i m N s h o

(From WordSpy : Birther . Deather . Truther .) 3 synonyms for moron? Let me just observe that Google's spell-check recognizes all three words. (Yeah, I know… nearly two months without a post and I come back with something snarky? All I can say is that anyone who's surprised by this probably hasn't read much of my blog.)  

(Or, a lesson in not judging a book by its cover.) Lately I've been having a tough time finding something to read that holds my attention for more than a couple of chapters. Apparently I'm jaded when it comes to science fiction and nothing new has captured my imagination. Vampires, one of my stand-by genres, have been taken over by Romance and YA authors (with a few notable exceptions), and werewolves and other things that go bump in the night have been dragged along with them. (Zombies seem to be immune from the romance infiltration, presumably because it's tough to make the shambling, mindless undead sexy… but zombies have never been one of my favorite tropes, so that doesn't do me much good.) There have been some interesting books in the dark fantasy area… The Blade Itself and Iron Angel come to mind, and Interred with Their Bones was a great read as well (think of it as a Shakespearian DaVinci Code). But scattered amongst those books, I've started and stopp

Three movies in two weekends is hardly surprising for me… I love going to movies and will indulge pretty much any time I get the chance. Finding only one out of the three that I really liked is a lower average than I usually manage, however. I wasn't terribly surprised to find Jennifer's Body lacking (pun intended). Reviews have not been kind, and its ranking on Rotten Tomatoes simply reinforces that impression. Sadly, it starts out well enough, but by the midpoint of the movie (about the time you find out how Jennifer becomes the demonic creature we've been watching for the past hour) the movie starts to collapse under the weight of its own irony. Evil indie rock bands and over-the-top frothy formal gowns left me wondering why I was wasting my time. By the time it dug itself out of the depths of its ironic indulgence, I was over it all. But I was surprised by my reaction to The Informant . Reviews for this one have been much better (no surprise), and Matt Damon

I'm really rather impressed by the almost universal misunderstanding of " 9 ". 9 - Rotten Tomatoes Even the reviewers that liked the movie seem to find the plot uninspired, or the characters lacking in, well, character. Comparisons to Terminator 3 abound (apparently no one's able to find any other post-apocalyptic reference point), and there's more than a few references to the movie's inappropriateness for younger viewers. (A stunningly insightful remark, he said, with only the faintest whiff of ironic condescention.) As far as I'm concerned, nearly every one of them is missing the point here. 9 was never intended to be yet another kid-friendly CGI romp in the park. The themes are dark and the content arguably adult in nature (fascism, the end of the world, death and loss and destruction, etc.). The movie is allegorical… a fairy tale similar in nature to Watership Down (or, for the more eclectic amongst us, The Cockroaches of Stay More ). The ch

I am an obsessive reader. I hate not having something to read when I'm standing around waiting, or when I'm doing something relatively mindless like eating. I always have a book or magazine in my backpack, and my PDAs and phones have been a godsend in recent years. But, in times of desperation, I've been known to read the backs of cereal boxes and other household paraphernalia. (This is how I discovered my favorite warning label EVER on Kellog's 100% Natural Cereal, a warning to the unsuspecting cereal lover to "chew carefully while enjoying this unique cereal." This, of course, is due to all the whole grains, fruit and nuts of which the cereal is comprised). Sometimes this leads to unexpected discoveries, as in this case with the disturbing notion that I could be an unwitting felon today. I cannot remember the context, nor what I could possibly have been doing which prompted me to read the side of a traveler's size pack of Kleenex Anti-Viral tissues t

I'd never heard of Delia Bacon prior to reading Bill Bryson's " Shakespeare: The World as Stage ". There's a chapter towards the end of the book where Bryson talks about Delia, and her obsession with Sir Francis Bacon… the man she believed to have written Shakespeare's works. Turns out that, prior to Delia's ravings (she was eventually institutionalized for her obsessions), no one had ever questioned Shakespeare's authorship, so all the debate about "who wrote Shakespeare" can be laid at Delia's feet. (Bryson is none too impressed with Delia, and dismisses her postulations, observing that during her travels in England, she never once actually visited any location connected to Bacon, instead choosing to commune with nature to help her find answers to the 'mystery' of Shakespeare.) Speaking of Sir Francis brings me to Interred with Their Bones , a sort-of Shakespearean DaVinci code, where Sir Francis and Delia (as well as the earls

