... well, only if we are intellectually lazy and guided by emotion rather than logic. While not perfect in this, I had to give up on many cherished political traditions I had when I was young, once I took an objective, non-emotional view of them. Unions, for example, were hard to give up on, but I have come to the conclusion, there days of usefulness are long, long past.
Here's what it looks like when judges and fine legal minds contort themselves to hang on their goals instead of their principles. It's a little long, but worth the investment:
Judge Richard Posner's comments in the New Republic on how he would go about deciding the constitutionality of the NSA surveillance program are refreshing for their honesty:
You [Professor Philip Heymann] say that "First we have to address ... the defiance of legislated prohibitions and the absence of published standards and any known system of accountability to the other branches." Why first? The way I approach a case as a judge--maybe you think it heresy--is first to ask myself what would be a reasonable, sensible result, as a lay person would understand it, and then, having answered that question, to ask whether that result is blocked by clear constitutional or statutory text, governing precedent, or any other conventional limitation on judicial discretion. That is how I would proceed if asked to decide a case challenging the legality of the NSA surveillance program. I would try to find out as much as I could about the program--its contribution to national security and the inroads it makes on liberty and privacy--before I started waxing indignant over it, and that indeed is what I have tried to do, and the result of that inquiry is my article. I missed such an inquiry in the letter to Congress you co-signed that was published in The New York Review of Books.
The ironies abound. If this is how defenders of the NSA program must proceed in order to argue for its legality, they well fit the caricature of judicial activism that generations of conservatives have tarred liberals with when liberals argue for extensions of civil rights and civil liberties protections. That is, instead of being constrained by law in the first instance, defenders argue that a program would be good policy and therefore strain to find that it is not illegal or unconstitutional.
Posner, however, is no ordinary conservative. He has long abandoned the belief that one must speak in pious platitudes about doing what the framers intended, or not legislating from the bench. He regards all this as mere blather designed to mystify what is really going on in legal decisionmaking. Instead, he views the judicial task "pragmatically," in his words, as an extension of ordinary policy discourse, which is only mildly constrained by legal texts and doctrines, if at all.
Posner's candor lays bare a jurisprudential problem for both sides of the ideological spectrum. Defenders of the President must come up with what I can only regard as makeweight legal arguments for justifying what he has done, arguments that would indeed require judges to legislate from the bench, if that hackneyed phrase has any meaning. (For those of who you want a detailed defense of that claim, I direct you to Marty's many posts on this site.)
Moreover, the muscular presidency that the Republican Party now promotes also has little connection to the original understanding of the President's power, despite Professor Yoo's valiant efforts to selectively quote sources to suggest that it is so. Rather, the best defense of expanded Presidential power is that the Constitution must keep up with the times, or as it is so often put, that "9-11 changed everything." That is to say, to justify their constitutional claims, defenders of the President must become that most dreaded and hated of liberal stereotypes, a bevy of living constitutionalists.
But lest liberals rejoice in this irony, it is worth noting that Posner's candor challenges them as well. Posner has dared critics of the President to abandon a debate about what the rule of law requires and concern themselves only with what the best policy is. To respond to this challenge, critics must rediscover and renew their faith in the rule of law-- in the importance of law as an institution that constrains arbitrary power even when that constraint also prevents *them* from doing what they think just and right.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Manimal
I have to admit, I shot soda through my nose when I read this:
President panders to anti-manimal lobby! Dr Moreau flees country in rage!
I didn't listen to the State of the Union Address last night, preferring to maintain my equanimity by attending a talk on quantum physics, but I knew I could trust my readers to email me with choice weird science bits. I'm getting a lot of "WTF?" email about this statement from Bush:
Tonight I ask you to pass legislation to prohibit the most egregious abuses of medical research, human cloning in all its forms, creating or implanting embryos for experiments, creating human-animal hybrids, and buying, selling or patenting human embryos.
It's pure political calculus. He throws away the mad scientist and pig-man vote, and wins the religious ignoramus vote…and we know which one has the majority here.
