I recently upgraded to Ubuntu 9.04 and, while the site appears to generally work, it has started loading _really_ slowly. So yeah, it isn’t just you…
At this point, I think it’s the computer itself, not the ‘net connection, as it takes awhile for it to load when I’m pulling it in from within my own network.
I’ll figure it out. Eventually. 🙂
(on another note, I just bought tickets for ‘Star Trek‘ at the Ronnie’s 20 IMAX for next Thursday, May 7th, at 10:00 PM. w00t!!)
So, in preparation for the greatest day of my life, I’ve been watching all 10 previous films in order. I just finished “Insurrection” last night, so “Nemesis” is the only one left (and will probably have to wait until this weekend before I can get to it).
I’m not sure I’ve ever actually ranked them in my order of preference, so here goes:
1). Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
2). Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
3). Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
4). Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
5). Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
6). Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
7). Star Trek Generations (1994)
8). Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
9). Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
10). Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
As you can see, they definitely follow with the “even numbered films are better than odd numbered films” rule of Star Trek movies. Really, “First Contact” and “IV” should probably be tied, as they’re pretty close together, but “First Contact” really is a great movie in its own right. “VI” is one I’ve always liked, especially after watching the “making of” featurette and realizing it was almost entirely based on the Cold War (I was 9 when it came out…didn’t quite catch the symbolism…), but mainly because it was SO MUCH BETTER than the movie that preceded it.
Anyway, that’s my list. Just figured I should put it out there… 😛
Mom sent this along after seeing it on Letterman… Great to see Nathan Lane will be in the greatest movie of 2009… 😛
Don’t get me wrong…”The Fast and The Furious” was not what one would call a “good movie,” but there was something kinda stupid and fun about it. The movie largely propelled Vin Diesel to “action star” status overnight, and also kicked off the career of Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster…and Paul Walker, if you really call “Timeline” and “Joy Ride” a “career”…
Anyway, “The Fast and The Furious” was actually remake of a 1955 movie of the same name, but they really had very little in common with each other. It was relatively well-received by the fans (yet panned by the critics), and made enough money to warrant a string of sequels, including “2 Fast 2 Furious,” headlined by the aforementioned Paul Walker (and sans Diesel, Rodriguez and Brewster) and “The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift (which only had a cameo by Diesel, and otherwise no-name actors).” “2 Fast…” was a terrible, terrible movie. “Tokyo Drift” I never saw, but from what I hear, wasn’t really a bad movie…just didn’t do well in theaters…at all… However, it exploded in DVD sales and warranted another flick.
Enter the most recent iteration, “Fast & Furious,” which brings back the original crew in an attempt to reboot the franchise. In most respect, it actually pulls it off rather well, providing even more car stunts and action than the first movie, and otherwise decent special effects (there are quite a few more digital effects this time around, though). Paul Walker is still amongst the worst actors in Hollywood, but at least this time, he isn’t headlining the movie and he has Vin Diesel to bring it up a notch (relatively speaking, of course).
Briefly, the story itself deals with Diesel’s character, Dom Toretto, seeking revenge against a Mexican drug czar…who Paul Walker (FBI Agent Brian O’Conner) is also after, for other reasons (read: heroin trafficking). You can probably fill in the blanks from there…not a terribly complicated story…
The cars this time around weren’t all that impressive to me, as compared with some of the other flicks. There were actually very few new tuner cars to be seen…most of them were late-90s or early-2000s models, with the exception of the new Subaru Impreza WRX STi. Otherwise, the vast majority of cars in the movie are “American Muscle,” including a new Mustang, a Gran Torino, a Chevelle SS and, of course, Dom’s Charger. I would have liked to see a few newer cars in the movie, but I’m sure I’ll live…
So yeah, I liked it. It’s a good popcorn flick to kick of a summer of excellent movies. If you liked the first one (or, heck, all of them…somehow…), then you’ll love this. If, on the other hand, you can’t live with Vin Diesel being the best actor in the movie, you’ll probably want to pass. Thus far, it’s grossed $200 million worldwide, so believe you me…there’s another one coming…
It’s ironic, because I failed in the process of making the image…
So, Brooke and I both frequent failblog.org, which is an excellent time-waster that uses videos or pictures of a variety of different “fails.” It would be best if you’d just go, rather than having me explain it.
Anyway, I thought I’d found an excellent fail on U-Verse’s listing for the Star Trek: TNG episode, “The Icarus Factor.” Apparently, however, John Tesh was actually in it, but was uncredited (so it wasn’t in my Star Trek Encyclopedia). A cursory look at IMDB shows that yes, indeed, Tesh did appear in the episode…grrrrrr…
I didn’t want to waste the picture I generated, though. Still kinda silly to see it in a listing on my TV Guide…
So, as many of you know, Brooke and I are currently (and temporarily…) running the contemporary worship service, 1040 Connection, at Webster Hills United Methodist Church, where we’ve been attending since moving to St. Louis. As part of this, we got the crazy idea of doing the “U2charist,” which is essentially as the name sounds: a communion service built around the music of the Irish rock band, U2.
We had talked about doing it for awhile now, but after we took control of the song choices last September, we got to thinking about when to make it happen. Somehow, Maundy Thursday (or Holy Thursday) seemed appropriate, as it marks the Last Supper (i.e. the first communion).
Anyway, here’s the song list, for those that know the music of U2:
Prelude/Postlude:
During the service:
During Communion:
We are also including this document in the bulletin as an insert that (briefly) points out some lyrics and what they may mean from a theological standpoint.
Anyway, it should be a fun night, and we’ve put a lot of work into it. We’ll probably do it again at the beginning of July, just as a regular Sunday morning service.
Happy April Fool’s Day! I’ll probably post more stuff here as I find it, but Thinkgeek.com is always a good place to start. The USB Pet Rock is excellent (video above), as well as the Ultimate Assassin’s Weapon Ice Mold and, last but not least, Squeez Bacon (check that one out…preferably, not immediately after eating…).
Also, apparently, there’s already a Star Trek sequel in the works, set for a 2011 release… 😛
And, the Google Gmail Autopilot will automatically write e-mails for you… “The easiest e-mail could possibly be,” indeed… 🙂