Gotta love sensational headlines like this one: Gamers Are 35, Overweight — And Sad, CDC says About the fifth paragraph in, the article notes: "The study, based on a 2006 online survey of 552 people … who were living in the Seattle-Tacoma area of Washington state …" (Emphasis is mine). Pardon me for noticing, but isn't the Seattle-Tacoma area known for its above average per-capita depression rate? So perhaps releasing findings that state that your survey subjects are depressed might have something more to do with the overriding prevalence for said depression, than any influence gaming might have on them? Far be it from me to disagree with the CDC, but god am I tired of "well meaning" doctors and bureaucrats bemoaning the evils of videogames without bothering to have the goods to back up their claims. (There was yet another "learned man of science" on the radio Friday, talking about his concerns about addiction in World of Warcraft who prefaced his rema

Gotta admit, it's hard to disagree with this list: Moviefone: Worst Blockbusters Ever The only one I might quibble about is the DaVinci Code. Calling it one of the worst blockbusters ever is almost giving it too MUCH credit. It was a mediocre, forgettable take on a pretty decent book, but "worst ever" anything seems like hyperbole to me. But the rest of that list? I think they nailed it!  

Am I alone in seeing the name Subaru WRX , making the cognitive leap from "WRX" to "wrecks" and thinking "wow, what a bad name for a car!"? At the very least, it seems an inauspicious association. Kind of a " Bummer of a birthmark " moment, you know?  

Bacon seems to be undergoing some bizarre cultural renaissance lately. How else can you explain bizarro products like bacon-flavored salt, bacon-flavored vodka, bacon-flavored mints and bacon-flavored diet coke? A quick Google search is bound to reveal countless other ways you can infuse bacon into your life. It's like we've all suddenly rebelled from all the 'healthy diet' rhetoric that's been flouted for years (rhetoric that few of us are paying any real attention to) and have embraced, once again, the notion of pork fat. But have you SEEN this thing ? That's Taco Bell's new Cheesy Bacon Potato Burrito. Available for a limited time only, they assure us… presumably because it will soon begin to kill off the unsuspsecting among us, those naive or clueless enough to think you can get away with eating one of these things without consequences. I thought the thing was spectacular when I first heard the radio spots, but then I saw a TV ad and realized the magic t

It's possible Eve was right when she asked me what I was going to rant about after Bush left office. My rate of posting has certainly declined, and most of the time it's been pretty "safe" stuff… I certainly haven't gotten involved in any long debates about "the Digital Macarena", "SyFy" or the "2010/010" question, for instance. Admittedly, I've been stupid busy at work of late, and less inclined to distract myself with blogging in the middle of my lunch break (assuming, of course, that I'm actually breaking for lunch these days). And then there's Facebook and Twitter for those quick WTF kind of posts I've done in the past. But still… Excuses, excuses, right? Which is not to say there haven't been a few things that have piqued my interest lately. To whit… President Obama and the Cambridge Police My first reaction on hearing Obama's "The Cambridge Police acted stupidly" comment was to think how refres

I've never been particularly… fond of the Sci Fi Channel. Partly it's due to the name. I've spent enough time reading science fiction, and reading about science fiction, to know the difference between Sci-Fi (a generic term used mainly by those unfamiliar with science fiction, or those relatively new to the genre) and SF (as it's generally referred to within the science fiction community). By calling itself the Sci Fi Channel, they put themselves on that broad, lowest-common-denominator shelf that network TV always seems to aspire to (yes, even cable networks). Maybe they thought too many people would see the SF Channel and think it was a channel about San Francisco. Whatever. What I saw was a deliberate decision to cater to the broadest demographic they could reach… which didn't bode well for the type of programming we could expect from them, right? (Obviously, that's what television networks do… they have to reach as many eyeballs as they can so they can pay

Bernard Madoff gets 150 years in prison I'm just wondering if giving Bernie Madoff a 150 year sentence is supposed to feel like justice has been served? At his age, wouldn't a 20 year sentence amount to the same thing? (You're gonna die in prison, Bernie. Enjoy.) Not that I think they were too harsh on the guy. Just seems kinda pointless.  

