I recently re-watched Dr. Horrible

[conuly]

And when I say "recently" I mean "several times over the past few days". I tend to fixate on things like that. As a child, it wasn't at all unusual for me to read the same book three or four or more times in a row, and then pick it up again a few weeks later to repeat the process (and that's why I have parts of A Little Princess memorized).

Anyway, this has gotten me thinking about Penny's last words. Thinking about them more than just "God, Joss Whedon really sucks", that is. Am I the only one who thinks that maybe Penny was intentionally trying to twist the knife there? I mean, she'd just watched her boyfriend humiliate her and insult all the people in the room (people she works with and cares about) and her friend-friend went nuts and shot up the place, incidentally injuring her in the process. I mean, I don't know, it just seems like if there's ever a chance to be a little bit vindictive, that's the time. A lifetime of suppressed bitchiness coming out right at the end, to somebody who whole-heartedly deserves it - I'd do it. Wouldn't you? You're supposed to lie and be nice to dying people, but dying people get to do what they want consequence-free, don't they?

I need to find a new hobby, I think.

And on the subject of hobbies, I think we've worked out that centaurs probably don't work and humans can't fly, but mermaids are still on the table, right? (Borrowers and Tinkerbell-type fairies are right out, of course. Too small. Maybe if they were chubby and furry like mice? But then they'd effectively BE mice, wouldn't they?)

Comments

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

Bats are actually more closely related to us than rodents are - they're like little flying lemurs. If we were tiny, with fur and wings, we'd basically be bats.

An air bladder helps sharks because air is lighter than water. In order to help a flyer, it would have to be filled with something lighter than air, like methane.

[conuly]

And all this time I thought aeriemice were actually rodents. You live and you learn!

In order to help a flyer, it would have to be filled with something lighter than air, like methane.

Oooh, like the Airborn trilogy? But I can see how likely that's going to turn out to be if you pull the threads.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

I thought they were actually related to hedgehogs, not lemurs. Huh. That'd make them perfect for fairies, though! ;)

So what? Mammals can produce methane, right? :D

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

Hmm, you're right that they're more closely related to hedgehogs than to lemurs, both bats and hedgehogs being of the Laurasiathera (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurasiatheria). They've changed the taxonomy since I was a student; used to be they were in superorder Archonta (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archonta). Apparently the flying primates theory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_primates_theory) fell apart under DNA testing, and the entire order of Insectivora (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insectivora) has been abandoned. Good to know; thanks!

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

Herbivorous mammals produce methane; I don't think carnivorous mammals produce much. Of course, flying foxes are fruit-eaters, so it is possible for a plant-based diet to provide enough fuel for a fler. Flying foxes are really light for their size, though, and they spend more time eating than they do flying.

Adding methane-filled air sacs to this being with the 23-foot wingspan, skeletal legs and enormous wedge-shaped chest isn't going to help the poor unweildy thing look any more like a human, or any more capable of getting about on land.

[conuly]

Wait, would an enormous wedge shape chest at least make them look like a caricatured superhero?

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

Ummmm... well, maybe? *trying to picture that* But I'm inclined to think probably not, because the point of the wedge would be sticking out of the middle of the chest.