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Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, As a kid I loved watching the X-men cartoon and I have thoroughly enjoyed the X-men movies (although I know some people don't like them, but I'm a huge sucker for Marvel hero movies). Anyway, watching the movies made me want to watch the cartoons again. Then I started asking questions about the backgrounds of these characters (just the main ones with multiple histories). I understand that in the original comics there are multiple story lines and I was hoping you could answer my question. What order should I read the X-men comics and where could I read it (does the HBLL have it or would I have to go to the Provo Public Library or is there a place online). Actually, if you could do this about other Marvel Heroes that would be great and give suggestions on lesser known ones too. Thanks a bunch - Bok who hopes you can make sense of my horrible writing skills
ADear Bok I love these sort of questions, but there's a double edged sword involved. I want to give as in depth an answer as possible, which means sometimes I take a touch longer than is ideal. But, trust me, you'll get quite an answer. This is actually a pretty complex question, because the X-Men comic books you are asking about have been published since the 1960s, which means there are 40+ years of continuous stories featuring the same characters. I'm not going to address the hundreds of mini-series and one-shots which have been published featuring the X-Men, instead I'll just deal with the ongoing X-Men titles that have been produced. The X-Men are popular enough that X-Men comic books and spin-offs dealing with mutants (collectively called the X-universe) dominate much of Marvel's publishing. Though the X-Men exist in the same narrative universe as Spider-Man, Captain America, the Fantastic Four, etc., the X-universe is a large part of Marvel's publishing efforts. There have been many X-Men titles and spin-offs published through the decades, and there are still currently many titles being published (Deadpool alone has three of his own monthly titles right now, Wolverine has four). Here's a rundown of all of them from the various "universes" Marvel publishes. I'll offer a quick explanation of each as I come to them. CLASSIC MARVEL UNIVERSE This is the narrative universe that began back in 1961 when Fantastic Four #1 was published, and is still going strong. This is the shared universe where all of Marvel's superheroes have ongoing adventures, and frequently run into one another. I'll offer a chronological list of all of Marvel's ongoing titles which were part of the X-Men's universe. Many of these titles are no longer being published, as they were canceled at some point between when they were launched and today. But if a title was launched as an ongoing series, I'll list it below. If it was a mini-series (self-contained story, usually between 4 and 6 issues long), or a one-shot (self-contained story in one issue), I'm not going to list them. Because there have been hundreds of those. But here are the ongoing series from the classic Marvel universe. Oh, just a quick warning, Marvel has launched 46 ongoing titles in the X-universe...so there's a bit of reading ahead if you want to know about them all. Title: Uncanny X-Men Issues: 515 (and counting) Dates: 1963-today History: This is the first X-Men title, and introduced the first team of X-Men (Professor X, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Angel, Iceman). Originally it was called The X-Men, but the name was changed to Uncanny X-Men in the 1970s. There was a period in the early 1970s when there were no new stories being produced, Marvel was reprinting earlier issues from the series. One of the premiere X-Men titles, and one that is most likely to go on as long as Marvel publishes comics. Title: The New Mutants (Vol. 1) Issues: 100 Dates: 1983-91 History: The first spin-off title from the X-Men, New Mutants dealt with a younger group of mutants who were being trained to one day become X-Men. The original 1963 X-Men were a group of teenagers being trained by Professor X, but by the 1980s they were depicted as being older and no longer students. This title featured the next class of mutants being trained to use their powers. Title: Alpha Flight (Vol. 1) Issues: 130 Dates: 1983-94 History: This title features one of the few Canadian superhero teams. The team is associated with the Canadian government, and has been closely linked with the same government agencies (Department H and Weapon X) which have close links to Wolverine's past. Title: X-Factor (Vol. 1) Issues: 149 Dates: 1986-98 History: When this series launched, there were many new characters in the main X-Men book's team line up, so X-Factor was created as a title that would reunite the original X-Men team (this involved bringing one character back from the dead, but this answer is going to be huge and detailed without going there). Later, those original five characters would return to the main X-Men comic, and a new team of mutants would be used in X-Factor. This new team was government sponsored and meant as a PR tool to improve the public perception of mutants, though this also created distrust with the mutant community of X-Factor's motives (were they doing what was best for the government, or for mutants?). Title: Wolverine (Vol. 1) Issues: 189 Dates: 1988-2003 History: The first spin-off for a single character, Wolverine proved immensely popular. Though this title was eventually cancelled, it was immediately replaced with a new volume, also called Wolverine. Title: Excalibur Issues: 125 Dates: 1988-98 History: A team of mutants based out of England, and lead by Captain Britain. Title: X-Men Issues: 225 (and counting) Dates: 1991-today History: When it was launched, this book was meant as a companion to Uncanny X-Men. Each book would feature distinct teams of X-Men characters, who would sometimes interact. The purpose of this series has shifted and varied during its publication, but it remains one of the two core X-titles. Title: X-Force Issues: 1991-2002 Dates: 129 History: This series began as a continuation of the first New Mutants volume. The original New Mutants were students, and this titles saw some of those characters adopt a more militant attitude and lifestyle, led by a soldier from the future named Cable. The final 14 issues of the title saw a drastic shift in tone that upset many fans of the series. An entirely new cast of characters with a very different tone (mutants who want to be pop icons) were introduced. Eventually those characters