Black Thursday: Fortune, Cookie!

Happy Frickin Valentine's Day!

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Greetings, Programs!

A few holiday how-dya-dos for ya, a little early for some, a little late for others...

Io, Lupercalia!—aka Hooray, fertility?!... or something.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!—aka Joy and Prosperity in the coming year!

Happy birthday to Anna Howard Shaw!—aka I miss 30 ROCK already... If I never watch the final episode, that means it never ended, right? (I've still got most of this season DVR-saved and unwatched =)

And of course, Happy Frickin Black Thursday!—aka Happy Frickin Valentine's Day!

So, yeah. Here's that thing that I made for you. Don't make a big thing of it.

Click, enjoy, and share! (Beware of the usual heavy snark, nerdy non sequitur, light smarm, eclectic musicks, and also a familiar-yet-unidentifiable aftertaste... in bed! Wokka wokka wokka! =)

And... If you've got some time and internet to kill, *please* have a looksee at the multi-part post-script that follows. Thanks!

Hugs and kisses~

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P.S. I've got a sorta-design in the shirt.woot t-shirt design derby this week: Dark Initiative. Inspired by the news that J.J. Abrams will be helming STAR WARS VII, it's a mash-up of LOST and STAR WARS artifacts (surprise surprise, right?). Please give it a look, and if you dig it, drop a vote on it! Voting closes at noon on Thursday, so act now! =)

Note that In order to vote, you have to be logged in as a woot.com *member/customer* (which means you have to have made at least one purchase from any woot.com division). If you can't vote—and somehow do not happen to need a new laptop or a gross of "Little Hottie" hand warmers—then please consider passing the link on to friends who might like to see the shirt printed. Thanks and Namaste!

P.P.S. The Brattle has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the installation of digital projection tech and an upgrade to the theater's HVAC system. Please do yourself and your loved ones a favor and help keep me off the streets by ensuring that I have a properly climate controlled venue in which to watch the awesome digital and celluloid zoetropes that are all the rage. The Kickstarter rewards for pledges range from having your name on screen before every feature for a year to Brattle tickets, schwag, and membership to live experiences and events with Neil Gaiman, Amanda Palmer, Matt Damon, and John Lithgow, but not all together at the same time, just Neil and Amanda or Matt and John.

Yeah, totally lame, right? =)

Every little bit helps, and, hey! $20 gets you a date night at the Brattle and your name in lights! Please check it out and give! Give til just before it hurts!

Unless, y'know... you're into that. Then by all means, keep giving!

P.P.P.S. Bogart, Bergman, and Bugs at the Brattle! CASABLANCA plays now thru Black Thursday (alas, the 7pm show is already sold out) and the Bugs Bunny Film Festival starts up on Friday! Please have a look at the schedule, get thee to CASABLANCA if you can, and let me know if you're up for meeting up for some cartoon goodness! If schedule allows, would love to take in the classics with company! =)

P.P.P.P.S. If you've resisted my Jedi mind trickery so far, would you unclench already and give these EMPIRE UNCUT clips a look? And a LIKE, if you do—requires login via fb. Thanks! May the Force be with you.~

"Set a course for adventure..." Starring Nephew-D2!

"Lando's Castle—Tokens Only!" Visit Cloud City's premier videogame arcade!

If you feel like riffing on 15 seconds of your own, starwarsuncut.com rolled over all their clips a couple weeks ago. Take one and (re)make it your own! I'm hoping to get a third clip completed in the next month, before dealing with post-op limbo—whee!~ Rest assured that you will feel the disturbance in the Force if it gets done. Also, I will probably email you.

P.P.P.P.P.S. A reward (I'd like to think =) for making it all the way down this email: a snapmashup from Snowpocalypse 2013...

Keep on post-keepin on~

Vote: Dark Initiative!

Repurposed my LOST x STAR WARS mash-up artifact (inspired by the news that J.J.A. would helm SW7) for this week's shirt.woot "New Secret Societies" derby and came up with this: Dark Initiative.

