Random Thoughts

Update: I added the "Return of the Jungle" web site to my links section. This site describes my parents' land and jungle reforestation business down in Costa Rica. Give it a gander!


I have some time and I thought I'd share some totally random things with you, gentle reader. Aren't you lucky?

Last night's episode of House was pretty good. Polite Dissent (see the links section) covers the medicine far better than I. I will say that I like the "Law & Order" approach to the personal, non-medical stuff. In the first few seasons of Law & Order, the personal stuff was kept to a bare minimum. In House, the doctors' personal lives are touched on but the medical drama is firmly front and center. In particular, I really like the way the show handles Dr. House's past in a very quiet way. For example, last night we learned that he had a past relationship that ended badly. This revelation was not overtly stated; there was no breast beating. Dr. House and his friend looked pensive when they discussed House's ex, Hugh Lauries did some remarkable, understated acting, and that was it. There was a little subplot regarding Omar Epps' character that was also very well done.

Speaking of comic books, Grant Morrison is doing some great stuff right now. His tale of cybernetic animals, We3, was extraordinary and heartbreaking (like all good stories involving lost pets should be). He is writing a Bollywood-style comic entitled Vinarama. And a super-hero project launches today, in which he presents a huge, 30-month-long tale in a series of self-contained stories. In the first seven issues (entitled Seven Soldiers), each story involves rather obscure characters in the DC comic cannon. Although each issue stands on its own, elements of a larger meta-plot will weave together over the course of the entire run (sort of like a season of one of your better television series, but where the main charactes change every episode). I am looking forward to reading it.

My wife and I are watching a Showtime series on DVD right now. Dead Like Me is the story of a young woman who is killed by flaming debris from an old Soviet space station and becomes a Grim Reaper in the afterlife. We highly recommend it.