Saturday, May 30, 2009
Apparently British people know exactly "what she wants"
Ok, so I've discovered this British medical drama/comedy called Green Wing. It's very strange but also hilarious and I am thoroughly enjoying it. The reason I bring it up is this: In the third episode, one of the characters finds out that his ex-girlfriend is getting married and having a baby. His friend then proceeds to follow him around singing "All that she wants." So that's at least one more vote for Baby Time.
Okay!
Ahh, just finished the Lost finale, and I have to say that you all are a lot more insightful than I am... I especially like Joseph's noting of the Jacob/Esau thing, I'd never have thought about that. I too have jumped on the Dorm Life bandwagon, it's excellent.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Dorm Life
I too have jumped on the Dorm Life bandwagon. Part of the awesomeness is the nostalgia, but it is also really well done. The thing that freaks me out about it is...the show is primarily made by current UCLA undergrads. I was looking on facebook last night and 'Brit' is currently a Senior here. And now that I think about it I have this weird feeling that I saw her at the gym a few weeks ago...how strange. Great show though!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Awesomeness
Ok Rissa you are obviously very clever. Having said that I’m glad I wasn’t with you because I quite enjoyed my ignorant bliss. I have so many things to say I’m going to go point by point instead of trying to make this flow smoothly.
1) Black / White: Robin and Rissa nice catch on the white shirt black shirt thing. This is obviously a recurring theme. Remember the Desmond dream where Locke had one black eye and one White, the black and white marbles in the Adam and Eve cave (still wonder who they are) and several other things I can’t remember now. In a kind of yin and yang way these two fore fathers together make up some aspect of the island. They can not destroy each other because they are tied together as mutual but opposite beings. Those who know their bible stories will remember that Esau and Jacob were twin sons of Isaac. During Rebecca’s pregnancy she would have pains because Jacob would try to get out of the womb when she passed a Holy Jewish site and Esau would try to get out when she passed a place of idolatry.
2) I find it interesting that Jacob doesn’t try to say anything to save himself. I also wonder if he is not dead. Isn’t the bandaged women he visits the one carrying the box around? If so then she must have been burned on the Island and got off so his going to see her would indicate he lives. Or was it someone else in the hospital? Also I find it interesting that when Jacob visits the people in the past there is a theme of them making promises they will not keep (Sawyer finishes the letter, Kate keeps stealing, etc).
3) I wonder who the “they” are when Jacob says they are coming. Could it be the people outside with the box? Esau seems scared of them.
4) I think its cool they brought the foot statue back. I really was curious about it at the time. I hope they explain more next season.
5) There seems to be an Egyptian theme in the show. The temple had Egyptian hieroglyphs, the dharma counter in the hatch had hieroglyphs, Jacob was making an Egyptian style tapestry. Do you think there is a reason for this or are they just using Egyptian because it seems mysterious and old? Jacob in the bible moved his family to Egypt. Are we to believe this Jacob is somehow linked to the biblical one? Doesn’t sound like LOST.
6) People seem to be operating under the assumption that the smoke monster was taking Ben’s daughters form. Couldn’t it also be that Esau took her form after the smoke monster retreated? If that were the case it would help keep the smoke monster more neutral in the whole arbiter theory.
7) Nick the white out doesn’t have to indicate the nuke going off. Remember there was a white out and a sound associated with the third and final ‘incident’. That could have just been the discharge of the energy. That could be one way to write the nuke not going off.
8) I love how they brought Rose and Bernard in as if just to answer everyone’s question. And the fact that they were hiding is very funny. The LOST writers seem to frequently give a character the voice of the audience (usually Hurley but in this episode they had Miles ask the whole “how do you know the nuke isn’t the incident” question).
9) Awesome. I was so excited through that whole episode. I was like Wwwwwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaatttttttttttttttttttthhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeefffffffuuuuuuuucccccccckkkkkkk!!!!!!!! for 2 hours. I am so excited for next season. I think they have set themselves up for some very interesting episodes with a new general plot that ties back into everything we have seen in the past when we were focusing on “Who are the dharma people, who are the others, how are they going to get off the island, how are they going to get back to island, etc”
1) Black / White: Robin and Rissa nice catch on the white shirt black shirt thing. This is obviously a recurring theme. Remember the Desmond dream where Locke had one black eye and one White, the black and white marbles in the Adam and Eve cave (still wonder who they are) and several other things I can’t remember now. In a kind of yin and yang way these two fore fathers together make up some aspect of the island. They can not destroy each other because they are tied together as mutual but opposite beings. Those who know their bible stories will remember that Esau and Jacob were twin sons of Isaac. During Rebecca’s pregnancy she would have pains because Jacob would try to get out of the womb when she passed a Holy Jewish site and Esau would try to get out when she passed a place of idolatry.
2) I find it interesting that Jacob doesn’t try to say anything to save himself. I also wonder if he is not dead. Isn’t the bandaged women he visits the one carrying the box around? If so then she must have been burned on the Island and got off so his going to see her would indicate he lives. Or was it someone else in the hospital? Also I find it interesting that when Jacob visits the people in the past there is a theme of them making promises they will not keep (Sawyer finishes the letter, Kate keeps stealing, etc).
3) I wonder who the “they” are when Jacob says they are coming. Could it be the people outside with the box? Esau seems scared of them.
4) I think its cool they brought the foot statue back. I really was curious about it at the time. I hope they explain more next season.
