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New Rings around Uranus
D | Thursday, December 22, 2005
This isn't that funny, but I can't stop laughing. Scientist have discovered rings around Uranus, the planet. They found some new moons too. Moons. Uranus. This is great. Here some of my favorite quotes from the CNN article:
The Title: Hubble finds new moons, rings around Uranus
The New Moons: The new moons, which were named Mab and Cupid, bring the total number of satellites orbiting Uranus to 27.
The Names: Many moons of Uranus are named after characters in Shakespeare, and these new moons follow suit.
The Scientist: "Sometimes you find things you aren't looking for," Showalter said. "No one thought this region of Uranus was very interesting."
My Comment: "Moons around Uranus. Wow, that's some serious shit, man..." Please, someone comment on my immaturity. Please.
D | 12/22/2005 05:47:00 PM
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ID goes the way of the dodo
D
Today was an interesting day.
In Pennsylvania, a Federal judge struck down the teaching of intelligent design in public school classrooms. You may remember the school board members who implemented the ID policy were quickly replaced and Pat Robertson went crazy on the residents of Dover, PA. The opinion is a whopping 139 pages (pdf here), and while I have not finished it, I can tell you that the court applied two similar, yet separate tests, and the teaching of ID failed each. By the way, you know your side is going to loose when you fail "the Lemon Test" (p.90, a "purpose" and "effect" test to determine if the doctrine was promoting or advancing religion)
From what I've read so far, I agree with this court 100%. I believe in a higher power, but do not think we should teach creationism or intelligent design or any implicitly religious doctrine in public school. As such, I present for your consideration and comment...
The "This court knows what's up" quote:
Both Defendants and many of the leading proponents of ID make a bedrock assumption which is utterly false. Their presupposition is that evolutionary theory is antithetical to a belief in the existence of a supreme being and to religion in general. Repeatedly in this trial, Plaintiffs scientific experts testified that the theory of evolution represents good science, is overwhelmingly accepted by the scientific community, and that it in no way conflicts with, nor does it deny, the existence of a divine creator. (p. 136)
The "Slap in the face" quote:
The citizens of the Dover area were poorly served by the members of the Board who voted for the ID Policy. It is ironic that several of these individuals, who so staunchly and proudly touted their religious convictions in public, would time and again lie to cover their tracks and disguise the real purpose behind the ID Policy. (p. 137)
The "Randominterestingg fact" quote:
The judge was a Bush appointee and made a point to disqualify himself as an "activist judge" in the opinion. This is why "activist judge" is an odd term for me - they were just doing their job.
Those who disagree with our holding will likely mark it as the product of an activist judge. If so, they will have erred as this is manifestly not an activist Court. (p.137)
D | 12/20/2005 05:28:00 PM
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RIP - John Spencer
D
This guy's walking down a street, when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep, he can't get out. A doctor passes by, and the guy shouts up "Hey you! Can you help me out?" The doctor writes him a prescription, throws it down the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up "Father, I'm down in this hole, can you help me out?" The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by. "Hey Joe, it's me, can you help me out?" And the friend jumps in the hole! Our guy says "Are you stupid? Now we're both down here!" and the friend says, "Yeah, but I've been down here before, and I know the way out."
-John Spencer
WW Season II, Episode 10, Noel
D | 12/20/2005 12:13:00 PM
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15 on 15 - Top Movies of All Time
D | Thursday, December 15, 2005
Based on an idea I got while reading Ruvym's blog, I created 15 on 15. It was going to be 25, but that was too many. So I changed it to 10. But that is over-done and we felt like 15 is more challenging. Maybe next we'll make it some odd number like 27, but for now its 15. This month was Top 15 Movies of All Time. I am taking suggestions for next month's category. If you make a list and post it on your blog, post a comment here with the address.
And in the spirit of movies - GUESS THE MOVIE SOUNDTRACK, VOLUME II. Have fun.
Derek's Top 15 Movies of All Time*
- Star Wars: A New Hope
It will forever remain my number one movie till the day I die and even beyond.
- A Few Good Men
This movie made me want to become a lawyer. Indeed, on a fairly regular basis I am accused of portraying Dan Kaffe, a suggestion I find as propsertous as having a trial in a barn. I've have memorized every line of this movie, directed the theatrical version, and aspired every day to one day use the line "galactically stupid" while drunk.
- Garden State
I saw this movie 6 or 7 times in the theater. The movie connected with on a very personal level. Like the main character, I was trying to sort shit out in my own life. Beyond that, the amazing Zach Braf and the lovely and tallented Natalie Portman give exceptional performances.
- Batman (1989)
Keaton was Batman. Burton directed. Elfman composed. And the car kicked ass.
- Aladdin
Best Disney film. Robin Williams as the Genie makes the film.
