Movies this charming are rare. Rarer still are charmers like this that work completely, from start to finish. Simply put, one of my favorite films of the year (so far, anyway).

Writing: The beauty of this script is how it keys into the very nature of simplicity itself. It gives the cast an offbeat premise to work with, finding humor where it can, without undermining any of the character beats. Regardless of the odd nature of the situation, one of the obvious goals of the story is to remain grounded in reality. It also manages to avoid crossing the line of maudlin over dramatization that would probably be rather an easy mistake to make. If you’re looking for a movie full of startling revelations or unexpected twists and turns, look somewhere else. If you’re looking for a raunchy comedy about sex dolls, this is definitely not the right movie. Not even close (thankfully).

Production: Like the writing, the production is as down-to-earth as could possibly be. There are a couple nicely filmed scenes, including a very nice bit of camera work during a scene of Lars laying in a tree house in the woods singing. But even that scene is ordinary in nature. The design of Bianca, the doll, is also pretty straight forward. It’s lifelike enough without trying to hard. On the subject of Bianca, I think this movie features the most amusing production credit of the year - one for “Bianca Wrangler” and another for “Assistant Bianca Wrangler.” Sometimes it pays to be somebody like me, who sits through the end credits of movies, to see such bizarrely amusing credits.

Cast: I must admit that I never fail to be impressed by Ryan Gosling’s acting skills. He has to pull off a character that walks the fine line between abnormality and eccentricity. Plus, he has to pull off some subtle dramatic scenes. He does it all with ease. He seems to channel some of the more charming and odd characteristics of people like David Arquette in this role. When you see a performance like his in this movie then compare it to his previous film, the also-good Fracture, one definitely appreciates the acting skills to be able to pull off such fundamentally different characters. The always-reliable Emily Mortimer puts in a fine performance. Patricia Clarkson, who is one of those under appreciated character actors, works very well as the doctor/therapist. Paul Schneider pulls off a well grounded role of the brother. And Kelli Garner is gleefully charming as romantic interest Margo. For those interested in trivia, Kelli Garner played a very small role (of mean girl Kirstie) in the Buffy episode The Body (one of the finest episodes of television, ever).

Music: Composer David Torn taps into that ever-reliable realm of jaunty and quirky music that has served the low-key character drama genre so well for so long. While it’s nothing groundbreaking or overly fantastic, it works very well in the film, and is charming all by itself when listened to away from the film.

• Yeah, about a week and a half after my most recent posting, activity finally returns. I continued to suffer Comcast connectivity issues (which as of yesterday seem to finally be fixed), among other reasons for my lack of postings. I have also continued to fall farther behind on movie reviews. I swear I’ll get a bunch of those kicked out this week…
• Hurrah! Pushing Daisies has received the order for a full season. Have I mentioned how much I love this show?
• Check out this hilarious video from the always-great The Onion. Classic stuff.
• Those of you with a Facebook account should join in the Colbert fun (it’s a slightly older article, which I only post now cause I haven’t posted in a while - the member count has already gone well past a million)
  
• GMail has finally added IMAP functionality.
• So, Daniel Craig is to play James Bond for at least 5 movies. Great news, as far as I’m concerned. I think he’s fantastic in the role.
• Sony releases yet another cool ad for their Bravia TV’s.
• So, not only are the Battlestar season 3 DVD’s delayed until a rumored April 2008 release, but so is the fourth season of the show. Set to debut in April, it will also feature the directorial debut of Ron Moore (hurray!).
• Speaking of Battlestar, Galactica.TV has a nice interview with VFX master Gary Hutzel about the original series styled Cylons in the upcoming Razor special. It’s spoilery, so be warned.
• Speaking even more of Battlestar, I’ll be at the 9:00 (or 10:00 if I’m to believe the confirmation e-mail) showing of Razor at the Cinemark theaters in Evanston, IL. All you fellow Battlestar fans should join in on the fun. Hey, it’s even free.
• Oh, and don’t forget that Blade Runner: The Final Cut hits The Music Box Theatre (in Chicago) on Friday.
• To borrow a couple comments from others about this video. “Ow, my sanity!” and “Monty Python would be proud.”
• Here’s a small collection of impressive California fire photos
• Could Apple really be pulling in $18 per iPhone per month? Is there any wonder there’s so much bad blood between everyone involved when numbers like that are on the line?
• This just in from the “good grief department” - Lynne Spears (Britney’s mom) is set to have a book on parenting published.
• Bionic Woman gets yet another show runner in play. This time it’s Jason Cahill, who I know nothing about other than the fact that the article points out he previously worked on The Sopranos - which is reason enough for me to think it’s a bad move.
• And a slightly older piece of news. James Cameron’s new 3D sci-fi film has set up shop shooting in New Zealand. Can’t wait to see it. I’m sure he’ll push the VFX word forward yet another 10 years in production technology.

