Do you know that meme that shows an image of Star Trek‘s Captain Picard with a quote from Star Wars (“Use the Force, Luke”) attributed to Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series? It’s a pretty popular meme meant to not only incite a geek frenzy, but also to set off facepalms across the universe.

On Friday, President Obama, who’s known for his love of Star Trek and other geeky franchises, inadvertently triggered a collective facepalm and inspired a meme of his own after he combined Star Wars and Star Trek references during a press conference at The White House.

Speaking to the press, the President stated that he couldn’t use a “Jedi Mind Meld” to make Republicans in Congress go along with his budget proposal to avert a sequester [...]

The U.S. Government has recently instituted a process by which citizens can officially petition the White House on any issue that they feel is important via the internet, thanks to a program called We the People. Any petition that receives 25,000 signatures within a certain time frame will receive an official response from the White House.

Now, this is a great way for ordinary people to bring their everyday issues to the forefront and is a great example of what technology can do right. However, it’s also the internet, which means there are going to be a lot of goofy petitions started. This brings us to a petition that was started requesting the government to “secure resources and funding, and begin construction of a Death Star by 2016”! [...]

Vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan chose to take the stage at a Pennsylvania rally with Twisted Sister’s 1984 hit “We’re Not Gonna Take It” blasting in the background and Twisted Sister front man Dee Snider is none too pleased.

In a statement relayed through his manager, Snider said, “I emphatically denounce Paul Ryan’s use of my band Twisted Sister’s song, ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It,’ in any capacity,” adding that, “there is almost nothing he stands for that I agree with except the use of the P90X.” [...]

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart will be schlepping the entire badass show all the way to Tampa, Florida to broadcast a week of shows during the Republican National Convention next week.

Titled RNC 2012: The Road to Jeb Bush 2016, the shows will air each night at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT from Tuesday, August 28 through Friday, August 31 on Comedy Central. [...]

Okay, so there’s this NY Times article about the life of U.S. Representative Paul Ryan (R. – Wisconsin) in which it was noted with some irony that the hard-right conservative counts Rage Against the Machine as one of his favorite bands.

The irony is not lost on former Rage guitarist, Tom Morello. In a Rolling Stone piece, Morello sounds off about Ryan and the many reasons why Rage Against the Machine is “antithetical to the message of Rage.” [...]

During a recent Megadeth concert in Singapore, frontman Dave Mustaine went full tilt goo-goo for Satan when he asserted to a confused crowd that U.S. President Barack Obama staged the tragic shootings in both Aurora, Colorado and at The Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek. This, according to Mustaine, was so that the President could justify a ban on guns. In the video taken from the concert, which you can watch below, Mustaine expressly states that the President planned these murders.

Mustaine goes on to say that he doesn’t know where he’s going to live if “America keeps going the way it’s going,” stating the the country is “turning into Nazi America.” The crowd appears to disagree with Mustaine judging from the tone of its roar, which included a few boos. One audience member can even be heard shouting, “Hey, we love America!” Mustaine’s response to the crowd’s reaction: “Be quiet.”

So let’s dissect Mustaine’s claims with a few facts, lest anyone out there get the idea that these remarks are anything other than completely deranged [...]

Batman has become one of, if not the most well known characters in the history of American pop culture. He’s been dark, he’s been bright, and he’s even been an agent of propaganda, but one thing that has remained consistent is that people know who Batman is. With The Evolution of Batman in Popular Culture, my attempt is to take an extensive look at all the ways that Batman can be interpreted, why he’s remained a consistent force in popular culture, and how he becomes a reflection of society making him the most iconic superhero.

When Batman (Bat-Man) was created by Bill Finger and Robert Kane, he was initially created as an answer to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s iconic superhero of the lower class. And while Superman was given super powers and a fighting stance against corruption, Batman was a little darker. The creation of Batman came mainly from pulp novels, Zorro, and the 1926 horror film The Bat. Batman was a weird creature of the night that, initially, wasn’t afraid to kill and would do so if the criminal “deserved” it. In his creation, Batman is already a reflection of an era that is commonly described as being hopeful, yet disillusioned in the face of World War II, a time when almost everyone was on board with the Allied Powers in their war against the Evil Axis Powers. Society was cut and dry, good and bad, so a four-color look at a wealthy vigilante lent itself perfectly to the culture of the time [...]

Super Corporate Heroes #1
Created by Miguel Guerra and Suzy Dias
Written by Suzy Dias and Miguel Guerra
Art by Miguel Guerra
Letters by Suzy Dias
7 Robots
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99
Digital Edition: 99¢

With the Occupy protests coming out of hibernation on May Day and the election season swinging into high gear, the Super Corporate Heroes debut couldn’t have wished for better timing. This comic begins as a metaphor for the healthcare debates and quickly evolves into a satirical political commentary on the consequences of Social Darwinism.

