- Andrew Speaker might have spread a drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis among thousands of people during his plane trips across Europe and into America. That's one guy carrying TB who got caught. Has anyone noticed all the stories coming out lately about cases of TB breaking out in the southwestern states?I'm taking off for the rest of the weekend. Have some projects to work on, and a few new movies to watch (namely Casino Royale and Pan's Labyrinth). In the meantime, have a good 'un!- Speaking of the border situation, I've heard from people in Mexico during the past few days: the situation there is much, much worse than anything we are reading in the "mainstream" news. "Civil war" and "revolution" could be used interchangeably among the reports that have come here.
- Also about the border situation: President Bush dares to claim that those of us who want the border secured are unpatriotic and un-American. I dare say that President Bush is a traitor for letting our border be overrun. I'll hazard to guess that I've got the more substantiated claim.
- The only reason that the Republican bigwigs are going gah-gah over Fred Thompson is that in their eyes Thompson is the only one who can effectively counter the soaring popularity of Ron Paul. If Ron Paul were to even win the nomination, it would be a death knell toward everything the bosses of both major parties have been inflicting on America for the better part of sixty years now... if not more.
- May was one of the bloodiest months for American military forces since this very foolish war was started over four years ago. At this point it should be clear to all but the most obtuse: there is no "winning a victory" out of this situation. There is no chance of a viable unified Iraqi society arising from our continued presence there. In hindsight the thing that should have been done was for the Iraqi people to have taken matters into their own hands: either arising on their own to depose Saddam or waiting until his death. As it is now, the American presence is only there to stave off societal degradation... and it's not working.
Saturday, June 02, 2007
For whatever it's worth...
The electrician is still scratchin' his head ...
Good friend Matt Smith works on a bulletin board and found this posted by a radio engineer in Tennessee. Thanks for forwarding it this way Matt!
Friday, June 01, 2007
Happy Birthday Deborah!
Here's wishing a very Happy Birthday to Deborah Wilson (this is Deborah and I together at Star Wars Celebration III two years ago in Indianapolis).Deborah is from Texas, and she is one of the most talented people I've ever known. She's a genius at creating costumes, she does amazing work with silver in making jewelry, and word on the street is that she's a pretty good fighter in World of Warcraft. She is also a much bigger Star Wars fan than I'll ever be (is such a thing possible?!?). But most of all, Lisa and I think of Deborah as a very wonderful sister in Christ, who has become a true friend in every sense of the word. She's definitely challenged me a lot in seeking God that much more, for sure...
Happy Birthday Deborah :-)
Reason enough to not support Fred Thompson for President
The former Senator supports low taxes and free trade. On May 13, 2007 he told the ABC radio audience that "[Globalization] works to our benefit. We innovate more and invest in that innovation better than anywhere else in the world. Same thing goes for services, which are increasingly driving our economy. Free trade and market economies have done more for freedom and prosperity than a central planner could ever dream and we're the world's best example of that."Thompson says he is for low taxes (having NO income tax would be a far better position however) and control of the border. But I've seen more than enough damage done by "globalization" over the past fifteen years to know to steer clear and away from anyone who thinks it's supposed to be a virtue.
Didn't anyone learn anything from NAFTA?
Does America deserve to survive?
A flag is a symbol of temporal power and authority. It has no place in a house of worship... unless what the flag symbolizes IS a focus of worship.
And if it is, then there is a problem.
Jesus called His followers the "salt of the earth". Only a little salt will preserve the meat. But if the salt loses its saltiness, as Jesus said, then it is worthless. And it does nothing. The meat will deteriorate.
That's what Christianity in America has become: it's lost its salt. Because too many of those who boast of Judeo-Christian morals don't realize the damage they have done by confusing lust for power with love of God.
And everything around us is rotting because of it.
Let's start with the most obvious thing: common courtesy and respect in America is dead.
America is now a Schadenfreude culture: everything from our moral character to our entertainment to our economy has become dependent on taking joy at the suffering of others. The "SCREW YOU I GOT MINE JACK!" mentality dominates this land. We aren't a happy people unless we are being vicious and cruel to someone else. I see it everyday, cropping up in things ranging from mundane conversation to the Internet (why does the web seem to magnify the animosity of most people?).
You see it in our political system and how it's reported on Fox News and CNN. We barely even pretend anymore that our actions are done for the greater good: "Let's hear it for the power!" as Nancy Pelosi shouted on the day she became House Speaker.
We've let people like Ann Coulter on "the right" and websites like Democratic Underground on "the left" make hating others not only something that's morally acceptable, but fashionable. Too many of us have eagerly followed their lead.
A people that have divided themselves between "conservatives" and "liberals" are shallow and ignorant. Those who insist that the world is divided into "red state and blue state" do so because they have not matured past the childish instinct to hate someone. Show me a man who rails against "liberals" or "conservatives", and I will show you a man who is unhappy unless he has someone to thoroughly despise.
Partly because of our willingness to hate, we largely don't think for ourselves anymore. The two most recent presidential administrations have proven that much. We've shown that we're all too willing to swallow any lie that is presented us. And we have readily demonstrated that we will eagerly fall into line behind whatever pretty face the powers-that-be decree we are to follow. Americans by and large don't vote for the most qualified person, or for someone who puts principles ahead of everything else. Today they vote for someone who is "electable". That is to say, someone who is handsome enough or is better known for being an actor than being a statesman. Our system of government has devolved into a high school popularity campaign.
It's come to the point where those who do dare question the qualifications and motives of these "leaders" are openly accused of "aiding and abetting the enemy". And look at what that has brought us to: government monitoring of our phone conversations and e-mails, the veritable suspension of Habeas Corpus, warrant-less searches, a "no-fly" list that apparently targets some for nothing more than stating political beliefs, forthcoming national ID cards...
Why is it again that America was a better country than the Soviet Union?
The rule of law in America is almost completely dead. Government does what it wants without restraint. Our representatives are installed by a political machine and with rare exception have any connect with the American people.
But we don't dare protest. We not only nod our heads and meekly accept this as "the way things are". Then we commence to buy things fast and loose on credit so that we can watch the Super Bowl on a plasma-screen TV, or get something else that we really don’t need and can't afford. Instead of confronting the problem we drink ourselves into numbness and hope that it will "just go away".
God bless America.
Right now two former Border Patrol agents are sitting in prison, with one already brutalized by fellow inmates. Their crime? They opened fire on a Mexican drug lord who went north of the border to conduct his "business". The U.S. government gave the foreign criminal legal immunity in exchange for testifying against two Americans who were doing their best to protect national sovereignty. They were doing a lot more than how most politicians in Washington are inclined to act.
If we can't appreciate the value of a strong border, then we might as well admit that there is no more United States at all. I'm sure the people of Mexico have their problems... but the good and proper thing for us to do as their neighbor is to tell them to clean up their own house, instead of foisting their miseries on us. Because the simple fact of the matter is: we can't take their population, and we shouldn't be expected to.
