Questions About the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

In the sewers of New York City, four innocent turtles found themselves covered in "ooze" and they transformed into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. When they took this human-sized form, the became superheroes who battled the evil forces of Shredder and audiences of their television show and movies enjoyed their adventures. But there are unasked questions that need to be asked.

With their new found forms, can they really be called turtles? They are turtles in origin, but with their mutation, they formed hands, the ability to talk, the ability to learn martial arts, order pizza, and much more. Could they in essence be considered more human than turtle now? If so, then could they be considered citizens of the United States? Do they have the same basic rights as any other human?

Assuming they are teenagers, it would be a while before they get to the senior years, but without social security, 401k's, or pensions, the turtles have nothing to live on when they get older. How would they be able to afford the rising price of pizza? Maybe they'll eventually work as greeters at Walmart. At least Splinter has the turtles to help him in his older years.

Eventually the turtles will presumably have to move out of the sewers too, otherwise their health could be in jeopardy with the accumulation of filth that has collected in the surroundings of their home. One could presume that April O'Neil would invite the turtles to live with her, but that would be too strange if she found true love and had kids with her husband. As a bachelorette, it's feasible that the turtles could live with her, but not afterward.

Also with their new found human-like forms, can the turtles fall in love with a human female and mate? If so, what would their children's biology be like? Would one turtle falling in love before the others possibly break up the group like Yoko Ono?

While the turtles have had more than their fifteen minutes of fictional fame, no one has asked the right questions about their future. The turtles may be brave heroes, saving the city of New York from Shredder, but they have not amassed any type of fortune to live off of in their golden years. Perhaps, like many teenagers, they believe that they are indestructible and will be virtually guaranteed a happy life in their older years.

Photo: Promotional photo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie released in 1990

Will Teleportation Devices Lead to Ethical Issues?

Watching science fiction movies and television shows, one of the most common methods of transportation is teleportation. One of the most famous lines from Star Trek is, "Beam me up Scotty." In Stargate, the characters step through a portal that takes them millions of miles away to other planets. The theory of instant travel poses a serious question, especially if some form of this technology turns out to be real one day. If you are teleported somewhere else, are you really you or is it a clone of you that ends up in the final destination.

The movie The Prestige really takes the ideal of teleportation into an ethical direction when Hugh Jackman's character uses a device designed by Nikola Tesla (played by David Bowie), which creates a copy of himself and either himself or his copy is teleported to a spot within a few hundred feet of the original spot. Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman's character), sets up a water tank and drowns in what appears to be his original self as he falls through the floor, only for his copy to enjoy the standing ovation from the upper deck of the auditorium. The survivor of this magic trick by Angier, is essentially a clone, but can it be said that he is soulless? If it is a clone, it definitely poses a question to those who are religious at the very least. The clone believes he is Robert Angier, but how could he be Angier, if Angier is also drowning underneath the stage at the same time?

The same can be said for Star Trek. The transporter essentially breaks down a person's molecules and reconstructs them in a new location. If you are deconstructed though, have you not essentially been killed off, only to have a clone of you created somewhere else? Even taken out of a religious context, if you're atheist, would you not have died if you were transported and sent to an endless blackness/nothingness abyss? From a religious standpoint, has the man operating the device played God by creating a new person, regardless or not if the clone has a soul?

Another question that could be asked is if you are religious, would the man operating the transporter be held accountable for murder? Or could the person who is transported be considered a suicide, especially if they believe that it is a copy of themselves that ends up on the other side?

On a side note, could a transporter such as the one on Star Trek be used for medical purposes. The transporter takes you apart and re-assembles you at another location, but if it is able to do this, could ailments such as cancer or other life threatening conditions be left out purposely?

While a teleportation device might be necessary in the future and probably end up being practical (I.E. Star Trek), will it pose some sort of ethical or even self-preservation issues in the future? Possibly. Will people feel peer pressure if they are unwilling to be teleported somewhere? As seen in Enterprise, a Star Trek series prequel, some of the characters do feel pressured by others to teleport. It's a scary thought that an individual could be pressured into basically killing themselves to save some travel time.