Dark Initiative, aka D.A.R.K.—Dark Applications Research and Knowledge.

When Galactic 815 crashed on that uncharted moon, the survivors could never have imagined uncovering the Dark Initiative's Itsa Space station beneath its surface.

This is the sign for that particular DI station. Who knows how many others there may be...?

Also, did you hear that J.J. Abrams is directing a movie with the word "star" in its title?

I was pretty late to the game in submitting—voting closes at noon!— so act now! =)


Remember (from shirt.woot)...

Only users who have made at least one purchase at any Woot site may vote in the Derby. If that’s you, just click “I’d Want One” next to any designs that catch your fancy. You can vote for as many different designs as you like, but only once per design. If you don’t see the “I’d Want One” buttons next to the designs, you’re either not logged in, or you’ve never bought anything from Woot. Go log in and/or buy something if you want to vote.

Namaste and may the Force be with you.

Keep on keepin on~

EMPIRE UNCUT: a popularity contest!

EMPIRE UNCUT clip 1: Set a course for adventure with Incom GalacticPS, standard in every T-65B X-wing!

EMPIRE UNCUT clip 2: Who's playing games at Lando's Castle? Visit the smooothest arcade in Cloud City, baby!

Friends, Galactics, Droids...

Lend me your auditory receptors!

Actually, what I really need are your clicking appendages. =)

The EMPIRE UNCUT project runners have recently enabled a sort-by-popularity option for browsing the fan-created awesfulness, and I'd be pleased as Ponch (not John) to get your votes for Bespin High's Prom Court. *

Umm... Right. Well, here are those links! Please give them a play and a like and pass them on! =)

"Set a course for adventure..." :: Incom's Galactic Positioning System will get you to your rendezvous point without any Imperial entanglements! Ain't like dustin' crops, boy. (starring Nephew-D2 =)

"Bombing for Rebels" :: Game on at Lando's Castle! Tokens only!

To LIKE each video, you can click at top right to log in via StarWarsUncut.com (you'll be asked to join) or Facebook (you'll be asked to add the StarWarsUncut app) and then click "Like this scene." FYI, the SWUncut app is pretty painless and passive, mostly about sharing and commenting on uncut content. Do please share and/or comment if you like, and check out other fans-tastic clips, too (but don't like them =).

If you get lost at the StarWarsUncut site, a screenshot tutorial follows...

(Remember, there are TWO videos—links above—for you to fall in like with! =)

Thanks, minions! =)

Keep on keepin on~

* Of course I know there's no way I'm gonna be Prom King, but it would be nice to buck the status quo and make the court. I mean, we all know it's gonna be Faboo Hood for King. And sure, it seems like a terrible cliche, him being the captain of, like, every B.H.S. team we've got, but he really is misunderstood when taken as the stereotypical dumb jock. Cuz I know him—we ride the same cloud bus (after I take another cloud bus halfway across Bespin)—he truly is a decent, thoughtful guy under that B.H.S. Tibanna Miners blernsball cap. That healthy wild mane of hair... That winning smile... And those arms... So strong... Like boughs of sturdy Kashyyyk Wroshyr... Ohh, you'd feel so safe wrapped in arms like those...

Happy Frickin Holidaze: "Santa mode"

Four calling birds...~

In response to some feedback I've gotten about not making it to the "win" screen in this year's Santa misadventure, I thought I'd offer peeps the option of a "cheat code" of sorts...

First, tho, I'll throw the basic rules at you again:

1. Control Rudolph's altitude using your mouse. Note that you have to keep your cursor on the game stage for it to be detected by Rudolph.

2. Santa follows Rudolph's trail, and depending on the shape of that trail, he can sometimes be launched into the air.

3. Gifts appear at various heights, but the ones that float in/above the clouds are special. These contain letters of the alphabet, and once you collect the eight different ones, you finish the game!

