Welcome to the monthly segment I like to call Elsewhere in the Universe! Here I show off news, articles, videos, etc. that I find interesting. Not everything I showcase is stuff I found this month, or even this year. I try to stay professional in the rest of the blog, but in here anything goes!

The Troubled History of Space Jam’s Sequel

You wanna know “what’s up, doc“? How about… your f——ing life!

This video by Super Eyepatch Wolf examines the troubled psyche of NBA legend Michael Jordan through the lens of the film Space Jam and the cancellation of its originally planned sequel. Channel host John Walsh reveals a leaked script of the aforementioned sequel, which eerily reflects Jordan’s insatiable drive to push the boundaries of what is possible.

Space Jam 2: Battle for Reality might resonate with you if you’ve seen Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler, Undertale genocide runs, the last episode of Game of Zones (not to be confused with the last episode of Game of Thrones - the video produced by Bleacher Report includes a parody of the Battle of Winterfell where LeBron James dukes it out with MJ), and those arthouse events that screen both The Room and Rocky Horror Picture Show at the same time.

If you haven’t picked up on it yet, this video is a prank. The movie doesn’t exist, and many of the facts presented are debunked if you do any outside research. Viewers should suspect something is off when the first thing they see is this:

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This video deviates greatly from Super Eyepatch Wolf’s usual lineup of serious media critiques. That being said, I found it very entertaining. This is the video I’ve replayed the most from this channel, beating out both The End of Naruto: A Series of Highs and Lows and The Bizarre Modern Reality of The Simpsons combined in terms of view count.

Tesla CEO on SNL

So apparently Elon Musk was a host on Saturday Night Live. I despise anything involving the Tesla CEO, especially after he stole Grimes away from me us years ago. I mean, just take one look at this abomination below:

What’s even more cringeworthy is the realization that SNL has declined in relevancy over the years. This Vox article put it best (emphasis mine):

We live in a gerontocracy. Boomers still haven’t let go of the levers of power. Having successfully wrested them from their parents, they then largely ignored Gen X’s attempts to take over and have so far successfully kept millennials from forcing everyone to care about Pokémon controversies or whatever. Americans are expected to care about SNL because a bunch of aging people are in control, and to them, SNL remains one of the stars of the cultural firmament.

RadicalSoda must be crying in a corner somewhere, which isn’t all that surprising since New Zealand is usually put in a corner on the world map. In all seriousness, you should check out his video on the various quality issues with Pokémon Sword and Shield.

Musical Guest: Birdz

Since I took a detour through APAC, let’s listen to this rap song about aboriginal resistance.

Is This My Doom, Or Your Doom?

This week’s episode of the Security Now! podcast showcased the DOOM Captcha, which reached #1 on Product Hunt last Sunday. As an aside, Makr only managed to make #4 on the site in its lifetime.

My Doom, Huh

Before I move on to the Lightning Round, I must mention the long string of Mets injuries this month, the most gruesome being a pitch thrown at outfielder Kevin Pillar shown above. (The original broadcast showed a lot more blood pouring out of Pillar’s face.) The Mets’ injured list has expanded to almost half of the team’s 40-man roster, including players who came in later to fill in for earlier injuries.

The Lightning Round

These are things I want to point out, but don’t want to spend more than a couple of sentences on.

  • A new Dragon Ball movie has been announced for 2022. That’s all we know so far. Some YouTube channels have hopped on the speculation train, but I’m not looking too deeply into the subject.
  • I brought up Lindsay Ellis’ video on J.K. Rowling’s transphobia a couple of months ago, but I didn’t bring myself to watch Natalie Wynn’s take on the matter until recently. I swear, this is the last time I’ll mention this subject for a while.
  • I found Melina Pendulum’s YouTube Channel in my recommendations after watching Super Eyepatch Wolf’s video and it instantly earned my subscription.
  • Hackers hate this; try this one weird trick. Security researcher Brian Krebs discovered that ransomware won’t install itself on Windows if it notices a Russian or Ukrainian keyboard installed. Of course, the effectiveness of this trick will diminish as adversaries adapt.
  • Amidst Epic’s lawsuit against Apple, the GDC State of the Industry Survey indicated that an overwhelming 97% of developers oppose the 30 percent fee charged by Apple and other online storefronts. Having read media involving Apple from an investor’s standpoint, I’ve been largely ambivalent to positive toward this policy. Perhaps this is an indicator that I’ve become out of touch with the games industry and a wakeup call to get back into this world.
  • Daniel Miessler wrote his suggestions on how to approach content creation without getting burnt out. I’m still processing what this means for me.
  • Lastly, YouTuber Yuzoboy composed a 16-bit remix of Wonderman, the single by Right Said Fred used to promote Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in Europe (and whose cover art became the thumbnail for this post). Don’t forget to support his Patreon!

The Main Event

It’s been half a year since my manager wrote about an online course he took on neck exercises. I was planning to take this course and write my response on it sometime this year, but I just haven’t gotten to it yet. So, instead I’ll share other health-related resources I encountered over the years.

First, here’s an introductory guide on fitness by advice columnist Dr. NerdLove. The piece opens up with a reality check, to get you to set goals that are achievable and set you up for success. This is followed by a back-to-basics approach outlining the simple math behind weight loss, ways of exercising without needing a gym, how to keep yourself motivated throughout the journey.

Secondly, game developer Tim Ruswick invited his brother Rex over for a video on preventing keyboard injuries by exercising your wrists. These exercises are super easy and they only take a minute to do. This has been part of my routine when I wake up since the video came out three years ago.

Support Tim’s newest game, Murder Bunnies, on Kickstarter

I’ll close off with this YouTube short by Hybrid Calisthenics that I recently ran into. I’ve been doing pushups for a while now, but I picked up new tips from this vid. I felt pain in elbows last month, and it was great to know that I can revert to easier variants while waiting for my joints to recover.

As we approach the halfway mark of this year, it’s a good time to check back in your New Year’s resolutions. If you pledged to get more fit and fell off the horse along the way, I hope these pieces help you get back on track.

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