Why do I mention our border problem? Because it demonstrates how we've allowed these same politicians – egged-on by wealthy patrons – to sell out our nation's economy.
America used to be a country of manufacturing and production. We could feed ourselves, and the rest of the world. We made good products: American denim jeans helped to bring down the Iron Curtain. Today those same jeans are made cheaper in factories overseas, along with a lot of other items. They're even being made in a country that would rather America not exist at all. Now we're becoming a service economy and a lot of big business wants that as cheap as they can get it, too. Hence, the sly winking by even President Bush at the millions of illegals who are overrunning our borders.
I think this is the most material example of how God has given us something in America... and how we have abandoned it in the pursuit of worldly riches. But sadly, there are others.
Abortion is the most evil act that this country has let happen: even more so than slavery. But there are very few in either elected office or among the "activist groups" that seriously want to see abortion ended. There is too much money to be made in support of it...
...and there is even more money to be made in opposing it. If abortion were ended, James Dobson would have far fewer millions of dollars from "the faithful" rolling into his coffers. The GOP would also have lost its biggest reason to compel the "evangelicals" to keep voting straight Republican (I could also say that anyone who votes straight ticket doesn't deserve to vote at all, but I digress...).
No, abortion is going to remain nicely legal for many more years to come: both "sides" in the debate have too much to lose if it were to suddenly go away.
The same holds true for many of those claiming to oppose "gay marriage". There is no need for a "traditional family" amendment or law that "protects" marriage. Because "homosexual marriage" is a spiritual paradox: it cannot exist. Homosexuality is the pursuit of a carnal pleasure and true marriage is about something much deeper than satisfying the flesh. Marriage is something instituted by God that exists above man's law: we cannot either diminish it or endorse it.
Like I said, "gay marriage" can't really exist. But there is lots of money and power to be gained – and voters to be persuaded – by opposing it.
So now marriage itself has become a temporal weapon. We've taken something created by God and befouled it with political purpose. How can we possibly hold human life as sacred if we whore our principles so cheaply?
We see this callous disregard for the sanctity of the human soul in the most ill-conceived conflict in American history. Those who continue to support it love to cite that "only" thirty-eight hundred have died in Iraq, and they'll compare that to the number that were lost in one day at Antietam, or Iwo Jima.
But if even one soldier dies in an immoral war that we started, then that is one life too many. And we should be ashamed of ourselves that we have become so stone-hearted as to believe that the loss of one person in this situation is somehow "acceptable".
Don't tell me that those young men and women are over there serving and protecting this country. The only reason they are in Iraq is because corrupt – and I'll even say evil – politicians who have never seen combat sent them to exploit a situation... and again, for money and power. These people don't see members of the armed forces as unique and precious individuals. All they see is collective might that begs for the will to wield it without apology. The men and women who volunteered to serve did so in the good faith that their efforts would be used wisely. Yet I hear some proffer that because they did volunteer, that they can be used however their "leaders" see fit.
This government is not America. America is what we the people make of her. America is what we desire her to be. America is a reflection of who we are.
Patriotism for sake of patriotism is worthless. Patriotism has value only if there is something inherently good in a nation to be proud of.
What is there left in America for us to boast that we are blessed with?
If America is a land where her people cannot practice simple kindness, if we have made the desire for "things" our greatest priority, if we think nothing of exploiting our fellow man… then what good is there left in America at all?
When you think about how this nation was founded and the tenets it once held precious and how we are today, it makes you wonder if we in the modern day really ever wanted that America to begin with.
So I am compelled to ask: is America worth defending anymore? Does America deserve to still stand?
If we can again be a people that put ideas before ideologies, that can be courteous to others even when we disagree with their beliefs, and that can resolve to do what is right before doing what is convenient... then yes, America is still worth fighting for.
But if it has become that America and God are just convenient tools in the pursuit of avarice, then America does not deserve to persist. And we might as well admit that we do not desire God.
Indeed, if it's no longer possible that we can be kind to one another, then America does not deserve to stand at all.
"God bless America"? Why should He?
If America is no longer worth defending, it is because we who profess the Judeo-Christian ethic, having failed to seek God's will, have sought to impose our own. The Christians of this land should have long ago crucified their lust for power. Rather they ran and hid it within their hearts. In the name of collective might, we have turned our hearts away from the God of Heaven and toward a god of fortresses.
But instead of repenting and turning back from this idolatry, we dare ask God for His seal of approval.
We decided that we wanted an easy life on earth instead of righteousness before God. And the rest of the country naturally followed our lead.
These things didn't have to happen. But we let them happen all the same: because we've chosen the pursuit of power over the pursuit of good.
This was a good country once, because for the most part it was generally held that there was something higher than ourselves to which we would be held accountable.
Is America worth defending now? I don't believe so.
Could it be made worthy of honor again? Yes, definitely.
But we – all of us – are going to have to come to understand something first...
It doesn't take "the right man" being elected to Congress or the White House, or a mass rally by thousands in Washington, to change things for the better.
God doesn't act through governments or politicians who think they are "anointed". God doesn't act through the Republican Party, or the Democrat Party for that matter. God doesn't act through the 700 Club or Focus on the Family. God doesn't act through any denomination. God certainly doesn't act through the latest "church growth" fads.
God acts through that most despised of minorities: the individual.
If America deserves to be lost, it is because ordinary men and women knew that something was wrong but did nothing. Because they were too cowered by "the system": they felt they didn't have enough strength or wealth or political pull.
Without true and sincere acknowledgment of God for nothing less than its own sake, we are fast descending into a race of barbarians. It happened to Germany. There's no reason to believe it won't happen here also.
I'm amazed at the number of professing Christians who show more zeal and delight in attacking their "political enemies" than they do in preaching the kingdom of Christ. It only signifies that their primary interest is gaining favor and power in the eyes of the world, instead of being separate and looking toward something beyond this realm.
There is a spiritual decline in America's character because we as Christians let it happen: we became too fixated on acquiring power. It corrupted us and it went on to corrupt the nation around us.
There needs to be a nationwide repentance and contrition on the part of this nation's Christians, if they truly desire a country worth being thankful for again. And not repentance for sake of the America's well-being, but repentance solely for the sake of how far we have drifted from where we are supposed to be in the sight of God.
But we can't wait for a "movement" to germinate dedicated to "fix" these things. Indeed, something organized toward this goal with a "leadership" would be counter-productive. It is impossible for collective will to save us.
Whether America lives or dies depends on the individual.
Think that one person can't make a difference? Think of Gandhi. Think of Rosa Parks. It only takes a single person possessing the will to do what is right to make an empire tremble.
I don't know if that will ever happen. Pride is too much our master. We have become like the rich young ruler who could not follow Christ because of his wealth.
But if we can choose in our hearts that America and what is good about it is still something worth passing down to our children, then it seems that each of us would be willing to sacrifice some temporary luxury – and to begin to think for ourselves instead of letting others think for us – in order to give that to them.