• My slowness with posts since last weekend is due to my cable modem connection at the house being a bit flaky. Actually, if you can’t get to any of the guygordon.com web sites, that’s also the reason why. It’s been a bit better over the last couple days, and it’s still being worked on. Hopefully, it’ll be smooth and stable soon.
• Heck yeah. Dell intros a couple new monitors. I want that 24 incher. They’ve gotten the color range up on it, which is something I’ve been wanting to see happen. I have their 24 inch model from a couple years ago. It lacks HDCP which makes it a real pain for HD disc viewing. The new models have that, of course (as did the first model after the one I have). But my main visual complaint with the otherwise beautiful monitor I have is the color range/contrast ratio, which causes some artifact halo issues in darker or wide contrast scenes. Sounds like they’ve got it pretty much ironed out.
• Here’s a funny segment from Conan’s show during an accidental fire alarm.
• Now here a cool, tricked out ride
• So, looks like the AT&T death star is gunning for another big target
• The end of times for analog TV broadcast
• The Sarah Conner Chronicles gets a launch date
• Another step in the right direction for the LONG in gestation second X-Files film. Can’t say how much I’d love to see said movie finally get made.
• A few more movie reviews are pending. Speaking of which, I don’t know if I mentioned it in a previous post and I don’t feel like searching to find out, but Blade Runner: The Final Cut is actually getting a screening in Chicago (at the Music Box Theatre). I’m definitely going.

A fairly decent off-shoot of the mobster movie genre. For the record, I hate most mob movies, so for me to like one that’s even remotely related to the genre is pretty high praise. This movie ain’t for the squeemish, with more than enough in a few scenes to easily earn its R rating.

Writing: The plot of the film is fairly simple, pieced together from many that have come before. It doesn’t break a whole lot of new ground, but it stays fresh enough to work. Putting the Russian spin on the subject helps make it feel somewhat unique.

Production: David Cronenberg has a varied enough directing history to be able to take on most anything. He employs his “less is more” approach to filming this story, avoiding much by way of flashy production. Most of the effort is on getting the gritty feel of the environment right.

Cast: There’s little doubt that the cast is the strongest aspect of the movie. I’m a fan of Naomi Watts, and she does a fine job here. Viggo Mortensen also does an excellent job, and the two play off each other rather well. And Armin Mueller-Stahl is very well cast as the seemingly warm and charming mob boss.

Music: Big surprise having Howard Shore doing the score. Or not. This is something along the lines of their 13th film together. As such, Shore does a good job matching the subject matter, playing things somewhat understated.

• Today was my 32nd birthday. Didn’t do a whole lot other than lounging about and taking it easy. Saw Michael Clayton, which was excellent (review for that and a couple other movies coming within the next day or so). Also, connectivity to this blog and some other sites related to me and people I know have been experiencing some issues (due to a couple unrelated problems). I’m working at moving everything to a new solution, so hang tight while that’s all squared away…
• The most insane and impressive stuff I’ve seen in a while. Check out these talented basejumping windsuit lunatics
• Another of Douglas Adams’ books gets radio serialization - his Dirk Gently series. Very cool.
• And here’s the awesome news of Simon Pegg being cast as Scotty in JJ Abrams new Star Trek film. He’s not the first person I would have thought of for the role, but he’s great in anything, so I’m happy to hear it. Also, John Cho is well cast as Sulu.
• Oooh, Dan Waters doing a sci-fi dramedy? I’m there.
• The hits just keep on coming. Madonna has jumped ship from the recording industry. Her move is a bit different than other recent ones, but any move against the recording industry is a good move. Particularly by a performer as notable as Madonna.
• How about the world’s worst attempt at a prison escape?
• Here’s the cover art & menu screen for the Galactica 1980 DVD release
• Check out this timeline analysis of wars and casualties in US history, attributed to partisan administrations and leaders. It’s a really well put together presentation.

