Psychologist Sharon Lamb conducted a study on the influence of superhero role models on young boys, and thinks that the current crop have a generally bad influence on children:

"There is a big difference in the movie superhero of today and the comic book superhero of yesterday," said psychologist Sharon Lamb,

PhD, distinguished professor of mental health at University of Massachusetts-Boston. "Today’s superhero is too much like an action hero who participates in non-stop violence; he’s aggressive, sarcastic and rarely speaks to the virtue of doing good for humanity. When not in superhero costume, these men, like Ironman, exploit women, flaunt bling and convey their manhood with high-powered guns."

The comic book heroes of the past did fight criminals, she said, "but these were heroes boys could look up to and learn from because outside of their costumes, they were real people with real problems and many vulnerabilities," she said.

Susana Polo of Geekosystem wrote a lengthy response to Lamb, noting the psychologist wrongly assumes that superhero narratives are primarily aimed at children:

While the superhero genre has well established tropes and rules, any genre can accommodate tonal shifts. No one would imply that Animal Farm represents a corruption of the talking animal genre of children’s literature. Fantasy doesn’t get called out for telling morally ambiguous stories.

There are comic book superheroes for kids, yes. Captain Marvel has had a kid oriented series lately, and then there’s Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and others. But the majority of comic book superheroes haven’t been written for small children for twenty years now.

Precisely. It's improper to assume that while the tone has shifted, the the intended audience has remained static. Parents should shield their children from superhero comics and movies that would do them emotional harm.

A few weeks ago, I extolled the greatness of the movie Kick-Ass, and a Facebook friend asked me if she should take her kids. I told her absolutely not. It's about kids being heroes, but it's not for kids at all.

http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2010/08/macho-stereotype-unhealthy.aspx via Geekosystem | Image: kamillyonsia

Previously: Why Iron Man Is the Gen Y Superhero

You do what you have to do to pay the bills. Flickr user torakamikaze suggests that Sonic may have to resort to selling off his gold rings.

Link via Super Punch

U is a project to make a complete Klingon-language opera. There are some scheduled performances coming up soon in The Hague. Here's a description from the official website:

The libretto of ‘u’ is based on the epos of Kahless the unforgettable. Betrayed by his brother and witness to his father’s brutal slaying, Kahless is pitted against his bitter enemy the mighty tyrant Molor. To regain his honor he must travel into the underworld, create the first Bat’leth, be united with his true love the lady Lukara and fight many epic battles. Through this awe inspiring adventure Kahless redefines what it is to be truly Klingon. With the help of Marc Okrand, the worlds leading Klingon language expert, we have managed to piece together the stories in their original epic-poetic form for the first time.

A sample video that I found on YouTube suggests that the opera is still in its early development. Or, at least, I hope that this isn't the finished product. Nonetheless, it's a praiseworthy effort. Qapla'!

Link via reddit | Image: Paramount | Previously: Klingon-Language Rapper

(Video Link)

Aaron Webber, a Sega employee, went on vacation for three weeks. This gave his co-workers plenty of time to create an amazingly detailed Sonic the Hedgehog landscape in his cubicle. The end of the video shows Aaron's reaction upon his return.

via Urlesque

Artist Dean T. Fraser, known for his Simpsonized versions of different pop culture icons, has created this image of Doctor Who characters à la Matt Groening. You can view wallpaper-sized images at the link.

Link via io9 | Artist's Website

Finnish photographer Marko Saari made a set of pictures depicting the characters from Super Mario Bros. as zombies. His Flickr photostream is filled with all manner of elaborate cosplay works.

Link via Nerdcore | Photo: (c) Marko Saari, used with permission.

Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church cult are protesting Comic-Con in San Diego. I guess that God Hates Geeks or something. Anyway, geeks in attendance have staged a large counter-protect. Urlesque has a roundup of some of the funniest signs and costumes used.

Link

"Hows about I blow the front of your face out the back of your head?" Woody isn't just a toy in this illustration by deviantART user lily-fox. She writes:

In the second Toy Story, when Woody's arm gets torn (and then torn OFF holy [redacted]), I winced hard. Obviously it doesn't hurt or anything, it's just a freak-out to have a dead arm hanging there (and kind of hilarious), but it felt like a grave wound. Woody, you've taken your lumps. And you just get right back up, you fine, valiant [redacted]. No wonder you're my hero.

Link

Mina Mikhael and Matthew Barhoma made this neat image in light graffiti. That's an artistic medium consisting of time-lapse photography that allows artists to insert lights into spaces so that they appear to be free-floating.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/minamac88/4766585617/ via Gizmodo

This is unspeakably awesome. In two cross stitch (?) pieces by Jude Buffum, Rainbow Brite, Strawberry Shortcake, Teddy Ruxpin, and a Care Bear fight to the death.

http://www.theautumnsociety.com/2009/05/rainbow-bloodbath-care-bear-carnage.html via Great White Snark | Previously by this artist: Housewives Tarot

This infographic, created by someone called "Pest", shows how the lightsaber changed over the years. I didn't realize that there were so many colors. I prefer the manly shade of red for my own sidearm.

via Sci Fi Wire

(YouTube Link)

This clever mashup by YouTube user solidbronze presents information about the Daleks as though reading from an entry in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It speaks at length about Davros, the creator of the Daleks. A selection:

It was only after his final creation of the Daleks was signed off and filed that Davros spotted the major flaw in the design of these would-be conquerors. Unwilling to admit that his perambulatory calculations might be slightly askew, Davros spent the next two hundred years after his death trying to conceptualize a way for his galaxy-traversing warriors to navigate stairs, without resorting to the obvious solution: legs.

via Sci Fi Wire

The wife of redditor maggoty made this amazingly detailed cross-stitch inspired by Sonic the Hedgehog. She estimates that she spent about 300 to 400 hours over 2 to 3 years on the project. The completed work measures 58 cm by 40 cm.

Link via Geekosystem

A simply lovely watercolor by deviantART user Lora8. If any superhero would have the coordination to tackle ballet, it'd be Spidey.

I wonder what the sheet music represents. Does anyone recognize the tune?

Link

This image makes perfect sense to me. Of course Batman is pregnant. And who else would be the father, but Superman? And what would be a better place to bring the child into the world than the moon? Alas, one redditor disagrees:

See, here are the problems that I have with this image (As a nerd):

1. Batman can’t lift his costume over his stomache like that. It’s made of Kevlar.
2. Batman can’t breathe on the moon.
3. The sun is illuminating half of the back side of Earth.
4. The sun is too large. If it’s supposed to be a red sun, then Superman should have retired the uniform and it should engulf Earth.
5. Superman is pressing up against Batman to hear the baby. He has super hearing and should not need to do this.
6. Batman no longer wears his logo like that.
7. Batman wouldn’t even bother being Batman if he were pregnant. Notice the lack of utility belt? He’s not prepared to do superhero work.
8. Batman is a man.
9. Batman’s breasts are not swelled.

via Geekosystem | Redditor Commentary