We can decide that we want to leave this country – and this world – a little better than how it was that we found it. Or we can let it be lost forever: if not this year or the next, then assuredly at some point in most of our lifetimes.
We can opt to live for ourselves and let it all be lost, or surrender our lust for power and seek righteousness... and give America a chance to endure.
Don't wait for your government, or for Pat Robertson or Jesse Jackson or George W. Bush or Hillary Clinton or anyone else of that kind to tell you how to save this country. We know what they're really after now. They had their chance and they blew it.
If America deserves to survive for our grandchildren, then it's going to be up to you and me to make that happen.
Just as it should be.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Coud YOU have won the Battle of Gettysburg?
Military.com poses the question: Could YOU Have Won the Battle of Gettysburg?
In this simulation game, you take on the role of General Robert E. Lee as you command the forces of the Confederate Army beginning with their initial clashes with Union soldiers on the outskirts of town, on through the final push two days later. Can you pull off a victory where one of the greatest generals in American history failed to win? I was able to do it: my command of the Army of Northern Virginia handily split the Union lines and captured several thousand prisoners from the Army of the Potomac in the process.
Hit the link above and start playing. It's pretty fun! And if you've ever seen the wonderful movie Gettysburg, that will probably help you a lot.
History Channel gets highest ratings ever with STAR WARS: THE LEGACY REVEALED
Only Bill Gates could sell a $10,000 coffee table
Maybe as a complement for the Surface unit, Microsoft can create a Windows-based chair for Steve Ballmer to throw...
Fred Reed laments the "New Improved America"
Something is wrong with the United States. I think most of us have noticed it. There is a mortal rot in the country, made manifest by many little rots that are hard to integrate mentally yet are, I think, somehow related. The change is grave, accelerating, probably irreversible, and fascinating. Things are not as they were...Hit the link above for more....The Constitution really is going away, or has gone. It never did work as well as it should have, but few things human ever do. Habeas corpus is dead, right to an attorney, congressional right to declare war—it's not even worth listing the list. Joe iPod in the burbs doesn't care because it doesn’t affect him, yet. Git them Hay-rabs, ain't no draft, plenty sushi. Urg.
Let there be... white?
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Creation Museum, and why Creationism has become a corrupted belief
You might have heard about the Creation Museum that opened this week in Kentucky. It is a natural history museum that has made the Bible's account of a literal six-day creation the foundation of everything that is on exhibit.It seems to be a huge hit, because ever since it opened the Creation Museum has enjoyed capacity crowds. It's also attracted the usual gang of professional secularists: people who get too much of their jollies from deriding those who believe God made everything as "backward-thinking yokels".
I'm making mention of this, because I think that the Creation Museum and the "controversy" about it (which seems too manufactured by the mainstream press) epitomizes everything that's wrong with the "Evolution versus Creationism" debate... and especially how too many Christians get embroiled in this for the very worst of reasons.
Yes, I do believe God created the universe. No, I won't be going to the Creation Museum. And had I been elected to the school board I would not have actively pursued the agenda of pushing "Creationism" onto the children in our system, either... or have tried to smuggle it in under the guise of "intelligent design". And I believe it would be wrong for any current school board member to attempt to do that (I'm looking right at you, ya thievin' hypocrite who's now trashing the Constitution).
It's way past time to state the obvious: that "Creationism" is a political weapon and not a statement of faith. Creationism has never been about giving honor and glory to God... but it has been everything about seizing and wielding power over other people.
And that's the furthest thing from being a sincere Christian on this Earth that you can get.
To be fair, Evolution is exactly the same thing. What started with a scientific inquiry by Charles Darwin has become not just a political agenda, but a religion unto itself. Its disciples are no less driven by lust for power - or less despicable for it - than their Creationist nemeses. But Evolution as a belief system is something of this world: something which is completely alien to the nature of Christ. I can understand how those still living for the world would succumb to the temptation of power by using the concept of natural evolution to acquire it.
What I can neither understand or even tolerate is how those who do profess to be serving Christ, how those who are not supposed to be of this world, yield to that very same temptation and use the name of God to justify it and make an excuse for it.
How can this possibly be serving Christ? How is this in any way, at all, presenting ourselves as a humble witness to others for the sake of our Lord?
We - and I'm talking about myself and my fellow Christians - are meant to be above this sort of nonsense. There are matters far more important than how this world may have come into being. Trying our best to prepare those around us for the next world is supposed to be one of them. We can't do that if we are fixated on a sense of affluence that will yield nothing when it is thrown into the refiner's fire.
And that's all that Creationism - with a big "C" - will ever be: one more thing that the Deceiver will use to make us believe that we are wiser than we really are.
But do you know why I most hate "Creationism" as its rabid adherents preach? It's because they would force me to have a faith in something. It's not enough that a person reaches that faith on his or her own: Ultra-Creationist wackos demand faith on their own terms, in a way that they can understand and manipulate for their own ends.
I know that because I've spent most of my life dealing with people with this mindset. It was years before I realized that they were far more obsessed about whether or not a person believed that they were descended from monkeys than they were with whether that person was going to Heaven.
This is the kind of thing that a person needs to wrestle with on their own, between themselves and God. It was only in the past few years that my own mind arrived at a place where I could, at last, believe completely that it was entirely possible for God to have established everything according to His will, and to accept that as fully as I could that the sun will rise in the morning. What that belief precisely is wouldn't be something that Creationists would approve of: they would probably condemn me as a teacher of heresy and try to throw this blog into a bonfire... but it's definitely not anything even remotely like Evolution, either. And it might not even be entirely accurate at all to however it was that God did it. But it's how the universe was created and structured as best as I have come to understand it. Not how "someone else" believes I should understand it.
What's more, I find that it's entirely consistent with the teachings of the Bible. Maybe someday I'll publish it.
That was only after years of struggling to comprehend how God could have really created everything. Years filled with doubt and despair and even long nights crying about it, because I couldn't understand it (I don't know if this person would ever read this but if she does someday: Nikki, you told me something one night that radically altered the course of my philosophy... in a very good way :-)...
...I wouldn't take anything for those years of inner turmoil. Of trying to "figure it all out". Because that was time that my struggle to comprehend those things ended up drastically building my faith in God. I came out of that time much stronger in my faith in Christ, and I came out of it... well, Lisa would say that she thinks I've come out a better person overall. For the most part, anyway. Maybe a few rough edges still :-)
Why would, or why should, any of us as believers in Christ seek to deny others that same potential for such wonderful spiritual growth?
You know, the Bible really is the most wonderful, amazing book ever assembled. I believe everything about it is best summed up by the word that is the title of its final chapter: "revelation". And that is precisely what the Bible should be for us as Christians: revelation unfolding, never-ending...
How could we, as a singular generation, possibly declare ourselves the final arbiters of its comprehension?
