Bendering Time!

Battlestar and related thoughts

2009-03-20T20:16:00.001-07:00

So I just finished watching the Battlestar Galactica finale. I'll try not to spoil anything, but proceed under your own discretion.

Overall, I liked it. There were a lot of questions that were never answered. What is Starbuck? What is God or gods? What is really Earth?

But, this leads to a bigger point. I'm ok with unanswered questions. In my opinion the best shows ask more questions than they answer. That's why season 1 of Lost was unbelievably good. There were mysteries left and right, but they nevertheless formed a coherent narrative. I think Battlestar has taken this concept to fulfillment. They have given us a compelling narrative, but left us not knowing certain details. That is a good thing. That's why books are so powerful. They make us imagine and fill in the details according to our own experiences and preconceptions. There are very few television shows that follow this formula. BSG and Lost, to name two, give us a rough framework of a story, but leave it to our imagination to fill in the details. The creators realize that the human imagination is the real power behind storytelling, and to tell a compelling story is to leave out as much as you tell. Its like jazz music; the pauses can be as fulfilling as the improv.

Its so unfortunate that so many people are unsatisfied with a story unless it tells them every detail in precise terms. The gaps are where humanity lies. So say we all.

Jon Stewart

2009-03-12T21:28:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while the Daily Show nails it. Stewart pulled no punches tonight with Jim Cramer. This is why, no matter how much they claim TDS is fake news, it still feels like its the only "news" outlet that is on our side. Maybe the fact that they aren't expected to deliver the "real" news allows them to deliver the REAL news.

Why I don't like the 2010 Mustang

2009-03-12T19:59:00.000-07:00

For full disclosure, yes I am highly biased as I own a 2008 Mustang GT.

That being said, I am not happy with the direction the new Mustang is taking. I LOVE the 5th generation style. They managed to capture the style of the late 60's and 70's fastback design with a modern feel. The way the designed it, it could fit in equally well in 2009 as it would have in 1973. To me, the Mustang "face" is a powerful image. By that I mean the feel of the nose of the car, with the headlights and grill staring you down. The 80's and 90's versions lost that completely. You might as well be staring down a Taurus. The 2005 redesign brought back that iconic feeling.

The 2010 model is now departing again from that. They are taking the modern cues of the 5th Generation, but it feels as if they are abandoning the classic feeling of the original cars. It does still have a "sporty" feel, but the "face" is gone. Other than the pony emblem on the front, you would see no connection to the classic design. The ass too feels just feels wrong.

Oh well, I couldn't be happier with my baby. I hope in 15 years I still have her, and she represents a classic era when Mustangs again were on top.

U2

2009-03-11T21:43:00.000-07:00

U2 put on an "intimate" concert tonight at the Somerville Theatre. Intimate in this context means that I don't have a snowball's chance in hell of going. But, I'm still psyched that I live in a town where U2 can put on a surprise concert. They were literally a 10 minutes walk from me. It makes me appreciate not living in Texas so much more. The best I could hope for in Lubbock was that REO Speedwagon's bus would break down, and I suppose I would go to their concert, but mostly as a favor to them so they think they are still relevant. I mean come on, The Edge probably drove by my house! Larry Mullen most likely got some popcorn from the same theater employee as me. I can smell Bono's man musk from my bedroom. Adam Clayton's shit is probably floating through the same sewer pipe as mine! U2, fuck yeah!

mac mini!

2009-03-08T13:20:00.000-07:00

Last week I was happily surprised to see a silent launch of upgraded apple products. So now I have a new Mac Mini which serves as my home computer/boxee server. It's hooked up to my 42 inch Samsung LCD with a wireless keyboard and mouse. I'm still setting it up, but so far I am super happy with it!

Garfunkel and Oates

2009-02-10T20:05:00.000-08:00

and Kate Micucci by herself in what may be, nay, is the cutest thing ever:

Jamieson and Uncle Bob

2009-01-31T15:02:00.001-08:00

New Updates

2009-01-29T19:23:00.000-08:00

but not tonight...

New posts with pictures from my journey through Plano, my super-cute nephew, and books I've recently read are coming soon.

Tonight, I just wanted to say that as I was watching The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, a movie that I must have first seen when I was 9 or 10, I just realized it stars a young Sarah Polley, the girl from Go. Man, I had no idea that was the same person.

I just blacked out for 8 years. What the hell happened???

2009-01-20T19:30:00.000-08:00

So you're telling me that the complete subversion of constitutional powers, unabashed torture, illegal spying on Americans, derision of science (pesky facts get in the way of agendas), theocratic overthrow of the government, cronyism, mismanagement of nearly every domestic disaster, economic collapse, and undeniable warcrimes of the last 8 years have all been just a really bad nightmare? Whew! That was a scary dream!

So who is this new dude? And, why does he talk intelligently? So seriously, he gets no free passes, but I like to be hopeful that maybe this new administration can realize that freedom and security are not mutually exclusive, religion has its place (and that place is not in the government), science and reason are not bad words and are ok to use when making decisions, Americans are not better than the rest of the world because we happened to accidentally be born here instead of there, and its not, absolutely not ok, to spend 8 years funneling money to your friends and allies while systematically dismantling the economic foundations of society.

