#NerdsUnite: Nerdy Neutrons (Cats vs. Dogs)

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @ashleighmayes and @saintpepsi

@saintpepsi
That's right you crazy kids the Nerdy Neutrons are back. Been too long and I know you all have been jonesing for a fix. So this time we launch into Cats VS Dogs. See I know Ashley has a puppy that she adores. Well We have Frank the coolest cat sense people started using the phrase cool cat. So I'll start on why I am so much more a cat person than a Dog person. Starting with Dogs bark! I know it's a sign of warning and they are trying to protect their owners... Blah Blah Blah! Cat's don't bark and meowing is cute. I feel like I end up telling a dog to shut up way more often than I ever would a cat. When I come home to Frank it's a nuzzle and with his super soft long fur it's the most amazing feeling in the world. You just surrender to his desire to be petted. When I come home to my Roommates Girlfriends DOG! BARK! BARK! BARK! Before I ever even enter the house. No matter how long we have known each other. That dog will bark at anyone even its owners before they see it. It’s a mind numbing awful loud noise. Ashleigh your dog’s defense.

@ashleighmayes
My dog's defense? Easy one, Jordan! Otis is amazing. Simply put. Otis might bark, but I feel a MILLION times safer living alone with a dog, who can warn me when something's up outside in my ghetto neighborhood! On top of that, dogs are awesome because they wait for you to come home. They think about you all day. You're their one and only. With a cat it's like "Oh hey! There's my can opener. Now do your job!" Not only that, but my kitten is ALWAYS breaking things. She's ALWAYS trying to get to my bird. You may say it's instinct, but in that case, my dog should be trying to hurt cats, right? Nope! Otis is gentle and would NEVER chase a cat!

@saintpepsi
You want protection. Frank is all about protection. He left a dead baby bunny on my doorstep the other day when I was bringing a date home. You can imagine her assumed feeling of safety knowing we had a ferocious killer who guarded our house from cute woodland creatures. Actually, that girl didn't see it that way at all. That date didn't end so well. No girl wants to kiss a guy, that just handled an adorable dead bunny... Pretty sure that happened on Easter Sunday too. Also he killed the stray cat that lives on our block, as there was fur all over the road and frank looked like he had bathed in blood just sleeping all cute like near the fireplace. I just don't think I'd feel as safe with a dog. Not when we have a Ninja Death Machine. He makes a fantastic purring keyboard rest, a lap warmer, kitty paw alarm clock, and most importantly Frank doesn't smell like a wet dog. Just saying. Ok, not my most convincing paragraph.

@ashleighmayes
Well it's funny you mention smells....my dog knows how to go outside. Have you ever got a whiff of a full litterbox?? I have cats and love 'em, but why can't they use the toilet or clean their own box?? Cat litter is expensive for the good stuff and the cheap kind is terrible!! My Otis just needs a good tree or patch of grass!

@saintpepsi
My cat does a decent amount of his business outside. I will agree with you that a cat box and the not so subtle smell of ammonia is nothing good to walk past. Aside from the cuteness of cats. I gotta say I feel like you kicked my ass in this one. I suppose this is why dogs are man's best friend and cats are small assumed gods. I won't be changing my tiger stripes to a spot over one eye and a wagging tale just yet but I concede this battle to you dearest Ashleigh. Your dog seems to fall in the realm of a pretty powerful companion. Still I think you'll have to meet Frank, before making your final assessment. Until then I give this battle to you. All hail Ashleigh the canine capitalizer. Man, I really thought I had this one in the bag and you threw my bag in the river.

@ashleighmayes
I see where you're coming from. To argue against myself, cats are far less needy than dogs. When I leave, my Otis barks and barks and barks. My neighbors have complained before! With my cats, I'm just a can opener! This is a bad thing AND a good thing! They don't care if I leave!! But they greet me just as my dog does when I get home. In this instance, I think we can agree to disagree and call it a tie. There's a reason that man domesticated each, and to each their own. Good battle, my friend. Good battle.

#nerdsunite

Click here to follow Ashleigh on twitter ... and don't miss her blog over yonder!

And click here to follow Jordan on the twittah!

