Exactly

Excellent post on ZeroHedge today: The GOP is dying because the Liberty Movement is thriving.

Lisberger... a prophet?

I watch the 1982 movie Tron with my kids last night. They'd never seen it, and I hadn't seen it for probably 20+ years. It wasn't nearly as good as I remembered thinking it was when I was a kid, but it also wasn't nearly as bad as I expected it to be. There was, in fact, one exchange of dialogue that was rather prophetic:

Dr. Walter Gibbs: ...computers are just machines; they can't think.
Alan Bradley: Some programs will be thinking soon.
Dr. Walter Gibbs: Won't that be grand? Computers and the programs will start thinking and the people will stop.
(from IMDB)

Nice

I happen to work for the company that was (note the operative tense) webcasting the restart of the Iditarod. Just a couple minutes before Lance Mackey was about to embark, the webcasting server crashed. Grr.

Update: well, it only took about a half hour before somebody finally got around to rebooting the server. During that time, several different error messages appeared when attempting to access the web site, so at least that shows someone was actively working on the problem. Still missed Mackey's start, though.

Looks like a fair year for sci-fi

In addition to the pile of steaming poo superhero movies (Thor, Green Lantern, Captain America, Conan the Barbarian, Transformers, X-Men) coming out this year, it looks like we'll be treated to a sci-fi flick each month, March through July. Trailers after the break...

First off, on March 11, Sony is releasing Battle: Los Angeles, starring Michelle Rodriguez (Lost). This movie will be great, no matter what, for three reasons:

1. Michelle Rodriguez
2. Los Angeles gets blown up
3. Michelle Rodriguez

As an aside: Michelle, you have to stop calling me; I'm married, and happily so. I know it's hard for you to let go, since I'm such a catch, but I'm afraid I'm taken. Now, please put down the gun.

Next, on April 22, Dimension is releasing Apollo 18, about which there is very little information, but it supposedly has aliens and 1960s astronauts. We'll see...

Then, on May 13, Sony is releasing Priest, "a post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller, is set in an alternate world -- one ravaged by centuries of war between man and vampires." So, we get post-apocalyptic sci-fi vampires; how cool is that? The problem is, the trailer makes it obvious that this is (yet another) slam against the Roman Catholic Church, and, by proxy, all of Christendom. Then again, what do you expect from Hollywood?

Come June 10, Paramount releases J. J. Abrams' (Alias, Lost, and the most recent iteration of Star Trek) Super 8. It stars Kyle Chandler (The Day the Earth Stood Still, Friday Night Lights) and... a bunch of kids. So, despite the spooky trailer, this may turn out to be another E. T.

Finally, on July 29, Dreamworks releases Cowboys and Aliens. Seriously, the only way that combo could be any cooler is if it was entitled Cowboys and Aliens and Ninjas and Vampires. Anyway, to make Teh Awesome even more complete, it stars Han Solo Indiana Jones Jack Ryan Rick Deckard Harrison Ford. And also Daniel Craig, who is one of the few James Bond impersonators that somewhat measures up to Sean Connery.

Speaking of cowboys and ninjas, The Warrior's Way came out a month or so ago.

Now, for the trailers: