Now here's something you don't see very often.
http://news.yahoo.com/londons-burning-skys...-161502265.html
A new skyscraper in London known as the "Walkie-Talkie" has been causing problems in the area due to a serious design flaw. Basically, the south face of the building is concave, and the windows are very reflective. This causes sunlight to be focused in a small area, kind of like a giant magnifying glass. This "death ray" effect has already caused cars to melt and parts of some nearby buildings to catch on fire.

The architect had already built a similar building with a similar problem in Las Vegas, so one does have to ask, "What was this guy thinking?" Obviously, the issue just can't be ignored, so the real problem is how to fix it, now that the building is already complete.

(Seeing as there's a few "What if" topics in the history section, I decided to start one myself, hopefully one that's actually worth discussing.)

I'm sure we all know by now about the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. Well, what do you think would have been different if the Titanic had not struck that iceberg and instead made it to New York as expected?

Obviously, there were about 1500 lives lost with the ship, but I think what really had an impact on history was the changes in safety and regulations in the aftermath of the disaster. I'm not just taking about how there wasn't enough lifeboats for everyone. The closest ship to Titanic at the time of the sinking, the Californian, had shut off their wireless telegraph for the night, meaning they didn't receive any of Titanic's calls for help. Since then, all ships have been required to have their radios on at all times. There was also the formation of the Ice Patrol, which has helped to make sure that, to this day, Titanic remains the latest ship to have been sunk by an iceberg collision.

If the Titanic had not sunk, I think the lack of these updated regulations would have changed history more than the survival of 1500 people. The way I see it, the old outdated regulations wouldn't have stayed the same for much longer, especially once WWI started. If it had not been Titanic, it likely would have been some other disaster to prompt such changes, like the Lusitania. (Not that I think it would specifically be Lusitania, I'm just throwing a name out there.) It's quite possible that many smaller maritime disasters would have happened before such changes are finally made, with a combined loss of life totaling more than the 1500 from Titanic.

Put simply, in my opinion, the changes that were made in the aftermath of the Titanic disaster would have eventually been made, but it would have taken more time to do so, in which time possibly more lives could have been lost than those that went down with Titanic.

The Cuban missile crisis happened back in October 1962, 50 years ago at around this time. I don't think any of us here were around at the time, so it's kind of hard for us to understand these days just how close we came to starting World War 3 because of it.

What I find remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis was how it was resolved peacefully with virtually no casualties. Hard compromises had to be made (the Soviets removed their missiles from Cuba, while the U.S. removed theirs from Turkey), but the leaders of the two superpowers (Kennedy of the United States, and Khrushchev of the Soviet Union) ultimately did the right thing.

I find myself agreeing with many historians that never before or since has humanity ever come so close to completely destroying itself.

I've recently been thinking of a rather interesting idea for a new RP: What if the LBT gang (of seven) somehow ended up in a world made out of Lego?

Basically, the seven kids wake up in a cave and are surprised to find themselves in a world where everything and everyone is made of Lego. (Of course, they won't even know what Lego is until the meet some of the Lego people to explain how their world works.) Not only that, but they themselves have also become made of Lego. (Specifically, they are like the Lego minifigures (however big their ordinary selves would be to a human is how big their Lego versions would be to a typical minifigure).) They eventually make their way to a place called Lego City, where they befriend some of the Lego people there and have some good times in such a unique world. Eventually, they figure out a way for them to get back home, but it requires collecting a few special items in many different regions (like castles, space, underwater; some of the most recognizable Lego themes).

As for what daily life in this Lego world is like, I'd imagine something similar to how it's often portrayed in many of the Lego video games and movies: the ability to build and disassemble anything (like buildings or vehicles), with some quirky humor added in (keep in mind, I'm talking about kid-friendly humor, the kind that the Lego company themselves would approve of).

For characters, I would like to stick with just the gang of seven for those from the LBT world, just to keep things simple. All of the other characters in this RP will be Lego people. So, aside from the Lego-fied gang of seven, everyone else will be original characters. (I think this helps embrace the creativity that Lego is all about.) If anyone knows about a free game/program that allows you to digitally create a customizable Lego minifigures, I think that could help us a lot in describing the Lego people we'll create. If you want to, you could even create a Lego persona of yourself to live in this Lego world.

What do you think of this idea? Is anyone interested in participating?


Character List:
Littlefoot -
Cera -
Ducky -
Petrie -
Spike -
Chomper -
Ruby -
Lego people

The 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic is coming up in a few days, so I figured I'd start this topic to see what people here have to say about it.

I've had an interest in Titanic for quite a while now. I may not be as obsessed as I was when I was a kid, but I still find it an interesting event. I've seen many programs on both the Discovery Channel and the History Channel about Titanic, and I plan to do so again this weekend. Discovery will show some specials on Saturday, while History will show a few on Sunday, including a new one that will attempt to explain some mysteries about how the ship sank.