Photo: Still from Star Trek the Next Generation

Minor League Baseball's Best Mascots

The play on the baseball field has always been the focus of fans for as long as baseball has been around, but some teams have been able to spice up the game by the antics of their team mascots that represent them off the field and in between innings. Mascots such as the Philly Fanatic and the Padres' Friar have been fan favorites at the Major League level, but Minor League Baseball has been able to beat out their mainstream counterparts.

Almost every team in the minor leagues has a mascot that entertains fans during the games, attends local functions on behalf of the team, and stars in viral videos to boost the awareness of their team's promotional nights. Because of their unique mascots, many minor league fans believe that their favorite minor league teams possess a more entertaining mascot than their big league counterparts.

With this in mind, here are the top mascots in Minor League Baseball.

1. Thunder (Lake Elsinore Storm): The green dog from Southern California is the most entertaining mascot in the minors, let alone in the California League. Thunder can often be seen dancing on the dugouts, giving high-fives to fans before the game, and finding himself distracted while running the bases against kids. The Storm feature multiple mascots that also include Jackpot the Rabbit and Ace the Fastest Squirrel in the World, but Thunder is definitely the head honcho of the Padres' Single-A team. You can tell just by the large shoes he wears.

2. Cosmo (Las Vegas 51s): Cosmo's storyline says he's an alien from the planet Koufaxia who survived a spaceship crash. Since 2001, he has taken over as the mascot for the Mets' Triple-A team and has remained a fan favorite while the wearer of Cosmo's costume grinds it out inside the costume in the Las Vegas heat. To entertain fans, Cosmo has even raced a cow (well a person in a cow costume).

3. Sandy the Seagull (Brooklyn Cyclones): Another Mets' minor league representative, this Single-A team plays in the New York-Penn League and in 2014, Sandy was a finalist for top mascot in Minor League Baseball. Sandy is often found taking pictures with pretty girls and dancing with the team's cheerleaders. The Cyclones are also notorious for their promotional nights that celebrate pop culture successes such as TV's Seinfeld and Curious George from children's books. Sandy becomes a fan favorite for pictures on these nights, taking pictures with people who have dressed up for these special nights.

4. Ferrous (Lehigh Valley IronPigs): This Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies features a pig wearing a baseball jersey with the number 26 on his back (26 is the atomic number for iron). This mascot is perhaps one of the most helpful in the minors. He can occasionally be seen shining the shoes of an umpire between innings. Ferrous has also participated in the famous ALS Ice Bucket Challenge with his girlfriend FeFe, starred in a video teaching people CPR, and even has participated in a homerun derby featuring minor league mascots.

5. Kazoo (Pensacola Blue Wahoos): It's said that aquatic creature took an interest in the Pensacola baseball stadium that was built on the bay in 2012. Kazoo instantly fell in love with the Reds' Double-A franchise in the Southern League and has been their mascot since. Full of energy, Kazoo has been in fights with the Pensacola Ice Flyers' mascot, Maverick, in the middle of a hockey game.

Photo taken by Daniel Millhouse on 7/28/2015

Reboots Coming to a Television Near You

With the resurgence of movie reboots in the past decade, it shouldn't be a shock that television wouldn't be far behind. Television had been drifting into an endless void of reality shows and the world of the television writer was shrinking rapidly. Now, the writing industry will be making a comeback, but unfortunately not on original terms.

Popular shows such as Full House, Married With Children, and Coach will all pick up where their original runs left off. Another 90s favorite, Boys Meets World, has already picked up where it left off, but in the form of Girl Meets World with Cory and Topanga as the parents. Even The Odd Couple was remade with Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon playing Felix and Oscar. Rumors of other hit shows such as Three's Company, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and Green Acres have been rumored to also be in discussions for a reboot.

Has the industry really run out of good ideas? No, they still exist, but studio executives are unwillingly to give many new intellectual properties a chance. They prefer to error on the side of caution by greenlighting shows that contain characters that America has already built a love for. These reboots may answer questions such as, "Whatever happened to Coach Fox after the show ended?", but there is no reason to expand these answers beyond something more than a reunion episode or movie.