5) There seems to be an Egyptian theme in the show. The temple had Egyptian hieroglyphs, the dharma counter in the hatch had hieroglyphs, Jacob was making an Egyptian style tapestry. Do you think there is a reason for this or are they just using Egyptian because it seems mysterious and old? Jacob in the bible moved his family to Egypt. Are we to believe this Jacob is somehow linked to the biblical one? Doesn’t sound like LOST.
6) People seem to be operating under the assumption that the smoke monster was taking Ben’s daughters form. Couldn’t it also be that Esau took her form after the smoke monster retreated? If that were the case it would help keep the smoke monster more neutral in the whole arbiter theory.
7) Nick the white out doesn’t have to indicate the nuke going off. Remember there was a white out and a sound associated with the third and final ‘incident’. That could have just been the discharge of the energy. That could be one way to write the nuke not going off.
8) I love how they brought Rose and Bernard in as if just to answer everyone’s question. And the fact that they were hiding is very funny. The LOST writers seem to frequently give a character the voice of the audience (usually Hurley but in this episode they had Miles ask the whole “how do you know the nuke isn’t the incident” question).
9) Awesome. I was so excited through that whole episode. I was like Wwwwwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaatttttttttttttttttttthhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeefffffffuuuuuuuucccccccckkkkkkk!!!!!!!! for 2 hours. I am so excited for next season. I think they have set themselves up for some very interesting episodes with a new general plot that ties back into everything we have seen in the past when we were focusing on “Who are the dharma people, who are the others, how are they going to get off the island, how are they going to get back to island, etc”
Hubble
Hey. This is a little of topic but I wrote an email about Hubble to some family and I thought I'd share here:
The space shuttle Atlantis is in orbit right now working on Hubble. Thought I'd share some interesting Hubble related info. Atlantis captured Hubble with a 55 foot robotic arm and pulled it into the cargo hold. Hubble is the size of a school bus by the way. While approaching Hubble to dock Atlantis was having issues communicating with the satellite to tell it how to orient itself because Hubble couldn't handle the data bandwidth they were sending. They resolved the issue by communicating with another NASA satellite which then communicated with Hubble. There was a slight delay in the ship-to-ship conversations after that. On the first space walk they successfully replaced an old computer and the camera after wrestling for an hour with a stuck bolt (imagine if they had broken it). The new camera is 30 times more powerful than the last and both are the size of a grand piano. The first camera installed on Hubble was only ~1 megapixel (so I read). The second one was less megapizels than digital cameras you can buy on amazon. Hubble achieves its incredible resolution by stitching together dozens of photos. In addition to installing some new electronics the astronauts installed a docking ring to the body of the satellite that a boster vehicle will someday use to deorbit Hubble into the Pacific (kind of a sad idea). This entire process is being filmed with HD cameras and it is supposed to be turned into an IMAX movie. This mission is the 6th to last shuttle mission (I think that's right). The final mission will be completed at the end of 2009 although Obama has indicated he will approve more funding to keep the program alive into 2010 if neccesary to complete the next 5 missions. After that NASA will pay $51 million dollars for each seat on a Soyuz rocket. The shuttle replacement with be Orion on top of an Ares 1 rocket (anyone want to guess whose engines are on Ares? and the Space Shuttle for that matter). Orion is a capsule like Apollo or Gemini and will not have the capabilties like the Space Shuttle to perform tasks like servicing satellites. The first manned test flight of Orion is scheduled for Sept, 2014. You can bet everything you've got it will be far behind schedule.
Here is a site with a picture of the Shuttle next to Hubble silhouetted in front of the sun:
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090516.html
The space shuttle Atlantis is in orbit right now working on Hubble. Thought I'd share some interesting Hubble related info. Atlantis captured Hubble with a 55 foot robotic arm and pulled it into the cargo hold. Hubble is the size of a school bus by the way. While approaching Hubble to dock Atlantis was having issues communicating with the satellite to tell it how to orient itself because Hubble couldn't handle the data bandwidth they were sending. They resolved the issue by communicating with another NASA satellite which then communicated with Hubble. There was a slight delay in the ship-to-ship conversations after that. On the first space walk they successfully replaced an old computer and the camera after wrestling for an hour with a stuck bolt (imagine if they had broken it). The new camera is 30 times more powerful than the last and both are the size of a grand piano. The first camera installed on Hubble was only ~1 megapixel (so I read). The second one was less megapizels than digital cameras you can buy on amazon. Hubble achieves its incredible resolution by stitching together dozens of photos. In addition to installing some new electronics the astronauts installed a docking ring to the body of the satellite that a boster vehicle will someday use to deorbit Hubble into the Pacific (kind of a sad idea). This entire process is being filmed with HD cameras and it is supposed to be turned into an IMAX movie. This mission is the 6th to last shuttle mission (I think that's right). The final mission will be completed at the end of 2009 although Obama has indicated he will approve more funding to keep the program alive into 2010 if neccesary to complete the next 5 missions. After that NASA will pay $51 million dollars for each seat on a Soyuz rocket. The shuttle replacement with be Orion on top of an Ares 1 rocket (anyone want to guess whose engines are on Ares? and the Space Shuttle for that matter). Orion is a capsule like Apollo or Gemini and will not have the capabilties like the Space Shuttle to perform tasks like servicing satellites. The first manned test flight of Orion is scheduled for Sept, 2014. You can bet everything you've got it will be far behind schedule.
