Just finished Al Gore’s new book The Assault on Reason. As previously mentioned, he could have used a stronger-willed editor. The book was about twice as long as it needed to be. Half of that unneeded verbiage was repetitive (though entirely valid) railing on George W. The other half was re-stating things that had already been well stated.
Still, he has a lot of really valid and valuable points:
After declaring for three straight days that I was going to see the skimmer again, and take its picture, I succeeded! The darn thing was even nice enough to come back for a second pass! Woo!
Zoe and Matt’s child Trevor decided that he wanted a temporary tattoo of spider man. We convinced him to get it in the same location as “uncle fdmts“. Why? So that (a) he’d be able to see it (as opposed to on his back), and (b) it would be hidden when he wanted it hidden.
Good reasons, all around.
I’m at the same beach that I’ve been going to for more than 20 years. This morning, I ran to the end of the island. This is a run that I’ve been doing for more than 15 years.
It was the easiest it’s ever been.
Further, as I ran, I felt like one of the athletic people … one of those in-shape types who don’t think it’s all that big a deal to run 4 miles. This was just startling and weird to me … in the context of all my memories of being a skinny kid at this beach. Never got sand kicked in my face, exactly, but I also never had the other runners give me the Nod of Respect before.
Also, I saw a skimmer, skimming. They fly just along the top of the water, holding their lower beak in the water to catch tiny fish. It was awesome. I hadn’t seen one before.
My friend atgatg posted a nifty first draft summary of his faith.
I like this idea. Anyone else? You’re also welcome to comment on my effort.
I just picked 1/2lb of blackberries in the back yard.
There’s probably that many again, still ripening.
I love summer.
I’m an author again. This time it’s a book chapter. I particularly love the typo in the second sentence of the abstract. Not sure when that crept in.
I saw the movie … and it was EVERYTHING I had hoped for. The cheese was cheesy … the lines were hokey … and the last hour was one solid fight scene between giant shape-changing robots. Megatron was scary, and Prime went hand to hand with him. The animation and effects are stunning, the humor is actually funny … and there were a couple of points where I actually whooped with joy because I had been thinking:
“Oh please let X happen … oh please oh please let X happen in slow motion”
And then X happened in EXTRA slow motion … but just for the first moves … and then it sped up to blindingly fast.
Not that there’s anything even approaching realism in a movie about giant, alien, transforming robots … but the scenes of the deceptions tearing apart a military base sort of look like what would happen if a squad of special forces troops decided to demolish an aboriginal village. An order of magnitude difference in technology means that you just don’t lose. Two orders means that you can be thinking about something else while you win.
I highly recommend Transformers to one and all. As simianpower and I used to say: it’s “nast.” “Nast” is not what you should want … it’s what you *do* want.
–UPDATE–
I am still psyched. This guy basically speaks for me when he says:
Transformers is everything you want in a summer popcorn flick. It has humor, beautiful women, amazing set pieces, action that leaves your brain in overdrive and GIANT FREAKING ROBOTS.
Oh yeah, plus, Megatron is voiced by Hugo Weaving. I just about wet myself.
According to the internet, there is a 9pm showing of Transformers, like, 5 minutes from where I am right now.
I am literally shaking with excitement.
Excuse me, I have to … ummm … go.