Internet streaming services have benefited from the lack of original writing on standard and cable television. The most watched Netflix shows, House of Cards and Orange is the New Black were both turned down by primetime networks.

If any good can be said to have come from the revival of old shows, it's the fact that children's favorites such as Reading Rainbow and The Muppets will be making their comebacks as well.

Television needs to drift back towards original programming. Reality shows have gone as about as far as they can go with shows such as Hollywood Cycle, Ax Men, and Big Brother scraping the bottom of the "topics" barrel. With talented writers everywhere to be found, there are hit ideas out there that are waiting to be discovered. Will there be flops? Yes, of course, but successful shows will more than make up for the flops.

*Photo Credit: Married With Children promotional photo

Is Blue a New Color?

One fascinating study that was revealed earlier this year, but gained little attention from the mainstream media, is the possibility that humans didn't have the ability to see the color blue until recently. Well, recently in comparison with how long humans have been around at least. The study combined aspects of literature and science to come up with the hypothesis.

One example the study cites is Homer's Odyssey. While Homer uses black and white as descriptions of colors in his work quite a lot and then red and green less so, he never once uses the color blue. Instead of describing the sea as being blue in color, Homer describes the sea as a 'wine-dark sea'. In other ancient Greek works, the sky is often described as yellow or red in color.

According to a philologist named Lazarus Geiger, even ancient China, Iceland, Hindu, Arabic, and Hebrew texts make no mention of the color. Egyptians were the first of the ancient cultures to use the word and that could possibly be because they were theorized to be the first culture to be able to produce blue dyes.

Presently, it was discovered that not all humans could detect the color blue. A tribe of people called Himba, located in Namibia, a country located in the southwest portion of the African continent was part of this study. The Himba tribe didn't have a word for the color blue and when their eye sight was tested, couldn't tell the color green apart from the color blue. Scientists showed tribal members eleven green squares and one blue square, but couldn't pick out the blue square.

Could it be possible that our ancestors really couldn't see blue? If so, it can be speculated that humans in the last few thousand years have undergone evolution when it comes to colors that humans can see. If this is true, are there any other colors humans will be able to see thousands of years from now that we as a species can't see today?

2015 Millhouse MLB Midseason Awards

2015 Millhouse MLB Midseason Awards

American League:
MVP: Mike Trout- It's hard to deny how good he is. He hits for power, he steals bases, he's a strong defender, and he won back-to-back MVP awards for the All-Star game.

Cy Young: Dallas Keuchel- He's finally developed into the pitcher the Astros thought he could be. He is the AL leader in ERA, one of the leaders in wins, and has led the Astros into a surprising first half performance that has impressed the rest of the MLB.

Rookie of the Year: Billy Burns- (although if Carlos Correa keeps producing at the rate he has, I believe he'll take it for the year). Burns doesn't have the power, but he can steal, he hits over .300, and has been a sparkplug for the A's.

Silver Sluggers: Catcher-Stephen Vogt, 1B- Miguel Cabrera, 2B- Jason Kipnis, 3B- Manny Machado, SS- Jose Iglesias, OF- Mike Trout, OF- Lorenzo Cain, OF- J.D. Martinez, DH- Nelson Cruz

Comeback Player of the Year: Prince Fielder- After neck surgery and a lot of doubts about his returning to full strength, Fielder came back and would be the best first baseman in the American League if it weren't for Miggy.

National League:
MVP: Paul Goldschmidt- In an very close vote, Goldschmidt just edges out Bryce Harper for this spot because of his stolen bases.

Cy Young: Zack Greinke- In the midst of the fourth longest scoreless innings streak since 1961, Greinke currently holds this spot, but could possibly lose it to Max Scherzer if Greinke doesn't produce as well in the second half.

Rookie of the Year: Tied- Joc Pederson and Kris Bryant- In many circumstances, Pederson would be the clear winner, but a batting average that hovers around .230 makes it hard to say he has a clear win over the much anticipated rookie season of Kris Bryant.

Silver Sluggers: Catcher- Buster Posey, 1B- Paul Goldschmidt, 2B- Dee Gordon, 3B- Todd Frazier, SS- Troy Tulowitzki, OF- Bryce Harper, OF- Charlie Blackmon, OF- AJ Pollock, Pitcher- Madison Bumgarner

Comeback Player of the Year: Joey Votto- after hitting only 6 homers and having a severe decline in his average, Votto has nearly tripled his homer total from last season and is once again hitting with a good batting average.

