 |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(riffing on a link posted quite innocently by ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) meep someplace) So Earth is traveling through space, minding its own business, until in 1908 this comet flies by and just starts ripping into it. We're talking major natural disaster here: a gigantic explosion, hundreds of square miles of trees leveled, scorched earth everywhere. Earth is left devastated and shaken, particularly due to the unexpected and arbitrary nature of the attack. Earth didn't do anything to provoke this! For a comet to come in out of nowhere and blast away at the Earth like that--that's humiliating, uncalled-for, just plain wrong. For the next hundred years, the scientists of Earth go into detective mode, trying to piece together exactly what happened. How could Earth get knocked down so badly? Was it the direction it was traveling? Was it the rotation, the orbital eccentricity? Could humanity have done something to deserve this shame that had been visited upon the Earth? Ultimately the scientists agree on a comprehensive theory that answers these questions (basically, "It was all the comet's fault"). The world then moves on to the next phase of its response: Preparing Earth to defend itself the next time around. Research, development, and activism take place on many fronts: - Long-range ballistic missiles, designed to stop an approaching comet in its tracks.
- Smaller warheads, designed to throw an incoming comet off course and redirect its attack at some other unsuspecting planet.
(In fact, a joint statement endorsing these military programs is issued by all major governments; the Nobel Prize committee; Greenpeace; a blue-ribbon panel of ethicists; a conference attended by leaders of the world's fifteen most popular religions; and a coalition of actors, pro athletes, musical artists, and commentators.) - Underground shelters and other recovery measures, inspired by the harsh possibility that maybe comet attacks are inevitable. (These prove to be unpopular.)
- Training people to reject the notion of helplessness in the face of comet attacks, to stand as one and fight back against a looming global threat.
- Rapid-response early warning systems, so people can band together and do what needs doing upon news of imminent comet approach.
- Moment-to-moment situational management training, so those involved in repelling a comet attack will keep their nerve and follow through when the time comes.
In 2045, the same comet comes back, only this time the Earth and its people are ready. As news spreads via the early response network, billions of humans gather quickly at preselected meeting sites. With watches synchronized, technicians at each site turn on sophisticated recording equipment at the agreed-upon hour. The equipment is linked to a central station that will consolidate radio wave data from multiple sources, convert that data into a single signal, amplify that signal, and then send out that signal into the path of the incoming comet. Finally, on cue, the people of Earth speak, sending a single message of unity and defiance into the cosmos; and they say, "Fuck you, comet, fuck you." Tags: science, silly
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
GUY AT SHOW: Hey bra'! How we doin', man? Cut to BATMAN in costume. He stands rigidly at attention, staring back at GUY AT SHOW. There is a long pause. BATMAN (in his raspy voice): I'm fine.
GUY AT SHOW: It's been a while man, life's so rad! [Pause] This band's my favorite man, don't ya love 'em? BATMAN flinches slightly, as if shaken by some bad news. He says nothing.
