Uses For Kryptonite #17

Lure Kryptonian ducks into your sights! Make your next Thanksgiving meal out of this world!

Uses For Kryptonite #31

Clean your soiled carpets and kill Superman! Makes a great gift.

Homework #5: Help

Has science fiction ever helped you? How?

Alfonso's First Post!!!!!!!

Hi, I'm Alfonso, I'm your TA, yada yada yada. If you need anything, just let me know. But don't expect me to get back to you in a timely manner. I'm busy. And honestly, I don't really like Sci-Fi. I just came to the University of Awesome 'cause, you know, how the hell you gonna pass up a chance to go to the University of Awesome?

I'm a grad student here at UOA. What do I study? None of Your Business 101. It's an actual course. Look it up.

Listen, I know you're all trying to learn about Sci-Fi and everything but, c'mon? Who watches this stuff? It's ridiculous. Every plot is so excessively more absurd than it ever really needed to be. I mean, sure, we did go to the moon. But some of the stuff they come up with--Magical Worms living in people (Trills) and Hayden Christensen being Darth Vader. C'mon. So I don't take too much stock in Prof. Sci-Fi. I'm just here 'cause of the money. You get me? And if I happen to maybe diss your little obsession every once in awhile: deal with it.

The thing is, Prof. Sci-Fi isn't really tech savvy. I'm the one running the show here on the blog. The new header--that wasn't an accident. I'm his guru when it comes to the computer. So don't be deceived by my official name. "Alfonso the Witless TA?" My real name is Steve. And Prof. Sci-Fi thought he'd nickname me that to be funny. He thinks I'm witless because when we first met, I tripped over his wastebasket and because I couldn't name the prefix code for the U.S.S Reliant. So apparently, I'm an idiot.

But I did watch TWOK again and checked. It's 16309.

Anyway, welcome to the class. Try to learn something. I'll be grading your papers.

Don't screw up.

QUIZ ANSWERS

The correct response is Krypto, obviously named after Kal-El's home planet of Krypton. Before the Crisis on Infinite Earths, which substantially reduced the number of characters in the DC Universe, Krypto was a regular character who had many of Superman's abilities. After the Crisis, Superman was the only survivor of Krypton--or so it was believed. Krypto has appeared in several publications since the Crisis in the 80's. It just goes to show that you can't put a good dog down.

I would also like to apologize for the new header. It seems Alfonso may have misunderstood me when I asked him to add some new graphics to the site. We'll have that cleaned up in a week or two--so long as Alfonso understands my directions this time.

Enjoy the rest of your break!

Regards,

Prof. Sci-Fi

CLASS ANNOUNCEMENT: Reboot

Class,

I hope you all had a good winter break. Now that the next semester is beginning, I'm sure you are all looking forward to classes and homework.

I wanted to inform you about some changes that will be taking place in the next few weeks in our class, "Sci-Fi: A Narrative to Live By" or AWSM 101. First, I'd like to introduce you to a new member of our class, Alfonso, our TA. You will see him posting occasionally to keep you updated about changes to the syllabus, assignments, and other administrative things that help make the class run smoothly. It was necessary for me to hire Alfonso due to yet another change.

I am teaching a new course--some lectures of which will be appearing on our class website as supplementary material. The class is called: "Practical Skills for Sci-Fi Environments." This course is largely designed for people who will be doing field research in Sci-Fi environments and will cover topics such as safety tips for encounters with the Borg, guidelines for operating DeLoreans, and the many uses for Kryptonite. Check this space often for new material in this course.

Obviously, my busy schedule required me to hire Alfonso as an aide. I will also be participating in several conferences this semester, and so we will be having guest lecturers from all over the Sci-Fi universe. This semester, guest lecturers will come exclusively from the Star Trek mythology. Their lectures will be available as video blogs on the class website. The first lecturer will be Cowboy Worf and he will be visiting on Jan. 11. The topic will be forthcoming.

Because I will be out of the classroom so much, I believe it will be beneficial for you, the students, to have more direct access to me in case of any questions. Of course, as this is a class about Sci-Fi and morality, feel free to send me any questions regarding our class topics. You can reach me at profscifi@gmail.com . You can also contact Alfonso if you have any questions about grades or administrative things. Alfonso: alfonsothewitlessta@gmail.com . If the questions pertain to the whole class, I may answer them on the class website--with your permission, of course.

Of course, also keep watching this space for your homework assignments and weekly quizzes. The quizzes will be explained at the end of each week in order to better facilitate your learning.

It has been a great semester, and I look forward working with you in the new year, 2010. Sounds like something out of Sci-Fi, doesn't it?

Regards,

Prof. Sci-Fi

CLASS ANNOUNCEMENT: Upcoming Changes

Class,

There will be changes coming to the website. Stay tuned to find out how the timeline is about change.

Prof. Sci-Fi