Here is a site with a picture of the Shuttle next to Hubble silhouetted in front of the sun:
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090516.html
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Fulfilling my Nerd Quota:
Regarding Lost:
1. I agree with the Smoky/Esau/BSD theory. Just throwing that out there.
2. Are we actually sure that the bomb went off? Obviously the first inclination is that a whiteout=thermonuclear explosion (and if it didn't, they sure wrote themselves into a hole). I'm just questioning any assumptions I have at this point.
Regarding Star Trek:
1. ZOMG.
2. First, I love how the guy who jumped out with Kirk and Sulu was wearing a red spacesuit. The second he got in the shuttle I was like..."Ha, Ensign Rickey."
3. Second, I love how Sulu "fenced", which is totally a reference to "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naked_Time". I'm a nerd. I pick these things out. Same thing with the fact that Kirk has a thing for green-skinned girls.
The moral of the story is that I'm a big giant dork. And apparently, Damon Lindelof is writing the sequel for Star Trek. Hoozah!
1. I agree with the Smoky/Esau/BSD theory. Just throwing that out there.
2. Are we actually sure that the bomb went off? Obviously the first inclination is that a whiteout=thermonuclear explosion (and if it didn't, they sure wrote themselves into a hole). I'm just questioning any assumptions I have at this point.
Regarding Star Trek:
1. ZOMG.
2. First, I love how the guy who jumped out with Kirk and Sulu was wearing a red spacesuit. The second he got in the shuttle I was like..."Ha, Ensign Rickey."
3. Second, I love how Sulu "fenced", which is totally a reference to "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naked_Time". I'm a nerd. I pick these things out. Same thing with the fact that Kirk has a thing for green-skinned girls.
The moral of the story is that I'm a big giant dork. And apparently, Damon Lindelof is writing the sequel for Star Trek. Hoozah!
BSD
BSD (Black Shirt Dude) is Rissa's abbreviation for the guy threatening to kill Jacob at the beginning of the episode. I'm a fan so I'll be adopting that name for the rest of my post. Clearly also he's the one who's been masquerading around as Locke. (Also Rissa figured that out like halfway through the episode. Rissa you are my hero).
Anyway, Discussion topic number 1:
I'm now operating under the assumption that BSD is actually the smoke monster.
Evidence For: 1) The smoke monster is the only thing we've seen that can adopt the forms of other people.
2) It's been interested in Locke from the very first season, and has definitely had major influences on the actions of both Locke and Ben. In fact, I'm now pretty sure BSD was posing as Christian, especially since the mercenaries with Locke's body said someone else had been using Jacob's cabin. And Christian has definietly been influincing Locke's actions as of late.
3) It's a big cloud of black smoke, and they were really careful to juxtapose BSD with jacob wearing white, both at the beginning of the episode and at the end where Jacob is still wearing white and "Locke" is wearing black.
Evidence Against:
So the only flaw I've spotted in my theory is that "Locke" seemed surprised when Ben told him the smoke monster made him promise not to fuck with Locke. If BSD and the smoke monster were the same entity then he would already know that. But maybe he was just pretending to be surprised.
Discussion Topic number 2:
I think it was Rissa that mentioned this initially, but I think it's a cool idea so I'm gonna run with it. This dark guy/light guy juxtaposition combined with the fact that one of them wants to kill the other definitely calls to mind a God/Satan type relationship. One cannot exist without the other kind of thing. For a while now I've thought that the island was some sort of sentient being and that the smoke monster was its physical manifestation. This last episode has made me reconsider. I think clearly Jacob and BSD are entities (I'm not going to call them people because clearly they have magic powers or something) that are somehow connected to the island, but it's not clear exactly what this connection is. Maybe they are both manifestations of the island in a kind of split personality, angel/demon on opposite shoulders kind of way, but somehow I don't think so.
As you might have noticed, I am waaaaay more interested in the BSD/Jacob story line than I am in the "lets change the future" story line. I love Miles even more because he finally brought up the "aren't you worried the bomb is what causes the accident?" question. But still quite excited for next season.
Anyway, Discussion topic number 1:
I'm now operating under the assumption that BSD is actually the smoke monster.
Evidence For: 1) The smoke monster is the only thing we've seen that can adopt the forms of other people.
2) It's been interested in Locke from the very first season, and has definitely had major influences on the actions of both Locke and Ben. In fact, I'm now pretty sure BSD was posing as Christian, especially since the mercenaries with Locke's body said someone else had been using Jacob's cabin. And Christian has definietly been influincing Locke's actions as of late.
3) It's a big cloud of black smoke, and they were really careful to juxtapose BSD with jacob wearing white, both at the beginning of the episode and at the end where Jacob is still wearing white and "Locke" is wearing black.
Evidence Against:
So the only flaw I've spotted in my theory is that "Locke" seemed surprised when Ben told him the smoke monster made him promise not to fuck with Locke. If BSD and the smoke monster were the same entity then he would already know that. But maybe he was just pretending to be surprised.