and style would be transferred to a title called X-Statix Title: X-Men Unlimited (Vol. 1) Issues: 50 Dates: 1993-2003 History: A quarterly rather than monthly series, X-Men Unlimited featured short stories, often written and drawn by upcoming writers and artists, and highlighting lesser known characters in the X-Men universe. Title: Cable (Vol.1) Issues: 107 Dates: 1993-2002 History: The solo adventures of a soldier from the future (and son of Cyclops and Jean Grey/Marvel Girl/Phoenix). Title: Generation X Issues: 75 Dates: 1994-2001 History: Similar to New Mutants before it, this book featured the next generation of mutants being trained to use their powers. Title: X-Man Issues: 75 Dates: 1995-2001 History: Ok, this one is a bit tricky. This title features the solo adventures of an alternate universe version of Cable, the soldier from the future. Though he was from an alternate universe (called The Age of Apocalypse), these adventures occurred in the main Marvel Universe. Title: Deadpool Issues: 69 Dates: 1997-2002 History: The solo adventures of "The Merc with a Mouth." Deadpool is a mercenary with a twisted sense of humor, loads of pop culture references, and ambiguous ethics. Oh, and he knows he is a comic book character (he makes references to word balloons, panels, writers, artists, editors, etc.). Oh, and he's one of my very favorite characters (I published a paper on him). Title: Alpha Flight (Vol. 2) Issues: 20 Dates: 1997-99 History: A fairly short-lived revival of the earlier series, this one also focused on the Canadian superhero team with many mutants on its roster. Title: Maverick Issues: 12 Dates: 1997-98 History: The solo adventures of a secret agent mutant with ties to Wolverine's past. Title: Quicksilver Issues: 13 Dates: 1997-98 History: Magneto's son gets his own short-lived series. Title: Gambit (Vol. 1) Issues: 25 Dates: 1999-2001 History: The solo adventures of everyone's favorite Ragin' Cajun. After a couple successful mini-series, Gambit had his first ongoing series. Title: Mutant X Issues: 32 Dates: 1998-2001 History: This series featured Havok, the brother of Cyclops, trapped in an alternate timeline. He arrived there following an explosion in the last issue of X-Factor (Vol. 1) (he had been the team leader of X-Factor). In the end, Havok gets back to his real timeline. Title: Bishop: The Last X-Man Issues: 16 Dates: 1999-2001 History: Bishop, who came from the future to fight for the X-Men, is trapped in another future, where he is the last X-Man. Some trippy time-travel stuff. Title: X-Treme X-Men Issues: 46 Dates: 2001-04 History: Writer Chris Claremont wrote Uncanny X-Men for a very long time. Shortly after he left that title, he created this series, which let him play with some of his favorite characters without having to follow as closely the continuity of the main Marvel universe (which Uncanny X-Men was closely linked to). Title: Exiles (Vol. 1) Issues: 100 Dates: 2001-08 History: A team of heroes (usually mutants) from different alternate timelines have to hop around the multi-verse fixing "broken" timelines. Every story arc was in a different alternate reality. This series is relaunched as New Exilesshortly after it is cancelled. Title: Agent X Issues: 15 Dates: 2002-03 History: This book was launched when the first Deadpool series was cancelled, and featured a protagonist who may or may not have been Deadpool (there was deliberate mystery about whether he was or wasn't). In the end he wasn't (mystery solved). Title: X-Statix Issues: 26 Dates: 2002-04 History: Mutants who are more interested in being famous than in saving the world. Title: Soldier X Issues: 12 Dates: 2002-3 History: This book was launched as Cable was canceled and featured Cable as the protagonist. The relaunch of Cable and Deadpool as Soldier X and Agent X respectively was meant to more closely link both titles with the popular X-titles, and hopefully increase sales. Neither books' sales increased. Title: Weapon X Issues: 28 Dates: 2002-04 History: The shadowy organization which gave Wolverine his adamantium is recruiting various mutants of questionable ethics for missions. Title: Wolverine (Vol. 2) Issues: 77 and counting Dates: 2003-today History: The relaunch of Wolverine's solo adventures, the title actually currently features the adventures of his son, Daken (though it did feature Wolverine's adventures for most of its issues, and will likely switch back to Wolverine stories eventually). Title: New Mutants (Vol. 2) Issues: 13 Dates: 2003-4 History: This title focused on a small group of the many young mutants enrolled at the Xavier Academy in order to learn to use their powers. It ran for 13 issues, when the title was changed to New X-Men: Academy X Title: Emma Frost Issues: 18 Dates: 2003-05 History: The formative years of the sometimes hero, sometimes villain are chronicled in this ongoing series. Title: Mystique Issues: 24 Dates: 2003-05 History: Mystique, the shape-shifting blue-skinned femme fatale, has her own spy-themed series. Title: Cable & Deadpool Issues: 50 Dates: 2004-07 History: The super-serious Cable and the always goofy Deadpool are paired up for crazy buddy adventures. Eventually the book featured a lot more Deadpool than Cable (in fact, for the last six issues Deadpool teamed up with random characters instead of Cable). Tons of fun, I'm a big fan of this series. Title: New Excalibur Issues: 13 Dates: 2004-05 History: This title had no relation to the previous Excalibur title, which may have alienated fans of the original series. This series dealt with Professor Xavier tries to build an ideal mutant society on the island of Genosha. Title: Alpha Flight Vol. 3 Issues: 12 Dates: 2004-05 History: An even shorter-lived revival of the adventures of Canada's superhero team (see Vol. 2 for the first short-lived revival). Title: New X-Men: Academy X Issues: 46 Dates: 2004-08 History: This series spun out of the second New Mutants volume, and carried over many of the same characters. It also featured many of the original New Mutants in roles as teachers at the Xavier Academy. Upon this title's cancellation, many of the characters and plots would be transferred to a new series called Young X-Men. Title: Astonishing X-Men Issues: 30 (and counting) Dates: 2004-present History: Joss Whedon (the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was paired with superstar artist John Cassaday to tell the best X-Men story he could. It was great. Though it was plagued by delays, their 24 issues were fantastic. Now written by Warren Ellis, this is also one of the main X-titles. Title: District X Issues: 14 Dates: 2004-05 