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
I never had a particular predisposed loyalty to Raiders simply because it came first, and I wasn't really around when it came out. Also I loved Sean Connery in this role, the chemistry between him and Harrison Ford is hilarious - that makes this my favorite of the trilogy.
- The Princess Bride
Best Love Story Ever. And quotable like nothing else.
- Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Alex and I once had a conversation about getting older and liking ESB more and more. I don't know what it is, but every time I see this movie, I appreciate it a little bit more.
- Shawshank Redemption
A movie about hope, set in a prision. Impressive.
- The Usual Suspects
Best Who-dunnit Ever. Spacey is phenominal. Everytime I watch it, I see something new.
- Good Will Hunting
It makes me feel OK about being smart. And then not OK because I am no where near as smart as these characters. My Dad actually quoted the carmels line a week ago and I ask people all the time, "How you like them apples?"
- The Matrix
It's philosophy in movie form with fighting and wicked special effects. Done.
- Swingers
"You're this bear with these big fucking teeth. And she's this little bunny." Also, "the guy behind the guy" and "you're so money and you don't even know it."
- Casablanca
I've only seen Casablance twice in my life, but of all the "classics" I've seen I loved this one. It just connected with me.
- The Notebook
Hmm. I like this movie because it is how my love life would be if I got to write the story myself. When this film came out, it really hit home with me. A lot of the connection is gone now, but everytime I watch it, it still makes me smile. An odd choice, for sure, but an appropriate one. Oh, and Rachel McAdams is my girlfriend. So hot.
Others receiving votes: All the Real Girls, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Liar Liar, LOTR: The Two Towers, The Rock, The Hunt for Red October, Forrest Gump, Jurassic Park, True Lies, Closer, The Thomas Crown Affair, LA Confidential, 12 Angry Men
*Sorry if my explations are lacking. The way I see it, this is my list, so they are my choices and I don't need to really justify them. So my list is just that - a list with some funny comments.
D | 12/15/2005 05:15:00 AM
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Guess the movie soundtrack, Vol II
D
It is that time again - Guess the Movie Soundtrack, Volume II, A John Williams Collection. That's right; every piece in this mix was composed by John Williams. Same rules as last time. If you want to go back and practice on Volume I, go for it (answers here). Last time Alex won, and given his nerdy-ness in all things John Williams related, he might be tough to un-seed. But I would love to crown a new winner. My brother perhaps?
Guess the Movie Soundtrack, Vol II
The file below is 3:11 seconds long and contains snippets of 23 separate John Williams selections. Download the MP3 file (3.0MB) and email me your answers (be as specific as possible, i.e. film, track title, or location in film). The person who gets the most correct will win a prize (most likely some beer of your choosing).
Guess the Movie Soundtrack, Vol II MP3
Hint #1 - All Star Wars music is presented within the first minute.
Hint #2 - Not all pieces are from film, but all have been on television.
Hint #3 - Some films appear more than once; no track appears more than once.
D | 12/15/2005 04:03:00 AM
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MI3 and DaVinci Code Trailers
D | Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Two upcoming movies have also released trailers this week:
-Mission: Impossible 3 (also via Yahoo!) - Ten years ago was the first Mission Impossible - riveting, complicated, intriguing. Six years ago was the pitiful M:I2 - John Woo, slow motion doves, horrible. Now we have M:I3. Will this one bring back the intrigue of the first film? Probably not, but Philip Seymour Hoffman as the villain, Ving Rhames returning as the trusty sidekick, Laurence Fishburne as some Matrix-esque police guy, and Billy Crudup as some random other guy... who knows? Verdict - more deliberation necessary.
-The DaVinci Code - Everyone is excited to see this film. Tom Hanks and Ron Howard always make a great team and hopefully they will do justice to Dan Brown's story. I enjoyed the book and think a translation to film has great potential (also it will bring in huge box office dollars with both the crowd who read the book and the crowd who never bothered to read the book, yet their friends all told them how great it was). Tom Hanks with long hair is something new and Ian McKellen as the old man is a strong casting choice. Verdict - promising.
D | 12/14/2005 08:34:00 PM
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Paper Products
D | Tuesday, December 13, 2005
This is my 500th post. Its a landmark post and it will be a two-pronged tirade about paper products.
1. The Paper Towel - I love paper towels - they are the all purpose disposal cleaning rag. But go into any public building (office, courthouse, theatre, etc) and in the restroom we find "paper towels," typically provided for post-hand-washing-drying, which are horrible. These are a disgrace to the good name of Bounty and Brawny. These "paper towels" are razor thin and have the absorbency of a brick - I might as well be drying my hands with a sheet of college-ruled notebook paper. Is it too much to ask for corporate America to spend the extra money (a few billion I am sure, but I don't care) to splurge for some quality paper towels?