Yes, I believe that God created the universe. I believe that my fellow Christians should believe that, also. But it's the why we choose to believe it, that will determine the validity of our being a presence for the Kingdom in this earthen realm. Anything less than it being for Christ and for His own sake will corrupt our work unto ruin.
In other words, to those who obsess on Creationism: ever hear the old saying about "wrestling with a pig"? Get your booty in gear: we got better things to occupy ourselves with than the exact mechanics of physical existence. Let "them" play with the monkeys...
What's your theological worldview?
 | You scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan, You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God's grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists.
What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com |
I was fully expecting to rank as an Emergent/Postmodern more than anything else. But my personal theology is a strange melange of independent Methodism, much teaching from Stanley Hauerwas, C.S. Lewis and lots of personal experience. What's my denomination anyway? Does it even matter anymore? I'm like, here dude, wherever God put me...
Thanks to Shane Thacker for finding this one.
PIXELODEON 2007: See my commercial at the American Film Institute!
Next weekend, on June 9th and 10th, the American Film Institute in Los Angeles will be hosting the Pixelodeon 2007 Annual Independent Video Festival. Over 300 independently-produced videos and short films will be shown. Well, guess what: the "Star Wars"-themed first commercial from my school board campaign has been given the honor of being one of them! It really amazes me that all these months later, it's still seems to be rather popular. I just made it because (a) the idea was too good not to do and (b) with 16 candidates running, I really did have to try to stand out a little. But lo and behold, it's something that became bona-fide viral... which I never expected to happen. And now it's being shown at the AFI!
Pixelodeon 2007 sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun! I won't be there unfortunately (there's a teaching exam that I have to take that Saturday in Raleigh) but if you want to check out something really cool and happen to be in L.A. next weekend, head over to Pixelodeon. Visit the show's website for tickets and other information.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Another SESAME STREET classic: "Subway!"
or you might lose something WORSE
on the subway!"
Before Curtis Sliwa arrived on the scene, no 'hood in New York City was safe... including Sesame Street, apparently.
Another great skit with the Muppets from Sesame Street. One that will leave you wondering "how did ALL those muppeteers fit on that tiny stage?"
You can't work unless Homeland Security approves you
Soon you will need approval from the Department of Homeland Security in order to hold a job.
Do you understand what that means?
First of all, these are the people who maintain - and constantly bungle - the "No Fly List". Now they are going to do the same thing with your work eligibility.
But worse than that: this is something straight out of the Soviet Union. Hell, let's call a spade a spade and say that this is something out of Nazi Germany. Sure was hard to find work there unless you proved that you weren't Jewish, wasn't it? Lord only knows what our government will come up with that would disqualify someone from employment.
And what's to keep "them" from stopping there? If we can have No Fly Lists and No Work Lists - and they've already got No Gun Lists well in the works - then why not No Marry Lists and No Hospital Care Lists and No Food Lists...?
When does it stop?
More to the point: when do we stop them?
A little over three years ago I wrote "People Who Should Be Shot When the Revolution Comes". Maybe it's time to update that directory...
EDIT 7:16 p.m. EST: Yes, I know that this was hidden away in the "immigration reform" bill. But there is nothing about stemming the flow of illegals into this country that possibly necessitates putting the damned Department of Homeland Security in charge of whether or not anyone can work.
If that doesn't pop a huge red flag, then I don't know what will.
An idea for a new Fox reality show
Pardon Me! will feature twelve contestants, all of them convicted felons on Death Row. Each week the inmates have to "file an appeal" which is critiqued by a panel of three judges, including one "celebrity judge" (I'm thinking O.J. Simpson and Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme via satellite from prison in Texas). At the end of each show the phone lines open and the audience gets to vote on who they like most. Each week the "contestant" with the fewest votes is sent "home" and escorted off the stage on what the producers call "The Long Walk". The very last person left after weeks of competition gets a full pardon.
We're headed straight toward that, folks. That's what I can't help but think when I read stories like this one from the BBC: a new Dutch TV show has contestants vying for a dying donor's kidney...
Outcry over TV kidney competitionI seriously have to wonder how long will it be before a show like this makes its way to America.A Dutch TV station says it will go ahead with a programme in which a terminally ill woman selects one of three patients to receive her kidneys.
Political parties have called for The Big Donor Show to be scrapped, but broadcaster BNN says it will highlight the country's shortage of organ donors.
"It's a crazy idea," said Joop Atsma, of the ruling Christian Democrat Party.
"It can't be possible that, in the Netherlands, people vote about who's getting a kidney," he told the BBC.
The programme, from Big Brother creators Endemol, is due to be screened on Friday night.
The 37-year-old donor, identified only as Lisa, will make her choice based on the contestants' history, profile and conversation with their family and friends.
Viewers will also be able to send in their advice by text message during the 80-minute show.
May 29, 2007: A tragic day for Star Wars fans
...but today is a time to mourn.
Today Sacrifice, the new Star Wars novel in the "Legacy of the Force" series, was published. As is being widely reported already, this is the book that sees the death of Mara Jade Skywalker: wife of Luke Skywalker and perhaps the most beloved Star Wars character to have never appeared in any of the movies.
Mara Jade first appeared in Heir to the Empire, the first of the modern "expanded universe" books, in May of 1991. When we first saw her she was trying to kill Luke. She ended up falling in love with him. The two had a wedding as beautiful as any to be found in a fairy tale.
Mara Jade Skywalker was many things: former Imperial, Palpatine's personal assassin, smuggler, dancer, spy, Jedi, diplomat, wife, mother to son Ben... and so very beautiful.
And now, she is dead. Murdered at the hands of nephew Jacen Solo... who is now a Sith Lord calling himself Darth Caedus.
It's the end of an era, my friends...
Mara Jade, we hardly knew ye!
By the way, I sort of have a bit of "history" with Mara Jade. Some years ago I sat next to Shannon McRandle - the actress who did Mara's "real life" portrayals - during dinner. And in 2000 I interviewed Mara Jade's creator Timothy Zahn in an interview for TheForce.net. Then I wound up making a replica Luke Skywalker lightsaber for a friend's Mara Jade costume...
And yes, I do have a "favorite" Mara Jade outfit. But I'm not going to say which one it is here. But I will say this: of all the Star Wars female characters, I always thought that she was the hottest (WAY more so than that ridiculous "slave Leia metal bikini"). And for her attitude as much as for her loveliness.
Rest in peace, Mara...
Amnesty opponents don't know "what's right for America", Bush says
"Those determined to find fault with this bill will always be able to look at a narrow slice of it and find something they don't like," the president said. "If you want to kill the bill, if you don't want to do what's right for America, you can pick one little aspect out of it.Once again, The Decider decrees that to disagree with him is unpatriotic. Hell, he practically accuses those against illegal amnesty of having the same mindset as "the terrists"."You can use it to frighten people," Bush said. "Or you can show leadership and solve this problem once and for all."