History: A title featuring Bishop, now returned from the future (see: Bishop: The Last X-Man) acting as a cop in Mutant Town (an area of NYC where mutants congregate and live). With his human partner, they dealt with mutant/human tensions and crimes. Title: Gambit (Vol. 2) Issues: 12 Dates: 2004-05 History: The further adventures of Gambit, a character everyone seems to love, but that writers seem to struggle creating good solo stories for (I was found of this series, it was better than the first Gambit ongoing). Title: Nightcrawler Issues: 12 Dates: 2004-05 History: After a couple mini-series, the teleporting elf got his own ongoing. Sadly it only lasted for 12 issues (I liked this one as well, which dealt with supernatural ghostly things). Title: Rogue Issues: 12 Dates: 2004-05 History: I guess Marvel was letting lots of X-Men characters try a solo series in 2004, but not very many stuck around for more than 12 issues. Title: Wolverine: Origins Issues: 39 (and counting) Dates: 2006-present History: This title tells the adventures of Wolverine after he regains all of his memories (in the mini-series House of M), as he goes about settling old grudges and paying back those who wronged him (and helping out those he owes favors to). Title: X-Factor (Vol. 2) Issues: 46 (and counting) Dates: 2006-present History: This series takes many of the cast of the original X-Factor, but now has them running a detective agency. The series has a very noir feel, as opposed to the superhero adventures of most other X-titles. One of my favorite current titles. Title: Young X-Men Issues: 12 Dates: 2008-09 History: This title only ran for a year, it used many of the characters introduced in New X-Men: Academy X. When this series ended, many of the characters and plots were carried over into the third volume of New Mutants (so yes, for those keeping track, New Mutants volume 2 became New X-Men: Academy X, which became Young X-Men, which became New Mutants volume 3). Title: New Exiles Issues: 18 Dates: 2008-09 History: The continuing adventures of the Exiles, reality hopping, time line fixing heroes. Title: Captain Britain and MI:13 Issues: 15 Dates: 2008-09 History: Similar to Excalibur, this series featured a team of mutants operating in England. Title: Deadpoool (Vol. 2) Issues: 15 (and counting) Dates: 2008-present History: Deadpool is still a mercenary, he's still crazy, and he still knows he's a comic book character. Title: Cable (Vol. 2) Issues: 13 (and counting) Dates: 2008-present History: Cable is running through time protecting the last baby born as a mutant (after the House of M mini-series, no new mutants have been born). Title: X-Force (Vol. 2) Issues: 13 (and counting) Dates: 2008-present History: Cyclops sets up a group of mutants as a black ops team to do the dirty work that needs to be done to protect mutantkind. Title: New Mutants Issues: 3 (and counting) Dates: 2009-today History: This series focuses on the original cast of the 1983 New Mutants series, who are now adults. Title: Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth Issues: 3 (and counting) Dates: 2009-present History: Originally announced as a mini-series, this will now be a second ongoing title featuring Deadpool. ULTIMATE MARVEL UNIVERSE As you may have noticed above, it can be intimidating for a new reader to try and jump into the classic Marvel universe, because there is 40+ years of history and continuity. It is hard to find a good starting place. Marvel recognized this, and in 200 launched a special line of comics called Ultimate Marvel Comics. Ultimate Marvel Comics were meant to be inviting to new readers. They launched their premier comic titles as though they were starting for the first time in 2000. There was no confusing continuity. A new reader could jump right in. They have published ongoing Ultimate comic book titles for Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four. Thus, Ultimate X-Men might be a good jumping on point. Recently, Marvel had storyline which shook up the Ultimate universe, and currently there is no ongoing Ultimate X-Men title, though many of the characters appear in other Ultimate comic books. Title: Ultimate X-men Issues: 100 Dates: 2001-09 History: The first issue introduced a team of X-Men as though the reader had never heard of them before. Though the characters were based on the classic Marvel universe, they were not exact copies, and storylines diverged significantly from the classic Marvel universe. ALL AGES COMIC BOOKS Marvel also recognized that many of their comic books had some language, violence, and sexuality that might not be appropriate for younger readers (nothing R-rated, but certainly PG-13). So they have, at various times, printed comic books aimed at a young audience. These comics generally don't fit the continuity of the classic Marvel universe perfectly, but are fun light-hearted narratives. Title: Professor Xavier and the X-Men Issues: 18 Dates: 1995-97 History: Set in the earliest days of the X-Men. Title: X-Men: First Class (Vol. 1) Issues: 8 Dates: 2006-07 History: Stories set in the earliest era of the X-Men, with the very first team. Title: X-Men: First Class (Vol. 2) Issues: 18 Dates: 2007-08 History: The series was relaunched to gain more publicity, and hopefully more readers. Title: Wolverine: First Class Issues: 14 (and counting) Dates: 2008-present History: Stories featuring Wolverine that are appropriate for any reader. Title: Uncanny X-Men: First Class Issues: 3 (and counting) Dates: 2009-present History: This all age appropriate title focuses on the new team of X-Men which was introduced in 1975. Title: Weapon X: First Class Issues: 3 (and counting) Dates: 2009-present History: Stories involving Wolverine and many of his classic foes. ALTERNATE UNIVERSES There is one title that is currently being published that has no links official in-continuity links to the classic Marvel universe, the ultimate Marvel universe, or the All Ages books. It is called X-Men Forever. The series is written by Chris Claremont, who wrote Uncanny X-Men for almost two decades, as well as the first 3 issues of X-Men He left both titles without resolving all of the storylines he had going. X-Men Forever picks up with what would have been X-Men #4 had he not left the title, and lets him continue telling the stories he had plotted out as though he never left the book. Title: X-Men Forever Issues: 6 (and counting) Dates: 2009-present History: Picking up Claremont's stories as though he never left back in 1991. Where to Start Reading So there you have it. A pretty complete picture of what Marvel has published involving