Big Bang Theory, The
A popular scientific explanation of how the universe began. Based on mathematical theory and models, at its core, this theory states that the universe as we know it started out as a small singularity (or a point at which a function takes an infinite value) that inflated over the next 13.8 billion years to become the cosmos that we know today. Astronomers say that they can see the “echo” of the expansion through a phenomenon known as the cosmic microwave background, or CMB. The theory states that in the first second after the universe began, the cosmos contained a vast array of fundamental particles such as neutrons, electrons and protons, and that these particles eventually decayed or combined as the universe got cooler. According to NASA scientists, this early “soup” would have been impossible to look at, because light could not carry inside of it. “The free electrons would have caused light (photons) to scatter the way sunlight scatters from the water droplets in clouds.” Over the next 380,000 years, however, the free electrons met up with nuclei and created neutral atoms, and this allowed light to shine through.
“Big Blue”
A common colloquial name referring to business machine manufacturing giant International Business Machines (IBM). While there is no information that definitively states the origin of this nickname, one theory, substantiated by people who worked for the firm, is that IBM field representatives coined the term in the 1960s, referring to the color of the mainframes IBM installed in the 1960s and early 1970s. Another theory suggests that “Big Blue” simply refers to the IBM’s logo, which typically features a blue background. A third theory suggests that the term refers to a former company dress code that required many IBM employees to wear only blue suits.
Big Brother
Ominous, foreboding, ever-present, ever-watching representation of the government in George Orwell’s dystopic novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, and the film version of the story, released fittingly in 1984.
Binary
Anything involving, relating to, using, or expressed in a system of numerical notation that has 2 rather than 10 as a base. Typically, these two number representatives are 0 (which can mean “off”) and 1 (or “on”).
Binary digit
See Bit.
Bit
Short for “binary digit,” a bit is the smallest unit of measurement used to quantify computer data. One bit contains one binary value of 0 or 1.
Bitmap
A piece of text, drawing, or other image represented by the activation of certain dots (known as “bits” or “pixels”) in a rectangular matrix of dots, as on a computer display. Bitmap files are typically identified by the extension “.bmp.”
Bizarro
Debuting in Superboy #68 (1958), Bizarro (also known as Bizarro Superman) is an imperfect clone of Superman. He possesses all of the hero’s amazing abilities (including super strength, flight, invulnerability, super speed, heat vision, freeze breath, x-ray vision, superhuman hearing, healing factor), but none of his moral limitations. The uncontrollable villain rampages through the world, causing mass devastation and destruction, his twisted perspective making him as committed to causing violence as Superman is to stopping it. His faulty logic, broken speech and backward morality makes it impossible for him to see his actions as wrong. Instead, he whole-heartedly believes he is acting in the correct manner, and that it is the Man of Tomorrow who is committing acts of villainy.
Bizarro Superman
See Bizarro.
Black Canary
First appearing in Flash Comics #86 in 1947, Black Canary is one of DC Comics’ first superheroines. Armed with superior martial arts skills and an ultrasonic vocal cry, the costume of this black-clad, street smart vigilante has been donned by a few different characters over the years, but is most associated with Dinah Laurel Lance. Her ultrasonic scream has the precision to crumble objects and incapacitate foes.
Black Speech
One of the languages of Arda in J.R.R. Tolkien‘s stories of Middle-earth’s prehistory, spoken in the realm of Mordor.
Blade
When his mother was bitten by the vampire Deacon Frost while he was still in her womb, Eric Brooks was transformed into a dhampir, obtained all the strengths of a vampire, but none of the weaknesses.
The Marvel Comics character was created by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan, and debuted in The Tomb of Dracula #10, which was published in July 1973. He was born in a Soho brothel in 1929 England, and later in life, when Morbius the Living Vampire bit Blade, his vampire anatomy reacted to Morbius’ natural vampirism, and granted him all the strengths of a vampire and eliminated his sensitivity to sunlight, which earned him the title “daywalker” by his enemies. Though Blade does suffer the craving for human blood, rather than consuming blood, he injects a specially designed serum that provides the same nourishment.
In addition to his keen intelligence, Blade also possesses a number of other powers and abilities due to training and his hybrid human/vampire physiology. These powers include: a prolonged lifespan, as he ages slower than the average human; resistance to the hypnotic gaze of vampires and other psychic attacks; immunity to sunlight; invisibility on film, camera, or in a mirror; healing factor (similar to Wolverine’s) that allows him to recover from injuries at amazing rates and regenerate missing/damaged limbs, tissue, organs, and muscles; rare ability to sense danger and supernatural phenomenon (which helps him identify demons); immunity to being turned; hypnosis; enhanced hearing and vision (including night vision); plus superhuman agility (greater than most vampires) and strength, which aid the master martial artist.
In his many adventures, Blade has battled Dracula, teamed up with Spider-Man, and faced Wolverine (but since Wolverine had once saved Blade, the daywalker called off the fight).