#AccuRATe: A Look at Development: Day 6

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's Ashleigh Mayes

Hey, guys! Ashleigh here with another accuRATe look at the development of the rat. Now, I’d originally said I’d write an article a day, but, upon further thought, I decided that every couple of days would show more contrast. I myself had not seen the babies for about three days. Last night, I went to check on them and WOWZA! Check it out! They’re friggin’ HUGE (comparatively, anyway)! These little guys are now six days old. Since the last update, a LOT has happened. For one, patterns and colors are showing up on their skin. My little guys all look like they’re going to be dark/black like their momma (photos of her to come later!)! No more pinkness! (Ever wonder what “pinkies” are? “Pinkies” are reptile food. The term refers to baby rats that are so newborn that they have yet to develop their color!) The ears are more detached than they were, the legs and toes are noticeably longer, and the facial structure is much, much more defined. In other words: they’re getting cuter every day! What’s next? They’re LITERALLY FOUR days away from having a full coat of fur! Over the course of just today, their fur should come in!

Got questions? I’ll write one helluva answer! Find me on Twitter: @ashleighmayes and @kryptodies and don’t forget to check out my radass website!

#nerdsunite



#ComicReview: Giant Robot Warriors

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's Ashleigh Mayes

Everyone loves robots, no? Today's review is "Giant Robot Warriors" by Stuart Moore and Ryan Kelly. Initially, the badass cover is what led me to pick up this book. Seriously, look at it! Little did I know, the book would be dripping with humor, politics (love me some!), and serious rivalries. The book, overall, shows us what we, as Americans, love to fight other's wars. The novel is centered around Rufus. Personally, at first, I can't stand the kid. He's the self-proclaimed "pretty-boy" face of the project who seems only concerned with public relations. His form of PR? Flirting with talkshow hosts, news reporters, and whatever female is in the vicinity. He even goes so far as to take a group of girls into the top-secret lab of the Giant Robot Warrior Project. On top of that, he bad-mouths his bosses on public television! Rufus' boss, Walther, is the butt of all of his fat jokes. On more than one occasion, Walther storms out of the bar in embarrassment and frustration. Throughout the course of the book, it is found out that the President (who, without any attempt at disguise, looks oddly like President Bush) is a robot. He glitches and calls the middle-eastern people "towel heads". Before an all-out war takes place between two middle-eastern countries, the United States gets involved and shows up with a GRW of their own. The battle takes places and...you'll have to read to get the ending. :)

I really did enjoy reading "Giant Robot Warriors". Though slow at first, the book picks up quickly. It's a pretty quick read. The jokes are somewhat cheesy, but I think it was meant to be reflective on the good ol' U.S.of A.

Well...on to the rating, shall we?

Creativity of Writing: 3.5/5  I realize that this novel was originally put out around the time of "Transformers". Maybe that's what bugs me about it...that it reminds me of "Transformers". However, I really do enjoy the plot. The United States goes off to fight a war when things are falling apart on the homefront, but somehow, everything is saved at the end of the day. On top of that, the U.S. wins the war between the two middle-eastern countries. The characters feel unique and well developed. The relationships and the strain between the characters adds depth to the story. Especially the rivalry between Rufus and Walther (which is resolved rather funnily, at the end). I feel that, by giving Americans something they could relate to and an icon that they realize (Bush), the story seems more real and the danger seems more intense. Drawing the reader into the comic on a personal level is a sign of success, if you ask me.

Creativity of Art: 4/5 I dig the straight black-and-white art. I also like that the comic feels extremely detailed although it may not be at all times. The characters are definitely interesting looking and I like that they are shown at unique, not necessarily flattering, angles. I also love looking at the unique robots.

Overall Casual Read Rating: 4/5 The politics is definitely the main reason I love this comic. Then, the turmoil. I feel like it's entertaining, but not necessarily as developed as it could be. I do recommend it, but I think that a very specific group of people would like it, despite every American being able to relate to it.

#nerdsunite

Click here to follow Ashleigh on twitter ... and don't miss her blog over yonder!

#AccuRATe: A Look At Development: Day 1

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's Ashleigh Mayes

There’s nothing like life- or death- being thrown in your face to make you realize how funny it is. Seriously…have you ever thought about it? What are the odds that YOU would be born? Furthermore, what are the odds that you would make it? With mankind, it’s not that hard. We’ve got advances in medicine that people of the past couldn’t even imagine (that’s why most families had a crapload of kids…to ensure that their name would go on because not EVERY kid would make it past infanthood). But…what about nature? What about birds and bugs and animals?

