Getting in touch with my inner geek
So I've seen Star Trek twice now. Loved it as much the second time as I did the first. I expect I'll see it at least once more in the theaters, maybe twice depending on how long a run it has. The last time I had any desire to see a movie in the theater more than once was Star Wars, over 30 years ago. I don't remember how many times I went back to the theater for that one. Around ten, I think.
Lord of the Rings came close, but while I certainly had no objections to seeing it more than once, I wasn't making plans as such. I do have the extended versions of all three LOTR movies and I've watched them multiple times since. Once Star Trek has finished its run I will anxiously await its release on Blu-ray so I can do the same with it. Don't expect me to be camping out in front of Best Buy so I can get one of the first copies, though. I'm not that bad.
I'm not sure I can even express why I loved it so much. No spoilers here, so don't panic. (Though I can't imagine any real Star Trek fan who hasn't seen it yet.) Maybe it was the perfect balance of old and new: just enough melodrama and swagger to nod to the original series, but not so much that it was obnoxious or hokey; generous amounts of references to past episodes/movies, some which only die hard fans will catch, but some which even my girls recognized; and enough back story to make us make us feel like we're finally getting to know the characters.
I'm not even really sure why I've been a Star Trek fan my whole life. Have you ever gone back to watch the original series? Ouch. Still, something about the story captured the imagination of a young kid and hasn't let go. I'm sure it appealed to my latent sense of adventure, but I couldn't tell you why Star Trek—of all the adventure stories out there—is the only one that has stood the test of time.
You have to give the folks at Paramount credit. It takes a lot of foresight and commitment to keep a series like this going. Just look at Star Wars. George killed it. I saw Episode III more out of obligation than anything else. I didn't even bother with the last animation monstrosity. So hats off to you Paramount. Here's hoping you can keep it up.
Beyond pathetic
Apparently Republicans think if they thump the Bible long enough Jesus will appear and grant them three wishes. Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) has introduced a bill to name 2010 The Year of the Bible. Oh, but it gets even better.
'This doesn’t have anything to do with Christianity,' he said in an interview with POLITICO. Rather, he says, it seeks to recognize that the Bible played an integral role in the building of the United States, including providing the basis for our freedom of religion that allows Muslims, Hindus and even atheists to vocalize their own beliefs' (Yahoo News).
<blink>
I'm not sure which is more mind boggling: that this yahoo thinks this is the kind of thing Congress should be spending time on, or that he actually believes that crap.
Once again, folks, the Founding Fathers were NOT Christian. Some were actually quite hostile toward Christianity. You want to know why? Because Christianity has a history of "my way or the highway." Highway to Heaven that is. The sword usually figured in there somehow.
The Bible was used to justify colonialism. The Bible was used to frame poverty as an issue of moral fiber (or the lack thereof.) The Bible was used to justify slavery. The Bible was used to justify the persecution and slaughter of First Peoples. The Bible was used to justify the persecution and slaughter of early Mormons. The Bible is used to justify the continued marginalization of GLBT citizens and their relationships.
Oh, the Bible has played a large role in the history of our nation. That is true. Not sure that's something to be proud of, though.
Robin Williams on Bill Gates
Mr. Gates, when did you realize you were creating a monopoly?"
"Monopoly is just a game, Senator. I'm trying to control the f***ing world. Don't you see Windows Millenium, me, it's all leading to information technology. Soon it will be Total Information Technology, TIT. And when you're sucking on the TIT, I have you by the motherboard."
A bit dated, but still relevant.
Just when you thought they couldn’t get any dumber…
So, that nasty liberal blogosphere has been having a hay day with the conservative choice of "tea baggers" as the moniker for their 21st Century "revolution." You know, like this...
You would have thought conscientious conservatives, eager to avoid further embarrassing gaffs, would do a bit of research before they launched their next revolutionary campaign. Nope.
The National Organization for Marriage, a conservative organization mobilized to spread fear and misinformation about gay marriage, recently announced their URL for their newest campaign, 2 Million For Marriage. Are you ready? ...wait for it... 2M4M.org.
