Saturday, June 23, 2012

Walmart Rolls Out The Red Carpet For The Amazing Spider-Man™ Fans Nationwide

I tried out the new Augmented Reality(AR) app for promoting the Amazing Spider-Man movie at Walmart. It's like the Avengers' Superhero AR app that came out last April in conjunction with that movie. This app was designed by the same company that did that Avengers app and although it shares some similarities it's also different. One difference is that when you use the AR photos, Spider-Man is not in a pose where it's simple to take a picture with him. The poses are more action-oriented and now there is interaction in that Spider-Man speaks to you when you click on him.  I think there are four pictures that give you this experience. There is also a comic book you can buy from Walmart that gives a short battle sequence of Spider-Man fighting the Lizard. And there is a promise for a Spider-Man themed truck that will come to various Walmart locations and give people a chance to test out the new console video game and other goodies associated with the film. If you point the app at the truck you get to see another AR scene. I haven't seen it yet.

The app does give you access to see which Walmarts the truck(s) will visit. There are few compared to the total number of Walmarts in my area: one or two compared to the seven that are within a 30 mile radius of my residence. I notice that not all of the Walmarts are also taking part in the promotion. For example not all of them have the AR posters at all. The Walmart closest to my residence doesn't even have the AR posters. It reminds me of how I never did find a Walmart in my area that  had the Black Widow character poster during the Avengers promotion. I'd like to know more about how the Walmart handles these things. It's almost like if the local managers don't care, we miss out on whatever corporate is doing...or corporate doesn't care about certain neighborhoods. I wonder which it is.

Oh...well, here are some of the AR Pictures I shot.





The game in this case, is the option to go around the store and build a webshooter starting June 26th. If you try to do it now, you get an AR of first-person Spider-Man arms that shoots wads of webbing wherever you want.  Again, it is available for Android and iOS.

Walmart Rolls Out The Red Carpet For The Amazing Spider-Man™ Fans Nationwide

Spider-Man's Web-Slinger - Google Play

Spider-Man's Web-Slinger - iTunes
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The Secular Outpost: 20+ Questions for Theists #4 and 5

John Loftus has posted a link to a  list of questions for theists from another blog. Rather than answer all of them in a single post, I will take each of them one at a time. Today:

4. Why is the physical universe so unimaginably large?
 
I responded to this one already before the renumbering here at http://mmcelhaney.blogspot.com/2012/06/answering-secular-outpost-20-questions.html

5. If you believe that visual beauty is evidence of God, why isn't the universe saturated with auditory, tactile, or other non-visual types of sensory beauty?
Who says that there are no auditory, tactile, or other types of non-visual types of sensory beauty? I wouldn't accepts that premise in the slightest. It does not make sense to think that visual beauty is the only evidence of God. If you are listening, you can hear God. You can feel God. This is what God revealing God's self means.


The Secular Outpost: 20+ Questions for Theists

Know Your Vampire Hunters [CHART]


[Source: roflrazzi / Via The Daily What]

Blade all the way!

Know Your Vampire Hunters [CHART]
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Open Letter (Secular Prayer) to the Universe - YouTube

It never ceases to amaze me when Christians erroneously argue that atheism and/or secular worldview stunts a human being's ability to be awed about the awesomeness and wonder and beauty of the universe. The Bible does not say that. It tells us that such an ability makes us accountable when we don't worship and serve God who made it all and us. This is why when I see such a video as below or hear people like Dr Neil DeGrasse Tyson talk about the universe in such an eloquent way it really make me think "Oh Convert Already!"




As you can see in the video, much of what is being attributed to the universe is attributed to God by Christianity. It might as well be praying to a god. The universe is described using anthropomorphic terms and almost described as having a will. We, as human beings are even chided for having the audacity to complain about what it does and what it is. While at the same time people who would agree with this video would throw out the idea that we have no right to complain against God. Such statements stop barely short of ascribing personhood to the universe. I realize that some would counter that all of this is just symbolic language and in no way would those who do this think it's okay to worship the universe. But isn't that the problem. If one recognizes one greater than the universe who created and controls it - they are logically obligated to worship and obey the one who did it. As a person who studies the created order to understand how it is not how we want it to be, should we do no less when we approach God? If the universe owes you nothing, then God owes you less. The universe isn't a live organism. It contains living things. God can and does whatever God wants to do, when God wants to do it. Thankfully, God has decided to make himself known in many various ways at many various times. How dare we say to God God should reveal God's self to us on our terms and then complain that we can't understand God?

 18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. - Romans 1:18-25 
We inevitably end up worshiping something. If you are not going to Worship the true and living God you will be worshiping the creation, an idol, or worse yourself.

 Open Letter to the Universe - YouTube
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Printing the Human Body: How it Works and Where it’s Headed

Bioprinting infographic
Printing the Human Body: How it Works and Where it’s Headed

The Universe Top To Bottom: The Scale of Our Solar System [infographic] | Daily Infographic



The Universe Top To Bottom: The Scale of Our Solar System [infographic] | Daily Infographic