Due to the nature of the business around here, we're ALWAYS talking about stuff happening in the future. In the past few weeks, I've lost count of the number of times I've heard someone refer to something happening "in '010'. And I've just gotta ask, is it REALLY that much easier than "2010"? This isn't just me being anal here… '010 is meaningless! It only "makes sense" because this is 2009. 2008=08, 2009=09, 2010=010. But one look at that should show you the flaw in that logic. If you accept '010, then this year would have to be '009, and that makes even less sense than '010. To put it another way, if this were 2109, we'd never have this discussion. It wouldn't occur to anyone to even think next year is '010, because there's no extraneous zeros to add into the date. (2108='08, 2109='09, 2110=... '10!) I will acknowledge that '10 doesn't exactly flow off the tongue ("We'll

The Chris Brown/Rihanna trial starts today. News reports state the defense may argue that she started the fight, hitting him first before he retaliated. Have you seen the photos of Rihanna, post-beating? I just want to know what playground these jackholes are living on where "she started it" is an acceptable reason for beating the crap out of a woman. Here's hoping they throw the book at Chris Brown. And I hope it's a large, heavy book. With lots of sharp edges.  

A couple of weeks ago, Joel McHale (The Soup) referred to Twitter as "…the digital macarena." An amusing observation, with more than a touch of truth to it, I think. I can't remember the exact statistic (so I may be misquoting here), but I recently heard that something like 2/3 of new users on Twitter never log in again after their first month. I wouldn't be surprised by that number, frankly. I'm not terribly active on Twitter, but that shouldn't surprise anyone that knows me well. I signed up a couple of months ago and I've tweeted a few times, but haven't felt any real compulsion towards keeping it up. Let's face it, I'm not really into 'sharing'. I mean, I quit wearing t-shirts that said things because I found it encouraged random strangers into thinking I wanted them to strike up conversations with me. (Trust me, I didn't, and I don't.) It's debatable whether the "what are you doing NOW" nature of Twitter is re

You know, it's kind of gratifying to hear the President say the same things you've been thinking (and saying) for years. Obama vs. Cheney: Contrasting views on the war on terrorism President Obama: Brutal methods like waterboarding… undermine the rule of law. They alienate us in the world. They serve as a recruitment tool for terrorists and increase the will of our enemies to fight us. As for Cheney's comments, while I make it a rule never to agree with our former VP, I can make an exception in this case. Former VP Cheney: …when the moral reckoning turns to the men known as high-value terrorists, I can assure you they were neither innocent nor victims. The fact that I don't support the use of waterboarding, "enhanced interrogation" or torture doesn't leave me thinking terrorists are victims of anything but the consequences of their own agendas.

Now, before you go organizing that lynch mob, bear with me while I explain my theory. As any of the Mac faithful will (vehemently) inform you, Apple makes some great technology. The Mac is an excellent computer with a stable, impeccably user-friendly operating system (as a PC user, trust me, I recognize the value of that statement). It loves video, photographs and audio and Apple's brought a sense of style and design to personal computing which makes a Mac an attractive addition to your office, as opposed to the boring beige boxes that were the norm for so many years. The iPod and iTunes have revolutionized the way people listen to music. (Yes, there were other MP3 players before the advent of the iPod, but Apple's the 800 lb. gorilla in this space.) I'm a convert and will no longer even consider listening to CDs in my car. The iPod is an elegant piece of tech, and the iPhone has, seemingly single-handedly, transformed touch-screen technology into something organic, intui

I just saw that S. Darko , a direct-to-DVD release sequel to Donnie Darko is coming out this week. I have to ask, "How?" And, perhaps more to the point, "Why?" Without having seen the movie, I can hardly speak to its quality (or lack thereof — though its direct-to-DVD status should say something), but it seems like the first movie pretty much covered that particular story, and any sequel has got to be stretching it to make a connection to the previous one. Maybe it's just me looking for logic where commerce is involved. But did Donnie Darko really do that well (cult status notwithstanding) to justify the "cashing in on the DVD market" approach? One has to wonder. (Although, judging by the prominently displayed "Donnie Darko 2-Packs" I guess we must assume "yes".) Reading the IMDB synopsis, I can get an idea of the "how," though that certainly doesn't address the "why." And it doesn't leave me with any g

'cause it can't be spoken about without the attending panic, of course. My favorite headline of the week… Scientists see this flu strain as relatively mild Take a deep breath, everyone, and step away from the abyss.