Discussion Topic number 2:
I think it was Rissa that mentioned this initially, but I think it's a cool idea so I'm gonna run with it. This dark guy/light guy juxtaposition combined with the fact that one of them wants to kill the other definitely calls to mind a God/Satan type relationship. One cannot exist without the other kind of thing. For a while now I've thought that the island was some sort of sentient being and that the smoke monster was its physical manifestation. This last episode has made me reconsider. I think clearly Jacob and BSD are entities (I'm not going to call them people because clearly they have magic powers or something) that are somehow connected to the island, but it's not clear exactly what this connection is. Maybe they are both manifestations of the island in a kind of split personality, angel/demon on opposite shoulders kind of way, but somehow I don't think so.
As you might have noticed, I am waaaaay more interested in the BSD/Jacob story line than I am in the "lets change the future" story line. I love Miles even more because he finally brought up the "aren't you worried the bomb is what causes the accident?" question. But still quite excited for next season.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Credit Where Credit is Due
BTW...Rissa and Robin totally called the John Locke being in the Box thing before it happened. They told me to post it beacause it'd be bragging if they did. So good work guys.
On a related note...WTF show. WTF.
On a related note...WTF show. WTF.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
On a random note...
To all you Scrubs lovers out there...I went to brunch on Sunday at this awesome place in Hollywood called The Griddle (Robin has been there), and I sat down next to Donald Faison (Turk). Very random! From the way he was talking to the waiter it sounds like he plays a lot of old school nintendo...like any awesome person should. Maybe he plays Burgertime?
Monday, May 11, 2009
Don't run, we are your friends!
I'm going to have to go ahead and agree with Joseph here. There's not a lot we can learn from sending people to Mars that we can't learn from observations from orbit or from the rovers. Mars is actually a pretty boring planet in the grand scheme of things, and there's plenty of more interesting rocks flying around in space. I actually went to a talk a few weeks ago about some of the larger rocks in the Kuiper belt (Pluto and a bunch of the other minor planets). Turns out we've actually learned a lot about how orbits (and subsequently solar systems) form. In summary: the time, money, and manpower we're putting into trying to put someone on Mars is way out of proportion with what we'll get out of it, and those resources would be better spent developing new instruments for observing other things in the universe. (Also, the idea terraforming Mars doesn't really make any sense, so this whole "backup Earth" thing isn't gonna happen either)
Oh, and bonus points if you remember where my post's title comes from.
Oh, and bonus points if you remember where my post's title comes from.
Space the Final Frontier (in Picard voice)...
Nick,
The technology exists for the most part. It is more an issue of putting the technology together into a design. The Ares rocket will be the mode of delivery to destinations like Mars. If it runs on schedule (these things seldom do) it will launch humans into space for the first time in 2014. It will be powered by Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne J-2X engines. The spacecraft the humans will physically fly in will be the Orion Capsule. It will have its first manned flight with the Ares rocket in 2014. A possible lunar landing is projected for 2019 and a first Mars visit has been hinted at for 2037. If funding was unlimited and schedule was a priority how fast could be get to Mars? Well a totally uneducated guess is before 2025. But we are just going to have to wait. I personally don't think sending humans to Mars is going to do much for science or the human race. Many projects would be of more scientific merit. It's like the ISS... sure its cool there are humans in space 24/7/365 but it is the equivalent of a high school science project in my book next to what others programs do for science and at 1/100th the price.
The technology exists for the most part. It is more an issue of putting the technology together into a design. The Ares rocket will be the mode of delivery to destinations like Mars. If it runs on schedule (these things seldom do) it will launch humans into space for the first time in 2014. It will be powered by Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne J-2X engines. The spacecraft the humans will physically fly in will be the Orion Capsule. It will have its first manned flight with the Ares rocket in 2014. A possible lunar landing is projected for 2019 and a first Mars visit has been hinted at for 2037. If funding was unlimited and schedule was a priority how fast could be get to Mars? Well a totally uneducated guess is before 2025. But we are just going to have to wait. I personally don't think sending humans to Mars is going to do much for science or the human race. Many projects would be of more scientific merit. It's like the ISS... sure its cool there are humans in space 24/7/365 but it is the equivalent of a high school science project in my book next to what others programs do for science and at 1/100th the price.
One...more...day....
1. I havn't seen Star Trek yet. I'm going on Friday. I'm excited. My mom saw it and she totally dorked out--which makes me happy. Its good to know I got it from somewhere.
2. I haven't watched Dorm life yet. But I will...
3. I will be drunk pretty much from 1 PM tomorrow until Friday. So, warning in advance if you get an unintelligible voicemail from me.
4. (The reason I got on here) A question for the more physics-inclined among us:
I was watching the news about how they're sending the shuttle up to fix Hubble and how they have the other shuttle on the pad b/c they think everything's going to go to shit, and it got me to thinking about space (Star Trek, no doubt, will not help this problem--as I would TOTALLY have gone to Starfleet Academy over Law School and rocked my ass some Kobayashi Maru)
Anyways...science people...assuming that the lawyers and politicians didn't fuck it up (as we so often do) and there was a sudden and exponential jump in NASA funding...when is about the soonest we could get somebody to Mars? Is it a technological issue? I'm aware that there's a time-window problem because it would take so long to get there, but I figured there was more to it than that. Anybody?
(Joe...if this somehow violates your security clearance, please feel free to respond in metaphor form.)
BTW...after writing this, I really want to go shoot off an Estes. I can't believe my Dad let me build those things.
2. I haven't watched Dorm life yet. But I will...
3. I will be drunk pretty much from 1 PM tomorrow until Friday. So, warning in advance if you get an unintelligible voicemail from me.