Grande Doubles Down on Stupid; Still No Apology

On the night of July 4 in Lake Elsinore, California, a 22 year old woman licked two donuts and spit on two more at an independent shop. Normally something like this would merit some sort of arrest, even if it is only on misdemeanor charges. In this occasion, the culprit in question is pop star Ariana Grande. Compounding the problem is the fact that video captured her saying, "What the f*** is that? I hate Americans. I hate America."

While a large portion of America did go after the singer for her actions and words, a large segment also defended her actions or claimed that they were taken out of context despite the video appearing on the news and online in its entirety without edits. Her fans claimed she was being victimized by an overzealous media. The real victim, at least initially in all of this is that Wolfee Donuts took a hit from the Riverside County Health Department, a hit on their shrink (lost dollars for those unsure of that term), and for many others siding with Grande, a hit on their business reputation.

The incident occurred late at night (the donut shop is open 24 hours) while the staff was in the process of making more donuts for the next business day. An employee, excited that the platinum selling artist was in her shop, showed Grande the freshly made donuts at the star's request. While Grande asked to see more donuts, the employee left the trays she originally brought out on top of the glass display case. This is not what they normally do, but a star struck employee made the mistake. There was no way for the employee to know that someone who has performed all over the world, was about to commit a crime that would cost the shop four dollars...initially.

Video leaked out and shop owner Joe Marin tried to press charges initially. Instead of charges ever being placed against Grande, the health department showed up at the shop and downgraded their health rating to a B. It may not sound bad right off hand as many students would gladly take a B as a grade in a class, but for a restaurant, it's extremely bad.

In a move to save her reputation, Grande released two different apologies, neither of which apologized to the owner of Wolfee Donuts. Instead, she addressed the issue of the hating America comments. She tried to say it's because of her issues with Americans and their eating habits, but no apology to the shop owner. Instead, her move was to save face with the rest of America, essentially playing damage control for her career.

At one point, her publicity team even tried to say that in the video, she is misquoted because they claimed she said, "I hate bear claws." Watch the video and judge for yourself. It's easy to hear what she really said.

Many in the local community rallied behind the donut shop thought. The Lake Elsinore Storm even held a promotional night on July 15, giving away a 1,000 donuts to those in attendance. Grande supporters complained that Wolfee Donuts gained sales because of the incident, but it's probably not the way Marin would have liked to do this, especially while it damaged his shop's health rating.

In the second apology video that Grande posted online, people expected for her to finally apologize to the shop for her actions, but she never did. She doubled-down on stupid and continued to talk about her personal issues with American eating habits.

Another side issue that arose was that it started to be reported by almost every news source that covered the incident, that Marin dropped the charges. This too is wrong. In an interview on Toronto's KISS 92.5, Marin stated that he never dropped the charges, but instead the authorities had decided that they would not charge her with a crime. They asked Marin what the cost of each donut was and he responded that they cost a dollar a piece, causing a total of four dollars in physical damage. Indecisive on what to charge her with, the authorities dropped the charges and Marin won't get his justice from Grande.

While it may only be four dollars in damage, this still has to be an arrestable offense. If a regular Joe Schmo caused four dollars of damage in any restaurant or retail shop, they can be charged with a misdemeanor. So why not Grande? It may carry only a minor slap on the wrist, but the process of the whole legal situation should hopefully be enough to detour Grande from pulling more childish pranks like that. She's 22 years old. Despite looking like a 12 year old, she should have enough of a brain to know what she did is wrong and that there are repercussions to what she did. Letting her go free only emboldens her to possibly do other childish pranks in the future, much like how Justin Bieber has continually acted like a kid.

But most of all, Marin is owed a direct apology from Grande. She has yet to do this and until she does, she will have proven to the public that she has not learned anything from her stunts that hurt a small business owner.

Photo of Wolfee Donuts by author Daniel Millhouse
Photo of Ariana Grande is a screencap from the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show