John suggested I do it, so here’s a list of what I would say are the best movies that capture the lives of teenagers better than any other. I definitely had a hard time choosing the order of the films to on this list seeing as though a lot of these films hold a special place in my heart, I pretty much would’ve been ok with any of the top five being number one but whatever here it goes…..

10. Juno (2007)

One of my favorite films of last year, Juno somehow makes the controversial subject of teen pregnancy into a very warmhearted but also very sharply funny film. It’s more of a film about a teenager being thrown into a very adult situation than about high school, but it still gives a very enjoyable and honest look at growing up in a small town in this day and age.

9. Say Anything (1989)

Cameron Crowe shows us once again his natural gift for capturing the way young people talk and act with his directorial debut. I found the father-daughter relationship to be fairly unique, as well as the love story between straight-A student Diane (Ione Skye) and underachiever Lloyd (John Cusack). Plus you gotta love the fact that it takes place in Seattle.

8. The Last Picture Show (1971)

A low-key, but notheless compelling drama from Peter Bogdonavich that gives a very authentic feeling look at what it was like to grow up in 1950’s Texas. Like many of the films on this list, The Last Picture show features some very strong performances from several future stars as well as a number of veteran actors, two of which (Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman) won oscars for their supporting performances.

7. Rushmore (1998)

A charming little story about Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman), a private school student with endless ambitions. This unorthadox representation of teenage life might be Wes Anderson’s crowning achievement, and I believe is the first movie to make it on to more than one T3.

6. Superbad (2007)

I don’t know why I said it would barely make the list, it’s easily the funniest movie on this list, and probably the best high school movie of the decade so far. Jonah Hill and Michael Cera are a team made in comedy heaven, and their hilarious dialogue rings very true to the way teenage boys talk and gives us plenty hilarious lines worth quoting over and over again.

5. Dazed and Confused (1993)

An early triumph for director Richard Linklater, has a very groovy laid back feel to it with a rockin’ soundtrack and some likeable performances from a number of future stars. More than any other high school movie, Dazed and Confused focuses on the sheer boredom of being a teenager rather than the pressures of it.

4. Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

Probably the first motion picture made about the youth for the youth to strike such a chord with American audiences. James Dean’s portrayal of delinquent Jim Stark is simply iconic on every level, and his death only further cemented him as the face of the rebellious side of 1950’s teenage America.

3. The Breakfast Club (1985)

Easily the most memorable and compelling of John Hughes’ long run as the king of high school comedies in the 1980’s. By having teenagers serve detention on a Saturday, it very simply but effectively shows the way people from different cliques can clash, and also learn to get along forced to be together. Although none of the movie takes place during a day of high school, and pretty much completely takes place in a school library, it captures the darker side of teenage life like no other film had done before or has done since.

2. American Graffiti (1973)

Before George Lucas decided to basically dedicate his life to one franchise, he turned out this fantastic ode to diners, rock n’ roll, and cruisin’ all night long. American Graffiti jump started the careers of a number of young actors as well as launched the fifties nostalgia boom of the 1970’s that would inspire a number of hit TV shows and films. American Graffiti perfectly captures the moment in one’s life between teenage life and adulthood just at the time when the nation was about to go through some major changes itself.

1. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

I don’t know if I’d necessarily say this is the absolute best or even my favorite movie on the list, but I don’t think any other film captures so effortlessly every aspect of being a teenager. Fast Times tackles everything from underage sex, clueless teachers, and school sports to abortion and dead end jobs. Fast Times is filled with a number of memorable scenes and characters including the most beloved of all teen movie stoners, Jeff Spicoli. Yet it also has the distinct feeling of being an authentic account of growing up in 1980’s Southern California.

Honorable Mentions: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, American Pie, Election, Napoleon Dynamite

Here’s a quick T3 for y’all. This will probably go down in history as the least interesting one ever, but I don’t see Colin writing anything…

10. Super Advantage
Widely known as the Super Disadvantage, this bad boy brought a kind of arcade experience to the SuperNES. The Super Advantage had a joystick, giant buttons, turbo features, everything third party controllers are known to add. Sure, it’s just a followup to the NES Advantage, and many arcade sticks since this one have been much better, but the Super Advantage will always have a special place in my heart. I don’t know why though, since most SuperNES games that aren’t fighters play a lot worse with it.