Years ago (more years than I'm willing to cop to today), a couple of my more paranoid friends went off on a RANT about the evils of the Trilateral Commission — this "secret world government" that was responsible for all the evils we, "the common man", experience at the hands of government and big industry. They selected who was going to be elected, what their policies and practices would be, who would succeed and fail… They were the ultimate political bogeyman. This insanity immediately relegated the Trilateral Commission to a place somewhere between Area 51 and the Illuminati in that whole 'mythical secrets of the modern world' area of my brain. Last week I googled the Trilateral Commission (I was looking for a reference to one of these mythical constructs) and lo and behold, it exists ! Not only that, but all the bugaboos and scary notions that had my friends so worked up ("founded by Rockerfeller", the 'trilateral' American, Euro

Last summer, for about a week and a half, Doomsday played in theatres. All I really remember was a really crappy trailer that left me totally uninterested and wondering why anyone bothered with another tedious Mad Max clone.  But several times in the past few months, I've heard people talking about this movie and how great it was and, while I assumed it was something in the "great cult film" genre, I decided to check it out last week. (Perhaps if I'd realized it was from Neil Marshall, the guy responsible for The Descent , I'd have paid a little more attention, bad trailer and all.)  Rather than a simple Mad Max knockoff, Doomsday is like some glorious mash-up of Road Warrior, Robin Hood, and every post-apocalyptic zombie movie from the last 10 year, with a little dash of Python-esque humor thrown in. It's also got a callback to 28 Days Later that anyone familiar with THAT film will enjoy.  The first half-hour or so is pretty straightforward 'end of the

A friend of mine took me to task last week for not commenting on the House passage of a bill levying a 90% tax on bonuses granted by companies receiving the Federal banking bail-out funding. I had to admit to him that I hadn't been paying much attention to the news recently, so knew nothing about it till he grilled me about it. But I also opined that, since it was directed at those particular companies, I wasn't too torn up about it. (I've already stated I'm not particularly taken by any of their arguments justifying the massive bonuses being paid out at this time.) He argued 'slippery slope' — "give the government an inch, they'll take a mile." I told him I understood the sentiment behind the bill and, while I might not be 100% behind the idea, I wasn't ready to storm the barricades protesting it. Then I read this in an article from Saturday's LA Times: BONUS BACKLASH RIPS INTO WALL ST. Rep. Brad Sherman (DSherman Oaks) said he was prepari

I first read Watchmen a couple of years ago, after hearing for many years previous what a groundbreaking, genre redefining, award winning novel it was. I read it, enjoyed it, and realized it was probably a lot smarter, deeper and challenging than I was giving it credit for. I also knew I was going to have to read it again, now that I knew the story, to really get to the meat of it… those things that made it groundbreaking, genre redefining and award winning. This is not to say that I didn't appreciate the book… just that I did not come away from that first read a convert to the cult of Watchmen. When I heard that Warner Bros. was finally making the movie (and it looked like it was really happening) I studiously avoided going back to the novel… I knew enough of the story not to feel like I would be lost in the movie, but didn't want to have the novel in the forefront of my mind when I went to see the movie, since that's usually a recipe for disappointment. I've watched

I was asked recently what I was going to bitch about now that we don't have Dubya to kick around any more. I told them I was sure I'd find something, but here it is, nearly a month since my last post and I've got nothing to show for it. Admitedly, there have been things that have caught my attention… the continued BS surrounding the banking bailouts (I'm sorry, I don't care what your justification may be, paying massive bonuses when your company's only afloat thanks to a government bailout IS still bullshit), Dick Cheney's arrogance (hardly news, but still), and the continued bickering among Republicans searching for relevance (seriously… the RNC Chairman just went on record saying abortion is a "personal choice" and it looks like Bobby Jindal and Sarah Palin are circling Rush Limbaugh for the role of party leader… it's gotta be rough to be a Republican right now, right?). But it's still kinda background noise. Besides, schadenfreude only

Last week, the New York Post ran an editorial cartoon showing a pair of cops shooting a chimpanzee. The caption on the cartoon was "They'll have to find somebody else to write the next stimulus plan". When challenged about the racist tone of the cartoon, the Post denied any racism and the cartoonist observed that, since it talks about 'writing' the stimulus plan, if it was about any politician, it would have to be about Pelosi. Oh, please. Today it was reported that Los Alamitos Mayor Dean Grose is under fire for an email he sent with a photo of the White House lawn planted with watermelons and the caption "no Easter Egg hunt this year". Mayor Grose says he was 'unaware' of the racial stereotype of black people liking watermelons. Again, oh please. This one may be even more absurd than the Post. While I can argue that the first name you think of when you hear the word's "Stimulus Plan" is not likely to be Pelosi, the cartoonist ha

