How Did They Do That?

1. You have seen the new trailer for Peter Jackson's version of King Kong, right? Well, here's a link to the production diary. It's like watching the special features before the DVD comes out!

2. And Bryan Singer is doing something very similar for his Superman movie. Check it out here.

From page 3 of the Summer 2005 issue of the Rocky Mountain National Park's "High Country Headlines":

"Mountain Lions and Bears. Mountain lions and black bears are powerful and potentially dangerous. Some general guidelines for traveling in backcountry areas of Rocky Mountain which may contain these animals:

1) Travel in Groups and make noise as you hike. Keep your group, especially children, close together.
2) Do not approach a mountain lion or bear.
3) Stay calm when you see a mountain lion or bear.
4) Stop; back away slowly. Never turn your back and run.
5) Stand tall and look large. Raise your arms. Protect small children by picking them up.
6) If attacked by a mountain lion or bear, FIGHT BACK!"

I think I see a way to take the Ultimate Fighting sport to a whole new level!

I am posting via the Safari browser, which comes standard on MacOS X. I am not as thrilled with Safari as I am with Firefox. For one thing, Safari doesn't appear to have the extensions available on Firefox. I am rather spoiled by the fact that I can check the weather on Firefox with a click of an icon. The tabbed windows feature is quite cool too. And for some reason, I do not have the options I usually enjoy when posting to my blog in the Firefox browser. I cannot easily create a link to another page, for example. Although Safari is very fast and efficient, I think I will stick with Firefox.

I finished H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds yesterday. I admit that the new movie prompted me to pick up the story. I remember tackling it many many years ago (I think I was ten or eleven) and I wanted another shot at it. Although the prose can be clunky, I found it to be a fun and thought provoking read. Unlike the invaders in many monster movies (Independence Day is the most striking example), the Martians are not invulnerable. They rely upon their superior technology, the element of surprise, and the lack of coordination among their victims to gain the upper hand. They obtain the upper hand quickly and capitalize upon their advantages. In short, they are pretty smart. Mr. Wells doesn't make it easy on the humans in this story, and he takes the time to show us how different people react to these adverse circumstances. In short, a very entertaining way to spend an afternoon.

My wife and I saw Batman Begins the other day too. I thought the movie did justice to the comic. I think Christian Bale makes an excellent Batman/Bruce Wayne. I liked the "monster movie" approach to the fight scenes, wherein the audience doesn't get a good look at the monster (Batman) when he attacks. However, I hope that the next film doesn't indulge in that jerky, quick cut camera technique during fight scenes. If the Joker is the featured antagonist in the next film, then I strongly urge the powers that be to hire Hugh Laurie to play the part.

I picked up a copy of Freakonomics, by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, early this week and absorbed it in a matter of days. Mr. Levitt is an economist who uses statistical techniques to answer interesting questions about our society. Mr. Dubner is a writer who works to make Mr. Levitt's research comprehensible to people like me (read: slow of mind). It is an entertaining and thought-provoking read.

I will not go into detail about the conclusions Mr. Levitt draws from his research. It will come as no surprise that he works from the premise that human interaction can be explained by looking for the incentives and deterrents in any given behavoir. But from this premise flows some very startling conclusions, which will anger some people and intrigue others. Regardless of your reaction to his findings, you will find much to think about. And it is short. Highly recommended.

I wanted to clarify a few-er-errors in the yarn Mad Science is spinning over at Grinding Metal. My wife DID NOT pour a glass of 2003 Australian Sheraz on Mad "I just peed my pants" Science's head. It was an entire box of Franzetta wine. Then she beat him over the head with the empty box. Two people enter, one person leaves.

I picked up the first volume of Alan Moore's "Top 10" for the flight and I recommend it highly. It is a police procedural with a twist: everyone, from cops to homeless people, is either a super hero, a robot, an alien, or a giant monster. Mr. Moore takes standard super hero, fantasy and science fiction tropes and skews them, so that the stories seem fresher than the sum of their parts. Pick it up for a good, quick read.

Now to shoot me a bear for dinner...

Tough Lunch

I am on a diet. By that I mean that I am experiencing a lifestyle change. By that I mean that I am following a weight watchers regimen.

My lunch plans fell through so I was left to my own devices today. Under normal circumstances, this is not a reason to panic. But these are not normal circumstances: I am undergoing a lifestyle change, dammit! My normal haunts are not easy on the calories and the resounding lack of company made a car drive to a diet-friendly restaraunt unattractive. Where to go? What to do? I decided to wing it.

I should note here that my extra points reset today and that I have 35 points to play with. I could go to many of my usual places and eat what I used to eat with little fear of falling off the wagon...if I was willing to use most, if not all, of my points at once. I wasn't willing to do that. I want to treat myself this weekend but I want to do it with something good, not fast-food lunch fare.

Anyway, I wracked my brain for ideas and came up with a greek restaraunt that serves a decent salad. If I had the dressing on the side and took it easy on the feta, I could get away with it. Alas, when I got there (a few blocks from the office) I discovered that there was a line to the counter that nearly stratched out the door. It is a popular place for lunch and my indecision cost me a choice spot in that line.

I did not despair. I remembered that there is a Thai restaraunt not far from where I stood. I figured I could get something there.

It was not as easy as it sounds. The menu had lots of good stuff on it, but nearly all of it involved noodles, rice and/or coconut milk-based curry. I was walking through a minefield here; a misstep could cost me precious points. But I had already sat down at a table, so I endeavored to make the best of it.

I chose a vermicelli dish with chicken and vegetables. I picked through the noodels for the other stuff until I was left with a bowl of pristine, lonely noodles. I drank a couple of tall glasses of water and I was done. I think the waiter was a little disappointed that I did not eat everything (I admit, that I was too) but he accepted payment readily enough.

I came away from the experience full enough to tide me over 'till an afternnon snack. I also felt some satisfaction for overcoming what could have been a bad lifestyle change experience. But lunch shouldn't be a source of anxiety.

Note to self: take lunch to work for a while until I can work the kinks out of the system.

Wooster

My wife and I watched a few episodes from the 4th season of Jeeves and Wooster this evening. Our heros are enjoying a prolonged stay in New York, where many Englishmen and Canadians attempt to talk like Americans, and Yankees at that. If I have any readers who watch House but have never seen Hugh Laurie in high comedic form, I urge you to check this series out!

Making Tea

Civilized people should know how to do this.

New Link

In order to distract my readership from the fact that I haven't posted anything original in a while, I've added yet another new link: Something Old, Something New. It is a blog about popular culture and classical music, from Haydn to the Animaniacs. If I were a smart man, I'd write a blog like it.

Enjoy!

PS. For those of you out there who loved the Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain, you'll do well to read the archive posts from June/July, 2004. Very insightful commentary awaits you there.

No Doctor in the House

No House review today. The season is over, people.

However, I did add a new link. "Zombie Eat Brains" is a blog written by - you guessed it - a zombie. Enjoy! And aim for the head.