But it is George W. Bush and those like him who are destroying America. In ways that "terrorists" can only dream they could accomplish.
Quick note on some o' my websites
Monday, May 28, 2007
Rest in peace Charles Nelson Reilly
I didn't know him from any of that. No, like a lot of us who "came of age" during the last decade, I know Charles Nelson Reilly mostly from his role as Jose Chung in the classic The X-Files episode "Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space'": easily among the most unique hours of Nineties television.
A few years later Reilly returned as Chung in the Millennium episode "Jose Chung's Doomsday Defense". In his honor, here is the intro to that extremely hilarious episode (which made fun of Scientology):
Something to ponder this Memorial Day ...
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Government to sanction medical experiments without patient consent
The first things that flashed in my mind when I read this story were Nazi "doctors" like Josef Mengele, and the Tuskegee Experiment (which was conducted by the American government, by the way).
Someday "they" will go too far - if they haven't already - and the Man in Room Five is going to break free and come looking for them.
(Props to anyone who will recognize that literary reference.)
STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS trailer soars online (and an update on TALES OF THE NEW REPUBLIC)
Speaking of computer-animated Star Wars, a few days ago I posted a report about something called Tales of the New Republic
Mash down here for the new Star Wars: The Clone Wars trailer.
Review of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is the first movie of the 2007 summer season that I can honestly say I left the theater completely satisfied after seeing it. This, despite the dizzying Byzantine labyrinth of sub-stories and political schemes and double-crossing backstabs you have to navigate through in watching this movie.The first advice I can give about going to see At World's End is to go to the restroom before the movie starts... and buy a small or medium drink at the concession stand, not large. Clocking in at very nearly three hours, this movie is a bladder-buster. But if you go away for even a few minutes during any part of the movie, you are assured to miss some critical bit of story or plot device. This isn’t like any of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings where you could go "answer the call of nature" during some lengthy oration by Gandalf and still "get" the rest of the movie. No, if you leave for whatever reason... nay, even turn your head to look at your huneybunch for too long... you'll miss stuff in At World's End.
The second advice I can give about watching Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is to go into the movie with at least a cursory knowledge of how World War I started. In case you don’t know, it all went screwy in 1914 because of a myriad of treaties and alliances between all the big nations and empires on the European continent so that when Gavrilo Princip fired his one tiny gun, it obliged all the countries to start shooting at each other. That's what happens in At World's End: a maddening number of intrigue and unlikely partnerships and competing motivations that slowly become obvious to everyone involved. By then it's far too late: everything is headed toward one hella cacophonous collision on the high seas. And when it does... man I haven't seen a climax that cool in a new movie in a way long time!
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End picks up the story some time after the last installment Dead Man's Chest. In an opening scene at Port Royal that could be seen by many to be a metaphor for what's going on in modern America, the right to free speech and Habeas Corpus have been suspended by Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander), who begins to execute anyone suspected of being sympathetic to pirates (that all of this takes place near the present-day location of Guantanamo makes it even more ironic). Beckett, now in possession of the heart of Davy Jones (Bill Nighy), is already using Jones and the Flying Dutchman to enforce his will across the oceans. The sway that Beckett has over Jones is reinforced when it's learned that Beckett made Jones kill the Kraken.
Meanwhile Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightley), Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and the rest of the Black Pearl crew are in Singapore, hoping to convince Sao Feng (Chow Yun Fat), the Pirate Lord of the South China Sea, to lend them the map to World's End. Sao Feng isn't feeling too charitable, considering that Elizabeth's betrothed beau Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) was caught trying to steal the thing. During an ambush by the British Royal Navy, Sao Feng agrees to loan Elizabeth the map, along with his best ship, for the journey to World's End. Elizabeth, Barbossa, Gibbs (Kevin McNally) and the rest of the crew – including the mysterious voodoo priestess Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris) and the undead monkey – set off to rescue Captain Jack Sparrow.
Taking the story to far-off Singapore should have been the first clue as to the breadth of this third chapter in the Pirates of the Caribbean saga. At World's End is epic on an obscene scale. We see Port Royal and Singapore, and the twilight realm of the frozen Arctic (which was one of my favorite scenes of the movie) and quite a number of other places including the pirate bastion called Shipwreck Cove, where the Brethren Court – the nine pirate lords throughout the world – meet. Where The Curse of the Black Pearl and Dead Man's Chest took place in the Caribbean and Atlantic, At World's End spans the entire globe and beyond.
But then Elizabeth and her crew go over the literal World's End (guess the world is flat after all) and we get to see Davy Jones' Locker: the place where those who owe a debt to Jones go to pay it off. It's at this point that I totally forgot this movie was directed by Gore Verbinski and it became, instead, a film by Terry Gilliam. I thought that even before reading reviews from other people who thought the same thing, too. Here we finally get to see Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp, in maybe his best portrayal of the character yet). Davy Jones' Locker is a vast desert wasteland that wrecks havoc with one's sanity (just like a Gilliam movie is apt to do to the viewer). Quite a bit of revelation about Sparrow in this part: maybe more than we ever cared to know, even. Sparrow is rescued and just as important, the Black Pearl is recovered (I'm trying hard not to "spoil" too much of the details here) and after Sparrow figures out the World's End map, our heroes are back in the realm of the living.
And from that point on... I need to re-watch At World's End again, because this story was incredibly dense for a summer popcorn flick. There are still some things I'm not quite sure of (such as the importance of the people singing Hoist the Colors on their way to the gallows at the beginning of the movie). This is definitely a movie to watch and re-watch many times when it comes out on DVD in order to "get" everything that's going on. But slight confusion aside, I cannot but admit that I had a blast with Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. It makes watching the first two again something you're going to want to do, because very small details in those suddenly take on huge significance (the locket that Tia Dalma has f'rinstance, which I speculated about when I watched the DVD of Dead Man's Chest back in January). All the big dangling storylines get resolved in At World's End... usually after we come to find out that there was much more to the tale than what we’d previously known. We learn a staggering amount of stuff about this fictional world, especially when the Brethren Court meets (which I enjoyed a lot). Speaking of which, Keith Richards is a lot of fun to watch as Captain Teague Sparrow: the keeper of the Pirate Law and the father of Captain Jack.
I think Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is the third installment in a movie series that Return of the Jedi could have and should have been. Because if this is going to be the last film in a series for awhile or ever at all, then everything should be poured into the story so far as the setting and geography and lore of the movie's "universe" goes. The only new things we really saw in Return of the Jedi were Jabba's Palace and a forest filled with pint-sized Wookiees. At World's End is painted with a much broader brush that doesn't leave us feeling wanting at the conclusion of the movie.
About the ending: yeah, I wasn't expecting that for an ending, either. I had always envisioned Will and Elizabeth to be married by Captain Sparrow on the deck of the Black Pearl after Davy Jones and Beckett had been taken care of, "and they lived happily ever after". If you've seen the movie, you know that this does not happen. That what does happen was something we never anticipated. But, it's starting to grow on me. The producers of the movie were bold enough to break with tradition and I think it's going to make At World's End that much more endearing with time.