4. These letters spell out the password that will unlock your... well, let's just call it a "reward." =)

So, with that in mind, please give it another whirl if you're game!

OR...

Skip the gaming bit and click to view the "reward" at Vimeo or play it here, embedded below...

I hope you dig SANTA (drop a comment or like at Vimeo to chime in), and a Merry Post-Apocalyptic 2013 to one and all! =)

SANTA from cabin boy on Vimeo.

Keep on keepin on~

Happy Frickin Holidaze =)

Seasons Greetings, Programs!

You can now cease with the fretting and pacing! It's arrived! My latest Santa Clausical digital fruitcake!

(Skip down to the P.S. for mostly-just-the-how-to-play... =)

Freshly half-baked from the easy-bake-mind-oven—light bulb! And, like most analog fruitcakes, this digital one is made of bits of various fruity and nutty items suspended in a spongey medium of indeterminate and perhaps questionable taste. And, if it's all hardened properly, very likely in just the mix and ratio that will cause your teeth to hurt and your stomach acid to churn.

Yay! Fruitcake!

This year's is a two-layer jobber that first (layer #1) has Santa Claus dealing with an aeronautical mishap and the giftastic fallout that results. Perhaps it's this very incident that turns out to be the last, final straw that then prompts him to try exploring a new career path (layer #2)...?

Yeah, that won't mean anything until you CLICK to PLAY!

And actually, even then it probably won't mean that much in a sensical way.

In any case, I hope these dopey clusters of zeros and ones find you enjoying your first post-Apocalypse Solstice season. Frankly, I'm finding it not nearly as exciting as I'd hoped PoPoc life would be. It's got more of a... post-Rapture vibe, y'know? And THAT was pretty frickin underwhelming, right?

O well. =)

Happy Frickin Holidaze!

Keep on keepin on~

P.S. A nitty-gritty guide to the 2012 Holidaze experience...

1. Point your look-at-the-internet thingie here. Note that this bit features musicks, so adjust your speakerphonia to desired levels. Also, it requires Flash, so it's no good on iOS gear. Boo on Apple or me, your call.

2. Once you click "start flying" you control Rudolph's altitude with your mouse. No clicking needed, just moving the mouse. Note that it has to be positioned within the game's stage to be detected.

3. Santa follows Rudolph's path and you want him to pick up gifts. The presents that appear above the clouds are special. When Santa collects eight (8) different special gifts, you win the game.

4. If you don't collect those gifts, the game will continue until the post-PoPoc, or until Flash crashes. Hopefully the two events will not be connected.

5. When you collect all eight special gifts, a "win" screen will appear. Please read the instructions on the "win" screen before clicking "Santa."

6. The "Santa" thing... Well, you're just gonna hafta watch.

7. As I stated above, this sucker is not quite fully-baked, so please try to forgive any glitchiness. At least the music is nice, right? For the flying portion of the evening, I mean.

8. Please direct any complaints, comments, or joyous exaltation to this office. Thank you, and Enjoy!~

=)

Holidaze 2012: video spiel & thanks!

* Not sure what this post is about? Click here and maybe you'll figure it out... eventually. =)

Santa's sick of everyone's poop! He gives and gives, and what does he get? Not a lot is the frickin answer. Oh, no—That's not why he's in his biz, of course. Not for reward! (But the cookies do hit the spot.) He got into it out of generosity and faith (in humanity). But, as the years roll by, the one list gets longer and longer and the other one, shorter and shorter. You know which list is which...

So! Santa's looking to be a little more proactive, looking to get lessons out there. Not carrot or stick, but examples, y'know? Stories. Sure, holiday songs and specials are fine. They get the word out, but by their nature, the *are* only once a year. He's going for a new platform, something, well, timeless...Syndication. A new show, starring himself and about himself. No—NOT reality TV crap. Boo. Not real stories. But, while they may not be real, they will be true... if you get my meaning.

