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Post by RandallBoggs on Jun 8, 2006 20:45:10 GMT -5
Well since I live with the guy...
Randall's body turns fully invisible. His scales are connected to his body and perform a "cover" if you will. In some ways, if you stand behind Randall, and your thin enough or something, he could actually cover you if he keeps his patterns.
As for the ice cream, yeah that'd be seen ^_^
It's hard to say if he can make others invisible. If they had similiar structures in terms of a "way" to turn invisible, Randall's reaction of turning himself invisible might trigger the other one to turn invisible.
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Post by pitbulllady on Jun 8, 2006 22:45:25 GMT -5
In the movie, Randall doesn't turn completely invisable, not like Violet Parr does, anyway. His skin simply assumes whatever pattern and color of the background he's standing against...from the perspective of whoever would be looking at him, which means it actually would have to be different on every side of him(a very complicated mental manuever). His teeth, gums, eyes-everything that is NOT covered by his outer skin, in other words-remains the same, no matter what the backdrop. That's why his eyes and mouth are still visable in that practice scene, since he has to keep his eyes open slightly in order to see. Since he would remember, subconciously if not conciously, each background he "blended" to match, when under extreme stress, he would turn those colors, uncontrollably(as he does when Boo hits him). He is not invisable, obviously, and stands out since he is not against those backgrounds(and I still have to wonder about WHERE he was when he originally blended to match that background with the big lipstick prints on it, since I cannot imagine THAT in some kid's room). His color/pattern change would be similar to those of many animals in the Human World, especially serious camo masters like octopi and cuttlefish, which make chameleons look like rank amateurs.
Chameleons do not, by the way, change color to blend in with their environment, but to display their emotions, and they do so like they do everything else...SLOWLY, so Randall's ability there really cannot be compared to a chameleon's.
You would NOT, by the way, be able to see food that Randall is swallowing while he's blended, since his skin does not become transparent. If that were the case, you'd also be able to see all of his internal organs, vascular system, muscles, ligaments, etc., and unless you were really into "gross anatomy", or a surgeon, THAT would really be disturbing!
pitbulllady
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Post by lizardgirl on Jun 9, 2006 13:29:40 GMT -5
That would be disturbing! Like a creature in the Edge Chronicle books, which looks like a strange, massive insect with long antennae. Its skin is transparent, but its organs are not, so you can see what it has been eating.
In Tunisia, when walking along the harbour in Port el Kantoui, I saw three French people looking at a fruit stall, and on one of the girl's arms, I saw a chameleon! I first suspected that it was fake, like a toy or something, but when I saw one of its eyes move, I realised that it must be real! I had to ask where she got it from, and she replied that she bought it off a guy who had about ten, on the beach at another resort, Sousse. I was very surprised to find that there were any chameleons there at all, let alone for someone to be selling them, but the French girl sensed my enthusiasm and let me hold the chameleon for ten minutes, in which it changed from a pale green to a light brown. I'd never seen a real chameleon, let alone held one, so it was definately an experience!
But when I asked what they were going to do with it, concerning returning home, she said that she would try and sneak it into her pocket or something. That made me worry a little- I'm not sure if a chameleon would be very happy in somebody's pocket for three hours on a plane.
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Post by pitbulllady on Jun 9, 2006 15:46:47 GMT -5
That would worry me, too, since chameleons are actually VERY difficult to care for properly, and have really strict requirements, in terms of UVB lighting, calcium, temperature, humidity, etc., that must be met if they are to survive. Only the most experienced lizard-keepers should attempt to keep these lizards. I myself, with all my reptile experience, do not have the time or financial resources to be able to keep a chameleon. On top of that, smuggling of wildlife is a serious problem, and most smuggled animals either die in transit, or get confiscated by authorities. There ARE captive-bred chameleons available in Europe and the US, which might be more expensive, but are also more likely to survive with proper care. Sadly, lizards and snakes are even less highly regarded in many Muslim countries than they are here in the West, so I doubt that the country would worry much about smuggled chameleons. And for whatever reason, LGBB, the chameleon did not like you, since brown is the color they turn to indicate stress, LOL! You did at least, get to see how slowly and deliberately they do everything, though, in absolute contrast to Randall's quicksilver moves, which is why I really do not associate chameleons with him at all!
pitbulllady
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Post by RandallBoggs on Jun 9, 2006 17:32:22 GMT -5
"Pfft...personally it's a bit of a struggle on my part to keep blending as I move..."
