LOST Season 6 DVD/Blu-ray details!

DocArzt's LOST Blog passes along info about the DVD and Blu-ray release of Lost Season 6. The really good news is that we won't have to wait hardly long at all to buy it! Whereas there's been a seven-month gap between the season finale in May and the DVD/Blu-ray sets, Lost's sixth and final season is scheduled to drop for retail on August 24th!

Also arriving that day will be Lost: The Complete Collection ($229.99 for the DVD and $279.99 for Blu-ray) containing all of the season sets and bonus material, plus an extra disc of exclusive content. Maybe a good buy if you don't have any of the sets yet, but I'll prolly pass and just get the regular Season 6 Blu-ray set, since I'm already well on my way to building up my Lost Blu-ray collection :-)

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Scott Brown, the Republican Senator-elect, favors abortion "rights"

Read about it here.

How the hell is this going to make him any different than Ted Kennedy?

"But Chris, he couldn't get elected in Massachusetts if he were pro-life!"

There are more important things in this world than "getting elected".

I have said it before and I will say it again: the vast majority of the Republican party's leadership and elected officials do not care one iota about the abortion issue. And if they do, it's only because it never ceases to provide a carrot that gets to be dangled in front of "the faithful" to keep them voting GOP in elections.

It just so happened that this time the carrot was "health care reform", and that to many people that is more important than the abortion issue. Rather telling also, that Brown has publicly said he doesn't want the Supreme Court to overrule Roe v. Wade... and that alone tells me how much regard Brown has for the Constitution. A wiser person would have said that Roe v. Wade is the worst "legislation from the bench" ever and that abortion must be decided by the states for themselves and not the federal judiciary.

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Prepare to have your mind blown

From the shortest possible distance (the Planck Length) to the edge of the observable universe (93 billion light years) and everything in between, this incredible Flash presentation puts it all into perspective...

Thanks to Shane Thacker for such a humbling and breathtaking find.

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Want to see the first four minutes of LOST Season 6?

No, really... do you?

Mash here for the first four minutes of "LA X", the premiere episode of Lost's sixth and final season. I'm not embedding it though 'cuz even the still from the YouTube video might be considered a major spoiler. But as with every other season, it starts off with a healthy dose of "What the...?!"

Lost returns this coming Tuesday night on ABC.

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"Thank you, Lord!"

Those were the very first words out of my mouth this morning, when I woke up and looked outside at the beautiful snow-covered landscape.

About 8 inches so far. The snow is still coming down and will do so until this evening when it's supposed to become snow and freezing rain mix.

I'm not going anywhere today. And if you have to in these conditions, please be careful out there. But I'm gonna be more than content to stay inside and gaze in wonder at the pristine white countryside.

(Well, I'm gonna do other stuff too, like reading some books etc. And I might blog a bit too :-)

But in the meantime, it's worth saying again: Thank you, Lord!

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New vocabulary term: "Update Creep"

Longtime readers of this blog (all two of them) know that from time to time I come up with new terminology for things that don't yet have a name. Like two years ago when I defined "Hell Époque". Sorta like Rich Hall's "Snigglets" of HBO's Not Necessarily the News years ago... 'cept mine aren't for humor's sake.

Add another one tonight: "Update Creep".

I hit upon it after finishing an update of the security suite software on my computer. The update completed at 6 p.m. tonight... and it's taken me almost four hours to get everything back working on my 'puter the way I'm used to!

So what is update creep?

Update Creep: (noun) The long-term tendency of computer software to gradually evolve into a radically different product through a process of consistent updates and professed "improvements".

I guess Microsoft Windows could be the best example that one could cite of update creep, but it could happen to any software package. Even video games. The Super Mario Bros. series comes to mind but that's one instance where the update creep has still maintained the spirit of the original game.

At least now I can visit my own blog without my security suite asking if it's safe for children (Good Lord, I hope it is! :-P)

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The snow is here

Has been for about an hour or so. Ground is covered. 18 inches is now said to be a strong possibility.

I'll try to post some pics on the morrow :-)

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15 inches of snow coming our way

I'm holed-up in my Sanctum Sanctorum with all the essentials: lots of food, toilet paper, reading material, video games, and a bunch of Orks to paint up for Warhammer 40,000. Not to mention plenty of movies (including my blizzard tradition, John Carpenter's The Thing).

The storm headed straight toward here. May not get to dig out 'til Tuesday, if we get the temps they're calling for.

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Geoff Gentry's thoughts on the iPad

It's been my favorite joke to tell during the past 24 hours...

"Lots of people are upset about the 4:3 aspect ratio of the iPad so Apple is rolling out one with a 16:9 screen in a few months. They're calling it the Max-iPad."

rimshot

Okay, giggles at its horrible name aside, plenty of people are wondering if the iPad is already set to be a bomb for the House of Jobs. Putting it all into perspective is Geoff Gentry: good friend and techno-ubergeek whose opinion on all matters gadget I have long held in great esteem.

Some of Geoff's points about the iPad...

First of all as "magical" and "revolutionary" as the iPad is, it is 1st generation technology. With Apple that means it will get better quickly. Here are my thoughts on the new product.

The Name: Yes the word pod was out there before Apple added the "i" and made it a household word. But pad on the other hand is used for so many things and is hard to add a new definition. Did the naming folks at Apple not do any research with people or online? People automatically started making feminine hygiene jokes about it. While the name is direct, simple (two syllables) and close to the iPod it is lacking. I personally think iSlate would have been a better choice.