No, this isn't some philosophical post as I transition from one life-state to another. Just that I've seen a bunch of movies in the past month or so with really lame endings, and I felt the need to comment. I've already talked about the unimpressive ending to the equally unimpressive Day the Earth Stood Still remake. Then I saw The One while channel-surfing one night and was left completely non-plussed by the ending of THAT cinematic gem. (Much like DtESS, I was left thinking "that's the best you could come up with?") Last week we watched the X-Files: I Want to Believe . Overall, it wasn't bad… did a nice job of capturing the feel of the show — so good, frankly, that it felt more like an extended TV episode than any "bigger & better" X-Files Movie Event. The good stuff, for the most part, revolved around Scully & Mulder's relationship, a relationship that's nearly as mysterious as the cases they investigate. (Are they married/li

For the past week or so, I've been hearing a radio spot for Pepsi Max, touting its man-friendly image, letting guys know that there's a new diet drink in town, safe for them to drink in the company of their compadres. I had no idea, prior to this campaign, that diet drinks suffered from such a crisis of confidence. Are we really afraid to drink diet sodas when we're out with the guys? Or is it just Pepsi guys that are ashamed of diet Pepsi? Whatever the case, the tagline on the commercial pretty much says it all: "Now you can drink your diet cola and still look your cojones in the eyes!" That first definition ("a vulgar Spanish word for testicles") pretty much says it all, and is the reason I was in tears the first time I heard the spot. And I HAVE to assume the ad was fully vetted by the folks at Pepsi and, somewhere along the line, someone had to approve it. But there's a part of me that wants to believe that a couple of bored ad copywriters slipp

Got a little of that "The King is dead, long live the King" thing working here. After yesterday's post, I kinda need a little closure to bring it all full circle. I don't have much to say that hasn't, I'm sure, been said to great length and probably more eloquently elsewhere. I watched the Inauguration this morning; the first time I've ever watched a Presidential Inauguration, I believe. I enjoyed the President's speech, found it gratifying to hear a man with the eloquence to command the English language, to make his points clearly and concisely, to call to action, signal change, and take a stance as the leader of this country. I found his speech moving, inspirational, hopeful. All things you would want at this time. I only hope we can live up to some small part of this hopeful promise, for it was an ambitious speech, and a challenge to us all. For now, it's simply "Welcome, Mr. President. Do a good job. We need the change."

Nothing quite like an inflammatory headline to grab attention, huh? [A quick note on "respect" before I get started. I absolutely agree that the office of the President of the United States is deserving of, and should command respect. But I also, fundamentally, believe that no individual can command respect. No matter who you are and what your office or title, it is your actions and your character that determine the respect you can command. The person inhabiting the office of President may start at an elevated level of respect, perhaps, but then this only shows how far a person can fall when one looks at the Presidency of George W. Bush. Anyone wishing to argue this point with me should ask themselves this question: Can you honestly and truthfully say that you afford the same respect to President Bill Clinton as you do President George W. Bush? I can think of no more polarizing Presidencies in recent history, so unless you can answer "yes" to my above question, I re

The "Bush Legacy Tour" (as MSNBC has been referring to Bush's appearances since the elections) has been working really hard at the "we never tortured anyone" rhetoric. "We don't torture, we don't condone torture, waterboarding isn't torture…" we've heard all of it for years, but it's a more concentrated message in these waning days of the Bush Administration. (That and "you may not agree with us, but…" and "we're safer now then we were" and "no new terrorist attacks since 9/11!". All of these statements equally debatable — at best — if not outright fallacies.) The Tour got a kick to the groin on Wednesday when the Washington Post ran this story: Detainee Tortured, Says U.S. Official The real kicker here, of course, is who this US official is: The top Bush administration official in charge of deciding whether to bring Guantanamo Bay detainees to trial… So this wasn't one of those damn 'lefty&

Gee, I wonder what's inspiring him? A time will come when a politician who has wilfully made war and promoted international dissension will be as sure of the dock and much surer of the noose than a private homicide. It is not reasonable that those who gamble with men's lives should not stake their own. —H.G. Wells, writer (1866-1946) [From today's Wordsmith.org A Word A Day email]

The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. —John Kenneth Galbraith, economist (1908-2006) [From today's Wordsmith.org A Word A Day email]