Friday, July 08, 2005

The Fantastic Four   I saw the Fantastic Four movie, and it was silly but harmless fun.  The Thing costume looked incredibly cheap and did not allow for facial expressions, but the effects for Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Girl, and the Human Torch were good.  My main problem with the movie, though, lies with the casting:  Jessica Alba as the Invisible Girl.  Ms. Alba is one of the most attractive women in the world.  Whether she can act is an open question, which didn't really come up in this superhero movie...but she's very near the bottom of the list of people I want to see disappear.  Now, if there was just some way we could make, say, Paris Hilton the Invisible Girl, that would be well worth while.  5:09:00 PM    comment []

The Moth and the Butterfly   There's a strong breeze today, which may be why I'm thinking of this.  One time I saw a butterfly driven by a sudden gust of wind against a tree branch.  The wind tore one of its wings, and it dropped to the ground with its other wing still flapping helplessly.  I felt bad.  Because we like butterflies, don't we?  They are almost like flowers in the air.  At the same time, we hate moths.  We put out moth balls--poisons that make our clothes smell foul--to keep the moths away.  But aren't moths much like butterflies, only more drably dressed, in somber, even sullen hues? Do we love the butterfly because it is beautiful, and hate the moth because it is not?  Or is it just that moths have a use for us, and butterflies do not?  Do we love the butterfly because we can't help but respond to that indifference?  I think beauty is enough to explain our fondness for butterflies.  But if not for their beauty, I still think we would be moved by their indifference.  1:06:36 PM    comment []

A Review of DeLay's Problems   In 2004, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay faced a first-time Democratic candidate, and won 55%-41%.  DeLay's multitudinous ethical transgressions and his almost incestuously close ties to the Al Capone of lobbyists, Jack Abramoff (they've vacationed together, for God's sake), have assumed a much higher profile since then; at least one local Republican has run advertisements against him; he doesn't have the President's coattails to ride on in 2006; Democratic ads against DeLay have already begun running; and next time, he will face former Democratic Representative Nick Lampson, who represented 20% of this district before the irregular redistricting of Texas.  Also, the defense for two aides of DeLay facing indictment has been a purely technical defense; the lawyer prosecuting them has just reworded the indictment to negate their absurd defense, which argues that a check is distinguishable from money.  If they should be convicted, it's an open question whether they'll flip on him. This has some wondering if DeLay will actually run for re-election...or if he does run for re-election, if he has a reasonable chance of winning. 8:43:37 AM    comment []

Quote for the Day, 7/8/2005   "The heart of the Codfish is made of cartilage and contains only one auricle and one ventricle.  His blood is no colder than that of other fishes, it just seems colder.  Codfish have no vices, but their virtues are awful."   -Will Cuppy, How to Become Extinct, "The Codfish" 3:39:09 AM    comment []