Comments on: MetaFilter: Across the 8th Dimension!

MetaFilter: Across the 8th Dimension!

lekvar — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 14:02:54 -0800

See this glass. It's solid matter, right? See this glass. It's solid matter, right? But in point of fact, the solid parts of this glass --the protons, quarks, your neutrons and electrons -they comprise only one quadrillionth of its total volume. The science behind Buckaroo Banzai and the Oscillation Overthruster (via)

By: Divine_Wino

Divine_Wino — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 14:10:02 -0800

May I pass along my congratulations for your great interdimensional breakthrough. I am sure, in the miserable annals of the Earth, you will be duly enshrined.

By: phaedon

phaedon — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 14:16:45 -0800

MetaFilter: What a bunch of bosons.

By: eriko

eriko — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 14:24:30 -0800

MetaFilter: What a bunch of bosons. Yes. They should be lepton.

By: koeselitz

koeselitz — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 14:39:57 -0800

Excellent use of the laughwhileyoucanmonkeyboy tag, John.

By: mek

mek — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 14:46:35 -0800

This movie will star Eddie Murphy, amirite?

By: xod

xod — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 14:49:01 -0800

Where are we going?!

By: delmoi

delmoi — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:00:32 -0800

the article was written in 1984...

By: ZenMasterThis

ZenMasterThis — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:00:55 -0800

No matter where you go, there you are.

By: lekvar

lekvar — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:06:43 -0800

delmoi, I saw that too. But my internet access was pretty tenuous back then.

By: xod

xod — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:08:07 -0800

the article was written in 1984... The only reason time exists is so everything doesn't happen at once.

By: dhartung

dhartung — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:12:09 -0800

Why is there a watermelon there?

By: George_Spiggott

George_Spiggott — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:22:04 -0800

Home is where you wear your hat.

By: eparchos

eparchos — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:26:10 -0800

Not to be too much of a nerd, but glass is not exactly a solid....

By: Luddite

Luddite — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:28:36 -0800

Another classy imdb summary Plot Outline: Adventurer/surgeon/rock musician Buckaroo Banzai and his band of men, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, take on evil alien invaders from the 8th dimension. Tagline: Beings from Another Dimension have invaded your world. I think I may have to see this film...

By: Luddite

Luddite — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:31:06 -0800

And, guess what, DVD and Novel now in stores! (preview comic selling out!) Must... fight... cynicism...

By: xod

xod — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:31:43 -0800

Why is a watermelon trapped between those monstrous pressure plates deep within the Institute's Critical Stress Laboratory?" Team Banzai botanical agronomists have been for years hard at work on the problem of hunger in Third World countries under constant revolutionary turmoil. A nonpolitical, humanitarian effort, their goal has been to find ways to feed starving peoples in remote areas where traditional food delivery systems prove woefully inadequate. Often, the only way to get the nourishment into the bellies of the needy is to hit and run, avoiding all petty ideological side-taking. What you see in the Critical Stress Lab is a revolutionary watermelon capable of withstanding impact pressures of 300,000 pounds per square inch! Sweet, juicy and vitamin-packed, this remarkable fruit can be dropped from the bomb bays of low-flying aircraft into the backyards of disenfranchised villagers in the remotest backwaters of this angry planet. Just another Team Banzai effort to cut through all the unnecessary crap around us and help people help themselves. Courtesy of The Banzai Institute

By: quin

quin — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:36:13 -0800

dhartung : Why is there a watermelon there? One of the first things I ever looked up on the internet was the answer to this very question. I had wondered about it for years, and just knew that with the wealth of information that was suddenly at my fingertips, someone would have an answer to this burning question from my youth. Sure enough. Now that I know the answer, I feel so empty inside. Like one of life's great mysteries has been laid bare before me and there is nothing to replace it.

By: quin

quin — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:39:18 -0800

That said, the actual reason there is a watermelon in a vice, as revealed by the DVD commentary, is actually far more funny. But I will leave it to those that wish to know these dark secrets to find out for themselves.

By: tehloki

tehloki — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:39:41 -0800

If there's something other than "Holy nuclear force, batman!" in that giant wall of peach-flavoured text, I haven't found it.

By: quin

quin — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:40:08 -0800

And beat to the first link by xod. Damn you monkeyboy!

By: xod

xod — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:46:35 -0800

Sealed with a curse as sharp as a knife. Doomed is your soul and damned is your life.