• While I may not be a fan of bands like Radiohead or Nine Inch Nails, they are my current heroes in the music realm. Their recent snubbing of the recording conglomerates was absolutely fantastic. This article also touches upon some wonderful statements by Yahoo’s music chief to the “big 4.” Folks like Yahoo and Amazon have begun paving the way for the future of the music industry. Said industry has been dragged through the mud time and time again in recent years, most deservedly so, and it’s moves like this from very high profile performers like Radiohead & NIN that could be the spark to ignite the real fire. Here’s hoping that the music industry is set ablaze by the resulting inferno. Doubtlessly a disco inferno. As a film score fan, I’d be more than happy to see some of the specialty labels like Varese Sarabande, Intrada, Film Score Monthly, La-La Land, Prometheus and others continue their move towards limited release efforts. Intrada in particular has gone full guns on that approach, and the results to date have been more than pleasing. Personally, I still prefer to have a physical CD as opposed to a download, if for no other reason than the fine packaging design the score labels put forth, and for the quality improvements. Still, regardless of how things adapt, odds are extraordinarily slim that the end result of the music industry getting bottomed out could possibly result in things getting any more annoying or worse than their current utter mismanagement of the situation. My two cents.
• Speaking of score label La-La Land, here’s a first listen preview of their upcoming Battlestar Galactica: Season 3 CD. It’s due out 2 weeks from today, on the 23rd. I’m an impatient little imp waiting for this one. Composer Bear McCreary continues to out-due himself for this series.
• Speaking of Galactica, Sci-Fi has begun posting the mini-episodes that lead up to November’s Razor tele-movie event online (one new one each Friday). These aren’t just scenes from Razor, but extra little snippets they shot to lead into that narrative.
• Now here’s an NCM Fathom event that I’ll actually drag myself out to see - Star Trek: The Original Series’ restored episode The Menagerie.
• Shots of the packaging for Shout Factory’s sure-to-be-great new release of My So-Called Life on DVD. As somebody who went through the Another Universe special lunchbox edition debacle back in the day (yes, I actually got one), I’m looking forward to a company that can actually do a great job with the deserving series.
• Speaking of under appreciated shows getting DVD releases, it looks like A&E is going to start releasing the overlooked cable series adaptation of Weird Science on DVD. Neato.
• Fox has released the first trailer for the interesting looking new film Jumper. It’s directed by the very talented Doug Liman, so I have high hopes. If nothing else, it’ll hopefully provide for another great music score from composer John Powell (though I’m not sure if he’s been attached to the project yet - but given his work on both Bourne and Mr. & Mrs. Smith, I’d kinda assume he’ll get the gig).
• I haven’t yet watched the few episodes since the pilot for Gossip Girl (but will by this weekend). However, the series has earned the distinction of being the first of the new season to pick up a full season order.
• A 75-year-old woman has done what a great many of Comcast’s subscribers have dreamed of.
• Check out the video of the truly nifty door
• So, not only is McG rumored to be directing Terminator 4, but Vin Diesel is the rumored star. Hmmm. I guess he’d work pretty good in the role.
• SNL has been on a roll lately. Here’s an amusing skit about K-Fed as the #1 parent.
• For those of you lucky enough to have gotten in on Google’s stock when it was still a decent deal, you’re surely happy that it made its first crossing of the $600 a share barrier.

OK, next batch of TV reviews. As stated in the first batch of reviews, the continuing weekly entries won’t be for every series. I’ll probably overlap about a third of them from week to week. Or something. These will be in a more random approach.