As soon as you have picked yourself up off the floor...there's more. They didn't even bother to check and see if their domain name was actually available. Can you think of a URL less likely to be taken? Go ahead. Check it out. What's actually surprising is the web site is actually SFW. (Ain't I cool? I just used a savvy 21C acronym!). 2M4M.org
Good hell, people. You don't even have to know about WhoIs services. Haven't you heard of Google? How about fact checking? That's not exactly a new 21C concept...well not for most people I guess. Even M4M has been around as long as there have been personal ads (which, believe it or not, is longer than the Internet). Or were you maybe counting on Jesus to step in and save you from even more egg on your face?
It kinda makes you wonder if the top brass at NOM aren't undercover liberals doing their best to derail the conservative apparatus...'cause...daymn.
(Thanks, Greg. I needed a good laugh today.)
There’s no place like behind the wheel of a new car. There’s no place like behind the wheel…
I replaced my dying Saturn over the weekend. Here' is my new beauty.
I went into my insurance agent today to update my policy. The two ladies in the office looked out the window and did some probably obligatory cooing over my new car. They liked the color. It's called copper red micah. In the sun it really does have a copper feel otherwise it feels more red. At any rate, the little grandma-type lady who was helping me said it looked like "what's her name's ruby slippers." Now, it really doesn't look ruby ever, but it can sparkle if the sun is hitting right. The other lady exclaimed, "Oh, that's just what he wants to hear. That's not a very manly color!" I, of course, was getting a good chuckle out of the whole exchange and thinking, "Oh, honey. If you only had any idea what either one of you was talking about."
While we were reviewing my policy and the attending kick in the wallet a new car was going to bring, she noticed that I was 10 years accident free. I've actually never been in an accident, but 10 years is all they track. She seemed surprised. "Oh, my that's very good." Really? Is it really that rare that someone can go 10 years w/o an accident? That's pretty sad.
OMFH!
Went to Capitol Reef over the weekend and rode my first honest to goodness mountain bike trail. A few observations:
- My ideal bike trail is probably somewhere in Nebraska.
- Forward momentum is essential to a vertical orientation.
- Two inches of powder fine silt is not conducive to the aforementioned forward momentum nor the accompanying vertical orientation.
- @&%#@$! clips! Granted it was my first time out and they are probably too tight. However, if you've never ridden using clips you have no sense of what too tight is until you feel like you are falling over in slow motion desperately trying to get your foot free before you hit the ground. Fortunately I landed in the previously mentioned silt and the only thing injured was my ego.
- Have you ever been driving up a mountain road and passed someone toiling up the mountain on a bike and thought, "Man. That just does not look like fun." You know what? It's not.
- At some point it becomes a competition between you and the ground. "I'll be #@#$ if I'm going to &(%#$ me into the dirt!" I begin to understand the appeal this sport has to some folk.
- There were a couple of points where we contemplated turning around and heading back to the car. If we had we wouldn't have enjoyed the above vista from the top of the cliffs. I have to admit it did help ameliorate some of the frustration generated while getting there.
- Was the reward worth the effort? Yeah. Will I do it again? Most likely. Still...I have three letters for you. A. T. V.
- Here is an elevation profile of the ride. It's not terribly accurate as I didn't have the GPS recording our progress at small enough intervals, but you get the idea.
Just a wee bit spooky
I got an email from my 13 year old nephew last night. Not odd in and of itself except that it came to an email address at Gmail I have created as a professional front for my new MSW career, an email I haven't told anyone about. I'm assuming he was able to do a search on my name at Google and find the email address. He's 13 and he's that Net savvy. <sigh>
I had someone else recently find me by looking up whois info for a domain where my name is deliberately, completely absent from everything else to do with that domain. I guess I should fix that. It's not that I mind people finding me. I had a way to contact me there, but I've recently learned that the privacy service I was using bailed on me. It's just a bit disturbing how easy it is for people to find you if they know what they are doing.
Doing a Google search on my name pulls up several references which is also oddly discomfiting. I suppose I should be surprised that after 12+ years of working with the Net, there are only about a dozen Google references to my name.
The duh factor.
Found a January 15 copy of the Daily Chronicle the student newspaper here at the U. The headline:
"Gastric acid in crocodilians aids digestion."
I suppose the purpose of the headline is to get people the newspaper and it worked because I actually picked up the paper and scanned the article just because of the "Is this for real?" factor. Yes. It was for real and yes, gastric acid in crocodiles aids their digestion.
"Romney Backs McCain for GOP Nominee" (NPR)
Really? What a shocker. I thought Romney and Huckabee were best buds.