2. The Dollar Bill Coin Pass - Not directly a paper product concern, but this is one of my all-time personal pet peeves (second only to slow drivers in the left lane). When visiting a favorite clerk of mine this morning, I bought some food and paid with a $5 dollar bill. I received $2 dollars and some odd cents. When passing the change to me, he placed my change on top of the bills. Who taught merchants to do this? And why? Who thinks this is an effective passing strategy? You know what will be a good idea, placing small round metal objects on top of some flimsy paper and trying to hand the entire pile to another person in one single exchange. Even in the drive through, they pass money to me in this fashion. Why? My coins go flying off my bills. You know it has happened to you. Even if the pass is successful, what is the first thing you do? You carefully slide the money off the bills, place the coins in your pocket, and the bills in your wallet. Why not just make two handoffs? I'm starting a campaign - next time someone hands you money in this fashion, politely tell them, "Change first, bills second."
D | 12/13/2005 06:12:00 PM
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Thank you, come again
D | Wednesday, December 07, 2005
This morning (yesterday as I write this (whatever, Tuesday morning)), I had stopped at a gas station and ended up inside the convenience store searching for breakfast foods. Back in highschool, my friend Tim once told me that no mater where he is or what he is doing, every time he sees one of those Hostess Apple Pie things, he buys it. Not because he wants to it, but simply because he has to. Ever since then, I have fallen victim to the same mental illness. Luckily for me, I really like those things, so its not such a terrible predicament. Nonetheless, I grabbed a YooHoo (not to be confused with the search engine) and went up to the counter to pay. A pleasant Indian clerk (dots not feathers (is that a racist comment?)) was behind the counter and the following conversation took place (do the Indian accent while reading, it helps with visualization).
D: Morning.
IC(DNF): Good morning. Did you find everything, OK?
D: Yes.
He starts ringing up my stuff and looks out the window to admire The Silver Bullet
IC(DNF): That is a nice little car.
D: Thanks.
IC(DNF): Fast?
D: Uh, yeah.
IC(DNF): How much did it cost?
D: Uh, what.
IC(DNF): How much did you pay?
D: I got it used.
IC(DNF): Sure. Sure. Sure. How much was it?
D: Its wasn't new.
IC(DNF): Sure. Sure. Sure... (beat)
D: Well, see ya.
I quickly head to the door and bolt out of there like I stole my Hostess Apple Pie and YooHoo
IC(DNF): Ok. Thank you, come again!
He didn't actually say that last line - but he should have!
Looking back on things, this conversation is ridiculous for any number of reasons. 'How much did you pay' was answered with 'I got it used'. That doesn't even make sense. That's right, if these were the Mock Trial Olympics I would win straight 10s in the Nonresponsive Category (except for Judge Pheeny... I hate that guy..."hot shot" my ass, Old Man River (anyone who gets that joke has known me too long)). But seriously, that answer was so far from making sense, it was funny. As if the fact that I bought the car used means I suddenly don't know how much I paid. Then when he asked again, I went right back to being uncooperative. OK, see it's not that I got it used, its that it wasn't new. Now you understand?
My purpose for writing this post is this - Why didn't I want to tell him how much the car costs? It was a harmless question. Why didn't I just answer? I have a few theories.
A) The price of a used car fluctuates greatly based on a lot of different features (year, model, mileage, etc). Maybe, I just didn't want to run such a complex calculation in my head. Survey says, OBVIOUSLY UNTRUE, YOU KNOW HOW MUCH YOU ORIGINALLY PAID REGARDLESS OF THE CAR'S CURRENT VALUE.
B) I overpaid for the car and didn't want the clerk to think I was a sucker and suddenly charge me more for my YooHoo. Survey says, STUPID. SIMPLY STUPID.
C) I underpaid for the car and didn't want the clerk to think... something. Survey says, YOU'RE A MORON.
D) The clerk was kinda creepy and I was a little freaked out. Survey says, GETTING WARMER. CAN'T WE ALL JUST AGREE THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING IN YOUR UPBRINGING WHICH MANDATES THAT YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT MONEY?
And there we have it. I don't know if other people are the same way I am, but I guess we will find out if anyone writes a comment. I was taught that you don't talk about money - the price of something or how much something is worth or how much someone makes. If it is the price of a snow cone, that's one thing. But never big things. These are personal numbers, which if someone wants to share that is fine, but you don't ask. Just like you don't invite yourself over to someone else's house. It is just poor manners. Right or wrong, this is what I was taught. And I think it was this innate uncontrollable weirdness which would not allow me to share even the simplest financial detail with the Shell Station clerk.
There is a quote from West Wing (Season 2, Ep 22, Two Cathedrals):
JED: In my family, we don't talk about money.