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Sparky
Randall's Skivvy (0-299)
...Rar, I say.
Posts: 93
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Post by Sparky on Jun 9, 2006 22:55:24 GMT -5
That girl with the chameleon makes me kinda mad. Chameleons are pretty hard to care for, or I would have gotten one instead of my ball python, as they are pretty much my favorite pet reptiles. But I'd never had a reptile before (only amphibians) and I knew it wasn't a good idea - nor responsible - to try to keep a cham as my first reptile. Quite honestly I'd probably punch someone if I found out they had ever kept a chameleon in their pocket. But then I get that way about animals sometimes. But on the subject of color-changing animals, octopi are much cooler than chameleons that way. I always thought of Ran as more a reptillian octopus than a chameleon.
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Post by RandallBoggs on Jun 9, 2006 23:04:31 GMT -5
Oh?
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Post by pitbulllady on Jun 9, 2006 23:10:16 GMT -5
That girl with the chameleon makes me kinda mad. Chameleons are pretty hard to care for, or I would have gotten one instead of my ball python, as they are pretty much my favorite pet reptiles. But I'd never had a reptile before (only amphibians) and I knew it wasn't a good idea - nor responsible - to try to keep a cham as my first reptile. Quite honestly I'd probably punch someone if I found out they had ever kept a chameleon in their pocket. But then I get that way about animals sometimes. But on the subject of color-changing animals, octopi are much cooler than chameleons that way. I always thought of Ran as more a reptillian octopus than a chameleon. Yeah, me too. Octopi and Cuttlefish, their cousins, can change color within an eighth of a second-now THAT'S fast! Plus, they can assume whatever color and pattern their against, even something they've never encounted before. I watched a clip of an octopus changing to blend in with a Coca-Cola can once, and it was totally amazing to see the logo and everything pop up on this animal's body, even though a Coke can is something completely foreign to an octopus's world. To demonstrate their memory and learning capacity, the first time it was presented with the can, it took about five minutes for the octopus to assume the correct pattern and colors, but the next time, it only took a few seconds, as it has already stored the information in its memory. The more times it gets to blend with a particular background, the faster it can do so. Randall would be even better at it, since he would be even more intelligent, than an octopus, though cephlapods are nothing to sneeze at, brain-wise. pitbulllady
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Sparky
Randall's Skivvy (0-299)
...Rar, I say.
Posts: 93
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Post by Sparky on Jun 9, 2006 23:16:25 GMT -5
Oh yeah cuttlefish, I always forget about them, they are cool. My brother read me a great article from Discover magazine years ago - seems that octopi are about as intelligent as housecats, which seems odd to scientists as octopi lifespans are so short (why would something that doesn't live very long evolve so much intelligence being the question).
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Post by RandallBoggs on Jun 9, 2006 23:18:06 GMT -5
How would such an octapus change color without scales?
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Post by pitbulllady on Jun 9, 2006 23:37:11 GMT -5
How would such an octapus change color without scales? Scales are just extensions of skin, Sean, though the outer layer of scales, like our nails, is actually colorless. The actual pigment is in the skin itself, under and in between scales. Scales are by no means needed in order for something to be able to change color, since not only can cephlapods do it, but many amphibians like frogs and salamanders can, too. True reptiles are amateurs in the color-changing department, actually, and like I said, do not change color to blend in with their environment so much as to broadcast their emotional state, like a built-in "mood ring". pitbulllady
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Post by RandallBoggs on Jun 9, 2006 23:38:46 GMT -5
Hmmm.... Is it something that could be considered as an extractable?