Good crack.

Whatev. You stopped reading three paragraphs ago, didn't you? Bah humbug!

Also—Happy frickin holidaze.

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Of course, Louis C.K.'s LOUIE is the inspiration for this hot mess. The show stars C.K. and is about a kind of alternate reality C.K. The guy who does and goes to and says all the difficult things that everyone wants to do/go/say or wishes they knew to do/go/say. It really is Remarkable and Wonderful.

If your'e not watching the show, you may be a real dum dum.

The music—and the opening credits sequence all together (or is that altogether? : P)—is brilliant all on its own, too. LOUIE's music is a version of "Brother Louie" recorded by Ian Lloyd exclusively for the show. He originally recorded it with his band The Stories in 1973 and they covered the original by Hot Chocolate, released six months earlier. The television show them is an excellent mix of Hot Chocolate's original with Ian Lloyd's vocals.

I think it's serendipitous that C.K. ended up casting the African-American actress he did to play his ex-wife on LOUIE. If you listen to the original song, Brother Louie is "whiter than white," a guy who's fallen in love with a black woman. He and his girl each try to introduce his/her true love to their respective families and meet with less-than-joyous excitement. In the show, their skin color doesn't (or at least, hasn't so far) come into any kind of controversial play, but I still feel like the show and the song have aligned in a sympathetic way.

I make stuff up like that sometimes.

Anyway... The incredibly professionally recorded and produced version of the song that accompanies SANTA is a composition Frankenthemed from pieces of the LOUIE theme, sections of a karaoke version of the Hot Chocolate recording, and, obviously, a number of howling stray cats.

Also, some jingle bells. =)

Note that nothing here is used with permission, but also that its use is certainly not for any profit. Except maybe to push the Goodness of the Brattle, LOUIE, and "Brother Louie," so... Not for any of my profit. : P

Keep on keepin on~

* Not sure what this post is about? Click here and maybe you'll figure it out... eventually. =)

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If you're having trouble making out the "dialogue" in the movie theater bit...

Dialogue/audio from IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE is audible, accompanying the film playing on screen. Over the course of this segment the film moves from the early scene in which Clarence is talking to his heavenly superiors to the introduction of young George Bailey in holy flashback.

Jack A. (always whispering, too loudly): Is that a talking star?

Jack: Is this a cartoon?

Jack: What's with the talking stars?

Santa (to himself): Really?

Jack: Oh... Those are AN-gels!

Santa (to himself): Allright. That's it. You made the list.

Jack: I thought you said Jon Stewart was in this.

Santa (to himself): Seriously...?

Santa SIGHS.

Jack: Hey... Is the whole thing in *black-and-white*?

Santa CRUMPLES.

Holidaze 2012: tunes!

Music to sky-ski by...

"Dance Of The Sugar Plum Sprites"
8-Bit-w0nder
Christmasasaurus Vol. 2

"It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year (A Shrift Remix)"
Andy Williams
Christmas Remixed

"Snowfall"
Esquivel
Merry X-Mas From The Space-Age Bachelor Pad

"Christmas Don't Be Late"
Mafialligator
A very 8-Bit Christmas

"Christmas Time Is Here"
Vince Guaraldi Trio
A Charlie Brown Christmas

Happy frickin holidaze! =)

Keep on keepin on~

EMPIRE STRIKES BACK uncut!

Keep on beepin on~

Dear Colbert SuperPAC...

After watching coverage of the context clippage by the right (by talking heads and in campaign ads) of Obama's very reasonable, fundamental, and completely correct description of how any business gets started in America, I got in my head that Colbert's superPAC might float an enlightening demonstration of the ridiculousness of the tactic...

Dear Colbert SuperPAC---

In regards to the out-of-context-taking of "You didn't build that" by the Romney campaign (or supporting superPACs?), would the Colbert SuperPAC consider producing a response ad that stitches together word- and phrase-sized soundbites of Romney set to a beat to re-create "Call Me, Maybe?"