4. (The reason I got on here) A question for the more physics-inclined among us:
I was watching the news about how they're sending the shuttle up to fix Hubble and how they have the other shuttle on the pad b/c they think everything's going to go to shit, and it got me to thinking about space (Star Trek, no doubt, will not help this problem--as I would TOTALLY have gone to Starfleet Academy over Law School and rocked my ass some Kobayashi Maru)
Anyways...science people...assuming that the lawyers and politicians didn't fuck it up (as we so often do) and there was a sudden and exponential jump in NASA funding...when is about the soonest we could get somebody to Mars? Is it a technological issue? I'm aware that there's a time-window problem because it would take so long to get there, but I figured there was more to it than that. Anybody?
(Joe...if this somehow violates your security clearance, please feel free to respond in metaphor form.)
BTW...after writing this, I really want to go shoot off an Estes. I can't believe my Dad let me build those things.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
As my customary farewell would seem oddly self serving, I will simply say... good luck.
I agree wholeheartedly with Alan. Star Trek == Awesome
I really enjoyed Eric Bana as crazed Romulan terrorist dude, even if the black hole stuff made absolutely no sense. I did like that they managed to create an original plot without angering the trekkies with the whole "alternate timeline" routine, but that they still made lots of references to the original series (Pike in a wheelchair, "Spaaaaaaaak", some of Scotty's quotes, the way Kirk sat in the captain chair, etc.). I did like Kirk's original solution to the Kobayashi Maru a little better than the new one, (for those of you who don't know: In the original series, Kirk reprograms the scenario so that all the Klingons are afraid of him).
Let's see, what else? Mr. Sulu's fold up sword, amazing and I want one. Also, along the lines of Alan's #4: I like that Hoth exists in the Star Trek world also. There's a scene that looks a little bit too much like the scene from Empire Strikes Back when they rescue Han and Luke. The camera even looks like it's from the point of view of a snowspeeder. I half expected Kirk to yell "Nice of you guys to stop by!" Also the Wampa cave.
I do have one question: If you were a giant ice monster, and you had a giant snow lion in your mouth, why would you throw away guaranteed dinner to chase after a much smaller human? I have one hypothesis: The ice monster wanted to go back to his ice monster friends and tell them "Hey guys, guess what? I ate Jim Kirk! That's right. James Tiberius Kirk. IIIIII ate him. Suck it, bitches." But apparently it wasn't worth messing around with old Spok weilding torches. Other than that I got nothing.
On a completely different subject: Joe, thanks for introducing me to Dorm Life. That show is wonderful. I watched all of them over about 2 days and now I'm sad that there's no more. Definitely makes me miss some Liggett 3 action. And I think Kappa Gopher Shane is a wonderful name for a faternity.
I really enjoyed Eric Bana as crazed Romulan terrorist dude, even if the black hole stuff made absolutely no sense. I did like that they managed to create an original plot without angering the trekkies with the whole "alternate timeline" routine, but that they still made lots of references to the original series (Pike in a wheelchair, "Spaaaaaaaak", some of Scotty's quotes, the way Kirk sat in the captain chair, etc.). I did like Kirk's original solution to the Kobayashi Maru a little better than the new one, (for those of you who don't know: In the original series, Kirk reprograms the scenario so that all the Klingons are afraid of him).
Let's see, what else? Mr. Sulu's fold up sword, amazing and I want one. Also, along the lines of Alan's #4: I like that Hoth exists in the Star Trek world also. There's a scene that looks a little bit too much like the scene from Empire Strikes Back when they rescue Han and Luke. The camera even looks like it's from the point of view of a snowspeeder. I half expected Kirk to yell "Nice of you guys to stop by!" Also the Wampa cave.
I do have one question: If you were a giant ice monster, and you had a giant snow lion in your mouth, why would you throw away guaranteed dinner to chase after a much smaller human? I have one hypothesis: The ice monster wanted to go back to his ice monster friends and tell them "Hey guys, guess what? I ate Jim Kirk! That's right. James Tiberius Kirk. IIIIII ate him. Suck it, bitches." But apparently it wasn't worth messing around with old Spok weilding torches. Other than that I got nothing.
On a completely different subject: Joe, thanks for introducing me to Dorm Life. That show is wonderful. I watched all of them over about 2 days and now I'm sad that there's no more. Definitely makes me miss some Liggett 3 action. And I think Kappa Gopher Shane is a wonderful name for a faternity.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Live Long, and Prosper...
Yes Rissa, you should be excited to see Star Trek. You should all be very...very excited. What can I say? Maybe it was the fact that I finished my last big exam yesterday afternoon. Maybe it was the fact that I drank all afternoon starting at the end of my exam until I sat down in the movie theater at 10 PM. Maybe it was the fact that I was drinking while walking 2 miles to the movie theater with my friends, and just making it in time to see the most ridiculous trailers I have ever witnessed (Night at the Museum 2 looks like it was written by a 2nd grader, and GI Joe looks AWESOME!). But all I can tell you is SEE STAR TREK!!!
I'm not 100% sure that you all won't berade me for recommending a movie that was, need I say, ridiculous and silly and awesome and amazing all at once, but I don't care. That was the most entertaining and fulfilling 2 hours of my life since the first 2 hours of The Dark Knight. Things I loved about Star Trek:
1. It was action packed. From start to finish it did not stop to take a breath. It was not fast-paced because there was no story line...in fact it breezed through areas where it could have easily wasted an extra hour on 'developing' the mood, but it knew better. It was a wild roller coaster ride and I was happy to be aboard.