Update:
Server trial by fire
Now we'll really get to see how well this new server provided by Seed holds up. Pharyngula just get linked by Slashdot, and I've seen a thousand hits come roaring in in 5 minutes. My lovely old Mac G5 server would have been screaming and shaking at this point, and you wouldn't be reading this article, that's for sure.
President panders to anti-manimal lobby! Dr Moreau flees country in rage!
I didn't listen to the State of the Union Address last night, preferring to maintain my equanimity by attending a talk on quantum physics, but I knew I could trust my readers to email me with choice weird science bits. I'm getting a lot of "WTF?" email about this statement from Bush:
Tonight I ask you to pass legislation to prohibit the most egregious abuses of medical research, human cloning in all its forms, creating or implanting embryos for experiments, creating human-animal hybrids, and buying, selling or patenting human embryos.
It's pure political calculus. He throws away the mad scientist and pig-man vote, and wins the religious ignoramus vote…and we know which one has the majority here.
Update:
Server trial by fire
Now we'll really get to see how well this new server provided by Seed holds up. Pharyngula just get linked by Slashdot, and I've seen a thousand hits come roaring in in 5 minutes. My lovely old Mac G5 server would have been screaming and shaking at this point, and you wouldn't be reading this article, that's for sure.
The Communist Manifesto
err.. I mean the Discovery Institue Manifest.
Nice.
It reminds me a lot of those pamphlets I used to see the Campus Crusade For Communism hand out, i.e. it makes no actual sense but justifies an opinion some folks already have.
I'm sure a lawsuit is pending.
Nice.
It reminds me a lot of those pamphlets I used to see the Campus Crusade For Communism hand out, i.e. it makes no actual sense but justifies an opinion some folks already have.
I'm sure a lawsuit is pending.
Monday, January 30, 2006
The Big Picture
... continues to be one of my favorite economic blogs.
This is an interesting piece on how economists are often "perplexed"
WSJ: "After the economy navigated a brutal hurricane season to post robust growth in the third quarter of 2005, growth cooled considerably in the fourth quarter. Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of U.S. economic output, increased at just a 1.1% seasonally adjusted annual rate as free-spending consumers became more cautious and the gaping trade deficit continued to provide a drag on the expansion. For all of 2005, GDP growth averaged a 3.5% annual rate. What does the slowdown in the fourth quarter mean for the economy in the months ahead?
Economists weigh in with their reactions:
"In both its overall appearance and underlying detail, the 1.1% fourth quarter growth in real GDP ranks as the most perplexing report in memory. At face value, such weakness would seem to make it more difficult for the Fed to tighten monetary policy again. But the underlying details reinforce -- if not increase -- perceptions that much faster growth lies ahead. Nonetheless, the confusing and conflicting contradictions with other data make it difficult to be confident in any inferences about the outlook."
-- David Resler and Gerald Zukowski, Nomura Securities International
* * *
"Consumer spending was actually a little better than expected, rising by 1.1% in the quarter vs. our forecast of +0.3%. I think more of the decline in auto sales was apportioned to the business sector (fleet sales) and less to the retail side than we expected. Housing posted a reasonable gain of 3.5%, but this was less than half of our assumed rise. The monthly source data pointed to a bigger gain, so this is a bit puzzling."
-- Stephen Stanley, RBS Greenwich Capital
* * *
"The consensus was a bit optimistic but this is a big surprise. The softness against our 2.6% forecast is explained by two components, fixed investment and government consumption. The former rose only 3.0%, with equipment and software up only 3.5%. This is baffling, given the 19.5% annualized leap in the value of capital goods production and the 14.9% rise in shipments of core nondefense capital goods. We expect big upward revisions."
-- Ian Shepherdson, High Frequency Economics
* * *
"While this was a disappointing report, there are signs of a very sharp rebound in GDP growth in the current quarter. First, much of the miss in fourth-quarter inventories is likely to spill over to the first quarter. Second, at least a partial rebound in defense appears likely. Finally, the ramp for consumption spending is even more favorable in the aftermath of the fourth quarter data. The bottom line is that we now see a very good possibility of 5%+ GDP growth in Q1 -- versus our prior estimate of +4.2%."