the X-Men. So...where to start. Here are some options: Ultimate X-Men: A natural point is the Ultimate X-Men series, it was created for new readers to jump in. All of the Ultimate X-Men run is available in trade paperbacks. At the very beginning: There are multiple ways you could start reading from the very first issue. Marvel publishes cheap black and white reprints of their older stories that are a great bang for your buck. They are called Essential volumes. However, much of the dialogue and even the pacing of the stories seems very dated if you start with the stuff from the 1960s. The Claremont years: Chris Claremont is the defining writer of the X-Men. Almost all of the stories in the 1990s cartoon were adapted from his writing. You can pick up Essential volumes that start with his run on the X-Men. Many of the classic X-Men stories are early in his run. Astonishing X-Men: Whedon's run is fantastic. It starts a new storyline, so you're not jumping in, and it offers enough background that you can figure out the characters pretty quickly. All of his run is collected in four trade paperbacks (starting with this one) or it's being collected in one big honking Omnibus. Read it all on a computer: You can buy 40 years of the Uncanny X-Men comic book as PDF files here. WHAT ABOUT OTHER MARVEL CHARACTERS? Fortunately no other Marvel character has a history quite so dense and convoluted as the X-Men. For most of those characters my recommendation is to start by picking up the first volume of the Essential reprints (available online or at most bookstores). One other option though, is to read some of the most classic Marvel stories. Marvel has a line of reprints called Marvel Premiere Classic, which reprints classic stories in a very nice hardcover format. If you type Marvel Premiere Classic into Amazon you'll see all that have been released so far. These include classic stories for their most popular characters, from the X-Men to Spider-Man to Iron Man. And, if they're reprinted in that line, the story is most likely well-regarded. Hope this helped. -Humble Master Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board ~ I've noticed recently that when I upload photos to Blogger, they come out super pixilated, almost like they are recompressing them. They haven't always done that; it's a recent thing. Any ideas on what changed? And is there any way I can fix it? I don't like having jpeg-ed photos on my blog. If it helps, I'm running Mac OS 10.6.1 and Safari 4.0.3. ~ Dragon Lady
ADear Dragon Lady, There are a few things that could contribute to this. First, it's possible that Blogger changed the way they produce scaled-down versions of pictures for your blog, and they use more compression now. I was also thinking it might be possible that it was due to the particular browser or operating system you were using, but I'm using Linux and tried a couple of pictures you referred to (with two different browsers) and I could see what you were talking about too, so I don't think that's it. The only real workarounds I can think of are these: first, upload your pictures somewhere else that uses less compression for its scaled-down images, and embed your pictures from there. Or second, you could upload versions of the pictures that are already scaled down and embed those originals, which would have whatever compression you chose. The only downside to that is that if you also wanted to have the full-size originals for people to see, you'd have to upload two copies of each picture (and resize them manually, too). This post from the Blogger help forums might help as well. Good luck! —Laser Jock Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, I want to move into a house with three of my roommates. It's in a single family zoning area, which means only 3 non-related people could live in it, according to zoning restrictions. One of my three roommates happens to be my cousin. Is that acceptable? If not, what are my options? Is there a way to get around it? Thanks, - House Hunting
ADear House Hunting, From what I can tell reading the Provo city code, I don't think having one of you be related will get you around the restriction. Check out the PDF for Title 14: Chapters 1-10. You didn't mention the exact zoning of the house, but assuming that it's a zone that allows one-family housing, here are the relevant definitions given in chapter 14 (I'm leaving out conditions that don't apply to you, so note that this isn't the entire definition given): "Family," unless otherwise expressly provided in this Title means:The only thing mentioned there that could even possibly allow more than three people to live in a single-family dwelling is if one of them is a head of household. And cousins don't cut it (read the definition in that PDF). I'm also not completely sure on how to read that mention of baching singles (again, see the PDF for the definition) considering the allowance of up to three related or unrelated individuals in subsection b(iii), but if anything subsection d would potentially disallow even three single college students in certain places. So it looks like you're going to have to find somewhere with different zoning. Sorry about that! (As always, if you want to be sure of the law, ask a lawyer.) —Laser Jock Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, What is the average class size in the Department of Visual Arts? -Charles Muntz
ADear Charlie, A good way to find this out would be by going into AIM to see how many spots are available for VA class sections. VA 111, at 158 students, is a fluke because it's a huge lecture class. Every other VA class has a class size limit of 18 at the most. VAILL, VAGD, VASTU and the others are similar, hovering at about 15. In my experience, though, art teachers are pretty generous with add/drop cards and I've had class sizes range into the mid-twenties. Cheers, Waldorf and Sauron Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, A year or two ago I was reading something about nature or photography, and read a quote about how God is the greatest artist, and the universe is his canvas, and he uses a wide paintbrush and isn't stingy with the color (he uses big strokes), or something like that. It was a very colorful quote, full of life, and now I'm trying to find it but my Internet searches are yielding nothing. There are a lot of people who've come up with that metaphor, but they don't SAY it the same way. Could you help me figure out who said this? I think it was said in a magazine or photography book, but it's been so long I'm not sure. Thanks for all your time, - Pour Dounde Pouedo Encuentraer L'Arte?
