astronomical event is plunging locations in the path of totality into darkness for more than four minutes – nearly twice as long as the last American eclipse in 2017. Learn how to watch an eclipse safely and follow scientists as they work to unlock secrets of our Sun – from why its atmosphere is hundreds of times hotter than its surface, to what causes solar storms and how we might one day predict them.

That was everything I was hoping it would be and more — lots of science, history, and even archeology!

NOVA has more in NOVA goes eclipse hunting!.

Join members of the NOVA team for a behind the scenes look at the preparations being made in Kerrville, TX for the April 8 total solar eclipse!

Nothing like asking a NASA scientist!

Watch the eclipse as it happens in NOVA Solar Eclipse Livestream.

On April 8, 2024, millions of Americans will witness the rare event of a solar eclipse that will cross the continental United States. Join NOVA for a live stream prior to the eclipse where we will be joined by NASA scientists at the Kerrville Eclipse Festival in Texas!
Learn how to watch an eclipse safely, discover what eclipses can reveal to scientists about the secrets of the Sun, and hear from the eclipse festival attendees.

You can watch the eclipse here. I'm less than an hour away from totality, as long as there isn't a traffic jam on the way, so I'm planning on traveling there to see it in person. Wish me a safe journey!

Like the post I'm modeling this one on, I'm ending with a relevant song, Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart - Symphonic Orchestra 430 Broken Peach - 20th Century Rock.

Increíble actuación de Bonnie Tyler, Symphonic Orchestra 430 bajo la batuta de Carlos Rodríguez, y Broken Peach, interpretando Total Eclipse of the Heart, en la Gala 18 Aniversario que tuvo lugar el 11 de junio de 2017 en el Auditorio Mar de Vigo.

Translation: "Incredible performance by Bonnie Tyler, Symphonic Orchestra 430 under the baton of Carlos Rodríguez, and Broken Peach, performing Total Eclipse of the Heart, at the 18th Anniversary Gala that took place on June 11, 2017 at the Mar de Vigo Auditorium."

Yes, Broken Peach are Bonnie Tyler's backup singers. Otherwise, I wouldn't have used this song — too on the nose.

See you all later and enjoy the eclipse!

Earthquake, eclipse, and other news on 'SNL'

As I promised yesterday, it's time for highlights of last night's Saturday Night Live. Since the cold open was about sports, not politics, I'm saving that for later and beginning with Weekend Update: Trump Claims Biden Is on Cocaine, Earthquake Rattles Northeast - SNL.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like the women's NCAA Final Four matchup of Iowa vs. UConn becoming the most-viewed women's basketball game with 14.2 million viewers.

I'm a geologist as well as a paleontologist (paleontology is a subfield of both geology and biology, and I have advanced degrees in both fields), so I'm grateful for an opportunity to blog about earthquakes for the first time since PBS Terra asks 'What's the ONE THING You Can Do To Survive a Tsunami?' I learned about the Ramapo Fault from news coverage of this earthquake and further reading revealed the Newark Rift to me. It's always a good day when I learn something new, especially when it can become one of the stories I tell my students. Since I'm going to be lecturing about earthquakes tomorrow, I can add this earthquake to my list of examples. Perfect timing!

Weekend Update continued with United Airlines' Leaky Toilet, Kanye West Compares Himself to Hitler.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like Jane Goodall celebrating her 90th birthday with 90 dogs.

Happy birthday, Dame Jane! The news about Kanye West and Sean "Diddy" Combs qualifies this as the Sunday entertainment feature, but the best part of this segment is the funny science. Speaking of which, the earthquake returned in Earthquake and Eclipse on the 4.8 Magnitude Earthquake and the Solar Eclipse.

Earthquake (Marcello Hernández) and Eclipse (Kenan Thompson) stop by Weekend Update to discuss the earthquake that shook the northeast and the solar eclipse.

"An earthquake during an eclipse? That would be biblical, Brother!" You both missed your chance, as Good Friday passed already, but, hey, close enough.

Follow over the jump for the rest of the highlights from last night's episode.