2. Leonard Nemoy. Need I say more? I don't care if they had to invent an absurd time-travel plot to get him in this movie...it was worth it. This is not some throwaway cameo or unfortunate casting decision that is a throwback to the fogies in the room. Nemoy is the shit, and he made this movie better. If it had been Shatner that got the cameo...it would have been a disaster.
3. Terrorism. That's right, I said it. Nothing makes for a great Trek bad guy more than a good old fashioned terrorist. Why? Because there's no silly political reasonable back story. The dude wants to destroy some planets? Done.
4. Hoth. See the movie and you'll understand what I mean. I'm pretty sure Lucas let them onto the set of Empire Strikes Back in this one...awesome.
5. Gene Roddenberry. The man, the legend. He created a universe filled with mystery, entertainment, and a string of one liners that function well in all scenarios. These lines can be throwbacks to a classier age of television ("Damnit Jim...I'm a doctor not a...") or they can be novel spins on an old theme ("Spaaaaaaaak!")...either way I'm sold. Good work sir, good work.
I may expand the list later...but that is all for now.
I'm not 100% sure that you all won't berade me for recommending a movie that was, need I say, ridiculous and silly and awesome and amazing all at once, but I don't care. That was the most entertaining and fulfilling 2 hours of my life since the first 2 hours of The Dark Knight. Things I loved about Star Trek:
1. It was action packed. From start to finish it did not stop to take a breath. It was not fast-paced because there was no story line...in fact it breezed through areas where it could have easily wasted an extra hour on 'developing' the mood, but it knew better. It was a wild roller coaster ride and I was happy to be aboard.
2. Leonard Nemoy. Need I say more? I don't care if they had to invent an absurd time-travel plot to get him in this movie...it was worth it. This is not some throwaway cameo or unfortunate casting decision that is a throwback to the fogies in the room. Nemoy is the shit, and he made this movie better. If it had been Shatner that got the cameo...it would have been a disaster.
3. Terrorism. That's right, I said it. Nothing makes for a great Trek bad guy more than a good old fashioned terrorist. Why? Because there's no silly political reasonable back story. The dude wants to destroy some planets? Done.
4. Hoth. See the movie and you'll understand what I mean. I'm pretty sure Lucas let them onto the set of Empire Strikes Back in this one...awesome.
5. Gene Roddenberry. The man, the legend. He created a universe filled with mystery, entertainment, and a string of one liners that function well in all scenarios. These lines can be throwbacks to a classier age of television ("Damnit Jim...I'm a doctor not a...") or they can be novel spins on an old theme ("Spaaaaaaaak!")...either way I'm sold. Good work sir, good work.
I may expand the list later...but that is all for now.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
My B
So sorry I've been neglecting our blog as of late; I have no real excuse for ignoring you guys. Although, I was pretty surprised to see all of the posting going on. Anyway, about the whole meeting in Boston thing. I'm not totally sure if I can make that happen. I'm tentatively suppose to be moving to Memphis that weekend, but on the other hand, I don't actually have to be there until August 10th for orientation. So I'll see what I can do because I totally want to join in on the fun.
Joe- I totally love Dorm Life. I discovered this small piece of awesomeness while bored at work (coincidentally, Alan, this is also a time when I frequently nerd it up on Lost forums- I prefer Lostpedia), and while I was totally enchanted, my lab mates were not as on board. I think I really like it because it reminds me of Liggett 3. Not so much specific people or events or anything, but just the general freshman floor-ness of it all. So I don't know what my lab friends' freshman floors were like, but clearly they were not as awesome as ours or they too would have felt a small pang of nostalgia when watching Dorm Life.
Also, I found out what was up with all those weird what did you see promos: http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/05/what-do-you-see.html. I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised, and I'm really hoping that this can be my Lost replacement come 2011. But I think I'm jumping ahead a little bit of myself and maybe just panicking over the impending series finale of like the best show ever. I don't know what I'm going to do when I don't have any new Sawyer and Jack to look forward to. I'll probably just take solace in the fact that I no longer have to pretend that I care in the slightest about what happens to Kate. I wish she would just leave Sawyer and Juliet alone. We all know she's gonna eventually end up with Jack anyway, so I don't see why she has to destroy the happiness of the best couple on Lost (Jin and Sun are a very close second).
And finally, I am so excited for the new Star Trek movie that I seriously cannot contain myself. I tried to talk some of my friends into seeing it with me at midnight. Alas, this obviously did not work, and I have a feeling that I will be mocked all day tomorrow at the lab for being a Trekkie (which is sad because my Trekkie-ness is really only apparent in comparison to all of them. In fact, if anything, I'm of the opinion that I should be increasing my Star Trek knowledge). I think my goal will be to tell someone to live long and prosper just so they can all be completely and utterly appalled by the fact that they know me. If I was really up to it I try to make some Vulcan ears, but I don't see that happening. Regardless, I like my plans in life.
Joe- I totally love Dorm Life. I discovered this small piece of awesomeness while bored at work (coincidentally, Alan, this is also a time when I frequently nerd it up on Lost forums- I prefer Lostpedia), and while I was totally enchanted, my lab mates were not as on board. I think I really like it because it reminds me of Liggett 3. Not so much specific people or events or anything, but just the general freshman floor-ness of it all. So I don't know what my lab friends' freshman floors were like, but clearly they were not as awesome as ours or they too would have felt a small pang of nostalgia when watching Dorm Life.