So, anybody planning on doing anything for the 100th anniversary?

There's a new show on the History Channel where 16 guys are going to compete in a modern take on the medieval sport of jousting. This isn't the theatrical kind of jousting you may have seen before, this is the kind where people can really get hurt. Here's the website if you're interested to know more about it and even watch the first episode online, which was on TV last Sunday:
http://www.history.com/shows/full-metal-jousting

I think it's pretty clear by now that the Land Before Time is almost certainly going to have no more new sequels or TV episodes. The series we know may be over, but that doesn't rule out the possibility that that it could be rebooted sometime in the future; a series of remakes, so to speak. Now let's suppose that this does happen, and you're placed in charge of the whole project. What would you do? Would you keep everything the way it was in the original series? Or would you make some changes? If so, what would you do to make the new series different? Would you expect your plans to be a success?



Here's what I would do. First, the script of the first movie will be mostly unchanged, but the animation will be more like it was in the latter part of the series (partly due to the old style not being done anymore these days).

Animation aside, another big change I'd make will be in the sequels, specifically the songs. First priority would be to scrap the "3 songs per movie" quota. This doesn't mean I'm getting rid of them entirely, just removing the potential for bad ones. By focusing more on quality than quantity, the songs that do get made will make them become an aspect that gets praise rather than ridicule.

We know a lot more about dinosaurs these days than we did back in the '80s and '90s, when the early part of the series was made. I'd like the rebooted series to reflect our expanded knowledge, so that means slightly altering some species, like many of them being mostly covered in feathers, including Fast Biters and juvenile Sharpteeth, which (admittingly awkward ) will include Chomper.

Now we move on to the plots of the sequels. LBT2, I'll keep mostly the same, since Chomper is a fan favorite. I may or may not include 3 and/or 4, can't say for sure right now. LBT5 is where I'll really start to diverge from the original series. The gang not only reunites with Chomper, but also meet Ruby as well. I'm not sure if I would either slightly alter the existing script or make a new one entirely, but the key change is that by the end of the movie, Chomper and Ruby decide to live in the Great Valley with their friends, so the gang of five becomes the gang of seven. The next sequel starts with Chomper in hiding, since introducing a Sharptooth to the Great Valley is quite a tricky thing to do. Eventually, Ruby and Chomper are allowed to live safely in the Great Valley, though I don't yet have a plot in mind.

It is here where I'll insert the start of a new TV series. With only a few movies out so far, the TV series is given a lot more potential than the original one had. Like the sequels, I'm definitely scrapping the "2 songs per episode" quota and focus more on the quality of whatever few there may be. Some concepts from the later sequels can instead be used as TV episodes. Others, like LBT7, may be better off staying as full length movies, which will take place during the events of the TV series instead of before.


What do you think? Do you think my ideas sound like a plausible way to reboot the Land Before Time?

How about telling us what you have in mind? What would you do if you could reboot the series? Do you think you can make improvements where the original series failed?

As the title suggests, which of the Land Before Time movies and/or TV episodes have you not yet seen?
(I was planning to do this as a poll, but I figured it would be pointless, since the answers would be subject to change.)

For me, I've seen every single episode of the TV series, and most of the sequels. The ones I have still yet to see are 9, 10, 12, and 13. I saw 1-8 over a decade ago, back when I first got into the series. I was able to catch 11 on TV just days before the premier of the TV series, back in 2007, and I spent the last few years hoping that I would catch 9, 10, 12, and 13 in a similar way.

The reason I decided to start this topic is that I'm now finally going to start actively clearing out my list. I went to my local video rental place earlier today and found three of the four I have still yet to see: 9, 12, and 13. I have to return them by Monday, so it won't be much longer until I'm just one movie left away from what I consider the complete picture of the Land Before Time. With any luck, I might find 10 available by the time I have to return the others.

Alright, that's enough about me. How about the rest of you? Have you seen all there is to see, or are there still some movies or TV episodes that you have not yet watched?

Here's an interesting article I recently read:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/eu_netherlands_sunless_farming

Basically, a possible solution to grow more crops with less area is to grow them inside buildings designed to provide the best yield possible at any time of the year.

What are your thoughts on this?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110228/ap_on_...ast_wwi_veteran

The last surviving American veteran of World War One, Frank Buckles, has recently passed away at the age of 110. The fact that he has lived for so long shows that he had lied about his age when he had enlisted back in 1917. He has spent the last years of his life campaigning for a World War One memorial. With his death, there are now only two WWI veterans throughout the whole world who are still alive today, both of them are from Britain (one has long since moved to Australia).