The visual effects in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End are amazing. I was mighty impressed at how good Industrial Light and Magic had become with the CGI in Dead Man's Chest. In At World's End, they surpassed that even. So many shots in this movie that I have to wonder how they were done. You might be hearing some talk about that last scene with Cutler Beckett: that was definitely a fun one to watch.
I feel like I'm only able to give a half-hearted review of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End because I really need to see this again, if not two more times, to feel like I can fully appreciate all the nuances and angles of this movie. Maybe I'll write some more thoughts about it when that happens.
But in the meantime, I've spent each Saturday of the past four weeks watching a new summer movie (Spider-Man 3 twice and Shrek the Third last week). I had a good time with Spider-Man 3 in spite of its many problems and didn't think very much at all about "Dreck the Third". With Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, I can finally see that there may be some promise yet at the movies this summer.
Friday, May 25, 2007
"We have to go back!": LOST after "The Looking Glass"
Everyone gone who doesn't want to know more at the present time?
Good, 'cuz here goes...
The Lost Season 3 finale was the most diabolically devious trick that was ever pulled with a TV show, that I've been able to think of. What makes it work is that there were three seasons of an established format building up to it, and during this episode we think we know what's going on. And then that final scene happens... which was the absolutely most confusing thing that I ever watched firsthand until my wife figured it out and told me about it... and kicks the table not only over, but clear across the room. The producers said that this episode would be the long-announced "game-changer" that would totally alter how we watched the story.
I don't think that they were kidding. Just as Alice went through the Looking Glass and everything was reversed, that's what this episode represents. For three years we have been watching these characters be revealed through flashbacks of their lives before coming to the Island...
...and now we are getting ready to see how exactly the Island affected them, through flash-forwards of what happens to them after they were eventually rescued.
Which I think is one of the most original things... if not the most original thing, to ever be done with a television show mid-stream.
In fact, I have to wonder if Lost has raised the bar so high with this move, could television as a story-telling medium ever be able to top that? So far, no ideas are entering my mind... and I've tried to think of plenty.
That final shot of Jack crying "We have to go back!"... maybe that wasn't the traditional season-ending "cliffhanger", but that was easily the most haunting way to end one chapter of a television show that I've seen. This whole episode was filled with shots that stick to your mind, but that one tops them all.
So now we know that Jack and Kate, at least of the Flight 815 survivors, do get off the Island... but at what cost? A man does not obsess with maps of the Pacific and keeps flying over it praying that the plane will crash unless there is something massive on his conscience about whatever happened. Why can't he find the Island again? If they were rescued, then certainly somewhere there is a log showing the coordinates of the Island, right? However it happened, it made Jack a very recognizable "hero figure" and Oceanic was embarrassed enough to give all the survivors lifetime free flights to anywhere. But there's something else that they can't talk about: Jack says that he's "tired of the lying" about it.
So... what was it?
What does happen to Sawyer and Sayid and Hurley and Claire and Sun and Jin and all of the rest once they finally return to their normal lives. Can they even return to those? For some reason I keep envisioning a future episode of Lost where Hurley and his dad take their car to the Grand Canyon, just like Papa Reyes promised Hurley. I also see, if the show is going to be flash-forwards from here on out, how Michael and Walt can be brought back and how Malcolm David Kelley's growth can be realistically addressed (without having to resort to anything wacky like "the Others experimented on him" etc.). We might see years down the line, where Sun and Jin are a happy couple with their beautiful baby (if there are no "complications" that is). The thing about Desmond and Penny, we might get to see a happy ending to that story too... maybe.
And then there is Locke: where will he be, long after the ships or helicopters or whatever have come? Because you just know that he won't go unless he's unconscious or dead or bound and gagged and even then I wouldn't trust him to not blow something up.
I do believe that the show will end with us seeing the 815 survivors being rescued. But the story shouldn't end "there". These characters are going to be changed for the rest of their lives by what has happened on the Island. And now we are going to get to see how it affected them, too.
The Lost producers, it seems, have crossed a terrible line and painted themselves into a corner with "Through the Looking Glass". So now they're going to tear a hole straight through the wall.
This is what makes excellent storytelling, folks. It's when you challenge yourself and decide that you won't be bound by "the norms". That you are going to tell this story your way and let come what may. They have taken a huge gamble with this: maybe the biggest ever tried with a television show. But, I think it's going to work.
Besides, just about all the major characters (and a lot of the minor ones) have had their pasts explored about as much as the viewers are really interested to see. We need to explore some fresh ground now. By altering the format of the story, they get to do that and in the process do something quite rare for a television show: make it completely fresh and compelling viewing again well into the show's run.
So it will be a long eight months until Lost returns. But somehow after this week's episode I don't feel upset at having to wait at all. There is a sense of completion here. Now we just have to sit back and watch how the thing unfolds along the way to get us there.
Lost with no more flashbacks... who'da thunk we'd see that happen? :-)
Thirty years ago today ...
... Star Wars was born.You've come a long way, baby.
Happy birthday to the greatest movie saga ever.
(Don't forget that today is the day that the Star Wars postage stamps go on sale at U.S. Post Offices across America. I'll be going to get mine in the next little while :-)
Thursday, May 24, 2007
About that "new Star Wars movie" rumor ...
The Internets have been buzzing all day - spurred on by a story from the Daily Telegraph - about a supposed "major announcement" tomorrow at Star Wars Celebration IV: that George Lucas is going to make another Star Wars movie.
I'm not going to be at this year's Celebration, but I was at the second in 2002 and the third in 2005 (both in Indianapolis) and trust me: this thing seems to breed wild rumors like you can't imagine. Over the course of two Celebrations I've heard that: Hugh Jackman was confirmed to be in Episode III, that we would find out the name of Yoda's race, that George Lucas was "definitely" coming to Celebration II (he didn't, but we did see him at Celebration III), that the adjacent stadium would be used to host the first public showing of Revenge of the Sith for convention attendees, and probably a dozen more... including the rumor - at both - that the event would see the announcement of a sequel Star Wars trilogy.
None of those things happened. I'm not saying Lucas won't make a new Star Wars movie, just that in my mind it's pretty doubtful for lots of reasons. If this does get announced though, I can only imagine that Lucas is going to take more of an "executive producer" role: that he'll write the script for the movie(s), then hand off direction and a lot of the other major tasks to others. Which, I think would be a pretty good arrangement... again, for lots of reasons.
Personally, I would love to see that happen. If for no other reason than because all these years I had been anticipating nine Star Wars movies, and because three trilogies on the DVD shelf would look a lot neater than two :-)
EDIT 5/25/2007 6:40 a.m. EST: Steve Sansweet has confirmed at Celebration IV that there will be no further Star Wars movies.
There is only one reason why politicians want to tax the Internet
The Internet may have started with government funding, but it's long been something that's of and managed by the public domain.