AL'Arte, "Artful is God" by Kim Fabricius. I believe this is the quote you were looking for, non? I read that one once on the back of a program somewhere and it was the first thing that came to mind, and after some searching around the internet it was still the most vibrant quote that matched your description that I could find. Hope that's helpful, -Ineffable Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, i just read on wikipedia that aaron eckhard graduated from byu and served a mission. obviously, he was raised lds. since he's become quite famous recently (ie the dark knight, thank you for smoking, and now a new movie coming out: love happens) i'm curious to know if he's active in the church; especially since he's starred in R movies. -person
ADear Person, Keep reading the Wikipedia article you cited. Love, Waldorf and Sauron ADear person, Holy fetch! -Mico ADear person, For all you readers who don't want to click through to websites that may later disappear, the answer is that he does not currently live an LDS lifestyle and doesn't really consider himself a Mormon. You're welcome, -Yellow ADear person and chums, He dated one of the SheDaisy chicks a while back, I wonder how that went... Dr. Smeed Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, What are the 23 digits that comprise Avogadro's number? - Marry the Mole
ADear Mole, Are you familiar with American Scientist? It is a great resource for science-y questions. They come to the conclusion that one of the best current estimates for Avogadro's number is 602,214,141,070,409,084,099,072. Unless you plan to recite that number at swanky science parties, for simplicity's sake, just stick with 6.022 x 10^23. -Mico ADear Marry, This isn't really related at all, but I couldn't resist bragging about it--the opportunity comes so rarely, and I am so proud of this. When I was in chemistry my senior year of high school, we had a big Mole competition for Mole Day. Everyone had to create some sort of mole, and then we voted for who had the best. I came up with a "Last of the Mole-hicans" beanbag doll, which I made entirely by myself. He had a hand-embroidered loincloth, a feather headdress, and a working miniature bow and arrow. When judging time came, I even shot one of the arrows, which just knocked everyone's socks off! Yes, my friends, I won! -Miss Scarlett, in the Conservatory Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, A comment in the answer to my Board Question #53529 struck me a bit oddly: "So while your action would technically be illegal, I would have no problem with it." If we are encouraged to disobey or act to change unjust laws, and if we know that in the end days the "Constitution of the nation will hang by a thread", but are expected to act the same regardless... then what application does the 12th Article of Faith have in our lives? Should there be an addendum: "... insofar as we, personally, find them to be good"? I don't mean to sound preachy, because I personally feel fine with the idea of rebelling against unjust laws, as civil protest or otherwise. But I'm curious as to how I might reconcile these seemingly contradictory principles. - Walden (PS: Sadly, Miss Scarlett, I can't take credit for the pun. It was first mentioned in The Lion King 2, hence my tied-in usage. I am glad you liked it, though. ^^)
ADear Walden, We've discussed this issue before in Board Question #51710 and Board Question #51767. You might also be interested in Board Question #51204 or Board Question #51754. Love, Waldorf and Sauron ADear Walden, I think the addendum is implied. When a situation is unclear, we are encouraged to come to a personal decision, seeking personal revelation as necessary. Man passing a law does not make a law correct. If it did, we would not have had the whole issue with Proposition 8 in California. Eventually a law will get passed, somewhere, that is contrary to the core doctrine of the Church. Much as Daniel refused to stop praying to God, it would be inappropriate to follow all laws merely because they are laws. We should continually evaluate the laws of our government and decide if they are appropriate. I think a big part of the issue is that from a legal standpoint the only thing that can be applied using logical arguments is the letter of the law. Unfortunately, it is easy to forget the spirit of the law altogether and follow the letter of the law ad absurdum. It's too bad that those writing the Constitution didn't have access to a more advanced format than parchment and quill. How awesome would it be to have the entire revision history of the document along with personal notes from the contributors and side-notes about compromises made and intended interpretation? Very. That's how awesome it would be. Sadly, the best we can do is the Federalist Papers. Anyway... I got a little sidetracked there. Please, consider and debate the laws in (y)our country. We are living by this social contract, don't just assume that it is correct or acceptable. -Curious Physics Minor P.S. I believe jury nullification should be widely taught and given as instruction to the jury in any criminal case. If you don't believe the law is just it is your right, nay, duty to refuse to convict someone under that law. For this belief I will probably never be accepted onto a jury, if the attorneys think to ask anyway. ADear Walden, Just like “unless your ox is in the mire” isn’t directly attached to the command to keep the Sabbath holy, the exceptions to the Twelfth Article of Faith are elsewhere in the Standard Works. For example, in D&C 134:
So men should sustain their governments “while protected in their inherent and inalienable rights by the laws of such governments.” There’s a case to be made that the DMCA’s goofy restrictions on backing up or ripping purchased DVDs are an infringement on the “right and control of property,” which verse 2 suggests is an inherent and inalienable right. If all this is true, we are clearly not required to sustain such a law. Now for a brief soapbox: there’s something to be said for obeying even silly laws just on the principle of respect for law in general. Example: crosswalks. I wait for the light to change, even when no one's coming, because it’s an easy way to demonstrate respect for the law to myself and to God even if no one else cares. I used to tend to an inappropriately cavalier attitude towards the law and like to train myself away from that, so I’ll follow even some goofy or outright unjustified laws just to strengthen the principle if all it costs me is a little money or time. However, even given that, if you want to make backups of your DVDs or whatever, I think I’ve got to say more power to you. ~Ƥ. Ɗ. Kirĸe Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, Where are the most common spots in Utah to propose? -Rekrab