"Con-Text Me, Maybe?"

Or maybe it could be a sorta non-partisan issue ad that stitches together bites from both Romney and Obama to re-create... I dunno... "Summer Lovin'?" Something from ROCKY HORROR? Or the original/complete "This Land Is Your Land?"

Or... go non-musical and re-create Gekko's "Greed" speech or Jack Nicholson's "You can't handle the truth" tirade, with an end-credit "We don't need no sticking badges"...? I'll take my answer off the air. Thanks for your continued awesomnitude!

THE DAILY SHOW - "Back In Black" - 7/24/2012.

THE DAILY SHOW - 7/25/2012.

Also, *love* the Daffy Duck cameo in the "Moment Of Zen" =)

Keep on keepin on~

pre-PROMETHEUS crazy talk

So I was surprised when someone recently described PROMETHEUS as a "maybe-prequel" to ALIEN. I've done everything possible to keep my distance from any PROMETHEUS intel, basing my desire to see it on the rep of the director, the series, and what I've seen in the first couple of trailers.

From that, I was pretty certain that this movie would reveal to us how the shipwreck that Ripley and company discover in ALIEN came to happen. The scale of that shipwreck, along w the fossilized, chest-bursted, remains of the alien pilot(?), seemed to point to a race of giant humanoid dudes. This ship and its crew apparently fell prey to the Alien. I was never quite clear on whether the Alien eggs were cargo or the worst kind of luck for the giant guys, laid in a subterranean chamber of Acheron (or whatever it was called - can't remember) that the ship's crash/landing exposed.

For now, I'm gonna go with cargo.

Jumping back a bit in time... Human archaeologists uncover a message left by extra terrestrial visitors in ancient times, found in the remains of cultures from all over the globe. They decipher it as a map and an invitation. The map leads them to this planetoid and an outpost of the Giants. It being an invitation, they expect to be warmly received. Not exactly what happens. Their arrival wakes the Giants and their outpost from a long sleep. Their mission: return to Earth and wipe it clean of its intelligent spacefaring race so that they can pillage it for its resources and tech (no pesky radiation or the like). Their tool of choice: the Alien.

Hrmm... I wonder if the Giants have an anti-Alien? Or maybe there's some later form of the Alien that is more dormant or docile and we've never lived long enough to observe it...?

Or maybe what they need a race of intelligent hosts - humans - to turn into an army of mature Aliens for use in some star- and centuries-spanning war with another species or culture...? Predators? Hrmm...

Anyhow, the invitation turns out to be bait. A puzzle, a test that only spacefaring cultures can pass. The Giants, for whatever reason, have judged other space travelers to be threats, perhaps to themselves or their dominance, perhaps to the well-being of the galaxy in general. So, they once their outpost fully powers up, it launches its massive ship of eggs at Earth. The naive humans figure it out, almost too late, and end up sacrificing themselves, and probably their beautiful ship, to knock the Giant ship out of the sky.

I wonder who triggers the warning beacon that lures the Nostromo down in the first movie... The humans, or that actual Giant pilot we see fossilized.

This sort of p/re-appearance of the misinterpreted message has me feeling like there may be a motif/plot-resonance between PROMETHEUS and ALIEN the way there was between TRON: LEGACY and the original. Also, the Company regulation android - Fassbender's whoever / Holm's Ash. I could see him being a stealth android, like Ash was. That would fit in the prequel world easily, right?

But hey, like I said at the start, someone called this a "maybe-prequel..."

That got me thinking... What if this happens between ALIEN and ALIENS? Would the Company know anything about what happened in ALIEN before they recover Ripley's shuttle? Well, Mother and Ash communicated enough or had enough classified protocol to follow that they were ready to put an infected member into cryosleep in order to bring a sample of this weaponizable biology back home. We've gotta believe that the Company KNOWS. I mean, establishing Newt's colony before ALIENS is no coincidence, right?