This guy has a lot to live up to. But in the end, its his actions that will either make him a good president or a bad president (*cough W. *cough). I hope he can live up to the following phrases that stood out to me from his inauguration:

"We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost." (Science is the devil's tool!)

"These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land..." (imagine that, paying attention to data and statistics instead of "asking God.")

"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers" (Holy crap, a nod to the atheists. Even if he doesn't agree with us, at least he acknowledges we exist and are citizens too).

"To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, ... Know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy." (Former leaders of the US that were seated feet away from him should heed this as well. *cough Cheney *cough).

"Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age." (Wow, you mean we our partly responsible for our own position now?)

"We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories" (Eh, it would probably be easier to just invade Iran and take all their oil and nuculer (sic.) stuff)

So, from what I know, after inauguration the President takes 6 weeks of vacation to clear brush or mow their lawn or whatever, but then its time to do some hard work!

It's a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake

2009-01-10T20:40:00.000-08:00

This is crude, immature, and simply disgusting. Oh, and also, my favorite video of 2008.

Running down a dream

2008-12-30T19:41:00.000-08:00

One of the movie channels (sundance?) was playing this post's eponymous documentary of Tom Petty last night. As an ebayer might say

"WOULD WATCH AGAIN!!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! A+++++++++++!!!!"

amazon link

John Hodgman on TED!

2008-12-27T15:23:00.000-08:00

Aimee Mann's Christmas Carol part 1

2008-12-24T20:42:00.001-08:00

"You're kinda becoming a whore!"

Be sure to watch parts 2-4!

Bungy Jumping

2008-12-19T18:54:00.000-08:00

New Zealand. The Land of the Kiwis, The Stage of Middle Earth, The Home of the Whopper. Oh, and the founders of the original bungy jump. Here is a video From 2001 when I was a wee younger and tad svelter. The Nevis Bungy, a 134 meter, 8 second free fall. The tallest in the world, if you don't count South Africa, the Northern Hemishphere, or any jumps built in the last 8 years.

My Nephew

2008-12-18T21:05:00.000-08:00

I'd like to welcome my nephew, Jamieson, to the world. I have to say that he is pretty damn cute (he is related to me, after all!). I've decided to model my uncling skills after Uncle John. Now, where did I put that fart machine?

Fallout 3

2008-12-03T20:11:00.000-08:00

This game is why I haven't posted here in a while. I can't get enough. Tonight I went from loving it, to being IN love with it. There is a side quest where you explore a building which used to be owned by a company called Dunwich. The building is dark, creepy, and full of ghouls. Dunwich is a drilling company. They make the Dunwich Borer. If you've read H.P. Lovecraft, you'll get the reference. It made me happy.

The Abyss

2008-11-15T20:06:00.000-08:00

There are a myriad of movies that were absolutely ruined by the short-sighted pocketbooks of Hollywood studios. The Abyss is one of them. An absolutely brilliant film when you see its true form, it was completely watered down by know-nothings. Along with the likes of Blade Runner and Brazil, it lost its heart because some near-sighted idiot decided America was to naive to understand the depth and complexity of human emotion that flows from its depths. Do yourself a favor and watch the real cuts of these movies. I throw out an achievement award to The Abyss in particular, but to movies in general who have been ruined by compromise.

Updates, now with pics!

2008-11-08T20:30:00.000-08:00

1. Go Texas Tech!

2. If you have a 60 year old oscilloscope, I would recommend not trying to fix it. The electrical burn on my thumb where the electricity entered me and the electrical burn on my ring finger where it left can attest to that. Luckily the circuit was completed over a short distance. I don't want to think about if my ring finger hadn't been grounded and my other hand had been. It gave me a pretty bad shock, and I don't know what would have happened if it had gone through my heart!

3. New tattoo (well, a couple of months old, but new to the internet). Thats my dissertation in there.

4. Marley ain't afraid of no noose (Yes, that is the aforementioned killer oscilloscope in the background).

5. The good friar, Slash, Robin of Locksley, and the pirate.

6. AAAAAARRRRRRRRGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! And, furthermore: GAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

"This is your victory"

2008-11-05T19:59:00.000-08:00

thank you

2008-11-04T21:14:00.000-08:00

thank you so much.

Through the years

2008-10-15T20:04:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, I am immortal. I thought you might like to see my senior pictures throughout the years.

1954

1958

1968

1976

1978

1980

1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1998

2000

Buy Goo!

2008-10-14T19:53:00.000-07:00

The real reason I am voting for Obama

2008-10-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

I'm just a neighborhood supporter. When Obama was at Harvard he lived 1200 feet from where I live now. I'm not exaggerating.

View Larger Map

Palin: Undeniable Master of Foreign Relations

2008-09-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

Tell me again one reason why this woman should be the second most powerful person in the world. Explain that to me. I am obviously an idiot because I am at unable to see the brilliance and readiness to lead of this magnificent woman.

Things that suck

2008-09-24T00:18:00.000-07:00

Getting woken up at 3 in the morning to the most god-awfully loud fire alarm ever and having to go stand outside in the 47 degree night air with the rest of the groggy-eyed tenants for 15 minutes.

Note to self: Purchase new unsoiled bedsheets.