-- David Greenlaw and Ted Wieseman, Morgan Stanley
This is an interesting piece on how economists are often "perplexed"
WSJ: "After the economy navigated a brutal hurricane season to post robust growth in the third quarter of 2005, growth cooled considerably in the fourth quarter. Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of U.S. economic output, increased at just a 1.1% seasonally adjusted annual rate as free-spending consumers became more cautious and the gaping trade deficit continued to provide a drag on the expansion. For all of 2005, GDP growth averaged a 3.5% annual rate. What does the slowdown in the fourth quarter mean for the economy in the months ahead?
Economists weigh in with their reactions:
"In both its overall appearance and underlying detail, the 1.1% fourth quarter growth in real GDP ranks as the most perplexing report in memory. At face value, such weakness would seem to make it more difficult for the Fed to tighten monetary policy again. But the underlying details reinforce -- if not increase -- perceptions that much faster growth lies ahead. Nonetheless, the confusing and conflicting contradictions with other data make it difficult to be confident in any inferences about the outlook."
-- David Resler and Gerald Zukowski, Nomura Securities International
* * *
"Consumer spending was actually a little better than expected, rising by 1.1% in the quarter vs. our forecast of +0.3%. I think more of the decline in auto sales was apportioned to the business sector (fleet sales) and less to the retail side than we expected. Housing posted a reasonable gain of 3.5%, but this was less than half of our assumed rise. The monthly source data pointed to a bigger gain, so this is a bit puzzling."
-- Stephen Stanley, RBS Greenwich Capital
* * *
"The consensus was a bit optimistic but this is a big surprise. The softness against our 2.6% forecast is explained by two components, fixed investment and government consumption. The former rose only 3.0%, with equipment and software up only 3.5%. This is baffling, given the 19.5% annualized leap in the value of capital goods production and the 14.9% rise in shipments of core nondefense capital goods. We expect big upward revisions."
-- Ian Shepherdson, High Frequency Economics
* * *
"While this was a disappointing report, there are signs of a very sharp rebound in GDP growth in the current quarter. First, much of the miss in fourth-quarter inventories is likely to spill over to the first quarter. Second, at least a partial rebound in defense appears likely. Finally, the ramp for consumption spending is even more favorable in the aftermath of the fourth quarter data. The bottom line is that we now see a very good possibility of 5%+ GDP growth in Q1 -- versus our prior estimate of +4.2%."
-- David Greenlaw and Ted Wieseman, Morgan Stanley
Liftport Art
I have long been fascinated by the idea of a skyhook, a platform in geosynchronous orbit at the equator with a cable/powered-lift-system/rope-ladder hanging down that can be used to reach orbit cheaply. IF the human race is actually going to leave the planet, AND there is no technologizable change in the physics of inertia, THEN we need a sky hook.
Liftport has a terrific gallery of what the platform migh tlook like.
Liftport has a terrific gallery of what the platform migh tlook like.
Headline: People Make Poor Decisions!
Especially when it comes to politics:
Researchers asked staunch party members from both sides to evaluate information that threatened their preferred candidate prior to the 2004 Presidential election. The subjects' brains were monitored while they pondered.
…
"We did not see any increased activation of the parts of the brain normally engaged during reasoning," … "What we saw instead was a network of emotion circuits lighting up, including circuits hypothesized to be involved in regulating emotion, and circuits known to be involved in resolving conflicts."
Researchers asked staunch party members from both sides to evaluate information that threatened their preferred candidate prior to the 2004 Presidential election. The subjects' brains were monitored while they pondered.
…
"We did not see any increased activation of the parts of the brain normally engaged during reasoning," … "What we saw instead was a network of emotion circuits lighting up, including circuits hypothesized to be involved in regulating emotion, and circuits known to be involved in resolving conflicts."
Friday, January 27, 2006
Revenge Is A DIsh Best Served At High Volume
This is just beautiful. Read to the bottom for the payoff.
