Image of the Day: Godzilla: Rage Across Time

Image Source: Nerdist.

Now trending on Twitter, THAT is a comic book cover! This is IDW's Godzilla: Rage Across Time #1, written by Jeremy Robinson, with art by Matt Frank, published 24 August 2016. The book sees the giant lizard transported to different time periods, and is getting rave reviews from sites such as The Moon is a Dead World. Outright Geekery explains how a 1950s' nuclear monster has traveled in this first issue back to the 13th century:

"In 1954 Ishiro Honda unleashed his atom bomb allegory Gojira on the world. In the sixty years that followed the titular character of that terrifying monster-noir has been many things; archetypal force of nature, protector of children, even a militant environmentalist (Gojira vs Hedorah aka Godzilla vs The Smog Monster). ... Beyond all of that however, the irrepressible king of all daikaiju has become a beloved international cultural icon. In his homeland, the big guy has become something akin to a traditional folktale.

It is this aspect of Godzilla that is at the forefront of this first issue of IDW’s Godzilla Rage Across Time. A new mini-series that puts everyone’s favorite radioactive giant badass lizard into various historic periods. ... [In the first issue,] writer Jeremy Robinson and artist Matt Frank ... set this first installment in the land of Godzilla’s birth during the first Mongol invasion of 1274.

Kublai Khan’s horde, along with two evil kaiju, have arrived at Hakata Bay under the command of 'Dragon Master' Zhenjin Khan. Two feuding heroes, samurai Gorou Suda and ninja Akio of the Bamboo Forest must go on a quest to save Japan by awakening a mighty champion who will vanquish the invaders."

Need a kaiju fix? Godzilla: Rage Across Time #1 might be artist Matt Frank's best work. vi… https://t.co/pXpd2SZIdb pic.twitter.com/HrjmGWw2HV

— Ꮸ Ꮍ Ꮹ N Ꮜ Ꭶ (@Cygnus76) August 24, 2016

Godzilla: Rage Across Time #1 (page 1) © IDW. Click to enlarge. Image Source: deviantART. Full opening page preview at SciFi Japan.

See all my posts on Nuclear topics.
See all my posts on Time Travel.
Click here for my posts on Comics.

Times Outside History 11: Neanderthal Cave Rings

Images Source: Etienne Fabre/SSAC via Guardian.

On 25 May 2016, The Guardian reported that archaeologists have redated structures in the Bruniquel cave, near the Pyrénées mountains, in the Tarn-et-Garonne region of southwest France. They claim stalagmite circles in the cave were built 176,500 years ago, rather than 47,600 years ago; the original estimate was based on carbon-dating findings elsewhere in the cave. The revision means that only Neanderthals could have created these mysterious installations:

"Mysterious structures found deep inside a French cave are the work of Neanderthal builders who lived in the region more than 100,000 years before modern humans set foot in Europe.

The extraordinary constructions are made from nearly 400 stalagmites that have been yanked from the ground and stacked on top of one another to produce rudimentary walls on the damp cave floor.

The most prominent formations are two ringed walls, built four layers deep in places, which appear to have been propped up with stalagmites wedged in place as vertical stays. The largest of the walls is nearly seven metres across and, where intact, stands up to 40 cm high.

'This is completely different to anything we have seen before. I find it very mysterious,' said Marie Soressi, an archaeologist at Leiden University, who was not involved in the research. Unique in the history of Neanderthal achievements, the structures rank among the earliest human building projects ever discovered.

Parts of the walls show clear signs of fire damage, with the stalagmites blackened or reddened and fractured from the heat, leading researchers to suspect that the Neanderthals embedded fireplaces in the structures to illuminate the cave."