Moonlight (CBS): I almost hate to admit this, but I’ve actually liked this series so far. Yeah, the only reason I was resistant to it was the fact that us Angel fans are still a bit resentful about the cancellation of the show, and for another network to start up a show about a vampire private detective in LA felt a bit like rubbing salt in an open wound. Plus, after a number of production revamps and cast swap-outs, one almost expected it to turn out bad. There are definite reasons to like this show, though. First, the cast. Alex O’Loughlin plays the lead quite well. I was unfamiliar with him before this, but he does a nice job in the lead role. He brings a sense of charm and bounce to the role, much the same way Lee Pace does in Pushing Daisies (or back on Wonderfalls). The great Sophia Myles is quite good as the ambitious and equally charming romantic counterpoint, and a reporter. Jason Dohring is fantastic as the best friend/elder vampire, fixated on paranoia. However, after these first two episodes, his character clearly needs more to do. It keeps feeling like the character is little more than an after thought (or “evil conscience” at the very least). Speaking of Dohring, he’s not the only tie to Veronica Mars in this show. The pilot episode plot features references to Hearst College, which is surely a Veronica Mars reference. Once you add the likes of Shannyn Sossamon and Kevin Weisman to the mix, it’s definitely a fun cast. The pilot plot is OK, but not too groundbreaking. It does adequately setup the rules for this telling of the vampire legacy (somebody needs to make a chart of all the variations on the Vampire rules that different books/movies/shows have done). A couple of the sequences are a bit rough around the edges, with slightly cheesy production quality, but it works OK. The second episode, written by David Greenwalt (probably the only, since has departed the series), feels a bit more solid. Will the show last? Doubtful. But I’ll probably enjoy watching it while it does. 1.01 - No Such Thing As Vampires (8/10) / 1.02 - Out Of The Past (9/10)

Bionic Woman (NBC): An improvement over the pilot, the second episode gets some footing under the characters. The dynamic between Jamie and Jonas is beginning to take hold, which helps. The dynamic between her and the younger sister is also starting to find some footing, which is a huge help as well. The Battlestar ties continue not only with yet another cast appearance (this time actress Lorena Green, who played Elosha on Battlestar), but also featuring footage of a Battlestar episode playing on a TV in a scene (the awesome death of the Pegasus from Battlestar’s season 3 episode Exodus Part 2). The terrorist plot is a little bit too vague to completely work for the episode, but it does hold things together enough to get things from point A to B. 1.02 - Paradise Lost (8/10)

30 Rock (NBC): The greatest new show of last season returns with the typical amount of fun for the show. Jerry Seinfeld makes an appearance in this one, with marginally successful results. 2.01 - Seinfeld Vision (8/10)

Bones (Fox): Another fine episode for this forensic character series. This second episode fleshes out some nice material between Brennan and her father. It also has some fun stuff with Angela & Hodgins. On top of that fun, the case is pretty well written, not to mention the fact that it features some fun, disgusting forensics. 3.02 - Soccer Mom In The Mini-Van (9/10)

House (Fox): The second episode of this show’s fourth season continues having all manner of fun with the big shake-up they did at the end of the last season. Hugh Laurie continues on with one of the best written and performed characters on TV. After these first two episodes, I’m definitely interested to see what way they go from here. 4.02 - The Right Stuff (9/10)

Desperate Housewives (ABC): This deliciously twisted dramedy returns with bang for the beginning of the fourth season. The main reason to love this episode is the introduction of not only Dana Delany but none-other-than Nathan Fillion. That scene with the barbecue fork is classic. 4.01 - Now You Know (10/10)

Pushing Daisies (ABC): What can I say that I haven’t already said in past postings? This pilot is flat-out fantastic. I can’t wait to see more. This show will very likely be the best new show of the season. It’ll be hard for any other show to come close. 1.01 - Pie-lette (10/10)

Eh, that’s it for now. I’ll put more in next week’s write-ups…

Described by critics as something akin to CSI: Riyadh as an action movie, this film is definitely engaging, if a bit flawed.

Writing: The juxtaposition of the environment of Saudi Arabia is one of the only things that gives this plot a fresh spin. If not for the change in setting, and the politics that surrounds it, the plot is little more than a team of FBI agents out to catch the bad guy(s). That’s not entirely a criticism, because it’s kind of an interesting thing to see a standard plot thrown for a loop by nothing more than the setting. Character development is kind of on-the-nose, but it works. Ultimately, this movie is about performance and production more than it is about writing. I will compliment the movie for being probably the only movie in recent years having anything to do with international relations that doesn’t portray the USA as villains or soldiers out to slaughter innocent civilians. In fact, I’m adding on a point for that fact alone to make up for the one I’m subtracting for what I’ll rant about below.