ADear Rekrab, I had an old friend whose brother took his girlfriend to each of what he deemed the most common proposal spots on the same date, just to drive her crazy. He first took her to The Roof restaurant, atop the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake. They then walked down to Temple Square. Then they went on a horse-drawn carriage ride. At each of these three popular proposal spots, he found a reason to get down on one knee, just to justify it with some stupid reason ("Oh, sorry, just dropped my fork"). He was lucky she said yes when he finally did propose later that night, up a canyon. While I'm not so sure about the carriage ride, I've heard multiple accounts of proposals at the other three locations. ~Hermia ARead Baker, Temple Square, for sure. Nary has the time been whence my foot trod upon that hallowed ground that I haven't seen a couple in the act of proposal. You can't add me to that crowded list though; I proposed in Midvale Park in Midvale, Utah. Dr. Smeed ADear Rekrab, Hermia and Dr. Smeed pretty much nailed it with Temple Square. I don't know how common this is throughout all of Utah, but I've also seen a lot of people propose at the fountain in the JFSB quad on the BYU campus. That seems to be a happening place. -Sky Bones Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, Halloween is fast approaching, and I'm brainstorming for a costume. My options are somewhat limited by the fact that I have a mustacheless beard, which I'm not willing to shave off for a costume. I was already Brigham Young last year, so that's out. So far I've thought of a leprechaun or Dr Teeth from the Muppets. Any other ideas? - Diemer
AI like to use Halloween to make a commentary on current events. This year, I'm going to copy the Constitution onto a white dress, slash it up with a knife, and wear it over a blue spandex bodysuit. Of course, it wouldn't matter if you have a beard for that one. You could keep other current events and political happenings in mind, as well as historical and popular culture, in mind when you make your costume... How about Zeus, or Poseidon? Both are traditionally portrayed as bearded. Sigmund Freud is another option, and the mention of his name usually stirs up varying opinions. John Lennon (the later years) would be a fun pick, as well. For a completely random "huh?" costume, you could always go as James A. Garfield. ✭Banana Republican ADear Diemer, How about Mose, Dwight's cousin from The Office? Or perhaps just a random Amish person. - Rating Pending (who would go around saying, "'Tis a fine costume, English," all night) ADear, You might also consider these ... characters? people? beings? with beards, but no mustaches: Captain Sham/Count Olaf (from A Series of Unfortunate Events,) A lion Abraham Lincoln -Uffish Thought Back to top QDear Hobbes, How did you get so good-looking and intelligent? It never ceases to amaze me. I don't really have anything to write, but I find I just can't keep my mind off you for five minutes together, so I had to write you this. Hey, if I sent you my contact information, would you deign to take me on a date? -Natalie Portman/Padme PS. I just found a copy of the Book of Mormon and have been baptized into the Church.
ADear Hobbes, Nice try. - Furious George ADear Padme~ Did I write this? Shoot, I mean, this seems like something I would write, what with the double-space before the sig and everything, but, did I write this? I'm certain I did. Perhaps I was showing someone how to use the Board and I've forgotten all about it. Weird. ~Hobbes Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, I just watched the video Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction. To me, the video footage of this "autopsy" seems blatantly obvious that the figure being cut open isn't real. What do you think? Do you think that's a real alien or a prop made by humans? Also, what do you think "aliens" really look like? I know that there is life on other planets but I don't believe that these beings would have huge heads with no hair, huge eyes, etc. I believe that they would look like us and be in the image of God. -Ninja Warrior
ADear Ninja Warrior, I agree. I think that the "alien" was just a prop that was used to feed into extraterrestrial hysteria. I also think (of course, this isn't scripture) that beings on other worlds would have been created in God's image, and that they would be more similar to us than to ET. Of course, none of us can really have a definitive answer on the subject, but it just doesn't make sense to me that beings on other planets would be all that different from us. I'm too disappointed about the football game to think of a witty remark, ⋯Anomalous ANinja- I think one would have to be extremely gullible to believe that the "alien" they used was the real deal. So far as I know, the only aliens we've ever found were microorganisms, and even they were long since dead. If there is multicellular, sentient life elsewhere in the universe, it is my personal belief that it would be very similar to humans. - Cuddlefish Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, I just realized that I used the wrong preposition in my soft hands question. So, let me ask this again: Is there anything special WITH a guy with soft hands? - Pillows