The Hardware: The size and astetic design are good but it is lacking in several ways. First, I know they were trying to keep the ports down to a minimum, but having to use an adapter for USB or one for SD is clunky. I look at it and I think large iPod Touch. It lacks a camera (or even better 2). It needs work on the hardware side that I hope will be addressed.

Hit here for more of Geoff's take on Apple's latest igizmo.

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J.D. Salinger, Pernell Roberts, and Zelda Rubinstein have passed away

Not for the first time unfortunately, a trio of talent has left us.

Pernell Roberts, who is perhaps best known for playing Adam Cartwright on Bonanza and later had the title role in Trapper John, M.D. (playing an older version of Elliot Gould's character from the movie M*A*S*H) has passed away at the age of 81.

The sad news is also breaking this afternoon that J.D. Salinger, the author of The Catcher in the Rye, has died at 91.

And Zelda Rubinstein, the diminutive actress who made such an impression on screen but most especially as Tangina in 1982's Poltergeist, has passed away at the age of 76.

Go into the light...

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Didn't watch Obama's State of the Union speech last night...

...because I already knew what the REAL state of the union is.

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What's wrong with you people?!?

I'm talking about those of you who are good friends who have blogs too. Too many of y'all have gotten more than a bit slack of late. What, you think I like reading my own all the time?! I go to you guys' blogs too... and it's absolutely heartbreaking that too many of you have seemingly abandoned your poor blogs!

At least Jenna St. Hilaire is still busy with hers. Not only that but she also just finished writing an entire novel. What do the rest of you have to say for yourselves?!?

Chad, what gives man? Two years we've been looking at that post about the Krispy Kreme Challenge that you ran in Raleigh. Time to re-brand yourself or something bro. And Brian... where are you?! Not an update in more than a year!

Don't even get me started on the two Erics.

C'mon back to the blogosphere y'all. This place is so much more entertaining with your company :-)

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Lots of Christians weighing in on THE BOOK OF ELI

When I saw The Book of Eli last week, I figured this movie would cause a lot of discussion in the Christian community. And I've no doubt that this is just the beginning as more people see the film...

CJ Thomas posts his take on the movie and particularly about star Denzel Washington's opinion about what some might consider to be The Book of Eli's inherent "controversy". Meanwhile on the same site Mike Parker ponders whether The Book of Eli is a Christian movie at all (and his perspective is one that I think all of us who profess to follow Christ and also create media content should ponder greatly). Christian romance author MaryLu Tyndall has a GREAT review up on her blog Cross and Cutlass, and she also encourages fellow Christians to see this movie in spite of its violent content and occasional profanity. Randy Thomas echoes a similar sentiment in his review. Some of these write-ups might have spoilers for the movie, so consider yourself forewarned if you haven't seen it yet.

(And for what it's worth, here's my own review of The Book of Eli, humbly submitted for your approval :-)

Found any more Christians talking on the Intertubes about The Book of Eli? Feel free to post the links in the comments!

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So thankful that our collective priorities are in order

Tonight is the State of the Union address (which doesn't have to be a speech anyway, or even an annual event, just look it up) and as his predecessors have never failed to do, President Barack Obama is certainly poised to waste even more of our money.

But never mind that! The entire western world is anxiously holding its breath over the announcement of Apple's new tablet!

(No, sarcasm is not my usual forte...)

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Funny - and true - commentary on this season's college basketball

A friend named Ray Crompton has said it best...

"It's sad that the best basketball team in NC is the Bobcats."

This is the wonkiest year I've seen for college basketball in this state in Lord knows how long.

I haven't checked though: how are the Western Carolina Catamounts doing? :-)

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Prison inmates banned from playing Dungeons & Dragons

The inmates of a prison in Wisconsin have so far failed to mount a successful legal challenge against their being banned from playing Dungeons & Dragons. According to the article, the staff of the prison deemed Dungeons & Dragons inappropriate because "one player is denoted the Dungeon Master... [who] is tasked with giving directions to other players... [which] mimics the organization of a gang."

Seems pretty silly to me. The prison banning Dungeons & Dragons, that is. I just can't see how a game like this is going to encourage gang activity. If anything, Dungeons & Dragons might be quite a productive use of the inmates' free time, since it constantly engages skills such as creative thought and mathematics.

Or maybe the guards are simply afraid that the prisoners are going to use Dungeons & Dragons as a "gateway" to some legit black magick!

Worth noting again that Gary Gygax, the creator of Dungeons & Dragons, was a devout Christian. Bet he wouldn't have any problem with his game being used like this.

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Fifteen gadgets that were WAY ahead of their time

Think your iPhone or BlackBerry is the wave of the future? Feh! Behold the marvelous technology of 1913, represented by E.C. Hanson's "automobile wireless telephone". With his buggy outfitted with two telephone poles and various high-voltage insulators, Hanson could make calls from the road up to 35 miles away.

Technologizer has a fun lil' read up on their site about Hanson's "cell phone" and fourteen other innovations that were decades ahead of the curve. Like Thomas Edison's idea to print a 40,000 page book that would be only two inches thick, using ultra-thin metal plates instead of paper.

(Thankfully that one didn't see production. Lord knows that I have enough trouble with papercuts :-P )

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