Production: Almost everything about this production is fantastic. However, I stress the word “almost.” I’m going to come down extremely hard on one thing, and I’m going to be a little bit unfair to this individual film in doing so. What I’m going to slam is the cinematography. I’m sick to $#*@!%^ death of the handheld “docu” feel that has been the fad in recent years. Once Ridley Scott showed everyone how to do it with Black Hawk Down (and he did it with masterful precision), everyone and their uncle has decided that it is how they have to shoot their film. However, in perhaps a misguided effort to top the last guy who did it, they employ camera operators suffering from the final stages of Parkinsons disease. Seriously, could they just hold the camera even slightly steady for one billionth of a second? Pretty please. While this film isn’t nearly as bad as The Bourne Supremacy, it’s severely annoying and distracting. I subtracted at least a full point out of ten from my enjoyment of this film for this fact alone. Then again, for something to be worse at the hand held crap than The Bourne Supremacy, somebody would have to tie the camera to the back of a car and drag it around for the whole film. I don’t mind the occasional hand held sequence in films, if it doesn’t feel like the camera crew are 100% incompetent at their jobs, and if it isn’t constant from one scene to the next. This movie, sadly, breaks both of those rules. I think this movie gets worst cinematography of the year from me so far. I must pay special compliment to the opening title sequence, though. It’s a very well constructed history of the Saudi Arabian kingdom with their discovery of oil and relations with the United States that followed. It’s produced with slick style and actually tells the nearly 100 year historical story very well. Oh, and I definitely enjoyed all the location filming and well staged action sequences. Well, as best as I could see them through the horrible camera work, anyway.

Cast: You know, I would enjoy this movie for no other reason than to see Jennifer Garner back in action. Amusingly, she’s probably got more experience in action sequences than the rest of the cast combined. Her years on Alias were more than adequate preparation for her role in this movie. She gets a couple excellent action scenes to take part in, and more than holds her own. Jamie Foxx does an OK job with the overly-confident and somewhat one note character. Chris Cooper fits his role like a glove. But then again, he’s been in enough political/espionage thrillers to be able to do this stuff blindfolded. Interestingly, he doesn’t usually end up as part of the action material in most of said films, but he does get a pretty good amount of action material in this one. Jason Bateman does what he does best - witty sarcasm. He comes through with some nice scenes of dramatic performance, too. Supporting performances are good, including the likes of Richard Jenkins and Frances Fisher. Jeremy Piven is cast in a somewhat obvious move for a self-centered ambassador, doing his usual great job at riffing his way through dialog and situations. Definitely an amusing side character to the story.

Music: Danny Elfman’s score gets the job done pretty well. The guitar stuff is a bit thick for my liking, but his electronic overtones and action cues are quite good. The scoring of the opening title sequence is particularly well done.

A charming and fun comedy with an interesting combination of characters.

Writing: The plotting of the film doesn’t break new ground in any particular way, but it feels different enough to separate itself from any similar films. I will give them credit for actually explaining why the characters are the way they are, for once. In fact, it’s scenes like that where this film works best. Scenes like the flashbacks to the childhood gym classes or the amusing visit by Mr. Woodcock to see his father in a nursing home not only work best for the characters, but also provide some of the best comedy. I also admire them for shying away from some of the more extreme or gross styled humor that has become a staple of such genre films of late. It may have some definite weak moments and an unsteady feeling, but much of it works well enough to be entertaining.

Production: Pretty much nothing to single out in either a good or bad way about the production of this film. Everything is about as good as one would expect, or as it should be. Nothing particularly flashy or stylish, nor does there need to be.

Cast: Here’s the strongest aspect of the film. It’s almost impossible to thing of anyone but Billy Bob Thornton for a role like this, so it’s no surprise that he was cast. If I had read this script, he would have immediately been the first actor I would have thought of for the role. And having played it so many times, he makes it all work with ease. He’s more sympathetic in this one than in most of his other similar performances, which is a nice change of pace. Seann William Scott does a good job in the role that would have typically been given to the likes of Ben Stiller. He works equally well as the grown up version of the humiliated child turned self-help author and as the man on a vengeance streak. Susan Sarandon pulls off the role of the mother quite well. She has the tough sell of being the woman who’s in love with the Mr. Woodcock character, and she somehow pulls it off. It’s amusing to see Sarandon in supporting performances in films as diverse from each other as this and In The Valley Of Elah within the same week. Other supporting roles in the film are filled with great acting choices, from the always-fun Ethan Suplee to Melissa Sagemiller. But it’s Amy Poehler who steals the show in her brief scenes as the heartless publisher.