In the world of animation, Blade has appeared in Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994), Blade: The Series (2006), and the 12-episode anime series Blade (2011). He is also featured in the film novelizations Blade (1998), written by Mel Odom, and Blade: Trinity, written by Natasha Rhodes. The character has also been portrayed in the video games Blade, Blade 2, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Ghost Rider: The Video Game, Spider-Man: Friend or Foe, Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Marvel Avengers Alliance 2 and Marvel Heroes 2015.
In Blade (1998), Blade II (2002) and Blade: Trinity (2004), the title dhampir was portrayed by Wesley Snipes. In the announced reboot film, the role will be played by Mahershala Ali.
Blade Runner
Based on Philip K. Dick’s 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the dystopian 1982 Ridley Scott-directed sci-fi film noir about human “replicants” in a futuristic vision of 2019 Los Angeles starred Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer, and featured an original score by Vangelis. The film, which gained massive popularity when it was released on VHS, centers around Rick Deckard tracking down a band of non-human replicants, yet the theme of the film is mortality: The awareness of one’s own demise, the powerlessness felt when facing that demise, the search for answers from one’s own creator … all clearly very human conditions. While not received well in its original theatrical release, Blade Runner would spawn academic papers, documentaries, literary and cinematic homages, numerous comic books and computer game spin-offs, as well as three sequel novels by K.W. Jeter. Scott would eventually release a 1991 Director’s Cut and a “Final Cut” in 2007.
Blanc, Mel
The man who famously voiced over 400 cartoon characters for 3,000 animated shorts, shows and films was born Melvin Jerome Blanc in San Francisco on May 30, 1908. His career in voice-over work began while he was featured as a multi-instrumentalist musician on a radio program. He started doing voices for the show, which couldn’t afford to hire additional actors. In 1937, he joined Leon Schlesinger Productions, an innovative cartoon workshop that eventually developed Warner Brothers’ Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies. There, he created voices for about 90% of Warner characters throughout the 1940s and ’50s, including Happy Rabbit (who would become the legendary Bugs Bunny), Woody Woodpecker, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety Pie (who was later renamed Tweety Bird and eventually Tweety), Sylvester, Pepe le Pew, Wile E. Coyote, Yosemite Sam and the Road Runner. He also voiced Barney Rubble and family pet Dino for the prime-time television animated series The Flintstones, as well as Mr. Spacely in The Jetsons and the robot Twiki in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.
Aside from animation, Mr. Blanc also created a dizzying range of voices and sound effects. On Jack Benny’s radio show, he voiced Carmichael, the irascible polar bear who guarded the comedian’s underground vault; Mr. Benny’s outspoken parrot; his violin teacher, Monsieur Le Blanc; his Mexican gardener, Sy; and even his troublesome car. Other roles created by Mr. Blanc were the wistful postman on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, and a range of characters on programs starring Abbott and Costello, Dagwood and Blondie, Judy Canova and Al Pierce.
Blanc maintained a lifelong interest in music, and composed a handful of songs, including two memorable ditties, “I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat” and “The Woody Woodpecker Song,” which each sold more than two million records. Still active as he approached 80, Blanc made new recordings of five of his classic characters for the innovative 1988 live action/animation film Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, which featured cameos by Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety and Sylvester.
Mel married Estelle Rosenbaum in 1933, and the couple lived for many years in Pacific Palisades, California, where Blanc was named honorary mayor in 1959. He passed away on July 10, 1989.
“Blind” Pew
Originally a character with no first name in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, Harvey “Blind” Pew is a beggar, pirate and informant with “acute ‘earing” portrayed by Monty Python alum John Cleese in the 1983 film Yellowbeard.
Bloom County
Debuting on December 8, 1980 in a small number of newspapers, Berkeley Breathed’s daily comic strip – which followed the adventures of radical child reporter (and political mud-slinger) Milo Bloom, nervous Michael Binkley, adventurous paraplegic Vietnam vet Cutter John, womanizing lawyer Steve Dallas, drugged-out Bill the Cat, computer geek Oliver Wendell Jones and insecure penguin Opus, among others – quickly spread across the United States to appear in over 1,200 newspapers. Though Bloom County’s early political commentary led Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau to publicly blast Breathed for copying his formula, the male-oriented comic strip found its own voice and audience as it centered mainly on males suffering timely troubles with female relationships, but also included philosophical conversations, pop culture observations and the hurdles of daily life in 1980s America. Breathed surprised many readers by ending his popular strip’s run on August 6, 1989. Throughout the decade, several soft- and hardbound collections were released. After a few Sunday-only strips and 25 years, Breathed returned to Bloom County in July 2015, publishing new daily strips on his Facebook page.
Bluetooth
A wireless and automatic method of connecting electronic devices using radio waves instead of wires or cables. Bluetooth products include tiny computer chips that contain a Bluetooth radio and software that makes them easy to connect to one another. Communication between Bluetooth devices happens over short-range networks known as “piconets,” which are networks of Bluetooth devices that are established automatically as Bluetooth devices enter and leave radio proximities.
All text ©2015-2024 nerDictionary.com. All rights reserved.
Photo and Image Copyright Disclaimer: Under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute. nerDictionary.com is a reference site intended to educate, and all images reposted herein are for that purpose.