The other day I adopted some foster rats. I’ve raised rats for the past, oh, two years. Say what you want, but if you do your homework, you’ll see that rats make AMAZING pets. Anyway…back to what I was saying. Within the first couple of days, you want to leave the rats alone. Let them get used to their surroundings…. Rats (and other small rodents) are very easily stressed with new owners (especially the older they are and the longer they’ve been with their previous owner), surroundings, and scents. I check on them once a day and then I feed them. The second time I looked into the cage, there was BLOOD EVERYWHERE. Immediately, I ripped the lid off of the cage and started digging. I was met by a very frustrated momma rat, mid-birth.

She’d delivered one baby already and he seemed to be doing fine. The second baby, however, didn’t fare well. I watched her deliver the third baby. He immediately opened up his mouth a squealed. That made me happy but sad at the same time. The first two babies were just laying there…this baby was squirming all over the place, trying to find food. I decided to leave her to it and get some sleep.

Needless to say, when I woke up in the morning, the babies who didn’t make it were gone. See…when any animal that is considered “prey” has offspring that doesn’t make it, their instinct tells them to get rid of the baby for the good of the litter. There’s only one way to do that. Yup. Ingestion. Yum.  The scent attracts predators and that’s no bueno. The same concept applies to your cat. Ever wonder why the hell they bathe so much after a meal? It’s to get the scent of the food off of their fur. It’s not so much a big deal with a house cat, but their much larger and wilder ancestors would have bloody fur.

Back to the rats. Three babies made it. This is your day one report. When a baby rat is born, it has a white streak across its stomach. That’s called a “milk band”. It’s kind of like the yolk of an egg. The baby feeds off of it after it’s born. It ensures that the baby won’t die if it can’t quite get to the mom constantly. Transparent skin allows you to see this milk band. They pretty much look like little beans, still. They don’t have distinct toes and their ears are attached to their head. If a baby has black/blue looking eyes, the adult will have the same color. If no eye color shows through, the rat will have pink/red eyes. They’re vocalizing a lot, because, honestly, what would you do if you were blind and deaf?

Before you get too attached to these little guys, remember, nothing is guaranteed. The father to this particular litter is 4 or 5 years old. A rat’s life span is 3-5 years. His “seed” is literally no good. The two litters that he fathered before this one had no survivors. I have high hopes for these babies, but nature is cruel.

Check back for more updates!

#nerdsunite

Click here to follow Ashleigh on twitter ... and don't miss her blog over yonder!

#ComicNews: Mouse Guard/ The Dark Crystal Flipbook Covers Released

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's KryptoDies

I WANT this!! I'm SUCH a huge Mouse Guard fan! If anyone can hook me up, let me know, ok? I'll love you FOREVER! <3

Official Press Release

Archaia has released the covers for its Free Comic

Book Day flipbook, "Mouse Guard/The Dark Crystal, and announced that writer Brian Holguin (Aria, Spawn) and artist Alex Sheikman (Robotika) as the creative team on The Dark Crystal story.

MOUSE GUARD/THE DARK CRYSTAL Free Comic Book Day Flipbook

Archaia presents two, amazing, all-new stories in one fantastic flipbook—David Petersen’s Eisner Award-winning MOUSE GUARD and Jim Henson’s beloved THE DARK CRYSTAL share the spotlight on Free Comic Book day! On one side of the book, a brand-new tale of the fan-favorite MOUSE GUARD, elite warrior mice tasked with protecting common mice from predators, the elements and other dangers. It’s the perfect introduction to MOUSE GUARD for new fans, and a rewarding treat for existing ones! On the other side of the book, Archaia Entertainment is proud to present an exclusive prelude to its forthcoming series of THE DARK CRYSTAL graphic novels, featuring covers, art direction and concepts by Brian Froud, conceptual designer of the original film! This prelude begins the epic creation story of the world of Thra, and explores the origins of the world of THE DARK CRYSTAL!

As a bonus, the issue will also contain a sneak peek of Jim McCann and Janet Lee’s TIME OF THE DAPPER MEN, a sequel to the critically acclaimed RETURN OF THE DAPPER MEN, coming this fall. Additionally, fans of Jim Henson will also get an advance look at TALE OF SAND, an original graphic novel coming in September based on a never-before-seen screenplay written by Henson and Jerry Juhl!

For more information on Free Comic Book Day, visit the official website at http://freecomicbookday.com/.

Retail Price: Free

Page Count: 32 pages

Format: saddle bound, 8” x 8”, full color

Release Date: May 7, 2011

(W) David Petersen and Brian Holguin

(A) David Petersen and Alex Sheikman

(Cov) The Dark Crystal – Brian Froud; Mouse Guard – David Petersen

Click here to follow Ashleigh on Twitter: @KryptoDies and check out more of her blog over yonder!