By: delmoi

delmoi — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 16:02:50 -0800

Not to be too much of a nerd, but glass is not exactly a solid.... From your link:Nevertheless, from a more common sense point of view, glass should be considered a solid since it is rigid according to every day experience. The use of the term "supercooled liquid" to describe glass still persists, but is considered by many to be an unfortunate misnomer that should be avoided. To say that glass isn't a solid is wrong, per the dictionary definition of solid. The above states that it's not a crystaline solid, however it has all the 'everyday' properties of a solid.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 16:23:37 -0800

Where's John Smallberries when we need him. How odd. Mere seconds ago I was folding my YoYoDyne Propulsion Systems t-shirt. And... what's that watermelon for?

By: Divine_Wino

Divine_Wino — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 16:36:53 -0800

I'll tell you later.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 16:41:13 -0800

Is there someone crying in here?

By: uosuaq

uosuaq — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 16:42:40 -0800

Wait, was number 2 "yes" or "bomb Russia"?

By: squidfartz

squidfartz — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 16:49:39 -0800

Sorry pal, everybody "Need see Buckaroo"...

By: eparchos

eparchos — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 17:05:04 -0800

To say that glass isn't a solid is wrong, per the dictionary definition of solid. The above states that it's not a crystaline solid, however it has all the 'everyday' properties of a solid. Uh... delmoi, I'm talking about science here, not the dictionary. So is the link. A "common sense" point of view isn't applicable, sorry. Here's another quote from the link I posted... first several sentences in the conclusion.... "There is no clear answer to the question "Is glass solid or liquid?" In terms of molecular dynamics and thermodynamics it is possible to justify various different views that it is a highly viscous liquid, an amorphous solid, or simply that glass is another state of matter which is neither liquid nor solid. The difference is semantic. In terms of its material properties we can do little better. There is no clear definition of the distinction between solids and highly viscous liquids." So, like I said, not EXACTLY a solid. Of course, working on polymers reaching the glass trensfer stage in a lab for 6 months helped my understanding of this, which is to say it's really complex and no, it doesn't always behave like a solid OR a liquid. Sorry, no easy answers yet.

By: joeblough

joeblough — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 17:07:10 -0800

your overthruster's for shit! we're lost!

By: eriko

eriko — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 17:13:46 -0800

Where are we going?

By: FYKshun

FYKshun — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 17:16:47 -0800

The deuce, you say.

By: lekvar

lekvar — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 17:18:24 -0800

I'd just like to say that it's a pleasure to be in the company of such fine and cultured individuals as yourselves. Having said that, "BigbooTAY! TAY! TAY!"

By: wfrgms

wfrgms — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 17:18:26 -0800

Hear ladee, put dis in yur purse.

By: John Smallberries

John Smallberries — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 17:38:33 -0800

I am here, Monkeyboys. So you figured it all out, eh? Big deal. You are still descended from poop flinging primates. So there. (And speaking of my brethren John Bigboote, I must argue that his magnificent flipping of the bird at Lord Whorfin might just be the greatest single instance of the middle finger being captured on celluloid. Such intensity and feeling and largeness of spirit!) Oh yeah... Hail Whorfin.

By: chrismear

chrismear — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 18:05:46 -0800

Been there, done that.

By: delmoi

delmoi — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 18:14:26 -0800

Uh... delmoi, I'm talking about science here, not the dictionary. So is the link. A "common sense" point of view isn't applicable, sorry. Oh, you're quoting SCIENCE? Well then. The article you linked too isn't a peer reviewed paper, it's just someone's opinion. My opinion is that he's over thinking the semantics of the word "solid." It clearly matches the properties of one of the dictionary definitions. Glass isn't completely covered in ink nor is it manufactured by a solid piece of wood. Glass meets the most common definition of solid, meaning that it does not flow and will not take the form of it's container.

By: malaprohibita

malaprohibita — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 18:19:03 -0800

We're all monkeyboys here, John Smallberries.

By: 40 Watt

40 Watt — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 18:38:35 -0800

Where are we going? PLANET TEN!

By: Terminal Verbosity

Terminal Verbosity — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 18:55:28 -0800

the article was written in 1984... Bears repeating. There was a post just yesterday to a site that parses the philisophical, scientific, etc. in popular movies; is a sixteen year old essay on Buckaroo Banzai really post-worthy, or were you just dropping some chum into the Buckaroo Quotefest Sea? If the latter, mission accomplished. /goml rant

By: Failure31

Failure31 — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 18:58:28 -0800

What's this? It's your hand, Buckaroo.

By: ursus_comiter

ursus_comiter — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 19:29:18 -0800

Hey hey hey. Dont' be mean.

