Medicine of Immortality "It's a cold, and it's a broken, 'Hallelujah!'"

Apple presents the iRackPosted by Rick on June 3rd, 2007

If you didn’t catch it on MadTV, make sure to check out Steve Jobs’ presentation of the iRack.

New Mary Poppins movie trailerPosted by Rick on May 3rd, 2007

Scary Mary

A few linksPosted by Rick on April 17th, 2007

This is a fascinating look at technology today and in the future.

For some reason, I couldn’t stop laughing when I saw last week’s SNL Digital Short making fun of dramatic movie deaths. If it doesn’t make you hate Hollywood, you have no hope. I see the video has been pulled from most sites, probably because of this week’s happenings. I’m sure it will be up again soon.

John C. Wright has a great post about being a scientist today:

This is how the funding process works:
1. You determine what the latest ‘hot’ topic is (global warming, ceramic superconductivity, stealth technology).
2. You write your proposal to fund the work you’ve been doing for years in your area but you slant it towards the hot topic.
3. You almost “prove” that the above hot topic is effected in a way that is positive toward your research.
4. You write a follow-on proposal where you state that the really big break-through will occur in the next funding cycle.
5. Oh, and you try to partner with entities that always get government funding.

While we are mentioning global warming, I think I might add someone’s thoughts on the recently belated Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut is one of those guys that I read and just think, “Wow. I need to read more of him.” He was an insightful heathen.

My wife is such a boob.Posted by Rick on February 13th, 2007

So yesterday my wife forced me to look at a web page devoted to women who are insecure about their breasts. So here’s yesterday’s quote of the day:

“Honey, 24 is about to start. I can look at breasts anytime.”

Thanks, Rachael, for almost making Rachel make me miss 24. I would have been angry. I let my night class out early…

Race, movies, and a 9/11 heroPosted by Rick on February 11th, 2007

So Rachel and I are watching Extreme Home Makeover, and I immediately recognized the name of man whose family they were helping—Marine Sgt. Jason Thomas. Thomas is immortalized in the film “World Trade Center.” If you’ve seen the film, he is one of the two guys (along with Staff Sgt. Karnes) who save the main characters. He’s played by this guy. But the real Sgt. Thomas is black. Very black. Why does it hack me off so much that he is played by a white guy? Why would they make him a white guy in the film? Were there not enough black actors?

Update: This entry from wikipedia makes me feel better: “The producers of the World Trade Center movie tried unsuccessfully to locate Thomas. Not knowing that Thomas is black, they cast white actor William Mapother to play his role. Thomas didn’t know that the movie was about his and Dave Karnes’s story until he saw a TV commercial for the movie showing two Marines with flashlights, hunting for survivors atop the smoldering ruins at Ground Zero.”

Stephen Colbert Shows Off His Sunday School SkillzPosted by Rick on November 22nd, 2006

Knowing that Colbert is a Sunday School teacher, I find this video hilarious. I can just see him doing this in Sunday School.

I wonder why the wonder falls on me…Posted by Rick on October 6th, 2006

Just finished the first and only season of Wonderfalls. Why in the world did they cancel such a great show?

Autism and TelevisionPosted by Rick on September 8th, 2006

Although this article has some factual flaws (for example, it says thimerasol was removed from vaccines in 2001; in fact, it only stopped being produced in 2001, and thimerasol-laden vaccines are still on doctors’ shelves until they expire in 2007), it makes an interesting connection between the rise in autism and the rise in television-viewing. The author makes sure to say that it’s purely speculative, but that it’s something we need to explore, and then he tells why we should explore it.

Children of MenPosted by Rick on August 28th, 2006

This trailer looks interesting.

Conservative tripePosted by Rick on July 23rd, 2006

This is the stuff that makes me so glad I’m not a “conservative Republican” with “traditional American values”: The Ad Everyone Is Talking About. This sorta stuff [restraining as much as possible] is not the answer to our problems.

Update: Okay, I couldn’t just leave it at that. This ad just makes me sick, sick, sick. I believe strongly that the Bible is pro-life and that marriage is what it is because of what God said it is. But where is the compassion? Where is the love?

Is raising your fist like Osama bin Laden the answer to gay marriage or abortion? Are closed borders the religion of Jesus? You gotta be kidding me.