9. Trance Vibrator
This one falls into the “Only in Japan” category. You see, back in the early 2000s, a Japanese game called Rez was released. It was on on-rails shooter that melded in trippy graphics and a wacky story and a trance soundtrack that is definitely at the forefront of the experience. A “Special Package” of the PS2 version of the game came with this USB dongle called the “Trance Vibrator.”

Basically, you plug this sucker in and it lives up to its name by actually vibrating to the beat of the music. I hope I don’t need to utilize any innuendo here.

The developer says the device is meant to aid in the experience of synesthesia, one of the themes in the game. They say you are supposed to stick it on your hands or feet. But I guess most people just stuck it down their pants. Damnit, innuendo!

This feature was so important that when the game was rereleased for the Xbox 360 they added trance support for up to three controllers.

8. Resident Evil 4 Chainsaw Controller
Resident Evil 4 is easily one of the best games of the last generation of consoles and arguably one of the best games ever made. So it made sense that they would try to get as much money out of it as possible. What they decided to do was make a controller that looks like a bloody chainsaw, in honor of one of the games most terrifying enemies. Now sure, this thing doesn’t actually add to the game, and actually makes playing harder, but sometimes you’ve got to put functionality on the back burner and just revel in the fact that you can put out a dumb chainsaw controller and your fans will actually buy it.

7. Power Glove
Now sure, you can bitch about the Power Glove’s real lack of usefulness. You can wine that it makes playing games harder. You can cry about how gross it would be to actually were one of those today. Finer people than we have.

But instead, let’s talk about a dream. A dream of controlling games without a controller. A dream of letting players step into the shoes of their characters, of a virtual reality not dissimilar to The Real Adventures of Johnny Quest, or whatever that show was called. Nintendo couldn’t deliver that dream in 1989, but damnit they tried. A few years ago they tried again with the Wii, which feels pretty gimmicky nowadays too. But they’re getting closer. It’s only a matter of time.

6. NES Zapper
Here’s another device that helped bring the arcade experience home. The Zapper allowed you to shoot ducks, but not dogs. Which is good, because we all like to shoot stuff. Everyone.

The Zapper originally was grey, like you see in the picture. But some parents thought that made it look too realistic, so Nintendo had to make in orange instead. Some parents are weird. They’re fine with their kids hunting ducks, but God forbid if the gun looks like some sort of sci fi weaponry.

5. Dance Pad
Dance Dance Revolution was hugely successful in arcades around the world (and by “the world,” I mean Japan and some of the US), but what about all the poor uncoordinated people too embarrassed to play the game in public (lest they be mocked by arcade nerds)? Enter la Dance Pad.

A series of arrows, resembling the D-Pad of most controllers, blown up and put on a mat. You combine that with stepping to crazy techno music and you’ve got Konami’s biggest cash cow ever. Respect.

4. Steel Battalion Controller
Let’s face this issue head on: everybody loves giant robots. OK, maybe not everybody, but at least every man. And yet, here in the year 2008, we still don’t even have robot suits to fight in. We don’t get many giant robot movies. There are hardly any giant robot video games, even.

Steel Battalion knew this was a problem. It knew that people needed to experience the thrill of robotic combat, in what it dubbed “vertical tanks.” It knew that to deliver that experience, it would need a controller grander than any before it. It gave us 41 buttons, three pedals and two joysticks. We were grateful.

3. Rumble Pak
Returning to vibration, we have the Rumble Pak. This bad ass little gizmo came with Star Fox 64 and shook the controller based on what was going on in the game. It might not have seemed like a big deal, but it helped a lot in creating a sense of immersion and added a lot to the gaming experience.

In fact, it added so much that almost every controller built since the Rumble Pak has had some sort of feedback feature built in. Sony tried to release a vibration-free controller with the PS3, but after about a year realised that was dumb and came out with a knew rumblin’ controller. Damn straight.

2. Guitar Hero Guitar
Damn, this image is very tall. I’m going to have to write a lot of crap.

Let’s see, where to begin… The Guitar Hero guitar came packaged with the first Guitar Hero, and single-handedly turned that franchise into one of the biggest in electronic entertainment, and brought the music/rhythm genre to the forefront.

Who would have guessed that some dopey plastic guitar could add so much to an experience? It really does make people enjoy music unlike any other way before. Since the original game, we seen many sequels, including the addition of drums and vocals, but nothing was quite as revolutionary as that first time you played “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” on this thing.