The story kicks off with a man hanging on the ledge of a burning building. Through hokey inner dialogue, he wonders if he can survive the fall. But, thank goodness, help arrives in the form of The Shroud, who looks strikingly similar to Batman. Only The Shroud refuses to help the uninsured man until he purchases a rescue plan. They agree on the five rescue plan. By the end of the scene, the man is already fleeced out of three rescues [...]

Disgusted with the rich empty suits currently in the running, the Republican Party is now looking to the world of heavy metal for the right candidate to put up as leader of the free world. RNC Chairman Reinhold Reince Priebus was quoted today, April 1, 2012, as saying, “We like Ted Nugent because he’s into guns and stuff, but Dave Mustaine is really the perfect combination of extremist vitriol and worldwide appeal. I mean, Megadeth is really popular in other countries, so it’s like a no-brainer.”



The guitar-wielding wildly-maned Mustaine responded immediately to the call of duty by putting in his bid for election. “Well it’s about fucking time the world sees what greatness I have to offer it,” the Megadeth frontman said. “I mean, America would be so lucky to have me as President because I’m the only one who knows what the fuck is really going on around here.” [...]

In their latest attempt to banish all traces of gay from the planet, conservative group One Million Moms, one of the tumors sprouting from the larger cancer known as American Family Association, is urging Toys ‘R’ Us to stop selling an issue of Life With Archie depicting the wedding of the comic’s first openly gay character, Kevin Keller, to Clay, an African American doctor who treated Keller’s war injuries. Yes, you read that right: Kevin’s a war hero! And he’s marrying a doctor, no less! A million real moms would swoon in delight. So what’s the problem?

The problem, apparently, is that One Million Moms — whose numbers are about 955,488 shy of an actual million, according to their Facebook page — feels it’s unfair for them to have to answer questions their kids may ask about the world around them while standing in a toy store. Also, it doesn’t like gay people. [...]

Female Force: Gabrielle Giffords
Written by CW Cooke
Pencils by Nick Justus
Colors by C.J. Ruiz
Letters & Inks by Warren Montgomery
Cover by Joe Phillips
Bluewater Productions
Release date: January 31, 2012
Price: $3.99 (print); $1.99 (ebook)

The story of Gabrielle Giffords is one of triumph over adversity. On January 8, 2011, the Arizona Representative was shot in the head while giving a public speech in her home state. Though she survived the attack, Giffords faced many hurdles in her recovery and continues to face them even now.

Female Force: Gabrielle Giffords is a new 32-page full-color biographical comic book from Bluewater Productions that details the Congresswomen’s life from her many academic achievements, to her time as a business woman and state politician, and later as a member of Congress. We learn a little about her childhood and also about her relationship with husband, NASA astronaut Mark Kelly. Of course, great attention is given to the shooting and Giffords’s subsequent efforts to recover from her extensive injuries [...]

On last night’s Saturday Night Live former castmember Amy Poehler made a guest appearance on Weekend Update with Seth Meyers for a new segment of “Really!?! With Seth and Amy.” In this new edition, the comedians take on the current Birth Control debate raging in Congress.

Check out the video of the segment here below.

While the comedians make us laugh while also making perfect sense with everything they said regarding this hot button issue, it’s pretty much Poehler’s declaration “Don’t tell me what to do!” that says it all [...]

It’s a Presidential election year here in the United States, so the campaigns are underway. But in the geek world, which characters would be running for election this year?

Kevin David Anderson, author of Night Of The Living Trekkies, has posted some campaign adverts to Facebook that feature some really hot tickets so far:

- Darth Vader and Lord Voldemort
- George Takei and Bruce Campbell
- Cybermen and Borg [...]

After an ocean of angry protest, massive websites taking drastic measures, and even the artists they weren’t meant to protect standing against them, Congress has been forced to put an end to the proposed SOPA (Stop Online Piract Act) and PIPA (PROTECT IP) acts.

Both the Senate, who was getting ready to hold a procedural vote on PIPA next week, and the House of Representatives have taken notice to the extremely negative response to their plans, and have decided to put it all on hold until something a little bit more agreeable can be put together. [...]

A group of artists have written an open letter to Washington regarding the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (PROTECT IP) acts that have led numerous websites to go dark in protest today.

Artists include American Gods, Sandman, and Neverwhere author Neil Gaiman, comedian/actor Aziz Ansari, and Nine Inch Nails frontman and Oscar winning composer Trent Reznor, just to name a few.

The letter was posted on the Stop The Wall website, and you can read it in full below, including a list of those who have signed it. [...]