In a divergence from my regular news links posts (though one of those will be coming later in the week, with lots of good tidbits), I’ve been noticing a lot of rather odd, definitely geekishly inclined pieces of news the last few weeks. They’re definitely worth passing on!
(Oh, and if you’re here awaiting the answers to the Movie Quotes Quiz, it’s not time yet. So go take a shot at the quiz if you haven’t yet.)
I think a good place to start might be the giant LEGO dude that washed up on a beach in England. Now, stuff falls off of ships all the time, but this seems an especially odd thing, especially since nobody seems to be claiming responsibility. It could have floated from Denmark, home of the toy building blocks. It could be part of a publicity stunt. Either way, it’s pretty funny.
Next up, did you know that there’s a town in Turkey called Batman? Truly. It’s actually the capital of the Batman province (short for Bali Raman, according to Wikipedia). This is remarkable, not simply because there’s actually a town named Batman, but because the mayor of said town is allegedly considering suing director Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight) for infringement on the name “Batman.” Not DC Comics. Not Warner Bros. Not Christian Bale, Val Kilmer, Michael Keaton, or even Adam West.
You can’t make this stuff up.
What’s funny to me is that apparently the town was only a small village until the 1950s. I suppose it’s possible, though not exactly likely, that the town did exist prior to 1938, when Batman was created, but my guess is that it’s even more likely that Warner Bros/DC Comics could more rightfully be the ones doing the suing. More on that story here (language in the link).
Finally…yep, that’s exactly what it looks like. People skydiving while playing Scrabble (or is it the other way around)? Either way, it’s extreme geekiness, and I approve.
