(Right off the bat, let’s be clear — I’m talking about the “Journey to the Center of the Earth” that stars Brendan Fraser. For some reason, there are three movies with the same title that were released in 2008. One of them stars Rick Schroeder, and was made for TV. It’s supposed to be an[...]
Hellboy 2 opened as the best box office of director Guillermo del Toro’s career, even bigger than its predecessor (Hellboy), which del Toro also directed. And for good reason. It was better than the first one. In fact, my largest complaint about the sequel is its name. Why call it “The Golden Army” when the[...]
I’d been told by some that Home of the Brave was an anti-war movie. Others said it was apolitical. Most people hadn’t heard of it at all. According to online sources, it grossed less than $60,000 in the box office, which is understandable since the studios pulled it from the theaters early for some reason.[...]
“Global Warming” is still a huge threat, according to school children and the United Nations (and, of course, Al Gore), none of whom are traditionally good sources of information. What? Am I a conspiracy theorist? No. I’m just a guy who does my research. Unlike many, I have sources. The global temperature has not increased[...]
I’m curious about your thoughts. What are the biggest (most important) political issues in the United States right now? I know, there is a long list of them — some are delineated below. But it seems to me that one issue overshadows all the others, and that is “polarization,” as it’s being called. Of course,[...]
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” That’s[...]
I was surprised to hear that this movie (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) was acclaimed so well — I didn’t know this until after I watched it. Even without knowing its history with the critics, I still expected more. After all, this is Brad Pitt! I can’t tell you how[...]
This touching documentary, narrated by Nicole Kidman and produced by Brad Pitt, covers the life of three Sudanese boys who fled Sudan along with thousands of others during the ongoing wars. The filmmakers followed Panther Bior, John Bul Dau, and Daniel Abol Pach while in their refugee camp in Kenya, and throughout their later relocation[...]
Just to be clear, I usually like Superhero movies. I enjoyed Superman as a child, and I enjoyed Batman Begins a few years ago. Probably the only superhero movies I didn’t like were the Batman movies from the late ’80s and early ’90s. To me, Hancock is right up there with the best of them.[...]
Title: The Raven, A Biography of Sam Houston Author: Marquis James Year: 1929 Publisher: University of Texas Press, Austin ISBN 0-292-77040-5 View it on Amazon View it on Google Books Sam Houston on Wikipedia This book was awarded the 1930 Pulitzer Prize for “Biography or Autobiography” (James is one of the very few people who’ve[...]
Flickr holds a special place in my heart, at least compared to other internet sites. I’ve spent more time on Flickr than most people have spent on Facebook or Twitter — daily participation since I joined in Sept. 2005. Not only have I uploaded over 30,000 images to my photostream (most of them now non-public),[...]
“I thought the left loved freedom of the press and open government. I guess that’s only when ‘The Man’ is someone else.” That’s what one commenter said on a news story about the federal government hoping to charge a journalist for publishing news. It’s an astute observation about the way our two-party political system works:[...]
Commentary: A record Powerball jackpot isn’t a record to celebrate (Christian Science Monitor) The editorial board of CSM concluded their piece with this: Before the news media play up the next record-setting mega-lottery like Powerball, they may want to add these kinds of caveats in their reporting. It could deter people from rushing to the[...]
Following are some passages I underlined during a reading of To Sail Beyond The Sunset (1987) by Robert A. Heinlein, the last novel he published before dying in 1988: “I remember Earth. I knew her when she was clean and green, mankind’s beautiful bride, sweet and lush and lovable… It is futile to mourn over[...]
There is a school of thought, albeit a relatively unpopular one, that poor grammar or punctuation on printed signs should be corrected with a Sharpie or other tool, vigilante style. In the News: Vigilante Copy Editor (New York Times) And there are older instances, such as this one (The Virginian-Pilot).
Following are some passages I underlined during a reading of The Cat Who Walks Through Walls: A Comedy of Manners (1985) by Robert A. Heinlein: “It does not do to encourage bad banners; one should retaliate, urbanely but firmly.”
In The News: Adobe starts subscription for Photoshop and Dreamweaver (BBC News) This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone; many software companies are moving in this direction. Instead of having to ship millions of boxes and discs every year when they upgrade the software, they’re just going to add the updates to the online[...]
Following are some passages I underlined during a reading of I Will Fear No Evil (1970) by Robert Heinlein: “…most people think of money as something to pay the rent. But a money man thinks of money in terms of what he can do with it.” “…it’s impossible for a woman to lay it on[...]
For about $5, I made this measuring cup holder that’s hidden inside a kitchen cabinet: (Copyright © 2013 by Wil C. Fry. All rights reserved.)
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