1. Memory Card
Like the Rumble Pak, here is another feature so good it is being built in nowadays. For a long time, the only way gamers could keep playing a game after turning off the console was by writing down a password. Which was a pain. Then Nintendo figured out a way to save onto the cartridge, and it was good. But on-cartridge saving made it hard for multiple people to play a single copy of a game. When the disc-based systems finally hit store shelves, a new solution was devised; the memory card. With it, an individual could store his progress in all the games they were playing, as well as travel with just the card to another console and keep playing a game. Brilliant.

Today, consoles have hard drives built in, but even so memory cards are still going strong.

It’s been a busy summer with all these superhero flicks and big budget blockbusters and this week marks the release of the second film based off the award winning series The X-Files (1993-2002), entitled The X-Files: I Want to Believe. Which is aimed at being a lower budget stand-alone suspense story, kind of in the vein of the “Monster-of-the-Week” episodes they used to have on the show.

With it’s close proximity to the release of The Dark Knight and competition from the Will Ferrell movie Step Brothers, not to mention some initially lukewarm reviews. This will most likely not be a hit at the box office but I’m sure it’ll bring out all the X-Fanatics. So in honor of this event I decided to put together a list of my favorite X-Files outings, which only includes episodes before the departure of David Duchovny… Sorry Robert Patrick.

10. The Host (Season 2)
Air Date: September 23, 1994
Written by: Chris Carter
The Case: After various murders occur around New Jersey. Mulder and Scully investigate the city sewer system to find what else but a giant parasite living in the Jersey sewers.
The Verdict: Though I’d initially overlooked this episode, Sean got me to thinking that “Yeah this is a pretty good episode, featuring what’s probably the best monster in the shows entire run.” So I just had to honor the Flukeman in all his slimy goodness.
X Fact: The Flukeman himself is played by X-File writer Darin Morgan.

9. D.P.O (Season 3)
Air Date: October 6, 1995
Written by: Howard Gordon
The Case: Darren Peter Oswald is a small town, love-struck, simpleton who just happens to have the ability to control electricity. Leading to murder, Mulder and Scully intervene and that’s when things start to really get hectic
The Verdict: Skilled performances are what won me over here. A young Giovanni Ribisi shows some impressive talent as the misunderstood Darren Peter Oswald. Plus it’s got Jack Black doing his whole stoner routine.
X Fact: Prominently features music from industrial band Filter, Brit Pop group James and Punk Rock band The Vandals.

8. Monday (Season 6)
Air Date: February 28, 1999
Written by: Vince Gilligan & John Shiban
The Case: A violent bank robbery is repeated every day, ala Groundhog Day, until Mulder and Scully can stop the crime with the help from the only women unaffected by the phenomenon.
The Verdict: Comical and unpredictable, like Groundhog Day this is an interesting look at the same situation never quite handled in the same way. The supporting cast is strong and the story is quite compelling.
X Fact: This episode is actually based on an episode of The Twilight Zone titled “Shadow Play”.

7. How the Ghosts Stole Christmas (Season 6)
Air Date: December 13, 1998
Written by: Chris Carter
The Case: Mulder and Scully investigate a haunted house on Christmas Eve where they are haunted by the ghosts of two former lovers.
The Verdict: Both a spooky and charming ghost story. Asner and Tomlin show off their veteran skills while a confused Mulder and Scully try to overcome the spirits eerie powers. A pleasant Holiday episode, I’ve loved this one ever since it first aired.
X Fact: Smallest cast for any episode of the series. David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Ed Asner and Lily Tomlin.

6. The Amazing Maleeni (Season 7)
Air Date: January 16, 2000
Written by: Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, Frank Spotnitz
The Case: Mulder and Scully investigate the death of magician whom after turning his head 360 degrees is moments later mysteriously decapitated.
The Verdict: A fascinating delving into the world of magic and one of the finest crafted X-Files mysteries I’ve seen. Ricky Jay is quite good in duel roles and it had me guessing up to the end.
X Fact: Ricky Jay known mostly for his roles in various David Mamet projects, is also one of the most talented sleight-of-hand experts in the United States.

5. Small Potatoes (Season 4)
Air Date: April 20, 1997
Written by: Vince Gilligan
The Case: Five women in a small town give birth to tailed babies with the prime suspect being one Eddie Van Blundht, a man with the ability to shape-shift.
The Verdict: Darin Morgan is the perfect lovable loser in this dopey curiosity tale. I tend to lean towards liking a lot of the comedic episodes as The X-Files staff seems to have a real knack for writing them.
X Fact: Darin Morgan who plays Eddie Van Blundht, also played the memorable Flukeman in the episode “The Host” along with being the writer of five X-Files episodes.