So, when these archaeologists find out that their invitation points to this planetoid, the Company happily underwrites the mission. Maybe these guys visit the Giant ship after Kane and friends, but have the tech and know-how w them to power it back up, or inadvertently trigger it.

Hrmm... And Kane and friends disabled the warning beacon, right? They'd have no clue.

Interrresting. Doesn't change all that much, except maybe on their way in they might encounter some log or record of the Nostromo's encounter that they only decrypt after they land and probably just about when the Giant poop hits the Giant fan, eh?

Right, well, I guess I'll found out later today! =)

In space, no one can hear you scream... Woo-hoo!

Keep on keepin on~

Setting up for the next AVENGERS...

Holy crap! Okay, can we say that Coulson died heroically?

Can we say that he died at Loki's hands?

Where do heroes go when they die, in Asgardian lore?

Valhalla!

It seems a stretch given that we don't see a lot of development in the relationship between Thor and Coulson, but there's definitely camaraderie and respect, right? Perhaps even something of a debt, as Coulson pulled strings to keep Jane Foster out of harm's way during AVENGERS...

It really seems that it's Iron Man/Stark who has the strongest relationship with Coulson, but maybe it's at his behest that Thor journeys in search of Coulson in the Asgardian afterlife. His death, while heroic, was brought about by his half-brother's machinations and meddling in Midgardian affairs. A Wrongful death. In order to right that, he would recover Coulson...

This could be part of the next IRON MAN and maybe all of the next THOR, in whichever order. Would be nice to have Stark get to tinker with some Asgardian magic/tech at the source, no? Or maybe get a look at Odin's vault, maybe be there when they discover that Loki has scarpered away with the Gauntlet, leaving behind some cheeky note... "Avenge this, pretty boys!"

Actually, I've got to rework this a bit. Maybe it's double wrong because instead of Valhalla, Coulson has been consigned to Hel. Why this would have happened...? Loki's magicks? The corruption of the spear? Bleah. I don't know, but I really want this to be the case because we need to have Hela introduced as a Big Bad in the solo movie/s before we reveal that SHE is the manipulating Death that Thanos courts!

=)

Keep on keepin on~

post-AVENGERS crazy talk: Mr. T

Okay, I haven't made it to a screening number three yet, but I'm not dead, so obviously, I'm still thinking about THE AVENGERS. Again - *SPOILER ALERT!!!*

If you'd like to reacquaint yourself with my earlier rambling:

• AVENGERS crazy talk 1
• AVENGERS crazy talk 2

This one is going to be a little focused on a character from the first epilogue. which is to say, I've got a crazy/great thought about that ultimate, cosmic Goth, Big Purple, the Capital T, Death's number one stalker, the Mad Titan... Thanos! =)

What if he's the Red Skull??

The case for:

1. At the end of CAPTAIN AMERICA, I wanted to believe that the Cosmic Cube, aka Tesseract (when did it get that WRINKLE IN TIME name? - that really pushes its definition as a wormhole-opener over reality-bender), somehow assimilated the Skull's essence, maybe against his will, or maybe following a loose interpretation of the Skull's unspoken/subconscious wish - "ultimate power" or "superior being?" But, what we *see* -seventy some years in the past- is the first manifestation of the Cube's power as a portal. A rip in spacetime opens above the Cube and we see a different part of the cosmos thru it, and as the Cube seems to amp up in power in the Skull's hand, it "beams" him to some point on the other side of the portal. So, who do we know who present-day-ly lives over there on the "other side of the galaxy" (Hawkeye's words)? Why, it's Thanos, and his Chitauri cronies. So, I put forth that the Skull arrived in Chitauri space via Tesseract, perhaps driven mad(der) and transformed and perhaps supercharged by it, fought/negotiated his way up the Chitauri food chain, and became their Death-worshiping Main Man. To make it a bit more interesting, I *want* to add that the Tesseract also displaced him in time, sending him a couple centuries into the past, which could make him ancient, having lived many human lifetimes Out There, managing Tesseract-invasion campaigns (assuming there are multiple Cubes throughout the universe, and the Thanos and the Chitauri are "tuned" into their energy) for hundreds of years, waiting/hoping for Earth's to one day be activated again. (In the Marvel comics universe, multiple cubes have been created, and some of them have evolved into sentient beings.)