Right for the Wrong Reason
While I agree with his thesis, I think his arguement is actually wrong.
Fortunately some folks help out in the comments section.
Fortunately some folks help out in the comments section.
The technical term for this phenomena is called "Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
A good rant on the physics of "go" verses the physics of "stop"
If anything, 4 wheel drive merely allows you to get yourself into more dangerous situations. We saw a Porsche 911 fishtailing all over the road. He was aware of his limitations in the snow and was going 30 mph. His torquey, rear wheel drive system had little in the way of traction in the snow -- and he knew it. He crept along in the right lane and still ran into some trouble. (On the other hand, I drove our rear wheel drive SLK home from White Plains Christmas Day 2002 in 6 inches of snow -- it took 3 and half hours versus the usual 60 minutes. I had no problem, but that's mostly because I am not an idiot.)
Now back to our 70 mph snow fools: In the event of loss of traction -- not too hard to imagine in 4 inches of snow -- you are merely a two ton hunk of steel sliding across a frictionless surface until you either regain directional control or run into some mass which stops you. Your Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) is useless when your tires cannot make contact with the pavement. Modulating brake lock up when snowplaning on a 2 inch cushion of white stuff does you no good whatsoever. The technical term for this phenomena is called "Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
If anything, 4 wheel drive merely allows you to get yourself into more dangerous situations. We saw a Porsche 911 fishtailing all over the road. He was aware of his limitations in the snow and was going 30 mph. His torquey, rear wheel drive system had little in the way of traction in the snow -- and he knew it. He crept along in the right lane and still ran into some trouble. (On the other hand, I drove our rear wheel drive SLK home from White Plains Christmas Day 2002 in 6 inches of snow -- it took 3 and half hours versus the usual 60 minutes. I had no problem, but that's mostly because I am not an idiot.)
Now back to our 70 mph snow fools: In the event of loss of traction -- not too hard to imagine in 4 inches of snow -- you are merely a two ton hunk of steel sliding across a frictionless surface until you either regain directional control or run into some mass which stops you. Your Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) is useless when your tires cannot make contact with the pavement. Modulating brake lock up when snowplaning on a 2 inch cushion of white stuff does you no good whatsoever. The technical term for this phenomena is called "Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
The Singularity (again)
Article by CertCo alum Frank Sudia posted over at KAI
If you worked for CertoCo and are scratching your head over who this is, I wouldn't be surprised. But if you were at Steptoe&Johnson or delt with the patents, then you know Frank.
Also, I must confess, despite the fact that I am not willing to take the existance of the singualrity as an obvious, forgone conclusion, I had thought of something very much like this.
That is to say me, and everyone else on the planet who has read David Brin's Earth.
If you worked for CertoCo and are scratching your head over who this is, I wouldn't be surprised. But if you were at Steptoe&Johnson or delt with the patents, then you know Frank.
Also, I must confess, despite the fact that I am not willing to take the existance of the singualrity as an obvious, forgone conclusion, I had thought of something very much like this.
That is to say me, and everyone else on the planet who has read David Brin's Earth.
Bumper Sticker == Serving In Iraq
That bastion of all that is right in Red State Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum:
“And yet we have brave men and women who are willing to step forward because they know what’s at stake. They’re willing to sacrifice their lives for this great country.
What I am asking all of you tonight, is not to put on a uniform. Put on a bumper sticker. Is it that much to ask? Is it that much to ask to step up and serve your country, to fight for what we believe in. To fight for the values that have made this the country the greatest count- we got her not because we were doing things really wrong, that our traditions and our morals were way out of whack, we got here because we were a good decent county. A country guided by divine Providence.
We will only stay that great country if we continue that fight. I’m asking ya to help me do that. God Bless you. Thank you.”
(via)
Where do people get ideas like this and why do they allow these people in public without their meds?
This pretty much sums it up for me.
“And yet we have brave men and women who are willing to step forward because they know what’s at stake. They’re willing to sacrifice their lives for this great country.
