Yeah, yeah, Ledger was great. I mean, he was no Cesar Romero, but still great.

I guess it's about scientists balancing their own natural (and admirable) enthusiasm for their work with care to preserve the measured, objective character of the work itself.

I'm not quite sure I follow. Are you suggesting that the various churches which ordain women (as clergy and, although not in England, bishops) aren't Christian? Because it's not even especially uncommon in the West anymore, and one of the Anglican churches in Africa just chose its first female bishop. Obviously,…

My thoughts exactly.

Good point. I'm not sure why they bother advertising lingerie to men, because I can't imagine we're bulk consumers.

Yes, and there's a lot more to it than that. In the late Middle Ages, the Church was a major sponsor (if not the only one) of pure science — notably astronomical research. The idea was to date Easter precisely, which isn't an especially scientific goal in the modern sense, but these weren't modern people. And the…

There's a definite anti-biology bias at work here: not just no Darwin, but no Crick and Watson. Not to to mention no Galileo, Copernicus, Archimedes.

All good choices, but ... no Mars? From Lowell's canals to Wells' tripods to Burroughs' banths to Schwarzenegger's bulging eyeballs, the Red Planet has inspired a vast amount of speculative fiction. Doesn't it deserve a picture?

Sad? Not at all. Nothing I'd like better (except maybe the Valkyrie). The only sad thing is that Marvel won't have the heart to give Dr. Strange the weirdo Tim-Burton-meets-Guillermo-Del-Toro treatment he deserves.

I especially liked the part where the pizza delivery guy showed up and got pulled into the action.

We have mountains in the northern hemisphere. Species which used to live at the bottom may need to live half-way up. Species which lived half-way up may find themselves more comfortable at the top.

That's a great expression. If I recall correctly, Philip Jose Farmer explored the idea that a penis could fill with urine — " a piss erection," he called it — in his Vonnegut hommage, "Venus on the Half Shell."

On S.H.I.E.L.D., I'm holding out for Jasper Sitwell.

Yup. In addition to the blackmail risk, which is indeed a big deal in intelligence circles, there's also the fact that during much of the affair, he was a general and she was a reserve officer. Adultery, especially among senior officers, is a criminal offense in the military justice system. Which means that, when…

Or, as Paul Hogan so memorably put it, "Tha's not a shark; THIS's a shark."

Well and good, but when the day comes, I kinda like the idea that the people at my nursing home will call me "Grandpa Hulk."

I expect there are plenty of them. My ex and her friend were trying to be funny, but ... well, a lot of sexist (not to mention racist) habits of thought start out as somebody's attempt to be funny.

Fascinating; thanks.

I didn't know there was a first season. Seriously?

For long-time comics fans, Ant-Man is either a wife-beater (Pym) or a thief (Lang). Neither is very appealing.