4. Bad Blood (Season 5)
Air Date: February 22, 1998
Written by: Vince Gilligan
The Case: While investigating in Texas, Mulder kills a boy whom he mistakes for a vampire.
The Verdict: Seeing both Mulder and Scully’s exaggerated interpretations of their encounter is barrel of laughs and the addition of Luke Wilson as the slow minded sheriff is one of the best guest spots of the series. “You must be the Gu-va-ment people” is a classic X-Files line. Also an interesting history lesson regarding the mythos of vampires.
X Fact: Gillian Anderson’s favorite episode.

3. Home (Season 4)
Air Date: October 11, 1996
Written by: Glen Morgan & James Wong
The Case: A southern inbred family is targeted after the remains of a deformed infant are discovered near the family farm.
The Verdict: Probably the only episode that ever frightened me as a child. Home is the closest any X-Files episode got to a Horror movie. A creepy setting, plenty of violence and everyone’s favorite bone deformities all play major parts in this controversial outing. This episode should give you doubts about traveling to small country towns.
X Fact: Banned from Fox after its first airing, it is the only episode to receive a TV-MA rating.

2. Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose (Season 3)
Air Date: October 13, 1995
Written by: Darin Morgan
The Case: Mulder and Scully seek the help of an insurance salesman who can predict people’s deaths and invite him to aide them in a murder case.
The Verdict: Peter Boyle gives a strong, genuine performance in one of the best episodes to so perfectly balance comedy and drama. The subject matter is intriguing with plenty of room for character development and the paranormal aspect is kept believable and intriguing.
X Fact: This episode won two Emmys, one for writer Darin Morgan and another for Peter Boyle.

1. Dreamland (Parts I & II) (Season 6)
Air Date: November 29, 1998 – December 6, 1998
Written by: Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, Frank Spotnitz
The Case: While investigating near Area 51, a mysterious craft switches the identities of Mulder with an FBI agent in a midlife crisis.
The Verdict: I could of picked one of the deeper or introspective episodes, but I just had to go with the one I find to be the most entertaining. Dreamland is a wacky misadventure of identity crisis and a fair share of bizarre paranormal activity. It’s not too tough to follow and we get some pretty entertaining performances from Mulder, Scully and especially Morris Fletcher, played with a perfect snooty attitude by Michael McKean. I wouldn’t imagine that it would crack most fans’ lists but I consider it a must see.
X Fact: The dance which Mulder performs in front of the mirror is actually a tribute to a similar scene performed by Groucho Marx in the film Duck Soup .

Well I guess Season 6 is the season to watch if you’ve checked out my list. I’ll be on the look out for better episodes as I continue watching the series but until than this is my list and keep watching the skies.

Honorable Mention
Being that there’s so many great episodes, I thought might as well just list my next five as worth mentioning.
11. Darkness Falls – A gross out fest with suspense up the wahzoo.
12. Arcadia – Seeing Mulder and Scully pretend to be a married couple is pretty wacky in this funny yet grim episode.
13. Beyond the Sea – Brad Dourif gives a fantastic performance in this dark tale of murder and psychic powers.
14. Je Souhaite – You wouldn’t think genies would work in this kind of show but they pull it off. Plus it’s got Will Sasso, he’s a funny guy.
15. The Post-Modern Prometheus – Probably the strangest but also most stylish and comedic episode in the entire series

I always thought it was sweet that Batman’s group of villains has a name; the rogues’ gallery. Batman’s villains are the most compelling and interesting of the entire DC library, save for a few other examples. Few comic book series have so many great antagonists, which is why the movies spent so much time on them. Here are my top 10.

Honorable Mentions:
The Riddler is more popular that some of the villains on this list, but if you think about it, Riddler really sucks. All he does is come up with some stupid question which Batman usually solves without much difficulty. Then Batman beats him senseless. He’s pretty much Batman’s bitch. Harley Quinn is probably list-worthy, since she’s pretty insane, but I always think of her as part of a team, either with the Joker or Poison Ivy, so she’s not listed. Then there’s Clayface, who is a really kick ass villain. I love that guy.

