Published on
January 29, 2006 in
Uncategorized.
Tags: history.
I didn’t realize until Friday that yesterday was going to be the 20th anniversary of the Challenger disaster. I remember exactly where I was that day.
My mom and I had just moved back from Florida, and my dad was still there trying to sell our house. I had just started the second half of my sixth grade year at my grandmother’s school, and I had my hands full just trying to fit in and form new friendships. I had come out of the bathroom when I saw the school administrator rushing by. She glanced over and hurriedly shouted, “Brian, go to the cafeteria!”.
I had no idea why she was saying this, but I suspected something was wrong. When I got there and saw what was on the television, I knew I was right. I sat there for awhile watching the news reports while other classes were being escorted in to witness the tragedy repeated ad nauseum.
I remember thinking that the explosion didn’t look that bad on television, and I wondered if the people on the ground new what was happening. My stomach sank as I thought about the crew and if they were alive after the initial explosion. Reading about the events twenty years later still gives me that same feeling.
I’ll always remember Ronald Reagan’s speech later that evening, specifically the last memorable paragraph.
The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved good-bye and “slipped the surly bonds of earth” to “touch the face of God.”
We’re going to get a nasty reputation if we keep doing stupid things again and again. I know it’s getting extra attention from the administration because of Marcus, and because of that Weaver felt he had to act. I honestly believe that without the prior incidents, Weaver would have probably done nothing.
And what’s up with our sorry schedule for next season?
Published on
January 24, 2006 in
Uncategorized.
Tags: politics.
I read a great piece on media bias today by Bruce Bartlett. He pontificates on the big media’s focus on Republican misdoings vs. the same (or worse) behavior of Democrats.
…the liberal media harp on Republican misdeeds monotonously because to them the subject never gets boring. By contrast, Democratic wrongdoing tends to be treated in a perfunctory manner with no follow-up. This imbalance of coverage, which is unrelated to the seriousness of the charges, naturally tends to make people think Republicans are more corrupt, when a reasonable person reviewing all the evidence would have to conclude that Democrats are much more likely to be corrupt.
He gives some great examples of evidence in the article, and some of it is pretty damning. Now some stories obviously deserve front-page coverage, but when you systematically focus your coverage on a particular group, someone is going to notice the disparity eventually. I’m certainly not qualified to speak on his assertion that Democrats are much more likely to be corrupt, but when many things they do get buried in the back pages of newspapers, you would never know it if they were.
When our only main source of news was Walter Cronkite, people thought differently and took his word as gold because “that’s the way it was”. Most people (including myself) don’t even notice the bias until you start reading and listening to many different non-mainstream sources of news. Thank goodness the bias is now being shown for what it truly is.
You may not have noticed but our webcam wasn’t working for awhile. I had a Logitech Quickcam Pro 3000 for a few years, but it kicked the bucket. I may keep it around for awhile to tinker with just because.
I picked up a Creative Labs WebCam Instant cheap, and it’s now functioning as our new webcam. You may now continue your voyeurism in our backyard.
I’m so glad companies are finally coming out with wireless USB hubs. Once I get a couple of those and a couple more cheap webcams, I could have an inexpensive video security system that could be monitored any where in the world. I love technology.
Published on
January 16, 2006 in
Uncategorized.
Tags: television.
I’m ashamed to admit that I actually watched the Golden Globe awards tonight. Actually, Monica forced me to watch it.
I was glad to see that Steve Carrell won for The Office. That by far is the best show on TV right now, and Steve is terrific on it. It really makes me LOL. Yes, I just typed LOL. And when I say LOL, I mean I actually laugh out load; I’m not just saying that I laugh out loud. Great show.
Other than that, a pretty boring show. It seems the magic formula for winning an award nowadays is to be in a movie that has something to do with someone who is sexually confused. Too bad for Hollywood that most of America has no interest whatsoever in those types of movies. What guy is going to admit to having paid to see Brokeback Mountain?
Published on
January 12, 2006 in
Uncategorized.
Tags: books, movies.
I forgot to mention back in December that we saw The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Now, I flat out loved The Chronicles of Narnia when I was a child. I used to read them and imagine myself as Peter, sitting in Cair Paravel, going on great adventures, and talking to animals. I was thoroughly enchanted by the world that C.S. Lewis created.
So it was with great anticipation that I saw the movie, as it was probably the one that I’ve most looked forward to seeing…ever.
And the verdict? It was good. Not great, but good. For some reason, I left the theater feeling a bit empty, and it’s taken me a bit to realize why. The movie followed the book almost down to the page, and that may have been it’s downfall. After all, it is a children’s book, and I think a children’s movie is what ended up on the screen. The kids’ acting was less than stellar, and there just wasn’t enough character development. And to top it off, I really don’t remember much of the music which usually adds so much to the movie (think Lord of the Rings), so the fact it was unnoticeable is not a good sign.
Don’t get me wrong though; I really enjoyed it. The special effects were magnificent, and it was really great to see Aslan come to life. I will definitely purchase the DVD when it comes out, and perhaps with multiple viewings, I will gain a better appreciation for the movie.
It’s certainly made a killing at the box office so sequels are guaranteed which is awesome because that means they will probably get to make what is quite possibly my favorite of the books, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
Published on
January 1, 2006 in
Uncategorized.
Tags: holidays.
We’re ringing in the New Year with family here in New York while checking out the Times Square web cams.
We’re heading home tomorrow. It was a great time in New York this holiday season. It’s always great to get home (especially because we miss Jack!), but we’ll certainly miss spending time with the family.
Happy New Year, everyone!