Music: Theodore Shapiro, who has made a career of scoring comedies in recent years like few others, proves why he’s given the job so often. His score is one of my favorite aspects of this film. It’s got a very fun, retro style. Definitely a fun score, and one of those rare examples of the music score itself managing to be funny (that’s actually an insanely hard thing to pull off).

While this is undoubtedly a film featuring some fine acting performances and some nicely written dialog, it’s not a perfect film.

Writing: Writer/director/producer Paul Haggis is known primarily as a writer, going as far back as writing for TV shows like Different Strokes, of all things. In recent years, he’s had a string of commercial and critical hits that has elevated him into a highly regarded writer. Personally, I have extremely mixed reactions to seeing his name as writer on a credit list. While he’s got some excellent work under his belt (Casino Royale, Million Dollar Baby and Flags Of Our Fathers), he’s been responsible for some stuff I’ve considered complete crap (the TV series The Black Donnellys and films like The Last Kiss and the abysmal and criminally overrated Crash). While he manages to avoid making socio-political commentary for most of this movie, he just can’t help himself with the final scene of the film. Frankly, I truly hated the last scene of this movie. Many people probably consider it a clever method for making a statement, but it just hit me as alarmingly cheap and excruciatingly out of place and reactionary. I had a similar reaction to Crash, but at least this movie was quite good up to the ending, unlike the meandering, hateful, annoying film that Crash was up to the end.

Production: No complaints to be found in this category. Most everything about this production is correctly downplayed. It feels very real. Perhaps there could have been one or two fewer strip clubs/bars in the film (though that’s actually a writing complaint). Cinematography isn’t flashy, and it totally works. Sound design is equally flat and realistic. The Iraq footage, portrayed through garbled cell-phone recorded video, also feels very real.

Cast: Here’s the true strength of the film. Tommy Lee Jones turns in an award-worthy performance. And it’s amazingly downplayed and subtle. He’s always been a very talented actor, and this movie really puts him in his element. Susan Sarandon isn’t in the movie a whole lot, but she makes it count in the scenes she has. Charlize Theron hasn’t gotten quite the level of praise from most critics for her performance as Jones has, but I think her performance is quite remarkable. Again, it’s all in the subtlety. Theron is a very talented actress, and she definitely brings her character to life, and feels just as much at home in the environment and role as Jones does. Other supporting roles are well cast, with the likes of James Franco, Barry Corbin, Frances Fisher, Josh Brolin and Jason Patrick (where the heck has Jason Patrick been in recent years, anyway?).

Music: Mark Isham comes through with a mildly serviceable music score. It’s definitely nothing special or notable, but it plays at the down-to-earth nature of the movie and story well enough to stay out of the way and support the film.

• Today was the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1. Hurrah!
• Ooooh, a new Sony Bravia commercial. I swear, these are the coolest commercials ever. If you didn’t see the first two, they are also fantastic. What makes these commercials truly great is that they are staged in the real world, not some CGI or stage-based production. It gives them a far grander feeling of scale and style.
• The awesome specs for the HD-DVD release of Zodiac are finally announced. I can’t wait. David Fincher’s special edition releases are the only ones that come close to rivaling the likes of Ridley Scott.
• Speaking of which, check out Bill Hunt’s review of Ridley’s mouth-wateringly awesome sounding Final Cut of Blade Runner. I can’t wait to pick up the ultimate brief-case housed HD disc set. If only the film was going to be run in the Chicago area, dang it.
• If you missed Pushing Daisies last night (shame on you), you can catch it when it re-airs tomorrow (Friday), or online, etc. Speaking of which, the debut episode scored big in the ratings. Woo hoo! ABC has been strongly behind the show up to the launch, and this will help keep them there.
• Uh oh. The RIAA just got a leg up. Sadly, it wasn’t from the neighborhood dog.
• Universal takes the step that we all knew was coming with the likes of HD-DVD: in-movie shopping. The whole “interactivity” push of HD-DVD in particular is one of the most useless pieces of studio distraction in all of the HD format features. I wish they’d knock it off and pay more attention to the types of content that are actually interesting. Then again, with my recent Blu-Ray frustrations, the HD-DVD format is looking less annoying with each day.
• 640 GB solid state drives? I want one. Or two. Or three. Or four. Or more.
• As indifferent as I am towards Apple these days, this surely makes me feel sympathy towards the company. The fact that they have to deal with these mouth-breathers is reason enough for sympathy.
• Could ABC really be reviving Rob Thomas’ series Cupid a decade later? If so, they’ve gotta air it after Pushing Daisies. That would be a cool time slot partnership.
• Is McG going to direct Terminator 4? You know, a couple years ago that news would have sent me screaming into the night in fear of the final piece of crap it would have been. But it turns out the guy actually has directing talent, as was displayed recently with We Are Marshall and the brand new TV series Chuck.
• Hmmm, a 100 GB version of the Blu-Ray disc may be in the near future. I may have a bit of a Blu-Ray rant in an upcoming posting, once I get a couple issues sorted out. I swear, these HD formats sure went out of their way to make their own industry a complete mess.
• This cursory article gives some insight into why IE tends to be such a messed up browser.
• Universal sure took their time following through on this, but they have finally announced season 2 of SeaQuest on DVD. While I consider season 2 to be the weakest season, at least there’s hope that they’ll make it to releasing the final third season eventually. That third season was something of an overhaul of the series, and was actually a lot better than it ever got credit for. Then again, Universal has a long and distinguished history of revamping shows and cancelling them that same year, every time.
• Here’s one of those pictures that’s amusing for its stupidity. But when you put it in the context in which it was used, it goes WAY beyond stupidity.
• The late Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. provides some amusing political insights in a new book compiling his journals.