10. Killer Croc
If I remember correctly, Killer Croc started out as a wrestler or something. He has this condition that makes him grow more and more crocodilian. He turns to crime, gets more monstrous, fights Batman, Robin, even Bane, and then eventually hitches up with Swamp Thing. I’ll take it!

This image is really big, so I have to do more typing. Based on the Wikipedia page, Croc’s pretty similar to the Spider-Man villain Lizard, in that he has regenerative powers, along with super strength, reflexes and the like. What makes him sweet, however, is that he’s much more willing to commit crimes and fight dudes, unlike Lizard. Plus he’s all about fighting dudes, especially Batman and Bane. Finally, I think I’ve wasted enough space.

9. Bane
The ‘roid rage villain. Despite his muscular disposition, Bane is a fairly intelligent criminal. Like this one time, he let all the crazies out of Arkham, which meant a lot of work for Batman. Then, when Bats had finally gotten them all captured, Bane showed up and beat the crap out of the exhausted Batman. He even broke his back.

I’ve always enjoyed that the steroids, or whatever, that Bane uses are both his greatest strength and weakness. Every time he’s defeated, its by someone cutting the tubes that pump the juice into his body. All he needs are stronger tubes!

8. The Penguin
Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot’s origin is pretty lame in the comics. The best part is his mom always makes his carry an umbrella because his dad died of pneumonia in a rainstorm. But my favorite Penguin is the freak that was sent floating down a stream by his parents and raised by sewer penguins, yet still turned out to be a classy guy.

How classy, you ask? Well, he always dressed up nice and fancy for his crimes, even going as far as to wear a monocle. Plus, he like lives in the sewers but keeps his close nice and clean. And most of his weapons are umbrella themed. This made his Batman beatings rather amusing, if I do say so myself. Later on he gives up crime to open a fancy restaurant and acts as an informant to Batman, so I guess he’s on the up-and-up. But he’ll always be the freak too ugly for his parents to even keep alive to me.

7. Poison Ivy
A real seductress, Ivy is one of the many misguided crazies Batman has to deal with all the time. She just really loves nature and stuff. And I think we all should care a little more about the earth, don’t you? It’s the only one we’ve got.

Plus: her lips can kill you! Better make sure you wear those plastic things George Clooney has.

6. Mr. Freeze
Poor Victor Fries just wanted to save his wife. She had a rare disease, you see, so he stole technology from a company he was working for to keep her alive. When the higher ups found out, they came to shut him down, going as far as to throw him into cryogenic juice. The stuff lowered his body temperature, so Fries has to wear a special suit to keep himself cool. Developing frosty weaponry, Mr. Freeze turned to crime in a hope to save his wife. Sadly as time went on and options dwindled, Freeze’s heart, like his body, turned to ice. Should not have been played by Arnold.

5. Scarecrow
A much better intellectual villain that The Riddler, Scarecrow fights you with your greatest fears. You see, since he’s not physically threatening (at all) he’s all about messing with your head. So he use

s stuff that messes with your head and makes your fears real. In the animated series, Batman’s greatest fear was his father being disappointed with him. In Batman Begins, it was shaky cam, maggots and bats. Tomato, tomato. Well, that expression really doesn’t work in print at all.

4. Catwoman
Catwoman’s a crazy lady who’s all about felines and whipping shit. She’s always hard to read, since she both commits crimes and stops criminals. Even Batman has trouble reading her. Things get even more complicated with there on-and-off romantic relationship.

According to Kevin, Catwoman in fact inspired the Batman franchise. While this makes no chronological sense, Kevin seemed pretty sure about it, so it must be true.

Also, they made a Catwoman movie a few years back with accomplished actress Halle Berry. I’ve actually seen it (for free) and it was just as bad as everyone made it out to be.

Wikipedia says sometimes Catwoman has a “nine lives” super power, as seen in Batman Returns, where she dies and is miraculously reborn.

3. Ra’s al Ghul
Another villain complicated by a romantic relationship, this time between Batman and Ra’s’ daughter Talia. Ra’s is a badass immortal who, in the cartoon at least, calls Batman “detective.” He kind of hates people and wants most of us to die, but he thinks Batman is his only worthy successor and adversary. Neat!

As far as I know, “Al” is in fact, not Ra’s’ middle name. He might not even have one. The “al” is part of his last name, it just has a space in it to confuse little kids or something.

2. Two-Face
Harvey Dent was a friend of Bruce Wayne and an ally of Batman in the war on crime. That all changed when that cockblaster Sal Maroni chucked some acid in Harvey’s beautiful face, leaving him horribly disfigured. Dent returned Two-Face, so disturbed by his disfigurment that he turned to crime. He also uses a fucked up quarter to make decisions.