2. This retcon of Thanos's origin would avoid having to explain the long-lived and twisted comic book history of the character, which at the very least would involve creating/introducing the Eternals of Titan.
   
   Oh! Also, it would ground Thanos in a character we've already met. Also also, while Thanos could be all CG, it would be great to have Hugo Weaving back, no?
   
   a. Crazy thought of a crazy thought: Would this open up the possibility for Captain America to don the Nega-Bands (I kind of not-love the idea of turning Odin's vault into a candy shop, but has anyone seen them there? There's always Project Pegasus, too, right?) and become Captain Marvel to fight him?
   
   b. Would the movie tackle the idea of an actual avatar of Death? An aspect that can be seen/detected by more than just Thanos? Or does she only appear to him, leaving her real-ness ambiguous. Hrmm... Maybe it's actually Asgard's Hela! She could be in a legit worshipful relationship, or manipulating the Mad Titan. Hrmm... We could see Hela appear in the shadows of solo hero movies for a while to set her up, maybe even flashback to scenes with her from movies we've already seen...? But, how often can we go to the Asgardian well, right...? Hrmmm...


3. Skull-Thanos (or is ThanoSkull better?) would have a familiarity and appreciation of Loki's pedigree. As a true believer in Asgard and Asgardian magic-science, it would make sense that he would recognize Loki's value, as an agent and as a pawn, and perhaps use his intel to learn how to reach and ultimately sack the Shining City for its power and vault of cosmic weaponry, including his beloved Infinity Gauntlet, which we see in THOR (next to the Evil Eye?). Hrmmm... Maybe when we see Loki manipulating Solweig at the end of THOR, he's already in Thanos's thrall, sent to ensure that the Tesseract gets activated on Earth.

The case against: Well, there's nothing that really dings the idea too badly (in my mind =), but...

1. If he was the Pokemon-evolved form of the Skull, wouldn't Thanos want to see to an invasion of Earth personally? Or rather, Titanically? But, y'know, it's been (at least) 70 years, so maybe the Skull's learned a bit about patience, and, assuming he's managed invasions of other Tesseract-tech-developed worlds, maybe he's made it his policy to only show up once the planet is secured by his minions, a la Vader on the Blockade Runner at the start of A NEW HOPE. He also has absolutely no reason to believe that his super-soldier nemesis would still be around, so there's no personal stake in it.


2. An explanation as to the transformation from Skull to Thanos. Not all that tough if you ask me. Schmidt had Erskine's proto-super-soldier serum in his system. We saw that "Vita-Rays" activated the final serum for Steve Rogers - who knows what direct exposure to Tesseract radiation (which includes the gamma spectrum, apparently) would do to the Skull, right? And again, if we go by what we *see* at the end of CAP, the Cube basically takes the Skull apart, bit-by-bit, and them modems him across the galaxy. Who knows how it might have tweaked him in transit. And again again - the Marvel movie universe has not explored or even acknowledged this aspect of Cube-ness, but - if reality-bending *is* in the Tesseract's wheelhouse, well, if the Skull wished to become the "superior man" capable of wielding the Cube as its master, might the Cube not transform him into a Thanos?


3. Would Loki willingly serve a transformed human? Certainly not without some persuasion, but maybe he doesn't see or know Thanos's origin? Or, having seen ThanoSkull's great Death-worshiping works (which we have yet to see), he has been persuaded.

Anyone wanna punch some holes or help shore this up? Do. =)

Keep on keepin on~