Previews of the design for the forthcoming Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series have hit the web. And they look pretty good:

I’m not sure what I think about the peekaboo elevator picture box thing. Also, this will fit on no known DVD storage shelf, requiring it to be displayed prominently on your coffee table to the universal mockery of your friends and romantic partners. But I will still buy it, even though I already own the complete series in non-boxset form. I’m a gigantic nerd, and that’s just how I roll.

By the by, anybody want to buy a gently used set of BSG DVDs? They come in the several boxes, which is better than one box from a value standpoint. Right?

A new study by a group of (I can only assume) balding researchers suggests that individuals who experience hair loss can get a little fragile.  Behold:

Many of those with hair loss reported no emotional problems, but a “significant minority” were found to be at risk of serious psychosocial consequences – including depression, anxiety, lower self-esteem and identity change, according to the report’s author, health psychologist Dr Nigel Hunt.

So, you’d all better be extra nice to me, lest I go nuts, change my name to Nyarlathotep and join a Norwegian Black Metal band. Here’s an artist’s conception:

You’ve been warned. And just so you know, I construe “emotional support” to mean “expensive gifts, lavish vacations, and epic poems composed in my honour”. Get crackin’, kids! The clock is running.

Here is the timid West, cloning is a source of continuous ethical angst. Mention the word at a party, and watch everyone dissolve into bouts of anxious hang-wringing, sweating and spectacular vacillation.

And then there’s South Korea. That country is like the Wild West of genetics. No task is too complex or morally ambiguous for these yeoman of cloning science. Just take this headline:  SOUTH KOREAN EXPERTS CLAIM TO HAVE CLONED GLOWING DOGS. Cloning a dog? Great. Cloning four? Even better. Screwing with their genetic code so they glow in the dark? Hells yeah!

While we’re busy furrowing our brows, South Korea is having the kind of wicked genetic fun that can only be had when you throw all scientific caution to the wind and get down to some serious god-playing. Here’s what happens when you ask an American about cloning:

You: “Are you cloning something right now?”

Stern-faced Scientist: “While the technology for such an activity certainly exists, it is important to carefully consider the various legal, moral, religious and political implications before proceeding down such a path.”

Compare this to a conversation with a South Korean scientist:

You: “Are you cloning something right now?”

Scientist wearing a party hat with a Tom Collins in his left hand: “Damn right! We’re working on a way to clone a horse. Except instead of a regular horse head, we’re trying to give it Ted Nugent’s entire upper body.

Other Scientist wearing a pink bodysuit, playing keyboards: It can run the Kentucky Derby AND totally shred the solo in “Wang Dang Sweet Poontang”. Wicked accurate with a bow and arrow, too.”

A third scientist, nude: We’re also close to creating a donkey with a hollowbody Gibson head, so the Ted Nugenorse can play on extended trail rides. We call it a Guitonkey.

You: Sweet!

[High fives are exchanged]

I know which one I prefer.