Has been played by Billy Dee Williams, Tommy Lee Jones and Aaron “The Core” Eckhart.

1. The Joker
The omega to Batman’s alpha, the story of Batman is not complete without a Joker. The Clown Prince of Crime stands for everthing Batman does not: chaos and good times. The saddistic son of a bitch even killed one of the many Robins. That is the whackness. In some stories, Batman is even responsible for the creation of the Joker, making him his responsibility.

My favorite portrayl of the Joker is Mark Hamill’s from the animated series. That voice is just so good. I can’t wait to see Heath Ledger’s take on the character.

The Joker is as classic a villain as there can be, and the unquestionable king of the Rogues’ Gallery.

After witnessing the umm antics of the film Strange Wilderness (which is about a film crew searching for Bigfoot) I thought it might be fun to do a T3 on cryptozoology.This maybe a foreign term to some, but to the nerdy and fans of the bizarre it’s become one the most popular pseudo-sciences around (Maybe they’ll offer a degree for it at Evergreen someday, ha ha). We hear about them from legends, from TV specials, books, and even in movies starring John Lithgow. I myself have always been a big fan of these mysterious creatures, though I’m aware that probably about 95% of them to 100% don’t actually exist… Then again people used to consider the Silverback Gorilla to be a legend until the early 1900s so who knows. Thus I decided to rank up these beasts, ordering them by their level of fame and status as legends. It’s a little wordy so if your not about that than talk to me later and I’ll give you the gist of it.

10. The Thunderbird
Supposed Location: North America
First Sighting: Arizona – 1890
Description: Giant bird
: No not the marvelous TV show or Jonathan Frakes’ directed film (Which exceeds the elements) I’m talking about the legend of those mythical birds inhabiting the skies over North America “Thunderbirds”. A creature thought to be close to 15 feet in size, this legend was drawn from the stories of Native Americans and witnessed regularly by the end of the 19th century (particularly in the southwestern states). There’s even a handful of bizarre photographs from the 1890s of men supposedly holding the creature which to this day are yet to be explained, you can find them all over the web they’re pretty creepy.

9. Rods (Sky Fish, Solar Entities)
Supposed Location: U.S., Canada, the Philippines, China
First Sighting: N/A
Description: Flying Rod shaped insects
Invisible to the naked eye “Rods” have become a fascinating phenomenon in recent years. Only visible through cameras and photographs, Rods are thought to be inter-dimensional beings with the ability to fly at incredibly high speeds and possibly even a relative of Anomalocarids which is a a kind of of shrimp. Some experts have believed this phenomenon to be no more then tricks of light from video images but this a tough one to pin down, even on the History Channel program Monster Quest

8. Champ (Champtanystropheus)
Supposed Location: Lake Champlain, New York, Vermont, Quebec
First Sighting: Quebec – 1609
Description: Giant Sea Serpent
: Here he wave the monster that put Burlington, Vermont on the map as a major tourist attraction. First spotted in 1609 by French explorer Samuel de Champlain, this large “chameleonesque” serpent has been supposedly witnessed over 300 times since then and regularly brings in skeptics, scientists and tourists to look for the mysterious creature. For the most part Champ has been thought be nothing more than a large fish, yet in 2003 the Discovery Channel recorded the sounds of animal similar to a whale, but not of any species native to the lake… Hmm, whether real or not people haven’t given up the search and probably never will.

7. John Tesh (John Frank Tesh)
Supposed Location: Orange County, CA,
First Sighting: Garden City, New York – July 9th, 1952
Description: A tall blonde humanoid creature (Possibly an Extra Terrestrial)
Rising to fame in the mid 80s on the popular television show Entertainment Tonight, the charismatic yet mysterious John Tesh has today become more widely known as a performer of New Age/Contemporary Christian music. With his ear splitting synths and terrible compositions, John Tesh is a force to be reckoned with and a phantom in the nightmares of the youth.