What I am asking all of you tonight, is not to put on a uniform. Put on a bumper sticker. Is it that much to ask? Is it that much to ask to step up and serve your country, to fight for what we believe in. To fight for the values that have made this the country the greatest count- we got her not because we were doing things really wrong, that our traditions and our morals were way out of whack, we got here because we were a good decent county. A country guided by divine Providence.
We will only stay that great country if we continue that fight. I’m asking ya to help me do that. God Bless you. Thank you.”
(via)
Where do people get ideas like this and why do they allow these people in public without their meds?
This pretty much sums it up for me.
If She is the Wonkette, is He...
the Wonker? Glenn Reynolds is subbing in for Ann Marie. Does he capture the irrepressible libidinal rauchieness that is the Wonkette and her charm?
You be the judge:
http://www.wonkette.com/politics//surprise-surprise-surpriiiise-150555.php
I'd say largely, yes!
You be the judge:
http://www.wonkette.com/politics//surprise-surprise-surpriiiise-150555.php
I'd say largely, yes!
How to Answer The Door
Here, although you have to read a bit to tget to the funny part.
The Temple got its name from an early commercial that my group, KU SOMA, shot for the college local-access TV station, to advertise our existance. The commercial was called "How to Answer the Door", and was made largely in reaction to a rash of door-to-door religion salespersons who had been causing quite a bit of amusement in our secular (read "lost") liberal town of Lawrence, Kansas.So we took advantage.
Cue the first shot, a standard old house in this town, with a cute front porch and a big white door. A narrator's voice booms, "How to answer the door, presented by KU SOMA."In the first scene, my girlfriend and I dressed up as a classic Southern Baptist televangelist and his dutiful wife. I hairsprayed my curls up into the most appalling bouffant hairdo I could manage, and held up a Bible to the spikey-haired SOMA chick, Becca, as she answered the door.
In my worst southern accent, I screamed at her, "DO YEW HAVE PRUH-TECK-SHUN FROM THE E-TURNAL FAHR!?" (Do you have protection from the eternal fire) In answer, she pulls back, grabs a fire extinguisher from beside the door, and blasts us with it. Let me tell you, THAT was fun to film!! As we throw up our hands amid the blast, the screen freeze-frames, and a red circle-with-slash graphic comes up over the scene, a buzzer sounds, and a voice admonishes, "NO!"
No! Bad Atheist! No Donut!
The Temple got its name from an early commercial that my group, KU SOMA, shot for the college local-access TV station, to advertise our existance. The commercial was called "How to Answer the Door", and was made largely in reaction to a rash of door-to-door religion salespersons who had been causing quite a bit of amusement in our secular (read "lost") liberal town of Lawrence, Kansas.So we took advantage.
Cue the first shot, a standard old house in this town, with a cute front porch and a big white door. A narrator's voice booms, "How to answer the door, presented by KU SOMA."In the first scene, my girlfriend and I dressed up as a classic Southern Baptist televangelist and his dutiful wife. I hairsprayed my curls up into the most appalling bouffant hairdo I could manage, and held up a Bible to the spikey-haired SOMA chick, Becca, as she answered the door.
In my worst southern accent, I screamed at her, "DO YEW HAVE PRUH-TECK-SHUN FROM THE E-TURNAL FAHR!?" (Do you have protection from the eternal fire) In answer, she pulls back, grabs a fire extinguisher from beside the door, and blasts us with it. Let me tell you, THAT was fun to film!! As we throw up our hands amid the blast, the screen freeze-frames, and a red circle-with-slash graphic comes up over the scene, a buzzer sounds, and a voice admonishes, "NO!"
No! Bad Atheist! No Donut!
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Centralia
Centralia PA made the news quite a bit in the late 70s and early 80s when I liven in Pennsylvania, famous fo rthe undergorund fire that had been burning for almost 20 years at that point.
It's good to know that, in the intervening 25 years the free market has finally solved the problem, the fires are out and land value in Centralia is on the rise.
Oh, wait a minute...