There is only one reason why politicians would want to tax how you use the Internet: because they want to control how you use it and how much information you get from it.
People across the country are finally waking up to the charade that the "two party" fraud has been perpetrating on us for so long. People are starting to openly question the motives of their leaders. There is beginning to be considerable resistance to the idea that we must have things like the income tax. There are some politicians in the past few weeks who have witnessed the meteoric rise of Ron Paul to the forefront of the presidential race, and they realize that it couldn't have happened without people exchanging ideas over the Internet and coordinating with each other.
Ever read V for Vendetta, the original graphic novel? In the final part of the book, V makes total chaos break out after shutting down the government's ability to eavesdrop on everyone. The country starts tearing itself apart and Evey asks V if this is what he really wanted. V tells her no: that the current phase of violence and upheaval is Verwirrung: "The Land of Take-What-You-Want". But after this "comes an age of Ordnung, of true order, which is to say voluntary order." V doesn't want total disorder. He simply wants people to assume authority and responsibility on their own without trusting very evil men to assume it for them.
That's the potential of the Internet, that we might finally start to see blossoming. Regular people are no longer trusting The Powers That Be. The ordinary man is coming to be revealed as just as wise and capable as... if not far more so than... the "elites" who continue to get elected to Washington year after year.
And the elites can't have that.
So they want to impose this tax. As a measure of control over the masses that they have exploited for so long. They are trying to take away the public stump and the town hall from us.
A tax on the Internet is a grievous blow for the cause of tyranny.
And the only people who would possibly want to impose this tax are true tyrants at heart.
By all means, an Internet tax should be opposed. And those who want it driven from office by the cruelest of whips.
LOST last night: Ben = George W. Bush
George W. Bush claims to hear God, his followers believe him and are ready to go to war and kill on Bush's orders.
Ben claims to hear Jacob, his followers believe him and are ready to go to war and kill on Ben's orders.
Though lately, the followers of both are starting to question their leaders.
That one just kinda jumped out at me last night. I thought "Through the Looking Glass", the final Lost of the season, was in part a great parable about blindly following someone "with authority" without questioning that authority.
Ben also reminded me of Randall Flagg in the last good bit of The Stand, when he starts to lose control over his followers and everything starts to go wrong around him.
I guess it could also be said that Ben is much like Shift, the ape in C.S. Lewis' The Last Battle, the final book in the Chronicles of Narnia. Shift claims to speak for Aslan and he tells the other Narnians that they can't see Aslan for themselves, that they have to trust Shift's word completely. Too many of them don't question it and it ultimately leads to disaster.
Man, I love Lost! This is why it's one of the very few shows I've ever kept up with: 'cuz it makes ya think about stuff.
The newspaper clipping from last night's LOST
Well, someone (apparently this came from The Tail Section) got a real good high-def screenshot of one of the very few times that there was a decent enough close-up of the clipping. Here it is:
It looks like the name being referred to could be "Jeremy Bentham". Which as it turns out, with Lost's penchant for naming characters after real-world philosophers, is probably it. Who was Jeremy Bentham? From Wikipedia...
But check this out...Jeremy Bentham (IPA: ['benθəm] or ['bentəm]) (February 15, 1748 O.S. (February 26, 1748 N.S.) – June 6, 1832) was an English jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. He was a political radical and a leading theorist in Anglo-American philosophy of law. He is best known as an early advocate of utilitarianism and animal rights who influenced the development of liberalism.
Bentham was one of the most influential utilitarians, partially through his writings but particularly through his students all around the world. These included his secretary and collaborator on the utilitarian school of philosophy James Mill, James Mill's son John Stuart Mill, and several political leaders (and Robert Owen, who later became a founder of socialism).
Among his many proposals for legal and social reform was a design for a prison building he called the Panopticon. Although it was never built, the idea had an important influence upon later generations of thinkers. Twentieth-century French philosopher Michel Foucault argued that the Panopticon was paradigmatic of a whole raft of nineteenth-century 'disciplinary' institutions.And what was the Panopticon prison supposed to be, exactly? Again from Wikipedia:
The Panopticon is a type of prison building designed by English philosopher Jeremy Bentham in the late eighteenth century. The concept of the design is to allow an observer to observe (-opticon) all (pan-) prisoners without the prisoners being able to tell if they are being observed or not, thus conveying a "sentiment of an invisible omniscience." In his own words, Bentham described the Panopticon as "a new mode of obtaining power of mind over mind, in a quantity hitherto without example."Sounds suspiciously like some of the stuff that's been going on with the Island.
Ever since last night I thought that the person in the casket was someone we already knew. But it looks like it's going to be someone we haven't seen yet. And my guess is they have a major connection to the purpose of the Island.
Methinks Lindelof and Cuse (the producers of Lost) have given us plenty to pursue and contemplate and fill up the Internets with crazy theories about between now and next winter!
LOST: The morning after "Through the Looking Glass"
For the first time in a long time, it could honestly be said that television history was made last night.
I am not that much of a television person. Never have been. The number of shows that I've actively kept up with during my life could be numbered with my hands. And it took me awhile to "get into" Lost. I'm sorta like the Amish when it comes to TV: I have to fully trust it before I invest my time in it. But Lisa's mom kept saying how this was a really good show, so I gave it a shot.
And I've never been so glad that I did than I am after last night.
"Through the Looking Glass", the Lost Season 3 finale, is the most beautifully orchestrated and mind-blowing single episode of a television show that I've ever seen. My brain still hasn't stopped reeling from what we saw last night. Remember the twist ending that we saw in The Sixth Sense? Well, "Through the Looking Glass" was ten times that "HOLY (your choice of exclamation here)!!!" that we felt at the end of that movie. Ever since the return from the break in February Lost has consistently been some of the best fiction that I've seen in any medium. This final episode for Season 3 raised the bar across the board for everything, especially for TV (either network or "premium" channels like HBO). On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give "Through the Looking Glass" a 27.
There was only one thing that bugged me about "Through the Looking Glass". That was when Locke saw Walt (or whatever the heck that really was, since I'm sure the real Walt is still on the boat with Michael after last season's finale). Walt looked and sounded old enough to buy cigarettes. Guess that couldn't be helped: Malcolm David Kelley was, what, 10 years old when the pilot episode was shot? Looks like puberty kicked in bigtime since last season's finale. But since that obviously wasn't the real Walt, I guess this can be allowed to slide. If they ever do show the real Walt though, there'd better be a darned good explanation for his ultra-fast growth spurt (but this being Lost, anything could probably be made to sound like it makes sense :-).
The most powerful moment of the whole show (after that "JEEZ LOUISE!" shocker of a final scene) was the last time we saw Charlie. We literally had to hold back the tears. I don't think that could have been handled any more poignantly. And I'm trying as hard as I can to not be too "spoiler-ish" for anyone who hasn't had the good fortune of seeing this show yet.