6. Ogopogo (N’ha·a·itk, Naitaka)
Supposed Location: Lake Okanagan, British Columbia, Canada
First Sighting: 1860 – Canada
Description: A humped snake-like sea creature
: To some the name may sound like gibberish, but to others you have the legendary beast that dwells in the waters of Lake Okanagan “Ogopogo”. Also known as “N’ha·a·itk, Naitaka” this creature was originally feared by the tribes of Okanagan who often sacrificed animals to the lake in exchange for a safe trip across or for fishing. As a matter of fact pictographs of the creature (located near the waters) pre-date the areas western settlement. Unfortunately in modern times sightings have been somewhat scarce. Some of the best footage surfaced in 1968 and again in 1989 but most experts have debunked that footage as just beavers. Though despite all this, Ogopogo’s legend has lived on as somewhat of a whimsical fantasy character and the subject of many Canadian folk songs.

5. Mothman
Supposed Location: West Virginia, USA
First Sighting: Point Pleasant, West Virginia – November 15th, 1966
Description: A glowing bipedal insect man
: : When he’s not traumatizing a stressed out Richard Gere, this supposed paranormal being haunts the highways of West Virginia, going as far as giving several witnesses severe psychological trauma. First sighted back in the 1960s The Mothman has been described as a tall, (about seven feet) winged, bug-like creature with glowing red eyes. The legend of The Mothman, and the aftermath of some people who have viewed the creature were most popularly chronicled in John Keel’s 1976 novel “The Mothman Prophecies” recounting John Keel’s two year investigation of the creature (later made into the 2002 film of the same name starring Richard Gere) Today the Mothman has become somewhat of an icon to the town of Point Pleasant, why he even has his own statue

4. The Jersey Devil (Leeds Devil)
Supposed Location: New Jersey, USA
First Sighting: Pine Barrens, New Jersey – Early 1800s
Description: Devil-like winged mammal
: Some say it’s a demon, a spawn of Satan roaming the woods of Pine Barrens, New Jersey feeding upon livestock, an ancient beast rooted in Native American legend… Some believe people may just be mistaking a large bird the “Sandhill Crane” (a bird common to the area) for this terrifying being. One thing is for sure is it’s a hell of a legend and the subject matter of a terrible movie starring and co-written by Cliff Robertson.

3. El Chupacabra (The Goat Sucker)
Supposed Location: Central/South America
First Sighting: Puerto Rico – 1990
Description: Reptile-like mammal
: As a feared slayer of farm animals, “El Chupacabra” has supposedly killed over hundreds of sheep, goats and other livestock from Latin America all the way to Maine since 1995. Described as a small reptilian creature, “The Goat Sucker” reportedly kills animals and sucks their blood. Many believe the beast to be nothing more than coyotes or some kind of wild dog, then again there hasn’t been any concrete evidence supporting either point of view since the sightings began. With so many reported cases , El Chupacabra has since established itself as the Bigfoot of Latino Culture and every once in awhile still pops into stories of the bizarre.

2. The Loch Ness Monster (Nessie)
Supposed Location: Loch Ness, Scotland
First Sighting: Loch Ness, Scotland – May 2nd, 1933
Description: An ancient Plesiasaur or sea serpent creature
: There are plenty of legends about sea serpents, but none more memorable than that of the mysterious beast of Loch Ness. It was in 1933 that Londoner George Spicer witnessed Nessie carrying a dead animal into the lake, and the reports have been piling in ever since. With an endless slew of Sci-Fi and Discovery channel documentaries, terrible B-Movies, and other appearances in various faucets of pop culture, The Loch Ness Monster has become a world renowned legend. You’d think by now that scientists would of discovered a serpent in that lake (due to it’s size) by now, but due to the severe deepness of the lake they just wont give up.

1. Bigfoot (Sasquatch, Skookum)
Supposed Location: The Pacific Northwest, USA
First Sighting: Pacific Northwest (what is now Spokane, WA) – 1840
Description: Large primate/man
: Going back to Bluff Creek, California on October 20, 1967. We have the setting for the most famous encounter with numero uno Monster “Bigfoot”. For on that day one Robert Patterson (accompanied by his friend Roger Gimlin) set out into the woods in search of the legendary creature in order to make a documentary. What they shot would end up being the infamous footage that I think we’ve all seen today. Now many have believed this to be an all out hoax (which is probably the truth) but even today the mystery of this footage and this creature is yet to be officially debunked. Scientists have done everything from using microscopic technology to find seams on the suit, to trying to imitate the exact movements of the creature. Both of these have failed in disproving the hairy legend. Another belief is that Patterson had some connections with a Hollywood costume maker, thus having the suit made for him to shoot that day without even telling Gimlin. Unfortunately, Patterson died back in 1972 and even on his deathbed swore that the creature was no hoax. So will we ever know? Probably not, the idea of a legendary creature roaming through various forrest land throughout the Wester United States does sound obserd, but for some reason it’s stuck with fans of the bizarre and the inability to fully disprove it has only strengthened it’s status.