By: lekvar

lekvar — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 19:39:31 -0800

Terminal Verbosity- I was sharing something, found on the web, that amused me. Given that the purview of MetaFilter is "the best of the Web," I thought I'd bring it to the attention of likeminded individuals. Yes, it was written in 1984, but it is being published to the web now. There have been many recent examples of historical oddities that have been republished to the web and shared here. What was I expecting? I didn't expect anything at all, the thread evolved of it's own accord. It could have been a jumping ground for a discussion of the fact that the Jet Car had a real, functioning rocket, or that, as usual, Earl Mac Rauch has a new Buckaroo project in the works, or even that there's been new developments in the Watermellon Project (scroll down for it). /defensive first-time poster rant

By: vacapinta

vacapinta — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 19:48:06 -0800

Dont worry about it lekvar. I liked this post - it was quirky and interesting. Also TV's first post included a link to something written in (gasp!) 1996. And his most recent post was basically a double of something I posted in 2002. So...there!

By: Divine_Wino

Divine_Wino — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 20:11:30 -0800

We aren't on your lawn Terminal Verbosity, we're on metafilter. If you think the post breaks the guidelines then flag it. The incessant pooping of "this isn't what mefi is about" in threads that others are enjoying is the most tedious kind of preening puffery and is, in fact, what doesn't belong on metafilter. Give it a rest monkey boy.

By: ROU_Xenophobe

ROU_Xenophobe — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 20:23:26 -0800

What is the greatest joy?

By: bashos_frog

bashos_frog — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 20:56:13 -0800

What is the greatest joy? "To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you and to hear the lamentations of their women." (different movie, but still...)

By: squidfartz

squidfartz — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 21:33:23 -0800

Oh crap -that Conan reference made me cream. Sandahl Bergman, where are you?

By: dhartung

dhartung — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 00:25:14 -0800

I just remember all of the snobs at my college science fiction club hating on this movie so much. I also still have my "Buckaroo Banzai vs. the World Crime League" mini-poster, given out by a blow-dried studio flack at a con. Boy did he stand out. He also swore that we'd see it next year. That was, oh, maybe 1988. quin: Unlike you, I preferred not knowing. Same reason as with Blade Runner. Although I did like the behind-the-scenes story a lot. Really, that was the love/hate dividing scene for the movie.

By: ryanrs

ryanrs — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 03:22:34 -0800

eparchos wrote: So, like I said, not EXACTLY a solid. Amen, brother! The "three phases of matter" is nothing more than lies and propaganda spread by the grade school science conspiracy. They'll stop at nothing to corrupt young minds with deceptive simplifications and discredited theories. F=ma, my ass!

By: drinkcoffee

drinkcoffee — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 05:40:37 -0800

If it was a snake, it would've bit me!

By: chrismear

chrismear — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 05:53:50 -0800

F=ma, my ass! Actualy, I think that stands for 'mass' and 'acceleration'.

By: ROU_Xenophobe

ROU_Xenophobe — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 06:58:52 -0800

I also still have my "Buckaroo Banzai vs. the World Crime League" mini-poster I've read that Big Trouble in Little China sucked up much of the stuff that was originally going to be in BBvtWCL. Now this really pisses me off to no end.

By: Meatbomb

Meatbomb — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 08:18:49 -0800

All the cool stuff has been said, I would just like to add my name to the list of people who think BB is way bitchin'.

By: Mister_A

Mister_A — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 09:43:22 -0800

From Delmoi: Glass meets the most common definition of solid, meaning that it does not flow and will not take the form of it's container. You can see old glass flowing or melting, in saggy stained glass windows and old libraries (for instance, some of the 18th-century display cases at the Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia).

By: effwerd

effwerd — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 09:53:29 -0800

That's an urban legend, Mister_A.

By: poppo

poppo — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 10:23:49 -0800

Ha ha, I was just going to come in here and summon John Smallberries, but his Buckaroo Banzai detector clearly functions correctly

By: dibblda

dibblda — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 13:04:07 -0800

Mister A, they would form windows by pouring molten glass unto a spinning surface. The outside rim would end up thicker than the inside and they would then cut the glass and place the thicker side down...weight on the bottom. At least so I've been told

By: dibblda

dibblda — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 13:10:22 -0800

maybe a good place to look at: crown glass

By: InnocentBystander

InnocentBystander — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 13:31:36 -0800

"There! Evil, pure and simple from the eighth dimension!" (can't believe no one posted that one yet)

By: eparchos

eparchos — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 16:24:03 -0800

The "three phases of matter" is nothing more than lies and propaganda spread by the grade school science conspiracy Oh ryanrs, you might want to catch up with the 20th century a little...

By: zoogleplex

zoogleplex — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 16:26:01 -0800

It's threads like these that make me proud to be a MeFite.