GUY AT SHOW: Aw man, you want a beer? BATMAN hesitates, evidently struggling with a great dilemma. Finally and with great reluctance, he nods his head Yes. GUY AT SHOW: Aw man, this is the best. I'm so glad we're all back together and stuff. This is great, man. BATMAN leans against a wall. For a moment he looks overwhelmed, defeated, crushed. Then he stands up straight once again. An unshakable inner resolve has reasserted itself. GUY AT SHOW: Hey, did you know about the party after the show? Aw man, it's gonna be the best. I'm so stoked. Take it easy bra'! Cut to an adjacent rooftop. BATMAN jumps out through a window onto the roof, then climbs into a waiting helicopter. The helicopter takes off and flies away into the night. Tags: fanfic, silly, undone (the sweater song)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Let's see...I just watched Dark Days (2000, dir. Marc Singer), a documentary about a homeless colony living in railroad tunnels underneath New York City. Suitably fascinating, heartbreaking, heartwarming, bleak and hopeful. A while back I saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008, dir. somebody-or-other). Nick from Freaks&Geeks gets dumped by Veronica Mars, goes to Hawaii, and meets Jackie from That 70s Show. Had some funny moments (the vampire puppet opera steals the show) but it wasn't my thing. As I recall, it seemed to try and give depth to some of its characters by giving an unsympathetic character a sympathetic scene, or vice versa. I don't think it succeeded, though. I think that if you try to do that and fail, you lose some plot coherency and risk ending up with Just A Bunch Of Stuff That Happened. Also a while back: Hancock (2008, dir. somebody-or-other). Will Smith as an unlikely superhero. This was enjoyable, in part because it didn't rely on Yet Another Supervillain or take itself so danged seriously. Tags: movies
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PICARD, LaFORGE, and COUNSELOR TROI are gathered on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. LaFORGE: Do you think the away team will be safe down there, Captain? Worf didn't look too comfortable in that disguise. PICARD: Let's find out, Geordi. Onscreen! The viewscreen lights up, revealing a crowded nightclub scene. WORF is there, dressed in jeans and a bowling shirt. GUY AT SHOW enters from left and approaches WORF. GUY AT SHOW: Hey bra'! How we doin', man? WORF ( choosing his words carefully): I am well. GUY AT SHOW: It's been a while man, life's so rad! [ Pause] This band's my favorite man, don't ya love 'em? WORF: Yes. GUY AT SHOW: Aw man, you want a beer? WORF: Yes. GUY AT SHOW: Aw man, this is the best. I'm so glad we're all back together and stuff. This is great, man. WORF: [ Pause] ... Yes. Zoom in to closeup shot of GUY AT SHOW, seen from over WORF's shoulder. GUY AT SHOW: Hey, did you know about the party after the show? Aw man, it's gonna be the best. I'm so stoked. Take it easy bra'!
Cut back to bridge of the Enterprise.
COUNSELOR TROI: He's hiding something. Tags: fanfic, silly, undone (the sweater song)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PersonalI moved in with my girlfriend...and then we got engaged! I also got started on another job/career search. And I traveled to Hawaii (a deep voice says: "our next hula depicts the creation of ... the island of Maui"), Las Vegas, New York, and Pennsylvania. A prediction from 2003As part of a (filtered...you'll have to trust me) Livejournal post in 2003, I tried to imagine what life might be like in 2008. ( It included a number of imagined global disasters. )I wish I had been completely wrong. PoliticsThis effin' election is finally over. I got pretty obsessed with it. Music, TV, Movies, GamesNew CD's included Juliana Hatfield, How To Walk Away (this was one of those that I listened to every day for weeks); The Weepies, Hideaway; Thea Gilmore, Liejacker. New-to-me songs, via Pandora and other sources, included Motorhead and Girlschool, " Please Don't Touch;" Dance Hall Crashers, "Triple Track" original version (a live version, all 30 seconds of it, is currently available on YouTube); and Redding, " In Montauk." I didn't see many new movies. I liked Persepolis (2007). On the tube, I got hooked on the Rock of Love franchise; I was hoping things would work out for Bret and Ambre, but it was not to be. I enjoyed other reality TV shows. I hope to try perplexed green tofu someday...when my fiancee watches the clothing makeover show "What Not To Wear," I watch along with; I admire those peoples' willingness to go outside their [scarequote]comfort zone[/scarequote], on national TV no less. I watched the conclusion of The Wire, the start of Mad Men, and seasons of Pushing Daisies and The Office, as well as old reruns of Peter Gunn and Doctor Who via Netflix. I played Portal over Thanksgiving weekend and greatly enjoyed it. My man Horvath played Circuit's Edge and gave it a mixed review. BooksNot many of these, either :\ Many were on audiobook. Highlights included Bill Bishop, The Big Sort; Dan Ariely, Predictably Irrational; Brian K. Vaughn and Pia Guerra, Y: The Last Man graphic novel series; Malcolm Gladwell, Blink; and Timothy Taylor's Economics course on tape at The Teaching Company. Finally, a great $WINTERHOLIDAY gift from my fiancee: Real Ultimate Power: The Official Ninja Book. It is, in a word, awesome. The narrator is a hyperactive 10-year-old boy; the [scarequote]editor[/scarequote] is his babysitter, a philosophy major who humors him. It also comes across, rather poignantly, that his parents are having difficulty dealing with the kid, among other troubles. I wonder how much of the crazy 10-year-old writing is autobiographical? Blogs and PodcastsSome favorites from 2008. Politics blogs: fivethirtyeight.com; Ta-Nehisi Coates; TPM Election Central. Podcasts: This American Life; Planet Money; Hardcore History with Dan Carlin. Miscellany: I got hooked on Facebook and Twitter. Fantasy sports and futures betsI had a great year in this area. I won a little $$$ on the Iowa Electronic Market and Intrade -- including about $70 on a $5 bet that an obscure Alaska governor would be nominated for Vice President. I also won fantasy baseball and football leagues, plus a Vegas bet that the Rays would make the World Series. I have a small bet on the Vikings to make the Super Bowl. It may yet happen, although they have to beat the defending champion Giants this weekend. Watch out for falling sheet metal, everyone. 2009 is upon us. Tags: books, humor, music, personal, predictions, tv, year in review
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- "I bet I could have done something with that check instead of just cashing it," Dee posited.