Marching music for the Alaska, Hawaii, and North Dakota Democratic primaries

It's time for this election cycle's edition of marching music for the Alaska, Hawaii, and North Dakota Democratic primaries. I should go from east to west to follow poll closing times, but I'm going the other direction because Hawaii has the better marching bands (sorry, no drum corps in these states), followed by Alaska, then North Dakota. Hey, it's my blog; I can do that.

I kick off the music to watch and listen while waiting for results with a band that I featured four years ago presenting a new pair of performances, Na Koa Ali'i - Hawai'i All-State Marching Band - 2024 Pasadena Bandfest from Luis of Music213.

Representing the state of Hawaii,
Na Koa Ali'i Hawai'i All-State Marching Band performing their musical selections at the 43rd Annual Pasadena Tournament of Roses Bandfest at Pasadena City College on Friday, December 29, 2023.

I wrote that I was saving this band's performances for this post in Some of my favorite bands at the 2024 Rose Parade for New Year's Day. The dances alone made it worth the wait.

Luis of Music213 also captured Na Koa Ali'i - Hawai'i All-State Marching Band - 2024 Pasadena Rose Parade.

Representing the state of Hawaii,
Na Koa Ali'i Hawai'i All-State Marching Band performing at the 135th Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade on Monday, January 1, 2024.

Great performances! No wonder they got invited back. Here's to seeing them marching down Colorado Boulevard in 2029!

Follow over the jump for marching bands from Alaska and North Dakota along with a cameo of a band from the Aloha State.

'Star Trek: Discovery' trailers for First Contact Day

Happy First Contact Day! I was so confident that either Star Trek: Picard or Star Trek: Strange New Worlds would win at least one reward that my planned post today was "Star Trek winners at the Critics Choice Super Awards." Neither Star Trek show won anything. Instead, Black Mirror: Joan Is Awful won two awards for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie and Best Actress in a Science Fiction/Fantasy Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie for Annie Murphy, Kurt Russell won Best Actor in a Science Fiction/Fantasy Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and Melanie Lynskey took home Best Villain in a Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie in The Last of Us. So much for that idea, at least for today.

Instead, I'm taking my inspiration from watching the first two episodes of Season 5 of Star Trek: Discovery last night, which is the final season of this series. Watch Star Trek: Discovery | Season 5 Official Trailer | Paramount+.

The fifth and final season will find Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery uncovering a mystery that will send them on an epic adventure across the galaxy to find an ancient power whose very existence has been deliberately hidden for centuries. But there are others on the hunt as well… dangerous foes who are desperate to claim the prize for themselves and will stop at nothing to get it.

The first sentence of the video description for This Season on Star Trek: Discovery | Season 5 Sneak Peek | StarTrek.com hints at the nature of the "ancient power whose very existence has been deliberately hidden for centuries."



Power of creation, here we come!
"Power of creation" refers back to Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Chase."

The argument is silenced when the tricorder begins projecting a holographic image of a humanoid. She explains that her civilization existed alone in the galaxy, billions of lonely years before any of the others developed. They decided to spread their genetic material to other planets, in the hopes of creating a rich ecosystem of humanoids who could fulfill the joys of finding and integrating with alien cultures that these first beings never had.

What the Progenitors, the species of ancient humanoid in the referenced holographic image, also shown in the video above, did was a form of exogenesis or panspermia, which I called "a fringe scientific idea." That written, it works much better in science fiction than science fact and helps explain (away) why there are so many humanoid aliens in science fiction shows and movies, which has a real-world practical reason, using human actors in makeup to play aliens. Only recently has CGI been able to affordably and convincingly create non-humanoid aliens, such as the Gelatin and Katrudian from The Orville. Those don't need the same in-universe rationale for existing that humanoid aliens do.

My wife and I are looking forward to the rest of the final season. I hope the writers do as good job of sending off Discovery's crew as Star Trek: Picard did for the crews of Enterprise-D, Enterprise-E, and, to a lesser extent, Voyager.