Honorable Mention: It’s tough to narrow down the greatest when there are so many icases (The Yeti, The Skunk Ape, etc) I mostly went ahead with the ones I find to be the most interesting, with the best legends.

In honor of last weeks release of Wall-E, I thought I’d do a T3 of the best appearances of robots (or androids) in movies. I based it mostly on how memorable they are and how much of a place in pop culture they have, and basically just how awesome they are.

10. The Iron Giant
From “The Iron Giant”
One of the most endearing robots from recent memory is brought to life in Brad Bird’s animated story of a boy who befriends a giant robot. Also, Vin Diesel’s insanely deep voice works perfectly for the Iron Giant.

9. The Gunslinger
From “Westworld”
Yul Brynner gives a very menacing performance as a robot who is designed to entertain but eventually goes haywire and becomes set on killing Richard Benjamin’s character in Michael Crichton’s directorial debut. You could definitely say that this character is in many ways a precursor to The Terminator.

8. Wall-E
From “Wall-E”
It might be a little early to include Wall-E on a list like this, but I think the film Wall-E will become an instant classic and therefore its protagonist will probably become a very memorable character. Wall-E’s a fairly distinctive robot in the sense that he doesn’t look very human at all, but he seems to display a wide range of human-like emotions.

7. Roy Batty
From “Blade Runner”
Rutger Hauer gives a great performance as a “replicant” which is essentially as about as human-looking as a robot can get. However, the fact that Roy Batty is so similar to a normal human is really what makes him such a compelling villain. I guess I also could have put Deckard on this list, but I guessthat depends on where as stand on the whole “Deckard is a replicant” theory.

6. C-3P0 and R2-D2
From “Star Wars Episodes I-VI”
Certainly not the coolest robots around, but they’re still the most famous “droids” from what is undoubtedly the most beloved sci-fi franchise of all time. Plus, basically the whole bulk of the Star Wars story is scene through their eyes.

5. Robby the Robot
From “Forbidden Planet”
Even though he’s only in a handful of scenes from 1956’s Forbidden Planet, he’s probably the most memorable thing about the film. Also, his complex robotic appearance is very impressive for it’s time. He later went on to have cameos in a number of TV shows including The Twilight Zone, Gilligan’s Island, and Lost In Space, and I just found out that he can be seen as a piece of junk in Watto’s Junk Shop in Star Wars Episode I.

4. Gort
From “The Day the Earth Stood Still”
Another iconic figure of 50’s sci-fi, Gort was played by 7’ 7’’ tall actor Lock Martin, in what is one of the most revered sci-fi movies of all time. He appears to be the controlled by the movie’s protagonist, Klaatu and is also made famous by the movie’s signature line, “Gort! Klaatu barada nicto!”

3. Maria
From “Metropolis”
Though I haven’t gotten around to seeing Fritz Lang’s 1927 film Metropolis yet, there’s no questioning the iconic status of the robot from that film. Metropolis has got to be one of the earliest films in which a robot is seen, and you can definitely see that the look of Maria has influenced how many later robots in film have looked.

2. The Terminator
From “The Terminator” “T2: Judgment Day” and “T3: Rise of the Machines”
Undoubtedly Arnold’s best role, his deadpan Austrian delivery works great for a robot from the distant future. The Terminator was not only terrifying as a villain in the first Terminator film but also kicked ass as the hero in the two sequels.

1. Hal 9000
From “2001: A Space Odyssey”
Hal is definitely one of the most iconic robots in all of movies as well as being the centerpiece to what is maybe the greatest science fiction film of all time. What is so terrifying about Hal is that it’s not hard to imagine humans putting all of our faith and well-being into the hands of what is essentially a machine. So for that reason, I think Hal in 2001: A Space Odyssey will speak to many generations as technology becomes more and more sophisticated.

Honorable Mentions: Robocop, Kid from “A.I.”, Sonny from “I, Robot”, Ash from “Alien”, Bicentennial Man, Robot Jox

I’m pretty conifident that I didn’t forget about any important ones. Anyways, After talking about all these classic sci-fi characters, now I really want to visit the Seattle Science Fiction Museum sometime this summer.