The structures lie some 1,100 feet from the cave entrance, in total darkness, which indicates purposeful intent to build structures far from natural light. The size of these installations reveals complex cooperation and social organization. There is no sign of ongoing domestic occupation in the cave, which may imply that these sites were used for ritualistic purposes. Along with fireplaces, archaeologists have found remains of animal bone torches. From France's National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS):

"Since no other stalagmite structure of this scale has yet been discovered, the team developed a new concept to designate these carefully arranged pieces of stalagmites: 'speleofacts.' An inventory of the cave's 400 speleofacts reveals a total of 112 meters of stalagmites broken into well-calibrated pieces, weighing an estimated 2.2 metric tons. The components of the structures are aligned, juxtaposed and superimposed (in two, three and even four layers), with props around the outside, apparently to hold them in place, and filler pieces. Marks left by the wrenching of stalagmites from the cave floor to make the structures have been identified nearby. "

According to Live Science, there are older constructed sites in the world:

"Evidence of a human-made structure exists in Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, dated at over 1 million years old. But this has not been studied extensively, Jaubert said. He added there is similarly little information about a Homo erectus campsite in Bilzingsleben, Germany (about 400,000 years old), early shelters in Terra Amata, France (about 400,000 years old), and the bone and stone materials found in France's Lazaret cave (around 170,000 years old). Researchers have credited Neanderthals with making a building out of mammoth bone in Ukraine. They believe this is about 40,000 years old."

See an article on this story from Nature here, and further reports here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. The original press release is here and related video is here.

"A 3D reconstruction of the structures in Bruniquel Cave. Rendering by Xavier Muth/GET IN SITU/ARCHÉOTRANSFERT/ARCHÉOVISION-SHS-3D; BASE PHOTOGRAPHIQUE PASCAL MORA."

See all my posts on Neanderthals.

Quote of the Day: "It’s not easy to move 20+ nukes"

Image Source: Keep Talking Greece.

There are reports that between 20 and 100 nuclear weapons are being moved from Incirlik Air Base, Turkey (70 miles from the Syrian border) to Deveselu air field in Romania:

• Global Security (May 2016): Deveselu Base, Romania
• The New Yorker (17 July 2016: The H-Bombs in Turkey
• Stimson (14 August 2016): US Nuclear Weapons in Turkey at Risk of Seizure by Terrorists, Hostile Forces
• Stimson (August 2016): B61 LIFE EXTENSION PROGRAM Costs and Policy Considerations
• Business Insider (15 August 2016): A briefing for Congress on possibly moving the US's nuclear weapons from Turkey's Incirlik Air Base
• Jerusalem Post (15 August 2016): Report: Terrorists Could Seize US Nuclear Weapons from Turkey Base
• Russia Today (15 August 2016): US nukes in Turkey vulnerable to ‘terrorists & other hostile forces’ – think tank
• The Sun (15 August 2016): ISIS NUKE THREAT Dozens of US nuclear bombs stored at Turkish air base ‘are at risk of being seized by terrorists’
• Newsweek (15 August 2016): U.S. TURKEY AIRBASE NUKES AT RISK OF SEIZURE FROM 'TERRORISTS': REPORT
• Keep Talking Greece (18 August 2016): USA moves nuclear weapons from Incirlik Air Base in Turkey to Romania
• EurActiv (18 August 2016): US moves nuclear weapons from Turkey to Romania
• The Times (19 August 2016): Kremlin presses Turkey for access to US airbase
• Sputnik News (20-21 August 2016): Kremlin Presses Turkey for Access to NATO's Incirlik Air Base, Home to US Nukes
• Russia Today (21 August 2016): Russia could use Incirlik airbase ‘if necessary’ – Turkish PM
• The Illuminati Conspiracy Blog (22 August 2016): Nuke Transfer: Great Opportunity for Nuke Theft (the conspiracy theorist's view)

"Map of main air bases and other important airfields in Romania, as of 1989. (Map by Tom Cooper, based on Encarta 2003 software)." Image Source: ACIG.

Evolution Time Lapse

From Yale University Press, via Business Insider, here is a 2013 promotional video for paleoartist John Gurche's book on evolution, Shaping Humanity. Video Source: Youtube.