Television nominees at the Critics Choice Super Awards

I told my readers "I plan on continuing this with the TV nominees on April 4th, the day the CCA presents the awards" at the conclusion of 'Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning' and 'The Last of Us' lead nominees at the fourth Critics Choice Super Awards, which means I'm continuing a streak of examining awards shows honoring speculative fiction on television that I began with My Saturn Awards votes vs. winners for Wayback 'Wednesday'. Time to recycle the relevant paragraph from the movie nominees post.

“The Last of Us” leads this year’s television nominees with seven nominations including Best Superhero Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie and Best Horror Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie. Pedro Pascal received nods for both Best Actor in a Superhero Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie and Best Actor in a Horror Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie, while Bella Ramsey earned a nominations for both Best Actress in a Superhero Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie and Best Actress in a Horror Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie. Melanie Lynskey was also nominated for Best Villain in a Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie. (Superhero categories also include Comic Book and Video Game Inspired series.)

Follow over the jump for the nominees and my opinions of them.

My Saturn Awards votes vs. winners for Wayback 'Wednesday'

It's Wayback Wednesday! I couldn't resist a good visual pun to introduce this retrospective of the top posts of the 13th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News, as the most read entry of the past year, both calendar and blogging, was about the Saturn Awards, which honored Wednesday at this year's ceremony with the show winning Best Fantasy Television Series and its star Jenna Ortega winning Best Younger Performer in a Television Series. I'm thrilled to remind my readers that I voted for both winners, so congratulations to me for getting those categories correct and the show and Miss Ortega on their awards!

Of course, not all my votes were for winners, so it's time to compare my picks with the actual awardees.


FILM AWARDS
Best Action / Adventure Film: My vote — The Woman King. Winner — Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, one of the films I thought would win.
Best Actor in a Film: My vote — Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer). Winner — "I expect the plurality of Saturn Award voters will cast their ballots for Harrison Ford" and they did.
Best Actress in a Film: My vote — Margot Robbie (Barbie). Winner — Margot Robbie.
Best Animated Film: My vote — Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Winner — Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
Best Fantasy Film: My vote — Barbie. Winner — "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny has one more nomination and it might win because 'the Saturn Awards are about entertainment not art, they don't care for subtle, and they love to stick it to the experts.' Voting for what is supposed to be Harrison Ford's last outing as Indiana Jones would do all three. So would voting for Ford himself." Both won.
Best Film Costume Design: My vote — Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Ruth E. Carter). Winner — Barbie, and I'm happy it won instead, as it was the other professional choice and my second choice.
Best Film Direction: My vote — Greta Gerwig (Barbie). Winner — "I wouldn't put it past them to vote for Cameron because the Oscars snubbed him. As I've written about the Saturn Awards for years, 'the Saturn Awards are about entertainment not art, they don't care for subtle, and they love to stick it to the experts.' Voting for Cameron would do all three." The Saturn Awards electorate did as I expected.
Best Film Editing: My vote — Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Andrew Buckland, Michael McCusker, Dirk Westervelt). Winner — Oppenheimer, which I conscientiously objected to, but was still the Oscar winner.
Best Film Make Up: My vote — Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 3 (Alexei Dmitriew, Lindsay Macgowen and Shane Mahan). Winner — The Covenant, first surprise, although I wrote "The rest of the Saturn Award electorate will probably vote for a horror film."
Best Film Music: My vote — Barbie (Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt). Winner — "I fully expect the plurality of the Saturn Awards electorate will vote for John Williams" so he won.
Best Film Production Design: My vote — Barbie (Sara Greenwood). Winner — Barbie.
Best Film Screenwriting: My vote — Barbie (Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach). Winner — Avatar: The Way of Water (James Cameron and Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver. "I don't care what the rest of the Saturn Awards voters think about this category."
Best Film Visual / Special Effects: My vote — Avatar: The Way of Water (Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, Daniel Barrett). Winner — Avatar: The Way of Water.
Best Horror Film: My vote — Renfield. Winner — Talk to Me, which had the second most nominations.
Best Independent Film: My vote — Pearl. Winner — Pearl.
Best International Film: My vote — Speak No Evil (Denmark). Winner — "Before I researched the nominees, Sisu was first choice." My gut was right and I should have listened to it.
Best Science Fiction Film: My vote — Avatar: The Way of Water. Winner — Avatar: The Way of Water.
Best Superhero Film: My vote — Guardians of the Galaxy - Volume 3. Winner — Guardians of the Galaxy - Volume 3.
Best Supporting Actor in a Film: My vote — Ryan Gosling (Barbie). Winner — Nicolas Cage (Renfield). That was a complete surprise, although it fits the pattern of "the Saturn Awards are about entertainment not art, they don't care for subtle, and they love to stick it to the experts."
Best Supporting Actress in a Film: My vote — Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever). Winner — "Emily Blunt has nominations for Supporting Actress in a film at both the Critics Choice Awards and Golden Globes, which the other actresses in this year's nominated films didn't earn" — a legitimate choice.
Best Thriller Film: My vote — Oppenheimer. Winner — Oppenheimer.
Best Younger Performer in a Film: My vote — Halle Bailey (The Little Mermaid). Winner — Xolo Maridueña, Blue Beetle, my second choice.


