Looking for something funny to brighten up your Monday morning? Here you go. (via Barney Gumble)
I miss Kaboom cereal.
Month: September 2003 (Page 3 of 7)
Things I Think About
In the “Star Trek” universe, do they have transporters on Earth as well? Or is it just a ship-to-shore, military technology type thing?
Tonight, courtesy of Rachael Ray, I made Chicken and Dumplings, pretty much from scratch. It was delicious, and there’s a ton left over. I’m quite proud of myself, actually.
Underworld
The movie I thought most about while watching “Underworld” was “Daredevil.” In my “Daredevil” review, I said it suffered from failure to commit. Well, despite its faults, “Underworld” commits big time. It’s rare these days to see a movie like this that picks a premise and really runs with it, full-out. I was extremely entertained the whole two hours – and how many movies can you say that about?
Other surprises: the mythology of this battle between Vampires and Lycans (werewolves) seems pretty well thought out – again with the commitment. That’s necessary if they’re going to make this into a series. And Kate Beckinsale, striding around purposefully in Trinity’s catsuit, proves that she’s a bona fide star. If she can make you invest in the idea that she’s an immortal vampire bounty hunter, I think she can handle pretty much anything.
Problems exist, of course. There is some bad acting, particularly from the guy who plays the vampire villain Kraven. And the chemistry between Beckinsale and Scott Speedman from “Felicity” is non-existent. Some of the scenes are overlong. But put it this way: I’d much rather watch this again than watch “Matrix Reloaded” again.
Definitely recommended.
Industrial design as art
Bill Noll has put some seductive images online of the new Apple G5. (via splorp.blog)
Drool.
The Magdalene Sisters
I’m trying to cut back on the Coca-Cola (aka the Great Caramel-Colored Satan). So I sat watching “The Magdalene Sisters” tonight with no beverage. None. It was quite ascetic, and as such appropriate for the movie, which chronicled the horrors visited on Irish girls sent to the Magdalene laundries run by the Catholic Church.
The endless horror was the main problem with the movie. For me it was so over-the-top that it tripped over its own feet, numbing you to what these girls went through. It’s too bad because the photography was beautiful, and the girls were played by amazingly expressive actresses, especially the breathtakingly exotic Nora-Jane Noone as Bernadette.
I’m not saying that the filmmakers portrayed things that didn’t happen, if not to all the same three girls all at once. But if they had just dialed it back a notch (or 10), they would have really had something.
A story with almost no point
I was reading Dave Winer’s site and noticed that one of his links sent readers to the wrong site. So I e-mailed him to that effect, as other people are used to me doing. I can’t help it – I’m a compulsive proofreader.
Amazingly, Dave responded to me. The response was one word: “Oy.” Then, even more amazingly, he didn’t fix the link!
Don’t know what any of this means, as usual.
Great stuff from Max Cleland about the parallels between Iraq and Vietnam. (via comments on Daily Kos)
He should know. Cleland was a Georgia senator (until he lost his re-election bid last year) who lost three limbs in Vietnam, and whose Republican challenger aired ads attacking his patriotism while flashing images of Osama and Saddam. Nice.
THEN:
“The battle of Iraq is one victory in a war on terror that began on Sept. 11, 2001, and still goes on.”
-GWB, aircraft carrier, May 1
NOW:
“We have no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with the September 11 attacks.”
-GWB, this week
BUT…:
“There’s no question that Saddam Hussein had al Qaeda ties.”
-GWB, this week
My bet is, stories like this one on CNN.com do nothing to debunk the popular (70 percent!) notion that Saddam did 9/11 – just the opposite. Just putting Saddam’s picture next to a headline that includes “9/11” is the same tactic the administration has been using, apparently effectively, for months.