Also, I found out what was up with all those weird what did you see promos: http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/05/what-do-you-see.html. I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised, and I'm really hoping that this can be my Lost replacement come 2011. But I think I'm jumping ahead a little bit of myself and maybe just panicking over the impending series finale of like the best show ever. I don't know what I'm going to do when I don't have any new Sawyer and Jack to look forward to. I'll probably just take solace in the fact that I no longer have to pretend that I care in the slightest about what happens to Kate. I wish she would just leave Sawyer and Juliet alone. We all know she's gonna eventually end up with Jack anyway, so I don't see why she has to destroy the happiness of the best couple on Lost (Jin and Sun are a very close second).
And finally, I am so excited for the new Star Trek movie that I seriously cannot contain myself. I tried to talk some of my friends into seeing it with me at midnight. Alas, this obviously did not work, and I have a feeling that I will be mocked all day tomorrow at the lab for being a Trekkie (which is sad because my Trekkie-ness is really only apparent in comparison to all of them. In fact, if anything, I'm of the opinion that I should be increasing my Star Trek knowledge). I think my goal will be to tell someone to live long and prosper just so they can all be completely and utterly appalled by the fact that they know me. If I was really up to it I try to make some Vulcan ears, but I don't see that happening. Regardless, I like my plans in life.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Things and Stuff
Nick, I award you one point for "Chekhov's Gun" prediction. I also award myself one point (if I can do that) for my "Angry army girl from past = Faraday’s mom" prediction.
Although I agree with Robin on the whole smoke monster issue I will say that I prefer iron filings monster to 'magic' monster explanations. I guess another counter argument to the steel dust monster would be that it appeared to me that in the hieroglyphs the smoke monster was depicted facing down an Egyptian god (Ra maybe) although that was my interpretation of the lithograph.
Everyone, if you have not watched "Dorm Life" check it out on Hulu (you will have to search for it). The first season episodes are all 5 minute shorts. The second season are 10 minutes I think.
Alan, Our Lady Peace is releasing their new album on July 21st. The video for their first single is coming out on May 25th and has 90210 star Shenae Grimes in it.
Robin I understand no part of your last post. Could someone enlighten me?
Although I agree with Robin on the whole smoke monster issue I will say that I prefer iron filings monster to 'magic' monster explanations. I guess another counter argument to the steel dust monster would be that it appeared to me that in the hieroglyphs the smoke monster was depicted facing down an Egyptian god (Ra maybe) although that was my interpretation of the lithograph.
Everyone, if you have not watched "Dorm Life" check it out on Hulu (you will have to search for it). The first season episodes are all 5 minute shorts. The second season are 10 minutes I think.
Alan, Our Lady Peace is releasing their new album on July 21st. The video for their first single is coming out on May 25th and has 90210 star Shenae Grimes in it.
Robin I understand no part of your last post. Could someone enlighten me?
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Oh, also. . .
I ain't no gay fish. You don't have to explain wordplay to me. I am a lyrical genius and the voice of a generation. But I do love me some fishsticks.
Fine Steel Powder?
Ok, so as a Physicist, I find the idea that the smoke monster could be fine steel powder levitated by magnetic fields to be an insult to my intelligence.
1: There would need to be some kind of moving source, either a big ass rare earth magnet or some kind of fancy electromagnet. Either way, this sort of thing would need to move around with the monster and would thus detract from its whispy smoke-like nature (as it would be a giant solid thing inside the monster). Also, what's levitating/moving the magnetic source?
2: No this can't be from fluctuating magnetic fields inside the island. Magnetic field lines (the lines the iron particles would align along) don't stop and start on source charges like electric field lines, they are continuous, so the monster would have to be a continuous ring, or part of a ring stopping and starting on the ground.
3: An oscillating field of that magnitude would do more than fuck with Locke's compass. Anything metal would be moving around, and also heating up from the resistive heating of the eddy currents produced in any conductor (not just magnetic materials).
All right, I'm done dorking out for now, but also:
4: Pretty sure that fence has something to do with sound, not magnetism.
I too am taking exams, although unlike the rest of you, no one cares what my grades are anymore. So I am currently 0 down, 1 exam and 1 presentation to go, but as I said, it doesn't really matter how I do, I just have to finish them. On the other hand, I will have an exam at the end of August that I very much do need to do well on. Yaaaay qualifiers!!
In response to Nicholas' question, they do sell beer in cans here believe it or not, although it is significantly more expensive than in good ol' STL. We have to go to a liquor store, but trust me, there will be plenty of canned and bottled beer for us to enjoy.
On a related note: My new apartment move in date is August 1 (which is a Saturday). I can keep my current place until August 15, but one of my roommates has to move August 1 as his lease will be up. So if you all are going to be here on August 1, I have a couple of options for you.
1. You can all help Brent and me move our stuff all in one day. Hopefully this wouldn't take too long but you know how moving goes. Advantages: You all will be rewarded with beer and some sort of sustenance. Also, you will all get to stay in my awesome new place with a back yard and cool roommates as opposed to my current shitty place with no yard and a roommate who glares at me and doesn't talk to me or do dishes. Disadvantages: You have to move shit.