TELEVISION AWARDS
Best Action / Adventure / Thriller Television Series: My vote — Outlander. Winner — Outlander.
Best Actor in a Television Series: My vote — Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us). Winner — "I wouldn't be surprised if Patrick Stewart wins, as he won two years ago."
Best Actress in a Television Series: My vote — Tatiana Maslany (She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law). Winner — Caitriona Balfe, Outlander, who I was going to vote for until I changed my mind on the next-to-last day.
Best Animated Television Series or Special: My vote — Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio. Winner — "The Bad Batch won that match and might win again, but they'll do it without my vote." The show did.
Best Fantasy Television Series: My vote — Wednesday. Winner — Wednesday.
Best Guest Star in a Television Series: My vote — Nick Offerman (The Last of Us). Winner — "I don't know if the Saturn Awards electorate can resist a good James Kirk, and [Paul] Wesley makes a good Kirk." Paul Wesley, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Best Horror Television Series: My vote — The Last of Us. Winner — The Last of Us.
Best New Genre Television Series: My vote — The Last of Us. Winner — Andor. That's a legitimate choice given its Emmy nominations.
Best Science Fiction Television Series: My vote — Star Trek: Picard. Winner — Star Trek: Picard.
Best Superhero Television Series: My vote — She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law. Winner — "Superman & Lois is the favorite, not only because it leads in nominations but also because won Best Science Fiction Television Series: Network/Cable last year. I'm pretty sure it will win, but I'm not voting for it." It still won.
Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series: My vote — Ethan Peck (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds). Winner — Jonathan Frakes, Star Trek: Picard. "My choice is between the once and future Number Ones, Frakes and Peck." I chose the wrong Number One.
Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series: My vote — Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Picard). Winner — Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Picard).
Best Television Presentation: My vote — Black Mirror. Winner — Marvel’s Werewolf by Night. "Marvel’s Werewolf by Night ties with The Midnight Club for the most nominated in this category" and I should have paid more attention to that.
Best Young Performer in a Television Series: My vote — Jenna Ortega (Wednesday). Winner — Jenna Ortega (Wednesday).


HOME ENTERTAINMENT AWARDS
Best 4K Home Media Release: My vote — Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Director's Edition 4K. Winner — John Wick, Chapter 4 – 4K (Lionsgate Home Entertainment), my second choice.
Best Classic Film Home Media Release: My vote — The Manchurian Candidate 4K. Winner — Invaders from Mars 4K (Ignite). Not surprised.
Best Film Home Media Collection: My vote — Universal Classic Monsters: Icons of Horror, Volume 2. Winner — Superman 1978-1987 4K Collection (Warner Home Video). I thought about it and I chose wrong.
Best Television Home Media Release: My vote — Loki (Season 1) – 4K Steelbook. Winner — Night Gallery, Season 3 (Kino Lorber). Not surprised here, either.

Follow over the jump for the top posts about the Saturn Awards from the 13th year of the blog, all of which are from the back catalog.