ADear Pillows, If the guy with soft hands has a pet monkey with him who will answer to his beck and call, then I would imagine that he has something special with him. Ooh, a pet monkey... ⋯Anomalous ADear Pillows, Ooh, I can play this game too! Let's try 'around.' He might have a hula hoop around him! 'Above'? Mistletoe, maybe? Ah, I think I know: 'athwart'! No, wait, that makes it sound like a tree fell across him. And having a broken back is hardly special. (Unless you get cool superpowers, I guess. Bark Man?) Perchance the word you're looking for is 'about'? I have to say, your new question makes no more sense to me than the first version. (Thanks for eliciting some fun answers from my fellow writers, though.) —Laser Jock ADear Pillows, I would imagine that he might have a bottle of lotion with him. Just sayin'. (Please...please ask it again. This is too funny.) -Commander Keen ADear Pilla, Yeah I'm really not sure your question is coming across like you intended. Still. My best guess is that you mean to say something like this: "Are ladies especially attracted to guys with soft hands?" If that's what you're asking, I'd say, not really. As long as his hands aren't sandpapery and calloused beyond recognition, girls won't pay much attention, but there are likely some girls who would appreciate it. Maybe you're asking, "Do I, as a man with pillowy-soft hands, have something special about me that most other men don't? Like a soft-hands super-power?", in which case I say, sure, you do. It usually takes effort to get soft hands and most guys don't put forth the effort. Or maybe this is a joke or a reference over our heads, in which case, well...okay. Good luck with that, Waldorf and Sauron ADear pillowy, Bark Man is a noble and tireless public crusader for good horticulture and arboriculture. He roams the city with pruning shears and Miracle Gro, and delivers swift justice to loggers and overly zealous urinating dogs. His hands, while firm and masculine, are soft as a baby's behind. Drives the lady arborists wild, let me tell you. Bark Man, Away! -Cognoscente Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, What is the oldest traceable, provable blood line? I would suspect a royal family, but I am especially interested in the "provable" side of the question. - Bored Engineer
ABored Engineer- I personally have one that traces all the way back to Adam, supposedly through Joseph of Aramathea. I don't know of any way to prove it false, so I bet it's as accurate as anyone else's. - Cuddlefish ADear Bored Engineer, Several websites talk about the Lurie family, which can apparently trace itself conclusively to King David. Apparently they appear in the Guinness Book of World Records for this feat. - The Black Sheep Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, I was watching a football game today (GO HOKIES!), and I was confused about when the game clock would stop and start. Sometimes the game clock continued running between downs, and sometimes only the play clock ran while the game clock was stopped. I watched for a pattern, but was unable to find one. Can you please explain NCAA football timing rules to me? - Fairweather Fan
ADear Fairweather The game clock stops after an incomplete pass or a player with the ball runs out of bounds, and starts when the ball is hiked on the next play. If a player is tackled in bounds, the game clock keeps running. The play clock starts once the ref blows a play dead. However, if a team achieves a first down, the game clock and the play clock stop temporarily while the first down chains are moved, and both begin running again once the referee signals that the chains are in place. Unless the player with the ball ran out of bounds after getting enough yards for a first down, in which case the play clock starts when the ref signals the chains are in place, but the game clock does not start until the ball is hiked. The game clock also stops when a team calls timeout, and will not start until the ball is snapped. Once upon a time the game clock stopped after a change of possession (punt, interception, or fumble), but I believe the NCAA changed that rule last year to speed up the game. -Humble Master Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, In Lord of the Beans (best Veggietales video ever), the Silly Song with Larry features a yelling elf with translation written at the bottom of the screen. What is the phonetic pronunciation of her elvish tongue? - Go kiss a spork! I leave now to do laundry.
ADear Veggie fan, In case anyone's interested: Part One: Ami-tu-die-EE? Nami-tu-die-EE? Nami-nah-TIN-ah! Gali-lah-KIA! Dee-da, dee-dah! Gali-la-KA-la-la-kid-a! Al-fa-bee-da-OCK tu TEE-ah! DOO-ah, DOO-ah, DOO-ah! Part Two: In-ah-lee-ELL-dah, in-ah-lee-ELL-dah? Ah-tia-ah-me-sigh. Les-AH-bee-cow. Latilla, latilla? Dia! Dee-ah-da-da! Dah lah! - Rating Pending (who isn't a huge Veggie Tales fan, but admits he smiled at *SPOILER ALERT!* "elvish impersonator") Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, In Relief Society last week, the teacher said that Brigham Young was trying to distance himself from Emma Smith and that he did not want her family to come west. Is that true? I know that there are accounts of Mary Fielding Smith not being welcome with her wagon train heading west. Why does it seem that the early church did not like the Smith family after Joseph and Hyrum were killed? - Perturbed Provobian
ADear Perturbed Provobian, There are still members of the Church who don't quite know how they feel about the Smith family after Joseph's death. One of the big reasons is the fact that Emma did not beleive that Brigham Young was to supposed to succeed Joseph; Joseph had said in a blessing that his son, Joseph Smith III, would succeed him as prophet. Emma believed that this meant her son would be her husband's immediate successor; many in the Church believe that this meant Joseph Smith III would have eventually had the opportunity of succeeding his father in some way had the Smith family followed the Church west. It didn't help that Emma and Brigham had many clashes of wills after Joseph's death (one involving something as temporal as who would occupy the Nauvoo House). They were both strong-willed people, and often disagreed. I would imagine that such a relationship, coupled with Emma's refusal to recognize Brigham as the prophet, would have disinclined Brigham from wanting Emma along on the grueling journey west. Now, please don't be too perturbed, my dear Provobian. I'm sure you've heard it before: the Church is comprised only of imperfect people, save its divine head, Jesus Christ. Emma and Brigham's frosty relationship does not alter the fact that Brigham was the appointed prophet for his time, and that Emma was an elect lady who sacrificed an incredible amount for her husband and for the gospel. Should Brigham have at least attempted to improve his relationship with Emma? Probably (we'll never know for sure that he didn't). Should Emma have trusted that the Lord had appointed Brigham Young to succeed her husband and brought her family west? Yes. However, I would personally feel presumptuous beyond measure to pretend to know how I would have acted in Emma's place. No one will know what