In 1983, there was fire under about 350 surface acres. By 1991, this area had been increased by about three-quarters. Worst case scenario would be about 3700 acres and possibly a hundred years. Finally 26 homes along Route 61 west of town were bought in April of 1991. There were no further plans to fight the fire. The population of Centralia as of 4/18/97 was 44 people and has dwindled since. There are just a few scattered homes today remaining in the town along with the borough hall. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania owns the remaining homes. The monetary value of each property is in escrow or tied up in the legal system. Until the remaining people move, the future of this town is unknown. The State is being very lenient at this time. The State owns the homes but the remaining people are still paying the property taxes on the houses.
Looks like neither the government nor the free markets have a workable solution here.
It's good to know that, in the intervening 25 years the free market has finally solved the problem, the fires are out and land value in Centralia is on the rise.
Oh, wait a minute...
In 1983, there was fire under about 350 surface acres. By 1991, this area had been increased by about three-quarters. Worst case scenario would be about 3700 acres and possibly a hundred years. Finally 26 homes along Route 61 west of town were bought in April of 1991. There were no further plans to fight the fire. The population of Centralia as of 4/18/97 was 44 people and has dwindled since. There are just a few scattered homes today remaining in the town along with the borough hall. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania owns the remaining homes. The monetary value of each property is in escrow or tied up in the legal system. Until the remaining people move, the future of this town is unknown. The State is being very lenient at this time. The State owns the homes but the remaining people are still paying the property taxes on the houses.
Looks like neither the government nor the free markets have a workable solution here.
Jesus Quiz
I picked this up from Nick who got it from Travis.
I tried to answer honestly but many of the questions conflate 2 or more ideas making it hard to give a single answer that make sense.
My result:
I note that there is no Atheist, Diest or Unbeleive category. This seems flawed but the framework of the test seems to presuppose belief.
I tried to answer honestly but many of the questions conflate 2 or more ideas making it hard to give a single answer that make sense.
My result:
You scored as Pelagianism. You are a Pelagian. You reject ideas about man's fallen human nature and believe that as a result we are able to fully obey God. You are the first Briton to contribute significantly to Christian thought, but you're still excommunicated in 417.
Are you a heretic? created with QuizFarm.com |
I note that there is no Atheist, Diest or Unbeleive category. This seems flawed but the framework of the test seems to presuppose belief.
Monday, January 23, 2006
The Conservative Zappa
Frank Zappa strongly influenced my views around liberty and "conservatism".
Here is a terrific piece with him defending the conservativism from the religious right on Crossfire in 1986.
Here it is 20 years later and we've largely lost this battle. The religious advocate is spouting the same big government, anti-free market solutions which make the positions of the far left equally unworkable.
Watch it all, it's worth your time (plus it has a young Robert Novak)
Here is a terrific piece with him defending the conservativism from the religious right on Crossfire in 1986.
Here it is 20 years later and we've largely lost this battle. The religious advocate is spouting the same big government, anti-free market solutions which make the positions of the far left equally unworkable.
Watch it all, it's worth your time (plus it has a young Robert Novak)
Sci Fi News
Some good bits over at this week's Sci Fi Weekly:
Sci Fi Channel to air new Doctor Who:
SCI FI Channel announced Jan. 12 that it will air the first season of the BBC's hit SF series Doctor Who, starting in March. The 13 episodes, starring Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor and Billie Piper as Rose Tyler, will air as part of SCI FI Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
This is excellent news, as the new series is superlative.
Serenity Might Fly Again?
Loni Peristere, visual-effects supervisor for the SF movie Serenity, told SCI FI Wire that there's hope for future flights of the cast and crew of the movie, which just came out on DVD. Director Joss Whedon—who also created the canceled Fox TV show Firefly, on which the movie is based—expected that the movie might draw the low numbers it did in its theatrical release, Peristere said in an interview. But he added that the movie's sales on DVD, which came out on Dec. 20, are running neck-and-neck with the hit comedy Wedding Crashers, which bodes well for a possible Serenity sequel.