MRS. LANDINGHAM: That's because you have money.
True or not, I don't know, but I feel like I am on the right track. Is this manners or am I some rich-nutty-wack-job?
D | 12/07/2005 01:24:00 AM
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Football articles I've read, today, at work, cause I didn't want to work
D | Tuesday, December 06, 2005
ESPN Bowl Preview
-Best off-field storyline- Bowden vs. Paterno (D's Pick: Paterno by 7, Pat's pick: FSU)
-Conference most likely to shine- Big Ten is expected to go 5-2
Brendan Loy Bowl Info
-Battle of the Bands
Is there a script Notre Dame? I think not, you poncy foo-foo lost-me-pot-of-gold touchdown-jesus leprechauns. No one can hold a candle to TBDBITL.
-Bowl Selections
Updated in real time, apparently.
Alex Ho OSU vs ND
The Irish Buckeye will be cheering for his alma mater.
Yahoo! Bowl Schedule
TV times and stations.
OSU, ND - A History
The series stands at 2-2.
Oregon is quacking
The Ducks are sad. Sorry, but no one evens knows where the state of Oregon is, much less the Ducks.
Fiesta Bowl homepage
Bucks will be in away jerseys (white), Irish will be in home jerseys (gold, I think). Musburger is commenting - that bastard hates us - although Jack Arute (pronounced Jack-er-root) is sweet.
Coaches Poll ballots revealed
Nothing mentioning Tressel (might not have a vote). Texas coached voted for USC as the number one team but Bobby Bowden voted for Texas as number one, so you know, it's all a crap shoot. So much so, that some coaches can't even count to 25.
D | 12/06/2005 03:32:00 PM
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Serendipity is what's wrong with love
D | Sunday, December 04, 2005
No, not actual serendipity. And no, not the restaurant - although, the world is slowly getting fatter and a restaurant which only serves such delectable desert beverages is only contributing to the fattening of America (myself included). I am talking about Serendipity, the movie. If you've never seen the movie and plan to someday, skip the next paragraph. If you have seen it, or don't care that I am giving away the ridiculously predictable plot, read on.
Serendipity is an unfortunate, yet amusing, chick flick where two would-be lovers spend a few hours together in a regular day. Agreeing that if they are fated to be together then they will be, he writes his name and number on a $5 which she promptly places in circulation and she writes her name and number in a book which she promises to sell the next day. Thus, if they find the bill or the book and call each other and get together, they were meant to be. The movie flashes ahead a few years to find both are now engaged. The plot unfolds with their last ditch search attempts to find each other. Folly ensues. In the end, they break off their respective engagements and resolve to live alone - only to (miraculously) find each other and live happily ever after.
Bite. Me.
This is what is wrong with the world of love. This does not happen. And if it ever did, good God man, don't let Kate Beckinsale give you the brush with some awful line about fate while she writes her number in a book. No no no. These escapades do not happen in real life. They never will. Now I would agree that we go to the movie to step away from our real lives and momentarily live in fantasy land, but films like Seredipi-shit are giving us false hope. No wonder everyone is wandering around looking for their soul mate - the odds of meeting someone perfect for you while glove shopping in Bloomingdales is like 8 ga-zillion to 1. They probably had to rehearse the scene even in a made up movie.
Much like supermodels subliminally encourage women that they should be skinny, chick flicks are poisoning the world with crappy fantasy romantic dribble. When are they going to make a movie about a guy who goes to a bar, gets drunk, takes some random girl home and that ends up being his future wife? Huh? When are they going to make that movie?
D | 12/04/2005 03:25:00 PM
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Yeah, I got nothing
D | Thursday, December 01, 2005
Absolutely nothing interesting happened to me today. And I don't have any pressing issues on my mind. So I am posting a link to the top three interesting things I read on the internet today:
#3. Latin American Election Coverage - Oooohhh, aaaahhh. I know you don't care about South American dictators, but I do, and the BBC does. Educate thyself to Latin American politics.
#2. Bigfoot found in WA - Its a blurry picture from like 8,000 miles away but hey, what else have I got to post about? So here's Bigfoot. My favorite part is the caption on the left hand side where the poster suggests the excruciating care which will be required to recreate the picture and verify authenticity. Its the the JFK assassination models. These Bigfoot guys are crazy! (Hat tip Boing Boing)
#1. Geeky Bravado c/o The Irish Trojan - A favorite read of mine for quite some time, Brendan has posted a video which is too funny not to watch. I promise this is worth it. Take a minute, read the explanation, and revel in true college dorm nerdiness. Give a shout out if you remember BP, Jack, and Age of Empires.
D | 12/01/2005 09:02:00 PM
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*
Weather Man
Inside Man
Pride and Prejudice