Emma endured but Emma herself. Her home was never her own. She watched her husband endure mob violence and unjust imprisonment. She lost many of her children in infancy. She didn't take kindly to the doctrine of plural marriage (big understatement). Ultimately, her husband was taken to Carthage and came back in a coffin. I imagine that no other woman in this Church will be asked to sacrifice as much for the furthering of the gospel as Emma Smith. Let us simply leave her to the Lord's judgment, which will be more merciful and just than anything we could devise. ~Hermia ADear Perturbed, Brigham Young was a great leader, and an excellent instrument of the Lord. I wholly believe that he was a prophet, seer and revelator. However, he wasn't perfect and was not always mild mannered. You know the saying, "whether or not everything a prophet says is inspired, he's still a very wise man that's very close to the Lord, and we would do well to listen to him." People often trusted Brigham Young's opinion even when he was only speaking as a man, and this included his extremely low regard for Emma. He condemned her publicly... She had sacrificed her "one flesh," the one she had left father and mother to cleave to- wealth, security, children's graves littered her path to follow God... Brigham Young should not have said what he said. But he did, and it set the opinion of the body of the Church against her for nearly a century. Brigham Young and Emma always had a tense relationship, but this sentiment exploded after President Smith was murdered. Emma, trying to protect her fatherless children, was focused on claiming their inheritance. However Joseph Smith never kept his two worlds separate, and Church property vs. personal effects was hard to distinguish. Brigham and Emma fought to claim what they felt was their right to keep, and it led to bitter legal debates. This created animosity with the whole family as Emma was very close to the Smith family, especially her mother-in-law. Things got more heated than they needed to, and there was no way to reconcile the two strong personalities after so much ill-will between them. Brigham Young was also the poster boy for polygamy while Emma's acceptance of the idea was half-hearted to say the least. On top of the confusion of succession with her son that Hermia brought up, she was probably just outright opposed to the idea of Brigham Young being a prophet. Brigham Young naturally repulsed her, then she thought he was trying to rob her children, and on top of it all he was still stressing a doctrine she didn't have a testimony of. Many of us at least had a few seconds of doubt when President Monson took over for President Hinckley. Imagine that not only had President Hinckley been the only prophet you could remember, but the only prophet in a thousand years. And President Monson openly disliked you and you were convinced that he had cheated you. And every other address he gave was on denouncing same-sex marriage or some other aspect of the Church that's been giving you a lot of difficulty lately. President Young was probably less than inviting to Emma, but she also just didn't want to go. There had already been so many sacrifices in her life that leaving Nauvoo was too much for her to take on alone when she wasn't even convinced that she should go. -Ineffable Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, Why does our football team ALWAYS crack under pressure? Do you think it's just individuals whose personalities make them tend to choke? Or is it a coaching deficiency? Can you even coach someone out of choking under pressure? - blehhhh
ADear disgusted, What about two weeks ago against Oklahoma? I think "ALWAYS" is overstating it. I'm not terribly excited about the outcome of today's game against Florida State, and frankly I didn't expect it at all, but c'mon. Don't rag on our team like that. They don't deserve it. —Laser Jock ADear sorry you slipped off the bandwagon Excuse me? How short is your memory? May I remind you of TWO WEEKS AGO!?!?! The Oklahoma game was a far bigger win than a win against Florida State would have been. I understand you're frustrated. I was yelling at the tv for most of the Florida State game, and my wife had to ask me not to punch the furniture at one point after it made a disturbing rattle. But to say they "always crack under pressure" two weeks after they won a game at a hostile stadium against the number 3 team in the country when they were 20+ point underdogs is RIDICULOUS. Go find some other fair-weather fans to complain to. Oh, and if you want to to blame three straight 10-win seasons, one of the highest win percentages in the entire nation, and a couple conference championships on a coaching deficiency, I think you need your memory refreshed about the history of the coach previous to Bronco Mendenhall. -Humble Master ADear blehhh, Humble Master and Laser Jock have already covered everything that needs to be said here, so I have just one word for you: Really? ~Ƥ. Ɗ. Kirĸe ADear blehhh A follow up to my earlier post. Today I read an article which had the following analysis from a sports psychologist (Ron Chamberlain, who teaches at BYU):
Overall, the article was poorly written and lacked focus, but the section which quoted Chamberlain was pretty insightful. Once things start to not go their way, non-BCS teams may be more prone to panic, because they have zero wiggle room. One tendency which we've seen a few times from Max Hall is an attempt to force plays when BYU is playing catch up. He did this against TCU, Utah, and Arizona last year. But, he had one of the most perfect drives a BYU offense has ever had against Oklahoma, so he has improved. But in this game, in the second half, he may have forced a few passes which led to turnovers (however, the first interception in the second half should have been pass interference). -Humble Master Back to top QDear 100 Hour Board, Were one so inclined, where would one find more specific maps of the campus and buildings vis r vis general features, dimensions, room names, secrets or things otherwise impressive/off-chancedly useful to know. Mind you, these don't have to be blueprints-- they simply need to contain a good bit more information-wise than that silly blue shell-of-a-map handout. Thanks guys! - Proteus Q. Whaleburg II
ADear Proteus, Plantwo.byu.edu and map.byu.edu. Love, Waldorf and Sauron |
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