2. You all can do something on your own while I help Brent move. Advantages: No moving shit. Disadvantages: lack of advantages discussed in option 1. and less time hanging out with the wonderful Robin Chisnell.
3. I can tell Brent to suck it and move his shit on his own. Advantages: we get to hang out more. Disadvantages: My new roommate hates me from day one.
Anyway let me know your thoughts on this. I'm ok with 1. or 2. or various variations on those. 3. is probably a bad choice so we'll leave that unless all other options fall through.
1: There would need to be some kind of moving source, either a big ass rare earth magnet or some kind of fancy electromagnet. Either way, this sort of thing would need to move around with the monster and would thus detract from its whispy smoke-like nature (as it would be a giant solid thing inside the monster). Also, what's levitating/moving the magnetic source?
2: No this can't be from fluctuating magnetic fields inside the island. Magnetic field lines (the lines the iron particles would align along) don't stop and start on source charges like electric field lines, they are continuous, so the monster would have to be a continuous ring, or part of a ring stopping and starting on the ground.
3: An oscillating field of that magnitude would do more than fuck with Locke's compass. Anything metal would be moving around, and also heating up from the resistive heating of the eddy currents produced in any conductor (not just magnetic materials).
All right, I'm done dorking out for now, but also:
4: Pretty sure that fence has something to do with sound, not magnetism.
I too am taking exams, although unlike the rest of you, no one cares what my grades are anymore. So I am currently 0 down, 1 exam and 1 presentation to go, but as I said, it doesn't really matter how I do, I just have to finish them. On the other hand, I will have an exam at the end of August that I very much do need to do well on. Yaaaay qualifiers!!
In response to Nicholas' question, they do sell beer in cans here believe it or not, although it is significantly more expensive than in good ol' STL. We have to go to a liquor store, but trust me, there will be plenty of canned and bottled beer for us to enjoy.
On a related note: My new apartment move in date is August 1 (which is a Saturday). I can keep my current place until August 15, but one of my roommates has to move August 1 as his lease will be up. So if you all are going to be here on August 1, I have a couple of options for you.
1. You can all help Brent and me move our stuff all in one day. Hopefully this wouldn't take too long but you know how moving goes. Advantages: You all will be rewarded with beer and some sort of sustenance. Also, you will all get to stay in my awesome new place with a back yard and cool roommates as opposed to my current shitty place with no yard and a roommate who glares at me and doesn't talk to me or do dishes. Disadvantages: You have to move shit.
2. You all can do something on your own while I help Brent move. Advantages: No moving shit. Disadvantages: lack of advantages discussed in option 1. and less time hanging out with the wonderful Robin Chisnell.
3. I can tell Brent to suck it and move his shit on his own. Advantages: we get to hang out more. Disadvantages: My new roommate hates me from day one.
Anyway let me know your thoughts on this. I'm ok with 1. or 2. or various variations on those. 3. is probably a bad choice so we'll leave that unless all other options fall through.
I am not alive
I also have 2 down and 2 to go...and the that realization is accompanied with a strange sort of exhausted out-of-body experience that is somewhere between a lack of motivation and a resignation to my role as some sort of outline-producing issue-spotting essay-writing computing machine.
Also on an unrelated note I was nerding it up on a Lost forum last night and read some crazy post-theory about what lies in the shadow of the statue?. The person seems to think the answer is smokey, but more specifically that the answer relates to what is 'inside' smokey, because if you don't know what's up with smokey then you aren't ready to handle the island. This particular blogger seemed to think that smokey was some sort of magnetically-floating supercomputer controlling fine steel powder (smoke...) that had gained consciousness somehow as a result of the incident. Basically people are insane, but I do like the idea of the 'smoke' being fine steel powder because that explains why the freaky magnetic fence gets in the way. Discuss...
Also on an unrelated note I was nerding it up on a Lost forum last night and read some crazy post-theory about what lies in the shadow of the statue?. The person seems to think the answer is smokey, but more specifically that the answer relates to what is 'inside' smokey, because if you don't know what's up with smokey then you aren't ready to handle the island. This particular blogger seemed to think that smokey was some sort of magnetically-floating supercomputer controlling fine steel powder (smoke...) that had gained consciousness somehow as a result of the incident. Basically people are insane, but I do like the idea of the 'smoke' being fine steel powder because that explains why the freaky magnetic fence gets in the way. Discuss...
I'm still alive
And I think this whole trip thing sounds stupendous. I'll probably only be able to make it out for a weekend+ if we do it during the agreed upon time...but you bet your ass I'll be there.
Query for Robin: Where is the closest place to buy beer from your future-to-be apartment? Or do they not sell beer in cans in Massachusetts because its against their puritanical roots and devotion to the Samuel Adams company?
Oh...and Alan, I totally didn't watch the Bulls-Celtics game. Your consideration was clearly invalid and did not induce a detriment on my part...something something...Jacobs&Youngv.Kent...somethingsomething...parolevidencerule.
2 down...2 to go.
Query for Robin: Where is the closest place to buy beer from your future-to-be apartment? Or do they not sell beer in cans in Massachusetts because its against their puritanical roots and devotion to the Samuel Adams company?
Oh...and Alan, I totally didn't watch the Bulls-Celtics game. Your consideration was clearly invalid and did not induce a detriment on my part...something something...Jacobs&Youngv.Kent...somethingsomething...parolevidencerule.
2 down...2 to go.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)