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Post by pitbulllady on Jun 10, 2006 0:03:12 GMT -5
Hmmm.... Is it something that could be considered as an extractable? Nope, it's just different pigments. WE only have one kind of pigment in our skin, melanin, but many other animals have several different kinds, each producing a different color. The colors are found in special cells that can be "turned on" or "turned off" at will, by actually being able to focus blood flow to or from those cells. Pretty neat, huh? You can actually see Randall doing this in the movie if you watch the clip on Joy's site(assuming it's still there)in which he blends in after clinging to the wall, right after Sulley smashes the Scream Extractor. You can see little dots of black start to fill in his skin, as he activates that particular color, cell after cell, until he's all black. pitbulllady
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Beboots
Randall's Head Servant (300-799)
Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a plague in Equatorial Guinea that I have to attend.
Posts: 646
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Post by Beboots on Jun 10, 2006 11:54:13 GMT -5
I just wanted to say that I really enjoy your descriptions and explanations, Pitbulllady. ;D I was sorta confused by this statement, though:
We just studied the circulatory system a few months ago in Biology (and I'm just reviewing this stuff again now for the final, so I thought I'd ask). I was under the impression that cells had no blood flow; rather, blood was made of cells (erm, mostly - there's some liquid, but blood cells give it the red colour, right?). So how would one increase blood flow to the pigments in the skin cells? Did you mean some sort of energy is sent to the cells, or some sort of electric signal...? (I'm really interested in knowing -- I think pigments are so cool. ;D Why don't we have any of the interesting ones??)
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Post by pitbulllady on Jun 10, 2006 12:10:09 GMT -5
I just wanted to say that I really enjoy your descriptions and explanations, Pitbulllady. ;D I was sorta confused by this statement, though: We just studied the circulatory system a few months ago in Biology (and I'm just reviewing this stuff again now for the final, so I thought I'd ask). I was under the impression that cells had no blood flow; rather, blood was made of cells (erm, mostly - there's some liquid, but blood cells give it the red colour, right?). So how would one increase blood flow to the pigments in the skin cells? Did you mean some sort of energy is sent to the cells, or some sort of electric signal...? (I'm really interested in knowing -- I think pigments are so cool. ;D Why don't we have any of the interesting ones??) LIVING cells DO have blood flow; they cannot survive without it! Cells produce waste products, which must be carried away, and require oxygen to survive(in animal cells, anyway), so blood flow to and from is absolutely necessary for the cells to function and survive. That's why anything that disrupts the flow of blood to the brain or other vital organs is such an emergency-the cells of those organs die after just a short span of time without blood flow, since they cannot get oxygen, or get rid of toxins that build up, and when enough cells die, the organ dies. The skin of most animals is made up of several layers, and the outer layer or two(the "epidermis") is made up of non-living cells. Pigment is actually found in the lower, living layers of cells, the dermis. If you cut yourself and see blood, you have cut into this layer of cells, which also contains nerve endings, so you feel pain as well. Animals that can change color/pattern can actually concentrate blood flow to certain pigment-containing cells in their dermis, to expand those cells and allow the pigments they contain to show. Yes, doing so would involve electrical and chemical impules traveling along neurons that surrounds the pigment-containing cells. When the animal perceives a need to "blend" or alter its color/pattern, it's eye sends a message to its brain, which then sends a message to the blood vessels around a specific group of pigment-containing cells, sending more blood to those cells. The extra blood flow stimulates tiny muscle cells in the vicinity, causing them to contract and "open up" the cells containing specific pigments. In the case of Celphlapods, there is some learning involved, as they take less time to make that change each time they do it, and this would certainly be the case with a sentient being like Randall, for sure. The more often he'd blended with a particular background, the faster and more efficient he'd be at it, until it looked like he just blinked out of existance! pitbulllady
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