Sayid showed us once again last night that he is the baddest mothe-"shut yo mouth" on TV right now (or ever). Did you see what he did to that guy... with his legs?!?
Of all the moments that Hurley has had, this was his biggest moment to shine. It's funny: last week I found myself wondering about whatever happened to the DHARMA van. The scene where Hurley charges the beach in it, pedal-to-the-metal with that look of "I'm coming to get YOU!" on his face... just awesome! I've said this before and I'll say it again: Hurley is the real leader of the Flight 815 survivors. He's gone way out of his way to provide for his friends, to give them a good time... and to stand by them when they need it most. What he did last night just affirmed it that much more.
Did anyone else get the craziest feeling that for all of Ben's lies and manipulations and orders to kill people... that maybe there really is something we don't know about yet that he's very much in fear of? After last night I still think Ben is one of the most hated TV characters ever... but now there's a weird sense of sincerity about him. Still didn't keep me from cheering when Jack beat the living snot out of him.
By the way, I loved how Ben is fast losing control over the Others. It's like the last bit of Stephen King's The Stand when things began going bad for Randall Flagg and no matter how hard he tries to control things, they keep spinning out of control.
If that's not Penny's boat... then who is it? The only thing I can think of is that it's DHARMA... but if DHARMA is still active, then they must already still know where the Island is, since they're still dropping groceries onto it. That's probably the biggest question that I can think of to take us into next season.
Now as for "that thing". You know what I'm talking about if you watched it last night. Lost is notorious for setting things up so that you have to watch an episode more than once, sometimes two or three times even. I think that last night's episode is going to be the most dissected and analyzed and hypothesized two hours of television. I keep thinking about how all that time people were calling Jack a "hero", and it seemed like they were referring to what happened with the car crash. Except it turns out that they called him a hero for something else entirely. And then that final scene where the car pulls up and Jack talks with a certain someone: as I said right after the show, that scene made the synapses in my brain misfire while trying to figure out just what the heck was going on. And then Lisa tells me. If she hadn't figured it out I would have probably been wrestling with that all night (or at least until I read about it online). That one was hands-down one of the biggest shockers in either a TV show or a movie... or a book for that matter (I really hope that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will have a shocker just half as sad and pure loco as what Lost was last night).
So... who's in the casket? Four or five people come to mind. One in particular. But like I said, I'm trying hard not to be too spoiler-ish.
Man, if I were a drinking man, I would have needed some serious hard liquor after last night's Lost. That was definitely better television that we deserve.
Amazing. Just bloody amazing. Now we have to wait until next January (at the earliest) to see how and where... and when... this story progresses from here.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Moments after LOST Season 3 finale ...
I need to say, so that everyone will know, that Lisa was the first here to figure out what was really happening in that last scene. When... that person... got out of the car, that completely threw me for a loop, 'cuz that made NO sense at all. It wasn't until the very final seconds that Lisa told me what was going on and everything just "clicked" into place.
It's been a long day and I need to hit the sack. I'm going to post more about this tomorrow. But I couldn't end tonight without giving Lisa credit for being the first here to understand what we were actually seeing.
That might have been the finest two hours of televised fiction that I've ever seen. And most of this past season of Lost was already, in my opinion, some of the finest storytelling I'd seen in this medium.
Just... amazing.
By the way, Hurley totally ruled in this episode!
More tomorrow. After it's sunk in.
This is gonna be one long torturous wait until next winter.
STAR WARS: TALES OF THE NEW REPUBLIC
Check this cryptic page out for some amazing Star Wars artwork. We already knew that Lucasfilm was producing a Clone Wars animated series and that there was supposed to be a second animated project: is this it? The page says "Stop by this Friday to find out more". Since Star Wars Celebration IV is just getting started in Los Angeles and that Friday is the 30th anniversary of the first film, there's no doubt that all kinds of saga wackiness could be erupting over the next few days.Anyhoo, judging by this and the other pics on that site, me like!
We're ready to party with DHARMA food!
Yes, you too can have a pantry filled with DHARMA Initiative products, just like the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 on Lost!
There is a box of DHARMA Crisps...
DHARMA Peanut Butter...
And the always-popular DHARMA Cola...
If we ever need them, we can also have DHARMA Baked Beans, DHARMA Mayonnaise, DHARMA Tuna, DHARMA Salt, DHARMA Chocolate... and DHARMA Beer! Who knows, maybe we can even scrounge up some DHARMA Ranch Dressing (with a shelf life of 7 years at room temperature).
So I guess we're finally ready for tonight's Lost season finale... what you think? :-)
Legalized dictatorship: Bush clears way for unprecedented seizure of power
Some will claim that for me to say that is not becoming a true Christian. If only Germany had been inundated with such insincere Christians in the years leading up to 1938.
The fact that I am probably in a government database somewhere as a "dissident" and a "troublemaker" for what I've posted here should be enough to make anyone pause.
Here's the story from Jerome Corsi at WorldNetDaily. This is certainly the first I'm hearing about this...
Bush makes power grabAll it takes is for President Bush to declare a "national emergency", and he goes from being The Decider to being The Dictator.Posted: May 23, 2007
1:00 a.m. EasternPresident Bush, without so much as issuing a press statement, on May 9 signed a directive that granted near dictatorial powers to the office of the president in the event of a national emergency declared by the president.
The "National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive," with the dual designation of NSPD-51, as a National Security Presidential Directive, and HSPD-20, as a Homeland Security Presidential Directive, establishes under the office of president a new National Continuity Coordinator.
That job, as the document describes, is to make plans for "National Essential Functions" of all federal, state, local, territorial, and tribal governments, as well as private sector organizations to continue functioning under the president's directives in the event of a national emergency.
The directive loosely defines "catastrophic emergency" as "any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions."
WND Exclusive Commentary Bush makes power grab
Posted: May 23, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern
President Bush, without so much as issuing a press statement, on May 9 signed a directive that granted near dictatorial powers to the office of the president in the event of a national emergency declared by the president.
The "National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive," with the dual designation of NSPD-51, as a National Security Presidential Directive, and HSPD-20, as a Homeland Security Presidential Directive, establishes under the office of president a new National Continuity Coordinator.
That job, as the document describes, is to make plans for "National Essential Functions" of all federal, state, local, territorial, and tribal governments, as well as private sector organizations to continue functioning under the president's directives in the event of a national emergency.The directive loosely defines "catastrophic emergency" as "any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions."
When the president determines a catastrophic emergency has occurred, the president can take over all government functions and direct all private sector activities to ensure we will emerge from the emergency with an "enduring constitutional government."
Translated into layman's terms, when the president determines a national emergency has occurred, the president can declare to the office of the presidency powers usually assumed by dictators to direct any and all government and business activities until the emergency is declared over.
Ironically, the directive sees no contradiction in the assumption of dictatorial powers by the president with the goal of maintaining constitutional continuity through an emergency...
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