- "Unless my broken hand heals, you're going to have to write my autographs for me," said Tom significantly.
- "Election officials in Tallahassee found thousands of defective ballots," was Tom's florid account.
- "Ray Jay, Magic and I are all wondering: What's the best way to bathe a four-week-old baby?" asked Tom, in sync with Johnson and Johnson.
- "Why won't you let me speak Ebonics in the house?" Lizzie Borden asked her mother repeatedly.
- "I've just invented Swift Latin! Ullpully imully ingerfully," said Tom artfully.
- "She's my parrot, and she committed a crime, and it was a crime against God, and it took place at an English private school!" said Tom using polysyndeton.
- "I've coined an adverb for when you use multiple heating elements," said Tim Berners-Lee.
The last one is new as of December '08. I'll update this entry on those rare occasions when I think of another new one. Tags: cftu pg
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
... that I don't have time to review in depth or post links for. - Y: The Last Man. Postapocalyptic graphic novel series about life after a disaster, in which every man (in fact, every male mammal) has suddenly died of mysterious causes. It's quite the page-turner, like watching an espionage thriller movie. Not exploitative like it could have been.
- The Colbert Christmas Special. zomg, it gets those old TV variety shows just right. Cringeworthy and hilarious.
- Portal videogame, in which you solve puzzle rooms via the magic of teleportation, while a disembodied voice gives instructions and increasingly strange commentary. I stayed up all night over Thanksgiving weekend playing this. Highly engrossing. I needed only a handful of hints/walkthrough text and YouTube footage to finish it, which was great, although I was feeling pretty dragged-out and impatient by the time I got to the ending. Then again, the closing song made that worthwhile. Too, the Weighted Companion Cube alone is worth the price of admission. I know sargentjr and others enjoyed that item, whose significance I won't spoil. Some of the gameplay involves flying through the air, in a way that reminds me of my recurring flying dreams.
- Dark Integers and Other Stories, by Greg Egan. I'm only partway through this story collection. Two of the stories are about a world where mathematical logic is relative and can be twisted in a way that we normally think is impossible -- in much the same way people once assumed geometry had to be Euclidean, or physics had to be Newtonian before Einstein. It's an interesting hypothesis and very thought-provoking, although Egan doesn't entirely measure up to the (very, very difficult) task of building the plot of a story around it.
Tags: books, comics, games, sff, tv
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
On this day in 1960, President-Elect John F. Kennedy announced the hiring of Charles Alexander Knott, a prominent DC attorney, to the office of Community Liaison for Government Public Services. Knott, who had been a classmate of Kennedy's at Harvard, was best known for his work with charitable foundations in establishing government education grants for disadvantaged youth. He also had ties with the banking industry. In 1958, he had been acquitted on corruption charges involving the Mafia, the Teamsters, and police departments in several cities along the Eastern Seaboard. Too, there were rumors about womanizing and drug use, and even worse activities. But the official press hailed the choice of Charles A. Knott as a sound choice for the public services liaison position. Why did Kennedy choose the man he did for this post? ( Answer lies within )Current Mood:  indescribable
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Previous
thoughtful
skeptical
impressed
confused
irritated
insomniac