• Happy 30th Birthday, Atari 2600! (I’m a life-long Atari nerd - yes, I’ve got the t-shirt and everything)
• PIXAR, the greatest thing to happen to Disney Studios since Walt himself - and the greatest movie production company currently in existence, has released the first trailer for WALL*E, their new film for next year. I’m such a PIXAR geek, I’m darn near as exited about WALL*E’s release as I am for the new Indiana Jones movie. This trailer is but an extended version of the earlier teaser trailer, but hey, new material is new material. This is actually a cool trailer. I say that because I’m actually not impressed by trailers to PIXAR’s movies very often. Their one weakness has always been Disney’s advertising department and their trailers, so I’m thrilled to see a marketing campaign for one of their films that I’m liking so far. BTW, how cool will it be having Ben Burtt doing the sound design for the movie? And the cool fact that there will actually be very little dialog in the film…
• RIP: Lois Maxwell (Miss Moneypenny)
• Proving that the “SNL Digital Short” segments are the best part of SNL these days, this amusing bit on a certain Iranian in NYC is pretty funny. Not my particular taste in music, of course, but neither was the classic Natalie Portman one.
• A fun appearance by Paris Hilton on Letterman. Dave’s in top form for this one…
• Speaking of top socialites, watching Britney Spears in the news lately is like watching a plane, both pilots struggling to regain control, headed for the ground.
• Here’s somebody who definitely speaks the truth about the iPhone, and the users it has. Personally, I’m one of those rare middle-ground folks. I think it has some cool aspects and some dumb aspects. It’s not the phone for me, so I really don’t care. But this guy is so right in this article about it all.
• An interesting article on the human body - in the world of relational, dimensional, historical data.
• So, Joost has left their previous invite-only status and gone public. I’ve played with Joost a handful of times over the last few months. It’s an interesting platform, with some good aspects and some bad. The content is a bit limited still, and the quality still leaves a good amount to be desired. But, the interface is very nice and the system has been quite responsive. Perhaps the quality will improve as the system is streamlined and expanded.
• The joke will be on all of us when Tom’s right…
• Betavoltaic, huh? I’ll try one once they get to a release candidate version.
• Check out what Amazon really recommends
• Or how about the freaky world of anomalous motion illusions?
• A $5,000 baby bond? Are you crazy, Hillary? (OK, don’t answer that) Why must those of us who have less than zero interest in ever having a kid pay for every one of them that the brilliant folks who can’t figure out the notion of self control or contraception drag into existence? Give me a break. I’m not even going to respond to Ohio’s Rep Stephanie Jones’ comment, “Every child born in the United States today owes $27,000 on the national debt, why not let them come get $5,000 to grow until their 18?”
• Whoops
• Talk about subtle advertising techniques.
• Oh, and I meant to include this insane story in a previous Ponderings post: Boy survives two hour flight inside a commercial airliner wing.
• Don’t forget the debut of Pushing Daisies on ABC this Wednesday.