Watch this now.

That is all.

Why didn't I think of that?

Best. Cafepress T-shirts. Ever.

Not quite there yet.

Amazon just sent me an e-mail altering me to the fact that they've cut the price of Star Trek V from $12.99 to $10.99. That's still $10.99 too much. I think the only way I could have brought myself to own this one would be if Paramount had let Shatner do a director's edition. That, at least, would have had some entertainment value...

SNAKES ON A PLANE!

How awesome was SNAKES ON A PLANE, which I just saw on the biggest motherfucking movie screen in Minnesota? So awesome my iPod knew how awesome the movie was. On the way, set to random, it played the following as a warmup to the movie:

• Are You Ready to be Heartbroken? - Sandie Shaw
  
• Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses
  
• Queen Bitch - David Bowie
  
• Angel of Harlem - U2
  
• Making Time - Creation
  
• Walls Come Tumbling Down - The Jam
  
• Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
  

You're probably reading this and thinking to yourself, "Wow, if I ever got such an awesome string of songs in a row from my iPod, I wonder how long it would take until I got another set of songs that even came close to surpassing its awesomeness?"

In my case?

RIGHT AFTER THE MOVIE.

Coming home, driving 75 miles an hour down an empty highway with the window down and the volume way up, I was treated to this agglomeration of music:

• Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe - Barry White
  
• Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses (That's right, the most awesome song in the universe TWICE!)
  
• (Don't Fear) the Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
  
• Sweet Talkin' Woman - ELO
  
• Goodbye Stranger - Supertramp
  
• R.A.M.O.N.E.S. - The Ramones
  

How do you know when a movie is that than which no other movie may be more awesome?

When it's called SNAKES ON A PLANE, that's when.

Note to self

Don't fuck with Charles Durning. (Via James Nicoll.)

Just the facts, ma'am.

Ask a stupid question...

Slate asks the following about George Felix Allen Jr.:



The answer is twofold: 1) Yes; and 2) That's really never stopped anyone before, now, has it?

It depends on what your definition of "planet" is.

A committee of scientists has revised the criteria for planethood; if accepted, the number of planets in our solar system would expand from 9 to 12 and possible higher:

Among the chosen few within the solar system would be not only Pluto, whose status has been challenged in recent years, but also Ceres, the largest asteroid; 2003 UB313, nicknamed Xena, an object discovered by Dr. Brown in 2005 orbiting far beyond Pluto in the outer solar system; and even Pluto’s largest moon, Charon.

In addition, at least a dozen more solar system objects are waiting in the wings for more data to see if they fit the new definition of planethood, which is that an object be massive enough that gravity has formed it into a sphere and that it circles a star and not some other planet.

The definition, they said, would apply both inside and outside the solar system.

The new definition was to be announced today in Prague, where some 2,500 astronomers are meeting in the triannual assembly of the International Astronomical Union. It is the work of the group’s Planet Definition Committee, whose chairman is Owen Gingerich, a Harvard astronomer. The astronomers will vote on the definition on Aug. 25.

However, the question remains: What about Bizarro World? Will the new emphasis on roundness mean that our square sister planet will no longer be a planet? And who gets to break the news to Bizarro?

Super.

So not long ago Superman III was on TV. It's a terrible movie, with none of the grandeur and weight of the orignal Richard Donner film and a nonsensical plot and, well, Richard Pryor. There's almost nothing to recommend it to anyone.

Almost.

Because it's still got Christopher Reeve playing Superman. And even trapped in this horrible movie, he found ways to make his portrayal work. It's the little things. There's an overlong, unfunny extended opening to the film that tries very very hard to be hysterical, and it isn't, and what's more unfunny than that? At one point, a car crashes into and on top of a fire hydrant and fills with water, for some reason --

-- look, I TOLD you it was terrible --

-- and Superman rescues the driver and lifts him out of the flooded car, as Superman does.

And then, once he's made sure the driver's fine, Superman shakes the driver's hand.

That's awesome, in a peculiarly Supermanic way; he's honored to have had the chance to help you and he's thrilled you're OK and he takes a second to convey that with a casual gesture.

And then he flies off to do it again.

The snarkiest web ad in the world

Phil, Phil, Phil...

We both went to school with people more famous than Angela...

Page 123

De has tagged me with the following:

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 4 sentences on your Blog/Live Journal along with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.
6. Tag five people.

From The Lanahan Readings in the American Polity (Third Edition):

This is not to say that these variables don't play a role in making public policy - clearly they do. Nevertheless, our explanation for gridlock focuses on two primary factors: (1) the preferences of members of Congress regarding particular policies, and (2) super-majority institutions - the Senate filibuster and the presidential veto....

The idea is really quite straightforward. When considering the U.S. Congress, instead of thinking which party is in control, think of the members as arrayed from left to right - liberal to conservative. The further left a member is positioned, the more that member favors increased government activity on health care, the environment, education, and so on.

Tag:

• She Who Must Be Obeyed
  
• Phil
  
• Simon
  
• Lefty Brown
  
• Elisha Cuthbert