I've still never seen Firefly or Serenity, but I've stopped admitting that in public. Too many times my admitting of this lapse has been greeted with that slack-jawed, bug-eyed, lip-flapping, I-cant-believe-you-took-a-shit-in-the-confessional-and-now-I-have-to-go-in-there look I know so well.
I'll catch it on DVD.
OTOH, the Sci-Fi gods give with one hand and take with the other:
WB Nets Its Aquaman
After a three-month search, The WB has cast 28-year-old newcomer Will Toale as the star of its upcoming Aquaman series, created by Smallville producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, Variety reported. The Florida-born Toale worked as a model before landing a supporting role in A Streetcar Named Desire at Broadway's Roundabout Theater alongside Natasha Richardson and John C. Reilly. Toale beat out 400 contenders in England, Australia, Canada and several U.S. cities, Gough told the trade paper. The pilot will shoot in March, probably in Miami. The series is expected to be a signature offering next fall for the network and Warner Brothers TV. In the show, the aquatic superhero will be Arthur Curry, who owns a dive shop.
They could do worse than casting the hottie that played Aquaboy in the Smallville episode, but the casting directors never listen to me...
Sci Fi Channel to air new Doctor Who:
SCI FI Channel announced Jan. 12 that it will air the first season of the BBC's hit SF series Doctor Who, starting in March. The 13 episodes, starring Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor and Billie Piper as Rose Tyler, will air as part of SCI FI Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
This is excellent news, as the new series is superlative.
Serenity Might Fly Again?
Loni Peristere, visual-effects supervisor for the SF movie Serenity, told SCI FI Wire that there's hope for future flights of the cast and crew of the movie, which just came out on DVD. Director Joss Whedon—who also created the canceled Fox TV show Firefly, on which the movie is based—expected that the movie might draw the low numbers it did in its theatrical release, Peristere said in an interview. But he added that the movie's sales on DVD, which came out on Dec. 20, are running neck-and-neck with the hit comedy Wedding Crashers, which bodes well for a possible Serenity sequel.
I've still never seen Firefly or Serenity, but I've stopped admitting that in public. Too many times my admitting of this lapse has been greeted with that slack-jawed, bug-eyed, lip-flapping, I-cant-believe-you-took-a-shit-in-the-confessional-and-now-I-have-to-go-in-there look I know so well.
I'll catch it on DVD.
OTOH, the Sci-Fi gods give with one hand and take with the other:
WB Nets Its Aquaman
After a three-month search, The WB has cast 28-year-old newcomer Will Toale as the star of its upcoming Aquaman series, created by Smallville producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, Variety reported. The Florida-born Toale worked as a model before landing a supporting role in A Streetcar Named Desire at Broadway's Roundabout Theater alongside Natasha Richardson and John C. Reilly. Toale beat out 400 contenders in England, Australia, Canada and several U.S. cities, Gough told the trade paper. The pilot will shoot in March, probably in Miami. The series is expected to be a signature offering next fall for the network and Warner Brothers TV. In the show, the aquatic superhero will be Arthur Curry, who owns a dive shop.
They could do worse than casting the hottie that played Aquaboy in the Smallville episode, but the casting directors never listen to me...
The Two Precent Company
Got there following a thread leading to this, but overall it's a good site and now on my browser favorites list.
Someday, you may be robbed at gunpoint. If that happens, will you call out to Batman to help you?
Some others say: "Who knows what I might do in a time of extreme stress — maybe for a moment, Batman might seem like a good option." Our response here is to acknowledge that sometimes terror can overtake logic, but that in the end, when the stressful situation is over, it's important to return to your senses, and understand that there really is no Batman.
Someday, you may be robbed at gunpoint. If that happens, will you call out to Batman to help you?
Some others say: "Who knows what I might do in a time of extreme stress — maybe for a moment, Batman might seem like a good option." Our response here is to acknowledge that sometimes terror can overtake logic, but that in the end, when the stressful situation is over, it's important to return to your senses, and understand that there really is no Batman.
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