Day: June 4, 2011

Deano’s answer to: “Did James Bond ever really love any woman?”

Posted on by Deano in Q & A

One could assume that, as part of the necessary compartmentalization of one’s emotions required to be a cold-blooded killer for one’s nation, Bond necessarily carries a different internalized definition of love not based on traditional mores. It may well be that James Bond loved them all.

This could not only explain the number of women he beds, but how quickly he can switch his feelings for them on and off as the situation demands – by his very nature, intensity is what rules Bond’s actions and motivations, and during each of his assignments he basically lives an entire ‘normal human lifespan’, which must then be cast aside for the next.

More familiar analogues of this effect would be: military personnel stationed overseas for a set period, foreign correspondents and photographers pursuing stories around the globe, “business class” roadwarriors hooking up in hotel bars, and of course, Several Members of the High School Senior Ski Trip™.

This answer originally appeared on Quora: Did James Bond ever really love any woman?

Deano’s answer to: “If there were a clone of me, would the clone think and act like I do? Why?”

Posted on by Deano in Q & A

It depends on the type of clone.

In television, books, and the movies, the popular conception of a clone is a “fully formed copy” of the original, with the same memories, skills, physical attributes, etc.

In the hard science of the real world, cloning is already happening, but mostly at the “genetic coding” level – the resulting organisms, while “copies of the original blueprints”, are “constructed in different locations/climes”, and in a way “from different materials”… Think of it like buying the same size plank of the same variety of wood from Home Depot each week – every one will be just a little bit different, though they’ll all “measure up” equally in their specification.

At least in the sense that our memories and experiences make us who we are, such clones would be lacking. That said, there’s no reason why cloning as a process could not be advanced to the point where these additional aspects were also recorded, copied and implanted into the clone(s).

Thus, to answer your question, such an outcome may someday be possible, but for now, the best you can hope for is (after 9-odd months) a newborn sibling who may or may not resemble you throughout its maturation, who will grow up in a world vastly different from your own childhood (no matter how hard you try to replicate your own childhood, the food chain, global warming, and Facebook are all working hard to make that a near impossibility.

As such, your clone will likely bear little resemblance to you now when it reaches your current age. Still, you probably won’t be able to find a better donor when you need a kidney/heart/lung/retina/bone marrow replacement down the line…

For that reason alone, I can imagine a near-future where Hollywood celebs “adopt their own clones” rather than third world refugee babies.

This answer originally appeared on Quora: If there were a clone of me, would the clone think and act like I do? Why?

Deano’s answer to: “If you agree that Superman, Batman & Wonder Woman are the DC big 3, who’s #4?”

Posted on by Deano in Q & A

If you go by power level, Green Lantern

If you go by mainstream recognition, The Flash

If you go by “cool factor” for the few people who ever notice him, Martian Manhunter

If you go by Hughesian Debating Skills, I’m totally won over on Aquaman 🙂

Personally, I use the “Dan Brereton Coolest Art/Pose” factor, which again I would argue gives a pretty solid win to Aquaman:


(Also, look at the panels – clearly Aquaman is standing/floating IN FRONT OF the other three “JLA Core Members”, more prominently so in the bottom panels)

This answer originally appeared on Quora: If you agree that Superman, Batman & Wonder Woman are the DC big 3, who’s #4?